Sad, bad, not glad day.

My son's lost their devoted pet today. Their dog Lola was hit and killed by a car in the neighborhood. The guy really felt bad. Lola was a house dog who did not stray much past the yard but today was the exception. Just takes a split second for things to happen.
My other son received his ACT score today. Once again sad news. Much work to be done. He will try again December 10. I think he is going to take the SAT too. They say it test the student in a different manner. We will see which he does better on.
So, today is not a day of good news @ our house. I know it could be much worse. So much to be thankful for during this season of Thanksgiving.
I will say that the Fall here in the South is one of the most unbelievable that I have seen in a long time.

Pound Cake disaster

One of my specialties is "Mama's Pound Cake" by Paula Deen. I love to make these as gifts and people never fail to rave over the results.  Delicious!! Well, I've made 2 today. Each of which stuck to the pan. Go figure? We ate them anyway. Of course I did not give either as a gift. I will bake another and grease the pan heavier. Did I mention that someone soaked my stone bundt pan? Just like an iron skillet you never soak a stone pan. I learned the hard way.....a dozen eggs later.







Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

Based on 26 Reviews

Servings: 16-20 servings Episode: Paula to the Rescue
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients Add to grocery list

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
5   eggs
3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
3 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

With a mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Mix in vanilla. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Praying for the world

I just finished reading "Radical" by David Platt. He is the pastor of a church here in Birmingham, AL. Reading this was very moving and difficult. I am still mulling over some of the thoughts that were presented in the book and praying over how I feel about them.
At the end of the book he gives you a challenge. One of the points he challenges you on is praying for the world. Not just saying "I pray for the world" but to pray specifically. Fortunately there is a resource for this. It is called Operation World. You can sign up for a daily email and they will send you a prayer request for a specific region. It gives you facts about the region and what specific needs are. It is like a geography lesson leading to prayer.
Today? Afghanistan. Wow! It went right for the gut. So many of my son's friends are there in uniform serving our country and theirs. These are sweet men and women that I watched grow up to be such spectacular young people. I pray for Afghanistan and I pray for our troops. Especially those I know and hold dear to my heart. So, if you would like to join this effort you can access this information @ www.operationworld.org.. I truly feel that we are called to do so and that prayer is one of our greatest untapped resources.

I love to paint. My favorite paints and mediums are made by *Golden.

The Queen Bee?

My name is Traci. I am a wife, mother of 4, cosmetologist, artist and medical coder. The only thing constant in my life is change. Life is as diverse as my resume.... but I enjoy it. I love God, my family and friends more than life itself. I am never bored. Overwhelmed at times but never bored. I am new to this but have an interest as to how it will play out.