Christmas Lists

About six years ago, to my hubby's dismay at the time, we cancelled our cable TV and got rid of our digital converter box.  No, we didn't switch to dish, we simply cancelled anything that would bring commercials and programming we don't control into our home.

This decision has caused quite a few raised eyebrows and even prompted this question, "What do your kids DO all day?!?"  My reply, "They play!"

Let me set the record straight, we do still own TVs, three of them actually.  We watch DVDs and subsribe to Netfilx.  So no, our children are not completely sheltered and backwards, they just have more of a chance to be kids, play, and use their brains.

Our decision was originally a financial one, but we chose to stick with it after our first Christmas without.  That year our world flipped upside down- in a good way.  The evidence was in the kids' Christmas lists.  For the first time, their lists were created based on their interests NOT based on all the advertising gimmicks they saw on TV.  Suddenly our kids weren't asking for expensive toys that they would be bored with after a few days, but now they wanted stuff to exercise their creativity, toys they were interested in or things they could play with their friends.  

Our children are unique.  They are creative.  They make the gifts they give family and friends.  They ask for gifts that reflect who they are, not who others expect them to be.  They are amazing!

Here's a peek at this year's wish list:

Jenny (16 years old) - comic books {specifically 1980s series Avengers comics}, a record player {it has to be old enough that the materials won't ruin her records, she's done the research}, bedding {Marvel themed, please}

Kandice (14 years old) - craft stuff {specifically yarn and crochet patterns}

Noah Marie (12 years old) - a hair dryer {she is bordering on teenager}, stuff to aid her in learning to play the violin {since mom is taking her sweet time getting around to teaching her}, and "other such stuff"

AJ (6 years old) - an electric guitar and a microphone {not a toy one! a real one!}...and Lord of the Rings Toys {like my Star Wars ones, the whole set}

Yes, our kids are different.  We wouldn't have it any other way!

A Tardis A Day Keeps The Boredom Away

For my birthday a few weeks ago, I got the coolest gift EVER from my loving, geeky family.... a Dr Who silicone ice cube mold!  Yes, you have my permission to be jealous, or confused, or both...you choose!

First, let me make it clear..I don't like having extraneous, useless, never-use-it, takes-up-space kinda kitchen gadgets in the way of all the more needed items in our already cluttered home.  I have spent the last few years purging those remnants of my young-mom years, so why would I need such a silly thing when my freezer has a built in ice-maker?  

Two reasons...1- It's Dr Who    2- Chocolate

When I first came across the silicone mold on my favorite geeky product site, Think Geek, it was pictured with chocolate Tardises and Daleks all arranged in a pretty little basket.  What more could a gal ask for?  A few months later, when my husband informed me that he needed to buy chocolate for my birthday, my hopes rose.  

Fresh out of the box, washed dried, and ready to play with!

Imagine my giddiness when the day before my birthday I ripped off the wrapping paper to find this beauty!  

Immediately I set about trying to find some information, tips and tricks for making the ultimate in Whovian treats for my upcoming birthday celebration.

The mold, however, did not come with instructions.  Nor could I find a blog, vlog, or single posting about how to use this wonderful new kitchen essential...so I started experimenting and took pictures along the way so that others would be able to find information, tips and tricks in the event that they want to combine their love of Dr Who with their love of Chocolate.

I used candy melts from the craft section of my local Wal-Mart.  My husband bought light cocoa and white, thinking I could color the white to a nice Tardis blue.  Note to self and reader: check the bag for directions before attempting to color the candy.  Apparently you need oil-based food coloring.  When I added regular food coloring, it made the candy stiff and hard to work with.  I did use the messed up candy by pressing it into the mold.  It produced a cool, weird, marbley, rough look.  (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture.) Typically I get my melts at a craft store, where I have a much broader selection of colors, but we were already there...



Following the melting directions on the bag, I melted the Light Cocoa melts and poured them into the mold.  I discovered that one bag of candy melts will perfectly fill all six sections of the mold. 

Filled and tapped!  Ready to chill!

Then the tapping begins.  This step is very important!  You need to tap the mold against the counter or table to shake all the air bubbles to the surface.  So I tapped, and dropped, and bounced the mold...until big bubbles from the Delek eye-pieces came to the surface.  Then I tapped just a little more for good measure.


I recommend that you take a frosting spreader or the blunt edge of a long knife to scrape the excess from the top before refrigerating.  I didn't learn this until about the second attempt.  It is easier to remove the excess now than it is to break it off later.

It was extremely difficult to be patient, but I managed to wait an hour and a half before pulling them out of the fridge. Now came the tricky part...getting them out of the mold without breaking them!  I found it works best to wiggle the Daleks out first, by pulling away at the sides and carefully popping the front out of the mold.

The Daleks aren't so bad...it's the Tardises that are hard to remove.  Most candy molds are formed with the design pushing outward, making it easy to just pop them out.  However, the Tardis is molded inward because of the detailing.  I found with these, I had to pull the mold away from the chocolate, stretching it out of the way while I popped it out from underneath.  I broke a couple corners on my first attempt, but got the hang of it after while.

Out of the mold

I immediately washed, dried, and filled the mold again.  While I was waiting for them to chill, I had a little fun "playing" with my creations.  

I hadn't used all the white melts during my food coloring fiasco, and I had some yellow melts from the minions I made the week before for my daughter's birthday, so I went on to make Supreme Daleks to go with the chocolate ones.  I also filled some of the Tardis molds halfway for those who might not be able to handle an entire Tardis. 

After all this, I experimented with making ice in the molds.  Tip: don't fill the molds all the way to the top with water, leave a little room for expansion.  

Now that I'm out of chocolate treats, I use the ice cubes instead each day. When I need a little extra motivation, I'll pop a Tardis into my glass.  When it's been one of those days...you know the kind...it is oddly therapeutic to pop a couple Daleks in the glass and exterminate them when I pour my soda!  In the freezer I have a little bowl of them that my husband has declared off limits to the kids.  

So far this is only geek thing I have in my kitchen.  Next the kids want to get the Han Solo frozen in carbonite, R2D2, and Millennium Falcom 3-piece set...oh, the possibilities are endless!