Holiday School Gifts

We have a big, amazing team that work with Corinne at school. So, I was having a hard time deciding how to send them nice holiday greetings. I decided on the treats and packaging above. The treats are rolls melted on parchment for 5 minutes at 300 degrees with a pretzel pushed on top when they come out. They are easy and yummy. I put them in cellophane bags and created the bag topper. It is like a greeting card, folded in half with one side printed upside down so it fold correctly. Then a staple or two to hold it in place and TA DA. They were a well received little treat.

Holidays are coming

I guess I am due for a another regular sort of update entry in addition to a recipe.

It has been a while. School is going great for Corinne. The long holiday weekend was hard for her. I am not sure what we will do over Christmas break.

I have been working out while Corinne is in school. The place I am going the instructors are mean to you and for some reason that is keeping me motivated. They push and I like it. I feel great and can do 10 pushups. You have to start somewhere.

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year. I love having everyone over for turkey day. Kevin grills / smokes the bird perfectly and I think all the side dishes are fun to play with. This year I made rolls from scratch and put things we are thankful for inside them. I may post that recipe sometime. It was fun to open a roll like a fortune cookie and everyone read a thankful thing.

I surprised Kevin for his birthday and took him to the shooting range and to see "Harold and Kumar" in 3D. I had never held or fired a gun before. It was a whole new experience. We had fun, and I killed a bear :)

We also found and decorated the world's most perfect christmas tree of the weekend. I smile every time I look at it.


Happy Birthday, Kevin. I love you!

Happy Birthday, Kevin

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting



Yield: 18 cupcakes

For the filling:
~2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
~1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
~2 tablespoons butter, softened

Frosting:
~8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
~4 tablespoons butter, softened
~1/2 cup peanut butter
~2 cups powdered sugar
~1 cup cool whip

1. Prepare Filling: In bowl, with mixer on medium speed, mix confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons butter until blended. Shape mixture into 18 balls. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or get your cupcake maker out). Line 18 standard muffin-pan cups with fluted paper liners.

3. Prepare boxed brownie mix as directed on package.

4. Spoon batter into each muffin-pan cup, about 1/4 full. Have your assistant (Corinne did an awesome job) drop 1 peanut butter ball in center of each cup and top with enough batter to cover the ball (2/3 full total). Bake cupcakes 30 to 35 minutes (20 minutes in the cupcake maker) or until toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Immediately remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

5. When cupcakes are cool, prepare frosting. In large bowl, with mixer on medium-low speed, beat butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter until smooth and blended. Add powdered sugar slowly, incorporating fully after each addition. Add cool whip and beat until smooth and creamy. Frosts cupcakes. I did put the frosting in a ziploc and cut the corner to get the lovely piping you see below.

Wedding Gift

This is a wedding gift for a dear friend getting married on...11/11/11 after being with her significant other for 11 years. I hope they like it.

I took wooden letters, glued them to the canvas, and the spray painted and sanded multiple coats to get a near even finish. I seem to get to close to everything I spray paint.

Projects

Some of the projects I am working on in my spare time:

So much time...

For those of you that don't know 2 big changes happened a few weeks back.

(1) Corinne started preschool 4 days a week for 3 hours a day, and is loving it and doing great
(2) I was laid off from my job

Both events have resulted in my having much more time to myself than I am accustomed. It has been interesting so far.


My house is cleaner than it has ever been. I have even cleaned out the cupboards and under the stairs.

We have found time to try projects we have been meaning to for months. For this project we laid out the letters in masking tape and then finger painted over it.

We have been making banana cream pies, lasagna, fajitas, and so much more. I have actually been making and sticking to our menus for multiple weeks.

I am thinking I may start blogging on some of our projects, cooking, and crafting adventures, but I make no promises. That is all for now :)

All Things Birthday - Year 33

Lunch with Corinne, Kevin, mom and dad at the Stage Deli, yum

Followed by "Stupid, Crazy Love" (I LOVED it) and dinner at the hibachi place for Kevin and I


Kevin and I took my birthday off and took Corinne to the zoo. Her favorites are the meerkats and the train.


Presents from Kevin and Corinne


First night in her twin big girl bed. My baby is getting so big.


Picnic in the park with Kristin, Jeff, Jessica, Corinne, and Kevin

It was a very fun week. Thanks to all :)

Roller Coaster Collection

the sun is out

I hate to state the obvious, but summer is right around the corner. The sun has finally come out here in Michigan and June has been beautiful.

We have enjoyed the farm animals, many parks and playgrounds, the little pool in the back yard, a parade, and tons of other fun already this season. Through it all I always have a camera to play with and try to capture these experiences.

This is my favorite, hands down, from this spring: It is her warrior cry, she is so overjoyed by this slide, and it's echo.

Denver Visit

Good morning, err, afternoon. After 7 hours of sleep and 3 cups of coffee it is wonderful to be home., even with the cold gloominess outside. We missed Kevin and the hounds, but had such a wonderful visit.

Corinne is an outstanding traveler and enjoys the planes and moving walkways at the airport. We were delayed many hours last night and arrived in Detroit around 2 AM. She was a trooper. I am thankful we had truly been on vacation, not watching news or surfing the net. Ignorance is bliss when flying Southwest, I am happy to have not know about this.

I am so sad Tiffany, Tommy, and Sam are so far away. We had a fantastic time. We went to the zoo, the butterfly pavilion, many parks, brunch with the cousins, and tons of fun playtime. I love watch Corinne and Sam play, they adore each other. Oh, the giggles.

I tried to convince Tiffany and Tommy to move back to Michigan, but apparently the awe I expressed about their sunshine made Michigan sound less appealing. Did I mention it was in the 60s and 70s and sunny for most of our visit? I love the sun, and my batteries feel re-charged.

Sam had one morning where he followed Corinne around the house and told every time she looked at something "that's mine.". It was hilarious. It is tough having another two year old on your turf all the time for so long. Really he was a fabulous host. I think he must have learned that from his parents who made us feel right and home, like we could never over stay our welcome, and sad to leave. This was the first time we had seen their new home, which is beautiful. And the yard has a gravel pit to dig in, Corinne found this amazing.

All around a great trip. I am so glad it all fell into place.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The feats of Winter

Now, let's see what has been happening around this crazy place this Winter.

We have built towers...

...and cities.

Magnificent works of art have been created.

Archeological digs for dinosaur bones were completed.

And sometimes we need to re-charge our batteries.

Sorry

It is official, I am a blogging slacker.

Chipped :(

That was fast and easy.

Gels?

I might be addicted to groupon. I had a nice relaxing outing to get my nails and hair done yesterday afternoon. The manicure was done with OPI Axxium Soak Off Gel. The gel lacquer system is painted right onto your nails, is dry before you leave the salon, supposedly lasts up to 3 weeks, and doesn't chip. It is time to remove it when it has grown out to an unreasonable point. Then you soak them for 10-15 minutes. I think this is novel. I chip nails moments after they are painted. So, I will keep you posted on this weird manicure.