Make your own candy

     Ever try to make your own candy?  Well I just did and it is fabulous!  So here's how it's done.
2 cups granulated sugar              
1/2 teaspoon liquid food coloring
2/3 cups light corn syrup              
Powdered sugar (optional)
3/4 cup water
1 dram (1 teaspoon) LorAnn Gourmet Flavoring

In large saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup, and water.  Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

 

Bring mixture to a boil without stirring.  When syrup temperature reaches 260 degrees, add coloring.  DO NOT STIR IT IN.  Boiling action will incorporate color into syrup.  

Remove from heat at 300 degrees.  After boiling action ceases, add flavoring and stir.  Use caution when adding flavoring to avoid rising steam.

NOTE: I poured my flavoring into my spoon and set it down in to pot.  It still steamed quite a bit.

Pour syrup into lightely oiled candy molds or onto greased cookie sheet and score to mark squares.

I poured mine into this, stuck it in the fridge and when it hardend i broke it into pieces with my meat mallet!  Hey, you gotta use what you got sometimes.  Dust with powered sugar and store in an airtight container.

This kind is grape and it is soooo yummy!

I cannot take credit for this recipe, I got it from the pharmacy in the Shop N Save in Franklin, Pa.  It is by Lorann Gourmet and they sell her flavored oils there.  She has a website it's www.lorannoil.com.

If anyone decides to make this, let us know how it turns out and if you did anything different.

                                                       

Parents Be Aware

     Ok so I know I don't usually post on Fridays, but I felt this was important.  So last night I get a call from the school.  It was an automated message letting me know that a man was seen, at another school close by, trying to pick up children that weren't his.  This happened on 2 occasions.  He even called the children by name.  The schools called all parents in the surrounding areas so that everyone was aware of what was going on.  I was totally freaked out!  This morning before I put Logan on the bus I had a talk with him.  I asked him if he remembers all the times I have talked to him about strangers and he said yes.  I told him there was a man trying to pick up little kids that weren't his at another school.  Of coarse he had all kinds of questions which I answered as honestly as I could without terrifying him.  I explained to him the importance of never going with someone he doesn't know, no matter what they tell him.  I told him we needed to come up with password, something only him and Ang and I would know.  That way if someone came to pick him up, even someone he knows he is supposed to ask,"What's the password?" and if they don't know it he is not to go with them.  I told him if I ever send someone to get you they will know the password.  I stressed the importance of keeping it a secret and how it was like the Pirate Password on one of his favorite shows, and that he was the treasure. I also spoke with his bus driver this morning and she assured me she would never let him off the bus if I wasn't there.  She also know Ang and my Dad are allowed to get him too.  We had a safe word when I was little and I still remember it to this day.  My parents raised me to be street smart and it's came in handy a couple of times.  Someone even tried to grab Ang when she was little, thankfully she knew what to do too.
     I can't stress this enough, I hope all you parents out there do the same with your kids.
If anyone has any tips on how you keep your kids safe, please share them with us!  Us mama's and papa's gotta stick together!

A mouse in the house...

     I woke up this morning to the smell of coffee, my kids fighting over the Wii, and two cats all up on me wanting their morning scratch.  I come out, yell at the kids, stumble to the coffee pot and there is my note waiting for me like it is every morning.  Except this morning, there were two.  The first note was the usual, good morning baby, I love you, I'll miss you today, call you at lunch, have a good day.  The second one however read.... Guess What mouse in the house, don't know where it went....sorry.
     Um.....ok.....what do you mean don't know where it went?????
     FYI Angela.....don't leave me a note that will freak me out all day long.  Just don't tell me at all.  Do I want to hide it from me? Um... Yes!  Do I want you to lie to me about it? Um... Yes!
     Thought this was too funny, had to share it with you all.
                                                                                                                   ps. I love you baby!!!

As of 6:50 this evening....there is still a mouse in the house! AHHH I hate them little ********ers you just can't catch them.  Hopefully the mouse trap gets it. UGH!!!

Recipe of the week

7 Cup Salad
1 cup of each:
cooked diced potatoes
cooked diced ham or chicken
diced boiled eggs (3)
diced apples
diced cucumbers
mayo or miracle wip
1 small onion
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Parsley to garnish

Flea Market Sunday

      On Sunday we went  flea market shopping, there aren't many flea markets around here.  We found one in Greenville, Pa. called Lisa's.  It is an indoor flea market and boy do they have a lot of cool stuff.  Next time I go I will be taking a truck with me.  There were quite a few furniture pieces I would've loved to have but couldn't fit into my Explorer.  The place was very clean, and the staff very friendly.  A word of advice if you have little ones,  leave them at home if you can.  The place is pretty big and mine were bored and tired of walking around.  We will definitely be going back to Lisa's!

http://www.lisasindoorfleamarket.com/

Kristie's recipe for Homemade laundry soap

1 bar of fels naphtha soap- grated
1 1/2 cups of 20 mule team borax
1 1/2 cups of washing soda
5 gallon bucket

Bring 8 cups of water to boil. Add grated soap to the boiling water until dissolved. Add borax and washing soda. Stir until dissolved. Pour soap mixture into 5 gallon bucket and slowly add warm water until almost full. Stir until mixed. Stir again until the chunks are broken up. Usage: 1/2 cup per load


I haven't made this yet but I am definitely gonna give it a whirl!!  If anyone else has done this before, let us know what you thought.

A date night in Franklin

   Ang and I went out for a date Friday night.  It was nice.  We haven't been out on a date in a long time.  If your in the area, a great place to go is The Commons in Franklin, Pa. located on Liberty St. A warning, the parking is terrible, so we parked across the street at the hotel.  Apparently so did everyone else.  Every third Friday of the month they host a comedy night.  Dinner buffet is provided.  We had cubed steak, chicken, roasted potatoes, beans, salad, and rolls.  It was yummy.  Dinner was from 7 to 8, and desserts were available for $5.00.  Then from 8 to 9:30 there were two comedians to perform.  The first was Alex Stone he was pretty funny.  I enjoyed him.  The second was The Fryman, he was hilarious!  If you would like to go to one of these shows, make reservations, the place was packed.  Also the seating is family style, you are at a table with other people, we didn't know this, we were hoping to be alone at our table but it was still a good time.  Tickets are $20.00 each but if you work at Joy or UPMC you receive a $5.00 discount.  If you don't want to have dinner and just go for the show tickets are available for that too.  After dinner head down stairs, there is McGinnis's Irish Pub.  It's a cute little bar, and they have really good food at really good prices.  Here are the links.

http://www.thecommonsatfranklin.com

http://alexstonecomedy.com/

http://frymanentertainment.com/