The Good Enough Witch

Like the Back of My Hand...

This weekend I ran to my favorite Safeway to perform my weekly shopping excursion.

Like any decent woman I was also running eight million other errands...so I had time constraints. Naturally, I've completely memorized the entire layout of the store and I can usually blast through in about 20 to 30 minutes (including the check out line). Oh yeah baby, I'm that good.

 

DRAT! DANG-NABBIT! HECK-FIRE! (AND OTHER UNSPEAKABLE THINGS)

Some evil higher power re-organized the shelves and the layout in my grocery store! Now that is completely unauthorized. No one called me. No one asked me how I felt about it.

• The chips are now over on the liquor aisle, along with the mixers, but not all of the carbonated beverages are that aisle...they're halfway across the store.
• The crackers and cookies are now on a completely separate aisle from the juice (specifically juice boxes). Who in their right mind would do that to a busy mother?!?!?
• And I blush to address the fact that feminine hygience products are now on the cleaning aisle.

I'm so overwhelmed by the disorder of this aisle movement, I can't even remember what other horrid shifts occured.

 

WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?

You know were else they've done this to me? At my Target store. Again the one I know like the back of my hand. It's not like it's only happened once. Both my Safeway and my Target have done this to me multiple times

Are they just bored looking at the same old same old every day? Go home and move your couch, but don't move the q-tips and the dental floss across the *&&^%$$ing store!

Do they just enjoy watching the panicked looks that spread over the customers' faces?

 

IT'S LIKE LAS VEGAS...SERIOUSLY

Have you ever been in Vegas and tried to quickly get from Point A to Point B in any large casino/hotel? It can't be done. They force you to walk a labyrinthine path through the slots, roulette wheels, black jack tables, shops, more shops, then some more gambling areas, then a few more shops, until at last you pass the final shops and arrive at your destination.The theory is the more stuff you see, the more money you'll spend.

And I believe this is precisely what they're doing when the rearrange my stores unexpectedly.

In my time-constrained search for the macaroni and cheese, I'm forced to pass by countless other products that perhaps I've never even seen until now. "Oooooo, I had no idea they carried canine aspirin. I need that!"

And I don't even have a dog -

 

Kitchen Surprise!

This evening after dinner, we put away our placemats in the large kitchen sideboard and I inadvertently opened the wrong drawer.

It is a drawer I don't often visit. It holds my spoon dish, electric mixer, and this round plastic double-sided zippered thingy that I use to roll out pie dough. Oh yeah, and the extra string used to tie together cuts of meat, turkey legs, and what not.

Tonight, I found a little something extra tucked inside:

Boys Size 8 Wolverine Undies with Red Elastic Waistband...complete with a thick, crusty smear of poo.

It had obviously been there for awhile. I said, "Alex, what is this?" He looked appropriately embarassed and fairly worried that he was going to get in big trouble.

It was one of those hard to yell at your kid moments, because when Dave and I saw what it was we burst out laughing. Alex joined in the revelry immediately, hoping to avoid a time-out (or worse TV banishment).

I mildly chastised him and reminded him that it's really not a good idea to hide stuff like that.

AND BECAUSE MY HUSBAND WILL ASK ME:

Yes Darling, I did remove and wash all the kitchen items...either by dishwasher or by hand as appropriate. And again, yes I also scrubbed out the inside of the drawer. The undies are in the outside garbage can. It's because I care.

Considering the purchase of a Haz-Mat Suit,

Makeup Questions? Ask the Makeup Doctor - Book Giveaway!

WHO IS THIS MAKEUP DOCTOR ANYWAY?

Well, she's my best friend Marilyn. She's a makeup artist. She doesn't promote any specific brand of cosmetics. I swear she knows every color of every type of makeup for every brand out there right off the top of her head. Here's an article I wrote about her, Update Your Look with the Makeup Doctor. It explains everything...

Check out some of the posts from Marilyn's new blog, Ask the Makeup Doctor:

• Mascara: How Long Can I Use One Tube?

• Foundation: Drugstore vs. Department Store Brands

• Lipstick: The Perfect Color

THE PRIZES - BEAUTY & FASHION BOOKS

Because I really want to thank all of you for being my readers and for checking out Marilyn's blog, I'm giving away THREE sets of two of my favorite "look your best - not someone else's best" makeup and fashion books. These fabulous books were both recommended to me by Marilyn and have become staples in my personal library. The books are:

Bobbi Brown Beauty Evolution: A Guide to a Lifetime of Beauty by Bobbi Brown with Sally Wadyka

The Science of Sexy: Dress to Fit Your Unique Figure with the Sytle System that Works for Every Shape & Size by Bradley Bayou

 

 

GIVEAWAY REQUIREMENTS

In order to enter the giveaway, you must do two small things. (Entries not following these requirements will be deleted.) You must also be over 18 and a resident of the U.S.

1. Follow @MakeupDoc on Twitter.

2. Read one of the Makeup Doctor posts (listed above) above and leave a comment with a makeup question.

 

HOW TO ENTER

You may enter multiple times. Leave a comment on this blog that includes your name, Twitter ID and action taken. You have until 5:00PM PST Friday, February 20th to enter. Winner selected by random.org and announced February 21st on this blog and Ask the Makeup Doctor. Entry options are:

1. Subscribe to Ask the Makeup Doctor.

2. Twitter about this giveaway with a link back to this post.

3. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post and to Ask the Makeup Doctor.

4. Add Ask the Makeup Doctor's blog button to your blog.

Thank you for your support and enjoy this wonderful new voice in the blogosphere!

Cross-Stitch Snowman Stocking

As promised, here is a photo of the snowman Christmas stocking I very happily made for my son Alex and completed in time for his first Christmas!

Silly story of memory: I was sooo adamant about finishing it before his first Christmas even though he was only five months old at the time and could have cared less. I could not get the memory out of my head that my mother NEVER finished decorating my brother's Christmas stocking!!! (In her defense she worked full-time with two kids.) But that always really bugged me. The funny thing is, I don't think it bothered my brother. The body of the stocking was complete and held presents and candy just fine.

Now I've just got to finish that Santa cross-stitch pillow I've been working on for at least six years!

 

I only stitch during the fall/winter...and I don't know why.

Cynthia - The Good Enough Witch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I *Heart* My Housekeepers

There's a lot to be said for mindlessly ironing a shirt.

Spraying on a light starch, the shirt sticking to the ironing board as you pass the iron over the fabric. The satisfcation of a crisp, finished product can be had in under ten minutes. That's sweet.

I know it's a new millenium and we're supposed to be far advanced from the traditional male/female roles. But I must confess, some days I actually enjoy my little June Cleaver Activities:

• Picking up 8,000 toys in the morning.

• Sweeping up dried crumbs of cat food (not the cat box though...never the cat box).

• Watering the potted plants on the front stoop.

These things can make my little heart sing and give me that warm, fuzzy sense of accomplishment I crave on any given day.

But fear not, this Witch has not gone off the deep end. I'm troubled about money like everyone else in this lovely economy. In searching for places to cut back, the one place I refuse to ever cut back on is my housekeepers.

My ladies come every other week and SCRUB my house. Tidying is as giddy as this girl gets. I DO NOT SCRUB...EVER. Did I mention I don't scrub? No scrubbing...

God bless my housekeepers -

Cynthia - The Good Enough Witch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three Easy & Inexpensive Birthday Activities

Don't have space in your backyard for an inflatable jumpy house? Yeah, me neither.

I'd already sent out the invitations to Alex's fourth birthday party. How on earth was I going to entertain a bunch of preschool boys for two hours?

How about throwing an old fashioned kind of birthday party? I have room for that.

SACK RACES

Shopping at my favorite mom and pop toy store, my little eye spied a box of four gorgeous, primary-colored cotton bags made especially for sack racing. The box retailed for $16.95...I thought not. My linen closet is overflowing with soft old pillow cases, said I. I'll use them.

Playing up my alter-ego, "Super-Silly Mommy," I got myself into a pillow case and yelled, "Time for sack races!" The kids thought it was a hoot and everyone grabbed a sack and started jumping with me. We didn't really "race" per se. We jumped a lot and it was fun.

 

VOLCANOES

Yes, you read that right...Volcanoes! Great, messy, explosive fun. You'll definitely want to do this outside or some other area you can easily hose down afterward.

The original recipe "Bubbling Eruption" can be found in Even More Fizzle, Bubble & Wow by Lisa Murphy (The Ooey Gooey Lady). I experimented with her recipe, tweaking it to suit my tastes. Here's my version:

Volcanoes by The Good Enough Witch

For each child you'll need:

1 recycled 2-liter soda bottle

1 sheet of construction paper

1 cup baking soda

1 1/2 cup vinegar

Other necessary equipment: Funnel, colored markers, tape and large cups

1. Prepare the volcano bottles.

• Pour baking soda into the bottle using the funnel.

• Write the child's name on the construction paper.

• Wrap the bottle with the construction paper and tape in place. (My paper didn't wrap all the way around the bottle. The kids didn't care, they liked the bright colors and seeing their names.)

2. Pre-measure the vinegar into cups...one per child.

3. IMPORTANT STEP: Aerate the baking soda! Right before you put out the bottles, place the heel of your hand over the opening and shake, shake, shake the baking soda. This puts a little air between the soda granules, allowing space for the vinegar to penetrate and creating a much more whiz-bang eruption. Skip this step and your volcanoes won't be nearly as exciting.

4. Make volcanoes erupt!

• Line the kids up.

• Place the proper bottle in front of each child.

• Create a big fan fare, "Are you ready for a volcano?!?!?! Yeah? Here we go!" Then YOU (Mommy or other adult) pour the vinegar into the bottle from a height of approximately two feet. Some will spill...it's OK. If you've got a lot of kids, have another adult help you and make two volcanoes erupt simultaneously.

• Shout "Hooray! Woo-hoo! Yeah!" and watch the bubbly mass spew forth...little boys dig this stuff. All the kids at our party cheered on one another's volcanoes. Incredibly cute stuff.

 

PINATA

Notice how we've been building excitement with the sack race followed by the volcanoes? Now it's time for the big wow of the party...the pinata.

1. Go to a party store or Birthday Express and you'll be presented with a plethora of pinatas from which to choose. I recommend getting one with the pull strings hanging down.

2. Load it up with treats galore. Look for the pre-made pinata loot...two-pound bags of mixed candy and toys.

3. Pick something sturdy from which to hang the pinata. Make certain the area around it is clear.

4. Be sure to provide kids with individual containers in which to collect their pinata booty. I found small beach buckets on sale for $0.75 each. I've seen other moms use extra drink cups or party favor bags.

Two Options For Opening the Pinata

Pulling the Strings Obviously, if you don't want your kids hitting anything (and you're allowed, it's your party), then the pull-string pinata is great. Each kid takes a turn selecting a string and pulling. Only the "special string" will release the contents.

Hitting the Pinata If you go for the whack-a-pinata option, a few tips:

• Use a hollow plastic baseball bat for the hitting stick. It's sturdy enough to open the pinata, but will inflict less damage if it lands on something else.

• Don't try and do the blind-fold, spin the kid around and try to hit the pinata maneuver. That's a pretty frustrating exercise for preschool kids. Hold the pinata steady and have the kids aim specifically for it.

• Go through the line of kids twice max. When you sense the kids getting antsy, lean over and grab all the strings on the pinata and PULL. (Do this as the pinata swings from a good solid hit by the birthday celebrant.)

 

My son's party was a hit. The kids had a blast and the mommies raved it was one of the most fun birthday parties they had been to in a long while. And as we all know its' nice to have the recognition of your fellow mommies...Call it like it is ladies!

The trick with all three birthday activities is to get involved with the kids. If you get silly and have fun, they will too. As an added benefit, it's a great workout for Mommy and you know what that means...Guilt free birthday cake!

 

Enjoy and let me know how it goes,

Cynthia - The Good Enough Witch

Subscribe to The Good Enough Witch by Email

****************************************************************************

June Cleaver Activities: Lemonade Mousse

Stand up straight and call me June...Mrs. Cleaver is IN THE HOUSE!

This is one of my favorite summer desserts meant to thrill any guest that may grace my doorstep. I served it this past weekend at a small family gathering held in our backyard.

Now, Ms. G.E. Witch (that's me) only likes to cook when the mood strikes (which ain't often with my four year old adorable boy on my heels). So when having guests over, I generally use my favorite caterer, Whole Foods for the main course. (BTW, their Thanksgiving dinner is to-die-for and has completely eliminated my traditional holiday foot fatigue.)

However, I do like to make at least part of the meal (ego and proper etiquette insists you provide at least one item your guests can rave over), so I generally do dessert. Mostly cuz I like to lick the bowl, as does my hubby Captain America.

This lemonade mousse is fast and oh-so-insanely- EASY to prepare. I share the basic version and my Martha Stewart-a-fied, zipped up version. (Above picture of the Zipped Up version.)

Basic Lemonade Mousse*

Serves 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

• 1 c crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 1 T sugar
• 1T light butter, melted
• 1 14-oz can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 c (6 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 2 c frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed

Using a fork, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Lightly press 3/4 of the graham cracker mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, mix together condensed milk and lemonade. Fold in whipped topping. Pour over graham cracker crust. Sprinkle remaining graham crumbs over lemonade mixture. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

*Original recipe published in Shape magazine, July 2000. Recipe by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD a nutritionist and author of Stealth Health (Viking, 1999).

********************************************************

Ms. G.E. Witch's Zipped Up Lemonade Mousse

Serves 12

Prep time: 18 minutes (Includes opening all the packaging, but not clean-up...sorry kids, you're on your own there.)

• 12 Keebler Mini Graham Cracker Pies Shells
• 1 14 oz can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 c (6 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 2 c frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed
• 1 carton fresh blueberries
• 1 carton fresh raspberries
• Mini chocolate chips
• Fresh mint

In a large bowl, mix together condensed milk and lemonade. Fold in whipped topping. Fill each mini pie shell half-full with the creamy goodness. (If you want A LOT of the creaminess, make a double batch of the condensed milk, lemonade and whipped topping mixture...I do.)

Rinse and dry berries. Set aside 12 of the best looking raspberries. Sprinkle the remaining berries into the half-filled pie shells.

Top each pie shell with the remaining lemony delicious cream, covering the berries.

Decorate the top of each pie with one raspberry, a mint leaf (or three) and chocolate chips. Chill at least four hours, preferably overnight.

*******************************************************

And WHA-LA! It should look just like the picture at the top of this post.

Eat two, they're small.