We are alive and well in England

We made it to England in June but were without much internet or anything til a couple weeks ago when we got our home internet. Here the company that installed our phone, internet, and cable do things way different than the company we had in the states. In the states they would schedule and come out one day and you would get all three of your services on the same day. Here the company comes out and hooks up your cable. Then 2-3 weeks later they come out to hook up your phone. Finally once your phone is hooked up they will arrange a date for your internet to be hooked up. I think they have a method to their madness though. If they hooked up your internet first they would probably lose money as you can watch tv programs and make phone calls over the internet.

Bret Michaels Rocks!!!

Last night my friend Jess and I went to see Bret Michaels in concert at the Pima County Fair. It was awesome. We were able to move up during the show and get about 4-5 people away from center front row. He put on a great performance. After the show he went to his bus and some of his band memebers/crew came out. Big John was selling t-shirts and cd's. We attempted to get a pic of Big John but he was swooned by the skinny chicks. Lol. When we walked away from the loot table and one of the guitarists was standing there with nobody around so we got pics with him. After that others noticed him and ran up. We then walked around to leave and noticed the drummer and got pics with him. Same thing happened, after we got pics others ran in. In true Jess fashion her famous question to the guitarist and drummer was "Do you play rockband?". I just about died laughing when she said that. The guitarist said he sucks at it and the drummer said he likes to relax in his time off. It was a blast and I couldn't have asked for a more fun concert. (The pic quality sucks cause I forgot my real camera at home and this is a phone cam.)

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins With Streusel Topping

Muffins:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
-1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 cup sugar
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-2 eggs, beaten
-1 cup buttermilk
-1/2 cup canola oil
-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
-1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix dry ingredients well in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix beaten eggs , buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until all are moist. Fold in blueberries. Spoon into greased or lined muffin cups about 3/4 full. Make folloing topping and add prior to baking.

Streusel topping:

-3/4 cup sugar
-3/4 cup all purpose flour
-1 Tablespoon water
-1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
-1/4 cup butter or margarine softened

Mix all ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake muffins for 20-30 minutes or until golden and toothpick comes out clean. (you will probably have some left over topping)

Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce

My oldest LOVES bbq sauce on chicken and beef so I found a basic recipe and added in my own touch.

In a clean mason jar add the following ingredients and then shake well. Can be used immediately or refrigerate overnight.

-1 cup Ketchup
-1 Tbsp Brown Mustard
-3 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
-2 Tbsp Vinegar
-1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
-3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
-1 Tbsp Black Pepper
-2 Tbsp honey
-3 drops hot sauce

Homemade Buttermilk

It is much more cost effective to make buttermilk at home than to continue to buy it from the store. I started mine in a pint size ball jar but now have mine in a quart size. Take a bit (1/4th of the jar worth) of store bought buttermilk and pour it into the bottom of your jar. Pour whole milk on top of the buttermilk. Close the jar and shake. Place the jar in a cool dark cupboard for 24 hours then into the fridge for storage. You now have buttermilk. Once I start to get a little low on my buttermilk I pour whole milk in the jar and repeat the process to keep it up. You need to pour it into a new jar or bowl to wash your current jar every so often to prevent strange things from growing.