Southern Cupcakes Y'all

Well, I've been fixin' ta write this blog for about two weeks now and every time I try to upload the photos my computer locks up. Hmm...not sure if this is a hardware problem or a user problem. As my girls have been fond of answering...NOT ME!!

So, I found this recipe and knew I had to give it a try -- Lemon Cupcakes with Sweet Tea Frosting, or my personal name for them, Arnold Palmer's Cupcakes. (You know what an Arnold Palmer is, right?)

I love the look of these cakes, sprinkled with coarse sugar. Overall, the agreement from everyone who tasted the cupcakes was that the sweet tea frosting was too bland. It was a delicious cupcake, but needed more zip. So, I'll be remaking the recipe and steeping that tea a little longer before I turn it into icing. Results will be posted soon if my computer cooperates.

Photo of the Day

Because everyone knows that "Biggest Loser" Celery will help you lose weight faster than "regular" celery

It's Time to Play "Why Was This Photo Taken?"

I'm going through photos on the computer since I have a big scrapbook weekend coming up. (yay!) As always, I find several photos that give me pause and cause me to ask, "Why?" Of course I immediately thought of sharing them with you. Enjoy!

Hippie Lion

I have no clue what this object is. Not a one.

Look! It's a shopping cart from our favorite store?!?

Must have been some party...

Don't know why it was taken, but now I want some Red, Hot & Blue BBQ.

Good job on eating your carbs and fats, someone.

Uh...it's green grass, with green shoes and green toes...

Not your average ketchup...it's FANCY.

And, my personal favorite, from downtown Venus, Texas...

I do remember Rebecca hiding in the bottom of the car when we pulled over to take this photo. You haven't succeeded as a parent unless you've embarrassed your kids a few times.

Homemade Pretzels

I found this recipe on one of the blogs I occasionally read and I was intrigued enough to try it. Rebecca  and I love soft pretzels. The problem with making something like this?  It's really hard to go back to eating them from everywhere else because these are definitely much tastier!

The dough was very easy to make and I was excited to use my dough hook on my KitchenAid for the first time. Yes, that's pitiful. I've had the thing over 20 years. As easy as it was to mix I might be making bread now instead of cupcakes!

A nice warm place to rise...

Ready to go...

Obviously I need to work on my shaping technique a bit.

Boiling them in soda water...

  Finished product!

I eat mine with mustard. Yummy!

Here's the link if you want to give them a try:  Brown Eyed Baker Soft Pretzels

Cotton Bowl - January 4, 2013

It's been a great year to be an Aggie fan. Johnny Manziel has brought a new level of excitement to our football team and the fans. So, with great anticipation we waited to see which bowl game the Aggies would play in. Cotton Bowl tickets for Christmas! NOT! After pricing the tickets we decided we could go to a one-time event or go on vacation next summer. Vacation won. So, we had our own party at home complete with snacks and sparkling grape juice to toast the winning Aggies, who beat OU 41-13.

Last Cupcake of 2012

This might not be the actual last cupcake in the world in 2012, but it was the last one I made. I guess if I wasn't still suffering from "holiday brain" this post should have come before Happy New Year. Oh well...moving on. This is a Mississippi Mud Cupcake taken from the pages of Southern Living Magazine. Everyone who tasted it gave it a thumbs up.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Chunks Topped With Marshmallow Buttercream and Shaved Chocolate and Sugared Pecans

That's a mouthful!

And, here's a satisfied customer...

There will be more cupcakes to come in 2013. 

Happy New Year and All That

Well, I've been meaning to blog for awhile now, not that it's been any great loss to you that I haven't. December took its usual busy toll, along with 4 of the 5 of us being sick (times 10 days each)...well, you see how that kind of time adds up. And yadda, yadda, blah, blah...and all that. 

So, I'm still overcoming the "post holiday slump" I guess. Nothing is in order around the house, kids still not back to school, and those holiday pounds are making themselves felt in my tight clothes. If I were a resolution-making person (and I'm not) I would resolve to do many things better in 2013 than I did in 2012. But, shouldn't that always be what we're doing? Striving to be a "kinder, gentler" version of ourself from one day to the next?  Becoming more "Christ-like" with every breath?  So, instead of making resolutions that I know I will not keep, I'm choosing Micah 6:8 to live as my life verse this year:

"He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?"

And, in case I haven't told you lately...