~ Girls Gone Wild .....

.... that is the theme for my and Kelly's February self-portrait!

I have to tell you that when Kelly first came up with this theme

I thought

"easy peasy".

Hhhmmm.....not so!

I just couldn't figure out what the heck to do with this.

The winter doldrums seem to have frozen

any creative juices that I might have.

So the other day I just plopped my camera on the tripod

and let myself get silly.

Yup!

Girls Gone Wild!

Don't forget to head over to Kelly's

and see what she came up with!

~ Betty Crocker....

... I am NOT!!!

But I try.   And try.

I decided to "try" to make some cookies

while my husband was napping.

I thought "Heck, he likes cookies....

...I'll make cookies."

So, off to the kitchen I go.

Ah! Yes!

Cookie mix (not from scratch

but "à la Betty Crocker".....

....looks something like this....

"The Mix"

Next I'm thinking I should add some flavoring ...

...hhhhmmmmm....

maybe I'll make a few different batches

and just add some extract for flavor...

I pat myself on the back.

....looks something like this.....

"The Flavors"

I'll do a little vanilla....

a little almond....

a little peppermint....

a little orange....

and for sure a little Amaretto.

My ♥ for Amaretto is a whole other blog!!!!

Anyway, those are the flavors I chose for my cookies.

Yah!!!!

I get my cookie mix and my egg and my butter

(actually, I used margarine).

I get my ingredients in the mixing bowl and use my hands to mix it all up.

"Hey", I think out loud, "this isn't so bad."

I'm smiling and mixing.

And mixing.

And smiling.

And mixing.

What.The.Heck????

I've got a gooey mess going on....

....looks something like this....

"The Mess"

It's stickin' all over the place ....

I.Can't.Get.It.Off.My.Hands.

I'm tugging.

I'm pulling.

I'm waving my hands over the sink.

I'm adding flour and more flour.

I'm beginning to panic.

I plop the goo down on the counter figuring I'd roll it out.

Not.A.Good.Idea.

I don't own a rolling pin

so

I used a bottle of wine.

Cookie dough stuck to that vintage in no time.

Dang!

Now I've got a gooey bottle of wine in my gooey hands.

I scrape up the dough and plop it back in the bowl.

I stare at it

for what seems like forever.

I'm also staring at the bottle of wine.

I shake it off .... bits of cookie dough flying off me.

I mix the dough up some more ...

add more flour ...

and decide that I'm done.

Let's get this on a cookie sheet before my husband wakes up.

Now, be forewarned ....

if you have a quesy stomach I advise you to look away.

.....looks something like this.....

"The Cookies"

Well, they're not totally horrible ...

but they are so not what I was hoping for.

Anyway, my husband gets up from his nap and

finds his way to the kitchen ....

sniffing ....

proclaiming "I smell cookies!"

I had to remind him

that

I am NOT Betty Crocker ...

....looks something like this....

"Not Betty Crocker"

~THE END~

P.S.  I won't let this discourage me....

I will bake again!!!!

Frogs .....

.... they are all princes.  At least these are.   For many years I collected frogs.  Big frogs.  Little frogs.  Ugly frogs.   Cute frogs.  Funny frogs.  Glass frogs.  Frogs.   It wasn't my idea.   My husband started it with a notepad shaped like a frog.  This was 42 years ago.  Now, I must have over 150 frogs.  After awhile I simply got tired of them so I packed them up and they are sitting somewhere ... in the basement ... waiting for a tag sale.  There must be other people out there who collect them ... right?  Right?

These are the few that escaped the bubble wrap because they make me smile. 

Which one is your favorite?

Consider joining Kim Klassen's "Beyond Layers" where this lesson

was Storyboards.