Thursday, January 5, 2012

The 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 6

The30DayBlogChallenge
Welcome to Day 6 of The 30 Day Blog Challenge hosted by me, C.C., here at I'm On My Way and my online BFF Jamee at A New Kind of Normal. Today's assignment is to post a blog post of a photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet. Make sure you grab the 30 Day Blog Challenge button (use the code that's in the box below) to post in your blog post and once you publish your blog post, enter your link below so we can look at each other's posts.

If I could have any kind of pet, I'd pick a huge tank of tropical fish. I love all the colors and watching them swim around. However, I don't to be responsible for the upkeep of the tank so someone else would have to take care of that for me! LOL!


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Image from PetMania

Cooking With C.C. ~ Gluten Free Snickerdoodles

It's time for the 11th installment of Cooking with C.C. This is a recipe we made just before Christmas. Snickerdoodles are a favorite cookie of mine and until I was looking for something for us to bake together, I hadn't even thought of making them gluten free. Thankfully, I ran across a simple recipe, so let's get baking.


In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar


and 13 tablespoons room temperature butter (this is 1 stick plus 5 tablespoons).


Beat with mixer until light and fluffy.


Beat in 2 eggs, 1 at a time, until well blended.


Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.


To the mixture, add 2 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour,


1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum,


1/4 teaspoon salt,


1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon,


1 teaspoon baking soda,


and 2 teaspoons cream of tartar. Beat batter until it is thick and elastic.


Divide batter in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Chill in fridge or freezer. We figured out the hard way that if you only have a short time to chill before baking, chill it in the freezer for about an hour. If you can chill it for around 12 hours, chill in fridge.


In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon and 6 tablespoons sugar (this is double what the recipe calls for, but it makes coating the cookies much easier).


Grease hands with cooking spray. Roll small ball of dough and then smush flat. Coat both sides of dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on foil lined (and sprayed with cooking spray) pan with 2 inches between cookies. Place pan in freezer for about 10 minutes until dough is firm again. Coat both sides of dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture again.


Preheat oven to 375*. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes (I like them soft, so we baked them around 8-9 minutes).


Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

I'm very pleased with how these turned out. I couldn't even tell a difference in the taste between these and those that are not gluten free. I liked these so much that they disappeared way too quickly. Oops! This recipe will definitely be added to my arsenal for repeat baking!

This recipe came from Gluten Free On a Shoestring. I made a few minor edits to the recipe which I explained above. Make sure and check out her website for tons of great recipes.

Hope you've enjoyed this episode of Cooking with C.C. I'll be back soon with another recipe. Let me know if you try this recipe. Can't wait to hear what you think. Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 5

The30DayBlogChallenge
Welcome to Day 5 of The 30 Day Blog Challenge hosted by me, C.C., here at I'm On My Way and my online BFF Jamee at A New Kind of Normal. Today's assignment is to post a blog post of a photo of yourself from 2 years ago. Make sure you grab the 30 Day Blog Challenge button (use the code that's in the box below) to post in your blog post and once you publish your blog post, enter your link below so we can look at each other's posts.

This photo is just a few days over 2 years old. Russ, Damaris, her friend Melody, and I went to the Aquarium in Houston together. We were waiting in line to ride the carousel. I can't believe how much Damaris has grown in 2 years!


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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 4

The30DayBlogChallenge
Welcome to Day 4 of The 30 Day Blog Challenge hosted by me, C.C., here at I'm On My Way and my online BFF Jamee at A New Kind of Normal. Today's assignment is to post a blog post of your favorite photograph of your best friend. Make sure you grab the 30 Day Blog Challenge button (use the code that's in the box below) to post in your blog post and once you publish your blog post, enter your link below so we can look at each other's posts.

I have lots of girlfriends, but when I think of my best friend, Russ is who instantly comes to mind. This picture is from our wedding 14+ years ago. Russ is in the front center. He played football in high school, so this picture made sense for the photographer to take. On the front left and right are his brother James and Michael and right behind him is his friend Brad. This photo makes me laugh every time I see it!


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My eucharisteo banner

eucharisteo banner from A Holy Experience blog
When I saw this banner on Ann Voskamp's A Holy Experience blog, I was immediately intrigued. I showed Russ and told him I wanted to make one. He liked it and agreed even though we don't have a mantle to put it on.

So, when Damaris and I were in Roswell a couple of weeks ago for Wyatt's birth, we went by Hobby Lobby and got some supplies. I set them aside and didn't get around to working on it until a few days ago. Once I was given eucharisteo as my one word for 2012, I knew I wanted to get my banner done. (If you don't know what eucharisteo means, read my one word post and you'll understand.)

I basically used the directions Ann suggested, but of course, made some modifications of my own. Rather than buying a stencil set, I printed each letter out on a sheet of paper and then used it as a template to cut the letter out of khaki color cardstock. I then mounted a piece of scrapbook paper to a sheet of cardstock using double-sided tape. I then mounted a letter to each sheet. Like this:


Then I punched a hole in each of the upper corners of each sheet and tied them together with brown ribbon. Now, I blame my foggy fibro brain for not realizing how BIG this banner was going to turn out. Oh well! It's beautiful anyway! So here's my latest creative project:


Have you been creative and crafty lately? Share what you've made. You just might inspire me!

Monday, January 2, 2012

The 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 3

The30DayBlogChallenge
Welcome to Day 3 of The 30 Day Blog Challenge hosted by me, C.C., here at I'm On My Way and my online BFF Jamee at A New Kind of Normal. Today's assignment is to post a blog post about your favorite store. Make sure you grab the 30 Day Blog Challenge button (use the code that's in the box below) to post in your blog post and once you publish your blog post, enter your link below so we can look at each other's posts.

I've been thinking all day about what to post about as my favorite store. I'm not a huge shopper. I do like to get a good deal though. When I think about where I get the best deals, that place has to be Hobby Lobby.


Hobby Lobby is the most amazing craft store in the whole world. From fabric to flowers to yarn to knitting needles and crocheting hooks to frames to models to shirts to paint to party supplies to scrapbooking supplies to wall hangings to canvases to holiday items to stuff I know I'm missing, I don't think I've ever gone into Hobby Lobby and not found what I was looking for. And 9 times out of 10, what I was wanting has been on sale or I've had a 40% off coupon for. Russ is probably really lucky that we have to drive about an hour to get to the nearest Hobby Lobby because otherwise I'd be there all the time.

If you've never visited Hobby Lobby, it's definitely worth checking out. Here's a photo of the location we visit most often. It's in Roswell. The snow is from the crazy snowstorm we had on Christmas Eve & Day this year!


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Images from Cute As a Fox & SE NM Weather

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 2

The30DayBlogChallenge
Welcome to Day 2 of The 30 Day Blog Challenge hosted by me, C.C., here at I'm On My Way and my online BFF Jamee at A New Kind of Normal. Today's assignment is to post a blog post of a photo of something you ate today. Make sure you grab the 30 Day Blog Challenge button (use the code that's in the box below) to post in your blog post and once you publish your blog post, enter your link below so we can look at each other's posts.

One of our favorite meals has long been chicken fried rice. When I started eating gluten free, we struggled to find a way to eat this that was both easy to make and gluten free. We were thrilled when we found out that Chicken Helper made their Chicken Fried Rice gluten free. We eat it quite often. I thought it would photograph better, but it didn't unfortunately. But regardless, here is my dinner photograph.


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