#283 - Top 5 for 2009

I loved Kami's idea for the Top 5 Sites visited on her blog in 2009. So, I decided to do it for my blog and also throw in a few fun facts about my first full year of blogging (I only have tracking info from March-present, but still interesting).

Top 5 Posts for 2009
1. Clever Halloween Costumes, maybe it inspired Rachael & Jordan?
2. Quiet Book from the 70's
3. Prune Bags from Argentina - it really is hard to find info on these bags.
4. Homemade Flash Diffuser - I miss Kar . . . come back and visit.
5. Jumbo Rice Krispies - I still haven't been able to find these at the store, have you?

Some other fun facts about A Million Things I Love . . .
Top Visitors
1. Maryland - I think Baby O and I account for most of those visits (we like to watch Elmo and make Jiffy Rolls)
2. California - shout out to Casi
3. Idaho
4. Washington
5. Oregon

Day with the Most Visitors - October 27, 2009 (118 visitors) - wowzers! *this is not common :)

Most Visitors come from google or A Fro, And You Know.

Total of 228 posts this year, the most in February/September (tie) and the least in October.

If you want to track your blog, you can use google analytics...it's free and sort of fun to see what's up with your blog.

Stay tuned for tomorrow to see some of my 2009 favorites...

#282 - Cape Breton Pork Pies

When I was little we visited Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and had these yummy "Pork Pies". They are a sweet treat and not a savory food like the name might imply. I recently came across the recipe on the internet and combined a few to make my own version of Cape Breton Pork Pies.

Cape Breton Pork Pies
Makes approximately 30 mini pies/tarts

Pie Shells (basically a shortbread recipe)
2 Cups white flour
4 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Cup (soft) butter (I used salted butter)

Mix the flour and powdered sugar. Cut the butter into small cubes and kneed into the flour. Within a few minutes, you’ll get an (almost) greasy ball. Roll dough into small balls and flatten. Press the dough into small muffin tins (like the ones I used for Baby O's birthday cupcakes). When you’re pressing you can make the shell thin because it will expand as it cooks. I made 30 shells. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes. Let cool.

Filling
2 Cups chopped dates
1 1/2 Cups water
1 Cup packed brown sugar
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
(there are many variations of this)

Bring the above ingredients to a boil, then simmer for about 10-15 minutes. It should get thicker. Blend ingredients in blender to make a smooth consistency. Let cool and spoon into pie shells. (I had some date mixture left over, because I didn't want the tarts to be overflowing with this filling.)

Icing
2/3 Cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon butter, softened

Mix together until smooth and add a dollop to the top of each Pork Pie. (I filled a zipper bag with the icing and cut a small tip of the corner of the bag to squeeze out the icing.)

I think these taste best when put into the fridge for a day or so.

I wish I had gotten a picture of all of them. This is a picture of the last two that Baby O had thrown on the ground :)

Enjoy!

#281 - animal coloring book & a new box of crayons

I was lucky enough to win this giveaway at Red Roko. It was a cute Zoo Animal Coloring Book and a brand new package of 24 Crayola Crayons. Baby O loved them and was so fascinated by all the different colors of crayons.

Thanks Red Roko!

#280 - Grandma and Grandpa arrived

Grandma & Grandpa arrived...well, at least a box with their picture all over it did. We miss them, but loved the gifts they sent.

#279 - Our car is stuck

Oh, I love the snow! Baby O and I went outside at least two times a day to play in it. I wish it would snow like this every year.

#278 - 10 Little Monkeys

Baby O's favorite new song is 10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. I saw this cute glove and I think it would be fun to make one someday.

#277 - Gingerbread House for your Hot Chocolate

Someday when I have nothing else to do but bake, I'll make these.

#276 - Food, Inc.

After reading this, I checked this movie out from Netflix.

I just watched it and was reminded why I became a vegetarian in the 7th grade (it only lasted for a few years, but I still am not a huge fan of meat.)

Seriously, go rent or check this movie out from the library. WOW!

#275 - smiling's my favorite

For Karli. Via

#274 - Micro S'mores

#273 - Gospel Art Book

I got this as a gift. It's actually quite a nice picture book.

Baby O loves seeing the pictures of Baby Jesus and I love telling him the story about Baby Jesus.

When he sees the pictures, he says, "baah" for the sheep and "e ha" for the donkey.

Here's my favorite picture from the book.

#272 - Ginger Bread House (mobile home style)

Making a gingerbread house is on my list of things to do this year. What do you think of this one? I can't take credit for this beauty, but it looks yummy!

No joke, until last week, we had 3 cars (one un-driveable) and a motorcycle in front of our house :)

#271 - Fisher Price Record Player

Photo via here

Mom, do you still have ours? That was such a cool toy.

#270 - Classic Concentration

Remember the game Classic Concentration? My sister Casi loves to draw clues like the ones in the game.

I decided to do a little game for Casi (or anyone else) to show how Baby O is pronouncing names. I'm just doing my family's names, because Pepe's family is too big.

#1

#2

#3

#4

Answers:
#1 - car key (Karli)
#2 - ray shell (Rachael) or ray tell
#3 - key "c" (Casi)
#4 - gaw gaw (Grandpa) or gaw pa

Here's how he pronounces the rest of my family:
jordan - jor jor or jor dee
mae - mmmmeh
brian - bry dee or bry ee
pedro - pay jew
grandma - gaw ma
old fart - gaw gaw

#269 - Nacho Libre Costume for a Baby

I wanted to add this to my Shared Items or What I'm Watchin links on the right side of my blog ---------------->But, it wouldn't let me, so I'm sharing it here in my blog. Isn't this the cutest homemade Nacho Libre costume ever?! I know it's not even close to Halloween, but I wanted to remember it.

Picture via this blog.

#268 - Ovaltine

Did anyone else drink Ovaltine when they were kids?

I loved when my grandma made this for me.

Did you know that it was originally named Ovomaltine, but a error was made when the manufacturer registered the name?

Can you imagine drinking Ovomaltine? Just doesn't have the same ring.

#267 - puddles

Baby O and me. I'm wearing Pepe's red crocs.

#266 - roses

I received some roses from work the other day and Baby O was fascinated by them. He kept wanting to touch them and smell them.

I then gave him one and he immediately torn it apart...typical boy!

#265 - hats from Jaime

For our wedding (many years ago), Pepe and I got matching, hand-knit hats from my cousin Jaime. We love them and still wear them. Here's a picture of Baby O and I wearing these warm hats. Thanks Jaime!

#264 - Best Lotion

I got this lotion as a gift a few years ago and it was the best ever. It lasted over a year, it's not oily, it smells good. I'm going to keep my eye out for this if it ever goes on sale.

#263 - Present for Kar

Since my sister Kar loved this so much, I'm thinking she'll love this beard scarf for Christmas. What do you think Kar?

via here

#262 - close call

#261 - Chocolate and Vanilla

I made Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake...yum! Pepe and Baby O loved it (so did I). Baby O kept saying, "cake...cake...cake...cake" and I caved. There was so much, that I froze most of it for later.Then Vanilla Wafers, aren't the so good?

Why have I been blogging so much about food??? Maybe it's that time of the year?!

Sorry about the blurry pictures :(

#260 - oh my darlin

Yeah for Clementines . . . one of my favorite reasons for the Season :)

#259 - he likes them

This past summer a traveling sales woman came to my house and asked me if my son liked books (cause every kid likes books, right?) Well, I honestly told her that he likes to rip them up, but doesn't like me to read to him. She lost her whole sales pitch with me.

Now, Baby O loves books. He can't stop looking at them and/or having Pepe/me read them to him. He loves them so much he falls asleep hugging them.

His favorite books currently:
Elmo's Blanket
Pop up book about trucks
Big Book of Questions & Answers - Farm Animals (pictured above)
A book about all sorts of animals
Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms

#258 - junior mints

anyone else love these? yum!

#257 - Adam Sandler sings Elmo

Baby O loves this song . . . it's pretty cute!

#256 - Adoption

I would love to adopt someday.

#255 - Wool Sweaters (for babies)

Cute baby sweaters. Here and here.
This one is a Halloween costume (angel wings.) Both are a wee bit out of my price range (ok, a lot).

#254 - School Lunch Tray

Top: L-R - steak, cheese, red peppers
Bottom: L-R - hummus, fruit (blueberries/bananas/strawberries)

Pepe bought me this school lunch tray for Mother's Day (right before Baby O was born). Don't lunch trays bring back good memories?

My favorite school lunch was the encased grilled cheese sandwich. Do you remember those?

#253 - Arugula on Pizza

For my birthday we went to 2 Amy's. Mixed reviews from the family (a bit expensive), but the arugula on top of my fire roasted pizza was delicious. I love the peppery taste.
If you do go to 2 Amy's, you should get the Supplì al telefono (fritters - rice balls with a meat/cheese).

#252 - Rotten Apple

Baby O loves apples. He can't stop pointing to the apples and saying, "ah pull" (he says it 10 times in a row). Sometimes I'll give in and just give him the apple because he won't eat it when I cut it up into pieces.

He had an apple the other day that he carried around the house. I just found it today behind his crib and it looked like a mouse had eaten it (it was actually Baby O's way of eating.)

Notice the gross hair sticking out of it...yuck!

#251 - Package from Grandma

Baby O loves getting packages from Grandma. His most recent package contained 2 new books about words/sounds and pictures of his Grandma & Grandpa (he loves to carry the pictures around with him.)

#250 - Lessons from a Dog

Very cute. Very true. Click on over here.
via DB

#249 - Mr. Pumpkin Head

We decided to decorate our pumpkin this year with Mr. Potato Head appendages. Baby O loves it. Every time we go outside he'll pull out the pumpkin's arms and try to stick them back in.

#248 - Argentine Coin Jewlery

One of my favorite treasures I got from Argentina was this necklace.
It is the Argentine Peso, but parts of it are cut out.
They cut out them out by hand.
You can find these at the street fairs on Plaza Dorrego in Buenos Aires.

#247 - my runaway

Baby O's new favorite thing to do is run away. He thinks it's a game.
He looks at me,
laughs (do you see his smile in the middle picture?),
starts running,
running gets out of control
and he falls.
Luckily, it was soft grass!

#246 - Clever Homemade Halloween Costumes

I ran across these costume ideas. I love the "401k Portfolio" idea above and my favorite is the "H1N1 Vaccine" below. And they are all homemade! I think these would be good costumes for adults too.
Here's how to make the H1N1 costume:

For the syringe, find a plastic trash can large enough to slide over your head and shoulders.

Remove the bottom and cut two holes in the side for your arms.

Cover the can with white paper and make syringe gradations with black tape or a marker.

Add a bottom rim made of poster board or construction paper.

For the needle, stick a dowel into the narrow end of a funnel.

Attach string that can be tied under your chin as with a hat.