
Friday, December 21, 2007
Merry Christmas!

Glass Ball Picture Ornaments

Cut your picture into a circle.(I cut out circles on scrap paper to get the correct size I needed.) Then roll your picture up so you can slide it through the top of the ornament. Once inside it will pop back open. You may need to play with it a little to get it in the correct position. I used my cake tester and a pair of tweezers to help out as needed. You then put shredded paper behind the picture to cover the backside of the picture. Attach a ribbon for hanging and a tag if desired. I just wrote Merry Christmas 2007 on my tags.

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Snow Fun

We have been having snow fun for last few days. Megan isn't so sure about walking in the snow. She keeps falling over! It is very funny to watch.

Since it is to cold to stay outside for long, I brought the fun inside. I filled some bowls with snow and added some spoons and measuring cups. All the fun of snow in the warmth of our kitchen. Megan loved this! She played with the snow for almost 45 minutes!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Another First!

We could hardly get the cob away from her. She keep saying "no" when Daddy tried to take the corn away. Everything was cleaned up from dinner and she was still hanging onto her corn! Needless to say she loved it!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Cookie Time!

24 oz chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz chocolate bar, grated
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts
Measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder. Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda. Add chocolate chips, grated chocolate and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375. Makes 112 cookies.
I made the entire batch, but I would suggest you half this recipe. It makes lots of cookies and the mixer wasn't so happy with the amount of cookie dough. I will be making these again. I really liked the texture the ground oatmeal gave these. A nice twist on the standard oatmeal cookie. Enjoy!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Banana Bread in a Jar

2 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
4 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups mashed, ripe bananas
1 t vanilla
3 1/2 cup flour
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
Grease jars with vegetable shortening.
Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs. Add buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix well and then add bananas.
Use 1 cup batter for pint jars and 2 cups for quarts. Makes 7 pints. Do not overfill your jars to prevent spillage. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. (I found that it needed a longer baking time.)
I finally did it! It turned out very well. The bread is very moist. It takes a little bit of maneuvering to get the bread out of the jar. Even with the wide mouth jar it is a little tight. All in all I call it a success and think these will make cute gifts!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Love a Great Deal!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Checking In
Monday morning I went out to do some shopping and them hurried home for nap time and do work on some much needed laundry. My sister-in-law is home for Christmas from Hawaii. Last night went went out to dinner at Olive Garden (Yum!) with family and then back to the in laws to visit. We got home just in time for bed!
Today I have an endless supply of children needing care. I have my niece (23 mos) and nephew (4 mos) from 6:30 -4 and then my occasional afternoon kids are coming this morning also. (Dad is a police officer and was needed in court this morning.) I will have two of my sister's children this afternoon. They are 4 & 5 so they should be helpful with the little ones.
As you can see life is moving along swiftly around here. I hope to be back to posting very soon. Until then... Have a great day!!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Question of the Day
I have added bananas to my shopping list. Unless I hear this is total flop I plan to give it a try.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
First Snowfall!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Marshmallows

2 1/2 T unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1/4 t salt
2 tbs pure vanilla
powdered sugar
Combine gelatin and 1/2 c cold water in bowl of electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 c water. Dissolve sugar over low heat. Once dissolve wash down side of pan with wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals on side of pan. Attach candy thermometer. DO NOT STIR. Let cook until reaches 244 degrees (full ball stage). Remove from heat.
Turn mixer on slow. Slowly and carefully add to gelatin. Bring mixer to fast speed. Let mix until triple in size. About 15 minutes. Add vanilla.
Pour marshmallow into pan that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. For thick marshmallows use a 8x8 pan. I want thin marshmallows so I spread them on a baking sheet. Allow to sit overnight to stiffen up.
Snow is in the forecast for tonight. What a treat it will be to sit back with a cup of hot chocolate topped with a homemade marshmallow and watch the snow fall!
Monday, December 03, 2007
Fudgy Problems
Sorry, no picture to show. Chuck said it is okay and took the fudge to work. Those guys will eat anything! Part of me thinks that I should admit I am a fudge failure, but the other part of me will be in the kitchen trying a new batch today! What can I say, I am a glutton for punishment or maybe just a little persistent!
Any ideas on how to get rid of that gritty taste?
Friday, November 30, 2007
Bucket Head
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Kid Crafting Fun: Christmas Trees
I am going to have a craft afternoon one day a week until Christmas. To make it even more fun for her I decided to invite over my 4 and 5 year old nieces. They were very excited.

We made Christmas trees by gluing a green triangle and a brown rectangle onto a piece of red card stock. To decorate the tree I had cut tissue paper into squares and balled it up. The girls then glued the tissue paper onto their trees. To top it off I used some star garland and cut the stars apart.
Here is a trick from my old days of teaching preschool: pour glue into a cup, then let the kids use a paint brush to apply the glue. They love this because they feel like they are painting and you no longer have half of the bottle squeezed out on the paper!

There you have it, a simple easy craft that the girls loved!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Fun with Candy Canes
Place candy canes on a foil lined cookie sheet. Be sure top and bottom of candy cane are touching. Bake at 240 for 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool for about 2 minutes and remove to cooling rack. (if you allow to cool too long on cookie sheet it will be difficult to remove) You can then clear coat them to prevent them from becoming sticky.
My first thought was to use these as these as tie ons for gifts. After making them and realizing how cute they are I am now thinking about attaching a picture to a piece of thin cardboard and gluing it onto the back. I think these would make cute picture ornaments for grandparents! Any other ideas?
Monday, November 26, 2007
Mail Call!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I will be back on Monday. Don't forget to count your blessing, I know I have lots to be thankful for!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Cinnamon Pancake Mix & Morning Sunshine Syrup Mix
3 cups flour
4 T sugar
2 T baking powder
4 1/2 t cinnamon
1 1/4 t salt
To make pancakes:
Mix together 3/4 cup milk, 1 egg and 2 T oil. Then add 1 1/2 cups of pancake mix. Makes 10 5 inch pankcakes.
These are my all time favorite pancakes. I love the flavor the cinnamon provides.
Morning Sunshine Syrup
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/4 t allspice
1/8 t nutmeg
Add mix to saucepan; stir in 1/3/4 cups apple cider. Heat over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken and is bubbly. Makes 1 3/4 cups.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Sisters' Swap: Cozy
Thanks to a box loaded with newspaper Megan was having a blast and I had some time to go through my box.
Look at all those goodies. I received a feathered bird, delicious smelling candles, a snowman dishtowel, socks, the cutest tea. One says Christmas Eve tea and the other Christmas Day tea! Very clever! A grow your own Christmas tea kit. Three Christmas ornaments, a cute little guy sitting on a bell, a bell that says "Jingle with Joy for Jesus" and little snowman that was made by Amy's mom. Very creative! Some orange simmer, filled with dried oranges, cinnamon sticks and such. I could not wait to try this out. It smells wonderful! And to finish it off there a large bell shaped cookie cutter that I will be trying it out very soon! Amy thank you very much for your thoughtful package!
This what I included in my package to Amy.
Two of my favorite magazines, Country Sampler and Country Home. Some handmade thank you cards. Two cinnamon apple candles, which are my favorite! Cinnamon Pancake Mix and Morning Sunshine Syrup mix. (I will post the mix recipes later.) A book, The Twelve Blessings of Christmas. A fall dishtowel with a pumpkin on it and a pumpkin scented sachet. Since Amy and I both like snowmen I made sure to include a snowman figure.
I am not sure if it was more fun sending or receiving! A huge thank you to Monica and Carrie for all the hard work they put into this swap!
Stop by to visit Carrie to see more wonderful swap packages.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Prayers Needed
Our government is declining this lady a visa to bring her daughter home. They state that since the family structure has changed she would have to re-file paperwork and they can not guarantee the outcome! Their return flight was scheduled for Saturday and the mother is currently stuck in China. There have been thousands of calls logged into her home state of Michigan pleading for help. They are asking that no more calls be placed to the government of Michigan. Her senators office is working on this. The only thing left to do is pray that little girl gets to return home with her Mommy!
Since I received this e-mail last night I have not been able to get this family off of my mind. I don't know them personally, but my heart breaks for them. Please pray for them!
You can find out more here.
***Update***
Several people are posting that Hannah has been issued a travel visa. They should be leaving China with the rest of their travel group on Saturday!
Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter; melted and cooled
2 eggs; beaten
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz chocolate chips (6 oz of mini chips is all I had on hand)
Mix flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl beat eggs and add rest of your wet ingredients. Make a well in your dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Add chips. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
This and That
Here are some of the things on my list:
*Clean the living room and hallway carpet.
*Call my mother-in-law to see what I need to bring for Thanksgiving dinner.
*Work on Christmas craft projects.
*Clean out the craft/coat closet so I can find things for craft projects.
*Make my Christmas baking list and make list of ingredients needed.
*Decide where to safely put Christmas tree. (I am not worried about Megan, but I watch a 15 mo old boy a few afternoons a week, he is a handful!)
*Wrap Christmas gifts.
*Print out Christmas card address lablels.
*Pick out picture to go in Christmas cards.
After I wrote it out it does not seem so overwhelming. Let's just see if I can actually make myself do these things!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
What's in Your Fridge?
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Celebrating: Veteran's Day

We did celebrate some. I made a card for Chuck thanking him for his service to our country and then cut brownies into the shape of stars.
My family has a tradition of serving our country. My dad during Vietnam, Chuck during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, my brother-in-law served in Bosnia, I have another brother-in-law currently in Afghanistan, not to mention several cousins on active duty. A big thank you to our past, present and future men and women who serve our great country!
Brown Paper Dispenser

A dispenser for the very large roll of brown papers! What a thoughtful thing for him to do. This will make it so much easier to use this!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Great Find
Here is what I was purchased last night:
Cascade on sale for $3.00 - $1.00 eSaver coupon + $1.00 paper coupon = $1.00
Oral B Advantage Toothbrush $2.00 - $1.00 eSaver coupon + $1.00 paper coupon = FREE
I also had a coupon to receive a $20.00 gift certificate for any new or transferred prescription (up to three). We had two prescriptions filled, so I now have $40.00 in gift cards to spend.
I have a Kroger almost directly behind my street so I am excited about this program. Thanks for the heads up Crystal!
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Hard Boiled Eggs
Place eggs in pan. Cover with 1 in of water and cover pan. Bring slowly to a boil over medium heat. Turn off burner and let eggs sit for 12 minutes. Remove to ice water.
That is it! For so many years I have messed this up and look how easy they are to make. I guess maybe I should have looked up the directions before now. Oh well, live and learn. Now I am off to make egg salad. Yum!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Wish List

I did not receive all of these things for Christmas that year, but I did receive them all over time. The only thing on the list that had not been marked off was baby. After appearing on my wish list for many, many years we were able to mark this off!
I guess what I am trying to say is if you really want something never stop dreaming, wishing and praying for it. You never know your wish just might come true!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Carmel Apples

I recently made carmel apples. I stumbled across a wonderful product. No more peeling the wrappers off tons of carmels! The package covers five apples. There is no way we could eat all five apples, so I shared some with our neighbor.

I slid each apple into a lollipop bag (left over from this project)and added a tag with twine. "A is for Apple", "Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!" and "Apple of my Eye" is what was written on the tags.
Our dear neighbors are pretty much home bound for health reasons. Not only were they appreciative of the treat, but they especially liked the visit. A great reminder that sometimes it is the gesture that matters most!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Busy Weekend
*Christmas cards signed. Check
*Christmas pictures scheduled. Check. For next Monday.
*Return a pair of pants. Check.
*Buy a shirt for pictures. Check.
*Patio furniture and outside toys put away. Check
*Help neighbor put their things away for winter. Check
*Put away Megan's summer/too small clothes. Check.
*Clean out garage. Partial Check, very close to done.
*Finish a project for my swap box. Check.
*Breakfast with father-in-law. Check.
*Help my sister hang wallpaper border. Check.
The only thing that was not completed was to tidy up all of the flower beds. It was too cool to have Megan outside for long. It may not get done since they are predicting a few snowflakes this week! I just love beginning the week feeling on top of things!
Friday, November 02, 2007
Grocery Day
On this shopping trip I was looking for oranges. My little one is a huge fruit fan, especially oranges. I picked up the best looking oranges and the tag said "Fresh from South Africa." Hum, how fresh can they be if they are from South Africa? I opted for oranges that didn't look quite so pretty, but at least they were grown here in the states. I know I shouldn't be shocked that they are bringing in "fresh" fruit and veggies from overseas, but what happened to supporting your local farm or at least farms here in the States. Ok, that is the end of my rant!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Our Ladybug
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
T-Shirt Bag

Monday, October 29, 2007
Surprise Package

Pumpkin Patch
Friday, October 26, 2007
Chicken & Noodles

2 cups cubed chicken
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 quarts water
2 tbs cornstarch
salt & pepper to taste
Bring all to boil except for the cornstarch. I use boneless, skinless chicken breast. Once they are cooked I remove them to cube then add them back into the water. While the chicken is cooking I make my noodles. Add additional liquid as required to maintain 3 quarts of liquid.
For Noodles:
2 cups all purpose flour
3 egg yolks
1 egg
1 tsp salt
Make a well in center of flour. Mix in egg yolks and egg and salt thoroughly. Mix in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water. 1 tbs at a time, until dough is stiff but easy to roll.
Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll one part at a time into paper thin rectangles on floured surface. Cut into desired length and width. I use a pizza cutter to cut my noodles. Place on towel and allow to dry for approximately 2 hours.

Add noodles to boiling chicken mixture and cook for 5-7 minutes (I made my noodles a little thick so cook according to the thickness of your noodles.) Add cornstarch to reach desired thickness.
I served this meal with a side of green beans and a dinner roll. Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Bananas!

The first thing I made with my abundance of bananas was Banana Streusel Muffins.

1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter
Combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Mix your wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Place in greased muffin pan.
Mix ingredients for topping. Sprinkle topping over each muffin (approx tbsp). Bake 15-17 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Appetizers

We had the chicken fingers, onion rings and then I made homemade potato skins. Of course we had to have dipping sauce. I did not have any sour cream so we ended up with ketchup and barbecue sauce. Not the healthiest meal, but it was yummy! It was a nice change of pace and made for a fun game night. Go Colts!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Celebrating: Chuck's New Job

To celebrate he was welcomed home by this sign. It was posted on the door from the garage to the house, so he would see it first thing.

We then celebrated with one of his favorite meals, pot roast and cinnamon strudel cake (sorry no recipe, I had little time so this is from a box) for dessert. Nothing fancy, but Megan and I wanted Daddy to know we are proud of him!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Recycle Update

I did not want to spend any money on this project. I took a diaper box, wrapped it in brown paper, printed out a sign and presto an area that is a little more pleasing to the eyes. There is even enough room behind the box to hide an extra case of drinks!
Dinner Disaster

After some teasing from Chuck the good news is that he took us out for a quick bite to eat. Sometimes it does not pay to multi-task!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Chocolate Pudding

Mix together dry ingredients in a 2 quart sauce pan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute.
Gradually stir at least half of the mixture into egg yolks. Stir mixture back into sauce pan until it boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
I poured my pudding into mini graham cracker crust to make mini chocolate pudding pie. I forgot to get the finished picture, but I garnished with a some whipped cream and a few mini chocolate chips. Enjoy!