Happy Friday!

Rainy days=Chocolate cake!

Again today it has been a rainy,cloudy day. One thing is for sure that when it's raining and we can't go outdoors, the kitchen is in full use! lol Today after lunch as part of Home Economics we made a chocolate cake from scratch to satisfy that terrible cocoa craving.. (:

Here is the recipe:

Lickity-Split Cocoa Cake Perfect when you need a homemade chocolate cake-in a hurry. (: 1 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup water 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; stir with spoon or wire whisk just until batter is smooth and ingredients are well blended. Pour into greased and floured 9-inch layer pan or 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350º for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan; frost as desired. 6 to 8 servings.

This is one that we have made for years.

It's easy,fast,and oh so good with a glass of cold milk!

As far as the icing goes,we just use your basic chocolate glaze recipe.We usually double it so that the cake stays nice and moist.

~Have a great day!~

A good day for a book..

Hello,We hope you all are having a great day!

It has been one of those chilly,rainy days here.

Perfect weather for staying in the warm,cozy house reading a good book! (:

We went to the library a few days ago and checked us out a few books.

I got three,but only one is interesting.. the other two were

ACT study guides ...oh the joy! lol

The book that I am leisurely reading is one of Beverly Lewis' entitled The Revelation.

I'm only on chapter eight but it seems like it's going to be good. I have

read a few of her books before and I really liked them.

Katie is reading Amelia's War by Ann Rinaldi.

I have read this one also. It is a really good book. Katie says that she is enjoying it.

So, what book(s) are you reading?

~Have a great day!~

Happy Monday!

~Have a great week!~

The "Big" chore day!

Hi! Hope you all are having a great Friday!

We just got finished with school for the week. (:

We clean everyday here,including vacuuming,dusting and mopping several times a week, but Fridays are our "big" chore days in which we change bed sheets,

vacuum carpets,polish furniture,scrub bathrooms,wash,dry,fold and put away all laundry,wipe everything off,clean appliances (microwave,refrigerator) and mop etc.. and oh yes,we give Harley her weekly spa treatments! (bathing) lol (; on Fridays!

Just so you know,that's all we will be doing this evening!

Or should I say I will be doing this evening ... I(Holly) actually like

doing chores..(more than Katie) I love spending the evening/night

cleaning and then waking up to a sparkly clean house! lol

We hope you all have a terrific weekend!

Hair straightening

Hi everyone! We hope you all have had a great week!

A few days ago Katie helped be straghten my hair with a straightener that we

bought recently. It worked really well. I have used straighteners in the past

but I found that this one has worked the best.

It's a Remmington Wet 2 Straight.

Thanks Katie for helping me!

It sure took awhile since my hair has gotten a lot longer and consist of several layers!

Just thought we'd share a product that we have tried and liked!

~Have a great Friday!~

The first winter weather of the season!

This morning we woke up to the first (and maybe last) snow of the season for us. It was just a slight dusting and it was just about all melted away by noon but it at least gave us a little taste of winter! Here are a few pictures...

I didn't notice that there was a sweet dove in the birdbath when I took this photo! (:

Our water fountain was all frozen!

~Have a great Wednesday!~

A Tag..

Hi everyone!

Hannah from A Girl's Life has tagged us.

The rule is that you have to tag at least two people! Have fun! ♥

Holly's answers are in purple.Katie's answers are in pink.

♥ 1. What is your favorite color? Purple. Pink. (:

2. What is your favorite place to shop? Target. Old Navy.

3. What is your favorite junk food? Anything chocolate! Sweets.

4. What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? Swim. Swim.

5. What is your favorite dog breed? Shih Tzu & Daschund. Shih Tzu & Daschund.

6. What is your favorite flower? Tulip.Snapdragon.

7. What is your favorite Hair style? Natural curly (;. Straight.

8. Favorite thing to wear around the house? T-shirts and shorts. Anything comfortable!

9. Favorite thing to do with your Family? Travel. Spend time together.

10. One of your Best friends? Katie Peeler. Holly Peeler. (:

11. What is your favorite Bible verse? Mathew 6:20. John 3:16.

12. What is your favorite shoes? Flats,Maryjane's. High heels.

♥

Now we have to tag 2 other people!

So..lets see...

We are going to tag Abigail and Meredith.

~Hope you all have a great rest of the weekend!!~

Winter-Time

Winter-Time by Robert Louis Stevenson. Late lies the wintry sun a-bed, A frosty, fiery sleepy-head; Blinks but an hour or two; and then, A blood-red orange, sets again. Before the stars have left the skies, At morning in the dark I rise; And shivering in my nakedness, By the cold candle, bathe and dress. Close by the jolly fire I sit To warm my frozen bones a bit; Or with a reindeer-sled, explore The colder countries round the door. When to go out, my nurse doth wrap Me in my comforter and cap; The cold wind burns my face, and blowsIts frosty pepper up my nose. Black are my steps on silver sod; Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; And tree and house, and hill and lake, Are frosted like a wedding cake.

A giveaway!

Hi everyone! We wanted to let you all know about a giveaway that our friend Emily is hosting in honor of her one year blogging anniversary. Emily is giving away these pretty earrings...

There are two ways you can enter for the giveaway: 1. You can comment on this post, and that will enter you in the drawing. 2. If you would like to have two entries in the giveaway then you can post about it on your blog, and make sure to comment on this post again so that she knows you did it. :) *This giveaway is open to only US residents. **Emily will be drawing a winner on January 30th and she will post about the winner on the next day!

Our sweet Harley..

We have been kidding Harley

latley that she and Mr. Higgins would make a cute couple! lol (;

Standing guard on the stairs (; Helping clean the kitchen... Watching over the cookies baking in the oven. ~Have a great week everyone!~

Luscious Hot Chocolate

Here is the hot chocolate recipe that I was talking about in the last post.

(We found it in a magazine)

Luscious Hot Chocolate.

12 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate chips.

8 cups. Milk.

1.Combine chocolate and milk in a heavy saucepan.

Place over medium heat until bubbles form,reduce

the heat slightly,and simmer until the chocolate melts,

whisking constantly.

2.Before serving,raise the heat until the chocolate just boils,still

whisking. Enjoy!

Starting to feel like winter!

Hi! Hope you all are having a great Saturday! We have spent most of the day at home. Relaxing and doing chores. I(Holly) noticed (when I was washing the car this A.M.) how cold it is getting! It's actually staring to feel like winter here in South Carolina! lol It's about time wouldn't you say? (:

I made a really yummy hot chocolate recipe yesterday. I'll try to post about it soon! Hope you all have a great rest of the weekend!

The Lemonade Award.

Hi,we hope that you all have had a great week so far!

Emily from Pratically Pink has given us this cute award. Thanks Emily!!

The Rule for the Lemonade award is to pass it along to 10 others who show attitude (the good kind) or gratitude. :)

~~~~~~~~~

We are going to give this award to;

Jessica from Jessica's Journal.

Melissa from What a Wonderful World.

Autumn from Butterfly Kisses.

The Three Sisters.

Abigail from Abigail Charlotte's Web.

Kate from Kate's Life.

Stacie from Peculiar Treasures.

Hannah from Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice.

Brooke From Overflowing Thoughts.

Meredith from Striving to Serve at Home.

You all are great friends! Enjoy your award's!

Thanks for the award Emily!

It is well with my soul!

Hello everyone! Hope you all are having a great week!

We wanted to share this wonderful hymn with you all today.

It is one of our favorites.

This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Horatio Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with another ship, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone." Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.

To think of the dreadful trials in which Spafford had been faced with and how through

those trials he demonstrated his strong faith in Christ,It is truly a statement to how we as Christian should live.

This song is truly a testament to the faith!

It Is Well With My Soul When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever my lot,

Thou hast taught me to say,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,Let this blest assurance control,That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,And hath shed His own blood for my soul. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!My sin, not in part but the whole,Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,Even so, it is well with my soul. ~Horatio Spafford

Have a wonderful week!

A review from an Editor.

Hi,We hope you all are having a great weekend! A few days ago Katie and I noticed a particular web address link kept showing up on our site meter,when we visited the site we found that one of our blog post had been 'highlighted' by an Editor. We found that pretty interesting.

Here is part of the the Editor's post,entitled "Sweet and Sour"..thankfully we fell under the sweet part.lol. Not to say that we totally agree with everything that the Editor said here,that's just natural you know! But, after all that's an Editor's job.

All and all we thought this review rewarding.

Here is a link to the website were this post was published.

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The first blog I'm highlighting is in the "sweet" category. I admit, I found the music that automatically plays on their site annoying and the graphic of falling snowflakes distracting, but then I saw that the authors were two teenage girls so I gave them a pass. The blog is written by two home-schooled sisters in South Carolina and one of their recent posts details a recent visit to an Old Order Mennonite community in southern Maryland. I found this post fascinating on many levels. They have some great photos, their observations are wise beyond their years, and I just, in general, find the Old Order Mennonites a fascinating group. They are much smaller in number and, therefore much less anthropologically studied than the Amish. And the fact that this community is in southern Maryland makes it all the more interesting to me - Old Order Mennonites infused with a bit of southern customs. I found the sisters' reference to a "Thanksgiving Day church service" intriguing and wish they would have given a bit more information. But all in all their blog post is an intriguing read.

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Just thought we'd share this with you all.

Have a great Sunday!

Welcome 2009!

Happy New Year Everyone!!