Friday Facts

Fact............my baby lemon tree in the backyard is producing baby lemons, and I can't describe how happy I was at seeing them


Fact............tried a new soda and did not like it


Fact............only thing I liked from it was the cute message on the inside of the cap


Fact............I love preparing menu plans and grocery lists


Fact............I love her as much as she loves me


Fact............Christmas lights are the most gorgeous thing on earth


Fact............pulling out crochet blankets when the weather gets cold, is one of the best feelings in the world


Fact............being able to watch my Portuguese channels live on my TV is a joy


Fact............laundry is easier to get through when you have a cute helper

Cookies and Cream?

Are you ready to hear something that may shock you?

You sure?

Ok, here goes.

I'm not a cookie fan.  I have to really be in the mood for cookies, so I could have a full cookie jar and not even look it's way.  But then sometimes I get a craving for a good chocolate chip and not just a little bitty cookie but a bigger size one....and then I have to make the said cookies.

It was one of those days where the craving hit me mid morning and I just couldn't ignore it.

big blobs of gooey chocolate chip cookie dough

washing dishes while cookies are baking....the last of the pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving was finished last night



Mmmmm fresh, hot cookies out of the oven.  I am ashamed to say that I devoured two right away

but then I craved sugar cookies as well, so out came my cookie press which I have a love/hate relationship with

here's Nic's cookie, he wanted whipped cream on his and at first I crinkled my nose but then figured "what will it hurt?"....so I popped some on and he ate it and said it was delicious

and the reason for my love/hate relationship....these flat sorta flowery looking cookies that drive me bananas, but who cares, they tasted amazing regardless of how they looked

Ahhhh my cookie jar is overflowing with cookie goodness.  You know looking at my cookie jar today I made the decision that when we get our own house next year, I'm going to use this cookie jar as inspiration for my kitchen color scheme

to counter all that sweetness, I fixed veggie pizza for dinner....it's sorta like going to the drive thru of McDonald's and ordering a super size meal with a diet coke....yep, like that  hahahaha

Weird, looking at the cookie photos makes me crave another, but I won't cave, I'm going to fight the urge, I really don't need anymore of those cookies in my body.

Midweek recap

I didn't get a chance to stop in yesterday and record my memories.

Remember a while back I said that I was going to make it a point of taking photos every day, of coming in, of writing down even if just a few words of what we did every single day?  Well I intend to keep that promise to myself, mostly because I think it's something that one day we as a family will treasure.

So here's what went on here yesterday......starting with the gorgeous moon in the early morning hours, around 5am.

mid morning energy booster

waiting for the children to awake and the load of wash to finish so I could switch it to the dryer, I worked on a few more dishcloths, which I'm happy to say that I think I'm finally done with the gifts and with some for the giveaway here on the blog

some dish washing

a little more Christmas decorating

I love snowmen, as I mentioned the other day

yummy dinner with my loves

and ending the night with some sewing on my quilt

Cooking Thursday - Zippy Dogs

Good morning everyone, here we are, another Thursday, another day closer to the weekend, and yet another week that just flew right on by.

Today I have to work on my menu plan for the next two weeks and I'm going to be making a few slow cooker recipes, so I'll be able to share those with you here.

On to today's recipe.

Zippy Dogs

2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. dried minced onions
1/2 t. black pepper
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
16 hot dogs, halved- I like the uncured kind
16 hot dog buns, halved

In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix the first 6 ingredients.

Bring to a simmer and add the hot dogs. Simmer 20 minutes with the lid off until sauce is thick and hot dogs cooked through.

Place the Zippy Dogs in the buns and place on a platter. Serve the extra sauce on the side. Makes 32 Zippy Dogs.

NOTE: I halved the recipe because 32 dogs is just way too much for us, I ended up with 16 which is enough for our family of four, plus leftovers for the next day's lunch.

Libby's Giveaway Winner!!!

Thank you all for entering the contest.  I do appreciate it and I know that you were all wishing to be picked as the winners, but unfortunately there can only be one.

I used Random.org and the winning comment was:

#64 - TheFishie

Congratulations! I will be contacting you shortly.

Please remember that you have 48 hours to claim your prize, or I will have to pick another winner.

That moment....

when you pull a muscle while sleeping and wake up in excruciating pain.

Yeah, that moment came at me fast this morning.  The pain is centered in my right shoulder blade area near the spine, and it's the most annoying, frustrating twinge ever, to the point where reaching for anything with my left arm hurts like heck.  And breathing....goodness, even deep breathing hurts.

I've been surviving on motrin, heat pads and doing much of nothing all day, which is the worst thing you can do to me.  I'm so used to being on the go constantly that I find myself impatient and downright annoyed when I'm forced to slow down.

But I did still manage to do a few things.

Starting with throwing some chili in the crockpot first thing in the morning.....



then puttered around with some decorations and put this one together for my dining table...a little bit of Christmas cheer and sweetness





a few more decorations are making their way out of storage





and since I love snowmen so much, these have to be some of my favorite decorations





put the finishing touches on my Christmas village





Wasn't able to get as much done as I was wanting to, but there's always tomorrow right?

Thankfully hubby didn't have classes tonight, but he was home a little earlier this afternoon and seeing as everyone was hungry, we sat down to an early dinner



If you're looking for the recipe, you can find it here on my food blog.

As you may have noticed, I have also changed the header, I wanted something Christmas or winter themed.  Looking at it makes me happy, it takes away a little of the sadness of missing a white Christmas.

So I just keep reminding myself that next year I'll be able to enjoy that, up close and personal :)

Monday this and that

Busy!

If I had to describe today in one word, that would be it.  Busy!

It's always like this on the days that my husband has college classes right after work.  To be honest,  don't know how he does it, he goes to work at 6am, rushes home right before 4pm, eats dinner quickly, takes a shower, changes out of his uniform and off he goes to college 45 minutes away.

For me, it means that I have to get all my ducks in a row and make sure that a meal is ready to eat at 4pm, which is not actually that easy when you factor in the usual housework, homeschooling, children, laundry etc.  It's crazy busy folks.

I did manage to sneak in some pics to record my day.  The first two were taken late last night as I sat relaxing, working on another dishcloth.



and though they may look very similar, I just had to take another because in this one you can see my gorgeous Cath Kidston crochet/knitting bag :)



It was so hard getting up at 5:30 AM this morning. I love time off and days where we get to sleep in, but then normal schedule kicks back in and my body is not ready to cooperate.

But I did get up, and fixed coffee and managed to drag myself to the couch to enjoy said coffee while chatting with hubby as he got ready for work.

Mid morning, little sleepy heads start making their way into the kitchen. I love when they first wake up, their groggy voices, their messy hair, their warm cheeks.



While waiting for a load of laundry, and in between early morning chatter with the kids, I worked a little more on the dishcloth



I am so loving the colors in this one. I also went with smaller size needles and am getting a tighter cloth which I think will be even better for cleaning.



After dinner dishes in the sink, some in the dishwasher, but I'm trying to avoid using it as much as I can as the hard water we have is driving me batty. I've finally managed to find the perfect detergent which actually washes the dishes well, but it's so expensive. It's those gel packs 2 in 1 whatever.....all I know is it's expensive and I'm not prepared to buy those often.



Ended off the evening by making the kids hot chocolate in my new Mr Coffee Cafe Latte machine. (review and giveaway coming up tomorrow)



and I fixed myself a Tea Chai Latte which was SO good. Yummy!

It was a busy day, but a good one nonetheless.

God Bless,