The Latta Family

About a month ago- an Instagrammer that I follow (mostly because I admire her bravery with home decorating, and while I would never do the things she has done in her home, I do like a lot of what she does) shared that she made Cake Mix Pancakes for her family one Saturday morning.  That caught my attention!!!  I mean. . . pancakes from cake mix?!?!?!  YES PLEASE.   Here's the recipe:  1 cake mix of your choice (I chose red velvet because Alexa has been on a real red velvet kick lately- randomly) 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 large eggs 2 1/2 cups of milk 1/4 cup oil ** 1 tspn baking powder (the recipe doesn't call for it- but I am going to try it, because these pancakes were very flat) Her husband opened a can of frosting and used that.  I didn't have that, so I made my own cream cheese frosting:  1/2 a block of softened cream cheese 4 tblspns of softened butter 1 tspn of vanilla 2 cups of powdered sugar ** then I had left over heavy whipping cream-...

 Y'all I am feeling so grown up today!!! In fact, I feel so grown up- I keep bragging about it to Alexa, who is completely confused.  She literally said, "Mom.  I think you became a grown up when you had kids. Just saying."  Then she rolled her eyes- as she frequently does when I'm being "ridiculous" (according to her anyway). So- Andrew has gone out of town.  He asked that I go pick up his paycheck and deposit it.  I said, "Sure- but I get a $20 retrieval fee."  He ignored me.  Then I said, "I need your account number."  He replied, "That's a dad question."  Oh my gosh.  What have I done?!?!!  Andrew's complete lack of interest in his own bank account, and his inability to access it is kind of my fault.  Doug and I have joint bank accounts.  I have no idea how to access them.  I haven't for pretty much our entire marriage (21 years now). I have no desire to access them. Doug has tried to show me.  He has en...

 I just read the absolute BEST book!   I am a prolific reader.  Mostly I read free romances from Amazon Unlimited.  You know I'm stressed when I'm marathon reading and baking.  A free romance requires literally no thought.  It is 100% escapism.  When we were quarantined- I baked about every other day, and read . . a lot.  I require a happily ever after, interesting, humorous dialogue, well edited, and a little bit of steamy romance.  I do NOT like domineering men.  I attempted to read a book earlier this week and the main male character was HORRIFIC.  I tried the second book in the series- thinking it would get better- but alas, the second book was worse- and so I didn't even bother to finish it.  There's alpha men, and then there's just overbearing, controlling a$$holes.  I don't care for that type of character. However- while I do love a good romance, I also love a good "women/friendship" book.   The Weddi...

Like many of you- I enjoy wasting time on TikTok.  I enjoy watching: dogs, kids, and DIY, sometimes cooks.  There are a lot of women DIY-ers out there.  Watching their TikTok's has emboldened me.  I have been an assistant and an apprentice to Doug for 20+ years.  I know how to do stuff.  I can work power tools.  I'm not afraid of a saw- hand saws (with no electrical power) or saws that require electricity.  I have a preferred drill.  I can interchange drill bits and hole cutters.  I know the difference between a cordless drill, a corded drill, and an impact driver.  I can use a stud finder . . . about 92% accurately.  I use levels because otherwise Doug will gripe.  I have a self-centering tape measure that has been a total game changer- if you don't have one- you need one.   Because I have become emboldened, and therefore more confident- I want to do things by myself.  I want the satisfaction of knowing- I ...

This spring was one of the craziest springs we've had in awhile.  I started a "few" too many projects, in addition to a project Doug had going on and therefore our house was topsy turvy more than I prefer.    I am not done . . . yet.  I'm getting close.  If Doug is reading this- he is most definitely thinking "What the what?!  What do you mean, "you're not done???"  You're done.  The bank account and my patience are done."   Here's what we did:  1. I moved Andrew upstairs to the bonus room and moved the bonus room down to his room.  Other than throwing Andrew's stuff up in his room- I've done nothing up there.  And to be honest, I'm not loving his room.  That is about to be my next area . . . but I think I'll wait until he's not home to paint it pink.   The new "guest/craft" room is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  GAH I love it soooo soooo sooooo much.  It's so much more user friendly, despite being...

 Ahhh, June.  What a lovely month.  The school year is over, and now I am catching up on house cleaning and finishing up some projects.   This is the first summer in 17 years that I have time.  I have many hours where a kid isn't expecting me to be their "cruise ship director" and notify them of a craft on the east deck, or screen time on the main deck, or snacks on the Verandah Deck.  We have been creeping to this phase in parenting for a couple of summers, and now that it's here, I have to say . . . I LOVE IT!!!!!  Since I can work on a task with somewhat undivided attention, I find myself thinking about my little blog again.  I actually revisited it a few weeks ago and thought, "Dang.  I'm funny!" or "Dang! I remember that!!"  or "Dang- I'm glad I wrote about that- I totally forgot about it."  The year 2021 was one of my lowest numbers of blog posts ever- with only 10 posts.  Except for 2022 . . . where I have no posts....