100th Post, a List and a Give-A-Way!

This is it! I made it to my 100th post! Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! In honor of my 100th post, I decided to share a list. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

100 Random Things About Me!

1. I am a Mom. I have one daughter, Allison.
2. My lifelong wish was to be a Mom.
3. I want to be remembered as being a great Mom. Nothing else really matters to me.
4. I love that Curtis makes me laugh.
5. I knew after our first date that Curtis and I would be together for a long time.
6. I love our little family.
7. I am blessed.
8. I wish I was a stay at home Mom.
9. I am a middle child. I have an older sister and younger brother.
10. I was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
11. My middle name is Louise.
12. My confirmation name is Christine.
13. I am Roman Catholic.
14. It drives me nuts when people sneak out of church before the priest finishes Mass and walks down the isle.
15. I am Italian from my Dad and Polish & Slovak from my Mom.
16. I was a surprise to my parents.
17. I have blue eyes but my ¼ of my right eye is brown.
18. My right eye has perfect vision but my left eye requires a corrective lense.
19. I’m 5 feet 3 ¾ inches tall.
20. I wish I had thicker hair.
21. My favorite season is fall.
22. My favorite holiday is Christmas.
23. I love making Allison’s Halloween costumes.
24. I love Target.
25. I despise going to Wal-Mart.
26. I am very sentimental.
27. I love traditions.
28. It is important to me to leave a legacy for Allison.
29. I love to scrapbook but it’s hard for me to make the time.
30. I have to sleep with one leg out from under the covers.
31. I wish there were more hours in the day.
32. I always feel behind in what I want to do.
33. I take on more than is humanly possible.
34. It’s hard for me to say no to family and friends. Although Allison would tell you different!
35. I have an odd sense of humor but Curtis gets me.
36. I try to put 110% effort into everything I do.
37. I love to decorate.
38. I love using color in my home.
39. I never finish decorating a room. I have this need to keep changing things.
40. I will not use an item in decorating my home unless I feel it’s a perfect fit.
41. I favor casual & country decorating but I love the cottage style and I’m hoping to implement more of it into my home.
42. I have about 10 decorating projects I in my head that I want to do.
43. I still have my wisdom teeth but I was born with only bottom ones.
44. My favorite city is San Francisco.
45. My dream would be to move my family to an old farmhouse and fix it up.
46. My favorite movie is Gone with the Wind.
47. My favorite food is Halupki (stuffed cabbage rolls).
48. I love potatoes.
49. My favorite dessert is a tie between cheesecake and tiramisu.
50. I don’t like the texture of coconut but I love the taste.
51. My favorite ice cream is French vanilla.
52. My favorite candy is Reese’s peanut butter cups.
53. My favorite beverage is Pepsi.
54. I drink my coffee with 1 pack of sweetener.
55. I only drink coffee at work.
56. I have worked for the same place for 14 ½ years.
57. I like my job but I don’t like the 1-hour drive to and from work.
58. I like my quiet time in the car to and from work.
59. I love to throw parties although Allison’s birthday party is the only one we throw.
60. We need a bigger home!
61. I love Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy.
62. I’m a bargain shopper.
63. I don’t have a favorite color. My favorite colors are pink, purple, green and yellow.
64. I collect pink and green depression glass.
65. I love antiques and vintage items.
66. I love second hand stores, antique shops, flea markets, yard sales, consignment stores, Salvation Army stores and Goodwill stores.
67. I love using old glassware and dishes for every day.
68. I love candles.
69. I love country music.
70. My favorite flowers are yellow roses and lilacs.
71. I follow the rules.
72. I’m a magazine junkie.
73. My favorite magazine is probably Family Fun. It has the best doable ideas.
74. I love to shop online.
75. I love to cook but I don’t like to decide what to make for dinner.
76. I love that Curtis brags about my cooking to his friends.
77. I love that Curtis and I don’t fight. We get mad at each other but we don’t fight.
78. I make a mean pot roast.
79. I love watching the cooking shows on the Food Network.
80. My favorites cooks/chefs on Food Network are Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen, Sandra Lee, and Ina Garten.
81. I love to bake and I’m trying to learn how to be a better baker.
82. I love photos of family and friends. I have them framed in every room of my home.
83. I usually always travel with a camera. Sometimes two.
84. I stink at videotaping. I never think to take the camcorder with us.
85. I’m a barefoot girl.
86. I miss having a kitty in the house.
87. I miss hanging out with my good girlfriends.
88. I only use a black pen. I don’t think I own any blue.
89. I throw change in the bottom of my purse and when it gets too heavy to carry, I’ll clean it out and put it into our Disney Fund jar.
90. I hate to iron therefore I try not to buy any clothes that need ironing.
91. I worry too much.
92. Although, I have gotten better, I have a habit of over-thinking things.
93. I try not to sweat the small stuff.
94. I’m a list maker.
95. My word for 2007 is Simplify and I’m trying to do that in my life and home.
96. I love to organize.
97. I love being silly with Allison.
98. I love to laugh until it hurts.
99. I was a member of “The Fonz” fan club.

100. I LOVE blogs!

If you have made it this far, thank you! I also want to thank all of you out in blogland who take the time out of your day to stop by and see what is going on in my life. Since I am celebrating my 100th post, I am going to go along with blog tradition and offer a give-a-way to my readers. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I will print out all of the comments on Wednesday and have Allison pick a winner. The winner will receive a collection of Home Interiors candles. You can see all the wonderful new scents here. Once Allison picks a winner, the winner will get to pick 5 Petite Jar Candles of their choice. They can be all the same scent or 5 different ones. It's the winner's choice. Each candle has an approximate burn time of 48 hours. The current scents are: Baked Apple Pie, Dulce de Leche, Caribbean Splash, Iced Lemon, Apple Limeade, Strawberry Shortcake, Plum Crazy, Passion Fruit & Papaya, Spiced Cider, Ruby Red Punch, Pineapple Ginger, Caramel Pear, Raspberry Lemonade, White Peach Nectar, Hot Cinnamon Buns, Maraschino Delight, Mango Cooler, Icing, Apple Pie a la Mode & Strawberry Shake. I'll order them the following Tuesday and have Home Interiors ship them directly to you. This is fun! I can't wait to see who wins! I know there are some lurkers out there so be sure to come out of lurkdom and post a comment by Wednesday.

Good Luck!

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Easter Recap!

Before I start with my Easter recap, I wanted to let everyone know to keep reading because my next post will be my 100th post! If you have been reading my blog, you probably thought it should have been a couple posts ago. However, I went through my posts and found there were 2 started and never actually posted so deleting those put us 2 steps back. I have a great give-a-way so you won't want to miss the celebration!

If you have been reading my blog, you have probably figured out that I like to cook and bake. So of course I will start my Easter post with what I made to take to my parents' house. This dessert is one I came up with myself. I searched and searched for a new recipe I could try but didn't fine one I liked completely so this is a combination of a couple. I'm calling it Easter Dessert because it's colorful with Easter egg colors. I've shared 2 pictures below. One to show the layers in the dish and then one cut to show all the pretty colors.

Cindi's Easter Dessert

1st Layer:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 / 2 cup melted butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar

~Mix all ingredients together.
~Press onto bottom of 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
~Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
~Let cool before filling.

2nd Layer:
2 small boxes of chocolate pudding or one large box
3 ½-4 cups cold milk (3 ½ cups will make it stiffer and 4 cups make it the texture of pudding. It’s your choice)

~Make pudding and layer it on top of graham cracker crust.

3rd Layer:
1-8 oz. Container of Cool Whip
6 cups of miniature colored marshmallows (just under 1 bag)

~Mix cool whip and marshmallows together and layer on top of pudding mixture.
~Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs and chill overnight. Chilling it overnight makes the marshmallows soft and yummy.

This next picture is of the letter the Easter bunny left Allison on Easter morning. It was on the coffee table along with 1 single pink egg. She came downstairs and was a little frustrated that he only left her "1 egg! Just 1 egg!" and no basket. We read the letter together and started the search for the eggs with clues in them. It was too fun and she did a pretty good job reading the clues.
Look at the smile on that face! She was just SO excited! Before she even found the basket, she wanted to make sure that I took a picture of her with her basket. She makes me so proud! She is such a little scrapbooker!
She was so funny about this DVD. We had just seen it advertised the day before on television and she commented that she wanted it. When she pulled it out of her basket she said, "The Easter bunny must have been watching me yesterday!"
The Easter bunny brought her a TY kitty this year in her basket. He usually brings her the Easter bear but "he" couldn't find it this year. The kitty was a bigger hit anyway. I am so glad that I captured this moment. When she "cuddles" with her two Rosies and pink kitty she rubs her cheek on them and she immediately did this with her new kitty. Too sweet!

The goods.

This last picture is for Stephanie. Allison immediately pulls the tags off of all of her TY beanies as soon as she get them. This drives Stephanie nuts so I had to take a picture of it just to torment her. Sorry Steph!

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Allison's 1st Recipe!

Thanks to Allison, you get a bonus post for the day!

She asked me if she could have a snack. I told her not until she has breakfast. Her answer to this was "I hate breakfast"...this would explain my trouble in getting her to eat hers every morning. It's not fun! After a few times of asking again for a snack and me saying after she has her breakfast, she suggested that we make something special. She said it will be called "Angel Breakfast." Hmm, now she has my attention. She told me that I would have to help because the stove part is for grown ups. She is very creative. Just remember that when she becomes the Rachael Ray of her time, it all started with her "Angel Breakfast" and saw it here first.

Allison’s Angel Breakfast

Ingredients:
· 1 egg
· ¼ cup milk
· 2 slices of wheat bread (no seeds)
· peanut butter
· blueberry jelly (or your favorite)
· syrup
· powdered sugar
· butter (for skillet)

Directions:
· Beat 1 egg in large bowl. Add milk and beat both together. Set aside.
· Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
· Dip the sandwich quickly (so it doesn’t get soggy) into the egg and milk mixture. Be sure to dip both sides.
· Melt a little butter in skillet on medium high heat.
· After the butter is melted and the skillet is hot, place sandwich into the skillet and brown well on both sides.
· Remove from skillet and place on plate.
· Drizzle with syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
· Enjoy!

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Something is NOT right!

Something is not right about this picture! A bunny flag with snow everywhere? How am I supposed to make bunny tracks outside with flour leading up to our house tonight? I'll have to come up with another idea. Hmm, maybe I can fill a spray bottle with water and food coloring and spray pink bunny tracks on the snow.

Speaking of the Easter bunny, does your or did your Easter bunny hide the baskets or leave them out in the open? My bunny always hid mine. Curtis' bunny left his on the kitchen table. Allison's bunny has always hid hers but this year the bunny is doing something new. Since she is now able to read, he is leaving clues in plastic eggs. The first egg will be on the coffee table and it will lead her to the next one and then the next one and so on and so forth until she finds her basket. I can't wait until tomorrow morning!

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Vintage Easter!

This is me at 5 years & 4 months old at my Ba Ba's house on Easter Sunday. Just 5 months younger than what Allison is now. You don't see a resemblance, do you?

It's actually amazing that I found this picture of just me. Most of the pictures from my childhood are of me and my sister, Alesia together. Oh, and we are usually in matching dresses. Did your Mother do that too? UGH!!

You know, when I look at this photo, the first thing that comes to mind is "I remember that basket!" And the second thing is "Hmm, it seemed so much BIGGER back then!"

One other thing that I noticed about this photo is that the date, my name and other pertinent information is documented on the back. THIS IS AWESOME! I would have never known how old I was in this photo if it wasn't that my Aunt Stella took the time to write it on the back. Most of my pictures from childhood do not have this info on the back. Mostly because my Mom had 3 kids and probably didn't have the time. There are some that just have the year so that helps but it would be so nice to know when all of them are from. I have to admit that I do not have anything written on the back of all the photos of Allison. I know! Shame on me! I do, however, have them in chronological order in albums. I have doubles of every picture of Allison that I have. One set I keep for scrapbooking and the other set goes into these albums for her. I do this because she may want to do something with them someday and I want her to have an untouched set. I'm actually a little obsessive with this process. If my sister takes pictures of her at a get together or holiday and I have pictures of the same event, I will not put mine in the album until my sister gives me her doubles and I can mix them in with mine so they are chronological. If you are thinking I'm odd, you are right. I guess this obsession comes from not having very many pictures of myself from my childhood. There are some baby pictures of me and then they don't start up again until later. It wasn't until I was 5 months pregnant and my Aunt Edith died did I even see pictures of myself from that time. My Mom found them when they were cleaning out her things. I remember my Mom showing them to me and I just cried. It must have been the hormones. I was so glad to finally have photos from that time in my life so I could compare them with the child I was about to have. They are priceless to me. I guess the lesson learned here is that I need to go back and put dates and other pertinent information on the back of all of the photos that I have for Allison. It's my job to document her history. It will be a big job since I have over 3000 photos of her to date! I better get busy!

Have Fun!

“All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this -- as in other ways -- they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it.”
~John Berger

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Classmate Treats & A Moment with Grandma!

Allison is staying home sick from school today so I have a little time to update my blog. She has my cold that I've had since last Monday. Actually I think mine was a combination of a cold an a sinus infection from my allergies. I love that Spring is starting but the change in temperatures and all that new growth out there is killer on me! I feel like I carry around a box of tissues with me all the time.

On Saturday Allison and I put together her Easter treats for her classmates. We started with pink, green, purple and blue plastic cups that I found at Wal-Mart.

Then we added green Easter grass. The treats consisted of a plastic colored egg filled with an Easter themed eraser, a bag of Life Savers Gummi Treats in the shapes of bunnies and chicks, Smarties, an Easter pencil that I found at Target and then topped the cups off with jelly beans.
We dropped the whole cup in a cellophane bag, tied the top off with bright colored curling ribbon, added a tag and we were done! VERY easy and Allison loves them! I hope her classmates love them too!

We had a wedding shower to go to for Curtis' second cousin over in Ohio on Saturday night. Actually it was more like a family get together but neither Curtis or I were feeling well so we decided not to go. Curtis' Mom called and asked if she could take Allison with her and then spend the night. I hesitated for a brief moment and she said "I'll be responsible." It wasn't that I didn't trust her but my thought was that she'll miss C.C.D. and church in the morning. The shower was from 6:30-8:30 pm and by the time they got home it would be after ten. Allison needs her sleep and I was thinking that it would be too late for her. Grandma never asks to take her anywhere and always helps us when we need her to watch her or pick her up from early dismissal from school so I told her that it would be fine. Allison was SO excited and told Grandma on the phone that she may be hungry so she should bring some snacks in the Blazer with her. Bossy little thing! Anyway, since we haven't had a good picture of the two of them in years, I took the opportunity of taking some pictures. This is the only one that came out good and we love it! Can you tell how much she loves her Grandma? We were standing in the parking lot waving to them as they were backing out and BAM! Grandma backed into the street light that is on the other side of our parking lot! Curtis and I just stood there and she put it in 1st and kept on going. She never stopped as the pole stood there swaying! She never got out to see if there was damage. She just drove off and left us dumbfounded that we just let her drive away with the most precious thing in our life. Our daughter! WAIT! Didn't she tell me on the phone that she would be responsible? LOL! They made it there and back just fine and we laughed about it later on the phone.

Have Fun!

"Grandmothers are just antique little girls."

~Author Unknown

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One Tooth....No, TWO Teeth!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. Oops, wrong holiday! All I want for Easter is my two front teeth, my two front teeth.....etc. Yes, that's right! Allison has lost her two front teeth this week. She lost one on Sunday night. Actually, she pulled it out in bed and there was blood everywhere! It wasn't ready to come out yet! She was playing with it during church earlier that day and I took a good look at it at that time and it was probably going to be a few days yet. However, when my child wants something, she'll do what she has to do to get it. This obviously included causing herself pain! I don't think she'll do that again though. She was freaked out by all the blood and the upset tummy she got with it. She lost the second one on Thursday after school when she was eating a soft oatmeal cookie. It just fell right out! No blood! She soon realized it was a much better way to lose a tooth! She always gets ice cream when a tooth comes out and Uncle Bill and Holly wanted to share in our tradition this time. We met them in Cranberry at The Marble Slab (YUMMY!) and Allison got bubble gum ice cream with gummy bears sprinkled on top. They presented her with a book about Sharks as Holly and Allison has this love in common. Allison's new nickname has become Shark Girl. Hmm, Princess to Shark Girl...not what I had in mind when I had a little girl. The book came with this cool poster of a shark and we will be putting it up in her room this weekend when we rearrange and clean the Princess room. This should be interesting!

Have Fun!

"Other than a dimple in a cute little chin, What's more adorable than a toothless grin?"

~Azu "Betty" Espezia

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THE BLOG HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED IN 14 DAYS........YAWWWWWNNNNNNNNN!!!

My title is courtesy of Curtis. He emailed me this last week and I had every intention of updating it then but you know...life just got in the way. So here I am 21 days later with lots to report and lots of pictures to share. You might want to go get a refill on your coffee or Pepsi before you start reading. I would promise to keep it brief but if you know me, you know that is not possible!

First I want to thank all of you who read my blog. When I started this thing my intention was to document the happenings in my life. I soon found out that I enjoyed writing and updating my blog. My only wish is that I could do it every day. I just don't have the energy. I wish I did. I fall asleep much to easily in the evenings and then when I get up early in the morning, I try to get housework and laundry done while I have that morning burst of energy. This is my 95th post. As with most bloggers, I'll have to figure out something special to do for my 100th post. A way to celebrate it with all of you. A little thank you for being there out in cyberspace to let me get out the clutter in my head.

Cakes. These are the last 3 cakes that I made for our church's fish dinner. This first one is called as "Better Than Sex" cake but I changed the name to "Better Than Love" cake for the church.

"Better Than Sex Cake"

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix (I use Devil's Food)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar of caramel ice cream topping
1 small container of Cool Whip
Heath candy bars (I use one pack of 6) or Butterfinger candy bars
Directions:
~Bake cake as package directions in a 9 x 13 pan.
~As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, use the handle from a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the cake.
~Pour the can of condensed milk and the caramel ice cream topping over the cake. The cake will absorb both.
~Cover with foil and put in the refrigerator overnight. It must sit at least for 4 hours.
~When ready to serve, frost the cake with cool whip and chop the candy bars into small pieces and sprinkle over the top of the cake.

This next one I had a little help from Mr. Hines (Duncan) and the Pillsbury Dough BOY! I used a box of spice cake mix and then I added 3/4 cup of raisins to the batter before pouring it into the pan. I used already prepared cream cheese frosting and topped the whole cake with crushed walnuts. Very easy and just added a little extra to make it my own.

Okay, this one was really cheating!!!!! Things have been really crazy and making a cake just slipped my mind...until the morning of the fish dinner. I looked in my pantry and had these so I went with it. EASY PEASY but so festive since it was a beautiful day last Friday! It must have been a hit because there was none left by the time we got to the dinner!

I have this huge chicken wire basket on top of my bookcase/wall unit. I love the basket but I always felt it needed something. At Christmas time, I put the the presents that Allison bought for all of us from the Santa workshop at school in the basket. I loved the way it looked but I really don't think having wrapped presents in there all the time is my answer. After a long search I found these willow balls at Pier One. I love them! They are just the filler I needed. If you are looking for something a little different, you can check them out online here.

When I became a decorating consultant for Home Interiors and Gifts for this second time, I did it to make some extra money. Other than changing some things around in my home for some variety, there really isn't much decorating that I NEEDED to do. However, there is always some adorable things that I like and just have to have. My latest is Scooter. Scooter the Rooster. Isn't he cute? He is rattan and metal. I had originally thought about spray painting him white and using him in my kitchen but now I am not so sure. I put him here in the living room to take this picture and I kind of like him against my walls. Hmmm, I'll have to give his home some thought! By the way, if you see anything in the Home Interiors line that you don't need but just have to have, please let me know. I would be happy to help and we now ship to anywhere in the United States! You should give our candles a try....they are awesome and the new containers go with any decor. Mmmmm! French Toast. Allison asked for Mom's special French toast for breakfast one morning. I love that she'll always remember that I make a special French Toast just for her. My secret is that I add a few sprinkles of cinnamon and vanilla extract to the egg and milk and then I top it with a few sprinkles of powdered sugar. Isn't it amazing that something so simple makes such great memories for little ones?
Do you see it? It's barely there but it IS there! It's Allison's marigold that she is growing in our kitchen window. She brought it home from school the day she went to Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. It was supposed to sprout in 5-7 days and I was getting nervous. It was day 7 and nothing! Mom suggested that I cover it with plastic wrap and like magic, this appeared in a couple of hours! Thank goodness for Mothers!

Allison and I went to my parent's house last Saturday to help my Mom with some Easter preparations. Since we missed seeing her on her birthday, we decided to surprise her and bring a cake, flowers and balloons. Allison wanted to get dressed up for the "party" and this is what she picked out. I tried talking her out of the cowboy boots but she wouldn't have it! Doesn't her hair look cute. She's been growing it out so she could put it in a ponytail but since it's not long enough just yet, this is what we ended up with. Cute! Cute! Cute...if I do say so myself!
Here she is helping Ba Ba crack open eggs for the dough for the capeletties for Easter dinner. She is getting so big!
It's that time of year! Curtis took her out bike riding last night while I was at work. I found this on the digital camera. She dressed herself again but I am sure you can tell with the spaghetti strap top. It wasn't quite warm enough for that yet!
One last picture for no other reason but because I think it's funny! Allison took this after she posed Daddy and Uncle Rudy (Curtis' best friend) with a stuffed snake and dragon. Again, I was at work while this took place. I love that they humor her and let her make them the object of her fun....well, now it's our fun...isn't it?
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Lessons of Love!

Allison spent some time with Grandma (Curtis' Mom) on Sunday. Grandma is an excellent seamstress and wants to teach Allison. I think it's wonderful! Allison will remember that forever...just as I remember my Aunt Edith teaching me how to crochet. I loved my Aunt Edith dearly and some of my most vivid memories are of our conversations during my lessons. She taught me so many things. Along with teaching me how to crochet, she taught me how to make her pasta sauce, homemade pasta, hamburgers, gardening and more. She passed away when I was five months pregnant with Allison.I am so sorry she never got to meet Allison but I am sure she is up there in heaven watching down on her.

Allison made this fabric picture all by herself...with a little help from Grandma with the actual sewing. Please ignore the crinkles. There isn't any but when I scanned it, they appeared. Anyway, she picked out just the right colors for the grass and the sky and also added the cloud. The man in the picture is God. Yes, God. The design is all her own. She said he doesn't have shoes because he didn't need them. "Jesus didn't have shoes. He walked in his bare feet so why would God need shoes?" I was amazed. We all were. We think she did such a good job.

Have Fun!

"Surely, two of the most satisfying experiences in life must be those of being a grandchild or a grandparent." ~Donald A. Norberg~

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Brrrrrr and My First Bake Sale!

This is going to be a short post because it's cold in here! I don't want to be sitting still for any length of time. I want to keep moving! Our furnace went out yesterday sometime and we need a new blower and the furnace man can't replace it until tomorrow. BRRRR!!!! He did leave us a space heater to help us out until he can fix it. It makes me nervous so we will not be running it tonight while we sleep. I guess the three of us will be sleeping together again tonight! There's nothing like some good old fashioned cuddling to keep you warm but I don't get much sleep that way. Curtis and Allison are both BED HOGS!!!!! As far as Allison, Curtis took her over to his parents for a while. She didn't want to go. She wanted to stay home with Momma and cuddle but her fingers were so COLD! Poor baby!

Allison's school was having a "Soup, Pie & More" sale after church today. If you signed up at the beginning of the year for this committee, you were to put together ingredients for the soups. I am not sure how exactly that goes since I didn't order any of the soups. It's not that I didn't want any of the soups, it's just that the pick-up time conflicted with our church this morning. I just couldn't be in two places at once. This may sound confusing for some so let me explain. Allison goes to a Lutheran school that is about 20 minutes from where we live and the soup pick-up was at the Lutheran church that is part of the school. This is not our church. We are Roman Catholic and our church is just up the road from where we live. So when I said the soup pick-up conflicted with our church, I meant that I couldn't get there from our church to that church in time for pick-up. Make sense? Still with me? I know, sometimes I confuse myself too!

Anyway, if you weren't on the soup making committee, you were asked to help with the "Pie & More" part of the sale or if you didn't want to do that, a donation is always appreciated to help with the soup ingredients. I decided to do the "More" part and made some items for the sale. I guess I never really thought about it much but I love to cook, bake and be creative in the kitchen. I didn't make anything fancy by any means but this was my first bake sale as a Mom and I wanted my items to be fun and festive. Of course, I had to take pics. What would a blog entry be without pics? As always, click on the pictures for a closer look.

The final products:

These are 8" x 5" spice cakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I got these pans with lids at a dollar store by where I work. I liked the size because it's perfect for a couple who don't want a whole cake laying around.

These are Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have a recipe for these cookies that is labor intensive but I didn't use it. Instead I used a recipe that I got off of Heather D. White's blog. I've mentioned her before. She has such great recipes! I had total confidence in trying this recipe for the bake sale without testing it beforehand. Here is the recipe straight from Heather's blog. I should also add that I copied how she packaged them too. I hope she doesn't mind...after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

HEATHER'S MOM'S SUPER FLUFFY AND ABSOLUTELY DELISH & SIMPLE PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 Spice Cake Mix
1 Can (regular size) Pumpkin
1 Cup TOTAL of mix-ins (either 1 C. Chocolate Chips OR 1 C. raisins OR 1/2 C. Chocolate Chips & 1/2 C. raisins. - Whatever you add, add 1 Cup TOTAL)

Mix together. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. VOILA!!! (Remember...it's just the mix...don't add ANYTHING to the mix but the pumpkin...no eggs, no oil, nothing!) (P.S. I prefer to use Milk Chocolate Chips instead of Semisweet. Mmmm...delish!)

I wanted to make something fun for the kids and all kids (young and old) enjoy cupcakes! I used Wilton's Dazzling Dots baking cups. I iced them all with white icing using a Wilton star decorating tip (I think it was #20) and sprinkled Wilton's Spring Confetti Sprinkles on top. I put them in a bed of lime green & yellow shredded paper Easter grass from Wal-Mart to keep them steady in the take out containers I got from work. I wrapped them with ribbon that I had in my stash, added a tag and they were ready to go!

A closer look:

The last items I made were Chocolate Covered Oreos with white chocolate streaks on top of them. YUMMY and SO easy! I put each oreo in a Wilton Easter baking cup, dropped two of them into a cellophane bag and tied the top off with a ribbon from my stash. SUPER cute and a GREAT Easter basket idea!

Have Fun!

“When you look at a cupcake, you've got to smile.”

~Anne Byrn

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