It Just Doesn't Make "Census"

Has everyone filled out their census forms and returned them? Have you? Have you?

No, I'm not being paid by the Census Bureau to make this public service announcement, but I wouldn't mind dipping in to a little of that cash cow. Have you noticed how much they have spent on advertising alone?! It's unbelievable.

First there were the ads during the SuperBowl. These humorous ads featured, if not A list stars, at least recognizable faces planning a way to contact and count every person in America. Then there were the more serious, boring ads asking questions like "How will we know where to build new hospitals or where to put new roads if we don't know how many people live there?"

Next I started noticing big banners on all of the courthouses in various counties around here. Then the banners started appearing in other places around town. When I dropped my kids off at school there was a poster on the door encouraging me to take 10 minutes to answer 10 questions that would help us for the next 10 years. The doctor's office, grocery store and movie theatre displayed the same flyers.

Next began the mailing campaign. I got a letter in the mail reminding me that my census form would be coming soon and that I should fill it out and send it back in. Well, duh! Finally I got the long awaited, much talked-about census form and I sat down to fill it out. Since they promised it would only take me 10 minutes to fill out the 10 questions I decided to time myself.

It took me 4 minutes and 9 seconds to fill out the entire form. It was way more than 10 questions because after the initial ten I then had to fill out the information for the 4 other members of my household, but still, it wasn't difficult or time consuming or even aggravating. I didn't need a special pen or even a stamp. I stuffed it in the provided envelope, licked it and threw it back in to the mailbox. So simple.

So why are people not filling them out? Why do we have to spend millions of dollars on advertising to convince people that they really need to do this? And the biggest question of all...

Why doesn't the Census Bureau just get all of this information off of our income tax forms?

I don't get it. I guess communication between government agencies is more than we can ever hope for. So please, just fill out the blasted form and send it back in so that in 2020 they won't have to waste a gazillion dollars convincing us to do it again.

Happily Ever After

Thoughts while I watched:

You'd think a guy like Whidmore could get better help than this Zoe chick. She seems completely incompetent.

Now I know the world is turned upside down. Whidmore and Desmond are buddies!!

And....Charlie and Desmond are together again. Yay!

Maybe not. Whoa! Didn't see that car crash coming. Too weird.

I really wish Charlie had some hair.

Mrs. Whidmore is.....Eloise, of course. (Guessed that one.) And she's still just as mysterious as always.

Kinda figured Daniel was Whidmore's son too. Still love him as much as ever.

Desmond meets Penny on the stairs where he met Jack. Cool!

So now Desmond thinks he's there to undo what Daniel did when he set off the bomb?

Is Desmond's nose going to start bleeding again now?

Oh no, now Desmonds going to "show" everyone why they aren't living their real lives? How many times do these poor people have to be harassed into going back to this island?

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread

For our Easter dinner yesterday I contributed devilled eggs (of course) and this homemade bread. It was a new recipe that I found at Confections of a Foodie Bride. She claimed that it was the best wheat sandwich bread around. A little sweet and very soft, not dense. She was right.



We all thought the bread was super delicous. The only problem was that the recipe makes a huge amount of dough. So much that it completely overflowed the loaf pan and hung over the sides in big flaps of dough that ended up burning to a crisp. But, after we cut the flaps off the rest of the bread was wonderful. If I make this bread again I will divide the dough in to two smaller loaf pans instead of shoving all in to one big pan as suggested in the directions.



Whole Wheat Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread



1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup water

2 tsp + 2 Tbsp agave (divided)

2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (extra light)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt


Set aside 1/4 cup rolled oats. Place the remaining oats into a medium bowl. Cover with boiling water. Mix with spoon and let sit uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.


Whisk 1 tsp agave with 1/4 cup of warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add soaked oats, buttermilk, oil, 2 Tbsp agave, both flours, and salt. With hook attachment, mix on low speed to combine, then increase speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. Dough will be wet and cling to hook, but have a satiny finish.


Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm area for 1 hour, the dough will almost double in size.


Place dough onto a floured surface and flatten it with your hands, releasing excess air bubbles. Form dough into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle and position it so that a long side is facing you. Fold the 2 short ends onto the top so they meet in the middle. Starting with the closest end, roll dough away from you into a log. Let loaf rest on its seam for a few minutes.


Transfer loaf to an oiled 10-inch loaf pan, pressing dough into the corners. Mix remaining agave with 1/2 tsp very hot water. Brush over the top of the loaf and sprinkle with the remaining oats. Let sit for 35-45 minutes, until loaf rises just over the top of the pan.



While loaf is proofing, preheat oven to 385. Bake for 1 hour and allow to cool completely before cutting.

This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays and Tuesdays at the Table.

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter yesterday and enjoyed a nice time with family and friends. For all of you that didn't get an Easter card in the mail from me this weekend (and I only sent out about 15 so there are a lot of you) here is your belated Easter greeting........

Down on the Farm

Well, we've officially lost our minds. We've invested in livestock. We've started "farming".



For a couple of years now Brian and Ryker have wanted to try raising chickens. We've always decided against it for one reason or another (no good pen, the dog will eat them, too much work, we have no idea how to raise chickens, etc.) but this time I guess the temptation was just too strong.



The kids were all gone for the weekend when Brian and I went in to the local farm store. We saw all those cute little baby chicks and decided it would be the best surprise ever for the kids if they came home and found the little guys all snuggled up in our garage. We finally decided to bite the bullet and buy them when we saw the price, 5o cents. We got seven. So even if we accidentally kill them all off in the first week we'd only be out $3.5o. Why not?



We were right. The kids were thrilled and really surprised. They absolutely love them and they actually argue over who gets to feed them and clean their box and give them their water. We've enjoyed watching them grow over the last week and we are eagerly awaiting our first batch of fresh eggs, due to be layed sometime in August or September.



So far they all seem healthy and happy. They are all eating and drinking and pooping as they should be. We might just keep them all alive after all. And the dog? Well, he could care less that they are around. He doesn't even give them a second glance. Of course they are living in a box right now, that might change when they are running around outside all day. He is a border collie after all, so I'm not sure how long he'll be able to repress is chasing instinct. That remains to be seen.



So, I would like to introduce you to the newest addition to our family. The chicks.....

Bread Pudding

originally posted April 4, 2008

Bread Pudding is the epitome of frugality. My Grandma taught me how to make this as a little girl and she told me that it originated during the depression and was called “poor man’s dessert” because it was a dessert you could make even if you didn’t have flour or other fancy ingredients. All you need is bread, eggs, milk and sugar and you’ve got one of the most moist and delicious desserts (more like a cake, don't let the name fool you) you’ll ever taste. Add the butter sauce and it is really decadent.

This is a great way to use up stale bread, hot dog or hamburger buns. I personally save the heels from all of my loaves of bread (my kids won’t eat them) and freeze them until have I an entire loaf of bread made from heels. When the bread sack is full I make Bread Pudding.

Grandma’s Bread Pudding with Butter Sauce

2/3 cup sugar
2 cups milk2 t. vanilla
3 eggs, beaten

Fill a 9 X 9 square pan to heaping with stale bread torn into bite sized pieces. Mix all ingredients and dump over bread. Mix well. (It works best to use your hands to really squish the liquid into all of the bread.) Bake at 325 for one hour.

Butter Sauce

¼ cup butter
2 T. sugar2 T. flour
½ t. vanilla1 cup boiling water

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Mix in flour and sugar. Add liquids, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil over low heat and stir until thickened. Let cool and refrigerate.

The Bread Pudding and the Sauce are delicious warm, but even two days later the Bread Pudding will be soft and moist. The sauce will congeal in the refrigerator so you will need to heat it each time you use it.

For more great recipes head over to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

Manic Monday

Hair-dos

This has been a brutal winter for Kinley. Her hair is getting so long that it is a complete nest of static-y tangles. The screaming matches we go through every time I have to comb it are horrendous. I had to step in with an intervention!

That's when my friend Carrie introduced me to the blog It's a Girl Thing. This lady has two little girls and she does the most adorable, complicated, beautiful hair-dos on them all of the time. She then proceeds to post step by step instructions and pictures to illustrate how to accomplish each style. It's awesome!

I've been scouring the site for styles that will control Kinley's hair, keep it from getting all tangled and still look cute and girly. I was resorting to double inside out french braids or simple ponytails most of the time, but now I've got a whole repertoire of exciting new hair-dos. Here are three that I've done (and remembered to take pictures of):

This is the first one I tried. It is just two inside out french braids on the top half of her head. They then crossover into two messy buns on the opposite side. So simple and so cute.

Next, I switched up to three inside out french braids going in to one messy bun in the back. This time I left the braids in and just let them be a part of the bun as well. I really like this one.

Most recently I tried a "headband". It's basically making a head band out of hair instead of putting in some kind of fabric or elastic headband that will fall out all day long. This one consists of a puffy braid headband all the way around the head.Then at the bottom in the back it branches off in to two pigtails.
People keep asking me how I get her to hold still for all of these 'dos. It's simple: #1: She is a girly girl, so she loves getting new fancy hair-dos. #2: Dora is on TV 53 times a day. 'Nuff said.

When we get the styles finished she loves to use my hand mirror and check it out. Her reaction:

Beyond Lost

Well, for the first time this season I have the time, opportunity and motivation to review last night's episode of LOST and I don't even know what to say. I am beyond lost. I am not even on the map...of course neither is the island. But here is what I think, as flawed as it may be:

The bad vs. evil theme is becoming more and more prominent. Richard's backstory last night (finally!) was proof enough of that. BTW, two great examples of priests, huh? Geesh! Anyway, I didn't believe The Man in Black story about Jacob being the devil for one minute. I knew he was just manipulating Richard the same we he has manipulated Ben, Whidmore, Locke and others. I don't think Man in black is the devil either though. It just doesn't make sense.

I think that it is more likely that Man in Black is the head demon and Jacob is the head angel. Neither one of them has enough power to be the actual Devil or God. And God is a pretty tough customer but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't beat some poor guy to a pulp and try to drown him. We haven't seen the end of this eternal battle on the island yet. It almost seems like a Garden of Eden set up or something. Weird.

So here is what I think. Jacob and Blackie are stuck on this island running their little original sin experiment and the Dharma Initiative people show up and start recruiting and bringing people to the island in droves. Great for the experiment. The Dharma people run their own human and animal experiments, not realizing the supernatural battle that they are participating in as well. It all goes to pieces when Ben murders them all and joins up with The Others and starts running the island. Jacob banishes Whidmore, for reasons that are still unclear, maybe just because he is "no longer a candidate", and lets Ben think he is in charge until Locke shows up and he uses him instead. However, it almost seems like Blackie has been using Ben and, obviously, Locke, not Jacob. I think Blackie was using Jacob as an excuse just like he did when talking to Richard. So confusing.

On another note, as a Spanish teacher/speaker it was fun to have an entire episode almost spoken in Spanish, and it was great to see Richard's heartbreaking backstory. I'm now waiting for more of Ilana's story. Why ask someone in a bodycast in the hospital on death's door to be a bodyguard for 6 other people? Once again...weird, but I'm sure there is a perfectly logical reason for it all, right? I also have no idea how the alternate reality where there is no plane crash fits in to all of this, if it does at all. Wow, they've got a lot to wrap up in just 7 little episodes. But I've got faith they can do it....I think.

What do you think?

Culinary Inspiration

Unfortunately I have no recipes to share today. I haven't been very inspired lately and I haven't had many occasions to make anything impressive either. I need some culinary inspiration. When I need a good idea or a fun recipe I have several blogs that I go to. Maybe you'll find them helpful too.

I already mentioned 17 and Baking and Brown Eyed Baker last week, but here are the others I commonly search:

Annie's Eats: Her most recent posts feature Shrimp Scampi, Blueberry Scones, Island Spice Pork Tenderloin, Yeasted Doughnuts and Italian Bread.

Proceed with Caution: This blog features "Clean Eating" recipes. Recipes that use whole foods (not processed) and ingredients that provide lots of nutrition for your body. Her most recent posts include Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie Cake, Black Eyed Pea Stew, Jalepeno Poppers, Pumpkin French Toast and Cinnamon Honey Ice Cream. Nutritional information is listed at the end of each post.

Bake at 350: This lady is no ambitious home cook. She's a professional. Her cookies are phenomenal. She can make a cookie look like a computer, a shoe, a diamond ring or a mug of root beer. She is like the Ace of Cakes, um, but of cookies. I rarely make anything from her site but I love to look at them. If you ever need an idea for a party theme you've got to see this blog.

Baking Bites: is a very educational baking blog. It combines recipes with product reviews, cookbook giveaways and political (ban on baked goods in schools) discussions. You can go there right now and find out how to make your very own Girl Scout cookies. Yep, she's got the secret recipes for Samoas, Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, and Tagalongs right there on her home page. I've got to try some of those.

Dinner & Dessert: I've recently started following this blog. I have to say that it is more dessert than dinner, but that's just the way I like it. :) Recently she has posted recipes for Dulce de Leche cookies, Chocolate Bailey's Cheesecake, Black Bean Squash Burritos, Chocolate Chip Muffins and Irish Cream Truffle Fudge.

Joy the Baker: This site is a little more gourmet than the others I frequent and the photography is as impressive as the recipes. Recently she has shared her recipes for Broiled Grapefruit with Brown Sugar and Ginger, Homemade Caramel Corn, Poppyseed Cake with Blueberry Glaze, Little Lemon Hazelnut Cakes and written an ode to her box grater, oh, and moved. She is busy baking lady.

Now, I'm hungry. Uh-oh. I'm seeing samoas in my future. :)