start your engines…it’s birthday week!

001 copy

In a few short days

I will become

25 twice,

IMG_7499

5 perfect tens,

IMG_7500

the wonderfully BIG

5-zero!

IMG_7503

And it already feels GOLDEN!

Am I excited?

Nervous?

Anxious?

Depressed?

Yes, no, no, and a most resounding NO!

Those who know me well

understand this year will be like every other.

Why?

Because I love my birthday!

010_8

Why’s that?

It’s my  no-excusal-necessary day,

17050_1315791258639_7833855_n

my polka-dots with stripes day,

IMG_1073

my free-pass to be sappy-silly

IMG_4874

so that if anyone asks,

“What is up with her??”

“IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!”

018_16A

is the perfectly-perfect thing to say!

“Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you”

2 Corinthians 13:5

I hope you’ll follow along this week and discover all the

“Things of 50”

I plan to chat about.

IMG_7502
Balloon Photos by Jared Schaaf Photography, taken several silly-birthdays-ago.

Who knows????

Maybe you’ll be inspired to find a

polka-dot or stripe

of your very own

along the way!

8 Verses that Christ Lives in You (too!)

Romans 8:10, 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, Galatians 1: 15-16, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 4:19, Ephesians 3:17, Colossians 1:27, 2 Thessalonians 1:10

hugs n’ blessings to all those using their silly-passes this week!

double-feature

These two weeks of going back to WordPress school at

Blogging U

Image 5-26-16 at 2.25 PM

have flown by!

I have appreciated so very muchly dusting off my tool-set,

re-evaluating my ‘bloggity-blog say I’ space,

renewing my focus,

and  meeting some new spaces (and faces) along the way!

“Thank you Blogging U!  I am truly refreshed!”

Our final lesson instructed:

Think of the type of regular feature you can commit to —

something you’ll publish weekly, biweekly, or monthly.

I have several of these already on my site which are:

The Monday giggles,

3hugs&blessings Thursdays,

and

the Year of the Cookies.

(If you’re new I hope you’ll take the time to stroll through them!)

So far this week I’ve already had my giggle,

but today I shall combine the other two for my first ever…

double-feature!

Image 5-26-16 at 4.19 PM

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!

IMG_8463

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!

IMG_8458

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

IMG_1393
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’!

IMG_7863
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,)

IMG_7862
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.

IMG_7869
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.

IMG_7867

Keep hot & pour into shells.

Let filling cool before icing.

IMG_7870

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!

IMG_7873

These cookies are not only delicious freshly made but freeze beautifully for up to a month and are

just as YUMMY either way!

IMG_8167

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!)

fun-sucker.

it’s the monday giggles….

This weekend

Cuppycake

was birthday balloon bombed!

b93097565658042f0f2395c32be8b23e

Yup.

And I thought it was awesome!

Here’s the recap of the day’s events:

He worked all day.

I baked.

IMG_8403

While others

were plotting & planning

in mischievous ways!

IMG_0174

He came home.

I finished assembling the cake.

We went to dinner.

IMG_8416
Colao’s Ristorante

He got LOTS of telephone

birthday

wishes!

And then we returned home

to find…

lots & lots of shiny mylar balloons

all over

the front of our home!

“How fun!!!”

said me.

“What in the world?”

said he.

We looked and looked and looked

at all the wonderful shiny-ness

and

hoped to see some evidence of the

plotters and planners.

Until, at last,

we went inside

to

eat

cake.

In the morning….

Cuppycake was making coffee.

I went back outside.

To take better pictures

of the shiny-fun

(hanging outside our home,)

to send to our far-away children.

But the balloons were ALL GONE!!!!!!

I told Cuppycake,

“Someone took all your balloons!”

He said,

“No. I took them all down.”

b93097565658042f0f2395c32be8b23e

Yup.

Note to self for my upcoming birthday:

BEWARE OF FUN-SUCKERS!

(They take down balloons far too quickly.)

hugs n’ blessings to all the plotters and planners…

i salute you!

“I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;”  Ecclesiastes 3:12