No Bake Awesomeness!

I wanted to post this for Biggs. I know she likes them, but she'll probably say she doesn't & then tell someone to make them cuz I want them but i'm too embarrassed to ask. Rude! Just like her tho! Hahaha!

NO-Bake Cookies

3 Dozen

Ingredients

1 3/4 C. Sugar
1/2 C. milk
1/2 C. butter
4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C. crunchy peanut butter
3 C. Oats
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.

This recipe totally reminds me of Jr. High! I did this as a cooking demonstration in Foods class & then I got an F for talking too much, even though we all know it was Mark G's fault! And why was I always the dish bitch???

"It's my Party & I'll cry if I want to!"

When i'm going to have a party, it seriously takes me weeks to put it together. I have a million ideas & then I have in my head exactly how I want it look & feel & what I want to happen. Ya know, it's one of those "Secret" things, visualization. I've been to the party store, the craft store, the cooking supply store, the dollar store, the grocery store & now I have to go back to the craft store for some supplies that I forgot this afternoon. Although I care what my friends & guests think, it's probably more important to me what I think & how I think it's going. And ya, I need to find something to wear! I just put in my catering order & hope that all turns out well. I do boast myself as being a good cook, but getting it catered seemed so much easier this time. Now I need to think about music, drinks & figure out who is bringing what & see if I get a few more rsvp's by Saturday. What's with the not rsvping??? That bugs. If you don't want to come just put no. I promise you won't hurt my feelings, but at least i'll have a # to plan for. Anywho, I know it's going to be a good party! I feel it....in my bones!!! :)

TURN OFf THE IPOD ON THE RIGHT TO WATCH THIS VIDEO!



BTW, I really am an Amy Winehouse fan....even if she's a hot mess!

Pan-a-cakes

I do not like pre-mixed or pre-made food. And I will not let my family make pancakes with Bisquik or a pancake mix. Don't people know it's better for you if it's made with love??? Don't they know it's healthier & good for the soul??? Below is my favorite pancake recipe. It's super easy & they come up fluffy & delicious!

Plain Griddle Cakes
1 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 C. Milk
1 Egg
1 tsp. Butter, melted

Put first 3 ingredients in a bowl & whisk to combine. Add the milk & egg, mix until egg is broken up. Pour in butter & mix until just combined. Do not over mix or they will be tough & chewy (like ihop's). LOL!

One thing I learned from Alton Brown is to not over mix. Mix until just combined. It'll be lumpy, but it's supposed to be. I like to cook mine with oil on a griddle cuz then I can cook like 8 at a time. But you do it however you like. Hope you try it out! :)

Another Good One

I heart this book! I've referenced it a ton of times. I'm not really a fan of prescription drugs or over the counter drugs. A lot of times I think they're unecessary & people take too many of them. It has sections on Vitamins, Minerals & Antioxidants with a ton of information. After those sections then you can look up any kind of problem/issue & it'll help you understand why & what you can do to help relieve any discomfort. I think the last thing I looked up in it was Antioxidants, how many there are & what the different ones do. I used it a lot when i had my joint issues & that's where I learned about Ginger & all it's great properties. Also, I go through these phases where I get high anxiety. I use to get panic attacks a lot & I used this book to find out what kind of herbs I could take to calm myself down w/out having to be prescribed a sedative or some kind of tranquilizer. And I found out that St. John's Wort helps w/that so I started taking it everyday. I finally got rid of my anxiety & now I don't have it at all. I also think that the Chi Kung helped w/it too cuz now I know how to instantly relax myself, how to breathe & stand. It all has to do with your brain. I would recommend this book for anyone. I know it looks huge & overwhelming but once you start using it, it's super useful. :)

Welcome to the Dollhouse - The Sequel???

I wanted to put some stuff up for Welcome to the Dollhouse, one of the funniest & disturbing movies ever. After I watch it I feel bad that I laughed at this poor girls misfortune. Anywho, while looking up Dollhouse clips I saw that on one of them that someone had commented on the Dollhouse sequel called "Palindromes". So I looked further into it & I guess in the beginning of the movie it shows Dawn's funeral & it's Mark speaking. Apparently, she killed herself. Debbie Downer. I thought that was sad! Poor Dawn. It was probably Missy's fault. But ya, I guess her family is in the movie but she isn't. I think we should rent it & see what it's like. Below are a couple Dollhouse clips & then below that i'll put the Palindromes trailer.







PALINDROMES

Shooooosh!

I don't know how many of you have read this (I know a few of you have), but this is my very favoritest book in the whole wide world. It's "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. I use what it says in my daily life, for various reasons. For work, health, other people's health, sometimes money, sometimes things that don't really matter that much. I probably use it the most for time management & parking spaces. Weird right? I tell myself that I have more than enough time for stuff & that I always get the good parking spot. And I would say it works about 90# of the time. Unless the Universe just doesn't want it so. it's a really interesting book, I learned a lot from it & I would definitely recommend it. :)

www.thesecret.tv

Summer LOVE!

I'm a huge fan of Snow Cones. But I like it even more if you drop the w & just call them Sno Cones. Like the Sno Shack. Remember the old Sno Shacks that were round, blue & had a huge rainbow on the side. I haven't seen that kind forever! Every summer I take my nieces & nephews out & about & we go to all the sno shacks around BTown, WX & NSL. Today we went to the new one in the Rite Aid parking lot on 5th South & Main. And, I think it might be our regular new hang out. It's a nice location, easy to get to, but really I judge by # of flavors & how fine the ice is shaved. I actually didn't get one cuz I bought my nephew one & then I didn't have anymore change in my car so I just had a few bites of his. He got a Small Polar Punch, because it's blue. What a boy. Hahaha! And the ice was perfect! We;ve been to the one in Winegars parking lot on Orchard & they are good if the girl is working, but if it's the boy then they usually have chunks of ice in them. Our other regular one was at the Apple Store in Woods Cross, but they aren't there this year. Ya know where NOT to go tho? The one at the Rec Center. It's the trailer that is blue, has the flowers on it & has a grass skirt on the bottom. I think it might be Hawaiian Ice or something like that. Um, maybe it's just me but i'm not going to pay $4 for a small. C'mon it's some ice & some colored sugary syrup. Maybe they're really good, but I probably am not going to try them. Ya know what else I don't like? When they offer to add cream to them. Eeeewww. That's not right. And, I do also appreciate a "Snowie" cuz then you get to add your own flavor at the "Flavor Station". :)

One of my favorite things....

www.downtownslc.org
On Saturday the Downtown SLC Farmer's Market opens back up! Yay! I'm super excited. I love it. I try to go as many Saturday's as I can until the season closes down. The best time to go is like 9am, cuz you've missed all the people who think it's easier to get their early & you're too early for the lunch crowd, which gets too crazy for me. I'm not really a fan of crowds so I like less people. Later in the season they have a Wed night Grower's Market which is just the north row that has all the fruits & veggies. And sometimes i'll go to that instead cuz really I could care less about the crafts. Sorry crafters, I know it took time to make all those items but it's not really my thing. And besides you're always over charging anyway. Hahaha! The first of the season is ok, cuz I still get my bread & pastries but if you're not into peas, beans & other random spring/early summer veggies then it's not so great. Once you get to about mid-July then the fruits start showing up but the best is August & September/October. Then everything is out.

Also, did anyone know that Bountiful has a Farmer's Market on Thursday nights??? I like it too! It's been getting bigger & bigger each year. It's on 100 So. & 100 E., just off Main. At first it was just a few farmer's & a couple food vendors but now there is a bunch of food & a bunch of crafts. I did buy a purse there last year & some Juicy Couture Jewelery, so I guess those booths aren't a total waste. I like to get my honey there too. FYI, if you have seasonal allergies, then you should buy local honey. I don't 'memba why but I heard that from some random honey guy.

So, I hope to see you there! I'll be there with my re-usable shopping bag, some coffee & maybe even some frosting on my face from my Marzipan Bar that I have to get every week! :)

"I don't trust anyone who does their own hair. I don't think it's natural."

I don't know if anyone else uses them or not but I LOVE velcro rollers. Since my hair is getting longer it is getting super heavy & my bump is having a tough time being as high. So I started using velcro rollers. They are a little time consuming but you get awesome volume out of them. So I put one on top in the center of my head. Another right behind it (to get the bump) & then 2 on each side, leaving some out so I can curl that up & then it mixes w/the hair in the rollers & I think it looks better. If I put it all in the rollers I have a total "ball" hairstyle. And my face is already round enough w/out my hair adding extra roundness. I spray w/hairspray, roll & set w/the hair dryer. For me, I like to do the hottest setting on my dryer focusing for a few seconds on each curler. Then I immediately follow with cold air w/my dryer & cool them all down. That's how you get them to set. You can heat them & then just leave them to cool on their own, probably 10-15 minutes but i'm usually running late on time, so I think cooling it quick is the best way. All together it probably takes 10 minutes. It might not take that long for you though cuz my hair is extra thick & I usually have to set longer. So, if you want some good volume & curl then i'd recommend them. The other great thing is they're super cheap. I got mine from Sally Beauty but you can get them at the grocery stores too. I prefer about a 2 1/2 in. round so I had to go to the beauty supply store. However big or little is just preference. Try it out....I think you'll like it! :)

Be LOUD & PROUD!!!

In honor of Pride Week & the Pride Parade, that i'm sad i'm missing on Sunday. I thought i'd put up some of my fav. parts from my favorite gay-drama Queer as Folk! My support to the gay community! :)

PS: Thanks Pres. Obama for declaring June LGBT Pride Month! That's awesome!

REMEMBER TO TURN THE PLAYLIST OFF BEFORE WATCHING THE CLIPS!






Yay Babylon!

Ginger Pear Punch

Yesterday's post was a total Debbie Downer. Sorry about that.

So, on March 7th I did the post for Ginger Tea, one of my fav. drinks & said i'd post the recipe for the Ginger Pear Punch. It's a little time consuming but it's pretty good when it's all done. Sunny calls it tea but I prefer punch.

Ginger Pear Tea or Punch

Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2009

Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups water
2 pears, peeled and coarsely grated
1-inch piece ginger, sliced into 1/8-inch coins

Directions

In a medium pot bring water, grated pear, ginger and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the pears are very soft, about 30 minutes Remove from heat and strain into a bowl. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

Hope you guys try this out. It's good on it's own or even as a cocktail mixer. :)

"What you say about my momma?" PART 2

Just a quick update: My mom just got off the phone with her Dr. at Huntsman & she has decided it'd be better for her to do a different chemo drug called Evastin instead of participate in the trial. So, we'll see how that goes & i'll keep everyone updated. Thanks! :)

"What you say about my momma?"

Hello everyone, I just thought i'd give ya a Mom Fausett update. Unfortunately, her cancer has returned. Which sucks, cuz she just got rid of it in January. Now it has moved. She has 2 tumors in her liver & 1 by her lungs. Thankfully, they are still very small. But that doesn't mean anything good. Surgery isn't an option right now. She is going to do a trial at Huntsman for a new drug that only 6 people in the country have done, 4 of which dropped out & the other 2 it didn't work. It worked pretty good on mice though. Hahahaha. She doesn't start that until next week, so we'll se how that goes & if it doesn't go so well...then i'm not really sure. And that's why i've turned into a hermit the last couple weeks. I'm not in a real social mood & don't have a lot of tolerance for drama. But that's pretty normal for me when this situation comes around. You should know that. LOL! Thanks everyone for always checking up on things too. I really appreciate it. Love ya!