Buckendorf's Bash

There was food...there were folks and there was fun but it wasn't McDonald's...it was the Buckendorfs Christmas Party. I think Andrea and I got a little carried away in our attempts to capture the moment for our blogs but you get to benefit from that. The white elephant exchange was a hoot. Thankfully we made out better than last Friday night, Matt's favorite item was a pen that shocked you when you pressed a button, but he let me pick (my starbucks card is already spent).

Thanks Buckendorfs. You put on a good party.

Andrea, I just checked your blog...I was the first to post. I guess I won:-)

Matt's Murmurs

So....you're driving across a bridge and notice that some people are working on the shoulder. You see signs and cones closing the shoulder on the bridge. Do you a) proceed cautiously and move into a lane away from the shoulder that's closed, b) completely ignore the signs and cones continuing your cell phone call and Egg McMuffin, or c) assume that the workers are just acting like they're working on the bridge and conclude that they're really terrorists and promptly call the police to report them??

Well, someone chose option c) while we were working on the Fremont Bridge last week. Apparently, they felt that our Enterprise Rent-a-van with flasher on top looked suspicious. They determined that our signs and cones (which take us about one half hour to 45 min. to put up and take down each day) were part of the act and that our vests and hard hats were a costume.

And y'all probably thought that engineering was boring. Well, if you find yourself driving south on 405 on the top deck of the Fremont Bridge next week and see some guys with an Enterprise van working on the shoulder, feel free to honk but realize that we aren't trying to take down the bridge. We actually like the bridge and think it should stay.

Tonight I made Caramel Popcorn to bring to the Buckendorf's Christmas party tomorrow night. I hadn't attempted caramel popcorn for years. It takes alot of time but it isn't too difficult. I think it turned out pretty well. We'll see...

It smells good in here...

Tonight I made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Scones and Cinnamon streusel coffee cake so the house smells very good. I am bringing them to a work meeting tomorrow morning. I love the smell of cinnamon...or any baked goods for that matter. I modified the scone recipe from a pampered chef cookbook I have. I couldn't find it online or I would include the link. The coffee cake is a Bisquick recipe my mom has been making for as long as I can remember. I remember waking up on Saturday mornings to the smell of it and getting so excited....it's delicious and now Bisquick comes in a lower fat and cholesterol version so it is a little better for you. No pictures of tonight so instead I will leave you with a picture from Thanksgiving last year when my niece Mandie and nephew Timmy and I did a little baking. Too cute. We could not get Timmy to quit eating the dough. I just realized that I was wearing the same pajama pants tonight. How funny.

Comments...I like them!

I want to start out by thanking those of you that have left me a comment (Abby, Andrea and Kari)-cuz I like to read them and it is fun to know people are actually checking out the blog. I would like to encourage those of you who are intimidated by the idea of commenting to give it a try. It is very simple.
Here's what you do:

1) click on the link at the bottom of a blog entry: it will say O comments or 2 comments and be underlined.

2) That will bring you to the comment page. You can type a comment in the box.

3) If you aren't a fellow blogger, just click the circle next to anonymous.

4) Then click publish comment.
That's all it takes...It's fun. Hope to hear from you soon:-)

R.I.P. Largest Sitka Spruce..

Many of you have visited the largest sitka spruce tree on your way out to the lovely Oregon Coast. Well, sad news. She's gone. Last week's storm took her out. I visited the tree on my first crazy trip to this state. The six of us stumbled out of Bernice (meg's car) to check it out. Impressive...we thought. This article talks about what has gone on in the world since that tree has been around. Amazing! Matt and I have brought many of our visitors by to check her out so I thought I would spread the word. May she rest in peace.

Baking cookies...

Today Tra-J came over (our friends BJ and Tracy). Matt and BJ watched football and played PS3. Trace and I baked and she worked on her Christmas cards. We made Gingerbread cookies, cocoa slices, Brown Sugar Ginger cookies and Bisscotti. All except the gingerbread recipe were from my Cooking Light magazine. I LOVE to bake. We had a fun time chatting and baking the afternoon away (unfortunately I forgot to take pictures until after she left).

After TraJ left, I was finishing up the gingerbread cookies and all my kitchen tools and gadgets made me think about my wonderful friends and family who have encouraged my love of baking...my friend Tennille made the apron I wore ... my wonderful husband got my Kitchenaid mixer for me...my mother-in-law gave me the subscription to Cooking Light...the wooden rolling pin I used was my grandmother's whom I never got to meet...my brother Bryan and sister-in-law gave me my recipe stand for Christmas last year...I used some wonderful cookie sheets that were given to me by Abby...I used many pampered Chef items which made me think of Meg (free plug-but I really did think of you)...and I thought of my mom who instilled my love of baking in me.

The cookies turned out well. I brought some over to the neighbors. Stop by if you'd like some :-)