Happy New Year!

Hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Playing with my New Camera

I've been wanting a new camera for a while now but really hated to spend the money. The camera that I've been using is a good quality camera (that actually belongs to my Dad) that still works but is very outdated. It still uses floppy disks which also seem to be outdated because it's getting harder and harder to find floppies available for sale.
Anyways, Santa (otherwise known as my hubby) put a new camera under the Christmas tree for me this year and I finally got some time today to mess with it a bit.
I love it!
The colors are so much brighter and I'm able to take a close-up easily without blurring it. It has so many settings and options that I will probably have to carry the manual around with me for the next year until I can memorize it all but so far I'm really liking it.
Here's a few more pics that I took today as I played with it.

This is the first project that I'm using my new punch needle kit on. It's a snowman freebie pattern from Bird Brain Designs.
The rest of the photos are taken outside on my porch. It was a nice warm (40's) and sunny day but the clouds started coming in just before sunset.

              ~looking north from my front porch~

            ~looking south at the approaching clouds~

Can't wait to try it out on something pretty outside like SNOW!

Putting it all Away!

Well the Christmas holiday has come and gone for another year. We have all been enjoying the time off from work and school spending the days being lazy and playing with new toys & gadgets.

I couldn't stand the mess from Christmas any longer though so I spent the day yesterday finding homes for the new gifts (cleaning out closets and cabinets) and taking the tree down. It rained all day so we didn't get the outdoor decorations taken down but we still have a few days left of vacation so we'll get it done soon.

With the mess all picked up maybe now I can take some time to read up on the new camera that I got so I can figure out what all the settings are for. It might take me some time to get it all down in my head but I can't wait to try it out.

Something else that I can't wait to try out is my new punch needle set. I picked up some weavers cloth the other day at JoAnn's so all I need to do now is pick out a pattern and get started.
If I get bored with that I can pick up on the afghan that I began a few days before Christmas. 
What do these colors make you think of??

Did you guess Neopolitan Ice cream?
That is what I think of everytime I work on it.
Well that's about all that's going on in my world.
Just enjoying some down time with the family.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!

Wishing All a Merry Christmas!

Baking is Done...Time to Enjoy!

The baking is done and so is the wrapping.
Once I get the house all cleaned (after days and days of baking) then it will be time to sit back and enjoy what the holidays bring.... family, friends and good food.

This year I baked double batches of about 12 different kinds of cookies as well as a  few pans of fudge.
Need a salty treat?
No problem because I made a bunch of the traditional Chex mix as well as the Muddy Buddy version which is absolutely delicious. I had never made the sweet kind before. It was so quick and easy to put together and oh so good.

Today I packaged the cookies in trays and shipped them off to work with hubby and then hand delivered the others to the neighbors.
So my work is done, well except for the cleaning part and I'll get that done tomorrow.
Then I can sit back and enjoy but anyone that knows me knows that I can't just sit back. I have to have something to keep my hands busy so I began an easy crocheted ripple afghan today. It's going to be done is shades of dusty pink, chocolate and sage green. Just something simple that I can do while watching tv in the evenings.

In case I don't get time to post again before Christmas then I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Busy Baking & Wrapping

No time to blog...got cookies to bake and packages to wrap. I just can't seem to find enough time right now to blog or to even read my favorite blogs.
When my day is done I crawl into bed with my laptop in hopes of catching up but I can't seem to stay awake long enough.
So if I seem to be missing in action this week you will know why.
I'm working hard as one of Santa's Helpers..

Do you see Katie's foot prints?
Believe it or not that is snow on our back deck. Hard to see, I know.
It flurried here off and on all day yesterday. Once the sun set it actually began sticking to the vehicles, roof tops and even in the grass.
This is the most it has snowed here this season.
I was starting to think it was never going to snow this year.

Needless to say it all melted this morning and the temperatures are supposed to warm up so it looks like no White Christmas for us this year.

Dill Pickle Dip

If you like dill pickles then you will love this!
A neighbor of mine passed this recipe on to me and I decided to give it a try this past weekend at Katie's birthday party.
I served it with chips but it would be good with veggies too!


Dill Pickle Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
16 oz. sour cream (I used fat free)
2 tbsp. Miracle Whip
dash of onion salt
dash of worcestershire sauce
10 oz. jar of dill pickle relish

Place all but relish in a mixer and beat until creamy.
Gently fold in relish (juice and all).
Serve with chips or veggies.
Enjoy!

               GETTING READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS
It's getting down to the nitty gritty with the holiday preparations. My shopping is finished but nothing is wrapped. Gonna have to get to that soon!
The past three days have been spent in the kitchen making Chex Mix, Muddy Buddy Chex Mix, Peanut Butter Fudge, Heath Biscotti and Chocolate Walnut Fudge. Tomorrow will be more of the same....peanut butter balls and who knows what else. Oh, and I finally finished a stitching project that is going to be a gift and began working on a silly gag gift for a friend.

I plan on starting cookies sometime over the weekend. I hate to make them too early for fear that they will be dried out by Christmas. If I had room in my freezers I'd just bake and freeze but at the moment my freezers are filled to the brim.

Have you begun your holiday baking yet?

Party & Presents

making a wish and blowing out the candles

Hi all!

I posted in a hurry last night to announce the winner of my giveaway and told you I'd be back later with birthday pics.
I was so tired last night that I even fell asleep before one of my favorite shows came on. Now I'll have to catch it in a few days on On-Demand.
Anyways, I'm all rested so here's a few snapshots.

Katie asked for a princess cake but once we got to the store and she saw the Spongebob she wanted that instead.

Blue icing...my favorite....NOT QUITE!

She's 8 now but she still loves to play with baby dolls and that is what she had asked for ~ anything having to do with her dolls.

I went in search of a new doll stroller but surprisingly had a really hard time finding one. Most doll strollers are made for small children (3-5 yr. old) which is strange to me. I don't think Katie is too old to play with babies whether they be dolls, Barbies or whatever else.
It's called imagination....something that most kids (including mine) lack now a days.
Anyways after much searching I was able to find this stroller at ToysRUs.com. They don't have these in their stores. It's made by Badger Basket and it was the only stroller that had an adjustable height on the handle.

I was apprehensive about ordering it but I am so glad that I did. It's perfect for her and she loves it.

I also dug out the old wooden doll crib & highchair that I once played with as a child so that she could enjoy them as she plays house and Mom to her little ones.

When she gets bored playing dolls she can get one of several new games that she got including Hungry Hungry Hippo, Oopsie Daisy and Froggy.
All in all I'd say she really enjoyed her day.

The Birthday Girl Picks a Winner

It's time to pick the winner of the Quilter's cookbooks and since today is Katie's 8th birthday I told her she could do the honors.

We placed all the names in a hat and then had her turn around and draw one out.

She picked Granny Sue!

Thanks to everyone that entered and congratulations to Granny Sue. If you'll send me your snail mail then I'll get this right out to you.

It's been a busy weekend with shopping (my Christmas shopping is done...yeah!) and more shopping, cleaning and then of course today a birthday party and now I'm pooped so I'm gonna go rest a bit.
I'll be back later with some birthday pics and a few recipes.
Have a great night!

Chipped Beef Gravy

Last week I was really busy and needed a few meals that I could quickly prepare without a lot of fuss and of course something cheap.
I always tell people that if I didn't have a family of 5 to feed then I'd be rich and that couldn't be more true now with the price of groceries going through the roof.
Anyways my bunch really liked this and yes I cheated and used canned biscuits though homemade would definitely have tasted better.
I also used the dried beef that you can get in the small pouches located in the meat dept. You will also find it in a jar located with the canned goods but I find that the jarred stuff is way too salty. So if salt is an issue for you then go with the pouches.


Dried Beef Gravy

10 oz. sliced dried beef, cut into small pieces
5 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. onion powder
6 tbsp. flour
4 cups milk
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika

In a large skillet saute the dried beef in the butter.
Sprinkle with the onion powder.
Let cook 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour over the beef, stir and let cook for another minute or two.
Pour milk in and add seasoning.
Stir well and let simmer on low until thick and bubbly.
Serve over toast or biscuits.
Enjoy!

First Christmas Card and a Sweet Treat

My first Christmas card arrived the other day. It was hand delivered by a neighbor along with these sweet treats. YummO!

I googled the name and came up with the recipe below.
It's going in my recipe box as a keeper!

  Mistletoe Bars

1 box of white cake mix
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp. water
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup cashews, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, water and eggs with a spoon until a dough forms.
Stir in cranberries, chocolate chips and nuts.
Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.
Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool and cut into bars.
You can eat them plain or mix up a little powdered sugar icing to drizzle over the tops.
Enjoy!

Only 6 more days to enter my giveaway.
Just click *HERE* and leave a comment on that post.

A Quilter's Christmas Giveaway!!

It's time for a giveaway!

The winner will get both of the cookbooks shown above. I browsed through both books and took note of a good many recipes that I plan to make in the future & I'm sure you will find many too!

Easy to enter!
1. Must follow my blog and if you don't already then sign up now. I love meeting new bloggers!

2. Leave a comment on this post ONLY!

3. For a second chance entry you may announce my giveaway on your blog. If you do this then be sure to drop me a line so that I know you did it.

*If you don't have a blog ~ no problem~ just leave me an email address so that I can contact you if you win. You can leave it in a comment or you can email me (left sidebar) if you'd rather not share it with everyone.

Giveaway will end on Sunday December 11, 2011.
That is the day of Katie's birthday so I'll let the birthday girl pick a winner out of the hat.
Good Luck to everyone!

Back to the Books

                                 Homework!

It's been a slow moving week for me...hence the lack of posting.
It's so hard to jump back in to schooling or work (with both feet) after enjoying a full week off but we DID.

My lesson planner looks pretty sparse this week as we eased our way back in but next week it's full throttle...lots to do before the next little mini vacation at Christmas.

As I put together lessons for next week I realized that we are halfway through our reading program for the year. Yippee!
I wish that were the case for all of Katie's subjects but sadly it's not. Oh, and just because the book may end it doesn't mean that the lessons end. (just in case you are wondering Katie. :o)

 
Still working on a few Christmas gifts and beginning to make a list of the food and cookies that I will be making for the approaching holiday.

Shopping a little here and there and checking that list to see whose been naughty or nice!

Well that's all that is happening in my world.
I'm off here to go catch up on more laundry and maybe a bit of sewing.
Have a great day!

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I'm planning a holiday giveaway so be sure to stop back soon. I hope to post it within the next day or two.