Coconut Bread

We have this fabulous bread at our house.  It's another one of those 'old family recipes' that we just love.  Coconut bread.  I've always made it in a bundt pan - but it can also be made in regular loaf pans....it just looks so pretty when it comes out of the bundt pan!  I'm making some for Thanksgiving.  I think you should too!

COCONUT BREAD

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

1 c. vegetable or canola oil

2 tsp. coconut flavoring

3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. buttermilk

1 c. flaked coconut

1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

TOPPING

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

2 Tbs. butter

1 tsp. coconut flavoring

In a large mixing bowl beat the 4 eggs till frothy.  Add the sugar, oil and coconut flavoring and blend well.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix well, then slowly pour in the buttermilk and mix on slow speed until all ingredients are combined.  Fold in the coconut and nuts.  Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/4 hours.

Topping:  When you remove the cake from the oven, combine the first three topping ingredients together in a small saucepan and boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut oil.  Slowly drizzle over the entire cake - allowing it to soak in before drizzling more on it.  Allow to set in the pan for 4 hours before removing from pan.  (tip - if you let it sit much longer than that - it becomes difficult to remove it from the pan.)

It's fabulous!  If you try it - let me know what you think!  We love it at our house.

Photo Card

I've had a special 'Thank You' deal from Shutterfly for quite a while....$30 to spend on anything I want.  We've never had a fun photo Christmas card - so I thought this was the year to do it, you know, to show off the cute grand-daughter and all!  I love Shutterfly.  I've made calendars and photobooks.  I also had return address labels made to match the photo card.  Can't wait to get these in the mail and get them ready to send out.

They do a nice job - the quality is good - and their program is easy enough that even I can figure out how to use it!   So here's an early 'Merry Christmas'!

We're looking forward to Thanksgiving and having some of our family here.  We'll miss those that can't be here - but I promise I'll eat a piece of the apple pie for you!

Cheer All Around Christmas

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Halloween kisses.....

I made these for the kids at school who help me with a special project each week.  I never have to remind them - they are always on time and they perform their assignment quickly and correctly!  I hope they appreciate the chocolate and how cute it is!  I would have loved getting something like this as a kid.  They include some of my favorite things:  chocolate, cute printables and washi tape!

Happy Halloween!

Shame on you.....

I 'might' have listened to some Christmas music today.  And I may have actually purchased a new Christmas CD, to which my hubby said: "Don't we have enough Christmas music already?"  And yes - we do!  We have a lot.  But.  We don't have any by Lady Antebellum!  I've not listened to the whole thing yet - but what I've heard I really like.

And now you'll hear the 'rest of the story.'  I was picking up a few things in WalMart and as I walked past the music aisle, saw this.  Yes - it was an impulse buy.  In the cart it went.  I picked up my cereal (Cracklin' Oat Bran --- it's fabulous by the way --- and I had to elicit the help of a tall man to reach to the back of the top shelf to get the last box) and fruit and was able to score a place in the quick check-out line.  While I was swiping my card, the cashier put the bags in my cart.  That was nice, don't you think?  I did my quick look at the carousel to make sure a stray bag wasn't still there and headed out the door.  Once inside the car I started looking through the sacks to pull out the CD - I wanted to listen to it RIGHT NOW!  There was no CD.  So back into the store I went.  I headed to the check-out line I had been in and the cashier was gone.  Went to another checker and told her I was missing the CD - she went to check around the register area to see if it had been left.  When we weren't able to find anything she sent me to customer service.  I really do love WM customer service.  I told them what had happened and was told to go get another CD and they would make it right.

Fast forward an hour.  I'm home and unpacking the groceries.  Yes - it did take almost an hour - I get easily distracted.  And I realized that two more things that I needed tonight that had probably been in the same bag as the CD didn't make it home either.  We had dinner and back to the store I went.  (Good thing it's only .5 miles away!)  Back to customer service and the same person was there who had helped me earlier.  Turns out a bag with the last two items had been brought to customer service, but there was no CD in it.  Guess my cashier or the people behind me really wanted some new Christmas music too.  SHAME ON YOU!

Nonetheless - I plan to enjoy my Christmas music on the way to work tomorrow....and whoever you are that has the original CD that I purchased - I'm sure I'll enjoy mine much more than you will yours.  I would like to think that every time that CD is played you'll have a little twinge of guilt.

A favorite quote

“On those days when we're not ready to stop being offended, not ready to forgive, still determined to dish out the silent treatment, what we're actually saying is, "Thanks, but I don't want to become more like the Savior today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today." Perhaps those are the times when we need to pray the hardest, the times it becomes clear that a change in behavior is not enough--that we must have a change in nature.”
― Sheri L. Dew, Saying It Like It Is

I love Sheri Dew.  She is a powerful speaker and able to say succinctly what I muddle around in my heart and mind and am not able to find the words for.  I revisited this thought tonight and just wanted to share it with you.