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

Camping, Pancakes and more

We recently went camping at Ft. Desoto and I must say we had a great time. The camp site was great, we were only yards away from the water, the weather was fantastic, the mosquitos left me alone, and the kids were great!! What more could you ask for?

Beautiful Sunset
Catching bait fish


Night time fishing with an amazing sunset.

Mama Raccoon (with no tail) and her only baby.

This sign is no joke!

We had a bag of Oreo's stolen from the cooler and they mocked us as they sat next to us eating them. They also stole some 18in long twizzlers and I have to admit that was pretty funny to watch.

Yummy Breakfast, Pumpkin Pancakes and bacon.

You gotta have bacon when you go camping!!!!

Pumkin Pancakes
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

I think we made all the other campers jealous with the delicious aroma of pumpkin and bacon coming from our campsite!

We saw a group of people kite surfing down on the south end of Fort Desoto Beach. Unfortunatley it was very gloomy out, so the pictures do not do it justice! It was really pretty amazing to watch.

We will definately camp there again. Everyone had a great time fishing, even though we didn't catch very many. The only crazy thing was, the place was over run by racoons! The could be a bit intimidating (I am thinking rabies the whole time) but they were quite entertaining. They stole our Oreo's right out of the cooler and some Twizzlers. So make sure everything is locked up good.

Yummy Spiders AND Pumpkin Whoopie PIes

Isn't he cute? The boys and I had a great time making and eating these spiders.

Here they are guarding some whoopie pies.

Some of the whoopie pies were rolled in sprinkles and drawn on with chocolate.

Spiders
The spider were pretty simple to make.
The body is a Little Debbie Cake.
The eyes are Reese's pieces (except for the mean green eyes those are left over from another project)
The fangs are Mike and Ike's
The legs are pretzels dipped in chocolate / almond bark

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
These were delicious!!!Luckily I was making all these goodies for my hubby's work or I would be in trouble having all those pies in the house.

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin puree
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves (I used less)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
Combine the oil and brown sugar. Mix in the pumpkin and eggs, beating well. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix well.
Drop dough by heaping teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool then make sandwiches from two cookies filled with Whoopie Pie Filling.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Choffy anyone?

I was recently turned onto a drink called Choffy.
Choffy is a brewed Chocolate (Cacao Beans).

According to fitness expert, Jim Karas on Dr Oz today, Choffy helps to burn fat, reduce chocolate craving, boost your metabolism, and block fat absorption.
If that is isn't reason enough to give Choffy a try, I don't know what is!
Also, there are more antioxidants in an 8oz. cup of Choffy than in two servings of blueberries.

I am not a rep or seller of this drink, but I am a big fan!

When I first opened my bag of Choffy I thought I had died and gone to heaven! It smells AMAZING! Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate! YUM!
I like my Choffy with a little French Vanilla Creamer. I even put Choffy in my morning protein shake.
I have been drinking choffy a couple times a day and I love it. It is a great way to satisfy my sweet tooth and has only 20 calories (not including my creamer).

I also want to try a few recipes using Choffy. So check back and see what I make!

Thank you Saralyn for sending me some choffy! Btw, I need to place and order.


http://livelovedrinkchocolate.wordpress.com/


If you anyone is in the area and wants to give it a try, let me know.


Come on over for a visit with me and drink some Choffy!

Creepy Crawly Bugs

If spiders freak you out, don't look at the following pictures!

We saw this spider at Crystal Springs. It's missing a leg, ouch!

My younger kids would like to think that this spider glows in the dark.

We saw this one at a park. My hubby calls it "The Spawn of Satan".

He's a little freaked out by spiders!

This one has been in my backyard for over a month. My oldest son has named him Timothy and actually catched bugs to feed him. Sooo Creepy!

You can see the hairs on its legs!

Fort Foster Historic Site

Originally built in 1837
A view from the 2nd story
Did you know they had a vampire problem? They stocked the shelves with wooden stakes!

Ha ha ha!

My handsome boys!

It was a beautiful weekend and what better way to enjoy our beautiful fall weather than head to a park.
My hubby suggested Fort Foster. It is located in the Hillsborough River State Park. As many times as I have been to Hillsborough River State Park you would think that I would have been to the fort before but, I hadn't.
There is too much to tell you but I will say we all had a great time. Our Ranger/guide Patrick, was a wealth of information and he did a great job keeping everyone interested.
Tours of Historic Fort Foster are every Saturday @ 2pm and Sunday @ 11am for $2.00for Adults. Kids 7-18 $1.00. Kids 6 and under are free!

http://www.floridastateparks.org/hillsboroughriver/