BFD - February '12

First off, I'm sorry to say that I don't have more pictures. Let's just say that while I was making dinner, there was a minor crisis that involved a cardboard box, a box knife, and my 12 year-old. Enough said. According to IHOP today was National Pancake Day. There is also an International Pancake Day, which was on February 21st. If you look at this site, it says that National Pancake Day is on September 26th. So, take your pick; either way, we had pancakes for dinner. Earlier this month, a friend sent me the link for what has become our favorite pancake recipe. For this month's BFD, we had:

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Yes, that's all we had. And yes, they really are that good. They are ooey and gooey and delicious just like cinnamon rolls. The recipe is very straightforward. You're supposed to put the cinnamon-brown sugar glaze in a pastry bag and pipe it onto the pancakes. Although I am handy with a pastry bag, I was not in the mood to haul it out and then clean it up afterwards. I just put the glaze in a measuring cup and drizzled it on the pancakes. And the cream cheese icing, you ask? Well, I didn't have cream cheese so I just made a plain butter cream icing, meaning I just used melted butter, powdered sugar, and a splash of milk to thin it out.

I'm thinking that the next time I make these, I might add some chopped apples or pecans to the pancake batter. I think that would be fabulous. Go ahead and give these a try. They really aren't alot of work and they would make a wonderful Sunday breakfast or anytime dinner.

Where Have You Been, Young Lady?

I knew I was in trouble whenever my mom used my full name, which back then was "Young Lady".

So, where have I been? Well, I've been here at home, but the boys were out of school this past week in honor of Presidents' Day with a couple of teacher furlough days thrown in to make another winter mini-break (eye roll). Seriously, things that make you go WTF?

On Thursday, my oldest went to his grandparents' house for a couple of days, so we enjoyed a quiet house during that time. :-) On Saturday, we met with our accountant to prepare our taxes - we owe this year; no surprises there. I should mention that my in-laws live a couple hours away from us, and our accountant (who is also family) is not too far from them. So, it was a day mixed with business and pleasure as we had our taxes done and visited with family.

Now that the boys are back in school, my husband and I are trying to wrap up the little details of our trip. You see, he is leaving this Saturday to go to Europe on business. I will join him two weeks later for a Roman vacation. It's getting down to the wire and there are still plenty of little things to be done before he leaves. It's off to tend to business before pleasure.

Another H.I.P. Update

Well, there you have it. Another home improvement project successfully completed. The master bedroom has been updated with a new wood laminate floor and the old carpet is fast becoming a distant memory. This means that I can no longer use the alliterative verse "cat crap on the carpet". The only carpeting left in the house is in the family room and believe me, I'd rip it out if I could.

As of this writing, the base boards still need to be painted, which shouldn't take too long. Kudos to my husband for another H.I.P. well done. Now, it's time to get painting.

Another H.I.P.

So, another home improvement project has come up. The wood laminate flooring went on sale at Costco again and it was the perfect opportunity to rip out the nasty carpet in the master bedroom and replace it with wood laminate. Can you tell I despise carpeting? But honestly, we couldn't not do it. For Christmas, we were given a Costco Cash Card as a gift, which paid for about 2/3 of the project. We were just waiting for the wood laminate to go on sale.

Come Sunday night, we should have brand new floors thanks to my handy husband! Woo hoo! The only other exciting thing to happen in February is our Costco Cash Rebate is coming. Double woo hoo!! When that arrives, I'll be able to buy a year's supply of: toilet paper, Finish Powerball tabs, Ecos laundry detergent and maybe I'll have enough leftover for a hot dog at the food court. Yeah, baby, it's like Christmas in February. Livin' large!