Yummy Apple spice cake

this cake gets spicier as it rests and cools. adjust the spices according to your tastes i used slightly less than called for because of the kids. the recipe says to use tart green apples with the skins on but i peeled mine. i wouldn't want to waste the time and effort making it only to have the kids turn it down becasue they saw that the apples weren't peeled lol.


preheat the oven to 350 grease and flour an 8x8 pan or line with wax or parchment paper

whisk together in a large bowl pinching out any lumps in the brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour or a combination with whole-wheat flour ( i used only all purpose)
1 cup light or dark brown sugar ( i used half a cup of each)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

add and stir until smooth
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp rum or randy optional (i did not use)
1 tsp vanilla

stir in
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 chopped walnuts or pecans (i used pecans)

scrape into pan, sread evenly, bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. take it out of the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.....or don't let it cool at all and serve it piping hot with vanilla ice cream like i did
When it was baking the house filled with the best smell in the world! Liz (4 yrs old) said that I was " the best cake chefer ever" and Whitney (husband) said "this is actually reall good!" the "actually" made me think he was doubtful lol but he went back for seconds!

School!

I thought I was going to have to put off school for a while because they didn't have any classes during the day posted online, BUT when I went in to tell them I would no longer be regstering for classes they told me that there were five locations and plenty of classes during the day! I can't even begin to explain how freaking excited I was to find out I finally get to start! I am taking a sociology class :) and a history class :(.

FALL!

I LOVE fall! This is my favorite time of the year! Here are a few reasons.
Pumpkins and all of the wonderful things you can make with them.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/fall/cooknow_pumpkin

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/cookbook.htm#recipe


All of the beautiful fall colors surounding us everywhere we go!


Hot cider!


Hot cocoa!

Hot tights!

Sweaters, sweater dresses, jackets and scarves!


http://s3.hubimg.com/u/2306054_f260.jpg


Halloween


Aaaand baked apples! Saved till the end because I have a recipe to share

Preheat oven to 350.
Peel (optional) and core (not optional lol) 4 crisp apples i used some we picked from an apple orchard, very fresh!
mix in a bowl 2/3 cups brown sugar (light or dark)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Lemon zest from half a lemon
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts (optional)
stuff inside the apples and pour the rest in the bottom of the pan then add 1/3 cup apple cider bake covered tightly for thirty minutes remove brush the excess over the apples and bake uncovered again for 10 minutes serve hot with ice cream or whipped cream

Halloween costumes

I am having a costume party this year and can't decide what to be....i realize its super far out but i like to plan ahead lol. I am thinking clockwork orange, wind up doll, or rambo! I want to be cheap and make it myself.

More changes.

I was suppose to start school in oct but some things have come up that make it next to impossible to do at this time so instead I am goign to get an account on etsy and start creating beautiful things to sell! I have to say, I will probably cry when the reality of it all really hits me. I was so freaking excited about starting school but who can't be a little bit happy making beautiful things lol

SHOPPING TIME!

I am redoing my living room. Like i said making changes lol. Right now we have a large and very empty living room! It has a couch and tv stand with tv....that's it. Here are some things i am interested in.

New everything!!

I have made so many changes lately! I started going to church again and am in charge of finding volunteer work to do outside the church which is really exciting! I have also started down the path to becoming green! AND I Finally changed my hair again! Its a long bob, red and curly! So in love with it!
Looks like this
http://www.aahairstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/curly-medium-hairstyle-from-christina-hendricks-1.jpg

DADDY

My husband recently returned from a three week business trip and now both of the girls are all about daddy! It's almost as if I don't even exist when he is home and when he is at work they are so upset about him being gone that they still don't care that I am there lol. I know they love me but for the time being they just love him more! Yesterday morning Sam woke up screaming for daddy, who was at work so I went to get her out of bed and she was furious! She grabbed her pillow and backed into the corner so that I could not get her out and she just yelled GO! GO! over and over again, taking breaks from time to time to yell out for daddy. I just stood there and waited for her to calm down after five or so minutes of being swatted by a pillow every time i reached for her I told her dad would be back that night and could I please get her out of bed? She sat down crossed her arms and told me NO! Ten minutes later she asked to get out so that she could go potty. It was hilarious and sad at the same time!

Respect 101

I was walking through the store when I overheard this little conversation: CHILD "Mommyyyy Say please." MOTHER "I DON'T HAVE TO SAY PLEASE OR THANK YOU TO YOU!"
Wow what to say about this...hmm. Your child is just that, a child, NOT an object that you own but a human being that you are raising. Every person deserves to be treated with respect, yes even the young ones. I don't understand how one can expect their children to treat them or anyone else with respect if they never receive any themselves.

Bad weather, Good fun

We have been having some crazy weather lately so in order to maintain sanity we have had to come up with some things to do.

What you need: an old box (I used a diaper box), three cups or plastic containers of different sizes, marker, scissors, tape, and a ball. use the marker to trace a circles onto the box around the bottom of the containers (remember to cut the holw slightly bigger if the container or cup is smaller on the bottom, and be careful!) now just put the containers in the holes. Take the little circles and write 1 2 and 3 on them. One on the cup/container with the largest opening and three on the smallest. now just let your kid try to throw the ball into the containers. I had my daughter try to get a certain number of points per game so that we were practicing math at the same time! She loved it!

We have been trick or treating in the house with some toys instead of candy. The girls actually put on their costumes and have their bags its really cute!

Played "Princess And The Witch" We take turns being the bad witch and casting spells on the princess!

We have played store, which I like because it teaches her about money. We take turns being the store owner and the customer. We just use their little table and set up various toys and use some fake money for the purchases. I always give too much so that we have to figure up change!

We put up some plastic cups and went bowling!

And lastly we have been doing a lot of art and a lot of letter writing! This is her most recent letter which is so cute!!

Dear Sabra,

I love you sabra. We can come to your house sometime and we will never leave you again. Dad will come with us and when we are not there we will for miss you and we will never leave you again. Sambo Rambo you can come with us and o sammy i will shave my toys with sabra. Sabra we will bring you food. I love your Cakes they are beautiful cakes and I love them. We miss the baby and we want to see him really bad. Dear Sabra I am very proud of your cakes and its alright that i haven't eat any of it they are very pretty. O Gavin dear Gavin I love you and you are so cute. I love babies. They are so cute when they slobber.

Love Liz

I asked who had the baby because my sister Sabra does not have one and she said Jake which is my sisters boyfriend. Lol Gavin is my younger brothers baby.