Trifle decisons...

Trifle not trivial decision... you know this kind of trifle

OK so this is perfect trifle....

I don't have the perfect trifle serving glass dish (or whatever its called)

because I have never made one..but if it is extremely good,  I guess I'll have to make the investment.

This is my make shift trifle bowl.

So I decided on making a peanut butter brownie trifle.

It was a bit of work!!!

First I had to unwrap and quarter 2 bags of peanut butter cups..

(Thanks goodness for HGTV....)

I made brownies ( I could have bought already made ones) but the good ones were too far of a drive.

(they are baked in my 12 yr old pampered chef  9 X 13 stone, if it EVER broke I would cry!)

I finally got to use my Kitchen Aid....

 Here is the final product...

Looks pretty good.....

Well to tell you the truth..

It was just OK...

I thought the peanut butter mixed in with the vanilla pudding would be good, but I think just the vanilla pudding would have been better and just the brownies.. no candy...

But anyways there are alot of trifle combos out there..

I'm sure I will find one I like alot better....

 So here is the recipe from www.tasteofhome.com

Ingredients

• 1 fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
• 1 package (10 ounces) peanut butter chips
• 2 packages (13 ounces each) miniature peanut butter cups
• 4 cups cold 2% milk
• 2 packages (5.1 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cartons (8 ounces each) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

• Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; stir in peanut butter chips. Bake in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack; cut into 3/4-in. pieces.
• Cut peanut butter cups in half; set aside 1/3 cup for garnish. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well. Fold in 1-1/2 cartons whipped topping.
• Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups. Spoon a third of the pudding mixture over the top. Repeat layers twice. Cover with remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups. Refrigerate until chilled. Yield: 20 servings (1 cup each).

Nutritional Facts 1 cup equals 680 calories, 38 g fat (15 g saturated fat), 28 mg cholesterol, 547 mg sodium, 73 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 13 g protein.

Originally published as Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle in Taste of Home April/May 2010, p17

Workout Wednesday!!!

So I did the same workout as last week, well I just walked, I didn't go to the gym before..

So as I was walking up this little hill... 

I stopped to take a picture of this...

the golfers who were on the area for beginners 

the beautiful view of Catalina Island...

I somehow ended up on the ground.... and ended up feeling like a fool (and a old lady to boot)

Thank goodness it was just my aunt and uncle and not my husband cuz he would of been on the ground with me... only he would be laughing!!!

Thank goodness I didn't cry...

It kinda hurt..

Here is my injury...

Well anyways we still had 55 minutes to go so I jumped up (well not really, my uncle helped me up) and continued with our walk..

We walked an hour today...

With views like these I could walk here everyday...



Workout Wednesday..

So this morning after I deposited 2 of my grand kids at school and another at her dad's house, I headed over to Bally's gym and met my 75years young aunt and her 81years  young (yup 81 yrs and still at the gym) friend to work out.

They had 30 min in by the time I got there, so I did a good work out for 1 hour... weight machines, elliptical trainer and the recumbent bike....but...

after that I met my aunt AGAIN!!! for a double workout this morning...

I met my aunt and uncle for there 4x week walk/hike at Trump national golf course on the  cliff's overlooking the ocean at Trump national golf course in Palos Verdes.

It was a beautiful walk LOTS of uphills and not so many downhills around the golf course.  

We  walked on paved trails, dirt trails and even over a small slippery stream..

We took a trail down to the water....

And had to walk back up...



The main paved trail that runs next to the cliffs.

It was a great workout...

1 hr and 19 minutes later and one last long up hill to the car, we were done.. Then off to lunch at the best Mexican joint around...

Did I say they are 74 and 75 yrs young....

Thank goodness my house did not burn down.

You never think that you will ever come close to your house burning down.

Well we came as close as I ever want to be.

Last week I started smelling this horrible odor in the kitchen and hall, I thought maybe something fell towards the back of the pantry like potato or sweet potato. I searched and found nothing, checked the Fridge.. nothing. Opened all the hallway cupboards , but nothing smelled like the hall or kitchen.

OK so I went to work Thursday and and when I came home the smell was horrible, I even asked my husband "do you think something died under the house"... got no reply there, apparently he wasn't concerned..

Friday  morning I took the trash can outside before I left for work ( I thought to myself, its a little better).

Well when I got home it was bad..

So a little bit later the T.V. started turning off and on like someone was sitting on the remote, but they weren't.

We looked behind the T.V. and the power cord  was burned,  only 2 prongs were left!!!  OK really scary because my grandsons bed is in the next room on the same wall!! and the house could of easily  burned down while we were at work.
My husband and his son checked all the outlets and my husband fixed everything Saturday morning.

Thanks goodness there were a few signs that something was wrong and we are going to be checking the outlets more often now...

Workout Wednesday...

Well hello it's workout Wednesday and I had a great workout this morning. No gym or personal trainer today.. just me and the beach, the dolphin's and some whales, yup whales I  saw about 3,  had to squint to see them but I did.

I did a little running and walking in the sand, trucked up and down stairs, the ramps that take you down to the sand and of course walking. I was done in about 45 min.

The workout I did this morning is one that I used to do all the time way back in the 90's and it was a breeze then, "not today" today I almost quit, threw up and fainted, but I did none of those things I pushed through it and that was it..
Boy am I out of shape!!!
or a more postitive phrase would be
"Boy It's not a easy as it used to be, but I'm doing my best"..

The bike path for my walkin...

The first set of stairs  (58) of them!!!

up the ramp!!

 Up the 2nd set of stairs....

 and back down the other side!!!

 And now for the grandaddy of them all, the one I used to run up, and take 2 steps at a time.  My record of  going up and down this baby is 14 times.. in one hour... (72 steps)
And sadly today I balery made it up 2 times.......

OK so I'm not like I used to be, but I'm still out there chuggin along:)

Workout Wednesday...

Yup I finally worked out this afternoon.. I even have pictures as proof...
So I used to be in really good shape, I taught step aerobics and did some personal training. (way back in the 90's) in fact that is how I met my husband..

So besides not feeling my best, I have noticed that I am losing strenght in my hands and Quads, and arthritis is setting in on my right knee.. it is quite alarming.. I never ever though this would happen. So  my goal is to get the strength back up, not feel so tired and just do something for me.

So here's my  proof.. 1 hour of working out
dumbells for 30 min and eliptical trainer for 25 minutes.

Project #1... The hallway linen/storage closet...

Well I didn't watch the rose parade, I went to breakfast instead...and then started on the hallway linen closet...it was pretty easy, all I did was throw away most of the stuff....




UGGH......

hmmm something is missing...

My husband's handy work, 2 headed extension cord...( he'll never miss it)

13 years old liner from 1998



new liner

much better...