Food Fun Friday - Homemade Oreos

These are YUMMY
Lauren found the recipe and we made them for a family get together!

EASY, that's the name of the game

Homemade Oreos
1 Devils Food Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/3 C oil
Filling:
4oz cream cheese
1/4C butter
1 1/2 C powder sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix Devils food cake mix, eggs and oil together.  The dough will be very thick.  On a greased cookie sheet or on parchment paper, place dough balls about the size of gold balls.  You will need to make sure they are round and then pat them down with your fingers. 

Bake for 7-10 minutes.  Wait until just after they start to 'crack open on top.  Take them out to cool on a rack.

Mix the filling together until smooth and creamy.

When the cookies are cool, find two cookies that measure about the same.  Place about a tablespoon of filling on the flat side and stack the other cookie on top so it is a large fluffy 'oreo'.   

For an added holiday cheer... roll the center in holiday sprinkles.

as you can see everyone enjoyed these soft 'oreo' cookies!!
yum..yum

Something to Consider- to my bloggy friends

You can choose to live your life with the joy of the front row or solemness of the third row.

I sure enjoy reading all of your blogs... I feel like I'm missing out if I can't get to them... I am STILL catching up from being gone on vacation.. well that'll teach me.. just can't go on vacation....
ah, I'll have to come up with a suitable arrangement because it was one of the best vacations EVER.
Thank you for stopping by, hope I can brighten up your day!

Wednesday Wisdom

Give more than is expected.

Love more than seems wise.

Serve more than seems necessary and

Help more than is asked.

Cory Booker

Making a tree skirt

A get together with family ALWAYS entails making something. Lauren wanted to make this tree skirt she found on Pinterest, (from Miss Mustardseed)

Here are our directions:
For this 'natural' tree skirt you will need 6yards of muslin. one small painters cloth.
(I don't use burlap, it stinks)
Fold the painters cloth in half, and then half again.  Mine measured 24inches at the smallest edge ... using a yard stick measure from the center point 24inches making a half circle and cut off the bottom so when unfolded it is a full circle.  THEN cut out a small circle at the center.  You will then cut along one of the folded lines, just one (this is so you can place it around the tree, and the center circle you cut out goes around the trunk)

I cut 3inch strips... 6 yards long.  (the green you see is for the next tree skirt we are making).

I gathered them.  You don't have to gather them, but I find that it makes it more even.  I hand gathered (basically a large basting strip) each 6 yard long strip (while sitting in the Arizona sun!)  Again you don't have to gather it, you can just ruffle it by hand as you glue it on.  This are some gathered strips waiting to be glued:

You will then hot glue the slightly gathered strip along the bottom of the whole tree skirt.

(no problem if you need to piece more to fit the whole circle.) For the rest of the tree skirt, you will measure from the center hole down... every 2 1/2 inches or so. Marking it with a pen... THAT is where you will glue the next row.

Here's Lauren hard at work gluing the next row.

and two days later, I mean... a while later here are all the rows gathered and glued on!

The next tree skirt will be two rows of natural, and two rows of green!!
ALLLLL ready for the tree! or her MIL's tree... I wonder which one will she choose
(or the better question to ask... when will the green one be done!!)

Coming Home

Coming home after a wonderful vacation with family is THE hardest thing to do.
Not only do you miss the people, warm weather, stores, eating out all the time....
but now it's run run run to get groceries in the house, sprinkle a little Christmas cheer inside and lights outside... unpack, wash all the clothes, get settled...AND
get ready to go back to work.
Tonight I'm going to have to carve out a large block of time to catch up with my blog friends! 
I feel like I've missed so much...but it was worth it.

It's all about the family

This week in Arizona has been so much FUNCarson is a complete doll!!  always entertaining!

 and... we've gained two grand daughters

 Any my niece from Utah just happened to visit today!!  (Louisa's daughter Jessica)

All in all it will be extremely hard to leave tomorrow.

It was an Arizona Thanksgiving

warm warm warm

inside and out!

This thanksgiving has been wonderful.....  we still have two more days here and will try to make the most of it.(craming in everything that we can).
And what am I doing blogging when I could be enjoying the family?????... well it seems in all my excitement I wake up earlier and earlier~
Our Thanksgiving dinner was YuMmY

Thanks Lauren!

and we had a pretty big crowd too:

even the newlyweds drove over from San Diego

did you notice, Kieri got her hair cut!
(13inches for locks of love)

Carson loves his Aunt Kieri

We also saw the Temple lights in Mesa

Carson was in heaven with his two new cousins

alright...what's on the list for today? in Carson's language:  go go go go go go
and I haven't even mentioned the shopping OR the food... lets just say that I have gained back all the weight I lost for Kieri's wedding! 
 HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE