Pretty..............Ugly?!

 (Black Butterfly Headband by kaang)

      Hi! ^_^ I'm not here for a long drawn out conversation tonight...*and you can stop hooting and clapping at any time! LOL*...but I did wanna share some pretty things, and some ugly...*scratch that*...some 'not so pretty' things that I made myself! ^_^

      The header photo is showing one of the pretty things! I love pretty butterflies on a headband, don't you?!!...And the only thing they have in common with my 'Ugly Wuglyee' style bedroom slippers is that they both have black coloration included on them!

 (Crochet House Slippers, Gray, Black, and Olive Green by wuglyees)

      Of course, my slippers also have other colors! Some charcoal gray and black print, and olive green soles! :-) ...

      They're like some 'throw-back' colored slippers from my favorite generation...the 70s!! ^_^ *♫ Staying Alive, Staying Aliveeeeeeeee! ♫ :-)) ... What can I say?!....Oh! I know what I can say! I can say that what they lack in 'pretty' they make up for in 'comfortable'!! ^_^

     Moving on to the other 'pretty'! :-) ...
 

 (Crochet Chocolate Strawberry Coaster by MonikaDesign)

      I love Monika's coasters!! :-) They almost look like real chocolate-dipped strawberries!...but..like...chocolate-dipped strawberries that you can eat your peanut butter cookies and milk off of!! ^_^

      Speaking of peanut butter cookies! :-)) ...

      These are my other 'ugly'! :-] They were a quick meal for some desperately 'desserty' bakers! ^_^ Me and Mr. Wug I mean...of course!! LOL...

      Our cupboard was kinda bare, but we found a way to make some deliciously ugly cookies anyway!! ^_^ There were only three ingredients: a cup of peanut butter, a cup of white sugar, and an egg! Seriously...that was all!!!
      We had to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, mix the three ingredients until they were smooth, and put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 6 to 8 minutes!! :-) (Our oven took a little longer, so I guess that old adage about a watched pot never boiling has some truth to it!!...at least it does when it comes to watching ovens for cookies to brown!! LOL) 
      They weren't 'pretty' when they came out, and they weren't as crisp as I like my peanut butter cookies to be, but they sure were good!!!! ^_^ Our dessert craving was thoroughly satisfied!!

      There was only enough milk for one of us to get a glass to sip on with their cookies...You'll just have to guess which one of us drank it...and shared a sip or two. :-)) No...those kind of manners are not 'pretty'!...I'll have to work on that...tomorrow!! Ha! Ha!...Goodnight, Y'all!! ♥

Cooking

Flipping, Frying,
Flambeing, Filleting,
Burning, Browning,
Paring, Pureeing.

Boiling, Baking,
Mixing, Making,
Simmering, Scaling,
Sifting, Shaking.

Cooking, Crackling,
Cutting, Coring,
Sprinkling, Spattering,
Patting, Pouring,

Broiling, Battering,
Steeping, Steaming,
Timing, Tossing,
Cubing, Creaming,

Slicing, Scrambling,
Turning, Toasting,
Melting, Measuring,
Rinsing, Roasting.

Dipping, Dicing,
Skimming, Sauteing,
Poaching, Peeling,
Mincing, Microwaving.

Gathering, Grilling
Basting, Barbecuing,
Hacking, Heating,
Scoring, Skewering.

Standing, Stirring,
Rough, Tough,
Kitchen, Ditching,
Had Enough!

Cookies Are Pretty Things Too, Right?!

 (Rush Listing - Level 2 by decadentdesigns)

      I love pretty things! And it doesn't matter what kind of pretty thing it is. :-) I even found this rushing blue stick man to be pretty when I saw him last night! :-) He seems to be telling me something...like..."Hurry up, Wug! Let's go get 'em!" ^_^

      I'm kinda sorta in a hurry up mode these days anyway. I'm hurrying up to do everything! Why?....Uhhhhhh....I don't know. LOL I think it's a leftover mode from doing all of the crocheting projects I've been doing lately. :-) But now that my schedule is slowing down, who knows why I'm still in 'blue stick man' hurry up mode!...but I am. And so it goes!! ^_^

      I'm also in 'let's look at pretty stuff' mode. Thus, today's pretty Etsy finds! :-) ...

 (Handpainted set of 4 OOAK Rainbow Explosion Ceramic Tile Coasters by LDphotography)

      If you've followed my blog even for a minute one thing is probably very clear to you....I LOVE COLOR! :-) And those coasters above have color in spades!!! ^_^

      Another thing that would be clear to you is that I love a good nap...any time I can get it!! :-) That's why this little guy caught my eye!...

(Crochet Penguin Pillow by peanutbutterdynamite)

       A penguin pillow seems like it would be a good nap-buddy! ^_^ {Not as if I really needed a nap-buddy! ^_^ I can nap anywhere, any time, with or without a nap-buddy!...just saying. LOL}

       Pretty music is always a good thing though. I'm listening to some right now, in fact! {Kingdom Melodies, Volume 4} :-) There may even be a french horn or two in there somewhere! :-) ...

 

 (French Horn Cufflinks by timemonogram)

      And you know I LOVE flowers!!!!! :-) Especially pretty jewelry shaped into flowers!!!...

 (18K white gold Flower Rose Diamond Engagement Ring by BeautifulPetra)

      Well, if it's wrong to like a lot of different pretty things...especially pretty flower jewelry....then I don't wanna be right! ^_^

      Okay...enough about Etsy. Let me tell you what I created last night!...I finally finished the other black hooded scarf I was working on. YAY! I'm making a black flower brooch pin for it right now.
      And I also created some more of these! :-) ...
 

      My famous...because I say they're famous! ^_^...peanut butter chocolate chip coconut  almond cookies!!!...

      I made about 5 dozen of them last night! :-) It almost turned into a 'dough-disaster', because about half-way through the cookie caper I realized I only had half of the butter I needed to make them!! O_O
      Thanks to a couple of good neighbors it didn't turn out to be a disaster. And, in fact, I built some stronger bonds with the neighbors! ^_^ One loaned us butter, but it wasn't in a stick. It was a tub. And it was 'light' butter. O_O Thank you good neighbor, but uhhhhhh...'light' butter in my cookies, and me trying to figure out how much 'light' butter to measure into how many 'light' tablespoons......No!!!! LOL It was too much figuring for this tired cookie-craving brain to do!! LOL
      I had to borrow a 'stick' of 'regular' butter from another neighbor...in exchange for a dozen cookies to all neighbors involved!! ^_^ 
 

      It worked. And we all have cookies this morning!! ^_^ I was too tired to take pictures of the cookies after I sugar-forked the top of them, and after they were done a baking. But trust me...it was done!! ^_^ I only wish you could smell my house this morning!!!!

      Okay....no more pretty things, cookie-talk, or tea! But I do have tons of falling rain...and a poem.....and lots of milk! :-)) Have a good day, Everybody! ♥

Build

You can build a reputation,
build a fire, build a stair;
You can build a neighborhood,
build a table, build-A-Bear!

You can build a layered cake,
build some buildings, build a boat;
You can build a website business,
build relationships remote.

You can build vocabulary,
build up friendships old and new.
Build up globe-ular relations
if you really wanted to.

You can build upon your knowledge,
build a table, bridge, or train;
build a step into the future,
or just shelter from the rain.

You can build an awesome snowman,
and not waste him. Make a cone!
Or can build up folks around you,
so they never feel alone.

All this building talk,
shows the things that you can make
if you build a wordy poem...
and you also stay awake!

Man Cooking......and Starving Woman Eating!!

(Custom Lettering Decals by designwithvinyl)

      Hubby was in a really relaxed mood yesterday. So much so that he decided that he was gonna make cookies...and a cheese cake...and a beef stew...and cornbread...and COOK!!!!...................No! He hadn't been drinking, and I hadn't hit him with anything!! LOL He just....wanted to!
     He was doing great without me too! So, I had all kinds of time to watch basketball game after basketball game,...to work on finishing my second wrist warmer/fingerless glove {hubby took pictures of the scarf and the gloves on Tina this morning. I'll show you those tomorrow!}...

        ...to make a new headband to match it (gray, yellow, and black...bumblebee style! ^_^) {he's gonna take pictures of that later today. I still need to finish the flower for it. I'll show you those photos tomorrow too.}...to make a crochet flower to put on it....and to eat waaaaay too many potato chips and sweet potato pie!!...Well!...It was a long wait for"Chef Jeff" to finish!!! ^_^

(Bottle Cap Keychain by babysoftailkeychains)

           Actually, I was quite proud of him. He didn't require my help hardly at all! Only for a couple of things. One of those things being that he needed me to cut up the onions and potatoes for him to put in the Crock Pot (slow cooker) for a stew he also was making!...Mr. Ambitious!...But I've told you in the past about his lack of proficiency with a knife, right?!

         Waiting for him to cube some potatoes could've left me waking up from one of my naps next to Rip Van Winkle!...on year 200!...wondering why there was a pile of potato skins and an old gnarly fingered guy laying next to me...with a sweaty brow! LOL
        But to his credit, he cut up the carrots and celery all by himself!...Well, the celery anyway!....The carrots were those small baby carrots, already small enough to just put in the pot...after you wash them and check for the little nubby green on the head of them. Yeah, for me, that had to be cut off! :-/
    The other thing he needed was for me to help him understand my cookie recipe...my peanut butter cookies. He had put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and didn't understand how they could be "set aside" and yet he was suppose to cream butter and peanut butter into it! O_O ...Oh, the mess I avoided by explaining that one!!
    Another issue was about an ingredient in the recipe...margarine. He saw that I had scratched out 'margarine' and inserted 'butter'. He wanted to know why I did that, and if it made any difference to the way they came out...Apparently he wanted "Perfect" peanut butter cookies! LOL WHATEVER!!...I told him to go ahead and use the margarine then! That started a whole conversation on the marvels of "Butter" versus "Margarine". You can check our couples blog, (HERE) if you're interested in the argument 'for' or 'against'! ^_^
       When you're waiting on dinner from someone that's in one of those..."I don't do this regularly, but no big deal!"...kind of zones, you just resign yourself to snacking, and breathing, and practicing your patience...in a big way! At least...that's what I did! ^_^ I heard things dropping on the floor, electric mixers being banged around waaaay too hard against the side walls of the mixing bowl...and for waaaay too long!...O_O I didn't even wanna see!
    I heard aluminum foil being ripped, water running endlessly, and.....what was the most scary!.....complete silence at times!! O_O ...At certain intervals I made the mistake of asking questions!...
---Do you have topping for your cheesecake?!...{He had forgotten to get any, but thankfully we had some cherries already in the house!}...

             

          Believe me....it came out alright!! :-))

---Did you remember to make cornbread?!...{He had forgotten to get buttermilk for the cornbread  and had to turn everything off on the stove....UGH!...and go out to get some!.....on Christmas!...when almost every store was closed! O_O ...He came home with 'heavy cream' and 'regular milk' and wanted to know if he could use one of those, because he couldn't find buttermilk anywhere!!...It only took him FOREVER to find that out too!! LOL...Heavy cream?!...Really?!...Uhhhh No!!...Regular milk?...Well, if you don't have anything else. :-( Use the milk...It wouldn't be "Perfect", but at least edible!}
---Are you watching T.V?...I asked that because it was taking soooooooooo long!...and I knew he was in the room next to another room that had a big T.V. in it!..and basketball games were back on yesterday...after a long hiatus of them not playing at all!...MISTAKE! I shouldn't have implied that he might have been wasting time!!...I just delayed dinner longer! I had to listen to the long, drawn out, explanation of exactly what he'd been doing, and why it wasn't taking THAT long after all!...Yeah, I conceded the argument....I was really hungry!! LOL

(Stencil by oklahomastencil)

---Do you want me to help you with anything?!...He didn't even answer me! O_O I don't know if he didn't answer because he was so offended that I would imply that he needed help, or because he was trying to figure out how to answer me with a "Yes, Hurry!"...but without seeming desperate! Either way....silence! And I didn't dare ask again!! LOL

      In the end we ate the stew too early....the crock pot had another three hours to go!! O_0 I couldn't wait that long. The cold sweet potato pie was doing terrible things to my insides! LOL But at least the meat was done!...The cornbread came out good, but with a consistency I wasn't familiar with. O_O I think he over stirred the batter....like...a LOT!! And I'm just gonna say it!....I missed my buttermilk too! Wah! Wah! Wah! LOL

     The cookies?!....Well, judge for yourselves!...

        He was making my peanut butter chocolate chip and coconut cookies...with butter, baby!!! :-))

 (Framed Cooks Blog)

         He cut the batter in half so that he could have some without the chocolate chips...He's not all about the chocolate like me...When they came out of the oven they looked like this...

           Larger than I make them, but hey!...he's a man-cook. He doesn't have time for no little bitty cookie!! LOL

        They were kinda thick, but not bad at all...except for one non-obvious reason!...

         Underneath they were kinda 'doughy', with clumps of flour in certain places. O_0 I was a little confused until he explained...

       ...I had told him to use non-stick aluminum foil to put the cookies on. Being worried because the aluminum foil he had wasn't non-stick, he decided to flour the cookie sheet under the cookies...so they wouldn't stick. O_O ...

         I explained the perils of doing this in the future, and didn't make too much of a big deal about it. I don't want to squelch his cooking enthusiasm after all! ^_^ So what if I now have to flip my cookies over and toast them before I eat them!

      What was funny was that he tried to rectify the problem when he made the second batch...by cooking them LONGER!!! LOL

      Uhhhhh!....Say what you want to...this batch actually 'did' taste better!! Crispier...just like I like 'em!!

       The moral of the story is...when your spouse gets a 'hankering' to wanna cook...LET THEM!!....and you EAT IT!! no matter what it looks like!! LOL You may need the same kind of enthusiasm over something you do one of these days! And the Bible says 'You reap what you sow'! I'm sowing good relations....and eating Tums....*burp!*...WARNING: SAPPY POEM TO FOLLOW! LOL

Loved Enough

He vacuums my floors,
and washes my tubs;
Cooks me good meals,
and gives nightly back rubs.

He drives me to meetings,
and carries my bags;
And when we go walking,
he zigs when I zag.

I've never cleaned an oven
(He does it willingly).
He also shops for grocery,
and at night he reads to me.

I`m the one that does the laundry;
But he helps me with the dusting,
and does all the endless repairs
that keep our old car from rusting.

There`s  also other things he does,
like cuddling with me at night,
and being a gentle, unselfish lover
who can dance like its going out of sight!

There`ll  never be anyone more loyal,
or more competitive at playing a game;
or anyone as hard of a worker.
I`m very thankful to carry his name.

I know it must be selfish
that I can get him to scratch my head,
or fill my water cup for me,
or help me make the bed.

Yes, I know I`m loved enough;
He just wants to make me happy;
And whatever I need he'll do;
I come first, and he`ll do it all snappy.
Loved enough?-Yes I am, and quite sappy!