10 Dozen eggs and English Muffins made with Gold Dust

Went grocery Shopping on Sat. and for the first time since moving to Hawaii I bought English Muffins.  The English muffins were a must because I am making Eggs Benedict 3 times this week- The boys are on Spring Break so we will have extra time for breakfast.  I was racing around our local Super Market looking for the English Muffins mentally mulling over in my brain what other grocery items I would need from the particular store I was in.  I saw the English Muffins stacked in with some other bread and grabbed one package- one package here contains 6 whole muffins.  As I was wheeling my cart away I happened to look down at the price tag..................$4.79..............I had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach- I was confused, dazed, and disorientated- what should I do?  Is it over the top to spend $4.79 on 6 English muffins?  Before putting them in my cart I whipped the package around to see if one of the top ingredients was 'gold dust':)
After my English muffin experience (which I did buy) I checked out and went on to Costco to finish grocery shopping.  I had a full cart by the time I got to the refrigerator section- one of the last thing I needed was an 18 count eggs- I noticed after the English muffin experience I was looking at the price of everything- I stood and looked at the price of the 18 count eggs compared to the 5 dozen- It was quite a bit cheaper to just buy the 5 dozen- I was not sure if we could go through all 5 dozen before they expired (May 11 April 11) but thought I would give it a whirl.  Having not a lot of experience buying 5 dozen eggs I grabbed what I thought was 5 dozen- checked out, came home and unloaded groceries.  As I went to put my 5 dozen eggs in the fridge I took a REALLY close look at the box of eggs- First off I saw that the box I thought was 1 was in fact 2- Oh My Gosh- If I had 2 boxes of eggs that meant that I had 2 five dozen boxes of eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 dozen eggs x 12= 120 eggs
30 days (cause of expiration) to eat 120 eggs
120 eggs divided by 30 days= 4 eggs per day

CAN WE DO IT?
Sun. morning used 4 eggs to make Eggs Benedict plus 1 egg to make a pan of brownies
5 down 115 to go.

Will keep you posted

Look at all those eggs in my refrigerator 

Switching from Tsunami's to Peacocks- at least for today

The last couple of day's have been such a serious post I thought I would grace this blog with a light hearted story- gotta mix it up a little bit... right?

It began almost right after we moved here.....
The ranch we work at has an easement going through another ranch to get to our ranch- on this other ranch tours are offered because it is home to several interesting things (movies, zip lines, and ATV adventures).  Either at the start of a tour or an end of a tour (I'm not sure which cause I've never taken the tour) people get to stop and feed animals- an example of some of the animals being fed would be wild pigs, chickens, and PEACOCKS.  All the animals hang out in an area about the size of a large bedroom waiting for the tours to come by and feed them-

These 2 pictures are compliments of my brother and sis in law- This is
the 'area' I am talking about 

My brother Levi feeding the pigs 

We pass through this certain area at least 2 times a day (coming and going from the ranch).  All of the animals clear out of the roadway when they see our vehicles coming because they know that we are not stopping to feed.  That is they all move out of the way except one............

He is one of the most beautiful animals I have ever seen- I am in complete AWE of all the colors on his tail feathers and body-  The problem with him is that he refuses to drop those beautiful feathers and move out of the way (please notice even in this picture- where is he standing?? Right in the middle of the road)- He is so ANNOYING!  I roll my car to a stop and try to nudge him out of the way by getting closer and closer- sometimes I honk but most of the time I squeak by him on the side going partly in the ditch area to get around.     Not to long ago I was trying to be a little firmer with him- show him who's boss- for pete's sake my vehicle could squash his beautiful body in a sec.  I pulled up really close to him- laid on the horn and stayed persistent.  He decided that he would move- but in his timing- never dropping those tail feathers, he calmly and very slowly scooted sideways with one foot touching the other (baby steps) off the road.  By the time he was far enough over so that I could drive straight and not swerve around him I could have been 5 minutes down the road.
I'm telling Matt about all of this- we are headed out and coming to the place where the peacock 'struts his stuff'.  I notice that the peacock is exactly where he normally is but I also notice that Matt is not slowing down- nor is he starting to veer around this beautiful peacock.  'Watch this Steph, I'll bet I can get him to move.' Matt's telling me as we are closing in on those tail feathers fast.  You guys, I closed my eye's and cringed expecting to hear a thud and see peacock feathers flying everywhere.  We pass by and I don't hear the thud so I open my eyes and physically turn around in the truck we are in and look out the rear window.  First I notice a Freaked out peacock standing on the side of the road- he looked very strange....naked would be the right word.
He had managed to get off the road just in time- in getting off the road he must have dropped his tail feathers- which when peacocks drop their tail feathers they are like a train on a wedding dress- they cascade behind them.  When he dropped his tail feathers Matt ran over them.  Perfectly lined up on the ground by the peacock was a wad of tail feathers.  We laughed so hard- mean.....um.....maybe a bit but still one of the funniest memories living here in Hawaii.
It was a good 6 months before his tail feathers were back in.  We would see him trying his feathers and for awhile they were just stubby sticks- As time passed they grew longer and longer.  I didn't have the heart to take his picture.  I am happy to say that he is completely back to normal.  I am also happy to say that he has never been in the road again!

Tsunami Warnings- getting ready to evacuate- UPDATED FRI MORNING!

- 10:11 p.m. Thurs. March 10, 2011: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a Tsunami Warning for the Hawaiian Islands.

I decided to blog while I am waiting to evacuate our house. The Tsunami Warning was issued due to a large earthquake in Japan that may send a Tsunami to the Hawaiian Islands.  I'm going to blog my way through this cause honestly.....I look forward to reading it after this is all over :)  If my writing comes across as babble it's because I am going to keep this real and raw and not edit after I finish- So bear with and I will take you on this journey with me.

For those of you who have not been to visit us here in Hawaii we live right on the ocean- we can not see the ocean from our house because of a small knoll in the way but what we lack in sight we make up for in sound.  It has been my chronic habit to sleep with a second source of noise because frankly, hearing the waves crashing freaks me out.

Our weather here tonight is partly cloudy and a bit breezy- We just filled our vehicle with gas (from jugs here at the ranch), the boys have packed a few things, and I am getting ready to grab what I consider the things I can not live without: make-up, chi flat iron, and Coco Chanel perfume........no just joking!  I'm going to be bringing a bin of keep sakes that I store under my bed, Oklie, my boys, and some food/water.  We have our cell phone's charging and our local news (by way of TV) buzzing.

Poor Matt has a horrible cold- took NyQuil and is snoring soundly by me- such peace from my man.  I will be waking him up as it get's closer to midnight.

Our plan tonight is to evacuate about midnight (Hawaiian Standard Time) and head to the top of the hill (see This Blog Post).  We will stay at the top of the hill, listening to the news by way of our car radio until we get the 'all clear'.  A positive to going to the top of the hill is I may get to hang out with Kelly- she is one of the Trust Member's daughter-in-laws that is visiting the ranch right now who I've enjoyed getting to know.  She will obviously have to evacuate also- so Kell- wanna hang at the top of the hill?

As I watch the news on the Tsunami that hit Japan my heart just aches for the people.  May God Bless and keep the people who are affected by the earthquake and tsunami.  Our news caster on KHNL can not get in touch with his father who lives in Japan- I can not even imagine.  Our news is announcing to limit our calls on our cell phones because of heavy traffic on the lines.  Last year when we had the Tsunami Warning I remember my cell phone not working (It would get a busy signal when trying to call out).  The estimated arrival time of the first projected wave is 3:07 pm-

10:40 P.M. I am going to sign off for a bit- will post another blog update soon

P.S.- Just learned that Kauai, Hawaii will be seeing the Tsunami first.

Thank you so much Lord Jesus that you have this complete situation under control.  I lift up every single person affected by this.  I also ask for strength and wisdom for all of the people both here on Hawaii and in Japan.  I ask for peace- no matter what happens.  I trust in you and Love you Lord Jesus.
_______________________________________________


11:55 p.m.-

Checking back in....in the last hour the news has reported that there were 3 small earthquakes on the Big Island (Hawaii)- the largest of the quakes being 4.5- They do not believe that it has anything to do with the earthquake in Japan.  From what I could understand the earthquakes were centered in an area that see's frequent earthquake activity due to one of the volcano's.

Matt's still sleeping soundly so I think I'm going to wait to wake him up until 1:00 a.m.- the tsunami is still scheduled to hit at 3:07 a.m.-  Our News Casters are assuring us that they believe a tsunami will be hitting (that it is not a 'maybe' anymore)- I think they say they believe from the data they are receiving from the buoy's reading out in the ocean the wave it will be about 2 Meters high or converted to feet- 6 ft.(http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/117783848.html)

I keep hearing that Waikiki Hotels are (Oahu) evacuating their guest's up- meaning that they are going to higher floors in the hotel instead of higher ground. That just settles weird with me. I think I would prefer higher ground as opposed to swirling water around me as I watch from a man made structure- I don't know, our situation, living so remote we do not even hear the tsunami sirens plus being right on the ocean may settle weird with the guests standing on the 6th floor of their hotel in Waikiki watching the tsunami swirl around them.

The News Caster that reported earlier he could not reach his father who lives in Japan (his father lives 50 Meters from where the earth quake happened) still can not reach his dad.  He said that he is starting to get concerned.  The good news is that his dad lives on high ground so probably was not affected by the tsunami- but may have been affected by the earthquake.

I will give one more post before we head up the hill- signing out for now
__________________________________________________________

March 11, 2011-12:45 a.m.

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family and our Trust Facilitator who have called both from the Main Land and from Hawaii to let us know about this Tsunami Warning- It is so so so so nice to know that you've got our backs :)
I will not have access to the internet again until after the projected Tsunami has hit Hawaii.
Of course I am optimistic that the tsunami will not cause damage- If, in fact, it does create more damage than projected please know (this is especially for our friends and family) that we will be on high ground and completely safe.  Also, if for some reason you can not reach us via cell phone- We will call as soon as the lines open up and we get reception.
All the estimations for this Tsunami are the same- set to hit Kauai at 3:07 a.m.- If you are looking to follow what is going on I would recommend either the local Hawaiian station KGMB or The Star Advertiser

I'm bringing my computer with me and will continue this blog as things unfold- will post as soon as I have internet access again
_________________________________

2:45 am

Sitting at the top of the hill (have been gabbing with Kelly!!)- Getting news in that at the Mid Way buoy the wave measured 6 ½ feet.  The good news is that the wave was supposed to hit Guam before it hits us and it has not hit yet.  People in Guam are a little nervous to resume normal life because of the strong aftershocks still hitting Japan.

Weather up here is nice.  Still just light cloud covers but thank goodness no rain.  We watched a cruise ship head out of port- fully lit.  We are assuming that is was going out to sea to ride out the wave- I consider this equivalent to going ‘up’ in a hotel instead of going to higher ground- Thank you very much I will just stay here in port before I would step foot on a cruise ship during a tsunami (I don’t care if it is safer).

My boys have a full blown bed set up in the back of our car.  Unfortunately they are not sleeping but instead annoying each other and fighting- boys- enough already!

I have a consistent mixture of flying bugs landing on my screen and even one smashed on it- gonna sign off until after the exact time the Tsunami is supposed to be hitting.

3:06 am

You should hear all the tsunami sirens going off as the time the wave is supposed to hit is so close.  The radio is saying that the wave has not hit as of yet- the 3:07 am that it is supposed to hit (right at this minute) is only a estimate not an ‘actual’ time.

The biggest thing on my mind right now is the poor people in Japan who have had so much devastation- And from what I hear on the radio, Japan is having strong aftershocks-

3:40 am

It is weird that it is completely pitch black- not being able to see the water and relying on the radio and news cast’s that friends and family are watching.  Right now, from our radio announcer, we are hearing the first wave has hit Kauai but it was not as big as what they had thought.  My friend Deb just text and said that the news is saying the wave measured .5 Meters at Pearl Harbor- I am thinking that .5 Meters is about 2 feet?  The radio is playing ‘red red wine you make me feel so fine…’ The bugs are still crawling all over my screen- and my calm husband is sleeping again……..Geez babe, how much Nyquil did you take J

6:25 am

The sun is not quite coming up but dawn is breaking……….LIGHT!!!! There is something about being able to see what’s going on-  I can’t quite see down to the beach we live on and have not seen the news or been on the internet since 12:45 am- but from updates I have gotten from family and friends and from the constant updates that the local radio station is giving I understand that our island is still getting small tsunami waves-  A gentleman called in about an hour ago and said that a wave came in and covered a parking lot-

I am not going to harp on the obvious but it’s been a long night.  I am grateful I am not homeless having to sleep in my car cause this just sucks-  My knees have been jammed into my steering wheel and I ended up putting my pillow on the ground and wrapping my feet in it cause I am freezing (it’s in the 60’s here). 

Just getting in info that the Big Island just reported a fairly large wave hitting the island?

Will check back in with this post in awhile…Tired, feeling a bit sorry for myself, but feeling worse for Japan

______________________________________________________________________

7:45 am

Just got down graded from a Tsunami Warning to a Tsunami Watch- going home

Ran by the beach (Bath tub) down here at the ranch- It's just weird- The waves can't seem to make up their mind what they want to do.

It's kind of unsettling being this close to the beach- The nice thing is I'm completely tired so I won't dwell on the weirdness for to long before I fall asleep.  I took some pics that I will post later- 

Thank you so much everyone for the prayers.

Goodnight

First Light 3/11/11- This is the view from where we evacuated to

This is one of the beaches on the ranch- If you look close you will see
how far out the water is- It receded this far in a matter of 60 sec,  I
personally have never seen the tide out like this before.

This is the other side to the pic above

I shot this pic about a minute after shooting the original one above-
Show's how far the waves are coming in after receding

Showing the waves coming back in after receding- I noticed that the fire depart.
helicopter was checking out the waves as I was shooting this picture- They were to the right
so are not visible in this pic

Another beach here at the ranch- The water reached past the green
vegetation you can see on the right hand side.  SO MUCH DEBRIS!

This pic was taken about an hour ago (1:20 Hawaiian Time) and shows
not only the debris washed up but also how far the tide is still out....is this normal??

A closer look at how far the tide is out.

The water went to the vegetation

It's hard to see in this pic but this area is usually a beach area- The water
has a current equivalent to a strong stream- The waves that washed in this morning went up past
the embankment and into the trees- My dog Oklie was completely fascinated with all the water. 

Showing the 'strong stream' area from a different angle- If you notice the tree's in the
background, the water was up in those trees.

3/12/11- I did some checking to find out anymore information on the newscaster's dad that lives in Japan that could not be reached-  I could not find anything on KHNL's website regarding it so I am assuming that he was able to get into contact with his dad after all.  If I hear anything different than this I will make sure and post.

Facebook Favorites

I was going through files on my computer yesterday and came across a folder titled 'facebook notes'- As I saw the title I remembered that Several Years ago something called 'Notes' was going around on facebook.  In a 'Note' I was tagged in I was given the following instructions:

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.  At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.
(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your home page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)


I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading stuff like this about people and after completing my 25 things (see below) I tagged a bunch of my friends- I would have to say that this was one of my favorite 'facebook' things I've done- Although I would say equal to this in my list of favorite is facebook's 'Typing Wars'!! I used to compete with my cousin Megan until she beat me so many times I think she lost interest!

As I scanned over my list I realized that all these years later I would still describe myself about the same- some of the statistics would be different (More Beth Studies, More flying miles, I still miss my friend Nat and Christy, Have spent WAY more money on my little Oklie, and I don't think I currently have 50 pairs of shoes as the salt air and constant humidity makes them rot out or rust- an accurate number would probably be 30).  My heart is filled with joy when I look at #4 and I think of the fact that we are pursuing adoption-

1. I wear size 12
2. I am allergic to nuts and shell fish
3. I am passionate about any and all emotional issues
4. If I could, I would have another baby
5. I have dyed my hair since I was 11
6. I hate loud noises
7. I own probably 50 pairs of shoes
8. I have shopped in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City, San Fransisco, Scottsdale AZ, and Portland in the past year and a half and have loved every minute of it!
9. I have started and completed 6 Beth Moore Bible Studies-
10. The Lord delievered me from my fear of flying on an airplane- didn't step foot on one for 10 years- and in the past 3 years have flown over 100,000 miles :)
11. I love being a mommy and wife- I truly could not image my life with out my 3 boys!
12. I love movies like 'bring it on' or any cheesy dance type movie- I usually beg Matt or Eli to watch them with me.
13. I had a horrible relationship with my real dad- we were able to make ammends 2 years ago- Praise God!!!!
14. I have a phobia of being stung by bees- I am always afraid that my throat is gonna shut off- I have had my sis in law Rhonda watch her watch for 20 minutes and watch me breath when I have been stung- so embarrassing-
15. I miss my friend Nat- our lives took different paths and I know it is the best for now- but still miss her terribly (she's not on facebook- so no browny points for me)- I also miss my friend Christy- it's just not in the cards to be able to hang out right now- but someday..........................
16. my dog Oklie is such a blessing- she's a money pit (I have spent over $1000.00 on her- between buying her, boarding her when we are gone, shots, etc...) but I would not trade not having her for being $1000. richer-
17. I pray everyday that my boys will have character and truly have a passion and love people. One of my biggest fears is that they will not know how to love with their hearts-
18. One of my biggest regrets is that I did not show the friends I loved that I loved them- I kept my guard up and did not let them in- to scared of getting hurt- I over do it now (sorry my good friends :)
19. I admire my friend Bonnie spirit for life- she is the only girl I know who would chase a shop lifter and tackle him- the list could go on- Thanks Bonnie K for showing me your sweet/tough spirit- I will forever be grateful-
20. I admire that my sister Jodi does not try to take on the world- she is content to just be a mom-
21. I often wonder if I am normal or abnormal- does anyone else vacuum your house everyday?
22. I want to be a grandma just like my mom is to my boys- and I pray my kids let me be-
23. I thank the Lord for the 2 babies I have in heaven- but wish I could have had them here too
24. Never mind this one :)
25. I have to hold my hands up and submit my life to God pretty much every day cause I am so strong willed I always want things my way- God is trying to get it through my thick head that His way is sooooo much better- Thank you Jesus!
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Message in a Bottle

A Pic of the 'message in the bottle' before I mailed it off
to my niece 

It is almost like being on set of a movie.............I am driving along the beach here at the ranch and something catches my eye- After almost 2 years of two to three times a day checking the beach I can scan drift wood, washed up flip flops, bottles, rubber buoys, house hold trash, and other misc. things that wash up on a daily basis and know that there is nothing worth stopping and taking a CLOSE look at.  I had done my usual scan and something caught my eye.  There are probably 100 glass bottles any given day on the beach- I would say mostly wine bottles- The bottle that caught my eye was a greenish color and looked to have something inside- It was kind of sitting off by itself half buried in the sand- As I get closer to where it is I can tell that someone has placed a personal message in a bottle, threw it in the ocean, and dreamed of where it would wash up and who would find it.
I walked in the door last week after finding the 'message in a bottle' to my phone ringing- It was my sis. 'Hey guess what!' was coming out of my mouth before she could get a word in edge wise- The bottle is corked  and part of the cork was broken off- This made it impossible to open the bottle when I was on the phone with her (My precious boys had no interest in even checking the bottle out- they are at the age and of the personality that they think messages in a bottle are not all that interesting)- So I held it up and turned it all around to give it a through inspection to report to my sis- Through the partially sanded/greenish colored glass I could make out Chinese writing mixed with American writing- I could also see a signature of what looked like a child and the year 2003. After giving the details of what I could see I set the bottle down in my lower living room area and we moved on with our conversation.
Earlier this month I got an excited call from my niece (her nick name is 'sissy')- "AUNTIE!!! I just wanted to invite you and Oklie (my dog) to my birthday party!"- My heart jumped at the possibility of being able to go to her 7th Birthday- After looking at all that is going on in our schedule right now I realized that I would not be able to make it....Along with telling my sister about the bottle I was also telling her that I was definitely not going to be flying in for sissy's birthday party- I got off the phone and headed back down to the lower living room to get the bottle for further inspection.  As I picked it up It struck me- I needed to get this unopened bottle in the Mail ASAP so that my niece could have a once in a lifetime birthday gift......A true message in a bottle found in the warm Hawaiian Waters washed up on an isolated beach and sent with love from her auntie a little over 3000 miles away from a birthday party my heart is dying to be at!

My sis and niece 

P.S. Sissy got the package yesterday (that contains the bottle) and wants to wait until her actual birthday to open it!!

UPDATE 3/24/11


SISSY OPENED THE BOTTLE TODAY- AND MY SISTER JODI (SISSY'S MOM) SENT THE FOLLOWING E-MAIL:


A couple weeks ago my sister, Stephanie, found a bottle that had washed up on their beach in Hawaii. She mailed it to Sissy for her 7th birthday. It was a letter written by a 12 year old girl named Akane Nihei from Fukusima, Japan in 2003. It says, "Dear friennd who got this bottle...This bottle mail is planed by "The 50th annual iwaki port festival". We are the staff of this festival. We flowed this bottle on the pacific ocean of Hawaii offing in Sep.2003. You are the only one person who got this bottle around the world. So please contact us. We will waiting for your contact." 


My sister (Jodi) sent an e-mail to Akane today from Sissy- I will update this blog when my sister let's me know if Akane (who would be 20) responds- I just Googled Fukushima, Japan and this is what came up.  May God Bless and keep this girl if she is still living in Fukushima- I can not even imagine what she has experienced- Again, will update as my sister updates.

A nuclear power plant in the Fukushima Prefecture in Japan is under a state of emergency following the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that shook the nation today.

Located in northern Japan, the Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 2 million and lies in an area heavily impacted by the earthquake. A dam broke nearby, washing away homes, Reuters reported.

Residents near the facility have been asked to evacuate as a precaution. The nuclear power plant's cooling system was malfunctioning after the quake, causing concerns, per the Guardian. 

Molten Chocolate Dog Terd's (Cupcakes)

I had a sudden inspiration yesterday to make a dessert- something chocolate and something DELISH....I scrounged through my cubbards to see what the gecko's and ants had left me unscathed (I just learned this word in a book I am reading so I thought I would use it on my blog!).  I grabbed a Betty Crocker Cake Mix- It was a Devil's Food Chocolate with a small little caption in the back left hand side corner 'MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES'- Oh Yes Ma'am I could make this recipe....I took one look at the online recipe and had high hopes of duplicating the same thing.

Betty Crocker's version of the Molten Cupcake

I noticed that that I did not have the 1/2 C of whipping cream that the recipe called for nor did I have the patience to wait for an hour for the chocolate that goes on the inside of the cupcake to cool down- But hey- It's all good :)
I substituted the whipping cream with milk- melted the chocolate chips and slammed the chocolate chip milk mixture into the freezer for the 5 minutes it was going to take me to mix up the cake mix-  Whipped up the cake mix, put the batter in the cupcake pan and put the still warm (kinda thin now that I think about it) chocolate Molten mixture into the center of each cake- put it in the oven and watched them rise........They were beautiful as I left on the oven light just to watch them rise- when I pulled them out of the oven they looked like something you would see in a bakery.
It wasn't until I went to take the cakes out of the pan that I realized that something may be wrong- Each one came out missing the bottom- and stuck to the bottom of the pan was a sticky cake like substance that smelled really strong of chocolate- I realized then why the recipe called for whipping cream to mix with the chocolate chips- It would make the chocolate mixture that went into the center of the cupcake batter thick- Also, allowing the chocolate mixture to completely cool would make it even thicker so that the bottom of the cupcake batter would have a chance to cook so that the molten chocolate would set up in the center-  My mixture was so thin and still so warm when I added it- it sunk right to the bottom of the cupcake pan and stuck there.
CRUD!!!
No worries, I had been watching Food Network and saw a really cute way to frost cupcakes- I would pipe homemade chocolate frosting (Thanks Rhon for the recipe) onto the top and overcompensate by making it thick and fluffy- who would notice the bottom if the top was super cute-
I just snapped a pic of what my Eli has dubbed the 'Dog Terd's'- He walked in just after I had piped the last of the frosting on and stood and stared- WHAT? I asked him (in that kinda annoyed voice that we- mothers can use sometimes) 'Looks like a dog terd' was his only reply as he grabbed one and walked off.............The more I looked at them the more I saw that I had indeed mixed the frosting the perfect color of a dog terd and the way I had swirled it on the top of the cupcake...well.......I should have seen it coming

1/2

cup whipping cream

1

cup semisweet chocolate chips

1

box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix

1

cup water

1/3

cup vegetable oil

3

eggs

1. In 1-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium-high heat until hot but not boiling. Stir in chocolate chips until melted and mixture is smooth. Refrigerate about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until thick.
2. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease and flour or spray with baking spray with flour 18 large (2 3/4x1 1/4-inch) muffin cups. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl constantly. Place 1/4 cup batter in each muffin cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon cold chocolate mixture on top of batter in center of each cup.
3. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool 1 minute. Carefully remove from pan; place on parchment paper. Cool 10 minutes. Frost with chocolate frosting. Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with strawberry slices. Serve warm.

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ryan's waterfall invitation

I have not forgotten about the cheesecake in the 'dolphins and cheesecake' post- This waterfall invitation came up so I am going to cover that first- I'll get to cheesecake sometime this weekend (hopefully).
Last night we had quite a bit of rain- enough that we have a small lake out in our front yard area and a few waterfalls.  On the way to bring the boys to school, Ryan pointed out a waterfall on the ranch and asked if I would like to hike to it when he got home.............um...............I usually try to save any sort of hiking for mall related activities- an example of this would be that I would 'hike' up the stairs instead of taking the escalator when going from Macy's to Williams Sonoma (3 floors apart) or hiking around Union Square toting bags............but I could not tell my youngest son 'no'- so this afternoon Ryan and I set out on a hike.  It was completely beautiful, amazing, and breath taking.
Thanks so much Ryno Chase for the invite....The pictures will tell the rest of the story.

Behind Ryan is the waterfall

It looks A LOT closer than it actually was!

A pic of the small lake in our front yard from all the rain last night

Ryan saw how much I was struggling walking in my crocs
so he graciously traded me shoes

As the water was flowing over us I just kept praying against
Lepto (found in dirty water here) and thinking how I wanted
Ryan to remember me as a mom who did 'cool' stuff with him