With everything that is going on here lately I seriously need some creative time.
Soaping is just what I need to do.
I am going to attempt my first goats milk soap. *gulp*
No fancy colors in this batch.
I’m just going to try to make it turn out. lol…
The fragrance will be Bubba Bee’s Buttermilk from The Scent Works; it is just like Baby Bee from Bert’s Bees.
I simply adore that fragrance.
My fingers are crossed that all will turn out tomorrow morning.

This lovely little gem from Woolly Bugger Farm Soaps was tucked inside my Little Black Box that I received back in February. (yeah, I still have quite a few goodies left to try.)

The fragrance of the bar sent was Apricot Mango and it is quite soothing.
The bar is so cute, 1.5 oz, and is the perfect size to sample.
The lather is nice, thick and rich. (Who doesn’t like a thick lather?!)

Gentle exfoliation provided by some flax seeds (?), the bar is not overloaded with them. I am not really sure if they are flax seeds (the reason for the question mark), there is nothing on the label or on the web site. The way they look and feel, leads me to believe flax seeds.

I am really enjoying this bar and glad I found it in my stash of products.
With this bar added into the pool of soaps, I currently have eight wonderful bars to select from. *grin*

I know I’m a bit late in posting about what we did Friday night but better late than never. *smile*
Friday was simply a beautiful day, highs in the low 70’s, a breeze, sunshine and a beautiful blue sky.
We decided to go out to dinner Friday night is normally pizza night for us.
Mmm… pizza.
We opted to try a Bellacino’s, it is a new restaurant for us but has been in town for about three years now. There are a few pizza joints that we enjoy but there have always been a few we have wanted to try.

I love the building that this restaurant is in, it was an old pharmacy (est.1920 at the current restaurant location). The old wooden shelves, tin ceiling, beautiful tile floor are still part of this wonderful building.

We ordered, got our drinks and decided to sit outside.
There was a bit of commotion going on at the Westin Poinsett Hotel while we were waiting. Not sure what happened but it appears nothing major. (Side note: If you go see the movie Leatherheads you will see this hotel. The movie was shot here and in various smaller towns
around the area I live in. It was a b-i-g deal to have George Clooney & Renee Zellweger here in town.)
Our food was delivered and it was really good! The Greek salad was just loaded with Fetta cheese, olives and lots of lettuce. The pizza was very good too. *thumbs up*

Once we had eaten we decided to take a nice walk around town and enjoy the weather some more.

This fellow watched over us the whole time we were eating. He/she was really freaking Nate out.






The trees are all beginning to bloom here now that it is warming up so nicely. (though today it was only 48. :-/ )



There is a section by the falls where you can find quite a few local artist stores.

Not really something you want to ask, now is it?

Those were the words I spoke late this afternoon to my dh.

I entered our kitchen and something just smelled off to me.

I first thought it was a tart I placed on to burn but uh, no, that was not it.

I continued on into our family room (we have a ranch style house) and whoa, it was really strong.

Things were kinda smokey but I could not tell what was up.

Asked my question, dh and Spencer looked up at me and said, “ Dunno.”

Um, okay, I am now beginning to panic a bit.

The smell is getting stronger but I just can't seem to find it.

I hear the dry turning and think of a lint fire.

Rush into the laundry area, pull open the door and huh, it is fine inside the dryer.

I stand up, turn and notice that the washer is just smoking away.

Holy Cow!

No fire, (well, I don’t think so) pull out the electrical plug, push the button to stop the machine and rip open the lid.

Gag!

What a horrible smell, burning rubber.

We opened the doors, windows and turned on the ceiling fans. (The house still smells.)

I begin to take out the water from the load that was being washed and the items from inside.

Dh and I try to find out how to take the front off but could not figure it out.

We thought we could check to see what decided to go.

So, looks like first thing tomorrow I will be calling the local Maytag dealer.

Fingers crossed that it is not anything really major.

The silly washer is only three years old.

Never a dull moment.

I had two pitiful looking bananas left on the counter and figured I had better do something with them. Why not make some muffins?
I just love muffins, any kind of muffin, blueberry, banana, chocolate chip, cranberry, cinnamon sugar…mmmm, yummy!

Muffins *swoon*

This is a recipe I found a few years back somewhere on the web.
The site I found it on gave credit to an old Bon Appetite magazine.
I have to say this recipe creates some of the best banana muffins.

The muffin pan I used is oversized and was my great grandmothers. My mom had this pan in their cellar; it was in a pile of stuff they were going to place in a yard sale. Needless to say, it became mine quite quickly.
Give them a try and see what you think.

Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

3 bananas

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 ½ cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

½ cup vegetable oil*

½ cup walnuts (chopped-optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease or paper muffin tins.
3. In a bowl mash bananas. Stir in sugar and egg.
4. IN a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients.
5. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture alternating with oil
6. Stir in walnuts.
7. Spoon mix into prepared muffin tins.
8. Bake for 25-25 minutes or until golden brown.

* You can sub apple sauce in for the oil, which will help reduce the fat in them.

The elementary school that Spencer attends allows parents to visit and have lunch with their children throughout the school year.

Today, dh was off so we decided to enjoy a nice lunch with Spencer. *grin*

It was a beautiful warm sunny day and there was a nice breeze.

Spencer asked for lunch from McDonald’s as his treat.

We all opted for a Happy Meal.

We were able to sit outside, enjoy some fresh air and talk about what happened during the morning.

Before we knew it, the twenty minutes were up and it was time for him to rejoin his class.

It is such a nice treat to be able to spend a few extra minutes with him (Spencer) during the day.

Oh, right, above are the fun toys that were in two of our boxes. *smile*

I stumbled upon a site called Bornrich.org this afternoon while looking for out of the ordinary stuff. I found some really cool bathtubs that I just had to share.

If you like to read in the tub but never enough room, now there is a perfect tub just for you!

This tub has enough room to hold quite a few of your books and then some.
There is plenty of room to relax, enjoy and read a good book.
(Looks like it could handle a few bath bombs.)
The tub is created by Antonio Lupi and what a perfect design.

The Moody Acquario tub by Lavabo is a bit odd but looks like it would be so much fun.

Take some time out during your busy day and unwind with your fish.
Talk about total relaxation!
There is even a matching sink if you would like.

Now, this pampering does come with a nice little price tag.
(roughly - $17,000 for the bookcase tub and $15,000 for the aquarium tub)
One can dream.

Yesterday, you would have found me painting one set of our kitchen cabinets.
It was actually quite painless and I really enjoyed the task.
The paint went easy, dried quickly and looks really nice.
I was able to paint two of the doors and made sure to let them dry overnight.
No big deal.

This morning, I went to put two of the doors back up. (this is where the fun starts…lol)
Opened up the nice new shiny “golden” hinges, popped out the screws, and placed the hinge on the back of the door.
Uh no, only one of the holes matches up.
This can’t be right the hinge looks like the one we currently have.
Hum…

Take the hinge over to the cabinet and see if it will match up there.
Nope, the holes are too far back.
No, no, no. (except to be honest with you this is NOT what I said.)

We are the third owners to live in this house and every time we try a DIY project we find all these nice little surprises. *groan*
Like for instance, when I removed the wall paper in the dinning room.
There was another layer under that which was just glued to the sheet rock.
Gosh, that was so much fun to remove. *insert sarcasm*
The walls still need to be coated so that we can have a nice flat surface to paint on.
(I am a wee bit frustrated with that room, so it has been put on hold.)
When we painted in the kitchen we noticed that there was a layer of wallpaper under the paint. *sigh*
The covers to the air vents look great, but when you go to remove them you hold your breath that the metal in the wall to hold them in place does not fall down the duct work.
Oh there are more but I think you get the picture.
We try to do a project the proper way but some how they end up derailed for a period of time.

Anyway, I went back to Lowe’s and bought two different hinges.
One is totally wrong (back it will go) and the white one I thought would fit, fits on the back but not the cabinet. I know the cabinets were custom made and I would use the original hinges but they are so… well, eewww!
Plus, I have already thrown some out. *shakes head*
So, it looks like we will have to re-drill some holes in the cabinets.
Not something that I really want to do but if that is the only choice, then that is the choice.

Ah, the joys of homeownership.

Wii Fit will be released in May of ’08.

Take a peek!

This looks like a great way to get some *cough* exercise and have fun.

(Did I really say that?)

It is a trouble-free way to get your children moving a bit more and encourage more fun family time.

Spencer thinks the soccer portion is really cool.

Nate was interested in the Yoga and I think it all looks like fun. *yikes!*

We just may look into getting a Wii.

You know by now that I enjoy treating myself to handmade bath & body products.
Last month, I decided to try some soap and a lip scrub from The Soap Store on Etsy. (love Etsy!)
(Her business website)
I have known about her products for a bit of time but never purchased any.

I am so glad that I have finally tried them!

My first purchase was four of her half soaps.
What great idea!
This is a perfect way to allow customers to sample your soaps without buying a whole bar.
The soaps I ordered were: Stress Relief, Frosted Berries, Herbal Citrus Sorbet and Provence.
It was hard to select which one to use first but I opted for the Frosted Berries.
Mmm… great lather, nice big bubbles and a wonderful citrus fragrance. *swoon*
Next up was the Provence; love the look of the bar but not my type of fragrance. I had wanted to try a new fragrance something different. Again, this bar had great lather and bubbles, but the fragrance was just not for me. Then came the stress relief, this has always been on of my favorite fragrances. This bar did not fail me. The fragrance was perfect, and was like the past bars with performance. The only bar I have yet to try is the Herbal Citrus Sorbet, I am looking forward to using it soon.

The lip scrub is absafrickinlutely the best. I use it weekly and my lips are so nice and soft. I wanted something to help keep my lips healthy (along with my lip balm) and this is just the trick!

My last order was for her shampoo and another bar of the Frosted Berries. (I love that frosted berries soap.) I do color my hair and I have found many of the products on the market (yes, even those in a salon) strip the colorant out way too fast. I emailed some questions, was happy with the reply so I went ahead and purchased the product. I bought the coconut scented shampoo and let me tell you it is some of the best! After one week, my hair is shiny, manageable, and feels so soft. My colorant has not even begun to wash out and it is has been three weeks since it was colored. Another plus, I no longer need conditioner.

My orders have been here in a blink of an eye, seriously, she is fast with her shipping.
The Soap Store has become one of my favorites and I think it just may become on of yours.

*blush*

These are the current bars of soaps I have in the shower.
Seven Bars - plus, one in a soap sock that was unable to make the picture.
Really, I don't think that I have too many bars.
Different moods require different soaps.
How many bars are in your shower?

Subway is offering their footlong subs for only $5 for a limited time.

Fine Print States:

• This offer excludes Double Stacked and Premium sandwiches.
• Prices and Participation may vary.

This morning, as I was driving Nate to school, I remembered that the lens shade to our camera was still in his backpack.
As we are driving up and around the road that leads to the middle school, I reached over, unzipped and pulled out the shade.
Now, while my hand is in there I remember we packed a pair of shorts for Spencer to change into if he became too hot on our hike.
Spencer never needed them, there was need for Nate to lug them through school, and so I reached back into the backpack and pulled them out.
Hum… I felt something else while my hand is in there.
Drop Spencer’s shorts on the basket between the seats, back in goes my hand and I pulled out a pair of Nate’s missing black gym shorts.
Yeowza, these have been missing for three months!
He has not needed them because he was finished with gym back in January.When he saw the shorts he blurted out, “So that is where they were this whole time.”
Finally, we were at the point where he needed to exit the car and go into the school.
I asked him what else was in his backpack; he turned, smiled and said, “Could be anything, Mom.”

I don’t think I want to know.

Today was the big day for us to get up, get around and get moving!
We were up at the crack of dawn, on the road to our first waterfall stop.

The Twin Falls (first set) are only about twenty minutes from the house, not too bad.
As we are three quarters of the way there, I realized that I forgot to place the battery back the camera. I was busy making sure some snacks, water, Gatorade, and the dogs were fed that I er, umm, forgot to put the charged battery back in the camera. Great, just great.
It turned out that dh had our little point and click camera with him, so we would be able to get some photos.

Now, on the way up we had to look for a place called Bob’s Place Tavern, which should be easy to find. Dh and I were deep in conversation but keeping what I thought was an eye out for this place to make our left turn. Turns out we hear Spencer in the back telling us that we just passed a place called Bob’s. Fine, go up the hill a bit more and find a place to turn around.
Go back down, make our turn to find out we are on a severely twisty road.
*gag* (I am prone motion sickness.) We make it through all the turns and finally get to our next road. Drive down the road, when I noticed a HUGE orange sign that stated bridge washed out, fall access closed.
What?
You have got to be kidding me.
Take the next turn for the falls and sure enough there is no bride, two large barriers on either side of the road and no way to cross. Drat! (It would appear that the bridge was washed out last fall when we had some really heavy rains that washed out various parts of the county. Now, it would have been nice if that nice orange sign was a bit farther out on the road – perhaps near Bob’s.)
That was a bust; we deiced to head back home to get the battery that I had forgotten so each of us could snap some pictures.

Once back home, dh decides to sharpen the Swiss Army knives they were carrying, let the dogs out to stretch and we use the bathroom. Dh was not able to find the sharpening stone in the drawer, so I took everything out and well, it was not there. Climbed a chair to reach a high cabinet and found another kit that we have. While he is doing that (sharpening), the boys decide to watch the morning news and I begin to rearrange the drawer. With the drawer nicely rearranged, knives sharpened, dogs content again, we leave fifteen minutes later. This time we head out a different way (more direct) to get to our next stop.

We arrive at Caesar’s Head State Park, it is still kinda cool out and there are some clouds still around in the distance.

We walk over the look out (3,200 ft – highest point in SC) and what a site we see.

This view is of Table Rock & one of the lakes.--->

We walk through Devils Kitchen – a very narrow passage between two huge rocks, walk around a bit then walk over to a map to see where the next waterfall is and pick up some pamphlets on other attractions.

<--- This is Devils Kitchen

We drove about two minutes to the parking lot for the fall hike area. All the spots are taken, we were about to park the car near the exit off the road, when I noticed one person leaving.
Uh-huh, we moved the car and unloaded and noticed that there was a $2.00 fee for adults. You have to pay in order to get your parking ticket, and it is one of those honor system boxes. So, now we are looking around for change to pay the fee, money in, parking ticket on car we are
ready!

The sun is nice and bright (remember this) and it is slowly warming up. The walk way was marked quite well. Nate was the trail blazer, he was just zipping right along, and it was as if nothing could stop him. Spencer was doing his best to keep up with him and at points he did. Dh and I were doing our best just to keep up.

Along the way, I gained a walking stick and boy, am I happy I had one.

<--- My new walking stick. I even brought it back home with us, I will use it on other walks we take.

Walking over roots, ducking under fallen trees, down some stairwells, through various twists and a few water stops, we were almost there. *phew* The next fifteen minutes were not too bad; those we passed kept telling us that it was just around the bend.
Right, which bend would that be?
The bend we are one, the bend in front of us or the one bend around the next bend?

Finally, we did turn the last bend and were rewarded with a wonderful site of the Raven Trail Waterfalls. Truly breathtaking; the pictures do not do them justice. I am happy we opted to hike up there in the spring because I don’t think once the leaves come out the view would be very good. We take a nice ten minute break and then it was time to head back to the car.

<--- Spencer relaxing.

The walk back was not too bad; it seemed to go quite fast. The last mile of the walk was the hardest. Nate was the first to arrive back at the starting point, then Spencer, then Dh and finally, me. We stopped to look at the trail map to see what we had just accomplished. On the one website we found, it stated that the walk was 1.5 miles one way, so 3 miles all the way around.(sounds good!)
Well, they were wrong.
The map on the trail stated 2.2 miles (one way), so yum, yeah, that would be 4.4 miles round trip.
Wow.. now wonder, we were a bit sore and our feet were burning.
It was fun and it was a great time.

It was now 1:30, time for lunch. We opted to head to Brevard, NC (about 15 minutes away) to grab a bite to eat. While we were waiting for lunch, Nate read one of the pamphlets and found another fall that was close to where we were. Lunch eaten, we head for the Conestee Falls.

The Connestee Falls were not easy to find, really easy to access and such a treat to see. An older trail that would have taken you down farther had the access blocked off, that was a shame.

<---- Connestee Falls

We opted to head back home through Hendersonville, NC, that is where I snapped a photo of this apothecary sign.

Once home we began to really feel sore and remember I said the sun was nice and bright?!
Dh and myself are a wee bit burnt tonight. :-/
The Noxzema has been broke out and a mental note to take sunscreen lotion has been made.
We have decided we will visit more of the falls over the next few weeks, there are so many more to see in North & South Carolina.

Now, I think I am going to go crash; I am so tired and sore.

** I will try to post more of the pictures in Flicker and add it to the post.**

I live in an area of South Carolina that has an astonishing abundance of waterfalls.

Some of these falls are easy to access and others you need to hike to in order to be able to see their beauty.

Above & below are pictures of the Issaqueena Falls in Walhalla, SC.

We are off tomorrow to go walk to a few more falls in the area.

The weather is beautiful – not too hot and not too cold, just right for some nice long walks.

(I don’t like it when it gets really hot to go out and walk around. eeewww!)

Not sure where we will end up but I promise to share my pictures.

First off, sorry about the crummy picture.
It really does not do the candy any justice.

I have to say that I am not a big fan of sour candy nor have I ever been a fan.
Now, Nate & Spencer love sour candy, especially Nerds.
Dh found Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans few weeks ago and brought them home to try.
The boys were not too sure if they wanted to try them. Huh?!
One of your favorite candies with a jelly bean inside, did I miss something?
I was the brave one, me, the one who does not like sour candies.
(Can you tell where this is going?)
I opted for the red first, two of them at once.
Ooo… sour, but then as you chew the sweetness sneaks up on you and it is a real treat.
I liked them but I *cough* needed to try the other flavors, you never know if the others are just as tasty.
Um.. yeah, they are all really good!
When Spencer wanted to try them, I told him too late they were all mine. *giggle*
Nate was next; he thought they were just okay.
Right… Mr. Just Okay went on to eat over half of them in just over three days.
My favorite is the lemon; the grape flavor makes me pucker up. * so sour*
The jelly bean (not too sweet) is covered with a nice thin layer of Nerd candy.
There are four flavors in the bag: Green Apple, Cherry, Lemon, Orange and Grape.
We have eaten two bags already *blush* but they are soo good.

Cartoons from off the mark cartoons.

These wonderful are cookies some of my favorites. My mom would only make them at Christmas and only one batch. (pfftt… like that was ever enough)

I was baking Monday and figured I would make a batch.
They go wonderful with coffee or tea, not to mention being eaten all by themselves. *wink, wink*

Mmm….

These cookies are very easy to make and are done in no time.
This will leave you with more time to enjoy these little gems.

Oatmeal Frosties Recipe

• 1 cup butter softened (can use margarine)
• Confectioners sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups quick oats

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and ¼ cup of confectioners sugar until light.
3. Add remaining ingredients (flour & quick oats) and mix well until well blended.
4. Shape into balls, put on ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until bottoms are light brown.
6. Roll in confectioners sugar once removed from oven while still warm. *
7. Cool
8. Roll again in confectioners sugar once cooled.
9. Store in a air tight containers.

** They will be quite warm so watch your fingers. I like to place the sugar in a bowl and use a spoon to gently toss the cookie and then remove it.

We had more rain today, which is really good because we need it really bad.

Now, Teddy boy has never liked going out in the rain.

A few times last year he would curl up in a planter to keep out of the rain but in the end he would end up all muddy. (don’t ask…)

Today, he wanted to go out but refused (who would blame him?) and then I realized that he wanted his raincoat! I found the coat, strapped it on and he was one happy camper to go outside.

He did however want to go out through the garage door and not the back door. I guess so he would not have to step in the squishy grass, maybe a pair of rain boots are in the future for him.

In my box that I received last month from The Little Black Box, there was a wonderful full size tube of lip balm from Moody Bees. I really like the nice bright yellow label.

The balm was vanilla & peppermint and contains some wonderful ingredients such as: sweet almond oil, beeswax, carrot seed, and a few other excellent oils for your skin. The balm goes on smoothly; it is not heavy, soaks in nicely and leaves my lips smooth. The peppermint gives a nice little tingle and it does not last very long.

This is some of the best lip balm I have ever used (and I make my own).

If your lips need some extra pampering, they will appreciate this extra special lip balm.

When you pick up a yummy chocolate Easter bunny to devour nibble on it, what it perhaps says about you?
Wonder no more!
You now can have a little bit of insight into your personality by taking The Chocolate Bunny Test.

I know my father used to tease me all the time when I was little about eating the ears first. After many years of him telling me how I hurt the bunny, (yeah, yeah, I know it’s only chocolate but he was able to convince me that it was not nice to do such a thing to this wonderful confection. *sigh*) I then learned to eat the tail first. Lol…

So hop on over and have some fun.

I was in the mood for a new pair of earrings, just wanted something different, so with mouse in hand I went looking for just the right pair of earrings. I ended up on Etsy, which is a wonderful site full of fantastic handcrafted items. One could do some serious damage on that site without leaving home.

Eeek.. so many choices in front of me it was hard to narrow it down. (I am horrible at making decisions.) I knew I wanted something silver and a blue stone of some sort.
Then as I click through this one pair catches my eye, they were just what I wanted.
I purchased the item and waited on pins and needles until they arrived.
My purchase was from UnStrungSisters and let me say I was very impressed.

The shipping was fast, the packaging was way beyond what I expected. The earrings were inside a wonderful little pouch, inside a box that was wrapped with some of the most beautiful ribbon I have ever seen. (see picture)
I must say I felt quite special. *blink, blink*
The earrings are perfect, and easy to wear.

If you want to treat yourself or need a gift check them out.

I found two cute little picnic helpers this weekend and they won’t break the bank!

Soon picnic season will be in full swing, why not add some fun to your picnics this year?

This little holder reminds me of the famous Weber grill.

Comes with salt & pepper shakers, condiment containers and a bbq brush.

You can find it at Collections Etc .

This one looks like your typical gas grill.

You have your condiment containers, a covered area for relish and even salt & pepper shakers.

This one can be purchased from The Lakeside Collection.

Yep, we had homemade buttermilk biscuits this morning for breakfast.

There is nothing quite like a fresh, piping hot, buttermilk biscuit first thing in the morning. (You hungry yet?)

Living in the south, you have to learn how to make a proper biscuit.

You just have too.

No, not those “biscuits” from Bisquick. (honestly, I did grow up with this type of ah-hem biscuit.) The proper biscuit is made with the rich goodness of real butter and buttermilk. Trust me your heart will love ya for them. Hehehe….

I will say that I did cut corners this morning and used a food processor. (oh, the horror.)

I also noticed once I had taken off the lid of the processor and tossed in the sink to be washed that I needed a bit more liquid, my dough was dry. *sniffle*

I added some in a gently, very gently mixed it in. The less you meddle with the dough the better your biscuit in the end. These were a bit dry but tasted so yummy! I have enough buttermilk to make one more batch, so perhaps I will do that tomorrow and see if the magic touch is gently mixing the items by hand.

So you want to make a Southern biscuit for yourself?

This is the recipe I have been using since last year, I found it on RecipeZaar.com .

The original recipe with more reviews can be found here.

(trust me; they are some of the best!)

Recipe:

Creates 10 biscuits

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus, more for dusting the board or counter. (if you can find White Lily flour, your biscuits will be better.)
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (use one without aluminum)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, very cold
• ¾ cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
3. Cut the butter into large hunks and cut into the flour until it resembles coarse meal.
4. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
5. Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.
6. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk.
7. Turn the dough out on to a floured board.
8. Gently, gently PAT (do not roll with a rolling pin) the dough our until it’s about ½ inch thick.
9. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
10. You can gently knead the scrape together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the fir ones. (This is so true.)
11. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet – if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
12. If you like “crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart - these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
13. Bake for about 10-12 minutes – the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.
14. DO NOT OVER BAKE.
15. The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients but in the handling of the dough.
16. These can be made ahead and frozen then pop in the oven to make when you need them.

Nate's biscuits:
(I have to admit his always turn out so nice.)

I was wrong.

We had some rumbles of thunder and heavy rain for about an hour this morning but Spencer’s soccer game was a go!

We arrived promptly at 12:02 for the 12:30 start of the game.

Yes, the fields were wet and muddy in spots but the teams were ready to play!

The sky however looked off and was just waiting to rain down upon us.

During the second half, tiny sprinkles of rain began to fall every so often.

Play continued.

Larger drops began to fall and thunder in the distance.

Play continued.

A little bit harder rain began falling, thunder getting closer.

Play continued.

You could at this point here the murmur of the parents talking about how the game should be cancelled due to weather and families began packing up their chairs. (Games are cancelled due to thunder, storms, bad fields and something else.)

Then there it was a nice crack of lightening right above us.

Instantly, the whistle blew and

Yup, game called.

Snacks quickly passed out and off we all went home to dry off.

The Jets won (Spencer’s team) 5-2.

These were taken later in the afternoon.

It was one angry sky in stages.

*Gasp* No, not that kind of peep show. (silly)

This is the candy kind; you know those fun little marshmallow candy treats.

I heard about this on the radio news the other day so I just had to find the link.

The Washington Post had a contest last year with dioramas and peeps opened to the public.

The response was a huge hit and they decided to do it again this year. (info)

You can peep on over and peep a look at some of those from last year.

Clicky.

They are truly peeptastic or perhaps peeporiffic.

I am certain that you will have a good laugh!

A very loud angry rumble of thunder off in the distance.
Oh, and another one.
Drat, looks like Spencer’s soccer game will be cancelled for today.
That makes two weekends in a row and one sad, moody fellow.

Actually, it looks like we could be in for a bit of bumpy weather today.
With the storms that hit Atlanta last night the produced a tornado, all that mess and then some is heading our way.

Yuck!

Finally, here is the recipe for the biscotti, sorry for taking so long to get it posted.

Wednesday night I found myself with a little extra spare time on my hands. (still not sure how that happened but it did.)

I decided to make some more biscotti but this time use a different recipe. (I had my detective cap on during the week searching for the right recipe.)

This biscotti is really hard, I mean it really needs to be dunked into something warm.

If not, I would say you could be minus a few of your pearly whites. ;->

Don’t let that deter you, this biscotti is killer! Not sweet, and melts in your mouth once you have dunked it. Mmm… what a treat.

The recipe I selected was from Joy of Baking.com.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti Recipe:

¾ cup blanched almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely *

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped in ½ inch pieces. **

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2. Toast almonds for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely. Set aside.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

4. In a bowl with your electric mixer (or hand mixer), beat the sugar and eggs on high speed until thick, pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes). (When you slowly lift the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) At this point beat in the vanilla extract.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

6. Add to the egg mixture and best until combined. F
7. Fold in the chopped almonds and chocolate.
8. Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into a log, about 12 inches long and 3 ½ inches wide. You may have to dampen your hands to form the log as the dough is quite sticky.
9. Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
10. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
11. Transfer the log to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, cut log into slices ¾ inches thick on the diagonal.
12. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
13. Remove from oven and let cool.
14. Store in an airtight container.
15. Makes about 16 biscotti.

* I did not blanch the almonds, just simply used roasted ones and chopped them.

** I did not have a bar of semi-sweet so I substituted mini semi sweet chocolate chips.

I know the recipe called for 4oz but, um…. I figured 5oz could not hurt anyone.

Both of the substitutions worked out perfectly and I ended up with about 14 bars of biscotti.