Mini Cupcakes!!!

Yeah for my new Mini Cupcake maker!!! It makes little cupcakes that are OH SOO CUTE!!! Here is photographic evidence:

In other news:

It snowed!!! It was like being in a giant snowglobe!!

I've NEVER seen snowflakes so large!!! :D

Jessica and her children.

I"m currently helping her out as she's on bed rest.

I'm exhausted.

Delta Sucks. DO NOT FLY WITH THEM

This is how Delta sucks:

1) I arrived on time
2) Their kiosk tells me to go to the agent
3) I wait in line for the agent- ten minutes
4) the agent tells me that I am now too late to book into my flight
5) they charge me $50 for rebooking my flight (Southwest doesn't do this)
6) they charge me $20 for my bag (Southwest doesn't do this)
7) I cry to the agent and tell them that I WASN'T late originally that they MADE me late (the agent looked away and refused to make eye contact)

so... I go to my gate. waiting for my flight. and said- hey- gate agents have MORE power. I go to talk to the gate agent- and cry to her again. she does NOTHING for me.

then I remember- this friendly guy I talked to in line who told me about bumping his flight and getting $400 credit for Delta. I'm like.. maybe they need bump's for my flight? So I go volunteer and they take my name down.

Yup. they needed bumpers- but since I had volunteered- they don't ask me- they just bump me. I TOTALLY talk them into giving me $400 for doing that. I was like- take that Delta. You'll pay for another 2 tickets for me.

DELTA SUCKS

note to self: make this:

Ingredients
1 can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (we’ve usually got 3-4 cans at a time in our pantry)
1 can baby clams (this dish is great even with out them OR you can sub in clamato juice (1 cup) or clam juice (1 cup))
1 carrot, diced (carrots are in our fridge at ALL times)
1 celery stalk, chopped (celery is in our fridge at ALL times)
1 onion, chopped (yellow onions are always in our pantry, and are stored in a cool, dark, dry place-on the bottom shelf)
1-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (we’ve always got at least 3 heads of garlic lying around)
1 vegetable or chicken bouillon cube (always a staple in every kitchen, and handy when you’re out of veggies or stock)
1-2 teaspoons smoked sea salt (decadent but certainly not necessary. regular salt will do just fine! If you’re a big BBQer, a splash of liquid smoke will do the trick)
cracked black pepper to taste
a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes for an added kick OR a splash or two of your favorite hot sauce

Method
1. Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauce pan over low heat while you chop veggies.
2. Add all veggies all at once and bring up heat to medium-high.
3. Cook veggies until slightly translucent and wilted, about 5-10 minutes depending upon the heat of your range.
4. Add your tomatoes. Then refill can 4 times with water (or you can just add 2 quarts water).
5. Add your bouillon cube and can of clams or clam juice.
6. Add salt and pepper.
7. Bring to a boil. then reduce to a simmer, thus allowing all flavors to meld. You can eat right away OR let flavors come together more, continuing to cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Alternative ingredient: Remember, a diced, peeled potato goes with pretty much any soup. If you’ve got a potato lying around (any sort will do) go ahead and add it in! While the potato cooks it absorbs all of the flavor of the soup-YUM!

this is found @: http://www.perfectflavor.com/

Cokkies.... hmmmm.....

Since adding the site hit tracker- I've come to an awareness of the international popularity of my Blog. Regardless of the fact that Blogger itself is telling these people to look at my blog- none the less-I can now claim to be an internationally read writer. Ahem. I shall now use my powers for good by posting a cool recipe that I got from My Grandma Rachel.

Ahem.








Tumbleweeds



1 can potato stix
1 bag butterscotch chips
4 tbs peanut butter
1 small can salted peanuts

• melt together chips and peanut butter
• stir in other ingredients
• spread out on wax paper
• let harden somewhere cool
• break into bit size pieces
• eat

:)

'nuff said.

Apple Cake (aka Bekky's Crack)

I made this cake the other day- and my friend Bekky went crazy over it!!! I now call it her "crack" (you know- like the drug). I baked this in a bunt pan. I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures, but what can you do? It got eaten sooooo fast!!! Those of you who know me, know I'm an incredibly picky baker, so generally when I post something on here, it's a really good recipe.

I'm in Utah, so it was made at a high altitude- if your in a lower altitude, I'd suggest omitting a little flour and draining the apples a little. I didn't drain my apple juice at all- I put it all in.


Apple Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups shredded, unpeeled apples (I used one large granny smith and one large braerburn)


Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add all but apples and mix well. Carefully mix in apples and place batter in greased and floured 9-inch by 12-inch pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 35-45 minutes.

Top cooled individual cake pieces with the following sauce.

Sauce: Simmer together the following ingredients for 12-15 minutes, stirring constantly:1/2 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 cups heavy cream. Cool slightly and add 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Yarn Rebels!!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/12/04/knitting.irpt/index.html

Loves this... their rebels through Yarn!!! I can't help but to think how LONG this would take... I crochet and it would take like... a year straight to make something like this.... wow. Go them!

I WANT THESE

OMG!! I WANT THESE!!!! Haveyou seen them? Their to die for!!! And only $20 each (ok- thats really expensive) I'm REALLY trying to convince myself that I can afford them... sigh. Sooooo pretty... want to touch.....

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Sense-and-Sensibility/Jane-Austen/e/9780141040370/?itm=15&usri=jane+austen

Fish Heads, Fish Heads...

I saw this in the store the other day. I couldn't help, but start singing Dr. Dementos "fish heads" song in my head!!!

Websites I currently <3

This blogger has this amazing old fashioned/trendy/hip style that I love!! I think for sure, my favoriate is shabby chic...

http://www.vintagemagpie.blogspot.com/

Bakerella is SUPER inspiring!!! For real, right now, I am TOTALLY in the process of making those cake balls (like cake lolly pops)....

http://www.bakerella.com/

Bake a cake- let cool. Crumble up cake and mix in its frosting.

Make the cake/frosting into little balls. allow to cool in fridge or something. Cover with chocolate. Eat : )

Cruise..

So..... I figure that at some point I need to post something about the cruise I went on... :D

Let's do a pictoral essay instead of me writing a ton of stuff....

Me and a cool part of the ship that screamed "pose for a picture here" to me...

Yeah- the sun, the sunset, the sky, the ocean.... everything is MUCH cooler @ sea....

Our cool porter left us some towl art.. it made us feel special :)

(I'm in my fancy clothes here, we had a dinner where we had to dress up) (like the halo?)

Me and Emilie are at La Bufardora here (the blowhole, ya I know, I had to try really hard from not snickering whenever someone said the name of the place)

I'm leaving San Diego here... so excited to start the cruise....

UGH!!!!

SO......

a few days ago I was updating a list of passwords and logins.... and the internet crashed. When it came back up- everything has been erased. I've spent the last two days trying to recreate the list. I HATE MY LIFE. Ugh- nobody is helpful at any of the companies I work with. Not agemni, not RS&I, not Dish Network. And of course, as soon as I find a way to reset this one important password, my e-mail crashes. :P :P :P (on all of you). I'm eating a cookie.

Halloween!!

Hello everyone! I hope you had a GREAT halloween!! We had a party at our house! Here's some pics from that!! :)

Tabitha, the Jazz Hands Fairy

Some old lady named Birtha wandered in, kept looking for someone named Harold.

Lovely feet. Had to have a shot.

Star Trek represents!! Me (an Andorian Alien) and Ryan (a Klingon)

Love this!

Pumpkin Cherry Upside Down Cake (stolen from Better Homes and Garden)

Ingredients
1 10-ounce jar cherry preserves
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk*

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil; grease foil. Set aside. In a small saucepan, combine cherry preserves, dried cranberries, and the 1/3 cup butter. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan, spreading evenly. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the 1/4 cup butter and the shortening. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Carefully spread batter over preserve mixture in pan.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

4. Carefully invert onto a large serving platter; remove foil. Spoon any preserves mixture remaining on the foil onto cake. Serve warm. Makes 12 servings.

5. *Test Kitchen Tip: To make 3/4 cup sour milk, place 2 teaspoons vinegar or lemon juice in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 3/4 cup total liquid; stir. Let stand for 5 minutes before using.

Star Trekker!!!

Still needs a little bit of work... but I think I make a pretty hot Trekkie ;D

Whip It!!

Want to see a super good movie that will make you want to kick some booty while wearing Skates and fish net tights?? GO SEE WHIP IT. SOOO GOOOOD. Best Girl Sports movie EVER.

Check this out: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/whip_it/

Deborah's Wonderful Weekend of Baking Adventures...

So... why is it that whenever the weather turns cold and rainy I feel the need to Bake? My roommate Emilie just told me I have Baking Tourettes. Maybe I do?? It is kinda uncontrollable. So far this weekend...

Saturday:

Canned a batch of Salsa (it turned out to be more like a spicy Spaghetti sauce).. Then I made a Quiche Lorianne (green onions, ham, and mushroom), then a easy dinner of Creme of Wheat....

Sunday:

More Creme of Wheat (made with milk with butter and brown sugar in it)... Then I made a pasta dinner with my "salsa" fresh shrimp (saute in butter), fresh garden tomatoes.... and now in the oven as we speak is a yummy pumpkin dessert!!!!

OK.... so as I type this out... it doesn't seem that much... but trust me. I've been in the kitchen all weekend :) But really, I can't decide what's more delectable.... the smell of the Pumpkin dessert cooking (that to my right) or the smells coming in from the window I'm sitting next to.... the fall smells of leaves and rain and moist earth.... it's so delicious!!!

Pumpkin Dessert:

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray or grease one 9x13 inch pan.
Reserve 1 cup cake mix. In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry cake mix with 1 egg and 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix well, and then pat into prepared pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over crust.
In a small bowl, combine reserved 1 cup cake mix, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons softened butter. Crumble over pumpkin filling. Sprinkle nuts evenly over the top, if desired.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Annie's Salsa

23 to 25 med tomatoes
3 lrg onions
2 lrg green peppers
2 lrg red peppers
1 jalapeno pepper
1 c white vinegar
4 t black pepper
4 t garlic salt
4 t salt
3 T corn starch
1 12oz can tomato paste

1. Blanch and peel tomatoes
2. Cut the stem off and squeeze the juices out of the tomatoes (wait for them to cool down first)
3. Rough chop onions (place in large pot of cooking)
4. For the jalapeno- remove all the seeds and chop up
5. Rough chop and add in other ingredients
6. Cook all together in a big pot about 20 min until its all cooked together
7. Use a hand blender or a traditional bender to mix and refine
8. Pour into wide mouth pint jars
9. Can (put in large pot, with water an inch over the jars and boil for 20 min- water should be cool when jars are placed within).

Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly !!!

Yeah!! Gotta love Irish Bar Music!! I am SOOOO excited for tonight…. Though it is kinda funny that when my boss Jon found out that I was going… he was surprised. I think I raised myself up a little bit in his estimation. Gotta love it.

:D

This sad state of affairs...

Sigh. Why is it that boys stink??

I’ve had several people point out to me that, maybe Boy is one of the key problems in that sentence. I agree. I would call them MEN if they “manned up” and did something about their lives.

Both a friend and I are extremely frustrated with certain individuals that we know currently… And it kinda stinks. It’s so rarely that we actually find someone worthy of liking… and when it doesn’t work out its sad. We’ve even gotten to the point of joking about becoming Mormon Nuns. Seriously. I’m back to that. I’ve been making that joke since I was 20. Hello, it’s been almost a decade. Ugh.

So, in determination of this, sad state of affairs (or the lack there of… (cymbal crash)) I’ve determined to get yet another degree. I’ve applied to UVU to go to their associates paralegal program. Since I already have a bachelors, all I need to take is about 15 credits. If I wanted to… I could be done in a semester. I’m going to do it in two though instead, to help it sink in better.
I plan on attending school this spring and summer semesters. By next fall, unless things change in my marital status.. I’m outta here. Good bye Utah!! I’ve made a pact with a friend that we’ll move together… we don’t know where. But the main key is NOT in Utah. ;)

It’s not so much that I’m waiting for a boy, to start my life. But rather that I’ve been so all over the place and so busy that I never made time before. So this is me. Making time. Being available (you have until next fall). :P

Mo's Clam Chowder

I'm plotting making MO's Clam Chowder for my Sewing Circle.... I found the reciepe online!! Here is is:

Mo's Famous Clam Chowder
I love to find recipes that are supposedly the ones that restaurants use to make their "secret" stuff. This clam recipe is supposed to be the one that Oregon famous Mo's Restaurant uses. Once again, I doubt it's authentic, but are you going for some tasty clam recipes or what? ;)

Ingredients:
• 1 lb. Bacon, diced
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 lb smoked ham, diced
• 6 cups minced clams, drained
• 6 cups chopped onions
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 cups water
• 6 cups whole milk
• 12 cups diced potatoes
• Butter and paprika

Preparation:
Saute bacon and ham together, add onions and saute until limp. Set this
mixture aside, but do not drain.

In 5 cups of water, add potatoes, salt, pepper and any collected clam juice.
Cook until potatoes are tender. Set aside and do not drain.

To the bacon, ham and onion mixture add the flour and make a roux. Mix the
roux into the potato mixture, bring to a boil. Stir down when the boiling
point is reached and add the milk and clams.

Do not allow the chowder to boil again once the milk is added. Garnish with
a dollop of butter and add a dash of paprika.
Serves 12-14


Note: It's difficult to find "all-purpose" potatoes anymore, but that is going to make for the best chowder for any kind of clam recipes. The bacon should be smoky and salty, and the ham should also be full-flavored. Make sure that the clams are top-notch for the finest

I got it off this website:

http://www.romantic-oregon-coast.com/clam-recipes.html

test

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

I’ve had two songs going through my head recently that I can’t quite get rid of…. Grease’s “better shape up, cause I need a man” and “Rain Drops keep falling on my head”….

I went for a 15 mile bike ride yesterday, and it was just about the coolest thing I’ve done in a while. I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t gone on that exact route in a while because of the bugs… but it was really cool because now the birds are out they’ve taken care of the problem.

So, here I am... biking along Utah Lake and the sun is setting and there all these birds out… their these LBNs (Little Brown Jobs) and then I’m under them, and they have these bright yellow underbellies. Theres maybe 30 of them flying around, calling to each other.

The road I’m on is paved, but it’s been a few years so it’s begun to break down. There’s no one else around, so all I can hear is the sound of my tires on the road and the birds calling to each other. On the lake, the Willow is in full bloom and their shining gold with how the light hits them, at just that perfect angle.

On the way to the lake, I rode down this pathway. It’s paved with tall trees full of leaves on either side of me. I see this colt by the side of the road, and stop to check him out… He totally let me pet him. Playfully, he even nips me a little bit. Not painfully, just saying hi.

Whenever I’m bored or tired, I just go for a ride. And for a bit… nirvana will come along. Then I get home, and those two dang songs start switching back and forth through my head. Can’t a girl keep her peace for a little while longer? Why must other people disrupt that? Argh. Why can’t other people get their act together?

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Weekly World News!!

WERE YOU AN ALIEN IN A PAST LIFE?

BYErik Van Datiken

Over 25 million Americans have lived on another planet, a top sociologist says, and now there’s a simple test to reveal if you are one of them!

Dr. Wallace Trantham says he has hypnotized hundreds of subjects and found that a significant percentage of people remember living on another planet before their existence here on Earth.

Based on his experience, he believes that one out of 10 Americans are born-again aliens.
“These people describe experiences on a variety of planets ranging from dry desert spheres to cold, sunless moons to lush, vegetation-covered places somewhat like our Earth,” says Dr. Trantham, a New Yorker who is writing a book on his theories.

“These people have no conscious memory of their space alien lives, but exhibit distinctive characteristics that reveal their alien past.”

People who answer yes to three or more of these twelve questions have almost certainly lived on another planet:

1. Do you have out-of-body experiences and/or a frequent sense of having experienced something before?Both phenomena are probably memories of your other-world life breaking through.

2. Do you have a great love of animals?This probably stems from your unconscious knowledge that life comes in different varieties, including the form you took yourself on another planet.

3. Do you love fruit and/or vegetables?The diet of most aliens excludes meat. In your earthly life, then, you continue to show a preference for the foods you were used to eating as an alien.

4. Do you have a fear of telephones?Extraterrestrials are used to communicating with mental telepathy and mechanical instruments like the telephone boggle them. You still have this subconscious discomfort with the telephone.

5. Do you suffer from thinning hair or baldness?Most extraterrestrials are hairless and you carry vestiges of that trait into Earthly life.

6. Do you have dental problems or problems with your tongue and throat?Extraterrestrials usually have very small mouths, so in earthly life they have trouble with their mouths and throats.

7. Do you dislike wearing clothes?Are you happiest when you’re stripped down to a bathing suit or nothing at all? That’s because in your extraterrestrial life, you wore no clothing.

8. Are you not particularly wild about sex?You probably got this trait from your otherworldy life in which reproduction is a sexless process.

9. Do you crave sesame seeds or egg yolks?Both these foods contain vitamin T, a nutrient that helps born-again aliens in the forming of badly need blood platelets.

10. Are you obsessively clean?Alien worlds are usually germ-free and immaculate. In earthly life, aliens have a great deal of trouble dealing with dirt.

11. Are you unemotional?This is a carryover from the super rational, unemotional mentality of the extraterrestrial.

12. Do you snore?Aliens often make a purring sound much like a human snore.
For those readers who recorded three or more yes’s, Dr. Trantham said not to worry. “Who you were in the past does not control who you are in the present. You can continue living your everyday life as normal.”

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!!

Ok- so a friend of mine got her male coworker to get her his wife's cookie receipe. I wonder if she knows it's been given out... anyway I just made them, and they came out perfectly!! So, i'm sharing the receipe...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 1/3 C flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
1/2 c sugar
1 1/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325
whisk flour, salt and BS together
Beat butter, and sugar together
Add eggs and vanilla
Add flour
Add chips

I used a cookie scoop, baked for 12 min

Non-Utah living people, I'm in a high altitude area, you might want to adjust for lower alt areas....

lol

Camping!

I'm too tired to write too much... so i'll let my pics do my talking for me...

$$$

: ) My blog has officially earned me $1.08. Yup. Raking in the dough. Sweet!!!

Concert!!

Yeah!!! I went to a concert by a guy names Joshua James. In this pic is Me, Laura, Erin, and Tabitha.

Joshua James and some guy accompanying him...

So.... While waiting in the line, I saw this across the street. I think that just maybe, the building being constructed is haunted. Just maybe.

Hiking!!!

Yeah!! I went Hiking on memorial day!!!

Me, Tabitha and Erin

Me and Tab!!!