gift thief

nice

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i got another teddy sort of thing.  a teddy blanky.  with a hat!  and a tail.
and oni has attempted to steal it.  she wanted it to be hers until i made her wear the hat.
i still have the scratches from that one.

evil teddy

sad but a little happy sounding?

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i got a teddy for christmas.  he is chinchilla!  or ok, faux chinchilla.  he is very soft.  and very evil, apparently.

caturday. but for eda.

eda sometimes has a hard time.


thxmas was an especially stressful trip for eda.

she doesn't understand kids.  at all.  i don't think she knows what they are.  and klay, who is a kid, 5 years old, specifically, loved eda.  he wanted to pet her and snuggle her and take her for walks.  he wanted to lay on the floor and hold her tail so when she moved she could pull him along too.

and to rub some salt in it, as they say, the floors were polished concrete, so no matter what, eda was sliding all over.

i think she's glad we're back in albuquerque, where she can harass oni.

christmas nonsense

this  and this will complete your holiday music checklist.  as if you have one, you bah humbugs!

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here is a little glimpse of thxmas.

feel like up-cycling your old mustache?

behold:  huggy bear!

our family photos keep getting better and better.  admit it.  

merry real christmas, kids!

happy holiday parties, pinterest!

i am not a baker.  i'm really bad at following directions, i have no patience - i just don't have the baker's touch.

and for some reason, for the past few years (maybe more?) i keep getting put in charge of holiday pies.

there have been many arguments - screaming, crying, throwing things - all because of the evil crust.

and then last year, i learned this super great trick from angela, who is most likely a genius.  i know pinterest loves steps and all that nonsense (ok, i do too), so here is my magic pie trick, step by step!!

mix your ingredients as usual
  my recipe is:  1 c flour, 1/3 c shortening plus 1 T, pinch of salt if you want, and 2-3 T icy water, as needed.  that's for one regular sized crust

ball it up, as per usual.  now get ready for the exciting part!!

find yourself a regular plastic grocery bag

cut the bottom corners, so that the pleated(?) parts can unfold and make a square

each side should look like this

smooth your bag out and put your ball of crust inside (exciting right?)

my baker sister says it tends to crack less if you pat the ball down a little before you start rolling

now roll as usual.  and your rolling pin (and your hands, in my case) stay clean and non-sticky!

stop, obviously, when it's the size and, uh, thickness? depth?, you want 

cut the bottom, one side, and the handles of the bag, to make a "book"

open the "book".  slowly, and watch for sticking.  it usually doesn't, but you never know

i like to stick the pan on top, then put my hand under the crust and bag, and flip it over 

now you just have to peel the bag off and you almost have a perfect crust! 

here's the almost perfect crust

but wait, there's more!  

i just learned how to do this fancy crust edge.  my mama taught me.

with about an inch of crust hanging over, you start rolling it under

then you just use your finger to make a diagonal pattern

ta da!  and you have approximately zero dishes and counters to wash!