Creating order

There is such beauty in order. As I have worked to create more order in my home and outside, there is more peace in my life. I had a small mess in my backyard.  Flowers needed to be planted, pots needed to be tossed , and containers needed to be arranged.  Now, flowers are in pots where their roots have space to grow. Sick or faded blooms have been plucked.  For now, things look better... one thing about weeds, they keep coming back. 

Wordless Wednesday

~Hoochmom~

Tasty Tuesday

Peanut Butter Pie

Betsy has been requesting this pie as her dessert for Red Plate Dinners since 3rd grade. It's a rich pie, so a little goes a long way.

1-already pie crust, baked and cooled
Chocolate Layer:
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1T butter
2-3t water
1/4C powdered sugar
In a small saucepan, combine the 1st 3 ingredients. Stir until smooth. Add powdered sugar, blend until smooth. Spread mixture on bottom and sides of cooled piecrust.

Filling:
1 C margarine
1C brown sugar
1C peanut butter
12 oz Coolwhip, thawed
In a medium saucepan combine margarine and brown sugar. Cook until mixture is smooth. Refrigerate 10 minutes. In a mixer, beat mixture and peanut butter at a low speed. Beat 1 minute on high speed. Add Coolwhip, beat 1 minute at low speed or until mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour into chocolate coated pie shell.

Topping:
1/2C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1T butter
2-3 t milk
1 1/2t corn syrup
In a small saucepan melt all ingredients. Spoon over filling, carefully spread to cover. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to set.

Decorate with whipped cream if desired.
Betsy's Red Plate Dinner was for making honor roll. Congratulations!

~Hoochmom~

People

People come into your life for a reason

www.youtube.com

Life Lessons Music Produced By : Tomiko Native Spirit http://www.myspace.com/tomiko941

Enjoy this beautiful presentation. I feel it is so true!

Mary Beth

Organizing my trips

Planning is a time saver. Once time is gone, it can never be replaced, so I am trying to make the most of efficient use of my time. I have been guilty of driving to the grocery store for one item that I forgot.  What a waste of time and energy! Getting lost, another waste of time.  Trip AAA, Map Quest, and GPS are tools that help us who are challenged with directions. This June, we have had to arrange our visits to coincide with the schedules of family and friends.  Another benefit of planning trips, we get to visit family in St. Louis,children in Omaha, and friends in Kansas. 

Who is the best guide?

"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Exodus 13:21

Charity Rides on the Harley

One of my favorite past times is riding my motorcycle. Certainly love being with my biker friends... they're more than friends; they're family -- like my church family.
But one of the things our Harley Owners Group enjoys doing the most is going on rides to raise funds for different charities.
We support three charities every year with winnings from Poker Runs (we pay $10 - $20 to go on a ride, stop to draw a card at each stop, and at the end of the ride, we split the money between the person who draws the best hand and the charities. We also pay to go on designated rides and have auctions at the end to benefit charities such as; God's Pantry, Blue Star Mothers (mothers who have sons fighting for our freedom overseas), Hospice of the Bluegrass, Shriner's Children Hospital, and many more.
On August 21, we will be doing a Poker Run Ride to the Galilean Children's Home in Liberty, KY. We will clean out our closets and drawers, and take T-shirts to the home, pay $10 to go on the Poker Run, and buy McDonald's gift cards for the children with the money we raise. Once at there, some of us will take the children for a ride on the motorcycles. You wouldn't believe how excited they get when they hear the rumble of the engines, and see the T-shirts! What a blessing it is for us to be able to pay such a small sum to have so much fun!!!
"The Galilean Children's Home, located in Liberty, Kentucky, is a non-profit organization that cares for children from all over the world that have been abused, neglected, rejected, are in need of medical treatment, or are placed here for a Christian education. The Home relies on donations from the public and fundraisers for their support." http://www.galileanhome.org/
Shine on!
~Edie

Tasty Tuesday

German Chocolate Cake
Another birthday at work. This is the requested cake. Adapted from the Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor

Frosting
1 1/2 C chopped pecans
1 - 7 oz sweetened flake coconut (2 1/3 C)
1 - 12 oz evaporated milk
1 1/2 C sugar
12T butter
4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/2t vanilla

Spread the pecans and coconut on a baking sheet. Toast for 7 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and set aside.

Place next 5 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and coconut. Cool to room temperature, 30 minutes or more.

Cake Layers
1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
8 oz mini chocolate chips

Grease two 9" cake pans. Preheat oven to 350. Place first 5 ingredients in mixer. Blend on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape bowl and blend 2 minutes on medium. Add mini chips. Divide batter into pans. Bake 32-24 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Invert onto rack and cool completely.

Frost between layers and on top of cake. Enjoy!

~Hoochmom~

Birthdays

June is a big month for birthdays iu my family. My oldest son was born on my 19th birthday on June 9th. My daughter was born 33 years ago today, June 17th. A cousin born June 8th, a nephew June 10th.

I love birthdays. They are a celebration of life! It was sad this year celebrating without my son. However, we launched a sky lantern in honor of him. Knowing my son, he's celebrating in heaven, I'm sure.

I will soon have another reason to celebrate. My daughter, Sara, is in Mobile, Alabama visiting her boyfriend that she met 10 years ago in Florida. They dated long distance for a couple of years, but called it quits, as they were still very young and long distance relationships can be difficult. Joe is in the Coast Guard and has been responsible for many brave rescues. Now he teaches the rescuers and tests them for certification. Joe looked Sara up on Facebook and they re-started the relationship. Unbeknownst to Sara, he is taking her to Destin, Florida today where he will propose to her. He called my husband and I last week and asked for our blessings. Joe is everything I could ever want in a husband and father for my grandchildren. I expect Sara's response to be a very enthusiastic yes. I will be anxious to hear from her and see her upon her return on Monday.

1 Corinthians 6:17 NIV But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

You are a child of God, His treasured possession. He created you in His own image. He chose the day for you to be born. He has a plan and a purpose for your life.

Where are my keys.?

Organization is a beautiful thing.  I love clean closets, drawers, desks, cabinets,spices, jewelry, books, reports,shoes, panties, t-shirts, etc,... the list could go on and on.. Having an organized life is a time saver. Organizing my kitchen helps me prepare grocery lists and menus.  It also helps me save money by not wasting food.  Each Wednesday, I will share how I am working on organizing my life.  

 Psalm 37:23   

Here is the before picture...

 Clean it out

Toss out dated stuff

Can you tell the difference?

Tasty Tuesday

Perfect Pizza Crust

I've been making this crust for almost 25 years. The original recipe came from Country Living magazine. I've made a few changes.



1C bread flour
1C all-purpose flour
1 package rapid rise yeast
1/2 t salt
2/3 C warm water (120-130 degrees)
1 T olive oil
1 T honey

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix oil and honey in warm water. Combine ingredients and mix for 3-5 minutes with dough hook. Let rise in an oiled bowl, covered for 30 minutes. Punch down, place in greased pan and top with pizza ingredients.
Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes depending on the thickness.

I like making pizza in a well seasoned cast iron skillet. Better than Pizza Hut! Enjoy.

~Hoochmom~

Let's MEET....and GREET...VIRTUALLY!

I Have an Idea!

Hello Jacqueline, Dama, Edie, Lisa and MaryBeth! Hope each of you are doing well.
I can't believe how fast the months are passing; we're nearly half-way through the year!

Speaking of time...
It's been a few months since Jacqueline inspired us to blog. What a G-R-E-A-T idea. I'd like to suggest that we meet and greet virtually to become acquainted....introduce ourselves, share our thoughts about how to continue the blog, laugh and whatever else we might want to do for 30-minutes.

I've checked the possibility to Skype, but each of us would need a camera on our computers to do this - - So, let's make this easy. Let's do a "Meet-Me-Line" conference call. It's fast, easy and nothing to connect.

All I need is your availability for SUNDAY, JUNE 27....that's it!

Blog me back by Saturday, June 19 with the time you're available to chat for 30 minutes on June 27 and I'll set it up!

Blog me with:

- - Time frame you're open to chat on Sun. June 27 (including your time zone)

- - Any ideas/suggestions that you'd like us to do during the 30-minutes

...Don't forget, I'll need your response by June 19 to set everything up.

Looking forward to our "Meet and Greet!"

Journey to South Korea

In less than 12 hours I will begin my journey along with 90 other co-workers to South Korea. This is the second time in the last year that I've had the opportunity to travel to South Korea with my company. We leave tomorrow and will return the following Saturday. I am excited, but a little nervous, because I am responsible for making sure that 30 team members make it to and from South Korea safely. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers during this time.

My snack list for the trip:
2 cans of Pringles
1 can of Lays Stax
1 jar of Jif
1 box of Cheez-Its
1 box of Townhouse Flipsides
1 bag of Rolos
8 Zone Bars
1 package of Ritz Cheese & Crackers
1 bottle of soy sauce

If you can't tell, I am not looking for to the cuisine over there. I am such a picky eater, so for the week, I will survive on snacks, rice and bread.

bwyl
dama

Palm Pre Plus

Well I just bought a new cell phone, because lately I've been having problems with my existing phone (samsung blackjack, which I've had for over 3 years). Three years is pretty good shelf life for a cell phone these days, so I thought it would be okay to retire it and purchase a new one. By the way I loved my blackjack, it was perfect for what I needed.

Everyone kept telling me to get an iphone, but I was extremely hesitant, because I wasn't sure I'd like the touchscreen keyboard. The other night I saw a commercial for the palm pre plus and thought it was a sharp looking phone with an actual keyboard. I did my research on the internet and it had pretty good consumer reviews. I even compared it to the iphone and it was pretty much the same, except that the palm had the keyboard. So this evening I made the purchase...

I thought I was technologically savvy, but this whole touchscreen thing is new to me. I've spent the last hour playing around with it, trying to navigate through the screens. After all of that time, I've yet to figure out how to get on the internet. I think I'm going to have to get on my laptop and google how to use the phone.

bwyl
dama

Looking forward to the weekend

I have wonderful weekend plans. My daughter, Sara and I will be traveling to Evansville, Indiana to visit my sister, Jeanne. Jeanne is treating us to a manicure, pedicure, massage, lunch with champagne then back to her new home for fun in the hot tub and swimming pool. It will be an early birthday celebration for my birthday, June 9th, and my daughter, June 17th. My birthday will be a bittersweet day. My oldest son, Chris, was born on my birthday. We shared many years celebrating together. We will be launching a sky lantern in honor of Chris this weekend.
My sister and my daughter are two of my best friends. We have shared so much together. I can count on both of them to be there for me.

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Eccl 4:9-12 New International Version

Summer Reading

What are you reading this summer? 
This is my summer reading list :

1. Prayer by Andrew Murray
2. Confessions by St. Augustine
3.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4. The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
5.  Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush
6. Mirror to America by John Hope Franklin
7. The Shack

Next week, I will begin one of three road trips.  I hope I can read at least two books next week.  For me, reading in on a long car trip is a perfect summer pleasure.
What will you read this summer?