Shots and after-season goodies!

Today has been a day. I woke up to my mom informing me that the second dose of my shots were due. Of course, I knew this but the last time I took the HPV shot I had some realy bad side effects and I've been scared to go back. Anyways I got my not-so-happy booty up out of bed and headed to get some food at Steak-n-shake with my mom. I really wanted an orange milkshake. Halfway there I realize I smell something kind of like the burning of breaks and you can tell its us. Then, I let down my window and on the passengers side of the vehicle you can hear metal. I was like this is not good, is it the break pad, the roder, the tire itself. I called my dad and he met us at steak-n-shake and we find out its the tire rod itself breaking. Lovely!! So we ate and took her vehicle home. I had to be at the health department by 3:30 and it was already 3:00 when I pulled in the drive. I had to fly to get there. We walked in the door at 3:31. They ended up not giving me the HPV shot this time because they wanted me to take it by itself. So between now and April I will have to have my last dose of that shot. They did on the other hand fuss with me and insist that I get two more shots on top of my Hepatitis shot. So I also had to get the Flu shot and the Swine Flu Shot. :(

After the shot visit, we had to go get a mirror from Rose's that we had gotten my niece for Christmas because my sister accidently broke it on the ride back to NC and she knew her daughter would be highly upset when she got back from visiting her father in Fl. While we was in there, my mom wanted to see if she could find some more stocking holders because with the two new additions this year, we were down two stoking holders and just hung two of the stockings on the China cabinet in the dining room. We was in heaven. Everything was 50%off and some we learned at the counter were 75% off. We got some train stocking holders for $1.25 each. They were simply adorable and then my mom was like I wonder if they have any big stockings because the kids could really use some new ones and one of them was using my old one. The kids usually have a really big stocking. So we looked and found some really cute big ones and ended up getting four. We payed a dollor for them. After we left the thought crossed our minds that both my brother and sister are planning on trying for more kids this year, so we probably should have gotten more than that, but we will get them pretty pink or blue baby stockings if we have any new additions. We also go some tins for our baked goods next year for $0.38. And we got the cutest rug with a cat and a dog on it that said "Santa Stop Here"!! I sadly didnt get to take any pictures of it because my mom came straight home and boxxed it up. :(

Calling all Fashionistas!!!

Well life has gotten really exciting!!!

Christmas was wonderful. My brother and sister and their fiances came down. All the kids were here. It was wonderful. I would share the recipes I used, but I believe everybody already has seen most of the recipes I used because I borrowed them from all of you and they were YUMMY!!! I was a happy girl. I got lots of shoes. I got some shoes to work out in, some everyday tennis shoes, some ed hardy shoes and some boots. I was excited with all of them shoe boxxes and then I got lots of clothes also :) I recieved a webcam and a cute purse which I will have to take a pic of for you. I also finally got my dad and brother to help me do some work on my car. I now have black angel eye projector headlights and a working radio again. My bestfriends got me some really good presents also. My bestie got me with a gag gift. I guess I need to explain.lol. All my soccer team friends have crazy names. Well they arent really crazy, but we have nicknames for them, like there is a Chava that we call Java, a Sebastian that we call a crab because of the little mermaid, theres a guy that looks just like corbin bleu, and theres one with the last name moo. Needless to say she had a bunch of little gifts individually wrapped for me. The first one I unwrapped was a cow, the second was a crab, and the third was a big thing of coffee in none other than the "Lively Columbian" blend because a few of them including the crab are columbian. lol. You got to love friends. Then she gave me a really cute wine glass with my initials and polka dots and I was soo happy. My other bestie got me the apples to apples game and some little things, but she knew I really wanted that game and between that, my new electronic life, and my never have I ever games that I got for Christmas, my family played their hearts out over the weekend. We also went to the movies on Christmas night in hopes to see the Squekual, but we ended up seeing the new Sherlock Holmes movie instead. The gus really enjoyed it, I was into it, but it just wasnt the best movie. Oh well, the family time and popcorn was great..lol

Now that everyone is gone though, things are settling back down or could they possibly be gearing back up. I reieved a letter from my old modeling agency and they want me to come in a few weeks for an audition with some higher up agencies. I at fist was scared and trying to talk myself out of it, but some wonderful friends gave me some rather good encouragement and I think it's worth a try, scared or not. They have scholarships and prizes and even jobs that I am auditioning for and its better to give it a shot than to wonder what if. So I'm going for it and I know my nerves are going to be going crazy, but I audtioned once before knowing nothing, I've had schooling in it and everything now so I believe I am better off than I was. I'm so nervous. Now I have to get some cute pictures done in the next few weeks. I'm probably taking some tomorrow with one of my other besties and then this weekend a friend of mine is a photographer and she is going to let me do as many outfit changes as want for $15/hour.

So this is where I need all of you fashionistas, what should I wear for all my photo shoots and what should I wear for my audition? I would love to hear everybodys feedback and you can even show me your ideas on polyvore if you would like.

Hair loss :(

I need some advice. For the past few months when I get out of the shower or get done washing my hair I have realized that I am losig a lot of hair. Lately it's gotten really bad. Hair comes out by the handfuls. I'm 18 and I do not believe this is supposed to be happening to me. Does anybody have any idea of why this is happening to me or what I can do to make it better?

Sorry for the 3rd post today!

Oh my goodness, I just discovered the Bible in a Year. I really need that. One of my New Year's resolutions is to have a better relationship with God and to read the bible everyday and to actually learn how to pray. I feel I do it sooo wrong :( I don't know, I guess I'm an overachiever and I believe everything I do is wrong. It sucks being a poor eighteen year old college student or I would be able to start that book on January first. I will get it one day. It's a promise!

As 2009 comes to a close...

As 2009 comes to a close:

This has been a big year for me. I learned a lot about myself this year and learned how to live.

Things I've done in 2009:
1. I've learned to live without my niece and nephew by my side 24/7. Since I was 9 they have been a major part of my life and most people thought they were my very own kids. In January, they moved with my sister to NC and I have not seen them much this year. It hurts and not a day goes by that I don't miss them, but I'm so happy that my sister has finally settled down and they get to experience actually having a mother.
2. I turned 18. They say this is the age of living, the age of freedom, and the day you really become alive. I didn't notice any changes the day I turned 18, but now looking back, so much has changed. I know I am no longer a child. I've grown up in so many ways. Looking back, I don't even feel like the same person.
3. I graduated highschool. Getting to that point was so hard. Dealing with medical problems that no one understood and fighting to graduate becuase of the same exact fact...NO ONE UNDERSTANDS!!! The life I live everyday is soo hard. Which leads me to this..
4. I've learned to just deal with it. No, the pain is still sometimes unbareable and sometimes I still can't get out of bed, but before I was embarrassed to sit at school or hang with friends because of what I've learned to laugh and call "the bears". My tummy makes obnoxious noises and growls all day. If it gets started, it's not stopping that day and though it's soo embarrassing, I've just learned to look around, laugh, and ask "did you hear that?" followed by a laugh and "It's them bears."
5. I got a new car. Hmm..well apparently I thought I was getting a really good car for graduation, but as we were signing papers for the car, the lay who owned it decided she wanted to take it to get the transmission fixxed before signing it over because something was tapping. This resulted in me waiting from the week of graduation until the first week in July for me to get my car. The result, a 95 mustang convertable whos transmission still slips and it's gear shift is messed up(meaning my park is my reverse and reverse is my drive.) Over the few months I have had it my radio has died, thank goodness I have my old one to soon get put in..hmm it's beed dead since August. My dad promised to fix it over Christmas break. Also, my drivers window motor has decided to play against me also. I have to physically press the button and pull or push the window in whichever direction I would like. Oh well, that too shall be fixxed soon. Hopefully I also get my headlights I've had since summer put in finally ( Black Halogen Headlights). He promised to also put those in during the break. I did make the car prettyful by adding pink all over it :)
6. Over the summer, I learned a lot about living. Thats all I need to say on that subject.
7. I lost friends and gained friends. I lost friends and gained them back. After graduation, you learn who your real friends are.
8. I started college. I passed all my classes in my first semester and made a lot of wonderful new friends who have touched my heart and become my life in soo many different ways. I will hate to see many of them go, some of which I will not see in the New Year and others who I will only get a short time with in 2010. I guess we better live it up right.
9. I've had my share of partying and there will be plenty more to come next year.
10. I even threw up for the first time from drinking, not the funnest thing in the world, but yet a college experience.
11. I've road with the top down in 30 or lower degree weather at 5 in the morning after hiking through mud in heels through the woods with friends.
12. I've hiked through the woods drunk, hmm not fun when everybody you are with has been drinking.
13. This year I've started REALLY wearing makeup. No, I do not mean I cake it on. I just mean, before I only put on a teeny bit or sometimes even none, but this year I've learned that I feel more grown and myself with it and I usually do not leave the house without it.
14. This year I have learned that both my brother and my sister will be getting married.
15. This year we have 2 Christmas trees instead of one.
16. This year my baby niece, Kadance, started school..hmm don't I feel OLD!!
17. My family has also increased this year. We gained Cannon and Kherington who are both beautiful babies. And also of course Bryan and his littler girl, Haley (sp?) and Joyce and her littler girl, Vianne.

This year has been an amazing year and I would not have it any other way!

Things I wish to do in 2010:
1. Live!
2. Laugh...
3. LOVE!!!!!
4. I hope within the next few months I get the courage to say words that are in my heart that need to come out before it's too late.
5. I hope to have a job.
6. I hope to visit Miami atleat once.
7. I hope to do good on the Spanish placement test so I can take some spanish medical classes.
8. I hope to experience a good spring break with wonderful friends, followed by a wonderful summer.
9. I hope to make many more new friends and not to lose any.
10. I hope to do good in classes in the next few semesters.
11. I hope that even as the people I love leave me that we continue to be friends and stay close.
12. I also hope I do not lose my chance.
13. I hope to see wonderful marriages and growing families within my family.
14. I hope that I meet a good guy or get the one thats already in front of me.
15. Lastly, I hope that 2010 is another year without regrets and another year lived to the fullest!!!

I wish everyone Happy Holidays, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year :)

Getting to know your blogger friends:Christmas edition!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper..I use bags also, but I love to wrap the kids' presents just to see their faces when they open them up. It's priceless. I know I enjoyed the wrapped ones as a kid..oh wow that was just a few years ago. Hey who am I kidding, I still enjoy tearing paper off a present :)

2. Real tree or Artificial? hmm, at this moment we have one of both. Growing up we always had an artificial that was a pain in the booty to get up, but the past few years my daddy's friend has given us a real tree.

3. When do you put up the tree? around thanksgiving, either before or the weekend after.

4. When do you take the tree down? usually before new years.

5. Do you like eggnog? never had it..yes I'm missing out :(

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I always loved my dollhouses.

7. Hardest person to buy for? my brother. He only wears American Eagle and we all know they only have so much stuff at one time and if he goes out and buys it all, then what do we buy for him..hmm.
also my father because all he does is work and he has every tool known to man. Im so tired of buying shoes for him.

8. Easiest person to buy for? my mom or my sister. They both like what I like :)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes :)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail, I hope to next year start sending christmas cards. I wanted to start this year, but it's been so hectic with my moms surgery.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? hmmm, idk. I usually like all my gifts. I'm not picky.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? thats a toughy. I dont believe I can pick just one.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? i shop throughout the year!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? yup :)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? mama's dressing and a honey baked ham from heavenly ham that my moms old boss always gives us :)

16. Lights on the tree? colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? all i want for christmas or this christmas

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? we travel one hour on christmas eve to my grandparents and come back the same night to get ready for christmas on christmas at our house

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? sadly not without singing a song :)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?we open presents at my grandparents on christmas eve and at our house on christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? rude people and crowded places. I dont do well with crowds.


23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? I love cartoon ornaments or hand painted balls :)

24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? mama's dressing


25. What do you want to do for Christmas this year? spend time with family and friends.

26. Favorite Christmas tradition growing up? my grannys on the day before christmas eve, my grandparents on christmas eve, and my house on christmas day.

27. Favorite tradition now? we dont go to my grannys anymore since she has passed because that side of the family stopped having christmas, but we still go to my granparents and still have christmas at my house

28. Favorite Christmas Memory? prank gifts at my grannys

You're at the top of my wish list.

I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. My life is amazingly very good right now and I really don't want to mess it up. My family is doing wonderful. I have three wonderful best friend. Yes, they are all jealous of each other and don't really like the other one, but this is my life and they get along in order to be my best friends. I guess when people are sooo much alike it is very hard to get along. Anyways, I passed all my classes. I didn't make the exact grades I wanted to, but I passed them. I mad an A in both Medical Terminology and FYE, a B in Anatomy and Physiology, and a C in both English(don't ask me how that one happened, actually we didnt have many grades in the class and the teacher was a lot harder on me because she worked with my mother at the college before she moved to Virginia. I take her online.) and then a C in Algebra. I completely bombed that final and passed most of my tests :( But I can deal with this. I just know I have to do better next semester. During this semester I hve met some really wonferful people and made lots of new friends.
Now on to why I am losing my mind. It's so cliche to say, "well the reason I'm losing my mind is because of a boy", but it's very true. I'm very attracted to a friend of mine and he is attracted to me. He goes to school here but is from another state. We are distant from the whole relationship thing because we know he goes back at the end of next semester and we will probably never see each other ever again. It sucks so much. I promised myself I wouldnt develope feelings of him, but guess what, I have and it sucks. His actions make me believe he has done the same thing. We put distance between us the past few weeks and tried not to text or talk. Due to me hanging with his friend and my friends hanging with his friends, I did see him the other night and when he walked in the room I'm sure I had a huge smile on my face and that you could see it in my eyes. He came straight to me and gave me a hug. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world, but we went back to not talking because we both had a thought in our head that if we stopped talking maybe our feelings would start growing. He got home Friday and withing thirty minutes he had imed me. I felt soo special. Last night I posted a status comment saying that I wanted a certain type of boy for Christmas and well he liked it, so I think he knows that he is the boy at the top of my list. Hmmm, Oh wat do I do? I guess I'm just going to sit here and let it run its course and if feelings increase we will have no choice but to deal with them. Ugh, he makes me smile and makes my heart race :)

Love is in the air ths Christmas season!

If you're a friend of mine on facebook, you probably already know the news, but for some of you who are not, I recieved a wonderful text from my brother last night on the way home from doing some stocking stuffer shopping. The text read "We got engaged today." Thats right both my brother and my sister are now officially engaged. Due to the fact that my brother had already planned on marrying his new fiance within the next couple of months and giving her a ring as soon as she got to NC from Guam they will actually be the first to get married(well technically it's both my brother's and sister's second go around of getting married). Due to the fact that it is against my brothers fiances beliefs for two people of the same immediate family to get married within the same year, they will be married by January. My sister will probably be married by summer. Neither want a big wedding. I pray that both of them have wonderful marriages and nothing like what they have both experienced in the past.

My sister got married when she was 16 and was divorced by the time she was twenty. She had two children within those years and was in a horrible relationship with her ex-husband. We kept trying to get her out of it and through love she always went back. The final draw was when my mom went up to the state where she moved to live with her ex husband and she went into labor with her son and while she was in the hospital her ex took the older child. That began a terrible divorce and I feel sorry for both of her children to have to deal with this. I was six when my sister got married and she kept me after school. I saw lots of fights and intervened lots. I'm so glad she is out of that. Due to the way that relationship went, ever steady boyfriend she dated after that always had the same characteristics. What triggered her to date these people, I do not know, but it was always the same types of guys. I do not understand if she would not allow her children around these guys, why would she submit her own self to these guys. Anyways, this guy I pray to God is different. I pray he treats her right. And I definately pray he treats my babies right, because for the longest they were like mine. There is stuff we do not like about him, but I assume there is flaws in everyone. Hopefully within these next few months we get past the flaws and my sister is sure this is what she wants. She loves him very much and as I've stated before, I hope he is the right guy for her.

My brother's ex-wife lived with us for a while during the time they were dating because her family kicked her out. They apparently did not like my brother. He went into the air force to make a life for them and before he left for basic training found out she was expecting his baby. When he came back after basic training and his other training they had a small wedding and moved off to live in Minot, North Dakota. She did not like being far from home and after the baby was born they moved back here. I'm sure you are wondering how he did this without actually coming out of the air force. Well, his bosses knew how much he loved the air force and his job and they saw some of the fights and knew that in order to make his marriage work, the only thing for him to do was to come home. They swapped him from active duty to air force reserves and they moved back here so she could be with her family and friends. Without going into strong detail of what all happened, the marriage failed and my brother ended up very hurt. He sees his daughter ever now and then, but definately not as much as he would like and that hurts him a lot. I also wish that his new future wife treats him wonderfully and makes him happy.

Finals

In a few hours I will take my last final for this semester. I am so scared and nervous, but also excited all at the same time. I have recieved two of my grades so far and have passed both classes, one with an A and one with a C. I am still waiting on reports back for my other classes. I'm not excited about that C at all because it is in English and English is not a bad subject for me, but for some reason I just could not make my teacher happy, needless to say I have signed up for the 2nd part of my class with a different teacher next semester. Anyways wish me luck on my test this afternoon and pray that as the rest of my grades come in that they are passing grades :)

Advice on cakes

Everyone is always telling my friend and me that we make really good cakes and we should sale them, so after a lot of thought, we have decided to do just that.

So those of you who sale cakes, how much do you charge? And those of you who buy cakes, how much do you pay? What's a good price for a good cake?

Also in your honest opinion what kind of cakes do you think would sale best? What are your favorites?

And lastly, are there any more tips you would like to offer?

Christmas Traditions!

Jules over at Chic & Pink got me in a lovely Christmas mood. Feel free to answer these questions and let her know about your list.

Traditions
1. Usually around Thanksgiving time we go into the attack and pull down our very dreadful to put up Christmas tree, but the past few years my daddys friend has given us a real tree from his lot. :) Oh how I love that soo much!
2. My mom and me and whoever else would like to join usually decorate the tree.
3. When my Granny was alive we would spend the day before Christmas eve at her house opening presents, but after she died that side of the family stopped wanting to have Christmas and now we rarely see any of them.
4. On Christmas Eve, we head to my Grandparents in Thomasville, Ga, about an hour from my house and have supper and yummy desserts followed by the swapping of presents. We each draw a name in like October of somebody outside of our immediate family and thats who we buy for, but everybody buys for the little ones. The we all load up our vehicles and head home to crawl in bed and try our hardest to fall asleep due to the anticipation of Christmas. Us grownups stay awake for just a little while longer until its not possible to hold our eyes open anymore :)
5. On Christmas morning, the first person to wake up wakes the rest and we all run to go see what Santa brought for the kids.


Songs
1. My new fav. this year is Taylor Swifts- Christmas Must Be Something More
2. Christmas shoes has always been a fav. of my mom and I.
3. All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey


We always play all the original songs and anything that comes on the country channels.

Movies
1. Earnest saves Christmas used to be one of my dads favs.
2. Elf is a fav. of the kids when they are with me.
3. Home Alone ( my family has home aloned me out over the years)
4. Jingle all the way
5. Jack Frost

I also love anything off of the Lifetime channels, ABC, and hallmark during the holidays! I just love Christmas time and all the good movies it brings.



Treats
1. Peanut Butter balls
2. Chocolate covered pretzels
3. Divinity
4. Candied Pecans


We make yummy candy tins an give them as gifts on Christmas Eve.

Decorations
1. I love to collect ornaments. Currently on my moms tree I have Dora and friends, Elmo, My little Pony, Carebears, Chucky and Angelica from the Rugrats, and there is no telling what other characters. My mom gets ornaments from her work and most of the time they are collector editions and very beuatiful. She has three different white house ornaments and ornaments from over seas. She has many beautiful one of a kind ornaments and I wish I have half of what she has one day. We literally left a lot off the Christmas tree this year because we had so much, but a lot of them she was ready to box up and keep because they had gotten old.
2. We have santa, a teddy bear, marching men, and many other figuries outsife along with Christmas lights and bows.
3. We have all kinds of what-nots throughout the house, stockings with all our names on them, and a wreath on the front door.


I JUST LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!

FMM time!!!

I haven't been involved in a friend making monday in so long. I miss it! If you would like to join and make many wonderful friends, check out Amber's blog at http://amberfilkins.blogspot.com/2009/11/friend-makin-mondays-its-almost.html

1. Favorite Website: Facebook, TFLN, Peopleofwalmart, blogger, myspace

2. Favorite Color: lime green

3. Facebook? Yep :)

4. Favorite Christmas Song?

5. Christmas Tree: Real or Fake? usually we have a fake one, but my daddy's friend owns the christmas tree lot in town and my daddy has helped him out the past few years and he hs been giving us a real tree in return

6. Hottest Celebrity? You mean I'm supposed to pick just one? Yeah. Like that's gonna happen!



Hottest Athlete:


Hottest guy on TV:

Hottest guy in movies:


And hottest musician?



7. Favorite Restaurant? Olive Garden
8. Favorite Magazine? umm anything with recipes in it
9. Favorite thing to drink around the holidays? I love to try out different coffee flavors.
10. Favorite Christmas Movie: I actually can not choose. My tv stays on both lifetime channels, the Family Channel and Disney during the holidays so that I can watch all the seasonal movies :)

Thanksgiving recap and recipes!

Yesterday was such an amazing day. I woke up around 7 knowing that I did not have much to do other than to get ready. I had already made all my pies and desserts the precious day. I helped my mom get her dishes ready to take with us. We decided to let everyone else in the house sleep for as long as possible, because we knew the chaos would begin as soon as they awoke. No, I do not mean bad chaos. We just knew that as soon as they woke up they would try to be in the food and everybody would be busy reminiscing and we had a set time to leave the house, so we could be at my grandmothers. Seeing as how I had some leftover pumpkin, we decided to make pumpkin muffins for breakfast and sure enough the lovely smell of them brought sleeping beauties out of rooms. Seeing as how both my brothers little girl and my sisters children were all at their other families houses for Thanksgiving, we were all able to pile into my sisters new van. We all spent most of the ride talking and laughing and most definately picking on my dads driving. He's used to it by now. He drives the speed of a turtle and if he looks to the left or right, we often doddle to the left or the right. My grandmother set the house up to have the food line inside and tables for everybody to sit at outside. The yellow jackets decided to come for a Thansgiving dinner visit and luckily no one got bit and we was able to still eat our food and enjoy the day even with fighting them off. We even had a visit from a cute little dog, who hopefully doensn't disturb my grandparents to much after recieving a little bit of our Thanksgiving food :) I sat back and realized how big our family had gotten and how much we all have changed over the years. I am currently the only grandchild that has never been married and who has never had any kids, which is understandable seeing as how I am just starting off in the world (WELL THE REAL GROWN-UP WORLD). My mom has 2 sisters and my grandparents have seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Our family is still growing and I will always cherish the fact that the lord sent me to be with such a wonderful and loving family.

I am still stuffed from all that food yesterday and don't care to see anymore for a while. Actually, that is definately not true or I would not have already been looking at yummy recipes to try out with the leftovers. Anyways as promised, here is all the wonderful recipes to the desserts I made yesterday.

1. Pink Lemonade Pie
1 tub cool whip
1 pkg. cream cheese
8 equate packets
pink lemonade(add as much as you would like)
1 graham cracker pie crust
Beat all ingredients and pour into pie crust.

2.
Chocolate Mousse Torte (recipe thanks to cool whip)
37 NILLA Wafers, divided 4 squares
BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. cold milk, divided
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup fresh raspberries
1.STAND 16 wafers around inside edge of 9-inch round pan lined with plastic wrap. Melt 3 chocolate squares as directed on package.
2.BEAT pudding mixes and 2 cups milk with whisk 2 min. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP; pour into prepared pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar and remaining milk with mixer until well blended.
3.STIR in 1 cup of the remaining COOL WHIP; spread over pudding. Top with remaining wafers. Refrigerate 3 hours.
4.MEANWHILE, shave remaining chocolate square into curls. Invert torte onto plate. Remove pan and plastic wrap. Top torte with remaining COOL WHIP, berries and chocolate curls.

3.
Turtle Pumpkin Pie(also thanks to cool whip)

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. chopped PLANTERS Pecans, divided
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

POUR 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts.
BEAT dry pudding mixes, milk, pumpkin and spices with whisk until well blended. Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP; spoon into crust.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Top with remaining COOL WHIP, caramel topping and nuts just before serving.

4. Triple Layer Mud Pie(another Cool Whip recipe)

3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
1/4 cup canned sweetened condensed milk
1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans, toasted
2 cups cold 2% milk
2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

MIX chocolate and condensed milk; pour into crust. Sprinkle with nuts.
BEAT 2% milk and pudding mixes with whisk 2 min.; spoon 1-1/2 cups over nuts. Stir 1/2 the whipped topping into remaining pudding; spread over pudding layer in crust.
TOP with remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate 3 hours.

5. Tiramisu Bowl(another cool whip recipe)(I made the one in the middle)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
48 NILLA Wafers
1/2 cup brewed strong MAXWELL HOUSE Coffee, cooled
2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely grated
1 cup fresh raspberries

FOR THE FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk and dry pudding mixes. Gently stir in 2 cups COOL WHIP.
Line bottom of 13x9-inch pan with half the wafers; drizzle with half the coffee. Top with half the pudding mixture and chocolate. Repeat layers. Top with remaining COOL WHIP and raspberries. Refrigerate several hours.

6. Peanut Butter Cup Pie

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter, divided
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
2-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

BEAT cream cheese and 1/2 cup peanut butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add milk and dry pudding mix; beat 2 min. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP; spoon into crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.
MEANWHILE, microwave remaining COOL WHIP and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after each minute. Cool completely.
SPREAD chocolate mixture over pudding layer in crust. Microwave remaining peanut butter in small microwaveable bowl 30 sec.; stir. Drizzle over pie. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Oh the excitement

I am so excited. I love Thankgiving time soo much and I love to cook. In just 2 days I will be spending time with my family. My Grandmothers house will be filled with lovely foods and yummy smells. I just can not wait.
My brother and sister and her new fiance will be arriving tomorrow night. Oh did you catch that? Yes you caught that right, my sister's boyfriend gave her a ring and proposed to her over the weekend. We already knew she had planned on getting married in the summer, but now it is legit. Due to the fact his family is from New York and hers is from GA and the fact that they live in NC, they are not going to have a big wedding, but they will be going on a cruise either for the wedding or after, I haven't exactly heard that one correctly.
Also, in other news, while my brother was touring the world with the Air Force during his last trip, they stayed in Guam for quite some time and there he was able to meet and fall in love with a very lovely girl. She will be flying over here on Dec. 2nd and joining our family soon after. I am so excited. I have not met her face to face and he would not marry her without her meeting my mom first, but she will have a ring when she gets over here, and I'm not sure when they will get married. I dont think it will be long. Through our conversations, I have found that she is a lot like me and is very nice. I can't wait to meet her.
I find it really ironic that my brother and sister are bothing getting married for a second time within the next year. AMAZING! It gives me hope, even though there is currently not a man in my life. Okay I take that back, I am not dating anyone, but there is a man that has my heart, but sadly we are only friends and after next semester he moves back to his home and I probably will never see him again. After spending so much time with him and getting so attached, I know it will be hard to let him go. I also know that God has a plan for me and I will end up with the man I am supposed to be with one day. It may not be anytime soon, but one day I will have my Mr. Right.
I am also sad that my nieces and nephew have to spend Thanksgiving with their other parents, so I will not get to see them. I will get to see my sisters children on Saturday when they come back and we will celebrate my nephews birthday. He makes me feel so old.
Also, I can't wait until I try out all my lovely desserts and get to share the recipes with you all :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tagged :)

I was tagged by Memoirs of a Munchkin Mommy for this lovely award! Thanks so much!



The rules: use only one word, pass along to your favorite bloggers, and tell 'em you did so. Take it away.

1. Where is your cell phone? couch
2. Your hair? medium
3. Your mother? secretary
4. Your father? Strong
5. Your favorite food? salad
6. Your dream last night? None
7. Your favorite drink? juice
8. Your dream/goal? dms
9. What room are you in? front
10. Your hobby? quotes
11. Your fear? lonely
12. Where do you want to be in six years? working
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren't? Perfect
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. Wish list item? boots
17. Where did you grow up? GA
18. Last thing you did? text
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your TV? RR
21. Your pets? lazy
22. Friends? crazy
23. Your life? wonderful
24. Your mood? Blah
25. Missing someone? yep
26. Vehicle? flat
27. Something you're not wearing? ring
28. Your favorite store? kohls
29. Your favorite color? lime
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried?thursday
32. Your best friend? morgan
33. One place that I could go over and over? beach
34. One person who emails you regularly? mom
35. Favorite place to eat? olivegarden

I tag:
1. Grammy Girlfriend (http://teresa-grammygirlfriend.blogspot.com/)
2. Love, Katie Lou. (http://lovekatielou.blogspot.com/)
3. The Pink Chick (http://jenniferthepinkchick.blogspot.com/)
4. Live, Laugh, Love (http://kelseyrt.blogspot.com/)
5. The Mug Shot Girls (http://mugshotgirls.blogspot.com/)

Fried oreos

The other night I was having a bad night due to some drama going on with my father and his working partners and I decided to make my mom and me a pick me up. I tried fried oreos at the fair not to long ago and I had been wanting to try to make them so bad. We needed a good confert food that night and had all the ingredients, so we made these:

Fried Oreos

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk pancake mix
3/4 cup ice water
1 quart vegetable oil
1 sleeve of Oreo cookies (14 each)
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Directions

1. Freeze cookies for 3 hours.

2. In a heavy-gauge 3-quart saucepot heat oil to 350 degrees F.

3. While oil is heating, set up a sheetpan with paper towels for draining.

4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl stir water into buttermilk pancake mix with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. As soon as batter is smooth, dip each cookie, one at a time, into batter and smooth batter, making a thin coat completely around the cookie. Place coated cookie carefully into hot oil. Repeat for each cookie. Fry on both sides, turning over once until golden brown.

5. Remove fried cookie from hot oil with metal tongs and drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners sugar.

6. Let cool slightly (about 2 minutes) before serving.


They were extremely yummy, so I thought I would pass the recipe on. I have to refrain from making these often..lol.

Thanksgiving recipes

Today at Kelly's Korner (http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/) we are discussing holiday traditions and our favorite recipes. I already posted about my holiday traditions two posts ago, but I will share our usual menu and some of our recipes.

Turkey
Ham
Cranberry sauce
Rolls
Dressing(my grandmothers...i also mae my mom make some dressing for us at home, because she makes hers like my dads mother did and im not as fond of my grandmothers :(
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green beans or Green Bean Casserole
Potato Salad
Deviled eggs
Chicken and Rice
Squash Casserole
Cream corn
(the side dishes vary every year, but we usually have those no matter what)
Layered Salad

Dessert:
Pecan pie
Banana Pudding
Cherry Yum Yum
and other yummy recipes we decide to try :)

LAYERED SALAD

1 sm. head of lettuce, shredded
1 c. diced celery
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 (10 oz.) frozen peas
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
1 c. grated carrots
1 sm. onion, diced
8 slices fried bacon, crumbled
1 can water chestnuts

LAYERED SALAD DRESSING:

2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. sugar

Layer salad ingredients as listed, starting with lettuce in 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread salad dressing on top. (I like to put water chestnuts on top of salad dressing.) Cover and refrigerate overnight.



CHERRY YUM YUM

2 c. graham cracker crumbs
3/4 stick butter
1 tbsp. sugar
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 env. Dream Whip, prepared
1 can cherry pie filling

Mix crumbs, butter and sugar; press into long pan. Mix cheese, powdered sugar, Dream Whip and spread on crumbs. Top with cherry pie filing. Refrigerate 1 hour. It is yum, yum.

Zumba

Have you ever heard of Zumba dance? If so what haveyou heard about it and how is it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlRPHHKJt7Q

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I have always loved Thanksgiving.It just might be because I have always loved to cook. Every year for Thanksgiving, my family travels to my grandparents house for Thansgiving dinnner. I remember waking up and watching the parade while getting ready and then traveling for an hour to my grandparents and then watching the rest of the parade while waiting on everybody to get there. Used to when my dads mom was alive we would hurry back for supper with that side of the family, but that side of the family has closed themselves off from us, so we spend as much time as we want on Thansgiving with my grandparents. There is always yummy food. My grandmother makes her dressing and we have turkey and ham. We also have potato salad and cranberry sauce and everybody brings a side. We always have our traditional stuff, but we always like to try new stuff also. I usually make some kind of new dessert and a cake. My mom always makes pecan pies and other pies and my aunt usually makes banana pudding and something new. I also like to make treats for the kids. I love thankgiving. I love having that day to spend with my family. The kids end up outside playing and the adults spend time talking and often remeniscing. Its such a peaceful time. I'm looking forward to it.

So what are some of your traditions?

Dear Santa...

Can I have these?

From Pb Teen:

Sweet Treat Storage Holders


Berkeley Sleepover Duffle


Berkeley Sleepover Toiletry Bag


Legally Blonde Dog Bed


Dress Frame Jewelry Holder


Chloe Rotating Jewelry Display


Easel Beauty Set


Jewelry Beauty Roll


Charmed Bird Necklace


Chloe Jewelry Vanity Pinboard


Carry-All Case


Dot-To-Dot Beauty Bins


Painted Dot Mirror


Spa Foot Bath


Pink Dottie Take-It Video Camcorder


Supercool Fridge


Dottie Fabric Organizer

You have to go through the bad to get to the good.

It's been a while since I've blogged, but I thought it was time to fill everyone in on my life as of now. It took me a while to figure out how to talk about all of this on my blog, because I know I have family that reads this and I know I should have listened to some of the things they said, but I also had to make mistakes and learn for myself.
A while ago I posted about my struggles with trying to date a certain person who my family did not approve of. I dated him for 5 months with most of my family knowing. I hid the fact that I knew they knew and the only person I could discuss my problems with was my mom, but she too did not agree with my decisions. Because I was her daughter she let me make my own mistakes and was just there for me through this. Times got really hard. My life consisted of waking up, going to school, and then having to go to my exes house until after midnight. It was hard. I didnt have time to do online classes, because I was expected to be there with him 24/7. The only meal I ever ate was lunch, because I was not offered anything while I was there. I lost 20 pounds within those five months I was dating him and it wasnt from healthy eating, it was from not eating at all. I lost my close relationship with my mom, because I had to always be with him, if I wasn't we was fighting. Saturday were always days I spent with my grandparents and my mom. I was always getting rushed and finally I just stopped having those special saturdays. Life was so hard and I didnt know what to do. I couldnt see my friends and I ended up having to be friends with his friends in order to have friends. I never knew life could get so hard. At the start of our relationship I hit his truck with my car after telling him I was dizzy and did not want to drive. He made me and I accidently ran into his lowrider. I was always scared to leave him because of that also. He was always saying stuff to me like if you dont come right now we are done and finally one day I had the perfect opening to just say okay and go my own way. The next day he was begging me back and I was like no. I hung out with friends, some being his friends, and life was amazing. I was happy for once. I thought it would be then end of us and I could move on, but he started calling me and texting me begging me back and I finally gave in. He told me he had changed and would let me have a life. As soon as we started back dating, I could tell he was trying to let me have my space, but I could tell it wouldnt last for long. I could also tell that there was stuff there that scared me. We fought about everything. For one of my classes I had to go to college event that started at 9 and went until after midnight, and he called me chewing me out for not being home and right then I said I was done. I broke up with him. I couldnt handle him anymore. HE texted and called everyday, but there was no turning back. One night he called until 5:30 in the morning non stop threatening to kill himself. The next day I changed my number, told his mother, and deleted my myspace. I didnt know what else to do. Also after 4 months his truck finally needed to be fixxed though I asked him many times before to get the police report and turn it into insurance. Anyways we brought the parts and I am happy.
I am sooo happy. I have a life. I am having a wonderful college life. I've made plenty of new friends and I'm happy with life. Life is amazing.

Also just yesterday, my brother returned from over seas. I can't wait to see him Friday.

Bye Bye cold for a little while longer :(

Hmm theres not much going on in my life at the moment besides school. They still do not know what is going on with my sister and my brother has called once from over seas. He has been to many places, like Japan, Korea, Guam, and the list goes on. He almost drowned last week along with a few other guys. They got carried away by the tide while scuba diving. They swam for a good hour after they got their fins off to save themselves and then he posted on his myspace yesterday that he believes he broke his arm. What great luck, right?

Anyways, I'm loving this cold front, but sad that tonight will be the last cold night here in Albany, Ga for a while. I was soo happy with the weather to hear on the news a few minutes ago that it will be gone after tonight. :(

In the spirit of fall, I would love for y'all to leave me some fun fall traditions of yours. Also feel free to leave your favorite fall recipes, y'all know how i love to cook and try new things :D

Fall and Coffee

Hmm, Falls right back around the corner. I love fall. I love getting to wear boots. I love the temperature. I love candy apples, exspecially blue ones. I'm from GA, but you Carolina people definately know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about them Carolina Blue Candy Apples, they are the best. No. I'm not a traitor to GA, but I love blue candy apples. I love going to the fair. I love Halloween. I love baking. This is the best time of year to do it, well besides Winter. I love Thanksgiving and spending time with my family. We have a lot of birthdays in my family around this time of year, so I get to spend alot of time with family. Theres nothing I love more.

Well on to the topic of this post...It's that time of year again for coffee and Starbucks, Joe Muggs, and Dunkin Donuts.



I love to try new things every time I go. So tell me what is your favorite thing to get when you go to these places?

Christmas Giveaway

I love Christmas so much. Sadly it's only fall, but that doesn't mean we can't start planning. Anyways I found this adorable Christmas blog through another friendly blogger and guess what, she is giving away $100.00 worth of ornaments. I'm so happy. Anyways go here: http://grammyababychangeseverything.blogspot.com/2009/09/trees-trees-and-more-trees-and-another.html
and please tell her I sent you.


(oh yeah and sorry its been so long since I've linked to a website that I forgot exactly how to do it. I should be ashamed of myself :P)

P.U.S.H.

When knocked down on your knees, remember you are in the perfect position to pray! This is what I keep telling my myself, along with P.U.S.H. (Pray until something happens).

As if times weren't hard enough for my family already, we got more bad news this week. On Monday my sister went to the doctor. A while back I told y'all about a doctors visit she went to and the doctor calling her back due to some strange abnormalities with her blood. Apparently all of her blood levels were messed up along. Well she was late, so she decided to go to the doctor Monday. The test came back negative, but they yet again did tests on her blood levels. On Tuesday she recieved a call back to the doctor from the doctor himself. The doctor is 99% positive she has Leukemia. He said her blood levels had tripled since the last visit, not even a month ago. SO in 3 weeks, she will have more tests done to give us a final answer on the Leukemia. All we can do is pray.

Also on Monday my dad finally went to the doctor for his throat. He chokes everytime he eats. Theres so many foods he will no longer eat, because he chokes and gets sick. He will be having an endoscopy done next Friday and we will hopefully get an answer to his problems. But I pray its nothing unfixxable.

Also Tuesday, my Grandaddy is having his surgery for his blockage.

So all I can say at this time is that I'm scared, worried, and full of prayers.

yet again I'm asking why us

Why do things have to get awful before they can ge better? I just dontunderstand. My life was going pretty good besides a few minor issues, but then things had to fall downhill. No, they did not slip, they FELL!!!!!
I found out last week that my grandaddy has a blockage in his leg to his heart. He kept telling the doctors and they wouldnt listen. They finally found it and he is one of these men that loves to walk and goes to the flea market every Saturday and the doctor said walking could cause him to have a heart attack. Its hard on him I'm sure and he's very hard-headed(it's where I get it from). He has to go to the surgeon Tuesday to set up an appointment for the surgery. Please keep him in your prayers.
As if that wasn't enough for my mom by itself, my brother left for Iraq Friday again, only this time he left on bad terms. You see my sister wrecked her car about a year ago and she has my old car now, but she has to carry her kids a 6 hour distance to meet their dad sometimes and that car wont make it, so she's been using my brothers car. Well he go mad because there was a cigerette hole in the seat and hid the car an keys before he left, not to mention the caris in my parents name and being paid for by my parents. He also emailed my mom Thursday during the day and said "to hell with her", in those exact words.He left Friday with no goodbye phone call or anything. What do we do? How do I comfort my mom in a timelike this? I just dont know what to do!

bags and umbrellas

I am in need of some help..haha..no not that kind..lol. I need either a cute small bookbag or a cute computer bag for a reasonable price. Does anyone have any suggestions of where I can find any cute, cheap ones? Also I want a cute small umbrella because I dont feel like getting soaked again going to class and freezing the whole time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

It a comeback!

So how's everyone been doing? Yes, I do mean for you to actually answer me. I miss everyone. Things are finally getting back on track. I'm in college and currently trying to find a job. Everythings going really good, so I want to know how everyone else is. Hopefully this is my big comeback to blogger life :)

Scared to grow up!

The title says it all, I am SCARED! I am so scared of the life that is in front of me. I'm scared to grow up. I'm scared to have to do things on my own. I don't know how I will make it.

I start classes Friday and I'm not ready. I have these last few days of summer and then comes reality. What does my future hold for me? Oh the possibilities.

I know I'm stressing for nothing, but I'm one of those girls who doesn't do well with change. How am I going to survive?

Spicy Chicken Spaghetti

Spicy Chicken Spaghetti

1 box thin spaghetti noodles
tbs vegetable oil
1 lb boneless chicken, diced
1 jar traditional spaghetti sauce
1 can rotel tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
garlic salt
pepper

1. Heat vegetable oil in pan on high. Add diced chicken. Cook until done all the way through.
2. Add diced onion and bell pepper. Also add a tsp of both garlic salt and pepper.
3. In another pan, begin cooking noodles following directions on the box.
4. Add spaghetti sauce to chicken.
5. After about 5 minutes of the spaghetti sauce simmering with the chicken, add rotel tomatoes. Let simmer for another 5 minutes or until chicken has soaked up most of the sauce.
6. Lastly you are going to pour finished sauce over drained pasta. Stir until all covered and then serve.

Growing up :(

It's come to the time, where I'm realizing summer is almost over. I only have a few weeks and then I have to start college. As much as I try to deny it to everyone, I am SCARED. I'm not ready for big people life. I know this is the start of me having to grow up and soon I will have to do everything fo myself. I'm scared to death.

Not to mention everything with my college stuff has gone wrong. They at first never recieved my transcript to see if i was eligable for any type of help. Then they recieved it and apparently the classes I had to take during the summer last year to actually get my credit for my history class was not on there so they were putting me in as a tech student instead of a college prep student. After we got that fixxed, we had another problem. This is the one that makes me maddest of them all. The papers I got with my class rank and gpa were right or wrong, who knows, because the two definately dont match up. Apparently I was in the top 15% of the class, but apparently I'm not able to get any help because the GPA that I had was supposed to be a straight 4.0 because it was waited, and then with just the classes that applied to anything I had a 3.4, but on my transcript its showing im in the 2's. Wha the crap? I am so tired of this stuff already. So yeah, I dont get any help and I can't start of with the major I wont. I'm going to have to start out with a certificate program and then next semester swap over. I have to do that to build my gpa up. It's so STUPID!!! I was also supposed to get a half scholarship because both of my parents work at the school and they have yet to give me that. My parents were seeing about that this week, because everybody elses kids have gotten it, so they want to know the deal.

I never knew this stuff would be this hard, exspecially when your parents work there at the school and are there with the people everyday of the week. It's so messed up. Sometimes if I knew I wouldnt get turned down for all my medical problems, I would just go join the military.

Now I'm trying to figure out whether I should get a job on top of all this.

ugh, its disturbing!

I need to lose some weight. I don't feel happy with myself and I have really low self esteem because I feel like I am bigger than everyone else. It really sucks. When I try to lose weight, I just end up gaining more. I dont know what to do. Also I stay dehydrated so I am constantly drinking and that doesnt help anything either. I know I need to drink more water and I am trying very hard to do that. I have been drinking a lot of water with the peach tea flavoring in it. Please give me suggestions, tips, recipes, anything to help me get this weight off.

Ugh this hair is awful!!!

I hate my new hair! Help me?

Lovely summer giveaway!!!

Go here, http://newlywedcentral.blogspot.com/2009/06/summer-giveaway.html to find out about The Reality of Happily Ever After's wonder summer giveaway!! You will most definately love it, I know I do!!!!

Coming home party food recap

Also I thought I would let you all know what I fixxed for my brothers coming home party.



Here was my menu of finger foods:



Pineapple tidbits: If you have never heard of this,then you are missing out. You use one can chunked pineapple, or you can slice your own to make it skinnier, one can of spam diced in about the same size as the pinepple, and a block of mild cheddar cheese, diced also. Now you put the pineapple, spam, and cheese on a toothpic and there you have it. Pineapple tidbits, extremely yummy and great finger foods.



Meatballs: We used bags of already prepared meatballs, a bottle of ketchup, brown sugar, and a can of crushed pineapple along with juices. Cook in a slow cooker on high.



Little Smokies: We used barbeque sauce, a dash of lemon juice, and brown sugar.



Cherry colo brownies:




Brownie
1
box (1 lb 6.5 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/4
cup cherry cola carbonated beverage
1/3
cup vegetable oil
2
eggs
Frosting
1/2
cup butter or margarine, softened
3
tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
4
cups powdered sugar
1/3
cup cherry cola carbonated beverage
24
maraschino cherries, if desired

1.Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray or shortening.


2.In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, pouch of chocolate syrup, 1/4 cup cherry cola, oil and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from sides of pan come out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3.
In large bowl, beat frosting ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread evenly over brownies. For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Garnish each with cherry.



Pineapple cheese ball with ritz crackers:

Ingredients:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper, or mixture of green and red bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
2 teaspoons seasoned salt, or to taste
2 cups chopped pecans, divided
Preparation:Directions for pineapple cheese ball.Combine cream cheese, drained crushed pineapple, chopped bell pepper, chopped green onion, seasoned salt, and 1 cup chopped pecans. Chill in refrigerator until firm then shape into a ball. Just before serving roll pineapple cheese ball in remaining cup of pecans. Serve pineapple cheese ball with assorted crackers. Pineapple cheese ball makes about 3 cups of cheese spread.



Mini ham and cheese sandwiches



Chips and salsa

FMM time!!!

Shawn is hosting FMM this week. She wants to know about our Independence Day plans.







Her are the ques. and ANSWERS!!!

What are you doing on the 4th of July?

I am spending my weekend at my dads bestfriends lake house. My parents, my dads best friend, Wayne, his wife, and possibly their kids will be spending our weekend in the middle of the boon docks on the lake. I will definately be getting my work out because you have to hike up and down a really really steep hill to get to the water, but the place is amazing and I love going. We will be cooking out and I'm pretty sure there will be fireworks over the water. It will be lovely.

What is your favorite dish to bring to a BBQ?

My favorite dish to bring to a barbeque is probably baked beans. We use a can of pork and beans and add ketchup, mustard, worchestershire sauce, brown sugar, and onions. It is really yummy. I havent had any in a while and cant wait to get some. For a healthier choice, I love to get the broccoli cole slaw in the bag at the grocery store and prepare it just like regular slaw. It is extremely delicious. That might actually be another thing for me to fix while we are there.

Do you have any Independence Day traditions?

Growing up my dads side of the family and us used to all carry our campers to the lake or to carabelle beach and spend the week or two weeks at one of the places. We were always very close and everybody always met up around my granny's camper for lunch or supper. My granny was an excellent cook and who I take after. After my granny died, we pretty much got pushed to the side. My daddy began working all the time and my grandpa brought a place at the lake and soon after the rest of the kids did also. My dad doesnt have time to spend every weekend over there because he's always working, so we pretty much were not considered part of the family anymore. The place they stay at now is definately not the same. For the past few years we have spent our fourth of july with Mr. Wayne and Mrs. Elizabeth. They have pretty much over the years become my dads family and they treat us like we are family. I am looking forward to another great weekend at the lake with them.

Share your favorite 4th of July photo:

I dont actually have any pics on my computer from any of my fourth of July's, but here are some pics from my road of my brothers coming home party last weekend.

****This will be my last post pretty much before going private. I plan on either changing it tonight or tomorrow, so if you would like to stay a reader, please do let me know.*******

Going private!!!

Hey everybody,

I have decided to change my page to private. I hope to begin writing back on my blog again as soon as I get it changed. If you would like to keep reading my blog, please let me know and send me your emails so that I can send you an invite. Thanks for baring with me!

Finger food and appetizers!

Does anybody know any good finger food recipes or appetizer type recipes??? If so, please do share!!!

He's coming home!!

My brother is on the plane as we speak headed back into the states. Yay! He wont be home for long, but he will be home for about 6 weeks, unless the dates change again. He will make it to NC on Wednesday and he will be coming here to see his little girl and his other baby, the car, on Friday. I am planning on having him a Coming home party one day this weekend and I need some ideas. I had planned on putting the little flags down our road and driveway and seeing as how we live at a dead end and have a fence that everyone can see at the end of the road, I had planned on making a huge welcome home sign to go out there. Now I just needs ideas for food, inside and house decorations, and all that good stuff. Any suggestions are very much welcome!!!

His birthday was also a few weekends ago and we plan on throwing that little bit in there too.

MY life be like ooohhh ahhh..lol

I've realized that I have been MIA for quite a while now and it's time to come back to blogger land. lol. I graduated with a 4.0 and am so happy that I am moving on with my life and don't have to deal with that drama anymore. Who am I kidding? Most all of us are going to the same college right here in the same town so I will never officially be done with them, but I will not have my every move scrutinized by them anymore, thank goodness. As for the car, haha, it's still in the shop. Apparently when they put the transmission in the other day they did something wrong and will not let me have my car yet. They better get it fixxed right, I will not have another piece of junk. My brother is already asking when he can put his other racing engine in it..lord help me.

Okay, heres the topic I'm sure everyone is still interested in, yes, my man and me are still going strong. He makes me very happy, just wish my family would approve. I think my mom thinks i'm not still seeing him or something, not quite sure. She'll figure out one day I guess. I just wanted to let everyone know that it is still going great and he makes me very very happy!!!

I DID IT!!!

Hey everybody,

I DID IT!!! Yesterday at 11:30 I because a highschool graduate! I am so happy and yes the diploma I recieved was real. :)

Here's some pics:

As you can tell, I did get my yellow rope for honors that I worked so hard to get :)

My best friend and me! Sadly she moved from Ga to Texas today! I'm going to miss her!

My grandaddy at my party after prom!

My sister and her boyfriend, Brian.

My sister and me after graduation, can you tell that she's 11 years older than me.

She's come a long way and I'm so happy!

I only wish my brother and Granny had been able to see me graduate.

My sister and her little girl.

My sister and my nephew.

And lastly look at what I got yesterday!!