Birthdays are Yummy

Aunt J had her 60th birthday last Thursday. Several of her kids flew/drove in to surprise her and we had a surprise open house for her as well. I bought her this frame and put on the vinyl lettering (how I did that below):

An Aunt J birthday would not be complete without Gone With the Wind:

Gone with the Wind

1 c. graham crackers (about 7), crushed
1 c. vanilla wafers (about 23), crushed
¼ c. brown sugar
3 tbsp. melted margarine

1 Tbsp. gelatin (Knox--about one packet)
½ c. cold water

4 egg yolks, beaten
2 c. milk
1 c. sugar

4 egg whites
1 tsp. salt

2 c. whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla
5 tbsp sugar

Mix first 4 ingredients well and pat ½ into 9x13 inch pan. Reserve ½ for the topping. Soften gelatin in cold water. Make stirred custard by cooking and stirring milk, sugar, and egg yolks in microwavable dish on 30% power.* Check every couple of minutes. Custard is done when the mixture coats a metal spoon (it is a very obvious change). Mix gelatin in until well dissolved. Cool the custard by placing dish in a large bowl of ice water, taking care that no water contaminates the mixture. Whip cream and vanilla till stiff, whip in the sugar. Beat egg whites and salt till stiff. Fold both into custard (thoroughly with a whisk) and turn into pan. Sprinkle topping on. Chill overnight.

*When making custard, cooking times and power levels will vary. Be sure to not overcook the custard or the egg will cook into little chunks. Best rule of thumb: start on a lower power and bring it up if it’s not cooking.

I couldn't tell about my first early morning Black Friday shopping this year because I was buying a birthday gift for my mom. Technically I went on Thursday, but I'll still count it as black Friday :) My mom had briefly mentioned an interest in the Cricut vinyl cutters so I thought that would be a nice gift to get her. Luckily this was the year of the Cricut so it was on sale at a million places. I decided to stake out Big Lots since they had the model I liked and I figured the crowd wouldn't be too bad there. I was so nervous about getting one that I woke up at 4:30am and was in the parking lot at 5:00am. No one else showed up till 5:30am. I finally got out of my car after two other cars showed up. Luckily the other people in line were pretty nice to talk to and helped pass the time. The store opened at 7am and I was the first one in. I ran back and grabbed a Cricut for my mom and one for myself for good measure. I've always liked the vinyl lettering for decorative purposes, but couldn't bring myself to pay the exorbitant prices. Plus I wasn't too happy with the selection out there. Now I can make whatever I want, whenever I want.