Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Wordless Wednesday 12/29


This is my first Wordless Wednesday. Introducing Jake and Little Man.

Winter Friends Blog Hop 12/29



I can see the fun of blog hops...and I think I'm getting sucked in. Welcome new friends! I'm just starting my blogging journey, feel free to leave a comment, a question, a tip, some advice, what you had for lunch, your favorite color, anything!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Blogging Opportunities

Seeing as I'm a very new blogger, I've been scouring the interwebs for tips and advice on how tos and what fors. I've been picking the brains of any blogging that gets within my reach (so to speak). By the way, if you're brain is willing to be picked...do speak up! Anywho, one of the places I was directed to on the start of my review/giveaway journey is Business 2 Blogger.

Apparantly this is in the top 10 list of where to start looking for products to review, so I thought what the hey, give it a shot. They boast that they are 100% free, however there are two ways to sign up. One is a basic signup, fill in the form and off you go. The second is a preferred signup, where you do a little promoting by placing a banner or button on your blog or in a post and you get a little extra to your signup.

Since I need all the help I can get, I've decided to add a button to this post and signup. I'll be sure to keep you updated on what happens next.

Business 2 Blogger

Follow Me Back Tuesday

Photobucket

Thank you to Sweep Tight for being my first and only follower! I was thinking that I would like to have a few more. A few months ago, when I started entering giveaways on blogs, I started realizing that there are a lot of interesting blogs out there.

I have to admit, any blog that was in the least bit sarcastic or humorous drew me right away. I read many regularly now and I would love to follow more.

I'm joining my first blog hop in hopes of finding those blogging gems and would love to have some followers in return.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Cracker Toffee Recipe Review

I was going through the millions of emails I get and skimming through them when I stumbled upon a post about Cracker Toffee. My brain said that might be delicious and my stomach agreed so I clicked to get to the original post to see if it was a recipe within my skill ability.

To my delight, a very simple recipe indeed. In fact, you only need 4 things! Graham crackers, butter, brown sugar, and chocolate chips. Easy peasy! I had to get out to a doctor's appointment and pick up a few things at Wal-Mart, so I added graham crackers and chocolate chips to my list as I already had the butter and brown sugar.

Cracker Toffee

Graham crackers (I grabbed the honey kind on accident, but it still tasted delicious.)
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups (or less) chocolate chips (I just eyeballed this, I like chocolate so my eyes said more.)

Place crackers in a single layer in a lined 15-in. x -10-in. x 1-in. pan. In a saucepan, bring butter and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Spread over crackers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with chips. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until chips begin to melt; spread chocolate evenly over top. Chill for 15-20 minutes or until set; break into pieces. Store in the refrigerator.


I'll be honest, I tried some before I put it in the fridge to set. It was pretty good, but I do think it's even better after it sets up. Each piece was a little different, some had little bits of crunchy toffee, some very chewy, and my personal favorite was almost soft. I have no idea if there are supposed to be different textures like that or if I did something wrong along the way, but it's still pretty tasty.

My sister Dani was here and she tried some and had to keep herself from eating a bunch. I gave a piece to Richard and asked him later if he liked it. He said no, but he said it could have been because he was still really full from spaghetti.

I've also heard that using saltine crackers is delicious. Saltine Cracker Toffee I might try that next time. I'm a fan of salty and sweet together and then it would already be in smaller pieces.

Next time I try a recipe, I'll get my camera out and take pictures. If you'd like to look at the original blog and post it's at The Rusted Chain.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Reel Reviews

I recently received a good piece of advice. Review what you know. Well I know movies. We watch movies. A lot of movies. Our local video store knows us all by name and most of the employees can recognize our voices on the phone (this is also true at the game stores, but that's a whole other post). New movies come out on dvd on Tuesdays and we generally rent them that day. I'll watch most any movie, but it takes a lot to keep my interest. I'll post my honest reviews on the movies that I watch. Feel free to leave a comment if you agree/disagree.

This week Richard (the husband) and I watched The Other Guys released on dvd December 14, 2010. I remember seeing previews for this one and knew I wanted to see it. I like Mark Wahlberg, he's come a long way from Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. I do like Will Ferrell as well, though his movies are 50/50 for me. I either really like it or the humor misses me entirely.

Wahlberg and Ferrill both play paper pusher desk cops that are stuck in the shadows of superstar cops, played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Wahlberg is unhappy with his job, but Ferrill is perfectly happy to continue working on constuctrion permit violations and this leads to tension, albeit funny tension, between the two. They eventually come to somewhat of an agreement to chase after a bigger case.

The movie started off pretty funny, there were several one-liners that had Richard and I both laughing and it takes a lot for him to laugh. Further into the movie, however, the plot started getting muddled and I watched it a little confused and mostly bored. It seemed to jump from scene to scene with little connecting them and the comedy got dull and infrequent.

Billie Says = I'd watch it again if there was little else on. Michael Keaton was in it and showing his age.
Richard Says = Lame sauce.