Tea Party

Memories of yesterday... the tea party. My oldest son made me this video and it brings tears to my eyes. The music in it is the beautiful song Morning Lullabies by Ingrid Michaelson.

Cinnamon Rolls

I posted this on my 365 blog minus the recipe and have heard about the missing recipe.  When will I learn?  No food photos without a recipe included lol!  I just figured everyone already has a favorite cinnamon roll recipe.  Anyway, here's my favorite, enjoy!

*Rolls*

1/2 cup of water
2 packages of dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package of vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups of flour

*Filling*

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups of brown sugar
4 teaspoons of cinnamon

*Frosting*

8 ounce package of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon of milk

Combine water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl, stir until dissolved and set aside.  In a large bowl make the pudding following the package directions.  Add to the pudding the eggs, margarine, and salt and mix well.  Next add the yeast concoction and blend.  Add the flour gradually, then kneed until you make a smooth ball and put it in a greased bowl.  Let rise until double, punch it down, let rise again.  Roll out dough, cover with a 1/2 cup of melted margarine or butter, mix brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the dough.  Roll the dough tightly and cut with a string every 2 inches.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and let rise until double.  Bake at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Frost with cream cheese frosting while warm.  For the frosting just mix all the ingredients together with a mixer.

By the way, I start the pudding in the stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment, switch to the paddle and just keep adding ingredients directly to it.  Then switch to the dough hook to briefly kneed it.  It's much easier that way and less mess.

Sunset

It never fails to take my breath away, make me stare wide eyed in wonder, but there's something truly special about a sunset that paints the sky in such vivid colors. You can almost see the great artist smiling, laughing, and having an amazing night for these are the colors of pure joy.

Shhhhhh... babies sleeping

Look who hatched!  They waited until I was sick and not able to watch them arrive, the little sneaks, but here they are, sweet baby Robins.  Every year a Robin builds a nest somewhere that goes against my gardening plans.  Last year it was in my deck boxes.  This year they're in my beloved wisteria preventing me from training it to go up the new arbor.  Well, like last year I've left them undisturbed and have been rewarded with getting to see the babies and, this time they've given me moon flowers.  Now, I'm not sure I really want moon flowers with my wisteria but I think I can carefully move them to a new spot after the Robins have left the nest.


3 links in one paragraph... I think that's a new record lol!

Happy Father's Day!

 me and my daddy

for love hopeful...

Mirror Lake

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I know I've said this before but I love this kit! I actually made it back in the winter and have been not so patiently waiting for the weather to warm up so I could share it with you all. Swans and beaches, owls and lakes and fish just don't make a whole lot of sense in the winter months but I was craving summer and the beauty it brings. Well, finally, I think the season is right, at least in my part of the world, to introduce you to Mirror Lake. It is a peaceful place to reflect and spend time with a little wild life, an escape to a perfect world.

Mirror Lake Papers

20 Matching Papers in 2 downloads

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Mirror Lake Quick Page by JetjeZ

JetjeZ has created such a peaceful scene for you this time in her quick page. I just want to walk (or swim) right into it! Beautiful reflections in this enchanted night page! Make sure you drop by her place, The Life and Times of JetjeZ and pick it up!

Some inspiration...

See you then!

Old Photos

Some of you know my camera woes. When my oldest was less than a year old we took him to the beach and I dropped my good camera in the sand. It was ruined, sand is an evil thing to a camera. I had to make do with a really bad camera and charity shots sent to me by both sets of grandparents. It's pretty sad to have photos of my youngest daughter for everyday of her life and only a few of the oldest. Well, this winter I found a long lost box, a real treasure box, filled with photos of the first three. I've spent today playing in that box, reliving all those memories that time dims. My oldest daughter has organized them into protective albums and my oldest son has begun the long process of scanning them into the computer for me. I'm in photo heaven. They're not very good and the quality is terrible but I don't mind because there in those grainy photos are my little babies, smiling, laughing, and learning new things. There are all the memories that had almost slipped out of reach.

memories like:

My oldest finding his feet about 15 years ago. A foot that pushed the gas pedal last night as he drove a car on the road for the first time in his driver's education class... sigh... where does the time go?

kit~ Smell of Nightfall by Et Designs

My oldest son and oldest daughter on her second birthday a couple of days after deciding she was Mulan and cut her own hair off. I had to give her a bob and her hair had been down paste her waist. I cried like a baby over her hair that night but a couple days later she was a balloon head, 2 years old, and we were all having fun again.

kits~ H4BO by Maya de Groot, Sue Cummings Blog hop Birthday Bash, Stuff by K Wilson, tweet by VStegall

My oldest daughter, the hair is growing back nicely... For some reason my littlest thinks this is her. My two girls are like night and day. The oldest inherited her fathers olive skin, straight dark hair (getting wavy so I'm in there somewhere lol), and brown eyes. The youngest has my hazel eyes, pale skin, and light golden brown spiral curls. Still, she thinks this is her...

from my next kit Mirror Lake

Wonderful memories and loads of fun to scrap. I encourage you to dig into your boxes of old photos and scrap some of them. The trip down memory lane makes an excellent vacation.

Coming Soon... Mirror Lake

Happy Birthday Son

product used in this layout is Explosion Of Fun by Natasha Nast

Yesterday my little Huck Finn turned 10. He asked for cash and camping stuff for his birthday, it was so very him, all boy and outdoors! He had a great day and is very happy to be a tween now! The kids are already planning the first camp out of the summer for as soon as school is out to try out all his new gear.

Even his cake was camping. Hey, I tried. I get credit for creativity even if I lack neatness lol!