Goudy Straight Trippin'

Author: deandragoudy

The beginning of our ILC journey – a family affair

Have you ever felt like you were stuck on a roller coaster ride. where you arrive at the end and are expecting to be let off only to be jolted forward and forced to ride again?

Our roller coaster started spinning four years ago when our daughter (Lauren), who was only 32 at the time, was diagnosed with Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (Breast Cancer) on September 24, 2020. After a series of chemo treatments, a bilateral mastectomy, and a few post-operative complications, spanning just over a year – she was declared cancer free! Praise the Lord!

Three weeks ago (May 6, 2024), the roller coaster jolted forward when I found a small painful bump on my right-side breast, close to the armpit. Naturally I was a bit concerned. The day I found this was Stephen’s birthday, and I didn’t want to worry him, so I went to work and had my daughter inspect it for me. Her first thought was, ‘mom I think it is just a bug bite, but to be sure you should call your gynecologist’. Because it was small and painful, the presumption that it might just be a bug bite was reasonable since most internet searches will tell you ‘Breast cancer isn’t painful’. I went ahead and called my gynecologist and made an appointment, which I almost canceled twice before the appointment date arrived. On 13 May, my gynecologist checked the spot and, as a precaution, referred me to get a diagnostic mammogram. The clinic she referred me to was not one I had used before.

Thursday, May 16th I had the diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. The facility was really nice, and very different from what I had experienced previously. I was escorted to a private room, where I was given a soft, comfortable robe (not the typical medical gown). Everyone at the facility, from the receptionist to the Radiology doctor, was very personable and comforting. After my ultrasound, the radiology doctor came in to tell me that the area that I came in for is fine, however, sometimes God has us come in for something that turns out to be nothing so that we find the something that is. Honestly, everything she said after this was a blur. I know that she said we needed to do a biopsy, and she was saying a prayer that it could be one of a few other things (cannot for the life of me remember what they were) but she did not feel it would turn out that way. My nurse navigator came in and said they had an opening for a biopsy the same day, if I would be interested. Um, yes please! I waited two days for this appointment and did not want to wait any longer than necessary for the biopsy. Interestingly, she presented a consent form for me to sign stating I was not being coerced to have the biopsy that day. The nurse also asked me if I had a surgeon in mind, and if so, what was their name? I was already texting Lauren and asking for her surgeon info at this point. The Nurse navigator told me I probably would not have the results until Monday, since it was Thursday, as it can take up to two days for the results to come back. In my mind, I am thinking this cannot be real, almost like an out of body experience as we are discussing possibly needing a surgeon and oncologist. I left and headed back to work and planned for one of the longest weekends of my life. I spent that weekend with my kids, got a new tattoo on a whim, and spent time with my grandchildren.

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) accounts for only 10% of breast cancer cases in the United States.

ILC doesn’t always present as a mass and is known as the sneaky cancer. It is hard to view on mammograms, and often missed until it is bigger in size and more advanced in stage of development.

The breast center has an online system where you can view your results once they are published. At 11:28 that Monday morning (20 May), my whole life changed as I read the results – Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, ER/PR + and HER-2 negative. It was all very surreal. The radiology doctor called shortly after to read me the results and confirmed that it is indeed breast cancer, and to let me know she was praying for me, and that the nurse navigator would reach out shortly with the next steps. When the nurse called, she stated they had an appointment tentatively scheduled with the breast surgeon for the following Wednesday (22 May) if that day worked for me. I met with the breast surgeon, and she went over what ILC is/means and explained my surgical options – lumpectomy, single mastectomy or bilateral mastectomy. I have opted for a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction and will meet with the plastic surgeon this Wednesday (29 May). Tuesday (28 May), I will have a chest MRI with contrast, and I am currently awaiting appointment scheduling with my oncologist.

There have been so many phone calls; scheduling doctor visits, scheduling advanced MRI, calling insurance company to find out my deductible and total out of pocket expectations, etc… It truly has been a surreal and exhausting week. I have struggled between overwhelming pressure and emotional adjustment and times when it almost seems like nothing has changed at all.

I will be writing about our journey as we navigate through this next chapter of our lives. It is OUR journey because cancer affects everyone not just the patient.

May 28, 2024
Donkey and Dragon

Meet Donkey and Dragon!

“Want a donkey?” Of course!! It never hurts to know people who know people… In this case a family friend had a neighbor who was looking to thin down their herd of donkeys. Naturally, we could not resist, and donkeys serve a great purpose on any ranch, protecting the livestock from stray dogs and coyotes.

We were able to borrow a stock trailer from a good friend and made the trip to what turned out to be an open field… with a BUNCH of donkeys and a few horses to boot. The owner suggested bringing cookies to entice the donkeys to the trailer, which we naturally forgot to bring. Fortunately, they kept a stock of cookies in their truck for just this occasion. On the downside, the folks tending the herd also put out fresh feed and hay earlier the same day… cookies were not much of a help any longer.

The selection was varied, and we set our eyes on a pair (one male, one female) that we thought would do nicely. The donkeys did not share our optimism. They readily, and easily, avoided our best attempts to collect and load. We burned through a lot of cookies in the effort and never really got either one close to the trailer, in the middle of an open field… did I mention that?

As we were growing close to the conclusion that we were going to be unsuccessful in this effort, we finally managed to wrangle a pair (not the original selections) between a fence and the truck/trailer. We used some creative reorganization to confine them and then proceeded to load first the male (younger and smaller) who was none to pleased with us. It did not help that this yearling donkey had never been handled prior to this day. We managed to work him into the back of the trailer and refocused our attention on the female who was quite a bit bigger, and more obstinate.  We worked her toward the rear gate of the trailer and with 4 guys around, began attempting to coax her into the trailer while simultaneously preventing the male from climbing back out. Did I mention she was obstinate? She resisted our gentler persuasions. We then obtained a rope which we slung around her backside. Two guys got on her front hooves and two more behind. With a bit more physical coercion, along with a stomped foot and her sitting on one of the helpers. We managed finally to get her loaded and keep the little one in play. In the end, two pretty, dark brown, strip-backed Dunn donkeys loaded and hauled to their new home. Now for the next adventure!

October 9, 2020
Can you guess our newest project?

Start them young!

September 20, 2020
OUTSIDE IN
If only the weather was like this when I installed the fans…

I sought advice from others doing similar vintage trailer renovations and the consensus is that I should focus on outside to inside in my repair and renovation efforts. Get it dry, get it sealed, and then make it pretty.
To begin this, I am focusing on the roof first. I purchased aluminum sheet, 48”x48”, for the initial patches (and some practice). For the preparation, you will need a rivet removal tool. Although rivets can be drilled-out with a standard drill bit, it has proven true for me that it is easier with a properly designed tool. I bought mine from Vintage Trailer Supply. I spent about 15 minutes understanding the tool and the parts provided (for different sizes of rivet), and then moved to the trailer to begin the drilling fun. DO NOT BE IN A HURRY. Drilling out rivets takes time and patience. The tool occasionally gets gunked up with the shavings from the rivets and has to be cleaned out. Slow and steady is the best recommendation. For me, the starting point for testing the rivet removal tool was the street-side wall space under the kitchen window, where I have some corrosion holes to fix. This gave me an easily accessible point to work with the tool and see what I need to do before I climb on the roof. Having done this and successfully removing a series of rivets, I am ready to climb up top. I will be returning to the wall for continued repair later.

Additional Tools for aluminum patching:
- Cut-off tool or aluminum snips
- Rivet gun (buck rivet w/ bucking bar or universal rivet depending on your desire for originality or ‘get it done’)
- Cleco fasteners (used to hold your metal pieces in place as you prep the installation)
- Rivets (solid or universal)
- Sealant (Sika Self-leveling Sealant is what I used)
Roof day proved to be a Texas classic… weather has been cold and overcast for weeks, but on roof day out pops the sun at a toasty 85 with not a cloud in sight. Needless to say, I cooked while I lay on the aluminum roof drilling out rivets for the vent pipe that used to service the heater assembly (missing) and the 12-inch x 16-inch manual roof vent that I will be replacing with a 14-inch x 14-inch MaxxFan Deluxe roof vent. I am hesitant to admit that I was terrified of cutting the aluminum sheet and patching the ceiling. I used a cordless cut-off wheel to trim out the roof opening from 12 inches to 14 inches wide, then cutting a 14-inch x 14-inch hole in the new aluminum sheet I purchased to patch over the extra length of the old vent and provide the precise opening for the new vent. I used the cutout piece to patch the heater vent opening and then placed the remaining piece over the opening for the vent. I then commenced to pre-drill the holes (starting with the corners) and placing cleco fasteners to hold the patch in place. Once I had the holes drilled, I removed the patch, applied Sika sealant around the perimeter and then replaced the patch with cleco fasteners in the corners. I then proceeded to rivet the patch in place and clean up the sealant that squirted out the sides. Next I moved on to the main vent patch, repeating the steps used for the heater vent but first dry fitting the vent insert in the hole to make sure position was good and that all of the previous vent spaces were completely covered. Then I proceeded as before with clecos, pre-drilling the holes, applying sealant, and riveting everything down. Finally I placed the vent collar into the opening (sealant once again around the fringe) and screwed the collar down. At the last, I placed the vent fan assembly on the collar and dropped it in place.

I probably should have paid closer attention to the fact that I had a secondary vent relatively close to the location of my powered vent. As it turns out, I needed another ¼ inch of clearance for the vent hood. Next week I will have to correct this too. Fortunately, the interfering vent is not used either and I will remove this and flat patch the hole as I did with the heater vent. Hindsight is sometimes a real bugger. Fortunately, I also utilized this opportunity to pre-cut the second vent patch piece I will need for the rear powered vent installation also to come next week.
June 5, 2018
RV INTERLUDE

The Bachelor RV – Dallas RV Show 2018

We decided to take a weekend off for a couple of reasons. First, it was Deandra’s first full weekend off in a year. Second, it was the date of the Dallas RV Show. We would never have imagined a year ago, when we attended the Dallas RV show for the first time, that we would be attending the show to look for remodeling ideas and ‘hopefully’ to score some vendor resources for things we are having trouble finding. In fact, we had fully expected to be coming into this RV show with a handful of cash and eager to make a deal on a shiny new trailer. Oh how life has its funny way of playing tricks on us.

The truth is we really did not gain any value from attending this year’s RV show. The seminars offered primarily focus on new RV buyers, providing tips for how to use the systems that come in most new fifth wheels or travel trailers. Cooking tips, how to flush your tanks, what is the best fifth-wheel hitch, etc. Worse still is the sad fact that the majority of vendors renting booths at the show are selling stuff that has nothing to do with RVs (gutter systems for your house, bathroom remodeling, windows for your house, etc) or trying to sell gadgets (TENs machines, and the vendor was a jerk to boot). We concluded after a mere 45 minutes of walking through the show that there was nothing here for us. We did collect some info on RV parks, RV traveling groups, and a couple of other vendors that might come in useful once we complete our project.

A future consideration will be to take the accumulated knowledge we are gaining from our renovation project and possibly go back as a vendor to future RV shows and present options for vintage trailer restoration as a business venture. This will include all of our ongoing research on RV Solar (including all system components and sourcing), electrical system integration (12vDC, 110vAC, Solar), aluminum sourcing and rework ideas, and so on. It may also include custom cabinetry, trailer component repair and replacement, WINDOWS!!! Sorry… I got a little overzealous there… Windows are my current source of heartburn. Still to be resolved.

This all will depend on the success or failure of our current project and all that we learn in the process. Believe me when I say there is a ton to learn and we are only scratching the surface at present.

With the abbreviated visit to the Dallas RV show, my lovely bride decided it would be a great opportunity to visit IKEA… “since we are already on this side of town and it is just up the road…” I think I was suckered, but I am not entirely sure. While I contemplated a dental visit to pull perfectly good teeth, or maybe a colonoscopy, in the end (pun intended) we went to IKEA and it proved to be relatively productive as we found the couch set up that we like with storage (a necessity) and it was actually comfortable. No pain meds required…

We will be back in the trenches next week and moving forward as quickly as we can.

April 13, 2018
Seeking Salvageable Something
Seeking Salvageable Something

We completed the cleanup of all the trash, dirt, bugs, bodies, and refuse. It only took three trips… Now we get to review the remnants of the original design. Sadly, there is extensive water damage from leaking windows, poorly sealed gaps, corrosion holes in the skin, and missing or broken vents in the roof, and body damage from unsuccessful parking attempts by previous owners. The seals under the windows are crumbling to pieces at the touch of a hand or tool, and glass is missing or broken in almost every window. The cabinets are delaminated with the surface peeling apart and the joint pieces of the drawers are falling apart when we pull them out to see what is in side. We had hoped to be able to salvage some of the structure of the old cabinets but the damage is too pervasive to remediate. Conclusion: pull it out and start over.

Even as we begin removing hardware and deconstructing the cabinets we are finding more problems. Invasive bugs have eaten into and made their homes in every possible cranny and nook. Electrical wires have had their insulation rubbed down to the bare wire in a number of locations we would otherwise have never seen. Then there is the haphazard wire splicing someone did to add lights in closets with mismatched wire and improper wire bundling. No screw caps, no junction boxes, just wire on wire with tape mostly covering the pairings. If we had applied power to this mess, it would likely have been a short-lived project for sure. Of course, the shore power input was missing as well, so no chance of that anyway.

We are taking time to preserve the metal grates that were installed in the upper cabinet faces so that we can try to find a home for these once again in the new installation. I have also pulled off the hardware for handles and hinges in case someone is planning an original restoration that may want to try to salvage these parts.

Before the cleanup

We have decided to keep this shower, sand it down, repaint it and then install it back in place.

We will be salvaging the shower stall, which is the only intact part that was still in the bathroom when we found it. It is actually in good shape and just needs some cosmetic work to make it functional and presentable. The faucets, and the pipes leading to them, are being replaced. Pvc was used to create hard connections to some external source that was cut out long ago. All we had left were pipe pieces that ran down through the floor and went nowhere. There is no water tank, grey-water tank, or black water tank in evidence under the trailer, which leads me to believe the previous owners had this hooked directly to septic and outside water sources. Although, once again, I can find no additional evidence of plumbing other than the shower pipes. I found no plumbing under the kitchen sink, and no plumbing for a sink in the bathroom. Just holes in the bathroom floor. I also see no evidence of where a water heater would have been located previously.

The challenge of the shower stall is that it will not fit out of either door. As such, we are forced to move it from side to side or front to back in order to work around it and clean out the trailer. Fortunately, it is very light and easy to move, given its size.

We have successfully removed all of the cabinets, walls, ceilings, and all insulation as of this entry. We discovered in short order that removing all those screws by hand is no fun at all. Thankfully there was some allowance for tools in the budget and we went to Home Depot and bought good quality cordless drills (Dewalt) and extra batteries to allow both of us to work without waiting turns for the drill or bits. I also had a reciprocal saw (18v) from a previous tool kit, although all my 18v batteries were dead (like no recharge life dead) so we also bought a 20v converter and were able to use that to power the saw and remove some of the more stubborn wood pieces.
Speaking of tools, I would recommend to anyone planning a similar activity to make sure you have some of the following:
- Cordless drill with screwdriver bits
- Wire brush drill attachment
- Work lights (battery powered)
- Shop vac (large capacity)
- Lots of trash bags
- Stiff putty knife (metal for scraping)
- Wire brushes (detailing and cleanout of hard to reach places)
- Hammer
- Cut-off tool
- Reciprocal saw
- Heavy duty wire cutter
If you do not have easy access to a power source via extension cord, you will want to have a generator handy as well. This can then be used to provide power for lights as well as charging of batteries, and powering the shop-vac. Not to mention you will need this generator for future boon docking opportunities if you should choose to venture out. I will be discussing generators and selection in a future post, most likely. I realize some will say “duh” to my tool list but never assume anything. I have owned several cordless drills, but when we started this activity, I could not find any of them, hence the purchase above. Know where your tools are and organize in tubs or totes at your work site if possible to save you the hassle of running back and forth to find things resulting in time lost. This is just for the cleanout portion of the activity. More tool recommendations will be involved in upcoming activities.
March 31, 2018
And so it begins…

Pick-up Day!

The journey truly begins! Knowing the degree of physical labor that would be required to actually get our new beauty capable of rolling down the road, I opted to take my son (who just happened to be home for Christmas) to go with me. The trip to Breckenridge was, once again, long but doable and we had some good conversation along the way.

I had picked up 4 new tires the day before. I did not feel comfortable trusting this investment to 40 year-old tires.

Upon arrival, we began the fight to mount new tires on old trailer. Rusted lugs and even more rusted lug nuts anyone? The fight was real, but we were victorious (sort of). We managed to nestle four new tires under our prize and secure (most of) the lug nuts.

We then took a quick run into “downtown” Breckenridge to get a one-way permit for the trailer. Fortunately we made it to the license office right before closing time. With permit in hand, we stopped by a hardware store to pick up some shiny new lug nuts, a hitch pin, and some painter’s tape to attach the permit to the back window of the trailer and we were in business.

Back to the trailer and we were rolling. To make a long story slightly less long, we got her safely to her renovation resting place (a.k.a. my brother’s house).

Now to clean, clear, vacate, and vanquish the vile remnants of a life left behind. We have removed all of the old trash, clothes, miscellaneous pieces and parts of other non-related places that found their way into her belly for later consideration but found no reprieve or alternate use to call their own.

Clothes that are crusty with age, riddled with holes from who-knows-what misfortune. Tables, sofas, and other broken pieces of what was once someone’s favorite night stand or dresser. Dry wall, old shoes, mismatched plastic and ceramic dishes. Dollar store pots and pans. The list goes on… but those items do not! Trash bag after trash bag of refuse (and miscellaneous critter skeletons) are now gone. Thank goodness for filtered masks and gloves…

It was truly a comedy of filth. I had to remove a huge pile of junk just to get in the front door. There is no handle on the rear door (inside or outside) so that option was out as an entry point.

The more we dug, the more we found. It was like the junk was multiplying as fast as we could remove it. Not really… but it felt that way.

I may not have mentioned this previously but we are working under time constraints, both for the renovation, and for the total project. Our renovation timeline is restricted to Saturdays (as a couple) and Sundays (solo) due to our conflicting work schedules at present. Also, we have a hard target date for “completion” (a term yet to be defined) of August 1 of this year. Can you say aggressive (and moderately insane)? More to come soon…

February 28, 2018
A touch of crazy

Spartan, My Spartan

Your skin is tattered, your face scarred and worn with the passing of time. Oh to know the history in those blemishes. To be privy to the life experiences that wrote their legacy in your aluminum visage. Although we will never know the fullness of your story, we take great pleasure in bringing your youthful appearance once again into the light of day. It is our privilege to grant knew life to old bones, providing a make-over of passion and purpose to relieve you of the pains of neglect and the slow death of weathered abandonment.

So begins the struggle for renewal and revitalization of an uncommon but worthy relic of bygone years with the love of adventure to be recreated and exercised with delicate refinement and renewed vigor.

Are We Crazy???

Why, oh why would we want to give up 2,000 sq. ft. of luxurious living space, comfortable furniture, a nice back yard, fenced privacy, and storage space galore, to move in to approximately 250 sq. ft. of portable tin can?

Having traveled around the world for work assignments ranging from months to years, and dragging our household goods from country to country, we have begun to realize that all that stuff is not so necessary… Are there things that we need? Absolutely! But those things are, in fact, very few. And rarely are those things that we could not replace easily at any given time. Sure, we have keepsakes that we would like to hand down to our kids and grandkids, but the question will always be “will they value these things like we do?” When asking that question with due consideration, the answer is often no. Now if we are talking about the Harley… that is another story and they will likely fight over it when we are gone. They will be collecting their own stuff and don’t need ours to add to their clutter. We enjoy traveling, but while we are gone, somebody has to take care of the aforementioned “stuff”. Now our stuff is somebody else’s problem too.

With this understanding and perspective of “stuff”, we decided that a portable life might be a bit more to our liking. So, the process began to offload stuff and figure out what our version of minimalist looks like. This is an ongoing negotiation, as many of you can imagine. Everyone has their own version of minimal (including the two of us). With the goal of this process being to find our idea (and ideal) of the perfect portable house, we began our search for said portable house.

We began our search by attending a large RV show in Dallas. Talk about information overload! We saw all kinds of very nice, very cool, nifty gadget loaded gizmos and doo-dads. And almost crapped ourselves at the prices… discounted no less… they were crazy! But we looked, and we dreamed, and we planned, and we looked at our budget, and we dreamed some more. We weighed the cost of buying new (and upgrading our ½ ton truck in the process) and the cost of slightly used (and truck upgrade) and a slew of other combinations of these. We looked at how much we could pull with the ½ ton and whether we could tempt fate by going over the manufacturer recommended towing limits. We considered the benefit of a Class A Motorhome (and choked at the sticker shock). Then we started rationalizing what we could do and how long we could use <insert option variable here> and we dreamed some more.

Then the cheap bug hit. Did I mention I am a tightwad and I hate spending large amounts of money? It doesn’t help that my beautiful bride is also very penny-conscious and keeps my occasional toy expenditures to a minimum. Toys are the one thing I don’t mind spending money on, and my toys are never cheap.

Where was I… oh yeah… Cheap bug. So, I said to myself “Self, we should look at old trailers that we can remodel…” And the hunt for a project travel trailer began. I have always thought Airstream trailers were really cool. They fit into my nostalgia frame quite nicely, along with old Volkswagen vans, tin Coca-Cola signs, and classic cars/trucks (50’s trucks especially). Google-mania ensued and I found myself looking at a very long list of cool trailers that were in dire need of renovation with price tags that came nowhere close to accurately reflecting their current state of disrepair. I even drove out to the west side of Weatherford, Tx to look at one that was sitting in a pasture, dented, leaking, with flat, dry-rotted tires and (of course) no title. And I actually considered buying it… for too much money. But wait! On the drive back home, we saw another, similar model (1972 Sovereign) in much better shape, and double the price… and my dream died just a little.

Back to the Google drawing (Searching) board and more random and often over-priced results. Here is when we caught a glimmer of inspiration. During one of those long, drawn out search nights, I came across a cool looking trailer. Not an Airstream, but an aluminum dream with sweet curved windows and a profile to make the most detached passerby stop and stare. And I looked again. And again. Then I finally worked up the nerve to suggest a peek to my lovely bride. This picture of elegance and dreamy curves was our first glimpse at a 1949 Spartan Royal Mansion. Then I found out where it was located… and cringed a little. I had never heard of a little town called Breckenridge, Texas before. Breckenridge, CO… absolutely! But the other was, well, foreign to me at least, but not to my lovely bride. She being a Texas girl and myself being from Georgia. Google Maps we go. Ok… so it is only about 2 hours from Fort Worth. I have traveled longer distances for a burrito (True Story). We decided it was worth it to take a peak, so we called the seller and arranged a time to go out and take a look. That was a loooong two hours. Google maps lied to us! (or it could have been a touch of fat-finger) but we finally made it to the destination (after a phone call or two and some corrections to our target destination). The trailer was a looker for sure. And look, we did. And look some more. As chance would have it, sitting right next to that ’49 Royal Mansion was another Spartan as well. So, we looked. You hear stories from time to time of the proverbial “love at first sight”. If you can imagine 2 Spartan trailers lined up like a beauty pageant and the audience (me) trying to judge the winner… I looked… and looked… then I made the fatal decision to “take a peek inside” the 2nd Spartan. And the rest, as they say, was history. That 2nd Spartan was a 1952 Royal Spartanette. My imagination was set on fire and I had made the decision with one minor oversight… I had to convince the boss (lovely bride) that this was the right choice. My sales pitch was either flawless, or she is far more gracious than I deserve, but in the end (give or take a few weeks and extra trips to Breckenridge) we sealed the deal and brought our sweet chariot home for the next stage of life…

Love at first sight

February 21, 2018
Salted Caramel Cupcakes
I was recently asked to bake some cupcakes for an upcoming work function and one of the flavors was Salted Caramel Cupcakes. I told them yes I can make those, knowing full well I had never before entertained the idea let alone had a recipe! So off I went in search of a recipe that would be worthy to present to a customer.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 vanilla beans or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Line muffing tins with papers.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In your mixer, cream butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add vanilla beans or vanilla extract. Mix and scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When done place on wire racks and allow to cool for 10 minutes. While your cupcakes are cooling, make your caramel!

Caramel Sauce and Drizzle
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
In a medium saucepan, cook the granulated sugar and butter over medium high heat until it begins to melt. Making caramel can be tricky because you want it to be an amber brown, you don’t want it to burn. However, you do want a hint of that smoky flavor so be careful. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring. Turn down the heat to low and slowly add the cream. While continually stirring, turn the heat up to medium until caramel starts to boil again. Set aside and allow it to completely cool (about 10 minutes). You will use half for the frosting and the remaining to drizzle over your cupcakes.

While cupcakes and caramel are cooling, prepare the frosting.

FROSTING
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 vanilla beans or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups of confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, if needed
- Pinch of sea salt
- Caramel Sauce (half for frosting and half for drizzle)
- 2 Tablespoons coarse sea salt (for assembly)
Using a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy and smooth. Add the vanilla beans. Next, add the confectioners sugar half a cup at a time. You may not need all 4 cups. If the frosting is too thick, then add a little cream to help thin it out. When the consistency is the way you want it, add a pinch of sea salt. Using only half of the caramel, add it into the frosting in small spoonfuls. Gently swirl. Fill into piping bag and decorate your cupcakes. Drizzle the caramel over the cupcakes and then garnish with sea salt.
- Any remaining caramel can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before using.
September 17, 2014
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
So now that I am no longer working, I have more time to bake which everyone in the house loves! This week my lovely bananas were begging me to use them since they were turning. I have always seen recipes that incorporate bananas and chocolate so of course I had to try it.

INGREDIENTS
- 4 large, ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 vanilla beans or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 to 1 cup of chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 Celsius).

Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg, butter and vanilla together in a small bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Fold in the desired amount of chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes.
September 9, 2014