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POPSFinally! Zubbles are here! After many many years, you can finally pre-order some Zubbles. They aren't cheap, but colored bubbles? Awesome! Currently they are selling two-packs in pink and blue.
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POPSOne Child Compassion International has 1,000,000 children currently being sponsored in the world
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POPSDark chocolate cookies: recipe Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them. Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonful (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2? between the dough balls, as they’ ll spread as they bake. Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked. They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’ re done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking makes them more crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven. Wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
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POPSWe need to work together As a woman, a conservative, a mother, a Christian, a Texan, a southerner, an American and a bacon-lover: I am categorized and vilified quite often. These qualities alone or in connection with each other put me in groups that are considered stupid, hate-filled, racist, bigoted, naive, unqualified, greedy, blind, selfish, willfully ignorant, phobic, slutty, earth-hating, anti-feminist, weak and worthless. I am not alone. Anyone here at CM can identify with at least one group that is equally vilified. We are a varied people, humans. If we keep painting with such a broad brush, the finer lines get lost. The incidences of actual hate and actual evil blend seamlessly among the imagined incidences. It's a wonder anyone can see clearly. Let's build each other up for a while.
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POPSRetro Bakery in Las Vegas has bacon cupcakes on Fridays. As luck would have it, I'll be in Las Vegas on a Friday this summer. For $20 they will deliver my bacon cupcake to me. Fortuitous.
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POPSEveryone is Beautiful "...and nothing in the world feels as good as resting them on someone you love." from the novel Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center.
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POPSWho coined more popular expressions than anyone else? FTA: Tad Dorgan was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007 in the category of "Observer"; Jack Dempsey described him as "the greatest authority on boxing." Discovered last night when searching for the origin of "cat's meow." I use the phrase "busier than a one-armed paperhanger" often. Who knew?!
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POPSLonghorn Cavern Going next week to see this. My daughter loves cave exploring. Any Clippers been here? Highlight the area under the pictures in the clip for secret captions.
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POPSReason Enough to Love You, by Dorothy Allison And that morning when I woke up crying not able to say why, it could have been anything, any of ten good reasons to just lay back and cry, you slid over and put your whole body over mine gently, your hand in my hair, your mouth on my ear, wrapping silence and love and the muscles of your thighs all around me and let me cry let me cry like no one ever let me before.
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POPSon kindness excerpt from Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye. Read entire poem at source.
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POPSLemon cloud tea cookies: recipe Decrease the speed to low and beat in the flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the dough a few good turns with your spatula to bring it all together. Arrange rounded teaspoons of the dough on a pan lined with parchment paper. Space the balls about 2-inches apart. After all the cookies have been placed on the pan, flour a fork and press a crisscross design into the top of each mound of dough. Bake the cookies until they spread and become golden, about 20 minutes. Slide the parchment paper off the pan to cool completely. Makes 48 tiny cookies.
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POPSBrown sugar bacon waffles: recipe In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar. Whisk to blend. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold. Once almost fully incorporated, add the bacon bites. Stir. Try not to over mix the batter or the waffles will become tough. It’s ok if a few lumps remain in the batter. Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.
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POPSMake any website better: Hoffify Just keep clicking the Hoffify button to add more David Hasselhoff than you can shake a stick at. I might stand alone, but this is funny to me, so funny.
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POPSSewing a letter I love how she created the lined notebook paper. I think a letter sewn on anything would be a precious gift for someone. A pillow case to give them sweet dreams? Inside a shirt to wear close to the heart? A set of plain dinner napkins to tell guests how grateful you are for their friendship and fellowship? Okay, I'm going to learn embroidery this summer. I will!
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POPSCrustless Quiche with spinach, mushrooms and walnuts Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minutes more. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until any remaining moisture has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add a pinch of salt (the cheese is salty, so you won’t need much) and pepper to taste. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light. Stir in the half and half. Spoon the spinach mixture evenly into the buttered pie dish. Sprinkle with the cheese and nuts. Pour in the egg mixture. Bake the quiche until puffed and golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into generous wedges.
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POPSAfter the flooding, fire ant balls! This is one reason not to walk in flood waters. They will climb on any stable surface, that means you! "The ants within this living, seething mass reposition themselves so that no ant is left underwater for too long."