Pumpkin Fry Bread & Sweet Cinnamon Butter

Pumpkin Fry Bread

Culture: Klamath Native Americans, Klamath Falls, Oregon

I took my husband's family Fry Bread recipe and tweaked
 it to make these seasonally perfect little sweet breads.

Ingredients:

(DRY)                                                                                         (WET)

4 cups Flour                                                                             1 egg (beaten)

½ tsp. Salt                                                                                 ½ cup Warm Milk

4 tsp. Baking Powder                                                             2 cups Fresh Pumpkin or 1-16oz canned

½ tsp. Cinnamon                                                                     ¾ cup Dark Brown Sugar

½ tsp. Nutmeg                                                                         ½ tps. Vanilla

Directions:

Fill deep frying pan with at least one inch of oil (canola, vegetable) and start to heat it over medium high heat.  

Combine all dry ingredients.

Combine all wet ingredients

 Make a well in dry ingredients

Add wet ones

 Mix together gently

Once a ball has formed, 

dump on floured surface

 Lightly knead dough

Let dough stand for 10-30 minutes

Form 3 inch balls 

Flatten into ½ inch thick patties 

Poke a small hole in the center of each patty

Add to heated oil

I can fit 4 in my pan at a time

When the top is puffy,

it is time to....

Flip them over 

Once golden brown on the other side,

Place on a paper towel lined plate 

You will need to add paper towels 

to each layer of cooked fry bread 

Cinnamon Sugar Butter

1 cube of soft, unsalted butter

½ cup powdered sugar or brown sugar 

1tsp of Cinnamon 

Mix well

Store in air tight container 

Serve with Sweet Butter or Honey 

Enjoy!

2015 Ford Edge

My new job as an administration assistant for Hertz Car Sales of Bend has afforded me the privilege of driving any car on the lot that my heart should desire to run my daily errands. I am in no way a car expert, but simply a girl with a whole-lotta-opinion.

Let me just start by saying that this little beast is the perfect combination of tough, sporty, and regal all rolled into one. Just look at it! It felt like I was driving a beefy truck (solid and strong --quite manly, I dare say.), but handled with the classy grace of a jaguar, but can also exceed the speed limit with the smooth pursuit of Tesla. The seat was like sitting on a splendorous throne. Oh! and I felt so tall! Haha! This was by far one of my favs. Maybe I'm just a Ford girl or maybe Ford raised the bar with this vehicle.

Now I see a real kinda cowgirl: long, thick black hair, warm terracotta skin, almond shaped eyes holding the biggest brown eyes ever, and the brightest smile that can be seen even at a far off distance. She is at a horse arena practicing for the upcoming barreling racing competition, where she will be defending her World Title. After finishing a successful ride, she walks out to her beloved Ford -her Lucchese boots caked with dirt as she pulls off her dusty Bullhead to wipe dirt from her brow.

Before heading home, she flawlessly performs about a dozen 'cookies' in the parking lot for the audience of hotties watching her, laughing loudly, while blaring Miranda Lambert's "Little Red Wagon".

Miranda Lambert - Little Red Wagon
   

2015 Hyundai Sonata

My new job as an administration assistant for Hertz Car Sales of Bend has afforded me the privilege of driving any car on the lot that my heart should desire to run my daily errands. I am in no way a car expert, but simply a girl with a whole-lotta-opinion.

I ended up in  this little beaut because the sales guys were moving cars on the lot and this was my only option. I, in all honesty, would have never picked a Hyundai to drive, ever. I don't prefer them because my parents owned one when I was a teen and it just felt like driving a cheaper version of a Honda --and not in a good way. You know, like the difference between Folgers and Starbucks. 

Anyhow, I was shocked at how much I liked this car. It felt like Hyundai had taken a mold of my body and made that car just for me. Are the seats made with memory foam?!? The seat hugged my curves just so, and supported my back, legs, head, and neck perfectly. Seriously, I fit perfectly! And I'm not your averaged height-ed person. 

The comfort didn't end there: this thing had zero road noise. The pursuit felt effortless as if the car could literally drive itself. And good Lord in Heaven, this car was fast! Just a touch of the gas I felt like the car said, "Oh! We gonna do this?" I replied with a confident head nod. Car simply states, "Challenge accepted." Even my sweet Joe, who I had to pick up from school because I was running late, couldn't believe it was a Hyundai. He said, "Mom! I totally thought this car was like a Ford or  Toyota!" Haha! I agree! This car was built solid/strong but also had a smoothness/elegance that didn't lend itself to the Hyundai name.

This car: I could see filled with a bunch of college ladies heading out on the town. Dressed to the 9's, make-up on point, hair Pinterest worthy. The room in this car allowing each girl their own 'dance floor' which enables them to sit-dance every move to Beyonce's "Single Ladies".  There is so much room in the seats, in fact, that each girl can perform their own break out solo dance. I see the city lights flying by outside the window as they jump on the interstate to get from one side of town to the other, because it's fast, and their is fun to be had.

Beyonce - Single Ladies  

2014 Toyota Corolla

My new job as an administration assistant for Hertz Car Sales of Bend has afforded me the privilege of driving any car on the lot that my heart should desire to run my daily errands. I am in no way a car expert, but simply a girl with a whole-lotta-opinion.

This car was FAST and looks pretty dang sharp. This car is definitely not a car made for Bend, where our speed limits average 35 miles per hour. This is 100% a big city, 75-MPH speed limits car. This car gets up and goes with very little coaxing, and is smooth when doing so. And it feels solid! I felt like a truck could T-Bone me and I would come out just fine. 

Just look at that Dash! I felt like I was driving a little race car. The draw back was that I could hardly see over the dash board and the side window started about chin level, so I could hardly see outside. #ShortPeopleProblems Ha! Because of this, it was hard to get a feel for the length and girth of the car which is important for maneuvering traffic, especially school traffic.

In my wondering, I saw a 20 something, tall, skinny young man driving this car. He had on straight leg dark washed jeans, because skinny jeans are a joke! Right!?! He wore a skater T, like Thrasher, with a flat billed slightly faded Obey [fitted] hat, cause real skaters don't wear snap backs. What?!? He wore Vans on his feet and large Wood Framed glasses on his face --not a care in the world. His music streaming from his iPhone, which he connected to his sweet system was blasting P.O.D's BOOM!Windows and sun roof wide open, his music and the scent of Black Ice flowing in his wake.

P.O.D - BOOM

2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid

My new job as an administration assistant for Hertz Car Sales of Bend has afforded me the privilege of driving any car on the lot that my heart should desire to run my daily errands. I am in no way a car expert, but simply a girl with a whole-lotta-opinion.

This car is beautiful! I really like the fullness and length of this passenger vehicle, which is a lot like my Honda. The wheel base is wide enough to manage the horribly rutted roads of Bend, while maintaining a smooth pursuit.

The first time I drove this vehicle, my stomach did a thousand flips when it shut off at stop lights and such. I didn't know!  This former ghetto girl slapped her one hand on the dash and the other in the air and started to cry out to Jesus! Ha! 'Cause that's what you did when your car died! I was fist-pumping elated when I simply touched the gas and the car rose from the dead and proceeded on its way. This car, my friends, is the answer to the millions of prayers rising from the ghettos of America! Haha! "Lord! Let my foot but only touch the gas pedal to bring life back to the dead places of this vehicle!"

Since my mind thinks in the musical, I leave you with this. As I cruised around in this beauty, I could totally see a mom, who just dropped off all of her kids; finally having a moment to herself. She pushes the play button on the secret CD she has stashed away, jamming to Eminem's Lose Yourself. Rapping every word. Bass bumping. Hips busting a move. Freely remembering herself before rules, and diapers, and sleep deprivation. All the while, reducing her carbon footprint! Ha!

Eminem - Lose Yourself

Visit My New Blog

Hey friends! I have started a new blog, which you can find by following this link:

Hope is a 4-Letter Word

Oops! I did it again

If my hair could talk, it would immediately call the police. Lol! I readily admit that when I am feeling emotional about things, I take it out on my hair. I color it, I cut it, I curl it, I straighten it, I braid it, and so on and so on and so on....

I honestly have no reason why I do the things I do to my hair. My guess is that I love the feeling of being made new, I love transformation! I also like to scare my children. My new hairdos have been known to send my children crying and running away from me! Every single one of my children, and I mean every single one of them, have run to the door to greet me only to see a complete stranger.  They fall on the ground with fright, crying and clawing their way, backpedaling, to get away from me! Pure joy people! This has also happened with the children that I taught for years at school and at the church. It just brings me joy, LOL, I enjoy the shock factor.  

The emotional abuse of my hair may also create a feeling of camaraderie. Let me explain. If I'm feeling upset, or out of my element, or whatever, my slightly damaged and shocking new color becomes my confidant. Ha! It knows me! It knows the hardship of not being known and recognized, it knows the disappointment of things not turning out the way pictured, it knows the pain of being separated from the familiar, and it knows the complexity of a constant changing world. 

Who knows! One thing I can tell you though is that it's not helpful when I have moved yet again and, even the few acquaintances I have made, don't recognize me. Not my best plan for building new relationships! LOL!  But I got to be me, you know what I me. 

I knew I needed to step away from the haircoloring and stop going to Sally beauty when Connor asked me yesterday after my job interview, "what did they say about your hair mom?" After I quit laughing, I informed him that nobody at the new church knows me so therefore they have no clue what color my hair truly is. As a sidenote though,  it was precious to my heart that, even though we moved 1200 miles away from our home church, he is so accustomed to our leadership and presence, and being a part of the church family, that he naturally thinks that everybody there already knows us. Parent win moment!

Needless to say, I am deep conditioning my hair on the daily and Pinterest-ing hairstyles I can do without heat. This is my life people -5 different colors in less than 6 months.