Happy 35th Birthday Brandon!

February 15, 2011 - Happy 35th Birthday to my wonderful husband! It's hard to believe that we started dating at age 16 back in high school! It was pretty funny because my mom said "Oh bubba you are getting ready to have a big birthday.... you'll be the big 3-0!" We both laughed and said um no it's the big 3-5 this year! The look on her face was priceless! Then it wasn't even 15 minutes later and my dad comes upstairs and says "You've got a big birthday coming up... what will ya be 30?" We started laughing again and said um try 35! The look on his face was priceless! Guess time does fly when you're having fun!

So a restaurant here in Columbia called The Bleu is more of a fancy restaurant and wine bar. Two things that don't really go with us... fancy and wine. Well if you go on your actual birthday you get a filet dinner for free. I had won a $50 gift card and we waited until this day to go! We both ordered a filet (Brandon ordered an extra one 'cause he's a big boy!) and it was really good! We then ordered dessert which was funnel cake straws with whipped cream and berries and a Banana Creme Brulee and simply heaven! Our whole meal was really good and we would definitely go back again.

All in all I think he had a pretty good birthday..... we really don't do too much for holidays and birthdays but the rule is that you must get the other a card.... so I got him 2! We pretty much get what we want through out the year (within reason) so it seems silly to buy gifts for each other.... this way it's nice to get a card or two and celebrate with a nice dinner. Here's to the next 35 years! I love you Brandon Gene Spry! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well most of you probably know I am not a morning person until after I have had my shower. If you didn't then you know now! When I got out of the shower and walked into the kitchen I noticed my cell phone had been moved... strange. Then I opened my eyes a little more and this was waiting for me on the counter! I say that my husband isn't romantic in his older age but this morning he proved me wrong.... he's still got the touch! He drove into town and got my favorite (since I don't drink coffee) a Starbucks venti hot chocolate with 5 pumps of vanilla and a piece of pumpkin loaf and then a dozen roses and a card! Whoa! I was very surprised and after 19 years together (14 years of marriage this year) I still fall in love with him more each day! He is amazing!

So my real "planned" Valentine's Day gift was my new Carhart jacket. These things came out about 3 weeks ago and Tractor Supply in Kirksville, MO was the only place you could get one (believe me I called everywhere!) It is a limited edition Breast Cancer Pink and I love it! They only had 2 in the store (a medium and a large for me to try) and they were sold out again! We had so much fun driving around on Saturday with no real plan.... I enjoy days like that but those are few and far between! We traveled to Marcaline, MO because I wanted to see the Walt Disney Museum up there. Of course it was closed but I will make plans in April to go back!

I can't help but laugh every time I see these.... Have a great day and Happy Valentine's Day!

My "Alphabet" project....

 An "O" that I found at our property on a fence......

Well as you might have seen in stores lately there are "Alphabet Expressions" that you can purchase. These are random things around that create a letter and you put several together to spell "Welcome" or your last name or whatever you want. After looking at these and the expense of $7.95 per letter I thought it would be fun to create my own "alphabet" using random things here in Midway and around places I travel to! I have gotten a few letters started and it's so hard to drive anywhere without trying to notice and item being a "letter" of some sort.

This is an "I" that I found on a building in downtown Columbia, MO

This is a "C" or a "G" I found at a Doctors Park in Columbia, MO

I have a lot more but you can get the idea.... something that is fun and created by me! If you happen to see some crazy girl pulled over on the side of the road taking pictures....it's probably me! We are going to go to a few different "little towns" this weekend to see what I can find...... :)

Snow Pancakes.... yep really!

Well with all this snow that we got you have to be creative and figure out how in the world we are gonna get rid of it so I have made plenty of snow ice-cream and a good friend of mine, Tanya Alberty, forwarded me a reciepe for snow pancakes.... really? I have never heard of such until she posted it. I decided that I would give it a try so I gathered my ingredients and my snow and got started.... They turned out pretty good. My favorites are Grandma Ruby's recipe but outside of that I was surprised. If you dare to give it a try here's the receipe:

2 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 Tablespoon of sugar
2 eggs well beaten
1 1/2 cups of milk

In a large bowl sift the flour and add in the baking powder, salt and sugar.

In another bowl combine the eggs and milk then slowly add this mixture to the flour mixture above.

Stir well and set aside. The batter will be kind of thick. Next grease your griddle (or I used a cast iron skillet) until it gets good and hot. (When griddle or skillet is hot you can sprinkle a few cold water drops on it and the water will "dance' and disappear quickly). Now that your griddle / skillet is hot go outside and get  new fresh snow. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of snow into the batter mixture and mix well.

Pour snow pancake mixture on your griddle or in your skillet. The key is to turn your pancakes once so that they don't over cook or become leathery and tough. Watch for lots of little bubbles on the top of the pancake and flip over.

Enjoy your Snow Pancakes and a big glass of milk!



Baked Fudge....

This is one of my favorite little desserts! It is called baked fudge but it's more like a brownie and a chocolate cake wrapped into one yummy treat! The best part is the top is crusted over and the center is still dough-y however it's cooked because you bake it for almost 50 minutes! For those of you that would like to try this super easy treat.... here's the receipe!

2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 heaping Tablespoons of cocoa
2 Tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup of real butter (not margrine) melted
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees

First, beat the eggs until creamy then add the sugar until combined. Add cocoa, flour, butter and vanilla and mix well.

Place 4-6 ramekin dishes in another pan and add enough water to cover half of the ramekins. Add batter into the dishes but don't fill to the top. Once done place pan in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes. The tops of the baked fudge will be crusted over and the centers will be thick but not "done". If you are unsure you can leave them in the oven for 10 more minutes.

Cool just for 10-15 minutes in the pan from the oven. Serve with homemade whip cream or whatever whip cream you use and enjoy! Just a little slice of heaven.... :)

The Best Punch Ever

This is some really good punch! I have only tasted one other punch that would give this one a run for it's money but this one is much easier to make! My wonderful sister introuduced me to this and I have been hooked ever since! I have included the receipe below for those of you that want to give it a try! Enjoy!

2 1/2 cups of sugar
6 cups of water
2 small boxes of Strawberry Jello (3 ounce size)
46 ounces of pineapple juice
2/3 cup of lemon juice
4 cups of orange juice
2 - 2 liter bottles of Sprite

You will need a large pan to cook in. Boil sugar, water and jello. Stir in the pineapple, lemon juice, and orange juice. Divide mixture into 2 Gladware plastic containers (or whatever you have comparable) and put in the freezer. Once you are ready to have some punch take out of the freezer about 30 minutes ahead of time and pour 1 liter of Sprite over the 1 containers ingredients (if you want a full batch then use both 2 liters of Sprite). This is a slushy punch so don't let it thaw all the way and enjoy!

Don's Family Style Restaurant in Huntsville, MO

If you want a new place to eat that has country home cookin' then you need to take the short drive to Huntsville, MO and head to Don's Family Style Restaurant! Some good friends of ours, Josh & Roni Spicer, own this place and do an amazing job of serving up hospitality and good food! 

Their salad bar is always fresh and clean! You can order an all-you-can-eat buffet which is the salad bar, fried chicken and country fixin's, dessert bar and your drink for under $10! 

They always have the buffet but different days of the week they have other meats along with the Chicken (Friday nights is Chicken and Fish, Saturday nights is Chicken and Ribs, Sunday is Chicken, Ham and Turkey or Roast Beef) 

They also have a great selection of yummy desserts including soft serve ice-cream! 

We love coming up to eat at Don's almost every weekend to spend some time with our friends!

 We love the western/cowboy decor.... everyone is welcome here!

These are Roni's dad's cowboy boots that are in the front of the restaurant. Her dad, Dave, passed away almost 6 years ago from Multiple Myloma. He was such a fun guy so it's nice to see a part of him is always here!

Josh & Roni named this restaurant after Josh's grandpa, Donald Spicer who had his own restaurant several years ago. Don aka "Grandpa" works at the restaurant helping to welcome all that enter and find them some where to sit. 

Don & Josh Spicer

Don't want the buffet.... no problem! Here's a menu to order from

So make sure if you take the drive to Huntsville, MO and you stop by to have lunch or dinner make sure to tell them Michele Spry sent you! 

Owners Josh & Roni Spicer

Don's Family Style Buffet

315 Highway JJ

Huntsville, MO 65259

660-277-4466