Holiday Pie Baking Hack

I love pie. A lot. The year I was married, I found a recipe for an apple cranberry pie with a pecan crumble topping. I can't remember where I found it, but I've made so many changes to it that I call it my own. It is by far my favorite pie, but it is a lot of work to prepare. Since I have two toddlers running around, and another bebe rolling around in my womb, topped with my ITP, I'm pretty exhausted. But I NEED THIS PIE! I have come up with a few little hacks to save some time in making this delicious pie.

First. I bought pre-chopped pecans. I know this sounds like a waste, but this also saves me from using the food processor to chop them and blend them in with the sugars. Since they're already small, I just toss them in the mixing bowl with the sugars, flour, salt, and small pieces of cold butter, and work it all together with my hands. It doesn't take long at all.

(Delicious crumbly topping)

The next tip is to buy a pre-made pie crust. Yes, your homemade one is going to taste a million times better, but I do not have the time it takes to prepare this delicious, buttery, flaky crust. So I bought a two-pack at the store, and I'll use the other one for Christmas.

(Pie ready to bake, in the pre-made pie crust)

Thirdly, for an apple pie, invest in an apple peeler/slicer/corer. Five seconds, and your apple is ready to go. Seriously. Get one.

(Amazon link)

Last, bake ahead of time. I'm sure a lot of you who prepare an entire Thanksgiving meal do this, but I have yet to do this, and I'm busy with prenatal and hematology appointments, so making the pie ahead of time is saving me from going insane!

Now for the recipe. I'm going to disregard the pie crust part, because we are saving time!

APPLE CRANBERRY PECAN CRUMBLE PIE

Filling:

3 medium apples (for this round, I used one Braeburn, one Honeycrisp, and one Gala)

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 granulated sugar (you could use turbinado as well)

Juice of 1/2 lemon (I use ReaLemon because it's quicker!)

1/2 t ground cinnamon

2 T flour

Topping:

1/2 c pecans (get the pre-chopped ones!)

1/3 c sugar (since I'm halving this recipe, I used approximately half each of brown sugar and granulated sugar)

1/4 c + 2 T flour (give or take, since, again, this is half the recipe)

1/2 t salt

1/4 c (half a stick) cold unsalted butter

Use your handy apple peeler/corer/slicer to take care of your three apples, cut those in half (for gorgeous, uniform slices), toss them in a large-ish mixing bowl with your cranberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Mix real well and set it aside for 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400° with a dark baking sheet (lined with foil!) inside. Apparently this makes the bottom of the pie more crisp.

In your set-aside bowl, add cinnamon and flour and mix lightly. Turn mixture into your frozen pie shell and place the pie in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes.

While the pie is baking, we can now prepare the mouth-watering topping! To save on dishes, I just rinsed out the bowl I used for the filling and dried it. Toss in your chopped pecans and your sugar and mix them together with your fingers. Add the flour and salt and mix again. I like to cut the cold butter into little squares for easier working. Toss the squares in with the mixture and cut in the butter with your fingers until they resemble the crumbs in the photo above. It only takes about 5 minutes to accomplish this.

When the pie is done baking, remove and place your topping on top and pat it a bit so it stays in place. REDUCE YOUR OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 375°! Put your pie back in the oven for about 20 minutes and bake. Then place a foil tent over your pie and bake another 15 minutes. This last part helps your topping to stay golden brown instead of burned!

Once it's finished baking, let it cool completely then you can cover it with foil again and get it ready for transport. Great, now I want to eat it and I have to wait 2 whole days!

I've Been a Small Business Owner for a Year -- A Giveaway!

Last August was a huge month for me, both good and bad. I received my fabulous ITP diagnosis and spent 2 nights in the hospital, and I also registered with the state for my business license! August has historically always been an eventful month for me, mainly for my accident-proneness! A few broken elbows, and an awesome "L" scar that I got at Mukilteo Beach when I was 9. Memories that will stick with me forever.

Since I've been in "the biz" for a year now, I wanted to do another giveaway to celebrate this momentous occasion! This time, instead of having a premade one ready to ship, I thought I'd make a custom Swarovski bicone and pearl pocket rosary! You can take a gander over at FusionBeads.com and find some lovely mixes! I typically make them with the 6mm ones, but you can browse any other sizes and just let me know which mix you prefer.

Here are some examples

You can have that be one of your entries for the Rafflecopter...commenting with your favorite Swarovski bicone mix! The contest will start today (August 1) and run through midnight on August 15. I hope to have the pocket rosary out to the winner by month end! Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support during this past year. I am truly blessed to have a successful business that I LOVE running, and I don't feel like it's a job!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Arcade Fire - Next Week

The first Arcade Fire song I heard, back in 2005, was "Rebellion (Lies)," from their "Funeral" album, and I must say, I fell in love. I would listen to it on repeat for hours on end, and never get tired of listening to it. I eventually purchased the entire album and loved it. I purchased their subsequent albums, and my deep love for them increased immensely when "The Suburbs" hit stores. Every day to work. Every day from work. I spun that album. I knew (maybe still know) all the words by heart, and my absolute favorite song of theirs is on that album.

I will finally be getting the chance to see them live...NEXT WEEK! This will be my first concert at the Gorge, and I am so excited I can hardly stand it. It will be a great distraction from the one-year anniversary since my ITP diagnosis, and I already know I will love it.

I will be posting Arcade Videos for the next 2 weeks, until the show next Friday. For today, here's "Rebellion (Lies)."

Back to 123, Annual Training, and an End to 100 Happy Days

I'm back on monthly CBCs for my hematologist, and I had another draw on Monday. I had a feeling they were going to be up, and I was right! They went from 116k to 123k! I didn't even have to email my hematologist to ask if they results were in yet, because the hospital system was working correctly, which seems to be rare ;) They were at exactly this number back in March, which is making me hopeful that they will continue to rise and hit 'normal' sometime soon.

Here is a graph of my entire ITP journey thus far.

Chris has been in or around Yakima (even 2 days in Redmond for inventory!) for his Annual Training for Army since July 12. It has been very hard him being away. A lot of the days, the girls misbehave (typical, not just when Daddy's gone) but when he didn't come home at night for me to have a little break, it was even harder. He did get to come home and sleep for the 2 days he was in Redmond, so that was a nice surprise. He still doesn't know for sure if he will be helping fight the wildfires going on in central Washington. His 2 weeks is up this coming Sunday, and still no official word, which is frustrating for more than just me. Praying for tons more rain where it's needed, and that he can come home on Sunday as planned. We have a friend who was activated to fight the fires, so please keep Dusten in your prayers, along with his wife Heidi. OH! I forgot to mention Chris was promoted to SSG while in AT, so that's a bonus!

I didn't mention this before, but I participated in the 100 Happy Days challenge, like a lot of people have. I successfully completed it, and got a ton of compliments and feedback that I should do it again! I've decided that I'm going to start it again on August 1st. For those of you that follow my Instagram (allisonnoelle), all of my photos were tagged with the #100happydays. There's probably a huge long list if you just search for that, though!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Day 3

Day 15

Day 38

Day 57

Day 79

Day 93

One more thing...I will probably be doing another giveaway in the month of August for my business! It'll to celebrate me being a small business owner for an entire year! I still have to think of what I'm going to do, so stay tuned!

P.S. Pumpkin is making its way back into my house already (in the form of pumpkin cream cheese)! Squee! (That means recipes coming!)

I'm Back...Sort of...and a Special Etsy Offer

I haven't blogged in nearly three months. I haven't had the desire to. The family has been busy with travel and National Guard and hematology appointments (116 was my last number! Woohoo!)

I do want to let everyone know about the smashing awesome sale going on over in my Etsy shop through Saturday, July 19. When you purchase a full 5-decade rosary, I will throw in a FREE pocket rosary, up to $7! That's right...FREE! Just let me know at checkout what your choice is between the ones I have for sale in my shop. I haven't ever done this before, and I hope people enjoy it and take advantage of this offer. Pocket rosaries are wonderful for keeping in your car (or pocket!) because they're so compact and barely take up any room.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Rosaries, Mother's Bracelets, and an ITP Update

I had a post rolling around in my head yesterday, didn't make any notes, and now it has escaped my brain. Don't you just love that? ;) Instead, I'll just post some photos of some rosaries and other pieces I've been working on!

A bronze St. Joseph rosary with Jet Czech glass beads. A woman ordered this for her husband because he's worn out his other one from so much use!

Carnelian gemstone with a chalice center. This one will hit the Etsy shop today, so if you need a rosary for a little First Communicant, head on over today!

Mother's bracelets! (Yes, the top one is mine...) The bottom one is a rosary bracelet with saints for the mother's sons on it! (I've been making quite a few of these, and am still taking orders for them!)

I REMEMBERED WHAT I WAS GOING TO BLOG ABOUT!!!

I had my hematology appointment yesterday. Pretty much no news and no changes. I'll still be going in every other week for a blood draw and I'll still be on 5mg of Prednisone every day (boo!) and a follow up appointment in 3 months. I'm hoping that my platelets continue to rise or stay where they are, and then there is a possibility of dropping my dose. So ready to be done with Prednisone...well...ITP for that matter. (Doc shot down my theory that chiropractic has helped my platelet levels. Anyway, I'm still going to keep maintaining and pretend she didn't say the things she said...)

And a cute photo of my girls. This was Nora's first time in the car cart at Safeway!

Okay, I guess that's all for now! I need to prepare for Bible study! Must brew more Mystic Monk coffee! (I just got the Irish Cream blend...yum-o!)

1-2-3, a Picnic at the Park, and the Lenten Rosary Winner

I'll start off by saying that Sarah O. won the Lenten rosary! (Converts unite ;)) I've mailed it out and hope she receives it soon! Thank you all for entering the giveaway!

Blood draw day was today. It was the draw before my hematology appointment that I have on Wednesday. I had been nervous for a few days prior to this, because I'd been feeling drained of energy and had experienced a couple bloody noses. I was praying that the platelets had at least stayed above 70, with the previous draw being 74 two weeks ago. (Thanks to everyone on Twitter who prayed for me while I went in and had my blood drawn, and then the waiting that happened until I received the results.)

There was a bit of a wait because I went in later than normal. Thankfully the time passed quickly and my name was called to have my blood drawn. Typical every-other-week activities...sitting in the chair, initialing that the information was correct, flashing my vein, and in goes the needle. The bleeding didn't stop immediately, so I was worried that my platelets had plummeted. The phlebotomist told me to apply more pressure and it finally stopped enough so she could put the bandage on my arm.

I gathered my things and my daughters and headed back to the car. We then headed to the grocery store to purchase items for our picnic! Food items were chosen, we paid, headed back to the car, and drove to the park. Goodness it was such a gorgeous day!

Hannah's friends Sofi and Lily were there with us, along with River, Oliver, and Noah. Great time in the sun and having the littles run around and burn off some energy!

Photo of Hannah and her BFF Sofi holding hands <3

We came home for a bit before heading to the store to get things to make dinner (we had the always-delectable Sesame Beef with Broccoli). During the time spent at home before heading there, the results to my blood draw came. Every time I get that email, I say a Hail Mary then open up the results. What I saw in there, I didn't expect. It started like this: "Wow, your platelets rebounded. Are you still taking Prednisone 5 mg daily?" I scrolled down and saw the number: 123. I immediately started to cry and thank God for His wonderful mercies. I called Chris, then my mom, then my dad. They were all very surprised and extremely happy. My levels haven't been over 100 since the beginning of October, and that was only 101. They were 118 in mid-September. I am hoping and praying that my immune system is healing itself and won't be killing off my platelets anymore. Autoimmune diseases are no fun, especially ones, like ITP, where doctors have no idea why the immune system is attacking itself. If you see this blog post, please pray that they continue to rise into normal range (145-400), even though I'd be perfectly happy if they remain where they are. 123 is a phenomenal number, and my midwife informed me that anything above 120 is fine in her practice. This makes me VERY happy!

My crazy-wacky chart of my platelet levels since my hospitalization. Can you say roller coaster?

Anyway, the girls are now in bed (hopefully for the night) and it's time to relax and pop some bubbly with the husband in celebration of the great news received today! Good night and God bless you all!

A Platelet Rise and More Fr. Deo Gratias

Last night I received an email back from my hematologist's office, only to find out she is out for the week. I emailed the doctor back asking if another doctor could release my lab results to me instead, but for some reason he couldn't get it to work. He did, however, let me know that they were at 58K. 58K! That is a 20K jump in two weeks! The Anointing of the Sick worked! Thank you to all who have prayed and have been praying for me since August of last year. I am praying that they continue to rise back into normal range. That would be spectacular!

This morning was my regular Bible study day. I hadn't prepared for the lesson but still felt like going so I could listen to what others thought, and I will eventually get to fill out all the questions, just for me. As we were in our circle to begin our opening prayer, Fr. Deo Gratias walked in the door! I had to do a double-take. I heard he was in Seattle yesterday and now he was back in Tacoma today. He opened us in prayer with Our Father, then prayed for us in his native Swahili! He joined us at our table and had a lot of good things to say about our study, and sort of gave us a homily, which was so great to hear! We discussed a lot about forgiveness even when it's hard to do. (More of Hebrews 4:14-16) After the study was over, he wanted to get a photo of all of us together with him, so he could take it back to Tanzania and show everyone the new friends he made. A lot of us gave our cell phones to one person and she snapped a photo with all of them. I'm not sure, but it sounded like he might be back next week. If that's the case, maybe I'll bring my camera and a tripod so we can get a better photo.

An abnormally small group today, but we were indeed blessed by the presence of Fr. Deo Gratias! God is good!

Also after the study, my friend and fellow convert Susan, gave me a St. Jude holy card. She let me know she has constantly prayed for me and that St. Jude (her Confirmation saint) has interceded on her behalf several times! Such a wonderful saint!

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." --C.S. Lewis The Weight of Glory

"The Creed links "the forgiveness of sins" with its profession of faith in the Holy Spirit, for the risen Christ entrusted to the apostles the power to forgive sins when he gave them the Holy Spirit." --CCC 984

This Week {Feb 17-21}

After the long weekend in Spokane, it's so good to be home! It took us 8+ hours to drive home, with a stop to chain-up the tires, and a stop to take the chains off. Anyway, good to be back into a routine of sorts!

Such an adventure, driving over Snoqualmie Pass!

I got my blood drawn this morning and will likely have the numbers tomorrow (if I'm hopeful, today) and I am praying the platelets jumped! After this trip, we jumped over to Vercillo's again. I bought some crucifixes and centers for some rosaries that I am designing, and also met a young Tanzanian priest named Fr. Deo Gratias. This priest is very traditional, as he was wearing a cassock! He was a very nice man and is on a mission to build a hospital in his hometown in Tanzania, because the closest one is very far away.

Currently reading:

As I mentioned this weekend, I started The Devil's Cup by Stewart Lee Allen

I'm also still reading After Miscarriage and An Irish Country Village.

Rosaries currently working on:

Reversible St. Francis/St. Anthony with bright neon green Czech glass beads and cobalt Czech glass beads.

I finished up this one-decade rosary with matte emerald Czech glass beads and a reversible Mary/Divine Mercy center. It can be purchased here in my Etsy shop!

This is a custom order, a variation on one I did before. It's the Swarovski 'Beachy' mix but with round beads instead of bicones, it has platinum Swarovski pearls, and an Our Lady of Grace center.

Verses that are speaking to me this week:

With the Lenten season quickly approaching, this verse is a good reminder for all of us to get to Confession so we are able to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at Easter!

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."

--Hebrews 4:14-16

Speaking of the Lenten season quickly approaching, I have decided I am going to post the Sorrowful Mysteries on Ash Wednesday (I know a billion people have already done so) and write out the Rosary prayers for everyone, since the rosary is so near and dear to my heart! Look for that soon! Also, I will be posting 6 meatless meal options, ones my family will be using on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays during Lent. I've tried to come up with other meaningful things to do during Lent, but this is what I have decided to do.

Quotes that touch me this week:

"She longed greatly to go back to those dear merry days when life was seen through a rosy most of hope and illusion, and possessed an indefinable something that had passed away forever. Where was it now -- the glory and the dream?"

--L.M. Montgomery Anne of the Island

"Mother! Call her with a loud voice. She I listening to you; she sees you in danger, perhaps, and she -- your holy mother Mary -- offers you, along with the grace of her son, the refuge of her arms, the tenderness of her embrace...and you will find yourself with added strength for the new battle." --St. Josemaría Escrivá The Way

Now I need to get back to assembling all the new rosary orders, so have a blessed day!

Anointing of the Sick and a Trip to the Catholic Bookstore

I got a call from the priest at our parish yesterday so we could reschedule my Anointing. I have had a rare blood disorder called Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) since middle of last year. Basically, my blood is mostly normal, except I have extremely low platelets. When I was first hospitalized, I had 9K platelets, with the normal range being 145-400K. I was discharged with 100K and have been hovering between 30-40K ever since. Biweekly blood draws to see where I'm at, and constant prednisone in my body. It's annoying, and can be very dangerous if they get too low (below 30K). Platelets help clot your blood, so you could bleed severely if cut or even bleed internally. I'm thankful that God protected me during the time I didn't know I had this autoimmune disease. I am thankful to him that I am alive!

Today's Mass was the regular 9:00 am Mass with the school children. The girls and I sat in the very back pew and got too many glances our way when one of the girls screeched or started crying. I'm pretty sure all the kids thought that mine were cute, but I still felt a judging eye toward me. It was good to have an adult that I knew nearby, and she reassured me that I was fine and had nothing to worry about. I had been to another Mass with the school children before, but lucked out and got to drop off the girls at the nursery downstairs, with the ladies who watch them during our Walking With Purpose Bible study. Well the girls weren't too bad, and I received the Eucharist and the girls were blessed by Fr. Seamus.

We met Father at the back of the church after Mass was over and I received Anointing of the Sick, the last possible Sacrament I can receive. (I wish I had grown up Catholic so I could have received all of the Sacraments as a Catholic, but I'm thankful that my parents had me baptized as a baby, and that Chris and I wed in a Christian ceremony.) He blessed me with the oil on my forehead and the palms of my hands, prayed over me, my sins were forgiven (now I don't have to go to Confession for a while...KIDDING!) and he blessed the girls again. I left feeling more awake and with a heart on fire for Jesus!

Hannah wanted to go to the Catholic bookstore, Vercillo's, after Mass, and I agreed it was a good idea. I wanted to get some more holy cards, the non-laminated ones, for my Bible, and some more medals to wear, because you can never have too many of either of these things! While browsing, I also found Pope Awesome and Other Stories by Cari Donaldson, with whom I interact on Twitter and Facebook. So in essence, I know the author. Heh! The girls were having a hay day in the children's book section, and Nora kept picking up a book on the Holy Family, so I got that for the girls, too. At checkout, Regina, the employee (whom I saw at Mass just before!) gave me free Holy Face medals for our family, and also Holy cards with the devotion on them. Such a wonderful thing, I hear, and so now I do research! St. Veronica was my Confirmation saint, so this was neat!

Back home, we are, and I can still smell the oil on my forehead! It reminds me of the Rite of Sending Mass and also Confirmation. Must get the toddlers some lunch, so off I go again!