Cranberry Orange Muffins

I got inspired to make some muffins this morning...but I do confess they were not from scratch. Maybe next time. :) If you haven't tried Cranberry-Orange muffins... you HAVE to try them! And if you only have a few minutes...I recommend this brand. Yummy!

Mix it up...

And bake it for about 18 minutes.

And the finished product...served with a cold glass of White Apple Grape juice.

Target Fun...

Last night, we had a girls night while the guys had the Men's Half Time service at church. Michelle, Crystal, and I and all the kids went out to eat at our favorite El Maguey restaurant. And yes, we go there so much on Sundays that they know us there. I went in to put our name on the waiting list and asked if they needed our names and he said, "Ohh no no, we know you!". LOL Then afterwards we went to Target...if you only knew the love for Target that we all have. LOL

As we were walking around, we decided to go look at the kids movies...and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture of these adorable little kiddos. Caedyn and Braden are best buds. How sweet is this? They were so excited to find a movie!

And of course, I had to get one of them smiling...even if Braden does have blue lips! ha!

Hi Hat Coffee Shop

Is this not the cutest and most adorable coffee shop you've ever seen?! I love finding stuff like this! Some friends of mine have been telling me about this little place for a long time, and I decided I would try and go find it...and I did! :) It is such a small place. It only has one table with 2-3 chairs and a tiny counter to order your coffee. It's all brick...which I absolutely love.

It is just such a cool atmosphere! I'm not a huge coffee fan but they do have other stuff there. :) It was built in the early 1900's and used to be a gas station. And about 10 years ago, they turned it into this coffee shop. Can't wait to go back again soon...hopefully.

I have to confess, I got these pictures offline...but next time I go back, I'll try and take a few more pictures. :)

Combining...

Some of you know that a few months back I started a blog just for my cooking and new recipes I was trying. Well...that didn't last very long. lol I've been so busy that I haven't cooked very much. I decided that I am combining the blogs and anytime I cook then I will just post the recipes to this blog. Just wanted to give you a quick heads-up before you try to "go" there. lol

Hope everyone is having a good evening!

ME

A little fun in the ICE!

The last couple of days we got a lot of freezing rain! In fact, my car doors were frozen this morning when I started to leave to work. Not fun to drive on...but it did, however, make me want to go take pictures. Go figure! LOL Sooo...Sunday after church, I decided to walk down to the park at the end of our street, (yep...you guessed it...) while it was sleeting! ha! Katelyn and Todd were dying to go with me...so the three of us journeyed down to the park...

S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E!!!

My sisters and I have been planning a surprise birthday party for my Mom's 70th birthday! I do have to say it was pure success!! She was SOO surprised...I'm just glad that she had NO clue! ha!! The theme was "Sweet Love" and it was perfect!! We had somewhere around 40+ people in our house! It was crowded...but it was worth it. :) We had my Aunt and Uncle (that lives an hour away) come in and "hang out" for the day...and they went on a "double date" with my parents. So my Mom thought. LOL If she only knew! As soon as they left the house it was mad chaos in our house trying to get everything set up in just 3 hours. But with everyone's help...we did it! This is going to be a really long post, so bear with me. :)

As you walked into the living room, we had this sign displayed on an easel that my sister painted. This is the view of the living room To the left of the living room was the Happy Birthday banner. As you walked into the living room, laying on the coffee table, we had special note cards that we made with lots of pictures of Mom to where people could write her a birthday message on there. Here's an up close and personal shot of one of the cards that we had. We had a lot of different pictures of Mom throughout her life. I love this particular picture of our family WAY back in the day! ha! I think I was around 2 years old in this picture. lol Displayed with the cards, we had the note that Dad wrote to Mom. It seriously brought tears to my eyes when I read it. Up close shot of the dessert table Vanilla and Chocolate cupcakes with the "70 is Sweet" cupcake toppers that we made. Heart shaped jelly beans Pink chocolate covered chocolate cake pops Up close shot of the cake pops Sugar cookies complete with the theme: heart shaped and written with "70 is Sweet", "Love", "Sweet", and "A" for Aline. Creme Puff tree drizzled with pink chocolate added with a couple of pink carnations Sugar Free Delight The right side of the dessert table Chocolate covered marshmellows Going from the living room to the kitchen, we put up ribbon and hung pictures of Mom all throughout her life. On the other side is where we hung up all the note cards for Mom The left end of the dessert table. "YUM" Strawberry milk glasses Water bottles that we covered The centerpieces for the kitchen table I LOVE this picture of Mom and Dad when they were younger. We had this displayed on the dessert table. Cups for the punch The punch...pre-sherbet lol The "card" we all signed for Mom Me in action... "YUM" is right!...Strawberry Milk My niece Katelyn and cousin Paulette...and my sister Darla in the background Neighbors, Friends, and Family all hanging out waiting for Mom to arrive. My sister Darla....carefully watching for the arrival My brother in law, Jeff, wearing my Dad's big ole work jacket to go shovel the snow so Mom wouldn't see all the foot prints leading up to the house. LOL Beautiful Katelyn S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E!!!!!!!! We got her GOOD!!! :) Haha! I love the smirk on Dad's face in this picture! Here is a short video clip of when Mom walked in and we all yelled SURPRISE then sang Happy Birthday to her! :)
My sister Robyn giving her the first hug! She had to go around the entire room and hug everyone!! :) Momma and Daddio! Look...they match! lol Kissy Kissy lol
Dad and Mom after she read the note he wrote to her.

Mom reading the "card" we all signed for her...and yes...she got teary eyed.

Mom and our neighbor Dessie. When is warmer outside they always take walks together.

Another pic of the sugar free dessert after its been cut into :)

Opening her cards and presents

Mom and her girls...Robyn, Me, and Darla

Me and my adopted Mom and Pops Smalley

Apparently something was realllllly funny! LOL

Mom and I

Mom with my cousin Paulette and her husband Jeff

My family!! The lighting wasn't very good so my camera was having issues but this is as good as it got. From L to R: Ashlyn, Jeff, Robyn, Katelyn, Me, Todd, Dad, Mom, Darla, and Jonathan.

Aunt Ruth Ann & Uncle Paul, Mom & Dad, and Aunt Betty & Uncle Charles...thanks to them for having the "triple date" and keeping Mom out of the house. :)

Siblings! Uncle Paul, Mom, and Aunt Betty

Sisters!

Sarah!

Grandmommy and her kiddos

Mom with Darla and Jonathan

Mom and Robyn

Mom and Darla

Me and Paulette...two peas in a pod

ha! Robyn took this picture...if you know me...you know this is very typical...ha!

Darla and Venita

Laura, Melody, and Andrew

Nathan, Mark, and Dad...looks like something was really funny lol

Yes, I know this is random...but I like stuff like that. ha!

Robyn and Jeff

LOL! Jeff had to go to the store during the party to get more stuff for the punch. Somehow I miscalculated and didn't buy enough...oops! Thanks Jeff!

My Moms...

My Brothers, Jonathan and Jeff! Ok so they are really in-laws...but I don't like to use that term.

Jeff and Mom

Bethany expressing her love for creme puffs LOL

The hallway became the play area LOL

Dad and Mom again...loving every minute of that night!