Show Some Love - Sweet Love!!

I love sweetened condensed milk. Versatile tastiness should be its name.

Today I will share two "show some extra love" tips that involve this tasty treat that comes in the "oh so cute" 14 ounce can.

If you have a coffee lover in your house who likes their java a little sweet replace the sugar with the sweetened condensed milk (SCM). My friend, Deb, who grew up in Africa, shared this little gem of an idea with me. Thank you, Deb. You are a true friend.

This weekend I will add some to Kind Sir Bill's mug and he will feel very much loved (just as a note, he likes his coffee a little creamier, so I add a bit of half and half also.) Nothing says "extra love" to a coffee drinker more than SCM and half and half!!!!

My next tip will show some love to all the crafty painters in your household. Take a look at the heart painting below. This my friend was painted with, yes..believe me....Sweetened Condensed Milk!!

Open a can of SCM and divide it into four or five different bowls. Add some food coloring to each bowl (Anna used neon colors). Begin painting. The end result is shiny and puffy and dries like plastic. The paint is very tasty but there is one warning. Your tongue may be neon colored for the rest of the day!!!

Have some fun and definitely share any Sweetened Condensed Milk secrets with me!!!

Show Some Love - Celebrations!!

This is a picture of my calendar last March. This is how I keep track of all of the important meetings, events, holidays and so on for our family. No new-fangled electronic devices for me. No daily planners. Just a hang-up calendar that I get for half price after the new year begins!!! Just give me some coordinating stickers for each month and I am a happy camper!!

Many people comment on my calendar. They like the festive look. I admit some have asked when I will grow up and ditch the stickers........never. Just another way for me to keep daily life festive. And that is my tip today for "showing your family a lotta love" - Be Festive!!!

Everyone looks forward to holidays and I am not trying to down play the biggies at all. I want to encourage you to celebrate the little known holiday. You might want to let your family in on the celebrations before hand or just surprise them out of the blue. You may want to do something grand with food or just something simple to celebrate.

What kind of days can be celebrated????? Here are a few examples:

• February 5 Bubble Gum Day
• February 7 Daytona Pole Day
• February 9 Read in the Bathtub Day
• February 15 Susan B. Anthony Day
• February 23 Curling is Cool Day
• February26 Levi Strauss Day
• February 28 Tooth Fairy Day

The possibilities are amazing!! My personal fave - Curling is Cool Day!

You might think that the kiddos would be the only ones interested in such holidays. Not in my family. Kind Sir Bill is always interested in mindless trivia and the more I can fill his brain with little tidbits such as these lesser known holidays the better. You see one day he will be playing some trivia game with a bunch of friends.....the question will be......when is Bubble Gum Day celebrated? Kind Sir Bill will triumph with the answer and do you know why? Because I cared enough to show a little extra love!!!

Show Them Some Love - A Little Bit More Love

I thought for the month of February I would write about how to turn everyday opportunities of love into ones that offer a bit MORE love! And before I go on......yes, that is me in the attractive 1970's snow suit. Don't judge. It keeps me warm. Enough said. For my first February "show them some love" post I would like to talk about Hot Chocolate!! Yes, everyone loves hot chocolate on a cold day.....especially after hitting the sledding hills. See Anna's excited face below? She was thinking, "Hot Chocolate is calling my name!!!". Well, that's pretty close to what she was thinking.

On these cold, cold days we could treat our kids and ourselves to a packet of hot chocolate. After all , there is quite a bit of love in serving this when it is not an everyday treat. But here is where I will tell you how to turn this into an opportunity to show "a whole lotta love". I'll let you in on a little secret about me that was inspired by Mrs. Doubtfire..........

"I can hip-hop..... be-bop.....dance till ya drop, and yo yo, make a wicked cup of cocoa."

And you can make a homemade wicked cup of cocoa, too, in 5 minutes!!!! Believe me.. you can and your family will treasure your efforts!!

Before you think I am some Julia Child and came up with the "lotta love wicked hot cocoa" recipe myself, I will stop you. This recipe is from Paula Deen and I will forever love her for it. And now I will share the love with you........

1 can sweetened condensed milk (low fat for us!)

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa ( I use half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon of salt

6 1/2 cups hot water (I get mine from the tea kettle)

In a large saucepan, combine condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla and salt - mix well. Over medium heat slowly stir in water. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. Store leftovers up to five days in fridge. And believe me the leftovers are even yummier!!!

Let me know how yours turns out!! Remember, a little love goes a long way and a little more love goes even further!!! Enjoy!

Mainstrasse Village!!

Last weekend I spent three whole days in Covington, Kentucky working at a gymnastic meet. My only wish that entire weekend was that someone would skip on over to Mainstrasse Village and pick me up some yummieness. Mainstrasse is a restored 19th century German neighborhood. There are shops and restaurants housed in renovated buildings that are joined by cobblestone walkways. This area is just too cute. All a Cincinnati family has to do is cross the 75 bridge into Kentucky and take the first exit. The one landmark you see from I75 is the above Chime Bell Tower.

This bell tower plays a 43 bell carillon hourly and presents a little puppet play of the folk tale "The Pied Piper of Hamelin". Bill and I had just visited this area in November and these pictures are from that trip.

The shops are fun and entertaining. I do hope that more will open and many of the ones in business now stay for a long time. We were able to spend time in a few but will definitely go back for more sight seeing and eating. Fun and relaxing.

One of my favorite shops was Strasse Dog. I know...Iknow...you all remember that I am not a doggie clothing kind of person, but this shop was full of fun doggie toys and treats, too. Plus, the adorable little corgi, Cowboy, was on hand to greet the customers. I think I spent a good 15 minutes with the little pup. Too bad he wasn't for sale. Really......too bad. I think he loved me!

Our favorite memory from that trip was the tasty, creamy, oh so delightful gelato from Europa!Let me tell you...before tomorrow comes....go to Europa in Mainstrasse and get some!! You will make me your new best friend for telling you about this gelato. Really. You will.
Creamy....yummy.....yummieness. I enjoyed it just as much as the ice cream from that famous Cincinnati ice cream establishment. Yes, the gelato was that good. Could become an addiction. See all that loveliness in the picture below? Gelato!

Just so you know, my wonderful Sir Bill stopped into Europa last weekend and brought me some gelato while I was working so hard at the gymnastic meet. I cried and I ate and then I cried again.

I think I'll get myself down to Mainstrasse again this weekend!

Lessons Learned from Birthday Shopping

Bethany's birthday is on New Years Day. It was a great birthday and having her birthday fall on this holiday has been fun. If not for a birthday celebration we would just be sitting around watching football and eating leftovers and never getting out of our pajamas. OK, we still don't get out of our pajamas.

The problem, however, is shopping for this birthday. I don't like to pick things up during Christmas because, well.......I feel guilty. I would feel like she was just receiving left-over Christmas presents. So, that leaves me with shopping the week after Christmas. Which is fine, unless a major obstacle comes up during that week. And this birthday........it did.

I, purchaser of most gifts for the family, came down with the stomach flu. By the time New Years Eve got here, I was able to stand up and walk but I had to enlist my parents to chauffeur me around. I felt like a baby asking my children's grandparents to crate me around but they were also needed because they hold the membership card to the most important store I needed to go to - Costco. And this is where the lesson in life comes in....

Don't Go To Costco on New Years Eve if You Are Recovering From the Stomach Flu!!

All the sample ladies were out in full force on this day and they must receive commission on items sold because they were Relentless!! It just wasn't enough that my poor pitiful almost throwing up self had to deal with the SMELL of the food; I had to listen to every little sample lady's plea to try HER delicacy......Asian salmon, barbecue beef, guacamole, fried dumplings, granola, chocolate cake, so much more and the topper........Three Bean Salad. (I get squeamish even now as I type that one). One thing I learned about these women - they are hard core. I just wanted to scream out, "Leave me alone or there will be a clean up in aisle 4."

Fortunately, that wasn't needed. With Grams and Gramps help we found Bethany's Pyrex and movie, a couple of other things and skedaddled out of there. I think my parents saw that I was turning green and wanted to avoid a scene. Because that would have been more than they signed up for.

The opening picture......the Pyrex. It was very much appreciated.

Undocumented Visitors to the Manger

Jar Jar Binks by Christian............ Happy Feet by Anna.............

101 Dalmatians by Bethany..............

Goofy by Christian................

Never a dull moment at our manger scenes!!!

A Day in Oakley

Our family has recently rediscovered the joys of Oakley. Since our church is in this area and our two oldest are at school nearby we have a chance to snoop around the area quite a bit. So I am going to tell you about a Cincinnati Field Trip that every couple and/ or family should not miss! King Arthur's Court is the BEST and I mean the BEST toy store in Cincinnati. Even if you are not in the market for buying, this is a great place to play! Toys and games are out for everyone to try. Their Lego and Playmobil offerings are extensive and all of their toys make kids and bigger "kids" think and imagine. Very fun.
We usually tie in lunch or dinner when we are "field tripping it" in Oakley. Our favorite place - Dewey's Pizza. You can half your pizza at Dewey's so adults can satisfy their taste and kids can happily enjoy more traditional toppings. There are other locations around Cincy but this one is our fave.

Our most recent find up Madison Road is AbbyGirl Sweets! A cupcakery! You all know I love me some cupcakes and our family is currently out to find the "best" cupcakery in the United States! We have had some pretty good cupcakes but so far the actual "best blend of icing and cake award" goes to this establishment!! I highly recommend the peanut butter/chocolate cupcakes.

Yes. Yes I do.

Also, if AbbyGirl's does not totally quench your sweet tooth your family may want to try Aglamesis Brothers Ice Cream and Candy. They have caramel marshmallows that have to be tried!

Yes. Yes you should. (oh, and their raspberry whipped cream, too.) You'll thank me for that tip.

Stay tuned for more updates on this wonderful area. I know we have yet to discover it all!