A Shot of Life

Here’s a  SUPER easy different kind of craft!

All we did was take a stale bagel, coat with peanut butter and then dip it in bird seed!  Then I used some thread (cause I couldn’t find my string) and~ VOILA!  A bird feeder!

It was a nice craft to do with Jeremy because he just ate the peanut butter and I didn’t care (unlike play dough/markers where I’m on his case about putting it in his mouth)…then we hung them in the tree outside the front window (and we’re still waiting) for birds to come eat from them!!

You should always have a back up plan.  If company calls at the last minute saying they are coming for coffee or a short visit.

This is the easiest cake around and with very few ingredients you are sure to have them on hand!

ha ha…it’s from a cake mix!  I usually bake cake from scratch -I’ll share that recipe around Jeremy’s birthday…

This is VERY yummy and I would have never guessed that our host (Christine J) made this from a ‘box’!

To dress this up, all you do is bake it in a bunt pan following the directions on the box.  Allow it to cool and sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve.   Delish with coffee or tea!

Enjoy!

Shortly before our holidays Jeremy figured out how to climb out of the play pen.  I thought we were in T-R-O-U-B-L-E with a capital T!  He was doing wonderfully, going for naps when he was supposed to, getting to bed and staying in…until the last night!  Friday night he put up a stink…

I was planning on setting up his big bed when we returned home, but now I’ve delayed those plans!

Packing up to go home…we can barely close the hatch…everything squashed in there, dirty & unorganized…I’ll be working on cleaning and laundry for a long time!

Grace & I went out for some picture time!  She was a beautiful model and is turning into quite the ‘apprentice’ as well!

The neighbors were good to us!  Candy for the kids (pop rocks & nerds), rocket popsicles, sucba drive gear, boat rides and more!

Here are the kids eating the pop rocks!  Jer couldn’t figure it out!

I was able to borrow a macro lens extension for the trip!  I loved it! Thanks so much Pete!!!

Here is one of the MANY macro pictures I took!  I will be creating an album on my (A Shot of Life) Facebook page to share the rest of them.  Click here to become a fan and receive an update when they are posted:

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just a quick shot before heading to the beach…

Something for the left hand!!  It only makes sense, right?!  If you have a coffee in your right hand you need a goodie for the left!

(the willing model received an additional piece of delivered boterkoek!)

Baking was the name of the game we had 2 kinds of brownies, sweet maries, bark, muffins, monkey munch, peanut butter cookies and boterkoek.

Here is the recipe for Boterkoek:

1 lb butter, softened (do not use margarine)
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp almond extract
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp coffee cream
3 tbsp slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a 9X13 pan.  Soften butter in microwave but
do not melt.  Add butter to all other ingredients except coffee cream
and almonds.  Knead with hands until everything is mixed.  Pour batter
into prepared pan.  Brush with coffee cream and sprinkle with slivered
almonds.
Bake 35-45 minutes until the boterkoek is medium brown in colour.
Do NOT overbake.

Boterkoek macro’d-just because I can!