Life in the "Hen House"

What's for dinner tonight?

2011-07-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had grilled french onion soup (yes, I made it on the grill!), homemade whole wheat bread, tossed salad, and grilled apples. The grilled apples were exactly like baked apples with brown sugar and cinnamon except they were wrapped in foil and put on the grill. Yummy! Below is the recipe for the grilled french onion soup. I found this recipe online at www.allrecipes.com. There was a suggestion in the reviews to use foil tart pans and then wrap the whole thing in foil. I used that method and it worked great for us. I used the foil tart pans for the baked apples too and it made cleanup very easy.

Grilled French Onion Soup

Ingredients

4 large Vidalia onions
4 tablespoons butter
4 cubes beef bouillon
12 ice cubes
4 tablespoons dry sherry
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
4 slices provolone cheese

Directions

Preheat the grill for medium-high heat.
Slice the tops off of the onions, and remove the outer layer of skin. Leave the base intact. Cut slices across the top in a cross hatch pattern, going about 1/2 inch into the onion. Set each onion on a square of heavy duty aluminum foil. Double the foil if you do not have the heavy duty. Place 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each onion, then place one bouillon cube onto the butter. Fold the foil up around the onion. When almost closed, place 3 ice cubes on top of the onion, and spoon 1 tablespoon of the sherry into each packet. Seal completely.
Place the packets on the grill, and cook for 40 to 45 minutes. Don't peek inside until the 40 minutes has passed. When the onions are cooked through, they will feel tender when you squeeze the packet. Open the foil up slightly, and place a slice of cheese on top of each one. Close the grill lid, and let the cheese melt into the onions for a minute.
Remove from the grill, and serve from the packets, or remove the onions to a serving bowl, and pour the stock from the packets in with them.

Long time, no post...

2011-06-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, so it's been ages since I last posted anything on here. What has happened since last October?? Let's see, Adam was a very cute frog for Halloween. I ate way too much for Thanksgiving (like usual). We had a wonderful Christmas filled with homemade nightstands, Radio Flyer wagons, clothing, toys, and all kinds of other gifts. January was a rough month as my husband lost his last grandparent. February brought my last birthday in my twenties and a very lovely Valentines Day. March ended in another rough month as my husband was laid off from work and I put my Lia Sophia business on hold to pursue my labor doula certification. April was an amazing month. My husband turned the big 30 and found a new and very different job which he started as soon as we got back from our vacation in ITALY!! Easter was filled with lots of Easter Egg hunts (5 to be exact). May was kind of a quiet month although we kept very busy with music classes, playgroup, park walking, etc. This month I have been pretty busy with all our activities and teaching Adam to swim at my in laws' pool. He's getting more comfortable in the water and I can definitely see his progress in just the few times we've gone swimming. So there is the last 9 months in one blog post. I know I left out a lot of stuff but I'm attempting to post more regularly.

You can also find my ramblings on my new blog Jennifer Hendrickson Doula Services. I know, it's not a very exciting blog name but when your business doesn't really have a name yet, you do what you can. This is where you can find all things childbirth related. I will be posting articles that I find interesting as well as my adventures in becoming a CAPPA certified labor doula. I am hoping that it will turn into an informative and humorous blog that will help mamas and other childbirth professionals alike.

Stay tuned for more fun and excitement in the Life in the "Hen House".

Etsy Trick or Treat

2010-10-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

I got this idea for a blog post from a friend of mine, Lindsay, from PA Country Crafts. She did an Etsy Easter Egg hunt and I thought it was such a cute idea that I decided to do a Halloween version.

We'll start with a cute Trick or Treat bag from preciouspatterns.

The first treat I found was this cute Candy Corn Soap from PureHeartSoap.

This Yummy Candy Corn Fudge treat is from reeaadd.

This very cute knitted set is from knittyknittybangbang.

How cute are these little Bat Trick or Treat Booties from HandyMandyCreations

The wine enthusiast in me just loves these Custom Halloween Wine Labels from smallcreatures.

Of course I have to add some items from some of my favorite Etsy shops.

Here are pumpkin decorations from my good friend, Lindsay, at PACountryCrafts.

This beautiful necklace titled Weird Science from my friend, Penny, at spoton.

This one of a kind vase is from my friend Linda at littleflowerdesigns

I hope you all enjoyed Trick or Treating with me! Stay tuned for more from the HenHouse!

What to do when you have a mason jar flap clogging your kitchen sink...

2010-10-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

I know, this never happens to anyone. In fact, I am probably the only person that this has ever happened to and it will probably never happen to me again so this information is probably never going to be useful ever again. But, just in case you ever find yourself in the same predicament that I was in this afternoon, here is what to do.

First, let me describe what the scenario was. I was doing the dishes this afternoon like a good housewife and realized that the water was not going down the drain. So of course I do what I always do when this is the case. I turned on the garbage disposal. Like usual, I forgot to feel around in the drain first to make sure there were no spoons, etc. in the drain. (That's how we are currently down one baby spoon but who's counting?) Anyway, I didn't check first and apparently there was something in the drain but it was not a baby spoon this time. So the garbage disposal sounded a little funny but not that crunchy grinding sound like you may be familiar with if you too forget to check first before turning it on. Nope, this was a funny sucking sound. I let the disposal run for a little and realized that it was not turning my dishwater into the whirlpool that it usually does so I figured it was clogged or something. I turned off the garbage disposal, waited for what was probably way longer than necessary but hey, I've seen the horror movies, I know what happens when you put your hand in a garbage disposal too soon, and no, I don't want to practice my horror film scream anytime soon. So I finally reached my hand down and hit something flat. Hmm, now what in the world could that be??? I feel around, and find a ring from a mason jar. I feel around some more and realize that I can feel the rubber ring of the flap from the mason jar. Well, at least I know what it is. Now, how do I get it out of there???

I tried prying it up with my finger nail. Didn't work. I tried some of my heavy duty fridge magnets (Well they hold the millions of pieces of paper on the fridge so why wouldn't they pull a mason jar flap out of my drain?) Didn't work. I tried prying it up with a cheese spreader. Yes, I said a cheese spreader and no, it didn't work either. Then a light bulb went on. I ran upstairs to the linen closet and got the plunger. After a few failed attempts, a few moments of "how am I gonna explain this one to my husband?", and a few moments of "well now, this will make a funny blog entry", finally I had some success! The flap popped up, I quick grabbed it before the water could suck it back in, and the water went down the drain. So there you have it. The next time you find yourself in a situation where there's a flap stuck in your drain, use the plunger!

My Lia Sophia Business

2010-10-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Not many people get to say that they love their job and that they enjoy going to work. I feel so fortunate to be able to say both of those things. First of all, I'm a Stay At Home Mom, but I also have my own Lia Sophia jewelry business. I "work" an average of 10 hours a week at my jewelry business and receive so much in return. I earn a commission of 30% of all of my sales in addition to earning other rewards for incentives offered by my company and my Managers. I also receive a 70% discount on all of the Lia Sophia jewelry that I purchase. Thanks to my Lia Sophia business, I am able to contribute to my household income and meet a lot of interesting people.


My manager Kristin and I walking the Red Carpet at the Lia Sophia White Party June 2010. (Yes I am that short but in my defense, she's really tall!)

Clinton Kelly giving the Keynote Address at the Lia Sophia MORE Conference June 2010.

Posing with Angela "The Wiz" Preuss at the Lia Sophia MORE Conference June 2010.

I was first introduced to Lia Sophia back in 2008 when a friend of mine hosted a starter show to join the company. I had never heard of the jewelry line before, didn't know anyone else going to the party, and didn't really wear a lot of jewelry at the time. I was hesitant about attending the party but now I am so glad I did. Who would of thought that going to a home demonstration party would change my life so significantly? I fell in love with the jewelry and hosted my own show right away. After seeing the quality of the jewelry line and everything that Lia Sophia has to offer their Advisors, I decided to join. I am so glad that my Manager offered me this opportunity.

I never saw myself being the type of person to stand up in front of a room of strangers and give a presentation let alone be comfortable while doing it. Lia Sophia has given me the confidence to do just that. It's easy for me now because I'm sharing a product that I love, a company that I believe in, and an opportunity to better the lives of other women just like me. So even if you never saw yourself being a home party demonstrator or giving a presentation to a group of strangers, keep an open mind and allow the world to give you the opportunities it has to offer. You never know where you might end up.

Lia Sophia MORE Conference June 2010.

Our founder, Victor Kiam, in one of his famous Remington Shaver Ads.

Our Zone was seated on the floor level for the conference because we rock!

Awards our Zone won at the Lia Sophia MORE Conference. #1 Zone in Sales, #1 Zone in Recruiting, and the highest honor, the coveted Victor Kiam Award!

Too Many Clothes!!

2010-10-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

It's probably a bad thing when you start to feel a panic attack coming on from putting your toddler's laundry away, right? My son's little room is bursting at the seams with clothing. I kind of feel guilty about complaining that we have too much clothing for him when there are children out there who don't have clothes to wear. The problem is that my 12 month old still fits into some of his 9 month clothing. To make matters worse, we just had his birthday party and received a lot of 18month clothing. So trying to fit his crib, armoire, changing table, glider, bookshelf, hamper, diaper pail, cloth diapers and a wardrobe from 9months-18months in his little 10x10 room is quite a squeeze. Now you know why the panic attack was starting to set in. I think that every time I do his laundry, I rearrange his wardrobe trying to make it all fit.

You would think that I would be used to this weekly ritual by now. We've been blessed with very generous friends and family who have loved to buy clothing and toys for our son from the start. Luckily my inlaws are also generous with their storage space because that's where most of his outgrown clothing and other baby stuff lives. Originally we were saving everything in case there's a baby #2 in the future but now I'm having second thoughts about that. I've recently consigned some things at two local children's consignment sales and was very successful. I'm contemplating selling a lot more of our baby stuff at some upcoming sales. Being a stay at home mama, I could always use the extra income.

Not much else is going on today in the Hen House. Just squeezing a ton of clothes into a tiny little room and freaking out because of it. Every once in a while you need a quiet day and this one is ours. Chaos can resume tomorrow but for now we're gonna relax.

Stop the Crying!!

2010-09-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

So for the past 3 days, Adam has been crying hysterically and not sleeping or eating like normal. He's usually a great sleeper and a great eater. I'm about 90% sure it has to do with switching him from formula to whole milk. Our pediatrician said that we could just switch him without having to wean him or mix partial milk/formula bottles but now I'm not so sure about that advice. I don't think he's lactose intolerant because he eats cheese and yogurt all of the time without any issues.

His sleeping patterns are totally out of wack too. He used to sleep from 7:30/8:00pm to about 6:30am every night and napped from about 9:30am to 11:30am and 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Then he started phasing out his morning nap and just taking a long mid-day nap. For the past 2 nights he's gone to bed late, woke up around midnight, went back to sleep around 2:00/3:00am and then slept until about 9am. He hasn't wanted to nap for the past 3 days either.

So, as you can see, I've been a little frazzled lately. It kind of makes it hard to take care of the house and work on my Lia Sophia Jewelry business when you have a crying toddler hanging on you all day. To make things even more difficult, I have a jam packed calendar right now. Something's gotta give! I'm tempted to go out and buy more formula and try switching him again later. Thanks for listening to me ramble on about what's going on in the Hen House today. I'm gonna go get the screaming child out of his crib now before he gets himself too worked up. Wish me luck!

First Post

2010-09-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

I've considered the idea of creating a blog a couple times but never thought I would actually update it enough or have anything worth writing about. It wasn't until I went to a networking event and heard from other women about their experiences using their blogs to boost their businesses that I really decided to give this a try. So here I am, starting my blog about life in the "Hen House" which is what I've affectionately decided to nickname my home. What will my blog be about? My home business with Lia Sophia Jewelry, the daily adventures of being a Stay At Home Mama to my wonderful son, and anything else I decide to write about along the way. I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy sharing them and please excuse me while I fumble through the first few. I'm a total newbie to this blogging thing and it might take me a while to get the hang of it. That's all for now folks!