2010/365: Thank You
Wow. I can’t believe another year has come to an end. Seems like it just flew by!
I want to thank all of you for another GREAT blogging year! Thank you to all my friends who have been here since the beginning (and for starting your own blogs, that I enjoy SO much), and those who have found their way here in the years since, who have become friends as well. I had so much fun with all of you!
Of course I will keep blogging, and tomorrow will be the official first day of year 4! I can’t wait! 🙂
2010/363: Peace (2)
My last find at the after-Christmas clearance sales. It was a little disappointing that I only found three snowman ornaments (and this isn’t even really a snowman, but it’s close enough for me!).
2010/362: Peace (1)
Find #2 at the after-Christmas clearance sales. A snowman AND a heart! Can’t go wrong with that! 😉
2010/361: Season’s Greetings
I know Christmas is over, but you can’t just quit cold turkey, right? I had to hit some of the after-Christmas clearance sales to see if I could find some cute snowman ornaments.
2010/360: Bonus: Adventures In Turkey Frying
Day after Christmas Edition.
You may remember our little Thanksgiving adventure…. well, today’s little adventure actually started because of that Thanksgiving adventure.
Greg planned to fry the turkey then, but because it was very windy outside, decided that it would be safer to roast the turkey instead. The oil could wait until Christmas, and we’d fry a turkey then. Of course Greg can’t just use plain ol’ canola oil, nope, he has to flavor it with fresh rosemary, chopped garlic, and who knows what else. That oil was such a pretty green from the fresh herbs he put in! 😉
He did NOT brine the turkey this year, and it stayed in the refrigerator until this morning, and he injected it with some kind of concoction he cooked up instead. This afternoon, he set up the turkey fryer, measured how much oil he would need… everything went well, BUT…. it always has to be something! Right? This IS Greg, and he likes to experiment while he’s cooking.
He adds the oil into the pot to heat it, and then after a while he comes into the kitchen, where I was busy making mashed potatoes, and says
“I need your opinion”
“On what?”
“The oil”
Took what seemed like forever to get him to tell me what was going on with the oil, I was NOT going to stop what I was doing to go outside!
“It doesn’t smell good”
“Doesn’t smell good how? Like it went bad?”
“Yes… but I thought after it’s been cooking, it would get better”
“Then why take any chances??!!”
So outside he went, to dump out the oil, and then off to the store to get more. At least he didn’t put the turkey in first and then decide that something doesn’t seem right!
What do you think, does he find ways to mess up the turkey on purpose so I will tell him to just leave it ALL up to me? That’s just NOT going to happen. I have no problem sitting down and just eating mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, and dinner rolls. No problem at all!
Right now, the fresh, non-flavored oil is heating up, and hopefully I won’t have to come back and update this little story. Although I might go outside and take a picture to add later.
2010/360: Mug Series, Part 12
Is it a coffee mug, or is it a lens? It’s a lens coffee mug!
One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year. It wasn’t a surprise, I knew I was getting it, but I loved it just the same.
2010/359: Bonus: Ornaments
This one was a Christmas gift from my best friend in Germany. A little something from the Erzgebirge.
She sent this little cutie to Melissa (unfortunately they didn’t have one with my name). It’s a snowglobe snowman, and it says Fröhliche Weihnachten Melissa (Merry Christmas Melissa)
Frosty was Sara’s Christmas gift to me. A perfect addition to my snowman ornament collection.
Do S’mores people count as snowmen, too? I think they do 🙂 This one is an older ornament, that I found a year or two ago.
2010/359: Merry Christmas
Wishing you all a beautiful day!
We are off to Oklahoma today, to visit with Greg’s family.
2010/358: Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas, to all the lucky ones – like us! – who get to celebrate Christmas this evening!
We’re sticking with tradition and heading out to dinner (at The Olive Garden), and when we get back, we will find Santa’s presents (or lumps of coal) under the tree.
2010/357: Bonus
To my friends, family, and blog fans:
May this Christmas…
be filled with love…
and happy memories.
2010/357: Santa
Santa better hurry up and get here, I can’t take the “I can’t wait until Christmas!!!!” anymore!
2010/356: Bonus: What Greg Will Be Getting
A lump of coal! Well… maybe! 😉
He found this beer at World Market and couldn’t resist trying it. He said it was good, but not good enough to buy it again.
2010/356: Snowman
I love you, little snowman ornament, but I’d trade you for the real thing in a heartbeat! 😉
2010/355: Bonus 2: Nutella Turnovers
Another bonus? Aren’t you lucky?! 😉 Something tells me there are going to be a few bonus posts in the next few days. Guess that’s what happens when you’re late, taking Christmas-themed pictures, or start baking cookies on the Monday before Christmas!
Speaking of baking…. I was making these little Kiss Pies today. I saw the recipe yesterday, and HAD to make a trip to the store to get the ingredients. Would you believe Walmart was OUT of Hershey Kisses??!! Well, not completely out. They had some Kisses with Almonds (Melissa can’t eat nuts because of her braces), Dark Chocolate Kisses (not a big fan of dark chocolate, but I’ll eat it if I have to) and Cookies ‘n’ Cream Kisses (eh). There was one lonely bag of Milk Chocolate Kisses, but that was sliced open, and I wasn’t going to buy that. So I asked Greg to stop on his way home from work and pick some up (he got the Chocolate Meltaway Kisses), and baking these little pies would have to wait until today.
The Kiss Pies were really easy to make, although I did run into a little problem…. some of the pies popped open during baking (especially the ones where I re-rolled the dough) and didn’t look as pretty as the ones on the Picky Palate Blog. Those were perfect for a taste test, though. The kids were in other rooms when I tasted one, and I shouted: “OMG, they’s awful!!! They’re so gross, I’ll have to eat them all by myself!”
I don’t know why the kids didn’t believe me, because they still wanted to try one… and loved them!
We still had Hershey Kisses left over, and I made a quick trip to the store to get more pie crust, and made some more. Of course then I was out of Kisses, but still had pie crust left. What to do.. what to do? Nutella!! We always have some in the house, so I put a little but of that hazelnutty goodness in the center of the pie crust circles, folded them over, sealed them, and baked them just like I did the Kiss Pies. Soooo good!! Not enough Nutella filling, though. I think next time I will add more, and then top it with another pie crust circle.
2010/355: Bonus
Note the temperature on the thermometer… 88 F!! (That’s 31 C!) That was at about 4:30 pm.
Does this feel like Christmas to you? Me, either! Looks like hell won’t be freezing over anytime soon, and I’ll have to keep dreaming of a white Christmas. And to think that last year, it started snowing on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day, we were on our way to Indiana on icy/snowy roads. Crazy Texas weather….
(yes, it’s a toasty 79 F in the house. That’s because I’ve been baking 🙂 )
2010/355: Jingle Bells
Not to be confused with “dingle bells”! I posted this video two years ago, but it’s just too cute not to share again. Melissa was 9 and Sara was 2.
2010/354: Joy
Snowmen….. I love them with all my heart 😉
One day I want to decorate the Christmas tree only with snowman ornaments and glass ball ornaments.
2010/352: Christmas Around The World
One of my favorite things in the weeks before Christmas, is sending Christmas cards to friends and family. Seems that many people don’t send cards anymore, or they send e-cards or e-mails. I like sending the traditional cards, by snail mail, and know I put a smile on someone’s face when they open their mail box and find a Christmas card.
This year was a little more special than the years before, because my Christmas card list grew by a few blog friends. Not only from right here in the United States, but around the world, like Denmark and Australia. It was so nice to include them this year, and maybe by next year my Christmas card list will grow by a few more friends?
2010/351: O Snowflake Tree
It’s not a Christmas tree if it’s not decorated, right?
Had some fun with our un-decorated pre-lit tree, with a home made snowflake filter. Next step: decorating!
2010/350: It’s The Little Things
One day las week, Sara said to me “I wish we could have a wreath on our door like everyone else” (who this everyone else is, I don’t know!). A day or two later, I was at Michaels Arts & Crafts for something else, and saw that all their Christmas decorations were on sale, including wreaths. Didn’t get what I came for, but left with a wreath and the ornaments instead. I found the ribbon and the bow at a different store, and then went home, put the wreath together, and hung it on our front door before I had to pick up Sara at school.
Wreath and ornaments: $4.60
Ribbon and bow: $2.17
The smile on Sara’s face when she saw it on our front door: priceless!
2010/349: Advent Calendar
Another fun thing from my childhood. I always had the chocolate-filled ones, and I always get them for the girls now (made in Germany, even!). This year, my best friend found an Advent Calendar greeting card and sent it to me. That was such a sweet surprise, and such a pretty card.
And, it’s just as much fun to open one of the doors each day as it was when I had the chocolate kind as a child.
Pictured on the card is the Dresdner Frauenkirche.
The Daily Click 