Wordless Wednesday

Can You Smell That?

I'm in the mood to cook!
It happens every Fall....I start to smell Fall in the crisp, morning air and I just get itchin' to cook and bake!
I wonder if it's because I'm just completely tired of summer salads and sandwiches and wraps and all the 'cool' suppers and I just want to turn on the oven and eat something warm that smells soooo good!
The problem is, by the time I get home from work at night, the house is hot again and I just can't make myself turn on the hot ol' oven!
Hmmmmmmm....maybe the bbq outside?
No, it doesn't work real well for warm gooey cookies
or mmmmmmmm-smells-so-good soup and hot buttery breadsticks!
Yikes! My mouth is watering just thinking of it all!!
Well, luckily for me, I did catch a cool afternoon one day to make some cookies at least. They are kind of fun and different.
It's a recipe I got out of my newest cookbook of recipes made totally with cake mixes.
I took some pictures and thought I'd share.

Mix all the following ingredients together:

2 pkgs Devil's Food Cake Mixes (18 1/4 oz)

4 Eggs

1 Cup Vegetable (Canola) Oil

(That's All!!)

It will be really thick and look sort of like this when it's mixed up

Then you roll the batter into 1 inch balls....about the size of a quarter.

They may look really small, but the flatten nicely when they cook.

Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes until they are set on top....don't overbake.

When they come out of the oven they look like this:

Let them set for a couple of minutes before you try moving them

 and then let them cool on a rack.

In another bowl, beat:

1 8oz pkg of Cream Cheese

1/4 Cup Butter (Softenend)

Add:

1 tsp Vanilla

2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

Beat until smooth.

Spread Cream Cheese Mixture on the bottom of 1/2 of the cooled cookies.

  Add a 2nd cookie to make a 'sandwich'

And.........Voila

Instant Happy Husband!!!

You have to keep them in the refrigerator....but that turns out good because you can hide them behind something big and they aren't so accessible to the cookie elves in the night!

MMMMMMMMMMM!!!   Can you smell that?

Catching Up

Yep...it's been a while. So much happens so fast.

These last couple of months have been busy...what's new!

Last summer I was asked to be on a committee that heads up the Relay For Life event here in Riverton.  It has been an awesome and humbling year-long experience.  We have worked our tails off from putting on the Hats Off For Hope Gala event in March down to the actual Relay the first week of June.  And we aren't done yet, we still have the Day In The Park event to finish things up. We raised almost $60K at the Gala and the totals aren't in yet for the Relay.  WOW! Amazing!  I never knew the amount of planning and organizing and work that went into this event.  I wish I had pictures to tell the story, however, my job on the committee kept me so busy during the events that I didn't have time to snap pictures. But I can tell you that I am a changed person because of being a part of the entire thing.  Next summer.........be prepared family.......because I am going to get you all involved in this worthwhile event!  You will be amazed at what it will do for you as you do for others and their families who have been touched somehow in their lives by Cancer.....and we are numbered among them.  It's not just about walking...it's so much more!

And on with the news....

I now have a chauffeur! Yep that's right!  My own personal Chauffeur! 

It's kind of good,however, because of my new status........I never get to drive anymore!

Here is a picture of my new chauffeur...

Doesn't he look handsome behind the wheel?

I bet you are wishing you had a chauffeur!

Here's how it all happened.............

We show up at the D.L. Place. This would be the 2nd time

as the first time we went they were closed.

What a disappointment! I didn't realize there are only certain days and hours

 that you can get a chauffeur!

Next....the dreaded test!  I hope he studied!! :\

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock

Wow.....their taking his picture....does that mean.......????

 

Yes!!!  The long-awaited day has arrived!!

Give us a smile  (Oh Mother!)

You don't know the rest of the story.....my fancy new red car....is a stick shift! 

 What a horrible thing to do! What was I thinking? 

 It was enough to turn a smart, sophisticated, handsome 15 year old

 into a blubbering, fit-throwing, temper-tantrum-fit throwing teenager!

That poor car went through a lot the first 3 weeks!  I'm surprised it is still in one piece.

You probably have seen a few pieces of the transmission

laying on the roads here and there!

But, I'm proud to report - it is pretty smooth sailin' now! 

 One night we were in town waiting for the time to pass

 so I made him take the driver's seat.

It had literally gotten that bad because he was now

refusing to drive and stating "...I can't do it!"

 We jerked through a couple of stop signs, killed it once and then

just like magic

it suddenly just clicked!

He got it!  Those big size 10 !/2 feet finally just worked the clutch and gas like a pro!

What a night of celebration!  Only I did it silently as to not upset the karma!   

But what a smile on that kid that night!  I think we all slept soundly!

Phew....one more crisis down in the world of the teen-ager!

We are official now! 

I'm glad...but I'm sad! 

I do miss my 'little' boy....I am proud of my 'big' boy!