April

Put me in Bubble Wrap, Please

Just put me in bubble wrap, please. Seriously… My middle name should be Grace because I’m as “graceful” as they come. My dad likes to tease me that I took all those years of ballet lessons and am as clumsy as they come. I guess if the shoe fits, lace that puppy up and wear it.

My aunt and uncle have a hot tub and Abug was begging to get in it since she couldn’t get in their swimming pool. Way to cold for the pool. So Saturday evening we all got in the hot tub with her. At about 20 minutes, we sent the girls in to shower/get dressed in jammies. Hubby and I decided I’d give Tbug about 10 minutes and then I’d go in. He’d give me about 5 and he’d shortly follow.

At about 10 minutes I went to get out of the hot tub. That was my first mistake. AC has a 2 step stool to get in and out of the hot tub with. I stepped on the first step, stepped on the second step, put my foot on the concrete and that was my second mistake. I felt the puddle of water on the concrete and thought dang, it’s a little slick. Then I proceeded to put my weight on my left leg… the third mistake. It went all downhill after that… literally. (more…)

The Rolls Debacle

One of my absolute favorite things to do is to cook. I’m pretty calm, cool, and collected when I’m in the kitchen, even under semi stressful situations. So let me paint this picture. Do you see the rolls above? They look pretty good, right? Well, they didn’t always look that way. Oh no…

We celebrated Easter this year with my aunt and uncle down at their house in Oklahoma. By the way, I LOVE my aunt’s kitchen. If someone wants to grant me a wish, I want her kitchen please! Anyway… I was going to make the rolls on Thursday before we went down on Friday, but AC told me to use her kitchen. Probably best, because trying to travel with bread wouldn’t have been all that easy.

So I woke up Saturday morning (we did Easter on Saturday since we had to travel home on Sunday) and started in on the rolls. I chose Pioneer Woman’s Clover Leaf Rolls from her Thanksgiving episode. It’s basically the same dough she uses for her cinnamon rolls. And I absolutely LOVE that dough recipe.

Everything was going according to schedule. Milk, Sugar, and oil on the stove to heat up just below boiling point. Cool off. Add Yeast. Dump mixture into flour, let rise for about an hour. Pull off in walnut sized chunks. Place three to a muffin cup. Let rise second time. Bake. Eat. Enjoy. Yum!

Or so I thought. AC ran out of flour in her jar so I yanked a bag out of the freezer. Mistake potential number 1. Then I spent a little time measuring it while my milk mixture was cooling. When I tested the mixture, it seemed a little cooler than normal. Mistake potential number 2. When I added the milk/yeast mixture to the cold flour, placed a teatowel over it, and went on about my business. I’m sure I allowed them to rise way over an hour because I forgot to set a timer for myself or make note of when I set them aside. (more…)

Saturday Night

Saturday afternoon we gathered up my parents and took them down to Branson to go on the Showboat Branson Belle.  We got there a bit early so we went on into Branson and down to the landing.  Now if you might recall back on February 29, 2012, Branson got hit by a tornado.  There was some damage and one of the restaurants we ate at one time is totally gone :(.  But Branson looks like they are recovering.  Although the Hilton there on the Landing is very sad looking.

While at the landing we caught the water show that plays every hour.  Super cool.  It was to the song “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas.

 

 

Then we left the Landing and headed for our hotel with enough time to check in, take our luggage to the room and then head to the Showboat Branson Belle Dock.

 

 

 

The dinner cruise left at 8pm.  They start boarding the ship 1 hour prior to departure.

Don’t let my mom shoot me for including this picture please!!!

So we went in, found our seats

and then headed out on deck to snap a few photos.

 

 

Horrid picture but whatever, it’s one of the two of us 🙂

 

 

About the time we should have been departing we went back inside and were greeted with the musical wonders of Faith Academy Concert Choir from Mobile Alabama.

They sang beautifully.  Now a rant on my part… They opened with the National Anthem, ok fellow Americans, when the national anthem plays, you stand, stop what you’re doing, face a flag if there is one, place your hand over your heart, men – take your hats off, and you honor our country and the men and women present & past who are defending your right to freedom.  End rant.

Dinner was fabulous!  A cornbread muffin biscuit thing, pot roast, chicken, potatoes, beans, and a frozen berry lemon tart for dessert.

Then there is a 30 minute break to roam around the ship, use the restroom, whatever before the show starts.

 

 

 

 

The show was spectacular, just as it was in November.

So if you ever make it to Branson, I would say, Go on the Showboat Branson Belle! 🙂