Blueberry-Sour Cream Cake

Good Tuesday morning!

AND THE WINNER IS... DAWN!!!! And to make sure it was PERFECTLY fair, Dawn's name was entered 10 times... the same amount as the people who put me on their blogs. (Some of the blogs out there have several hundred readers, also. Just like Facebook.) Dawn, I know you're on vacation, but if you're keeping up with the contest, let me know which gift certificate you would like, and it will be ready and waiting for you when you come home. CONGRATULATIONS!

The next contest will be my One Year Anniversary Contest held October 16.

So much to talk about, and so little time... because I'm so tired, you see. However, I'll do the best I can. The Showcase Pic is of me and Roxie on the beach at sunset. We ate at Captain Dave's (a Destin tradition... our Gulf Shores tradition is Sea & Suds), and ran down to the beach while we were waiting on our food for just a few minutes. I think we hit it just right... maybe a little too much light, but I still like the photos. (I have another ten pictures on film in the good camera, so I'm hoping one of those is frame-worthy.)

The Gallery Pics are just a few of the beach pictures we took... stories to follow below. I'll be adding a few pics here and there all week long. You know, just to stretch everything out a bit.

Austin's Countdown... 10 More Days - Even though I am a huge "number" person, I have intentionally avoided counting down the days until Austin's departure. Unfortunately, one of the kids said something about this being the last mini beach trip we would ever take before Austin left to begin his new life at college. Seeing that I was visibly shaken, the kids jumped on the opportunity to torture me, and now they are ALL counting down the days until Austin departs. Today is number TEN... or as Josh puts it, "The last day before the countdown is in the single digits."

I'm staying strong (and in denial) until the very last minute... ten days from now. I believe that is the best way for me to handle this particular "transition." That's what all the books call it... a "transition." In actuality, it is an enormous cataclysmic (very good word) event in the mother/child journey. "Transition" doesn't even begin to describe the upheaval that is about to take place in the Faulkner household in TEN DAYS and counting. Well, more on that topic later. (Much, much more!)

Entertaining Beach Tale #1 - I guess the picture at the top of the page gives away the "story" for the most part. However, allow me to add a few adjectives here and there...

We were headed to the beach to meet Mikie in the big gold van when I spied what I now believe was a steel cable in the middle of the road. When I first saw the cable, it looked more like a harmless shiny jump rope. I centered it with the van, and we all heard and felt the impact of metal on metal. I asked Roxie to watch out the back window to make sure I hadn't punctured something beneath the van and some kind of useful "van" liquid wasn't pouring out. No liquid. Everything seemed okay. We drove for another 15 to 20 minutes to the Greenville Exit. (Time for a potty break, you know.)

Once on the exit ramp, I sat at a red light for a few seconds and then turned left to drive to the McDonald's across the bridge. It took all of two seconds for me to realize we had a very flat tire. I slowed to one mile per hour and pulled into a gas station (whose name I didn't recognize). We found the flat tire in question. This led me to believe the steel cable in the middle of the road had made contact with more than just the bottom of the big gold van. I called Mikie and Austin began to get the jack and accessories out of our Big Gold Van Tire Changing Bag. While he started the tire changing process, Mikie told me to see if there was anyone (meaning "tire changing company") who would change it for me since we have insurance. Austin would probably have been able to change it, but it was different from anything he had worked on before. (I'm going to have to start calling it the Big OLD Gold Van. Because of it's advanced age, everything about it is a "little" different from other vehicles... including tire changing paraphernalia.)

I left the kids working on the van and went inside to ask for some phone numbers. Lisa, the girl behind the counter, was very helpful and after six calls found an actual person willing to help me. She handed me the phone. After I explained the situation, the woman on the other end said, "Well, we'll see what we can do," and I could tell as far as she was concerned it was the end of the conversation.

"Whoa, whoa! What does that mean exactly?" I asked. (I wasn't being rude when I yelled "Whoa, whoa!" I was just trying to stop her before she hung up.)

"It means someone will be there within 20 minutes," she huffed.

"Huff away, Lady," I thought to myself. "We'll see what we can do" and "Someone will be there within 20 minutes" are definitely two VERY DIFFERENT THINGS!

It was at the end of the phone conversation I looked out the window of the gas station to see not two, but all three of my children engaged in a loud argument. Now usually, I don't talk about such things... because talking about such things would mean they really happen... and that would mean that my children aren't perfect... and that would mean I wasn't the perfect mother. But there were many witnesses, so I feel I must confess... my children aren't perfect... so it isn't my fault I'm not a perfect mother. I've had to work with what the good Lord gave me.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the body language was definitely there. Roxie had both hands on her hips, and she was leaning forward, and her pony-tail was flipping so hard it looked like it had a life of it's own. Austin and Josh stood "discussing" the best way to proceed, but each was holding a large metal crowbar-type tire-changing tool, and I knew one bonk on the head or poke in the chest with one of those things would cause us an even longer delay as an emergency room visit would probably be required.

So I did what any perfect mother of imperfect children would do in the same situation... I went outside, gave Austin my debit card and told all of them to walk to the McDonald's and get whatever they wanted. (REMINDER: My kids are 18, 15 and 12. I would not have settled this problem in the same manner if they had been 10, 7 and 4. Just wanted to make sure new readers didn't think I had totally lost my mind. Old readers know I have. New readers might still be under the impression I have a mind to lose!)

Long story short, the kids made it across two major highways to McDonald's and the man came to fix my tire within ten minutes... not 20. And he was a great guy. Very professional and fast. His name was Derrick. And when I asked him if the spare was safe to travel on, he answered the question exactly how I wanted him to answer. "The tire is very safe. I would have no problem with my wife driving to the beach on that tire." Of course, I'm assuming Derrick had a good relationship with his wife, but that would be another story!

I drove to McDonald's and picked up my now-happy non-fighting children and off to the beach we went... again. (More trip tales tomorrow!)

Random Thought on Travel #1 - Why does the "road sign guy" put signs out that read, "LAST EXIT FOR 27 MILES" on the bottom of the Official Exit Sign? There's no time to whip into the exit lane as you read that vital little tidbit of info going 70 miles per hour. And then you automatically HAVE to go to the restroom even though you took a potty break five miles back. There's just something about knowing the next exit is 27 MILES AWAY that makes that tiny sip of water I always take right before I start a long road trip kick in! I just LOVE that "road sign guy," don't you?

Blueberry-Sour Creme Cake

Because of my extreme fatigue, the Recipe will be posted today (as usual), and the Party/Event will be posted tomorrow along with the Seasonal Tradition.

I copied this recipe out of the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine (July/August 2009). You will need the following:

1 (22.2 ounce) package Twice the Blueberries Muffin and Quick Bread Mix (Betty Crocker)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 7-cup fluted pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

2. In a medium bowl, combine muffin mix, sour cream, milk, eggs, oil and 1 can blueberries from muffin mix. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

3. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and remaining 1 can blueberries from muffin mix. Cook over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Spoon glaze over cooled cake.

Doesn't that sound good? I've got to get busy. I've got a lemon creme pie AND a blueberry-sour cream cake to bake this week. Lot's to do... lot's to do.

Have a glorious Tuesday. Tomorrow we're back on schedule with a Party/Event, a Seasonal Tradition, Part 2 of our Mini Beach Trip and just a little bit more.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.