You know that old saying......

...."Don't judge a book by its cover"? Well, I've known it and tried hard to abide by it but sometimes I still find myself slipping up. Like today for instance. We were shopping with the kiddos, one in each seat in the shopping cart and since I pay careful attention (most of the time ;-) to those people around me I'd already noticed her, she was dressed in an outfit that was missing various bits of fabric (Definitely not the most modest outfit) and she was commenting on things in a rather loud voice that carried through the store. My first thought was to get through that section of merchandise as quickly as possible because here was a clearly a lady with some problems. Anyways, we'd stopped to browse something and when I look up, she's coming over to our cart and then proceeds to smile at Roy & Meghan and starts trying to get them to smile back. They don't look too fondly on strangers in general but she was persistent in a nice way about it. In the end she took a gift-card and pressed it into Roy's hand before smiling, waving and walking off. That did earn her a wave from Roy in return but then he was back to Mr. Sobersides again. Anyways, her actions caused me to rethink my initial judgment, yes, she was definitely a lost soul in the area of modesty and she probably wasn't a Christian but she was a nice person and was sweet to Roy and Meghan. Next time I shouldn't jump to such quick conclusions about someone and judge a book by it's cover! :-)

This made me laugh!

 

Caffeinated Owls Chart

Lately I've been finding I'm more and more into owls. And yes, it might have something to do with them being "in" right now. ;-) My sister has a little necklace with an adorable little owl for the pendant. Well, let's just say I've had to re-read the verse in the Bible about not coveting! :-O

You're a Mother when.....

1. You sweep the floor five times a day and it still somehow manages to look like it was never swept.

2. You sit on the couch for quiet time and have one (or two, or....?) children climb in your lap to snuggle.

3. You're awakened in the morning by little voices yelling out, "Mommy! I want to get up, please!"

4. You watch more cartoons than any other movie and can recite the entire script of "Finding Nemo" by heart.

5. The bottom half of all your windows are smudged with little finger prints.

6. Every time you drive anywhere you hear little voices in the back seat chattering about anything and everything.

7. When you go on a walk you're almost always pushing a double stroller.

8. You stub your toe on a different toy every day no matter how many times you pick toys up off the floor.

Happy Thursday everyone! :-)

Shabby Apple Dresses

For anyone that loves to dress in a classy and incredibly stylish way this is the giveaway for you. Shabby Apple is giving to one lucky winner 1 years worth of dresses. That's one dress for every month of the year starting this month. Think of it? 12 dresses from Shabby Apple? Uh, YES please!!!! :-) So, head over to the Shabby Apple blog and enter. I insist.

March 17th....

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Here's an Irish blessing for ya'll.....

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

In case anyone has been wondering, yes, I was taking a break from blogging for a few weeks. Working out a new day to day routine with baby Meghan, trying to catch up on sleep and coming down with a cold has left me little time to blog and since sleep is more important right now....:-)

I'll be back soon and hopefully with lots of interesting things to share.

It's a Girl!!!!!

Baby arrived yesterday.....

Meghan Wardle
February 18th,
8lb. 2oz.  20 1/2" Long.

 

Such a precious little bundle and its absolutely adorable to watch big brother, Roy give her kisses on the cheek. Awwwww.......:-)

Honey Peanut Butter Truffles

I made these the other day for Jay and they were a big success in the excellent feedback department. I came up with the recipe partly from memory of how our family used to make them and also from one I found online and had printed out a long time ago. (Hence the reason I don't have a link to it.)

Yummy-ness defined.

Honey Peanut Butter Coconut Truffles
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut (or unsweetened. Just add a little more honey.)
1/2 cup Honey
1/3 cup dry milk powder (make sure it really is powder and put it through a sieve if you need to.)
2 cups Chocolate chips or equivalent of chocolate for dipping. Good chocolate is a must!
1-2 TB. Shortening

Mix peanut butter, coconut, and honey together. Stir in dry milk powder, mixture should be stiff enough to roll into small 1 inch balls. Place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and put in freezer for about 1 hour. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in double boiler or in bowl placed over a pot of boiling water. (Careful not to get steam burned.) Using a toothpick or other preferred method, dip frozen truffles into chocolate and coat all sides. Place back onto waxed paper. Immediately top each with Coconut flakes or other desired garnish before chocolate hardens. Return to freezer for another hour or so. Wrapped well  (to prevent freezer burn.), these will last in the freezer for months. (Unless you eat them all within a few days. Like we did.:-)
Enjoy with a cup of tea, coffee or a tall cold glass of milk!

Giveaway at Simply Nurtured....

Here is a fun giveaway for anyone that is a mother, wants to be a mother or knows a mother. :-D It would make a perfect baby shower gift too! Head on over and enter if you'd like and check out the rest of the blog.

Cinnamon Rolls

Okay, I admit I have been posting a lot of recipes lately but I just can't seem to help myself. They all taste so good and this one tastes really, really good. Like "knock your socks off, eat the whole pan" kind of good. :-D

I've been craving Cinnamon Rolls for weeks but didn't ever seem to have the time to make them and finally I did and so I did. Here is my recipe adapted from The Pioneer Womans version to make it healthier and better for me since I really shouldn't eat lots of sugar right now being in the last weeks of pregnancy and all.

Cinnamon Rolls
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: Alot

Ingredients:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup olive oil
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 packages active Dry yeast
3 c. Whole Wheat Flour
5 c. All-purpose White Flour (plus 1 cup extra, separated.)
1 t. (heaping) baking Powder
1 t. (scant) baking soda
1 TB. (heaping) salt
Plenty of melted butter
2 cups brown sugar
Lots of ground cinnamon to sprinkle.

For the Icing
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 c. brewed coffee
1/8 t. salt
Enough powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.


Preparation instructions:
For the dough, heat the milk, olive oil, sugar and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat to hot, don't let it boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit on the milk for a few minutes.
In a very large bowl, put the 3c. WW Flour and 5 c. White flour. Add yeast mixture and stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour +. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1 c. flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a large bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Note: Dough is easier to work with if its been chilled at least an hour or so beforehand.)
To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan/bowl. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin.
To make the filling, pour 3/4 to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle cinnamon and 1 cup of the brown sugar over the butter.
Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. The filling might ooze out but that's perfectly fine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the roll is face down. You'll have one very long cinnamon roll log. With a sharp knife, make 1 inch slices. Pour a couple tablespoons of melted butter into the bottom of disposable cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd.
Repeat the rolling/buttering/sugaring process with the other half of the dough and more pans.
Preheat the oven to 375'F.
Cover all the pans with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 18 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Don't let the rolls become overly brown.
While the rolls are baking, make the icing; In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, coffee, salt and powdered sugar. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more sugar, butter or coffee as needed until icing reaches desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.
Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to cover the top thoroughly. As they sit the rolls will absorb some of the icings moisture and flavor.
Tip: Since this recipe makes a lot of cinnamon rolls, I placed some in disposable cake pans, covered in plastic wrap in the freezer to pull out, thaw and bake later. Just make sure to cover the rolls thoroughly so they don't freezer burn.

Enjoy!