Yummy Crepes

I am from Bretagne/Brittany the West part of France, one of the things that we eat in Brittany is Crepes (of course we eat lots and lots of different things) but Brittany is known for the crepes.

The famous one are Buckwheat crepes they are salted crepes made from Buckwheat flour and water. We eat them garnished with ham and cheese and eggs (that’s the traditional garnish) but also with cool stuff like mushroom or bison meat or tomato and even Goat cheese and Salad. For myself I love the “Andouille” or the Mushroom.

When you go to a Creperie in France you will also have the choice of sweet crepes, those crepes are made from regular white flour, milk and eggs. The garnishes for those are plain sugar or jam or for fancier one Pear with Melted Chocolate or even Banana… YUMMY!!!

Last year when I was at my mother she took out her “electric crepes maker” and I was amazed of how easy it was to make those. So when I got back to Iowa, I went and bought myself a crepes maker (I waited FOREVER to get it, but it arrived and I have tried to use it at least once to twice a month) mind you my kids are picky eater (funny cause they are not in France when we make those) but, they won’t eat the American Buckwheat crepes that I make (I guess I don’t have my mother’s hand for the recipe). But today I made some crepes. My husband missed the last time that I made crepes so I thought since he was coming home for the weekend I would make some for him and the kids (and ME of course) ;-)

So here is the recipe for the crepes and some pictures just to make you salivate with envies! (That will teach you to come and visit me more often he?) ;-)

Crepes recipe

For 18, not very hungry people

1.5 cup of Flour

4 tbsp of sugar

2 tsp of vanilla extract

1 stick of butter (salted)

31oz or 3.875cup of Milk

4 eggs

In a bowl put the flour and the sugar together, put a little whole in the center of it and put your eggs in it (obviously without the shell)

Start mixing those ingredients together and when the mixture gets heavy, pour the milk little by little until completely incorporated.

Melt the stick of butter and mix it with the batter. If the batter has “clot” (little pieces of dry flour surrounded with wet batter) pour the batter into a strainer until you have a smooth batter.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit for 1 to 3 hours.

Cook each crepe on a crepe maker or in a pan well buttered.

Enjoy it with Sugar, syrup or fresh fruits or just plain it is yummy too!

Kalona Field Trip

Today Morgane my daughter had a field trip to the village of Kalona south of Iowa City. It is an Amish/Mennonite community, with buggies and cool history.
So for the first time, I volunteer for a field trip... OH BOY!! Now my hat goes off to those teachers that endure all the noise that those lovely kids do, I would have a headache in NO time! To tell you the truth, went I got home, I slept for 2 hours I was so exhausted! Amazing!

Anyway, back to the visit.

We first visited a Cheese Factory, where we learn that cheese is actually white when it comes out of the factory; they only add the food coloring at the big company like Kraft. That made me wonder WHY on earth someone decided that cheese should be orange. In France our cheese are normally white or creamee color, the crust might have a different color, probably due to the spice or bacteria that they let them sit in! (Don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue). But why Orange?? Anyone has an idea?

After that little cheese stop,

we stopped at the local bakery. The kids were very very interested to get some donuts and other goodies. The bakery also makes fresh Pasta, so we went to see how they were making it. 2 questions from the kids, were regarding the fact if they could use the machine to make cookie pasta! Answer: I don’t think so! They can use in a week up to 500 dozen egg for Pasta making and Angel food cake in the Easter season!!

Then after a quick lunch, we went to the Historical Village Museum, very interesting. Some of the pics are from the Buggies repair house, or the “Grandpa’s house” or the little school etc.. you will see that the kids loved being able to ring the school bell. I was the only adult except for the guide, and I had to remind all those kids to keep their hand in their pocket and not to touch anything. I was amazed of how many times one can remind a 10/11 year old kid to not touch anything… Morgane probably now is considered unlucky to have a cop as a mother! ;-) Oh well, such is life!

Exhausted Volunteer

Damien has had an assignment on Global study to go volunteer on a farm, so we went to our good friend Esther who has a Farm near Mechanicsville, IA she raise chickens and turkeys and rabbits and goats, not counting the all vegetables thing that is going on over there. That chick isn’t lazy, She is working it hard and on top of it she home-school her son. My hat is coming down to her feet just for the entire thing she does… OH and did I mention she is also a GREAT friend?
So When I mention to her about Damien and his need of volunteering, she told me to bring him on.

Here are a few pictures of him and his sister helping around. He did a little more than Morgane cause he did put fresh hay and drag the nastiness out of the chickens coop. Needless to tell that their face was priceless when they were told they had to get the Sh.. out of the chicken coop.

After that was done Damien went to get one of the Goat sheared.

His job

was to hold the goat so that she didn’t jerk out for Esther’s to shear the wool.

After a few minutes he got tired of having the goat by the horn

standing over, so we had to lay her flat on the side for him to just hold it. It did took 1h30mn just to cut a few inches around for the wool not to drag down in the dirt, but they kept some on because the winter month are coming so fast!

When it was done he told Esther that he was EXHAUSTED!! I guess I should send him there for the summer… then he will know what Exhausted is right?

Rock Mohawk

My baby boy (the last one mind you) love to be silly and love to imitate “rock Stars” or so what he think the rock stars attitude should be! Anyway… Oh of the Rock Star thing is that he should ALWAYS have a Mohawk, so whenever he can he always ends up coming out of the bath with his sister like this!!
I had to take the pictures, especially since his shadow was also so Rock Stareesh”

Eyelashes

So every so often I go and get my eye lashes tinted. Today I did it.. I tend to try to do it every couple of month. Since I am a blonde my lashes are very very light so it is hard to look awake with no make up.

Here is a before and after shot of my BEAUTIFULL lashes (or at least now they are!) ;-)

OH and for those of you who wonder how the heck it is done here are a few other pics!

Meme Tag

I have been Tagged for a Meme by C N Heidelberg (don’t even know what her first name is, but I love her writing) from the blog: Heidelbergerin http://cndrnh.blogspot.com/
So I have to give six random thing about me…. Well let me think…. (oh. just for the laugh of it, I was wondering what CN was saying about being tagged for a "meme" cause a Meme in french is like a cute name to call your grandmother (or not so cute) like an old lady... so just think of my thoughts when she said she tagged me for a meme!!) ;-) Anyway... Here goes:

I have been married since 1992 (you do the math) to the love of my life. Matthew. We met in France while he was doing a 6 month scholarship for his Bachelor Degree in French (obviously) I never thought that I would live in the States and well… I am still here. And all of my kids were born there! Since I am a French Citizen (still) they do have the double nationality, so … I guess that could be an issue or maybe not, depending of what they want to do with their life… Still have a few years to go! ;-)

I am an Artist at heart, I love creating thing, I have a lot of great idea (most of them never see the life out of my head) my mother always use to say: “In France we don’t have oil, BUT we have GREAT ideas”… I guess that is true to me. I love Scrapbooking, painting (mind you just knick knacks) Beading, anything that I can put my little fingers at work, I just LOVE!!

I cannot remember a thing (only future or present things); I always say that my kids drained me of my brain cell while in my belly… The truth is I have an electronic brain attached to me at all time; I put whatever is important that I need to remember in my Moto-Q Phone!! I hope I can have one of those while in Germany, because I am going to be miserable if I can’t have something like that. And my kids and my husband as well!! Cause I am the memory keeper in Charge!! ;-)

I am a “pro” photographer. I put the Pro in “” because I don’t like the title of it! If I could I would call it, an Artist Photographer, I love taking pictures of everything and anything. I opened my “home business” in 2006 and only had 3 weddings, and a small amount of portrait (family) and a lot, I mean a LOT of landscapes and pictures of my kids!! I wish I could be more Marketing aggressive, cause I would probably be a MILLIARDAIRE … but if I stay the way I am… as my hubby is saying I will never make a dime! ;-) Oh well!!! Doesn’t really matter anyway!!

OH… Last but not least!! I love spending time online, I also love saving pictures or artwork or some other example of fine artistry on my computer, needless to say that I have too much stuff saved up and I am sorry if I did “steal” some of your work on my computer, but I never ever use it on a commercial, it is just for me, like I will use a cute painting for my contact ID list, or Wallpaper, or… just idea that I can use for my creativity (it won’t ever look as good, but I try) That is my black little secret!!! I always have too much stuff on my computer. ;-)

I am only putting those blog on cause I will love to know a little more about those ladies
First a scrapbooking friend from Iowa which we share evening some time to time, she is an incredible creative lady, and you might be able to find some great ideas by going to her blog:
http://sarahsines.blogspot.com/
Second a blog that I found while searching about Heidelberg and Military move and tones of differents other words that I put, I found her, and I just love her blog and I sure hope I'll be able to meet her when over in Deutschland: http://militarymum.blogspot.com/
Third another ... blog that I found on my research week, and I find so many cute comments about her life and her humor of raising kids. I hope also that I'll meet her face to face afterall, we could have playdate or something ;-) :http://andrea-milesaway.blogspot.com/
And the last blog is from Allison who is station in Heidelberg, and that I hope to meet when I get there, and that I love her pictures and her dogs stories (cause I have the same issue) and that we will need to meet to do some major scrapbooking: http://allison-and-paul.blogspot.com/

Closer or not

Matt got all the paperwork done for the Heidelberg Headquarter.

So now he say “we just need to wait until the orders are written!!” and we will know 100% for sure if we move or not! I hate that with the military it seem like he always get his orders 2 weeks after he is suppose to already be there, and then they call and say, well why aren’t you there?
So hopefully for him he will get his order ahead of time so that we can plan that move. We decided that if we do get to move the kids and I will follow him at the end of the school year for them. No need to get them all transferred and stress over moving to another school and in another country/continent. Might as well wait until summer time and this way they might be able to get to meet some of the kids that we will be neighbors to. So Matt will move before us, he is already planning his trip. Won’t take any car until we move everything, so he will take the bus or the train since it is so good over there. And then when we get there, we’ll ship the Prius and some of our furniture (most of it)
I found a friend of mine where we can store some boxes at her parent’s farm so that will be nice, obviously I am not planning to take everything that we have specially if we are to come back after 2 years, it seem silly. We will try to rent our place so that at least we don’t have the whole mortgage to pay and that the house is in use.
Anyway this is the news regarding Germany and touring over there.
On a better note: Fall is FINNALLY here… I love it. Pretty colors, the trees and texture, driving in the fallen leaf that cracks under the wheels. The colors of the sun and the different shades of yellow and gold and orange and red. I love everything about it… except ALLERGIES!! Gosh I hate allergy season and off course I rarely get more than a sniffle in Spring and then I get major headache and sinus pressure in Fall… Talk about luck!!! But nothing can take my happiness with the sight of the leaf falling down, cruising with the wind from yard to yard. I just LOVE IT!! Beside I can always have access to my super medicine cabinet and my allergy pills! Nothing will take my smile away from me!!!
Some of those were taken this week in town, just to show how cool it look!!

North Liberty, IA