There is always controversy when movies are adaptations of beloved books or plays. Films such as The Hobbit, which use outside source material to extend a revered original, are dissected as fans determine which moments, if any, should have remained untouched. But I felt nothing but delight with the changes made to Breaking Dawn Part 2. Be warned, I am heading into spoiler territory here so if you haven’t seen the film, quit reading.
A friend sent me this link (scroll to bottom of screen) of a video which contains the song played above. I fell in love with the music. I must have watched the video half a dozen times. The song expresses so completely the love you can feel for someone – a baby, a special needs child, a patient with Alzheimers – who might not always be able to show love back. The love is always there, though, and I thought the song and pictures captured that fact beautifully.
What moment touched your heart this week?
- Maggie AAR
I am always looking for something new to include in my Christmas baked gifts. I’ve been playing with this particular recipe for awhile. The initial recipe called for refrigerated Pillsbury sugar cookie dough. Disaster! The cookies did not turn out at all. This worked much better.
Colorful Candy Bar Cookies
3/4 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup finely chopped candy bars of your choice (Twix not recommended)
Colored (red or green) sugar
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat shortening, brown sugar, sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl of electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in egg. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into shortening mixture at low speed just until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup crushed candy. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately sprinkle each cookie with about 1/4 teaspoon colored sugar. Cool 2 minutes. Remove to rack to cool completely.
This is a recipe that has been tweaked from one I found at allrecipes.com and another I got through Taste of Home. Last year I posted my favorite quick recipes for Christmas treats which can be found here. The holiday pretzel rings and brownie mountain described on that page are still my favorite Christmas items from the kitchen.
- Maggie AAR
Our Canadian neighbors celebrated on October 8 but today is Thanksgiving in America. This year I am thankful for my precious family, friends and a mom who buys ham. I hate turkey. No, seriously, I hate the stuff. I am looking forward to pigging out on stuffing, broccoli cheese casserole and a myriad of other dishes. I know I am very fortunate for the food that will be sitting on the table and for the people that will be sitting around it. I don’t really have it easy but I definitely have it good. I am glad that a day is set aside every year to remind me to be grateful for that. (more…)
t’s easy to express yourself these days. We do it through the music we listen to, the clothes we wear, the tattoos we choose, our blogs and tweets and Facebook posts. And some ladies have added their nails as a fun way to advertise their feelings on a variety of subjects.
Normally, I’m a rock n’ roll gal. Or pop. Peppy country music is a favorite too. But I also love classical music. And when I am especially stressed, I love the sound of rain. I love the music of a quiet piano or guitar mixed with it. I love the sound of the ocean mixed with music as well. In other words I find water and quiet music very soothing.
The hardest part of any party menu for me is determining what drinks to serve. Finding a soda that pleases everyone is almost impossible so I often find myself purchasing many, many bottles (and spending a fortune as a result). Serving coffee would seem to be more cost effective but often guests won’t want coffee late in the evening. That’s part of why I love punch; it’s celebratory, decorative and most people enjoy it. (more…)
I have been smugly proud of the fact that I limit my TV viewing. I have certain shows I watch and when I am in the mood for a television fix, they are readily available on the DVR. However, the last few weeks my DVR has been a waste land. Many favorites have not yet started. Their summer substitutes have already ended. Enter Food Network. One evening while sitting on my sofa, clicking through literally a hundred channels looking for something to watch, I stumbled upon Cupcake Wars. On this show, cupcake bakeries compete for an opportunity to cater a high profile event and win $10,000.00 dollars. Let the yummy battle begin! (more…)
For those of you who don’t know, Gangnam Style by Psy is the Korean hit that is sweeping the globe. The dance is apparently the hottest thing going. So hot even Britney Spears wanted in on the action: (more…)
Long story short, I have kids and have spent many years going to children’s movies (and then watching the DVDs – repeatedly). These are not the kid movies my parents took me to. They are not just smarter and more clever – they have much better music. Or at least, they have music I like to listen to. My latest earworm has been The Travelling Song from the film Madagascar 2. Sung by the extremely talented Will.i.am it has haunted me for the past several days.
