Why I love Facebook

I love Facebook.  Yes, there are times that I get aggravated about what they are doing or how things are changing but for the most part I find it a great engine to rekindle friendships, keep in touch with family and share things in your life.  I have a high school friend that I have rekindled with on Facebook.  Well rekindled is a bit of an exaggeration.  We were really not that good of friends in high school.  I mean she knew who I was, and we exchanged hellos in the halls and I certainly knew who she was!  Dawn and I were not really friends.  We never hung out and in fact (she doesn't even know this) She was actually one of my "enemies".  You see there was this boy that I really liked and I had asked to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me and he turned me down.  Why?  Well because he was waiting with hopeful anticipation that Dawn would ask him.  That automatically turned her into the enemy.  She never did ask him, and as far as I know they never went out.  Now fast forward 20 years and add a social network and the spark of a friendship started.  We became friends on Facebook, as most people do when they are requested and you know who they are, but something else started also.  We began emailing back and forth to each other.  Sharing things going on in our lives.  We ere both going through some rough spots in our lives,and had a common denominator of being married to a not so nice person and shared in the struggles divorce brings to our kids.  We email, chat when we are both online and have become rather good friends.  We never saw each other or met for lunches or shopping trips, but none the less, I considered her a close friend.  We lived 2 hours away from each other so seeing each other was difficult but in spite of that our friendship grew.  We both moved on and are now at happy places in our lives.  She has remarried,and invited me to both her bachelorette party and wedding, which we could not go to either since I was out of town, but I thought about her on those special days and wished for her to be happy.  We finally got together a few weeks ago for a cookie exchange I was hosting at my house.  I was so glad she was able to come!  We had just then exchanged phone numbers,to keep in touch a little more and hopefully build on this foundation of friendship we have.  So you see I love Facebook for that reason alone.  it has brought another great woman into my life and has shown me you don't have to see the person in order to have a strong friendship.  I am very thankful for the friendship Dawn and I have and I hope that it continues to grow!

Dawn and I at the Cookie Exchange in November

At our cookie exchange she brought these wonderful "Bun" Candies.  The are absolutely out of this world and she gave me permission to share the recipe, so here it is.

Bun Candy 

One cup of powedered sugar for one oz of cream cheese

add flavoring of choice: maple, vanilla or peppermint

Roll the filling dough into a log and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Slice into disks.

For peppermint patties, dip in semi sweet melted chocolate

For "buns" place small amount of meltede chocolate onto pan, add disk on top and coat top with melted milk chocolate with peanuts. 

Keep refrigerated.  

Spread small amount of chocolate onto wax paper

Slice the cream filling mixture and place a slice on top of the chocolate

Place peanuts on top 

Top with enough Chocolate to cover.  These are so good!

Thanks for the recipe Dawn, and more importantly your friendship!!

Trip full of Memories.

We went to Disney this past weekend.  Well, for 4 days.  It was 4 glorious days that I get to spend with my youngest, Kendall, and its all about her and me.  I love this trip,almost more than any other trip I take all year.  This is an annual trip we have begun taking the past few years while Harry goes down for a trade show Kendall and I head to Disney and do...Absolutely whatever we want! 

All of y time there can be devoted to her and what she wants.  It is an incredible bonding time for us.  WE laugh, giggle, ride rides, shop, eat, and just are mother and daughter, with no one else around.  She holds my hand (willingly), she hugs me in public, we both go and can't wait to get characters autographs and we are just silly without the worry of anyone being around, or for her anyone seeing her act like an 11 year old who still likes her mom.

Its one of those trip where she can be herself and we can be goofy together.

WE both get to be kids again.

I want to remember every part of these times we have to save them in my memories.

This night we ended up getting off and getting right back in line 4 times for Thunder Mountain Railroad!!  She was so excited that we kept on doing it.  Sometimes it's good to stop and let the little things make us happy and just bask in it for a while.  Such a small thing but its all she talks about when she is asked about what she did and how the trip was.  Such a small thing to make her and me so happy!!  Such a great kid

I said No to the "kitchen Sink" sundae.  It was 8 scoops of ice cream and an entire can of whipped cream along with every topping this diner had but I did say yes to the 3 scooper!

I said yes to almost anything she asked for...What a great feeling!

She still likes to hang with mom and I am so happy she does, but I know the day will come and she would rather spend time with her friends than with me.  Thats why this trip is so special to me.

We even talked Harry into dressing like us for a night at Downtown Disney for dinner.  She was thrilled!!

I got to be a kid again for a few days too.  This place brings it out in everyone.

We had a blast!!

Stove Top Potpourri

I love the holidays for so many reasons...one of them is the smell.  You just can't beat the smells of Christmas.  Cookies, breads, cinnamon, spices.  all of them together make great fragrances.  I made this on top my stove today and had it going all day.  The house smelled wonderful!!  It's so easy and you don't have to think about it again.  thats another thing I love about this.

Heres what you'll need:

1 Orange
1 bag fresh cranberries
3-4 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup whole cloves.


Slice the orange, peel and all, throw that along with the other ingredients into a big stock pot and add water to about the half way point.  I did add more water late in the day to help keep it going.

It smells like christmas!!  Enjoy!

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