December 6, 2011

Outside Temp: 37 F

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Mashed Potatoes: I'm still working on my ground beef recipes, and I've noticed that a lot of them require something that I don't have.  I hate that.  So, I went back to my old standby for tonight.  I should have enough recipes set aside soon so I can go to the store and make sure I have everything I need.  I think that's the secret to cooking dinner each night: planning and making sure you have everything you need ahead of time!

Pumpkin Bread: So, my sweet bread recipe calls for 7 1/2 cups of flour.  My pumpkin bread calls for 4 3/4 cups of flour.  I should have known there was a problem when I used my glass bowl for the flour and it was almost overflowing.  Needless to say, I used way too much flour for my pumpkin bread.  Ugh.  I still cooked it, but it turned out really dry.  I was tempted to toss it, but I was convinced that someone might eat it.  After all, if you put enough butter on it, anything can taste good.  :)

Update:
It was in the 40's today, which just felt hot.  Okay, not hot, but not cold either.  But tomorrow night, we should have snow again, so I think this is just how it works around here.  One day it will be below 0, and the next it will be 40. 

We have gotten into the routine (in the last 2 days) of going up to the parents for sledding after school.  The only problem is that we get there around 4pm, and the sun starts going down around 4:30.  So, after about an hour, the sun is down and it's dark.  I'm looking forward to December 21st (for probably the first time in my life).

The kids were worried that their snow would melt, but I promised that there should be more snow tomorrow night, so they're okay.  We will probably be taking them up skiing on Saturday, so hopefully, I'll have some pictures.  Of course, I haven't been on skis in years, and the last time, it was not pretty.  I'm not sure if Ryan can do skis yet, so we'll have to see how things go. 

Patrick and I have been (slowly) sealing the windows with plastic.  We did Ryan and Katie's Rooms yesterday, and it really seemed to make a difference.  We still have the boys bedroom and one window in our bedroom to finish, but I think it's helping keep the cold out.  Of course, it was pretty warm last night, so we'll have to see if it helps when it gets really cold.  I'm sure it won't hurt!