happy vday and a guest post

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day!!  I hope your day is filled with pink and red candy, kisses, and hugs. I'm personally spending my day at the orthodontist to get braces on (I know ... how hopelessly romantic!). 

But don't be too quick to judge. I've already been romanced with a movie and dinner, and a whole weekend of Shaun and me time. So trust me, I'm content. ;) 

For those of you celebrating today, I invite you to read my guest post over at Scribing the Journey (click on the link below). It's all about kisses ... both chocolate and real. And, if you've forgotten VDay, it'll give you a few ideas on how to get up from the computer immediately (!!!!!) and begin putting something together for your lover. 

Hugs and kisses to you all!! 

Okay ... maybe just hugs. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Guest Post: 


Dear men reading this, 

Valentine’s Day is today. You’re welcome for the reminder.

Dear women reading this, 

Valentine’s Day is today. You really should make your lover something good to eat.

Don’t have a clue what to bake? Fear not! I am here to give you a little hint. Continue Reading

my first guest post

I'm so excited to be guest posting for Duane Scott today over at Scribing the Journey!! This is my first guest post everrrrrr, and I had a lot of fun putting it all together.

Hop on over and see for yourself - especially if you're hungry and cold!

 'Twas the week after Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse!!

I'm sitting in my living room alone, only the faint sound of music in the background. Shaun's at work, Jessie and Riley are tootling around town, Andrew's at his new job (cleaning horse stables), and Ashlee and Daniel flew back to Florida late last night. Real late last night! 

I have a party to go to tonight (as if I haven't partied enough lately!). So I'm also whipping up some cherry cheesecake, chips and dip, and crackers with a fancy cheese dip. Yummy!

I've been able to sneak in a little bit of picture editing this morning, so I thought I'd share what I have so far. I'll commentate as we go along. As usual. Because I can't seem to not talk ....

Gracelyn (my niece) has decided she likes to see the baby in the camera. So now she likes her picture taken, as long as I show her "me" on the screen afterward. :))

 

Jessie, and the new earrings I bought her for Christmas. Nice of her to wear a matching shirt for the day. Heehee.

Ashlee, doing dishes for me Christmas day. We made her venison (compliments of Andrew) and pancakes for lunch (her fave!), and then we had a large ham, pork roast, and all the fixin's to go with it for supper.

The happy newlyweds, just before they took off last night. Sniff, sniff ....

Family pic. Love that we are a family of six now! Well, seven if you include the dog.

Daniel gave me a little dancing lesson before they left last night. We like to play the part.

Just Jessie ... looking .... pretty. :)

A roughed up Gracelyn!

I love that she comes and asks to sit on my lap these days. Makes me feel all warm and squishy on the inside!

Peek-a-boo!

Sisters ...

Shaun's mom and sister.

Smokin' her candy cane!!

Shaun and Ashlee, lounging around on Christmas.

That's all for now. More will come later, but I wanted to show off a little just stop in and wish my readers a happy post Christmas week.

Are we ready for 2011??????

Didn't think so. 

happy biptiday

Three years ago, I made Andrew a birthday cake and decorated it - all by myself! Only thing is ... it said "Happy Birtday."

H's are highly overrated anyway, right?

Pathetic little cake, isn't it?

Ahem ... well ... for Jessie's birthday this year, I wasn't sure what to do. She doesn't like cake, so that wasn't an option, but I wanted to make her something. So we decided on cheesecake. Cherry cheesecake, to be exact.

You can't very well ice a cheesecake, so I decided to buy some nifty letter candles that spelled Happy Birthday.

At least I thought that's what they spelled ...

Until I opened the package and saw that two of them were broke. They're wax, so I couldn't do much about it. The only thing left to do was to have one heckuva Biptiday. 

The good news?

Jessie did have a Heckuva Biptiday. 

See?

I guess she'd rather it be PAYDAY though ...

This is our good friend, Riley. After he ate a ton of turkey and mashed potatoes, he leaned back in his chair and moaned and said, "I'm sooo uncomfortable!! I can't even swallow!"

Snort! I love to feed people.

All in all ... a successful Biptiday! 

food, family, and a fun giveaway

My family, we like what we like. Some of us like our food to stay completely untouched by other foods. For instance, no corn touching the chicken. Or the potatoes touching the stuffing. Some of us don't like frosting on our cake. Some of us will eat anything and everything, as long as it'll make a ... well, you know. Some of us eat ranch dressing on everything. And some of us can't stand anything that hops in the grass to be deeply imbedded into our deli chicken.

Like this.

When I found this pan of brownies on the counter yesterday, I knew exactly who had taken a bite out of crime the middle.

Question is .... can you tell me who took a bite out of the middle?

Why would you want to waste your time doing that?

Because you, or someone you love, is a Starbucks gulper sipper. And whoever guesses correctly first, will receive a five dollar foot long Starbucks gift card.

If a latte people guess correctly, I will use a random generator to determine the weiner winner.

So, my thirsty readers, who would go and do an out of the box thing like cut a huge piece of brownie from the middle?

Hint: The same person that cut the brownies, made the brownies.

Other Hint: "Family" includes anyone on the right sidebar. Son-in-law (Daniel) and future son-in-law (Peter) included.

Disclaimer: My family is not allowed to participate, and that includes extended family. That wouldn't be fair, and I'm all about fair.

Winner will be announced sometime.

Me and Mahi-Mahi

Any of my Lovely Lurkers ever try Mahi-Mahi?

We tried it for the first time tonight. Nothing fancy. Just wrapped each piece in tin foil, sprinkled a dash of salt and pepper across the top, gave it a little pat on the butt of butter, and threw it on the grill for about 15-20 minutes.

And you know what I love about Mahi-Mahi?

• It doesn't taste fishy
• It is easy to digest
• It doesn't taste fishy
• It's easy to prepare
• It likes ME!
• It doesn't taste fishy

I'm smiling like a fish thrilled to find something new that actually agrees with me. And heck, maybe it'll even give me a little nutrition that isn't found in the other bazillion kinds of meat I eat.

Me and Mahi-Mahi, we're partners now.

I love it and it loves me.

And did I mention it doesn't taste fishy?

Cuz I don't like any fishy taste.

Me and Mahi-Mahi, we have a blossoming relationship that will continue to bloom and bloom until I'm darn good and sick of it.

How much does Mahi-Mahi love me?

Mahi-Mahi loves me so much that when Shaun took me to my favorite fabric store after our masterful dinner, I felt light as a feather. I was able to soak in the millions of mesmerzing colors, the boat load of quilting books, and the endless spools of thread without one single gut cramp.

Maybe Mahi-Mahi and me will have to mesh more often.

If you've never made Mahi-Mahi, what are you waiting for? Mesh and mingle with your Mahi-Mahi. Make the plunge, and even marinate your Mahi-Mahi if you can manage.

C'mon! Join the Mahi-Mahi mania!!

~Brenda, master of Mahi-Mahi