A weakness of mine

Mini muffin liners.  I get them for every season.  They're perfect with my mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookies.  First it was Wilton and now it's the Martha Stewart line.  Love them!  Saw some yesterday at Joann's for Fall/Halloween and almost talked myself out of it but they were 25% off-I didn't stand a chance.  As I was checking out the cashier said her weakness was napkins.  I felt a little better.

Air space

An ongoing question, with all that space up there why do bugs and birds get hit as much as they do?  Maybe it's the classic, you only hear about the tragedies and nothing about the millions that fly around avoiding baseballs and car grills, not sure.  Well, I hit a bird this morning.  A quail to be exact.  Normally when they're in the road and a car comes they fly away.  Not always the case apparently.  I even saw a feather floating down in my rearview mirror.  I felt bad but if it won't damage the car don't risk damaging the car to avoid it, right?  Heartless.

Playing in the mud

Completely not something I would normally do but after some peer pressure at work, two coworkers and I ran the Man vs. Mud 5K last weekend.  I am not a runner at all, as in I struggle to run 1 mile before my lungs are about to collapse, so I was a little nervous I wouldn't be able to make it but everyone was there just to have fun in the mud so it was hardly a run.  Tons of fun and definitely planning on doing it again next year! 

 

This was the last slide into the finish line with a huge pool of mud and a mud crawl at the end.  Don't worry, pictures directly following!

Sugar Cookies. . . from a pouch?!

I sort of feel like I have to start this out defending myself but I'm not going to.  I've been thinking about taking a cake decorating class just for fun and keep seeing them on the schedule at the local cooking store but never get signed up before the class is full.  I noticed one starting in September but didn't get over to the store to sign up until yesterday, the day before the class started, at 7:45 pm, fifteen minutes before the store closes.  As I'm signing up the cashier says, you'll also need the Wilton Basics Student kit, decorator icing, and half a dozen sugar cookies.  I think she's warning me of the extra stuff I'll need for the class before I sign up but then I ask, 'For tomorrow's class?'  You bet.  Sweet.  So I bought the student kit and decorator icing right there, yes, I bought the decorator icing in a tub, similar to the kind you buy from the grocery store complete with a foil seal.  The shame.  It gets worse.  How was I going to get sugar cookies when I had to work all day and the class starts at 6:30?  I am 25 years old and my first thought was to call my mom.  My only defense is that she's so great and pulls through for me all the time when I fail to plan that she's enabled me to have that thought.  But I had to go to the grocery store before I went home so I first checked the bakery to see what they had then did something I've never done before. . . bought a pouch of Betty Crocker's sugar cookie mix.  Absolutely nothing wrong with Betty Crocker but when it comes to sugar cookies they are only mediocre and I don't do mediocre sugar cookies.  I'm justifying myself because I really just need something to practice my shells and rosettes on and that's what I get for not planning better.

Some things that upset me a little

Just to start the list. . . Peaches that don't peel.  String cheese that doesn't string.  Boiled eggs that don't peel.  Oranges that are dry.  Oranges that have no flavor.  (All that work to peel them and nothing in return)  Corn on the cob that is smushy.  Waking up before 1:00 AM.  Running out of soap in the shower.  Waking up before 6:00 AM.  Forgetting to get a towel once you're already in the shower. 

Samoa Goodness

Um hello.  Brownie.  Carmel.  Toasted coconut.  Chocolate.  I found these awesome samoa brownies at Six Sister's blog earlier this week and haven't stopped dreaming about them since.  Whipped them up last night, super easy, and they are prolly as good as I imagined. 

1 brownie mix
3 1/2 cups shredded coconut, toasted
(2) 14 oz. package of caramels, unwrapped
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. milk
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate + a little shortening to soften

Prepare brownie mix according to box directions for a 9x13 pan and cool.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place coconut on baking pan. Cook until toasted, stirring every 2-3, took me about 10-12 minutes. Watch close so it doesn't burn.

In a large, microwaveable bowl, add unwrapped caramels, salt, and milk and cook on high for 3-5 minutes, stirring every 45 seconds.  Cook until all caramels are melted and smooth.

Add coconut to caramel and mix together. Spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate 4-5 hours or overnight. Remove at least 1 hour from the fridge before cutting. Cut into bars and drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate (Melt chocolate chips with a little shortening so when it hardens it's a soft chocolate). Let chocolate set and enjoy.

Catching each others' eye

This weekend I noticed a boy.  And he noticed me back.  And we talked.  Not sure that's ever happened before.  The end.