Cranberry Cake

This is FAB. My friend Lynette made this for a gathering a couple of years ago and we were all hooked. So long as you're not opposed to butter *L* you'll love this.

Cranberry Cake

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 t almond extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup walnuts or pecans

Beat eggs with sugar until light in color add butter and almond, beat until smooth. Add flour until just combined. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 45-50 min. til done.

Because I can't find frozen Cranberries, I buy them at holiday time and freeze my own

The show went well

Thanks to you fab peeps who helped. About an average total which considering high gas prices and a competing show (Junior League, what WERE you thinking????) is quite good. Didn't sell a lot of expensive stuff, just "cobbled a lot of crumbs together and made a cake" as I used to say as a sales manager. Sold a LOT of aprons though...ten if I remember right. That was cool. There were a couple that I could have sold several times over if I had had backstock. Many thanks to all and thanks God for the moolah, you know we need it major league.

Let's get it started!

Biggest show of the year starts in about eight hours. Yep, it's late and before some shows, this one included, I'm always up late getting ready and feeling as if I missed the mark on lots of prep. But the fact is that I have a ton of product and have worked very hard and prayed just as hard that the show goes well. I have friends and hubs helping me in the booth tomorrow, and I am blessed.

So even though I'm tired, I'm PUMPED! Let's get it started in here, let's get it started in here (do you hear me singing that tune? driving my fellow peeps crazy? well, you will soon!)

Thanks, God for the good attitude going into this, and for all the ways you have helped me. I don't say that enough.

Kiddo stopped by the house tonight after going to a play at their school of their dreams with hubs. Kiddo was in a really tender and nurturing mood. It was good. Nice to see in the midst of all the pain, grief and anger they have to deal with. I am grateful.

Okay, off to a few hours of sleep and an early departure to the show. Ciao...

I think this may be a random character generator... *L*

...at least in my case, that is. If you use this for your blog, don't just paste the html in as the fine print has a spam generator. However, I have noticed others with lower "ratings" so perhaps there is a small nugget of accuracy. Don't overstate the size of that nugget, though...*L*

As one friend said "I'm just glad mine didn't say 'Preschool Board Book'". Mel, that would be EXTREMELY inaccurate...

Peaceful weekend...

...hubs, kiddo and I left town and rented a cabin for a couple of nights. It was an awesome place. It had two decks, a wraparound porch, jacuzzi, hot tub, fire ring, and NO PHONE!!!! It was probably a year old or so...and the owners had really shown a lot of attention to detail. It was perfect for us. No financial hangover either; for what we got, it was an outstanding deal financially.

It wasn't much of a vacation time wise, but it is the most we're going to get at least for now, money wise. Hopefully we can go back there soon.

Didn't do a single productive thing (well, I did plan for shows, but I wasn't TOO bad.) *L* Realistically I shouldn't have taken the time off, but I did anyway.

Here are some photos...since they're hawking their cabin online they probably won't mind. Just message me if you want more info on where it was.

When we got back, hubs' stress peaked badly...it wasn't fun. Kind of wiped away some of the rest we had. Unsettling. But I still really enjoyed the weekend.

Bumper Sticker

Haven't done a bumper sticker lately...

how about

"I believe, help my unbelief"

that would be good about now. :-)

Last Night's Potluck

The lovely orzo salad...

...and rice casserole

Except I put cheese on it, so it wasn't that healthy. Mea Culpa

amen to that...

Chuck Grassley wants to know about tremendous, scandalous waste in these 501 c 3s. I don't usually comment about this kind of stuff on the blog, but yeah buddy, go get 'em. They richly deserve the scrutiny...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_go_co/televangelist_probe

What M-cat wants to look like...

...If Emily (otherwise known as M-cat for "mom cat", everyone's mom including mine) received all the food she wanted and is constantly begging for, she would look like this. And not the kitten on the left, mind you.

Saying goodbye

to hopes and dreams.

Hubs and I have set aside something we have longed for...not for us, rather for kiddo.

It's no longer prudent to chase it. We see it clearly.

I still have faith, but I also have a ton of unbelief on this one.

Lord, please still our heavy hearts on this one, and comfort us somehow in spite of a deep pain that we feel. You can still do a miracle.

I'll still follow if you don't, though. There are other, smaller miracles happening every day and I just have to pay attention to them right now. My mourning on this one is deep, but it's clearly the right thing to do.

Somehow we will put this in perspective, someday. I pray we will, anyway. Tragic.

Something good happened...

it was fun. A new account. Will be a good one, Lord willing.

He's a bad, bad man...

The last few days I have felt like poo poo. I fell asleep around 4 after taking kiddo home from school (yawning all the way and feeling yucko) and then slept straight through like the dead till the morning.

So hubs came home and was looking for food to eat. I had made a lovely chicken noodle soup which was in the fridge. He had partaken of a bowl the day before and liked it a lot. I also had a nice large cooked chicken breast tucked away for easy consumption.

But he saw a container of guacamole and sat down in front of the tube with the last handful of saltine crackers we had.

Four or five saltines don't get one far when they are using guacamole and crackers for dinner...so hubs went scavenging in the pantry. He found some peanut butter crackers, individually wrapped in packets of six...he won these for a golf "prize" at a tournament.

Necessity being the mother of invention, you can guess what he did next.

Strange thing was, he LIKED the combination.

And he talked ME into trying it.

And I liked it too. So weird. I must find a healthier way of doing this.

He is a bad, bad man...*L* I told him he was a sick freak. But what does that make me? ;-)