How about a Friday fill in....sounds fun!

1. Halloween decorations are some of the things I'm most looking forward to in October.

2. Sometimes I take a bubble bath with my granddaughter.

3. I never thought I would have the time to take care of my grandchildren while their mama works, but now that I am not working....I get to and that's why there is a saying, "never say never"!

4. When I'm down, I like to go shopping.

5. Home is where you'll find me most often.

6. A rainy day is good for baking cookies and making soup.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching The Dog Whisperer (the bulldog sits in front of the tv, intently watching the entire time), tomorrow my plans include not sure yet, but hope to go fishing and Sunday, I want to definitely take the boat out and go fishing!

And if I don't get to go fishing I might do this.....

Time for a recipe! Carrot Cake with cream cheese/mascarpone frosting

Ok...this has been a terrible week....and I have been ranting a little this week, just to let off some steam.
But forget all that...it is time for a recipe!
This is absolutely, without a doubt, indisputably the very best Carrot Cake and it has an incredible cream cheese/mascarpone frosting.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese/Mascarpone Frosting

2 c. all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 c. finely grated carrots
1 10 oz. can crushed pineapple (undrained)
1 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts or macadamia would be good also)

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir in the sugar, then the oil, slightly beat the eggs and add to mixture. Stir in carrots, then the pineapple, then the nuts. Stir each item until mixed, but do not over beat. This is an easy cake to mix by hand...it actually turns out better.
Place in two greased and floured cake pans and bake at 350* for 35 to 40 minutes until just done, do not overbake.
Remove cake from pans and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese/Marscapone Frosting
2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter
1 8-oz. contained of marscapone cheese, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter and cheeses together until fluffy. Add vanilla and slowly add powdered sugar. Beat until creamy and fluffy. This recipe makes alot of frosting, so don't skimp between the layers.

ENJOY!

Oh, and for the record....I really do plan on posting recipes other than desserts...it's just that desserts really do rock my boat.

The Top 10 reasons that Menopause rocks!

Warning......it you are a man and just got to my page you may just want to keep on movin'...

I have decided that going thru an early menopause does have it's benefits. Of course getting thru it took a lot of time (like 5 years for me) and I never thought I would stop sweating.

And sure there were some other symptoms.....but sheez, they didn't bother me...

But now that it is done...wooo hooooo!!

Here are my top 10 reasons Menopause is awesome....

10. Duh, no more periods, aunt flo paying a visit, on the rag, having the curse...etc.

9. Second duh....no pregnancy worries

8. No more having to hide walking to the bathroom with a tampon in your hand.

7. No long worry about pulling my wallet out of my purse with a tampon tail attached.

6. No more Midol, Aleve or painkillers that may ease the pain of my uterus falling out.

5. No more planning vacations or special events around the "period".

4. No more cautiously getting out of bed in the morning and running to the bathroom with the legs tightly squeezed.

3. No more secret codes written on the family calendar.

2. I can go swimming whenever I want.

AND THE NUMBER 1 REASON IS......(DRUM ROLL...)

I CAN WEAR WHITE.....WHITE PANTS, WHITE DRESSES, WHITE UNDERWEAR...YIPPEE!

Blahhhhhh Tuesday - RANT ALERT

Today I woke up feeling just kinda blahhhhh. Nothing physical, I feel great...but more emotionally. I just feel blahhhh, just so I can get this all off my chest this is what I feel blah about:
. Financial crisis woes...is it gonna get better or worse?
. I have been unemployed exactly 6 months, should I look for a job or just continue to ride it out?
. In the six months I have been off of work, I haven't accomplished much...the spare room is still a mess, I still haven't finished painting the guest room....what about the painting, quilting, art classes I was gonna take?
. I have a friend who has a terminal illness and I wish she didn't....she lived a healthy life and is smart, intelligent and doesn't deserve this fate.
. I have another friend who husband has been for a month or so, only to find out in the last couple of days that it is a terminal illness and he is quickly turning for the worse....they just gave him last rites.....she is way to young to be a widow...they just raised their children to adulthood have two beautiful grandchildren and now this.
. I wish my daughter would find her niche in life and be truly happy with a partner who adores her.
. I hate this week in September...24 years ago I received the phone call that my father had a massive heart attack and died on the way to the hospital (he was only 48 and had just had dinner with us the night before). And my mom's birthday is this week, she died in 2000 from the dreaded disease....CANCER.....I HATE CANCER...IT SUCKS AND RUINS EVERYONE'S LIFE.
Ok....I'm feeling better now that I have all of that off my chest. I have a great life, I have a wonderful husband who loves me, children that I raised to be independent, responsible adults, everyone in my family is healthy. I have two grandchildren that are absolutely perfect in everyway and I am lucky now to spend alot of time with them. We are not losing our home like so many others are.
Thank you for letting me get all of that out.
Now I am gonna grab my camera and go take some pictures...peace out~~

All together now... (to the tune of "I left my heart in San Francisco".......

I left my ass in Reno.........
Was it fun? Not really....I really didn't have any business spending money, since I am UNEMPLOYED!! But we stayed in a beautiful room (which was free, courtesy of the hotel)....but there was a reason they wanted us back and paid for our room....it was to get some of their money back that we won a few months ago....and they did. Darn it...

But I have some EXCITING NEWS.....I won my very first blog award!! WOO HOO!!!
This came from my friend over at The Hunter's Wife. Ok, so with it comes questions and answers....here we go ~~
1. Where is your cell phone? On the charger
2. Where is your significant other? at work (somebody has to pay our gambling debt)
3. Your hair color? dishwater blonde (as my mother used to say)
4. Your mother? sadly I lost her in 2000 due to breast cancer
5. Your father? double sadly, I lost him in 1984 due to a heart attack (age 48)
6. Your favorite thing? I love my computer and camera
7. Your dream last night? I don't think I had one
8. Your dream/goal? To be able to stay home and take care of my grandkids
9. The room you’re in? Living room
10. Your hobby? Starting many projects and finishing very few
11. Your fear? Of being poor and living in a van down by the river
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Retired and living comfortably
13. Where were you last night? Just got home after a 5 hour drive
14. What you’re not? Organized
15. One of your wish-list items? New flooring for my entire house
16. Where you grew up? Lake County, California
17. The last thing you did? Cleaned my kitchen
18. What are you wearing? T-shirt and capris
19. Your TV? Big
20. Your pet? Lola, Bodey, Kitters and foster child...Adonis
21. Your computer? HP
22. Your mood? Happy, but can change to depressed if I think about Reno
23. Missing someone? Cassie....very much
24. Your car? Ford Explorer
25. Something you’re not wearing? Sweats
26. Favorite store? Target....they have everything, even groceries!
27. Your summer? Not long enough
28. Love someone? My hubby, my girls and my grandkids...mucho
29. Your favorite color? Yellow
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today..Allie is here, she always cracks me up
31. Last time you cried? Hmmmm....this is silly but I shed a few tears a couple of weeks ago when Ellen showed her wedding pictures on her show...a wedding gets me everytime.

I’m suppose to tag 7 others....here we go....
Davis-Lucas blogspot
The Real Working Women
Ask Grandma J
Evil Chef Mom
Twisted Fence Post
Your Impact Matters
The Southern Family

(if I had computer sense I would link these to their sites...but I don't know how...sorry)

Thank you Hunter's Wife for the award...and the questions...it was fun!!