A recipe to warrant your elastic pants!

Krispy Kreme Chocolate Cake

18 chocolate glazed Krispy Kreme donuts cut into chunks (slightly stale ones work better)
6 eggs
2 cans condensed milk
pinch of salt
7 tbsp butter
2 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 pound powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F.  In a really large bowl beat eggs and whisk in salt and condensed milk; stir in donut chunks and let sit for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Grease and flour a Bundt pan (or spray with Pam).  Pour donut mixture in and bake for 45 minutes or until set.  Toward the end of cooking time mix the frosting: melt butter in a saucepan and stir in cocoa powder till completely combined; remove from heat and whisk in milk and vanilla, then powdered sugar; keep warm over low heat till needed.  Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cake plate. Immediately pour warm icing over top.  Yep, go ahead and get your elastic waist pants out, you'll need them after this!

Goat Cheese yumminess

Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there and for all you women who are like a mother to someone you love!  Thought I'd share a really yummy recipe my sister Sonya sent me, super easy and a big hit with everyone who tries it!


Pesto Goat Cheese Spread


2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
8 oz goat cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup basil pesto
1/2 cup dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

optional garnishes: minced black olives, dried tomato slivers, fresh oregano sprigs

Serve with crackers or artisan bread slices.

Process first 5 ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spread one third of cheese mixture in bottom of a plastic wrap-lined pan, 8x4 loaf pan works well. Top with pesto; spread one third of cheese mixture over pesto. Sprinkle with chopped dried tomato; top with remaining cheese. cover and chill for 8 hours.

Invert onto serving plate, discarding plastic wrap, garnish if desired and serve with bread or crackers.

Bon apetito!

Lazy, lazy..that's me!

Wow, it's been a couple of months since I took the time to put my thoughts down and I'm pretty sure it's just laziness!  These past two weeks have been crazy busy, my daughter Cydnee is moving to Philly area and is stopping over for a couple of weeks to stay with us til she moves in, my son was in a bad accident and totaled his car, but he's okay just very sore still. Our cat Wally took off last night because of my daughter's dogs and didn't come home til tonight, guess her big dogs are just more than he can handle!  Sam and I, we're working too much and not having nearly enough fun but hopefully a cookout with friends on Saturday night will change all that.  Sam is struggling with some demons of his own and I'm struggling with detesting myself right now because I've gained so much weight.  Why is it there is always something in life that's so difficult? I love food, plain and simple, and I make promises to myself about overeating that I never keep and then get angry at myself and internalize everything which makes me eat even more!  Why can't someone make a magic pill? Good grief, here I go again with my laziness! Everything takes an effort and I need to get my ass in gear to do something about this! Time's a wastin and I ain't getting any younger! Have a good night all..........

Busy, busy, busy!

Wow, seems like a whirlwhind of activity since my last post.  Great party at our friend David's house, pj theme and fun!  Got a great picture of Sam and I to use for our Christmas card.  It's been so very cold and our fish our being affected.  My favorite fish, Buffett, froze to death last night. It's so sad and I was just devastated.  I buried him behind the pond and I feel bad that we didn't have a pond heater or warming  blanket for the pond.  I hope no more of them die.  I love our pond.  It's so relaxing and enjoyable.  Maybe the weather will warm up.  I have to work on Christmas cards tonight, at least get started, have 140 or so to send so it takes a while, but I like to do it.  Sam put lights on the house and I put lights around picture window and three little lit snowmen in front yard, and two Norfolk pines in the front porch planters, so it looks very festive!  We have decorations up in the house and the tree is up but the bottom strand of lights won't work so Sam is still working on that. I'm ready to put ornaments on so hope it's an easy fix.  Sam is working nights tonight so the house is quiet.  When he's hear there is always music but I enjoy a moment of quiet when I get off work since I have to have earphones in my ears all day!  We have another party Saturday night at our friends Vicky and Mark Conner.  No PJ's this time but will be a fun party, it always is at their house!  I am so excited because both my sisters and their families, and my parents will be here in two weeks.  Can't wait!  Santa comes to aunt Leah's house this year for my nephews Logan and Ethan who will be staying with us.  Will be fun and many years since Santa has visited my house.  I miss the boys very much and with them being in Texas I just can't afford to visit them often or them come here either.  Okay, enough rambling for one day, have to do Christmas cards now.

What a glorious day!

Today was such a wonderful day!  That's me kneeling during the confirmation at St. Peter's Episcopal church today.  I was confirmed and I am so happy!  I am at home at St. Peters, they are my church family, spiritual family and mean more to me than I can say.  Being away from my friends and family in South Carolina, my friends at St. Peter's have filled that gap and I'm so proud and honored to say I'm officially a confirmed St. Peter's parishoner!  The service today was so special and there were quite a few people who were confirmed, received and even one baptism.  The church was packed and it was a beautiful thing to see.  My wonderful husband, Sam, gave me my own personal copy of the Book of Common Prayer that I will cherish forever.  Bishop Smith blessed it and signed it for me and I look forward to using it time and time again.

At the end of a somewhat difficult week, today was a breath of fresh air for me and I feel cleansed somehow.  The day to day business of living has a way of dragging me down some days and I feel bogged in all the "stuff" we have to do.  Sometimes I wish there was a pause button so I could just sit and do nothing, relax and rejuvinate from everything that pushes at us in life.  Life is hard and life is stressful but the days we have when we have moments of joy are so worth all the other difficult days.  Joyful days make us stop and take note of who and what is important to us and that was what today was for me.

I am blessed!

Man builds no structure that outlives a book...Carl Elliott

I love to read.  With that said, why can't I get through the book Wicked?  This book hasn't had a character in it I've even liked so far, well maybe except Nanny.  I loved The Wizard of Oz and loved the play Wicked but the book is giving me a headache...so drawn out and relatively boring in spots.  I will perservere and finish it though, not a quitter when it comes to a book.  Also just finished Eat, Pray, Love...wasn't crazy about that one either though it's gotten so many reviews and kudos everywhere.  Haven't seen the movie yet but I've never seen a Julia Roberts movie I didn't like, so hopefully if I ever get around to it I'll enjoy that one.

It's a difficult week and I think my state of mind is not the best...training on a new system, leaving in a few minutes for St Pete to train more and then back home to finish tonight...will be a long, mind numbing day.  But I like days that break my normal routine so there is that.  I don't know where this job is taking me, couple of different directions to go in at the moment, so we'll see.  I'm so thankful to have a job and possibly options!  In this economy that's so invaluable.

My mother-in-law is staying with us for a week or so...now that's another blog all in itself! haha  She is a sweetheart of a lady but can sure be a challenge in ways I won't even go into in this blog.

Seize the day people..have a great one..and hopefully I will too!

November already?!

Wow, what a whirlwhind the last two weeks have been, hardly time to take a breath much less write anything about what's going on.  Where to start...well, we had a fantastic halloween party!  About 35 people attended and it was just so much fun..here's a photobucket link to the decor and party pix.

http://s903.photobucket.com/albums/ac234/aunteah/Halloween%20decorations%202010/2010%20Ruis%20Halloween%20decorations/

http://s903.photobucket.com/albums/ac234/aunteah/2010%20Halloween%20party/

The costumes were terrific, some outrageous, and one in particular was very controversial but unintentionally so.  I caught quite a bit of flack about it...the rapper in black face.  It never occurred to me, though I wish it had, that this was inappropriate and racially derogatory.   I know the person who dressed in the costume is not a person who is at all racist and I'm 100% sure she didn't mean any harm, nevertheless, it struck a nerve and I sure heard about it.  I hope next year we won't have anything like this happen, but again it was unintentional I'm sure.  We had tons of food and of course there were prizes for the costumes.  We played one game that included a toilet paper plunger and toilet paper and that got lots of a laughs but I'll keep you guessing on that one! lol

The next day I was beat.  It sucks getting old, I don't like the achiness and tiredness that sets in after a busy day or evening.  It just doesn't seem fair that just when life gets to be the most enjoyable, that physically it sometimes is difficult.  But we have to just suck it up and deal with it!

Yesterday and today I've been at St. Joe's in Tampa in training for a new system to work on pathology transcription.  It will be nice to have another option and security in knowing I have another avenue in this field, but it's amazing what I've forgotten and what's changed since I worked with pathology almost 20 years ago!  It's been interesting though and I think I'll enjoy the option of doing something different every now and then.

Sam is on four 10 hour shifts the next four days so we won't have much time together.  I'll finally be able to box up all the halloween though while he's at work and get it put away in anticipation for bringing out the Christmas trimmings.  I love decorating but it sure is a chore, but gladly worth it.

I am so thankful my family is going to be here for Christmas.  My parents, both sisters and their families and Santa is coming to aunt Leah's and uncle Sam's this year so I'm excited about that.

I'm really drained mentally so I'm done for the day.  Nite all and sweet dreams ☺