I have Palin-titous

Ever since John McCain announced that Sarah Palin was his VP pick, I have come down with a severe case of Palin-titous. For the LIFE of me, I can't understand why people like her, let alone think she is capable of aiding the president, and potentially leading the United States as Commander and Chief. Nevertheless, I find myself completely infatuated with all things Palin. She just amuses me to no end. I am pretty excited to watch the debate between her and Joe Biden next Thursday. Anyway, I know most of all my friends and family thinks she's the cats meow....so I figured this picture would be a good one to show because you CAN'T be offended by it! I just thought it was hysterical how palintitous is spreading throughout the land.
(Courtesy of glennbeck.com)



Palin is carved into cornfield
A 16-acre corn maze near the town of Whitehouse, Ohio has been carved in Palin's likeness, complete with her familiar updo hairstyle and eyeglasses.

"Apple of My Eye" Fall Baby Shower

Last night was a perfect fall night to have a fall baby shower! It was apples galore...and I had so much fun making all the little apple surprises! Here are some pictures of the apple decor.

Invites:


When guests walked up the front door, they were greeted by little apples floating with flickering tea lights in old metal buckets (thanks to good ol martha for the idea):


Prizes for the games (apple lip gloss, potpourri, apple-shaped memo board, apple lotion...)


Carmel "fondue" with apples and cinnamon graham cracker dippers:


Basket of party favors: Candy apples with scripture (Proverbs 7:2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye):


Food Table: Apple Pie, Apple Crumb Pie, Carmel Apple Squares, Apple Cheese Loaf, Apple Jack Treats, Apple & Spice Cheesecake, Sweet Apple Cupcakes and Apple Cider:



The sweetest little girl diaper cake! (I can't take credit for this one!! My friend Jocelyn made this for Brianne...and this picture certainly doesn't do it justice. You can look at her blog http://themilewskifamily.blogspot.com to see her masterpiece! Seriously, if you are thinking of giving a diaper cake as a gift...buy one from jocelyn---her's are so much cuter than the one's i've seen online)



Although I made enough for a turn out near twenty....our little group of 10 was great company, I had enough prizes for everyone....and we got to eat way more food than we probably should have....but fall recipes are hard to resist! Here are some recipes from the food table:

Apple Jack Treats:

An entire box of Apple Jacks
1 1/2 bags of mini-marshmallows
1 stick of butter

With a rolling pin, smash the jacks until they are mostly broken up (if you dont do this, they are a lot harder to eat (I learned this the hard way)
Melt marshmallows and butter over medium heat until smooth. Stir in cereal and spread into a lightly greased 10x13 dish

Apple Spice Cheesecake
(this one is.... lower in fat!)

2 1/2 cups of finely crushed graham crackers
1 stick of butter, melted
3 8 oz packages of Neufchatel cheese, softened
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 cup of sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
3 large granny smith apples
12 oz of caramel toppng
Option: 1 cup of chopped pecans or nuts

Blend cracker crumbs and melted butter--press into bottom and sides of 10 inch springform pan. Bake at 375 for 5 minutes
Beat together neufchatel cheese, sour cream, sugar and eggs until smooth.
Combine spices, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl
Core, peel and thinly slice apples. Cut slices in half. Toss apples in spice mixture.
Pour half of cake mix into pre-baked pie crust. Pour 6 oz of caramel topping. Then add rest of mix, and top with apples.
Bake in oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool at least one hour
Top with remaining caramel. (Option: Sprinkle with nuts)
Refrigerate until serving

Apple Cheddar Loaves

3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
2 T baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. cooking oil
3/4 cup apples, diced
1 to 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
(The recipe calls for one, and I made it that way...but I felt the cheddar flavor was waaaay too subtle)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Combine eggs, milk, and oil in a medium bowl. add to flour mixture and stir until moistened. Gently fold in the apples and cheese. Divide batter amoung two 8x4x2 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, Cool for ten minutes, then remove from pans. When completely cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator

MICHAELS coupon!

Just go to this link and click PRINT!

http://www.michaels.com/coupons/09222008222750/coupon.html

I'm trying to think of something more expensive I need there, that I can use this for.....My straight-line cutter has been broken for awhile....any ideas of a "must-need" crafting essential I should use this for? Hopefully this will be useful to some of you!

Mothers Who Know

Still not feeling quite up to par, and nervous that my little brigham's immune system is still weakened...I opted not to go to church today. While Briggy is in "after brunch nap" I thought I'd do a little conference catch up. I remember one of my favorite talks last October was from Sister Beck. What suprised me the most was the harsh backlash and controversy that followed her beautiful talk on several "mormon blogs" I thought her talk was thoughtful and inspirational...we all should aspire to be the mother she talks about...this gospel is about progressing, isn't it? I think the reason why most of the women who got upset at this talk were seeing it as "You're not living up to these things so you are a mother who DOESN'T know..." which, come on, thats not the message at all. At any rate, I was looking online and I found this very nice presentation of her talk that I thought I would share with all of you. I am very excited for conference this fall!