Game Day Treats

Unless you live under a rock, you know that the Super Bowl was last night.  And, if you've been reading my blog, you also know that we are huge Steelers fans in our house.  I've been a fan for as long as I can remember...from the days of the Dynasty back in the 70s, to the 'dark days' when they didn't do so well, up to today.  They didn't win last night, but I still love them.  I'd root for them even if they were ranked last in the NFL.

The last few times they were in the Super Bowl, I made special cookies for the big game.  Yesterday was no exception.  I started off with some sugar cookies made from the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens (red and white checked) cookbook.  Great recipe!  Then, I rolled them out and used a large margarita glass to cut circles out of the dough and baked.

Then, I whipped up a batch of butter cream frosting...mmmm...look at that goodness....

Then, I gathered my decorating supplies and got to work.  (Warning...I am not an artist nor do I play one on tv.)

I spread plain white frosting over each cookie and then piped on 'Steelers'

Then I added the diamonds to complete the emblem. 

And now all of the cookies in their glory.  (and yes..they were delicious!)

Stay tuned for my mother-in-law's cheeseball recipe.  It's a favorite in our house!

Homesick

I read a lot of blogs. I just finished reading Liz's blog This Full House where she was lamenting on the size of her house versus the number of people in her family. She has a small house in comparison to the number of people who live in her house. It brought back a lot of memories of my growing up years....thanks, Liz!

When I was growing up, we had a similar situation. We had a very small house. There were 5 of us under one roof with only one bathroom. Very small indeed when you're talking about 2 teenagers, 2 adults and one small child. My sister and I shared a room, so there was no escaping her. We didn't have a family room...just one living room, so we were all in the same place at the same time, much of the time. We were pretty jammed in that house.

The wonderful part about it? We were happy (well, most of the time). We liked spending time together (most of the time!) My parents enjoyed taking us places and because of our tiny house, we weren't 'house poor', which meant we got to go on vacations every summer to the ocean or to Disney World. Sometimes, they would even call us inside when we were out playing and say, "Get ready to go!" and we would take off for the mall, out to dinner, or even on an impromptu trip to Niagra Falls. Good times.

When I went away to college, I met many interesting new friends who came from different backgrounds. I went home with a friend one weekend. Her house was huge. To me, it was like an estate. HUGE. I invited her home to my house to reciprocate. I was a bit nervous because my house didn't even come close to being like hers. We got to my house and my mom met us at the door. My friend took a deep breath, hugged my mom, and said, "Now THIS is home!" That just made me feel all warm inside...yes...that WAS home!

As a grown-up, I realize it isn't the house that makes it a home, it's the people inside. We always felt safe and warm and we were well taken care of and loved. There are times when I feel 'homesick', but I know it isn't for an actual place (because that place is long gone), but it's for a time when things were easier and worries didn't seem to exist.