Happy Birthday

....to meeee (yesterday)!!!  On Sunday, we celebrated father's day, my birthday, and Brenton's birthday (his is on Friday).  After a dinner of Tofu and Veggies at a local Chinese place, we came back to mom and dad's house and opened presents.

LOL notice that I'm recording him AND taking a picture at the same time?  Pure awesomeness.

Reading a card from my sister and BIL.  She got me Lego Pirates of the Caribbean for Wii.  EEEEE!!!!!!  I had been waiting and waiting and WAITING for this game to come out!




Mom and Dad got me a Miche bag cover and extra purse straps.  And this mug that has Winnie the Pooh on it!  LOVE!

The cake was GF!!!  It tasted like a REAL cake- way to go mom!!  Like the 27 my sis made?  So creative.

BLOOOOWWWW!!!!

 Then for lunch yesterday, since that was my ACTUAL birthday, I made a massive birthday salad!!  And for whatever reason, I was inspired to find a bread machine recipe to try when I got home, so a trip to Bexley Market was necessary. 

Here goes nothin'!!  I felt weird not really MIXING this up myself before plopping it in the bread pan....

I've had a bread maker since my wedding, and haven't used it yet!    Can you BELIEVE that?!  I make my own almond milk, but I don't make my own bread?!  WHAAT?   Inspiration is a scary thing my house!!!  muah hah hah.....

Mix mix mix!!!  I had to wait 3 1/2 hours for it to be done!!!!  OHHH the agony.

 When Brenton got home, he surprised me with this!!  (a rose, some cookie dough ice cream *FAV!*, Green and Blacks Organic Chocolate, and a Disney Gift Card!  My "real" gifts are coming from Amazon.... and I don't think they'll be here for a little while.  GEESH!  This was gift enough for me!!!!!

We were both STAR-VING, so I made some quickie birthday burritos (ha.).   TJ's whole wheat tortilla, vegetarian refried beans, salsa, and lettuce from the garden.  Oh, and a little cheese and Franks Red Hot sauce.  LOOOOOOTS of Franks.  MMMM.

 ....and we had the leftover cake and the ice cream and 'bits' that hubby brought home.  Ok, that's enough sweets for a long time.... oye.  Hey, it was my BIRTHDAY!!!! 

We took on Lego Pirates-  OMG HOW FUN!!!!! LOOK!  That's Jack!!!!!

BEEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEEEEP!!!!  (gawd.)  The bread was done!!!  YAY!   I took it out and put it on our cooling rack....aka a broiler pan.... (merpy merp).  The top was concave.... awesome.  It kinda.... made a 'thud' sound when I put it on the pan.  Talk about DENSE!

The verdict?  Actually... pretty good bread for a first attempt!!!!!!   We had it for breakfast this morning- we'll see how long it keeps us full!!  Did I mention that I had 114 Facebook "happy birthdays"?!  HOLY-COW.  I couldn't keep up with them all!!!!  Feeling loved is so great! xoxo. It was almost like the last day of school when you have everyone sign your yearbook.  HAHA. 



 SOOO for the bread recipe:

3 Cups Whole-Wheat Flour
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Warm Water
1/2 Cup Oil (I used coconut oil because that's what I have in the house)
4 Tbsp Honey
2 Tsp Yeast
1 Cup Raisins

I poured in the dry ingredients, then mixed the wet together and poured it on top.  I SHOULD HAVE baked it on the sweet bread setting I think.  I did the whole wheat setting and the crust came out a bit hard.  BUT THE INSIDE IS SOOOOOO GOOD.   If you have a bread machine- give this a try!!! 

This'll be going up at 11am when I'm at work, so comment and I'll get it later!  Something to talk about:  do you make your own bread??  Have you ever tried?  Do you have a recipe to share???  I'm inspired to get this bread-making thing DOWN!! 

XO