Endings and Beginnings...

Yesterday was my last day
as Office Manager at HEAT Armor.... 

Yeah, they traded me in for a better model... 

It was time... 

As the company grew,
the office workings got a little more complicated,
what with those messy things like workers compensation,
payroll, 401k contributions
and endless requests for  postage stamps and AAA batteries... 

Mrs. Wiggins, so to speak,
was in way above her head... 

HR? 

Accounting? 

Huh??? 

I can handle an invoice with the best of them,
but let's be serious when I know my place... 

Show me a distressed shopping center
and I can leap a tall kiosk in a single bound... 

Show me a compliance sheet for 401k tax rules
and I break into hives... 

So, it was time for this old girl to go
and we found a wonderful replacement... 

She will spend the next few weeks shaking her head
at the rat's nest I created there,
but in time she will run a tight ship...
 

I will miss being at HEAT every day,
only because I really do like being around my husband... 

No, don't laugh... 

I am not kidding... 

He's a pretty great guy, ya know,

and I like watching him do his thing (it's hot...),
I like to make him lunch (he loves that, too)
and I like helping him out... 

And I really liked hanging out
with a bunch of super nice, hard working guys...
And my dad works there, too...  (love that!)

We have a great bunch here at HEAT
and I am going miss laughing with them daily... 

Now, it's not like they escorted me out the door yesterday
and took away my key card...

It's our business, and I plan to go there weekly,
if only to bring biscuits and jam for the guys... 

It's an ending of my fun job with little pay,

but it's a great beginning, too... 

I now get to find out what it's like to be a semi-stay at home mom
with kids in school all day... 

YEAH!!!!! 

Oh, the possibilities... 

I might actually get to unearth piles of junk
and to attack small projects
that have stared at me daily for years... 

Perhaps I can rediscover what working out means... 

The YMCA is steps away... 

I might learn the pure joy of grocery shopping
on Thursday mornings
instead of those brutal Saturday afternoons...

The laundry pile might actually become conquerable...

Oh, I have plans...

Lists... 

Ideas... 

Yes, those of you stay at home veterans may roll your eyes
and laugh because who can plan for the full day spent at the car repair garage,
the unexpected case of pink eye
or the Lifetime tear jerker marathon
to put a kink in your daily plans? 

A girl can dream, can't she? 

At 47, I relish the idea of time to myself,
even if it's ironing pants... 

Of course, all this would be too wonderful,
too delicious, if I could really stay at home... 

But it's not in my DNA....
 
Plus, my meager income at HEAT paid for the groceries,

so if we are going to continue to eat real food
instead of dog food, I have to keep working... 

And my hero, Anne, came to the rescue
and offered me a job in,
you guessed it,
real estate... 

 So, I still have my foot in the game, on a part time basis... 

Balance...

So, it's the end of my little job at HEAT
and the beginning of my domestic dream
and real estate job... 

Tom is praying I make a buck....

Annie is praying I will finally make some deals

and I am praying to keep it all together... 

I just need to get through Kate's 6th birthday party tomorrow....

Then let's begin the beginning!

Heat Wave...

Holy Crackers, the weather has gone batty! 

Usually it does not warm up like this
until the end of May, no kidding... 

And here it is, mid March and people are sunbathing,
the plants are sprouting and blooming
and the grills are sending out wafts of steak wonder.... 

It's crazy, I tell ya! 

St. Patrick's Day was wilder than usual,
with revelers playing drinking games
at the rental next door by 8 am... 

After Tom took off for the West Coast this morning,
I took the kids, plus four more, to the school yard
to let off some steam... 

They had to watch out for the plethora of sunbathing beauties
while they played tag...

Perhaps this warmth is a harbinger of great climatic peril... 

Maybe in 80 years or so,
we will vanish like the dinosaurs,
washed asunder by the depths of melting glaciers... 

But today, the kids played and it was fun...

Earlier this week, I did a little dumpster diving
and found this tired cork board... 

Using a JoAnn coupon, I bought some cheerful fabric,
contrasting grosgrain ribbon
and whipped out my trusty armory of glue and staple guns... 

A few staples and beads of glue later
and that sad old board was a snappy new one
for Kate's room... 

She loves it...

Looks like the week is going to continue
to be similar to Ft. Lauderdale... 

Keep Calm and Tan On...

Witness...

 Jack's first gig in show business and he was an Amish kid today.... 

His first job could have been catalog or some nameless instructional pamphlet,
but instead it's a promo for a new series
on the National Geographic Channel... 

Not bad... 

April 17th is the premier for a series about what happens when the Amish leave the faith and fold....

The shows examine how they adjust to life in the "English " world
and how the Amish treat those who leave... 

Should be a very interesting series... 

Boy Wonder is going to be the child version of the star of the series in this promotional commercial... 

He is a pensive soul, contemplating the Amish life, even at a tender age... 

So we woke up before the birdies this morning,
drove 2 1/2 hours to the middle of nowhere
and met up with the Nat Geo team in the mist and mud... 

Jack donned his authentic Amish gear that swam on him... 

Many bobby pins and sprays later,
his hair was Amish ready and he wore his Amish straw hat the whole day... 

Except when the gale force winds ripped his chapeau off of his head....

over and over again... 

Jack quickly learned that show business
is about repetition, patience and obedience... 

He was eager and professional, given that the spotlight was on him... 

What kid doesn't love undivided attention? 

By midafternoon, we were tired and windswept and it was a wrap... 

Start looking for the promo in early April... 

I hope to be able to share it with you then myself... 

He may not have been Harrison Ford in Witness... 

A tall order given he had no lines....

But it was a fun way to make a buck....

 And easier than raising a barn....

Road Trippin'....

Would you rather drive all over town for six hours
with your two kids in the car
or hand feed alligators? 

Yeah, I would have picked the gators too.... 

What's the loss of a digit or two compared
to the slow torture of two bored, squabbling, hungry children? 

Call me a glutton for punishment,
but when your tag team partner is strolling the streets of Geneva, Switzerland
and you need to give your second job some attention,
a girl's got no choice...  

In preparation of getting released from my secretarial gig at HEAT Armor,
I have taken on another job leasing properties... 

Sound familiar? 

Before HEAT, I did have a real 9-5 job in the commercial real estate industry
for about 15 years,
complete with a briefcase, business casual clothing,
nanny and phone extension... 

Although that was only two years ago, it seems like a lot longer...

A friend and former colleague is taking a chance on me
in hopes that I still know a thing or two about leasing shopping centers
and I want to make her proud... 

So, the kids and I hit the streets to check out the inventory
I am tasked to lease... 

Challenge was that the properties were about fifty miles apart,
making the total trip over 100 miles... 

How do you tell your kids that they are going to sit in the car
for about six hours on a nice day? 

Do you threaten them with reruns of Nova for three days
if they misbehave? 

Do you bribe them with candy, toys
and an extra hour of Call of Duty on the Wii? 

A mixture of the two was my prescription
and remedy for the day... 

I packed two separate bags of snacks,
made sure they brought coloring books, the DS, etc.
and I made stops during the day
to Gamestop and Barnes & Noble
to reward them for good behavior... 

Amazingly, they were downright angelic
up until about the final thirty minutes of the journey... 

And who can blame them? 

I was tired and cranky myself... 

For their patient and helpful behavior they were rewarded
with a stop at Oberweiss Creamery... 

Jack is not supposed to have ice cream,
but I let him enjoy himself... 

I may pay for it tomorrow, but oh well... 

He helped me photograph the vacant spaces,
offered insightful observations of the shopping centers
and generally didn't annoy the living daylights out of me... 

He earned that peanut butter sundae....

Could such bliss continue? 

Don't be silly! 

Spring Forward was so much fun today that I wished to Crawl Back into bed....

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

 When I was a kid, sleepovers were a pretty no nonsense affair... 

I'd head over to my friend's house,
we would eat whatever was for dinner,
watch  "The Brood"  or some scary movie on HBO,
maybe call a boy and hang up on him
and then settle into a four hour game of Monopoly... 

There were no major activities, outings, crafts
or cupcake decorating sessions planned... 

We winged it, hung out, gossiped and had fun... 

Jack invited a buddy over Friday night and I kept it simple... 

We hit Chipotle for some grub
and at home the boys drifted between video games
and Magic Spin Art in the kitchen... 

Man, that thing can fling paint to all reaches of the room... 

I had a frozen pizza from Aldi stored on the deck
to manage late night munchies and popcorn in the wings... 

Neither was enlisted and the boys hit the hay about 10:30... 

It was almost too easy, except for the major clean up
of crumbs, scraps of paper, paint everywhere,
wet towels on the bathroom floor,
pillows flung about
and game pieces strewn across the den... 

I was waiting for a midnight wake up crisis and it did not happen...  

So, the next morning I decided to make a special breakfast
to cap off a satisfactory sleepover... 

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes... 

A Pinterest find... a good and sugary one, at that... 
Thank you, Recipe Girl!

I'll be darned if those cakes don't taste just like an
Ann Sathers mega gigantic cinnamon roll... 

Now, my kids like pancakes,
but it's not as if they beg for them, dream of them,
want to be pancakes for Halloween... 

Until the Cinnamon Roll Pancake.... 

Their eyes rolled back into their heads and the
"Ummms....Ahhhsss.... Ohhhhsss" were involuntary.... 

They asked for seconds... 

This happens about as often as Haley's Comet,
even if they like what I cook... 

Always in a hurry to leave the table to do the next thing... 

But now they wanted more...

So, what if the glaze is pure confectioner's sugar? 

It's a moment of bliss....
before they resume torturing each other again... 

I'll take it...

Here is how to make these delectable cakes. 

Enjoy...

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Yield: Eight 4-inch pancakes

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 10 min

 

Ingredients:

CINNAMON FILLING:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, just melted (not boiling)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a quart-sized heavy zip baggie and set it aside (see *Tips below).
Prepare the glaze: In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in vanilla extract. Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.
Prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, egg and oil, just until the batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).
Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use an ice cream scoop (or 1/3 cup measuring cup) to add the batter to the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop or cup to spread the batter into a circle (about 4-inches in diameter). Reduce the heat to medium low. Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl (just as you see in a regular cinnamon roll). Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it's golden brown on the bottom. Slide a thin, wide metal spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.

Tips:

*Quick and easy tip: Use a boxed pancake mix as the base for this recipe.
*Tips for the cinnamon filling: Before swirling, open up the baggie again and give it a good stir to re-incorporate any butter that may have separated from the sugar. You want the mixture to thicken a bit- it's best when it's similar to the squeezing texture of a tube of toothpaste, which will happen if you leave it at room temperature for several minutes. Don't try to use the filling for the pancake swirl unless it has thickened as it will be too runny to make a solid swirl.
*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*I wrote a very detailed post on how to get the cinnamon filling *just right* on my Gingerbread- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes Post. Check it out before you attempt these!
*If you're trying to justify your intake of decadent cinnamon rolls, you can make this a tad bit healthier by using half whole-wheat flour and low fat cream cheese, or enjoy the pancakes without glaze.

Source: RecipeGirl.com