Score

This evening my grandpa called me and asked if my husband wanted this tool box he didn't want anymore. (one of those big ones on wheels, with all the drawers..probably 4 1/2 feet tall, if you know what I am talked about?)
Well he did want and he went over to their house to pick it up. I had a show I wanted to watch so I didn't go with him, but he came home with some goodies my grandma gave him to give to me. However, the first thing she gave me I need help with....what is it and what do I cook/bake in it?

It is some type of earth ware...I have one of those pizza stones and it is just like that, but I don't know what you are suppose to bake in it? Has anyone seen this before?
This is what it looks like with the lid on.

And of course with the lid off.

(Sorry about the nose in the picture....someone can't seem to get out of the frame hahaha)

I am a scrapbooker and this is one of those industrial paper cutters.

She also gave me a box full of pin jewelry!!!

On a side note: Something has gotten into some of my potted plants. What animal will climb into a potted planed and dig....do you see the dirt all over the porch?

This is Pathetic

Why is it that I take my dog for a walk and after 20 mins. he is dragging his feet, barely can put one paw in front of the other, patting like crazy, and hanging his head. I then have to drop him off at home in the kitchen because he looks so pitiful he immediately lays his belly down on an a/c vent with a big 'huff'. I then go back out and exercise for another 45 mins alone. When I come back, he is still on the a/c vent with all 4 legs sprawled out in 4 directions so that his belly is closer to the vent and is so tired that when I walk in the door he 1/2 opens only one eye and then closes it. Then, has been napping ever since.

You are a 2 year old in shape dog.
I am a 28 year old out of shape human.

I have since cleaned some of the house, cooked dinner, and cleaned up after wards. Also, went to the store and he is still napping. Oh, he got up to eat of course.


Can we say spoiled?????

I wuv him!!!!!

Skip-Bo

Anybody ever heard of the card game "Skip-bo"? My husband and I have probably played it 100 times this past week! Not sure why we pulled it out, but we have played it several times a day for the last week.

Last night we rented Taking Woodstock and Hot Tub Time Machine. Both were ok...glad I waited for the DVD though.

Today was a very lazy day, we went out for lunch, went grocery shopping, made jello poke cake, and played skip-bo. Talk to you tomorrow....good night!

Life is Good Award

I received the Life is Good Award today. The only thing I have to do is pass it on:

1. Julianne-"From the Beginning"
2. Katie-"Harrington House"
3. Rachel "A Little Pink in a World of Camo"
4. "A Blue Eyes Boy Meets a Brown Eyed Girl"
5. "Sweet Melissa"

"Because I Am an Elbert and That's What We Do"

I grew up hearing my grandma talk about cinnamon rolls. I really cannot tell you how many times she talked about cinnamon rolls or brought them up in conversation. Millions and millions of times....I probably have enough pictures to fill a box of me baking cinnamon rolls with her at the farm. When she was a little girl her mother (my great grandma of course) made cinnamon rolls every Saturday. Her sisters and her continued to make cinnamon rolls together every Saturday and after she had kids she would make them with my mother and her sisters. They then would gather after church the next day and eat the C.R. So big tradition. I even had to help some of my mom's cousins and my great aunts find cinnamon roll related scrapbooking embellishments to make a photo album of my great grandma. One of my greatest memories is being on the farm and my grandma made a batch and I made a batch and my grandpa, brothers, and one of my uncles came in from milking and they all took a roll from my pan and zero from my grandma's. My grandma put her hands on her hips and said, "Missy they all liked your rolls better than mine!!?!???!!!" and then she laughed. I actually felt really good.

With that being said, I do have my great grandma's recipe, but (dare I say) it does not make my favorite cinnamon rolls. They are a little to 'bready'. So all of my adult life I have been on the look out for the 'best cinnamon roll recipe' there is. I want to be known as making the best cinnamon rolls ever. (just like Monica on friends wants to be known as the mom who makes the best chocolate chip cookies) (Actually I would also like to be known as making the best c.c cookies and thanks to Alton Brown and using cake flour instead of all purpose flour and butter/shortening combo...I might be close)
Everytime I find a different recipe I try it. If you know anything about making them, they are not quick, they take all day between scalding the milk, letting it cool to 105 degrees, letting it rise, roll it out, make filling, roll, cut, let rise again, and baking.....it is a lot of work. Half way through I wish I never started because I am over it.

Well, today I am happy to say....I think I finally did it! I now have the perfect cinnamon roll recipe!

My husband came home from work near the tail end of the process and I was telling him how this recipe was different and how long it took and that I have been at it since noon and yadda yadda yadda and he said, "why do you kill yourself to make cinnamon rolls?" and I looked at him and said, "Because I am an Elbert and that's what we do!"


So, what is the one tradition in your family that you will always do?

New Door

We got a new door

Before

After

Do you like?

I Love Fair Time

On Friday night we went to the fair mainly to see the demolition derby, but also to eat and walk around. My hubby and I met my brother and his friend at the arena. I love watching the demo derby, but I hate how muddy you get. They sling mud very very far. I had a lovely dinner of philly cheese steak and mozzarella sticks and homemade ice cream for dessert. We also got one of those old fashion pictures taken (you know the kind where they put an outfit on you that is slit up the back and then you pose and don't smile) We had 4 choices to choose from: wild west, victorian, civil war, or the roaring 20's. I picked the roaring twenties. I wore a velvet blue flapper's dress with 7 strains of long pearls and a feather head piece. My husband wore a pin striped suit where the jacket goes all the way to the knee, a hat with a white band, and a gangster gun. The picture is hilarious! What is your favorite part of the fair?

Have you heard about this giveaway?

I would love to win this giveaway....I love to cook!

Stange Pregnancy

I watch a show tonight called "Strange Pregnancy" on Discover Healty....It was so weird. If you didn't watch it here is a summary.

There was basically 3 stories:

1. A lady had a baby develop outside of her womb, just floating around in her abdominal cavity. She had a womb, the baby just decided it did not want to grow inside her womb.

2. A 55 year old grandma carried a pregnancy for her daughter and she ended up having triplets. The daughter could not conceive since she had a hysterectomy (she had two children from a previous marriage who were now teens I believe) but she and her new husband wanted a baby, so the grandma carried her egg and hubbies sperm.

3. The third story was about a girl who had 2 uteruses (uteri ?) and she became pregnant in both at the same time. She released 2 eggs, one in each uterus, and both became babies.

Closet Cleaning

Just cleaned out a closet and found something I have been looking for for 2 years.