We bought our house too soon... or did we?

We were thrilled to find out that there was an amazing $7500 tax credit for first time home buyers who purchased a home in 2008! We qualify for the credit, which is actually a 0% interest loan that needs to be repaid $500 a year when you pay your taxes. Still, when do you ever receive a zero percent interest loan? Thank you Lord!

OK. So I found out yesterday that there is an $8000 credit for first time home buyers who purchase a home in 2009... this money does NOT have to be repaid. I think I will write a letter to President Obama.

If I didn't know that God's timing is perfect, I would really wonder. Oh wait, I AM wondering. Happy days, happy days.

The Maple Tree Inn... and Chicken Recipes

What I really wanted to blog about was Jonah's first trip to Cartwright's Maple Tree Inn. I wanted to post a cute picture of his first time there. Stephan and I have been going at least 3-4 times per season every year, except last year. I was just too pregnant and uncomfortable and the thought of an hour ride in the car was not at all appealing. This year we couldn't wait to take Jonah for his first taste of buckwheat pancakes and REAL maple syrup. Sure enough, he gobbled up his own little pancake (well his "little" pancake seemed just as big as the standard size, and I guess he really only ate about half). He sat in his booster seat and enjoyed smooshing the pancake with his fingers, chasing it around the table as he mashed it up, and eventually popping it in his mouth. It was just precious, he looked like such a big boy. My plan was to bring the camera so we could document the moment. Well, you guessed it, I forgot the camera. Oh well. We will go back again, take pictures, and remember the second time 'round.

So last week I posted that I was making "make ahead chicken recipes" and I got a bunch of requests for the recipes. All the credit goes to Robin, she is the queen of make ahead, freeze ahead, crockpot ahead ( and man she makes the BEST pulled pork EVER). So here are the chicken recipes.. next time I will post the pulled pork!

Cranberry Chicken

8 oz Catalina dressing
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 (16oz) can whole-berry cranberry sauce
4 boned chicken breasts*


Mix together all ingredients except chicken. Place chicken and mixture together in freezer bag. Freeze for later use.

On serving day:

Thaw completely.

Place chicken with sauce mixture in greased baking dish, and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours.

SERVES: 4

*Note: You may use boneless chicken, but modify the cooking time to 45-60 minutes.



Hawaiian Chicken (Crock-Pot)

6 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1 (16 oz) can pineapple slices, drained
1 (15 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 t. salt
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground red pepper


Place chicken in a freezer bag. Mix together remaining ingredients from list. Pour over chicken in the bag. Freeze.

SERVES: 8-10


Serving day instructions:

Thaw chicken mixture. Place in a crock-pot, cover, and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours or HIGH for 2-3 hours. If desired, add fresh green pepper chunks to crock-pot one hour before serving.

Serve over steamed rice and top with toasted almonds.


*NOTE: You may double the fruit to two cans of each if desired. And, feel free to separate this recipe into 2 (3lb.) portions if it suits your family size.
Use 3 big packs of chicken to assemble the four following recipes. None require cooked chicken or cooking before freezing.

Chicken Dijon

1/2 c. bottle ranch dressing
1/2 c. Dijon mustard
1 c. Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.

2. Stir together the salad dressing and mustard. Put breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Use a pastry brush to coat both sides of chicken with mixture. Coat chicken with bread crumbs. Arrange chicken in the prepared dish.

3. Bake, uncovered, 40-60 minutes or until chicken tests done.

FREEZE AHEAD: Prepare through step 2. Cover with plastic wrap and foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Defrost completely in fridge. Remove wrap and foil before baking.

SERVES: 6

Chicken Parisienne (Make Ahead for Crock-Pot)

Mix together:

1/2 c. white wine
1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. mushrooms, sliced

Stir 1/4 c. flour into 1 c. sour cream; add to soup mixture. Place mixture together with 6 boned chicken breasts (or boneless) in freezer bag. Freeze.

On serving day: Place chicken and sauce in crock-pot. Sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika over top. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (boned chicken) or low 3-4 for boneless. Serve with pasta or potatoes.

SERVES: 6

March 2008 5th picture from the end... and other things.

Did I do this right? Do I just sign up and post the 5th picture from the end of March 2008?

Well, here it is. Jonah was 1 day old and getting his first bath in the hospital. Poor baby, so exposed, wet, and soapy. I was so glad to have him clean and fresh though. There is no need for a baby to smell like the womb forever.

Oh how I wish I could improve my blogging! Every time I have tried to post in the last 2 weeks, something happens, and I can't even blame my little sweet potato for all the interruptions. Oh well. I would love to read all y'all's blogs too... such interesting lives. Well, here is some of whats been up:

Jonah has been crawling!

We have exposed electrical wires in our master bath (its not as bad as it looks).

I created a cool candle thingy.

Jonah went sledding.

I finished Jonah's curtains.

Jonah got cuter! Look at those legs!

"From Drab to Fab"

Drab window...

Fab window!

Well, I think it looks pretty. All I wanted for our guest room was a crisp, white, tie-back curtain. I looked around and didn't see anything I liked. They all had lace or ruffles, or cost 79.00 plus $49 shipping. So, of course, I made them. They used to be the curtains that acted like closet doors in our old house. Let me back up...they actually started out as two twin size white sheets. Then I made them into curtains for the closet in our old house and finally here they are today, re-hemmed and trimmed with ribbon. I got the ribbon from Jo-Ann's. I'm not sure how well you can see it in the picture, but there are two vertical rows of ribbon on each curtain. It is the exact look I was looking for. What do you think?

So, who has some great ideas for my living room, bedroom, and master bathroom?

Listen to the Falling Snow

Sunset on Long Lake, N-P Trail

Today was one of those days... Jonah woke up at 5:oo AM, took his famous 42 minute nap at 8:45, then was promptly a crank-pot. In addition, I must be PMS-ing.. yippee. It was the kind of day where it was better for me to be alone than to make someone else's day miserable as well. It was the kind of day that I just wanted to escape to the woods, far away from civilization. Fortunately, although my son's sleep habits are less than desirable, he is usually easy to please and ready for an adventure. I wanted to take him for a winter wonderland trek- I could strap on my snowshoes and put him in the baby back pack; but 19 degree weather is a bit chilly for a baby, so that was not a choice.

You see, I have this drive, this urge, this "call of the wild" of sorts, to go out in God's great creation in all kinds of weather and just GO... hike, bike, paddle, ski, snowshoe, work up a sweat, breath deep, aaaahhhhh. The Adirondacks are particularly delightful, but Harriet Hollister State Park will do for today. I just HAD to go, HAD to let my feet tromp even 20 feet in the fluffy fresh snow. And what I really HAD to do was listen... to snow falling on trees, to snow falling on snow, to snow falling on a frozen creek. You have to go far from civilization to really hear what I am talking about. Have you ever listened to snow falling in the woods? I can not put the sound into words; I'm sure some amazing poet has. I wish Amanda was there today, oh what a beautiful photo it would have been... then you could have looked at the picture and heard the sound I'm talking about. I am far from a "new-agey" person, but there is something truly magical about trekking deep into the woods and listening, watching, standing, being still.

Spruce Lake (I think)

Some day, Jonah will be old enough to trek along side me. For now, I must be satisfied with our brief but intense few minutes we had today at the park. We shared the park with one deer, who crossed the road just in front of us. Other than that, we were the only souls there- Jonah bundled in his hat, two hoods, a coat, and thick fleece blanket; me in just a coat and hat; I really just wanted to immerse my whole body in the crispness. I swear Jonah was trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

Clean and Modern facilities on the Cold River

Near the beach on South Lake
By the way, these photos are completely irrelevant to the snow theme, but I couldn't find any winter wilderness photos. I think all of my winter photos were taken before I had a digital camera!

Self-Portrait

Two questions:

1. Is this my good side?

2. Is there any way I could hibernate until spring?

I'm in love with my Bar Keeper's Friend

Please, someone be as amazed as I was when I finally got my tub clean. We had tried scrubbing, soaking, and various chemicals with no success. The old flower sticker things the previous owners used left a nasty orange stain. I Googled "how do I clean my bathtub that is stained with nasty flower sticker things" and a whole slew of ideas came up. I proptly went to Wegmans with my shopping list of cleaning supplies in hand. I would try all suggestions until something worked. It was either that or spend $450 to get the tub resurfaced, YIKES!

Lo and behold, all i needed was my Bar Keeper's friend to work a miracle! Check out the before and after photos. The first photo was taken after I had cleaned half of the tub. This was when I realized I had to document the transformation. I don't think even the photos do justice to this stain removal miracle:

I was so in awe at the results I just kept rinsing and rinsing, carefully wiping down my newly shined tub with a soft cloth and warm water. So long orange stains... hellloooooooo Bar Keeper's Friend!