Very Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting

So apparently I’ve been a bad blogger and although I’ve mentioned it several times, I’ve not posted the actual recipe for my Very Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting that tastes like vanilla ice cream. My bad.

To make it up to you, here’s the printable card I made for the holiday season to go in gift baskets. (If you can’t right click and down load it, let me know and I’ll email it to you.)

Or if you want the text option:

What you will need:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 4 to 5 cups of confectioner sugar
• 2 TBSP Vanilla or other flavor
• 2 to 3 TBSP milk or half and half
• Electric or stand mixer

What you will do:

1. Put softish butter in mixing bowl, mix at low or medium speed until it starts to lighten.
2. Add 1 cup sugar and 1 TBSP Vanilla. Mix (Medium is good here. If you put it on high before the sugar is incorporated, you’ll end up with a big mess on your hands.)
3. Add 1 cup sugar and 1 TBSP milk or half and half. Mix. (Medium is good here. See above note.)
4. Repeat Step 2.
5. Repeat Step 3.
6. Add remaining sugar until desired consistency is achieved. You want it to be spreadable or pipable. (Think of the consistency of frosting from a can. That’s the only part they get right.)

NOTES:

• This makes enough frosting for about 3 dozen cupcakes. Or two dozen cupcakes and a Frank.
• Substitute margarine for butter and any other milk for dairy free option
• Other flavors can be used instead of vanilla. Start with 1 TSP and add until desired flavor is achieved. I’ve successfully used almond, raspberry, cherry, strawberry, and coco powder. Be careful with citrus and mints as they might slightly change the consistency of your frosting.
• Don’t forget to add Love. It makes everything better.

There you have it. Be careful. It’s awesome. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Don’t blame me if people think you’re awesome for this one.

Fun fact, Pinterest, and a call for!

I’ve got little of excitement for you today. I’m totally zonked after 16 hours in the car yesterday. (Fun fact: Out of the last 75ish hours, I spent 30 of them in the car.)

Seeing that I’m having trouble forming sentences in my head let alone here, here are some pictures I found on Pinterest. They made me smile and may have even inspired me just a little. Sentences are still hard though so please enjoy.

From here.

From here.

From here.

From here.

From here.

A few other notes:

• I have openings for the Three Word Game. Let me know if you want words for a guest post for me. They’re fun!
• I still don’t have a viable option for June’s Challenge. Let’s hear the suggestions! (I’ve had a couple, but I’m not sure I can make them work.)
• These Pinterest pins give me an idea…stay tuned.

How’s your day going? Feel free to link pins you like and think I might like in the comments below.

Smores Treats; Kid tested and approved

Turns out Smores Treats are more than just Frank aproved! Our niece D indicates her approval.

Things that made me smile. Week 20, 2013

I’m back at it, listing out the things from the past week that made me smile. It’s important to remember the things that are good to help ease the sting of the bad. (If you ask me, and since you’re reading my blog, it’s almost like you did ask.)

What can I say? Some weeks are better than others and I’d like to have reminders of the good for when it’s not so good.  I re read that statement and it makes me feel like I’m implying that life isn’t good. It is. (Knockonwood!)  I just want to make sure I’m documenting the moments that shine for me.

In no particular order:

• vector masking
• ginger ale
• workforce challenge is done
• lovely visit with Momma, fairy g-d Mom, and Momma Maggie
• Elementary season finale
• sleep in the car
• laughs with inlaws
• Zyrtec
• sound but flexible plans
• colors

How was your week? What good things did you have going on?

Frank said…#33

This is part of the Frank said feature. You can see more here.

We’re headed to Chicago for the weekend and I’ll be updating as we go with all the special things Frank says.

***
Getting coffee at Stewarts

Frank: that’s just wrong!
Me: what is?
Frank: eggnog!
Me: some people like it for their coffee.
Frank: no that’s wrong, its almost June, eggnog is for Christmas!
Me: says who?
Frank: Frank says!

***
After sharing a cookie with him

Frank: want to know how you know you picked a good one to marry?
Me: how’s that?
Frank: she looks at you and asks you to help her eat a cookie

***

Almost to Chicago

Frank: polekatz!
Me: what?
Frank: it’s a gentlemen’s club. I’m a gentleman!
Me: riiiight
Frank: I am! I have a pipe somewhere. It blows bubbles.

Coffee Date

Hey hey! Hope you’re having a good day. It is Friday after all, doesn’t that mean it’s automatically better than yesterday? I’m certainly hoping so but I’m not convinced yet.

Because it’s Friday, I have my Kahlua flavored coffee, but coconut mocha almost won out. The day is young and I didn’t sleep so you never know what’s next. Regardless of the flavor, care to join me for a cup and a chat? If you’re not a coffee drinker, you can feel free to have whatever beverage you’d like.

How are you today? What’s new? What was the best part of your week so far?

Oh, you heard it through the grapevine that I’m enjoying running now? Not so much. What I said was, “Sure! The day I decide it’s ok if I don’t want to keep running? That’s the day it’s not miserable.”

The other morning I was sitting there thinking about something totally different and I heard Mehmere’s voice clear as day say to me, “You know, Court, it’s really kind of silly to keep doing something that makes you so not happy just to be better at it. You don’t have to be good at everything.”

So I thought about it and I decided that if running wasn’t making me happy at all, that I didn’t have to do it just to get better at it. Yes there’s the sense of accomplishment after the fact, but I can get that through things I enjoy more than running.

I had plans to get on the treadmill that night to stretch out my legs before yesterday’s race. Just a little bit if I had time. Of course that’s the run that after being allergy filled and sick for two weeks that wasn’t a fight to get done. Sure it was a challenge, but it wasn’t miserable for me.

I don’t know if it’s because it was just my day to run or if in giving myself permission I freed myself in a way, but it was nice.

Now that we’ve dispelled the nasty little rumor of me enjoying running, tell me what’s new with you.

Workforce Challenge Recap

Even though it’s been a rough few weeks physically (serious allergies, stomach flu and now the lower half of my body hates me from Whoremonal related reasons) I was signed up to run the Workforce Challenge with colleagues and run it I mostly did.

I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I was determined that I would do the very best I possibly could…even if today, that very best wasn’t very good.

The course isn’t easy. A good portion of it is up hill and there are a crap ton of people. (For today’s purpose crap ton will be over 7,000 finishers.) There’s a lot of bobbing and weaving, a lot of getting caught behind people who are catching a break (totally fine! Just sayin’) and it’s not a 5k. It’s 3.5 miles. Why? Who knows.

The race was fine though I walked when I had to, retied my shoes when it was needed and picked up the pace again. I even stopped once to take this photo.

Name that bar! With the name my friends and I knew it best by!

Don’t worry brother dear of mine. I sprinted the block across N. Lake. We all know you have to do that no matter what shoes you’re wearing!

Towards the end of the race, I needed to use some serious tricks to psych myself out at times. Each song that came on, I’d dedicate it to someone in my head.

• Float On (Modest Mouse) went to D-Rock because he truly believes I can do anything.
• My Name is Jonas (Weezer) and There’s No I in Team (Taking Back Sunday) went to my brother because he thinks I’m too good to ever give up.
• Pickin’ Wildflowers (Keith Anderson) went to NotSoSweetPea cause we shared some serious laughs and it was a great pick me up.
• Finally Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper) to BatGirl cause by gosh and by golly if we could dance the night away (sometimes til dawn) then I could finish that race running damn it.

As of right now, my feet are torn up, my legs don’t like me and my hip and heal are both crying. I’m debating another Advil.  But no matter how bad it hurts right now, I just wanted to do better than last year and I did. The pain won’t last, the fact that I did even just a little better than last year will.