Morning after update

The Crinkle

So, this morning everyone feels pretty good.  Dad says he's actually not felt so good in a long time!  Tiana is still quite sore and wearing her collar.  But, I think she's going to survive! ;)  Kent took the car to the body shop and we're set to go in on Monday.  It'll take us about 4 days of rental cars.  Anyway, we're good to go. (click the caption!)

Hmmm...

A long week, followed by a long night...So this was NOT my favorite week at work ever, I was pretty tired, mom and dad are here so we all piled in the van and headed up to Five Guys for a burger and some fries.  Following that was to be the big hunt for "the" Halloween costume meant to turn young men's heads!  Not far from our dinner stop we're sitting at a light when all of a sudden BAM! We were rear-ended and almost instantly Tiana starts complaining of lower back/butt pain and crying.  We pull into a parking lot to assess the damage and exchange info with the poor lady that hit us.  Her daughter is quite upset, Tiana's not feeling well, Dad's neck isn't feeling so great, Mom's hair's fallen and Kent and I are okay, although obviously shaken up.  The damage to the car really doesn't look super awful, but knowing the inner-workings, it will be pricey!  There is definitely some damage to the back door, too.  Anyway, the further away we drive, the more the pain increases on Tiana and her neck seems to get worse.  We decide to just go ahead to the urgent care clinic.  They look dad and mom over and send Tiana to x-ray.  They did a series of pictures.  When they get to the one, the Dr. is pretty concerned about the shape of her top vertebra and calls for a backboard and aid car transport to the ER.  Well, that was fun!  We get to ER which is all of about 2 minutes away and wait.  Eventually we head to CT (passing the crazy lady who's in her padded room).  We come back to find out that the malformed vertebra was actually just her front teeth!  They'd x-rayed her neck through her mouth and the shape of the teeth looked like a forked bone on her vertebra!  So, anyway, after spending over an hour on the backboard, needing to use the facilities, we were sent home with a "no P.E." excuse slip, icing instructions and ibuprofen instructions!  Basically, we're dealing with a severe strain of all of her neck and back muscles.  Now, I'm thinking bedtime and some takin' it easy in the morning!  Someday maybe I'll even have her permission to share the photos I took of her being strapped to the gurney and hauled off in the aid car!  And her E.T. finger in the ER!  But for now...Have a good one!

Captivated - ACCOMPLISHED!!!

This story has us captivated!  The 1st rescue actually brought tears to my eyes as the man was reunited with his son and his wife!  I can't wrap my mind about the living conditions these men have been in, or the rescue capsule they are riding in to safety!!
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/13/chile-miners-rescue/

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE RESCUED MINERS AND THEIR LOVED ONES!  CONGRATULATIONS CHILE AND THE  ENTIRE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY THAT COMPLETED THIS AMAZING FEAT IN AMAZING TIME!  May the faith of these men be true all their days!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HONEY!
18 YEARS
10/10/92


Thank you for the beautiful flowers! And for everything you do to make our house a home!
Love you!

This makes me GIGGLE!

I don't know for sure why this cracks me up, but it does!! Not just the song -- it's funny even without it! Ok, so I changed this. The link is JUST the news report. If you want, after watching that look for one of the remixes! Hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNhaLUT520

And more food fun!

A few weeks back it seems that EVERY customer ordered their cinnamon pastry warmed up -- the reduced-fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake, the cinnamon roll, the morning bun -- you name it, they wanted it warm. Well, the next question would be then, is do you know how intoxicating and inviting the smell of warm cinnamon is?!!? The put me on the hunt for a cinnamon roll recipe that would be gooey, soft, and DELICIOUS!!! Well, this is what I found! And I've even had requests from Tiana for it and that is an amazing thing! She doesn't usually fall prey to such horrid things, but these are something she's willing to risk a stomach-ache for! These are not meant to be healthy -- so enjoy every last buttery morsel! ☺

OOEY-GOOEY CINNAMON ROLLS

This recipe is adapted from copykat.com’s cinnabon recipe:
Warm 1 cup milk and 2/3 cup butter in microwave
Add 1 cup warm water, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 Tbls salt, 2 beaten eggs & 2 Tbls instant yeast, mix.
After a sponge is formed, add 7-8 cups of flour while mixer (with dough hook) is running on low.
Place in greased bowl to rise, cover. After an hour (or when dough is doubled in size), punch down and turn out on floured surface. Roll into a big rectangle.
Filling: 3/4 cup melted butter, 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup ground cinnamon
Spread butter over rectangle. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar and spread over butter. I use my hands and I get really messy, but it works.
Roll up rectangle and cut into rolls. I use white thread, but unflavored, unwaxed dental floss works. Place in greased pans and let rise (or, you can do what I did: put it in the fridge ((unrisen)) overnight and then bake in the morning) . Bake 350 degrees 25-30 minutes. If baking cold, put pan into cold oven and bake about 35 minutes.
Frosting:
1 stick butter
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (I use 1 tsp. vanilla and omit the lemon juice)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Beat everything until smooth and then for another 2 minutes until really fluffy. Frost while warm.

A good day...

A beautiful Sunday! Loved every minute of it! I started out by throwing together a batch of rolls to go with our dinner. We had Gent, Elaine, Victoria and Grant stay for lunch after Meeting! I LOVE to do that kind of cooking and entertaining! The meal was really quite simple, but so yummy. We had ham, potatoes au gratin, salad, rolls and a relish tray. For dessert we had pumpkin cake and coffee, of course!! I really need to cook more often! I do enjoy it, but it just seems, I don't know, like busy work, I guess, when it's just for the 3 of us! Anyway, here's a recipe for you -- and it's fairly healthy, too!

PUMPKIN CAKE
1 can (29 oz.) pumpkin puree
1½ c. fat-free milk
¾ c. fat-free dry milk
6 egg whites
¾ c. sugar
1½ tsp. cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground allspice
1 pkg. (9 oz. Jiffy brand!) yellow cake mix
1/3 c. brown sugar (I don't pack it)
¼ c. butter
¾ c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 13x9" pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat pumpkin, milk, and dry milk until smooth. Beat in egg whites, sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine cake mix and brown sugar. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts, if using.
Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15-20 minutes longer, or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan before cutting.
16 servings

Per serving: 188 cal., 5 g protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 2 g fiber