I don't suck...

As a mom, it's a constant struggle to not look on the failures of my children and not take them on as my own. Failures like:

-- lacking the maturity to realize that if books fall on your brother's head from the height of a door frame (no matter how innocent the prank) His head will hurt and he will scream and you will get in trouble.

-- Bickering.

-- If you start wrestling with your brothers, and you are a girl, you're liable to get hurt. Don't start something you can't finish. And if you're a brother, and I see you double team the sister who started the wrestling match -- You will get in trouble. Just sayin'.

-- Bickering

-- Arguing instead of obedience.

You know -- those sort of failures. They really are failures of a sort. They know better. A wise woman told me that 'these kids are learning how to interact with the world by interacting with each other.' 

oh -- goodie.

Apparently, I need to segment the world into four distinct parts and let them communicate with red phones and war threats. 

Along with the normal, average mom stuff, I have the distinction to add homeschooling to the mix. Talk about egg shells there.

"What do you mean you don't know what a noun is??"

"YES! You have to do that writing assignment."

"No - A 't' does not make the 'n' sound." 

Since that's not just enough for me ... I get to add the neurosis of being a writer/creative type to the mix. 

Fine is often a key word. "Freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional". We writer types, or maybe it's just me, need to have some ego boosts now and again. I have a few extra special friends who'll stroke my ego - realistically - should the need arise. (I'd know if it's fake)(at least I'm fairly certain I would.) (grrr)

All three of those things makes me me. It also explains why I tend to run away. (Oh, wait, that's the prophet in me, apparently. So that just adds ONE More facet of my character.) 

It's a darn good thing I'm easily amused and that I mostly like myself.

Otherwise, I'd be in serious trouble and be a serious mess.

Generally speaking, I'm a pretty well held together individual. Though - some days, One or more of my many facets can crack and I get 'Fine'. (See above)

On the really bad days?? Oh, never mind. Just think "blue" and you got it.

I read about putting together an "I don't suck file". I can't remember where I read it - but I followed the link to Christi Corbett's blog. AHA!!! A fellow writer!! Ms. Corbett wrote a fantastic article about her "You don't suck" file. I need such a file.

For each of my many facets, I need this encouragement. 

For the mommy part of me, I'd make a note about the sweet things the kids did to help each other. I'd make a note about the moments they make me smile. That they show a glimmer of 'kindness'. Or what other people might have said about them.

For the teacher in me, I could save something that they've achieved. A moment in school where they've gotten it. Of course, like today, it would be hard to capture a moment. Watching G-man run back and forth from his history book to the map to track the progress of the pilgrims. 

But i could write it down. 

For the writer in me, of course, I'd keep the notes friends write me even here on my blog. These things are not for ego, these are moments, lifelines to encourage us to keep going.

We all need those cheerleaders ... and sometimes, we just need to be reminded that we're more than fine...and that we don't suck. 

I'm starting mine. 
Let me know if you start one, too.

2011

Edited for more cohesiveness because One should never blog and watch Phineas and Ferb at the same time. It's just not a good, workable combo.

I've been battling fatigue. That's about the only way I can categorize it. I just couldn't seem to get enough sleep and when I did sleep - I was having some wackadoodle dreams. I'm fairly certain I understand the meaning of the dreams - except the one I had last night.

I mean - you watch too many episodes of Hogan's Heroes and you're bound to dream that you're a prisoner in a POW camp trying to get out. BUT when you add a brother into the dream as a traitor, you probably have issues. 

I'm working on it.


I'm also working on not saying, "I'm really tired of the whining..."

Because - you know - I might have actually confessed that over myself.
Still...sleepless nights do not a cohesive mommy make.

Because I haven't been in a write-y sort of mood, I've been wondering what I should write about. You know, as opposed to actually writing it.

Getting the house back to normal hasn't been the fastest after our foray into Christmas. (That being tired thing slows life down quite a bit.) Feeling like I needed to tackle some tasks, I decided to tackle several loads of laundry and the mess that had become my room.

So I announced to the kids, "I'm going to go clean mommy and daddy's room." Mini-E said, "Good luck, Mom. Have fun. See you later."

I laughed the hardest at the "good luck."

As I picked up random socks that have managed to slink under the bed, all the blankets and pillows I did some thinking. What I was doing was cleaning up the mess that happens when the kids play the wii. The end of our bed makes the perfect place for them to sit and play - and the bedding ends up in the floor.

If I made the bed when I got up in the morning, it wouldn't happen. This mess. But I don't like to make my bed. I like it just like I left it. But If I don't make it then the kids mess it up and ...*sigh* It's a catch-22. 

As I was making the bed, I was thinking toward the future. I don't want to go backward to the way things used to be. A bunch of little steps have turned into an interesting journey. But when you're making the little steps, you don't see how far they are actually taking you.

So I considered how much we survived 2011 and I realized:

There is much I want out of 2011. 

For instance:

I want The Professor to have a job where his talents and his skills are appreciated and celebrated - and not squashed, ignored and even frowned upon. 

I want to stop the emotional wars that can seem to come and go, to finally go and stay. It will happen because emotions are unsanctified; but they won't stay that way. 

I want Jack Oy the cat fish to go in and out without injury.

I want there to be joy in the house instead of fights and struggles. (That one may take us longer than the time of 2011)

I really want that agent. If for no other reason than to show myself that I'm not wasting my time. (I have missed sooooo much TV that it's become easier to tell people, "I don't watch TV" than explain to them, "I've made the choice and writing has won.")

Then there are the things that I expect out of 2011.

I expect to move. There. I said it. I'm expecting a move to happen this year. It's going to be a major trust issue with God because I've lived in this particular area forEVER and thinking about moving makes me a little bit uneasy.

I expect to see God move. (ha. Pun.) I expect God to show Himself mighty. Not just bits and pieces here and there...but mighty.

I expect to come out of this last season even stronger than I was going in. 

I expect to be able to walk in confidence but not pride. 

I expect the Professor to get that job. 

2011 is full of lots of days where there is new mercy and new adventures. I want to the ability to enjoy it.

As I was thinking of what I wanted out of 2011, I got to thinking about you. 

What do you want out of 2011?

Lovely to look at!

Since I was in a mood ... a funky mood ...
and felt like writing ... I decided to search around for a new blog look.
Several of my blogging buddies have grabbed some back grounds from Cutest Blog on the Block.
I liked what I saw. But I couldn't find something that was me.

So I paid them.
I warned them -- "I'm like this with the lady who does my hair"
I want quirky, unique - Maybe something denimy because... I am, after all, Comfy Denim.
Colors to go with it?? Maybe Purple??

They read my e-mail.
The didn't respond to tell me - "You're a bit too crazy for us" ... in fact the next thing I heard from them was "What do you think of this?"

The back ground was great! They had a question - Do you want more?

I didn't know.
What did they think??

(Yes. I do this with my hair dresser!)

They sent back a design -- and it was perfect.

Then they sent the banner and I about hurt myself with Glee.

So here's the first post with my new blog-do. and I can't wait to write more.
It's like having a new pad of paper.

Thanks to Lyndzi and the wonderful As yet to be named designer(s).
I love it.

I am a fan of this guy...

I think it's because he's quirky and has managed to break the stereotype. I love it.

He has several videos on YouTube...I chose this one because it's the Birthday on the "Street".

One should not ponder spelling words too deeply

I never know where my thoughts will take me.

Spelling words can be one of the most fun mental train rides for me.
One word can bring a song, a pun, a funny - I just never know.

Today's word that started my mental train along the though track was "daytime".

"If everyone was awake at night, when the sun was not out - would they call it 'daytime'?" I wondered.

Puzzled expressions on the faces of the big kids as they pondered it.

They talked about it in mutters as my train continued down its thought track. It pulled into the station when I heard Mini-Me say, "Plus, when would we sleep?"

Hearing her say that made me smile -- some things are just absolute.

There is a daytime and a nighttime and spelling words should probably not be pondered too deeply.

Things Heard round the Laundry Pile...

Just this evening I was reading a hidden picture book to Bubbles. It's one of those that you lift the flap to reveal the picture.

The hidden picture was a mosquito eating a watermelon.

Bubbles informed me that "Mosquitoes hurt my feelings."

I had no idea...they usually just make me itch.

Speech Therapy can often be the fodder for much said by J-man.
Sometimes though, he's pretty focused on the task at hand.
This last week was not one of those days.

He was working on words that began with the "r" sound.

He told our Therapist that "I want to be a grocery shopper when I grow up."

Our ST thought maybe he meant something like a manager. So she asked him.

He shook his head, "No. I want to be a grocery shopper." then he got this "well, you should know" look on his face. "You know. because I don't want to be an animal rescuer. Because rescuing animals and saving them would be a lot of work." With this supremely austere look on his face, "So I want to be a grocery shopper when I grow up."

He didn't want to hear about the fact that he was a grocery shopper when he went with me to the store. Mostly because he knows that he's pretending to be a spy when he's running down the vacant aisles and rolling on the floor.

He told her again..."I want to be a grocery shopper."

Alrighty then.

Another word at the same session was "Raise".

So he started immediately talking about "Mini-me's game. She can raise people from the dead." -- just so you know, she's playing Final Fantasy XII. (Actually, The Professor is doing MUCH helping in her quest to beat the game. She really, deep down, just wants to watch the movie cut scenes. Though she insists that's not entirely true.)

J-man continued, "She can bring people back if they die - but it's complicated."

Our ST said, "There's only one person I know of that's done that. Do you know who that is?"

J-man said, "Who?"

"Jesus."

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah." long pause "It's complicated."

He's five. I laughed.
We'll talk about it not being complicated another time when it's not in correlation with a video game.

The things we talk about....would probably make people roll their eyes at us - -but it's certainly never dull.

Quotable Moments..

We have our quotable moments around here now and again. I think to myself, "I should blog that before I forget!" I would love to keep a hand written book, but that takes forever to write because I get verbose about it and...

See?!?

Tonight, I took J-man to Target. Just him and me.
Together - no other siblings.

He's going to be 5 on Sunday.

He's going to be 5 on Sunday!!!

He's going to be 5.

We're celebrating his birthday tomorrow. He got some money from Great-Grandma and I decided to let him choose what to buy with it. He is on a total Bat-man kick. TOTAL.

He and G-man have been watching cartoons on a network on line and just loving it.

He picked out a toy and we merrily picked up twizzlers and gummy snacks (for later). We stopped in at a dollar store that newly opened and picked out some really cool balloons for everyone.

We drove home and came to the intersection.

"Hey, we're almost home. I see the McDonald's sign."

"Yep. W are almost home. Good job!"

From the back seat I hear him proclaim,

"Oh, yeah. J-man's a genius."

Location, Location, Location

J-man was standing in a chair today watching me move about the kitchen, doing something. Cleaning?? Maybe. Maybe not. I could have just been shuffling a mess.
Anyway -- he's 4. Going to be 5 in April -- our conversation went like this.

"Mom, do you here every day?"

"Yes, I do." And I got to thinking that sometimes I could feel every minute...and told him

"Every. Day."


"Oh," he said, thoughtfully. I wish I'd looked up to see his face.

"I live in Canada."

Wanted: enemies of the empire...

My boys get action figures. They really enjoy playing with them. They don't enjoy playing with the bad guys. They are unloved, for obvious reasons. They are the bad guys, after all. So it was a bit of a suprise when G-man asked for bad guys to go with his Star Wars: Clone Wars action figures. The store was all out. Not only is Christmas toy season over, but they were doing inventory and reshuffling the store for normal toy selling. (Which means, next to nothing.)

I managed to pick out 1 assassin bot and then some creepy looking action figures from another set that looked very capable for the bad guy role needed.

My goodness!! They got to work right away! They wasted no time in capturing some Clone Soldiers and immediately began questioning them about troop movements and plans.

The CIA reportedly has w*terbo*rding (don't want that creepy search here), Darth Vader has that mystery Drug and the creepy robot, Veggie Tales has the Island of Perpetual tickling. They are NOTHING. NOTHING I tell you compared to the atrocities these foes have put our stalwart Republic Clone troopers through.

It looks like a simple connect four game. But not in the hands of the enemy.
These are now molten hot rocks -- and if the Republic soldiers don't answer the questions... they will suffer.

SUFFER!!

MWAHAHAHAHA!

They refused. And the enemy did what he said he would do...

Of course, we know that the enemy would have dropped the molten rocks - no matter what... but alas.. our troops have suffered a great blow. But this will not hurt morale - it will bolster the men! They will fight on! They must!! Or their comrades have died in vain.

but first - it's lunch time.

Like a cookie..

Just a mommy moment that totally melted my heart.

I took J-man to speech therapy today.
It's been a while since we visited the bathrooms in the building.

As he washed his hands I realized how much he's grown in the time since we started therapy and today..

I said, "You've gotten taller."

He nodded, "'cause I believe God."

"Really?" said I -- wondering how the two connected.

He was so earnest I just grinned and my heart melted - along with my memory. I tried engraving this moment in my brain - but I don't think I succeeded.

He nodded and said - in essence - "You talk to God when you have a bad dream and He changes your bad dream to a good dream." This from the 4 year old with pronoun issues!!

I was just in awe of Him and of God. God's been talking to Him while he's asleep, I think.

He dried his hands - independently, I have to say and kept talking...

.

"So I believe God. And He blesses you ..... Like a cookie."

Sweet.
Very sweet.

Totally had to scoop my heart up and pour it back in.

Costly Consternation...

otherwise known as "How to make a shoe sales man cringe".

My old, worn out shoes.
Be glad it's not a scratch and sniff.

I've known I needed new shoes for a while. When your feet hurt as much as when you wear them as when you don't - it's time for new shoes.

So tonight, I asked the Professor if we could stop by the running shoe store --
(a store that sells running shoes - not a shoe store that is actually running. Just wanted to clear that up - you know, just in case I read this later, when I've had more caffeine. Or, even if you read this later. With or without caffeine.)

I've had really good experiences by buying my shoes at this kind of shoe store. They know exactly what I need when I say, "My ankles roll and I have flat feet."
So we stopped at the one that was along our path - to see if they were open. They were. And in I went. I explained that I needed new shoes, my ankles roll and I have flat feet.

He, turned out it was the owner of the place (don't I feel special), knew exactly what I needed. He checked my old shoes for size and said, "These are Brooks Ascension number something something, that I promptly forgot. They haven't made these since before I opened my store (mumbled in shock) years ago."

I really think he'll be talking about me for days. He put my shoes in the box from whence my new *unsmelly* shoes came with a bit of awe. They either really stunk, or he was just freaked by the fact that they were so old.

I selected two new shoes. One for everyday, one for walking (which I need to get back to) and told him that my old ones would be lawn mowing shoes.

"Yeah, those would be good for that soft surface."
Which was probably a very nice way of saying, "Gooberhead."

It's a woodchuck, after all

I passed by Mini-Me's school papers, and glancing down, saw the word "woodchuck".

I asked her the immortal question about the wood chuck chucking would, if it could.

She grinned at me for being silly.
Then she said, "But it CAN chuck wood, it's a wood chuck, after all."

I just laughed.
It made my day.

Happy New Year!

Sorry About the red eye. The kids have lovely eyes, really.

Happy New Year!
May Your laundry be clean, fresh smelling and always at hand.
May The God of all Creation smile down upon you - and may you see that Smile.
May the New year never be too busy that you can't breathe
May it be filled with love, joy and happiness! In big and small ways.

Wishing you many God kisses,

and a happy new year!

~Comfy~

Merry Christmas, Ya'll!

I am a Kung-Fu Panda

Or maybe the working title should be: Panda-monium?

Kung-Fu Panda was a movie we wanted to see in the theater, but didn't. So when I saw it at the store for less that most of the $19.99 prices, I snagged it and took it home.

We instantly fell in love with it.

As a general rule, the Denim parents aren't into marital art movies. That's my brother's department. What we do like, however, is a good movie.

To me, Kung-fu Panda has it all. Good animation, good action, great plot, identifiable characters and humor.

For those who haven't seen it, let me give a summary. Po, a panda, works for his dad (a goose) in a noodle restaurant. To the dad, Noodles and food are life. Po, on the other hand, dreams of heroes, being a legendary warrior, and kung-fu.

He doesn't want to tell his dad that the "noodle dream" is not shared. We get the impression that Po doesn't think his own dreams are possible. He's clumsy and big. I found it curious that he's the only panda around.

To keep some suspense, I'll try to keep this short, in case you see the movie (or want me to hush).

Through interesting circumstances, Po is chosen to be the "Dragon Warrior". He is taken in to be trained by a red panda named Shifu (excellently voiced by Dustin Hoffman). Shifu has trained "The Furious Five": Mantis, Viper, Tigress, Crane, and Monkey. Po idealizes the Five. Come to find out, Shifu has also trained the bad guy, a snow leopard named Tai Lung.

Shifu and the Furious Five think that a giant mistake has been made in the selection of the clumsy Panda as "Dragon Warrior", by Master Oogway (a very old turtle). As a collective, Shifu and the Five make it a point to let him know. Shifu does everything in his power to discourage him and make him quit. Promising his other students that the panda would quit "or I have failed you all."

Po just doesn't fit in. He doesn't know Kung-fu. He is chided, by Tigress, for thinking that everything "is a joke." Mostly, he's misunderstood because he doesn't fit their picture of what the Dragon Warrior should be. The two biggest issues seem to be that he's clumsy and he's a panda.

In the end, we find out that being himself: good humored and a panda are what really bring him success in the final showdown with the bad guy.

I enjoy this movie. I enjoyed watching it with my kids and listening to them laugh. The animation is fantastic, the voice acting is really quite excellent. I'm a bit surprised at how little dialogue they gave Jackie Chan after all the advertising of him being cast as "Master Monkey" and I don't think voice acting is Jolie's strong suit. But really, those are small points against the movie. If you don't like martial art movies, you might not like this one, but you might be surprised.

There are two lessons to be learned in the movie. Or at least two lessons I can see and tell my kids. I might be the only one to see them. And that's okay.

The first lesson: Be Yourself.
Po, wanted to be "not himself" because he didn't see himself as having much worth. He was comparing himself to The Furious Five who had trained and trained and trained. Whereas, he had not. Po also didn't quite fit in with his dad's noodle dream.

The things that Shifu and the Five didn't like about him, were exactly what he needed to be and have, in order for the final showdown against the bad guy.

Po is given a "Dragon Scroll". The scroll is thought to contain powers that would enable the "Dragon Warrior" to be great. The Professor informed me that this is a nod to some other Kung Fu movies - but it works in this one, too.

Po opens the scroll and sees -- himself. Immediately, They all think it's blank. They think that Oogway really was crazy and mistaken to choose Po as the "Dragon Warrior"
Until his dad tells him the secret to his Secret ingredient soup. There is no secret ingredient.

Po realizes that all he has to do, to fight the bad guy, is to be himself.
At the end, Tai Lung tells Po: "You can't beat me, you're a big, fat panda!"
Po, embracing all that he is says, "Wrong. I'm THE. big. fat. panda."

All he had to do was be himself. This is much the same with God. Me for example...He gave me my quirks. My personality (like it or leave it). My desire to learn, to write.. He's put more desires in my heart - but I don't have to be like someone else in order to do these things. I don't have to be like others that have gone before me. And what's more, others should not expect me to be something I'm not.

To get the job done, I just need to be myself.

I really identify with Po.
I can be a klutz...
I eat when I'm stressed.
I don't fit the mold.
Who knew I was a panda?

Lesson #2 -- There is no secret ingredient. At least, it's not a secret.
There is a secret ingredient in me. But it's really not a secret. More like a partner...and that's Holy Spirit. Without Him, His presence, guidance, teachings, nudgings, I would not be who, what, where I am now.

So, while I talk about (and thoroughly enjoy) the movie's main theme, I have to point this out to the kids. We have to have Holy Spirit in us.

Being ourselves combined with the power and direction of Holy Spirit gives us such potential. We offer what we are and what we have to God and we are capable of fighting the scariest of snow leopards - or whatever else bad guy comes our way.

5 Things I love

Halfmoon Girl passed this on to me. I'm very Grateful that she loves my blog.. we are a mutual admiration society of two. She's a true bloggy friend and we share similar quirks (and the love of quirks).

So What I'm supposed to do is type out 5 things that I love and then tag 5 people. I am notorious about tagging others, so we'll see how that goes.

Since it's the Holiday season, I decided to write 5 things that I love and am grateful for.

1. The Professor.
Seriously, I have to say that I'm most thankful for him. Monday night he came home and cooked dinner so I could go with my brother to see the new Bond movie. The Professor didn't want to go. Then tonight, he ran an errand and came home to find me crying over the pork chops. He asked what was wrong - and all I had to do was point at the radio (with music streaming forth) and he just went about his next task. I could continue on about how he works so I can stay home...but really, He loves me and thinks I'm beautiful. He's God's love on earth to me.

2. Indoor Plumbing.
The Professor's grandfather, now deceased, actually had an outhouse that he used until he could no longer get out there. We don't think of these things very often. I love indoor plumbing. I love that I can turn on the faucet and have water. I love that I don't have to boil water to make it clean. I don't have to boil water to make it hot to bathe in. And I love being able to flush a toilet..and stay inside to potty.

3. Talk Radio.
You can laugh if you want to, I thought of this today. I don't get to listen to Talk Radio a lot any more because I'm supposed to be teaching children when it's on the air. Nevertheless, I'm grateful that they're out there. I'm a Ditto-Head and a fan of Hannity. I admire what they do and the effort they take to do it.

4. Music.
I love music. I am a fan of Harry Connick, Jr. I like Norah Jones. I love the way BB King plays the guitar. I can get lost in the melodies of the classics. I love music.. we shall not get into a discussion as to what is music and what is not - I like what I like. As much as I love music...nothing makes my heart soar like Worship music. Nothing can take my eyes off of the world, the circumstance or myself faster than worship music. Worship music is how Holy Spirit sings over me. To be made to worship is a thrilling concept.

Finally - but not least ...

5. Grace.
God's grace. I am a mom in Grace.
Ya'll, without God's grace - I'm totally and completely nothing.

So there ya go..
5 things I love and am grateful for.

To tag 5 people I'll choose 5 blogs that I love --
with the understanding that there is no requirement to blog -- just sharing some lovin'...

Classic Mama
CoffeeMom (She's already played along...but I don't
care.)
Livin'Life
AppleLeaf
Gang's All Here

I have more that I love - but had to narrow down to 5. So there's a sampling...I could list all the blogs that I love and all the things that I love but we'd be here too long and we all have more important things to do, I'm sure.

A different form of Normal...

Not every day is a fun day here in the laundry pile. Here lately, I've felt like our bad days have numbered our good days. That is the short version.

Then, one day, I remembered something somebody praying over me. The word came forth that, somehow, I'd gotten an idea in my head of how I thought the kids should behave, act, whatever.

So -- when that memory came back to me the other day, peace followed.

On a random trip to w*l-m*art, on our way out, I started looking at the uniqueness of my kids.

Mini-me dressed up for her day.

Mini-E dressed up like a 'pincess' for her day.
It's a wrap around skirt from a dress up kit.
What you can't see under the jacket, is the sleeve lace that was on her arm.

J-man, the wookie, had too much fun being incognito.
Seriously, TOO much fun.
You can tell it -- but he's giggling.

And G-man, the superspy, likes using the rarely used 5th door of our van.
In his camo, he practices his spy moves by going over the back of the seat.

So, in order to break the imaginary molds I some how created, we've got to embrace the uniqueness of the individual.

Of course, being a quirky mom helps - but I've got to remember to embrace my uniqueness, too.
It's made me wonder what this might do to our schooling... I wonder how many more books will I end up owning.
Then I realize, I don't care.
I love books.

The writing on the hand....

Just for you Linda, Jane and Toby --

I just love you guys. I tried to recreate...

When you don't have post-it notes available, what's a better thing to post a note on but your hand?

Sopapillas

Sunday, we tried something new. We tried to make sopapillas to go with dinner. It was an interesting concept. I took on the project, as the Professor was making his own nachos variation. I looked up some recipes on line and barged right in.

I mixed up the dough - and had two batches. The second batch actually worked better than the first. Rolled out the dough - it was much like dumplings. :-) Fried Dumplings. We needed enough to go around - so I cut them into squares.

Aren't they pretty? I know, not really, they're just dough.

In my reading on the subject of sopapillas, I found someone's wisdom that said to make sure the oil was HOT enough...otherwise you're just boiling the little dumplin's in oil. Since we tend to be a bit ren. faire - ish, that brought a giggle to me.

Dumpling invaders!! Drop the Hot oil on 'em!!

I was really glad the little kids were asleep.

They are supposed to drop to the bottom:
And then pop back up. I loved this part. It was just fun. That was the other thing I read, you had to have enough oil for them to bob to the bottom and pop back up.

I realize I'm easily amused. I can't help it - it was fun.
The recipes I found on-line mentioned nothing of the cinnamon and sugar that made these fried bread thingys into sweet stuff -- so apparently sopapillas are fried bread and essentially, I made cinnamon toast.

After they puff up, which doesn't take long bobbing in that hot oil, I scooped them out and dumped them in a cake pan with cinnamon/sugar mix (that the Professor mixed up for me.)

Then we have this final product. They were quite the hit - even without honey.

I was really glad I tried this with the Professor around. I would not have tried this experiment with the little kids around.

It was good for the day though.

My new bracelet...

This is what I bought at the fun night that Mini-me and I had.
J-man was not doomed. He's quite fine. He's lovely in fact.

The Blue one is new, it's the one I knew I had to have.
The silver one was a gift from my hubby a Christmas or two ago.
I am now not without either one.