A darker shade of pink

Yes, that's what it is - my newest bluebonnet. "This is one of those maroon ones, isn't it?" grumbled Longhorn T as he helped dig a space for it in the garden. It is pretty in pink though!

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

March 19/21 --
$1.99 McCalls
$3.99 Vogue

Coupon Commotion Week, March 8/14 --
$1.99 Simplicity
and lots of 40% coupons in the newest mailer

Penzeys Spring Catalog coupons!

A coupon for a free 1/4 cup jar of Chili 3000 or Chili 9000 is on the mailing label wrapper of their Spring 2009 catalog. The online codes are 11439C and 11434C, respectively. Visit their website www.penzeys.com to get on the catalog mailing list! They always have good recipes in the catalog and this particular one has lots for the chili's. (Ham chili?! Whoda thunk?)

Netflix Stars - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

1/5. L commented that Michael Cera is just plain creepy now. Agreed. And the only thing I like about N & N are the Nick and Nora PJ's at Target. Seriously, they are really cute. The PJ's, not the movie characters.

Peanut Butter Crumb Cakes

This is from the Spring 2009 Taste of Home Cooking for 2 magazine, currently on the newsstands. Normally I don't buy nor subscribe to this particular TOH publication, but when flipping through it, this recipe caught my eye, amongst others.

I used skim milk instead of 2% milk and cut the butter by a tablespoon (2 instead of 3 tablespoons) for a still tasty and healthier result.

Peanut Butter Crumb Cakes

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cold butter
1 egg
1/3 cup 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream peanut butter and brown sugar until crumbly; stir in flour. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/3 cup for topping. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and vanilla. Add baking powder and baking soda to the remaining peanut butter mixture; stir in milk mixture just until moistened. Transfer to four 6-oz. ramekins coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with reserved topping and chocolate chips. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from ramekins to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 4 servings.

Hey

Act One: A Central Texas university parking garage booth. Dad is paying the parking garage fee.

Cashier (a good looking guy, catching L's eye): "Hey"
L: "Hey"
Dad: "HEY!"

* * *

Act Two: Driving away...

L: "I really like this school!"

(New) Moon over Lockhart

From the Kreutz' parking lot. . .

Chocolate Bliss Bites

This recipe is from the Prevention "Desserts" magazine booklet, on page 57.
The cookies turned out yummy, but I had difficulty folding the cocoa into the beaten egg whites without deflating. Was it too much dry stuff (3/4 cup with the cocoa and sugar)? It was hard to get it all mixed so the cookies were a little streaky. Good, but not picture perfect. And very chocolatey. My grade: B I think there are better and easier chocolate meringue recipes out there.

Netflix Stars - Nights in Rodanthe and The Pink Panther

We are switching back to 3 at a time instead of 4 until summer again. Not only will the extra money stay in our pocket, but with the March madness and spring activities, there's just not enough time. And with dogs like these, no time to waste. L's classmates nicknamed "Nights in Rodanthe" the "menopause movie" but they loved it. Go figure. It wasn't that bad, but just didn't live up to the hype for us. We give it a 2.5. The "Pink Panther" was just dumb. We let it ride for almost 45 minutes before we tossed it back, too. And that mustache on Steve Martin was just creepy - shudder!

New addition to the family!

An early birthday present. And yes, I got it "vaccinated" right away with Norton! It's on sale on their website and I found a 20% off coupon code that worked - 20offNIS09. Definitely worth every penny. It was the first thing I did once I got it set up. I bought the Mini at Costco.com ...and as an extra bonus you get 2 year warranty and free concierge tech support! LOVE it! It's cute and zippy. (And bug free!). The battery lasts longer than its larger siblings - almost 3 hours! The Wi-Fi dowser browser is powerful strong. Imagine my surprise when I turned it on and it found not the usual 3 but 8 signals near my house. It scoots and loads pages quickly. And so far has taken everything I've loaded on it - Norton, Picasa, iTunes...and they all run great. T keeps calling it a "Kindle" I think it is one Hello Kitty decal shy of being a Sanrio product!

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

McCall's $1.99 - February 27/March 1
Vogue $3.99 - February 27/March 1
(and 50% off Olfa)
Butterick $1.99 - March 5/7

Cancer Diva

Cancer Diva, Terry Hayes, passed away Sunday, February 15 at the age of 42. Click here to read more. I started following her blog when I saw her interviewed on TV. What an interesting person and what a loss. . .

Beg, Borrow...

Oh, my computer is still so sick. To quote my IT friend, "it's really messed up!" When they admit that, you are really in trouble. Until its return, I'm here, but with limited computer access either via the library or sharing the remaining home one with two other people. Well, I grew up in a one bathroom house and we only had one car - Horrors! Traumatic! Unfathomable! We can schedule the computer the same way as back in the day. . .

Love is a Rose

Earlier this week, I went to Costco and bought a 2-pack of Jackson & Perkins roses for only $9.88; which I thought was an outstanding deal to begin with....and lo and behold this morning, the Houston Chronicle's Star section features the same roses! I got the "Cinco de Mayo" and "Pink Promise" two pack. The third 2009 All-American Rose Selection Winner, "Carefree Spirit" is also at Costco, but you'll get two of them instead of two different ones. I had no idea these were winners, I just got them because I liked the colors. An added bonus, a portion of the "Pink Promise" sales will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Betty Crocker's Oatmeal Brownies

Oatmeal Brownies

From Betty Crocker's Whole Grains - Easy Everyday Recipes

ISBN 978-0-470-08060-3 (2007)

An interesting combination - but while you are adding whole grains (oatmeal), you are also adding brown sugar and butter! Hmmm. Sort of healthy, but very yummy. And a little piece goes a long way so you are less likely to overindulge. These can only be positive trade offs, right? Instead of making a 9 x 13 panful, I cut the oatmeal ingredients in half and used one package of Costco's Ghiradelli brownie mix, following the mix directions, not BC's.

Done and Done

Finally, five months after Hurricane Ike! The inspector came out yesterday to verify and report back to the mortgage company that yes, we did complete all the repairs to the house - duh! Now begins the fun once again of overnight mail, faxes and phone calls trying to get the remaining 15% of our insurance money they held back. I'll spare you the final repair photos of the repaired sheetrock over the water heater in the garage and the painted baseboards..and the upgraded ($2.38/two pack at Lowes) brushed nickel-finished doorstops. Sweet!

Warily. . .

I'm still looking at the computer with suspicion, but most of the nasties are gone. The fake Google page still pops up, but I can "Texas Two-Step" around it and get to the real one with a few extra maneuvers.

Still here!

Hope to be back up and operational soon!

Today only - Ground Chuck at Super Target only 89 cents

At my local Super Target, the one-pound ground chuck (80/20) packages are only 89 cents today! Probably because the Sell-By Date is February 9. That still leaves you time to repackage and freeze, cook some burgers or brown and freeze for upcoming meals. Moooo-ve quickly to grab this deal!

Go Red for Women

Today is National Wear Red Day (click here for more information about the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign)

I found these Yankee Candle Macintosh-scented "car jar" cards at Bed, Bath and Beyond - love the apple smell. They have a bunch of neat "red" scented items, including cherry, strawberry, watermelon and cranberry.