Well we're actually cold here

in Arizona.  It's 55º and we're all bundled up and complaining that it's chilly....it's pretty funny considering that just a few months ago I was in the negative degrees in the middle of a snow storm and would have welcomed these temperatures.  Makes me wonder "Are we ever happy?"  LOL

I have a little story to tell you, do you want to learn some french?  Because I just found out this morning that Nicholas, who is only 4 years old, apparently knows how to speak French....listen to this.  I am getting breakfast ready and Nicholas turns to me and says:

Nicholas - Mommy can you whip me up something to drink?

Me - What?  What did you say?

Nicholas - Whip me up something to drink please!

Me - Ok but where did you learn "whip me up a drink"? *laughing at this point*

Nicholas - It's french for "get me something to drink"....didn't you know that?  Whip me up....listen to it....whip me up, it's french see?

Me - Uhh...ok  *laughing hysterically at this point*

Hahahahahahahah  So there ya go, who said you can't learn a foreign language from a 4 year old?

Can you believe that it's almost Christmas??? I feel it in the air, everyone is rushing and you don't really see a single person without a shopping bag in their hands with some sort of gift or wrapping paper or something christmasy.....

I'm scrambling to finish the ornaments and Jasmine's doll, but I've been so busy lately, there's just so much going on, it's crazy.

On friday Jasmine's school is doing a Christmas Concert, they're singing holiday songs and she's also one of the dancers, they're doing some sort of 60's dance to one of the songs.  She was all for it but as the day nears, she's getting extremely nervous, just wait until she realizes that I'm taking pictures AND filming to put on the blog LOL

What?!?!?  I can't just go to the concert and NOT share it with all my family and friends here can I?  That's just no acceptable!

Then this weekend I have some last minute gifts to buy for Curt and the kids, plus I have to get all the stuff for the Gift Baskets I'm doing for them.  I'm also going to be making "The Pioneer Woman's" cinnamon rolls to send to Curt's work for the airmen. 

On the 23rd, we have a surprise for the kids.  Here on base, they are having this Christmas feature, we pay $5 for each kid and we give them one of the gifts for each......then get this....at around 4pm there's a knock on the door and it's Santa Claus delivering a gift for them.  I can NOT wait to see their faces LOL

You know I'll have the camera ready and waiting right????  Poor kids, sometimes I feel so bad for them because every little thing they do is getting snapped and shared on the blog.....only....I don't feel too bad because it's for family and friends!

The kids have written their Santa Letters and I just have to share with you because I love what they write.  There's something about little letters to Santa, with all their extravagant requests, mispelled words and adorable decorations, that just melt my heart.

I have to say though, you can tell Jasmine is 8 years old, just look at some of her requests LOL

Uhhh yeah, first off Butterscotch Pony is almost $300, then the Ipod and camera.....*snicker*

I love that he has requested for Scooby doo underwear LOL  Just gotta love these kids!

Right now I'm about to go work on my sewing projects so that I can get them out of the way ASAP.

I hope you're all having a wonderful Tuesday and staying warm.  Here's what's happening in my house today:

Laundry

Cleaning bedrooms and bathrooms

Sewing

 

Like Father, Like Santa - 1pm on Lifetime (Harry Hamlin plays a ruthless toy tycoon who travels to the North Pole in a plot to crush his competitors---possibly destroying Christmas in the process.)

Shrek the Halls - 7pm on ABC

Winnie the Pooh & Christmas too - 7:30pm on ABC

House *Merry Little Christmas* - 8pm on Fox

 

I have to tell you about last night's dinner, I tried "The Pioneer Woman's" Best Lasagna Ever and OH.MY.GOODNESS.....she was not lying.  I just posted the recipe on my blog this morning too but I can't even begin to tell you just how delicious it was, as a matter of fact, I've thrown out all my other lasagna recipes because this will be the only I'll ever use.

Tonight's dinner is Garlic Herb Fish Fillets with some rice and veggies.

Guess it's going to rain again...

 

and I for one couldn't be happier.

I remember back in Idaho I used to get so frustrated when it rained endlessly for days, but nothing like moving to a state where rain is a luxury.  You quickly learn to welcome it :)

Come on in out of the cold, it's a bit chilly outside and cloudy and drizzly....but I have some Hazelnut Coffee hot and ready for you.

I don't have a set post this morning, it's pretty much just a catch up and update on what is going on here in our home.....you know I don't do in depth, serious posts anyway so it's not like you're missing out on much, right???

As you can see from the above picture, that is the view from my backyard, the cloudy and dark sky surrounded by green, yes I said GREEN trees.  That's the thing about living in this state, I don't see many bare trees, not like it used to be before.

 

This is more like the view we would be enjoying right now, the bare trees, the grey skies and the snow coming down.  Do you think I'm a wussy because I am about to tell you that every time I see a photo from Idaho I get a lump in my throat and want to curl into a ball and cry like a baby???  No, not a wuss, just pathetic???  Yeah I figured as much, I mean really....you would think by now I would be over it LOL

Anyway, one thing about the darker days is that we get to light the candles and leave the Christmas tree light on all day, with my Christmas Village glowing in the background.  It also means that the kids don't go outside to play so they need to find things to amuse themselves with.

Nicholas is easily pleased, just hand him some homemade bubble soap and a little wand and this kiddo will entertain himself for hours on end, sitting on the living room rug happily blowing his bubbles.

I love the last photo, he was so excited that he had caught the christmas tree in his bubble :)

Jasmine is finally starting to love books, not just any books though, they have to be Junie B. Jones, she even requested them for Christmas.  Now you know how hard it's been for us to get her into reading, it's not that she can't read or doesn't know how to, she just found it boring.

So we're thrilled that she's finally into reading, it's such a joy to know that your kids love books as much as you do. 

Moving on though, I've already done all my laundry and now it's waiting to be folded and put away.....which is exactly the part I HATE the most.  UGH, why why can't the clothes just walk to the bedrooms and pack themselves neatly in the dressers?  It's not too much to ask is it?

I also updated my Reading Blog complete with a new template and all, I need to stay on top of it and now that I have the Windows Live Writer it's so much easier to get on the computer and type up the posts as I go.  I've even started my next book post, just have to edit as I go and then hit publish when I'm ready.  Saves a lot of time I tell you!

And if you're looking for another yummy recipe, go check out my Food Blog, I just added the Oohh Aahh Sandwich as my kids call it.  

It's almost noon so I need to head out and get Nic's lunch ready, some chicken noodle soup and fresh veggies. 

I leave you all with a look at my day! 

Putting away laundry

Working on Jasmine's Rag Doll

 

Borrowed Hearts - 1pm on Lifetime (A wealthy bachelor (Eric McCormack) hires a single mom (Roma Downey) and her daughter to pose as his kin to impress a business associate (Hector Elizondo) who's big on family values.)

Home for the Holidays - 3pm on Lifetime (A warmhearted woman (Sean Young) tries to adopt her recently orphaned niece and nephews at Christmastime, but a Scrooge-like banker stands in her way.)

Frosty the Snowman - 7pm on CBS

Frosty Returns - 7:30pm on CBS

Most Haunted Spitbank Fort - 10pm on Travel Channel (Investigating Spitbank Fort, a man-made island purportedly haunted by one lost soul.)

 

For dinner tonight I'm fixing Beef Stew, just a simple recipe that I remember from my childhood, I'll have it up on the food blog tomorrow!

Show and Tell Friday!

I'm horrible at keeping up with meme's and features etc.....I have participated in a few of Kelli's "Show and Tell" Fridays and then I tend to run out of things to share or forget about it while running around chasing kids and dealing with everyday life.

Today I'm going to show you a book that is a true treasure to me.  It's by the Author "Lori foster".  Last year I was working with her, doing graphic designs etc. for her online Cafepress Store.

Lori is one of those book authors that love the fans, love the readers and loves staying in touch with them, she answers the emails and the letters and she makes you feel like your opinion truly does matter.

One day I got a surprise in the mail and boy was I thrilled.....I'm still amazed to this day.

I opened the book and found this:

Signed by the wonderful Lori Foster, but of course the surprise didn't end there because, look what I found on the next page:

WOW!  Yeah imagine my surprise, a book dedicated to me by the very own author, and a WELL known author at that. 

This book has and always will be a treasure to me and it's one of those items that if my house was burning down, it would be under my arm as I run out the door with the family.

If you want to play along, just head on over to the wonderful Kelli's blog "There is no place like Home" and add your name to Mr Linky, while you're there go and check out the other wonderful treasures being shared :)

Windows Live Writer

 

If you're looking for my Slow Cooking Thursday post it's just below this one....go on, go see what great recipes the ladies are sharing today.  I have to say that I'm so thankful for the small group of ladies that come back each week with their wonderful recipes, they're just amazing women and I'm blessed to have met every single one through my blogging.

Now onto the reason why I'm doing a second post today, because you know I usually only do one, but this is just such a neat little helper for us bloggers that I had to share.

How many times do we find that we want to blog about something but don't necessarily want to get online and onto Blogger etc?!?!?!  Raise your hand up, yeah I see you in the back there trying to hide.  I'm shoving my arm up in the air, see it goes like this for me.........

I'm sitting around doing something and an idea strikes me for a blog post so I run online and sign into blogger and start typing but then get distracted by something and usually end up surfing the net or blog hopping or something else.........or I only have about a minute or two to jot down some ideas for a post.

This is where Windows Live Writer comes in, it's a free and easy program to download and you can write your posts OFFLINE, save and edit and add pictures or whatever you're going to do, all without having to be signed in.  You can edit the date and time, you can resize and edit your photos, you can change the font look or size etc.  But here's the neat part that I really enjoy.......you can do it all as if you were typing on your blog. 

No I'm not kidding.....here's a screenshot to show you.

See, it let's me view what my post will look like on my blog and if you change your header or background etc, just click on View/Update Blog Style and it shows you the new one.  I've been messing around with it and I know there's still tons of nifty tricks to find but this is just wonderful.  Best part is that I can play around with my posts and when I'm happy then I click Publish and there ya go.

Another thing, you can add more than one blog to your Windows Live Writer and then switch between them as you do your posts.

Oh I almost forgot, when you click  on the image, you can edit it, you can add a shadow or a Photopaper like I did above, you can even add a Watermark, see the Diary of a SAHM on the top right corner.  Yep, all in one single little click, it's great!

You can insert tags, videos, maps, tables, links, plug ins, you name it, you can add it.  Just make sure that you sign up for Picasa Web Album which is free so that you can publish your photos to the web.  TADA, simple and so helpful!

Now go, go download it here and install it, oh and here's the Picasa link too in case you need it.  I'm having so much fun with this I think I'll update my poor neglected  forgotten blogs, Family Gone Pug and Reading Nook.  Well maybe just the reading one, I really don't have anything to add to the Pug one, poor things.

Happy Blogging!

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.


Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

I'm sorry this is so late going up, my internet has been driving me insane for the past two weeks, it keeps going out and when I got up this morning, there it was, OFF. I've had to reconfigure the modem yet again and for those who don't even know what that means, don't worry, I had no clue either until two weeks ago when I spent day after day doing it with the Qwest technical support people. Frustrating!!!

Anyway, enough of that, let's talk about food and slow cookers.....Yummy. Last week I tried a new recipe for 3 Beans and Sausage, it was SOOO good, Curt pretty much begged for the leftovers to take into work. That's how much he liked it!

Here's today's recipe:

Mixed-Up Stew

Credit: Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker Recipes

1/4 c. red steak sauce
1/2 c. hot water
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 to 3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lb. stew beef, cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
16-oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Combine steak sauce, water, bouillon, sugar, salt and pepper in a slow cooker; stir well. Add remaining ingredients except flour; mix carefully.

Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 10 hours, or on high setting for 4 hours. Make a smooth paste of flour and 1/4 cup of liquid from the stew; stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high setting until thickened. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Serve soup in hearty bread bowls........simply hollow out the centers of round loaves of crusty bread, leaving the bottom crust.