Blog break . . .

I had to do it; there was simply *too* much going on . . .

Some of you were aware of my 17 yr. old daughter's recent knee injury, in her 3rd game of the basketball season,  (Hayley is a junior, and the starting point guard on Varsity).  She dislocated her knee in a home game, and we finally got her MRI done on the 19th, and on Tuesday, the 26th, met with the ortho PA (Physician's Assistant) for an interpretation of the MRI . . .

Needless to say, the entire time we were waiting for the MRI to be done, and, then waiting for yet ANOTHER WEEK (can you hear the extreme irritation over how long it took just to get an answer???  Insert wickedly furrowed eyebrows and harsh frown!!!) for the doc to actually TELL US what the MRI showed, we were hopeful . . . hopeful that she'd be able to play in January, after resting the knee, and getting the swelling down . . .

But, it is not to be; she has torn the ACL ligament high up inside her knee, and it will require reconstructive surgery.   So, first, she must go through a month of physical therapy, to regain full range of motion, and once she has that, and no pain, they will go about getting surgery arranged.  Afterward, she faces weeks of rehab to get the knee back into shape.  She cannot play basketball again until after all that has been done . . . They've made great strides in this surgery, and can do it arthoscopically; evidently, they will more than likely take a ham string from her leg and use it to replace the ACL.

To us grown-ups, this probably isn't that big a deal, but, it is somewhat of a crushing blow for a 17 yr. old kid (remember when we were that age?  We thought we were invincible . . . soft chuckling and head wagging).  She's pretty resilient--always has been . . . she'll come back next year, a senior, and tear up the court once again.  But, it will also be hard, ridin' the pine with a bum knee, only able to watch, as the season goes on, UKWIM?

Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and encouragement while we were waiting, and "wading", through all of this--and, for the comments and insights that those of you who have undergone the same injury/surgery have shared; it has helped a great deal!  {{{{{{{{{{warm, appreciative hugs}}}}}}}}}}

Christmas was a whirlwind, but, I did get to have a rare dinner out with my brother and his wife, and my husband and I did take the kids on our traditional holiday trip (a  few night's stay at a hotel with a pool in the city, and finishing up the last of the holiday shopping)--we *needed* that . . .

I got no baking done, of course.  However, as you may know by now: 

I AM THE ANTI-MARTHA.

And, my motto?  Never bake or cook anything from scratch if there is an easier way! (wink!)

The great "Anti-Martha" secret? 

DIP EVERYTHING IN CHOCOLATE!!!

(head bobbing up and down vigorously)

That's white chocolate popcorn and white chocolate dipped pretzels shown above. (grin!)

WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN RECIPE:

• Pop 2 bags of microwave popcorn, and dump into a very large roasting pan or bowl
• Melt 1 bag of melting wafers* as per the directions on the package
• Pour melted wafers all over popcorn, and stir to coat completely
• Spread popcorn onto long sheet of wax paper to cool
• When cool and hardened, package as desired (I like cello bags cuz they are cheap and easy, like me--Hah, hah, hah!   Kidding [!!!], but, not about the bags; just me!  ROTFLMAO!)

As for the pretzels, I just buy large pretzel rods, and melt the wafers in a double boiler on the stove top, dip/coat with the chocolate, dip into a dish of sprinkles or just sprinkle 'em on by hand, and then lay each down onto a sheet of wax paper, again, until cool and hardened.  H actually did the pretzels this year, while I tackled the popcorn.

*Melting wafers are actually "vanilla" flavored, and come in a variety of colors, including white, chocolate, red, green, orange, pink, lavender, baby blue, etc.  You can typically find them wherever cake decorating supplies are sold at Michael's, WalMart, etc.

And, on top of dealing with all the aforementioned, I was commissioned somewhat last minute to do some special projects for a print publication that had a tight (before Christmas) deadline and some specific parameters to work within . . . (wink!)

So, I'm afraid I have no other "eye candy" (other than the popcorn) to share at this moment, due to all the above.

But, I'll be getting busy in the studio again . . . very soon . . . (grin!)