plethora of pictures

 

237 to be exact.  Downloading from the card to my computer.  Maybe I should have deleted a few first?

Oh dear, there are videos too.  Yes, it’s “my” camera, but… [delete] [delete]  Now there are only 116 in this collection of the Popper cooking an omelet, Luci, and the birthday festivities.

I’ll save the others for other posts… For now I’ll share more birthday pictures!

Life has been just a bit TOO crazy for me.  New normal, but yikes.  I’m just not organized enough to get it ALL done ALL the time.  Sooooo, this historic 18th birthday of our firstborn rather snuck up on me.

I called a friend on Saturday to ask what to do to make it special??  {{!Help!}}  I’d already done my shopping for the week… twice.  And Tim and all the kids were along for Saturday’s chiropractor appointment.  {no more shopping}  But that was fun because we also met up with my parents at Dr. Haan’s and decided to go to lunch at Hickory Park, a wonderful and fun restaurant that is usually incredibly busy.  But the Iowa-Iowa State football game was in process… in Ames.  So we had no wait, and the waitresses kept us informed of the score.  And we were gone before the game was over and the traffic turned crazy.  {Triple overtime, by the way, with the ISU Cyclones victorious – Yes!!}  ANyWay, back to the birthday theme:  Hickory Park sings and gives free ice cream to the birthday person  :D  Happy Day!

Since my friend had given me the best doable idea, the Cowgirl and I set off for the local stores after we got home from Ames.  That would be a small outlet mall {with a kitchen store!} and Dollar General.  And the grocery store  : )  We were in pursuit of eighteen gifts for our birthday girl!  We knew she wanted a tart pan ~ Thankfully the kitchen store had a nice one in stock.  Then it was off to DG for the cheap silly stuff  ;-)

 

I had also asked Kate what she wanted to eat for her birthday dinner??  She wanted to make cheesecake.  And chimichangas.

Monday morning she decided she couldn’t make cheesecake …because it should have been made on Sunday.  Plan B:  honey cake that she enjoyed last year in Prague.  Hmmm, reading the recipe we learned that it was supposed to sit for six hours after icing it.  (It was now early afternoon, and even the expected late supper would be pushing it.)  Soooo, what do you want??  Something new and different?  {yes}  While she continued to work on her research paper for English, I searched allrecipes.com and found an interesting chocolate cake ~ “extreme chocolate cake.”  (I knew she wanted something chocolate, and cream cheese added would be good.  But those recipes all started with a boxed cake mix…)  Then I remembered her favorite site called Smitten Kitchen.  Aha.  Then I saw “chocolate peanut butter cake” in the list.  And I knew.  If possible, this was what I must make for Kate.

Intense chocolate cake.  Peanut butter frosting {with cream cheese in it!} and a chocolate peanut butter glaze.

  

  

  

 

I also decided to check allrecipes for a recipe for the chimichangas.  I’ve been making them as taught by a friend for many, many years.  But I was curious what someone else would describe as the ‘right way.’  : )  And I found a winner.  Chicken Chimichangas with Sour Cream Sauce.

         

 

I’m sure you’re curious about the pile of eighteen gifts too, aren’t you??

            

Some of her favorite food-like products, gum, tic tacs, Reese’s peanut butter cups (in the jar), notepaper, pens, stapler, mirror, mug, clear band-aids, mug, candle, toothbrush, and -of course- the tart pan.  :D