EW!!

Yes, that is what you think it is. I came downstairs for breakfast and this is how Ryan greeted me. I am so proud. What raw, natural talent!

I never want to see another cookie again...

So, somehow I "volunteered" to make 180 sugar cookies, each about 3" tall. And then I had to decorate them all. They are for the dessert at the Cub Scout Pack Meeting, so I decided to have the Cubs come help decorate them. We love these cookies! The boys each did about 6 letters, frosted a few extras to eat, then went out to play. I was up until 2am finishing the rest of them, then I panicked...where to you hide 180 cookies (that cannot be stacked) from a super sniffing dog? Oh, of course, the guest room bed. Just don't open that door! And now, how do I transport all those cookies without ruining the frosting?
Maybe next time I'll go with Chips Ahoy...
I think we have 16 cubscouts, but only these brave few dared to come for cookie decorating!

A great find at Target

Ever since I discovered the Asian Potsticker variety of Lean Cuisine, I have had one for lunch whenever possible. Well, the unthinkable happened about 8 months ago. They were gone. Not just sold out until the next shipment, but gone as in not even a space on the shelf to refill. So, I searched the entire East Bay and found them in one store. Target, of all places! Not Safeway. Not Lucky or Albertsons. But Target, which now has me truly convinced that they have everything! Now I can look forward to lunch everyday. And I can think of my freezer full of potsticker lean cuisines as food storage. Now don't you go running to Target and clean them out, too.

How Embarrassing!

In December someone(who shall remain unnamed!) broke my powdered sugar sifter. So, for Christmas my sweet husband bought me a new one. A few weeks ago I tried to open it to refill it, but it was literally glued shut with sugar.
After many failed attempts, and my losing faith in all of my jar opening gadgets, (because I am a gadget gal)I finally brought the sifter back to the store today. No questions asked, they gave me a new one right away, after a few unsuccessful attmepts of their own.
I browsed the clearance section (I do love a good bargain, you know!)and found a few things I couldn't live without, like 99 cent Christmas fuzzy tooth picks, and silicon fried egg rings, so I went to the counter to purchase my necessities. While I was paying, the employee showed me my old sifter (of which I am now still the proud owner), good as new. He said he just ran it under hot water to dissolve the sugar that was sticking under the lid. DUH!

Our own American Idol

Okay, so what was up with Casey last night? We had such high hopes for her and she totally blew it! I am sure it's not the last we'll see of her. Look what Kellie Pickler has done with her 15 minutes of fame, and she is lacking some serious talent! This is the first year that I have let my kids stay up until 9 to watch the show...I have some control issues and the kids are usually tucked in bed before 9. Becca is really bummed that her favorite, Ann Marie didn't make it. We are all glad that Danny made it, but are a little wary of Tatiana coming back as a wild card. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of her, either.
Becca was helping me make breakfast and I handed her the ice cream scoop...she doesn't really walk around singing into kitchen untensils. And no, we weren't having ice cream for breakfast!

Picnic the Rain

After several straight days of torrential downpour, I sent the kids out for a picnic in the rain. They dragged a few chairs and some blankets up to the treehouse and came back to get their food. Becca, Ryan, and his buddy Blair spent the afternoon snacking and enjoying the rain. The roof of the treehouse kept them dry enough, but the floor was pretty wet after so many days of being pelted. At least the grass is green and I don't have to water it!Out the back windows of the treehouse you can see the 30 foot deep canal that is behind our house. When we have heavy rains the kids love to watch the class 5 rapids roll by.

Yum

These are my favorite Valentine's Cookies. Heavenly chocolate ganache slathered between two rich, buttery shortbread hearts. What's not to love? Let me know if you want the recipe and I can email it to you.