For my friends......

Debbie, this one is for you!

Most of us suffer bouts of craving for chocolate....many, like myself, on a daily basis. We all know the benefits of dark chocolate. It is all the rave. That is why I eat so many Junior Mints...because of the health benefits of dark chocolate.

But did you know that the BEST and healthiest chocolate is actually unsweetened cocoa powder? Like Hershey's makes for baking. It has even more health benefits than dark chocolate. Cornell University food scientists discovered that cocoa powder has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine, and up to three times the antioxidants found in green tea.

So in honor of Hershey's Cocoa and for all you chocolate lovers who want to have your cake and eat it too, here is my favorite quick and easy cake recipe that is delicious.

Cake:

One box Duncan Hines Swiss Cake Mix. Mix as per box instructions and add 1 tsp. cinnamon. It really changes the flavor and is delicious. Once cake cools, make the frosting:

Frosting:

1 Box 10x sugar

5 tablespoons Hershey's Cocoa Powder

1 stick softened butter (I use Parkay, but different butters will change the flavor)

4-5 tsp of milk (mix to your desired consistency)

1 tsp vanilla

Beat until smooth, frost cake, eat, enjoy and stay healthy.

Why I love summer.....

Could somebody please remind me why I love summer. I've always loved the feel of the sun on my face. I love getting outside and enjoying the fresh air. But this summer is stifling. The heat is oppressive and their is NO breeze anywhere. Not sure how much more of this I can take. I keep thinking it will cool down, but so far...not so much. Me and Diana went to Dollywood Saturday for the first time this year with Shelby and Caleb. We picked the hottest day of the year. Whoever said women don't sweat they perspire, never went to Dollywood in the middle of July. We just took them over for a couple of hours and by the time we left, let me tell you we were sweating. I was on the verge of a heat stroke and Diana had to drive because I thought I was going to pass out. Caleb was so hot he could barely walk and it was all we could do to drag ourselves from the tram to the car. I told Diana I'm renting one of those electronic wheel chairs next time. I'm getting too old to walk that much in the heat. Caleb said he was going to ride it with me if I did. For those of you wondering how Princess Shelby did in the heat, see for yourself......

She handled it very well. Of course she was in her stroller being pushed everywhere. She was dressed in a real cool shirt and shorts until she spilled milk all over her clothes. But she still survived her first Dollywood trip better than the rest of us did.

Next week, I'm taking Garret and Alexis to Splash Country. That is walking I can handle. By the time you get hot from walking, you are at a new water adventure you can hop into and cool off.

Be prepared...

Whenever we expect company, we prepare the house for their visit. We change the sheets and put out fresh bath linens for their use. We dust, mop, and clean the house from top to bottom lest a spec of dirt they should see. We go to the store and stock up on food, pop, coffee, dessert, etc. When we think we are ready for their visit, we make one last walk through the house to make sure everything is in order. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." Can you imagine the work that is going on in heaven as God prepares for us to come home?

Is your heart prepared to receive Him when He comes? Have you cleaned out the cobwebs and swept out the dirt and dust?

I challenge each of you as you go through this week. Watch your words, take note of your actions. If Jesus walked up to you today, what would you "sweep under the rug" in hopes that He would not see it.

Did you know.....

The internet is full of fun facts, trivia and totally useless information. Here are some of the things I have learned by surfing the net. DID YOU KNOW...... ...The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle. (What’s wrong with calling it a dot?) ...Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age. (I did not know that) ...Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants. (Never understood why you would invent Donald with a shirt and hat, but no pants) ...The cigarette lighter was invented before the match. (I find this very strange.) ...TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (Did you also know facetious is the only word in the US language to use all the vowels in order) ...Coca-Cola was originally green. (OOO, Yuck) ...If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (I wonder if this is why so many mother’s need a morning cup of coffee after yelling at the kids all morning trying to get them up and off to school.) ...Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury. (Then why don’t they just make Monopoly money spendable?) ...It is impossible to lick your elbow. (It’s human nature, you WILL try this now) ...Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. (If I take a zinc vitamin, will it make me smarter?) ...The tune for the "A-B-C" song is the same as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." (Hmm, I thought the ABC’s sounded familiar) ...The names of Popeye's four nephews are Pipeye, Peepeye, Pupeye, and Poopeye! (So glad I know this. I can rest easy now.)

The Basket

I am a basket-aholic. I love my baskets. Whenever I go to Walmart or Dollar Tree, I gravitate to the baskets. Not because I need one or am looking for anything particular, I just love baskets. When I go to yard sales, I immediately scour the goods to see if there are any baskets. When I first started collecting baskets, I would look at one and say "I like that basket, but what in the world would I ever do with it." Well, I soon discovered that every basket has its uses....and not always for decor purposes only. I started seeing in magazines where they would even sit baskets on the floor for decoration. So I started finding reasons for my baskets. Here are just a few I'd like to share with you in case you have a wonderful basket sitting around that you would like to make useful.

This first one is just for looks. My kitchen is done in French Country theme so I had to have a basket with french bread and grapes.

I love snuggling under fleece blankets and so do the grandbabies when we watch TV so I have a basket of "blankies" that sit at the end of the couch in the floor.

Allen's Cookbooks and my Dessert Recipe books.

My magazine basket. This slides in the center section of the coffee table to keep my magazines handy but not piled on the table.

This is my wash cloth basket in the guest bathroom.

My personal care basket on one of my bathroom shelves.

One of my yarn baskets in my craft room.

I love this basket. Allen did it as my Easter basket one year. I keep a liner in it and have it under the desk for a trash basket.

I'd love to hear how you use your baskets. I'm always open to ideas.

Excuse our mess....

Please excuse the mess over the next few days since I am experimenting with new blog backgrounds. I've tried so many this morning that they all are running together in my head. Do you ever try to do something when you are in a hurry and everything looks like the right one and after several experiments, nothing looks right? That's the morning I'm having. I've found several backgrounds I love, but can't get the text colors I want. I'm just going to leave it at this for now and come back when my brain has more time to contemplate. My blog background company I normally use says the background expires tomorrow and to visit their site for details, but when I try to go there it says the site does not exist. If you blog and know of a good blog template service, I'd appreciate your help.

Lifestyles...

I recently connected on Facebook with someone I was close to and have not seen for about 40 years. I went to her photos with excitement to see how she looked now compared to when we were children. I sat there and stared for a good 5 minutes. She had on her sleeveless t-shirt, biker leather jacket, doo rag on her head, tatoos on her arm, beer in one hand and cigarette in the other. My first thought was "Train up a child in the way he(she) should go, and when he(she) is old he will not depart from it.: - Proverbs 22:6 Then my second thought was "Judge not, that ye be not judged." - Matthew 7:1. I'm not condoning her lifestyle nor am I condemning. I'm simply saying that it is amazing to me how two people, so close, from similar backgrounds can turn out so differently. The choices we make in our lives make us. They are the cornerstone of who we are; the very essence of our being. Are you making the right choices? Are you living the life God wants you to live? When others look at you what do they see? It's not just our actions but the way we dress, the way we carry ourselves that let's others see into our lives. Make sure you are setting the example you want to set.