Adventures in baking Part 2

For one of our Bible study snacks, Christi and I decided that we were going to make peanut butter cups. In the Le Cordon Bleu cookbook that Rachel got me, they show you how to do amazing things with chocolate. One was with painting mini cupcake cups with chocolate. So that's what we did. We melted the milk chocolate, painted and had a blast doing it.

Painting...

First coat.

The peanut butter mixture.

Filling with peanut butter and smoothing them out.

Covering with milk chocolate.

I love that stuff.

The finished project.

Adventures in baking...

Chocolate Turtle Cups.



The pecans on the cake mixture.

The Ganache. Ganache is reeeealy yummy. : )

Covered.

Just out of the oven.
First I covered them with caramel sauce and pecans.
Then I did chocolate and caramel sauce.And then we ate them.

Christmas baking.

When I did the Christmas List , I said that I would try and get pictures of the stuff this year. I have to admit that when I got the pictures on the computer to choose and then edit them, I wasn't very happy with them. Several didn't turn out, and others I just didn't get a chance to get good pictures of because of being sick right after Christmas. Anyway, here are the ones I managed to salvage. They're not the best, I'm sorry. Unfortuantly, I don't have pictures of the Jumbo Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies, or the Mint Truffles. :(


The Peanut Butter Cookies



The Peanut Blossoms.




The Puppy Chow



Pecan Balls


White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies



Minty Witches

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Fudge

(Lame pictures alert.)

Chocolate Fudge




Mint FudgeOatmeal Krispies


Chocolate Covered Pretzels


Iced Oatmeal Cookies
(This wasn't on the list. Daniel had been asking me to make them for awhile now, so Mom decided that we'd make them, too. )


Anyway, there they are. I'm sorry I didn't have better photos. Except for the last one of the Iced Oatmeal Cookies. I'm secretly and horrible proud of that picture. I hope that didn't sure terrible and vain. I just really like it. I do not, in any way, think I take wonderful pictures. That one just happened to turn out. You can think I'm horrible now. I deserve it.

I'm feeling much better about my day now.

Chemistry is done.

History is done.

The Ganache is made and in the refrigerator where it will stay overnight.

I finished Part 1 of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. (Now I have Part 2 to finish before the day is out...)

I'm showered and dressed in something other than p.j,'s.

I've eaten lunch.

And I'm about to go pig out on the last of the brownies from last Friday. Yes. Last FRIDAY. They've been in the fridge, don't worry. See, Mom, Sam, and Stephen don't like them. Jed... I don't know if he tried them. Anyway, so Christi and I have been slowly eating them over the last week. I tell you now, it will be a LONG time before I make brownies again... Ugh. At least the ice cream helps.

Don't judge me.

I need to go read and stuff myself more.

Bethan. <3

Stressing out about things...

Is it ok if I vent on here? I tried my journal, but I didn't get it all out of me. Plus, it's hard to be stressed about everything while trying to classify the five different reactions as decomposition, formation, complete combustion, or none of the above. Which isn't actually hard at all. I'm just too busy thinking about other things to pay attention to Chemistry.

So, now, while I chomp down on Skittles, I'll tell you the main reasons of why I am stressed. *Chomp* *Chomp* 1: I have a house to clean. *Chomp* 2. I have to get the rest of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea finished by the end of today. 3. I have over half of it left. 4. I have a Chemistry Study Guide. 5. I have to make lunch and dinner. 6. I need to get a shower,and get changed out of my p.j.'s. 6. It's 10:17 and I still haven't gotten out of my p.j.'s. *Chomp* 7. I need to read History. 8. I need to make the Ganache for the Chocolate Turtle Cups that I'm making tomorrow. 9. Dani is coming over at around 4, so I need to be ready to have a blast with her. and 10. I just found out that time with the girls from OK just went from 7 days to 5. Possibly 4. Well, really, I just was told "less that a week. Like 5 days or so..". SO. The original plan was from Friday to Sunday. The 19th to the 28th. Then it was the 20th to the 28th. Then it was the 22nd to the 29th, and now I'm hearing things like, "The 22nd to the 26th". In which I tell you, will not happen. It won't. Why? Because two of the FOUR days spend together will be driving. And that is ridiculous. I'm sorry. I can't do that. Two days is NOT enough. So, I'm not rooting for the 23rd to the 29th. Does that work? Can't it work? Please? Also, Christi pointed out, that her and I will be SWAMPED with the play and if we have to do something like the 25th to the 30th, we'll be doing 4 performances that weekend. Mom will be hearing from Mrs. Mueller tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully can convince her to do the 23rd to the 29th. I'm praying so hard this will all work out. I'm trying not to be stressed. I really am. I'm really stressed. And now I'm to the point where I'm going to start sobbing from so much to do if I don't build myself back up again. So I'll go do my Chemistry. And then my History. And then make the Ganache for the dessert tomorrow. Then I'll make lunch for my brothers. And then I'll clean. And then I'll read. And then If I don't get it all done, it'll have to be ok, and I'll just have to do extra next week. I've packed too much into today and I need to try and get as much done as I can.

I can read all day tomorrow, I guess. And then Saturday. Even if it means having to do my test for Language Arts on Sunday, I'll get it done. And I really hope that doesn't happen. I need the weekends. I'm so tired...

Thank you for being there, my besties. I love you so very much.

Lizzie-Beth. <3

P.S. If you even THINK about asking me where the pictures for the Christmas List are, I'll shoot you dead.

P.P.S. I got them edited and ready on Tuesday. I'll try and post them soon. I'm sorry.

Late evening ramblings...

I tried to convince myself about 200,000,000 times to go to bed and not stay up and write, but since it's been before Christmas since I've posted, I thought I should probably say something on here... Now if I can figure out what... I should have skipped that milkshake. I was tired earlier...

Last night we watched The Secret Life of Bees. I liked it. I thought it was really good. It had a few spots, but overall, I really enjoyed it. By spots I mean, like strange, odd. Anyway, there was this part when the sister dies. I almost started sobbing. I did *start* to tear up and would have started sobbing if I'd let myself. It was really sad. When Lilly wakes up after that night, I remembered waking up after the day Amy died. It's one of those mornings when the day before something awful has happened. You sob and pray half of the night that it could just be un-done, but then the next morning, you wake up and you have those few seconds of peace. And then the world comes crashing back in and you can hardly bear opening your eyes because they're so swollen from the previous night of sobbing. I remember the night after Amy died. When I would lay awake begging God to bring her back and take me away. So she could be the Mama to her baby. I ached. I was never mad at God for taking her away. Because I know that He has a reason for taking her away. And more and more every day I see a little bit of why He did. Even if my heart wants to break from it all. I miss her. And with her being gone for two years and four months this past Sunday, it does get easier, as upset as that makes me. Because Christ brought peace to my heart about it. Every day I wish that she could be Gray's Mama, but never, ever do I wish her back here on this evil, horrible earth. So instead of my wishing her to be here, I wish myself to be there. Do I sound morbid and horrible for thinking that? I hope you don't think so. What could be better than longing for Heaven? To be at peace for ever and ever and in the presence of our Creator is wonderful. I feel so very privileged to be saved by His grace. To know that I'll be with Him forever and with my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. How could anyone want something different? He is so incredibly good. That part in the movie just reminded me of the pain. Of how much I miss her. I miss her laugh. Her smile. And being sick a few weeks ago with the stomach flu made me think of her. Of how for so long- every day she felt like that. Just aching and she was so good. When she was home from the hospital she was so amazing. Even though she was hurting so very badly, she would still play blocks with her baby. She would still sing him the song she wrote for him while he would snuggle and fall asleep in her lap or next to her, underneath of her teddy bear blanket. I miss my sister. Every time I write a status on Facebook about how I'm going to do something with my sisters, I stop myself. And I almost always try to write their names. Because Amy wasn't with us. So I can't bring myself to tell my friends that my sisters and I hung out all evening playing games and talking. Because we weren't. It was just Emma, Christi, and I. I miss her.

I think I shall go to bed a cry for awhile.

6:00 will come quickly and I'll kick myself for not going to bed. Instead I stayed up and put you through some of the pain that I am feeling at the moment.

I'm sorry, Kay.

I love you.
Lizzie-Beth <3