Sheep

Sticky Bun Recipe

2007-03-22T17:58:10Z

I've had several requests for the recipe from yesterday, so here goes:

1/2 bag Rhodes frozen doughballs (approximately 18 rolls)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 package of Cook and Serve Butterscotch pudding (small package and MUST be Cook and Serve)
A few shakes of cinnamon
1/2 cup of butter

The night before put frozen doughballs in a bundt pan. In a separate bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and dry pudding mix. Sprinkle over the top of the dough balls. Melt butter and drizzle the butter over the top of the dough balls and then place pan on the counter or in the oven to rise (and thaw) overnight.

The next morning put the pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. When done, take out of the oven and turn bundt pan over onto a separate plate (to allow carmelized mix to get to all the rolls.

Enjoy!

The Trials and Tribulations of Making Sticky Buns...

2007-03-21T17:43:14Z

For a few months now I've been telling Jon about this great recipe for sticky buns. They're super easy to make and REALLY GOOD! I've been threatening to make them for him for awhile now, but procrastination has gotten the better of me.

So about a week ago I decided to go ahead and make some of these easy sticky buns.... Easy... Heh.... right...

Attempt #1: I couldn't quite remember everything that was involved in making them so I looked on the internet for help. I found a recipe that sounded about right and improvised a little. I made a crucial mistake and accidentally used Instant Butterscotch pudding instead of the Cook and Serve stuff... I thought it might still work, so into the oven it went the next morning. Before I did, I kinda laughed because I already could tell it was probably a lost cause.... I was right. Jon's dogs found them on the kitchen counter and must've approved because they disappeared.

Attempt #2: I made sure I had the right type of pudding mix and tried again. This time, I didn't know what went wrong. I thought I had everything I needed and it still didn't seem right. The next morning I shoved them in the oven, managed to set off the smoke alarm (doesn't take much in my house) and when they came out of the oven, they were really dry. Not soft sticky buns, but more like cinnamon flavored rocks. Failed again.

Attempt #3: That night I wanted to make sure I got it right this time around, so I called the friend who gave me the recipe to figure out what I did wrong. I found I was missing one ingredient and had the wrong type of rolls (because I couldn't find them at Safeway like I had in the past). I happened to go to a different store and found the rolls I was looking for, went home and threw everything together. They finally were looking right, so I had high hopes for sticky buns in the morning. Saturday morning I was super excited when I got up because I knew I would be dining on a sticky bun or two for breakfast in an hour or less. I went out to the kitchen and there was no dish on top of the fridge, only a few dough balls that had escaped from the pan while they were rising. I looked around quite baffled because the pan was nowhere to be found and I couldn't figure out how the dogs had managed to get to the dish clear up there. I knew Charlie, the three legged mutt was a smart dog when it came to foraging for food, but I had no idea he was THAT good. While I was running around the house like a mad woman, Jon asked me what was wrong. After consulting with him I found out why communication is a handy thing in a relationship. He had no idea I had made a new batch and I had ignored him when he asked what I was doing the night before (figuring it'd be a nice surprise).

It turns out after I went to bed, Jon thought he would do something sweet and cleaned up the kitchen for me. He found the rolls from Attempt #2 and said Huh, she did mess these up and gave them to the dogs. He also found the rolls from Attempt #3 sitting in a pan on top of the fridge and said WOW! She REALLY screwed these up... They're all doughy. They were not worthy of being dog food, but rather got tossed in the trash. I listened to his story and was pretty speechless. The stray dough balls on top of the fridge had risen perfectly, so I knew that batch would've turned out. Once I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor and regain the ability to speak, we had a good laugh about it.

Attempt #4: I had all my bases covered. I had the right pan, all the right ingredients in the pan, rolls rising on the top of the fridge and boyfriend properly informed. The next morning I threw them in the oven and when I took them out, I had a tray ready to put them on. In the process of flipping them over I burned my hand, got almost all of them on the tray and it all made a pretty loud sound when the pan hit the tray and the counter. I was in a hurry to get out the door and get to work, so I grabbed some foil and threw a couple of the ones that hit the counter into the foil. Charlie was by my side in hopes he might get another tasty treat. While I was messing around with the foil, I heard Jon storming down the haul bellowing "You'd better not be doing what I think you're doing!" I had stopped what I was doing trying to figure out what I had done wrong. He turned the corner and we stared at each other with bewildered looks on our faces. I said, "Geez man, I'm just making sticky buns...." He laughed and said he thought Charlie was getting into the sticky buns I had worked so hard to make.

I got home for lunch and Jon said he had a couple for breakfast, thought they were pretty good, so he had a couple more. Success... And well worth the wait.

Friday Five (....a few days late)

2007-02-26T19:49:30Z

1. Would you rather serve in heaven or rule in hell? Hmm... Tempting as it might be to rule in hell, I still think I'd choose serve in heaven... It's heaven for a reason.

2. If you had evidence that would catch a killer, but also put you in jail, would you use it? Probably so. If I did sometime bad enough to put me in jail, I probably would deserve it... Besides... Jail is fairly short-term... Prison is not.

3. If you could work the worst job you have ever had, for three years and then never have to work again, would you or would you rather work the job you always wanted but not be able to retire until well past the age of retirement? Having been stuck in a job I don't really like for the past three years, I can definitely say that 3 years is a long time to be stuck in the worst job you've ever had (considering my job isn't all that bad). However, I think I could bear it mostly because I'd rather be spending time with my daughter than working. If I had the job I always wanted though, it wouldn't feel like work at all and I like to keep busy. If family time wasn't a factor, I'd definitely go this direction.

4. If you could write four newspaper headlines, which would come true, what would they be? Meh. Requires too much thought at the moment.

5. A video of children in Florida fighting, while adults cheer on, was posted on the popular web site MySpace, The popularity of "gang videos" has also increased, and there has been renewed interest in re creating the infamous "Faces of Death" video series, do you feel there should be laws limiting extreme videos? Not a huge fan of videos anyway, so I don't really know what "Faces of Death" is or anything. As long as the people doing the videos aren't doing anything super illegal and aren't hurting others, I don't really care what people do.

To the men in my life...

2007-02-14T19:27:39Z

My friend Tammy posted something along the same lines and I liked the idea... Doing my own now.

To all the men who have come and gone from my life, Thank You for:

Playing in the chicken fountain in our best clothes at the beginning of the semester.

Making sure I know you're there for me regardless of whether I've actually called

Putting up my Christmas lights and helping out around the house

Walking up behind me and wrapping your arms around me.

Taking me to the coast to watch an amazing storm from the balcony with a nice warm fire going.

Golden Tee and beer

Loving my daughter enough to discipline her with love.

Calling me just to say that you were thinking of me.

Allowing me to sleep in.

Letting me vent even when you have no interest in what I'm talking about

Driving out of your way to bring me flowers and some cds because I had a bad day

Giving me a foot massage after an even longer week

Your patience and understanding.

Giving me a beautiful daughter to love.

Never letting me forget how special I was.

Fix a flat tire.

Being a shoulder to cry on.

Talking to me for hours because I was lonely without you.

Letting me know what it means to be made love to.

Telling the truth when a lie would have been easier.

Riding around for hours because I didn't want to be couped up.

Holding my hand when I was giving birth.

An amazing New Year's Eve.

Carrying me up down the stairs when I was smashed.

I know there are so many other things that you have done for me through the years to show me that you cared. I just want you to know that I appreciated them all.

Happy Valentines Day to you where ever you are.

garfield_07 @ 2007-02-01T15:08:00

2007-02-01T23:11:48Z

Yay! New icons. :)

garfield_07 @ 2007-01-26T12:59:00

2007-01-26T21:14:36Z

I have a horrid headache today, but I'm the only one in the office other than the boss. The left side of my neck and my left shoulder are aching today too... Had some espresso... had an Excedrin... and nothing is helping. I got a full 8 hours of sleep last night and still barely managed to drag my butt out of bed this morning.

Oh he is a lumberjack and he's ok...

2007-01-24T19:02:16Z

It has already been one heckuva morning... waking up late... forgot it's trash day... showing up late for work... having the threat of maybe having to be social with co-workers outside of work... BUT... this is the one that I thought might get interesting.

A big guy walked into the office looking very much like a bundled up lumberjack.... The hat, the flannel, the boots... everything. He steps up to the front counter, takes a look around the office and says in a booming voice, "Well, I've seen all I need to see..."

Alright...

Aside from being really creepy, it turned out ok. He was just here to look at the stuff we have up for auction and he saw the line up of cars and such right before he walked in the door...

The first thing that came to mind was the song from Monty Python..... Oh he is a lumberjack and he's ok...

garfield_07 @ 2007-01-11T08:04:00

2007-01-11T16:07:48Z

Yay snow!

Gir is doing the happy snow dance! :)

New icon

2007-01-11T00:29:53Z

Yay!

Friday Five

2007-01-05T17:54:47Z

1. Do you have any pets? If so, how many, and what are their names? 2 cats, Ralph and Curious George
2. What was your very first pet? Do you remember its name? A black and white cat named Samantha
3. Is there an animal you would never have as a pet? Tarantula... ick.
4. What common pet have you always wanted but never had? Why not? Rabbit. They're really cute, but they gnaw on stuff
5. What wild animal (extinct or not) would you own if you didn't have to worry about its adjustment or the cost of captivity? I'd love to have a big cat like a tiger

.

2007-01-04T23:13:23Z

2005/06 Monthly first sentence

2006-12-06T17:15:21Z

January: Why is bedtime always so difficult?
February: Well, after about a month of talking to a million day care providers in the area, I think I've finally got something worked out.
March: Tired... wanna go home.........
April: I am a Chevrolet Corvette! First sentence I actually wrote: I apologize for not adding on to the Reno trip.
May: You know it's gonna be one doosy of a day when it starts out with having to drive a huge ass truck to work.
June: Need I say more?
July: I haven't posted in awhile, so I guess this kinda makes up for it...
August: 1. How much time do you spend on the internet? Way too much
September: So last weekend was interesting to say the least...
October: Your results: You are Wonder Woman... The first sentence I actually wrote: The subject line in one of my spam messages this morning was ":),pea mildew"
November: Well, I'm off to a good start...
December: Nothing yet for this year, so....... Last year's: This is the general rule around the house... If Kaylee is up, I'm up.

August says a lot... actually, this survey just confirms it. I think I like October the best... because I'm still trying to figure out what pea mildew is...

YAY! NaNoWriMo Winner!

2006-11-30T23:33:43Z

Woot! Just over my word count!! YAY YAY YAY!

50,125 / 50,000
(100.3%)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2006-11-28T17:47:56Z

It's snowing here.... YAY! Still writing today...

45,784 / 50,000
(91.6%)

Nanowrimo Day 24

2006-11-24T21:56:17Z

Last week!

40,971 / 50,000
(81.9%)

Nano day 21

2006-11-21T18:15:09Z

Almost to where I need to be today.

34,271 / 50,000
(68.5%)

How I will die

2006-11-20T18:25:54Z

At age 74 after your spouse leaves you and your children disown you, you will go to work to find that you have been fired. This all proves too much to take. You decide to take a walk in the park but are robbed and murdered before you get there.

http://evil.berzerker.net/death_predictions.php

30,270 / 50,000
(60.5%)

NaNo Day 14

2006-11-14T19:02:16Z

I was able to get all my words in early today! Hoorah!

22,388 / 50,000
(44.8%)

NaNo Day 8

2006-11-08T23:22:35Z

Finally caught up and back on track!

13,370 / 50,000
(26.7%)

Kaylee's birthday and Nano Day 7

2006-11-08T07:30:19Z

Kaylee's birthday went well. Tony, Kaylee and I hung around the house this morning, then we ran a few errands and came home so Kaylee could take a nap. When she woke up, we headed to Albany and let her play on some toys at the mall. We headed to the pizza place around 6:00 just to find out that they had screwed up my reservation. So instead of having the back room from 5-close like they said when I called to reserve it, I found out we had it from 5-7. With people not even showing up til 6:30, we weren't allowed to even go back to the extra room. Thankfully the owner tried to make it right and gave us a whole side of the restaurant. Problem solved.

Kaylee made a mess with her chocolate cake and once she figured out the whole opening presents thing, she had a really good time. It was a wonderful day.

Getting caught up on the writing... Maybe will get those extra 399 words in tonight...

11,270 / 50,000
(22.5%)

NaNo Day 6

2006-11-06T19:41:25Z

Hooray! The word counter thingie is back up and running... Sadly I'm a little behind the average. Working on that one though...

7,138 / 50,000
(14.3%)

And we're off!

2006-11-01T21:22:13Z

Well, I'm off to a good start... Let's hope the rest of the month goes this smoothly.

2,711 / 50,000
(5.4%)

NaNoWriMo

2006-10-31T18:55:56Z

Well, I have decided that I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. jamberysuccessfully participated in it last year, so I decided to look into it myself. I'll keep ya'll posted on my daily word counts.

For those of you who don't know what it is, here is the exeprt from the webpage (http://www.nanowrimo.org) about what it is:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and -- when the thing is done -- the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2005, we had over 59,000 participants. Nearly 10,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: Sign-ups begin October 1, 2006. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!

Kaylee as a tiger

2006-10-20T23:05:45Z

garfield_07 @ 2006-10-06T14:42:00

2006-10-06T21:51:13Z

Generate your own slogan here

The World's Favourite Jenny.

Turn Loose The Jenny.

Behold the Power of Jenny.

I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Jenny.