Sweets for my "Sweetie"

I have no excuse why I haven't posted anything lately. I blame it on pure laziness and maybe a little blame goes to Facebook. My new addiction. It's the best thing since homemade soap. I am amazed that there are only 10 or 11 people from my graduating class listed. C'mon people, get with it! You don't know what you are missing. It's so fun finding out what people have been up to for the past 28 years. Especially if they are like me and stay clear of class reunions. Now, back to my blog, my poor neglected blog.

Billy Head is the type of eater that can eat a full course meal and as he settles in for the night in front of the T.V asks "What do we have sweet?". Well, I try, really I do, when I grocery shop to find something sweet for him. But none of that pre-packaged stuff looks good to me at the store. So I asked him, "what do you eat from the store that is sweet?" His reply, "Mike and Ikes, Hot Tamales, and Almond Joys" Okay, say it with me..... YUCK!

I have decided to cater to my little "Love Muffin" and bake him some real sweets this weekend. On my agenda are the following:

German Chocolate Upside Down Cake

1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 package German chocolate cake mix
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1 lb. box confectioners’ sugar

Grease and flour a 9x13x2” baking pan. Put coconut and pecans in the bottom of the pan. Prepare cake mix according to directions on box. Pour over nuts and coconut. Combine cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar; drop by spoonfuls on top of cake. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.


And if he's nice to me, I may make some Lemon Bars- Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.

The Best Lemon Bars

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 lemons, juiced (or about 6 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool.

For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a check board fashion.

In the kitchen with Nana

This is my helper. I would say my little helper but he gets defensive if you call him little. He is a BIG BOY after all. He stayed with me a couple days before Christmas while his mom did some shopping. So we decided to stay home work puzzles and bake. We made Sour Cream Banana Bars.

Look at my messy kitchen. I developed this habit when my kids were infants of leaving cabinets open. Silly I know but if you had one that never slept, you'd do anything in your power not to wake him up if he decided to take a nap. And that included not making noise shutting cabinet doors. I guess I should be over that now since that infant is now 24. Okay, if the truth be known, maybe I'm a little on the lazy side too. Anyway, nobody sees my open cabinets but me and now you if you're reading this.


I guess there is no better way to end a baking session than eating. Usually you eat what you bake but he's not a sweet eater. His choice, Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup. Um Um good. That's my little billy.

In Loving Memory

Jewel Delores Carden Womack

Sunrise

May 21, 1931

Sunset

December 29, 2008

Billy Head and I are experiencing the saddest part of life, the loss of a parent. His precious mother went home to her Heavenly Father last Monday and there are no words to describe the loss.

At her memorial service, Billy Head read the following which I would like to share:

"It would be impossible to describe my mother and all she means to me in these few short minutes we are gathered this afternoon." So I will say this about my mom....

She was a Jewel..... my Jewel. She was a precious gift to our family. She was full of love, acceptance, kindess and most importantly faith. She endured much pain and loss in her life and through it all, she kept her faith. She was my Holy Poly Rolly.

Mom had a kind and gentle spirit which made her a likable little soul. She knew how to laugh and have fun. After all, she had me for a son. I often showed her my love and affection by picking on her. She would just laugh and play along. Don't get me wrong.... she had her limits. When I heard "Alan Dean" I knew exactly what that meant. It was time for me to stop but I would just laugh and keep it coming.

One of mom's favorite things was riding in the car and listening to music. She was the perfect date. She never got car sick, she never said "turn the music down", she never wanted to know where we were going and she never uttered the words "Are we there yet?" If you rode with us you would either gasp or laugh at some of the music I tortured her with. She was a good sport and never complained. Occasionally she would ask if she could hear some of her beloved Elvis.

I am grateful for the time I had to be available with her. I miss and love her deeply."

Visiting Granny and a look back

My dad and I went to visit his mom, my granny or "Old Granny" as we affectionately call her. It tugs on your heart to visit her. She is 94 and her body shows the frailness that comes from living 94 years. She is not very alert and she mainly eats and sleeps. We visited just after lunch hoping to catch her awake for a few minutes.

She looks so uncomfortable in her chair but I think she knew we were there. At one point she just stared at me.

My dad tried to wake her long enough to open her present. She wasn't impressed with the paper and bow but after she saw it was a box of chocolates her eyes widened a little.....

And she made her choice of not one but two pieces of candy. I knew after two pieces of chocolate she was more than likely very thirsty so we pushed her back to her room for some water and some rest. It is the worst feeling a child or grandchild can imagine watching your loved one age. I think she knew we were leaving as she wouldn't look at either of us when we tried to say good-bye. Talk about heart breaking. I hugged her tight and told her I loved her....knowing this would probably be the last Christmas we have her.


I miss the days when we all gathered at her house for Christmas. Some years there were as many as forty people at her house for Christmas lunch. Those days were so much easier. As a child you don't think about getting older and holiday traditions never changed. Families were together in one place... These pictures are just some of the wonderful memories I have of Christmas' past.




And the best part was having Old Pa with us. He loved Christmas and watching him open his presents was what I loved the most. He didn't care what he received, he just loved opening his presents. He was a good Papa and I miss him dearly. He liked calling the grandkids "Boots". I remember him saying Danny Boots, Patty Boots, Connie Boots and Tony Boots and if your name didn't sound right with "Boots" after it, then you were just "Boots".





I don't remember the taking of this picture but my aunt gave it to me a few years ago when I was making a family cook book. She told me that I received a "Tubsy" doll for Christmas that year which I was proudly showing off. My aunt also informed me that my cousin (standing beside me) was very upset that she didn't get a "Tubsy" too. Funny the things you find out 40 years later. I remember the doll but I had no idea my cuz was a tad bit jealous. I'm sure I was a selfish little brat and didn't let her play with it.




This is the reason I love photos...... MEMORIES.