The last two monday nights have found me at Great Skate.

What great fun!

It's been about 10 years since I last skated and I was AFRAID....very afraid to go now.

The last time I was at the rink I fell and fell hard!

Took about 6 months to heal so I quit skating after that, but I

LOVE TO SKATE!

So I'm skating again, but I will admit that I am very cautious!

Now I started skating many, many years ago and I've got

to tell you......ALOT of things have changed!

Like the picture below......texting while skating!

 And I have NEVER seen a stroller with a baby inside on the skating rink!
There were not too many people on the floor tonight, but LAST week it was packed and they had a stroller out there.

They have also come up with these PVC pipe contraptions to help beginning skaters.  They are pretty cool.........EXCEPT when those beginning skaters decide they want to leave the middle and cross straight across in front of a ton of skaters.  Kinda like crossing the freeway during rush hour!

 Hi Kathy!

You look great!

Back in the day, I used to be able to backskate.

Made it 1/2 way around the rink tonight before I ran into a wall

so I decided that going forward was good enough for me!

 Close up of the beginning skater helper.

I learned to skate in my basement back in Ohio

using those metal key skates

(remember those?  they tightened onto your shoes?)

and two brooms to hold me up!

Hey....it worked!

Next week I will be celebrating a birthday

and I've decided that I want a roller skating party!

So next Monday night if you are in the area

make sure and join me at Great Skate!

6-9PM

Do you think they would play a special song for me?

When I used to go roller skating back at

Dow Roller skating rink in Nelsonville, Ohio

they ALWAYS played

Tammy Wynette   "Stand by your Man"

Now THAT was a few years ago!

They probably wouldn't even have the song available.

AND if they played it all of the other skaters would groan!

Here is a pic of my sweet granddaughter taken today.

She is such a precious child and

never ceases to amaze me!

I'm going to start bragging now...just wanted to let you know.

She does all the usual fun baby things........smile, laugh, sit up.....

But today I realized that she understands when I talk

to her and can perform simple tasks when I ask her!

One of the things I did today was ask her to grab my finger

and pointed to the hand I wanted her to use.

Then I asked her to use the other hand

and then both hands!

She is so amazing and smart.

Yep....I'm a pretty proud grandma!

Lots of love!

tammy

Margarita Cupcake recipe

I'm reposting the recipe link for the Margarita cupcakes AND below you will find the recipe I use to make my Never Fail Buttercream frosting.

Here is the link again for Recipe Girl's Margarita Cupcakes:

http://www.recipegirl.com/2009/05/02/margarita-cupcakes-2/

Just look at all the yummy ingrediants in these cupcakes!

Many years ago, and I mean MANY years ago!  I took a Wilton Cake decorating class down at what was Christown Mall.  It was a 6 or eight week class and each week we had to make a cake and then take it to the class to learn a decorating technique.  Mike and I used to just leave a fork by the cake and have a bite when we walked by.  Oh.....to have the metabolism of a person in their 20's again!!!!

At the last class the instructor gave us this recipe for buttercream frosting.
I didn't even have a piece of paper to write it on!  I tore off a piece of cardboard from a box and wrote down this recipe:

Never Fail Buttercream frosting

1 lb powdered sugar   (that is one box or 4 cups)
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp butter extract  (omit this if you use butter shortning)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter or shortning  ( I ALWAYS use Crisco shortning)

Place all of the ingrediants in a bowl and mix until smooth
This will make a stiff icing suitable for piping.
Add milk a little at a time to desired consistancy.

I still have this recipe written on the cardboard!
Maybe I should write it on a proper recipe card!

So here are the changes I made for making the frosting for the
Margarita cupcakes:

Instead of using the 1/4 cup milk I added 2 T. fresh lime juice.
The icing was VERY stiff and since I didn't think Milk would go very
well with the lime juice and I really needed to thin this down abit AND
I still had some margarita mix......I added the margarita mix in small amounts
until I reached the desired consistancy!

I hope that you make these cupcakes and ENJOY them!

Celebrate!

With Margarita Cupcakes!

It's 5 O'Clock somewhere!

Last week a group of us met at, where else, Caramba's

to celebrate Jo's birthday.

Jo shares her birthday with Jesus

so normally she never gets to celebrate all her own

so we decided to celebrate last week!

Since Caramba's is a mexican restaurant and we all like

their margarita's I decided to find a recipe for margarita cupcakes.

I got the recipe I used from here:

http://www.recipegirl.com/2009/05/02/margarita-cupcakes-2/

I love the pictures of the cupcakes on this site,

especially the one with the shot glass on top of the cupcake.

(I couldn't do that at the restaurant!)

I will say that I changed up the icing recipe abit and used

my well-tested buttercream recipe. 

I just used fresh lime juice in place of the milk I usually do.

I was scared, but the icing turned out fantastic!!!!!

Here's the birthday girl knocking back a few margarita's.

Actually I think she might have been drinking water or soda,

everyone just put their glasses in front of her!!!  lol

I can't end a post without a picture of my sweet baby Mia.

She just loves to visit with people.

Doesn't say much, but LOVES to just

watch what everyone is doing!

Okay.....Is this JUST WRONG......

OR do babies just put EVERYTHING in their mouth??!!??!!

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of Mia reaching for the wine bottle.

Not a single drop passed into this babe's mouth!

But it really did make for a funny picture!

This past week I watched Guy Fieri make a tasty looking german meal

called Jagerschnitzel with bacon and mushroom gravy.

He also made a homemade german dumpling and roasted carrots to go with it.

I decided to try it for a late lunch/early dinner today.

Here is the link for the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/jagerschnitzel-with-bacon-mushroom-gravy-jager-hunter-recipe/index.html

It turned out pretty delicious.

Well, at my house you can't have a german meal without a german

wine.  So I opened up a bottle of Piesporter and put it on the table with

my very favorite centerpiece.....MIA!

Mia is at the stage where she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.

Okay....it's a little scary that she knows that the top of the

bottle is where she needs to put her mouth.

Wonder where she learned that?!?!?

On Saturday Mike and I and Jenny, Rafael and Mia celebrated our

last holiday party of the season at Glendale Glitter and Glow.

Historic downtown Glendale decorates the town square with millions of

lights for the Christmas season.

It is truly beautiful.

The weekend after new years they bring in lots of hot air balloons which

are tethered down, but they are lit up with fire.

This looks so Awesome!

It is fun to watch them blow up the balloons and then heat the air.

It is super crowded, but everywhere you look there are smiling faces on

old people and young people.

Kids are running around and dancing to the many bands that surround

the square.  It's just great family fun!

Mike and I with our sweet baby granddaughter at Glendale Glitters.

Another one of our favorite holiday traditions is when

BERT BOMBS THE NEIGHBORHOOD



Here is our neighbor Bert pouring the last layer of

Grand Marnier on the B52's

Rafael and Mike toast

Tammy and Jenny take the shot

Gail and Bert with the B52 tray.

So here is how this tradition started.....

Quite a few years ago on a Christmas day I was busy

preparing for my parents arrival later that day.

One of my "other" neighbors called and YELLED at ME

because Mike was cutting the grass on Christmas day!

It upset me SO MUCH!

I had to take something over to Gail and Berts after this call.

They were busy playing games and having B52 shots with lots

of family.  They offered me one and somehow I was not so upset after that!

A new tradition was born!

Always be Thankful

In those moments between being fully asleep and fully awake I can do just about anything.  This morning during that time I started counting my blessings.  It is Thanksgiving after all.  But during that magical time I am very articulate and creative, so I am hopeful that now during my wakeful state I can duplicate what was in my heart and head just a few short moments ago!

Just about all of the blessing that I have in my life have equal importance, but near the top of my list of people I am thankful for are my parents.  They gave me life, but not just any ole life, they gave me the opportunity to live and grow up in an idylic place where I knew I was safe and loved. They gave me 3 precious brothers.  They instilled in me a very strong sense of family and moral compass that still guides me in my life today.  They are my rock, the cornerstone on which my life has been built on.  I could go on and list many other things, but I will move on as I have a long list of blessings.........

Elizabeth Cooper Williams was my great-grandmother and was one of the most influential people in my early childhood.  I just did the math a few years ago and figured out that she was 75 when I was born.  I only had her in my life for 15 or so years, but in those years she molded me into the person I am today.  Her greatest gift to me was the gift of my faith in God.  Strong and unwavering.  She always told me that when she went to heaven she would be my guardian angel and I'm pretty sure that she watches over me everyday.
Grandma also planted the seeds of my love of quilting.  I am so thankful for her!

Have you met my family?   Mike and I have been married for 31 years and have made 2 beautiful children.  Those children have married brought 2 more wonderful people in my life along with their extended families.  And now I'm getting grandchildren!  Now if you really know me you would know that I could go on and on and on about my family.  But I'll spare you that today, since I write/talk about them alot on a normal day.  But suffice it to say that I am so grateful for Mike, Brian, Jenny, Jen, Rafael and Mia.  They are my world.

I am fully awake now and my creative side is getting rather uncreative.  Besides that I have cooking and cleaning and black friday planning to do, so my brain is starting to run on a different wave length. 

However I would be remiss not to mention one of the most valuable gifts that I am grateful for and that is my friends.  God has placed a whole host of people in my life who are precious to me.  My little ole heart just wells up with thanksgiving and love as I count each and every one of you. 

Sounds like I have a pretty perfect life doesn't it?  There is one area of my life that I struggle with, but I'm even trying to be thankful for that.   For the last 8 years or so I've not had too many days without pain.  Some days are better than others; I'm thankful that there are few days that are really bad.  I truly believe that we are given trials in life to shape and mold us into the people we need to be.  Sometimes I just wish I could learn my lesson and move on!  Guess I have a thick skull! 

I've been at this for an hour now and I really must start my day.  But I leave you with this quote that a friend posted yesterday:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melody Beattie

 

Have a beautiful and thankful day!

~tammy

 

Another Monday, come and gone

Isn't this the sweetest baby

you've ever seen?

I finally designed and embroidered the

label for Mia's quilt today.

It is all sewn on the back of the quilt

and is now ready to go to it's new home.

This label was designed and embroidered today as well.

It was sewn onto this t-shirt quilt

which will go to it's new home soon too.

I guess I need to finish up the YIKES quilt

so I will have a quilt to keep!!!!

Sometimes it is hard to see my quilts leave.......

Does anyone else have this problem?

God Bless,

tammy

What a weekend!

I love this picture.

Our angelic Mia never has a shortage of people

wanting to hold her.

Grandpa refused to get in line.

He insisted that grandpa's always get to go to the front!

I wish every single baby in the world had so many people

wanting to hold them!

Mike and I had the pleasure of Mia's company for a whole night!

Jenny and Rafael had a wedding to attend

Here they are all dressed and ready to go.

These two are great parents and really

deserved a night to themselves.

I did decide one thing during the 4AM feeding.....

God was very wise to give babies to young people!

I used to love those nightime feedings when my

kiddos were young.....it was a very special time.

Even tho I was tired and rather bleery-eyed at 4am this morning,

Mia rewarded my loving care with an ANGELIC smile

when I picked her up.

She is just so, so precious and words just

can not describe the deep well of love I have for that little babe.

Saturday morning dawned bright and early and it found

me moving furniture and deep-cleaning my carpet

AND

embroidering these shirts for Jen.

She is in charge of a banquet this coming week and

asked me to make shirts for her committee.

I love the way they turned out!

I had embroidered these aprons earlier this week, but on

Sat. morning I also made some micro-mitts to go along with them.

So Saturday was a great day......

some cleaning, some creating and some family time and some MIA time!

Sunday was a day of rest.....well-deserved rest!

God's Blessings,

tammy