Baking it up!

My best teacher friend, Lauren, came over on Tuesday to help me bake a Smores Cheesecake for our friend Jennifer's baby shower on Thursday.  Lauren is the baking queen(check out her blog here)so she came over to share her skills with me.  We made the graham cracker crust and baked it for about 10 minutes.
Mixing delicious melted chocolate into the batter.
After we baked the cheesecake it had to be refrigerated overnight.  We went ahead and made the marshmallow topping and I just put that on when I came home from work on Wednesday.  Once the topping is added, you have to brown the top under the broiler for 3-4 minutes.
This was the final product.  As you can see, it was quickly eaten up.  There was not even a single crumb left at the end.  I think it turned out really well.  G is bothering me everyday to make one for him.  I think I'll try pumpkin cheesecake for him next week.

We also made pink buttercream icing for cupcakes.  I had a great time baking  with Lauren!

Fall in NY

I took these beautiful pics last Sunday in NY.  We flew up for G's grandmother's surprise 80th birthday. 

 Our flight got in late Friday night and our friend picked us up from the airport.  After dropping me off at our friend's house, the boys left to go to a bar.  Instead of going to bed like I should have, I watched tv and played around on the computer.  I finally went to bed around 2 a.m.  Of course, the boys come home around 2:30, just as I have fallen asleep.  They did shut the bedroom door so they wouldn't disturb me.  Nice huh?  Not so much b/c shortly thereafter they decide to complete demolition on Bob's basement ceiling which is right under where I was TRYING to sleep.  We had a short conversation through the air vent and I expressed my sincere gratitude for their work at 3 a.m.  They went to bed shortly after.  Three and a half hours later we were up again thanks to Bob's alarm clock and G not wanting to "sleep" away all his time in NY.  We were all slow moving but we did make it to Denny's for breakfast by 7:30 a.m.  

After a quick trip to Walmart and a short visit to see B's parents we went by G's grandmother's house to pick out her outfit for that evening.  We were bringing her something to change into b/c she didn't know about the surprise party that evening.  G and I were so nervous to go into her house.  She was at a driving class and wasn't supposed to be back until late that afternoon but we were scared she would be done early and show up while we were at her house.  We left Bob in the car so he could call us if she happened to pull in the driveway so we could sneak out the basement door.  As we were looking through her closet, a piece of paper fell on the floor.  We both looked at each other and thought, "Where did that come from?".  We saw a pile of papers on top of her tv and we were about to pick up the paper and put it back with the others, until something told me to look at it.  It was our flight itinerary.  If she had come home and found that paper the surprise would have been ruined.  Thank goodness we looked at that paper.  We finally grabbed 2 outfits and headed out the door and on the way to G's aunt's house.  

I hung out with G's aunt while G, his cousin, and Bob went hiking.  Both of his aunts had worked really hard and most everything was ready for the party.  The only problem was Nona (G's grandma) didn't know that she was supposed to be coming to her daughter's house yet.  Her sister was supposed to call her earlier in the week and suggest they ride up to the aunt's house b/c the aunts and nieces were supposed to be scrapbooking that afternoon.  G's aunt finally called Nona and left a message inviting her to come over for a little while so she could see everyone.  We couldn't wait any longer for Nona's sister to call her.  When  Nona called back, she said she couldn't come over b/c she had plans to go see her godson.  Oh, no!!!!!  G's aunt convinced her to come over with her sister for a short visit.  

They pulled in right at 6 and everyone hid.  When she walked in everyone yelled surprise.  G, Bob, and I were still hiding in the back bedroom.  After about 5 minutes, G called her  and she was telling him about the surprise.  As soon as she started talking about how she wished he was there, we walked to the kitchen and he crouched down beside her while she was on the phone.  It took her a minute to realize who it was but she was really surprised. G's aunt got a picture of her face when she realized G was there and it is priceless.  

It was a great party and Nona was really happy.  We got to hang out with her all day Sunday b/c our flight home didn't leave until almost 8 p.m.  We were really glad we were there to help celebrate her 80th birthday.

On a side note, we flew US Air to Syracuse and it was wonderful.  All 4 of our flights were on time, the employees were friendly and the flights were smooth.  I hadn't flown US Air in a long time, but after such a good trip, I would book my next flight with them.  

more fun projects

Here are the other two projects that I completed on "Ladies Night".  I haven't found a permanent home for the pumpkin yet.  I'm thinking it will go on the hallway closet door.  
I love these Thanksgiving cards.  I think the ribbon is what really makes the card pop.  I have to give my friend, Shawntel, credit for these ideas.  She is so creative and always comes up with the neatest projects for us to make.  I can't wait to make Christmas cards this week! 

The Economy Sucks!

After weeks of hearing about how bad the economy is and being thankful that it hasn't affected me, things have changed.  G called me this morning to let me know that everyone in his company is taking a 10% pay cut.  I am so thankful that he still has a job but it sucks to take a pay cut.  If I stop his 401K contributions and the additional tax withholdings we have everything will even out but I'm not ready to do that.  I guess I have to wait until he gets his first check in the next couple of weeks with the pay cut before we make any decisions about what to change.  

It makes me soooo angry to hear about people on the news who have worked out a deal with the banks and their interest rate is cut so they can continue to make their house payments.  I feel like these people are being rewarded for not reading the fine print when they signed their loan documents.  I was offered the same options, when I purchased my home 2.5 years ago but I knew better than to get in over my head.  What has happened to personal responsibility?  

I hope and pray that things get better in the economy but I guess only time will tell.

Meet Frank!

I made these adorable cards at Shawntel's house last night. She always comes up with the cutest ideas. I love all things Halloween. I put up my Halloween decorations earlier this week. Now, if the weather would cooperate and the days would get cooler it would really feel like fall. I have another card and a cute project to post but it will have to wait until I get back from Syracuse. We're flying up tomorrow for Greg's grandmother's 80th birthday.

Happy Anniversary

Today I celebrated my sixth wedding anniversary. My how time flies! I can picture it in my mind like it happened last week. We didn't have any big plans today. It was nice to just hang out together. We went to the mountains last weekend for our friend's wedding so we called that our anniversary trip. We'll go to our favorite restaurant, Stonewood, later this week. (There is a golf tournament in town so we knew Stonewood would be packed!) I made Greg his favorite dinner that he swears I NEVER make for him......sorry that I don't want to eat sausage bread (italian sausage, mozz. cheese & bread) on a regular basis! I am very lucky to have such a sweet loving husband. I'm looking forward to a lifetime of happiness with him.

Card Making

I made two cards with the saying a little something for a little someone. I thought it was so cute for a boy or girl baby gift. If it was for a girl, I would use the flower envelope instead of the blue one with white polka dots. The envelopes were cut out using the "Big Shot". A Sissix cutter sold by Stampin Up. I chose to you from me for the other card b/c I thought it was perfect for a small gift for my husband. These adorable bags were also made using the Big Shot. Once all the paper is cut out, you use double sided tape to put it together. I'll put a small gift or candy in these for a friend's birthday.

I was really happy to make this card because I was almost out of birthday cards. I can't give store bought cards after making them for the last few years. People would be disappointed!!!!!! I love the two tones in the flower stamp. I put the stamp in the yellow ink and then dotted a sponge in the orange and dabbed it on the stamp. I love the way it came out. My third card was much better than my first card. The first one had a little too much orange. Practice makes perfect!