Resolutions & Reality

As the year 2012 draws to an end I suppose it is time to make some resolutions.  Here goes......

I will work out every morning at 5:30.
I will keep my house cleaner.
I will sweep daily.
I will vaccuum & dust daily.
I will walk the dog daily.
I will clean my glasses.
I will write letters...to all my  friends.  Everyone loves mail.
I will eat less junk food.
I will listen.
I will drink less Diet Dr. Pepper.
I will drink more water.
I will cook a good meal every day.
I will eat more salads & vegetables.
I will vaccuum & wash my car on Sunday Afternoons.
I will recycle more.
I will watch less television.
I will finish projects.
I will buy a lotto ticket.
I will win the lottery?
I will take more pictures.
I will budget more and spend less money on crap.
I will volunteer more.
I will stop wasting time on stupid time-wasters.
I will run a marathon.
I will blog daily.
I will try new things.
I will pray.
I will pray without ceasing.
I will take long breaths and relax more.
I will smile more.
I will give up all my bad habits.
I will make new friends.
I will forget & forgive.
I will read my Bible more.
I will read my Bible daily.
I will be more helpful to others.
I will learn a new skill.
I will make something from pinterest weekly.
I will hug my children more often.
I will stay more organized.
I will clip coupons.
I will give blood.
I will use up all the food in my pantry and freezer before I shop for groceries.
I will be a better person.
I will floss my teeth after every meal.
I will fold all the laundry and put it away immediately.
I will clean out my closets.
I will lose weight.
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will be thankful for my reality.

Many friends of mine  have been hit hard with reality this year.  Some have lost family members.  Some have been hit hardest with the word..."Cancer."  Other friends have gone through divorce, addictions, job loss or various other horrible-life-changing reality checks....all of which suck.

My challenge to all this year is to be thankful.  There is always someone around the corner who may have it worse.  Go out there friends and be Thankful.  Go out there and make the best out of every situation you are in.  Whatever it is.........do it.  Go out there.  Find some way to improve yourself.  Find some way to be thankful.

Take a class.
Learn a skill.
Join a Bible Study.
Volunteer.
Give.
Pray.
Stop complaining.
Improve.
I will.

Happy New Year Friends! 

Gingerbread Cookies

It seems only fitting that I should make gingerbread cookies at Christmas.  Any girl whose last name is Ginger and her classroom of children believes their teacher's name is Mrs. Gingerbread should be baking gingerbread cookies.  I have never made them until this year and have never really thought of it.   What a colossal mistake I have been making!  My 3 kids loved taking over with the decorating.  It was hysterical seeing what they tried with the icing.  I only had one jar of food coloring, green.  At least it was a Christmas color.  I bought a bag of M&M minis and a jar of sparkly crystal sprinkles.  The icing in the jar was good for flooding the cookies.  That's about it.

I found the recipe in the current reader's digest.  I hate name dropping but this one is Martha Stewart's favorite gingerbread recipe.  Well, it was her recipe.  Now, it is mine.

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all that.

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons peeled & grated fresh ginger
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Combine all that and add the dry stuff.  Blend until it looks like cookie dough.
Divide it up into about 2 or 3 dough balls.  Refrigerate it or roll it out on a floured surface.
Cut with cookie cutters or a glass.  (I couldn't find my cutters.)

After you cut them....refrigerate them until they are firm.
Bake at 350* for about 12-15 minutes.  It all depends on how crispy you want them.  If I were doing a gingerbread house........I think I would bake them at least 15 minutes.  They will get really crispy.  I think that would hold the candy on the house better.

Surprisingly, enough...this was really easy.  I will do these again next year and forever after that.   Someday, with my Grandchildren.  Any cool grandma would plan something this extraordinary.   I may even get a house pattern and make a house next year.

The royal icing was way easier than I expected.  Meringue powder can be found at Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section.

Royal Icing....2 cups of confectioners sugar
                      2 Tablespoons of Meringue Powder
                      3 Tablespoons of water.

Beat until soft peaks form and add more water if necessary.  It should be stiff enough to form soft peaks.  It should take about 10 minutes.

Tiger Butter!!

Doesn't this look yummy?   Well, if you like the PB & Chocolate combination....ABSOLUTELY!  This stuff is amazingly easy and it looks like you might have slaved over a stovetop with a candy thermometer in hand.

This recipe come through my email the other day and I knew it would be worth trying to see just what "Tiger Butter" tasted like.  I have seen it at all the theme park fudge factories and have never wanted to pay the 29 dollars for about 3 servings.   This entire recipe was less than $3.50 to make!  It also took less than 3 minutes & 50 seconds to make.

Run (or drive) to Wal-Mart or wherever and buy a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, a brick of White Almond Bark and a jar of peanut butter.  I used the creamy peanut butter.

Simply microwave the bricks of almond bark according to the directions.
Scoop about a cup of peanut butter into it when it is all melty and stir together.
Pour it onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet pan.
Melt a cup of the chocolate chips (30 seconds).   Stir & swirl it into the melted peanut butter stuff.

It needs to firm up which might take a few minutes or so...Or just simply chill in the refrigerator.
Break it apart and give it to the neighbors....!!!

The Christmas Card.

Ah, the painful process of making teenagers sit still to take a decent picture.  I still have painful memories about the incident of 2011.  This year proved to be just a little better.  

The window of opportunity with a teenager is about as long as a commercial on television.   You better have a good idea of what you want and run with that.  Throw in all three of them, a husband & a dog......count on a complete breakdown before the commercial is over.

 I got pretty lucky with this one shot.  

They were all looking at the camera & smiling.  

The lighting was horrible. 

The colors weren't exciting. 

The location was decent.

The wind wasn't blowing.

It fit into the photoshop template I had.

Black & White.....the only option.

Merry Christmas, Anyway........ From all of us.

The coolest people you know.

outtake pictures..............

Peanut Butter, oh my!

Yea, it is that time of the year again.  Cookie Swap time.  You know it.  You love it.  This year, I went the traditional route.  The basic & boring route.  Honestly speaking, I just didn't want to do a grocery store run..... which I ended up having to anyway when I ran out of flour.  That being said...these guys are a staple.   They taste amazing with a big old glass of milk!

The dough balls can have a fork pressed into them before baking if you feel the desire.  I have been known to dip the fork in sparkling sugar or just a bit of flour.  It really makes them look fun.  This year, I had two bags of Hershey Kisses laying around the bottom of the freezer.  Chocolate & peanut butter....always a good combination.

The recipe card is what I whipped up to take to the swap.  I just couldn't see myself writing down a recipe a dozen times...  Whipping up a template & running to Costco for processing is way more fun!

Better than EVER Christmas Cake

Friends....  Let me just say that when December 1 rolls around I start dreaming in peppermint.  It really doesn't matter what form it is in.  I prefer it paired with chocolate.  I will drink it.  I will eat it.  I will snack on it.  It doesn't matter.......I just want it.  When I saw this recipe I knew immediately that it was a keeper.  It tastes like a Girl Scout Thin Mint.  YUM!  It tastes like a York Peppermint Patty.  YUM!  It tastes like those crazy good mints at Olive Garden.  YUM! YUM! Yum!

I think the oreos could be swapped for Girl Scout Cookies.  I think a few crushed soft peppermints would be good crumbled on top also.  

Ingredients

• 1 chocolate cake mix, prepared and baked according to the directions on the box.
• 1 cup peppermint dairy creamer
• 14.5 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 jar Smuckers hot fudge sundae sauce
• 1/4 cup peppermint dairy creamer
• 1 cup crushed Oreos
• 8 oz Cool Whip
• Andes Peppermint Chips for topping (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
• Crushed Oreos for topping (approximately 1 cup)
• 
  

Instructions

1. Once the cake has cool, use the bottom of a wooden spoon to poke 20+ holes in the cake.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and 1 cup of the peppermint dairy creamer. Pour over the cake, trying to fill in the holes.
3. In the same bowl, whisk together the hot fudge sundae sauce and 1/4 cup peppermint dairy creamer. Mix in 1 cup crushed Oreos.
4. Pour and spread the fudge mixture over the cake as evenly as possible.
5. Spread the cool whip over the fudge. Sprinkle on the Andes candy bits and crushed Oreos (as much or as little as you want).
6. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours, until the sweetened condensed mixture has soaked into the cake and it's thoroughly chilled. Cut and serve.

Thanksgiving Day Traditions

Lets face it.........I have to be honest.  I hate cooking turkey's.  I don't mind eating turkey.  It is just that they are difficult.  They are difficult to stuff and take forever to cook.  Just pulling the neck & giblets out  makes me sick.  The sight of large naked raw meat is slightly awkward.  They are difficult to truss up.  Shoving them inside a large cooking bag takes skill and 5 hands.  Carving them is a messy situation.   Why do I wait until the last minute to figure out how to cook the butterball?  Why do I attempt to cook a whole turkey every year?  Tradition I suppose.   Is it tradition to find whatever you have in the refrigerator and then shove it all up the carcass of a dead bird and pray for a "Thanksgiving Miracle" to happen 4 hours later?  Tradition, I suppose.

Every year we make the traditional side dishes.  These are the ones that generations will talk about.  These are the traditions that make a family. Every year the menu is the same.  I start planning this menu in October.  Nah......really I don't.  I get out the recipes the weekend before and start buying everything.

Sweet Potato Casserole
Pink Fluffy Stuff
Crock Pot Stuffing
Cranberry Jelly...from the Can
Cheesy Corn Casserole
Pecan Pie.....  From Costco
Dinner Rolls
Ice Tea

If we have extra people dining with us.....

Green Bean Casserole
Fruit Salad
Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Cheesecake
Appetizers

This year I have included a new recipe into the day.  I found it over at the Southern Plate.  It is called Cranberry Crunch and it looked really yummy.  We shall see if it becomes a traditional favorite.

Today, my children are especially thankful for the "Pink Fluffy Stuff."  We always have this as a side dish.  It could definitely fall into the dessert category.  But, we like to think of it as fruit salad???  Yes, that's it!!   I like to use my favorite glass salad bowl because this stuff is pretty to look at.


1 can of sweetened condensed milk  (in the south we refer to this as "Eagle Brand")
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 quart of cool whip
1 large can of crushed pineapples, drained

Mix it all together & chill.  Some people like to sprinkle  chopped pecans on top.  No thanks!  We only eat pecans on pie at Thanksgiving.

Polly's Yummy Cheese Ball

Last year for Thanksgiving Dinner  my sister-in-law was in charge of the appetizers.  I believe appetizers are the most important part of the meal.   They get you started.  If not, they give some breathing time when you only have pie and side dishes to serve.   Case in point......last year's turkey brining incident.  I still have nightmares about the 20 pound turkey and the 5 gallons of brining liquid erupting across the kitchen.  The cell phone went swimming in kosher salt & water.

*** Never  EVER substitute an "oven roasting bag" for a brining bag.  It wasn't  one of my shining moments.

This cheese ball literally change my life.   I like to think that it saved Thanksgiving.  This cheese ball solves the problem of cracked crackers.  Is there anyone other than me who finds cheese balls delicious. and hates them because they are too hard to cut into???  This one is an entertaining Miracle!!!  Try this one and I promise you that it will bring harmony to the buffet. 

Polly's Yummy Soft Cheese Ball 

8 oz. softened regular cream cheese

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar

1pkg. sliced almonds (toasted)

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix (NOT THE DIP MIX)

Keebler Toasted Compliments Wheat Crackers

Make dressing with HALF MAYO and HALF MILK that it calls for.

Mix in cream cheese, then cheddar.  Mold onto plate.  I just plopped it into a pretty bowl!

Toast almonds, cool, then cover the dip right before serving.

(The almonds get mushy if they sit in the fridge with the dip too long)

Enjoy!

I most likely should have staged this picture better and maybe added a layer of crackers or pretzel chips.
Don't you just love that orange platter?  Me. too.

New Pizza Dough!!!

I want to thank my BFF for this recipe. She gave me this recipe.  At least, I choose to think of her as giving it to me.  I found it on page 109 inside her original cookbook and honestly, she doesn't know that we are BFF's yet.  She will someday.  Her name is Ree Drummond.    So....  I can't claim the fame.  I just made the dough.   I did put together this recipe card though!  Are you impressed?  I didn't think so.....Just please be kind and let me think you are impressed.

This was really yummy & amazingly easy!  Enjoy it!  If you want to get all kinds of crazy...make some of my homemade pizza sauce and shred your own cheese.   We like to mixing up the cheeses to get a more gourmet pizza flavor.

It also makes a pretty good calzone too!

This is her original book.

Random Questions............

Today, because I am feeling just a little random.

1.  What color are your socks right now? 

I'm barefoot. 

2.  What are you listening to right now?
a Bugs Bunny cartoon in the other room

3. What was the last thing you ate?
A piece of cold sausage

4. Can you drive a stick shift?

Yes!
5. Last person you spoke to on the phone?

My oldest daughter, Miss C.G.   (otherwise known as Petunia)

6. How old are you today?
It doesn't matter.....  I shall remain timeless.

7. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Baseball...or anything that my son is playing.

8. What is your favorite drink?
Ice Tea...unsweet from Raising Canes!

9. Have you ever dyed your hair?
No to Dye.......Yes to highlights.

10. What is your favorite food?
Currently, it is the grilled chicken ceasar from Palio's.

11. Do you sing in the shower?
Only if I am in a really good mood and no one else is around.

12. Favorite day of the year?
The first day it is cool enough to open the windows and sleep cool...really cool.

13. What is one place you want to visit?
Anywhere with room service.

14. What was your favorite toy as a child?
My electronic toy called "Merlin".  I still have it and it still works.

15. What is your favorite season?

Fall, I can wear a  sweatshirt with a pair of shorts.

16.  What do you consider your favorite movie ever?

Bridget Jones Diary


Now, friends........leave me some comments about yourself and these insightful questions...

I forgot to pin this one... DANG.

Yes, I am hopelessly addicted to Pinterest.  Who isn't these days?  All the cool people pin things!!!    Don't you think that would make a great t-shirt?  Hello....Mother's Day?  My Birthday???

So, other day while perusing the site, I noticed a lovely little pin about pizza rolls.  It looked cheap and easy.   I am all about those 2 skills and fortunately I took a good look-sy at the picture....because it was gone a minute later.  Yes,  I was saddened, confused & frustrated.  

All you need is a can of crescent rolls, 4 string cheese sticks and a bag of pepperoni.    Sounds easy enough?   I wonder if Lil Miss C.G. could handle these???   Maybe....... I can only cross my fingers and say a prayer  for her.

Roll out the triangles of crescents.  Cut the cheese into halves.  Place 3 pepperoni's on the big end of the triangle and a cheese half on top of them.  Roll up.  I shook some pizza seasoning on top of them.  Bake for about minutes at 375*  (or just bake according to the can directions).  They get all brown and yummo...and smell all pizza-ish.    This makes a great snack for a group of middle-school boys and their adult fathers.

(BTW...  those crescent rolls were generic & maybe a week or 3 out of date.  I am proud to say that no one noticed and all 8 rolls were eaten!)

First Impressions.....

Those of you whom I consider a friend understand that I really don't care what color your  skin is and nor do I care about your political, relationship, & social status.  I just don't want to have that conversation.  It is also none of my business.  BUT,  please don't get me started on the TAN-OR-EXIC types.  I can't be held accountable for saying just how stupid that is.  Leathered Skin?  Nice!  Paying for skin cancer? Now, that was a good idea.  I promise you won't regret that one someday when they cut you open and remove pieces of your skin & whatever else that is cancerous.  You might enjoy some quality time in a hospital hooked up to a few rounds of chemo.

I do have certain ideas which some may consider "old-fashioned".  But,  in the grand scheme of things.......... I am nice to everyone.  I don't openly advertise my beliefs.  I do that because I am a people pleaser.  I want to be the popular girl sitting in at cafeteria table of life.   Who doesn't??  I just want happiness along the way and my job here on earth isn't to judge.  Most likely, that job would be tedious & boring.  I don't need that either.

WELL.......  today.  Someone came into the shop.  I am now thinking she must have been having a really bad day.  Before I could get a complete sentence out of my mouth.......she was telling me I had a really bad attitude and she wanted someone else to help her.   I was stunned speechless and that doesn't happen often!   I couldn't even try to apologize & make it up to her.  She had pre-determined that I was going to take my supposed bad mood out on her.  How is the best way to respond to someone who has pre-judged you & a particular situation?  My best guess is silence......or a big spoonful of peanut butter.

This has happened one other time and in much the same fashion.   This person...well both persons were of color.   Am I judging here?   I choose to think not.  I pray I won't be judging in the future because of this incident.

I choose strength......after the spoon of peanut butter!

Celebrating.............

It was National Smores Day!  We had to celebrate.  What self-respecting-blogging-mom wouldn't celebrate?  Most especially when that particular mom LOVES s'mores and that certain mom had allowed the girls to invite their friends over.  This is the ever-so-lovely C.S.  She is a keeper.  I love it when little Miss C.S. is in the house.  She is the child of the man-who-shall-remain-nameless.  I can't even put his initials up.......This is a Family Blog.  Secretly, we do like the guy.  We just can't let him know this.  He doesn't need any more power or self-esteem.

We made marshmallows.  We toasted them over the gas cooktop and made a really BIG mess!!!!!

We mixed them up with vanilla ice-cream and made the best-est ever S'Mores Ice cream Shakes. 

(Just add a toasted marshmallow or 2, some mini chocolate chips with some vanilla ice-cream and a splash of milk.  Blend it all together.  Add some whipped topping on top and a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs!!)  You will thank me later for this ....

This is the recipe I use for the marshmallows.  Don't be intimidated here...it is really easy! 

 I PROMISE!!!!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html

You pretty much know the drill on the rest....I like to think of my blog reading friends as intelligent...So I won't bore you with details on how to properly burn marshmallow's and how to properly sandwich a s'more.  I will beg you to not purchase inferior chocolate.  Run get some Hershey's, Ghirardelli  or Godiva bars........... something that is good......not generic or low-grade.  

These marshmallows deserve better!

Bran Muffins

These guys are amazing.  These guys make the morning pretty easy too.  How much better can that be?  I have been making these off & on for most of married life.  The kids like to snack on them.  The kids like to put one in a lunchbox.  Realistically, I can't say how healthy they are.  But what I can say is that there is a ton of healthy stuff in them.  Well, that and the recipe makes a ton and I can keep it in the refrigerator for several days.  The recipe I was given said that they would keep in the refrigerator for 6 weeks.  I'm not buying that.  But, I have never had the mix for over 2 weeks either.  I make them about every other day when I have the muffin batter prepared.

2 cups boiling water

2 cups 100% all bran  (The brand is called  "Millers Bran" & is in the baking section.)

1 cup shortening

3 cups granulated sugar

4 beaten eggs

1 quart of buttermilk

2 1/2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

5 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups of bran flakes (the cereal flakes)

2 cups raisons

Pour the boiling water over the 100% bran & let it cool. 

Cream the sugar & shortening & add the eggs.

Sift together the flours, baking soda & salt.  

Add it to the other stuff.

Stir in the bran flakes & raisons.

Store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.

Spoon into lined muffin tins and bake @ 350* for about 25 minutes.

Serve warm and maybe add a little butter if desired.

Enjoy!

The Year of Loss continues.........

Today I am feeling somewhat saddened.  My Aunt Fern passed away yesterday following a long bout with cancer.  That stuff is mean and I don't like it.  Actually, I don't like chemo either.  The chemo didn't set well with her and it did some really mean things too.
Aunt Fern was the goofy type of aunt who loved to spend time with us girls and made us giggle.  She liked to disappear when it was time to do the dishes.  (I gotta respect that in her.)  She spoke to me and listened.  She always tried to say something to make me think..or just laugh.
When I think of my husband being her pallbearer...I will grin knowing that Aunt Fern's words of advice to the pall bearers would be "please don't drop me!"  And I know that if it did happen ...she would just laugh and go on with life.  I want to add something silly to her casket.....or give her clown makeup.   I want to give her "Aunt Jemima Pigtails".  She would just laugh and give me her "Lucy" face.  She could make the silliest faces sometimes.

Fern is in the middle.  Doesn't she look pretty?

I remember one Thanksgiving she made this yummy cornbread/corn dish.  I loved it.  I make it yearly in honor of her.  I don't have her recipe...but I know she would like mine.  She loved my sweet potato casserole too.  She also made excellent pancakes.  (thus...the Aunt Jemima hair-do)  I love having specific memories of my Aunts.  I once harbored dreams that my children would love growing up knowing their cousins and have good childhood memories of relatives.  I have failed somewhere along the way.  Is distance a good excuse?  I know I am not alone here.  I believe
that my sister-in-laws have failed too.  This also saddens me very much.


I have specific memories of the Aunt's in my lives......

Aunt Tiny......snapped purple hull peas & made fabulous fried pies.  New Years Eve at her house is the best.
Aunt Oda.....fried chicken & heavenly hash cake.
Aunt Marilyn.....Taco Tuesday and Sunday Night Ice Cream.
Aunt Margie...Chicken Chow Mein casserole  (and she lives in Arizona!)
Aunt Fern.....We just terrorized her and she loved it!  She went to Sonic daily for happy hour.
Aunt Laverne.......Her dinner rolls!!!   She was scary but that was ok. Well, that and my mom hated her.  She watched "Days of our Lives" daily.
Aunt Christene....They fried catfish at their house.
Aunt Beverly...She made pies.

I wish my nephews knew good things about me.  They need to know that I make the best hot chocolate and marshmallows in the nation.   We need to make s'mores together.  They need to try the new-toasted-marshmallow-shake we made this summer.  It is delish!  They need to know that they can come over & make a request for my home-made calzones for dinner.  They need to spend the night and make sonic runs with us.  They need to know their cousins.

Another Day.  Another Year.  Until me meet again......Aunt Fern.

I wish I knew what she was doing here.....

Tiger

He was almost 3 here.

I feel the need to post about my cat, Tiger.  He lived a good life.  He was almost 17 last week when he passed away.  He lived a good life on the edge.  He was a cat with a big attitude and was always ready to give out his angry eyes to anyone he could intimidate.

As a cat, he was born in a barn during a vicious ice storm in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  We aren't sure about his father.......

He was the neighborhood bunny killer until the very end.  He eventually grew to tolerate our dog, Tramp.  Their relationship was similar to Garfield & Odie.  He passed away last week due to complications of old age & diabetes.

BFF"S...  I think not.

This was taken just a few weeks before he died.

Diet Sabotage.....with oatmeal raisin cookies!

To those of you that know my husband.......he has a weakness for oatmeal cookies.  These are his drug of choice.   I can't admit to making them for the purpose of diet sabotage.   But, in the event that he is/was trying to watch his sugar/carb/crap intake and in the event that he was being annoying today......  I can't publicly admit to making these cookies for that purpose.  That would make me the bad guy.  I can't have that title swinging above my head.

What I will admit is that our lovely daughter, C.G. is coming home tonight with her current boyfriend who happens to be allergic to chocolate.   We really like this particular boy, R.S.   So, I made the cookies for him?  Yes, that is what I will say.  Yes, I will run with that.  Yes, that sounds good.  Well, that and I made them for the cute little boy sneaking one off of the plate.   He needs to beef up for football.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 small drizzle of molasses....(optional)

Mix all that together.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oatmeal, old fashioned & uncooked

Mix all that together & slowly add to the other stuff.

1 cup raisins.

Add the raisins.

Bake at 350* for about 10-12 minutes.

I took this recipe from a box of quaker oatmeal several years ago.  Why re-invent the wheel?

Now, tomorrow I might make him his second favorite cookie, snickerdoodles.   The guy was really annoying this afternoon.   I wonder if he is doing this on purpose to get cookies?  Could he be that twisted?  

FYI.........  these are great for breakfast too!!!

A most amazing Chocolate protein smoothie!

ok...  so I know most of you that read this post will immediately gag on the thought of this.  I am challenging you to put on your big girl panties now.   Yes, I mean you, R.B.  We are going to make the most delicious creamy chocolate shake ever.  Well, maybe not quite as yummy as one made with a gallon of Blue Bell.  But, it will have all kinds of rich & healthy chocolate goodness and with the added hint of peanut butter or banana.  I have been drinking this for breakfast lately.  I think I have lost a couple of pounds or so.  It is super easy and fills me up for the entire morning or evening.  It gives a healthy-needed chocolate fix too!!

Here is what you need............

1/2 cup of skim milk
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup egg beaters
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons splenda or more if you need it sweeter  (do not forget to add this!!!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup crushed ice
a tiny pinch of cinnamon (optional)
optional ......... 1/2 of a frozen banana and/or  a tablespoon of peanut butter/PB2.

Yes, you read that right........cottage cheese & egg beaters.  Stop gagging R.B.  Don't let the children see what you are getting this out!!!  Trust me here.  2 of my 3 children won't get close to this now that they know about the cottage cheese & fake eggs.  The 3rd child......she loves it.  Well, she'll eat anything.......a prune is one of her favorite snacks.  Go figure that one!

I like to layer all the stuff in there and get it all blended well together before I add the ice at the end.  It just works out better that way.  If you don't have a really good ice crusher with your refrigerator.....I think that a bag of sonic ice would be an easy alternative to keep in the freezer.  (Well, and it would be a good reason to run to Happy Hour too!)

This is also a very good reason to run over to Williams Sonoma or Costco and buy yourself a vitamixer.    I can't get enough of mine.....  It will liquify anything into a smoothie.

Yes, she needs to wash it.....

My weekend project....

My neighbor gave me this.   It was given to her about 15 years ago and wasn't new then.  She said that originally it had a china cabinet thing attached on top.   The hardware is screaming....... "Take me off and throw away IMMEDIATELY!!"  The color is saying......."Please paint me SOON!"  

I sanded...and sanded...and SANDED.

My husband sanded and sanded and sanded.

YES.....Maybe soon...it will be ready.

So.....7 dollars invested in a large can of stain and we have this..........

The doors didn't stain well.  We ditched them and decided to add a shelf across the middle. My hubby wanted to add some trim to the shelf so that it looks purposeful.  The stain is called "Ebony" and is a minwax product.  I stained the inside...after I took this picture.  But this picture really shows the difference in color from the original to the "Ebony" stain we added.  After that,  we added what seems like a hundred layers of stain.

And now I give you the finished project...  I absolutely LOVE it!   

An extra big "thank you" goes out to my friends,  D & L.  They are the ones who gave it to us!