Sour Cream Spice Cake

Yum. I made this yesterday and am enjoying the fruits of my labor right now. It's a Betty Crocker recipe but I'll share it the way I did it. I omitted some non-essentials. Also, I halfed the recipe and baked it in a loaf pan because I only had a half cup of sour cream. Enjoy.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1,1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1,1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease 13x9x2 pan with shortening.
2. Beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

It's a Hard Knock Life

I use this title for my post because I've been listening to this lately. And when your hubby has had a long hard day on his feet, the items pictured above can make it not such a hard knock day. A wash cloth, towel, some liquid soap, foot creme, a candle, a bucket (not pictured) and a willing spirit (also not pictured) is all it takes to get out all the tension in his feet. Plus, chances are if he's been working hard on his feet all day, you'll enjoy the smell a lot better if you do this for him. See, everybody wins!

Librarian Perks

As I was talking to my brother-in-law about the perks of working at a clothing store, he kind of laughed at my feeble attempts at saying that free books and getting paid slightly above minimum wage to be surrounded by books, books, and more books could actually be justified as perks. Mainly because it's only a slight step up from what anybody using the library can take advantage of. Well, to add to my list of perks, I do not get charged with late fees, I can check out more than the 20 items allowed to "regular" patrons, and I can order more than 4 books at a time from other libraries in our system. What a life!


As it stands I have 47 items checked out which includes exercise dvds, a few episodes of the second season of The Office, board books for Zane, books on fig trees that my husband is studying, Anna Karenina, and these four beauties-

Also, I can suggest books for purchase and I'm in love with the Discover America State by State series from this publisher. Check it out.

Yogi Berra

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from a baseball and anecdotal legend.

"It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much."

"Slump? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hitting."

"A nickel isn't worth a dime today."

"Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded."

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it."

"I made a wrong mistake."

"I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."

"If the fans don't come out to the ball park, you can't stop them."

"Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel."

"The other teams could make trouble for us if they win."

Words to the wise...

Vacation

Vacation is definitely one of my favorite things. And when you feel relaxed and glad to be back to your life at the end of a vacation, it was a vacation well spent. Here are some visual highlights:


Zane waking us up at the crack of dawn so we don't miss the sunrise

Zane playing with rocks on the beach of the ocean, I mean Lake Superior

Zane sleeping in the tent while we enjoy the the sunset

Taking naps outside the cabin

Playing on the beach

Canoeing on Burntside Lake