Gingerbread House of the Day #2

Here it is!  The other gingerbread house I was inspired to make during second period yesterday.

I had all this stuff at home that goes great with graham crackers, so I decided to to do a Christmas craft with it...then eat it of course.  This was an addition to my dinner and dessert last night.

I used almond butter to connect the house

vanilla bean cheesecake cream cheese to hold the "doors and windows" (Recees Pieces) in place

more of the vbccc to be snow on the rooftop

light brown Heath Pieces as "shingles"

and cool whip as snow!

 

To the side I made a nut tree

pumpkin spice cream cheese

pumpkin

and pumpkin butter make the ground layers

then cool whip and cinnamon make the snow

the "tree" is a skinny graham cracker with more pscc and pumpkin

with pistachios and peanuts stuck all around and on top

 

Before I ate it, I drizzeled some honey on top, becuase a little honey makes everthing tastier!

The cool whip added an amazing flavor to it, also.

 I was thrilled with how yummy this fun project turned out.

A healthy, happy, festive treat for the Christmas season!

Pumpkin Cheesecake to Go

Here's a little treat I made for my fist period snack a couple days this week.

I layered pumpkin spice Alouette Cheese, pumpkin, pumpkin butter, and vanilla bean cheesecake Alouette Cheese on graham crackers--tastes just like a cheesecake, but healthy, too!

If you leave the "sandwich" in the fridge or give it time to sit, the graham crackers will soften, making it much easier to eat compared to if they were still crunchy!

 

Did you also catch part of my customizable coffee cup decoration for Thanksgiving in the background?

State Champions Run on Dunkin, Too

Last Monday was Hamblen County's Fall Break, so we had an extra day after this thrilling weekend!  Of course I wanted to get a run in, so Sunday afternoon, I called up Chantal and Cherie and asked if they wanted to meet at my house the next morning and do a run to Dunkin Donuts.  I'd started doing this last season with my dad, and the girls thought it was such a creative idea, so I have started asking them to join me every once and a while!  Katlyn comes some too, but this time she was at her mamaw's house.  We start at my house, since the girls live close enough to walk, and run to the highway, through downtown and past the churches, and past some houses and lovely scenery this time of year, and finish at the store across the railroad on Morris Blvd!  My mom is usually the one to pick us up from there.

I decided to try something new, and get a wheat bagel with cream cheese.  I also added jelly and honey I brought just in case.  Since I am signed up for their emails and rewards, I get lots of coupons, so today I used my free medium birthday drink to get my coffee!  From my iPhone app, I got mom a free cappuccino.  Chantal and Cherie got manager's special cream filled and donuts.  This was a fun and yummy way to start the day!

Ice Cream and Birthday Cake!

What a blessing it is to have a this thing we call birthdays!  Saturday night, I had the cross country team (girls) over for a little 16th birthday celebration.  I wanted to make the food for my party instead of going out to eat somewhere, so we had a hectic day at the Jones house!  I went on an eight mile road run after I woke up, Dad following behind me on his bike.  When I came home, I made some pumpkin caramel pancakes with some coffee for breakfast/lunch since it was already almost 12:00 by the time I got to eat.  As soon as this was finished, Mom and I began the cooking!  I had chosen two recipes I found for my dessert.  What fun is a party without eating all the good stuff?  That's what I love them for!  (And the fun fellowship of course)  So these recepies are actually healthy, so I could eat a ton witout feeling too bad.  It's my birthday (party) , so I'll have my cake and eat it too! 

 

We made a Snickers ice cream cake, then topped it with peanut butter mousse. The cake is made of pudding mix, peanuts, chunky peanut butter, ice cream, cereal, and cool whip.  The mousse contains more cool whip, cream cheese, peanut butter, milk, and Splenda.

This super tasty treat is also super easy to make!

 

Dad made 5 double-batches of his chili, cooking all day.  Mom and I also whipped up a pan of the amazing cornbread.  All the food was a hit with the girls!  I am so thankful for all the hard work my parents put in for my friends and me!

 

Yes, I stuck a candle in an ice cream cake.  No, it did not melt while the girls sang.

I also loved it so much that I ate 6 pieces.  I would've just finished it off, but I made myself just walk away from the pan.

Bible Study Treats

Since we had two extra days this weekend, Chantal and Cherie used a little of their extra time to make us all pumpkin cupcakes to bring to Chick-fil-a for Bible Study breakfast Wednesday morning!  The XC with the arrow symbol is homemade, too!  The little jack-o-lanterns on the papers even match my Tervis perfectly!  I'm so excited to be getting into all the fall festivities, but no so much about the dropping temperatures!

Getting to start each Wednesday fellowshipping with my girls and the Lord is the best way to start a day that I can think of!