A Scrumptious Dessert

Yesterday we had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with good food, fun and family. We are glad we got to share our day with my parents that came down to have Thanksgiving dinner with us. I hope you a great day as well. I also wanted to announce the winning dish from my " What's Your Favorite Thanksgiving Dish?" poll. The winner is......... mashed potatoes and gravy!

For one of our Thanksgiving day desserts, I made this scrumptious coconut cake. I like just about anything with coconut in it and this cake is one of my favorites. It doesn't beat my nanny's coconut cake, but it is soooo good! This cake is sweet, moist and delicious. Be sure to make it a day ahead to let it sit in the fridge overnight. It only makes it better!




Coconut Cake
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 1/3 c. water
3 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 (16 oz.) container Cool Whip, thawed
1 (16 oz.) pkg. coconut
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
1 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 9 inch cake pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
Beat together cake mix, water, eggs and oil with mixer until combined. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Divide mix into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from pans. Cool cakes completely. Meanwhile, in a large bowl fold together Cool Whip, coconut, sour cream and sugar. Torte, or split cakes horizontally, Place 1 layer on serving platter. Spread with 1 1/2 c. of icing mixture. Repeat layers 3 times. Spread remaining dessert topping mixture on sides of cake. Store in refrigerator. Serves 16.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy being with the ones you love.
As the hymn goes that we sing in our church:

"Count your many blessings name them one by one, Count your many blessings see what God hath done."

Thanksgiving Funnies

Okay, so this is not what I had planned on sharing with you today, but since I still do not have access to my photos I thought some Thanksgiving humor would be fun. Some of the jokes are kinda corny, but I hope they make you smile. Maybe even a laugh. We all need a good laugh these days. Have a great day! Remember to vote for your favorite Thanksgiving dish on the side bar poll.


* What key has legs and can't open doors?
--A turKEY

*If the pilgrims were alive today, what would they be most famous for?
--Their age.

*What kind of music did the pilgrims like?
--Plymouth rock

*Knock knock!
Who's there?
Norma Lee.
Norma Lee who?
Norma Lee I don't eat this much.

* A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?"
The stock boy answered,"No ma'am they're dead."

My Favorite Thanksgiving Dish

First of all, thanks to those of you who shared ideas for an ornament to make with Laci's kindergarten class. I think I will be doing the snowman hand print ornament that Tricia shared. Too cute! I'll take pictures so you can see them later when they're done.

Let me just say that I will be pictureless on my blog for the next few days. Our desk top computer is out of commission until our new video card gets here so I am using our notebook computer. William wouldn't like me to download all my pictures onto it because I can get a little crazy with the pictures. All that said, I would like to share with you my favorite Thanksgiving dish. I know it's not all about the food, but it's a pretty big part of Thanksgiving. My favorite dish to eat for Thanksgiving dinner is......drum roll...... sweet potato casserole! Oh it's so good! It's just not the same if I don't have this for Thanksgiving. I feel like I'm missing out. I will be making my casserole in a few days. I can taste it now. Yummy sweet potato, brown sugary, pecan goodness!You can find my recipe below. What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish? I don't really know why I want to know this, just curious. Take the poll on the side bar and we'll see which dish wins on Friday!


Sweet Potato Casserole
3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 stick butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix all ingredients together and pour into 2 qt. casserole dish.
Topping:
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, not melted
1 c. chopped pecans
Mix sugar and butter until coarse crumbs. Add pecans and stir.Sprinkle topping
on top of sweet potatoes and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

I Need Your Help!

Christmas is fast approaching, as I'm sure you know. So that means Christmas crafts and ornaments at school! Yesterday, Laci's teacher sent home a letter asking if anyone would like to come and do a Christmas craft or ornament, so I thought, sure, I'll do an ornament with the kids. I try my best to support Laci's teacher, Mrs. Ellis. She is so nice, gentle, soft spoken and she's great with the kids . Laci loves having her as a teacher and I think she's great, as well. Anyway, as I started to think about what type of ornament I could demonstrate to the class, my mind went totally blank. I've made simple ornaments before, but I can't think of anything. So, to those of you who actually read this blog, which I'm sure is few, I NEED YOUR HELP! I'm looking for simple ornament ideas for a kindergarten class. Nothing too hard or detailed. I want to hear your ideas. If you'd like to share an idea, please leave me a comment explaining the ornament, what I would need, all that good stuff.

Also, some of you that visit my blog have said you don't have a username and password, so you couldn't leave a comment. All you need to do is use your email address for your username and then your password for that account in the password box. Try it! Can't wait to hear your ideas.
I'll leave this post up for a couple of days. Send in those ideas!!!

Warm Up With A Beach Scene

I'm not sure what the weather is like where you are, but here it is pretty cold. Well, cold for Alabama. I think it's supposed to be 52 today with a windchill factor, so it will feel like it's in the 40's. Brrrrr! But I thought some summery beach scenes could help to , at least, warm our hearts.
These pictures are from our summer vacation that we took with my parents to Panama City Beach, FL. Boy was it hot! It was nice to see the beach again and smell the ocean. It was gorgeous! The kids, especially, had a blast playing around in the ocean, building and burying in the sand and swimming in the pool. It was a fun trip! Are you warm yet?????

Granddad buried them in the sand.

Trent and Laci spent a lot of time in the hotel pool to cool off. Here they are clownin' around!

Dressed and ready for the beach!

Such Pretty Trees

Lately I've been noticing the pretty trees all around and the beautiful colors of their leaves. I have been meaning to get out and take some pictures of them at GoldStar Park here in town, but just haven't done it yet. The park is down by the Coosa River and the trees along the river are so pretty. I've also been noticing the sea of reds, golds and yellows as I cross the bridge to come back into town. It is picture perfect. It just gives me a good feeling every year when I see the leaves start to change colors. Since I haven't made it to the park for pictures, I decided to go out in our backyard. This is one of our trees with its fall leaves. So pretty! Remember to take time to enjoy the nature that sorrounds you.

Say It With Style

These embellished letters are one of the crafts my sister and I were going to do when she was here a couple weeks ago, but we didn't get to them while she was here. So, I finished them up. They are so fun and easy to do! These are not for my daughter,Ivy, but for another teenage Ivy that we know. She likes pink and brown, so I think these will be just right for her. But, I think I might just make some for my girls as well.

Their are endless possibilities when it comes to embellished letters. So many things you can spell and then use for decor. How about THANKS for Fall or Thanksgiving, NOEL or JOY for Christmas, or just LOVE, FAMILY, or LAUGH.Monograms are hot these days, so why not do one letter for a monogram. Oh, I could go on and on. So fun!



This is how I made them:
*I picked out coordinating scrapbook paper and/or textured card stock.
*Then I picked out the embellishments I wanted to use. I used different coordinating ribbon and ric-rac, flowers, brads, flower clips, and stick on rhinestone flowers.
*Next, I traced my letters onto the scrapbook paper and cut out. My letters came from Wal-Mart's craft section.
* Then, I applied a thin layer of mod podge onto letters and then I applied the coordinating paper letter. Be sure to smooth out any air bubbles. You can also brush mod podge over the top of the letters and it will dry clear, but I didn't do that for these.
*After that, I put embellishments on to each letter.

(Wow! I said letter a lot )

The embellishments are really fun to use, but I would suggest not using too many on one letter or it will make your letter and/or word look really busy and kinda messy. However, I do suggest having fun with this craft so you can "say it with style."

Ahhhh...... Sleep

Most nights before Trent goes to sleep, he gets to have some reading time in his room. Usually we find him with his book propped up on his pillow and him laying on his stomach reading away until we tell him it's time to turn off the light and get to sleep. Trent especially has been reading every minute he can get lately. He's on the 4th Harry Potter book and has been really into them. In fact, he's already reached his Accelerated Reader goal for the year by reading and testing on those books. I think he gets the love of a good book from his dad, not from me. Anyway, the other night Will told him it was time for lights out, but when the light was still on about 5 minutes later he got a little curious. He went in to find Trent's handsome little face laying on his book fast asleep. I guess he was just too tired for Harry Potter that night.Sleep was much more important. We are so glad that he has a love for reading and hope that he always will.

Thanks To Our Veterans

Sherri and Laci

January 2008

On this veterans day, I just wanted to say how thankful I am for those that have served and are currently serving our great country in the military. Thank you for your sacrifice. I am blessed to live in this land and thankful to have the freedoms that I have. I pray that we will always have those freedoms. On this day, I especially remember those of my own family that have served honorably. My husband, Will, Army; my pop, Talmadge Jackson, Army; my father-in-law, George,Army; Will's grandad, Milton,Army. I can't forget my sister-in-law, Sherri, who is currently serving in the Marines. We miss you Sherri! Thank you.

Of All The Things At Lowes

Today I want to share a fantastic magazine that I found at, of all places, Lowes. One night as I made a quick run to our local Lowes home improvement store, I was browsing through their magazine rack and spotted this one. I had never seen a Parties magazine before so I thought it deserved a look. It is packed with great recipes for different events. Tailgate parties, weddings, brunch, etc. I've already tried some of them out and they were great! The other thing I liked about this mag is that it gives several entertaining ideas. It has place settings, favors, and centerpieces galore. My fun find has already gotten many reads and I'm sure I'll be referencing it in the future. So, the next time your in Lowes and drills and lumber just aren't your thing, mosey on over to the magazine rack and see what you can find.

Thankful

Grooms cake for my best friend, Becky, and her husband, Paul.

So you may be wondering why I'm showing you a picture of cake,huh. Well, as I was browsing through my pictures, I came across this and a few other pictures of cakes I have made and decorated in the past and was just thinking how thankful I am that I learned the skill of cake decorating. Now, I'm no Martha Stewart, but I do okay. My mother-in-law, Marlene, taught me some cake decorating skills when Will and I were first married. Thanks Marlene! I had iced cakes before, but never really knew how to do borders and other little tricks of the trade. Over the years I have learned a little more here and there. I don't sell cakes or anything like that. It's just fun to decorate a cake ,most of the time, except when you have little hands that want to get in the way. It has saved us a lot of money as well. I usually make all of the kids' birthday cakes so I don't have to run out and buy one. I'm really glad that I have been able to use this talent for other people as well. I think it's important for us to learn new skills and things that we will enjoy. In my opinion, that makes us happier and better equipped to serve others. I am thankful for this simple thing in my life, as well as the big thing that usually benefits from it. My family.

Groom's cake for my friend, Kathy, and her husband, Tomas.

Close up of my sister and mother's birthday cake. I learned how to pipe daisies for their cake.

It's so easy. I should have been doing daisies a long time ago.

Crafty Chicks

This weekend my sister, Dana, her husband, Sam, and my nephew, Kyle, all came down for a visit with us. We all had a lot of fun together. The girls got some shopping in while the guys stayed home and played basketball, x-box, and games. Later that day, Dana , Laci and I all got some craft time while the guys headed off to do some Costco shopping,as well. I'll give you a sneak peek at one of the items that we made. This is not the greatest picture, but this is an embellished frame. It was actually pretty simple to do. We picked out a pretty sheet of scrapbook paper, cut it to fit the frame and then matted a saying that we printed off to some chocolate card stock and glued all onto the scrapbook paper. Then we embellished it up a bit with a chocolate flower which has a black brad in the middle. I think it turned out very nice. It says "The Love Of A Family Is Life's Greatest Blessing." I just might be making some more of these.

Commander Fox, A Nice Witch And A Bumblebee

I hope y'all had a fun and safe Halloween night. We did. The kids especially. After dinner, they all got dressed up in their costumes. Will took all of them out in our neighborhood to trick-or-treat while I stayed home to give out candy. Boy did we have some trick-or-treaters! We had so many kids come by I ran out of candy. I do think it's fun to see all the kids that come by and to see the different costumes. The Super Girl costume was very popular this year. I also had a lot of those scream mask things. Those were creepy! Trent went as Commander Fox from Star Wars Clone Wars.

Here is Laci as a nice witch.

Ivy is our cute little bumblebee.

I did get our witch and Commander Fox to stand still long enough to get one shot of them together. They were SO excited to go trick-or-treating!