Busy Busy!!

This seems to be a recurring theme, I'm tired. Ugh! Friday night we had to drop Dean's truck off at the shop to have some work done & we ate at La Carreta & did our Sam's shopping. I had to be at work at 6:00 Saturday morning. Needless to say it wasn't a late night for me.

Saturday was a day of disappointments for the most part. I got up at 4:45 so of course I wasn't happy about that. It's one thing to get up at that time during the week so I can get a run in. Entirely different on a Saturday to go to work. I was all set to stop at Starbucks for a big Frappaccino. Um yeh, that didn't happen. They were closed! As in, dark, locked up tight & not a sign of opening anytime soon. I was soooo NOT HAPPY!

I worked 4.5 hours & then it was off to meet the girls for lunch. We were celebrating Allison's birthday. This was by far the highlight of the day. After lunch Allison wanted me to go to the new Goodwill store in town. I will say that I wasn't optimistic about this at all but I went. To all of you that frequent Goodwill & find stuff & love thrifting, I tip my hat to you. IT IS NOT FOR ME!! From the second we walked in the door all I could do was picture other people using their stuff. This particular store had lots of clothes which I wasn't the least bit interested in. We looked at the knick knacks & dishes. Again, I'm picturing people eating off of those dishes. The most random thing I saw was a man walking around the store with a t-shirt that said "I Love New York" that he was buying. It may not be random to you but all I could think about was who goes to the thrift store to buy that? If you love New York I would think you've been there & could've bought your own shirt. I mean how do you know you love NY if you've never been there? It just struck me as very strange. I know that  probably makes no sense to anyone but me. That will be my first & last trip to Goodwill to shop.

Then we went to Shoe Station. I was getting the flip flops I've been wanting. Yeh about that. I came home with no shoes. How is that even possible you ask? Well, I tried on the shoes in an 8 which is my regular size & the size of the other 2 pair of Corky flip flops I own. These were too short. Hmmm, strange but ok. They don't come in half sizes so I tried the 9. They looked exactly the same as the 8's. Too short. I tried on a different pair of 9's, same thing. I tried on a different pair of 9's in a different style but the same color, same thing. I tried on a 10. The length was ok but they were entirely too wide. The phrase "I think Dean made a deal with the devil or the universe or somebody" may have been uttered by me as I walked out of there with no shoes. I was in a funk the rest of the day. Combine no shoes with having to work & being tired & I was one grumpy girl.

Sunday we had company. Our friend Donna was in town with her boys visiting from Dallas. My friend Vicki & her family came too. It's been a couple of years since we've seen Donna. Dean BBQ'd & we all swam.

Me & the kids.

Lane (Vicki's little boy & our Godchild) & Brian (Donna's youngest).

Lane & Sean (Donna's oldest)

Lane enjoyed Logan's slide! Nobody was real interested in looking at the camera so I had to get action shots!

I did something yesterday that I've never done before. I made cupcakes!!! Yesterday was Donna's birthday & I thought the kids would enjoy them.  I used this cake mix.

It was really good. I added a couple of teaspoons of almond extract. The icing I bought for a back up. I was going to attempt to make real butter cream icing from scratch. I figured if I had a back up it would turn out good & I was right.

Aren't they pretty??

Iced? Not so much but they were good. I was going to attempt to use this contraption I have for cookie making to decorate them pretty but Dean told me I was being too ambitious & that I was doing good to make the cupcakes & the icing. I realized he was right. One step at a time. This is the recipe I used to make the icing. 

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1 stick of butter softened
• 1 teaspoon of clear vanilla (my vanilla wasn't clear & I didn't realize until I was in the middle of making it so I just went with it & it was fine.
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of milk - I added a little more to make it a little easier to mix.

Mix shortening & butter with an electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides & bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk & beat at medium speed until light & fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

Toodles!