My Kitchen Smells Good & So Should Yours

Who does not absolute LOVE the Holidays? Well, I am a fan. And with this GRAND time of year comes lots of baked goods.

I made these scumptious, melt-in-your-mouth, Ricotta Sugar Cookies for the Rogers one Sunday.And today I made these Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

infused with Cream Cheese

& topped with Whipped Cream laced with Nutmeg.

Mighty tasty - & totally calorie free. Try some for yourself:

Pumpkin Spice n'Cream Cupcakes:

1 box spice cake mix (made as directed on the box)

Add 1 cup canned pumpkin pie filling and 1 small package of instant vanilla pudding (nuts are optional).

Place batter in paper lined muffin tins.

Beat 1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened. Add 1 egg and 1/4 cup of sugar.

Drop by small spoonfuls in spice/pumpkin cake batter and swirl with toothpick.

Bake 350 degrees for 18 minutes.

Frost cooled cupcakes with whipped cream or cool whip with 1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg mixed in.

Tradition

Every Halloween I look forward to our families tradition of making
Homemade SpudNuts.
Well, Elyce went too many years missing out on nieces & nephews costumes, these special doughnuts & the 700 trick-or-treaters that bombard my parents neighborhood, so this year she flew down for the festivities (& took the long way via Tucson- long story involving lots of snow in Denver). We started out October 31 and saw the movie Amelia and then came home & made SpudNuts.

Here are some pictures of the people that ate said doughnuts...
Harry Potter & Lola

When Tim walked in the house in my head I KNEW it was Tim, but Tim did NOT look like Tim. Tim looked like a TOTAL stranger - he did a great job on his costume.

Minnie Mouse Say Cheeese!!!

Hannah Montana
(Way cuter than Hannah Montana - the original)

Spiderman - Aka Sugarman

He may be small, but do not underestimate his ability to eat LOTS of sugar. Mom the Baker & who used to be Mickey Mouse,

but is now ready for bed.

The cast of STAR WARS

Poor R2D2...
she must not have gotten a doughnut!!!

Snow White & the 7 Dwarves

Aren't they Darling!!!

A super freaky Grim Reaper named Oscar.

These guys made a special stop by the Shill Home because they knew what was cookin'.

What a cute couple!

Very enthusiastic bunch here. Must be worn out from all the festivities.

We finished off Elyce's stay with an awesome Hay Ride. It was another successful Halloween!! Thanks everybody!

The Simpson's

One of Jordan's & my favorite things is watching

The Simpson's

at 10:00 every week night on Channel 6
before turning in for the night.

Have you watched this fabulous show recently?

It's been going strong for 21 years!!!

Every episode is hilarious & I recommend it to all. P.S. I know one of the reasons I think it's so funny is because Jordan makes watching anything that is even slightly funny 100% better. He's definitly got the gift of laughter & anyone who has watched a comedy with him knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Halloween Costume That Will Knock Your Socks Off

I invite you to take some time...and please, give this photograph

the attention it deserves.

I cried many tears of laughter because of this Halloween costume.

Meet Smokey the Bear Senior. He just escaped from the senior center, velcro shoes & all. He's got a lot of hard & labor intensive years under his belt, so let's cut him some slack.We found this beauty on awkwardfamilyphotos.com. Check it out.

P.S. Jordan thinks that maybe only I think this picture is hilarious. Please let me know if you disagree so I can very nicely let him know he's wrong.

Let's Have A Ball

Meet C. He loves balls!!! Obviously.So for his Birthday it only made sense to give him lots of cupcakes & lots of balls. Happy #2 C! Thanks for the fun excuse to hang out with your sweet mom & bake
some fun goodies. Love you C,
Aunt Mea Mea

Another L-O-V-E...The ZOO

I get more excited to go the Zoo than any child ever has. I put them all to shame! The Otters are my favorite! They hardly ever play in the water (& they didn't this trip), but when they do...it's the BEST!!!Bethany invited me along with Goose, Beans, & No. No was very very excited to see the "Mingos." I adore hanging out with these guys & I really adore the Zoo so this made for a Wonderful day off. Thanks for the invite, Sis. The Spring Break after we got married, Jordan surprised me with a trip to the San Diego Zoo. I was in heaven. The San Diego Zoo is BEAUTIFUL!!! I could go every day and still act more excited than anyone else there. I think Jordan knew when he married me that I was a kid at heart, but this trip definitely confirmed that fact.

Love, Love, Love, the BEACH

I was forced to leave my dearly beloved home for a few days (until he could join me at the end) & hang out at the beach with all sorts of crazy people (Big & small)!!!These cute little gals were my wave jumping pals. I remember doing this when I was young. The water was Perfect.Now this is one of the crazy people I was talking about earlier. (Note: Which sister looks like they will have skin cancer & wrinkles & which sister will not.) We had a lot of fun boogie boarding. I'm just glad I still got it. My favorite thing to do was swim out past the breaking waves and just float. One of the times we were out, we saw dolphins not too far away. The Ocean is just so therapeutic. I love it.I got to tag along to an aquarium with the Petey's and see all sorts of sea creatures. Jellyfish are my favorite to observe. However, I NEVER want to see them anywhere but behind a glass window.

I do not know what kind of sea creature this is, I only know there is no way I'm related to it.We all had a Fabulous time. Thank you Mom & Dad for making it all happen. A big thank you also to Jordan for working hard on our future while I played.
You're the best!!!I'm very glad you did eventually get there so you could go for a walk with me on the beach. When can we come back?