Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Snow Day #1

I meant to put this post up last night, but this is what I did instead...


That's me, asleep (thanks for gettin' the shot, honey!) in the awesome blanket tent that Jeremy built "for the kids" yesterday. It was soooo comfy in there...

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The snow started to fly at around 6:45 this morning, just as I was getting out of bed. Oh no, there was no sleeping in around here! We don't really do that in our house. If someone sleeps until 8am it's practically a miracle--adults included. Neither Jeremy or I are late sleepers. And, I'm a person that's immediately busying myself around the house when I get up. So, it's no surprise that our kids are early risers.

Here's a picture of the snow as it was getting really geared up...


Now, the title of this post might lead you to believe that this was our first snow day this school year. Wrong. Actually, this is snow day #6 for us, and we got the call around lunch time today that we won't be having school tomorrow either. (That's snow day #7, for those of you keeping score.) But, we made the best of it today, and we'll make the best of it tomorrow...and possibly the next day...and maybe even the day after that...and then it'll be the weekend...and then they're talking about more possible snow on Sunday/Monday. But, you know, no problem. I've got this! No, actually, we all had a pretty good time today.

Here are some highlights of "Snowmageddon 2011" Day #1:

The kids in the blanket tent that Jeremy built.

Homemade hot chocolate!

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups sugar

2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon


Combine all ingredients in a sealed container or zip-top bag.


To make the hot chocolate:
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine 2/3 cups mix and 1/4 cup water. Stir over medium heat with a whisk until melted and smooth.
  2. Whisk in 4 cups of milk and heat through. Serve and enjoy!
This is pretty rich hot chocolate, so I usually only use 1/3 cup of mix and half the water and milk. That makes enough for the four of us. Any more than that and you kinda want to lay down afterwards...

After such a sweet treat, and being stuck inside with limited physical activity for most of the day, I wanted to make something a little healthier for the kids. "Apple Dip" is a recipe that I make a lot. It doesn't really have anything to do with apples, except that it's good to dip apples in. And, to be completely honest, it's more like peanut butter cheesecake in a bowl. It's also good with pretzel rods or graham cracker sticks.

Apple Dip

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I use natural peanut butter)

1 - 8 oz. block 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/2 cup lowfat vanilla or plain yogurt (we use vanilla, so if you use plain you may want to adjust the amount of brown sugar)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Using a handheld electric mixer, blend all ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth.

And, I know I said I'd be making Chicken Stew with Biscuits for dinner, but we ended up having make-your-own Taco Salad instead.

The kids love making their own plate.

The snow really piled up against our back door.
I didn't end up doing the P90x today either.  Maybe tomorrow...

Did everyone else survive the storm?

6 comments:

  1. #1 So glad that I'm not in the US and enduring yet another blizzard today (and then another one next week too...) #2 Your cooking puts me to shame, if only there were more hours in the day. I'll just have to get over the guilt of not cooking like you do.

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  2. Yay! This looks so fun. And what a funny picture. I'm so glad that you are posting pictures. I'm going to have to give you a shout out on my blog soon. you're such a great writing and I love the stuff you write about. Thanks for posting those links on FB this morning (from Runner's world). You can include those on your blog too. I plan on sharing one about power poses later.

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  3. Love your posts...makes me want to start a blog (dissertation first!) This so fondly reminded me of snow days in MD. Thanks for helping me re-live snow without the cold or mess. When Diego is interested in snow we know where to visit :) Oh yeah...and love the apple dip. Stay warm and dry (and sane!). <3

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  4. Ummmm.... So I have a blog, too. But you will never see it
    Because it looks pretty lame after seeing yours!

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  5. @Kris - if we lived closer, i'd let you pay me to be your personal chef. it'd be a win-win ( :
    @Amanda - yes, i finally started posting pics! but, dang, i had a hell of a time getting them into the blog in the right place. then Jeremy showed me that i hadn't updated to the newest version of the Blogger editor. duh. that was much easier.
    @Cynthia - glad you can enjoy our snow from afar! in my mind, i'm where you are!! give little Diego a kiss for me!
    @Angie - oh PLEASE let me see your blog!! i bet it's got awesome photos...

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  6. What did Jeremy use for the post in the blanket tent? That looks AWESOME!!! Way better than the blanket forts we make draping blankets over chairs...

    Snow Day #8 tomorrow...

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