Long story short — I surrendered my first born for adoption (I was a teenager at the time and bought that bit of social engineering).

Fast forward 22 years later, I found him, we met, life was good for a few years. Then, for whatever reason, he backed away, and I was told by a third party he no longer wanted contact with me. I was sad. Ok, devastated. But I kept my distance at his request.

Fast forward 10 years later, and what should greet me on Facebook a couple of days ago, but a friend request from my firstborn. I stared at the email, and wept. For joy.

The pic above is my son, his wife and their 3 year old son.

I’m so thrilled I can’t even see straight!

My daughter’s boyfriend, my son and my daughter. Just wanted to share. The crossed arms were not planned

I’m so making these tonight!

From Simply Recipes

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Cupcake recipe is adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for dark
chocolate cupcakes. If you would like to frost the cupcakes, I’ve
included two recipes for a mint-flavored frosting. The butter cream
version is quite sweet, the cream cheese version is a little less sweet
and has a tang from the cream cheese.

Ingredients

*Cupcake Ingredients*

* 8 Tbsp (1 stick, 8 ounces) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa
* 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chips or chopped
* 3/4 cup flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 large eggs
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons mint extract
* 1/2 cup sour cream

*Optional Buttercream Frosting Ingredients*

* 8 Tbsp butter, room temperature (1 stick, 8 ounces)
* 1 Tbsp milk
* 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
* 2 cups powdered sugar

*Optional Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients*

* 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
* 4 Tbps butter, room temperature (1/2 stick, 4 ounces)
* 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
* 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

* Fresh mint for garnish

Method

*Cupcakes*

*1* Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a muffin tin by lining it with
cupcake liners. Use a double boiler or add an inch or two of water to a
medium sized saucepan and place a metal bowl over it, bringing the water
to a simmer. Add butter (cut into chunks), chocolate, cocoa to the bowl.
As the butter and chocolate melt, whisk until the ingredients are well
combined and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool to touch.

*2* In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking
powder.

*3* In a large bowl (can use a mixer), beat the eggs. Add the salt, the
sugar, the mint extract and beat until well combined. Slowly add in the
chocolate butter mixture and beat until combined.

*4* Add in half of the sifted flour mixture, mix to combine. Mix in the
sour cream. Mix in the remaining flour mixture.

*5* Spoon the batter evenly into the lined muffin cups. Place in oven in
middle rack. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until tops spring back when touched
and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*6* Let cool in muffin tin on a rack for 15 minutes. Then gently remove
cupcakes from the tin and let cool completely before frosting.

Use frosting of choice, flavored with a little mint extract. Garnish
with a little fresh mint. Recipes for simple butter cream or cream
cheese frosting follow.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

*Frosting*

*1* In an electric mixer, beat the butter (if making buttercream) or
butter and cream cheese (if making cream cheese frosting) at medium
speed until creamy. Beat in milk (if making buttercream) and mint extract.

*2* Slowly add in the powdered sugar on low speed, stopping every now
and then to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until light and fluffy.
Taste and add more mint extract if it isn’t minty enough for you, or
powdered sugar if it isn’t sweet enough for you.

Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com

I don’t know if this has been posted here before, but I like it so much, I decided to post it anyway

Tips for Better Life

1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Sleep for 7 hours.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did the previous year.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink plenty of water.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
14. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
15. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
18. Smile and laugh more.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don’t compare your partner with others.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Forgive everyone for everything.
26. What other people think of you is none of your business.
27. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
28. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
29. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
30. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
31. The best is yet to come.
32. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
33. Do the right thing!
34. Call your family often.
35. Your inner most is always happy. So be happy.
36. Each day give something good to others.
37. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
38. Share this with someone you care about

Just felt this… haven’t had a shaker in awhile. It started to rumble before things started moving. It’s centered about 30ish miles from where I live. Wheeeee!

CodeConverted@MY360MI

My kids… when my son spent a few days at his sister’s apartment. With friends. I had to crop the photo to avoid arrest. They had fun

Just copy and paste into your own blog placing in Bold the things you have done-

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld or Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang/played a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Made a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

CodeConverted@MY360MI

I don’t know what triggered this memory. New Year’s Eve, 1989. A couple of months earlier, San Francisco had been jolted by a large earthquake, and exactly one week to the day after that, my daughter was born. We lived in Santa Ana at the time. Ever since my husband and I first met, our favorite thing to do was grab the necessities, hop in the car and head north. Preferably up Highway 101 to take in the breathtaking scenery along the way. That’s what we did, with our infant daughter in tow — pack up the necessities and hit the road. We figured hotel prices would be really cheap in San Francisco, thanks to that earthquake. We were right.

It was a calculated risk. I think we both just prayed like crazy that the earth would lie still for the time we were there. It did. We did all the typical, dorky sightseeing things — cable cars, Ghirardelli Square, Golden Gate Bridge. We found a nice motel right on Fisherman’s Wharf. Clean, cozy, warm and inviting.

Ok, here is where ’stupid’ steps in. New Year’s Eve, we decided to go out for a fancy dinner. Baby and all. We picked Alioto’s Restaurant for its proximity (walking distance), its reputation, and the fact that neither of us had been there before. We wandered in, no reservations necessary, were seated (baby in her carrier seat) and ordered a drink and looked at the menu. Our child was fed, snoozy and mellow. Until just after we ordered. As soon as the server walked away from our table, this child began to howl. And she was loud. My husband picked her up and said he would walk around with her for a bit to see if he could calm her down. I stayed behind and waited. The server returned with our meals and I continued to wait. I waited some more. He didn’t return. I began to panic, and was noticing the people at other tables looking at me with that look that said “She just got ditched.”

Just as I decided to leave, the server came to my table with the phone. Turns out my husband couldn’t calm her down, and decided to walk back to the motel to see if she would settle down. When he walked in the room, she conked out, so he put her to bed. I ended up having our dinners boxed up to go (yeah, didn’t know Alioto’s does take-out! hehe) and wandered back to the motel, feeling like an idiot and a terrible mother.

She slept through the night without waking up once. For the first time ever. I guess that was a good thing. And we ended up having a wonderful dinner in our room

She’s all grown up now, and I don’t remember if I have ever told her this story.