10 THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY (2 weeks worth :-)

WELCOME NEW FOLLOWER "THE OLD GEEZER"  I am happy to have you (but I feel bad calling you that :-)


TODAY'S  http://www.screamindailydeal.com/ deal is $3.50 for a ride on the Christmas Riverboat Cruise on the Provo River from CLAS ROPES.  We enjoyed the Halloween cruise we took.

With everything going on, I never posted "MY 10 THINGS"  last week.  So I will squish 2 weeks together.

31 October - 14 November, 2010

#1  I am very happy (thankful) that we are able to vote.  And I did.  (Also happy that there are no more commercials, signs and phone calls :-)

#2  Very happy that Leslie is getting published.  She had a short story accepted for her school literary magazine.  Yea!

#3  ALWAYS the Halloween Party at Grandma and Grandpa's makes me, and everyone else, happy.   Grandma and Grandpa work really really hard to make this a fun night.  Thank-you very much mom and dad.  Great party this year.

#4  Christy and Leslie made "soup-in-a-pumpkin" for us the week after Halloween.  I love it.  Thank-you.

#5  So happy that Doug got my Christmas lights up before it got cold.  Thank-you, Dear.

#6  Lindsay and David invited us to dinner at their new house.  It was fun (and made for an easy dinner for me).  Thank-you so much.

#7  I had a good experience picking Layne up from school on day.
I clipped my keys on my purse and read until it was time for him to get out of class.  I picked up my purse to get him, and had a thought that I should leave my purse in the car.  O.K.  I set it on the floor and went to remove my keys-but they were not on my purse.  I had missed the clip.  If I had taken my purse, my keys would have been locked in my car.  So happy I listened.

#8  I took a fun class from Sue Neal (at Robert's Craft Store)  I made a small Christmas Memory book for 2010.  I am glad I talked myself into it.

#9  I loved seeing "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (at Hale Center Theatre Orem) again.  It is a fun play with great music.  I went with Hilary, Leslie, Lindsay and Wendy C.  VERY FUN PLAY!  Thank-you, Leslie for getting the tickets.

#10  Happy Birthday Charles!  We love you.  I am glad you are our son.

#11  I made a new REALLY EASY and VERY GOOD Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.  I got the recipe from My Little Gems.  (I have seen it a few other places since then, but I saw it there first.  The recipe is at the end of this post.)

#12  I am happy Emily is out of the hospital :D  (She was in the hospital for 16 out of 30 days, and had surgery.)  

#13  And, this week I do have a top happy thing.  Doug and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary on November 10th.  I love my husband so much.  I am so thankful, and feel so blessed to share our lives together.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
recipe from My Little Gems  (http://mygratitudeattitudes.blogspot.com/)

1 boxed yellow cake mix (see note)
1 16 oz. can of PUMPKIN
3 tea. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup chocolate chips

THAT'S IT!
Mix the pumpkin pie spice into the pumpkin.  Stir it well to make it smooth.  Add it to the cake mix with the chocolate chips.  Mix until there is no dry mix left.

Drop on a sprayed cookie sheet.  These do not spread, so I can get about 16-20 on my cookie sheet.
Bake at 350* for 10-15 mins.  (Mine take about 15 mins.)

NOTE You can also use a spice cake mix and eliminate the pumpkin pie spice.  I have not tried that, BUT, that makes it a 3 ingredient cookie.  WoW!  I am trying that on Thursday.

UPDATE ON SPICE CAKE MIX - I made this with a Pillsbury spice cake mix, and many liked it better.  Then I tried a store brand cake mix (the same night ;-)  It was for the "Harry Potter party.)  and it was not as good.  It also was more of a brown, instead of pumpkin orange.