An Embarrassing Moment

Everybody has them, and today I decided to share one with you. Yes, an embarrassing moment.  I've had quite a few in my life, but luckily my brain has blocked most of the them out and I can't remember them. (Of course,  if I could only remember them, they would give me lots of blogging material!

This particular embarrassing moment happened many, many years ago.  The ladies in our church decided to have a Christmas cookie exchange. That's where everyone brings a dozen cookies for each lady who is there.  So, you go, with, say, 10 dozen sugar cookies, but you leave with 10 dozen assorted cookies.

I have a Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. I used to go through it and dream of all the wonderful cookies I could make. There is a recipe for "Tiny Fudge Tarts", and they looked so yummy, that I decided these would be the cookies I would make for the cookie exchange.

I made my batch of cookies and was impressed at the way they turned out.  They were very chocolate-y and fudge-y. Everyone was ooo-ing and ahhh-ing. I felt so proud that they were a hit. 

One of the ladies asked me, "What kind of cookies are those?" Without missing a beat, I happily replied, "They're called 'tiny fudge farts."  The lady had kind of a blank stare on her face. She repeated her question, and now, a few more ladies were standing around. "Tiny fudge farts", I answered.  Suddenly, in the silence, I realized..."Tarts! I mean tarts!"  Oh, my. How embarrassing!!  But, you have to admit, 'tiny fudge farts' flows a lot easier than 'tiny fudge tarts'.  Go ahead, say it out loud. You'll see.

So, in honor of my embarrassing moment, I will share the recipe with you.

TINY FUDGE TARTS
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
3 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla
Fudge Filling (below)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour and salt; cut in
butter. Sprinkle with water and vanilla; mix well with
fork. Using 1/2 dough at a time, roll out 1/16" thick
on cloth-covered board generously sprinkled with
sugar. Cut in 2 1/2" squares. Spread 1 level tsp.
Filling in center of each square. Bring corners  to center; seal together. Place sealed side up or down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 15 - 20 min.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen tarts.

FUDGE FILLING
Mix the following ingredients thoroughly: 1/4 cup butter, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla,  1/4 cup cocoa, and 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts or flaked coconut.

And, remember, if anyone asks you what they are, take a moment to pause, then say, "Tiny Fudge Tarts", and not, well, you know.....

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Sold to the highest bidder

Hubby and I went to an auction today. We used to go a lot more frequently, but lately, we've only managed to go to one or two a year. It's a great way to spend the day, if you have nothing to do, and the weather is nice. (Neither was the case this weekend!)

Actually, I had never been to an auction until  I met Hubby. It is yet another way that he has broadened my horizons. After we were married, most of our furnishings came from auctions.

It took me many years to have the courage to bid on something for myself.  I discovered that it is very exciting to be in the middle of a bidding war. The danger is in claiming something and becoming emotionally attached to it before you've actually won it. I almost always claim MY item, and am disappointed when someone else leaves with it. The second danger is not setting a pre-determined amount in your head, a price you will not go over.  Giving in to those two things may mean that you find yourself the proud owner of a treasure that cost a lot more than it is worth.

There's always a wonderful feeling of success to have the winning bid, but it's an ever better feeling to get your prize below your budgeted amount. It's a rare moment to come "under budget", but it has been known to happen

We have two pet peeves when going to an auction. The first one is when someone runs the price up to equal or above what the item would cost new. Why would you pay a "new" price for a "used" item? I don't know, but it happens alot. (Probably due to the dangers mentioned earlier!)  Our second pet peeve is when someone accepts the opening bid of the auctioneer. NEVER do that!! The trick is to make him keep lowering the opening bid to a ridiculous amount, and then jump in.

I'll share a funny story. One time we took my mother-in-law with us to an auction. She found something, and was busy bidding away.  Suddenly, we were aware of exactly HOW she was bidding. To my dear mother-in-law, all fingers are created equal. We were mortified to realize that she was using her middle finger to bid. Yes, she was flipping off the auctioneer with every bid, and was completely oblivious to what  she was doing. Naturally, she found several things to bid on, and used the same finger every time!

Today's auction was not very exciting. There was way too much stuff, and most of it was junk not worth waiting around for one or two things. This particular auction was at the fairgrounds and in two separate buildings, one heated, one unheated. Of course, the few items hubby was interested in were in the unheated building. Brrrrr. We stayed for about an hour, and by then it was clear that we would be waiting many hours to get to the items, and we really didn't want to stay that long.  Another unwritten rule is that no matter where the item is that you want, they will always start auctioning from the opposite direction!

Now, if it was summer, and outside, this story would have had an entirely different ending.

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First Sign of Spring!

Oh, there's so much to do, so little time. After a week, I've FINALLY been able to get back online. First I have to check my email and delete the 300 "messages" I've gotten, then on to Facebook to see what everyone has been up to. And then to blogging...but do I blog or respond to the comments? I want to thank everyone who has left a comment, and I promise to visit everyone, it just may take me a while.  In the meantime, hopefully, my computer will quit being a pain in the neck...

I am happy to say that Spring has not forsaken us, and I am confident that it will soon be here. The reason I am confident is because I saw a flock of robins yesterday.  They were all on top of the eight inches (roughly) of semi-white snow.  Our family always has a race to see who can be the first one to spot the beloved robin.

There is a little bit of controversy surrounding the self-proclaimed winner, who happens to be Hubby. I have actually proclaimed myself to be the winner, but Hubby disagrees. So, here is my story, and I'll let you be the judge.

Hubby and I were both together in our truck running an early morning errand. I didn't get my coffee, but Hubby was sweet enough to fix me some, and brought it along. Hubby knows that the only way I like coffee is when it does not taste like coffee. My way of fixing coffee is to add heavy cream until it turns a nice caramel color, followed by some hazelnut syrup (sugar-free, of course. I don't need the extra calories!)  Unfortunately, I am out of both heavy cream and hazelnut syrup, so I'm putting up with just having dry, off brand creamer.  So, hubby hands me my coffee. Before I take a sip, we're chatting it up, and I mention that it's probably too early for the robins, since the ground is covered with snow. I said, "They probably take one look at the ground and head back south until it all melts."

At that point, I decide to take a sip of the coffee that hubby has so lovingly prepared for me.  (It's in a travel cup, because when it comes to liquids and vehicles, I'm worse than a kid.) So, I push back the little tab and notice it is the right caramel color. Good job, honey. Then I innocently, and unsuspectingly, take a sip. Something is happening to my mouth, and I don't quite know what is wrong. (OH. MY. GOSH. I'm thinking)
My mouth is all kind of puckering up. I can't speak. I smell the coffee. Do I smell.....vinegar? What? I'm very confused. My brain isn't working. My mouth isn't working. And, that is when I spot them. An entire flock of them bouncing around on top of the snow.  Suddenly, I hear Hubby saying, "Robins! I see robins, and I saw them first!"

NO! I finally get my mouth to work." I saw them first, but I couldn't speak, and what in the world did you put in my coffee???"  He just laughs, "HA HA. I saw them first, and I said it first. I win." I maintain that I saw them first, so I am the winner.  He then calls my mom, because he especially likes to beat her in the robin race.  We relentlessly argue about it for the next 15 minutes, proclaiming ourselves the winner.

Oh, so are you wondering what he put in my coffee?  You'll never guess in a million years.  We had some leftover wine, and yes, he did put wine in my coffee.  How much, you ask? I asked the same question. "Oh, not much," he said, "maybe just about a fourth of a cup."  Needless to say, I did not drink the rest of my "coffee".

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Friday Follow and Face it Friday!

Happy Friday Follow and thanks for stopping by. I'm also participating in Face it Friday from Cheap Therapy. Face it Friday is where we see how we're doing with the goals we've set. I'm not really a big goal setting type person, but thought I'd give it a try! Here's a quick run-down for my week.

1. Read 12 books, at least 1 classic.
    1. The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner - finished 2-8-10. That guy had to deal with a lot of stuff that wasn't even mentioned in the movie. Word of caution: There is offensive language peppered throughout the book.

2. Get Passport. - Nothing - (Waiting to do something with my hair before I get my picture taken. Is that ridiculous or what?)

3. Mail handmade birthday cards to friends. - Haven't had any birthdays, but have had to send out some sympathy cards.

4. Host family get-together for July 4th.  - Don't have to think about that one yet. Still have snow on the ground.

5. Lost 10 pounds.  Opps, went the wrong way!!

6. Read Bible every day.  Only managed about three times this week.  Not good.

7. Travel somewhere new. Way, way back in the deep recesses of my mind, it seems like there MIGHT have been somewhere new that I went to, but, I can't remember. *see the name of my blog!

8. Edit Jennee's book. I have finished several chapters. I'm a little ahead of her, but I'm sure she will soon catch up with me. An editor's work is never done!

9. Do yoga.  I did indeed do a little, tiny bit of yoga. Ouch!

10. Learn the words to "Te Deum".  I have made a little bit of progress.  At least on the section we rehearsed on Tuesday, I was able to keep up, for the most part.

That's it for this week. I hope you are being successful with the goals you have set for yourself. Oh, I do have one more new goal. Try to figure out how to get that cute Friday Follow picture on my blog. (Maybe I shouldn't say that publicly; it shows how pathetic I am with blog stuff.) (Jennee: stop groaning and rolling your eyes!)

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Latin, anyone?

For fun, I like to sing in the community Choral Union.  We meet every Tuesday night, with a break from about May through September.  We usually perform two concerts, one in the spring, and one for Christmas.  Most of our 60 or so members are of the gray haired variety, or at the very least, have gray roots, but we do have a few young'uns that also sing with us.

I do not usually do anything by myself, mostly because I am a coward.  However, after listening to the first concert, I was very impressed and decided that this is something I would like to participate in.  At my very first practice, I walked timidly in, found an empty seat in the alto section (lower women's voices), and sat down. I was browsing through my music folder, and was surprised to find a song in a foreign language. I wasn't really sure what language, since I only speak English, and sometimes have trouble with that.

The director starts the rehearsal with that particular song. It turns out the language is Latin. I'm very nervous, trying to hide my ignorance of the language. The chorus starts singing, and I am in awe of how beautifully and perfectly everyone is singing this song. How does everyone know this song? It's the first rehearsal. I am definitely waaaaaaaay out of my league, and seriously consider rethinking my reasons for being in this choral union.  After they (I wasn't really singing) finished singing, he congratulated them on a job well done and continued saying the previous rehearsals had paid off. Whew!! So, they weren't just doing a perfect job of sight-reading. Maybe there's hope for me after all!

Fast-forward to present. Before I fast-forward, I should say that we have sung several more songs in Latin, and one in French, but they have been nice, slow songs. Quite beautiful, in fact. And, though they have been difficult, we performed them quite nicely. Now, fast-forward.  We have a new Latin song to learn. "Te Deum" by F.J.Haydn.  This song is quite a bit different. First of all, it's 31 pages long. Second of all, there are no, zip, zero, nada, no slow parts. The tempo for this song goes at a pretty good clip. "Sanc-tum- quo que Pa ra cle tum Spi ri tum"  This might be saying something about "The Spirit", but I have no idea what.

I'm not sure that I will be able to know this song by our concert in May. Most places of the song go so fast, all I get out is...uhh uhh uhh ve Fi li um uhhh uhhh. 

My question is, wouldn't it make more sense to sing it in English? We have an English translation. Most people coming to the concert speak English more than Latin. I would certainly enjoy it much more if I understood what I was singing.

This is our director's last concert. He has some health issues and has been told he has to slow down a little. He's the choral director of the College of Wooster, and he's giving up the choral union. So, apparently, he really wants us to sing this song, so I am going to try to learn the words.  My only other option is to try and figure out how to fake it!

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I'm a Bunko Babe! Are you?

Yes, I did miss Friday Follow.  I've been having a hard time getting online, and then when I finally do, my computer runs soooooooooo s---l---o----w!  I don't know what's going on with it.  I am enjoying the blue sky and sunshine today. Temperatures are warm enough to melt some of the snow.  BUT, I have heard a rumor, that another storm is on its way tomorrow night.  Only eight to 24 stinkin' inches!

Last week, my monthly Bunko game was canceled. I hate when that happens.  My Bunko/bunco (there isn't an official way to spell it. I like using the "k") group has been together for about ten years.  We are known amongst ourselves as "Bunko Babes", however, there are some (husbands) who like to refer to us at the "Hot Flash Bunko Babes". (I suppose the later name IS more accurate.)

If you google "Bunko", you will find that there are a myriad of rules, each group really has their own variation of rules. However, the one rule that everyone must abide by is that there has to be 12 dedicated women (it's not really a game for guys. We've done couples bunko in December a few times, and it has been demanded requested that we do not do that anymore!) Anyway, 12 women, 12 months. Each woman hosts bunko once a year.  That means she is in charge of the meal and prizes.  Some groups have dessert only, some have adult beverages only, we have a full course meal. (But, we have discussed switching to adult beverages only!)

For the prizes she needs  1)Most Points, 2) Most Bunkos, 3) Most Games, and 4) Low Score/Big Loser. 
Our group usually gets everyone a nice prize, since the "Big Loser" needs a little self-esteem builder.

Our dues are $7 a month, which goes to the hostess for food and prizes.  It's barely enough money, but we don't mind donating extra for the food.

Now, on to the rules of the game, and this is where there is a lot of lee-way. This is how we play.  There are three card tables:  the head table (they get the bell to ring), the middle table and the low table.  It doesn't matter where you start.  Each table has three dice, and each lady has a paper and pencil to keep score.  The point is to roll "sixes". Every "six" that is rolled equals one point.  It's your turn to roll as long as you roll a "six". The other thing that gives you a turn is if all the dice are the same number, which is called "overs". If you roll "sixes" on all three dice, that is a BUNKO! The team that rolls the bunko gets six points. Now here is where things get interesting. Whoever scopes up the bunko (minimum of two dice) gets credit for the bunko.  Sometimes they are scoped up so fast, you barely have time to see it, sometimes there is a wrestling match to the floor! (Yes, we are talking ladies, wrestling to the floor for dice!!!)  You can usually tell when someone rolls a bunko because you will hear a scream.

The role of the "head table" is to start and stop the games.  Also, at the head table only, you keep your same partner.  So, someone (usually the grabbiest) at the head table will ring the bell, and this starts the game. Partners sit opposite each other.  When one team at the head table reaches 21 points, they ring the bell again, and all playing stops.  Everyone writes down the number of points, if they won that game, and if they got a "bunko" ( or two or three).  The winners at the head table stay together.  The losers at the head table go down to the low table and change partners. Only the winners advance to the next table, always changing partners unless they are going to the head table. Losers stay where they are, unless they have been defeated at the head table.

To make our games more exciting, we add "busts". A bust is three ones, and that means you lose all your points. But, hey, it's also "overs", so you get to roll again. We used to also keep track of "busts".  And, we had a "traveling bra", the largest we could find at Goodwill.  Whoever, "won" the busts, had to take the bra home, and put one item on it. The following month, the "winner" had to model the bra, and then add her touch to it. We had a very interesting bra at the end of the year.  Unfortunately, some of the women did not like having to model it, so we quit doing that.

There is only one other rule that we have, and that is, if you can't make it, you have to find a sub. And since you have committed to play for the year, you also pay for the sub.

It's a silly game, but we have lots of fun, and have made some good friends. (It's also real important to find 12 women, who all like each other, are willing to commit to the full year, and always pay on time.)

I'll be hosting in June, and I'll let you know how it all goes. 

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Friday Follow and Chocolate Cake!

Today is Friday Follow.  It's always exciting to see the list of followers grow. (Hopefully!)

I apologize for the lack of blogs this week, but I have had trouble getting online.  I don't know if there is a correlation between the amount of snow we have and the ability to get online, but that's what it seems like.
Plus, our ridiculously long driveway that I thought was too long to shovel??? It turns out that it's NOT too long to shovel.  That's what I've been doing for the past three days.  There are actually a few places where I can actually see the blacktop!  It's been quite a job, but slowly and surely, it's getting done. Now, as the snow is starting to melt and turning to slush, I need to get that off before it freezes and turns to ice!  Oh the joys of winter wonderland!

I've decided to share a recipe for today.  I call it the Mile High Cake, but it can also be called the Most Dangerous Cake in the World. You may wonder what would make this the most dangerous cake in the world. Two reasons: 1) All the ingredients are common, every day ingredients. and 2) It only takes five, that's 5, minutes to make, from start to eating! Want to try it?

                                                                       

MILE HIGH CAKE

           4 tablespoons cake flour or

                   all-purpose flour   (no self-rising)            

            4 tablespoons sugar

            2 tablespoons baking cocoa

            1 egg

            3 tablespoons milk

            3 tablespoons oil (I use coconut oil, melted)

            3 tablespoons chocolate chips (I use minis)

            Dash vanilla flavoring          

           1/4 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)

           1 microwaveable coffee mug

          

          Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. (I use a small bowl, just because it's a little easier to stir everything.)  Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips, vanilla flavoring, and coffee, and mix again.

         Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little. (I don't.) Tip out, and put on a plate, if desired. Eat up! It's also good with a nice scoop of vanilla (or whatever you like) ice cream.  This will serve two, if you feel like sharing!

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