it’s Memorial Day and the giggles have been temporarily suspended…
JUST IN CASE YOU THOUGHT
today
was about a 3-day Weekend.
Arlington National Cemetery Funeral Services;
SLUG: PH/FLAGSIN DATE: 05/21/09 CREDIT: Linda Davidson / staff/ The Washington Post LOCATION: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA CAPTION: Annual “Flags In” ceremony in preparation for Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery. Members of each branch of service place more than 250,000 flags at each grave marker. PICTURED: Army Captain Ed Arntson (right) salutes a fellow soldier in his company that he lost during the war. He’s in Area 60 of Arlington Cemetery where fallen soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. He’s accompanied by Army Captain Bryan Ault (left). StaffPhoto imported to Merlin on Thu May 21 18:15:02 2009
With artillery smoke hanging in the air from a 21-gun salute by his company at Fort Leavenworth, the 500th Military Police Detachment, Army Sgt. Travis Smith saluted during the playing of “Taps,” during Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Star
I do not know your name–
Nor for which battle you died.
I do not know your home,
Nor the tears that were cried.
I do not know where you rest–
Nor the promises broken.
I do not know your uniform
And your fears lay unspoken.
But, I know your spirit exists–
That your courage is admired,
And your sacrifice is honored
By each soul that’s inspired.
And I offer you from my heart a
Thank You,
to guardians unknown
For offering yourselves for us all
That we may keep freedom…
Our home.
-Sherrie Ball-
hugs n’ blessings to all the lost (but never forgotten)
Service men, women, and their loved ones this Memorial Day,
which is meant to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for Our Freedoms,
but today I shall combine the other two for my first ever…
double-feature!
On top of going back to class
Helen & I have been busy this week running to & fro!
And at one particular point in our travels throughout the day, Helen Kowalska,
the best Golden Retriever in the Universe,
graduated to riding in the front seat!
I do believe the situation developed between packing the rear-cargo area full with plants at the Nursery & the 2nd row being filled to the rim at the dry cleaners, (with all sorts of freshly cleaned Bridal wear.) Where was Helen to go?
The only seat left available was now next to me, in the front row.
I’m pretty sure she liked it!
I did make one deal with her though, since she was now limited in activity by this tiny space…
I promised, as a thank you for giving up her coveted space, we would go straight home and bake cookies!
(To which, of course, she THANKfully agreed!)
Yes, Helen & I went home and baked that day; and we chose one of the Wedding Cookies which were made for the Bride & Groom’s Cookie Table!
Perhaps you will be inspired to bake them too!
As we mentioned in an earlier post, Wedding Crumbs, there were so many helping hands who contributed to The Cookie Table for our daughter & son-in-law’s special day!
There were chocolate chip bakers, peanut butter blossom partakers, and cut out cookie creators of various shapes; not to mention the dozens of frosted ones & pizzelles to boot! Over 100+ dozen cookies were lovingly prepared & magically trayed that day! We were so very THANKFUL for them all!!
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers”
Ephesians 1:16
In the land of The Cookie Table this gal trayed them all for us!
And this month’s cookie was inspired by a gal-pal of mine who, was not only the first to offer her baking assistance, but included the offer with a invitation to attend a personal demonstration of her baking skills extraordinare’!
Just two friends making Carmel Tarts! (NBD, as we’ve been friends since our first-born’s were in kindergarten.)
Follow along & you soon will know how to make Carmel Tarts too!
First you will need to blend the following ingredients together with a pastry knife:
4-6 ounces of cream cheese (my friend recommends 4 ounces)
2 sticks oleo
2 cups flour
Roll dough medium-thin on a floured surface & cut out with something that looks like this (be sure to dip cutter in flour as well,)
From Tupperware!
If you do not have a flower shape such as this, a circle will do just fine!
Next place the cut-out shapes in tassie pans, lightly tamp down the centers & prick bottoms with a fork.
Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 oven.
Cool before filling.
Look at those perfectly spaced fork-tines…pretty spectacular, right? (That was my only contribution!)
Filling:
In a double boiler melt one 14 oz. package of Kraft Carmels (or Carmel Bits,) with 1/2 cup Pet milk.
Keep hot & pour into shells.
Let filling cool before icing.
Icing:
1/2 cup oleo
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup crisco
5 oz. Pet milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
(My gal-pal suggested cutting this in half as it makes way too much! Or have a second use in mind when preparing…like banana-splits or hot-fudge sundaes for dessert with dinner that night!)
Beat oleo, crisco, and sugar. Add milk a little at a time. Add vanilla.
Use Wilton tip #16 or another rosette frosting tip to add a pretty dollop of icing on the top of each carmel tart!
These cookies are not only delicious freshly made but freeze beautifully for up to a month and are
just as YUMMY either way!
Just ask Helen, as since it’s a 3hugs&blessings Thursday she again thankfully agreed!
hugs n’ blessings go out to all the special “features” in our life!
(I hope you’ll remember to give thanks for them too!)
It’s been awhile since I’ve taken a Blogging University Course at WordPress.com, but I am so verily excited to be tippity-tap-typing in my cyber-school classroom!
Because WordPress has worked with thousands of bloggers, helping them create the blogs they want and tell their stories – there are so many things yet for me to sharpen my blogging skills with by working with them again!
Blogging University offers step-by-step courses with manageable daily assignments and pro tips from WordPress.com, to help us grow as writers, push our photography skills, and more. And now courses at Blogging U. are available on demand, so you can begin whenever you’d like!
Currently there are five different courses available and after reading over the course desciprtions, I have opted to re-take one I previously enjoyed titled:
This particular course offers a solid grounding in the three big components of blogging: publishing, customizing your blog, and engaging with the blogging community. Because one of the items I would like to expand upon MUCH MORE is meeting more bloggers & supporting them in their efforts I decided this would be the perfect course for me to re-take at this time! I have found, in the past, that the best way to meet others is by risking to share myself with them as well. So I look forward to meeting others who, just like me, are daring to share a bit of themselves; whether through story-telling, recipe sharing, travel expeditions, or the snap of a photograph, in the blogging world one post at a time!
Our first assignment welcomed us by asking to publish a “who I am and why I’m here” post. For those of us who have already been blogging for a while, they still encouraged us to do a version of this assignment:
“…use it to revisit what you said when you first started blogging, to take stock of what you’ve accomplished and what more you’d like to do, or to lay out some goals for your next six months.”
And so I went back to whence it all began…my first “who I am and why I’m here” post, which you too may read by clicking on the link below:
As I reread this post myself I giggled reflecting on the nervousness I felt to be attempting something so foreign to me. Looking back I was truthfully very scared!
I have learned so much since then about blogging, about computers, but most importantly about myself. For I am far braver than I had ever imagined. And I’m far more at peace with myself as a result of learning to ‘risk’ with others by unveiling my thoughts and feelings and beliefs, even when it is scary to do so.
More than just learning about widgets (which was pretty cool) and linking (my favorite) or pingbacks (adore,) I have learned so much about Me.
I am adventerous.
I am silly.
I love to create fun!
(But I’m not very funny.)
I am passionate.
(About others & my Faith.)
I am loyal.
I hate lies.
I laugh at anything Minion!
I am sincere.
And I care deeply…
which is why I am hurt deeply
when rejected.
But most importantly
I love my Cuppycake
more today
than ever…
and my God
above All.
I have accomplished far more than I ever imagined when I first began blogging a year & a half ago, yet there is still more I hope to do. I wish to be more courageous. And I hope to use that courage to share my experiences and to expand my blogging skills. One of my first goals is to meet more bloggers!
Will you be the first?
hugs n’ blessings to all my new classmates & friends!!
hugsnblessings 