Vegan, Nut Free Peppermint Bark

I woke up at 4 am and could not go back to sleep. We needed bread so I went to my local open 24 hour grocery store. While I was there, looking at all the holiday stuff, I saw the candy canes and was like, Why not? So I bought a pack of traditional red and white candy canes along with 2 bags of vegan & nut-free chocolate chips. I went home and started making peppermint bark. So easy and so good!
Take the candy canes out of the wrapping, put them in a sandwich bag (3 or 4 at a time). I use a meat tenderizer (vegans use them too) and pound out all the canes till they are small pieces. Melt the chocolate. Everyone melts chocolate different so I suggest you YouTube it if you are new to melting chocolate. Once all the chocolate is melted, mix in all the candy came pieces. Mix till you don't see the red and white, and till there is no more smooth chocolate. Once you have your chunky mixture, pour onto a cookie sheet line with parchment paper. You can also scoop into muffin papers or foil. Place in the fridge till hard. Break apart and enjoy.

Autumn 2012

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Purging

So I've taken on the task of going through Wednesdays toys and getting rid of some of them. Trying! Purging is one of the hardest things for me to do. I hate getting rid of things. When I was a child and I didn't like a toy, when I would ask if I could get rid of it my mother would insist I keep it. It was always something like, "But your aunt bought you that" or "That was expensive" or something of that sort that would make me feel guilty for even considering getting rid of it. I find myself having those same feelings towards my daughters things. I have a crazy good memory for where, when, and how much I bought something for.
It's that same reason as to why I cannot watch an episode of 'Hoarders'. I feel sympathy for them, I can relate. The anxiety from seeing something if value to you being taken away. It's not like these things have any large cash value, but when you have a child, you remember them getting these things and enjoying them. And now my daughter is outgrowing them, and getting so big. Where did my little toddler go? These things we have taking space in our house are a gateway to all these precious memories and the fear is that once the item is gone, there go the memories along with them. It's just sad how fast time goes.