Peppermint Meringue Cookies

The search for peppermint extract: HEB #1 didn't have any. I called the next day and they didn't have any. I then called Walmart, was put on hold for 10 minutes, and then got the response, "Sir, we only have Season 1." (I'm looking for peppermint extract.) "You're not looking for The Vampire Diaries?" (No, peppermint extract is an item used in baking.) "Oh. I'm confused. Are you looking for a CD?" (Sorry lady, I'll look myself, it'll waste less time than calling you.) Hobby Lobby said they had it, but on my visit to the store, they only had peppermint oil and they were all out. HEB #2 was all out. Finally, Randalls had some! Alas, they didn't have candy canes so more trips needed to be made.

Make the meringue, add some peppermint flavor (mix) and some red food coloring drops (don't mix).

I spooned it into a baggie to pipe out. This made it easier, they looked prettier, and they were more uniform in size.

Voila! I love the stripes! (Another perk of piping.) And it was easy. (Hey ma, check out the sheet I used to put the cookies on. It was a great Xmas present last year. I love them!)

All Things Christmas

I had the idea of making an ornament wreath last year. I'd have to say, it took quite some time and I almost ran out of bulbs! (Thus the giant bow.)


Aaand Mike really wanted to know what it felt like to be blonde. Merry Christmas!

Onsies for a Nautical Elvis-loving Cowboy Viking.

...Or at least that's what his family will persuade him to be for the first 10 years of his life!

If you can't tell in the picture, the Elvis hair is fuzzy. I considered making one for his Dad too (but I don't have a Tommy Bahama white T to use).

A few weeks ago, there was a baby shower for my sister & brother-in-law. Not only did they get some good loot, they got a few one-of-a-kind onsies. I'm not going to lie -- I almost forgot the viking hat! I love the orange beard with it too! It might become an annual gift with different sizes as he grows.

Things are a-Growin' on the Huckleberry Farm

(Notice I didn't use "Kasiske Farm" - that's already taken.)

I thought my hopes for a 3rd pumpkin were all but gone. Then I saw this little bugger when I was watering the pumpkin patch. He's been growing for a few weeks now!
This is the original pumpkin - still the oldest in the patch, but too much bigger than my head.

This is the one that I aided in the pollination process. I lent a hand (wha-whaaaa) to the photo to give you an idea of size.

And once again, my patch is trying to trick me. I thought female flowers will only bloom is one is put into existence when the vine is created. (ie, as it grows longer, I've noted several potential female flowers on the end of the vine.) However, this flower was in the middle of my patch & quite ready for some bees to visit. Looks like I'll be making pumpkin pie from scratch for Thanksgiving.

Ok, not a flower. But I'd have to say the first and last time I heard about a "walking stick" was in 2nd grade. Alas, a walking stick visited the marigolds in my side garden. I sprayed water nearby to make sure it wasn't a twig! :)

A mystery liquid fell from the sky.

Apparently, that's what Mike says whenever it rains. Not because it doesn't rain often, but because Texans are such horrible drivers in the rain. It's true: traffic around Austin slows down as if it's a giant snow storm.

It has rained twice this week in my 'hood, and we couldn't be happier about that. Yes, when it started last night, I wanted to get a picture. If I was wearing different clothes, I would have danced in it too.

Happy Anniversary!

Today, my parents celebrate their 39th year of marriage. Congratulations, and enjoy the next 39!

I couldn't resist bringing a little Sign Language into a post: I love you both!

Blankets for Babies

I'm not going to lie. Crocheting scarves is the only thing I used to be able to do. Then two years ago, I learned how to crochet a circle. Naturally, my next project was making collegiate koozies.

Last December, crocheting gave me comfort. I crocheted a hat & scarf, but needed a bigger project. I made a simple baby blanket - shades of pink from just one skein. There was nothing to it: I just pretended it was a really wide scarf.


Then my sister got pregnant (insert some sort of sarcastic "way to go") and I wanted to step up my skills. I can't give my little nephew a "wide scarf." I wanted to make it more special. I went online to learn how to crochet granny squares, picked my favorite (and the easiest) pattern, and started going at it. I combined the idea of quilting (the checkered pattern) and crocheting together, and came up with this yellow & white piece. Not too shabby, huh?


I found out another friend was pregnant, so I crocheted another blanket. This time, I alternated the blue and white rows instead of making small squares and stitching them together later.


And now, a neighbor is expecting a boy - any suggestions? Should I pick a new pattern?

Can I get a fist PUMP, KIN?

So you might be wondering where my blogs have been. I took a blogcation, but I'm back! And right-o you are. I know at the very least my folks laughed at my title -- and even more after my sister explains why fist pumps are 'in' - please do not actually watch the Jersey Shore.


I planted some pumpkin seeds that have taken over my backyard. Due to only getting ONE pumpkin so far, I had to do some research, self-pollination, and that whole "talking to plants like you're crazy so that they grow" thing. Here is a little tutorial.

There are male flowers (the one with the bee), more likely to appear in the beginning of growth. They can't do anything but stand tall, and attract bees. Then the female flowers grow (the next picture - not from my backyard, but you can tell it looks different). The female flower is closer to the stem, will die if it is too hot (which is true this year), and has an undeveloped gourd under the flower (check out the third picture - this flower is not ready to open yet).

Once pollinated (I pollinated this pup by hand via a Q-tip), the gourd will grow and the flower will die/fall off. And now I will play the waiting game until it gets big enough to carve. This is the 2nd pumpkin in my patch. Now that the weather has cooled to be under 100, there are more female flowers growing. At the very least, I should be able to make pumpkin pie in November!

This last picture is the 1st pumpkin in the patch. It's about the size of... a small pumpkin.

Yard work > Soccer (This weekend only)

That's right, I worked in my yard for 7 hours and played soccer for only 3. I have come to this conclusion: yard work weakens my knee far more than soccer. Up until this weekend, I haven't had to wear a knee brace while playing soccer.

Dislikes about my yard (which I fixed this weekend):

- There were giant plots of mulch around my trees. There used to be flowers in there, but it was a pain to weed, plus the flowers died in one or more of the frosts we had this winter.

- The beds in front of my house had a wavy edge. It's quite a pain to mow.

- The side of my house near my garage is ugly. Plus, the grass right up next to the house doesn't grow.

I used yarn to mark where I wanted the new edge. You can see that I took out grass in some areas, and added it to others. And Dewie hung out with me all morning since Mike ran 13 miles about 1.5 hours away.

Check out that tree! The only thing touching it is grass! As I worked through the yard, I put the mulch in buckets, moved some grass where the mulch used to be, dumped the mulch where the grass used to be, and started all over again. And again. And again. Along that empty side, I'm planning on getting some bushes, possibly holly. I have some Holly in the front - I just have to be careful where I plant it because I have 3 sprinkler heads in that newly mulched area.

I also hung my bike. I still have random unopened boxes of stuff in my garage. Next weekend, I think I'm going to work on cleaning that out.

Adventures with a NY Redhead

I'd just like to mention that I was a NY Redhead before Ali, but she has been using the title for a longer time than I did. Here are a few (random) pictures from her visit.

Picture #1: Dierks Bentley. We went to the Austin Rodeo while Ali visited - which turned into being Ali's Christmas gift since the cooking class we were going to take had to be cancelled. Both Ali and Mike liked it. And for a little bit, I was afraid Mike wanted to take up rodeo sports. If he does extreme running, why wouldn't he want to do extreme horseback riding? Luckily, he is not interested, as it is something he cannot do barefoot. (Yes, he sometimes runs barefoot.)

Picture #2: A Love Drink. We had a fancy dinner at the Melting Pot. Don't worry - we were able to make room in our tummies for the White/Dark Chocolate dessert. Mmmmm...

Picture #3: You can take the Kasiske out of New York, but you can't take the Kasiske out of the girl. Ali, is it just me or do you look like Mom in this picture?

Pi Day - belated

What better way to celebrate {Pi Day = 3.14 = 3/14 = also Einstein's birthday} than with mini apple pies in a Pi Pie dish?

As Mike told me on Monday, HapPi (belated) Pi Day! And Happy Birthday, Albert!

Happy Birthday, House!

Today marks the start of my second year in my home! Look how it has grown! (or at least how the plants have grown. Plus if you're sharp, you'll notice the rocks on the edge of the flower beds.)




To prep for my one year, I spent my St. Patrick's Day mowing. And mowing. And mowing. I think I'm going to spend this weekend landscaping. (Um, porch swing will be added soon - right, Nathan?)

Perhaps in my house's second year of existence, I should post pictures of the inside?

Snazzing Up a Pin

I was asked to help make a trophy out of a bowling pin. I brought a bag full of craft stuff into work, plugged in my hot glue gun, and got to work. It just so happens that my co-creator's team won it. She also made the teams. Coincidence? I'm pretty sure she reaaalllly wanted to sport this trophy in her cubicle.

Hooray for glitter and pipe cleaner fire works. Just to add to the ooh's and aah's - that little duck thing has eyes that are weighted, so they're always looking up. It's very creepy when you start moving it around.

The front:



The back:

Merry Christmas Eve-Eve!

Today is the Kasiske Kristmas Eve-Eve. I'm celebrating Christmas on Friday with my family. Yes, they still have the tree up. Yes, it would probably still be up even if I was up there on Dec 25. I've somehow managed to relocated most of the gifts to Rochester before I get there too. NO PEEKING, FAMILY!

I don't think I've showed this yet. Dewie was my New Year's kiss. You can't tell, but I was cringing, and I don't even think he licked my cheek. He gets REALLY excited when someone stretches their arm out to take a picture.

This was the extent of my Christmas decorating in Austin - and it's not even in my house! I made sure that Mike's & my presents were under a tree though. Please note: this tree is really 6 feet tall (Not 12 inches), so that's some GOOD LOOT wrapped up there. Mike clearly knew what it was when he saw it, but was patient and waited to open it the next night.

It was a good find, right? Completely matches the chairs and is a manly pub table. It looks awesome in front of the windows, and we've used it quite a bit! We haven't used my dancing lessons yet. But we will. OH WE WILL!

Happy 2011!

We've had a week of 2011 - how many resolutions have you broken?

I'm avoiding the word "resolution." I'll have goals this year. No need to extreme-diet for 2 months and then forget about it (especially since I'm getting Mom's home cooking and baked goods next weekend!)

What are my goals for 2011, you might ask? This year, I want to work on smaller sewing projects (skirts, PJ pants, bench seats). I want to bike to work in the spring. I have a few projects around the house. And I want to cook more - or at least until mid-June. Then it'll be too hot and I'll be okay with sandwiches for dinner.