English Toffee Anytime.......

My friend is having a contest on her blog. Go check it out. If you follow the instructions you'll get some really great toffee.
http://swampsuburbia.blogspot.com/

The Most Boring Blog on the Internet

It's no secret. I know this. I must have the most boring, stale blog on the internet. Fortunately, it doesn't bother me one bit. ;-)

I just feel like I don't have anything to write about. My dear friend Andrea gives me all these topics but when I sit down to write about them.......nothing comes out. I'm not much of a story teller I guess.

Anyway, I can let anyone who is interested know all about what's been going on with us.

I've been working at school EVERYDAY now. I like it, I guess. I work with some really sweet ladies. They make it bearable. The thing is, it's not the job. Anyone who knows me well knows what a weird homebody I am. I HATE not being at home. If it wasn't for that I'd probably really like it. I miss not being able to clean my house when I want. I miss having the energy to do the things I like to do. I have some very sore feet when I come home in the afternoons. One of the saddest things is that I miss listening to FOX NEWS all day. How sad am I?! Gee whiz, girly. You NEEDED a job!!!!! I know, you can say it. It's ok.

The kids are great. I can't believe it's almost halfway through the school year already. Before we know it, it'll be spring and softball season. I'll have to try and keep my accident prone husband off the field this year. You can go back to the beginning of my blog to read all about that.

For Christmas this year, we'll be making the trek to Vegas. It's been quite a while since we've seen our family there. We're looking forward to it. With that being said, I have so much to do to prepare that I just don't feel like I have time for. YIKES!

And wouldn't you know it. Right as I'm ready to publish this post, I have to wait for a good ol' Louisiana thunderstorm to pass through first. Stupid satellite internet.

Twilight....My movie review.....

So we went to see Twilight last night. It was pretty good for a low budget movie. Bubba liked it even more than I did. Of course, he didn't read the books so he didn't have any expectations and he didn't notice all the things that were wrong and missing.

I liked it enough that I want to watch it again. I won't go back to the movies to watch it but I'll buy the dvd and probably watch it everytime it comes on HBO or Showtime. Not because the movie was amazing but because I'm a loyal fan. And really, who can get enough of the Twilight saga?

I was dissapointed when I first saw who was cast as Edward. He was never MY Edward. However, I think Robert Pattinson pulled it off. It was a bit shakey at the beginning but it got better. James Franco would have been much closer to MY Edward. Alas, he's too old to play the part and I doubt that he would have had the time to play in the low budget teeny bopper movie. They probably couldn't have afforded him anyway.

I wish there would have been more time to build the characters. Two hours wasn't long enough for this movie. The emotions and relationships between the characters are too deep for a two hour time slot. The movie barely scratched the surface.

Alice was adorable, of course even though Ashley's acting was so-so. I was sad that we really didn't get to know her. Jasper, oh gosh, I laughed everytime I looked at him. It was awful. One character that they nailed was Emmett. Kellan WAS Emmett. He had the look and the personality. We even got a glimpse of what a clown he is. I loved Esme even though she only had like 2 lines. Carlisle, ehh, he was kind of bland. Rosalie was what I'd expect Rosalie to be. Charlie was a doll. Billy was right on and Jacob looked like a little kid but you could kind of feel his down to earthness. He's a scrawny little boy though so I'm wondering how they are going to make him grow if they continue with the sequels. And Bella, honestly, she's pretty much how I envisioned her.

All in all, this is a good movie. In one way it's better for those who don't know the story because they can't pick it apart for it's flaws. On the other hand I'm glad I know the story behind the things that were happening because they just didn't or couldn't capture it on screen.

I have lots more thoughts on this movie but I hope you all go out and watch it to see for yourselves. Draw your own conclusions. The things that were important to me may not be the same for you. We at least have to support it so that we can see a "New Moon" in the future. Hopefully they'll have a bigger budget and be able to do more.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I thought I'd share our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with ya'll today. The kids are home today so I'm making them a treat. I had to send them outside first though!

I came across this recipe on the web years ago and it's been a favorite ever since.

1 cup (2 stick) softened butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 bags of semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. With your fingers, place golf ball sized dough balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until edges are light brown.

I prefer the milk chocolate chips, of course the kids like the M&M's. I have both in the picture above. 1 bag of baking M&M's and 1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips. Any flavor chips work well.

Another tip: If you want to give your chocolate chip cookies a more interesting flavor, add a teaspoon or so of cinnamon to your dough. YUM It doesn't taste cinnamony but it gives a nice accent to the chocolate.

What's your favorite cookie?

Happy Halloween

Miss Bertha

Miss Bertha is a Light Brahma pullet. She is my husband's favorite chick (besides me!).

Light Brahma's are a heavy breed chicken. They are very hardy and are brown egg layers. Miss Bertha isn't laying yet but come Spring she should be quite productive. I can't wait!

I'm so sad that we lost her twin sister. I'd love to have more Brahma's because they are so sweet and pretty but even the hatcheries are sold out right now. Miss Bertha is not a show chicken, she comes from hatchery stock but I think she's a beauty anyway. I can't wait to see her when she's full grown. She's only 8 weeks old right now.

Now, I have a thing about bird feet. They look kinda freaky. But, look at her neat feathered feet.

Miss Bertha takes lots of naps with her sisters. Here she is with Miss Rhoda.

And lastly, here are the new babies. I had to order these to replace the ones killed by the evil rat terrier Sassy.

There are 27!!! of them. They are still just little girls, only 3 weeks old. I tried to brood them but it seems the rules are a bit different here in South Louisiana. These girls do not like being under lights. They like being outside! lol They will chirp and holler and have a fit until I put them out there. I guess our normal weather feels like a brooder. It does to me!

We sectioned off a little area for them inside the big girls fence. We had to seperate them because the big girls were pecking them. They are starting to get used to each other now though. Once they get big enough to defend themselves we'll start easing them into the same space.

I never expected to have 37 chickens. Heck, I didn't WANT 37 chickens but I was so sad when we lost half the other batch I just had to order more and they won't send less than 25 at a time for the safety of the chicks. This last time they threw in 2 extra. Now I love them all. It's a horrible addiction, I tell ya.

Kitchen Inspiration

This set of dishes is the whole inspiration behind my kitchen decor. I LOVE these dishes and all the colors in them. This picture does not do them justice. The downside is that my little kitchen is running out of room for all my rooster and chicken paraphernalia.

Tomorrow I will be featuring Miss Bertha. She is my one surviving Light Brahma pullet of the Chicken Massacre of 2008. She had a twin sister but she fell to the evil rat terrier Sassy.