The call came today.

We are the GRAND PRIZE WINNERS in Taylor Morrison’s “Homemade Memories” video contest, soon to receive the equivalent of a year’s worth of mortgage payments. I can barely take it in!

Another HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for voting! We could not have won without your support!

Don’t forget about the drawing on September 10—I’m hoping the winner is a Week 2 Voter!

Now… does this mean I get out of cooking tonight?

We are still awaiting the official contest results!

I’ll let you know as soon as I hear!

THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED!

The drawing will be held on Sept. 10, so stay tuned to see if YOU are a winner!

Hmm… Are those chocolate chip cookies I smell?

Writing from Scratch

Peanut butter and chocolate are the Romeo and Juliet of the baking world. Two star-cross’d lovers, destined to be together, united in the tragic death of all diets. Let others frown upon the caloric content and fat grams spawned by such a marriage. “But soft, what smell from yonder oven wafts? It is the Peanut Butter Tandy Cake.”

(Shakespeare’s original language.)

Since all of you have been so sweet to support our family by voting for our Week 2 Video (details here), I think we all deserve a little sweetness in our day. This is the first time I’ve participated in Jen’s Tasty Tuesday, and from the looks of her site, I am going to spend the next 52 consecutive Tuesdays perusing the tasty concoctions posted on her corner of cyberspace. It’s enough to make Shakespeare drool all over his ruffled collar.

If any of you are familiar with the Tandy Cakes of Tastycake fame, you are in for a real treat.

PEANUT BUTTER TANDY CAKES

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
3 tbsp. Butter
1 cup Milk
4 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla

Icing:
1 12-oz. jar Smooth Peanut Butter, roughly ¾ of jar
1 8-oz. Hershey Bar

Directions:
Mix and beat cake ingredients. Pour on greased cookie sheet (with sides). Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. (I line my cookie sheet with wax paper for easy removal after baking.)

While hot, spread peanut butter on cake. Cool completely.

Melt Hershey bar in microwave (one minute and stir – if not completely melted, zap for 30 more seconds and stir). Pour and spread over cooled peanut butter layer. Chill in fridge.

Set on counter for a few minutes before cutting (so chocolate does not crack). Best served chilled.

*     *     *

The tandy cakes aren’t as sweet as you all have been to me, but man, are they ever tasty. For more tasty recipes, be sure to stop by “Tasty Tuesday”!

Readers and eaters: please take a moment and enter to win your mortgage or rent paid for a year by voting for my video: “Week 2: Memories Made from Scratch” on the Taylor Morrison website (second from the left). All votes must be submitted by Tuesday, August 31 at 11:59 p.m. (PST).

Today I am guest posting on Nephron News, spreading the word about the contest (we are currently in FIRST PLACE—voting ends Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.!). If you would be willing to mention us on your blog or allow me to write a guest post between now and Tuesday, please let me know in the comments section!

Don’t forget to vote for our Week 2 Video: “Memories Made from Scratch” (second from the left) and be entered to win your mortgage or rent paid for one year! Thanks, friends! You’re the ones who have gotten us this far!

Can you see the black helmet, or am I going crazy?

It must be the mechanical sound of it percolating, like Vader’s breathing.

I really need more sleep.

Or stronger coffee.

Writing from Scratch

Meanwhile, speaking of “homemade memories,” we made a new one today:

It’s Noah’s first day of Pre-K (sniff, sniff). When I started tearing up this morning, Noah said to me, “It’s okay, Mom—you can still call me your baby.”

So I have come up with something different.

IF YOU VOTE AND

I WIN THE VIDEO CONTEST,

I JUST MIGHT:

You know—the recipe that you always ask for and I always “conveniently forget” to give you.

I’m a little possessive about this recipe. It’s the kind of recipe that will make men propose marriage to you on the spot.

However, it’s only appropriate that “Memories Made from Scratch” (the video title) should be accompanied by a fantastic from-scratch recipe. Mind you, I’ve got to win first. So please encourage your friends to vote! (Since I know you’ve already voted)

THANKS! I CAN ALREADY SMELL THE COOKIES BAKING!

*PLEASE VOTE FOR THE “WEEK 2 VIDEO: Memories Made From Scratch” (second from the left) by clicking here! I am one of ten finalists competing for a year’s worth of mortgage payments. Just by voting, you are automatically entered to win an identical prize! Please send this link to all your cookie-loving friends! THANKS!

]]> http://writingfromscratch.com/2010/08/24/things-i-might-do-if-i-win-this-contest-2/feed/ 2 http://writingfromscratch.com/2010/08/20/valley-light/ http://writingfromscratch.com/2010/08/20/valley-light/#comments Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:26:52 +0000 lauren http://writingfromscratch.com/?p=1948

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

-Psalm 62:5-6

Sometimes, I’m all out of words. No matter how I try to string them together, the verbs and adjectives cannot hold the weight of my heart. It is a thin strand, and a heavy heart.

In these moments, I turn to the words of God. I pitch my tent in the Psalms and camp there, straining to see the light in the dark valley.

Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.

One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving.

-Psalm 62:8, 11-12

Please, dear friends, pray for Ava.

I have no mustache to shave, thank goodness.

And my chicken suit is at the cleaners.

But I am brainstorming some possible alternatives. Here is the first.

IF YOU VOTE AND

I WIN THE VIDEO CONTEST,

I JUST MIGHT:

Which, if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I’ve considered.

At least in theory.

(Is that my husband I hear crying in the bathroom?)

**PLEASE VOTE FOR THE “WEEK 2 VIDEO: Memories Made From Scratch” (second from the left) by clicking here! I am one of ten finalists competing for a year’s worth of mortgage payments. Just by voting, you are automatically entered to win an identical prize! Please send this link to everyone you’ve ever met—and their mothers.

Writing from Scratch

My long-term financial strategy has always been to win a game show or sweepstakes.

Not the wisest plan in the world, but a plan nonetheless.

NOW… it looks like my dream—or a close approximation—might possibly be coming true. In other words:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHH!!! NO WAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!! WOO-HOOOOOOOOO! (This is me running around my living room, frightening my children.)

Why this sudden burst of Tom Cruise couch-jumping fervor? I HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS ONE OF TEN FINALISTS in a contest with a chance to win our mortgage paid for an entire year!!! (Please forgive all the exclamation points—I tend to overpunctuate when I am excited.) Earlier in the summer, at my dad’s suggestion, I entered a video in home builder Taylor Morrison’s “Homemade Memories” contest. Lo and behold—we got picked!

The winner will be determined by vote, which leads me to my shameless plea:

(Cue violins)

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE visit the contest website by clicking this link and voting for our video entitled “Memories Made from Scratch” (the second from the left). Voting runs from Aug. 16-31 and each person gets one vote. Your pet cannot vote (sorry Leo) but your spouse can. And your uncle can. And your best friend can. And your second-cousin-thrice-removed can. So if you feel compelled to send this link to everyone you’ve ever met, or Facebook it, or skywrite it, we would surely appreciate it. EVERY VOTE COUNTS! THANKS, FRIENDS!

**CONTEST UPDATE! Everyone who votes will be entered into a drawing to win an identical prize: your mortgage or rent paid for one year! If you received an e-mail indicating that you need to visit a sales center, that was sent in error (I learned this directly from Taylor Morrison). They are actually picking a THIRD winner from among their sales center visitors! So you have two ways to win!

Writing from Scratch