9999

I just love Pinterest. I was recently inspired by a tip I saw on Pinterest that showed me how to make donuts at home in only a few minutes. Since then, I've tried this tip and had tremendous success. If you and your family enjoy donuts, but don't want to pay store prices, give this a try.

First, purchase a package of refrigerated biscuits. Separate them on a sheet of wax paper. Now you need to cut a hole in the center. Most people use shot glasses, but since I don't drink I had to get a little more creative. I used my daughter's old pill bottle. Don't worry, I washed it first. Save the holes as they make great donuts as well.

Second, you need to heat up some vegetable oil in a frying pan. If you can afford to use coconut oil, use it. Coconut oil is extremely good for you, but I do understand that it is much more expensive.

Third, prepare your topping. There are several options where this is concerned. You can melt some cake icing in the microwave. You can also sift some powdered sugar, or create a cinnamon/sugar mixture to sprinkle over the completed donuts.

Fourth, place the donuts and donut holes in the oil a few at a time. Keep your eye on them. Mine cooked in record time. You'll need to flip them over once the bottoms become golden brown. Set the donuts on a plate that is covered with a paper towel.

Finally, while the donuts and donut holes are still hot, cover them with your toppings. Serve immediately, or store in plastic zipper bags for breakfast the following morning.

Are you looking for a unique gift to give the person in your life who seems to have everything? How about the gift of a star? I've always known about the International Star Registry, which allows people to purchase their very own star and name it but the price was always more than I could even consider. For the next nine days, you can get a star for yourself or someone else for $20. With a normal selling price of $65, that is a savings of $45!

This great deal gets even better. Currently, there is a coupon code that you can use to get 10 percent off the sales price of naming your own star. That puts the final price for this deal at $18. The code is ELLEN and you must put each letter in all caps for the coupon code to work. Use this code at checkout. Another great part of this deal is that shipping is absolutely free!

So what do you get for $18? First, you get a 16″ by 12″ full-color parchment certificate that has your star's name on it, the date, and the actual coordinates to where the star resides in space. Second, you get a 16″ x 12″ sky chart that not only lists the star’s name, date and constellation, but it also has the star surrounded by a big red circle so that you can clearly see where your star is. Third, you get an astronomy book that is filled with sky charts. Finally, the deal comes with a congratulations letter for the person you are gifting the star to.

Pac-12 Bowl Tie-ins
 

1. Rose Bowl
2. Alamo Bowl
3. Holiday Bowl
4. Sun Bowl
5. Las Vegas Bowl
6. Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
7. New Mexico Bowl

Stanford lost to Washington and to national title contender Notre Dame in overtime, but the Cardinal knocked off then-No. 2 USC and then-No. 2 Oregon on its way to an 11-2 mark.  They still had to defeat UCLA twice in six days to make the Rose Bowl, but the Bruins fell both times.

Oregon (11-1) only lost once, but it was at the worst possible time.  Falling to the Cardinal kept them out of the Pac-12 title game, and never really gave the Ducks a chance to overcome Alabama in the Bowl Championship Series rankings.  As a result, Oregon heads to the consolation bowl (actually, the Fiesta Bowl) for a meeting with fellow near-miss upset victim Kansas State.

Oregon State was red hot before dropping three of its last six to finish 9-3.  The Beavers earned the Alamo Bowl slot, where they will take on home-state favorite Texas.  The different shade of orange involved might make for an interesting stadium mix, but the Longhorn shade figures to predominate.

UCLA (9-4) was much stronger than expected, and had a better year than their much-touted cross-town rivals at Southern Cal.  But the back-to-back losses to Stanford cost them a shot at the Rose Bowl.  They’ll settle for a trip to San Diego to face Big XII upset specialist Baylor in the Holiday Bowl.

Speaking of Southern Cal, the NFL-talent-laden Trojans certainly didn’t expect to be wrapping up their season with a game against 6-7 Georgia Tech (the Yellow Jackets sneaked into a bowl under an obscure rule related to teams that are 6-6 before losing conference title games).  But USC (7-5) stumbled home, losing four of its last five, and fell far enough down the pecking order that a losing ACC team ended up on the other side of the field.

Unlike USC, Washington considered its 7-5 record to be a positive development.  The Huskies end up in Las Vegas to face Mountain West champion Boise State.

Arizona State is another squad that’s pretty much OK with a 7-5 slate.  San Francisco will host the Sun Devils and their Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl match with the Naval Academy.

Finally, Arizona (7-5) will have the honor of kicking off bowl season on Dec. 15 in the New Mexico Bowl against Nevada.

Big XII Bowl Tie-ins
 

1. Fiesta Bowl
2. Cotton Bowl
3. Alamo Bowl
4. Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
5. Holiday Bowl
6. Mieneke Car Care Bowl
7. Pinstripe Bowl
8. Heart of Dallas Bowl

Kansas State (11-1) and Oregon were on the path toward a possible national championship meeting, when both were upset on the same night in November.  The Wildcats fell to Baylor and the Ducks were upset by Stanford.  So, their Fiesta Bowl meeting will be something of a letdown, but it will still be one of the marquee bowl matchups of the year.

Oklahoma (10-2) looked to be on its way to a Bowl Championship Series matchup in the Sugar Bowl, before Northern Illinois managed to sneak into the BCS picture via the anti-antitrust rule (that is, the “don’t sue us, smaller conferences, we will throw you a bone if you don’t” rule).  So the Sooners will get reacquainted with recent Big XII evacuee Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.  (By the way, that’s the Cotton Bowl the event, not the Cotton Bowl the stadium; the Cotton Bowl the stadium is where the Heart of Dallas Bowl is played.  Keep it straight.  There will be a test.)

The Alamo Bowl is played at the Alamo Dome, not the Alamo the historical site.  It will have an appealing matchup with Texas (8-4) taking on Oregon State from the Pac-12.

If you’ve been following at home, you may already know that the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl is in Arizona, and the Big XII representative is conference newcomer TCU.  The Horned Frogs will face Michigan State.
In San Diego, the team that upended Kansas State will take on the team that just lost twice in a row to Stanford.

Baylor (7-5) faces UCLA in the Holiday Bowl.  The Bears were on the brink of not making a bowl at all, before finishing with a major flourish -- defeating Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
Texas Tech (7-5), for its part, will roll across the state to Houston, site of the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, to take on Minnesota.

And … you thought that Kansas State’s bowl picture was sort of a letdown … well, consider West Virginia.  The Mountaineers were 5-0, ranked near the top nationally and had Geno Smith waiting like a guy in front of a vending machine, watching for his Heisman Trophy to appear in the slot.  Next thing they knew they were 5-5 and fighting just to be bowl-eligible.  Obviously, they are bowl-eligible (they finished with a pair of wins to go 7-5) since they are playing in the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium in New York City.  They will take on Syracuse.

Finally, there’s that game in the Cotton Bowl that’s not the Cotton Bowl.  The Heart of Dallas Bowl will feature Oklahoma State (7-5) against Purdue from the Big Ten.