Confectionary Catch~Up...

I had decided to give~up chocolate for lent (I've been doing this for several years now) and it seems to be getting easier and easier as each year passes. So I don't know why I feel that I 'must' have it (crave it) on a normal day to day basis. :-/

Anyway, I baked some confections for Easter Sunday (knowing that this is the day I finally get to eat choc~ooooh~late again).

My Sweety had gotten a Gingerbread House Kit for me last Christmas (it was supposed to be a stocking stuffer... but didn't fit in the stocking..lol) but unfortunately, I never got around to doing anything with it so I decided to bring it into work with me to put on the 'sale' table.

Let me explain a little about this table before I go on.. I bring items in to work (from home) that I no longer need or use anymore and place these items on this table in hopes to sell them (it's kinda like a yard sale but 'at work' instead). I take a portion of the money to donate it to different animal charities (I also do this with redeeming cans/bottles). My boss (Donna) had questioned this table one day and after me explaining the purpose of it, she started bringing her unwanted items in (her unwanted items are the type of things that most people really do 'want'..lol).

Note to fellow bloggers: I am sorry to report though that Donna is not very fond of bloggers, as she is a pro~fessional online shopper and us bloggers only get in her way when she is trying to google specifics, we 'pop~up' everywhere (lol... sorry Donna). But hey, she can criticize blogging all she wants cuz at the end of the day, she's contributing to help out "the cause" (which in this case, happens to be one of my passions in life... animals) and has made more $$ for the cause in only a couple items she's brought in than I've made in MANY items of my own. Thankfully, the peeps in my department have an appreciation for the things I bring in to work as they are some of my biggest supporters (Thank you Peeps!!).

Ok, so back to the Gingerbread House... (sorry, I tend to be a bit of a rambler at times).

I decided to take back the Gb~House (from the sale table.. apparently nobody wanted it anyway..lol) and decorate it for Easter since I had a substantial amount of goodies to use up (a variety of chocolates, jelly beans, peeps, gummy candies and such) to decorate cupcakes also.

Well once I made the icing (which only consisted of adding water), it came out too thin so I added some confectionary sugar trying to thicken it up. Apparently I added more water (a lot more) than I should have cuz I had to keep adding more and more c~sugar. I finally gave up (UGH!) and decided to just spread it onto the Gb~House. Now it's time to place the goodies (Yum!) to the house but I must say that I am not feeling very creative at this point since the icing isn't staying in place like I wanted it to so I just rushed through it in order to finish it. Here, have a look for yourself...

But does it really matter what it looks like? As long as it tastes YUMMY!!!

And I'm willing to bet that this is Yummi~licious (especially since I haven't had chocolate in 40 days).

I also baked and decorated some cupcakes. I had done the same thing for St. Patty's Day.. those cupcakes came out sooooooo much better (the decorations, that is) than my Easter cupcakes. I think it's because I'm just so anxious in eating these that I couldn't concentrate on decorating as much as originally anticipated. Trust me, they taste better than they look...

Oh, and to add... David and Magnum participated in all of this too. Because of them, I had to go back out and buy more Reese's Pieces eggs cuz they ate them 'all'. Don't worry folks, there is no chocolate in the eggs (not even in the shell), it's peanut butter only (one of Mags ~and David's~ favorites). So, no animals were harmed in the creations of these desserts (Magnum wasn't harmed either .. LMBO)!!

I apologize for staying away from blogging for soooooo long (I know Donna was missing my stories..lol). I will try to be better but no promises. Now, I am off to sample some of my creations!

ROAD~RAGE...!!!

*What is road rage and why does it happen???

~What is road rage?: Violence exhibited by drivers in traffic, often as a manifestation of stress which in turn, may cause aggressive driving.

~Why does it happen?: I've heard many opinions on this matter but allow me to give an opinion from my own personal experience...
Apparently some people (otherwise known as morons!!) do not know nor understand the rules of the road (who knows, maybe some of them do know & understand but just refuse to accomodate those rules).

For those of you who are unaware of what each highway lane represents... shall I enlighten you? I think I shall!!
But before I do, I thought (hmmm?.. scratching head) if you ARE a licensed driver, this means you passed "the test" and should already be aware of such rules.
Ok, on to the enlightening part now...

~Right lane: This is the slower~paced lane (I don't mind if you're a nervous pilot, but this is probably the lane for you).

~Middle lane: This is the travel~lane. This lane is for the people who are traveling at a higher velocity than the right lane. In other words, cruising along (nice!).

And last but not least (this is where my road rage usually occurs):
~Left lane: Better known as the "passing lane". That's right people, hence... PASSING!!

You should not be in the left lane unless prepared to pass another vehicle (this being my biggest pet~peave).
So, why is it that I have to spend most of my commuting time waiting (at times, not so patiently) for people to get out of the frigg'n way??? Which in turn, entices me to speed even more, just from annoyance, to pass the idiot(s). It creates not only the potential for road rage, but also for accidents. In some states, they will actually ticket you for lollygagging around in the "go lane" and I bet they don't do it nearly so often.

I don't mind when other motorists pass me. Heck, if they want to temp fate and possibly end up with a moving violation... that is fine with me. I just ask that the rest of you do the same for me when I want to accelerate pass your azzzzes!!!

Keep this as a mental note: If people are passing you on the right, then you need to pull out of the passing lane (you won't be judged for doing so)!

So, which is worse... road rage itself OR what/where it stems from (hence, ignorance toward the rules of the road)??

Some of us may need anger management because of this but it's usually because of those others (you know who you are) who need to study their driver's ed handbook once again to brush up on what they've apparently forgotten.

On that note~~~~~~> KNOW YOUR PLACE ON THE ROAD PEOPLE!!!

Cache~ing In

We had some time, the weather was good so we decided to give this geocaching thing a try. For those of you unfamiliar with geocaching, go to http://www.geocaching.com/ to find out what it's all about. Maybe after learning about it, you could give us some friendly competition.


We sifted through the website information, researched the on-line maps, studied the terrain, donned winter-survival gear, packed a week's worth of lunches, and left emergency instructions in the event we got lost. Looking at each other, we nodded in agreement; Team Padama was ready!


We headed out the door with gps in hand. The coordinates were entered, a direction was indicated, and off we went in search of our first treasure location!


Magnum took the point postion and led us unerringly into the deep woods, towards the little flag marker on our GPS screen. The overhanging tree branches wreaked a bit of havoc with the signal, resulting in some false readings. But after we'd cleared several (wrong) spots out, we managed to locate - Ta Da! - our first Geocache!!


Buried deep in the snow, under a large fallen tree...


Patty, digging out the Geocache...


David and Magnum...


Our first Geocache! Inside, we found some instructions (explaining what it was, in case any non-Geocacher's happened to find the box), some Geocache "business cards", a plastic dinosaur egg, two pairs of sunglasses, a toy soldier, some souvenir pens and pencils, some temporary tattoos, and the required log book. After signing the log book and adding our "contribution" to the collection (some magnetized stones), we closed up the box, shoved it back down to it's hiding space and covered it with sticks and snow again.


We were on a natural high - we'd searched and discovered our first cache! A quick look toward the sky - yep; still daylight to burn! Rushing home, we obtained the coordinates of two other Geocaches that were near the house, and off we went again.


This next leg of our adventure took us to the other side of the Walpole Town Forest. We crossed a bridge, taking us deep into the heart of the woods. We got a bit turned around and began wandering down the wrong path (we later realized that David had entered the wrong coordinates...dummy...) but we were soon back on track and...TA DA!...Geocache #2!!


Patty, digging it out of it's hiding place...


Magnum taking a breather as Patty inspects the contents...


And here are the contents...


There were more Geocache "business" cards, some key chains, several plastic dinosaur eggs, some cute toys (a la; Mcdonald's Happy Meal toys), a Hot Wheels car, a disposable camera (all pics had been taken), some pins, and even a dollar bill. As before, we signed the log book, left something of ours behind (a jeweled bracelet), sealed the box and returned it to it's hiding place.


Our confidence was building - we still had some daylight left and we eagerly set out for our third treasure-find of the day. Our efforts were quickly rewarded (or perhaps we were just getting better at reading the GPS?), and we found this third Geocache in short order.


Cache #3, hidden deep behind an overhanging rock. (Not even the massive snowfalls we've endured have managed to reach this cache!)


Cache #3...


David can count to three!... (Too bad he doesn't know how to keep his hat on straight...)...


We signed the logbook, left a Harley pin behind, and returned the box to it's most-excellent hiding spot.


At this point, we were done for the day. Magnum, however - ever the optimistic (sadistic) exercise freak - wanted to know what forest we were going to dive into next. Alas, daylight was running thin and it was time to head back to the homestead and begin making dinner.


Arriving home, we took the time to snap a Victory Pic on the front steps. Our first day as Geocachers, and we'd managed to locate three of them. Not bad for a trio of newbies!

The deep snow had dampened our pants (and David's boots and socks...), but it hadn't dampened our spirits. We're eagerly looking forward to the coming weekend, when we'll venture out once again. Geocache's; get ready. We're comin' for ya!

A night of Padama...

Since the forecast is calling for more frigid temps, I decided to chill indoors for a relaxing, cozy evening with David & Magnum. I decided to start the evening with a nice home~cooked meal.. ya know, comfort food.
With my boys always wanting to help out (David peeling potatoes & what's this.. I notice a puddle on the floor as I went to step to the other side of the counter to get the rib~eyes? Oh, it's just Magnum's contribution to the dinner... drool!

Anyway, we ended up feasting on grilled, free~range, rib~eyes (Medium well for me~hence, no blood~ and David liking his still mooooo~ing ~EEEEW!! and Mags, well he'll take it any way he can get it~he's even been 'caught' thieving the fatty scraps from the garbage.. I'd eat it that way too before eating it David's way~EEEEEW for David's way (lol)!!).
I complimented the rib~eyes with a scrumptious mashed potato bake (I guess I'm patting myself on the back here, aren't I??) ..the kind with broccoli in it and topped with a nice italian breadcrumb/parmesian cheese mixture.. Nummies!!~ (This is why I call Magnum, "Mag~a~nummies" sometimes.. cuz he's soooooooo scrumptious). And of course a vegetable is always needed so I went with frozen corn niblets (ya know, the kind that comes in a bag in the freezer section at the market).
Normally, I would serve fresh italian bread or french or focaccia or ANY kind of bread (me LoVeS my bread with a dinner like this) but since the nice weather will be here b4 we know it, carb~cutting is necessary at this point. This is also why I didn't bake dessert.. oh wait, I'd baked Toffe Chip~Peanut butter cookies on Friday night BUT there are none left cuz we woofed (pardon the pun Mags) those down before they even came out of the oven (it seems)... good thing we're cutting out those carbs!!!

We needed a nice red wine to top off the meal... I could get into detail about the wine David grabbed but since it had a twist~off cap.. no need for details as I think that speaks for itself.

After dinner was finished and the dishes cleaned (in our household~whoever cooks, the other washes the dishes.. this is why David does most of the washing *hee~hee*), and all tummies are full & content (some of us too content.. check out Mags on his bed with his new electric blanket ready to unwind from all that feasting)...



Yeah.. Life is Good!!! Right Mags!


David then started to mull some wine (instead of me getting descriptive on this, how 'bout checking it out from his point of view on www.twowheeledtales.blogspot.com ).. that is, if he's even posted about it yet.. he might still be digesting from that meal so it may take him a few days before he gets to it. You won't be disappointed as David is very word~creative and leaves you always wanting more (hey.. back off, he's mine!!!) with his 'tales'.

As he's mulling, I'm setting up for a hard~core game of, get this... checkers. But this is no ordinary game.. I guess they made this particular game of checkers for the visually challenged. Check out the size of these checkers.. they want to make sure you can see them as well as be able to hold them...


I guess this is what we have to look forward to, now that we're labeled as that over 40 crowd (well, I'm not quite 'over' 40).

Did you notice the glasses of David's mulled wine on the side of the game.. YUMMI~LICIOUS!!
Along with that (notice the c.d. between the glasses), we had some nice romantic jazz music playing in the background with candles lit allowing a nice, flowing, soft glow ~ creating an ambiance. Hmmm.. was this my idea or David's? Is he trying to seduce me??.. Mulling wine, soft jazz music in the background, candles to -----> set the mood maybe...


God I hope so!!! Cuz I likey when my Sweety gets his charm on (keep it clean here, it's a family blog)!!!!!!!!

On that note, it was a nice, relaxing (wink!!) evening with 'Padama'.

Till next time...