Cooking Thursday

Sandra is once again hosting Cooking Thursday. Stop over at Diary of a SAHM to check out the recipes others are sharing.

I got this recipe from my sister Cheri. These brownies are easy to make and are so good!



French Cream Mint Brownies
1 pkg brownie mix

Filling:
1/2 c. margarine softened
2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 drop green food coloring if wanted (I do use this and the filling is a light green, although it doesn't show in the picture)

Frosting:
1/2 c. margarine
6 oz. chocolate chips

Prepare brownie mix for a 9x13 pan as directed on package and bake.
For cream filling, mix together margarine and powdered sugar. Blend in milk, peppermint extract and green food coloring. Spread filling over cooled brownies. Refrigerate until firm.
For frosting, melt butter with chocolate chips and pour evenly over filling layer. Chill approximately 30 minutes. Cut into squares and return to refrigerator until firm. Serve chilled. Chocolate will crack if cut before it is chilled.

*I've made these for several gatherings and people always ask for the recipe, so I don't think you will be disappointed if you try them!

Photo Contest

I need your help! If you have already done this, thanks!
This is a picture I entered in a photo contest through our local Christian Radio Station. It made it through the first round and now the final voting is going on.
Please go to this site and vote for #4.
Thanks. I really appreciate it!

TV's Greatest Themes

I don't remember where I saw this but I thought it was kind of fun. This young made made 2 videos of himself playing two different instruments, then put them together into a kind of duet.
He plays quite a few different TV themes, some of which I know, but others I've never heard.
It's fun to hear some of them again. See how many you recognize!

I've got some reading to do...

I've decided I may need to take a blogging break to catch up on my reading!
I've won a few blog giveaways in the last few weeks and these great books have made their way to my mailbox.
The first book I won was Angels by Dr David Jeremiah. It came from Renee of A Path of Joy. I'm almost done with this one and have found it really interesting. Dr Jeremiah uses what the Bible says to share information about angels. Bob has also started reading this one and said he is enjoying it as well.
I then won a book from Simone of Chocolate Covered Day Dreams. This book is named The Help and the author is Kathryn Stockett. It takes place in Missouri, in the 1960's. The story is about the black women who were employed to work for the Country Club set at that time. I've read several good reviews on this book and am looking forward to reading it.
The last book giveaway I won was from Kat of Heart 2 Heart. This one included 2 books; Raven's Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet, and Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue by Chuck Black. Both of these books are christian fantasy, in the order of the Narnia or Lord of the Ring books. I think Bob will be reading these books also, as he enjoys that type of writing.
Thanks to all three of these ladies for providing me with reading material for a while!

Tim Tebow

Many of you have probably heard of Tim Tebow, the football player. I recently saw this clip about him that made me respect him even more. I thought you would enjoy seeing it too.

Cooking Thursday

It's Thursday, so I have another recipe for you. Visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM for more.
My recipe for today is a salad. I've made this several times when having friends for supper and it's always gone over well.

Sugar Toasted Almond Salad
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup red wine or cider vinegar
1/3 cup salad oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
3/4 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 head romaine lettuce, torn in small pieces
6 ounce bag, baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
12 ounces cubed co-jack cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Combine almonds and sugar in a small skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir until sugar is melted over almonds, about 5 minutes. Spread almonds in a single layer on waxed paper to cool.
2. To make the salad dressing, whisk together the vinegar, salad oil, sugar, mustard and poppy seeds; set aside.
3. Toss together the romaine lettuce, spinach,tomatoes,cheese and bacon in a large bowl. Sprinkle almonds and drizzle dressing over top of salad and toss just before serving.

Works for me Wednesday

Do you ever wonder about some of the foods in your refrigerator or cabinets? Are they still good? How long is the shelf life? If so, here is a web site for you.
Still Tasty
It has the shelf life of about any food you can think of, along with tips on food storage and answers to other questions.
For more tips, visit Kristen at We are THAT Family.

Do you remember this?

This weekend at work, a few of us were looking at some sales fliers during our lunch break and we saw a drink tablet that reminded us of these:

Do you remember Fizzies? They were a tablet you added to a cup of water, which would make a sort of carbonated drink. My mom would put them in our lunches for a treat sometimes. There were a few different flavors and my favorite was root beer.
After thinking of Fizzies, we started talking about some other things we enjoyed as kids that are no longer around.

Candy Cigarettes! What were they thinking? I guess this really shows how things have changed, as this would never be sold now. We thought they were pretty neat back then.

These little wax bottles were something we got when we went camping. There was some sweet juice in them and we thought they were so fun.

Beemans gum! My Grandpa used to have this and would give us a piece. I don't remember it being a favorite, but it always makes me think of my Grandpa.
What about you? Do you have any memories of old time treats?

Tag, you're it!

This picture was taken when we were vacationing in Colorado last summer. This was on the property of the cabin we rented when we were there.

I was tagged by Donna of Mystical Journeys to participate in this photo meme.

I am to pass this along to 5 other bloggers

and to instruct them to:

Go to their first picture file

Count off to the 10th picture

and post it on their blog.

So - I am tagging:
Cheryl of Cherdecor
Jean of What's up at the Stauffers
Anni of Hootin' Anni's
Kayren of Everything's Coming Up Daisies
Kelly of I've Become My Mother

Update on Heather

Heather had an appointment with a neurology specialist today. Before I give you that report, I have to share some pictures of the morning.
Have you been in any of the public bathrooms that have the new high pressure hand dryers? I used it this morning, then made Heather come in and use her young hands for a demonstration. She was a little worried about what people would think if they saw us both go into the bathroom, then heard us talking about taking pictures, but for your benefit she agreed. :)

Here's what her hand looks like normally.
~~~

And here it is under the dryer. Can you see how much force is coming from that dryer? That's why I wanted a young hand - who knows what my hand would have looked like!
~~~
Now for the report:
The Dr said that from the reports and talking to us, it doesn't necessarily look like a seizure, but it can't be ruled out either. She also conferred with another neurologist and they decided to start her on a low dose of an anti-seizure drug. One of the main reasons for doing this is the fact that Heather is diabetic. If she should have this confusion again, and not turn off her insulin pump or forget to eat it could be dangerous. This drug is one that is known for rarely having side effects and not interacting with other medications. One thing that will be a little difficult is that she can't drive now for 6 months, so we will be doing a little bit of taxi service, but that's a small price.
She will also be having another EEG in a few weeks. This will be longer and more in depth than the one in the hospital, so maybe something will be seen there.
Thanks for your prayers and concerns. God has truly taken care of Heather through this and given us all a sense of peace as well.

Cooking Thursday

The lovely Sandra is hosting Cooking Thursday again. Go see her for more great recipes!

My recipe for today is Chocolate Chip Cookies. I know there are lots of recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I still wanted to share this one, because they are a favorite at our church. The lady who makes these is known for these cookies and they always get a good price when she makes them for the annual youth auction. The recipe is actually her Grandma's, so it has stood the test of time! These cookies are a lighter and crispier type of cookie.

Joanie's Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks margarine or butter
1 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups flour
2 - 12 ounce pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine sugars and butter and cream well. Add oil, egg, vanilla and milk. Mix together. Add salt, soda, and flour and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons on cookie sheet or warm baking stone. Bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Works for Me Wednesday

Today's tip is actually more in the lines of a product endorsement.
Do any of you have a rice cooker? I was interested in them, but wasn't sure if it was worth it to have another small appliance around. I did put it on my Christmas list and got one for Christmas and have found I love it! The rice cooks quickly, 20-30 minutes. It never turns out sticky as it often did on the stovetop and I don't have to watch it. Once it's done it goes to a warm mode and waits for me! It saves me money too, because I used to buy quick cooking rice and don't have to do that anymore.
I got this from my sister Terri, who was happy to hear how well it worked because it was an add on gift, and she said she didn't pay much for it.
This week, the same rice cooker is on sale at Walgreens, for a bargain price!

Here is the picture from the flier:

It's a 3 cup Rice Cooker and is on sale for $7.99. If you have ever considered getting one - this is the time.
It really does work for me!
For more tips, visit Kristen at We are THAT Family.

Word Association Challenge

I was challenged by Hootin' Anni to do this word association game.

Here are the rules:
1. Anyone can play, whether they have been tagged or not.
2. Include the rules and logo in your post.
3. Copy out all the responses that were made before you.
4. Link to each of the people who responded before you.
5. Put in your response. Your response can be as little as a single word or as much as 100 words. It can be a word, a phrase, an image, a song, a video, a story, or a short rant.
6. Tag anyone you would like to challenge to play this game. You do not have to tag anyone.
7. You can do this any time you run across it, even if you were one of the previous responders.

So, this was started by Alice Audrey who said: "excitement"
She tagged Hootin' Anni who said "thrill"
Anni tagged me and I'm going to say "ride", as in Roller Coaster!

So, now I have to tag someone to add their own twist to this chain.
I tag Simone, at Chocolate Covered Daydreams!

Street Artist

Have you seen any of these art projects that are done by street artists? They come in and usually use sidewalk chalk to draw 3D pictures on the street or sidewalk.

They are amazing, and usually cover about 20-30 feet. The pictures below show paintings that cover the length of a street!

These are painted by Edgar Mueller.

This one is called the Great Crevase. Together with five assistants, Mueller painted all day long from sunrise to sunset. It was painted on the East Pier in DunLaoghaire, Ireland.

This one is named Flash Flood. It was done in Saskatchewan, Canada.

I think this is my favorite. It's called Lava Burst and was done in Geldern, Germany. I can't believe the amount of detail in this and the way they parked the cars in just the right spot adds to the illusion. This one is also the longest one, you can see how it goes all the way down the street! Amazing!

Quote of the day

"A good laugh is sunshine in the house!" (unknown)

I read this quote recently, and thought how true it is. When someone is laughing, it lifts everyone's spirits. It's hard to be in a bad mood when there is laughter around you! I hope your weekend is filled with laughter and smiles!

Cooking Thursday

It's time for another recipe and you'll love this one! I'm posting this one in honor of my dear friend Ginger, who is about to celebrate her 50th birthday. She is a chocolate lover, and this fits the bill!

Flourless Chocolate Cake (from Paula Deen)

12 oz. high quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate (You need to buy the good stuff for this - I used dark chocolate for mine)
2 sticks of butter
1 1/4 c. of sugar
6 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place some parchment paper on the bottom of a springform pan so it hangs over. Close the latch to hold the paper in place and secure the sides. You'll also want to generously spray the paper/pan with some non-stick cooking spray. Separate 6 large eggs--yolks in a small bowl and egg whites in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Combine Chocolate and 2 sticks of butter. Melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth. Whisk in 1 1/4 cups sugar until combined. Then add the six egg yolks to the chocolate and sugar mixture, one at a time, whisking after each addition.

In the mixing bowl, beat the six egg whites on high with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Then, gently fold egg white mixture into the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Pour it in the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. It will rise pretty high in the oven, but when you take it out to cool, it will fall. And fall hard. Delicious! Let it cool one hour on the counter and then for at least four hours in the refrigerator before you release it from the springform pan.

This is a rich, fudgy, delicious cake and is not to be eaten when counting calories!

For more recipes, visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM.

Works for me Wednesday

Have you ever had to bring a food item away, but didn't have a carrier to put it in?
Heather had this problem last week, when she was going to bring a cake to a gathering and didn't have a cake carrier.
Then, I remembered something my sister used at Christmas to carry a pie in:

Get out a big Rubbermaid or Tupperware bowl.

Set your cake on top of the lid.

Place the bowl over top and seal it.
Voila! An impromptu cake/pie... carrier!

For more tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Healing Garden

I want to show you a few more pictures from the hospital Heather was at. They have a cancer center, and one floor of the center is devoted to what they call the Healing Garden. Since Heather was in an adjoining section, we were allowed to go through this area. I thought it was such a well planned area, and a wonderful place to spend some time in prayer.

This is a large open stairway, with this huge fountain in the center.
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There is a conservatory on the floor, filled with tropical flowers and plants.
~~~

This tree was in the middle of the Conservatory
~~~

Here is a view of the conservatory. This whole area is on the fifth floor and has a nice view of
the city.
~~~

The outer area on this floor is set up so people can take walks. Eight times around makes a mile. There are several sets of these windows. Each window has stems of wheat etched into the bottom and there is an inspirational quote or verse on each one. There are benches set up so people can rest along the way.
~~~

The inner area of this floor has an outdoor courtyard. There is a labyrinth in the center, some sculptures and lots of plants. Although the sun was shining on this day, there was still snow on the patio, so I didn't go out, but admired it through the windows.
Don't you think this is a wonderful area for patients and families?

Update on Heather

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Heather. She was able to go home on Friday night. They were originally going to make her wait for more test results, but then decided she could probably rest better at home. Our Doctor will call us with the results.
She is still quite weak and tired, but is slowly improving.
All the tests that have come back so far have been negative. As our Dr said - that is good news and bad news, because it means it could happen again.
The one test we are still waiting on is an ultrasound of the heart. Her heart is beating too fast and they are looking for a reason for that. She will be following up with a neurological specialist and depending on the test results, a cardiologist.
We decided that if you had to be in the hospital, this was the place to be. They took excellent care of her and provided some bonus things as well!

This was the view of the city from her floor.
~~~

This is Heather's room. Can you see how large it was? The couch in the back opens into a bed, there was a large tv with a DVD player. They gave Heather a list of DVD's and she was able to choose some to watch. They also gave her a laptop to use. They have a chef that works for this floor and the cancer center. She had a menu and she could order anything off of it from 7am to 7pm. We could also order from it and have our meals in the room with her. The food was very good too!
~~~

This is the view of the city from the parking garage as we left the hospital. What a beautiful thing to see on our way home!
Please continue to pray for Heather to improve and for some answers to be found!

A day in the ER

I just wanted to tell you I'll be missing from the blogging world for a few days. We didn't have a very good day today. The picture above is of Heather's hand, and I took it while sitting in the ER. We spent about 6 hours there, after which she was admitted to the hospital.
This morning she was extremely confused and disorientated, acting very unlike her normal self. We are just back from the hospital now, and she is back to normal except she doesn't remember most of the day. She is on a monitored floor so they can watch her heart and they will be doing some neurological tests.
So far the tests they have done have been normal, so we're thankful for that.
Thanks to those of you who were aware and were praying. We would appreciate more prayers that they can find the cause of this. I'll let you know when she comes home!

Cooking Thursday

Thursday is almost here and that means it's time for another recipe. Sandra is hosting over at Diary of a SAHM, so go and visit her for more great recipe's!

This is a recipe I got from my mom. Whenever I take it to a potluck, I get asked for the recipe!

Japanese Chicken Salad
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
3 ounces Ramen noodles, chicken flavor (keep flavor packet for sauce)
2 chopped green onion
1 bag coleslaw mix
Put almonds in single layer on cookie sheet. Toast at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside and cool.
Put chicken in large bowl. Stir in coleslaw mix, crumbled noodles and onions.

Dressing
1 pkg noodle seasoning
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Accent
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Combine all ingredients and pour over chicken and cabbage mix. Stir together to mix. Place in refrigerator overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle with almonds.

Works for Me Wednesday

Do you ever make appointments months in advance? In my case, it's the dentist appointment which are made 9 months in advance. I tuck the reminder card in my purse and then write it on the calender when I get home. However - it may be for the next year and I don't have a calender for that year yet. I've been known to forget about it, until I get a call that I have an appointment the next day and am most likely working, so have to reschedule.
To avoid that, I've started to tape those little reminder cards to the back of my calender. Then, when I start a new year and a new calender, I transfer them over. No more surprises!
For more tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

Baby Moose vs. Sprinkler

This is a really cute video, although I do have to wonder, how would you feel if you saw this in your backyard?