Halloween Wishes!

Wishing all the little ghost & goblins a safe and Happy Halloween!

Easiest Fudge I've Ever Made

My sister-in-law shared this recipe with me and it truly is the easiest fudge I have ever made.

No thermometer needed, just stir, pour and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

Pinch of salt

3 cups sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

1 tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. vanilla

2 cups peanut butter

In a large saucepan, combine salt, sugar and milk.

Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Be sure to stay with it and stir often so that it doesn't burn.

Turn off heat and add butter, vanilla & peanut butter.

Spread on a buttered cookie sheet. ( I used a 15X9 sheet.)

Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Cut into pieces and enjoy!

A Mild Sweet & Smokey Chili

Well the picture of the finished product turned out blurry so my pic of ingredients will have to do! :0(

This is a favorite of mine, but one that I don't make often enough because my husband prefers my own chili recipe better.

The mildness comes from using tomato soup instead of tomato juice and of course the smokey flavor is from the bacon with a bit of brown sugar added. Yumm-o!

Throw together a pan of cornbread topped with melted butter and enjoy!

Sweet & Smokey Chili

1 lb. bacon

2 lbs. ground beef

2 - 16 oz. cans butter beans

2 - 16 oz. cans kidney beans

2 - 16oz. cans pork n beans

2 cans tomato soup

1 cup water

1 onion, chopped

1 cup ketchup

1 tbsp. prepared mustard

6 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. brown sugar

Cut bacon slab into 1-inch strips, pull apart & fry and then drain grease.

Cook beef & onion and drain.

Toss beef, onion & bacon in large stock pot.

Add rest of ingredients and simmer 1 hour.

Penny Rug Pieces

Here are the pieces to my penny rug just waiting to be stitched. This is the first one that I have made so it should be interesting. I was able to find a few basic colors of wool and then I had to use felt for some of the other colors that I needed.

Yesterday I said that I was going to sit with the kids and stitch the day away. Well, that didn't happen.

The kids began feeling much better and had no fevers throughout the day so they would get up and play then they would go back and lay down for a bit.

Don't you wish we adults could bounce back so quickly!

Anyways, the weather here was wonderful and I just hated to sit inside all day when I could be outside enjoying the sunny warm temps. So I mowed the lawn, cleaned up some of the kids summer toys and packed our summer stuff away. By evening Katie was feeling pretty good so we even took a small stroll around the block.

Katie was scheduled to have her cast removed today but I cancelled it so that we didn't spread our germs to others. Now we'll have to do it sometime next week.

It's supposed to get cloudy and rain later tonight so I'm off here to get our schooling done and maybe we will have a bit of time outside to play before the raindrops start.

Have a great day!

Time is up and we have a WINNER!

And the winner is....

Congratulations to Nan over at Ole Crows Nest Journal.

Nan, if you send me your name and mailing address I will ship this right out to you. (My email adrress is on the sidebar!)

It's a cold and foggy morning here in WV so I needed a hot cup of Mocha Latte to get me warmed up. I could have stayed in bed a bit longer but wanted to get my day a rolling.

The kids are still sick with fevers, chills, aches & pains, dizziness, cough and upset tummies. The fever seems to be the big thing. They are staying fevered forever. I'm giving them Motrin every 6-8 hours and it seems like it just starts to come down to around 99 and then it spikes right back up. We'll keep up with the fluids, jell-o and rest and hopefully by tomorrow there will be some improvement.

Well I'm hopping off here. Since the kids are sick we won't be doing any schooling today so I think I'll use that extra time to sit with the kids and stitch the day away while watching some tv. Cartoons, no doubt!

Have a great day!

Bridge Pics and Sick Kids!

Here are the last few photos from our bike ride a few weeks ago.

The top picture is I believe the backside of the Capital Music Hall with an advertisement for Jamboree in the Hills. The last time I was in the Capital Music Hall was to see Kenny Chesney in concert and what a fun night it was.

The next photo is the info marker for the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, the oldest operating suspension bridge in the world.

Here is a portion of the bridge looking west towards Wheeling Island.

Standing underneath the Suspension Bridge, looking up!

These are some of the cables that support the bridge.

Enough of the boring bridge pics!

I can't wait to get these stitches out so I can get back in the kitchen.

I really can't believe I just said that!

I absolutely hate doing dishes but it is also no fun cooking in a kitchen when you have to wait for someone else to come in and clean your mess up. So for that reason, I am excited to get to wash dishes again.

I hate a messy kitchen almost as much as I hate doing dishes!

Swine flu...Seasonal colds....???? ...just want it to go away!

My oldest son was home from school this week with a high fever, cough and VERY grouchy. The worst only lasted a day and now he is left with a nasty cough that I hope will go away soon too.

I was hoping that the rest of us didn't catch whatever he had but luck was just not on our side. As of tonight the other 2 kids now have the same thing. I went to get some Motrin to use at bedtime and could not believe my eyes. They were all out of the children's version except for one row of the name brand Motrin in a Jr. Strength.

Everyone in town must be sick or anitcipating being sick!

Hopefully in a day or two they will be on the mend but till then we have plenty of popsicles and Jell-O to go around!

Keeping our fingers crossed that we don't get it too!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Wheeling WV Bike Trail

A few weeks ago we loaded the bikes on the truck and headed north. It's just a 10-15 minute drive by vehicle and it gave us a new trail with lots of different scenery. These are all pictures that I took along the way as well as a few history links if you care to read further.

First up is the Bloch Bros. Building , famous for Mail Pouch Tobacco.

Next, we paused a few minutes to snap a picture of this guy moving some empty barges around.

A little further north is Wheeling Heritage Port & Amphitheater which is center-stage for a hodgepodge of events, festivals & social gatherings.

Moving along I saw this cute little playground that I'm sure that Katie would have like.

Right across from the playground was what I am told was once a ticket booth for the Pennsylvania Railroad. This is my husband and Dad standing in front of the overgrown depot patiently waiting for me to put my camera away.

They thought we were going for a bike ride- not a photo shoot! I'm not so sure they will ask me to go with them ever again. :0)

To Be Continued....

Just a Reminder !

My SIL and I are both having giveaways on each of our blogs and there are still a few more days left to enter.

Crys's blog centers around Weight Watchers, healthy eating and staying focused on your diet. She is giving away a Weight Watcher Serving Set that is really sweet!

I stopped by their house the other night and looked at her set. They are a nice, heavy weight set of serving spoons. They are way bigger than this picture shows. I joke with her all the time because I just can't--don't--won't, whatever you want to call it, DIET.

If I say I'm dieting, I WILL fail.

I do better just trying to eat healthier and staying active as opposed to limiting myself, which I am sure will catch up with me soon! I guess I just have no will power or determination when it comes to dieting.

Oh well, if your not like me, and can follow a diet then stop on over and visit Fit & Flabless for a little motivation and some great recipes.

As for my giveaway, it's all about sewing and cross-stitching. You can enter HERE. Winner announced Monday the 26th!

Good Luck!

Double Chocolate Pudding Cookies

Here is what I was in the kitchen making before I cut my hand on Friday morning.

These turned out pretty tasty. They have a light chocolcate flavor due to the pudding instead of the bitterness of a cocoa powder. I chose to use white chocolate chips but you could use any flavor!

This also makes a large batch so you may want to cut the recipe in half.

Double Chocolate Pudding Cookies

4 eggs

4 sticks butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

4 small boxes instant chocolate pudding

5 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

12 oz. bag of chocolate chips (any flavor)

In a large mixing bowl, cream eggs, butter & vanilla and set aside.

In another large bowl, mix sugar, pudding, flour and baking soda.

Slowly mix flour mix into egg mixture.

The dough will be thick.

Stir in chocolate chips and drop by tsp. onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Looking on the Bright Side!

I would rather that it not have happened but if I must look on the bright side then that bright side would have to be NO dishes for 2 weeks. Yahoo!!!!

The one chore that I most despise is doing dishes. A task that gets done in our home usually twice a day will now be turned over to the man and lil men of our home.

Yesterday morning as I was washing dishes a glass broke and cut the side of my pinky. I called for back-up. (I am fine helping others that are hurt but when I am the victim then I tend to get queasy.) We got it wrapped and I sat for an hour with it above my head to stop the bleeding. Then all was fine, or so I thought.

My husband came home from work and said that I really needed it looked at. My SIL, who is a RN stopped over and said the same thing.

Needless to say, a short while later we were headed to the ER.

Several hours later we were discharged with a splinted finger, 8 stitches and a 2 week REPRIEVE from dishes.

Now I'm just hoping that we don't get the FLU because the ER was full of patients with flu-like symptoms.

I guess you have to take the bad with the good !

Or in my case a little of the bad to get the good! (i.e. NO DiSHES) :0)

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Season Ends with a Win!!

The Moundsville Trojans (warming up in photo)have had their share of losses this year but were able to end the season with a win. Actually, they won the last two games which has done wonders for their morale. I hope that they have all learned this year that even with a small number of players they CAN achieve if they all work together as a team!

"Defeat is not the worst of failures, Not to have tried is the true failure."

~ George Edward Woodberry

Creamy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

During football season I'm always in search of sides to go with my main course, but also something that can be easily cooked in minutes or prepared ahead of time and tossed in a second crock pot.

When my guys come home from practice & work they want dinner and they want it NOW! (Spoiled aren't they?)

So today I made my Crock Pot Chops & Gravy and made these potatoes to go with it.

They were definitely creamy plus had that bit of twang from the sour cream and cream cheese. I thought they were good for a change---something different.

My husband, who says, " don't mess with a good thing" (regular mashed potatoes) just said they were alright.

The picture I have shown is in the early stages before I placed the butter in them. Once the butter was melted they were even creamier.

This is not the low-fat version, though I did use Fat-free sour cream.

However, I don't see why you couldn't use low fat or fat free ingredients to cut the fat and calorie content.

Creamy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. potatoes, cut in chunks

8 oz. sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter

salt & pepper

Place potatoes in a pan and cover with water.

Bring to a boil and cook till tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain.

Mash potatoes with the sour cream & cream cheese.

Place mashed potatoes in a greased crock pot and cook on low for 2-3 hours.

Just before serving, stir in butter, salt & pepper.

Enjoy!

Grand Vue

Saturday we took the kids up the hill to play at Grand Vue Park.

The leaves are beginning to change and boy are they pretty.

This next picture is taken from Shelter #1, high atop the hill, looking down on the town of Moundsville.

The kids played on the playground for a bit where the older ones enjoy this web to climb.

For Katie, there wasn't a whole lot she could do with one arm still in a cast so we decided to play a round of miniature golf.

We didn't even keep score, we just played for FUN!

Then, my husband grabbed the camera to get a picture of ME. He says that I'm always posting pics of them and that I needed one of myself to put on here. So here I am!

Golfer--- I am NOT!

We finally finished the last hole with them all looking to see if he made it or not.

After that we headed home to grill out and then we spent the evening by the fire.

A Milestone and a Giveaway!!

Well my 200th post came and went last week and as promised here is the giveaway to celebrate that milestone. But first, let me say that I began this blog about a year ago and never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined meeting and becoming friends with so many people. Many live a world away from me yet through our blogs and emails I feel like they are a next door neighbor... or at least they should be. :D

Originally I wanted to use a fellow blogger's idea of a giveaway consisiting of products made right here in our state. (WV)

However, everything that I could come up with, obtain easily and ship safely was a NO GO.

So my giveaway is all about crafting....sewing to be more specific.(My favorite hobby!)

Included are:

~Sew Pretty Homestyle- a 144 page book of simple hand-sewn accessories for your home as well as a yard of a pink stripe and rose fabric by Marcus Brothers.

~3 issues of my favorite x-stitch magazine "Cross Country Stitching"

Issues are Aug 1996, June 2003 and Feb. 2009

~15"x18" piece of 14 count Aida cloth

~8" embroidery hoop and a little pair of nippers to cut your thread with.

I even included a coffee mug that my Sister-in-Law picked up for me at the Wheeling Regatta last month.

What better way to spend a cool evening than curled up with a warm cup of tea or cocoa and a project to stitch away on.

Now for the rules:

1. Be a follower of my blog.

2. Leave me a comment on THIS post and I will enter your name once.

3. Post about my giveaway on your blog for a 2nd entry.

(Be sure to drop me a line and let me know that you posted about it!)

4. Last day to enter will be Sunday October 25th and winner will be

announced on Monday the 26th.

Good Luck!

MIA and a Few Visitors

Do you see our visitor in the picture?

I'm still here even though I've been MIA for the past few days.

We spent all day Thursday doing schoolwork so that we could finish the week early and I could do my once a month shopping on Friday.

So, yesterday I shopped and then worked in the kitchen, cooking and repackaging bulk food supplies for the month. Not a very fun job but someone's got to do it!

Today I got to sleep in a bit, did a little Christmas shopping and now we are off to take the kids to the park for a bit. I hope to spend my evening relaxing in front of the tv and working on a penny rug that I have been hoping to get started on. Wish me luck!

I thought I'd share a few pictures that I took this morning of some visitors that we had.

We live in town, but not far from the wooded hillsides where the deer are plentiful. The deer wander around our neighborhood all year long but you really start to notice them more often at this time of the year. I guess they come in search of new food supplies like my Hostas, which I won't have to cut back before winter because the deer have already taken care of that.

Here is the Momma standing all perked up. She knew she was being watched as my kids were talking in the doorway and the dog was softly growling at the sight of her.

She walked around that area for a bit and then jumped the fence and met up with her baby. This lil' one is who is responsible for eating all my Hostas. I woke up the other morning and found it dining in my front yard.

Momma and baby eventually headed on down the street but they will be back with a few others later this evening.

Hope you all have a great weekend!