Ice Cream Bread

Remember the old commercials for rice crispy treats, where the mom shoos everyone out of the kitchen and pretends that it's super hard to make them, but she will sacrifice and slave away for her family? This sweet bread is quite yummy and twice, no 3x, no 4x, as easy as rice crispy treats. My sis Kris told me to look it up on Pinterest, which I then binged.

Anyways, here's the recipe. I used strawberry ice cream. Delish!!

2 Cups Ice Cream, any flavor, softened
1 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray and flour a 8 x 4 loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl mix the ice cream and flour together until just combined.
Scoop into the loaf and and smooth out.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the loaf comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it.
Remove from the pan and allow to cool (if you can wait that long!).

For best results, use full fat ice-cream. (I also made my own self rising flour: For every cup of flour add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.)

The Importance of Being Earnest

Reverend Chausable, on being informed that someone died in Paris: "In Paris? I fear that does not point, at the end, to a very serious state of mind."

Facetime

Kincade calls, or we call, and Facetime with the ggrrls quite often. It must have been so sad thoout history when people moved, crossing an ocean, or a continent, or even just a few states, and that ended contact with families except for rarely a letter. Another pic of my family, just to remind myself of how much I love them, and am so thankful that we can get together often.

Each person has their own unique personality, and I appreciate each personality so much. And this year we get to add baby Hattie.

 

 

Earthing

This something new that Squirt has discovered - walking on Mother Earth with your bare feet.

Grounding: The Overlooked Benefit of Going Barefoot

While much of the debate between the barefoot and the shoed-foot focuses on the potential for injury, another often overlooked aspect is grounding. The technique of grounding, also known as earthing, is simple: you walk barefoot to "ground" with the Earth. The scientific theory behind the health benefits seen from this simple practice is that your body absorbs negative electrons from the Earth through the soles of your feet.

Lots more in the article she sent me, but this is the jist of it.
She had mom earthing while she stayed with her, and mom was walking much better.
Squirt and I both have problems with static electricity, we are very shocky people. Squirt said this has really helped her problem with static electricity.
I earthing everyday since she told me (or at least try to), but I'm a "always have something on my feet" type of person. I have to consciously remember to go out on the grass without shoes. I quite like it.

This is actually the golf course off our deck in Philly, but I just wanted to show a pic of Mother Earth and Nature. Being out in nature, seeing the trees and plants and flowers, wildlife, little creeks, rivers, rocks, really does renew my soul. So I think if I partake of it even more by having contact with the earth with my bare feet, it will be even better.

What to do for ringing ears

This is why I tell everyone about my ringing ears: My VTers just came over, were asking me about myself and I told them my whole sad tale. It turns out, one of the women also has ringing ears. She has had it for 10 years and told me how she deals with it:

• acupunture does work for her, lessens the ringing for a few days
• biofeed back - doing things like humming or singing
• tapping on my body in certain places, releasing chakras (need to do more research on this to really understand it)
• another exc involving moving my head to the left, right, standing up, sitting down, moving my arms - this will shift the crystals in my ears (sister Cheryl talked about this)
• doesn't eat gluten or sugar (said she went from a size 20 to a size 13 doing this)

I will certainly be trying all of these things, except for the acupunture. Well, maybe I will go to her person if she doesn't charge a lot.

Snorkeling on Owens Pond

Scott insisted we get him a snorkel on the first day he was here. Luckly, the HEB could help us out. Then on Fri 2 huge dragonfly-like things kept dive bombing us. One was black, looked like a mutant horsefly with a dragonfly tail, and was the worst. Scott tried hitting him with the noodle, then went to throwing the plastic balls (he got the black one a few times), finally we brought out the big guns. Poison! He squirted it and got them a few times. Finally they left us in peace.

Lee and Emily, Scott's Utah friends stationed at Fort Hood, came over yesterday and we swam and had dinner (Cafe Rio pork, delish).

Scott is now a fan of the HEB, Rudy's, and Torchy's.
It was fun having them.

Something is eating me (and then I ate something)

I pulled weeds on Mon evening and got 4 bites. I pulled weeds yesterday and got one. Either that or a thorn or something on the grass or weeds is getting me. Itches like crazy. I need to remember to wear gloves. Our lawn is looking so much better than when we bought the house.

Picked up Scott and Jessica yesterday at 1ish. I had to park in the H lot (meaning it was a looong way away) and take a shuttle. If I weren't committed to going into the airport to meet and greet I would have waited in the cell phone lot. Also if I had known what a zoo finding the parking spot and catching the shuttle would be. But I actually enjoy those types of little contretemps of life. Others not so much, but for some strange reason that type of thing I find fun.

Getting the shuttle to get back to H lot wouldn't have been so bad, but the shuttles were marked, also as to locations to catch them, but what we didn't know was that the markings mean nothing. All the shuttles go to all the lots. Plus right when we were trying to catch a shuttle, herds of people were doing the same. Finally on the 3rd shuttle, which was empty, we got spots to ride.

Ate dinner at Rudy's, which Scott loved. They do have good BBQ meat, their briskett and ribs are melt in your mouth good.

Scribbled teeth

I went to my dentist yesterday, who is also my next door neighbor, to have my teeth cleaned and the crown put back on permanently. We talked about the ringing in my ears. He told me my bite was all "haywire," very messed up, very crazy. Also, all my fillings are deteriorating and need to have something done.We went over again all the professionals I have seen; he wants me to see another dentist, this one specializing in TMJ and dental occlusion. Bruce (my dentist) doesn't want to do anything with my teeth (he even popped off the crown and put it back on temporarily, not permanently) until I have seen this new guy and he gives his opinion on what needs to be done with my messed up mouth and bite.

I told him that just the little I had been holding my mouth open had caused my jaws to start trembling a little. He said, Yes, your jaws are just not finding a comfortable way to sit. He thinks (hopes?!!) that this new guy can get my bite back to a normal position, my jaws will like it, my ears will like it, and they will stop ringing.

So off to another professional. I think I will cancel the MRI for sure. This isn't caused by a benign growth putting pressure on my "8th nerve" (which they won't do anything about anyway) so I see no need to go, either putting myself thro it or having the insurance company have to pay it.

On a different subject, we have been getting a lot of rain. On Mon evening I was out in the grass and dumped some water out of one of my big plant pots, picking up a pile of dirt that had run out also. When I came in I realized something had bitten me on my hand and ankle. By morning my ankle had swollen and I counted 3 bites. In between my index and 3rd finger, also a bite. All itched like crazy, I put lots of Purification Oil on them. This morning, Wed, still swollen, still itching.

Mermaids and fish

We swam every day, usually twice, total of about 5 hours a day. Paige loved it because it took the  pressure off her back. The ggrrls spashed happily around; when Macy got bored she had toys and played on the beach area, on the steps, and the side of the pool. We used 1/2 stick of sunscreen and 1 can of spray on (I love the spray on), attesting to our pooltime. Papaw did play poolboy when he was around, fetching drinks, toast, and other goodies.

We also went shopping, found some great deals (40% off the already sale price at Old Navy when you use your Old Navy/Banana Republic credit card).

A morning at a park wasn't so great; got there at 10:00, which meant the equipment was already getting hot (104* that day), plus they had used pea gravel as the playground cover and the ggrrls, especially Macy, kept getting it in their sandals and didn't like it.

On Sat Kincade and Rick weren't so keen on staying in the pool for 5 hrs. Paige and I decided they weren't up for our style of fun.

Flying to Austin

Both ggrrls love to fly. Paige and I were adding it up - Stella has flown 9 times in her 5 years of life. This was taken on our trip to Austin on July 6. Lucky Papaw was sitting with both ggrrls - Paige and I had time to read!

Babysitting

This morning both of the ggrrls were up and eating brkfast, the doorbell rang at 8:30. I was still in my robe, crazy hair, considered not answering it but I did. It was my new neighbor across the street holding her little 1 yr old son, and crying. They have 2 dogs and one dog needed to get to the vet right away and she wanted to know if I would watch the little boy. Of course I said yes. She said her mom would get here in about 30 min to take the little boy.

As soon as she left he started cyring. Stella and Macy were so concerned; they asked me why the boy was crying. Soon Macy offered her pacifier to the "crying boy." Quite sweet, especially since she really likes her pacifier. They were both bringing him toys and doing things to make him laugh.

Really tiny movie

Yesterday afternoon Paige and I went shopping with the ggrrls. I had the GPS on, as I usually do. Soon we heard Macy say, "I can't see the tiny movie" meaning the GPS.

Kayaking on Lake Daybreak

This morning Rick and I met Alyona and Chris at his townhouse. We checked out 2 2-man kayaks and went kayaking for an hour. Really fun, got our bums really wet. Then we walked over to a little bakery and ate a bakery treat.

Rick and I like Daybreak a lot. That community is highest on our list of where to move.

Chris and Alyona

Chris baptized Alyona in Ukraine, and they have kept in touch. She has been living in the States for the past 4 years, 2 1/2 in SLC (or thereabouts) and 1 1/2 in Seattle, where she has a year left on a master's degree. She met Chris and Jason in Las Vegas and drove up with Chris back in May. So they decided she would visit him this week. Jason says, He's a fool if he lets this one get away!! Rick and I concur.