Yummy eyeballs!!

One of my favorite sites I absolutely love is Just A Pinch.  It is a great place to look at all different kinds of recipes, start your own recipe box, easily post some of your own...all in one site.  Well, while I was going through some of the recipes, one showed up that I knew I just had to make.

THESE!!!!

How cute...right??

Stormy Stewart, aka Karlyn Rayne, posted this recipe and I made them for Halloween at work. At the end of this post I have a little bit more on Stormy/Karlyn and links to her blogs.  You really have to stop by her blogs and take a look. I work at The Cincinnati Eye Institute and these were a HUGE hit!!  They are mighty tasty too!  Sweet and Salty are always a good combination.  This will be something I thinkI am gonna make every year!  It is fast, easy, and tastes good.  This is so easy...take a gander just how easy it really is!!                                               

 

 

Lay all of the waffle pretzels out on a baking sheet.

 

 

add the vanilla wafers

 

 

put the chocolate chip in the middle and out them in the oven to melt

 

 

add the red sprinkles and let them cool and you are done

 

 

I even made zombie eyeballs!  Ran out of red sprinkles so I used red and clear surgar jimmies.

 

ENJOY!

 

Now, a little more about Stormy/Karlyn.  She has two blogs.  The first is called Returning to the Old Ways.  This blog, I have to say, is awesome.  She has collections of home remedies and recipes that are fantastic.  I have been in the Christmas spirit and just finishing a Christmas Ornament Swap over at The Crafter's Cafe, I am definietly making the Lavender Bubble Bath and The Energizing Bath Salts for gifts.  I also really like the home remedies for cold/sinus.  I have always felt my family consumes way too much medication for sinus/cold.  We live in Ohio and sinus problems are a given here so I am looking forward to trying these on my family.  The other blog is called The Crone Chronicles.  I am going to try several things she has posted with some of the items going on in my body.  Especially the thyroid.  So go and visit her blogs, visit her on Just A Pinch, say Hi and subscribe!  I am so looking forward to getting to know her...that is for sure...she seems like a gem of a person with much wisdom!  Thanks so much for letting me share you and my favorite Halloween treat....I know I will be doing this every year!

 

Celebrating My Birthday!

 

Yes, I turned 47 on October 23.  I just can't believe it but it is what it is...another year older!!  I had a wonderful birthday.  I did have to go to work but my co-workers and the doc I work for made it a very special day right down to the multiple cakes and lunch from Jimmy Johns.  I have pics but on my phone.  I have asked hubby to help me get them off so I am thinking this weekend it will happen!!  We have had SO much yard work to get caught up on so he has been taking care of most of that so I won't get on him too much.  In the meantime I will share the pics that I can get off of my camera!  After work, I came home to find this waiting for me.

 

                          The beautiful arrangement all together now!  It just brighten my day!

Also, this beautiful card!  Made me cry!

 

I truly love my husband...he is the best!

Finally, the last wonderful treat is this bag of candy...and it is sugar free!  Woo hoo!

This will help me stay on track.  120 pounds off...about 55 more to go...I will get there!

 

Now if that was not enough of a surprise.  He said let's go out to eat.  He decided to take me to a place called Silver Spring House.  We have wanted to go there for some time.  A friend of mine gave of gift cards to go and have dinner (after Cameron was diagnosed with cancer) and we never got to go...seemed like the perfect time.  Their web page is thesilverspringhouse.com if you want to know a bit more about them.  Truly wonderful food and the company (my hubby & my son) made it over the top!  Here are a few pics from our time at my Birthday dinner.

 

 

You can't really see the sign for the place...we ended up parking in the back but what you can see is something on the roof.  Yes, that is a huge spider!!  They were crawling all over the top of the building. OK, a bit of an fib but I really don't like spiders at all.  Real or fake!!

 

The colorful menu!

 

 

A pic of my son, Cameron.  His hair is coming back slowly but surely.  He is getting color back in his face.  Still has that beautiful smile!

 

 

A pic of my wonderful, handsome hubby..David!

 

Here we are altogether.  I rarely get my pic taken so I will cherish this one...even if I hate pics of myself!  I would not have missed this opportunity for the world (even if I was still in my scrubs).

 

 

Oh yes, and the food!  The wonderful, tasty food.  This was my plate...I still have chicken to take to lunch!  Broccoli too!

 

 

 

Well, I could not have asked for a better birthday that is for sure. 

 

 

 

 

Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake

Yes, the title just makes you drool doesn’t it?  All I can say is run, don’t walk, to the market and get the ingredients if you don’t have them but chances are you do have them so you HAVE to make this.  It is SO good…you will not be disappointed!  It is all ooey, gooey, and when served warm just makes your gums melt!!  Had to share this gem of a recipe…ENJOY!

CINNABON CINNAMON ROLL CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of flour

¼ tsp salt
1 cup of sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 ½ cup of milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 T butter, melted
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 T flour
1 T cinnamon
2/3 cup nuts (optional) *I used finely chopped pecans

GLAZE:

2 cups powdered sugar

5 T milk
1 tsp vanilla

With an electric mixer or stand-up mixer, mix 3 cups of flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Once combined well, slowly stir in 4 T melted butter.  Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix the 2 sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, 2 T flour, cinnamon, and nuts until well combined.  Drop evenly over cake batter by the tablespoon and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean from center.  Place powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Drizzle over warm cake.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

*NOTE:  I would like to try this with a cream cheese type drizzle too!

Here are my pics of this wonderful creation.  I am not good photographin objects…give me people and I am good…objects I need to work on for sure!! LOL 

 

 

 

Very HAPPY baking!!

 

 

Getting Some MoJo going!

I have truly had some wonderful time over the past several weeks and will post some pics of my baking and crafting as soon as I get the pics downloaded.  I AM getting my MoJo back slowly but surely and so many wonderful blogs have helped with that.  I joined The Stamping Boutique/Crafter's Cafe a while back and what a wonderful group of people that does keep growing daily (a good thing).  I joined a handmade ornament swap...it is a secret ornament swap so I can't say which person I was lucky to get but she is a gem that is for sure.  Talented beyond belief.  I got out bits of this and that and really came up with some wonderful designs.  I even made one for our swap hostess Kristy!  I can post pics early December of those.  Can't wait to share.  I have had a blast. 

Life is slowly getting back to normal here at our house.  My son got his port removed and is going strong now.  Facial hair is coming back and in no time he will have a full head of hair again complete with eyebrows!!  He has so inspired me to start living again.  For 4-5 months my husband and I worked and then went to the hospital...that was pretty much it.  Everything in our lives came to a complete halt.  Now, we are slowly, and I do me slowly trying to catch up on everything that just had to wait.  I am getting caught up too (very slowly) but seems my crafting is something I am making time for now...baking too! 

Another blog (I will do a seperate post for all the blogs I have fallen in love with and visit often...they deserve the kudos) I visit quite often is Creative Breathing.  I love her vitage flare and one of her posts was about an whitman sampler-box-ornament-swap.  Extremely clever, looks like loads of fun to make but the swap filled up.  I am looking for swappers to do something similar.  If not Whitman's Sampler boxes then maybe a match box swap.  I am kinda digging the Whitman's Sampler box tho.  I am currently digging up swappers for this swap so hopefully it will be up and running before the end of October. 

A Good Things of Focus in Life CAN Make a Difference!!

I know I have been abscent from my blog for quite a while.  I will try and fill you in on the last two years.  It has been difficult to say goodbye to so many family members.  My mom, my cousin, my aunt (my mom's sister), my step brother, and my uncle (my mom's brother).  Yep, lots of loss!  Also, in that time my son graduated high school, started college and I went back to work full time.  Lots of changes...some really good and some that leave a hole in your heart!  Most recently, in April, my son was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma call T-cell hystiocyte large B-cell lymphoma.  I have to say this has been the hardest of the news to take but we are moving in the right direction of treatment.  I have an incredible kid with a wonderful attitude and love of life.  He is doing fantastic and that keeps me going for sure!  We will get through this!

I have also been able to keep my sanity through all of this with scrap booking, card making, and paper crafting.  I have created many pages and cards through all of the losses and the scrap booking has been so very therapeutic for me.  I have been able to dig in photos and scrap many memories of the family members that I have lost over the past two years.  I have hauled major stuff to the hospital and during the long nights I have been like edward scissorhands in the corner of the little room on my bed/sofa at the oncology ward at Children's Hospital.  I just have not thought to post anything.  I think I have just been so focused on living for the day and working through things...posting on my blog became a very distant thought.  That really sounds horrible now doesn't it??!!  My blog sitting here all by itself!!  LOL  Well, no more!!  I am back and I have DCWV to thank for that.  I am so stoked to submit for a spot on their design team.  I have been a huge fan of DCWV for so long and even have items posted on here made with their wonderful products.  The design call is for Stack-A-Holic-Design Team.  I am for sure a DCWV stack-a-holic!  This has given me a drive I can't even begin to put down in words.  I was so excited to make the Mini Scrapbook Anonymous Design Team but am equally excited to even submit my work to this wonderful company.  Many of you know me and know that I just do not apply for design teams.  I have to love the product or mission.  I have to be moved by it and live with it to give my best.  So I can honestly say DCWV would be only the second design team I have even applied for....that is how much I LOVE DCWV!  So, I am back, loving it and looking forward to picking up, inspiring others, moving on, and living life out loud again.