Mississippi Mud Cake

This is my go to dessert recipe for a potluck. It makes a large 15X10 cake, but I have also made cupcakes. This time I opted to cut it into squares and put it on muffin liners for easy grab and go access.

The recipe comes from Southern Living and can be found here. It is really easy to make even though it is from scratch. The cake is really rich so a small piece is enough to satisfy most chocolate lovers.

While I was searching for the recipe to link here, I found this recipe. Oh my, those apples look delicious!! I will be picking up some caramels tomorrow so I can make them this weekend.

Bartering

I mentioned on ThriftyHomemakers today that I would share my bartering experience. My neighbors' computer tore up last week, and I told them it was a bad power supply. I mentioned that I had just replaced one for my parents and could fix theirs if they wanted. I ordered the part, which arrived yesterday. It took just a few minutes to remove the old one and put in the new one.

They reimbursed me for the part and mentioned paying me something for my time. I said it only took a few minutes, but they insisted I get something for my time. The husband asked if I liked vegetables, and I said absolutely. His wife took me into their roadside store and gave me the vegetables you see above. They were happy to have a working computer, and I was happy with my fresh produce. I expect that this was cheaper for them than taking it to the professionals too.

Does anyone else have a bartering experience to share? I am thinking this would be very useful given the current economic situation.

An Award - What Fun!

Thank you to Rhonda of A Home with a Smile for this Kreativ Blogger Award. She has lots of great frugal living ideas. I always get inspired by her thrift store finds and wonderful decorations.

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. List 6 things about yourself

2. Pass this award on to other bloggers

Here goes:

1. I have bunches of quirks, which would most likely qualify me for an OCD diagnosis. I like things to be symmetrical or have some sort of pattern. I count dishes while I am washing them or clothes as they get put into the washer. I like things lined up in a particular way. I make lists of the lists I need to make. I am obsessive about planning and organizing things. I hate for my routines to be disrupted in any way.

2. I play the piano. I took lessons for six years and have been the pianist at my church for about 18 years. I cannot sing though. Everyone who finds out I play will ask me to sing, but I could not carry a tune in a bucket with a tight fitting lid.

3. I look much younger than I am, which is a blessing and a curse. This summer when I played at a funeral someone thought I was 14. (I am 33.) I get carded at Walmart when I buy spray paint and rubber cement. Hmm...come to think of it, it is just a blessing. I cannot think of a downside.

4. I suffered a pregnancy loss due to molar pregnancy. This information from Better Health is a good explanation: "Gestational trophoblastic disease is the term for a number of pregnancy conditions that involve the placental (afterbirth) tissue turning cancerous or cancer-like. This cancer occurs in one in every 1,200-1,500 pregnancies. The main symptoms are violent morning sickness or abnormal bleeding in pregnancy or after a curette for a miscarriage.The tumour is called a mole, and the pregnancy is known as a molar pregnancy." The link gives the full information. It is an British site so the spelling is a bit unusual. I also had the persistent molar pregnancy or regrowth, which means the tumor cells regrew after my initial surgery. That was also my one and only pregnancy.

5. I have over 30 pen pals living all over the world. I got my first pen pal when I was 15, and we still keep in touch. I love, love, love writing letters and getting mail. I am known at the post office as "that girl who gets all the mail". We have the biggest mailbox we could buy at Lowe's and some days it will not hold all of our mail.

6. I have traced on branch of my ancestors back to England in the 1100's. Genealogy is like a fun mystery to me. I love finding a new relative or learning something new about my family history.

Anybody still with me???? I hope so because I am passing the award on to a few of my favorite bloggers now!

Anne Marie at Did Someone Say Stamp

Megan at Megans Cooking

Raesha at My Love

Lera at the sky is pink

Shocking that I have posted two days in a row. I also have ideas for posts for the rest of this week. No promises, but I am hoping to be a more active blogger!

**Argh! I cannot figure out why everything runs together. Even if I press enter 100 times, no extra spaces show up in the final post. Anyone have an idea why?**

Take My Picture

I went to take the trash out Thursday and saw a squirrel in a tree in the yard. I think squirrels are cute so I ran back in to get my camera. This little squirrel moved to a tree closer to where I was standing. It then turned right toward me while I snapped its picture.

I think some animals like cameras, but this one might have been giving me the evil eye since I have neglected to fill the squirrel feeder. The pecan tree has plenty of tasty snacks, but they seem to enjoy the corn.

My Kids

I might have the world's perfect children. Here they are in the yard posing for a Halloween picture. They stood perfectly still without a single complaint while I took the picture yesterday. In fact they are still standing in the front yard.

Okay so everyone knows that I do not have any real children. I also do not have a fake baby as seen on this past week's Today show. (*I can think of better things to buy with $1,000.) I saw this outdoor decoration in a recent All You magazine and knew I had to have it in my front yard.

I was completely happy with how they turned out. They were fairly simple to make. I love putting out decorations for Halloween. These trick-or-treaters go perfectly with the fall hay display I put up last month. Now let's just hope they no one likes them too much and decides to take them home.