New Cars, Memorial Day and Fruit Dip!

YAH for me...my hubby bought me a new car! I am in L.O.V.E. with it...

Such a smoooooth ride and I love the sunroof!! GO ME !

As you all know today is Memorial Day...
A day to remember the brave men and women who fight/fought
so we can continue to live here in our free country!
My father-in-law was a veteran of WWII and he loved to tell
the grandchildren his stories about the war...almost as much as they
loved listening to them. He was a wonderful man, and we miss him so much!

Now for today's recipe....no its not a sugar free one but I guess you could make it sugar free?

Anyway...its yummy and perfect for those summer time desserts

FRUIT DIP

Ingredients
1 block cream cheese (8 oz.), softened
1 jar marshmallow creme (or fluff)
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (optional)


Directions
In a medium bowl, add all ingredients.
Using a handheld mixer, mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Chill for at least an hour.

Sugar Coated......

I really hate going to the doctor! Yes, I know I am a nurse...but none the less...still hate it! You go there feeling okay and come home with a whole bunch of diagnoses...just doesn't seem right! I found out yesterday that I now have diabetes. They called it Pre-diabetes, but it is what it is! Not happy about it at all, but what can I do? So I begin a new journey and pray that I can lose some weight and get this under control. At first I was pissed...at myself...at the doctor...at life! But I have decided that I may have diabetes, but it doesn't have me. I will beat this! 24 hours ago, you would not have heard those words coming out of my mouth. BUT after watching Oprah's finale, I feel totally different! If you didn't see it, then you must go to her website and watch it. I would swear she was talking right to me....hmmmm maybe she was? I will continue to share some great recipes with you...some sugar free...some not....because I can !

Blue Ribbons and Flooding

When Jordan was in 4th or 5th grade, he was in 4H {at that time, you weren't cool unless you were in 4H}. Every year they held an agriculture fair and you could enter different things..be it an animal you raised, crops you grew or something you cooked or baked. Jordan loved this cake that his Granny makes and he decided to make it and enter it in the Ag Fair. Well lo and behold, he won a blue ribbon! He was so excited...and so were we! Our little boy, a chef....after that he was an avid watcher of Justin Wilson ( you have to be cajun to know who that is) and he learned to be a mighty good cook. This cake is called Fruit Cocktail Cake and its realllllly good! And its pretty simple to make...try it, you may just win a blue ribbon !

FRUIT COCKTAIL CAKE



1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups fruit cocktail (1 can)
1/3 cups brown sugar
1/2 cups chopped almonds or pecans
6 tablespoons butter
1 5-ounce can evaporated milk
3/4 cups sugar
1 16-ounce container cool whip or ice cream


Mix first 5 ingredients together with a mixer and spread evenly in a greased 9x13 pan.
Mix together brown sugar and nuts and sprinkle on top. Pat gently.
Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until done.
In saucepan, bring to boil butter, milk, and sugar.
Boil for 5 minutes.
Pour warm glaze over baked cake while still warm.

Serve with coolwhip or icecream.

And now the bad news...flooding...everywhere flooding! The mighty Mississippi has shown us who is boss...and she certainly is! People up and down the river either are flooded or anticipating flooding. Here in south La, they have opened spillways to lessen the rising of the river and the threat to the levees. Yesterday we took a ride along the river and to one of the spillways that was opened and I can assure you, it was an eye opener! Addie got some really good pictures of the water in the Mississippi and of the spillway emptying into Lake Pontchartrain. We don't think we will have any flooding in our area but have been told to be on guard and keep an eye on the news, because that could change. So we pray and keep our fingers crossed!
God is in control....and so is the Mississippi River!
{click on picture for full size}


The river in Gramercy...you see the line of trees? You can usually see the entire tree!

The Bonnet Carre' Spillway...opened at full capacity

The water on this side of the spillway, is overflow from the Mississippi River


Water seeping thru one of the few spillway gates that weren't opened



A huge ship on the Mississippi River near New Orleans...on a normal day
you can only see the very top of the ship, sometimes not at all...it looks like
this one was sitting on top the levee.

MOTHER'S DAY.......

Mother's Day...what a blessed day it was for us today. I love being a mother and I L.O.V.E being a YaYa (grandmother)! We had a wonderful day spent with family, that's how it should be right? As much as I love being honored for Mother's Day, I also think it should be an honor to our children...because they make us who we are, as much as we make them into who they are. Here is a picture of my children back in 1992. Joshua died just 16 months after this was taken.
He was 13, Addie was 9 months and Jordan was 8.I am so proud of my children...they have grown to be wonderful, loving adults.
Joshua would be 32, Jordan will be 27 and Addie will be 20.

And then there is that next generation....our sweet grandson, who is named after his uncle Joshua. He has blessed our lives in more ways than I can count. What a sweet baby he is.

And the circle of life goes on.....SUCH IS LIFE !

***************

On Children
Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

PEACHES AND WORLD NEWS

It's been a couple of weeks of major headline news hasn't it? Prayers continue for our southern neighbors in Mississippi and Alabama after several devastating tornadoes. We feel your pain and pray that you recover and rebuild quickly. Prayers for the lives lost. Then last night, the news of Usama Bin Laden..WOW...not quite sure what to make of that one! AND if someone is killed or dies, how the heck do you have DNA proof within a couple of hours...then dump the body at sea??? I think a lot of Americans just want some proof ya know? And I don't think this is anywhere near to being over with...I fear for our safety and the safety of our military that are still over "there". Lord, keep them safe and bring them all home soon!

Now onto today's tasty treat...who doesn't LOVE peaches? Hands???? Yeah, that's what I thought. This is so light and dreamy and perfect for those spring/summer afternoon desserts. This one comes from Taste of Home and is D.I.V.I.N.E! Enjoy dahlin's !

Ingredients

• 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) sliced peaches, undrained
• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) peach yogurt
• Additional drained diced peaches, if desired

Directions

• Drain peaches, reserving juice. Add enough water to juice to measure 1-1/4 cups. Cut peaches into 1-in. pieces; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the cake mix, peach juice mixture, oil and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 28-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
• In a bowl, combine the whipped topping and yogurt; fold in reserved peaches. Spread topping between layers and over top of cake.
• Garnish with additional diced peaches if desired. Store in refrigerator.
  
• Yield: 10-12 servings.