Day 1 of The Great Migration

Day One

 

Pa and I awoke to a mountain of chores needin' to be done before we could leave for the Great Migration.  The boys did their chores and skedaddled to school while Pa and I sent out a smoke signal for help.  We had more chores than time, and luckily some good hearted neighbors came to help. 

Halfway through the mornin', disaster struck.  Pa discovered that we were short in the covered wagon department and we had to scramble to round up 'nother one.  He said we would have to choose between the cast iron cooking pot and the extra woolen blankets.  Thankfully, we found a local merchant willing to loan us wagon...though just for the journey west.

It was a mad scramble to get the homestead cleaned up and the wagons packed, but we did it.  The boys were sad to say goodbye to their teacher and townsfolk, as was I, but I heard there was quite a barn-burner in our absence. 

The trail was snowy, rainy and cold but we made it to Albert Lea in one piece and without havin' to replace an ox or wagon wheel.  The boys and Pa gathered supplies while I prepared dinner and we all hit the hay early.  I forget how lumpy and cold the ground can be in these parts....missed my bed somethin' fierce, but I know warmer ground is in our future.

Best Friends

Can I just go on record as saying I have THE BEST FRIENDS EVER??

In order to properly describe my appreciation for these people, I must preface all of this with some familial history:

For those of you who don't know...I do not have a very good (or, really ANY) relationship with my parents.  Both my mom and dad have issues that has made it impossible for me to have a relationship with them. 

Now, don't get me wrong....family is BEYOND important to me.  I have tried everything short of duct taping myself to their leg to have a close relationship with them.  Unfortunately, they both seem to have been infected with some sort of disease that does not allow you to give a shit about your daughter or grand kids and focus only on themselves. 

Harsh...yes, I know.  But the truth.

So all of this has made me a tad apprehensive about getting myself, and my kids, involved in any kind of a relationship outside of our immediate family.  I mean, really....if you can't trust your own MOTHER AND FATHER to care about you and your kids, how could you trust "just a friend" to care?

So along comes Joan and Carrie.  I met both of them at a parent committee meeting in Prescott.  They showed me the finer drinking establishments in Prescott...I baked them cakes.  We bonded.  So when we decided to move, guess who showed up to help?  Certainly not my parents, but Joan and Carrie.  They have cleaned my house, watched my kids, sold my junk at a garage sale.....they have listened to my worry, harassed me until I laughed and told me over and over that they appreciate me....just by being sad that we are leaving.  They would be the first to say that TO THEM this is no big deal, but to ME it has meant the world.

I have said many times that I don't know what I have done to deserve my kids...they are such a gift to me.  I now can add Joan and Carrie to that list because, really, they are such a huge blessing to us.

Which Way Do We Go George?

So we are trying to get from Point A....to, you guessed it....Point B.  Also known as Phoenix Arizona.

Since this IS a one time deal in terms of DRIVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, I had the GRAND idea that we should stop and see as many national treasures as possible.  I mean, when will we ever get to experience the Corn Palace, Mount Rushmore, the Rockies AND the Grand Canyon all in one trip, EVER again?

It could also be because the thought of driving 1600 miles with 3 kids in the car through the NOTHINGNESS of *Iowa, *Nebraska and *Kansas (please see the disclaimer below) makes me want to be knocked out RIGHT NOW, let alone while I am in the car with them.   Unfortunately, it is right smack through the middle of all of those NOTHINGNESS states that makes for the shortest trip possible. And honestly, if I am forced to drive to Arizona, I better make the best of it now.

The problem is that I want to cram as much "stuff" into this trip as possible.

"But what about Yellowstone??!! and Utah?? AND OOOOOOO...we could just drive straight across to California and see SAN FRANCISCO!!!! WAIT. Stop.  I have THE best idea!  We could just HEAD EAST and see NEW YORK TOO!"

Holy crap, when looking at a map, 1 inch may equal a 100 miles but I KNOW in the car it will equal 1000.





So I think I have it whittled down to Corn Palace, Mt Rushmore, Rockies and the Grand Canyon.  PLEASE pray that upon reaching the Grand Canyon, I don't just do a Thelma and Louise and drive straight off of a cliff!

*I apologize profusely to those of you who actually enjoy the nothingness of Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.  You are a better traveler than I!

The Dingalinges Reality Show!

 

So a good friend of mine recently told me that we should record our daily lives and let everyone laugh at our misfortune on a daily basis.  AKA...have a reality show.  Okay, so SHE didn't think of our family as a series of slap-stick comedy routines, but I sure do.

Daryl and I recounted a time when I so MAJESTICALLY announced that we are going to sell EVERYTHING WE OWN and live in an RV.  All five of us.  Together.  Trapped in an RV.  And record it.  Yeah...didn't happen.  Although looking back I realized that we would have most certainly been destined to appear on tv...COPS. 

Bad boy, bad boy...watcha gonna do....watcha gon

na do when they come for you?......AHEM.

I really don't know what I would do if we couldn't laugh, have fun and tease each other.  For all the times I complain that I don't get to have AFFECTION and CARING and RESPECT for each other or a DEEP AND MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS with one another (or in other words GIRL FEELINGS!  Their definition, not mine...ha!), I would literally go (look out for bad language ahead) BAT SHIT CRAZY if I couldn't laugh.

We are messy, loud, obnoxious.  But we also are loving, adventurous and hysterical.  I love that about us.  I don't know that I would mind putting my family on view for the world to see all of our flaws....I can handle the criticisms about our personalities...I just don't know if I could handle the 10 extra pounds the camera puts on.  :)

NEWS FLASH! GARAGE SALE!!

ATTENTION!

THE DINGALINGES ARE HAVING THE WORLDS BIGGEST MOVING SALE!

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY and SATURDAY

 

MARCH 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd

 

 

Seriously people.  I am a world class hoarder and I have a LOT of crap really cool stuff to get rid of....ha!  I used to own a gift basket business and have A TON of gift basket supplies to get rid of.  Books, boys clothes from newborn up to 5t and shoes.  Did I mention we are getting rid of ALL OF OUR WINTER CRAP?  CHEAP??  Because, ya know...there is no snow in Phoenix...Ahem.

And don't think for a minute that you can wait until 5:00 pm on the 23rd to snap up the good stuff...GUESS WHAT?  IT WILL ALL BE GONE BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD DEALS! 

Plus every single thing that is left is immediately going to Goodwill.  I am generous like that....:)

Swimming In Minnesota....

I promise, after I get just a little bit more out of my system,  I will stop with the frozen tundra jokes.  I really do not want to become ONE OF THOSE people....partly because we may very well end up BACK in Minnesota, and also because we will be in Arizona IN JULY. 

I fully expect to be paid back with "hot 'nuff for ya" comments. 

But (HA!  BUT...GET IT?!?! BUT!) for now, I will happily dive (HA!!  AGAIN!) into the pool (SERIOUSLY, I SHOULD DO STAND-UP) of joy I have for our move.

Aaahhhh....

What We Are Leaving Behind....Part 1

 

I am hyper-aware that we are leaving behind our family and friends; neighbors that have become more like surrogate parents than...well, neighbors.  My kids' best friends all live on the same street as us.  We have room to run and play...even if it only 4 months out of the year.  All of these things weigh heavily on our minds as we prepare for our adventure....

 

 

 

 

 

 

But wait....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are also leaving behind THE most important thing............................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS!

 

 

I need to say that the above picture was taken at 3:30 IN THE AFTERNOON!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND THIS!

 

 

I believe that the temp was a BALMY -12 this day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND THIS!!!!!

 

LOOK!  Ice, snow AND RAIN!  All in ONE day!  WOOHOO!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND THIS!!!!!!!

 

OHHHHHH....LOOK!  Blue sky!  I can feel my vitamin D levels...well, BOTTOMING OUT.

Sorry.  Is it bad form to be just so DAMN HAPPY to be getting away from this?

The One That Changes Everything

 

 

I have never been one to embrace the status quo.  Looking back, I can see that my life, up until this point, has been a series of decisions made to satisfy my need for new experiences.  Motherhood has put somewhat of a damper on this impulse, due to my kids' need for stability (imagine a sarcastic eye roll here...ha!), but my need to explore hasn't gone away completely.  You can see bits of it in the pictures I post; the crafts/cakes/cupcakes/decorations/gifts I create.  Being a creature of habit, it drives my husband INSANE that I can drop everything and try something new.  I am forever trying to get him to expand his horizons while he is trying to get me to see the horizons we already have. 

That's why when he commented to me that he thought we should move to Arizona, I was surprised.  We had talked about doing it before...but there were always reasons he came up with for why it wouldn't work.  Our families, his job...but this time, the planets aligned and he seemed serious!  I think the countless conversations about following my dream (or perhaps nightmare...with 3 kids anyway) to travel in an RV and see the country may have helped.  We started doing some research and realized that the reasons we have stayed in the FROZEN TUNDRA don't really apply anymore.  So here we are....my family of 5....about to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure (well, for us anyway) to relocate to Phoenix, AZ. 

I can tell you right now that this is going to be fun...maddening...frustrating and AMAZING. 

Care to join us on our journey?  Stay tuned! :) 

Joy

I recently got a phone call from a LOVELY woman asking if I could make cupcakes for her organization. OF COURSE I CAN....are you kidding? I get to play with edible image paper and sprinkles in the DEAD of winter?? The only thing that would make it better would be if I could then eat them all...ahem.

 

I received an email today from the same lovely lady telling me that their organization was featuring the cupcakes on both their website and Facebook page.  WHAT AN HONOR!!

It is amazing when doing something that is, really, just a whole load of fun, is recognized by others as being cool.

BREAKING NEWS!

There is LIFE CHANGING news a-brewin' at the Linge house!  An official announcement will be made soon.  Stay tuned for updates.....

Happy Halloween!

JP asked me to make a special treat for his class to celebrate Halloween.  He also got his teacher to go along with this plan by (I suspect) having her send home the "treat list" with a check mark next to "cake".  I suppose it doesn't help that I am constantly schlepping cupcakes and such to school to entice the staff!

I ended up spending my whole day working on this gem.  It was "just" going to be cupcakes.  Then I thought it would be cute to have something with a pumpkin theme.  I didn't want to shape frosting into pumpkins all day, so I baked 2 bundt cakes and slapped them together.  Goodness knows you can't have a class celebration without adding the names of ALL OF THE KIDS IN THE CLASS....sigh.  Why do I do this to myself??  The fact that I spent 5 hours working on something that will be destroyed by a class of 8-year-olds in 5 minutes flat has not escaped me.  The things we do for our kids!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!

Halloween Surprise!

As you may have realized, my family is big on celebrations.  Not expensive celebrations mind you (since I can't seem to get paid to roam the Internet and look for awesome craft ideas) but fun none the less.  This idea came from one of my many MANY hours looking at Pinterest and Craft Gossip (SWOON).  2 ENORMOUS beach balls that I spent hours (no, really...HOURS) coloring with a black permanent marker.  My husband hoisted them in to a tree and secured them with bungee cords, which allows for movement.  WHALAA!

While it was difficult to hide from the kids due to their size, I did want to surprise them with the actual unveiling.  My husband and I snuck out to the chosen tree and stealthily (HA!  Stealthily...with each of us carrying a 42-inch beach ball!) assembled the eyes just in time for the bus to drive by!  They were quite amazed.  And so was the bus driver....

Next year, we are going to attempt a crashed space ship.  Wish us luck.

Casino Night Fundraiser

 

Casino Night Meringue Tower and Pumpkin Pie Pops
 

I recently had the pleasure of working with an amazing group of the hardest working moms around.  Out school district, along with many others all over the county I'm sure, has had more than it's fair share of budget cuts.  Hoping to ease the burden at least a little bit we decided to hold a Casino Night Fundraiser.  Holy Hannah was it fun.  AND A LOT OF WORK.  Seriously.  I am still recovering.

 

Chocolate Fountain

 

Other than they joy of getting to work with these amazing women, I did get to live out my Vegas-style dessert buffet fantasy.  Chocolate fountains, meringues, tarts, mini pie-pops!  I was in heaven!

 

Lemon Tarts and Salt Water Taffy
 

 There are a few things I would do differently.  The meringue on the Lemon Tarts "melted" and spread.  The chocolate fountain is MESSY!!!! so maybe a smaller, separate table is in order and the Meringue Tower was so tall and glittery, I don't think people realized that it was edible!  Maybe an "Eat Me" sign is in order.  Just FYI...if you plan on making Mini Pumpkin Pie Pops with Cinnamon Whipped Cream, be sure you have A TON of them.  They were the favorite of the night!

Chocolate Cupcakes with real BUTTERcream
 

All in all, it was an incredibly rewarding event.  Both in terms of money for our school AND time spent with wonderful people.

 

The Cupcakes

I had the pleasure of making 4 different cupcakes for our community clean-up day. 

KEY LIME PIE

SUPER sour....just like the real thing!  I made lime flavored cupcakes using a vanilla cake recipe, adding about 2 tablespoons of lime juice.  Baked as usual and topped with real BUTTER buttercream frosting that tasted JUST like you bit into a lime.  LOTS of lime juice in this.  I then piped it onto the cupcakes and sprinkled crushed graham crackers on top along with a tiny candy lime wedge.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE

These are dark chocolate cupcakes topped with home made Coconut Pecan frosting (Ala Cooks.com).  Made chocolate ganache and piped SORRY looking scrolls (really, they look more like snails)around the cupcake. 

Want to know what the other 2 flavors were?  Check back soon to see!

JACKS BIRTHDAY AT SCHOOL ICE CREAM CONE CUPCAKES...whew

That was a mouthful.  Hopefully, his classmates will think the same of the treats we brought for them!

I love making these because you can make them look so realistic, it causes double takes all over the place.  And I am all about double-takes.  And general Tom Foolery.  And Silly....I do silly REALLY well.  Ahem.

Just fill flat bottomed (don'tcha wish you had a flat bottom.  I sure wish I did!) ice cream cones 3/4 of the way full and bake as normal. 

FYI - I suggest doing this in a mini-cupcake pan surrounded by tin foil to keep them from falling over.  Just a small tip learned from a very bad experience....:)

I frosted mine with bubble gum flavored REAL buttercream, sundae sprinkles and a sour cherry candy on top.

Again with the FYI - These things are REALLY DIFFICULT to transport!  If possible, do not introduce them to a moving vehicle.  Disaster will, I promise, ensue!  They are worth the effort, however....looks good and SO tasty!

Spring Is In The Air!

Where I live, Spring is a magical time.  After MONTHS of cold, snow and ice, the warmth of the sun and crocus flowers poking through the last of the snow is the unofficial badge of honor proving you have the fortitude to survive all Wisconsin can throw at you. 

Well, in theory anyway.

See, this year we have had 6 months of Spring and on some days, Summer!  Very odd for my neck of the woods.  None the less, April is a welcome sight and is causing me to think of the gardening possibilities!  I made this rose cupcake/gift basket combo with that thought in mind.  Who can resist flowers made from buttercream?

I used a regular (heavy) flowerpot and inserted a styrofoam ball (one that fits TIGHTLY).   I topped that with green tissue paper (if I do it again, I may use green shredded tissue paper.  I didn't like how "bunched up" it looked).  I then used heavy dowels topped with cupcakes and pushed them through both the tissue paper and the styrofoam ball.  I would recommend freezing the cupcakes before doing this to limit any damage to the icing and to also wrap in a clear gift bag to help support the cupcakes.  I then tied a package of flower seeds to the outside of the package so she could reuse the planter.

The recipient, by the way, LOVED it!

April Fools Part 2

Here are the remaining April Fools pranks as promised!

Lunch was "grilled cheese" and "chips"...AKA pound cake with orange frosting and bags of chips that I opened a TINY bit on the bottom, poured out the chips and refilled with carrots!  I then hot glued the bag back together being careful not to use too much glue (Carrots and hot glue = YUCK).

April Fools Day 2012

It's that time of year...April Fools.  Some say it is my favorite day of the year.  Some also say that I seem to get a strange amount of pleasure out of tricking my kids.  Some say I spend WWWAAAAYYYY to much time planning and organizing said tricks.  "Some" need to shut their pie-hole (yes, YOU Mr. DingaLinge!).

Ok, fine.  He is right.  I really don't know what it is...but my kids have the BEST reactions to being fooled.  The first year I really did anything, I made meatloaf in a cupcake pan and topped them with colored mashed potatoes.  JP looked at me with his big blue eyes opened wide and yelled "MAMA!!!  These ARE NOT CUPCAKES!!!!!"  And yes, he did use that many exclamation points...ha!

So here is a small sample of what is in store for The Boys when they wake up this fine April 1st Day.

Cold cereal for breakfast.  But WAIT...is it cold cereal?  Could it be....an APRIL FOOLS TRICK?  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA (yes, that is an evil laugh).  This is, in fact, NOT cold cereal, but white jello topped with little candy necklace pieces!

And look.....Pizza!  The Boys' favorite.  Who can resist gooey cheese and pepperoni?  Well, if you are at OUR table you would be eating a COOKIE instead of pizza.  That's right, that is a GIANT COOKIE.  Topped with strawberry jam "sauce", "shredded" white chocolate, fruit leather "pepperoni", black licorice "black olives", cashew "mushrooms", and gummy worm "green peppers". 

Check back later for lunch and dessert pictures.  BWWHAHAHAHA!

Heart Cookies

The Ice Cream Cone Cake

By Request...

The Ice Cream Cone Cake....