Backyard Double Feature

This is my husband's birthday weekend. It was important to me that we celebrate his birthday this year. You see, last year his birthday got overlooked in my diagnosis. I believe I started chemotherapy on his birthday last year. I wanted to do something just for him as a small way of saying, "Thank you for standing by me and I love you!"

Rather quickly, we whipped up a Backyard Double Feature in his honor. I had every intent to delegate the grillin to someone else, but The Husband was so insistent on smoking hamburgers. I am kinda glad he did (insist, that is) because those smoked hamburgers were absolutely yummy!

My husband is a simple man and would not like a lot of fuss. So I made up two desserts I have been wanting to try.

Glorious Treats posted a recipe for S'mores Rice Krispie Treats that looked so yummy! I put them on my list of must try things.

The verdict: they did NOT disappoint! This is basically a rice krispie treat recipe but you add golden grahams and mini chocolate chips to the recipe. Then you add a layer of melted chocolate and graham crackers before you add marshmallows that you toast. If you love s'mores, please head over to Glorious Treats and try this recipe!

Secondly, I saw these super cute cupcakes at Family Fun and have wanted a reason to make them. They were popcorn cupcakes. I think a backyard double feature is just the reason to have cupcakes that look like popcorn!

For these cupcakes, I used a box mix and doctored it up. I see nothing wrong with using a box mix. But, if you have not learned how to doctor up that mix to make it sing, I say...."What are you waiting for?" To a regular yellow cake mix I added: instant vanilla pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, and instead of water...Tropical Juice concentrate. Then I made some yummy buttercream frosting and added the "popcorn" which is really just marshmallows cut in half and squeezed back together then "painted" yellow with a solution of yellow food coloring and water. I am amazed at how yummy they tasted as well as how cool they looked!

We set up equipment in the backyard and watched movies. My husband's favorite movie is The Outlaw Josey Wales. So it was our main feature. Before the main show, we watched a new movie, still western themed...Rango with Johnny Depp. It was funny how many Outlaw Josey Wale references were in Rango as well as other favorite western themed movies.

We passed out glow sticks for the young ones, which was probably a good idea, they did not much love Rango. We had a complete refreshment table (although I think most of us were stuffed from the smoked hamburgers). Refreshments included Popcorn Cupcakes from Family Fun, S'mores Rice Krispie Treats from Glorious Treats, popcorn, chips and movie candy.

Hopefully we did not annoy our neighbors too much, what with the late night movie. I think The Husband had a good evening of celebrating. The icing on his cake came that I did not overdo party decorations and he got to spend an hour or so fishing before the party. AND, I let him sleep in this morning!

I love you Dear Husband! Thank you for all you do for our family! Thank you for holding my hand during one of the most stressful times I have gone through. I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays by your side.

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil. We had to immediately see an ENT Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed. We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy. Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery visitors. My

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget. Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world. In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things. What is it? Well, it is a German food that is actually called Leberkase. It is bacon, corned beef, pork, and onion that is ground together and baked. It comes with a

It's My Life

Search This Blog