Zach's Pecan Pie Muffins

I thought I would do something I really like doing - blog hopping. I came upon this recipe at RecipeZaar for pecan pie muffins. The comments were all raving about how they resembled pecan pie and everyone was giving it a 5 star rating. With only a few ingredients I thought I had nothing to lose by giving them a try. I'm telling you - if you have the ingredients in your house - make them now and then get ready to make a second batch. They really do have a pecan pie type of taste to them with a muffin texture. So good. They're minis and pop right out of the mini muffin tins and directly into your mouth. It's funny how that works. I had to throw them in freezer bags immediately otherwise today could easily have been a 3000 calorie day - noooo problem. My oldest son, Zach, said these are his new favorite muffin.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup dark Karo syrup or molasses
2 eggs

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Combine everything in a bowl
3. Spray 2 mini muffin tins about 3/4 full
4. Bake 18 minutes for mini muffins/ 22-24 for med size

will yield a dozen med size.

Could it get any easier

Amy's Banananana Nut Muffins

1 egg
1/3 c. milk
1 c. mashed bananas (2 or 3 med. sized)
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

1/2 teas. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottom of 12 medium muffin cups. Beat egg, stir in milk, oil and bananas. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once until flour is moistened. (The batter will be lumpy). Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

I have noticed some drug companies charge to do patient assistance program paperwork for clients.  As a former director of a non-profit that does this service free of charge, I have a problem with this.  People that really need this service can not afford to pay for this service. Nor do they need to!Dear friend, please be careful, some companies charge close to $100 for this service.  There are many non-profits who will do this paperwork for free.  You can also do them yourself .  If you need help, ask a nurse in your doctor's office. A minimal fee of less than $10 per Rx is understandable if you can afford that. Click on the comments for more info from my good friend Suzanne.

Bloggin, bloggin, bloggin

I started this blog to primarily show my kids off to the grandmothers, to share some recipes and just to journal some of my life.  I did not expect to meet other "bloggers", but gratefully I have.  Their blogs have allowed me a a sneak peek at their lives and being a curious person, I love it.  It is a support system in a way-new friends all over the globe.  Most in the states and a few over the big pond.  I lau ghed at the funny pictures..have cried a few times at the raw stories they share.  I thank you Brook,  Aly, Sue, Monty.  I also thank my stepsis for the peek into her twin -filled life. Oh and to the Lauderbacks , who are missionaries in Costa Rica, thanks for bringing us Thomasvillians along for the adventure.

One of my newest blogging friends is a kind man named Monty..here's part of a recent post I enjoyed and learned from..enjoy...

"We all live in an environment that is so full of stimuli that no one can perceive everything that's there. So we all selectively perceive what's there, through our own individual filters. We can take the stimuli there and derive happiness and joy from them, make lists of things that make us happy; or we can take different stimuli from the same environment and decide we are useless, worthless people, and find all kinds of justification from the past to support the contention. Another way to look at this is some people are choosing to be happy, and some aren't. Are we influenced in that decision by our emotional unconscious? You bet. Can we do something about that? You bet.

Look yourself in the mirror and start finding reasons why you like yourself, and tell yourself out loud those reasons. Daily. Be redundant. It's called positive affirmations. I like myself because I do kind things. I like myself because I saved a bee from Jake today (true). I like myself because I tell my wife I love her every day, and mean it. People like hearing this too it seems.

There's lots more. Here's what doesn't work. Hiding. Problems don't go away. Pretending there's nothing wrong. Same as hiding. If you need help, go get some. Really. But you need to work But it is so worth it. Imagine being happier. Here's what Mel wrote today:

"No matter what results you get, the only real failure is when you stop making the effort.

When you are mistaken, you can learn. 
When you are knocked down, you can get back up.
When you find that you've veered off track, you can correct your direction. 
When you discover that circumstances have changed, you can make adjustments.
What a shame it would be to stop just one effort short."

Now, I'm not Mel, I'm not going to start wearing heels and pantyhose, and I don't have a British accent, which I am sure are messy character flaws. I'm not a therapist, and I am not much different than the next person. But I laugh a lot. If you are one of my friends who are suffering from a lack of confidence, or know you are awesome at an intellectual level but not an emotional level, or think that you lead a boring life because you're so boring, or you can't be loved because the people who loved you left you; I'm here to say that I love you, and you don't have to change for me, nor lose weight for me, you're perfectly valid for me the way you are. Please validate yourself, because other people are wrong. There's no time like the present to start because life's a banquet and we don't want to starve. Come join me at the banquet table, please."

Out for Mexican

The 4 boys...Sushi, Rent-a-game,Baby Duck and Mon's kid.


Rent-a-game is so athletic.

BD wanted to sit up high too.

We had a great time at Dinner yesterday with my cousin Monica and her two wonderful kids.

Monica is an incredible person. I just love her. She is open, loving and brave.

She and I are going to get out crews together again very soon. The kids all got along great and the food was yummy. Monica's beautiful daughter, Em, passed her learners test! She will be the on the road now-so watch out!!

Summer Feet

Alright ladies, it's that time of year once again!!! I think we need to be reminded of a few things. So my sisters, PLEASE, raise your big toes and repeat after me below....

The Open Toed Shoe Pledge
As a member of the Cute Girl Sisterhood, I pledge to follow the Rules
when wearing sandals and other open-toe shoes:

I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over
andtouch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides andtops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free.
I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.

I will shave the hairs off my big toe. I will also shave my legs while at it!

I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker,
mother,sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck itthere.

If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into
placehoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

I will not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr.
Scholl's if my feet need him.

I will resist the urge to buy jelly shoes at Payless for the low, low
price of $4.99 even if my feet are small enough to fit into the kids' sizes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle.

I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell
and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/coworker when she
asks meif her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes are as long as my fingers and no sandal makes creepy feet lookgood.

I will promise if I wear flip flops that I will ensure that theyareactually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

I will promise to go to my localnail salonat least once per season and
havea real pedicure (they are about $35and worth EVERY penny).

I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs ofwear... nothing is tackier than dirty white sandles.

Well, maybe sandles and socks :P

I would have...should have....

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good” living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television, and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”
There would have been more “I love you’s.” More “I’m sorry’s.”
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it… live it… and never give it back.
Stop sweating the small stuff. Don’t worry about who doesn’t like you, who has more, or who’s doing what.
Instead, let’s cherish the relationships we have with those who DO love us.
Let’s think about what God HAS blessed us with.

-Erma Bombeck

Take a moment

Slow down and take a moment today.  I mean really slow down and really take a moment.  We live in such a "I want it now" society.  We are rushing here and there, not even noticing anything around us at times.  With 3 kids-there are days I really could use one of those clones.  "You go to the ballgame with Eli, AmyClone # 1, while I go to the band concert, OH and AmyClone#2-at the ballgame-you chase Logan around"

Yeah, its a busy life.  So, we have to make ourselves S..l..o..w....d..o..w..n. Take a few breaths and enjoy the world.  All the birds were singing this morning at my house, and as I sat down for a minute, I was reminded how wonderful life is.  So often I miss the smell of fresh cut grass or the lovely symphony the birds are serenading.  The green of the trees and grass, the feel of a cool breeze.  Take a moment-not to think, but to experience the beauty around us.  Send a thank you to the Lord for blessing us with this moment.  Just for a moment-be a human BEING-not a human doing.  

More boys and beach pics

Baby Duck at the beach

Logo smiling at Sushi. Just a swingin. and snakin.

Thanks Bubba for being such a good big brother.