Almond Cherry Pie

Over this last 4th of July, I had a surplus of cherries.  How did this happen you ask?  Well, I was coming back through Dallas on my way to Joplin, and so you just know I HAD to stop at the happiest place on earth...

Tutorial: Angels

A little while back a reader sent me an email asking of I had a tutorial for my little angels I made 2 years ago that was hosted on Frosting For The Cause.  She informed me that the link to the tutorial I made didn't work.  I checked it out, and sure enough the site is down.  So no one can get to the tut.  So I thought I would re post it here now.

Keep in mind, I made these 2 years ago!  If I were to make these now I probably would have just piped the hearts straight on instead of doing RI transfers....and even if I was to do RI transfers, I would do them over a sheet printed with hearts so that they were all the same.  But that's just the perfectionist in me.  They're still cute.
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I have been fortunate in my life to not know anyone personally affected by cancer. Though I don't have any personal experience to share, I am aware of the pain it can cause families and the devastation it can leave behind. I thank the Lord daily for my fortune. It saddens me to know that out there somewhere a woman is battling with her own body.

Keep up the fight ladies

So today, in honor and memory of those waging war against cancer we're going to make cookies. Cookies make everything a little easier to swallow. :)

Giving Thanks: Doves

As some of you know, 3 months ago my father passed away suddenly of a heart attack on his 60th birthday.  I had just had a baby 5 weeks before.  3 weeks before that my husband had to leave for 3 months for work.  It was a lot of stress and big life changes in short succession...all within a month about.  After all of this I held it together pretty well.  But as it all sunk in, it began to take it's toll and I started to become ill.  I'm ok now, thanks to family and friends who have been there for me.

It's been a very difficult 3 months.

I wanted to take the opportunity to publicly thank all of the people who have lent me so much support through these last few months.  People have sent me flowers, taken my kids for play dates, made me dinner, sent me gifts....it's really been amazing.  What touched me the most were the things sent to me from people I don't even know that well.  I think I received cards, gifts, sweets, books, baby things just about every day for a month.  In fact it's been so overwhelming that I haven't even had the time to keep up with it and thank everyone properly.  I WILL get to that.  I mean it.

I just want you to know that each card, book, gift, box of hand made cookies.....each one made me cry.  Not in the bad way, but in the way that I was so grateful.  I felt so loved it couldn't be helped.  I just wept every day for a month...and happy tears for a change.  To think that you would go through the trouble to do something so nice for someone you may not have ever met in person.... it meant something to me.

I also want to thank everyone who left comments of comfort on the blog.  It was good to hear so much positive from so many.  There are some of you who have gone through similar experiences and for a while there, when it was really important, I didn't feel so alone.

I'm going to post a tutorial or two pretty soon.  I'm edging my way back into work and daily life.  Sorry for the hermiting.  I hermit.  But I'll be back.

Thank you for your patience.  And thank you for reading.

Internet Etiquette?

Maybe I'm just old fashioned or too conservative....

But I've always been taught the whole, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all thing.

Seems simple.  I mean it's something I teach my daughter.  The whole golden rule thing.  If you wouldn't want someone to say it to you, then you shouldn't say it to them....

Now, it's not like I can't take criticism.  I know I'm set in my ways, and I'm not likely to change the way I do certain things.  But that doesn't mean I can't take what's dished at me, be it helpful or not.  I mean, you never know if your suggestion helps someone, or if they're rolling their eyes thinking, duh like I haven't already thought of that.  But there's a difference between criticism and just plain rudeness.

Example of helpful (well meaning) criticism: If your having problems with your black icing, try adding some cocoa powder to it.

See, addressing a problem that she felt I had a concern about with the intentions of helping.  And providing a solution...

Let's try another one:  If you lined closer to the edges of your cookie, it would look nicer because you would see less cookie.

Ok, this has more to do with preference or aesthetic taste, but still attempting to be helpful.

Not offensive comments....

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches

So I don't know if any of y'all know this about me, but I'm a native Floridian.  Lived there till I was 8 then became all Texified.  But still southern y'all.....always southern.

Anyway....it's fair to say I've had my share of key lime pie.  I LOVE key lime pie....it's way better than lemon meringue if you ask my taste buds.  Which no one really does....and my taste buds get hurt about that....taste buds have feelings too ya know.

So to make an effort to appease my taste buds, who get a little blue in the summer when they realize they aren't in Florida, we usually make a key lime pie out of an old cookbook our family has.  For some reason this year I couldn't place said cookbook.  Le Disaster.  So I didn't know what to do...taste buds were starting to complain and get all whiny.....nothing worse than whiny taste buds ya know.....we all know....

So I had to wing it....and experiment....and I finally came up with these!!

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches!!

Seriously, these have everything that I was missing about our favorite lost key lime recipe.  Except now it's cool, refreshing and portable!  A real tropical frozen treat.

Tropical Pool Party

So this weekend I'm in the Dominican Republic for a wedding. Blogging from my iPad which I've never done before. So if the layout or whatever looks different please accept my apologies.

                                        

Anyway. This will be quick and sweet. Cuz I'm wasting sunlight. I made these for a tropical pool party last year. But I thought they were appropriate this week considering my location. 

My Father

So I am going to tell you right now, I have been avoiding writing this post because it still hurts so much, but I need to.

The month of April was pretty rough for me.  New baby, husband out of town, no sleep, 4 year old...the usual.  So I thought it would be really nice to go home and see my family in Texas the first weekend in May.  See, it was my dad's 60th birthday that Saturday.  My sister and her new fiance were coming into town especially for the occasion...the whole family was going to be there.  So I put myself and the kids on a plane and headed to Texas.  

The weekend started like any other at home.  Hugs to the parents, Dad cooked dinner for us (something he loved to do.  Dad used to be in the restaurant biz.  My passion for food stems from him), watched some TV, cooed over the baby...just spent time with family.  That's how we do it.  We just enjoy each other's company.  

That Saturday was the big day, my dad's birthday.  I didn't see my dad that morning....I was sleeping in...long night of feeding baby.  He was going to work that morning, "just for a little bit", so he told my sister when they passed in the hallway.  We went about our morning, getting ready for the birthday party later that night.  I was all excited to make him my very special chocolate cake.

We were ready to go and started heading to the car.  Now my parents have a driveway that accommodated one car wide so all our cars are out front are lined up like ducks.  If one person wants to go somewhere we have a circus act of car moving. Takes coordination.  Dad's car was still there.  He was supposed to be at work half an hour ago.

And that's about when my life changed forever.  When all our lives did.  

Dad suffered a major cardiac arrest.  When we found him upstairs, he had already gone.

JR Barnes

1953-2013