Back from Disneyland

This time last week, I was in Disneyland.  Wish I was still there!  We had such a blast.

It wasn't so fun getting there.  All that waiting sure wasn't fun.  But at least Audrey slept half the flight, which sure was a relief.  We were beyond tired when we arrived, still being on Central time, but we needed to eat and I had made plans to meet an online Disney friend in Downtown Disney.  So we went to House of Blues to meet Lorianne and her daughter Megan.  It was so good to meet them and we had a good time, despite being so tired.

Tuesday we went to Disneyland, where Audrey discovered the carousel right away. I lost count of how many times we rode that one.  We went on a bunch of rides, but Audrey didn't like how loud they were for the most part.  She didn't cry though.  Unless she saw the carousel and wanted to ride it.  We ate lunch at Cafe Orleans and had crepes and a pumpkin brulee which was divine.  We would come back to Paradise Pier Hotel after lunch for naps.  Good thing to do.  Dinner we had at Tortilla Jo's and went to Mickey's Halloween Party, which Audrey dressed up as a ballerina for.  She was stinkin' cute.

Wednesday we spent at California Adventure, where Audrey met her hero, Ariel.  We had lunch at Ariel's Grotto with all of the princesses.  It was good, but Audrey was already nappy.  I think she would enjoy this if she had been older.  $20 for mac and cheese she did not eat was not cool.  At least we lived off of the desserts for a while!

Thursday we had the best breakfast with Minnie and Friends at Plaza Inn.  Best character meal ever.  I loved it.  She loved it.  She ate.  Everyone was happy.  The only downer was that it was across the way from the Astro Orbiter ride, which she also loved.  So there was screaming at first.  Ironically, we got a picture made right about then, and the photographer was so good that it's actually a decent picture of all of us!  So yeah, had to buy that one.  We needed presents for the grandparent's anyway :)

Friday we went to both parks.  We started out at California Adventure, since that was the park with the extra magic hour.  We were able to do rides that had too much of a line later in the day.  Cars Land was also a lot more pleasant. Then we went to Disneyland, as we had reservations for Blue Bayou.  Oh my gosh.  Stop.  If you go to Disneyland, you NEED to make reservations for Blue Bayou.  You NEED to.  It fills up and is so so so so so so good! Hunted down Pooh Bear as well and Audrey gave him a big hug.  She wanted to buy a Pooh Bear that was like the size of her, but I persuaded her to a small one. 

Saturday came too fast.  We made a last minute ressie at our hotel's character breakfast where Audrey finally got to meet Mickey!  That was a pretty nice breakfast as well and they had quite a few characters.  I am glad we did it.  She will only be this age once. Then we had to pack up and say good bye.

The low lights: Small World was closed for refurbishment and they ruined Haunted Mansion....I don't mind that they decorated it all Nightmare Before Christmas, but you messed with the whole flippin' ride.  Not even the song was the same.  I was uber bummed.  It's just for this time of year though. 

But watching all of Audrey's reactions, all of the the tasty treats, and the great first family vacation memories that will last a life time.....it was worth it.  Such a great trip.  Can't wait for more!

Christmas Morning

I am like a kid on Christmas morning.

Seriously.

I woke up at 3, and really didn't go back to sleep.  I am running on pure adrenaline. 

Because...

I AM GOING TO DISNEYLAND TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Won't blog while we're gone, but I am sure I will post pictures as soon as I can! :)

Dante's Inferno Revisited

I think I experienced my own special circle of Hell this past weekend.

We were at my in-law's house in Houston and I was still getting over the junk I had.  I was extremely tired the whole time and helped set up for a wedding shower for DH's cousin that my MIL was hosting at her house.  Then right before the first person arrived, Audrey ralphed.  She has never thrown up before so she was very upset.  Then she did it again.  Oh great.  She had that dumb tummy bug that was going around.

So here I am the whole time in her room trying to comfort my sick child in a house that is not ours trapped by a huge party going on downstairs.  And to top it off, I am starving.  And there is only one gluten free option (veggies and hummus), so I had to eat some major junk food.  And then, after Audrey finally threw up the last time, she was ready to sleep, but people stayed an hour and a half past the ending time and talked flippin' LOUD so she kept on waking up.  I almost went momma bear on their hineys.  That just ticked me off. 

Needless to say, we hightailed it out of there the next day. 

Worst weekend ever. 

Hopefully all is behind us now though, since we leave for Disneyland in 6 days!!!!!!!!

Blackbird Bakery review

I've been meaning to review one of my favorite new finds from the Gluten Free Allergen Free Expo.  Let me tell you about Blackbird Bakery.

So I come along this booth that I almost pass by, but then I'm like "what the heck?  I am here to try new things.  And, special bonus, no lines!"  Plus they were all so smiley and friendly, it was hard not to chat.  The owner, Karen Morgan, is so absolutely adorable.  She explained her different flours and what each of them can do for different recipes.

I got the pie crust mix.  I get nervous, because I see that you are supposed to add eggs and butter to it.  I have to substitute those things, so I was wondering if it would turn out the same.  Plus, I didn't know if the fact that I wasn't using the exact kind of flour alternative to knead with, if it wasn't going to turn out.  So I got out my trusty Ener-G egg replacement as well as my Earth Balance coconut butter and went for it, not expecting much.  I was concerned about the kneading and letting it set.  Turns out I need not have worried! 

It was pretty easy to work in to the pan, then I put in my makings for a chicken pot pie and put on the top crust with only minor flaws.  Then it went in the oven.  The kitchen was smelling wonderful and it was ready fast.  Still, I'm nervous. What if it tastes like coconut since I used coconut butter?  Did I just ruin it?  Then I take a bite.  The moment of truth.  It was so light, flaky, buttery....perfect.  This is the best ever pie crust.  And just so you know, I have only been gluten free for a year so I've got a lot to compare it to.  Let me tell you, grandma's or your aunt's or whoever makes good pie crust in your family has met their match.  Pretty sure they can't hold a candle to Blackbird Bakery's mix.  I have never been the hugest crust fan, but I make sure every little crumb of this stuff has been licked clean. 

She runs shop out of Austin, so you are shopping local when you shop with her!  She doesn't have her shop up online as of yet, but hoping she gets it up before Thanksgiving!  I need some crusts for what promise be to be the best pies!  So check in with her site to see when that comes up and get your self some.  http://www.blackbird-bakery.com/

I also got the Choux mix, but have yet to play with that.  But I am very impressed!

The Vow Review

I netflixed The Vow yesterday.  It's based on a true story in which a young married couple gets in a car wreck and the woman looses all memory of her new husband so the husband tries to re-woo her. 

I don't know if it's the weather or whatever is in the air, but I've been depressed since watching it.  It was a pretty good movie, but not one I want to see again.  I wouldn't really recommend it either.  That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

Rough Week

I thought mom's had this sickness immunity.  Maybe it just seemed that way, because my mom was pretty much super mom.  But this week I have been sick with what I believe is a secondary infection from allergies.  I've felt pretty bad.  Throat kills, can't breathe from my nose, pounding headache from sinus pressure.  And to top it off, AF is in town. 

My parent's bought a house further away.  I don't know how I feel about that.  I mean, we may be moving on the other side of the planet, so I guess I shouldn't complain.  Them moving out of my childhood home will be kind of rough though.  Being sick and on AF while hearing about this though...rough.  Knew it had to happen.  Needed to happen.  There is a comfort in the familiar that people can get stuck in though, and thus never know God's best for them.

That's why we're going for Japan!

We have all of our work in to SIM.  It's the waiting game.  Trying to be actively praying about this, since that's all I can really do.  Also trying to focus my thinking on other things so that I don't worry about it.  Who adds a day to his life by worrying, Paul asks.  Disneyland trip is in 16 days!  Then we'll be helping my parents move, followed by Thanksgiving, and a family wedding in early December and a million other December activities.  In the midst of all of that, we should find out about SIMstart and get our tickets to Charlotte if God wants us right now in Japan. 

I guess that's a good thing about my parents moving.  I am a middle child, so I can tend to be a little clingier to what I know.  Them moving to a unfamiliar area just breaks me, melts me, molds me, uses me to His Glory.  I was willing before, but it makes me more willing to move to Japan and start a new life there.

Better Batter

I had always heard in the gluten free community, that Better Batter was pretty much the end-all/be-all of mixes.  I've tried a lot in this last year of being gluten free, but hadn't had the chance before last week to try these mixes.

Thank goodness for the Gluten Free Allergen Free Expo!  Although they were sold out by the time I hit them, they offered the expo pricing on their website along with a code for free shipping.  Another awesome thing about this company, besides their sweet owner, is that they have finance options for low income families and they are a huge advocate in the autism community. 

The first thing I made was chocolate cake.  It was my dad's birthday and my mom hadn't baked a cake yet, so I offered to make one.  Besides a slight difference in texture, no one could really tell it was gluten free.  Color me impressed!  Then I decided to break in to the seasoned flour and made fried okra.  It rivaled my Granny's (shhhh, don't tell her)!  It had a definite kick to it.  Very addictive.  No one could tell at allllll that they were gluten free.  Then I did something I shouldn't have.  I took the brownie mix and made grasshopper brownies.  My waistline is shot.  I have found my go-to brownie mix.  Again, no one could tell they were GF.  There wasn't even that kinda funky texture.  They were just really, really good brownies.

Here's the link to their website: http://betterbatter.org/