First and foremost, I hope you had a really nice Mothers Day. And this isn’t a shout-out to JUST moms. To all women, I genuinely hope that you’ve enjoyed your weekend.

Next, I need to throw out another yummy idea. I made those Andes Mint cookies (see May 9th entry) for a girls get-together at my house on Thursday – which was super fun, by the way. I love my friends. I ended up making another favorite treat too. And I am seriously committing to working out every day this week, by the way. Oh MY. Thank you to my cute friend Zipporah, who told me about this several months ago.

NUTELLA ROLLS

You need:
crescent rolls
Nutella (it’s a hazelnut spread; found near the peanut butter)
optional: banana
optional: powdered sugar

Don’t knock it ’til you try it.

Spread out a crescent roll triangle, drop a dallop of Nutella in the middle, add a slice of banana if that sounds good to you, and then wrap it up. Do this with as many as you want to make and place them on a baking sheet (again, big fan of the Pampered Chef stones). Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and put them in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes, or whenever they are golden and look baked.

On to other things …

FRIDAY

I taught a class locally on Friday and met some really neat women there. Say hi to Dina:

Cute page, eh? What a fun scrapbook style. And she’s a great photographer too. I saw some of the portraits she did for some friends that also attended. We did sort of an “All About Me” layout since most of these women really never, ever, ever get out from behind the camera and get themselves in the scrapbook.

The idea of the layout is to include just one current picture of yourself and also a large, blank block of cardstock for journaling. And then you fill that block with random tidbits about yourself, right now. Big stuff, little stuff, serious stuff, funny stuff, quirky stuff, heartfelt stuff. Whatever you want. You don’t have to write an autobiography. Just get some things about yourself in your scrapbook once in a while so your posterity will get to know you as more than just a person who put together scrapbooks.

Two of the gals that attended made their very first layout ever that night and I got to be a part of it. How cool is that? The reason it’s so cool to me is that there is potential that they will feel inspired to keep going, to get their pictures and their stories and their insights preserved. There is potential that they could unleash the artist inside of them, that their creative spirits will really come out and play and they’ll discover a whole side of them they never knew before. And there is potential that, because of their dedication to scrapbook, their kids, gradnchildren, etc. will someday have the honor and priviledge of looking through albums of wonderfully documented memories. THAT is so cool to me.

Addressing more of your questions …

CAMERA LENS

My favorite lens is the Canon 28 – 200. It’s so “all-purpose” to me, with a really nice amount of zoom for a not-too-big size.

PEPPERMINT FUDGE

Lisa noticed my “Chocolate” layout in the February issue of CK and was interested in the recipe for “the brownies with the white frosting”. That’s actually peppermint fudge and I’m delighted to share this with you. It’s sooo good.

[Fudge Layer]
3 tsp. butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 c. powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

[Peppermint Layer]
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/4 c. crushed peppermint candy (about 18 candies)

Line the bottom and sides of a square baking dish with foil. Grease foil with butter; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla. Spread into prepared pan. Chill for an hour until firm. For peppermint layer, beat cream cheese in a small mixing bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, milk and extract. Stir in peppermint candy. Spread evenly over chocolate layer. Chill for an hour or until firm. Using foil, lift fudge from pan. Gently peel off foil and cut into squares.

Okay, you’ve had plenty to read. Be sure to compliment 3 people today – sincere compliments. And if you’re feeling rather chirpy, maybe go out of your way to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know (especially if you see them on occasion). Random challenge, but there’s potential for you to really brighten someone’s day today. So why not?

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