Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I saw a recipe for pumpkin spice muffins floating around Facebook the other day, and since they only required 2 (yes I said 2!) ingredients, I thought I would give them a try. And our conclusion? Delicious!


They have a really great flavor and stay incredibly moist for multiple days after baking them. All you need is 1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree and a spice cake mix. Mix the 2 together (just use the spice cake mix powder, don't add any eggs or oil, etc) and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. That's it! They are so easy and really delicious.


I baked a few of them with brown sugar on top and then added a little cream cheese frosting to some of the plains one, but either way they were all delicious! Taylor never asks for sweets or dessert, but he keeps asking me to heat up a couple muffins. I'll definitely be making these again.

Happy Fall!

The wheels on the bus...

As a U of I employee, I get to use the public buses (we call them MTD) for free! Taylor has been riding the bus for the last year to get to school, but I have never really had a reason to ride them. Now that I'm on campus everyday, it's easy to take a bus from our neighborhood that drops me off at the Admissions building.


So on Tuesday I took my first MTD bus ever! Taylor rode with me in the morning, but he had to stay late for a meeting so I had to ride home by myself in the afternoon. I will admit that I was pretty nervous about getting on the right bus or getting off at the wrong time, but it all turned out all right and I made it home!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Wish we could be there to celebrate with you!

We love you and hope you have a wonderful day :)

He passed!

So this is kind of old news, especially to those of you who actually read this, but I wanted to record it for our memories. We found out a couple Fridays ago that Taylor passed his qualifying exam!

This is really important for a couple reasons...

1. He couldn't stay in the program if he didn't pass.
2. He would not be able to stay in the program if he didn't pass.
3. He (as in Taylor) would not be allowed to stay in the program if he did not pass the exam.

You can see, clearly, how important this exam was!


Here is a copy of his official letter. They make it sound so official. Why don't they just say, "Hey, you passed and can stay in IL for another 5 or 6 years". Ha!

Happy Tuesday!

Changes

So, we have had some changes in our household since I last posted... today I started a new job at the University of Illinois as an Admissions Counselor. My time at the radio station was good and I truly enjoyed my co-workers, but the opportunity at the U of I was something I just couldn't pass up.

Here are the cookies the radio station got me on my last day. How nice is that? I will truly miss them.


This was on my desk when I arrived in the Admissions office this morning. I loved the little orange and blue candies!


This is a view of the right side of my desk...


Left side...


Center...



Have a great week!

Southern Comfort

Sunday was our friend Keith's birthday! To celebrate, we decided to try our hand at some good old southern comfort food... chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls. I watched Pioneer Woman's new cooking show over Labor Day weekend where she fixed CFS and was inspired. Here is the finished product...


I should have taken some pictures of the kitchen during the cooking process because it was a mess! Ha. I thought it turned out pretty good but isn't something I would make very often, I don't think my arteries could handle it.

Chicken Fried Steak

Creamy Mashed Potatoes (minus putting the butter on at the end and baking it)

Laine also brought over a chocolate Heath bar cake, which we called a "Keith cake" since it was Keith's birthday! I wish I would have taken a picture of the cake as well, because of course it looked like it was straight out of a magazine. Laine is so talented! Every time she brings over a cake to something, I remind her how thankful I am for our friendship :) Ha. Click here and check out some of the other cakes she has made, you will be so impressed.

Hope you are having a nice week so far!

Where We Were... 9/11

This morning after church, Taylor and I were talking about where we were 10 years ago when we found out about 9/11. Taylor said he was in Study Hall and that was about as specific as he could remember.

I remember being in my 1st hour class in 8th grade, Business Technology with Mr. Biggs, and in the class we were learning how to dub radio commercials into programs. So when Mr. Biggs turned on the radio and we were listening to the 9/11 coverage, I first thought it was a past historical event and remember feeling very confused. Our class quickly realized what was happening and we ended up just watching the TV in each of our classes that day.

Today, we are praying for all those effected by 9/11 and feel blessed to live in America, the land of the free and home of the brave.