Blogger Hates Me...

I'm trying to upload photos...will try again soon!

Hello Blog World

Yes, we are still here. Seems life has got in the way and this blog has taken a back seat. Steph asked at church this morning what was going on with the blog. I figure the least I owe her is a post, and maybe that will encourage Mr. Mason to make his appearance soon!

I haven't been taking many pictures of my cooking because I haven't cooked anything that exciting. I've tried some new recipes, but mostly I am tired of my camera and it's slowness in taking pictures. Especially indoors. I've made a vanilla condensed milk rum cake that was really good. I've cooked a lot for CARES events, but nothing too crazy or exciting. Oh, but I did make some tasty Italian cream cake cupcakes! We also haven't traveled much due to our job situations. Those are the things I usually post about and I just haven't been inspired lately.

On the job front, my husband found a new job in July. I finally started a new job in August after six months of being unemployed. I guess I could have found more time then to blog! Our new jobs are pretty different from our past jobs, but not in a bad way. His job has more responsibility and accountability than he's had in the past, and I moved from advertising to marketing. He left a company (though the officially got laid off) that was a sinking ship, and I moved to a much better (thriving) company. God really is good!

As for CARES we've had really good turn out at most of our events! We had 85 people at a poolside movie, and 70 at our carnival and 70 at the pool party. We've made a lot of spiritual connections and we've presented the Gospel twice! Very exciting! We know we're having an impact here, especially on the kids. They come running to us and call us the CARES people. I don't know if they even know my name, but they know his! At the same time it is really sad to see 8 and 9 year old kids that have never played the game Memory. They've played other games, but it just makes us wonder how much involvement their parents have in their lives. Most of them seem to have played games at their grandma's or aunt's house. For the most part they are good kids. They just have a tendency to get really loud and call each other names. One of the girl throws temper tantrums, and I know she doesn't get away with that at home. She's told me her mom spanks her when she does it. I wish we knew of a way to help her. I know she's immature and probably just need attention, but we can't let her get it that way.

Football season has started again, so we're in full Fantasy Football mode.

It's also getting closer to my birthday and the holidays, so I love this time of year! The cooler weather and all the fun things to look forward to!

We just saw the talking pothole on the Geico commercials...funny! She has a hilarious accent which I assume is what Geico has been going after all these years. Fisher just mentioned all the different Geico campaigns: gecko, cavemen, stack of money and the pothole. I guess they are trying to reach all sort of demographics! Or they just can't let go of the gecko or the cavemen. I do enjoy Flo from the Progressive commercials.

I'll try to update more frequently!

Uppercase Living

Hi Everyone! I'm now an Uppercase Living demonstrator! UL is a collection of really cute vinyl lettering and decorations that come in tons of designs and a large variety of colors! Please check out the idea catalog! Of course, if you want to order something please let me know!

I'm Still Here...

Hey everyone! I'm still here and have a lot of cooking and baking pictures to show everyone. It may be a while before they're up since we're moving, again! We got our placement and are going to be a CARES team! Woohoo! We can't wait to get started serving the Lord!

Halloween Dinner...

I'm even more behind than the Super Bowl! Can you believe that? I always like to make a funny meal for Halloween like last year's bat wings and rotten teeth. This year we had fried worms (sliced and fried hot dogs on buns) and mummy dessert (jello with yogurt mixed in). The worm sandwiches would be funny on April Fool's day!

Homemade Salsa...

Way back in February I made this salsa for a Super Bowl party. It was very yummy and the fresh taste was wonderful and like restaurant salsa. I did use canned tomatoes, and let it sit overnight so the flavors could incorporate.

Sleepyheads...

I love to take pictures of people (and kitties) when they are sleeping! Here are a couple I caught in action a while ago.


So adorable!


I love it when she sleeps with her face in her paws! And, yes, she is allowed in our bed. Especially with the move to the condo. She's having to "adjust" according to the sleepyhead above.

Caramels and Snow...

Over the winter I made homemade caramels and wrapped them on the day it "snowed." I ate so many of the homeade caramels when I was cutting and wrapping them that I haven't craved caramels in months! And I love caramels! They were so soft and chewy, and tasted like a Werther's hard candy which reminded me of my grandma. YUM!


These little suckers stuck together like no one's business! The ones on the bottom were really stuck because the weight of the others on top flattened them!


A very, very light dusting of snow.

Herbs...

Last spring I planted some herbs in pots in our backyard. I'd planted herbs in the past, but keeping them on a patio made them harder to water for some reason. I loved having the watering hose so close!

I've also planted herbs this year in containers, but we are living in a condo and the patio doesn't get as much sun as our backyard. Some of my parsley and chives survived the harsh Texas winter and are going strong! I added some additional parsley and chive seeds to the pot to hopefully boost my "crop." I planted some sprouted mint, Italian oregano and Mexican oregano in pot back in November that a friend gave me. Those also survived through the winter outside and are thriving!

My small rosemary bush (in a large pot) is also doing well. I'm so thankful I had mint and rosemary in a pot because I had to leave my larger plantings at the house. I'm trying to grow dill again this year (for at least the 4th time). Hopefully it will work this time! In my first apartment I could always grow basil (and I wasn't a fan then), and my dill would always die! Plus, I didn't cut and use those as much as a I do now. I've learned that cutting them encourages them to grow!

New this year is catnip indoors for the kitty and some cilantro outside. I also planted basil from a nursery that was nicely sprouted and I cooked tonight with the leaves that were already on it! I really enjoy growing the herbs and cooking with them. It just makes our meals fresh and bright!

Here's a list of my herbs:
Parsley
Chives
Mexican oregano
Italian oregano
Basil
Mint
Cilantro
Dill
Catnip
Rosemary

These are a Few of my Favorite Things...

Just wanted to share a few of my current favorite things:

• Coconut Scrub
• Pomegranate and Mango Bodywash I started using this when we first got married, and just after our honeymoon. It reminds me of that special time!
• Caribbean Blue Dutch Oven Great Christmas gift from my parents and very versatile! Cheaper price at your local big box retailer.
• Adam's Best Vanilla Extract
• Churros from Costco
• allrecipes.com

Bit by the Baking Bug...

I don't know what got into me today, but I've baked/made five things in the last couple of hours!

Pecan Pralines (pure sugar, so sweet)
Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake (smells fabulous and has a lemon-y coconut glaze)
Banana Coconut Muffins (these smelled crazy awesome while baking)
Oatmeal and Toffee Cookies (I'll post this recipe later)
and
Praline Toast Spread

These are all recipes I've wanted to make for a little bit. I originally wanted to make the pralines as a second Fat Tuesday dish since they are typical of New Orleans, but I wasn't motivated. As you can see coconut is an ingredient in three of the recipes. I had part of a bag I needed to use up. Also, I didn't intend for praline to be a theme, but it turned out that way! I don't think the toast spread is truly a praline, but that's the recipe name!

Fat Tuesday...

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday and I wanted to make a King Cake. The only problem was I didn't want to make it from scratch, and the only semi-homemade recipe I could find was made of breadsticks and icing, no filling. Blech. But it was from the semi-homemade cook on the Food Network. I decided to strike out on my own.

I formed a can of crescent rolls into an oval with the wider ends towards the center. I wanted to fill the cake, but didn't want to make a cream cheese filling (my King Cake favorite). Hubs loves apples, so I used apple pie filling. I did borrow the icing idea from the Food Network recipe and divided it into thirds. I warmed each bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds and then colored it green, yellow and purple.

Fake King Cake

1 tube crescent roll dough

1 can apple pie filling

1 tub Duncan Hines Classic Vanilla Icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray or cover in parchment and spray. Open the crescent rolls and form an oval on the parchment with the wider edges to the center. Place a couple apple slices on each wide end, and fill in the gaps with filling as desired. Fold over the skinny end of the crescent roll and tuck it under the larger end. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Let the ring cool. Divide icing into three separate bowls. Microwave each for 30 or less according to the power of your microwave. Color with yellow, purple and green food coloring. Drizzle the icing over the cake as desired.

I didn't insert a baby into the cake because I didn't want any of Hubs' coworkers to choke since they were the recipients of the cake.

I Cannot Stop Listening to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8Qvm24dbU

I loved Gavin Rossdale when he was part of Bush, and this song is always stuck in my head. It gives me "Brain Itch."

Happy Groundhog Day...

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today! Six more weeks of winter! Seems like he's seen his shadow the last several years. Maybe we'll get snow in Dallas again!

Cooking and Baking...

I've been cooking and baking quite a bit the last few days. I've made oatmeal cookie dough to freeze for Super Bowl Sunday, a special sauce that I'll detail later, oatmeal in the crockpot for warm breakfasts, Cincinnati Chili and Chicken Divan without any cream soup (yum!).

Tomorrow, I'd like to make microwave peanut brittle, praline toast and maybe some marshmallows!

Monkey Bread...

I made monkey bread or cinnamon breakfast bread for the Boy to take to work. And it was gone in two minutes! Seriously! It was my aunt's recipe and I needed to use some cans of biscuits in the fridge. I didn't expect it to go over that well!

Inauguration...

I'm watching the Inauguration today, and there are so many people there! I went to Clinton's second inauguration and I could actually see him from my vantage point. Granted, he was only an inch tall, but I could still see him! I think a lot of these spectators will only see Obama on the Jumbotron. The Inauguration is always very exciting, whether you vote for the candidate or not!

For dinner tonight we're having the sweet potato recipe that is being served at the Inauguration Luncheon. I'll post pictures later!

Happy Inauguration Day!

Update: By the way, the sweet potatoes were not good! I don't know if it's what I paired them with, or just the cumin/honey (should have been maple syrup) combination. They smelled awful!

Goings On...

Hey Everyone. Long time, no blog. It's been a busy season for the Boy and the Girl. In the last few weeks (month) we've be going non-stop.

1. I found out I'm losing my job
2. Illinois for Thanksgiving
3. Back to Illinois for Fisher's dad's triple bypass. Thank the good Lord the surgery was successful and my father-in-law is recovering nicely
4. Meeting up with Leigh and her boys at McD's
5. Christmas and New Year's with my family in Arkansas (I'll blog about that trip separately)
6. Fisher's birthday (more about this later too)
7. I lost my job

Now that looking for a job is my job, I can hopefully update the blog more often! I plan on catching up on some deliquent posts, and being more diligent about blogging.