Warrior Dash

Ever heard of Warrior dash? If not, check it out at warriordash.com.
It is an insane 5k with 12 obstacles like jumping over fire, scaling walls, crawling in the mud under barbed wire, climbing cargo nets, and more. Sounds like fun, right? Well, I did it this weekend with 2 of my friends and about nine thousand other people.
Before you think I am this amazing super fit girl to take on such a crazy thing, I am not. In fact by mile two, I was ready to puke wondering what did I get myself into, and when will it end. BUT, I was with amazing friends who kept motivating me to keep running. If it weren't for them I would have taken a lot longer to finish the race. Having said that, I LOVED IT! I definitely want to do it again!
After the race, despite my feeling of nausea, I felt amazing! I was so proud of myself and my friends for what we just accomplished. Everyone thought we were crazy, and maybe we were. But it was crazy fun!

Before the race (that's me on the right)

After the race

one of the 12 obstacles


Afterwards you had the opportunity to donate your shoes to charity

In the words of Nike...Just Do It!

Random Act of Kindness

I think most of us in this world are kind people, but I think it is really easy to put our blinders on and go about our daily routine without a second thought about the strangers around us. Or at least that is me, most of the time.

I was grocery shopping the other day when I was trying to squeeze by this family to get something when a young girl about 12, looked up at me and said "you are so beautiful". It took me by such surprise I told her "thank you" and grabbed the item I was looking. Only a few seconds had passed when I turned around to tell the girl how sweet she was and that she was beautiful too, but she was gone. Her comment made my day, but it sadden me that I couldn't return the compliment to her.

So now I want to take my blinders off and be aware of others around me and make a stranger smile. I know this isn't a new concept, I have done it many times, but I get caught up in my own little world that I forget that I can make a difference, just as the sweet little girl made a difference to me.

Baking, Baking, and more Baking!

I hadn't planned on doing much baking this season but at the last minute my hubby asked if I would make a bunch of goodies for his office. So of course I said I would. Here are a few pictures of some of the goodies I have made in the last few weeks.

White Fruit cake (taste ton's better than traditional fruit cake) Macaroon's, Flourless Chocolate cupcakes, Peanutbutter cookies, Pumkin bread, and Chocolate covered Peanutbutter balls.
Flourless cupcakes, Pumpkin Bread, Eggnog Pound Cake, White Fruit cake, Caramel and Chocolate dipped Pretzel's
Chocolate cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting with crushed candy canes
Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Frosting, topped with Candied oranges
Chocolate Cupcakes with peppermint Frosting and topped with Andes Mints!

Santa Stopped By...

It was late and the kids were fast asleep when I heard a noise. I jumped to my feet and tip toed to the family room and who did I see? Santa, of course! So I quickly grabbed my camera and was able to take a few shots before he disappeared up the chimney!

When the boys woke up the next morning I showed them the pictures of Santa. My older two were only slightly impressed, but my youngest was thrilled to finally have "evidence"of Santa . What a great Christmas we had!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

My oldest son just turned 15.(How can I be old enough?)
Anyway, for his birthday we had family over for lunch and cake.
For lunch I kept it pretty easy by having a Taco bar. I was able to prep most of the food the night before which made everything sooo much easier.
For his cake I tried something a little different. I found a recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Cake from Countryliving.com
I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think?


1 1/2 cup(s) flour
2/3 cup(s) cocoa
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) buttermilk
1 cup(s) canned pumpkin
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
3/4 cup(s) butter, softened
1 cup(s) dark brown sugar
1 cup(s) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk

Directions

1.Line the bottoms of two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly butter.
2.Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Stir the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugars together using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. Reduce mixer speed to low and alternately beat in the flour and buttermilk mixtures in thirds.
3.Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a tester, inserted in the center, comes out clean--about 35 minutes. Cool layers completely before icing.
4.Step 1: Frost Beat 6 ounces softened cream cheese using a mixer set on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, 2 1/4 teaspoons cocoa, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and beat on low speed until well combined. In a separate bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups heavy cream with 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar and a scant 1/4 teaspoon orange food coloring on medium-high to soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well combined. Spread 1 cup frosting between the two layers and use the remaining frosting to ice the top and sides of the cake. Chill 30 minutes and proceed to step 2. Makes 3 cups.
5.Step 2: Glaze Place 4 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate, 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, and 3 tablespoons corn syrup in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring 1/2 cup heavy cream to a boil, pour it over the chocolate, and let sit for 3 minutes. Gently stir, using a whisk, until smooth. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes, until the glaze thickens slightly. Pour the glaze onto the center of the frosted cake and smooth out to the edges to allow the glaze to drop over the sides. Makes 1 cup.

Late Halloween Update

I am really behind with my blog, sorry.
However, I thought I would still share with you what we did for Halloween.

The spooky food- monster face pizzas, muumy hot dogs, ghost plasma eggs and more.

I love the Halloween peeps on a stick.

The beverage labels are so cute! I got them free at centsationalgirl.com
Floating pumkins
A few of our monsters

Do You Boo?????

Never heard of it? Well it's kind of like secret Santa but it's for Halloween instead of Christmas . You secretly leave some goodies at someones front door with a boo sign and instructions for them to boo someone else, ring the door bell, and run! And hopefully you have a chain reaction of lots of people anonymously getting treats from others.

This is a family tradition we have been doing for years, the kids love it. OK....I love it too! You can't go wrong giving goodies to someone.

There are soo many different ways too "Boo" someone, get creative, have fun! Spread some Halloween Fun!!!!!

Here are a few examples I found on the internet.

papercraftsmag.com

giftgazette.blogspot.com

skiptomylou.org



eighteen25.blogspot.com