Kindred Krafters: Little House of Crafting NaNoWriMo Keep Calm and W...

Come on over and support Toni Conn from the Little House of Crafting.  Read her November Press Release!http://kindredkrafters.blogspot.com/

Boulder Creek Festival in Hesperia, CA

I was looking at the Groupon deals a few weeks ago and found a 50% off deal for the Boulder Creek Festival in Hesperia, Ca.  For $19 I received a free parking (worth $5), 2 pumpkins (worth $7 each) and 20 tickets (worth $20 for games, rides, etc).  I figured that I couldn't go wrong with that deal!  so I bought one.

This weekend was the last weekend for the festival, so off we went!  Hesperia is about 30 minutes drive from where we lived.  The drive seemed farther than anticipated and it took us into a residential area that made me wonder if this festival was going to be a bust.  We drove up to our destination and my hubby and I were getting the "oh this was a bad idea" feeling.  There was a banner announcing the festival, but that was it!  We looked around and wondered where the heck it was!  We drove down this small road and saw a guy directing to the parking spaces.  We drove in through a dirt and rocky road surrounded by grape vines and trees.  I kept thinking, "Oh no....this is going to be a bust". 
We drove down further and started to see a glimpse of a park with swings.  Hope! There was hope!  We kept driving and was surprised to see a huge area with a lake!!!  There were bouncy houses, vendors, music....Wow!!!  There was no way anyone would have known this existed just by looking from the street.  This was a gem hiding in the desert!

We turned in our Groupon Voucher and received our coupon for 2 pumpkins and 20 tickets. 

                                         Photo op at the entrance with the lake as a backdrop.

What looked like a doubtful event turned out a great and fun day for the family!  My little Izzy played to her hearts content, went trick or treating from the vendors,we had some awesome Mexican food (cost $20 for a carnitas and rice plate, a cheese quesadilla and 2 fish tacos), entered a costume contest, window shopped through all the vendors, picked out our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, hubby and Izzy fed the animals and we listened to music.  They also offered a hay ride, which we forgot to do. 

                                                    Trick or Treating with my little Izzy.

                                   Entered the Costume contest where the winner received $50.

                                             Picked out our pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch.

All in all, we had a great time and didn't spend too much money.  We even had 5 tickets (worth $5) left over and handed it to a family just walking in as we were headed out. 

                                                       Checking out how tall my girl is.

I'm so glad that I found the Groupon discount or we would have paid for much more than we did, which is always a plus in our family.  I got a thumbs up from the hubby for getting the great deal!  I will definitely look out for more Groupon deals, for sure!

 Will definitely comeback next year for another fun, fall, family day!  My only complaint is that it was a little windy and the dust from the desert didn't do my allergies and sinus any favors!  

About Food: Bacon Doggie Treats

I have 3 wonderful doggies, Kylie, Dudley and Jethro (aka Big Jet) and they absolutely love these Bacon Treats.  I found it online about a year ago and I'm sad to say that I have no idea which site I got the recipe from.  Lesson learned:  make sure to note where I get my recipes from.  So, if it's you...let me know so that I can give you proper credit for these wonderful treats.

My daughter loves to cook/bake with me.  Making doggie treats is her favorite and even has her own rolling pin and dough cutter.

So, we start off with 6 ingredients.

1 egg
1 1/4 cups fat free milk
1 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoons bacon fat (my doggies especially love this part-they get a taste of bacon in every bite!)
1/4 cup chopped bacon
3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1. Make sure to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the egg, milk, honey, bacon fat and bacon.

3. Stir in the whole wheat flour until fully incorporated.

4. Knead the dough until combined.

5. Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface until the desired thickness.  I usually roll until they're about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

6.  Using a pizza cutter, cut out strips in both directions to make little squares in your desired size.  (Kylie likes it very small, so I make sure I cut small ones). 

7.  Line the squares on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes.

8.  Cool completely before serving.

9. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  I take out a small amount everyday so that the treats are at room temperature when it's treat time.

Happy baking....Happy Dogs!

My work in progress in prepartion for Halloween

My daughter who's 2 years 8 months is especially excited about Halloween this year.  She's asked me to make her a red princess dress.  I've done and completed her dress and am now in the process of making a matching dress for our little female Shih Tzu, Kylie.  Here's what I've done so far.

What do you think? 

After this dress, I am on to making a king and jester costumes for my 2 other male dogs.  Will keep you updated.  Are you dressing your pets up for Halloween? 

Saying Goodbye

I had to say goodbye to my mom today.  She is flying back to the Philippines after spending a total of 3 weeks with my family.  It was especially difficult this time since it is probably the last time that I will see her.  She's 75 years old and does not plan on doing any more traveling in the future.

I'm so grateful for the time that we were able to spend together especially because it was the very first time she met her granddaughter since she was born almost 3 years ago.  I really hope that my daughter will remember the good times that we had. 

My mom and I had what every typical "mom and daughter" love/hate relationship has.  There's a lot of history and memories between us...some happy and others not so happy ones.  There was a 8 year period when we didn't speak to one another.  Since having my daughter, I think we've come full circle and have had a good relationship since. 

Spending time with her this time around was special and letting her go was extremely difficult.  After all that was said and done throughout the years, the one thing that has always been constant was that we are family.  We'll always love each other and will sometimes hate one another but the family ties are bound forever.

Take the time to be with family.  Treasure the happy moments and learn and improve from the bad ones.  Forgive, but don't forget.  Live your life with love in your heart.

 

Getting Started

I'm trying to get this blog started but it's proving to be harder than I had anticipated.  Tune in for updates.