The Frosting On The Cake...

Ali cut the cakes out with different heart size cookie cutters

Tulips cut down and displayed in a candle holder

Brought out the red Christmas table cloth

Since the daughter was home from school last week end, we decided to do it up big Saturday evening and have us a fancy smancy dinner with the guys. This was all last minute so I'm not going to lie, we had to cheat a bit on the red velvet cake...yes we used the red velvet cake mix out of the box....I cringe as I type that! We took no short cuts with the frosting though and I really think we might of saved the cake! We added some vanilla flavoring to the cake mix to make it taste a little more home made...I cringe again! Nothing like deciding at the last minute to whip up a little Valentines dinner party for four! You should have seen us flying around that kitchen like two wild ladies! The end results were a lot of laughter, a big mess in the kitchen, a great looking table and a wonderful meal together with good fellowship. I sometimes think that our lives are to over planned. If I'd of known we were going to put this dinner together earlier that day I wouldn't have done half the things we did together that day as a family because I would have been worried about getting home early enough to get everything ready for this dinner!

OK....here's the deal~If you cheat on the cake you can not cheat on the frosting!

Cream Cheese frosting

2 ~3 oz pkgs cream cheese
2 Tbs. evaporated milk ( I know, I groaned to, I hate opening a whole can to only use 2 Tbs! so do as I did and treat yourself in the morning with some in your coffee or cocoa...a real treat)
1 tsp. vanilla 1/8 tsp. salt
1 ~16 oz. pkgs. of confectioners sugar

In a bowl with mixer at medium speed beat together the softened cream cheese and milk just until smooth. Beat in rest of ingredients until blended.


The Pasta Diet and Your Health

ITALIAN PASTA DIET -- IT REALLY WORKS !!

1.. You walka pasta da bakery.

2... You walka pasta da candy store.

3.. You walka pasta da Ice Cream shop.

4.. You walka pasta da table and fridge.

You will lose weight!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I encourage everyone to do something fun this week end with your family, like serve a backwards dinner and start with the desert first. Or how about creating a menu in a language no one understands and have each family member select an item off the menu for each course. You can actually go to a site on line called translate English to another language.For instance, someone may order a spoon in French or Spanish and not even know it! Or they may end up ordering a glass of water while others select the main course. Have you ever mixed it up a bit with the meals? Have some fun and enjoy time with each other.

The wise woman builds her house
Proverbs 14:1

~enjoy

The baby is sleeping....

First things first...our little Mr. is doing much better. What we thought were stones in his bladder ended up being an enlarged prostate and crystals in the urine. The crystals will be taken care of with a new diet but the prostate, well.... Our little Mr. lost his manhood a few days ago but is doing much, much better now...enough said.
He will be living on pain medicines for a few more days, but all in all, he is doing much better.

Looking forward to a fun week end with the twins and their 21st Birthday along with Valentines day.

Pulled this old tea pot out of the pantry and added these tulips to it that I picked up at the market this morning. The husband asked me if I ever use things for what they are meant to be used for?...sometimes I do...sometimes I don't.

Flowers always seem to refresh just about every thing from and old tea pot to a little candle holder...I can not wait until Spring time is here!

Here are two of the blankets I started a few weeks ago. This cream blanket is the Basket Weave pattern I posted here on a resent blog from Youtube not to long ago. Was a fun blanket to crochet but boy oh boy is it ever a yarn hog!

I am really loving the textures of these blankets.

Not real sure what the stitch on the the darker blanket is called...I call it the Waffle pattern since it looks like a waffle to me.

I am going to make a few more blankets so that I can give the kids each their own. The husband has already claimed the Waffle Blanket and has it wrapped all around him while watching TV at nights. The Dog was fighting me for the Basket Weave blanket but sadly... he lost..he will need to be happy with the left overs.

Had to make a little nest on the floor for him. He is not allowed to jump onto or off of the furniture for at least a week. Not an easy task when you have a spoiled dog who is use to being up on all the furniture...deep sigh.

Wouldn't one of these taste good on a chilly evening......

Pumpkin Latte

--2 cups milk (I used 1%)
--2 T canned pumpkin
--2 T white sugar
--2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
--1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
--1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

--garnish with whipped cream (optional)

This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit leftover. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. I used a 4-quart crockpot, but as small as a 1.5 quart will work with these amounts.
Add the coffee/espresso and milk to the crockpot. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. Whisk again.
Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon. I added a cinnamon stick to be fancy

Gingerbread Latte
--4 cups milk (2% or lower is best to not worry about curdling)
--1/2 cup white sugar (I like Baker's sugar because it dissolves nicely)
--2 tsp ground ginger
--2 tsp vanilla extract
--1 tsp ground cinnamon
--1/4 tsp cloves
--1/4 tsp nutmeg
--cinnamon stick, whipped cream for garnish (optional)

--1/2 cup strong black coffee, or a freshly-brewed shot of espresso

The Directions.
This could serve 4, especially if you are adding the milk on top of coffee. Otherwise it serves 2 with a bit of milk left for kid cups.
I used a 4 quart crockpot, you could get away with going as small as a 1.5 to 2 quart.
Put the milk into your crockpot, and whisk in the dried spices. Don't add the coffee.
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, or high for 1-2. The milk should be quite hot, but if your crockpot tends to get hot enough to boil, keep an eye on it. Don't let the milk boil.
Pour over hot coffee or espresso.
Garnish with whipped cream, a sprinkle of nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick.

Chai Latte
--4 cups milk
--4 black tea bags
--1/4 tsp ground cloves
--1/2 tsp ginger
--4 sticks cinnamon (or 2 tsp ground)
--4 cardamom pods
--1 tsp vanilla extract
--1 T sugar (I like the Baker's because it dissolves nicely)

The Directions.
This will serve 2-4 adults, dependent on how much they like tea.
Put everything into your crockpot. I used a 4 quart. Anything over a 2 quart will work just fine. Float the cinnamon sticks, cardamon pods, and tea bags on top.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or until heated through. I cooked ours on low for 2 hours and another hour on high.


Love is not selfish

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

Romans 12:10

~enjoy

Cute snack idea

Cute snack for Valentines day