Snow

Yesterday church was canceled because of the snow...and we live in Arkansas, not Idaho. This caused me to feel a bit desperate. Because we need to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. But then I felt a little happy because although the children looked like this:


I looked more like this:


So, instead we took inventory of our most bootlike footwear,



and did alot of this:


That leads to ridiculous amounts of melting snow puddles and laundry/wet socks/layers of jammy pants strewn all about.

We ate WAY too much of this (recipe forthcoming):


I read half of this:



Which led to some general hooliganism and lackadaisical parenting which resulted in a trip to the emergency room with a possible broken jaw.

Stupid snow.

But back to the really important stuff.

Kaira's Insanely Addictive Microwave Caramel Popcorn

3 bags popped popcorn (This must be Orville R.'s Natural Simply Salted...it must! The saltiness balances the sweetness perfectly.)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Place the popped popcorn into a large brown paper bag. Set aside.

2. In a 2 quart heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat for 3 minutes in the microwave, thn take out and stir until well blended. Return t the microwave, and cook for 45 seconds. Remove from the microwave, and stir in the baking soda.

3. Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag, Roll down the top once or twice to close the bag and shake to coat the popcorn. Place bag into the microwave, and cook for another minute. Remove. Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper and let cool. Store in airtight container.

*Add anything you like! Chocolate, nuts, crushed candybars, m&m's, peanut butter cups...just let the popcorn cool a little if you don't want the chocolate to melt in.

Enjoy!

footnote: No broken jaws, just a crazy bruise, swollen cheeks, and a battered tongue.