A month in review...

Have you looked back through your pictures in your phone recently? Do you relive those memories? All those good times caught in a still frame. I was transferring photos to my laptop to be saved. So much happening in the past month. Good and bad. 

Sharing a laugh with my princess on October 5th. Her personality is addicting. So outgoing and smartalic at times. There's no doubt, she's my daughter. 

On October 7th, I took my oldest to the prescreening for Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. We don't get a lot of one on one time, so I try to make it count. 

October 8th we went shopping and decided to play dress up in Targets halloween section. Don't scoff. You know you wish you were doing that too. 

October 11th, we went to the Star Wars Lego build at Toys R Us. Not a bad mini Ghost Ship, huh? 

The 25th was my oldest sons 6th birthday. We went to Bootacular and had a small party with my in laws. 

He's growing faster with every passing year. 

On the 29th, I worked my last shift with this goofball. He wasn't at our store long, but "Clydesdale" was definitely one of my favorite coworkers. 

On October 30th, I went to a job interview with the Lego Store. I designed and built a "set" that described me somehow. 

Creative yet detailed. 

Halloween involved free donuts, trick or treating at the Lego Store as well as in my in laws neighborhood. 

So why am sharing all this? Because I think everyone needs a dip in the fun memories from time to time. Relive the past month. Would you change anything? Did you learn or grow? 

Remember that the past was once the present, shaping the future. 

AND HAVE FUN WHILE YOU LIVE IT! 

Feast brings cute, wordless fun. Enjoy!

Disney has a penchant for making funny "Short" films. Their newest one is called Feast. Watch how time passes with a puppy finding an owner... dealing with the "woman"... and then reuniting the two when things go sour.


Don't forget some of these other titles, coming soon.

Into the Woods brings several fairy tales to life but connects them together.


Tomorrowland. Not really sure how to describe this one just yet, but it has George Clooney, so I'm sold!

Big Hero 6 movie review

This was an amazing movie! Great graphics, comedic moments, and family-friendly. I took my 4 1/2 year old with me to see the prescreening.

Hiro Hamada lives with his older brother and Aunt. Their parents passed away when Hiro was very young. Now that he's a teenager, he's prone to getting into trouble. Particularly when it comes to Bot Fighting (robot fights). His older brother comes to his rescue and their Aunt bails them out when things go too far.
Both Hamada boys are science geeks. Tadashi is in school, putting his brains to good use building medical robots for the future. He designs and builds Baymax, a personal medical robot. Baymax responds to "Ow" and makes you better with his huggable, tech-filled self and won't stop his care until you are "satisfied with your care".
Hiro Hamada, however, has a penchant for getting in trouble and skipping school. His older brother sees potential though, and he intends to show Hiro where he could go if he applied himself better. Hiro is a natural born, robotics prodigy. His mind is sharp, his inventions are innovating.
Tadashi shows Hiro where he goes to school at a big university with a large laboratory for developing technology. Imagine a place where the future is born. That would be this University! And the things that Hiro witnesses, has him changing his tune. Tadashi introduces Hiro to his fellow classmates. Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred and Go Go Tomago. Each one has their special gifts. They show him a world of possibilities that has him wanting to pass on Bot Fighting. He enters the contest for showing off his abilities and reasons why he should be chosen and given a scholarship to the University. He creates a project that has eyes popping. All using mini bots. Millions of them. And all controlled by his neuro system. But just as he given the future in the form of a white envelope and things seem to be going along gloriously, there is a tragic accident at the show. Flames claim the life of someone Hiro holds dear in the attempt at saving a professor. Tadashi's world is plunged into sadness. He doesn't know how to go on or how to proceed with his future. His aunt tries to push him into still enrolling in the University. His brothers friends are continuously reaching out to Hiro. Then Baymax comes back into the picture. Hiro didn't realize that his older brothers invention had so much potential until a single "ow" wakes him up.
A series of events uncovers a sinister and dangerous plot that plunges Hiro into crime-fighting and maybe even revenge mode. He recruits the four friends from the University and transforms them all into the Big Hero 6 group that will save the world, starting with San Fransokyo.
This movie was fantastic. Its family-friendly, funny, and touches the heart. Hiro learns what true friendship is. He learns to deal with heartache and move on in a positive way. I definitely recommend this one!

Check it out for yourself and enjoy! http://www.disney.com/BigHero6


 

Chicken étouffée recipe

The weather is changing and cold fronts are moving in. With this, warmer foods are far more pleasurable. One of my favorite recipes is Chicken Etouffée. Its a Cajun tradition that my family ate more often when we were around my Nana and Papa. While I haven't mastered it like they had, I'd like to think that I came close. My children and even my picky husband enjoy it from time to time. Bon appetit!

You will need:

3 large chicken breasts
Any spices you want (I use oregano and garlic)
Oil (about 3-4 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
Onions chopped (how much you want. I use about half an onion)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
Fresh garlic if you want (I use powder)
2 cups of chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (I add mine to my food and not to the whole pot, and its more than 1 teaspoon)
1 bunch of green onions, trimmed and chopped

 You will need to cook rice to eat with it, so make however much your family uses.

Time to cook!
Cut each chicken breast into strips then season with your spices. Heat a large, heavy, covered pot over medium-high heat until it is hot. Then add a couple spoons of oil until it's hot (lightly bubbling). Add chicken and cook until light brown. Put the chicken aside and add the rest of the oil.
Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly until it's a golden brown. (3-5 minutes) This is your roux. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic - stirring for 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the browned chicken to the pan.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken is tender. Skim any fat from the surface, then stir in the green onions. Serve hot over cooked rice.

***I enjoy it spicy. Adding hot sauce, or even red pepper to give it some tang is always a plus.

 Serves 8, though you can certainly freeze portions to be used later.

Wreaths Across America

Its that time of year again. A time when wreaths are purchased by sponsors and donors to lay across the graves of our fallen military heroes. This event is held before Christmas. The Mayport Naval Sea Cadets Corps has been dedicated to this ceremony for several years now. Sadly, the number of wreaths they have been able to provide has been dwindling as the number of graves is on the rise. Our World War 2 veterans have been dying in larger numbers with each passing year. Last year alone the Mayports Cadets had about 1200 more graves than the year before. The only way to ensure that every grave gets a wreath is through sponsorship or donations. Being a former Cadet Instructor for the Mayport group, I plan to direct my own donations to them.

Our heroes, both alive and fallen, are not often celebrated. Some of them gave their limbs or ability to live "normal" lives while others gave their lives. All in the name of American freedoms. I met a Marine veteran who went in search of what places offered discounts or services specific to military personnel. That list wasn't very long. And the discount is often quite small. Or specialized to certain holidays only. Is this how we repay them? Is this what we really think they are worth? Its disheartening to say the least. Especially for one such as I who tried to join and was turned down for medical reasons. Instead, I support our troops. Past, present, and future.

If you are interested in learning more and possibly becoming a donor this year, check out the website and link below.

Also, if you want to recognize a cadet as being your referral, you can enter "Carter boys" in the recognition box. They are offered incentives for being active in the community with events such as these.

 

http://www.mayportnlus.org/index.php Mayport home page

 

Online form for wreaths.

 

Caramel Apple cake, oh my!

Its the wonderful season of caramel apples and fall flavors! I was wanting to try something new in cake form to bring to work. The last treats I made looked like Easter ones.

They were colorful with several different flavorings for the icing.

 

I went searching for recipes and found this one: Moist Caramel Apple Cake. That wasn't quite the recipe for me though. So I decided to experiment with that one and my Plain White Cake recipe. I wanted to create something a little more special. I came up with the following!

 

Caramel Apple Bundt Cake

 

What you will need: 

 

Cake batter

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 pkg. (3.4 oz) Jell-O Vanilla Instant pudding

3/4 cup water

 

Drizzle

1 can (13.4 oz) Nestle Le Lechera caramel

3 tablespoons milk

 

Mix it up:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

 

In the same order as listed, mix your ingredients together for the cake batter. Spray your bundt pan with cooking spray and put some larger chopped pieces of apple in the bottom.

Then pour your batter on top.

I had enough extra batter to make some cupcakes as well, since I doubled the recipe. I put the batter in the paper cups and put a piece of apple slice on top of each one.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until the knife comes out clean.

It make take longer depending on your stove.

Loosen the cake from the pan and flip over onto your cake serving dish. Let it cool completely. Mix the caramel and milk together to make the drizzle.

Warm in the microwave until smooth. Let it slightly thicken and pour over the top of your cake just before serving.

 

Enjoy!

Dracula Untold movie review and information

I had forgotten to share my review on the movie Dracula Untold.

It's actually pretty good. It's not another run-of-the-mill, you know what's going to happen, love story of a vampire movie. It follows a little more closely to the real history of Vlad the Impaler. He's the one the Dracula stories were originally based on. 

The movie gives you a sympathetic villain. While Vlad is supposed to be an evil monster, he's the one you want on your team fighting against the Turks.

His only desire is to save his family, especially his son from the tyrannical rule of the Turkish King. He doesn't want his son to face the same fate of being turned into a mindless killer who will obey any order without hesitation. To save his wife from the heartache of having her son taken from her. And to save his kingdom from having to give up their sons as well. His heart was in the right place. His method for achieving the power necessary to accomplish his goals, however, may be questionable. He strikes a deal with what should be the first Dracula. The original vampire. In return, he has 3 days to destroy the Turks. Battle after battle, you follow his dire and dark conquests. You root for him to win! 

Now I don't want to spoil the movie for those planning to see it. It had some good CGI effects, wonderfully done scenes, and if it wasn't so "scary", I'm sure even kids would enjoy the action. I don't reccomend it for children though.
There were some things that I wasn't impressed with. Especially with a scene at the end that was dragged out when it should have been cut short with fantastic action. But every movie has its flaws, right? They don't explain why silver is dangerous to the vampires. So unless you are familiar with the other versions of Dracula, you probably wouldn't know the connection that has been made to Judas Iscariot.

The story of the real Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, is quite an interesting one. He didn't use fangs to bite the necks of his victims to drain their blood. He instead impaled them, collected the blood and dipped his bread into it. Talk about psychopath of the olden times.... He avenged his fathers betrayal and death by slaughtering hundreds of the noblemen.
"Dracula" means "Son of the Dragon". Vlad III chose to be called that. His father had been a member of a secret society called the Order of the Dragon. His father, being proud of this, changed his name to Dracul which was Romanian for Dragon. Vlad III was involved with this Order as a child and changed his name to Dracula, or the Son of the Dragon. Now, however, the translation is closer to the Son of the Devil. This is where the belief that vampires were devils or minions of Satan came into play.

Vlad had a cruel and dark sense of humor. There are accounts of how he enjoyed impaling and boiling people alive. He liked watching them twitch "like frogs". These two punishments were his only forms of punishment throughout his rule.
He wanted to "clean" up his capitol, Tirgoviste. So he invited the sick, vagrants, and beggars for a feast. Then he had the court where they dined boarded up and set fire to the place. This was how he dealt with the unwanted people around his kingdom.
His rule was so undisputed and feared, that he left an elaborate golden cup in plain view in the town square. Anyone could drink from it, however, it could not leave the square. Though poverty plagued the people, no one dared to even touch it. Fear was truly deep within the hearts of his people.
He couldn't handle any form of defeat. So when the Turks pushed his armies back into retreat, he burned villages, killed the townspeople, and poisoned the wells. Better that he do it himself than let the Turkish army have the satisfaction, right? In total, historians believe that Dracula killed somewhere from 40,000 up to 100,000 people. By the time the Turks got to the capitol of Tirgoviste, there was a Forest of the Impaled. 20,000 bodies of Turks were on display. Men, women, children, old and young alike were not spared.

Bram Stoker invented quite a character when he chose to write Dracula. He used the stories of Vlad Tepes (aka Vlad III, Vlad the Impaler) as well as the other vampire stories that were written before he even set pen to paper. Carmilla was the more original vampire. A lesbian who preyed on lonely young women and bathed in their blood. Varney the Vampire was another penny dreadful series that Stoker could draw inspiration from.

Hope you enjoy the movie! And take the time to do your own research when you watch things based on historical events!

Some facts used in this informative posting: http://listverse.com/2013/01/26/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-real-dracula/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula