This Economy

Is this precious or what? My favorite doll shop is going out of business. I bought this bed 60% off. I also bought another line of doll furniture and got a darling little rocking cradle. Kendra gets this one and Anastasia gets the cradle. I can hardly wait for Christmas this year. It is tempting to give this to Kendra for her first birthday since I got it SO CHEAP! I love Lee Middleton doll paraphernalia. My favorite framing and art store is also going out of business. I am very sad today.......I feel so bad for all the shop owners.

Babysat Keira and Dan's boys for two days while they finished up their seven day cruise to Canada. We had lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. The boys loved playing all the games and winning the tickets to buy that cheap crap they have behind the counter. The dollar store has MUCH better junk....LOL! I think I should just go and buy some of those "tickets" and run my own carnival. Eli was ready to cry because he didn't earn enough points to have three Smarties....RIDICULOUS! I have a whole bag of that cheap candy at home in the pantry.....whatever Chuckie! I spent fifty dollars and you can't even give my little grandson THREE lousy Smarties.....has anyone heard the song called, "Chuck E. Cheese Hell?" I am not making this up...I was there today. Check it out on youtube.

Stake Conference

Elder Grow visited our Stake this past week-end and very emphatically announced that seniors should be serving missions. Hubby and I have already discussed this possibility. I find it interesting that after he spoke....people I don't even know ......sitting all around me start pointing their fingers at me and TELLING me...."time to go on another mission"....INCREDIBLE.

Hmmmm....isn't that little bit like asking someone WHEN they are going to have another baby? Isn't that kind of a private matter? I found it most astonishing that I got those remarks immediately after returning from my first mission....again....people in my stake that I barely know hitting me up at the grocery store, etc.... Oh well....more church "culture" at work.....LOL!

We recently had dinner with a couple Mark knew from work. They served in Scotland.....PR mission. The wife is now a Stk. RS Pres. somewhere in Mesa. She told me...."I HATE that question!" It's like asking a woman still in the stirrups after childbirth being asked when she is going to do THIS again....BA HA HA HA!

After all is said and done....we are so grateful for all the Lord has done for us and all His tender mercies to us and the bounteous life we lead....SURE....we WILL go again. Starting to prepare NOW. Gotta go....buh bye!

Busy Week

We had a busy week. We started off with the heart-attack scare and spent most of the night in the ER. That taken care of.....off to the cabin to deliver the newest "toy" and then Simona's baby shower. The girls made the darling diaper cake and I made my first cake pops. I made "baby" pops with pacifiers in their mouths along with some sugar cookie blocks and chocolate babies on top. It was a fun day with a trip to Paradise Bakery for all the girls and then unwrapping gifts. Uncle Perry and Aunt Gina sent a beautiful "Star Bright" play station and teething toy. Uncle Perry always "trumps" us all LOL! I made my first "tied" quilt and it is so easy that I am now committed to making some more! I have done hand quilting but never this kind of quilt. So quick and fast and easy.......A good time was had by all and it is so fun to see Will just BEAMING!

Canning Class

I was asked to "fill-in" for two guest speakers who couldn't come to our RS meeting. I have canned chicken, beef, tomatoes from the garden and apple pie filling. I decided that I would try something unusual after Mark came home from the Temple to tell me that a Sister there has canned butter. I found a recipe and tried it as well as cake. I always half the recipe when I experiment, so I use these small 8 oz. bottles. I tried Apple Walnut Cake and Walmart generic butter, the recipe states that cheaper butter has to be shaken more often.....mine was EASY and was done in less than a half hour. The University of Arizona Extension Center does not recommend these methods and using eggs and butter in any form. However, when I find that other women have tried it and posted on their blogs.....I forge ahead FEARLESSLY!

I am going to consider these my little science projects for now and will keep an eye on them on my pantry shelf. My recipe states that the butter will keep for 5 months. I got a call this morning from a woman who said hers have been opened after 3 years and are perfectly FINE!

Now my next project....getting my solar oven to produce bread and rolls......

Candy Clay

AH HAAAA! My camera is NOT broken...hubby forgot to check the memory....it was FULL ....so we only have ONE picture from our Easter Party.

I am always stealing ideas from other people and always excited to try something "new." I have had two gingerbread books authored by a woman from back East. She had her phone number listed so I called her and she mailed me little "cutters" for windows. Well, she also had some other recipes in the front that I neglected for years....one of them was for modeling chocolate.

I recently bought some darling chocolate molds and found a British woman who shared the exact recipe calling it Candy Clay. The kids LOVE it and it is so easy to make.

RECIPE for CANDY CLAY:

1 package of Wilton Candy Melts (10 oz.)

1/3 cup light corn syrup

You really should have a double boiler to melt chocolate but can improvise with one saucepan sitting over another saucepan filled with boiling water. Just make sure that no steam or water gets into your chocolate or it will "seize" up and become hard and unusable.

Michaels carries the colored chocolate in packages made my WILTON. They are 10 oz. packages in many varieties. This week they were on sale from 2.99 a package to 2.49 a package. If you save your coupons you can get 40% off the 2.99. Start with a few simple colors like white, blue, yellow and pink.

Blue is great for little birds.

Yellow for ducks and flowers.

White

Pink

Okay....the British lady also gave a "tip" for creating flesh colors. You can't add liquid food color but can purchase powdered colors to add to chocolate. I can't find FLESH colored powder anywhere... her little tip is.........you won't believe this.....ADD PAPRIKA to make a flesh color. Just sprinkle a tiny bit at a time until you get the results you want.

To your melted chocolate....add 1/3 c. of white corn syrup. Stir around and watch the chocolate start to bind together. Only a few minutes and then you can place in a bowl on the counter to cool a bit to handle. As you knead the cooled mixture...don't wait too long....I tend to get in there and tough it out a bit.....the mixture will ooze liquid as you knead. Keep newpapers or paper towels to catch this liquid. You MUST NOT put it down your drain. It will clog up your drain. Throw excess with paper towels in the trash. Your compound should still be warm and pliable and FUN TO PLAY WITH. You should let it cool more for little ones. Keep on the counter. Do not put in fridge. Wrap in plastic wrap. Overnight it will harden.....all you have to do is pull off as much as you want and begin to knead and warm in your hands and you will have a wonderful product. Hint....you can make this stuff ahead of time.

Any book that teaches how to make figurines....like the books for FIMO clay, etc... will show you loads of ideas to mold animals, people, etc... move over Cake Boss!

I bought some BABY molds and the flesh color is AMAZING. I have little chocolate babies that look like something out of an Ann Geddes photograph. I am going to surprise Simona at her baby shower with these. Will have camera ready this time..... I have already added little wings to one of my babies and it looks like a butterfly baby. SO EXCITED about this I can hardly sleep!!!