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Sharing the Glitter… One Unicorn at a Time.

December 5, 2012 By 5 Comments

I’ve done it.  I have entered the world of making printables.  And by “making printables” I mean making a crudely fashioned, but entirely AWESOME, FREE unicorn coloring page printable out of my blogicorn. (aka Blog Mascot Unicorn).  It may not be the most fancy, crisp, or professional thing you’ve ever seen.  But gosh DARNIT… I am almost proud.

Free Unicorn Coloring Page Printable

(link to download below)

Unicorn coloring page

It’s pretty cute eh?  I am sure you have some fab little humans that would love to dig out all their crayons and glitter glue and make this unicorn their own.   (Printable may look a little blurry on your screen thanks to my lack of skills but it prints out GREAT!)

Filed Under: blarg, just for fun, stephanie hansen, unicorns Tagged With: , ,

If You Leave Your Camera Unattended…

November 28, 2012 By 1 Comment

If you happen to leave your camera sitting alone… This happens.

Now to find the offending foot.  And to be honest… I am quite happy to have just found a foot, random, light switch, and messy family room photo.  Living with teenage boys I could have wound up with pictures of dead insects or random cow butts.

 

Filed Under: About Me, family, just for fun, stephanie hansen Tagged With: , , ,

Appetizers Made Easy

November 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I am usually not big on appetizers before large meals.  But, they are a necessary evil.  You could have a group of hungry monsters if guests arrive early, if some guests are late, or if the meal is not running on schedule.  This Thanksgiving… The latter was my issue.  Due to some thermometer issues my turkey was about 1 hour late in cooking.   I am pretty sure there is a giant meat thermometer conspiracy that aims to bring me down.  But no worries… I was one step ahead of them with this lovely appetizer tray.  Some assorted cheeses, prosciutto, grapes, and cracker made a stunning and delicious appetizer.

appetizer tray

I was immensely impressed with myself on this one.  The meat and cheese tray almost upstaged the meal because it turned out so pretty.  And it also helped keep away the hungries until that pesky turkey was done.  And it really was easy as 1-2-3 to buy all the items thanks to the Isis Mobile Wallet on my AT&T smartphone.  If only my smartphone had an app to make the tray and clean up all the dishes.  But hey… I guess that is what kids are for… right?

***Compensated campaign with AT&T. All thoughts, opinions, spelling errors, and grammatical catastrophes are my own

Filed Under: blarg, family, reviews, stephanie hansen, thanksgiving Tagged With: , , , , ,

The One Where I Go To Disney On Ice Without Kids

November 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes you get awesome tickets to go see Disney On Ice’s 100 Years of Magic for your family.  And sometimes 2 of your family members (that happen to be of teenage sort) have school and work obligations that prevent them from going with you.  So sometimes you and your husband decided to make the best of it and go with the “creepy weird couple with no kids at Disney on Ice“ stigma.

Disney on ice is fun for adults too

And every time… You have an awesome night filled with the magic of Disney.  Because you never are too old to be enchanted by Mickey, Minnie, and the whole Disney on Ice gang.

***Compensated post.  All opinions are my own. 

Filed Under: family, feature, just for fun, reviews, stephanie hansen, Utah Tagged With: ,

Happy Thanksgiving

November 22, 2012 By 2 Comments

Have a SUPER, AWESOME, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

happy thanksgiving

 From all my “turkeys” to yours.

Filed Under: family, holidays, stephanie hansen, thanksgiving Tagged With:

Pay With Isis, It’s Almost as Magical as a Unicorn

November 21, 2012 By 3 Comments

It’s time to admit it… My purse is a disaster and Brian’s wallet rivals that of only the great George Costanza himself.  My problem; hoarding old grocery lists, spilled tic tacs, and half a bottle of Unisom that somehow was dumped into the bottom of my purse.  Well that and at least 3 old Costco coupon books, some random empty gum boxes, several pairs of scratched sunglasses… I could keep going.  To put it “nicely”, my purse is a disaster of epic proportions and it is a miracle if I can even find my keys.  This is why when I learned about Isis Mobile Wallet I was pretty excited.  Because my phone is one thing that is quite possibly surgically attached to my body.

isis mobile wallet

It’s a new and innovative way to pay… That is the easiest way to explain Isis.  I had the chance to use Isis immediately after setting up my new phone and Isis account at the AT&T store.  Because every new phone needs a pretty new outfit (or phone case).  That is where I learned just how simple it was to tap and pay with Isis.   Now I know what you are thinking… “How and where can I get this magic on my phone?”

isis

Isis is currently available in Salt Lake City, Utah and Austin, Texas using NFC enabled devices with select cell phone providers, like AT&T. (Time for a little phone anatomy lesson… NFC stands for “near field communication”.  It’s basically a little chip inside some cell phones, like the Samsung Galaxy III.)  The NFC chip is what allows you to “tap and pay”.  Several credit card and debit card companies also embed this type of chip into their cards.  This concludes the learning technical stuffs aspect of this post.

free money with isis

How about the awesome “get free stuffs” part of this post???  When you download the Isis app you automatically get $10 cash card loaded on your device (after setting up an account and a pin).  What’s even cooler than that?  When you choose to make your card “reloadable” you get an extra $15 loaded.  Then you can add money as needed… After you spend your FREE $25.  The Isis mobile wallet can also store some of your credit cards (like Chase) and you can use them anywhere Isis is accepted with the tap of your phone.  Companies like Jamba Juice, UTA, and Whole Foods also after discounts and offers when you use your Isis mobile wallet.  And I’ve taken my mobile wallet for a virtual spin at all of these places.  In fact… Just check out what I got at Whole Foods for my Thanksgiving appetizers  (or charcuterie board for all my sophisticated peeps).

Charcuterie board supplies

Now… I just have to use some of that unicorn magic to turn this into something AMAZING.  Don’t worry… I’ll share it with you next week.

***Compensated campaign with AT&T. All thoughts, opinions, spelling errors, and grammatical catastrophes are my own.

Filed Under: I Love Technology, reviews, stephanie hansen, Utah Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bread Therapy: A Recipe In Healing

November 7, 2012 By 11 Comments

The Simple Whole Wheat Recipe is below… But first a backstory.

For those of you who don’t know it… I am a little crazy.  It’s true.  I own it.  But unfortunately… Sometimes it owns me.  It’s the ups and downs of living with General Anxiety Disorder coupled with an awesome side of a Panic Disorder.  Most of the last 8 years I have controlled it through meditation, breathing, taking breaks, and just knowing my limits.  But about 2 months ago something changed.  And my control was slipping through my fingers.  I knew it was time to get help.  But medication isn’t a magic solution.  I couldn’t have made it through the last several weeks without an amazing support system of family and friends.  Truly… If you don’t believe in “blessings”… Just come meet my crew.  They are the definition.

I have never been one to ask for help.  I LOVE to help others and do whatever I can for anyone I can.  For completely selfish reasons… It makes me so happy.  I had to get back into what makes me happy, doing things for others.  And this is where I can finally tie bread into my healing process. I needed to take focus off myself and focus on serving others.  And I found that through baking bread.  I had a fail or two and almost gave up.  But something inside me said I needed to continue.  My family would not only be elated with fresh baked bread but also properly nourished with the wholesome grains.  And this would bring me great joy.  And it HAS brought me great joy.  I am still recovering and some days are better than others.  But every night when I slice into that bread to make Brian and the boys’ lunches… I find happiness in every slice of the knife.  And it is just what I need.

Easy 100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Simple Whole Wheat Recipe

In the end… This is the bliss you will find.

 But first… You have to take baby steps to get there.

100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
 
Print

This Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe is made from 100% whole wheat and is the perfect homemade sandwich bread.
Author:
Recipe type: Bread

Ingredients
  • 3½ cups of 100% whole wheat flour (I use 1½ cups white wheat and 2 cups red wheat),
  • 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • ¼ cup molassas
  • ¼ nonfat dried milk
  • 1¼- 1½ cups lukewarm water,
  • 1 package of active dry yeast
  • 1½ tsp salt.

Instructions
  1. Disolve the yeast in part of the luke warm water and set aside.
  2. Add all the rest of the ingredients to your kitchen aid bowl. Then add the yeast mixture.
  3. Mix with your paddle until a dough starts to form (about 1 minute), then switch to your dough hook and knead for about 6 or so minutes. (sometimes I have to add a little more flour or water depending on the texture it should be soft but not sticky)
  4. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover, and rise. It will almost double (takes 1-2 hours depending on the temp in your house)
  5. Take out and form into a bread shaped “log” and place in greased bread pan.
  6. Cover and let rise until it’s about 1 inch above the top of the bread pan.
  7. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then tent with tin foil and bake another 20 minutes. Take out of the pan and cool on rack.
  8. You can brush the top with butter while it’s still hot if you want a softer crust.
  9. Wait until cooled to slice and or store in bag or plastic wrap or foil.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

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