I'd Like To Check You for Ticks & Other Tidbits

Is it weird that I enjoy the planning and packing for vacations nearly as much as I do taking them? Yeah I thought so. Oh well, that's me, Type A Planner, what can you do? I'm taking time out of my busy packing to bring you a few bits of information.

1) The best way to remove a tick is to flip it over and pull it out the opposite way. This ensures that you get it all. No credit card or matches needed. Which is good because frankly, I don't trust myself with matches that close to my childrens' heads. I just learned this trick this summer and felt it my civic duty to share with you.

And this picture doesn't really have to do with anything other than this is probably where he got the tick that I found on his adorable little head that I exercised this very tick technique on. Tick removal=successful. Getting any of my children to be happy about having their picture taken=unsuccessful.

Now on to items totally unrelated to ticks......

2) Go here and make these immediately http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j/ and then for dessert make this http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/another-pie/. And then save me some of each because they are my new favorite things. I've become famous 'round these parts for the bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers (thanks Pioneer Woman), they are SOOO good and fairly easy. Don't let the jalapenos scare you, as long as you get the white vein and all the seeds out they aren't that spicy (usually). Word of advice though, wear gloves when dealing with the jalapenos. I tried every home remedy known to man, from washing my hands in milk to slathering them with butter then honey, to dipping them in ice water, after I made these the last time. My hands were on FIRE and nothing worked. Finally, I just cried myself to sleep and dreamt about how delicious the poppers would be when we ate them the next day, and they were, so it was worth it. No pain no gain. And the peanut butter pie, oh my. Remember my obsession with Reese's eggs? This pie just might fill the void in my life (and pants) til next Easter. Yummy.

3) Make the jalapeno things for an appetizer, the pie for dessert and these for your main dishhttp://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/03/shrimp-enchiladas.html. And then email me and tell me how much you love me for making you a hero to your family and friends. These are simply to die for. I usually leave out the red pepper and the tomatoes (gag me) so feel free to modify to your tastes. I consider myself part Mexican (WHAT...... you've never seen a blonde haired, green eyed chica before?!?) given my love of Mexican cuisine. And these bad boys are better than ANY seafood enchilada I've had in the many Mexican restaurantes I've visited in my day. I wish I had paid attention in my 4 years of Spanish class so I could say I love these enchiladas in Spanish but no habla espanol. Just know that I REALLY REALLY love these.

I'm all about educating and informing you. And with that I'm going to resume my packing. Vacation starts in 2 days, 3 depending on how you count. I promise at least one more post of interest before we leave. Scratch that..I mean I promise to at least post one more time before we leave, whether or not it's interesting...well, no guarantees.