Count down to CALI!!!

I am like a kid today... I will be on a plane in 14 hrs to go see my family. Oh... how I've missed them. haha I just saw them like 2 weeks ago!! LOL.

My ex sis in-law is is getting remarried to a wonderful mane named Mike. I couldn't asked for a better brother in-law. Sue divorced my brother Stu & I got her in that divorce. SO, I will ALWAYS think of her as my sister. I love her so much. Proud & blessed to call her family...
Years ago when I met Mike I so wanted him to date Sue. Thank you God for answering my prayers. Our family is blessed to have him & his 2 beautiful kids Amanda & Sarah as part our family now. I have to say one more red head in the family is GREAT also!!!!!!!

So, I might not be on my blog for the next few days. But when I get back I will have lots of pictures & stories for sure. :)

HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE!!!!!

The winner is... My Pumpkin recipe!!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

1 1/2 cups (210g) flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée

1/2 cup (1 dL) olive oil or vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice
** I add a little more to my recipe ¾ tsp

1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped pecans

* To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a foil or lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.(OR you can use can…)
Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
2 Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.

Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.
3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

I love this recipe... I also like more pecans. I use 1 cup in the mix.

Enjoy every one...

Coming soon our weekend at the Seahawk game!! What a great day of seattle fun.

I wonder why??

When I get home from work, I always go to my Face book & see what is going on... Today I was shocked... There was a person from my past on FB. Due to things with this person I had to do my first block... So you could just imagine what this person is thinking. For me it about how I was hurt. The pain I don't need to go back to. YES, I miss this person in my life. It's hard when it family... my brother. I miss the brother I grow up with & what we had. BUT not the brother I grow apart from. Not the man who told me one day he didn't want a sister in his life. I wish him the very best in life. I miss the love we once shared. I will always love him... just not the choices he has made in his life & what I have seen with one of his kids.

I wish you the very best brother dear...
Always in my heart...

Ahhhh..

I love the small of something baking in the oven... I just got done making pumpkin bread. I am trying 2 new recipes... total of 5 loafs. I have never seen a recipe call for cooked pudding... I bet it is so moist!! Yummy... my tummy is sooo looking forward to when its done. :)

I will post the best recipe of the two.

Have a great Wed everyone!!

Traditions...

For years growing up I stood in my kitchen watching my mom making homemade Apricot jam. Ever summer she did this. She LOVED to can her own veggie & fruit. But jam was her favorite thing to do. Not freezer jam but cooked jam. I guess you never can take the country out of the girl... You might ask yourself why would I make that statement. My mom was raised in a small town in Oregon. Then moved to L.A when she got older where she met my dad... So she showed me how to make jam, homemade cinnamon rolls, bread & cookies. I still have some of her old old recipes!! To this day I make jam every year... Now my favorite is Raspberry jam & for the last 17 years I have done this for my family & friends. See my mom got sick so when I moved from CA to WA I continue to do this for her... Now this in my tradition to pass on to my nieces. I hope they will embrace it like I did. I know it made her very proud each year when I would send home that box filled with goodies for them all. I love you mom & miss standing by your side in a kitchen doing this. But I can feel you watching over me as I stand there smelling the sweet smell of the fresh berries of WA.

Other tradition I do each year is Christmas baking. We have our family fav's & some people laugh when they see the Chocolate marshmallow drop. The really don't look great but when you bite into them & you taste the chocolate covered marshmallow... yummy!!!

I guess today what I'm saying is I love how we learn & pass down our traditions. Each of us have them... If it is from that same family outing each year or taking that family picture every year. I am blessed that I had a great role model in my mom to show me this. I love that I had & have the pleasure to pass this on to our girls in the family. Some of them will do this & some will not. But they will have other traditions to pass onto their kids. Which is what this is all about... TRADITION!!!

Sunday 19th...

Had a great day with some friends going over our trip pictures from Disneyland. Len watched football with Pete... I had to seek up stairs just to see if Denver was winning over the Seahawks.. Yes they won!! I love the Seahawks, BUT Denver is my ALL TIME FAVORITE TEAM!!!! Ahhh I love this time of the year.