Ok, ok, I will share it already!!

My jumbo chocolate chip cookie recipe that is...
I am a baker in addition to a number of other hats that I wear around my house.
This cookie recipe is one I found and developed slightly because I am always in search of that "perfect" recipe. Lots of recipes are good, but some are really really good- and this is one of them!

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 whole egg plus one egg yolk
3/4 cup real butter, melted
1 11 0z bag chocolate chips

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Preheat oven to 325.

Mix melted butter with eggs, sugars, and vanilla- blend well
Add dry ingredients and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened
Fold in gently the chocolate chips
Drop by 1/4 cupfuls on ungreased cookies sheets placing about 2 inches apart
Bake 17-20 minutes, depending on your oven
Let cool, then remove to an airtight container.
These are big cookies, and the batter will look somewhat messy, but not to worry!
If you follow the directions, it should turn out like this.....

If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it!

My husband tells me that all the time...do you think after 21 years of wedded bliss I would listen to him- but no, I don't.

For example, whenever I find a recipe that everyone likes, has loved for years, and I see a new way of doing it, one that sounds even better, I go off and try it. And it 9 times out of 10 is a flop. Then I tell myself, that's it! I will NEVER change the way I do it again...this recipe is in the family treasure vault for eternity -never to be changed...but still...I am a sucker for trying something to see if it could possibly be better than the tried and true way. (It's one of my weaknesses!)

My husband complains all the time that some day I will be wanting to exchange him because I like trying new things...well, he is safe in that department. It took me too long to get him to where he is now. Starting over would be a monumental challenge of gigantic proportions. Besides, I tell him he is one thing I don't want to change. (Ok, maybe I do have a secret list in my head but don't tell him that...)

Susan's Cinderella Story

Once there lived a young girl in Scotland. She lived a very simple life, and grew up facing many obstacles. Throughout her life, the girl harbored a secret dream that some day she would sing for the whole world, and for years she kept the dream inside of her. One day her chance came- and despite many who gave her a hard time , she kept going…. and sing before the world she did! And the world is glad she is sharing her beautiful voice, and will hopefully do so for years to come!

This special character is in tribute to Susan Boyle’s strong will to keep going even though many gave her a hard time for doing so. I created her in a black sequin dress, wine velvet cloak with fur trim, and a small silver crown upon her new stylish hair do. She stands a petite four and a half inches tall and is a perfect gift for the Susan Boyle fan- or as a little self reminder about what good things can happen when you keep trying!

Sometimes You're the Statue...

Have you ever heard, " Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue"?

I guess I never thought about it, but yes, there are days that life is like that.
For some reason, those days seem to last all day, not just minutes!

Take last Wednesday. I got up, decided I would get grocery shopping done early for once. Went out to the van , and it wouldn't start. The battery was dead. Pooh! I decided to drive our other car to save waiting on charging the battery.

Drove off and look at dashboard and realize the gage says "empty". Stopped at gas station, filled it with some gas, drove off and realize that the speedometer isn't working, and in spite of filling with gas, gage still says empty.

I kept driving anyway and tried to guess for 20 miles how fast I was going by how many cornstalks I drove past within 10 seconds. (Not a great method, but I tried!)

Got groceries, came back put them away. Went to work on some things and noticed a lovely fragrance of soap in the air. "How nice, the house smells so fresh and clean, " I thought. Went to laundry room and found out a 2 gallon bottle of laundry detergent has fallen of the vibrating washing machine and the broken cap let the detergent spill out and cover the entire floor of that room...not fun to clean!

Finally, I went to the fridge and reached in to pick up a jar of Miracle Whip, one of my teens had not closed the lid and , yes- you guessed it, the lid came off and the contents of the jar hit the floor, all over my feet and clothes, and a large portion of the kitchen floor.

Well, I have to say, over all, I handled myself well...no crying, throwing of fits, or running away to Bermuda...I really did see the humor in it so I figured things would surely be better the next day- and they were.

So try to remember to keep things in perspective when you can, and laugh when those days happen. You only have a few thousand of them to go!

Susan Boyle's Interview

For those who may be interested, here is Susan's latest interview where she recieves the gift I made for her...I am so happy she got it, and seemed happily amused to get it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CcceeZhEhE






I look forward to her upcoming CD this fall!

What??

(Susan's New Look)

I have to say this week has been one full of surprises for me...I got a call from my mother in law this past Wednesday morning telling me that she had just seen my Susan Boyle miniature I had made in honor of Susan's outstanding accomplishments on a clip of the Today Show. I was shocked because I had no idea that was going to happen!

The full interview was on America's Got Talent that evening.,...and I was so happy that I got to see Meredith Viera give Susan the little miniature and that she looked happily amused by it. I love Susan Boyle, she is a lovely person and I cannot wait until her CD comes out, I will be first in line to get it if I can!

At any rate, I have enjoyed getting to watch Susan become an outstanding success- I just know she will do wonderfully in the months to come. I wish her all the best!!

Queen Mary of Scots

I haven't been on here for quite some time...shameful I reckon...but I guess like some bloggers, I have been busy with so many things, I forgot to post anything here!

Anyway, I got contacted the other day from a lady in the United Kingdom asking me if I could do a Queen Mary of Scots. Of course I could! Now the problem is which portrait did she want me to do it from? Well, I sent her three and she picked my favorite, the one in which Mary wears a red full dress encrusted with jewels and wears a hat tilted to one side with feathers on it..(My husband and I had a debate on that...he insisted that she had little puffy cotton balls on her hat in the portrait, but I insisted they were FEATHERS!-I disagreed and did what I wanted, which was to accent the hat with feathers, what else?

I completed her last night and sent her off across the ocean, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed that particular commission! I love to do something that proposes challenge...which may explain why I had four kids.....