Peanut Butter bon bons

Here is another recipe from the vault! This one is an old favorite. It is a couple more steps than the oreo balls, but, totally worth it!

1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c graham cracker crumbs (about 12 squares)
1/2 c butter
1/2 c peanut butter
1 pkg of semisweet choc chips

Mix powdered suger and graham cracker crumbs together in a bowl. Heat butter and peanut butter over low heat until melted; stir into crumb mixture. Shape into 1 inch balls. Heat choc chips in double boiler with 1 tbsp of shortening. Dip balls into chocolate until coated, place on waxed paper.

Enjoy!

Oreo balls and more!

Last weekend Jessica came over and we made oreo balls. I have made other types of "balls" and confections, but this was my first time making oreo balls. I first had heard of these delightful little morsels from the gals over on 2peas. Earlier this year, my visting teacher, Debi, had made a batch and brought some by. Actually, I had been doing great in avoiding sugar for like 3 months until these evil little confections showed up on my door step! Anyhoo, I've had a few requests for the recipe.

1 package of oreos (regular oreos, no generic brand, no double stuff)

1 8 oz package of cream cheese (I set it out on the counter 1 hour prior)

1-2 packages of Wilton melting chips

My food processor is broken, so I put the oreos in a large ziploc baggie and crushed them with a rolling pin. I did this in several batches so I could get a finer crush. After crushing, I emptied the baggie contents into a bowl. The cookie filling sticks to the side of the baggie. I just took a spoon and scraped it off. Next, I mixed the cream cheese in with the cookie crumbs (it didn't mix as well as I wanted, but you can fix it later when you roll them into balls). I placed the bowl into the refridgerator for about an hour.

I don't have a double boiler, so to melt the chocolate coating, I just used two saucepans. I boiled water in one, placed the chocolate in the second pot and stacked it on top of the first one. As the chocolate is melting, start making the actual balls. I used my hands and mushed it all together and made small meatball sized balls. When the chocolate is ready, dip the balls in to coat.

Christmas cookies

I have been doing alot of baking recently. I normally don't do alot of baking. Me baking = me eating the baked goods = no good! But, it is the Christmas season and that is a good enough reason! Okay, tonight, Steve and the girls wanted desert. Too cold outside for ice cream, I'm sick of chocolate right now, so Christmas cookies won.

I have a sugar cookie recipe from Ann that has become one of my favorites. I have her exact recipe, but for some reason, hers always taste better.

We all had a super good time making the cookies and singing Christmas carols. Madison took a break from cookie making, and serenaded us with Jingle Bells, on the piano and then the violin.

August!

OMG! I can't believe it is already August! Where has summer gone? The kids start back to school next Wednesday. Way too early for school to start back up. Both Steve and I remember starting back to school after Labor Day, never any sooner. Anyhoo, I can't wait for school to start. Three little words that are music to my ears.....Back To School!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! We don't have any specific plans, but Grams and Gramps are coming over for dinner tonight.

Here is a patriotic layout for all of you! These are pictures of Jasper way back when. I have written picture was taken between 2nd and 3rd grade, but I think I was mistaken. I think it was the the summer between 1st and 2nd grade. The paper I used was from a Storytellers Club packet.

Here's a question for you....What is your earliest 4th of July memory? My family never did a whole lot for the 4th, so I don't have too many memories specific for this holiday. I do remember July 4th, 1977. We lived in Anchorage, Alaska at the time, in our big green house. I remember sitting on my swing set, eating a big slice of watermelon and trying to see how far I could spit the seeds. Not a real significant memory, but a memory.

More Layouts!

First Grad smile is Amanda. Papers are also from My Little Shoebox.

The first layout is a spring school portrait of Madison. I used My Little Shoebox paper, prima flower and cut the title from my cricut. The second one is a layout I did for a stash challenge using old Chatterbox paper. The title is cut from my cricut and I added the dots to the letters.

It's been awhile....

I just pulled up my blog and realized that it has been a while since I updated....

My left elbow/arm is much, much better. After about 2 1/2 months of healing, intense physical therapy and homeopathic stuff from my chiropractor, Dr. Kym, I am happy to say that my arm is functional!

I went back to work last Friday, worked and 8 on Monday and on call Tuesday pm. Got called off today (bummer), but on call Friday pm and Sunday am. I hate to say this, but I am hoping to get called in on Friday or Sunday...I need the hours.

Madison is doing fabulous with her violin. She has been at for one year now and has progressed tremendously! She is trying to go for 100 days straight of practicing. So far, she's gone 2 full weeks. Way to go, baby girl!

Amanda started piano lessons this week. So far, so good. Violin wasn't for her, so I am hoping she will like piano.

We have been swimming quite alot this summer. The pool has felt soooo good!

I've gotten alot of scrapping done. This past weekend, I went and cropped with Wendy and her CM group. This was super fun since my BFFs were there (except Jo, Martha and Lori). Heather, Maria and Maria Cris made it. So good to see Maria Cris. I hadn't seen her since like February. I'm kicking myself for not bringing a camera and getting a picture of all of us.

I guess Kandi is having a workshop July 25th. Totally stoked about this because the new Stampin Up catty is out and we will be using new stamps and the new in colors.

I am still seriously considering signing up and being a SU demo. I know I should just bite the bullet and do it. I just get a little concerned about making the minimums.

I purchased a kit from Joann about two weeks ago. Super cute and girly. Joann is going to start putting together some kits for us to purchase. I will try and get her website and put up a link in case anyone is interested. The layouts at the top were made from Jo's kit. I totally meant for the pictures to be down here at the bottom of the post! I don't know what happened!

Ready to ride

Here's another layout I just posted. This picture is of Maddy in kindergarten on the school bus. For years, Maddy had seen school buses around town and couldn't wait to "get on the bus". When she started kindergarten, she had afternoon kindergarten that started at 11 am and the school would send the van to pick up the handful of kids in the mornings. In the afternoon, she had the opportunity to ride the bus home. A dream come true!

Jasper, on the other hand, despised the school bus. I would drop him off when I could, but sometimes he had to ride the bus. He had to walk to the end of our road (about a 1/2 mile) to catch the bus. His gripe was, "riding the bus is for idiots". Well, son, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! I always had to ride the bus. My parents worked full time and I never had the privilege of being dropped off or picked up, not an option. And, I never thought anything about it.

Fortunately for Jasper, he got his driver's license at 16 and was able to terminate his bus riding days!

I just posted a layout for the stash challenge over on the 2ps site. The challenge was to use a heritage picture and to dig out some older pp. I had this picture of my mother that I had wanted to scrap for the longest time...just needed some inspiration.

I used all Chatterbox pp. Stickers are CM and CBX, I also used some MM metal moulding painted and sanded.

Easter recap

We had a wonderful Easter!

When I first woke up, my arm hurt, my head hurt and I was really tired. I came out to the kitchen and announced that we were going to skip church this week. Both girls were already dressed. Maddy started sobbing, "I don't want to miss church". Steve, the great guy that he is, reminded me that Easter Sunday is the most holiest day of the year. I then proceeded to get myself ready.

We were about 45 minutes late and missed Sacrament. Totally bummed, because everyone raved over the talks and music. Darn it. Anyhow, while we were sitting in the foyer, I showed Madison how to fill out the tithing slip. We filled it out together and I gave her $5 for the envelope. Later, when we got home, Maddy told me,"It felt really good when we gave the Bishop our envelope". How sweet! Maddy, you are an inspiration to me!

After church, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's. Our dinner menu was: Ham (which I didn't eat. I don't care for ham, but everyone else loves it.), macaroni and cheese (g'ma's special blend), asparagus, ceasar salad, rolls, jello and deviled eggs. Desert was chocolate birthday cake. April 12th was also Grandpa's 86th birthday.

Jasper, Jessica and Jacob (Jasper's roomie) hid the easter eggs for the girls. I think the guys had as much fun hiding the eggs as the girls did finding them.

Elbow Update

Well, I woke up this morning and my left arm/elbow was killing me! It was about twice as big as my right elbow and throbbing. Got into to see my family doctor and sure enough, broke my elbow! Actually, I fractured my head of my radial bone.

Scott (my Dr.) put me in a sling and off work for awhile. Six weeks! Dang it! Oh well, what are you going to do about it? I need my arm to heal and I don't want to do any further damage.

Damn flea market! I knew I shouldn't of went!

Flea market fiasco

Barb and I used to LOVE going to the Galt flea market. We used to get almost giddy making our plans. We would map out what we wanted and what booths we would hit first. This was always such a big deal!

We haven't made the trek to Galt in a few years, and boy, what a difference a few years makes! Our favorite vendors (plants, pottery, decorative) where not there. The quality and selection of stuff was about the same as going to the 99 cent store. What a waste of time, energy and gas! I did end up spending $2 and bought two nail polishes for the girls.

To make matters worse, I ended up hurting myself. I tripped, sprained my right ankle and fell on my hands! Totally embarrassing and humiliating! As I lay on the ground, dazed and in pain, Barb just stood and looked at me while a group of people gathered around. A man walking by helped me to a sitting position and a flea market employee helped me to the cart to sit down. Thank goodness for strangers!