Raising Devils

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 1 of 4

Monday, February 6th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | 2 Comments

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 1

Originally uploaded by kjda

You know you want some. I just made TONS. My special gift to me.

Recipe below.

KJ

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 2 of 4

Monday, February 6th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 2

Originally uploaded by kjda

The ingredients and the caloric markup:

1 box Crispix: 1330 calories
2/3 box Wheat Chex 1100 36 g fiber
2/3 box Multi-grain Chex ditto
1 bag Spelt Pretzels 840 calories 38 g fiber

2 bags scharfenberger bittersweet choco baking chunks 680 calories 11g fiber (1360 22)
1 bag scharfenberger semisweet baking chunks 770 calories 11 g fiber
2 squares 280 calories 8 g fiber
Sea salt: caloric contribution negligible. But sprinkle liberally!

At a minimum I’ve got 60 servings here: 67800 calories divided by 60…that can’t be right. Ok, time to abandon doing the math in my head…no, I just got carried away with the zeroes. 6780. And a bonus couple grams of fiber every time.

70 calories. I could eat 70 calories worth of Tings just by walking past the pantry. This is relevant.

I would never have counted the calories, except that my friend Mimi seriously doubted the healthiness of my healthy nutritious good-for-me snack mix. Of course, Mimi doesn’t know what I’m up against. For that, read on:

KJ Dell’Antonia

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 3 of 4

Monday, February 6th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 3

Originally uploaded by kjda

One large bowl: filled twice to allow room to stir, with half of all the ingredients. Don’t stress over equal chocolate distribution, it all works out in the end.

I spread parchment on the counter to spread the mix out on to cool and harden. Overnight is best, but that really depends on where your cat sleeps. So, why is this so good for me? Keep reading.

KJ Dell’Antonia

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 4

Monday, February 6th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Delicious Nutritious Chocolate Cereal Pretzel Mix Part 4

Originally uploaded by kjda

And, finally, the nutritious part. You must understand that one reason this is nutritious, and healthful, and a serious gift to myself, is simply that every night, right around this time, my stress wires fully fired, kids plowed into bed, evening of email ahead, determined to get a little down time, I sit down on the couch and plow whatever salty thing I can find it the cabinet into my mouth in large quantities. Tings are my greatest weakness, but I will take chips, sun chips, Cheetos, crackers…

Now, I’m genetically lucky, and I admit it. This activity isn’t great for my waistline, but my clothes still fit. But it isn’t good for me, I don’t feel good about it, and I really don’t want to do it–except, of course, at 9:00 every night. My general strategy is just not to purchase any of these things, since I mostly shop when I’m mentally stronger–but I do let the kids have chips, and sometimes, damn them, they pick stuff I like. Love. Can’t not eat.

There are Tings in the cabinet RIGHT NOW.

But this is the one thing that stops me. I like this stuff. If I can have this, I won’t eat Tings, at least not most of the time. And I only eat a little of this. It’s so good, so salty-sweet-perfect, that a little bowl does fine (as opposed to half a bag of Tings, and that’s on a good night.

So, tonight, my gift to me: a two-month supply of choco chex mix. Happy me, me!
KJ Dell’Antonia

Party Clothes New Hampshire Style

Saturday, February 4th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Party Clothes New Hampshire Style

Originally uploaded by kjda

We are invited to a fantastic progressive party tonight. A full meal cooked by some of the best cooks in town. They call it "Howl at the Moon."

Old Enough to Do What I Want

Sunday, January 29th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | 6 Comments

And what I want to do, on this beautiful, sunny, glorious, relatively warm winter afternoon is…

Not ski
Not take-a-walk
Not sled
Not cross-country ski
Not hike

No, I want to stay inside, bake some cookies, and lounge around with a big pile of magazines and the Sunday Times, and I am DOING IT.

I do feel a little guilty. Ridiculous, isn’t it? But I feel like I should “get out there.” “Just do it.” “Get outside!” “Take advantage.”

I just don’t want to. I don’t want to do anything organized, or really much of anything at all. I cleaned the books off my bedside table and re-organized my sweaters, and that was enough. If this is a bad example for my children (who are reading, playing video games, playing computer games, sledding, playing with the dog and otherwise doing pretty much not much either), so be it. I happen to think it’s actually a good example. You don’t have to do something all the time. Right? Right?

Cause That’s Just How We Roll

Saturday, January 21st, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Cause That’s Just How We Roll

Originally uploaded by kjda

Yeah yeah yeah, they’re late.

I Finally Feel Like a Real Writer

Thursday, January 19th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

I Finally Feel Like a Real Writer

Originally uploaded by kjda

Although it’s a little hard to write.

KJ Dell’Antonia
sent from my iPhone

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Helping the Dentist Out

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Helping the Dentist Out

Originally uploaded by kjda

KJ Dell’Antonia
sent from my iPhone

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Fwd: Darn it

Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Fwd: Darn it

Originally uploaded by kjda

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> I forgot my skates…I will just have to sit in here and watch…with my iPad…weep for me.
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Four Kids, No Tea

Saturday, January 7th, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | 3 Comments

This afternoon Lily wanted tea.

I didn’t really object to Lily having tea. I mean, it’s tea. What’s not to like? I’d even boiled the water. (For other purposes.)

But if Lily has tea, Wyatt and Rory have to have tea too.

And while Lily is kinda sorta capable of cleaning up the sugar she will spill, and putting the mug and spoon in the dishwwaher, Rory and Wyatt are less so. (Actually Rory is really good at the dishwasher. But she spills sugar.)

And they use mugs. And spoons. And I emptied the dishwasher twice today. I just couldn’t do it.

I know, I know, your kids empty your dishwasher. And wipe the counter. And don’t put sugar in their tea. But you are a much better parent than I am. Mine…don’t.

Result: Lily, who asked, got a mug of this weird Thai hot coffee mix she likes, and no one else got anything. There was much whining, but they survived.

My recollection of life as an only child was that I pretty much always got tea, but I really wanted a sister.

New Desk Ornament

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 | Connecting the Dots | 1 Comment

New Desk Ornament

Originally uploaded by kjda

Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 31st, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | 1 Comment

Happy New Year!

Originally uploaded by kjda

Peace and tranquility. Temporary, but mighty precious.

KJ Dell’Antonia
sent from my iPhone

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New Family Members

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | 2 Comments

New Family Members

Originally uploaded by kjda

The lady I got our kitten from assured me, a novice cat owner, that all kittens come with a free companion poodle.

In retrospect I can see that this must not be true, but here we are. So far, it’s the calmest transition our house has ever seen… but then, we’ve been through some doozies.

Vertibird!

Sunday, December 25th, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Vertibird!

Originally uploaded by kjda

Thanks to the wonders of eBay, I was able to get my Dad the same Christmas present he got me 35 years ago.. Now if only his grandson will let him play with it.

Three Unrelated Thoughts. And a Bonus Fourth.

Sunday, December 11th, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | 2 Comments

1. I am now the proud possessor of about 1/2 lb of chestnuts, officially roasted over an open fire, by me and various kids. We ate some. Thoughts? If we reheat them in an oven, do we have to change the song?

2. I can now, finally, begin opening holiday cards–because I finally ordered ours. Yesterday. I find that the guilt about not mailing them comes later.

3. I bought Lily (7) the BEST PRESENT EVER. I love it when I come up with something a person never thought to ask for, but totally would want if he/she had. It’s that cupcake maker thing, and a $6 hand mixer she can get out and use and wash herself. Gonna add some cake mixes and sprinkles and frosting mixes and she will be thrilled to pieces. She is getting the best stuff this year.

4. Kitten update: I’ve gone with a slightly older kitten (nearly five months), to arrive after Christmas (well, we have to drive down to get her). I’m hoping for an easier transition to cat-parenthood than with the teeny weeny teeny tiny model. But I’m a little regretful over it.

Who Needs a Nutcracker

Saturday, December 10th, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

Who Needs a Nutcracker

Originally uploaded by kjda

Apparently not us.

The blurs are rocks. My kids have gone prehistoric on me.

It Looks Like Such a LEETLE Rock.

Friday, December 2nd, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

It Looks Like Such a LEETLE Rock.

Originally uploaded by kjda

KJ Dell’Antonia
sent from my iPhone

It Looks Like Such a LEETLE Rock.

Friday, December 2nd, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

It Looks Like Such a LEETLE Rock.

Originally uploaded by kjda

KJ Dell’Antonia
sent from my iPhone

GoodReads Best Books of the Year Awards

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 | Connecting the Dots | Comments Off

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards Vote now for your favorite books!

Let’s see, I voted for Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Sideways on a Scooter, and The Wilder Life. I was sadly unable to vote in the fiction category, because, well, it’s been a low fiction reading year (although I’m loving the short stories in If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, and have Stephen King’s new book on my bed table in all of its rather large and daunting glory). And it’s awful, but the only one of the “Best Books” I’d read was Tina Fey’s–and although I liked it, it wasn’t.

Go vote!