Life is Crazy!

So life has been crazy busy and I won't slow down for a while. But I wanted to check in :)
I'm making aprons for my Niece, Nephew, and Chase and hope to share that with you soon. I'm also working a children's book post, and the next leg of my Ireland trip. And just working like crazy, my hours this week are all changed up and I've had to miss all my workouts :( well i kinda chose to miss black light zumba.  I can not handle large crowds in small spaces it just freaks me out. now you can put me in a tiny space by my self and im fine but throw a bunch of strangers in the mix and i freak out.  My dad took me out once for blizzards and we planned to eat there but while we were ordering a HUGE crowd came in and i garbed my blizzard and ran out the door and did not realize i had done it till i was outside and Dad asked why i changed my mind about eating there. So i decided to google my fear and these are the two phobias i found.
Agoraphobia- Fear of open spaces or of being in crowded, public places like markets. Fear of leaving a safe place.
Ochlophobia- Fear of crowds or mobs


But when i came across this one i thought maybe that fear could be helpful...Obesophobia- Fear of gaining weight.(Pocrescophobia)
you can click here for a huge list of different one.
Well i'm off to bed so i can have a good nights rest before another busy day :)
Sweet dreams to all!

It's Monday!!!

Happy Monday everyone!  So mine has been good. I slept in, went to work, went shopping and got some amazing deals, watched a little TV, Made a mess, and went to Zumba!

So here are some pictures to take you through my day...

First I slept in...

Then I went to work, where i fed Caleb and we bowled.  Then he was in an extra cuddly mood and played games on my phone before his nap.  

Then I went shopping and found some great deals. First I went to Old Navy and the tanks and tees are buy one get one free, so I got four. Then I went to Ross and found some cute wadges reduced to $9.99. and last but not lease I went to Kohl's and found two games one 90% off and the other 80% off plus I had $10.00 Kohl's cash and ended up spending only $2.17 for them.

 

Then I came home grabbed dinner and dessert and crashed on the couch to watch some of the shows i had recorded on my DVR.  I LOVE my DVR!

So I realized it was time to get ready for Zumba so i went to jump up off the couch and my arm caught my TV tray and sent everything flying, thus the mess.

I left the mess and ran out the door for Zumba.  It was so much fun.  It was my first time back after hurting myself two weeks ago and boy did it feel good to get back to it.  I always feel like I'm a happier person afterwards and a touch hyper :)

Well now I'm off to shower and clean up my mess.  Hope you have a fun and enjoyable Monday too!

St. Patrick's Day

So it has worked out perfectly that today is St. Patrick's Day and the next stop on our trip through Ireland is Jameson Whiskey.

This it at the entrance to Jameson 

In this building is where they stored the barley. It is the tallest building on the site.  Before they installed a pulley lifts were installed, the men had to manually carry the 224 lb. sacks to the upper floors. each floor held 250 tons of grain.  Here they dried the barley after putting it through the malting process.

This is the oldest building dated back to 1794 when it was built as a woolen mill. A military barracks was located here during the Napoleonic wars. the building was then purchased in 1825 by the Murphy family and  became a distillery. This is where they grounded the barley and malt.

The water wheel was made in 1852. it is 22 Feet in diameter and made of cast iron. It is one of the few working water wheels in Ireland today.  

This is the machine they used to make mash. they put the appropriate amount of barley and malt in the mash tub and added boiling hot water to it. It then was stirred with large rotating rakes. 

The liquid was then know as "Wort" and was then sent to the washbacks for fermentation.

Fermentation: Yeast was added to the Wort, and sugars in the wort were converted to alcohol, a process that took about 3 days. the liquid was now know as "Wash" and was 8% alcohol (16* Proof)

This is where the fires were under the still. it got very hot here and was one of the most dangerous jobs to have here.

This is a pot-still. they are made of copper. Wash was feed first and larges pot still that could hold 32,000 gallons. alcohol boils at a lower temp than water so as the wash began to boil the first vapors that gave off were alcohol vapors and these were collected. the vapors are then condensed back into a liquid. and run through the process twice more. which makes it very pure 80% (160* Proof) 

It is then stored in barrels that have been previously used for storing bourbon, sherry and port. they come from America, Spain, and Portugal. They are what gives the whiskey its flavor and color. It is also not consider whiskey till it has stored for at least 3 years.

The barrows you see with glass are there to show us the different ages the lightest one is a 5 year and the oldest is 25 i believe. they lost over half the barrel to evaporation with the oldest one which is why it is so pricey.

Here Andrew is getting ready to compare a Scottish whiskey, Jack Daniels whiskey, and Jameson Whiskey.

he is official!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Encouraging Friday

Happy Friday Everyone! So sadly today I thought it was Saturday all day long, why I have no idea.

But Please enjoy these images!

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

And Friday. I like sending a funny ones on Fridays!

And don't forget tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day so wear green and enjoy life like an Irishmen!

Cheddar Biscuits

So as i munching on these yummy biscuits i get this great idea. I should take a few moments to share them with you.  This is a recipe I came up with after reading several other recipes, and not being to crazy about all the extra stuff they put in them I decided to create my own. I've also been wanting to share with you my love of Willow House.  You can Click here to see Amber's willow house page. She would be happy to help you to have a party or just order something that you will love forever.

Here is what you need for the dough.

2 Cups Bisquick

2/3 cup Buttermilk

1 cup Cheddar Cheese

Mix together the bisquick and buttermilk 

Then mix in cheddar cheese.

By the way the bowl I'm mixing the dough in is a willow house bowl

Spray non-stick spray on a cookie sheet. 

I then just used my hands to pull dough out into pieces and placed them on the cookie sheet.

I did large ones here but as you will see farther down i made smaller ones about two weeks ago for CG. 

Place in the oven 

and cook at 400 for 10-13 mins 

While they are cooking you can make the toping 

You will need...

2 Tbs Oregano

1Tbs Tuscan roasted garlic seasoning (Willow House) Or garlic salt

2-3 Tbs of melted butter

mix it all together 

Brush onto biscuits as soon as they come out of the oven. 

These are the ones i made a few weeks ago.

 

Now display on a pretty dish or in a nice bowl.

I covered them with the towel to keep them warm on the way to CG.

The lace dish, green bowl, and towel are all willow house.  So I hope you get to try these soon, and perhaps come to love willow house as much as I do.

Twice Baked Pasta

I came across a pasta recipe on pinterest and tweaked it some and loved what I ended up with. Here is what you need

1 box penne pasta

7oz Alfredo sauce

8oz Marinara sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

I used tomato sauce I had frozen in ice cube trays.

While pasta is boiling mixed together alfredo and tomato sauce.

 Then mix in mozzarella cheese

 This is where i got creative (or board waiting for for the pasta to finish boiling). I added a Tbs of cayenne pepper, and about 1 1/2 to 2 Tbs of spicy ranch dressing.

 Pasta is done and drained

 mix pasta into sauce

 pour into you square baking pan

 place in oven for 20 mins at 350 degrees

pull out and sprinkle on the parmesan cheese and put back in oven for 3 mins

I think some flank steak mixed in would be sooo good. As you can see below two people could have a very filling meal.

Pasta is one of my favorite things to cook. What is your favorite thing to cook?