A Tough Loss

This is the kind of post I wish I didn't have to write, ever.  On Monday my 23 year old cousin, Mitchell passed away in a tragic occurrence.  Mitchell was a very special member of our family.  He was diagnosed with Autism at a young age and never ceased to amaze our family.  He was literally genius, reading from a college level book and processing the information at an age when most children are learning their ABC's.

We have no doubt about his salvation so I am strongly comforted in knowing he is in Heaven where he isn't limited any more.  The hardest part is seeing the pain my aunt and uncle are enduring with the sudden and unexpected loss of their young son.

Please pray for our family, specifically Mitchell's parents during this difficult time.

Greetings from the West Coast

I am in Oregon until next week for a work conference. My hotel room back door walks out to the beach so I will struggle to actually attend the conference. I will be sure to take lots of photos and share them next week!

Five Dollar Bed Side Table

Last weekend on the way to the park with the demanding dog, I made a quick stop at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store (ticking the demanding dog off).  I have been searching for a two drawer bed side table to re-do for a year with no luck.  I have seen a few that were okay but not what I had in mind.  So when I found this table as soon as I walked in the store:

 I was thrilled.  It was exactly what I had been picturing in my head.  The price was $25 which was slightly disappointing because it's my belief that the only reason Beau has kept me around for so long is that he gets great joy in responding to a visitor's decor compliment with, "She bought that for under $10 and slapped a coat of paint on it."  I told myself that $25 was really very cheap and worth the use I would get out of the table.  As I went to check out the guy said something about the table being $5.  As much as I wanted to agree with, "Yeah, that's what the price sticker says." I told him it was $25.  "No ma'am, everything here is 75% off."  My response was what any red-blooded individual would have said, "Well let's throw that sugar bowl in too."

I started working on it last Sunday after church and finally finished it this weekend.

Looks good for $5, right?

Here it is in my room.  I wish it was a little taller because our bed so tall but it is not a big issue.  That picture is of me and Dad on the beach when I was little.  The lamp no longer matches our bed spread but it did match the old one.  Eventually I would like to get new lamps but haven't seen any I love.  Knowing me it will probably be next June before I find what I'm looking for. 

Last night I kept waking up to Beau snoring and Mamie smacking (a sound she occasionally makes in her sleep, seriously.) I would have been mad but every time I opened my eyes all I thought was, "Man that table looks good."

Game Day Recipes

With football season comes lots of good eats.  For the opening Razorback game two weekends ago, Mom and Dad came over.  Dad smoked a chicken and baked potatoes so I made baked beans and a dessert, which I am sharing the recipes with you today.

For the beans, I put a large can of honey baked beans in a baking dish, added some honey BBQ sauce, chopped bell pepper and brown sugar.  Bake on 345 degrees, covered, for around 30 minutes.  I forgot to get a picture of the beans after I took them out of the oven but trust me when I say they are delicious.

For dessert I made brownie pudding.  It is like a mushy, runny brownie. 

Brownie Pudding

Ingredients:
½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325˚ F.  Lightly butter a 2-quart oval baking dish.  Melt the 2 sticks of butter and set aside to cool.

  

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs and sugar. 

Beat together on medium-high speed until thick and light yellow in color. Next, add a tsp of vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl and whisk together until blended.

 Add the flour-cocoa powder mixture to the bowl as well.  Mix on low speed just until combined. 

Add the the melted butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Place the baking dish in a larger baking pan.  Add very hot tap water to the outer baking pan to create a water bath, coming halfway up the side of the baking dish. 

Bake for 60 minutes.

 The center will appear very under-baked, that is the way the dessert should be. 

Allow to cool slightly before serving with ice cream.

All She Needs is a Moo Moo, Coffee and a Cigarette

'Cause that is how my grandma would have sat on the back patio.  Who am I kidding?  That's how Grandma sat on her front porch.

The weather has been amazing lately and as much as I love it, Mamie loves it even more.  The other morning she was in the backyard for over 20 minutes.  I always leave the back door cracked for her to come in when she is ready so I was surprised she was out for so long.  Being a good mother I looked out the back blinds to see what she was doing and this is how I found her:

.

 Just enjoying the day. 

Later on I decided to join her with a book and she was totally annoyed that I would encroach on her alone time.  You know, because her life is so stressful and she needed to clear her head.

9-11

I still cannot believe it happened even though it has been ten years. I, like most Americans, remember exactly what I was doing when the attacks happened.

My grandfather had passed away two days prior. He was my first close family member to pass away so it was already a somber time.

I was a senior in high school. It occurred during first period where I was an office aid. The tv was on and we all were watching the news as they showed footage after the first plane had hit. I remember thinking that it looked like a small plane and was not too concerned with the situation. I went down the hall to deliver a message and when I returned to the office the secretaries and principals stood around the tv horrified. "A second plane just hit the other tower!" cried one of ladies. I couldn't begin to comprehend what was taking place but I knew it was no coincidence. I remember calling my mom for comfort but she was just as scared and confused as me.

My second period class was choir. I shared it with my best friend Courtney and we both sat and watched the tv, holding hands as the towers fell. Reports rolled in about an explosion at the Pentagon and planes missing, possibly hijacked. Still unable to wrap my head around it all, I literally thought it was the end of the world.

At lunch I went home where I called my mom again. I remember she told me to go fill up on gas which I thought was alarming. "Mom, is everything going to be ok?" I asked. "I don't know," is all she could get out.

Time does heal but it is hard to fully get over what occurred to our country that sunny September morning.

May we, as a nation, never forget that fateful day and all those who were lost.

God bless America.

I found this picture of me in NYC when I was little and thought it was eerily appropriate for this post.

Razorback Wreaths

The BFs and I had a "Brunch and Craft Day" two Saturdays ago.  After brunch we went to my house and all made Razorback wreaths for our front doors. 

 My wreath started with squares of burlap (my favorite fabric)

 Court did the wire form with mesh wrap (It's almost 3 P.M. so I'm too mentally drained to Google the proper term - I'm not too far from 30 and still on elementary school time.)

 Irish wrapped a foam wreath with fabric.

 I then folded the corners of the fabric squares and hot glued them to my wreath.

I cut a hog out of cardboard (I cannot rotate the pictures.  Again, if it were 10 A.M. I would strive for perfection.)

 I then painted the hog and hot glued it to the wreath.

 Here is the finished product.  I am quite pleased with it.

 That is Irish's wreath.  Court ran out of mesh so was unable to finish her's.

 We tried to get a group picture of the wreaths we were so proud of but Miss "Gypsy Rose Lee" needed to steal the show. 

I'm glad to report that our LSU neighbors across the street have yet to steal the wreath.