Carrot cake and colds...

Hello all,

'C' was in a cooking mood this weekend. She made a carrot cake, actually two, she wanted to send one to her boyfriend in NC...for his birthday. She also made cookies, white chocolate and macadamia nut, chocolate chip, and chocolate and peanut butter chip. She took some to a teacher who is having a birthday this week...hmmm sounds like someone wants to be teachers pet...ha. She did great, the cake was very good and the cookies. She made the icing for ours, but we bought cream cheese frosting for the one she was mailing. He can add it to the cake himself. We went by after school to mail it. Then she wanted to get her nails done, so I went with her and ended up getting french tips too, only mine are fake...I'm waiting to see how long it takes hubby to notice...ha. Seems I have to do a lot more back scratching when I have longer nails, so I'm keeping quiet.

Poor Hubby has a bad cold, he still played golf on Saturday, and went to work today. Now I have a scratchy throat, but hopefully mine won't be too bad.

Have a great week everyone,
Sheila

Lot of rain yesterday...

Hello Everyone,

We sure had a rainy...thundering....and lightning day yesterday. I had to pick 'C' up from school early for her Orthodontist appointment (to replace her temporary retainers with the permanent ones). She'll wear them for six months day and night, then she'll only have to wear them at night. We were pretty wet by the time we got in the doctor's office. Then to top it all off, our Internet wasn't working last night. Probably something caused by the rain or lightning...

Also yesterday, the UPS guy stopped to deliver 'J's college textbooks I had ordered and he asked me if I had a gun....wasn't sure what he was asking...ha. I said no, and he said well if you had one you could shoot that armadillo that's digging on the side of your house...aarrghh. I was nice...mainly because it was raining and I had to go pick up 'C'...ha. I went looking for it, with the hoe, when I got home but it had moved on. I'll keep watching for it...

Today 'C' had an appointment at the eye doctors, she is trying a new brand of contacts and contact cleanser. But other than that all is well.

Oh, I did finish the book 'Night' on time, before 'C' took it to school.

I'm glad I don't have anywhere to go tomorrow...and it's Friday!!

Have a great day tomorrow!
Sheila

Reading, Raining and D*$% Armadillos...

Hello everyone,

Yes, I am still alive...ha. We are warming up a little, but it is raining. Supposed to rain tomorrow all day, then clear up for a few days. I have been reading 'The Secret Life of Bees', so I had to finish it up so I could watch the movie of it, that I got for Christmas. I have started on 'My Sister's Keeper' because daughter 'J' wanted me to read it. She loaned it to her Granny (my husband's Mom) and she got it back over Christmas. But I have put it on standby because I need to read 'Night' by Elie Wiesel, because daughter 'C' wants to donate it to her high school for extra credit in English.

Oh, when I was leaving to pick up 'C' from school today...what did I see in my front yard? A D*&% armadillo...I got out of the car and snuck up on him/her, If I had had a stick I got close enough to hit it, but not close enough to kick it before it run off...I chased it though, until it run up into the woods...I like to think if I had put on my sneakers instead of my crocs I could have caught up to it and kicked it into the woods...maybe I scared it enough it won't come back...It wasn't the same one I saw before, it was the color they are supposed to be.

This is for Lucy...

See...I have been perfecting the snow dance for

a long time....

Have a great weekend!!!

Sheila

60th Wedding Anniversary!!

Hi Everyone,

I promised pictures from my parents 60th Anniversary, December 19, 2009, so here I go...with a few extra...

Mom and Dad
The anniversary and grooms cake

Some of the grandkids and great grandkids

Me (fourth born) and my three older brothers
Ronnie, Carl, Terrie

and the baby brother
our little Elvis...
Shawn
then....

and now...
Mom and Dad
Ronnie (first born) and Me

Carl (second born)
We don't have one with him looking up...

so I added this one...from Thanksgiving

Terrie (third born)
I don't know where he got that terrible hat..
Roll Tide

and Shawn (the baby) and his
fiancee' Iliana
(standing in the hallway looking into the living room)

We wanted to get a picture of all the siblings with Mom and Dad, but it didn't happen this time.

In other news...'C' got her braces taken off Tuesday...she is happy...and spends a lot of time running her tongue over her teeth...ha.

Hope you all are having a great day!!
Sheila

Hog Jowls..

Thought I would clarify...we don't actually eat the smoked hog jowls, we use it to season the peas and in my case also the rutabagas. I don't know where exactly the hog jowls come from, but it seems they would look similar to bacon if you sliced it. Paula, the rutabagas, (to me) are pretty mild tasting, similar to a turnip root. I saw some recipes where you could mix them with mashed potatoes or cook them with onions then mash them, even cooked with carrots with brown sugar added, maybe cinnamon too, I can't remember. Hubby chopped them and I just boiled them with a little salt and jowl. I didn't mash them. May try a different way sometime. I think the best part was the cornbread...I've had a few servings of left over cornbread and buttermilk. I think there is one serving left...ha.

Have a great day,
Sheila

Day Two of the New Year!!

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all are doing well in this New Year...We had our New Years dinner...black-eyed peas and hog jowl, turnips with mustard greens added, cornbread and pork chops. Hubby got a couple of rutabagas to fix. We've never cooked rutabagas because in his former life,(before me) he nearly cut off three fingers trying to peel one. But he peeled these with no injuries, I threw a little hog jowl in them too and cooked them up. I also got a bag of butternut squash with cinnamon and brown sugar in them that you microwave. I'm the only one that eats that. We ate until we were full and then some...ha. Later I made some brownies in the new brownie pan I got for Christmas. It works pretty good.

Hubby didn't make it until midnight on New Years Eve, he tried. He made it until 10pm. I told him I would wake him at midnight for a smooch... :) I watched the countdown on TV, but for the actual drop I turned it too the pelican drop in Pensacola. Then I stepped out the front door and watched some of the neighborhood fireworks. It was a pretty nice show and I didn't have to do anything but step outside. Yes, I did wake hubby up... :0)

Take care,

Sheila

Happy New Year!!!

Wishing all my family and friends a

Happy New Year!!

I hope 2010 is your best year yet!!

Sheila