Ok.. I'm not blogging to tell you tonight that my adaptor that I have BORROWED is NOT working.. sighhhhhhhhhhh the device says it's corrupt.. YUP.. totally 100% Corrupt!! and I'm still working off my OLD computer.... so I can't share with you the YUMMY pictures I took... I can't.. and I'm bummed... so instead I've been blog hopping.. LOVE IT!!! There are some really great women and blogs out there.... I skipped on over to this one... Heart of the Prairie.. I was reading that her and her son were playing this SUPERMAN game... so I peeked over to the site... OH MY HOTDOG ( thanks roxann) the game is FUN!! and HARD and I mean HARD!!! My top score was a 96 ... See what you can do and let me know!! SUPERMAN RETURNS!!

Also thank you all for your warm thoughts and prayers for Chris and his family.... and thanks for lifting my spirits too... I appreciate you all!!

Ok.. One more post for the day.. I know.. I don't blog for DAYS and then bam 3 in one.. Well.. let's just say the saga of things breaking only continues.. now my original computer is in the shop. It went in last Tuesday.. I was PROMISED a 3 day wait... well.. I counted on my fingers.. one.. two.. three.. ummm WAIT.. we're up to eight here.... I scramble home from work today only to hear a message from one of the techs that my computer is so bad ( it's a year OLD) that they have to reformat it and that I would have to download anything that was on there again...

I was so upset.. I'm thinking "God you have handed me so much sadness and loss of all these material things in my life.. I'm truly AGGRAVATED with you!!".... Why was HE doing this to ME.. what have I done to deserve all this... So I go in and I'm GRUMPY to say the least.. My friendly computer tech ( they call themselves geeks) was not at the desk like always.. I ONLY like working with him.. so when another guy came out.. it even set me off more .. So I ask.. "Do I need to buy a new computer? Cause if I do I'm NOT buying it here.. because you told me to use Panda Anti-Virus and I STILL got one.. what gives?" The guy was calm.. and was talking me down from my anger.... I'm not even sure if it was anger.. or just sheer disappointment in what God has dealt me these past few months.....

We were there for quite sometime... and then the fella behind the counter told us why Chris ( their counter geek was not there)... This is when I felt like my world was SMALL and I had NO room to complain about my broken "materialistic stuff"... Chris' two year old son had passed away this morning. A parents worst fear. I asked God to forgive me in all the little tantrums I had today about how my day didn't "fall" into place... or how it hasn't in the past two months... Imagine how these parent's life just shattered... I felt ashamed. Life is a gift.. every day is a gift and our children are seriously on loan to us. What ever you do today.. remember to hug and kiss your littles... and keep doing so!!

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On another note.. I have a PIF.. and one of my dear blogger friends that I just met has decided to jump in and play... Check out her blog.. it's new.. but really adorable... TYKE Momma If you head on over she might have room for you in HER PIF.

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Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

--Dr Suess

I took some of my nephews portraits the other day... so I thought I would share a few.. he's 18 and going to graduate this year and head off to college.. I can't believe it.. My SIL asked all of us to write him a letter for his year book.. I added this portion of the Dr. Suess book and told him while he was in college that we would support him on Love and Ramen Noodles. I tell you.. life just blinks by....

Well if you're anything like me.. you are probably Jealous that three women that WON the Amy Grant autobiography Mosaic:Pieces of my life so far... Well it wasn't til today when I hopped on over to read Susanne's blog that she linked that another Blogger was giving this book away... So I'm going to share it with you. Want a chance to win... Head on over to Laura Williams Blog. It's Absolutely adorable!!

I'm going to do a few seperate posts today.. so forgive me.. but READ them all.. O K!!

Here's the first..

This is a cook book give away.. YUM.. who doesn't love to cook... well.. Ok.. I know.. but who doesn't love looking a good cookbook!! Head on over to Molly Coddled to have a chance to win this fantastic cook book AND on top of that a one year subscription of a magazine of your choice from her list. So hurry and enter. You can only enter once.... if I don't win.. *grins* I hope you do!!!

One more post for today.. before I forget.. YIKES...



I decided to jump on the band wagon from a FELLOW NH Blogger.. if you love quilting.. you will ADORE her site.. she does an AWESOME job.. totally jealous here.. Ü Anyway... Her kids are adorable.. she's beautiful.. you just have to check out her Blog... Joanna....

Here are the rules to Paying it Forward!! ( I copied and pasted them)

It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. You all know I’m already a PIF type of person. (I really am!) So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! (I, TERRI, will try to have it done for Christmas) What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I was TAGGED by Jaydee to give 7 RANDOM facts about myself...I always sit here and try to think of things that I rarely realize I do... but things others might NOT do... sooooo here are a few random things about me...

*I have lived in my home for almost 7 years and I have not ONCE looked in the attic... there could be a million dollars in there and I would never know. Maybe that's why one of my crazy neighbors drives by my house when there is no need??? ( he lives at the end of the road on a corner....)

*My dream as a little girl was to get married, own a big farmhouse and have several kids. I wanted huge gardens, animals.. the works... well.. I got married, have two kids and live in a OLD house.. LOL LOL.. Yet.. in all of that I still had/have a passion to be a nurse.

*I don't drink out of plastic cups.. meaning ones from restaurants or peoples houses... it just grosses me out.. and what's even worse.. I CRINGE when mother's drink out of their kids sippy cups...

*I DESPISE messy Halloween Decorations... I don't like all the spider webs ( fake)... and all the stuff people throw in that.. I don't like those blow up decorations for the lawn either.. or the YELLOW DO NOT CROSS signs... to me it all looks disorganized and messy.. and I can't stand it... ( sorry hope I didn't offend anyone.. :( )... and what's worse.. is when people put their Christmas Decorations up AROUND their Halloween ones... By November1 all Halloween decorations should be back in storage.... sorry....

* umm I just bought 15 books from CBD last night.. for $45.00 lol lol lol

*I love all my friends but I tend to be the most creative of them all.. and they always come to me for gift Ideas and craft Ideas.. which I don't mind at all..

*I have been told I make the BEST homemade Macaroni and Cheese in the whole wide world... from the ages of3 up to 78 right now... and I don't have a recipe.. just a made up one.. BUT.. I'm willing to share one day with STEP BY STEP PHOTOS with you... so you can enjoy it as much as everyone else!!!

I have to chose 7 random people... hmmmm I'll let you know tomorrow who I chose.. BUT.. if you read this and WANT to do it.. PLEASE feel free... The only thing is you can't tag me back...!! Ü But if you do share 7 Random things.. PLEASE come back and tell me!!!!

I got this cute little tag at Susanne's blog.. if you have never read her blog... oh your missing out... she is so uplifting.. and always has great ideas.. and a GIVE AWAY right now..!! So go peek!! Well .. with this tag I'm encouraged to give thanks. I kind of giggled at first because if you anyone knows me.. the last two months have been horrid ... I think everything I have owned has either broken or gone wrong.. from a ceiling falling down.. to a microwave catching on fire..down to the car.. UGH.... But through it all.. I have to give thanks....

**I'm thankful that I have a ceiling that can fall down and thankful that we had the $ to repair it.

**I'm thankful that we have my car.. make that two cars... no matter what the day brings we always have transportation and for the most part $ for gas.

** I'm thankful that I have a truly wonderful friend who has lent me her digital camera after mine broke... she knows my desires of photography... my payback.. school pictures for her kids!

** I'm thankful for my husband... even though at times we don't see eye to eye on some things.. we always end up compromising... that's one of the little gifts of marriage. And I'm thankful that I have NEVER had to hold a full-time job.. he has always provided well..

** I'm thankful for two goofy kids who seem to always bring a smile to my day.

**I'm thankful that this time of year that I LIVE in New England and I can see the four seasons of change.

Well.. I'm TICKED.. no pun intended.. my cute little ticker at top to the count down to Christmas turned into a SPAM thing.. UGH!! WHY oh WHY did it do that??? If I had more energy I'd pull that thing off tonight.. but I don't.. so maybe.. just maybe tomorrow.. But for now.. Don't Click on the STUPID thing.. UGH!! Sorry...

Anyway.. on the way home from work today.. I decided to take some pictures.. I have to tell you.. today in NH was AWESOME weather.. it was bright.. and beautiful and ALL the colors just POPPED out at you.. and I HAD to share some with you... So sit back.. and enjoy for a few moments...

Well.. guess what I did??? I took just about all the apples that I bought a few weekends ago and canned them!! YUP.. Took me about three hours to do.. but that's one more thing I can SCRATCH off my list for Christmas Gifts... I have to design a tag for them and attach it to the jars ( because it takes TWO jars to make one pie)... I actually enjoy canning.. most of the time I do it with girlfriends.. but today I did it alone.. and I didn't mind it at all.. It's messy... and with canned apples it's sticky.. however I think they give the prettiest end result!! and the syrup is so sweet and yummy!!

" A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" Provers 25:11

Here are a couple of pictures of what the apples look like before the syrup goes in.. and the end product...

Here is the Recipe.. I hope you ENJOY your end product!!! *** NOTE I DID NOT add food coloring in my recipe.. I never have.. I think the color comes out beautiful all on it's own! This recipe is suppose to make 7 Quart Jars.. I doubled the recipe and it made about 12 Wide Mouth Quart Jars.

INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 drops yellow food coloring
6 pounds apples

DIRECTIONS
In a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and food coloring.
Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.
Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.
Fill jars with hot syrup, and gently remove air bubbles with a knife.
Put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes

Thanks all for the great comment on my JUSTAFLIPFLOPMOM post... however.. I can NOT take credit for the talent of that sign... Ü Earlier today I skipped on over to Jaydee's blog and she had one posted.. I "oohhhed and awweed" over it.. and tried it really quickly while I was in the middle of cleaning my home and baking! If you want to give it a shot on your blog or even Myspace.. here is the link ...

Ok.. so.. I wasn't baking as much as I was "crafting" my food today.. We have two parties to hit tomorrow.. and of course.. I can't go empty handed... NEVER.. I tell you... So wanna see a couple things I made?????

Believe it or not.. some "boxed" products CAN be your friend... I didn't buy this actually.. a friend of mine did and said that she could never get it to work for her... hmmm If you're not a baker or a candy "stick" maker.. than I can see where the "candy" stage could fool someone... But have no fear.. I got it to work...

Here they are.. all gussied up and ready to hit the party.. I wrapped them in clear cellophane wrap and put the cutesty little bows on them.. oh yeah.. those "cheap" popsicle sticks the box comes with.. I tossed those and cut up some dowels to use in their place... Now.......... hopefully all those little darlings that sink their teeth into them.. won't realize that the candy stuck to the wax paper on the bottom.. LOL LOL....shhhhhhhh don't tell....

But.. to make up for the extra paper that might get stuck in the little darlings teeth... I made these cute little brownies... they are SPOOKTACULAR looking.... and SUPER DE DUPER EASY to make...

Honestly.. I am not big into ghosts.. witches.. bats.. the works when it comes to this time of year.. but I had to make something different and I saw these... I just used boxed brownie mix ( boy I'm sounding more and more like Sandra Lee here.... snicker snicker) along with white frosting.. you guessed in.. in a store bought tub... and "glued" the marshmallows ( YUP store bought Jet Puffs) to the top of the brownie.. and then melted the rest of the frosting to liquid consistency and poured it over each marshmallow... with the little tiny bit of reserved frosting I mixed up some black and piped the eyes and mouth on.. it seriously took no less than an hour to make these!! I hope the kids will forgive me and enjoy these.. after the paper incident with the candy apple!!!!

Ok.. I love my state.. I really do!! However.. at this particular moment I'm going CRAZY with all of the "out of towners" "leaf Peeping".. ( Leaf peeping is when people from all over come to check out the beautiful scenery in most of New England)....

Now.. don't get me wrong.. my 35 years of living here I never really marveled at the fact that it was a neat thing that the leaves changed colors. In my youth I thought EVERY state went through fall like us... well in my adult years I realized that wasn't the case.

So if you decide to come to New England or even perhaps New Hampshire.. I want to give you a few rules to take note on... Ok.. clearing my throat.. please listen ....

1) Yes, NH is quite rural.. however we have speed limit signs posted just like every state.. so kindly look to your right as you are cruising down the road.. if you are over the age of 60 and the speed limit says 40.. please KINDLY do 40 and not 20.. the trees are going NO WHERE...

2) If you have this urge and PASSION to view the trees and scenery ( which I don't blame you) PLEASE PLEASE pull your car to the side of the road and STOP.... don't slow down and expect the 35 other natives behind you to NOT get angry. Please.. let's keep the roads safe!

3) Yes Maple Candy and Sugar are part of the NH and VT food groups.. deal with it. If the candy doesn't kill you the price might.. sorry...

4)Ok.. YES this is a covered bridge.. yes it's beautiful I will be the first one to admit it.. but by LIVING here, YES, I use this bridge for transportation purposes.. so when you stick your WHOLE family ( Aunts, Cousins, grandmothers, etc...) in the entry or exit of the bridge.. I understand your desire to capture that moment.. HOWEVER... don't stand there and give us dirty looks and throw your hands up in the air and YELL because we are trying to get to work.. I respect the picture appeal.. but please.. respect that I have to feed my family..

5)Last but not least.. PLEASE PLEASE do not get upset if I have no idea how to give you directions in where you're going.. TRUST me.. you don't want me to give you directions.. You just don't.. and YES.. while we're at it.. the MOOSE crossing signs are REAL!! My tax dollars are not spent on fake signs... at least I hope not!! Ü

Now with that being said.. I have a few pictures from my local park where I walk my pooch almost daily... it was kind of dreary yesterday.. so the pictures are not great... but I'll share anyway...

I have pictures to share.... but.......... I'm to tired and to lazy right now to size them up and post.... so maybe tomorrow... Oh and you might be wondering how this poor girl is taking pictures.. Let's just say I have the awesomest friend who lent me her camera... yup.. she's awesome.. and so trust worthy... However I came across this little "video" and I thought I would share it.. I love what these fellas come up with!!! Sooooooooooo for now.. food for thought.. Until I get some much needed rest..

Here are some pictures from our Apple picking experience... I went with my daughter and her boyfriend and I took along my friends daughter. ( she's the little one with the pumpkin).... The rest of the crew we met up there at Wellwoods. It was a beautiful warm sunny day so it was PRIME for photos... It's suppose to be beautiful today here but I haven't seen the sun come out yet and I was hoping to do school photo's ( I protest the expense of the photographers that come here). But while I'm waiting for mr. sun to come out I thought I would take a moment and update my Blog. I worked all week.. more than I normally do so I was to tired to post. Hopefully today or tomorrow I'm off to go get some covered bridge pictures in Meriden, Plainfield and Cornish! Can't wait to share!!

Oh my.. it's been a few days since I was able to post on my blog! We had a BAD hail storm here on Thursday that lasted about 30 minutes but decided to kill my modem for my computer AND my bedroom FLAT SCREENED TV!! GRRRR.... Let's chalk that up to the list of things that I have lost or had broken in September.

Anyway.. yesterday we went Apple Picking in Weathersfield Vermont! And boy do I have pictures.. tons and tons of pictures... and I might share those another day, however, when we normally go to this place the kids always want doughnuts that they make.. Vermont Apple Cider doughnuts. Well, apparently we were to late for them yesterday... They were still going to be open for hours but closed up shop for them.

Well, Me, being ME.. was not going to disappoint no kiddos.. So I decided that if THEY can make Doughnuts.. I could make doughnuts.. So I did!!

I made my VERY own Vermont Apple Cider doughnuts and it was EASY and it was FUN!!

This here is the actual dough... it's NOT sticky at all and from what the kids said.. it tasted pretty yummy!!

And here they are rolled out and cut..mmmmmmmmmmmm

And here is the final product.. I have to say.. the first ones were a bit flatter.. but with more heat they began to PUFF right out!! With company and my family.. I have to tell you.. there were NONE left!!! They look like the ones my gram use to make for us on Sunday mornings... mmmm.. If she were here.. she would tell me something "I did wrong".. but that was her way of saying.. "I'm proud you tried!!"... lol lol lol

Vermont Apple Cider Doughnuts

1 cup Apple cider

1 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Solid vegetable shortening

2 large Eggs

1/2 cup Buttermilk

3 1/2 cup All-purpose flour

2 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp.Baking soda

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Vegetable oil or shortening -for frying
1 cup cinnamon-sugar mixed
Boil apple cider in small saucepan until it is reduced to 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes; cool. Beat sugar with shortening until smooth. Add eggs and mix well, then add buttermilk and reduced cider. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in another bowl. Add to liquid ingredients; mix just enough to combine. Transfer dough to lightly floured board and pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2- to 3-inch doughnut cutter; reserve doughnut holes and reroll and cut scraps. Add enough oil or shortening to fill a deep pan 3 inches; heat to 375'F. Fry several doughnuts at a time, turning once or twice, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon. While still warm, shake a few at a time in a paper bag containing cinnamon sugar. Cool on a rack.