Cupcakes anyone?

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes
Bon Appetit, April 2008

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, divided
4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
12 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
Fresh raspberries (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered suga, and 3 teaspoons lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy and pale yellow. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in half of flour. Add buttermilk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour.

Drop 1 rounded tablespoonful batter into each muffin liner. Spoon 1 teaspoon raspberry jam over. Cover with remaining batter, dividing equally.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack. Meanwhile, whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel in small bowl. Spoon half of icing over 6 cupcakes. Whisk 1 tablespoon raspberry jam into remaining icing. Spoon over remaining cupcakes. Let stand until icing sets, about 30 minutes. Garnish with raspberries.

Quick Edit...

I almost forgot... It's also Superbowl Sunday! Shawn is off to a poker/game party and Gavin and I may go to the Vanslyke's for some tobaganning fun. I am a sucker for a good underdog story and the Cardinals are my team this time around. If it isn't the Buccaneers then the Cardinals are worth the cheering time.
Go Cardinals! Go!
So much for "Sunday we do nothing". Hmmmm maybe next weekend.

TGIF

Oh how I love a Friday night! There is absolutely nothing better than going for a drink with the work gang and then heading home for some snuggly clothes and a good movie. Not sure what the movie will be yet but I am loving my lulu pants!
This weekend is going to be a busy one... isn't it always? I really love how lucky we are to have so many friends and fun things to do but do I ever look forward to the weekend when we have nothing going on. Not so sure when that will be again!
Tomorrow, we will head out to take Gavin to music lessons. This is always a relaxing, and entertaining, time. We sip coffee and Gavin bangs on the drum and piano keys while Carol patiently coaxes him into compliance.
After music, we're heading to Rob's house for his annual "Hockey on the Hill" festivities. Everyone is drafted onto a hockey team and the kids run amuck, all the while, cold beer is a chillin'. Really, does it get any better than that?
And then... Shawn and Gavin are off to the Bulls game with the Hicks family! This is Gavin's first official game and he is so looking forward to it!
And me? Well, I really NEED to finish Breaking Dawn so I can live again without the pressure of finishing a book. I have absolutely loved this series but I do remember why I do not read series very often. I get too wrapped up in reading them all and I cannot read anything but that. It's far too much pressure for me.
So, I will finish the series and move on.
Sunday, we do nothing.

This little guy...

This little guy is super sweet these days! I just love how kind and warm he's been lately. He tells me he loves me for no reason at all. LOVE that! He tells me to have a great day when I drop him off in the mornings. He snuggles in with me in the big chair and I LOVE that!

Since the holidays he's been sleeping in. I love going in and getting him up and he's all snuggled under the covers. I quietly tell him it's time to get up and he snuggles in even deeper... I can so relate to that feeling.

He loves me the most when I play LEGO Batman with him. We rented it for him last weekend and I have to admit I love playing it with him too! I like that he chooses me to play. He chooses Shawn for everything else but not Batman!

This little guy is one funny little dude. I am so grateful that he's mine.

Hostess with the Mostess

Ode to Andrea... and Twilight!

Andrea, you really are quite something! I am so amazed at how great you are at hosting parties! Your Twilight theme was perfectly timed! I loved every minute!
The mushroom ravioli, the "blood" drinks, the movie, the music, the bookmarks and the trivia! Every bit of it was wonderfully planned! How could I forget the vampire teeth! So good for a laugh! This was so much fun but really, it didn't matter the theme. The company made all the difference! Thanks for going that extra bit to make our night so twilight-ish!

Pressure is on me! I will never live up to your party planning but I will attempt to create an evening that "Wii" will enjoy!

Think about it.

MySpace Celebrity and Katalyst present The Presidential Pledge

Which one are you?

Thanks for this Andrea!


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

I Love You More Than...

Have you seen this cute new site??? Just in time for Valentine's, express what you love about your honey!

http://iloveyoumorethanblank.blogspot.com/

There's a heart on there that says... "I love you more than vampire novels!" :)

Camping just got a whole lot sweeter!

This weekend was the Toronto RV Show. We finally got a chance to get up close with the Outback! This has been our favourite trailer for quite some time. We love the layout! Finally, we can get Gavin off the table and into a bed. It has a fantastic king bed for us and a great outdoor camp kitchen. We love it!
Sooooo... we bought one today! Yipeee! As much as we both love our little 19 footer, this is going to be great! We are so excited to have the extras that come with the Outback. We don't pick it up until Spring but I've got a lot of planning to keep me busy between now and then. Here's a sneak peek!

Operation Nice

Have you seen this blog before?
About Operation Nice:
Don't you love it when people go out of their way to be nice? Like when someone waits to hold the door for you. Or when a stranger waves you into a line a traffic. Or even when a coworker shoots you a friendly smile along with a "have a nice day." If everyone was a little bit nicer to the folks they encountered each day, perhaps the world would be a more pleasant place. Operation NICE was initiated to remind you that a little NICE goes a long way!
www.operationnice.com

Too good not to share...

Lisa... I'm passing this on because you shared it with me and I am grateful. Thank you.

Hmmmm.... I wonder.....

What do you think? Will it work? Can I dance away a few extra pounds and actually feel okay in a bathing suit by March??? A bikini on the cruise ship? Is it possible? I wonder. Tonight I danced for about a half hour and burned only 165 calories.

The way I see it... it can't hurt. It certainly beats sitting on my butt watching tv. Right?

Now, if I mix in a little trampoline, jump rope and roller blading on this...

Would the Outdoor Challenge help? I'm sure it could.

This is what it's come to. Jay Leno said that an average of 10 americans are hurt everyday playing Wii. He thinks it's sad that we've gotten to a point where we are injured pretending to play sports. Ha. Wait 'til he sees what I can do!

What was I waiting for????

How did I go this long and not know about "Twilight"? Seriously??? I just bought the book Saturday and I finished... sadly, on Sunday! I could barely put it down. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm not a real fantasy-ish girl... vampires are not really my thing. But let me tell you, I am always up for a good ole book that keeps you wanting to read until it's done! Love that! This book had me in the preface. Really! I am so intrigued by authors who create something that makes people this crazy for more! How do they do that?
I am anxiously awaiting the next book, "New Moon". Can I wait? I'm not sure.
And I really must see the movie now that I've read the book.

I so needed this. What a better way to end the holidays!

My Girls

So this is a quick little "shout out" to my girls.... Sue, Erin and Paula! I am so very thankful for our friendship. I love that you girls take charge, make decisions and never change! Thanks for keeping me in the loop, even when it seems that I am way out of it! Love you girls.