And I had a GREAT time!
I left Thursday around noon after dropping Buddy off with my Mom, and then arrived at my friend's home just before 4 p.m. Immediately I had her two kids all over me ... and that didn't change throughout the whole weekend. 
On Friday morning I made aebleskebers for everyone. The kids couldn't get enough of them - they ate them just about as fast as I could make them. 
I let them play games on my iPhone. The biggest hit - for both the almost 5 year old girl and the 7 year old boy ... was the Barbie Memory game! It uses a lot of "outdated" words. I had to explain "Jeepers" and "Toodles" plus a few other words. It was quite funny actually.
My friend and I somehow managed to get in 5 games of Flinch - she won all of them!
Saturday after church we took the kids to the Lufkin Zoo and park where we had a picnic. Not even 5 feet from our blanket was a lake ... with warning signs about alligators!!! That was quite exciting.
The church's pastor and his two kids joined us to go into the zoo (his wife was in a meeting of some sort). I somehow ended up having not 2 kids all over me, but 4! I loved every minute of it of course.
It didn't cost me anything to get in to the zoo because my friend had an extra guest pass. Really, just a perfect way to spend a Sabbath afternoon.
I got lots of reading time in ... out loud to the kids! We read about Zacheus and Goliath and the little Maid who helped Naaman ... and we read an older book about how Goofy got his name (it was called something like "The Princess Who Never Laughed"), a book of Mother Goose rhymes, and LOTS more. We also played quite a bit of Wii. The little girl is quite skilled at the swordplay!
So ... anyway ... the trip was well worth the ~$60 in gas and $24 (treated for a meal at CiCi's Pizza) that it cost.
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I have heard diddly squat from any of the places I have applied to so far for jobs. It is frustrating - quite frustrating. Nevertheless, all I can do is keep on looking and trying. Eventually something will turn up (I hope).
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I should know the Capstone results by this Friday. Just slightly anticipating the end of the LOOONNNGGG wait.
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Now that my trip is over, I am stipulating that I will not spend more than $20 for the remainder of March (other than gas and one celebratory meal if good results from Capstone). I think I should be able to manage that.
Back from my Trip
March 21st, 2011 at 01:54 am
March 21st, 2011 at 02:09 am 1300673340
Fingers crossed for the Capstone results. Let us know!
March 21st, 2011 at 02:39 am 1300675177
March 21st, 2011 at 03:53 am 1300679607
March 21st, 2011 at 04:34 am 1300682064
March 21st, 2011 at 01:49 pm 1300715361
March 21st, 2011 at 01:55 pm 1300715732
Ha! You would think I would definitively know how to spell something I've eaten and/or made my whole life - but I've seen so many variations of its spelling ... and I seem to spell it differently every so often too.
March 21st, 2011 at 02:21 pm 1300717318
March 21st, 2011 at 02:32 pm 1300717931
An aebleskiver/aebleskeber...etc., is a pancake ball made with buttermilk in a special pan. Although I have heard that you could possibly make them in a muffin tin and bake them - never tried that method. In my family, they are called Danish Aebleskivers, but they can also go by other countries of origin.
The Americanized version of the pan is sold in stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond as "Pancake Puffs." The pan in that set is not quite as good as a traditional cast iron one, but it works (and is half the cost!)
I had a post about them (with recipe) on my old Single Frugalton blog, but still need to make a new one on my Living Frugal blog. This is a good reminder to do that.
You can actually find my recipe on Sparkpeople . com if you search Danish Aebleskebers.