Midwestern Marquee's

I keep telling my hubby that I'm going to take pictures of all the weird marquee's on the churches in the Midwest and write a book.  But I'm not.

But I am constantly surprised by the different little quotes that the churches around the Midwest use on their marquee's.  Sometimes they're just silly or church-y.  But a lot of the time they're shocking.  This summer one of the churches in my area had a saying that went something like "stoners welcome here."  Am I the only one that would be surprised to see that advertised at a church?!  Anyway, I finally pulled over the other day and took a picture of one of the signs and I wanted to share it.  I'll keep adding more as I see them.

I liked this one because I saw it soon after I had gotten home from 

driving 3 hours in a brutal winter storm. 

(This is also the same church that had the "stoners" sign in the summer.)

Screwey

I have to document something that I did to my little man the other day.  It still makes me laugh just thinking about it.

I was getting ready to put his PJ's on and he was being crazy, as usually happens right before bed.  He rolls on the floor and is laying there when I notice that there is a small screw under him.  So I ask him, "What's this?  Where did this come from?"  He looks at it and shrugs his shoulder like he doesn't have a clue.  So I decided to take the opportunity to really freak him out. 

So in my best "worried Mom" voice I say, "OH NO!!  Your screw fell out!"  He looks up at me and begins to get a questioning look on his face.  I continue..."Oh, this is bad!  Your screw fell out, and if we don't put it back real soon, you're going to fall apart!"  Just then hubby walks by so I call him in and explain the bad news to him.  By this time, the little man is starting to panic.  He gets up immediately and comes right next to me and lays on his belly on the floor.  Then with a look of complete fear he lifts his head up and says to me, "hurry Mom!!  Put it back!"  He's seriously freaking out, afraid that at any minute he will literally fall apart.

Poor little guy...I finally smiled and told him that I was just teasing him.  He got a cute little grin and with a sigh he even chuckled a little.  Even he thought it was funny.

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

So these are the yummy cookies I made last night. 

Aren't I just so domestic?!

I got the recipe from Paula Deen.  I made one batch 

and slightly under-cooked them (I am a sucker for a dough-ey cookie). 

Those were my favorites, even though they turned out a little flat.

The cookies in the picture were cooked the full time and

came out nice and plump.  

These cookies are super soft and were even better this morning for breakfast!

The recipe couldn't be easier...enjoy!!

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

1 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese, softened (don't worry, you can't taste the cream cheese)

1 stick butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (18 oz) box of moist chocolate cake mix

Powdered sugar for dusting

Mix cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer.  Add the egg, then vanilla and mix well.  Add cake mix and mix until all ingredients are combined.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours (makes it easier to shape).  Roll into tablespoon sized balls and roll each ball in powdered sugar.  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 12 minutes.

Helpful tip:  I found it was MUCH easier to get a spoon full of dough and drop it into the powdered sugar.  Then as you roll it in the sugar, form it into a ball.  Otherwise your hands will become a chocolatey mess. 

It looks tree-mendous!

Christmas tree before:

Christmas tree after:

I am so excited for this Christmas!  

This is my first Christmas since I got married

and it's been so fun decorating and enjoying the 

spirit of the holidays with my handsome man.

I am one lucky lady.

Speaking of fun...I'm trying out a new cookie recipe

and if it's good I'll post it!

Another picture of some of our decorations:

That's right...only 26 days left!!!

Get on your heels and aprons...it's time to bake!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year!!!!!

Yesterday the whole family went out shopping for 

our first Christmas decorations together.  

It was seriously fun.  Seriously.  

I was so proud of my hunky man for being so excited to shop,

and to make me love him even more,

he offered to go get a Christmas tree on Friday 

while I'm shopping!  

What a man!!

I told my sister I was going to show up on Thanksgiving 

in my heels and apron.  

She thought I was kidding.

Well, we'll see.  

 

So I'm off to bake!!

Can't wait to enjoy a relaxing Thanksgiving with

my sister and her family. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Mom and Santa

I knew this day would come...I've even wanted to force this day to come for years...

Last night I got to take Ms. Sassy Pants out for a girls night of shopping and eating.  We had a blast!  She's was in heaven all night.  She got to decide where to have dinner and if you know her, you know she chose her favorite place that she's going to work at when she grows up...SUBWAY! 

So, on the way home she started talking about Santa.  She saw him at the Mall and he waved at her!  But she said she wasn't sure if he was real.  Because really, how could anyone go to every-single-house in the world all in one night.  And, besides, how do reindeer really fly?!  Magic?!  Yeah, right!  So I just told her I wasn't sure, but she had a good point.  Then outta nowhere she asks me, "Mom, you wouldn't write 'Love, Santa' on my Christmas presents would you?"

I am NOT a good liar, so I just started laughing.  Then she knew she had caught me.  She figured it out...there's no Santa, just Mom buying presents and saying they're from Santa. 

"So that means reindeer aren't real either!  I knew it cause there's no such thing as magic."

I wasn't a fan of the whole Santa myth anyway so I'm glad she's in on it now.  I just have to hope that she doesn't spill the beans to her brother!

Coaster Craftiness

 I was recently checking out some new blogs I found, and I ran into a really cool blog with lots of great crafting ideas.  I do love me some crafting, so I checked out her "freebies" link here:My Computer is my Canvas and decided that this craft was for me!  So I went and bought my supplies and here's what I did:

The tiles were a whopping 16 cents at Lowes and I got the felt tabs in an 84 pack for under $3.  I printed some of my paper from the freebie section here, and I used some scrapbooking paper also.  I slapped some Mod Podge on the tile, then placed the paper on top and I used my ruler to smooth out any bubbles.  Then I put 2 coats of Mod on top of the paper (letting it dry about 10 min between coats).  Then I sprayed the finish spray and let them dry overnight.  This morning I added the felt pads, et voila!!

These would be perfect as a gift!

No more water stains on our table!

I love the colors and patterns!

These are the "conversation coasters"

 These were quick, easy, and fun to make!  I'm so glad there are creative people out there who give me ideas so I can be crafty!