Cinnamon Bun Recipe

Sam had requested this...so voila!

2 Hour Buns


3 cups warm water

1/2 cup white sugar

6 tbsp. oil

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. yeast

2 eggs, beaten

7 to 9 cups of flour



Combine the first five ingredients.

Add the eggs and mix well.

Add enough flour to make a soft dough.

Pat with oil and let rise 15 minutes.

Punch down and repeat rise two more times.

On the forth rise make into buns or cinnamon buns.

Let rise 1 hour.

Bake at 350 for 15 mins.

Note:for cinnamon buns, roll out batter and spread plenty of butter on batter. Sprinkle dark brown sugar and cinnamon over batter. For a gooier cinnamon bun, sprinkle brown sugar on the bottom of your pan.

There is nothing more intoxicating than the smell of freshly ground coffee and yeast activating. There is a light rain falling and I am curled up sipping my first cup. I have an apple cinnamon candle burning. I mixed up a batch of 2 hour buns which I will convert into cinnamon buns.

I have only made them once before, over Easter. They turned out not too badly. I was quite pleased to have done alright with them. Just one of those things I felt like I always should have known how to make.

I had a wee bit of house envy yesterday. I went to a baby shower for a friend at work. One of her friends hosted it. The shower was great and the wee one soooo cute. I couldn't help but compare yesterday though. Her kitchen/dining room is the size of my whole house. I often wonder where I went wrong back in the early adulthood when houses like hers are the norm for the people I know, and houses like mine, are the exception. Not a darn thing I can do to change it though. I'm 41 and my life path isn't likely to change to include a boatload of money. When I got home, I gave myself an hour to work through that (some might read 'pout' LOL) and then pushed on. I have what I have.

There might be a bit of time for Mother's Day today. I have to go over to the school and work for a couple hours to be ready for tomorrow and the week ahead.

for all those moms out there, I wish you a wonderful day filled with family and love.

Where the money stands

as of May 7th

Debts
Mortgage - $34 188.89
Vehicle Loan - $12 049.52
Total Debt - $46 238.41

Savings
Summer - $1000
Back to School - $1500
EF (TFSA) - $2000

Planned Savings
RRSP - $2500
RESP - $7375

just.............appreciating things

just feels like the right thing to do: to appreciate some of the things in my life.

• the weather has been nice. It was gorgeous yesterday. Heading towards rain today. But there is just something about that beginning of spring weather where everything feels fresh and peaceful that replenishes my spirit.
• back to work today. I missed my kids. they are so funny and such a great group to work with, even if they are not easy all the time.  I like that I have a job where I really enjoy the people, young and old, that I work with.
• DS1 had an interview after school today. We waiting outside (out of sight of the door) to see how it went. It is his first one ever so he has no frame of reference. It would be really nice if he got it.
• My cats are always so happy to see me when I come home. If they are outside they both run. Sometimes I can't even get in the vehicle and they are already in the driveway. they both add such richness to my life

The depth of consumer loyalty

I was on my way over to the school this morning to get some correcting and prep work done for the week ahead. My vehicle was low on fuel. Periliously low. The happy little fuel indicator said I had about 50 KM left. I don't put a whole lot of trust in those but they do give a nice estimate. I stopped at my regular gas station. I have been going to this station since it opened in 1985 and I was the first 'gas jockey' hired. I was 15.

There are two fuel stations in my wee town and in our sister community about 5 Km away, there are about 8ish.  We are very much the little sister of the family and most of our shopping places exist in the larger of the two communities.

Now I go to my regular station out of a sense of habit and loyalty. I also go because it support my Air Miles Card, which I got when I was first a driver. When I am at home, I support this station for probably 99% of my fuel purchases.

I pulled in this morning and thought 'ohh they got a new sign'. Then I took a closer look and realized that the new sign was there because they had switched companies. awwww. I honestly didn't know if this company took AirMiles but I needed gas so stop I did.

For the record, our gas went up across all the stations and is now at $1.329 per litre. sigh.  I put in $50, which is my gas budget for the week. How much did that get me? 3/4 of a tank. Very sad to see, especially since that first 1/4 is the largest part of the tank, based on the shape.

I went in and asked if they still took airmiles and they said no. They are now with Aeroplan. A fine points card I am sure but not the one I use.

I said I was very sad to hear this and that this possibly was my last tank of gas at their station. We are a three car family so that means a loss of business of 3 tanks every 10 days or so, for this station. I told them that, kindly. I have no idea why the companies changed and I know it's not their fault, but I felt it was important to know why they would likely be losing my business.

I know there is one other Shell Station in our sister community. I now have to decide if I want to support my own community and add yet another card to my wallet, or if I will stick with the one I have and fuel up elsewhere. That station is on the far side of the city and really not on my direct path but another 3 minutes would get me there. It's not horribly out of the way but it would require me to be more aware of when I need fuel.

In the big picture of life I know this is not a huge decision. It does make me go hmmmmm