Cookies!

I bought these cookie cutters in a mini baking set for children at True Value Hardware when I was 6.

They make perfect little gingerbread men!

 

  I got a new piping bag, and had fun giving my cookies clothes. I think the men with neckties are my favorite.

 I made about 8 dozen cookies! I ended up giving most of them away. When will I learn?

I used  this recipe for the sugar cookies. There are two recipes on that page, and I used the first for both the frosting and the cookies. The only exception: I used half butter, half Crisco in the frosting.

The recipe for the chocolate chip cookies was from the bag of chips that I used. My mom said they were the best she'd ever had!

A little off topic, I know, but I handle my busy schedule by being very organized. I have fun with it, and color code everything. Friday night I finished up all my work and my desk looked so pretty and colorful I had to take a picture.

And finally, my sleepy cat by the fire. 

Sales Resistance and More Foodz

      Have you ever seen the episode of I Love Lucy called Sales Resistance? The part I remember the most was her inability to resist the salesman's pitch for the Handy Dandy Kitchen Helper. It was a cylindrical container with a crank on the side. All one had to do was throw in a potato, turn the dial to the desired setting (hashbrowns, fries, baked potato), crank the handle, open the door, and magically out comes the sliced and diced vegetable! Of course when she got it home, every setting seemed to be for baked potato!

A week or two ago, I saw a live demonstration at the grocery store for what was a dead ringer for the Handy Dandy Kitchen Helper. I got a free gift for watching, an apple corer. And if I bought the gadget I got another gift. I'm not sure what to call it. It cuts, zests, carves, etc.

Yes, I bought it.

But unlike Lucy, when I got it home, I got it to work!

The apple corer was maybe nothing new, but made making an apple pie a lot more fun.

The serrated device with no name cut open the pumpkin very nicely. I haven't used it again yet though...

Apple pie, recipe from simplyrecipes.com. I decided to try a dutch apple topping this time. It was good, but didn't turn out as crisp as I expected.

And, now the glimpse of the gadget that sliced the apples: 

      I don't care if its silly, I love it! Look what else it can do!!

And it took me a only a few minutes altogether!

And finally, a picture of my cat dressed for halloween, and my front porch dressed for halloween:

Yum!

After I took the pie out last night, I set it out to cool overnight and went to bed. Guess what my breakfast was this morning?

It was very smooth and creamy and delicious. The only thing I would change is that I will leave out the lemon zest next time.

Who wants a piece? I have too much!

The Pumpkin With the Perfect Attitude

To me, pumpkins have personalities and attitudes. Whenever I pick out a pumpkin, I try to pick one with a pleasant attitude. Today, I found the cutest pumpkin with the sweetest attitude I've ever met. I had to eat him.

http://simplyrecipes.com is my favorite website for trying new recipes. Quality pictures are posted, and any recipe is tried and true. I'm not afraid to dive into a new concoction that I find here.

I butchered my cute little sugar pumpkin and cut it up into chunks that I steamed in a pot on the stove. While I waited for its delicious insides to get soft and gooey, I made the crust and started the rest of the filling.

The pumpkin actually smelled just like zucchini as I scooped it out of it skin into the blender. It amazes me that someone thought it would be a good pie filling.

Right now, I'm killing time while I wait for it to cook....

Fall Is Here

I am really enjoying fall. At first I was angry that summer was so short, but I am fine with the crisp air, the red leaves and apples, and the idea of darker evenings cuddled in blankets.

Today I spent time adding some fall decor to my house, and cooking recipes from my new favorite magazine, Sweet Paul. When I told my husband that I was going to make a fall centerpiece for the table, I had a hard time explaining that it was NOT going to be a wicker basket full of pumpkins and leaves! I made this from things I already had, plus the new lantern and tray.

This was tonights dinner. Apricot and Maple Chicken with yams, potatoes, and shallots. It was so tasty, I might say it was the tastiest food I've ever eaten. Thanks Sweet Paul!

Last weekend, I made apple butter, beef stew, and mini chicken pies. These recipes also came from Sweet Paul. Tomorrow I plan to make the Shepard's Pie.

Soon, I'l take pictures of my outside displays of corn stalks and hay bales and post them :)

Crisp Air and Busy Schedules

Alison and I had so much fun when I came to visit her in Arizona. You know you are meant to be friends with someone, when you don't see them for 4 years and it feels like it had been 4 days :)

We climbed a big rock in our flip flops and girly clothes and took lots of pictures.

We played real life Where's Waldo.

When I got home I made cupcakes, and gave them all away. It was hard to do :)

This weekend my sweetie and I went to our favorite local pumpkin patch.

And didn't feel like going home after, so we kept driving.

We explored the farmlands and mountains, went to an estate sale, and looked at houses we want to live in someday.

Yesterday morning when I was a bit early for work, I took a few pictures in the fog.

After the fog lifted, I enjoyed the amazing view. I am lucky to work in a place like this!

I am really loving my job. I am teaching Math 111c, Calc 1 and 2, and Stats I. I spend over 40 hours a week at work, and another 10 at home grading. Long hours, but I enjoy them. I won't mind seeing a paycheck soon, either!

News!

This is the update article for all the little news points that have popped up over the last month or so.

1. I got a full time job!!

Remember the full time 1-year job I interviewed for in July, but didn't get? Well about 2 weeks later, the dean of the math department at PCC called me and offered me a full time 1 term faculty position! This means I will have the pay and the responsibilities of a full time faculty member until January. In January, it is possible that I will get another term of it, but not guaranteed. Either way, by then I'll still have a part time job there, and this opportunity will allow me to show them what I have.

2. I can almost do a chin up!

Ok, so this isn't terribly exciting for everyone else, but at my gym, Nick my trainer has been pushing me really hard and among other things, training me to have the strength to do a chin up. On Thursday night, I could see over the top of the bar before my muscles gave out!

3. Betsy has fleas.

This is a not so pleasant update. The other evening while rolling around on the carpet, CJ noticed fleas on her white tummy. Since then I have given her a flea bath, and cleaned and sprayed the whole house, but I still find 1 or 2 fleas on her neck each time I check her. Advantage is in the mail, and I won't be happy until the fleas are gone! And neither will she, because she is kicked out of the house until then as well.

4. I'm going to Scottdale Arizona to visit Alison next weekend!

It started out as a "I wish you were here" and ended as "oh my, I just bought a plane ticket!"
Apparently Allegiant Air has tickets from Bend to Phoenix for 20 bucks each way! So I'm heading to Bend Friday morning to fly to visit my friend who I haven't seen in four years! Yay!

So I think thats about it for the updates. How about a picture of the mutant corn from my garden to finish this up?

Yum.