Sean's Montana Girl

Butler Family

2010-11-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

2010-04-30T11:59:00.000-06:00

Ok here it is the Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes. Attempt #1:

1. Yellow cake cupcakes. Just use your favorite yellow cake recipe or box cake works too. I normally add buttermilk instead of the water to a box cake mix. Makes it yummier. Is that a word? It is now. :) or I like the Better Homes and Garden yellow cake recipe too.

2. While your cupcakes are baking you can work on the filling. I tend to do things the easy way rather than the hard way. Makes sense to me, if it can be done easily why not do it that way. You will need:
1 small box of vanilla pudding mix (or french vanilla works too)
1-2 tsp of vanilla nut flavoring (plain vanilla works too but I like vanilla nut so that's what I used)
Milk (whatever amount it calls for on the pudding box)
Just follow the directions on the pudding box for making it and add the flavoring to the milk before pouring it over the mix. 1 tsp if you like a lighter flavor or 2 tsp if you want more, I'd go with 2 tsp but of course in my hurry to get these done I forgot it completely. Once it's mixed together cover with plastic wrap making sure you press it down on the top of the pudding so you don't get a film on the top and place in frig for an hour or so.
3. Now the best part, chocolate ganache. Yummo and so so easy!
8oz. heavy whipping cream
8oz. chocolate (chopped)
Heat cream on stove top until it is just starting to boil stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn. Don't let it get to a full boil! Put chocolate in a bowl and pour cream over it. Using a spoon or whisk or whatever you want to stir it until it's smooth. You'll want to do this step only when you are ready to use the ganache or it will harden.

4. Assembly:
What I did was put the pudding in a pastry bag stick the tip into the cupcake and squeezed. I found that not much of the pudding got in the cupcake or at least not enough for my liking but if you want to try it and it works for you let me know what I did wrong. :) So the next time I'll peel the wrappers off the cupcakes and cut them in half. Put a spoonful of the pudding on the bottom half and dip the top in the ganache then place it on top of the bottom half like a sandwich.

5. Last but not least don't for get to taste test it before you serve them. It's very important to do this at least with one or two of them so you don't serve something that isn't up to par. If you end up taste testing all of them and need to start over I understand. :)

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

2010-03-31T12:46:00.002-06:00

Any kind of chocolate cake works. I used a dark chocolate. For the ganache I used toll house chocolate chunks it was cheaper than getting the baker's chocolate. You'll probably want a glass of milk or cup of coffee to eat this. :D Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

1 devil’s food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (plus more for garnishing – I used 2 bags)
8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and coat paper.
In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.
Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool cakes completely.
Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and then pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.
Trim each cake layer so the tops are flat. Place one layer on a cooling rack and pour 1 cup frosting on top. Spread evenly with a spatula. Add second layer and pour remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Smooth out with spatula.
Allow frosting to set for a minute and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top and sides of cake. Place in refrigerator for about an hour to set. Remove and serve.

THE ROSE OF TRALEE

2010-03-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here is a sweet little irish poem that is my new favorite.

THE ROSE OF TRALEE
The pale moon was rising above the green mountains,
The sun was declining beneath the blue sea,
When I stray'd with my love to the pure crystal fountain
That stands in the beautiful vale of Tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me,
Oh, no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever beaming
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.
The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading,
And Mary, all smiling, was list'ning to me.
The moon through the valley her pale rays was shedding
When I won the heart of the Rose of Tralee.
Tho' lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me,
Oh, no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever beaming
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.

By William Pembroke Mulchinock (1820?-1864)

And the story behind the poem:

William Pembroke Mulchinock composed this ballad. Living just outside of the village of Tralee, William fell in love with a girl who was a maid in one of the nearby houses. Since a romance with an Irish servant girl could hardly be tolerated by the Pembroke Mulchinocks, in no time at all William was sent to join a regiment in India.

And so the young man soldiered, his thoughts remaining on the girl he left behind. Three years passed before he returned to Tralee. As he came into the village, he saw a funeral procession passing down the street. It was the funeral of the girl he loved, who had died, it was said, of a broken heart. In the public park just outside of Tralee there is memorial to these ill-fated lovers. On the marble stone beneath a carved cross is this inscription: "To the memory of William Pembroke Mulchinock and the Rose of Tralee. She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer." 'Of Irish Ways' Mary Murray Delaney

Wow it's been awhile.

2010-01-27T14:37:00.004-07:00

So what's new since last summer? hmmmmm. Well, my knee is almost better. It's closing in on one year since surgery and I can finally go down stairs properly. Granted I pretty much fall the last 3 inches of the step which I know doesn't sound like much but it can be pretty rough on my other knee. I'll keep at it and hopefully it will get strong enough to control the step all the way to the ground. In other news Sean and I have decided to quit drinking pop and to cut back on caffeine. I'm doing really well, today is day 27 without pop and I can count on one hand the number to times I've had caffeine this month. Sean is trying but it seems to be harder for him, but at least he has cut back a lot! We also joined a gym where we work out for at least an hour 5+ times a week. We really haven't seen much in the way of weight lose but it may be due to the fact that we are putting on muscle mass which as we all know weighs more than fat. Sean's arms are looking mighty sexy these days. ;) Well that's all for now...
Until the next time I get around to writing (ie 6 months from now)

6 Happy Years Together

2009-07-23T10:47:00.001-06:00

Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Frustration Abounds

2009-05-26T14:29:00.002-06:00

I am so frustrated with my knee! Tomorrow will make 3 months post surgery and still it hurts, is swollen, and pops. And now the doctor is thinking he might have to do more surgery! agh! He's giving me one more month to get better then back in the OR I will go. Maybe that was to scare me into healing because I don't want to be better????? (heavy sigh) Today in physical therapy they tried this new wrap called a kinetic (sp?) wrap on my knee to hopefully help the swelling and the scare tissue go away. I'm not really sure how wrapping my leg will do that but hey at this point I guess I'll try anything.
It should be so simple if the popping would stop then the swelling would go away and if the swelling goes away then the strength will return. Maybe the problem is that the popping would stop if the knee was stronger... That would be a big problem. hmmm Well, I guess all I can do is keep going to PT and keep doing my exercise and trust that it will heal in God's time and not mine or my doctor's. But sometimes that is very hard to do.

One Year in A New House

2009-05-21T16:14:00.002-06:00

Wow! I can't believe that it's almost been a year since we moved into our first house! The first thing that comes to mind is I'm really bad at this blogging thing! :) The second is that it's not how I expected to spend my first year in the house. Shortly after moving in I hurt me knee at work. Since then it's been physical therapy and surgery. Yet still my knee hurts. I'm 3 months post surgery and the doctor is now talking about more surgery. :( He's giving it one more month to heal before going back in. So needless to say Sean has done lots of work on the house and I have supervised. I really want my knee to be healed so I can get on with my life! I know God has a reason for all of it but it's still very hard not to be frustrated with it.

The other thing I didn't expect was having my mom live with us. Her house became unlivable last August and so she moved in with Sean and me. To say it's been difficult would an understatement. I love my mom and we are very close but having her live with us is challenging. Especially when her bedroom is right across from ours. I really want to ask her to live with one of my other siblings but I'm afraid that will hurt her feelings. I think I'm getting past that though due to my GREAT desire to have alone time with my husband! I guess we just need a break.

I still marvel at the wonderful house we have for a 1st time house! I never would have imagined buying a new construction the first time around. God is good! I'll have to post some before and after pics of it from last June to this year a little later. Hopefully this next year I'll be better about writing. ;)

It has begun...

2008-09-11T08:42:00.002-06:00

Well this past Sunday was the start of the college and career class that I am teaching. I can't really decide how I feel about it. Most of the time I think I'm completely inadequate to be teaching it and the rest of the time I know that I am. Last year was just a mess with teaching material problems, lack of students, and a complete upheaval in my life so that planning was difficult to say the least. The teaching material that was being used by the previous teacher was horrendous. I couldn't figure out what what the lesson was about let alone the application, so we threw that out but then couldn't find anything that would work to replace it. I was never so thankful to see a school year come to a close. We now have a new book from Lifeway that we are trying out. I'm undecided on it so far. I figure I'll give it a shot for this semester and see how it goes. I still think the problem is me and not the material but whatever.

Then I got the "brilliant" idea to have a school kick off event of some sort that turned into a concert. It's this weekend. I can't wait for it to be over; it has been so stressful! One problem after another after another.
I think that we are pretty well set for everything as long as we have students show up and church people come to help (only a hand full have signed up to help) and we have enough food to feed everyone. We are having a local band open the concert at 3:30pm then when they are done and the big band is setting up we will be feeding the students supper then the band from Tulsa will play from 5:15pm to 6:30pm. Then it will be over!!! Happiness.
Then to top off this great week I caught Sean's cold. Super.

Really God don't you think someone else would be better for this...

2008-08-26T14:20:00.004-06:00

A Walk Down Memory Lane ...

1. Where/How did you meet? Sean and I met at Northland Baptist Bible College. I was the leader of an extension that went to Crystal Manor Nursing Home and it was Extension Rush day. I needed another guy to preach as I only had one guy on the team. Well things were winding down and I still didn't have a guy so I started shouting that I needed a man and after a few minutes of this up walks Sean, looking at me like I was crazy. Little did he know that he was right. ;)

2. How long have you known each other? 7 years (this week actually).

3. How long after you met did you start dating? Well our first date was on Dec. 7th so 3 months after we met. But we didn't start "officially" dating until March 17th so that would be around 7 months after we met. And if you are wondering what I mean by "officially" then you didn't go to Northland.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? 2 months

5. How long was your engagement? 13 months

6. How long have you been married? The best 5 years, 1 month and 2 weeks of my life

7. What is your anniversary? July 12th

8. How many people came to your wedding reception? I don't know maybe 100.

9. What kind of cake did you serve? Chocolate was for Sean's cake then the big cake was french vanilla and confetti cake

10. Where was your wedding? First Baptist Church of Laurel, MT

11. What did you serve for your meal? Sandwiches, chips, and veggie trays. We weren't going to have anything but cake but then my oldest brother decided to buy the food for us.

12. How many people were in your wedding party? 3 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen, 1 flower girl, 2 ring bearers and 3 ushers. There were suppose to be 3 groomsmen but two of them backed out the week before the wedding and so we were only going to have 1 but then the night before Sheldon showed up so we found him a suit and he got to walk two girls down the aisle. :)

13. Are you still friends with them all? Yes but we haven't talked to Sheldon since the wedding.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? No but we did laugh quite a bit.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day? Other than marrying the most amazing man in the world. When my brother Sam walked into the church. (He wasn't going to come because he was just getting back from deployment and he didn't think that he would be back in time. But he drove all night long to get there in time) When my brother Lee walked me down the aisle. And when Rick came to see me just before it was time to start and told me it wasn't too late. :)

16. Any funny moments? Tons! The biggest one though is when Sean said I do twice and Rick told him to slow down that the vows weren't over yet. And after lighting the unity candle I told Sean knock knock jokes.

17. Any big disasters? Let's see: two groomsmen backing out 1 week before the wedding, Sean's car breaking down so he almost didn't make it to the wedding, my brother having major back surgery a few weeks before the wedding and didn't think that he was going to be able to walk me down the aisle. I think those were the biggest ones.

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Bozeman, MT and Yellowstone National Park

19. How long were you gone? a week

20.If you could get married again is there anything that you would change? The two things we would have changed would have been the location of the wedding. We didn't get to have all of the things that we wanted because of the location. And I would not have had the lady that did the dresses for the bridesmaids do them. It was her way and no one else, so needless to say they didn't work out so well. My poor girls who had to wear them.

21. Greatest strength as a couple? Making each other laugh when life gets tough.

22. Greatest challenge as a couple? Having the same schedule so that we can see each other.

23. What did you dance your first dance to? We didn't get to have a first dance at the reception but our song is "Good Morning Beautiful" by Steve Holy and we have danced to that many times.

24. Describe your wedding dress: it has beading along the hem and the bodice in kind of a swirling pattern. It has a small train with row of buttons all the way down the back. It's sleeveless with I guess a round neckline and a fitted waist. I tried it on the other day just for kicks and giggles and it actually fit again!

25. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? Daisies, blue delphiniums, and yellow roses.

26. Are your wedding bands engraved? no

27. How old were you when you got married? I was 22 and Sean was 24

This Blogging Thing

2008-08-04T14:18:00.003-06:00

Well, it finally happened. I decided to give this whole blog thing a try. I'll probably only write a new blog once a year if I'm lucky, but who knows maybe I'll surprise myself.
I never thought I'd be "one of those people", I never understood the attraction to writing my thoughts or ideas or simply what was going on in my life and have it out there for all who care to read. I blame Facebook for my decline into the trends of pop culture. Or better yet I blame the person who invited me to be their friend on Facebook. Unfortunately for me, I don't remember who that is. But if I could remember I'd throw an Elf at them or just poke them old school.
Well, enough rambling for now. If you are reading this and you are bored out of your minds well then hahaha I say because you started it.