I Know, You're Drooling

It's beginning to be fall again...even though my thermometer outside still says 101 degrees. **sigh** I LOVE fall! The crisp weather (eventually), the smell of cinnamon (no surprises, there), spices and apple and the cool evenings that just make me LOVE the outdoors. I decided to attempt my first batch of toffee this year. I don't know what it is about the butter, but it really does matter what butter you use in making it work. Two years ago I did it right. I haven't since then. I thought FOR SURE I had it this time, but alas, I didn't. It didn't turn out as crispy as I intended it. More, as my mom calls it, "Almond Roca-ish." Don't get me wrong - it's really good (that's why I gave it all away so I wasn't tempted to eat it), but it just wasn't....perfect. You understand.

Here is a decadent picture of the toffee sitting on my tile countertop (away from the mess that came from making Bryan's birthday dinner last night). I do not like waking up in the morning with a sink full of dishes, but I had to this morning. Not only did I make Shrimp Jambalaya, but I MADE bread, turned it into Cheesy Bread, AND made this toffee all in the same evening. **whew** So dishes were NOT going to be done last night.

THEN comes the October/Halloween candy. Nasty. I was cruising WalMart yesterday and we came across these gummy spiders. The boys HAD to have them. It's a whole bulk bag of them. They come in all SORTS of colors. No, but what was WORSE? There were bigger than life size gummy cockroaches, millipedes and body parts there as well. I just about hurled. It sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it now. So I gave in and let them get the spiders. They were much less gut-wrenching as those smooshy other things. **shiver**

Ok no matter what I do, I can't rotate this baby. So this will have to do. I watched my friend's two boys today and we all made sugar cookies with leaf sprinkles. This was my creation, but the boys had fun decorating theirs as well. Joshua, Ian, and Ethan rolled the dough and put it on the cookie sheet. Austin, however, decided that his dough was so much better in his mouth. And not only that, but he would look at me every time he took a quick bite and then roll it - just to see if I was watching. Then he tried to put the rest on the cookie sheet - only to snag more as it sat there. Sick. I don't know what it is about watching that, but it didn't make me want a cookie. So I told him - "you eat your dough ball and we'll make the rest of the cookies." What happened next? He jammed the whole thing in his mouth and ate it. Child after my own heart.