The Kids and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake

One weekend, Owen and Cooper came to my house to go play in the big castle at the park and to attempt to destroy my apartment...

 Trying to lift the guitar...

 Wanting to steal the neighbor's bikes...

 This recipe is from Pinterest...mix up the dry ingredients...

 Then mix up some peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar...

 Add an egg and an egg yolk...

 Add some sour cream...

 Then mix in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips...

 Spread in a 9x13 pan...

 Done and cool...

 Meanwhile get some more chocolate chips...

 Melt some peanut butter with whipping cream...

 Pour on top of the chips and wait 5 minutes...

 Stir it up til it all melts...

 Cut the cookie cake into 3 equal sections and pipe the ganache in between the layers...

The ganache was super runny coming out of the bag, so you just have to slop in on there.

 Layer and done.

 My piece.

This was really good and it's something different to do besides just making chocolate chip cookies...it's kind of like the little monsters that you can get at the Cookie Factory.

 Halloween and the kids would not stand still.

 Barely got in these pics before my camera died.

Memory Tree and Apple Crisp

My BFF Ryan sent me a package from 1-800-Flowers, and when I opened it I discovered a biodegradable pot, a bag of dirt, a bag of moss, and a gift wrapped acorn surrounded by moss and pine needles.

This is a kit to grow your own memory tree from a company called Seeds of Life. So I am now growing an oak tree in memory of my step-dad Mike.

 Here is a shot of the acorn surrounded by moss before it gets covered by the rest of the dirt.

 And the decorative moss goes on top...now just waiting for it to sprout. Should take 8-12 weeks according to a website I found, which means it should be showing by Christmas hopefully! Now all the Linleys just need to decide where we can plant it this spring where everyone can see it.

 I found a recipe for apple crisp in the paper a few months ago...it's actually called Vanilla Bean Apple Crumble. So it took forever to cut up a bunch of apples...and the peels kept flying across the kitchen!

 Mixing up the dry ingredients for the crumble topping, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt.

 And add some butter and you smush it all up with your hands then refrigerate.

 This is some lemon juice and some vanilla...you're actually supposed to squeeze a vanilla bean...but seriously where do you buy one vanilla bean?

 Add some brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon...

 Then add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix it all up with your hands again and put it into a baking dish.

 Spread the crumble mixture over the top.

 And bake! This smelled so freaking good in my house.

 Served with some Cool Whip! This was really good and everyone at work had literally gigantic piles on their plates.

Quotes Vol. 26

"Let's be honest. Sometimes there is nothing harder in life than being happy for somebody else." ~ Sex and the City

"No matter who broke your heart, or how long it takes to heal, you'll never get through it without your friends." ~ Sex and the City

"I've been in love before and I found that love was more than just holding hands." ~ The Beatles

"Living is easy with eyes closed." ~ The Beatles

"You got that something, I think you'll understand. When I feel that something, I want to hold your hand." ~ The Beatles

"I've done the merry-go-round, I've been through the revolving doors. I feel like I've met somebody I can stand still with for a minute. And don't you want to stand still with me?" ~ Sex and the City

"People say everything happens for a reason. These people are usually women. And these women are usually sorting through a break up. It seems that men can get out of a relationship without even a goodbye, but apparently women have to either get married or learn something. Why are we in such a rush to move from confused to Confucius? Do we search for lessons to lessen the pain?" ~ Sex and the City

"Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight." ~ The Beatles

"I'm in love for the first time. Don't you know it's gonna last. It's a love that lasts forever, it's a love that had no past." ~ The Beatles

"Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better." ~ The Beatles

"Sometimes you gotta quit thinking so much. If it feels right, it probably is. So just go with it." ~ Sex and the City

"And when I touch you I feel happy inside. It's such a feeling that my love I can't hide." ~ The Beatles

"I've just seen a face, I can't forget the time or place where we just met." ~ The Beatles

"If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be true. And help me understand." ~ The Beatles

"I bet you've had a hard time walking into a room full of people on your own, right? Yeah. I know that. I know what it is not to feel like you're in the room until he looks at you or touches your hand or even makes a joke at your expense, just to let everyone know...you're with him. You're his." ~ P.S. I Love You

"I thought that it was cause I deserved the best and he's out there. He's just with all the wrong women. And let me be clear. After centuries of men looking at my tits instead of my eyes and pinching my ass instead of shaking my hand, I now have the divine right to stare at a man's backside with vulgar, cheap appreciation if I want to." ~ P.S. I Love You

"If I give my heart to you I must be sure from the very start that you would love me more than her." ~ The Beatles

"There are places I'll remember all my life, though some have changed." ~ The Beatles

"What was the point? I'm so angry I could kill somebody. I'm alone, and it doesn't matter what job I have or what I do or what I don't do or what friends I have, he's not here. I mean you're alone no matter what." ~ P.S. I Love You

"We are all programmed to believe that if a guy acts like a total jerk that means he likes you." ~ He's Just Not That Into You

"In my life I love you more." ~ The Beatles

"Every night when everybody has fun, here am I sitting all on my own." ~ The Beatles

"Every night the tears come down from my eyes, every day I've done nothing but cry." ~ The Beatles

"I just need you to stop being nice to me unless you're gonna marry me." ~ He's Just Not That Into You

"Girls are taught a lot of stuff growing up. If a guy punches you he likes you. Never try to trim your own bangs and some day you will meet a wonderful guy and get your very own happy ending. Every movie we see, every story we're told implores us to wait for it, the third act twist, the unexpected declaration of love, the exception to the rule. But sometimes we're so focused on finding our happy ending, we don't learn how to read the signs. How to tell from the ones who want us and the ones who don't, the ones who will stay and the ones who will leave. And maybe a happy ending doesn't include a guy, maybe...it's you, on your own, picking up the pieces and starting over, freeing yourself up for something better in the future. Maybe the happy ending is...just...moving on. Or maybe the happy ending is this, knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment you never gave up hope." ~ He's Just Not That Into You

"Oh Darling, if you leave me I'll never make it alone. Believe me when I beg you, don't every leave me alone." ~ The Beatles

Farmington

Here are some pics from off the trail at St. Fracois State Park...

 Repo has his own private island...

 Charleville Winery with a very long view...

 William and Repo posing

Monterey chicken and crafts

This is another Pinterest recipe I tried out. Cook some chicken breasts with salt and pepper...

 Put in a baking dish and cover with shredded cheese...

 Then cover with diced tomatoes and green onions...

 And bake. This was really good and pretty easy.

 Here's the finished product of the last of the 3 paintings I did for my mom's bathroom.

 I was sitting around bored and decided to knit another pumpkin before October came...