Summer Book Review - Yeti Is NOT Ready for School

I am very happy to share with you some wonderful books for Summer (and any time) reading with the children you love. This first book, Yeti Is NOTReady for School, is from Random House Books for Young Readers. Now, I have to say, I lived for several years in one of the most beautiful places on the face of the Earth - Northern California - the true North at the top of the valley which runs the length of California. There are mountains on three sides - and when I say, "mountains", I mean MOUNTAINS! Mt. Shasta to the North is over 14 thousand feet tall! 

Today is World Chocolate Day! Celebrate with the Best-Ever Chocolate Cake!

Today is World Chocolate Day, so in honor of this most important day, I'm re-running my recipe for the best-ever Chocolate cake! Don't you just love chocolate cake?!!! Aren't there days when chocolate cake is the best thing you could possibly eat? Well, I do love chocolate cake and there are days when chocolate cake most certainly does put a smile on my face - although since I've been working the past five years to lose weight (and have lost 100lbs), I rarely eat it, but I do fix it for others.

So, when I found the recipe I'm sharing with you today and tried it . . . well, I knew I had to share it with you because it is the best chocolate cake I've ever had! (I found the recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book) What could be a better way to celebrate World Chocolate Day, than with the Best-Ever Chocolate Cake???!!! :-) Or, if you have a special event coming up where a chocolate cake would be the perfect addition . . . or, if you would just like to brighten your family's - and your own - day, bake up this best-ever chocolate cake! But first, some chocolate fun facts . . . did you know -

The Little Ginormous, Humongous, Hairy, One-Eyed Monster Boys Adventures!

   

Recently I shared how when my grands were young and at my house for a sleepover, we typically made up stories at bedtime. They almost always had monsters or dinosaurs in them. One night when my oldest grand was six, my middle grand was three, and my youngest grand was one, we were getting them into bed when my oldest grand said there was a monster under my middle grand's bed! This was not what my middle grand wanted to hear, so I said there could not be any monsters under the bed because the monsters were at their poppa's and grandma's house getting ready for bed on their sleepover. My grands found this idea very interesting, so of course, our bedtime story for the night had to have little, ginormous, humongous, hairy, one-eyed monsters getting ready for bed and being scared because they thought they saw, teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, not-so-hairy, two-eyed people under their beds! 

Do Something Nice Today

October 5th is actually Do Something Nice Day, but of course I think every day should be, Do Something Nice Day, so let's make today a day where we focus on being nice to others - and then continue to do so each and every day! So . . . what can we do to be nice to others? Hmmm. What about . . . 

Take & Make the Time to Speak & Show Love

I am blessed with three grandchildren - and they are all doing what we know all grandchildren do . . . they are growing up. My oldest grand now has a driver's permit! How could this have possibly happened so fast?!

just for fun - Today, July 5th, is National Graham Cracker Day & a Recipe for Ice Cream Pie!

Today is National Graham Cracker Day! All grandparents know about graham crackers . . . or at least we know most grandchildren enjoy them! But what is the "history" of the graham cracker? I looked on-line and found the following . . . 

grandma's cookbook - Blueberry Lemonade Cheese Cake Pie (No Bake!)

 

Since it is National Blueberry Month, it is a great time to try new desserts for get-togethers and if the dessert is a tasty no-bake recipe it could not possibly be more perfect! I was browsing on Pinterest   and found a recipe for Raspberry Lemonade Cheese Cake Pie, but thought it could easily be switched to Blueberry Lemonade and had to share it with you!

You'll find the recipe at this link - I'd make the following substitutions . . .

Happy 4th of July!

I enjoy the posts from  nationalgrandparentsday.com! Most of them bring a smile to my face! So today, on the 4th of July, they posted this image -

grandma's chuckles - Kisses are Weird!

I have three grands; they are doing what grands do - getting older. But, even though they are no longer "littles",  I LOVE EVERYTHING about being a grandma . . . the hugs, the kisses, the sweet smiles, reading  books, playing games, making cookies . . . the list goes on and on! One of the wonderful things about being a grandma is being able to remember when they were younger and the sweet things a grandchild says once they begin to talk . . . usually there are a lot of really funny things they say, too!

Today is Not Really the Great American Grump Out, But Let's Celebrate It Anyway!

If you have been reading grandma's cookie jar for very long, you know I like to share with you silly holidays and special days . . . after all, when it is chocolate day, or pie day, or cookie day, or donut day, or ice cream day, who wouldn't want to celebrate with the ones we love???!!!

Well, today is not really the Great American Grump Out Day - it is the first Wednesday in May, but it made me smile, so I thought I'd go ahead and share it with you anyway . . . On-line it says, "The Grump Out asked sour pusses to suck it up and refrain from getting their grump on -- at least for 24 hours. This includes no grumping, no frowning, no grousing, complaining, punching, slapping, hitting, or killing . . . FOR ONE WHOLE DAY. On this day you will knock it off with your grouchy thing and put a lid on it --- just for 24 hours. (It's not for a lifetime, just a mere 24 hours. If you get your 8 hours of sleep it means you only have to go for 16 hours.) After that you can go back to your old self again."

They also gave the following:

Make Time for What Really Matters

Yesterday I was thinking about when my grands were younger and they spent a lot of time at my house - sleepovers and when their parents were working. Now they are older, so while they still come over nearly every weekend for a sleepover (I am SO blessed!), they do not typically come over in the summer during the days. 

One of the Most Important Things I Do as, "grandma"!

We are through the first month of Summer; July is off and running and this is one of my favorite times of the year. Why, you ask??? Because all the, "back-to-school" sales will be starting!

July is National Ice Cream Month

By the way, did you know July is National Ice Cream Month?! I do enjoy a nice bowl of ice cream, but since I've been focused on losing weight (I've lost 100lbs since the start of 2020!), I rarely eat this sweet treat. I have found, however; sorbetto on a stick - especially the mini-size only has 50 calories per serving! Hooray! 

But back to ice cream - let's look at some ice cream fun facts - did you know . . .

Today is National Tell a Joke Day!

 

Why don’t cats like online shopping? They prefer a cat-alogue. 

What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.

What is a cat’s favorite song? Three Blind Mice.

What do you call an alligator wearing a vest? An in-vesti-gator.

Okay, well, Today is National Tell a Joke Day, so I thought I'd share a few jokes from the Today Show's Jokes for Kids - you will find more at this link, because of course, one big way to celebrate Tell a Joke Day, is by telling jokes!