Spoiled

Yes, I'm spoiled. I clean a house on a somewhat monthly basis. I get paid to do it. But, that's not all! I almost always walk away with other things as well.  Here's a typical cleaning day pictured.

You'll notice that the frappuccino bottle is empty.  Usually, depending on how generous I'm feeling, I save around half of it to share with Aaron.  Not yesterday.  I knew he had spent the morning at the coffee shop sipping coffee and eating cookies, so I had no mercy for sharing MY frappucino with him.  : )  Sometimes a chocolate bar is set out for me as well.  I was happy to see it was dark chocolate.  Aaron doesn't like dark chocolate all that much so I don't have to share very much of that either!  I had a square of it yesterday - delicious!  So, J. & M., thanks again for all the wonderful things you give me.  You guys are so awesome!  (and not just because you leave things out for me).

You remember my giveaway winning from my friend Kim's blog?  Well, I did really good at deciding what to get.  It was from CSN.com and they have pretty much anything in the entire world that you want to buy.  Just the sort of thing that overwhelms me and paralyzes my decision making skills.  But I decided I would not agonize over my purchase.  I would find one thing I liked in my giveaway price range and immediately buy it.  I found a yogurt maker!  I've never tried yogurt making at home before, but have always wanted to.  So I got one to help me make it.  Aaron commented that his mom never had a gadget to help her make yogurt and she made it all the time and it tasted just fine.  I told him that I'm the newer upgrade model of his mom, so I needed a gadget to help me.  (I don't really feel that way Kay, it just struck me as funny at the moment!)  Here is a picture of trial #1 batch.  It makes 7 of these small jars, or you can put it in larger jars of your own.  I tried out the small jars for fun this batch. 

We loved it!  I made it super thick and creamy with just a bit of sweetener and vanilla.  Yum!  Aaron loved it too and wants me to make more.  Now.  I still had $5 left of my gift certificate after buying my yogurt maker, so I searched for something under $5 with free shipping.  I was not going to pay $7 shipping for a $5 spatula or whatever.  So I found a notebook listed for $2.15 with free shipping, so I figured 'why not?' and bought two to use up my money.  When it was shipped to me, I realized it was a DOZEN notebooks for $2.15.  So now I'm set with notebooks for awhile.  : )

Other fun things I've done lately... going to the dentist!  I'm still going to the university dentistry school to get my old worn out fillings replaced.  It takes a long time, but it's free, so that's why I go.  I was so relaxed at my appointment on Thursday that I found myself dozing off three different times.  Not sure I've ever done that before.  I guess I was tired.  I told my student dentist that he did so well that he put me to sleep. 

And finally - my caramel pear scone recipe.  I made more of them, so I'm happily eating them for breakfast.

Combine:  2 c. flour, 1/3 c. brown sugar, 1 T. baking powder, 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. salt in a bowl.  Cut in 6 T. of butter until mixture is crumbly.  Stir in pears* (about 2-4 pears or 1 lb., peeled, chopped in small pieces - makes around 2 1/3 c. pears). 

Beat together one egg and 1/2 c. milk and add to flour mixture.  Mixture should form a soft, sticky ball.  Add 2-4 more T flour if too sticky or more milk if too dry. 

Roll or press dough into 11 inch circle about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into 8-12 wedges depending on how big you want the pieces.  Put on greased baking sheet, brush with a bit of milk and sprinkle on chopped nuts if you want (I use walnuts).  Bake 12-15 minutes at 425.  Cool. 

Frosting:  heat 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/4 c. butter in small saucepan over med. heat stirring until sugar is melted.  Bring to a boil and stir often.  Stir in 2 T. milk and return to a boil.  Remove from heat and add 1 c. powdered sugar and 1 t. vanilla.  Drizzle over the scones. 

*note about the pears - try to use pears that are not juicy ripe or it will make your dough super wet and sticky and hard to work with and adding lots of flour makes them less soft.  Pears that are just beginning to ripen and still slightly hard work best.