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Shark Attack Watermelon Style

Shark Attack

Ingredients: 1 Watermelon 1 Pack of toothpicks 2 Blueberries 1 Bag of swedish fish 1 box of blue berry Jell-O 4 cups of water We are going to make a shark shaped watermelon with blue Jell-O surrounding the shark to pose as water.

Now it is time to work on the shark. Cut about a quarter length off of one of the ends of the watermelon for the platform. Make sure the cut is even because the watermelon will be sitting on a plate.

Flip it over so that the cut area is standing on the plate. Now we have the the uncut dome shape on the top. Pick one side of the watermelon and cut a straight line four inches from the bottom in a horizontal line also about four inches.  From the top, at a 70 degree angle, cut a slice of the watermelon for the mouth of the shark.

Carve about one inch of the inside of the watermelon to make room to carve the teeth. Be sure to keep all of the excess watermelon because we will use it later.

Around the cove that is carved, peel one inch off the skin of the watermelon. The carved piece will be the white part. Before we make the teeth, use a fork to scoop out all of the excess watermelon so the teeth will be visible and not touching the inside.

Now it is time to cut the teeth. This is very tricky so be sure to use a small knife because you will be carving. Carve the white peel in a V-shape for the teeth. Just throw away the excess peel. If you accidentally cut the teeth off, just put a tooth on the end and stick it back into its spot. Repeat this for the bottom teeth as well.

With the piece of watermelon that we cut off in the beginning, cut a small triangle out and carve the watermelon off. The peel will be for the shark’s fin. To place the fin on the watermelon, place three toothpicks into the back of the watermelon where you want to place the fin. The triangle piece should just slide right onto the toothpicks.

For the eyes, carve a small indentation out of the skin of the watermelon. Get the two blueberries with toothpicks on the end and place them in. For looks, carve as many gills on the sides of the shark depending on how big the watermelon is.

Now it is time for the Jell-O. Cut the Jell-O into small little squares to act as the water. Scatter the cubes around the watermelon. Once all of the Jell-O is used, use the Swedish fish and place them in the mouth of the shark and in the Jell-O to make it look like there are fish in the water.

With the excess watermelon, you can place small cubes back into the mouth and put the swedish fish on top.

***All photos taken by me and Brent Mallozzi. **Replicated from my Aunt Mary. Her inspiration was found here.  

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Colored Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs, here we come!

As you all know, Easter is just around the corner. 

By the way, they are not just any type of deviled eggs, but multi-colored deviled eggs to go with the pastel Easter colors. 

8 cups of boiling water

12 eggs

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon of mustard

Paprika 

Food coloring 

Vinegar 

(Salt and Pepper)

We are going to boil 12 eggs. Because we cut the eggs in half, that makes a total of 24 deviled eggs. 

Then we are going to boil another 4 cups of water in a separate pan for the food coloring. 

Once the eggs start to boil, set your timer and let the eggs boil for about 8-10 minutes at the same temperature. 

While your eggs are boiling, your separate 4 cups of water should be boiling by this time. 

If you have plastic bowls to use for the dye, that is perfect.

With your 4 plastic bowls, put 1 cup of boiling water into each. 

The food coloring box says to use about 1 teaspoon of vinegar for each half of a cup of water. Because we are using 1 full cup, make sure you use about 1 teaspoon per bowl. 

Then it is time to make your colors!

Usually there are only four colors to a box, but of course you can make your own colors. For example, yellow and blue makes green. 

Make sure you stir the food coloring around!

Now that we have our four colors done, we can check on the eggs. 

If you boil the eggs over 8-10 minutes while you’re making the food coloring, that is OK but just be sure to turn the the burner off and let the eggs sit in the hot water. 

Now that the eggs are ready to go, just run them under some cold water so you don’t burn your hands when you touch the eggs. 

Now it is the fun part, peeling all of the 12 eggs!

Here is the secret to peeling eggs: slightly crack the egg all around then run it under warm water while you peel the egg. 

Now that we have all of our eggs peeled it is time to transform them! 

So now we have 12 eggs that are all naked without their shells, it is time to line them up and cut them in half. You will need a seperate bowl to scoop all of the yoke into. 

Once all of your eggs have no filling, it is time to color them. Because we cut the 12 eggs in half, we have 24 eggs now and four colors. To ensure an equal amout of eggs, place six in each bowl. Make sure all of the eggs are completely covered by the multi-colored water to ensure no spots on the eggs for the ending results.

While our eggs are soaking in the multi-colored water, lets move on to finishing the yoke.  Now, we have to use a fork and a steak knife to chop all of the half yokes into very small pieces.

Once the yoke is cut into very small pieces, we are going to add about a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and stir it around. Use small amounts at a time so you can taste the yoke throughout and see what the yoke is missing.  While you are mixing it, put a little bit of spicy mustard (about the size of a quarter). Also add a little bit of salt and pepper if needed. Do not be scared of spices! Hopefully by this time your yoke should be whipped and ready to go! You should probably taste it with your pinky finger just to make sure it tastes good! It is time to take the eggs out of the food coloring. Double fold some paper towels so you do not have to worry about getting dye on your countertops. Lay the eggs so that the cove indentation is facing the floor. Let them dry for about five minutes.  Once your eggs are dry, flip them over so you can put the yoke back into the eggs.  Michael’s Craft Store is a great place if you want to go and get an effective insert machine for the yoke. The machine I am using was $14.99 and if you go on Michael’s website, they usually have coupons if you scroll all the way to the bottom!

Who said you can’t coupon while making eggs? Hello, we’re in a recession.  Now you are going to fill the machine up with the egg yoke. The machine just takes a couple of pumps straight into the middle of the egg indentation. Be aware, you do not have to have a machine;  a spoon is fine.  Now that all 24 of your eggs are filled, it is time to put the ending touch on it! Paprika. Drizzle a bit of paprika to give the eggs some extra color. 

That’s it! Now we have 24 multi-colored eggs! You did it! Great Job!

My family has done this recipe for years but there are plenty of other people who make multi-colored eggs. Attatched is a link to making the same deviled eggs.

Pinterest

**All photos taken by me.

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Happy Birthday to you! Chocolate and Sprinkle Cupcakes!

Happy Birthday to you!

Let us celebrate with some delicious yellow cupcakes and chocolate frosting! Ingredients: 1 Box of Betty Crocker Cake Mix 1 Pillsbury ½ Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract 3 eggs 1 1/4 Water 1/3 Vegetable Oil Sprinkles

Put the eggs, vegetable oil, and water into a bowl and mix it around. The secret to making the best cupcakes is adding  a half of a teaspoon of vanilla extract into the mix. The vanilla extract brings out the flavors and keeps the cake very moist and fluffy.

Next, put the actual cake mix in. Whip everything together until it is clump-free.

Get a cooking cupcake pan and put cupcake liners into the coves. Double up on the liners so when the cupcakes are done, the liners will not be wet and greasy. Fill the cake mix into the liners all the way to the top. Shake the pan lightly up and down and side to side so the cake mix is even in the liners.

Bake for about 12 minutes. After the 12 minutes are up, put a small toothpick into the middle of two cupcakes.

When pulling out the toothpick, if there is cupcake mix on the toothpick, they are not done. You will have to put the cupcakes back in for about 2-3 minutes depending on how uncooked they are. If the toothpick is dry, then your cupcakes are done. Now it is time to take the cupcakes out of the oven and out of the pan. Let them sit to cool off for no less than 30 minutes before putting any cake frosting on.

When applying the frosting, you can use a machine or just use a knife. Spread the frosting over the top of the cupcakes in a clockwise rotation.

Now that you have your frosting on, it is time to sprinkle the sprinkles on top for decorations. Remember you can decorate it anyway you would like. Now they are ready for serving! When making the best cupcakes, do not forget to add some TLC (tender, love and care).

**All photos taken by me

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Shake and Bake a BBQ Chicken for Father's day

Need to make a fast and easy Father’s Day feast with little to no knowledge of cooking?  

Ingredients:

4 Boneless chicken breasts

55 oz of Bush’s Original Baked Beans

3 Squash

3 Zucchini

1 Large French bread

Diced Mushrooms

8 Bell Peppers

1 Red onion

Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce

Garlic Salt

Salt and Pepper

Country Style Butter

Olive Oil

(Serves 4)  

  Start out by preheating your oven to 350 degrees for the chicken breasts. While the oven is heating up, marinate your chicken with a couple of spices. You may use as many spices as you wish, but because it is a barbecue chicken, less is more. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and some garlic salt on both sides of the chicken breast. Once the chicken breasts’ are seasoned, place the chicken in the pan and place it in the oven for 30 minutes. To make things simple and to keep the kitchen clean, open the can of Bush’s Baked Beans and place it into a pan, but do not turn the burner on yet. Cut the freshly baked French Bread in half so the middle part is facing upward and place it on a cooking sheet. Lather the bread with butter then sprinkle garlic salt as a topcoat. This will be placed in the oven once the chicken is almost done.

Dice the zucchini, squash, and bell peppers into bite size pieces. Be sure to dice the red onion into very small pieces because it is made for bringing out the flavor of the vegetables. Throw the vegetables into a pan and slightly drizzle olive oil over them. Place the all-ready-diced mushrooms into the pan. Drizzle salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of garlic salt on top to give it some flavor.

By this time, the 30 minutes of baking the chicken should be up. Now it is time to flip the chicken breasts over, but before we do that, lather the chicken with some Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce on both sides of the chicken. Do not be afraid to put a lot of sauce because it will not harm the taste in any way. Make sure the side that was facing downward initially is facing on the opposite side, so both sides of the chicken are cooked. Place the chicken back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Once the 15 minutes are over, we are going to flip the chicken breasts one more time and apply a little bit more barbecue sauce. Bake for another 15 minutes.  At this time, place the French bread into the oven, which will become garlic bread, for the remainder of 15 minutes. Now it is time to turn the burners on for the vegetables and the beans to cook. Everything will start cooking and finish within the last 15 minutes. 

The Bush’s baked beans just need to be heated on a low burner to be warmed up. Heat the vegetables on high until the squash, zucchini, mushrooms, and bell peppers are soft. Once the vegetables are soft, place the burner on a low temperature to keep them warm.

Now it is time to take the chicken and the bread out. Double check the chicken with a knife and fork and make a small incision on top to ensure the chicken is cooked all the way. 

Be sure to slice the bread into pieces so it may be served.  Now it is time to serve the food.   

**All photos taken by me.

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Punch day for a mother's holiday!

Because Mother's Day is right around the corner, here is what we call "MotherLicious Tropical" punch. It is the best fruit punch ever created!

Here are the ingredients for a serving of four people: 

Country Time Lemonade 

2 Oranges 

2 Lemons

2 Limes

Ice Cubes of Cranberry Juice (2 ice cube trays)

First you need to freeze ice cubes of cranberry juice. The longer they freeze, the better. The ice trays from target are perfect. The ice trays in the photo above were about $8 as a pair.  As for making the Country Time Lemonade, put four cups of cold water into a bowl. Add a half of a cup of the Country Time Lemonade mix into the cold water. Be sure to mix it all up so there are no floating particles left. That completes the first half of the punch. 

  Let the lemonade sit over night in the refrigerator so it is nice and cold for the next day. 

If there is not enough time to let the lemonade sit over night, that is fine. Just as long as the cranberry ice cubes are ready.

Now we are ready to complete the lemonade. 

Cut up the oranges, lemons, and limes into very thin slices. These slices are meant for decorations, not for flavor.   

It is time to put everything together. 

Get the lemonade and put it into a big crystal bowl if you have one so the colors of the punch are showing. 

Dump all of the cranberry ice cubes into the lemonade for flavor and looks. Once all of the ice cubes are in, place the fruits in carefully so it is a mixture of colors.

With the left overs of the lemons, oranges, and limes, squeeze the juice in a clockwise rotation and drizzle it over the lemonade. 

Be sure to stir the lemonade for about 15 seconds. The cranberry ice cubes will eventually melt, but as long as the lemonade is kept in the refrigerator all night, the cubes should last a while.  That completes our fruit punch!  The reason why this punch is called "MotherLicious Tropical Punch" is because Mother's Day is in the month of May. April showers, bring May flowers. It is only necessary that there is a colorful punch that tastes good at this event.   For the mothers who are old enough to have alcoholic beverages, this punch is fantastic with some Bacardi Razz .  For a serving of four for this drink, it would be very tasteful with 4 full shots of Bacardi Razz.  Enjoy! 

**All photos taken by me.  

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Where did the time go?

My little brother Cameron, who just turned 17, is about to graduate from high school. 

I can remember the day he was born just as if it was yesterday. He was born on September 8, 1994 and weighed 9lbs 9oz. He was such a big beautiful baby boy. 

Cameron was so eager to come out because my mom almost had him in the car. This is a perfect example as to why Cameron is the way he is. 

He is definitely a go getter. Nothing ever stands in the way from cameron achieving his goals, which is why i love him so much. 

Cameron is so lucky because he might have grown up without a dad, but I like to think he grew up with somewhat of two moms. 

Ever since I can remember, I have always been a "mother hen" to him. When we were younger I would play school with him, play doctor, and also pretend I was his actual mom. Mother hen is the name that my family calls me because I have always had such an unconditional love for him.

I never really understood the real meaning when my mom said that I grew up too fast, but seeing my little brother growing up makes me realize that time really does fly by. 

Thinking about my little brother graduating brings tears to my eyes. Of course these tears are tears of joy, but I feel in a way I am losing my brother. He isn't a little boy anymore and I can't boss him around. 

He can be a stinker at times and get on my nerves, but thats what brothers and sisters do. Cameron is so spoiled! He is definitely a "mommy's boy". When he turned 17, I bought him the new IPhone 4s with the car charger and case and he received a car from my mom! 

Besides the fact that he is so spoiled, he definitely has a caring heart and is always thinking about others. He has turned into a wonderful, humorous, caring, loving, and intelligent young man.

Now that Cameron is graduating, I look forward to what the future holds. Of course my mom and I will be super emotional when he graduates, but they will only be tears of happiness because he will be starting a new chapter of his life and going off to college. 

Cameron will always be my little brother and no matter what happens, I know for a fact that Cameron knows how proud my mom and I are. 

11/15/11 11:40 p.m.

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“My mom is a never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words, but I always remember the tune.” Graycie Harmon 

When I was about five years old, my parents decided to separate. Although I was very young, you honestly know what exactly is going on when two parents are not together anymore.

Of course everyone believes their mom is the number one mom hands down, but I truly believe my mom is the most amazing mom ever.

She has been a single mom since her and my father split back in 1995. She devoted her whole life to my brother and me. My brother and I were always an inconvenience to my fathers life and he definitely made it clear to us.

The best part is how my brother and I were never deprived. My mom made sure we had everything that we always dreamed of and more.

My mom was very proactive in making sure my brother and I were active in good grades, volunteering, and staying active in sports. I played soccer for eight years, softball for two years, dance for fifteen years, cheer for four years, and gymnastics for four years as well.

Now that my brother and I are getting older, we want my mom to find someone to share her life with because pretty soon my brother and I will be moving out. The only problem is that my family is so close and it is hard for me to picture my mom with someone else.

I am so thankful that my dad is not in my life because I am completely positive I would have a different life than I lead right now.

Letting go of my mom is so hard especially because I am a “mommy’s girl”. I am so thankful she was able to devote her whole life to us kids.

She is such a huge part of my life and I love her so much. She is my hero and I hope that one day I will be half the woman she is.

11-8-2011 12:57pm

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Chino Neighborhood Steps

Every Second Saturday of each month, the City of Chino hosts a “Walk to the Moon”. Chino is very proactive in providing excellence with promoting and living a healthy lifestyle.

Many people who live in the Chino community are unaware of all of the different walks that Chino provides.

The most known community walk is “Chino Walks” that is hosted once a month. What people do not know is that there are volunteer groups who get together on a weekly or daily basis to get their fitness in, which is known as Neighborhood Steps.

The goal is to “Walk to the Moon”. “Walk to the Moon” is a goal that consists of a one hour walk with about 10,000 steps, which is equivalent to five miles.

Each neighborhood walk is hosted by a team captain. Team captains are self nominated, but hand picked by the city once the proper paperwork and background checks have cleared.

When participating in the monthly walk on Oct. 8, I had posted on the Facebook how I have lived in Chino for six years and never knew about any type of neighborhood walks.

I received multiple responses from Facebook friends claiming they had no idea that the City had such clubs and extractives either.

On average, about 12-20 seniors show up to the monthly walks, but I think that the lack of knowledge the community knows about these programs is why the turnout is so low.

It just so happens that the day I attended the walk, only one person had showed up and she ended up leaving early.

I believe these walks are very beneficial and many local community members would participate in living a healthier lifestyle if they knew about these opportunities.

The City believes in promoting a productive and healthy life, so they should promote their knowledge to schools, senior centers, and local community members.

It would be a great way for to locals to unite and engage with fellow neighbors.

WORD COUNT: 329

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Turkey Day

Just recently, my mom’s brother, Hans Bannemer, was involved in a solo motorcycle accident on the highway and was instantly killed. He was a beloved son, brother, uncle, but most of all he was a father. He is now survived by his son Hans Jr. and his 14-year-old daughter Taylor.

My Uncle’s passing had such an impact on my family. My entire family has always been extremely close, but it seems that this passing really opened our eyes to not take any second for granted.

Thanksgiving is coming up, which is the first holiday since my uncle’s passing, so my family has decided to drive up to Bishop. Bishop is up North about 45 minutes away from Mammoth. My mom’s family was born and raised up in Bishop, so half of my life was spent on vacation there.

We are expecting to have a Thanksgiving dinner with about fifty family members at my grandma’s house. My immediate family is definitely not small!

Anyways, I am really excited to go up to Bishop! Bishop has always been a second home to me, especially in the winter. Snowboarding is one of my favorite activities! I like to put myself in the “kid” category so while the older people are cooking Thanksgiving dinner, I get to be snowboarding on a huge mountain full of snow.  

Snowboarding is a sport that my whole family enjoys. As a child, my mom’s physical education consisted of skiing every Wednesday. Skiing and snowboarding is something that my mom and her brother always took an interest in and it always brought unity to the family.

This Thanksgiving will definitely be hard without the presence of my Uncle Hans. He may not be there physically, but he will always be with us spiritually no matter what though.

Post:9:45pm

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Broncos defeat Warriors 3-0

Cal Poly Pomona Broncos led a 3-0 defeat against the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors last Friday.

The Broncos were in attack mode and were able to score two goals within the first five minutes of the game.

Luis Gonzalez, 18, was able retrieve the ball from Jonathan Enns using his less powerful leg and scored the first goal within the first three minutes.

The concentration continued and less than two minutes later, Ricardo Reyes had scored the second goal of the game.  

The pressure of the Warriors led the ball straight to the Broncos’ goalkeeper Kris Minton, where he passed the ball straight down the field to forward Jonathan Enns. Enns was able to dribble the ball all the way to the goal for a 3 point lead.

Warriors made several attempts to make a goal and also had many corner kicks, but all attempts were unfortunately unsuccessful.

The Broncos were definitely in the game to win it!

Broncos are in the lead of Division II, 9-3-1.

Come out and support the Broncos at their last home game of the season on Sunday against Chico State.

GO BRONCOS!

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Keith Urban hugged me- did this really happen?!!! Pinch me :]]

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Keith Urban Concert

Words cannot describe how long I have been waiting for October 8th to come around!

Seven months ago, Keith Urban announced he was coming to the Los Angeles Staples Center to promote his Get Closer world tour. My mom and I are huge fans, so there was no doubt in my mind that I was buying two tickets.

The actual day that tickets went on sale, I was in class waiting for the clock to strike 10 am. Luckily, I just so happened to be taking Com 106, which made buying these tickets a lot easier because I did not have to carry around my laptop since I was already in the computer lab.  

The anticipation of waiting seven months for front row seats to see one of your favorite artists is torture. My mom and I are very close, so when I heard Keith Urban was coming to town, I knew I had to get these tickets. I ended up surprising my mom with these two tickets by sending her flowers to work and instead of having a “thinking of you” note the two tickets were on the clear stand. I will be the first to admit that sending my mom flowers with the tickets was a little “cheesy”, but I had to surprise my mom because I know how much of a fan she is.

My mom and I have the most amazing seats because we are sitting in one of the front rows of the floor seats. I can only hope and pray he walks down through the floor seats, like many artists do when they perform at the Staples Center.

The song I am most excited to hear would have to be “Only You Can Make Me Feel This Way”. Every time I hear this song, it brings joy to my heart. The acoustic guitar with Keith’s gentle voice makes my heart absolutely melt into pieces.

Even though seven months seemed like forever, you can definitely count on me losing my voice from singing and rocking out to all of his songs.

Post: Oct 7- 10:56pm

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Shalom!

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