Month: October 2014

Foodie Friday: The best pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe ever

A couple of years ago, 9News’  reporter TaRhonda and photojournalist Chris came to my house to interview me for a story. I just “happened” to have fresh pumpkin scones with Epicurean Butter’s caramel sea salt butter, which they raved about before devouring. This week, they both returned to my house for a pumpkin-related story and their first question was “where are the pumpkin scones?” I confessed I had nothing. But a few minutes later, a savior on a white horse appeared bearing gifts. OK, so maybe it was my friend Kristen in her black SUV but I’m telling you, she delivered the most delicious Pumpkin Sheet Cake I have ever tasted in the history of forever. It was so delicious Chris even videotaped us stuffing our face in its pumpkin-cheese-cak...

Foodie Friday: Use your Halloween candy to make these Snickers bar cookies

The question is the same every year after Halloween: What do we do with all this candy? The first answer is obvious: eat it. But after the twentieth Twix, even my kids start to grow wary of sugar so we like to mix it up…with even more sugar! One of our favorite ways to do that is to make cookies with our chocolate treats. We have made them with Milky Way and Twix but our favorite is Snickers. Simply take a mini candy bar and wrap about 1 tsp of cookie dough around it into a ball. Bake as normal and you have a delicious post-Halloween treat! [yumprint-recipe id=’46’] 

Candyland is a real place, and it starts on top of my fridge

The chocolate in most mass-produced candy bars is as waxy and luscious as any pillar or stick at a mall candle store. Candy corn tastes nothing like corn and it’s debatable whether it is worth bothering with calling itcandy. Jaw breakers, lollipops, and gumballs are choking hazards. Sweet tarts, Sprees, and Smarties are little disks of processed cringe, perfect for when you want to experience the feeling of your throat puckering. And classic Tootsie Rolls? Reminiscent of cough medicine, cat poo, and cement. I love them all. Halloween is looming and with it parents find themselves ranting about all the candy that will be in the house. Some kids harvest quite a bit and we are no exception. In fact, with several kids of trick-or-treating age I anticipate at least a dozen pounds of pure ...

10 last-minute easy Halloween treat ideas

Once upon a time I became temporarily insane and decided it was a good idea to spend eight hours making 200 cake pops for my kids’ Halloween parties and a church event. My ambitions are much, much lower now and my sanity level is conversely higher. Funny how that works, isn’t it? I truly admire parents who go above-and-beyond and spend hours on such creations but I’m an advocate of fast, cute and easy treats. I’ll be on 9News My20 on Friday talking about some of my last-minute favorites that you can make for your child’s classroom or evening party. Here are a few favorites: Haunted Bones No bones about it–these treats only require three ingredients. Simply put two miniature marshmallows on each end of a pretzel stick, dip in melted white or dark chocolat...

Contest: Give your skin a makeover by winning an $89 m.pulse skincare treatment!

Busy mom confession: when it comes to taking care of myself, my face often takes a backseat.  I wash and moisturize every evening and wear hats and sunscreen during the day, but that is the extent of my regimen. It’s amazing I look this good, right? 🙂 In all seriousness, taking care of my face should be serious business and that is why I’m thrilled we’re partnering with mPulse to offer you a fantastic giveaway! What is m.pulse? m.pulse is a chain of medical spas providing cutting-edge, results-oriented skincare services with expertly trained, licensed aestheticians who work under a medical director and develop personalized treatment plans designed to target each client’s unique concerns. mPulse offers everything from IPL Hair Removal to Acne Therapy to Botox to Fille...

Deals: Halloween discounts and free days

No tricks here, just lots of treats. Hallo-ween can be frightfully expensive, so here are some ways for frugal families to scare up savings. Pumpkin patch kids Get the kids even more excited for the big day with a pre-Halloween visit to any Famous Dave’s Colorado location. The barbecue restaurant gives kids 12 and younger a real pumpkin and a free meal on Oct. 28 between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. famousdavesbbqco.com/locations Peanuts party Little ghosts and goblins can enjoy Halloween with the Peanuts gang at Bass Pro Shops. Through Oct. 30, the sporting-goods store hosts an “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” celebration daily from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Kids can make crafts and get a free photo of themselves with life-size Peanuts character cutouts. (The first 100 each w...

Halloween costume drama: This hilarous viral-video family nails it

Oh, the drama of Halloween costumes. I should know! My daughter wanted to be the  Lady of Lothlórien from the Hobbit and insisted I buy her a beautiful white wedding dress from the thrift store. This would have been swell if she had not later decided she already had a dress that she liked better than the costume we bought. Did I mention the wedding dress was non-refundable? In keeping with our theme from the Hobbit, my son begged to be Smaug, the gold-thirsty dragon. Yeah, right. If I had one ounce of ambition in textiles, I would have taken on the challenge but I’m the mom who has yet to sew on his cub scout badges six months after he received them. So, I convinced my son that a skeleton (like this one) is kind of like Smaug, only much scarier. We’re all familiar with cos...

The Tooth Fairy is busted as daughter’s letter goes viral

It’s the moment parents dread: when our kids prematurely figure out when some childhood magic isn’t real.  Redditor willsanderson posted a photo of the note his 9-year-old daughter Lexi left on her pillow where exi informs her parents that “I know it’s you who gets the money and puts it under my pillow.” She then softens the blow — “I’m sorry if this is hard for you, but I’m 9 now.” — before revealing that she doesn’t believe in Santa Claus either and, “Daddy, I knew it was you, last easter, hiding my easter eggs!” At what age do you think is best for kids to find out the truth?

Foodie Friday: Kelsey Nixon’s Delicious Honey Corn Recipe

Do you love caramel popcorn? Then you will love Kelsey Nixon’s twist on an old classic, which is the perfect compliment to your Halloween treats! [yumprint-recipe id=’45’] In case you missed our Skype interview with Kelsey about lunch and dinner tips from her new cookbook Kitchen Confidence, go sure to go here.      

“The Best Shirt” ever has been found!

The Best Shirt Ever has been located. The family of 12-year-old Joe Archibold, of Longmont, recently sent out a social media solicit, looking for a specific blue, white and gray polo shirt — in the same style Joe has worn for every school picture since second grade. He outgrew the hand-me-down shirt in small size, and then in medium. He couldn’t find the large. He grew nervous that his five-year tradition would be ruined. His family’s simple Facebook pitch went viral and was picked up by media outlets across the country, including the Daily Camera and Longmont Times-Call. And now it looks as if Joe will be able to wear his favorite blue polo for another school picture, and then some. Angela Houchin, of Fort Collins, saw a story about Joe’s hunt and jumped out of her chair...

An Unexpected Visitor: A Night at The Stanley Hotel

As a single mother of three children, every time I take my kids on what I call a “mini-vacation” (because I’m not brave enough to go on a full-size one) I’m always worried that one of us won’t make it back.  This could be for several reasons:  I’ll lose one.  I’ll try to lose one.  I’ll run away screaming and never return after one of them tells me they need to go to the bathroom even though we’ve just stopped for the other two.

“Breaking Bad” action figures at Toys R Us: Good or very, very bad?

We’re calling this a twofer. Fox 31 asked to come to my house to interview me about crystal meth action figures yesterday, they saw my husband Jamie’s giant pumpkins and interviewed him after. Jamie is now claiming the media is going through me to get to him. File this under ‪#‎YouCan‬‘tMakeThisStuffUp. Fox 31 aired the story  last night. The one with me in it; I’m sure the giant pumpkins will appear on some breaking news story sometime. If you are not familiar with this story that is making national headlines: Susan Schrivjer, a mother from Fort Myers, launched a petition in early October to have Walter White — and other “Breaking Bad” action figures — removed from Toys R Us. As of Monday morning, the Change.org request has received more than 2,000 signatures....

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