Creating a cookbook . . .

So I have embarked on this project. I am gathering recipes to submit to a publishing company that will produce a professional looking but affordable cookbook. It all started with trying to come up with a personal contribution to the turf field/stadium renovation fundraising project that is in full swing at our high school. I enjoy cooking and I enjoy a good tailgate party! so what better than to create the "Viking Tailgater's Cookbook"? We have had advertisements in our local school newsletter, district webpage, community newspaper and even the Oregonian gave us some press about gathering recipes of dishes you would bring to a Tailgate/BBQ party. My goal is to have at least 100 recipes before I send everything into the publisher in early May. We will sell the books for $10.00 before the start of next football season, with proceeds going toward stadium improvements. The recipe contributor will have their recipe and name appear in the cookbook, as well as have their name entered into a drawing for a huge "Tailgater's gift basket" complete with items you could use at a tailgate party. This has been a fun project, and I have seen some really good recipes that I am excited to try out! So far I have received about 68 recipes, so I have a ways to go to get to 100. If you are interested in sending me a favorite, feel free! Categories are Appetizers & Beverages; Soups & Salads; Vegetables & Side Dishes; Main Dishes; Breads & Rolls; Desserts; Cookies & Candy; This & That. I will make sure you know when the books arrive so you can pick up a copy! I can smell the Hawaiian marinaded pork chops on the grill already (yep, received a good recipe for that!) . . .mmmmm . .

Update on Mary . .

Part 2 of Mary's Story . . .

Well, after a weekend of watching NCAA basketball Mary is wondering what her point total will be when she checks in tomorrow. For Mary had seven of the eight remaining teams still moving forward on her bracket this last Friday. Now after the games of this weekend she has 3 of the remaining final four left. For some reason she had hoped that Texas would overthrow Memphis and that upset just did not happen. So tomorrow she will be seeing how all the participants did but only in a whisper to the "Master bracket holder"..shhhhhh. Now, she just needs UCLA to take it all!! GO Kevin Love!!

Movie review 2 . . . .

Went to the show this weekend and saw "The Bank Job". Read a couple movie reviews in the paper and thought we'd check it out. It was good! Sort of slow to start off with but story developed and had lots of twists to make it interesting. The film was sort of a British version of Oceans Eleven, a bank heist, crew of pals working together to make it happen, an attractive lady is part of the team involved in the robbery as well. The lead charactor played by Jason Statham (not too bad to look at) very much orchestrates the heist, as George Clooney did in the Ocean's series. Worth a look if those kinds of movies interest you.

My contribution . . .

To the global economy happened today. I went shopping for some clothes for myself to wear this spring. I headed out to a couple of stores that I like, Macy's, Coldwater Creek, Chico's and the Gap. I tried some things on, put more things back than I bought and when I got home unloaded everything onto my bed to start cutting tags off. Out of curiosity I started looking at labels. The tops I bought at Macy's were made in Guatemala and Bangladesh, the necklace I picked up was made in the Philippines. The skirt I bought at Coldwater Creek was made in India, the blouse China and the earrings India. A pair of khaki's at the Gap made in China. Top at Chico's, Guatemala. Now I am becoming obsessed...geezzzz is every piece of clothing made somewhere else? I start looking at some baby things I picked up this past week at Oshkosh, made in China, what about Carter's, made in Mexico and China. Guess it's just not something I really spend time really looking at. SO . . . when my (our) economic stimulus check comes in the mail from George W. sometime in May, (what is GW thinking? sending us money that the government (aahh..GW) says they don't have?) Be assured that we are helping the world economy and not just the little ole USofA.

What's up? . . . . .

Here's an update about what everybody has been up to . . . . .

Andy starts Spring term next week as he finishes his sophomore year at Western Oregon U. He's got a job that works great with school, three nights a week from 7-midnight he works for a janitorial service. Cleaning Monmouth city office buildings, library, police station, etc. He's a night owl anyway, and the job works with his school schedule plus helps with some expenses (not beer I'm sure). He's hoping to get a FT job on the WOU campus during the summer doing maintenance/landscaping. All the guys he rooms with want to keep the house they currently are renting, so they are all working on finding jobs in town for the summer.

Josh and Dani really have alot going on! They have made an offer and it was accepted on a beautiful home in Lafayette, it is expected to close in mid-April. Josh really enjoys the PT company he works for in Salem, so he plans on staying there awhile. Dani looks so cute with her baby tummy, their baby is due June 2nd. She plans on continuing to work as long as baby will let her. The two most stressful things that happen in anyones married lives, having kids and buying your first home is happening to them within a couple months of each other! They are pretty laid back about the whole thing, unless they are hiding it really well!

Chad and Nic are busy with their jobs and Lucas. Nic is finishing her student teaching at and elementary school in town. She is working in a 3rd grade class, she worked her first 10 weeks in a 1st grade classroom. She will make a great teacher! she has great ideas and has such a good attitude about how kids should learn. She will be heading to job fairs and getting her application out to different school districts in the next month or two. Chad's position at Wells has been changed again, lots of re-organizing these days in the banking business. Especially if you are in the mortgage lending areas. He's not especially happy with how things are going right now, it's a hard time to be in banking I think. Lucas is the happiest little guy, really good natured and rarely complains unless there is good reason. He is really starting to have a personality now, and he loves to play peek-a-boo and giggle at our cat.

Dale just heard he is going to Germany this summer for Leupold, they plan on buying a 1.5 million dollar machine for their shop. They want him to design and run some parts on it before it gets sent here to make sure it works correctly. Not sure exact dates yet, end of July or August sometime. He's trying to talk me into going with him, but it's really spendy to go there in the summer, plus he wants to make a side trip to see his Uncle in London or Spain, depending on where he is that time of year. So will see how that all works out.

Well, there you go . . that's about it!

It's just not fair . . .

That a week of vacation flies by at the speed of light, as a week of work can drag on and on and on! Here I am at the end of a great Spring Break Week. I would say that I was able to do alot of my favorite things so I can face the world on Monday...rejuvinated...well sort of!

Vacation check list -

• Walked on the beach - done
• Watched a sunset over the ocean - done
• Laid in a lawn chair in the sunshine with the ocean pounding in the background - done
• Ordered a bacon, guacamole, Monterrey jack cheeseburger and ate the whole thing with fries!- done
• Hung out with my mom for a couple days - done
• Shopped at the outlet mall for the grand babies - done
• Went to the Casino - 4 times!! - done
• Went cruising along the coastline - done
• Browsed in some Antique shops - done
• Hung out with Andy, introduced him to "21" at the Casino (big winner!, "Can I check your ID?" haha) - done
• Downloaded new music to my MP3 - done
• Drove in snow showers, rain, hail, sunshine, showers, wind (all in one day) - done
• Enjoyed a pint or two of Ruby, LHef and Hef watching the ocean - done
• Went into downtown Portland, shopped/hung out at Powell's Books enjoyed a latte - done

OOps - (must have looked like work and not vacation!), maybe next week...haha!!

• Painted my kitchen - not done
• Washed all the windows - not done
• Organized and clean out closets - not done

A few days at the OC . . . the best

On vacation a few days . .

Will catch up when I return!

Happy Easter!

Starting break with a little Flag Football . . .

A Students vs. Staff flag football game was played tonight at the new turf field at Pacific University. A senior project of a member of the football team. There were 20 students and 18 staff members (4 ladies) and I will start by saying, YES, I was the 2nd to the oldest person who participated. The oldest being our head football coach. It was really fun, we played 8 on 8 with a minimum of 2 ladies in at all time. SO you see that us four ladies got alot of playing time. I had a very small but mighty cheering section of hubby and oldest son, my team mates thought it was pretty funny when they kept yelling for the ball to be thrown to me. Which thank gawd!! didn't happen or I would have freaked out! I ran the field pretty well for a geezer and it was fun having the kids cheer me on and yell, "Hey, Mrs. C is open, throw it to her!", but you know the male teachers testosterone gets flowing and they all become very "competitive" so no passes to the girls. Actually it appeared to be very dangerous in the endzone each time a long pass was thrown to a crowd vertically jumping men! That's ok, we had great fun anyway. Even hubby commented on how fast I ran and how well I played defense, so that's all that mattered to me. I do have a sneaking suspicion that tomorrow I will not be moving too well, my calves are beginning to cramp and my quads are kind of sore. No pain, No gain isn't that what they say....doesn't matter this old gal will gain anyway. See ya next year boys!

Let it begin!

SPRING BREAK STARTS NOW! DOING THE HAPPY DANCE!

Breakfast the good stuff . . .

Usually during the holidays for breakfast or brunch I whip up this egg dish that seems to be enjoyed by most everyone. It was a recipe that a friend of mine brought to a brunch at work (St. Vincent's) over 22 years ago and I have been making it for Christmas morning and Easter brunch ever since. This year for Easter we are going someplace for early dinner, so I'm not making the big breakfast as usual. I thought I would share the recipe with you.

It's best served with a side of fruit salad, small sweet roll and a tall icy Mimosa! Maybe now you can enjoy it for years to come too!

Do Ahead Sausage Strata

8 slices of bread (cubed) - English Muffin bread is preferred

2c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 lbs link sausage, cut up

4 eggs

2 1/4c milk

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2c. milk

Place cubed bread in the bottom of a greased 8X12 baking pan. Top with shredded cheese. Brown sausage pieces and drain. Place cooked sausage on top of cheese. Beat eggs with milk and pour evenly over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day remove plastic wrap, dilute cream of mushroom soup with 1/2c milk and pour over the top evenly. Bake at 300 degrees for about 1 1/2hrs until center is set. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Dwight returning soon!

Now that there is funny . .

Every so often I get some pretty hokey emails with Redneck undertones. Some are really funny, some are really stupid. This latest is a combo of both, but you know sometimes it really tells it like it is, some people are just on such a high horse about themselves. It kind of puts things into a basic perspective when things were so much simpler. Enjoy!

The Rules of Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and the 'Wild West' are as follows:

• Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.
• Turn your cap right, your head ain't crooked.
• Let's get this straight: it's called a 'gravel road.' I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.
• They are cattle. That's why they smell to you. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-80 and I-84 go east and west, I-5 goes north and south. Pick one.
• So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
• Every person in the Wild West waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.
• If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ducks/doves are comin' in during the hunts, we WILL shoot it outta your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.
• Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer and elk. You really want sushi and caviar you can get them at the bait store on the corner.
• The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.
• We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age.
• No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham & turkey.
• When we fill our table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads, We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup!
• You bring 'Coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair..
• College and High School Football is as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks, and more fun to watch.
• Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it spooks the fish.
• Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Universities, Universities, Community Colleges and Vo-techs. They come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country, and they still wave at everybody when they come home for the holidays.
• We have more folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines than all of you put together, so don't mess with us. If you do, you'll get whipped! by the best.
• Turn down that stupid car stereo! That thumpity-thump junk ain't music, anyway. We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see your boxers! Refer back to #1
• Have a nice day with a wave!

Now that makes college basketball interesting. . .

The story of Mary. . .

One day somebody said to (let's say the person's name is Mary) "Hey Mary, would you like to get into the March madness pool?" "What is that? Mary said. "It's for the college basketball playoffs, teams advance in the brackets and as the teams advance if the team you picked to win advances you earn points. The person with the most points at the end of the tournament wins the pool". "So how do I know what teams to pick?" Mary says, "Look at their records, consider that there will be some upsets and go with your gut" says Mary's friend. "So what is this going to cost me?" Mary says, "It's $10 to enter".. "OK, I'm in". Mary has to be very secretive in her pool playing as it's against "company policy" to participate in pool's (sticks in the mud!). Mary entered the pool last year and was tied for first going into the Final Four, then she lost in the last few games, but she found a new enjoyment in watching college basketball that she never had before. So this year, Mary has entered again, gone with her gut, picked some favorites and some upsets, paid her $10, and now will begin the sneaking around to others to see how they are doing in their picks.

Hope Mary has better luck in her picks this year!

Quite tasty . . .

On this fine Irish Day - Corned Beef and Cabbage with fried potatoes

and a tall glass of milk or Guinness if you prefer!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Date night . . .

OK...so I say to hubby. It's date night tonight! He say's, "So what are we doing?" "We are going out to dinner then to the theatre"..."What? What theatre??" he says, "We are going to the high school and see their production of Fiddler on the Roof". "Alright....wouldn't your mom really like to go to that?" he says sheepishly, "Why do you say that? It ends too late for her, it starts at 8pm and it gets over around 10:45pm"..."OK" he says ....So we are off....We head out for a dinner at the local sports bar, find a parking place, the place is PACKED! Everybody watching college basketball, no seats, 30 minute wait, forget that, so we head to a local Mexican restaurant that we like and order. Great service, food and atmosphere.. except for the fact that it is a Mexican restaurant and they are playing rap music in the bar. What's up with that? Then we head to the high school. The high school drama department always does a great job with their productions of spring musicals. Over the years they have performed Grease, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and many more. Lots of kids try out for the plays and usually over 100 kids total are involved somehow in its production. So anyway, we take our seats and the lights dim, the play begins. I am really enjoying the music, dancing, great costumes and I recognize alot of the students that come through our office as athletes who are participating as actors. I turn to point out something to hubby about one of the kids and he is asleep!@!!!! Yes, asleep!!! Not yet snoring but completely asleep. How can he sleep with all the dancing, singing, band/orchestra playing, etc?? But there it is ...he's out. We are only into the 2nd act and there are 3 more to go. So I let him be, he was a sport to come. Plays aren't his thing, but it is date night and so it's about being together. I suppose next date night we will be shooting pool or something along that line. I'll try not to fall asleep!

Holiday, Holiday, Holiday . . . I'm ready.

Tomorrow should be a national holiday for all redheads! Yes, St. Patricks Day is a celebration of everything Irish, and hair is part of that. That's about the only obvious Irish thing about me I guess, apparently maybe my temper is Irish too. I do enjoy a pint once in awhile and I can manage to make a mean Cornbeef, Cabbage, and Fried potatoes dinner. I like songs by Enya, and in my dreams I know how to dance an Irish jig..haahaa!! So I will show the kids tomorrow how I can Riverdance and play my Enya CD loud and proud!!

Then next weekend is Easter, big get together planned at the Boyles! Our annual Easter egg hunt will be fabulous as cousins knock each other down in brutal battle to dominate each other in gathering the most eggs. The Easter bunny will be bringing treats for the new little ones in the family.Ham, scalloped potatoes, salads, and desserts are on the menu, it's gonna be good!

The Monday after Easter, SPRING BREAK BEGINS!! I'm ready! Mom and I are traveling to the Oregon coast for a couple nights to stay at the Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City. The plan is to relax, eat some great seafood, shop and of course go to the casino!! yippeee!! The end of the week Andy and I are taking a day and heading to guess where??..........Spirit Mountain Casino....yess!!! it truly will be my best vacation ever..haha!! Andy hasn't been there yet and geezzz..he's almost 22 I have really failed him as a mother for not taking him there sooner :) Then if there is time left at the end of the week I am going to start painting my kitchen. I was so good last year and took the whole week to work on painting and installing wainscoating in our family room and dining room. This year I'm a slacker, I am not as motivated so I need to get into gear somehow and get started! Perhaps I will win the BIG pot o' money and that will help me to buy new appliances, countertop, flooring, and paint. We will see.

When money is not an issue . . .

People do crazy things. A conversation piped up in our office the other day (when no kids were present) about the demise of the Governor of New York following his recent infidelities involving an "escort" (pleeeessse..she's a hooker) from the prestigious (they even used that word on CNN) Emperors Club Escort Service. Why oh why do they try to make it sound anything more than it is? A freaking whore house with prostitutes available 24/7. As one person (male) mentioned the other day, "I don't mean to sound ...aaahhh......unappreciative, but there is nothing a woman could do for me that I would pay $5,000 - $8000 a night for!"..oh really..would you pay $100 for it? No, not when you can get it for free"...hmmmm??. Well, it's all in perspective as to what your salary is as well as your "Ricko Swauve" way with women I suppose. These high and mighty egomaniac politicians are primarily paying for discretion I'm sure. Which obviously did not work in the case of Elliot Spitzer. How pathetic of his wife to stand by his side as he resigns his post, her face stone cold sober, why did she do that to herself? Why would any woman put up with that? I guess that's why I have a real Hillary Clinton problem, I have no respect for the woman. Her husband completely and totally publicly humilated himself and her with his tryst. She looked the other way because of her career and her husband. Marriage is based on trust, when that has been violated (because either party chose of their free will to bonk somebody else) well, I'm sorry counseling or no counseling, minister intervention or a call from the Pope, it's over period.

Widgets! . . .

I have just discovered them! They are cool! For all my techie friends and family out there...I hear your collective "oh brother, where has she been?" comments! Hey, I have had a life (kind of) and have not focused any interest in learning more about this computer than what's necessary to provide basic communication to a select few...which you are one ;) of the privileged..haha . BUT, having said that WIDGETS are fun!! So I just happened to be surfing and came across a website http://www.widgetbox.com/. After browsing through some of the selections I found may favorite computer game of all time...TETRIS!! yippee!!! So I have added it to my page for your enjoyment and mine if I have a free minute or two or twenty. If there are other cool sites that I can download stuff to my page give me a clue,....because I am clueless (oh be quiet!). Off to play TETRIS!

The countdown is on . . .

Lucas meets Chuck E. . . .

I told Grampa it's time..."Time for what?" he says, "Time for our grandson to go to Chuck E. Cheese!"..."WHAT..are you sure? he's too little, he's tired, he can't sit on the rides yet"..."Oh be quiet, we are going!" I say..."Oh great" he says.... So we head out ...we get to the restaurant at about 6;15pm. The place is packed (I think it is always packed). It has been many, many years since we have had the Chuck E. Cheese "experience". I do remember something about needing to take large doses of Excedrin Migraine after our previous visits when the kids were little, but I was up to the challenge this time. So we placed our order. Did you know they now have a 2 beer maximum? that's a wise rule change I suppose, not too cool to be getting all liquored up and be kicked out by the Chuck E. police. Each parent and child are stamped and stickered as to not lose each other or become kidnapped, or go home with the wrong person. That's new since we were there last (I guess we didn't care about that back then or we watched our kids...hmmm..imagine that?). We find our seat and Lucas is totally entralled with the lights and sounds, especially all the kids running around, he is playing with his Chuck E. cup on the table chewing and banging it with all his might. Our pizza arrives...the quality of the pizza has definately not improved. Chuck E. stops by our table, he slowly approaches....so is Lucas going to let out a piercing scream??.....No he just looks at him then back at his cup again and continues to bang it on the table. Apparently not too impressed with the big mouse. Grampa can't wait any longer, he takes Lucas around the arcade..riding him on the merry-go-round, the little mini cars, then they played skeeball (or Grampa played, Lucas watched).

They even rode on a motorcycle together. Grampa was cracking up. So after he won about 85 tickets he goes to the counter to collect a prize. That hasn't changed much either, you can spend $10.00 in games and you win tickets for a 99cent prize. Grampa picked out Chuck E. Cheese playing cards, so Lucas can play poker with his Daddy. We head home about 7:30pm. Lucas and Grampa are worn out, Grama drives home and they nap in the back seat.

Looking forward to the next trip!

WOW...it's really gonna happen

The Athletic Department at our high school is going to be a very exciting place in the next few months. After some very successful community fundraising, corporate contributions, youth league donations, private donations and a generous commitment from our booster club an artificial turf field is going to be a reality at our stadium this upcoming fall sports season. Ground breaking will begin immediately after our last home track meet this spring. We will continue to fundraise as we work towards receiving enough funds to also upgrade the bleachers, restrooms, ticketbooths and concession stand. The turf field is a great start, especially in this soggy Oregon weather. We will actually be able to host multiple games same day or weekends without destroying the field! What's that like?? The ability to put on quality soccer or lacrosse tournaments, youth football events, marching band competitions will bring lots of business to our quiet little bedroom community. The schools website will have updates I'm sure ...so check it out. . .

PS. If I have any friends out there that like to write checks...I will gladly accept your tax deductible donation! Come on ...it's for the kids! GO VIKS!

http://www.fgsd.k12.or.us/

Goodbye to a class act . . .

Oh PLEEEZZZZZZ . . . .

Could she not find a better endorsement than this??? Not a very good example of a "non" sexist supporter, I guess desperate times call for desperate measures . .

Bad accident...bad memories . . .

Driving home from the coast on Sunday afternoon we had to make a detour because of a really bad car accident. Multiple cars were involved at an intersection, there were lots of ambulances, fire department rescue vehicles and police. The Sheriff diverted us around the area but you could still see that it was an awful accident. I told my girlfriends that when I see an accident like that it reminds me of being in grade school and witnessing a couple of bad ones. One time there was a motorcycle accident that happened right in front of our house in Auburn, Washington. It was early evening and a motorcyclist blinded by the sun skid into the path of a car, he was killed instantly. I remember looking out our living room window (I must have been in about 4th grade) and seeing the dead man laying in our front yard on the grass. I kept thinking..cover him up..somebody needs to cover him up. He laid there for quite awhile before somebody took care of getting him out of there, they had to do measurements and re-create what happened. Guess that's why to this day I'm not a big fan of motorcycles. Another horrible accident was when I was in 5th grade. I was on the school bus heading home and we were following another school bus when it hit a girl. We sat on our bus for a long time waiting for the bus that was in the accident to move or for us to be able to drive around it. Finally our bus driver told us that since we were within 2 blocks of our stop she would let us out to walk to the stop. The problem was that every kid on our bus had to walk past the bus ahead of us that had hit the girl. She was still under the bus, I can still see her in her Brownie uniform laying like a limp ragdoll under that bus. Why our bus driver ever let us out so we had to walk by and witness that I will never know, she probably didn't realize that the girl was still there. It was the most horrible thing for a bunch of elementary school kids to see as they are walking home. I can remember that day like it just happened. I'm not a fan of the gawking so many people tend to do when they drive by accident scenes. I want to tell people, "Don't look because you won't forget what you see".

Just call me Donna Doppler . . .

Little did I know when I took this job as Athletic Secretary 7 years ago that one job requirement would be predicting the weather in the spring. Oh yes, it's a skill that over the last few years I have learned to master.......well, sort of. It starts at about 9:30am..the softball, baseball, tennis coaches enter the office "Well, what's the doppler looking like? Do you think we will be able to play today? Practice outside? or move inside? What gym would we be in? Why do we always have to be in the wrestling gym?"..then the kids start filing in.."Mrs. C this weather sucks is our game going to be cancelled? When are you going to know? Why can't you tell us now? Are we going to practice inside or outside? Are you going to make an announcement when you find out?"...baaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! So I have gotten to be a weather person with the number of times that between the Athletic Director and myself we pull up the ever changing weather doppler page. First we pull up KGW.com, then we try KATU.com, both local channels but who knows maybe they have different weather predictions, then we try Accuweather.com, then to just make sure we go to whatever the website is that fishermen use to check the weather (our AD is a bigtime fisherman and checks this site regularly). So you would think between all of these sources we could very accurately predict what the weather at approximately 4:30pm game time will be....WELL, it doesn't work that way, the stupid little rain patches that weren't on the doppler earlier..can pop up out of nowhere!..and BAM....we have to cancel the game, cancel the officials, recall the bus, pull the tarp over the infield and re-schedule to the next dry day which may be (most likely won't be) tomorrow because of more stinking rain! Oh...you gotta love spring sports in Oregon!

Caramel Toffee Brittle . . the best

Just returned from a great weekend with some girlfriends at the coast. We got alot accomplished on our painting projects but one of the highlights of our weekend was a trip to the Tillamook Creamery. When we stay there we always stop in and go through their amazing gift shop and order a ice cream cone. SOOOO many flavors to choose from....it's hard...I usually stick with my favorites like Marionberry Pie or Pecan Praline flavors. I tried something new this time Caramel Toffee Brittle...oh yes!...it was to die for. I was a fool though and ordered one scoop on a waffle cone, I really should have ordered two scoops. Oh well, I will remember for next time. We also stopped by the Tillamook County Fairgrounds since we heard that a big craft fair was going on there. It was alright, just lot's of stuff like potholders, birdhouses, jewelry, some kind of cheezy things (ok, lots of cheezy things) but there were some cool things too. On our way out we noticed a big table with lots of the locals sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. It apparently was the highlight of the weekend for residents of Tillamook!

It will be another 3 months or so before the gals take off again. Hope I can wait that long, it was fun ladies!