Chocolate Buttermilk Cake.....thanks Curt and Reita

After asking for suggestions of something to bake one day, our good friend Curt recommended Chocolate Buttermilk Cake and a tall glass of ice cold milk. This delicious chocolate cake is so blissfully moist and good. The best part is that it's a cinch to bake. One warning, proceed to make this cake with caution! You'll eat more of it than you planned, you won't even realize it until you look at the pan and wonder where it went. Seriously you won't be able to stop! It's sneaky and wonderful and the same time!


Chocolate Buttermilk Cake - recipe given to me by Curt and Reita

CAKE

2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Cups sugar
2 sticks butter
1 Cup water
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1/2 C buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk add 1/2 teas. to 1/2 cup of milk, let sit for a few minutes)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
chopped nuts (optional, I never add these)

Sift flour, soda and sugar, set aside

Melt butter, water and cocoa over low heat. Bring to a rapid boil then pour over dry ingredients, add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Mix well, pour into a greased and floured 17x11x3/4 (jelly roll pan). Bake for approx. 20 minutes @ 400 degrees.

ICING

1 stick butter
3 1/2 C powder sugar
4 Tablespoon cocoa
7 Tablespoons buttermilk

Melt butter, add powdered sugar, cocoa and buttermilk, mix well.

Ice cake while it's still hot.

You will love this cake, that is a promise! You should probably make one today!

My Mothers Day

Mothers Day was so nice this year. I woke up and found this sitting on the counter in the kitchen

It's no secret that I love to cook and spend time in my kitchen. My clever son, Tyler, must have been paying peticular attention to a few things that needed replacing. We tried to grill some chicken a week ago and no one could find the tongs, so he bought me some new ones, the cheese grater had a crack in it but we still used it, well he took note and there was a new grater, and the thing I loved the most was the new whisk. Imagine getting excited over a new whisk, am I pathetic? You should have seen the old one though. Tyler did bring up a good point in saying, "Well, Mom these things aren't that expensive to replace". I don't know what's wrong with me, I use my kitchen stuff till it's completely dead. Pretty sad. Anyhow, I was thrilled to have these new kitchen toys.

Nikki and Becca bought me this cute new purse. So sweet, I love it. I've wanted a red one for a long, long time.

Later the kids made me dinner. Grilled chicken, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and my very favorite, watermelon. That is my all time favorite dinner. I love my kids so much and want to thank them for making my day special.

Mother's Day hasn't ever been my favorite holiday. I've always sort of thought of it as Mother's Guilt Day and try not to set my expectations too high. As a Mother I feel that often I've fallen short or lost my patience more than I should and think of so many things I could have done better. I am so grateful for wonderful kids that know the real me and see whats in my heart. Thank heaven for family cause for me it really is all that matters!

My neck, it was worth it!

It all started with pain in my arm that wouldn't go away. For about six weeks I went from one doctor to another trying to find out what could be wrong with my arm. It was pretty frustrating. The doctor determined I had 'Radiculitis'. I have always had stiff necks off and on for as long as I can remember. Finally the doctor suggested xrays of my neck. The xrays showed some major problems, bulging discs and bone spurs, so that doctor sent me to another doctor. This doctor offered epidural injections to relieve the pain but first would need an MRI. I have to admit I was very anxious at this point to just get some relief. So two days later I was getting an MRI and two days after that I would have the injections. Or so I thought, I got a phone call from the nurse and was told that my neck was "a really bad neck" that they would not be able to do the injections. I was then referred to a neuro-surgeon 4 hours away. This doctor came highly recommended and I would like to say that I agree. He told me that I needed to have three discs in my neck repaired and fused. This sounded pretty scary to me, but after a detailed discussion the fear went away. The greatest concern was the disc that was pushing on my spinal cord. By this point the pain had turned to my arm being numb for about fifty percent of the time. It was decided that I would move ahead with the surgery as soon as we could. Although I was a nervous wreck about it, I knew that I'd be fine. Surgery went very well, I spend only one night in the hospital. Three weeks later I am still recovering but really do feel fine. The main thing I was worried about was losing mobility in my neck. I may not be able to turn my head as much as I used to but I am out of pain. It was so worth it.

The day I came home from the hospital. I couldn't wait to get home to my comfy chair and stayed there for three days.

I felt so much better on Mothers Day. Soon you won't be able to even see a scar. I go back to the doctor the middle of June for an xray and final check-up, I expect all good news. It's healing nicely, everything is good!

Thank you Gail for the Strawberry Pie!

My sister in-law Gail came to visit Saturday. She knows my favorite, Strawberry Pie. Could anything be better than fresh strawberries covered with a sugary, sweet glaze sitting in a flaky, pastry crust? NO! I shared it but seriously, I could have eaten the entire thing myself. Thank you Gail for bringing ME a strawberry pie. It's gone now, oh the sadness, how its memory lingers in my mind. I am sorry to those that are reading this. I didn't save you a piece, but here enjoy these pictures. :)

Our special visitors! Fun, Fun!

The second week of March was extra awesome. We had special visitors, their names are Jaimie, Tanner and Hanna. Jaimie drove to St George from Magna to attend her sisters wedding. It was a bonus for us because we got to take the kids off her hands. We popped popcorn, fed the ducks, went to the spinny park, went to McDonalds, blew bubbles, drew pretty pictures with sidewalk chalk, went shopping, watched movies, made cookies and bought ice cream cones. Wow that is alot to cram into a few days but it was so fun. Tanner and Hanna are so well behaved and polite. Scott and Jaimie are such wonderful parents, I'm so proud.

Tanner had a blast spinning Devon around and around, faster and faster!

Hanna was making us dinner from rocks and bubbles. Yum, doesn't it sound delicious? She was so serious about it. This girl is so dang smart and adorable.

This little girl had absolutely no fear when it came to the BIG slide, grandma however was scared to death seeing her look over the edge to wave a big hello. "Hurry and come down Hanna," NOW! Aww, I'm no fun at all. She even laid face first and slid down on her tummy.

A little chillaxing time for Tanner. He found the perfect spot to rest and relax, smarty pants.

Just get a load of that amazing boy tackle that rope bridge.

Just one more adorable picture of Hanna. Can't get enough of them can you? I know I can't.

We have an antique piano that's been stored in our garage. Tanner had fun playing some tunes on it. He wasn't too excited to realize he had an audience.

This is the only picture I took that had Jaimie in it. I love it, the cute connection between Hanna and her Mommy is precious. Tyler's in the background doing some last minute checking before he took Craig's truck on a weekend trip to Salt Lake

Some serious chalk art

Nikki will love that I posted this picture

This little girl will melt your heart, seriously!

Treasures
Some think that pearls and diamonds
Are treasures to obtain
Some think that cars and money
Will give us joy again
But those of us who know the joy
Of Grandchildren at our side
Will know that all else pales
When we reach that lovely ride
That takes us on to wrinkles
And streaks of grey upon our head
We wouldn't have a million
We'd take hugs instead
Enjoy the waning days
That bring us so much joy
And clutch unto your bosom
That precious girl or boy.

For years I have had sort of a little mini movie play over and over in my head when I am down, feel desparate or alone. This may seem weird to you but stay with me.

Try to see yourself with a big shovel and you're digging a hole. You spend most of your life digging and the hole gets deeper and deeper. Until finally if you stand on the edge you can't see the bottom. So you throw down the shovel, take a deep breath, smile, and willingly jump in. At first it's fun to be sitting in the dark and feel the cool air blow on your face, it's silent and peaceful.

Then all at once you realize that you hate it and you start the huge task of climbing out. You dig your hands into the side of the hole trying to grip onto a rock or a root or anything that will help you get out. You climb a couple of feet and then the dirt works loose and you fall to the bottom, over and over you make a little bit of progress just to fall back to the bottom. Your face is covered with dirt, your hands start to bleed, your tired, hungry and thirsty. You spend days, weeks, months, years trying over and over to climb out, you never give up! After a while from all of your effort, the sides of the hole aren't smooth like they were at first. The sides start to harden and through all of your grabbing and pulling of the dirt steps are forming. The steps are large enough for a foot. You start climbing up the side carefully placing your feet on a step while grabbing the next with your hand. Every so often you slip and fall but not to the very bottom. Eventually you are able to see light, you stop to catch your breath and keep going. Soon you can hear people yelling and as you get closer you realize they are calling your name or just calling Mom. After what seems to be years of climbing you get close enough to the top to realize that you recognize the voices calling your name. This gives you hope and faith that you will finally make it to the top but you are so tired. Climbing and climbing you can finally feel the sun on your head. You are so tired and want to just give up, but the voices won't let you. The sun is so bright you look up to see how far you have to go, as you shield you eyes from the sun you can see hands, lots of hands, they are all reaching down. One hand reaches further than the others and wraps it's fingers around your wrist. With this firm hand pulling you are finally out of the hole. It's bright, warm, happy, everything you've always wanted. You didn't give up, you made it out!

I've thought about this often in the past years. Life happens, we all have challenges, trials, things to overcome. No one knows what our future will be, one can only do the best they can. That's the secret, to keep doing your best, it may not make things easier, or make bad things not happen but I think you'll have the strength to handle it and continue on.

Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies

These little babies are so delicious and super easy to make. The filling is fudgy and the cookie is soft and yummy. Give these a try, you'll be super happy you did. Please keep in mind that these are dangerous and can cause your thighs to grow. Use caution! Now lets get to the recipe.

I will double this recipe the next time I make these. It did not make enough!

Cookies

1 1/4 Cups flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup butter, softened

1/4 C packed brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 Cup mini chocolate chips

Filling

1 Cup mini chocolate chips

1 Cup marshmallow creme

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease.

For the cookies:

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in medium mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in milk, egg and vanilla (mixture will be thin). Beat in flour mixture on low speed until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheet (I tried to keep them all very uniform in size, you will need an even number of cookies) This recipe makes approx. 20 cookies.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until springy to the touch. Cool completely on baking sheet.

For the filling:

Microwave the chocolate chips on high for about 30 seconds. Stir till completely melted. Stir in the marshmallow cream and the butter till smooth. Put filling into a resealable bag and snip one corner. Squeeze about a tablespoon of filling onto the flat side of one cookie, top with second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Enjoy!

I had to include this picture of my cookies on my Silpat. The best thing you can buy for yourself, trust me! Nothing sticks to these things!