Candy Making

And that fresh taste - while the candy was still warm?

Oh so tasty.

Don't get me wrong, you can buy some pretty good store candy - but it just never tastes as good as candy you make yourself.

And, when you make candy yourself, you can use a spoon and scrape the mixing pan clean. Yum...

How To Completely Ignore Valentine's Day Without Having To Sleep In The Dog House
Julie Hunt
1638 Forget the mass marketed, red hearted Valentine Day pressure that starts heating up about now. Steer clear of high priced flowers, tasteless candy hearts and stuffed bears. Follow these tips to make the woman you love feel cherished.

Tell her Valentine's Day means more than romance and gifts. It means she'll be the focus of your caring attention, dutiful doting and loving affection.

Here are 9 quick tips to escape the Valentine's Day commercialism and still snuggle with your hunny!

1. Concentration is the Name of the Game. Guys, you have an amazing ability to focus and solve problems! Focus on how special she is to you. Instead of stressing about the perfect Valentine's gift, think about all the fun, silly, spunky, sexy, serious and loving things that she does for you. Chances are she's doing exactly what she wants you to do in return. Think about who she is. What makes her smile? What she is truly passionate about? What small little things could you do at home every day that would make her feel more loved? Get out your love tools!

2. Under Promise and Over Deliver. Make promises early and make them often…just keep them. No emergency is more important than her love. Show your love and respect for her by honoring your time together and your commitments. Leave work early and call her on the way home and tell her you just couldn't wait to see her. Ask her if she'd like you to pick up something special before you get there.

3. Be a Mirror. We reflect the world around us… the good, the bad and the ugly. Be mindful of her moods. When she approaches you with love and joy, mirror it back to her and she'll feel especially loved and close to you. Or, if she's had an especially bad day, initiate her cheerful reflection by filling up the bathtub with floating candles and tell her to soak in the flickering flames of reflective delight.

4. Note It. Love notes are a sure way to inspire a loving connection everyday of the year. They don't all have to be sappy poems. Buy a calendar, keep it in the bathroom and write a reason a day that you appreciate and admire her. Follow her to the store or the dry cleaners and leave a note on her car in the parking lot. Drop them in her purse or write them on the bathroom mirror with a dry erase pen for her to wake up to. If you were thinking more along the lines of tagging the freeway overpass try 24 hour disappearing ink.

5. Dream Date. Take her on a dream date that won't cost you a dime. Tell her the only topic of conversation is to hear about her dreams. What she loves. What she wants to do before she leaves the planet. What she'd like to learn. Where she'd like to travel. Who she most admires. Let her talk freely without stopping then write a few down later and help her create her dreams.

6. Use Actions and Words. Show her how much you love her by going out of your way to do little things and then reinforce it by telling her. “I'd be happy to _____ because I want to show you how much I appreciate you” or… “I knew you'd feel special coming home to _____.” or… “I wanted to show you how much I love by _____.” If this seems like too much work you can get a list of Valentine's Day heartfelt expressions at www.shesite.com. You won't have to depend on your own creative loving juices and she'll still hear how much you care.
7. Hugs for Health. 4 hugs for survival. 8 hugs for maintenance. 12 hugs for growth. Each and everyday.

8. Bon Appetite. Cook her favorite food. Pick up restaurant delivery and the biggest chocolate dessert you can find on the way home; or have one of the online gourmet delivery options deliver a 5 course meal to your doorstep. Dim the lights. Start with the chocolate first. Put on an old Sinatra CD and tell her you fully expect that she may not even have an ounce of room in her belly for the Pecan Crusted Salmon main course. Get an easy recipe for an intensely chocolate experience with a rich decadent fudgey center at www.shesite.com. This alone will buy you blissful hours of love!

9. Sleep Tight Wishes and Bedtime Kisses. Make the very last moment of her day special by kissing her softly, accommodating a simple request like water or Kleenex, pull the covers up to her chin, touch her forehead and tell her you love her. Give her a kiss on the shoulder first thing in the morning too.

And if that doesn't free you up from the Valentine's Day trap, forget the diamonds and make her a handmade sweetheart style, metal shop charm that she can keep close to her heart. There's nothing more heartwarming than your thoughtfulness, love and handy attention!

WARNING:

DON'T be a complete knuckle head, buy her a card!

For more simple happy fun essentials for every other day of the year, take a peek at www.shesite.com.

About the Author

Julie Hunt is pure delight and motivation. She's a free flowing source of hope, energy and inspiration who tells it like it is giving straight forward and simple tips and advice so you can live happier days and obliterate the monotony of life at www.shesite.com

One of my favorite candy recipes for cold weather is peanut brittle.

PEANUT BRITTLE
1 pound (2 cups) sugar
1 teaspoonful lemon extract
1/2 pint (1 cup) golden syrup
1 gill (1/2 cup) water
2 heaping teaspoonfuls baking soda
1/2 lb. (2 cups) shelled peanuts
1 lb. (2 cups) sugar
1 oz. (2 tablespoonfuls) butter
1 teaspoonful glucose
Cook the syrup, sugar, water, and glucose until it commences to thicken and bubble; then add the butter and peanuts and stir constantly until the nuts begin to brown. Remove from the fire, beat in the lemon extract and the soda, and stir through quickly until it foams up.
Pour out on a well-greased slab and roll out very thin. Then break into pieces.
Wonderful...

From the big book of Bon Bon Recipes.

Candy Recipes

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