No-Bake Cookies

Hello all, I hope you had a great weekend! We were busy busy - just a few days left until our County Fair, & all the things that go with it! Michael & I spent most of the weekend baking. I am entering on my own for the very first time - foods & photography. Next year, I think I will skip the foods & just enter photography. Sooo much easier ... just pick out some photos in the category ... order prints ... mount onto poster board .. VOILA! Fair Entry. Unlike foods, which you have to bake, cook, decorate, or can. I ended up making 4 foods with Michael, & just 2 for me. Which is fine ... he is more important as he is the one in 4H. But maybe next year I'll take the Monday before off. Which is tomorrow. Which I didn't take off. 

Last year we were just getting home from Disney World. Talk about stress, lol! Michael & I baked cookies before we left & froze them. That is a good plan if you have no other choice, but if I'm going to be judged on a food item I really want it to be fresh. We'll see what next year brings. 

Anyway, I wanted to share a recipe that is PERFECT for summer - because you don't need to turn on the oven. I wish I could remember where I got this recipe but it was handwritten, so it was a loooong time ago LOL. I don't hand write anything anymore! So here ya go:

NO-BAKE COOKIES

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned oats (not instant)

Mix the sugar, butter, cocoa & milk in a medium saucepan. Boil for 1 minute. Add the peanut butter & vanilla. Mix quickly until peanut butter melts, then add the oatmeal & mix until blended. Drop spoonfuls onto tin foil, wax or parchment paper. Allow to set & cool completely. Makes 2 dozen 3 inch cookies. 

See? Not only perfect for summer because there is no stove heat, but also a perfect recipe for a young one to make, say for a 4h project? 

(BTW, if anyone can guide me as to how to make recipes printable, I would really appreciate it. I can't figure it out. I'll send you cookies! Well, virtual cookies .....)

We made a few other goodies that I will share with you soon, hopefully my computer will speed up by that time. I upgraded a couple of weeks ago & it's been SO slow. I'm so glad I'm paying MORE per month now, to have HALF the speed I had before. Doesn't the internet know I have things to do? They should have special speedy-as-lightning service JUST for busy moms!

Have a super week! 

My first bee

Well not the first one I've SEEN lol .... but this is my very first photo of a bee. I love that you can see the pollen!

I'm linking up to Tuesday Muse at A Rural Journal & Our World Tuesday. 

I hope you all have a great week! Mine has started out hot & sticky but it's going to (hopefully) cool down by tomorrow. We have baseball games all 5 nights this week. It's tough enough watching the games in this heat, I can't imagine actually playing {wimp}

SO much free time!

Ahahaaaa - had you there, didn't I? I don't have free time! In fact, I am totally stressing out, because our County Fair is in a little over a week, & the boys & I are all entering projects. I don't know why I thought it would be fun for ME to enter - all it is, is added stress. And my boys play baseball all 5 nights this week. So .... free time?? Uh-uh!

BUT somehow I did find time to make a card. You know why? Because I no longer have any "stuff". I realized that all my time was taken not by actually making the card, but by looking for all the "stuff" - the papers, the embellishments, the sentiments ..... that right there is a time sucker!

And here's something funny - this image is colored with Copic markers. I hardly ever used Copics even when I made a LOT of cards. In fact, I got rid of most of them. I have about 10 left. That's the funny part. It was actually easier for me with just the 10, because I wasn't stressing about which colors to use. I didn't have many choices! hahahaa

The papers are OLD. Basic Grey Infuse. One of my first paper packs. That is one thing I *didn't* get rid of - any of my Basic Grey pads. I will always love them :)

And .... I still have plenty of Stickles, lol. Funny though, I have about 12 bottles - many colors - but I always reach for the clear. Stardust is my favorite. 

I'm entering this card in a few challenges:

7 Kids College Fund - Anything Goes (alcohol markers optional)

Stamp & Create - Let's Get Wet (summer image)

Tilda's Town - Summer Fun

Lovely Hanglar Only (which I guess now includes Magnolia) - Flower Power

Thanks for visiting ~ hope you have a fun-filled week!

Happy 4th of July!

~ to all my friends ~

have a safe & happy 4th of July!

Tuesday Muse

I was out in our vegetable garden yesterday, & there were about 30 of these babies flitting around ...

What's weird is, they were all the same. I was looking around for different colors so I could get a beautiful array of photos. But it was like a family gathering. I sure hope the buffet was all the mosquitoes that were buzzing around!

Linking up to Tuesday Muse over at A Rural Journal & Our World Tuesday.