So, today I start back at the lodge in Island Park. I am excited about it, I learned a lot working up there, and as I found out it wasn't the train wreck that working at The Horseshoe was. It actually runs smoothly.
Yesterday afternoon we went and saw Sherlock Holmes, aaahhhh! It was really good. The previews made it look tawdry, and I thought it was going to be filled with all kinds of innuendos, but it wasn't. I liked it very much, and will buy it when it comes out on dvd. Also Robert Downey Jr. played a very good Sherlock Holmes, I think, even though not british, pulled it off. Jude Law as Watson was really good too. I think the movie was well done, and hope they do another.

As you can see, Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes isn't anywhere near as good looking.

Merry Christmas

It's snowing on my blog, how cool is that! I just watched Julie&Julia....LOVED it. I watched Julia Childs on tv when I was young, along with Yan Can Cook! HAHAHA! That was when we just had basic cable. I didn't appreciate her when I was 12 years old, didn't think she was a very good cook. Oh my heck though, now, I have such a better understanding, and can appreciate her.
We are having a movie fest at our house tonight, that doesn't include any christmas movies. I know, I know! But we don't goto movies all that often, we wait for them to come on dvd...saves money, and you have the comfort of your own home. So tonight is movie night. We are, however, having what is sure to be a SCRUMPTIOUS dinner....which will be Slow Roasted Prime Rib, Baked Potatoes, Green Salad, Mixed veggies, and for desert we will be having Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes with Vanilla Ice Cream YUMMY, huh?! I have this recipe for a prime rib rub, but it is more like a crust if it's done right. Oh my, makes the prime rib very flavorful.....the very best thing about this dinner is the cost of the prime was only $3.88 a pound. How cooly cheap was that. I was able to buy more, 5 lbs. We'll only eat about 2 lbs, and can food savor the rest and have prime rib another time. Dinner for 2 for 3 days, at later dates of course. And if the prime is cooked about rare or just a tick under, then it can be warmed in the Au Jus to medium rare and be just like it was the first time. AAAHHHHH! I love FOOD! I will also be going to the DI to get myself a wide belt! Merry Christmas to all!

Sometimes when I goto the D.I. I get so lucky with what I find. Yesterday, I found my baby bundt pans. They are Nordic Ware, and to buy these pans new, they are $30+ bucks a piece. The best part, besides actually finding them at the TS is that they were only $4 each, and in super good condition. There was 2 of them. Here's what they look like.

I am planning on making cakes today for christmas presents.

No matter how old they get

I've decided this: No matter how old boys get, they should never be left unattended for one single moment. This is a before picture of the kitty, notice how pretty orange he is all over....bad picture I know

Now look at kitty after Jade has taken our clippers to him.....



So, I guess the cat just LOVED having his hair cut, purred the whole time, until it was time to do his belly, then he got a little on edge. Still the point remains.......boys should never be left unattended, no matter how old they get!

Back from Utah, and, it wasn't a complete disaster. Jade got moms bathroom all together just fine, without any problems at all. And it's lovely. I didn't take one dang picture while I was down there, I don't know whats wrong with me. It snowed 6 inches over night saturday, which caused a bit of a problem for more than one person, but the world around was just beautiful. I love fresh fallen snow, and how it blankets everything. I am very lucky to have Mercy Otis as my sister. She is the most amazing woman in the world. Again, no pictures, but she stitched me this awesome sampler for my friend, late the night before we were leaving to come home. Cindy loved it by the way, a gift from the heart. She told me to tell Mercy thank you very much. She also sewed me little santa hats for my santa ball decorations, and a cover for my christmas story book for a friend. Mercy is one of the busiest people I know, and she made time for me, and all my projects. I am so very grateful for her, and her family. Thank you to her and all she does! Sorry again, and again, and again about the car. We can make it right ya know.
Anyways after a trip to my moms, my christmas tree is complete. My other sister lives with my mom, and she gave me all her old crocheted decorations, my mom crocheted them, and their highly sought after, also I high-jacked decorations from my mom. Jade says the tree is now "cluttered", and he doesn't like it, can you believe that?

Anyways, I love it, and think it looks wonderful. These little snowmen figures have been a part of my christmas for a long time, and my mom gave them to me 2 years ago. I love them. My mom made them in Relief Society and Mercy embellished them on a break from her attending beauty school. So they are.........31 years old? They are in excellent shape, as you can see.

Family Christmas Party

It was the "Family" christmas Party in small town Utah tonight. It was so much fun. I love, love, love my nieces and nephews, and their prospective spouses and children. How very blessed I am! So there were some really fun games, and prizes. My favorite thing though, was the ornament exchange. HE HE! I had been at my nieces house and had seen what she was making...I know, I know, kinda like cheating, but as you can see, how could I pass it up. Whether everyone was kind and just let me keep it, or everyone was too scared to take it from me, I got to keep this handmade, and when I say handmade, I mean she made everything herself, little apron. It fits perfect, as I'm a cook, (and I like to cook). I think this my favorite ornament ever...even better than the ballerina I got when I was a young teenager. Kim, you're amazing and people really would spend some money on these, put a little shop on your blog and sell them! Merry Christmas my wonderful family and thank you for a new christmas memory.

Congrats to KJ and her little Evie. I am an Aunt once again, it never gets old, can't wait to get down there and see/hold/kiss her! Anyways, when I gave my 2 weeks notice on friday, sunday, they just let me go. Said they didn't really need me. I would say thats a truism, but, now someone else is going to have to bake, along with working their scheduled shift, and thats hard to do them both at the same time. Also, I was the only person who cared if that place was clean or organized. Anyways, The Silver Horseshoe isn't going to stay open for very long. I'm very glad I left when I did, so I didn't fall when it does, cuz it will. How sad!
I am going back to work at the Anglers Lodge in Island Park. This year however, I won't be living up there. I am excited about being back up there. I will start sometime after Christmas.

Durango and his mamma

So way back when it seems, I replied to an ad on Craigslist for a young lady looking for a home for her dog, while she attended BYU-I. Her parents live in Washington and didn't want to keep her pit bull mix dog while she was at school. So come January, Durango will come to live with us. Not sure if this will be for 4 years or not. We are so very excited. Here is Durango with his mommy Brittany

Doesn't she kinda look like Bella from Twilight? And here is Durango all curled up in hims bed.

He looks like Abby, doesn't he, except his has short legs, and he's a bit more portly. Oh yeah, I gave my 2 weeks notice at work. Whew!

Simple Instructions

Okay, I'm not a very good teacher, usually someone ends up crying.....but.....here goes....I have a mac...so I opened up pages(same as microsoft word) and inserted a shape (which was the star), then made them 5", you can make them whatever size you want. Then printed them off.

I then cut the stars out.

Then I folded the stars in half along all 5 points.


Waalaa, you have a barn star.

Then I spray painted them. This way was WAY easier than Chars way, for me anyways.
The Merry Christmas ribbon was eay too. I bought glitter glue, and a spool of ribbon from the dollar store, then just used the glitter glue and wrote Merry Christmas on it, and cut a v in the ends.

I'm not the craftiest person in the world, so I always try to find the easiest way to do things.
The cat found the candy canes on the tree this morning, and commando raided them. It was the funniest thing ever. I tried to get pictures of him, but he was to fast. He did end up right in the middle of the tree, on his hind legs, stretched to his full height of almost 2 1/2 feet trying to climb the tree. Very funny!

Decorating

The other day ago, Jade and I made barn stars. After a few done on card stock, Jade decided that we should just use plain old paper. This idea to make barn stars came from the pickled pepper patch blog, and I just love the barn stars. Anyways, I had some neon green paper, and it's just a little heavier than plain old printer paper, so we made some. I took them out to the garage and spray painted them silver, and then we put them on our tree. Also my niece has this cool merry christmas ribbon on her tree, and I loved that as well, but in my trip to the big city, couldn't find one. So to the dollar store I went and made one my own self. I don't like it as much as hers, but it'll do. With some candy canes, and the few decorations that we had, our tree is complete, for now anyways.
I went into Roberts Crafts, and was assaulted with christmas cheer. I haven't been into a craft store in quite some time, and never at christmas I think. it was so fun, and everything christmas was 50% off. I didn't buy anything, but took lots of pictures.


I LOVED these, and want to make some for my own self, and maybe for presents. I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season so far. I LOVE this time of year!

Christmas Come early

So this morning I got a phone call from my SIL and she said she had an early christmas present for us. Wahoo, I love presents. So over she came with this little treasure. I am so excited to put him on my porch with the rest of my decorations. He is slightly scary, and was somewhat of a "puzzle" to put together, thats what Jade is for, but here he is all lit up and ready for my porch. I have wanted the light up deer to put on my lawn for years, so maybe this year, after christmas when they are on a deep discount I will buy some. I love this little frosty! Thank you very much Elk.....

I picked these little containers up off craigslist. The woman selling them had flour and sugar in them, which is exactly what I'm going to do with them. Not sure whether I will keep them upstairs, or take them to the basement. They will hold a little more than 25lbs, and they are 1o gallons. You can pick these little bad boys up at IKEA for $8.99, but we don't have an IKEA in Idaho, so I do consider myself lucky. Cindy and I am going to go try fishing in our friends pond today. It is froze over, and we'll have to break a hole in the ice. It will be an adventure to say the least, and hopefully there are fish in there still alive and hungry. If not, off to lunch we'll go.

Before and After

So, even though I'm not the one who vacuums, I was still soooooo tired of Bernice and all her hair. Jade was vacuuming everyday to get rid of the shedding/clumps of hair, ICK! We haven't let Bernices hair grow this long in like forever. So, because Jade doesn't like to shave the dog, I have to do it. The end result is a bare naked doggie, which we both prefer. Isn't she just the cutest?

Thanksgiving was fun at the shoe, and I didn't have to do anything. I did most of the dishes though, so Marsha didn't have to. She was beat after cooking dinner. There wasn't as many people as I thought there would be.
So, tradition says that the christmas tree MUST go up on thanksgiving night, and so, we put ours up. It is a fake one, and I love it, and obviously, so does the cat. Anna has been under it, since we put it up. 28 day til Christmas!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL

We are going to shuffle on down to The Silver Horseshoe after I bake my rolls. This will be the 2nd Thanksgiving in a row, that I have celebrated without my family. I am slightly depressed, but also a little excited to spend this day with the employees and friends of the shoe. The owners, Marsha and Dan have opened their doors for everyone and anyone who has no other place to go, or for those like me and Jade who don't want to do the whole thanksgiving dinner at home for just us. I will be missing that deep fried turkey though, that was just awesome. I will be bringing Parker House Rolls of course, apple, cherry, and pumpkin pies, and also a pumpkin cheesecake. I am thankful for my husband, who does truly put up with sooooooo very much! I love him dearly! Also for good friends, and family. I hope you all enjoy this Thanksgiving!

My Molten Lava Cake

We had a chocolate molten lava cake at the lodge for dessert, and I would spend my money on these suckers, at least twice a week. WE LOVE THEM! Four scoops of ice cream, one of these little cakes, and you have the perfect dessert for 2. So, becuase I was spending money on them, and I really liked them, I figured, well, I can make these. So here are mine. I use a cake mix, and I used little angle food cake pans. I let them cool, then of course, decorated them with ganache, then made a thicker ganache, let it cool, then piped it into the middle of my cakes. You freeze these little babies, then nuke them for 35 seconds, then serve with ice cream. YUMMY! The Chocolate Overload cake is from Jack in the Box, no molten lava gushing out of it, when you spoon into it, but still good.
And this one is From Chilis, it is good as well.
Not too bad for a small town Idaho girl......

Snow to stay?

While I was inside at work today, the whole town was blanketed in about 4" of snow. What a beautiful sight it was. Jade had been up playing in a pool tournament and when we were both finished we walked home, changed into our outside winter attire, and hopped on the 4 wheeler and began to plow. Jade was like a kid with a new toy! We plowed in front of my work, raced across town and plowed Darrins (he's out of town and LK is alone) Konas (as she always gets plowed in by the plow) one of our friends, and back in front of my work. He then, dropped me off at home and plowed the neighbors across the street. I think he'll find any excuse to hop on the 4 wheeler and plow. It was a lot of fun though, and it was snowing the whole time. I think that this time, the snow is here to stay, and I can't wait to get those snow machines out. Sorry about not going anywhere for Thanksgiving, but we will be going up to my work and have dinner with The Silver Horseshoe gang, and I only have to make rolls. Ha ha, I am going to make Parker House Rolls!

Star Trek

The new Star Trek came out on DVD yesterday, and we reserved it bright and early at the RedBox, to be sure we'd have it. Now, I remember being little, arguing with my eldest brother about watching Star Trek. He wanted to watch it, and I wanted to watch something else, cartoons I'm sure, as I was really little. Anywho, as I've grown I have come to love Star Trek, but am still particular which ones. I watched Star Trek the Next Generation, and Star Trek Voyager. I loved the movies, even the crossovers. Now the new movie. I thought it was great, and even though I was never a big original Star Trek watcher, had watched enough of them to fully enjoy the new movie, and understand the characteristics which are unique to each person. I think they did a great job with the new movie. Star Trek through the ages.....

"UP"

Jade and I watched "UP" last night. It was cute, and funny. I did notice, however, that "Dug" the talking dog was a cross between Bernice, and Abby. It cracked me up....anyways, this is a shelf I bought at the D.I. and redid, it is now hanging in my bathroom.

Kitchen Table

I had bought this kitchen table early this fall, for my niece. It was a bad communication, and turned out she wanted it, but not for the price. So to caigslist I went, with lots of interest but no buys. I had forgotten it was still posted. Then, the other day I received an e-mail with a number to call. They wanted my table if I still had it, which I did, of course. It was sold shortly after I went to work. I even made 5 dollars. I had resigned myself to keeping the table and chairs, as I did love it so, enough to move my big butcher block out of my kitchen so I could have a place to put the set. So KATIE JO, I know you have been racked with this overwhelming sense of sorrow (as if eh?) over me purchasing the table for you, and this HUGE misunderstanding about the price......but have no fear, craigslist came through for me in the end, and the table and chairs has a new home. It was wonderfully "vintage" and would have had a permanent home in my house, if I had a bigger house. I told you I could sell it! With LOVE!

WORK, WORK, WORK!

How does the old saying go? There is no rest for the wicked? I certainly don't feel like I've been wicked, but am not getting enough rest. How does a restaurant that has only been open for 2 weeks, under new management, have so many problems? The answer to that? Keeping old employees, thats my guess. UGH! I have one cook that perpetuates the misgivings that a cook is only there to cook, and resents me dreadfully because I was made the kitchen manager, and not him. I want him gone, and another cook hired in his place. But, it won't happen soon, inside issues with the new owners. Is it in my blood, that I pick places to work that are completely dysfunctional? GOSH! We have good bones, all the rest of us, and I believe once the wrinkles are ironed out, we will have an amazing business, and all the employees will get along. Look at me, talking like it's my joint...hahaha! The bar will be open within this week or next, and the kitchen business will pick up immensely, and the kitchen not running good is not okay with me. How sad would it be, to fire someone because they can't label and date stuff? I would be very upset if I lost my job because my boss had to tell me like 100 times to date and label. How does that write on a resume? Anyways, I also haven't had much time to do any amount of baking either, so no fresh bread. Right now, things are tight for them, so they can't hire another cook, or even a prep cook, so I am having to work the line, and the baking falls along the wayside. HOPEFULLY when the bar opens, I can spend less time on the line, which would give me more time to bake. Hire a new kid, let an old one go, and have a well oiled machine.....Wish me luck, and pray for me!

Oh My!

Yes, yes, yes, this post is once again, about WORK! Good things first: I was asked today, to become the kitchen manager. I of course, said yes, then had all kinds of angst. The new job, does come with a raise, just a tiny one. Bad things: I believe that at least two people will quit, when I take over. No one is really in charge now, the owners anyway, but that isn't enough. The owners will have an employee meeting, and tell everyone there, that I am now the kitchen manager, and what I say goes. Wahoo! No, really! Now I am going to really have to work on my people skills, and there are a few things in the kitchen that I will change of course. Where to start is really going to be the problem. There are already so many things that need to change...Gosh, what an undertaking. I am excited, and very, very, nervous all at once.

WORK!

So, this being my second day at work, you would think that I couldn't possibly find anything to complain about.....WRONG! VERY WRONG! Sometimes, I can't even conceive what some people are thinking. I mean really! Every time I go to work at a new place I realize that I have a VERY GREAT work ethic, and can't see how some people don't, and that they still have a job. What's that all about? I am not wired to do just a half-assed job, so working with people who do, drives me crazy. So then the question becomes, why do the employers accept that type of person to keep working for them, and allow good, hard working employees to leave? Doesn't make any sense to me! So hopefully, this is just a wrinkle, that will be ironed out. Otherwise, here I am, once again, leaving another job, because I WON'T do the work of two people, and get paid for less than one. Other than that, I had a great day at work, and really am looking forward to the next week.

Straw Maze

Yesterday was my very first day of work. I am only going to be working about 5 hours a day 5 days a week, which is just fine by me. I busted out dinner rolls, buttermilk biscuits, coconut cream pie, lemon cream pie (no meringue), and an apple pie. Now the cream pies were the real custard cream pies, um yummy! I had, however, forgotten, what a tragedy the kitchen setup at the Horseshoe is. It is barely set up to be a cook kitchen, but is not, in anyway, set up to be a bakery. What a train wreck. I was running all over that place. The end result, was beautiful dinner rolls, wonderfully flakey and yummy biscuits, an ugly apple pie (the ugliest one I've ever made), and two very yummy cream pies. The deal was that I would cook and bake on my shift, but am not sure now, if that is going to be a possibility. Right now, the place just isn't set up for that kind of action. But, we'll see.
Last night we went to the Straw Maze in Salem. We took another couple with us, and they were KER-SWANKED, and couldn't find their way to the end, either time. Came back out of the start, twice! HA HA! Jade and I made it through twice. We had never been through any kind of maze, and the whole time we were in it, I was like, this is how the mice must feel. LOL! it rained the whole time, but we were properly dressed for it GORE-TEX! It really didn't look as big as it turned out being, and it took us about half hour to get through. We did have fun though, and Jade actually got a "spook" from one of the spooks they have running around the maze. Maybe next friday we will goto the Haunted Forest in Tetonia.

What a mess

I was geared up yesterday to spend the day in the kitchen baking and canning. First things first though, I had been dying to make the ginger tea cake that I found on the bake it pretty website, go visit them, they have some way cool stuff. It looked sooo good, and I love all things ginger. In the directions it says not to over fill pans, whatever type of pan you are using, but gives no heads up to how much is actually to much. Of course, I over filled my pans, and made the biggest freakin mess in my brand new very clean oven. UGH! REALLY! I hate to clean, and especially an oven. So, next time I will fill my pans just under half full, and put a pan under it while it's cooking, for those just in case moments. But the Ginger Tea Cake........YUMMY! So I high jacked the recipe, and their picture of it, cuz thats how I do it, and because my cake wasn't pretty enough to actually take pictures of...LOL!

Ginger Tea Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

2 3/4 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. ground ginger (don’t skimp)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cloves
1 C. softened butter
1 C. sugar (white or brown)
2 eggs
1 C. molasses
1 C. boiling water

Sift together all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, ground cloves.) In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well. Dump in the boiling water and molasses and stir just until the batter is smooth and even. Pour batter into well greased loaf or mini-loaf pans, or use disposable loaf liners for easy gifting. Do not over-fill! Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes for full-sized loaves, less for mini loaves. Let cool completely before slicing.

*The loaves puff up then deflate quite a bit, but don’t let that scare you. Also, the outer top will be crusty at first. After the loaves cools, put into a zip lock bag for a few hours (or overnight) and it will all become soft and gooey. I think it’s even better the next day after the spices really mellow together!

Also, last night I baked my very first batch of cinnamon rolls for the Horseshoe. They were so very pretty, each and everyone was uniform in size and shape, just like a professional had done them. HA HA! But boy oh boy is it really a process from start to finish. I'm not so sure that I will be able to bake and cook on the same shift. We'll see. Officially I start work next week. I did however get to canning my salsa, and man oh man did it just look wonderful. It was a little on the HOT side for me, but, it always is.
Today I am grateful for my STONE HOUSE that I live in. YES, I said it. It stays cool in the summer, and holds the heat in when it's cold out. Despite it's way too small size, and NO closets, someday, it will be all ours (MINE), and hopefully won't make me depressed any longer.

Baking

I have been putting off making a pie for Irvin, that I promised I'd make for his birthday way back when, and his birthday was October 8th? Anyways I was sick with the swine flu LOL! Sick with something anyways, and didn't want to bake. So now, here it is, almost a month later and finally, I have gotten around to his pie. PEACH! He loves them peaches. So I made a great gob of filling, and made 2 pies, and some tarts for myself. Irvin will get one pie, and one for my friend Cindy and her husband, who always invite us over for dinner (yummy baby back ribs). The pies look so good, and Jade just doesn't like peach, thats why I made myself some little tarts. My house smells so tantalizingly wonderful, and I don't want to leave to deliver pies to anyone. I just wanna bask in the aroma that is freshly baked peach pie. HE HE HE HE! While I am on the subject of baking, I came across this recipe for CROCKPOT cake.....yes you heard me, crockpot cake. I need to run to the store....same issue as above, don't wanna leave my house, to get some eggs before I can actually try the cake, but it promises to be decadent, as it is a triple chocolate cake....I am gonna work on making it a quadruple chocolate cake, cuz ya'll know how much I love that ganache......recipe for the cake maybe tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Halloween Haunts

I am grateful for friends and family that don't have any qualms about attending Halloween Haunted Houses. We are very lucky in our area to have a few to choose from. Friday night, a bunch of us gathered together and hopped in Cindys way swank suburban and drove the 5 miles out to the Haunted mill, in Teton.

It opened way back in '97 and has been going strong every Halloween there after. It was originally a flour mill. The time it takes to go through, is about 45 minutes. This year they have added the surrounding grainery and field to the whole scare factor. These are all pictures of the actual buildings and stuff, and you do have to cross that bridge, and the falls are right underneath.



I got spooked, but it wasn't really scary. However, my friend Deb, and her 12 year old daughter, got the crap scared out of them. It was a fun time, and we all plan to goto the haunted Forest in Tetonia next week, then maybe off to Idaho Falls for Dr. Slaughters House of Terror, which promises to be the most scary ever. Happy Haunting!

triple chocolate crockpot cake

Triple Chocolate Mess Cake in a Crock-Pot
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Mix - 1 package
Sour Cream - 16 oz.
Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix - 1 package
Chocolate Chips - 1 8 oz. bag
Canola Oil - 3/4 cup
Water - 1 cup
Eggs - 4
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend thoroughly with a large wooden spoon.
Spray or rub the Crock-Pot with oil.
Pour the chocolate mixture into t he Crock-Pot and turn on to Low.
Vent the top a bit (an inch at most) by placing something between the top and the pot (I didn’t do this, but I think it would help.)
Cook for 4 hours and check for done-ness with a knife in the center, which should come out fairly dry. Also, the sides of the cake should be separating from the sides of the pot. If not, let it cook for another half and check again. The first Crock-Pot cake you make will require a bit of checking but once you have determined the timing on one cake, future cakes will be more predictable and easier (see below for more information on how to tell if your cake is done.)
Cool for at least a half an hour or more. The cake stays warm for a long time.
When you can’t wait anymore, slide a dinner knife around the edge to separate the cake from the pot.
Center a serving plate on top of the pot and flip it over so that the cake falls onto the plate. You may need to jiggle it a bit, and when it has come out, slowly lift up the Crock-Pot.
Your wonderful cake is ready!
Goes great with vanilla ice cream - or on its own.
About determining if your cake is done: Crock-Pots are inherently moist cookers and so the top will always be much moister that a typical oven-baked cake. But, the top will be the bottom once you flip it, so it doesn’t have to look perfect. And, the knife will probably never come out bone-dry, because Crock-Pot cakes are very moist. It’s important to make sure the sides don’t overcook, so doneness will be a combination of the middle being fairly dry and the side being well done but not over-cooked. Even if your cake is a little messy in the middle, it will still be delicious.

I haven't tried this yet, and when I do maybe today, I'm actually gonna use lemon cake mix and lemon pudding, cuz thats what I have in my pantry. Try this and tell me how it goes.
Today I am grateful that I have a job.

Todays blog post is all about Jade, and his insatiable quest for the snow! Last year, after years of nagging, really seriously nagging, Jade indulged himself in a new Yamaha Phazer Mountain snowmobile.

After riding it for a season, he decided that the running boards, or whatever they're called, allowed for way too much snow build up. So, in all his glory Jade did the only thing he could. He called up Uncle Roy, borrowed his plasma cutter. This is the before picture with the design drawn on it. Yep, he just took that plasma cutter, and cut holes in his brand new sled.

Now, I think, because after you take that much metal, out of something, it is left maybe, not as structurally sound as if was to begin with, so, Jade took another piece of metal, and yes, cut the same design in it.

After it was all said and done, he put the one piece on top of the other, and made it very sturdy.

The end result is that. Very exciting for him, but I was like.....WHAT? YOUR DOING WHAT? IT'S A BRAND NEW SNOWMOBILE...
He said the snow build up was terrible, and he didn't have anywhere to put his feet, and was always digging the spot out. The changes to the running board/foot board he has made, HE SAYS, will "hopefully" eliminate this problem. It will only take about 3 feet of snow for him to test it out, and that can't happen soon enough. One of the upsides to this whole "project" was that he did it himself. If he would have taken it to a shop, it would have cost hundreds of dollars, and he did it for free. Even the piece of metal was free, as it was an old metal sign his buddy found for him. I'm still on the fence about the whole thing. If the changes he made, actually work, then I will be okay with the fact that he cut holes in a $7000 dollar snowmobile. However, if the changes he made, doesn't work, well I don't even have to finish that statement................HA HA HA!
Today I am grateful for the talents I was given, to be able to cook!

Tip of the day

I just totally high jacked Chars (The Pickled Pepper Patch) Thursday Tip of the Day, but it is such a good one, that I couldn't resist. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.
They are:
Monday = Blue
Tuesday = Green
Thursday = Red
Friday = White
Saturday = Yellow.
So if today was Thursday, you would want a red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)!
The colors go alphabetically by color: Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow....Monday through Saturday, Very easy to remember.
WHO KNEW?


I made cinnamon rolls a couple days ago, um yummy. They were really good. I am testing out recipes to use when I become a baker/cook at my new job. I'd give the recipe, but, hopefully it will make me FAMOUS, at least in my own town? MAYBE? HA HA HA! Lets keep our fingers crossed.
I am grateful for my husband and his erratic bursts of energy. He said he was going to trim trees, and ended up cutting two almost completely down. He did trim the others though.