Cookie Winner

I know, I know...everyone has just about given up on me and the whole cookie challenge. I am sorry it has taken so long to announce a winner. Let's just say that we had a few family issues come up in March and I had no time or energy to blog. BUT, I am back and ready to let you know who our big winner is!!!

Drumroll please.....

The winner of the $10 and mini scrapbook is.....my mom. Ahhhhhh.

Yes, my mom had the winning recipe sitting in her recipe stash and she didn't even know it. It is a recipe she got from a missionary while they were serving in Russia. She hadn't ever tried it, but thought she would send it to me and we LOVE IT!

I actually loved more then one. I had a hard time choosing between 3 of your wonderful recipes but my family didn't like them as well and we did decide to choose as a family. Two things that made the difference, were peanut butter and coconut. If it was too much peanut butter (rich) they didn't really like it and absolutely no coconut. Go figure...I love both those things.

This winning recipe has peanut butter but not too much and no coconut. So, here it is if you would like to try it.

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

Boil the butter, milk and sugar hard for 1 minute. (Once it starts boiling hard enough that you can't stir the bubbles out of it, start timing).

Add:

4 TB cocoa

2 tsp. vanilla

4 TB. Peanut butter (opt.)

Stir until smooth and put in freezer for 15-20 minutes. (Be sure to set hot pan on plate in freezer and don't put right next to your ice cream). That's right in the Freezer!

Add:

2-3 cups oats

After cooled in freezer add oats and set on waxed paper. To speed the set up time you can put them in the fridge but they usually take less then an hour to set.

The thing I love about this recipe is that you put it in the freezer. When you add the oats it is nice and stiff and already starting to set up.

Absolutely, the one ingredient that your can't do without is real BUTTER. If you use margarine they don't set up nearly as well.

Thank you all for helping me find the perfect cookie. I plan to save all your recipes and add them to my cookbook so thank you so much for sending your favorites to me.

Cookie Challenge

Are you up for a challenge?
I am in search of the PERFECT cookie recipe. And I am not looking for just any cookie. I need the perfect "NO BAKE" cookie.

Why, you ask? The no bake cookie is probably my favorite cookie in the whole world. Only one problem...I can NEVER get them to set up. No matter what recipe I have tried they always end up soupy and we end up eating them off the wax paper with a spoon. Well, I am sick and tired of it.

Do you have the infallible recipe for me? Send it to me and I will see. I am prepared with my ingredients; oatmeal, cocoa, margarine, vanilla, etc. I will make it as many times as I need to. My family will probably get sick of chocolate and oatmeal...BUT, I DON'T CARE. I am on a mission. I am prepared to gorge myself on endless amounts of chocolate cookies in order to find the perfect cookie!

And what will you get in return? If I pick your recipe, if it sets up without hassle, tastes good and my family agrees...You will get a fold-out mini scrapbook and $10.

I will keep you updated on how things are tasting...

There is that $10 peeking out there...send me your recipe!

Shelving Project

We took a break from our bathroom for a while so we could work on our original project...the storage shelves. My Mom and Dad offered to come down and help us a few weeks ago and we gladly took them up on their offer! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Louie and Dad got a lot of prep work done on our wall. In order to start on the storage unit we needed the wall to be prepped and ready for the fiber board. We also needed to sheetrock the ceiling. I was thrilled that they got so much done because our carpenter, Jeff called while they were working and said that he had a few days off the following week and would be able to start on the project. Perfect Timing! Here are our pictures from framing to finish. The only thing left is the doors and they should be in next weekend. Once they are installed I can start filling up all those beautiful shelves.

A peek at our finished shower in the bathroom in relation to this wall we are finishing.

Louie slaving over the fiber board for the back of the wall.

Furred out and insulated.


After day one...framing complete.

A look from the inside.

The end of day two... shelves are in and so is Sam.

All done and waiting for the doors.

The missed Derby

Today was Seth's Pinewood Derby Race. He and his dad stayed up late last night getting the car all ready. How exciting, it will be Seth's first race. He and Jared designed the car and the racing stripes.

Only problem...Seth started throwing up about 9am this morning.

So, now what? Well Mom and Dad suggested that we go and race the car for him to see how it would run. Seth was excited that it would get to race. We video taped the whole thing and brought it home for him to watch.

Seth's car came in underweight. So Louie glued some money to the bottom of the car to add weight. Two nickels and a penny to be exact.

Placing Seth's car for racing.

The race track

The Finish Line

Seth's car is the farthest over. It says 0 place because he hadn't quite made it over the finish line yet. He got 2nd place in this race. Each time your car comes in 3rd place you get a sticker put on the bottom of your car. When you get 3 stickers your car is out.

So how did Seth's car do?

Overall his car came in 4th place. All the adults got to vote for "Best of Show", meaning the car that looked the best. Seth came in 3rd place in best of show. He got this ribbon and a chocolate bar. Good Job Seth!

Wanted: Reliable Tooth Fairy

We have decided to accept applications for a new Tooth Fairy. We really have hired a dud of a fairy. She is never on time, in fact sometimes we have to wait weeks for any money to appear and we have had to actually call her and remind her of our waiting teeth.

My children have grown accustom to the fact that we might have to wait a while and don't even check to see if any money has arrived. AND she doesn't even take the tooth???? Who has heard of a tooth fairy leaving money and the tooth. What is with that?

Please help...any recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

Bathroom Progress

Two and a half weeks into our project and it is looking really good. I wanted to update our pictures. I would like to admit that I actually help in some way, but I am afraid that I have nothing to contribute in the way of handy skills. I just give moral support when needed and hand over tools every now and then.

Sam and Jake have been using our bathroom in the mornings to get ready and I think that is what motivates Louie to come home every night and keep working.

Our cabinet guy called today and said that the vanity is in and waiting to be picked up. Maybe we can get that and a new sink this weekend. I am anxiously awaiting our profit sharing from work or this new stimulous package that is going through the senate so we can pay for this project!

Stay Tuned....

Waterproof sheetrock is going up throughout the whole bathroom.

Toilet is out!

Shower is out!

A view from inside. Looking out into our family room.

A black shower? No, not really. I actually missed a picture here. Didn't get down in time with my camera. It was grey colored from the special wall covering that has to go inside a shower. The black is actually a waterproofing sealer that you apply before installing the tile.

1/2 Way up with tile. I love this border. It has blue glass pieces in it.

Oh, so pretty. The black space on the right is where Louie is installing a shampoo shelf. He needs to polish the piece of granite he is putting in for that and then it will be time to grout.

A New Project

I was figuring out today that this coming March we will have been in our house for 6 years. Wow! That is the longest we have been in one place since we got married almost 19 years ago.

We recently had a quote done on storage cabinets for our basement. We are excited to get going and finish some projects we have been wanting to do. But, before we get the cabinets we have to do some prep work. Namely we need to move our downstairs bathroom door to another wall to make room for our wall to wall cabinets. Well, we got to looking at the bathroom and thought it might be a good idea to just rip out a few walls and make the bathroom bigger. We added about a foot to one wall and almost 2 feet to the other. Yeah!

Here are the demolition pictures. I hope to post pictures as we go along.

Visiting Santa

Ho! Ho! Ho!
We had the opportunity to visit Santa this past weekend. We got to go see him at the airport. We asked him a series of questions; "What airline did you fly in on?" Rudolph Express. "Where are your reindeer now?" In a hanger down by FedEx. "How long was the flight?" A little over 2 hours.

We had fun talking with Santa and Seth and McKayla got to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Seth asked for a Pirate ship, McKayla asked for a baby doll bunk bed and I asked for a deposit into my checking account.

The Christmas Spirit

This year we put our Christmas tree up the week after Thanksgiving. If I don't get it up before the first of December I consider it a pointless time waster. You should see the deep dark dungeon that I have to pull my Christmas boxes from. It is literally the black abyss and if you stay down there too long you are sure to get lost and never return. Anyway, it usually takes me 1/2 a day just to get the stuff out and by then I am to tired to do anymore. This year I was able to get the tree together and put in it's spot and I was done for the day. The crying began from McKayla, but I was not giving in. "We will finish tomorrow!". Well I had to work that night and when I got home around 2am. I was overly energized and proceeded to put most of the lights on that darn tree. 3am and I am off to bed but happy that the lights are on. That is the one thing I insist on doing myself. Everyone can just sit and watch me, but no one can help put the lights on. I am way to picky about it, walking to the other side of the room every few minutes to squint and make sure they are all on straight. What is with that. As if the people who walk through my door squint at my tree to make sure the lights are even?

Try Try Again

Well, I started my blog almost one year ago. Posted two items and never returned. I really enjoy reading other people's blogs but really don't have the time to devote to my own.

BUT, now my dear Sister-in-Law has succumbed to this addictive habit and after having so much fun reading her entries....I have to try again.

So what have I done today? NOTHING, except sit in front of my computer and decide whether or not to start a blog. There, done!

BLOG?

BLOG: Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.

TIME: A nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future.

In short, I have no TIME for a BLOG! But a friend of mine insists that once I start this I will be hooked. We will see~ I seem to be quite techno-challenged so far and can be easily overwhelmed. I intend to start off SLOW...Not moving or able to move quickly; proceeding at a low speed.

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