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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Marinated Pretzels

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) package pretzels
3/4 cup olive oil
1 (1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
3 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons dried dill weed

Directions:
Break the pretzels into a large bowl. In a medium bowl, blend the olive oil, ranch-style dressing mix, garlic powder and dill weed. Pour the mixture over the pretzels. Marinate 1 hour, tossing approximately every 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread the marinated pretzels on a large cookie sheet. Bake approximately 10 minutes. Allow the pretzels to cool, then serve.

I was given this recipe by my friend Evin, she found it at AllRecipes.com!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Jello Poke Cake

Ingredients:
1 package white or yellow cake mix (for two layers)
4 eggs (for the cake mix)
1/3 cup oil (for the cake mix)
1 cup water (for the cake mix)

1 small package flavored gelatin, any flavor
1 cup water (for gelatin)
1 (12 oz.) container Cool Whip

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake, according to package directions, using eggs, oil and water. Bake cake in a 13x9-inch pan for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for at least 15 minutes. Poke holes across the entire surface of cake with a fork. Dissolve the gelatin in 1 cup of boiling water. Pour the warm gelatin slowly over the surface of the cake (gelatin will soak into the cake). Place cake in the refrigerator and chill for about 4 hours. Spread whipped topping on top of cake before serving. Refrigerate leftover cake.

I found this recipe here.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

I am gonna miss them

So my kiddos have left for Christmas vacation with their dad today.... I am both sad and excited that I will have these few weeks of silence. I am going to miss their smiles, hugs and chaos so much....I cannot even explain it. They will be gone for two weeks!

Longer than I have ever been without them and the first Christmas we will spend without each other. I cannot seem to stop the spontaneous crying and I realize that I am going to have to figure out how to fix this.. Soon they will all be grown up and I will need to have ways to fill the time and space. I don't want to be one of those mothers or people. They are my world though and I am not sure how to remedy that, I must need more hobbies...

Sunday Stealing

"Welcome back to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. We will be very honest about our theft: We always let the owner of the selected blog know that we have ripped their meme off. In turn, we will always provide a link to their site. Join in the fun and rip it off of us every Sunday. And stop by fellow thieves blogs and have some fun... Cheers to all us thieves!"

This week's Meme was originally posted by Stacy @ All Stacy, All the Time.

Lola's Holiday Meme

1. What is your favorite holiday show/animated show?
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town


2. What holiday character do you think you're most like?
Susan Walker from Miracle on 34th Street.

3. What holiday character does your spouse think you're most like? Mrs Santa Claus

4. Favorite Christmas/holiday song?
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

5. Most hated Christmas/holiday song?
Ok I am a dork I like them all!

6. If you have an all holiday music radio station when do you start listening to it? NO

7. If you have an all holiday music radio station do you love it or hate it? Hate it.

8. Have you ever wrapped yourself as a Christmas present?
LOL no, but that is an idea!

9. Who is Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer's father?
Donner of course!

10. Do you drive through your neighborhood or one near you at night to look at other people's holiday decorations?
Yes, we did that just the other night!

11. When you see a heavily decorated house do you think, 'oh that's lovely'? Or do you think, 'oh criminy, that looks like Christmas threw up all over their lawn'?
Depends on the house and how and what it is decorated with...

12. Are you counting the days to Christmas with excited anticipation or dread?
I am going to say a bit of both.

13. When was the last time you had your photo taken with Santa?
The year before last, I took a picture with the kids. :)

Did you sit on his lap? No

14. Do you make a Christmas list for your spouse or significant other or do you rely on them to pick your gift(s) without a clue from you? We honestly do not buy each other gifts so it's not an issue. We do buy ourselves a few things we want around Christmas time, but they never end up under the tree. lol

15. When do you put up your tree? Around the 1st of December.

16. Real or fake? Fake

17. When do you take your tree down?
Usually after New Year's day.

18. Do you shop the day after Christmas sales? No

What do you shop for? See above..

19. Is your work/office having a holiday party this year?
Yes during office hours.

Will you attend? See above..

20. Do you have your New Year's Eve Plans set yet?
I do I do and boy am I excited!! :)

If you want to read more about the meme or join in the fun please visit Sunday Stealing.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Our silly girls! :)
For more Wordless Wednesday participants check out these wonderful blogs: Ma Vie Folle, Mommy's Joy and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Ruby Tuesday

"You are invited to participate in Ruby Tuesday!

What are the rules?
On Tuesdays you can post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED. Your photo can contain lots of RED or a little RED. When you've posted to your blog, come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky and leave a comment."

I thought it only fitting to use our Gingerbread house we made this weekend as my photo this week! We had a great time putting it together and all was well until we woke up the next morning to more than half the candy eaten off the sides! Ah the joys of children! lol Please visit Mary @ Work of the Poet for more Ruby Tuesday participants!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Mashed Potato Soup

A great way to use leftover mashed potatoes!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes (prepared with milk and butter)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh or dried chives

Directions:
In a saucepan, saute the onion in butter until tender. Add milk, potatoes, salt and celery salt if desired and pepper; heat through. Garnish with chives.

I found this awesome recipe @ AllRecipes.com

Monday Mayhem

"We're going to say it now- this is the home of where no two Mondays stay the same. Please join us weekly for our 'inspirational' and never the same weekly memes. Memes will be Posted on Sunday afternoon. Join up on our weekly linky and be sure to visit the other participants."

Today's meme- What would you do if.......
Simply copy and paste this into your blog post and answer each prompt with an image, words or whatever makes you happy.

What if during holiday gift giving someone gave you....

A fruit cake?
Ewwww Fruit cake, no one I know would do that to me unless it was a joke! lol
Priester's Fruit Cake Tin 3 lbs. 6 oz.
An ugly sweater?
Wow an ugly sweater just what I always wanted!

Deodorant?
That would royally suck and I would wonder why they even bothered..

A check for $5
I would be thankful for something...
The front side of a substitute check.

Mr. T
Can just anyone give away Mr T? Hummmm..

A lump of coal
I would probably laugh! :)

Miley DVD
I would re-gift it and give it to my girls!
The World According to Miley Cyrus: DVD Cover

If you want to read more about the meme or to join in the fun please visit Monday Mayhem

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Honey-Garlic Glazed Meatballs

Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 pounds ground beef
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

In a large bowl combine eggs and milk. Add the bread crumbs, onion and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls. Place in two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.


Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute garlic in butter until tender. Stir in the ketchup, honey and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain meatballs; add to sauce. Carefully stir to evenly coat. Cook for 5-10 minutes. I found this awesome recipe on AllRecipes.com.

Sunday Stealing

"Welcome back to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. We will be very honest about our theft: We always let the owner of the selected blog know that we have ripped their meme off. In turn, we will always provide a link to their site. Join in the fun and rip it off of us every Sunday. And stop by fellow thieves blogs and have some fun... Cheers to all us thieves!"

This week's Meme was originally posted by Notbob @ Notbob's Bits

The 6 Ws Meme

Who...

Is easy to love? My wonderful children all four of them! :)

Do you just wanna smack? Quite a few people! lol

Do you trust? My mother!!

Do you talk to when you're alone? Myself...

What...

Dangerous things do you do while driving?
Gosh the only thing I can think of is changing radio stations to much.

Are you allergic to? Dust of all things house dust! lol

Is Satan's last name? Austin Electric

Is the freakiest thing in your house? My porcelain doll's LOL

When...

Is it time to turn over a new leaf? When the old one gets crunchy!

Will you be all that you can be? Soon very very soon!

Is enough enough? When my tummy starts to hurt!

Do you go to the dark side? When someone messes with my family!

Where...

Are your pants? on my body...

Is your last will and testament? Good question

Is your junk food stash? In my drawer to the left.

Is Carmen Sandiego? Europe!

Why...

Was the Lone Ranger alone? because he was the last Ranger.

Was The Scarlet Letter scarlet? because it stands for passion!

Are musicians sexy and plumbers not? because the plumbers are always on crack!

Are there no seat belts on school buses? because the cost too much....

Would you...

Swim the English Channel for a doughnut and coffee? Not a chance!

If not than, what? Uhm a couple million dollars.

Forgive someone who deliberately hurt you? Depends on the type of hurt.

Rather believe a lie if it hurt you less than the truth? No

Still be alive if you were sucked out of an airplane window?
Gosh I am gonna say I hope so, but not sure that would depend on how high up the plane was...

If you want to read more about the meme or join in the fun please visit Sunday Stealing.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Friday Fill-Ins

Hi all, another week is almost over and it is time for yet another weekly installment of Friday Fill-Ins! Janet asks the questions and my answers are underlined.

1. Good times: are here, things are looking up and there's no stopping us now!

2. You can always expect a wonderful meal and good conversation at my home.

3. Sleigh bells ring can you hear them? Here they come to save me from all the crazy holiday cheer and shopping!

4. Laugh just a little more each day!

5. Once more I am up studying for a test @ work!

6. Where does this tunnel end?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to putting up the Christmas tree with the kiddos and taking the Christmas card photo, tomorrow my plans include making tons of cookies w/Grandma and making the Gingerbread house and Sunday, I want to make the Nutcracker ornaments!

For more Friday Fill-Ins participants click here!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

I am gonna do at not so Wordless Wednesday this week! Princess had her Christmas play tonight, she was a Polar bear and she had a speaking part! She worked very hard to get that part and we are very proud of her! :)

Princess the Polar Bear
Princess and her BFF! :)
For more Wordless Wednesday participants check out these wonderful blogs: Ma Vie Folle, Mommy's Joy and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Ruby Tuesday

"You are invited to participate in Ruby Tuesday!

What are the rules?
On Tuesdays you can post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED. Your photo can contain lots of RED or a little RED. When you've posted to your blog, come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky and leave a comment."

My awesome new socks!! :)
Please visit Mary @ Work of the Poet for more Ruby Tuesday participants!

Ten On Tuesday

"10 Great Things About the Holidays"
  1. Baking cookies with Grandma
  2. Decorating the Christmas tree
  3. Making ornaments with the kids
  4. Watching Christmas movies and cartoons
  5. Putting together the Gingerbread house
  6. Christmas morning
  7. Eggnog!!
  8. Christmas dinner
  9. Opening presents
  10. Setting out cookies for Santa
To play or just to see others answers please visit Ten on Tuesday!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Monkey Bread with Apple butter

This is an all time favorite recipe at this house and it calls for a Bundt pan, but since I don't have one I just use a 9x13 inch baking dish so mine comes out looking a bit different!

Ingredients:

2 (12 ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Apple Butter

Directions:
Separate biscuits and cut in quarters. In a bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Roll biscuit pieces in cinnamon sugar to coat, and drop them in a greased Bundt pan. Make sure they are distributed evenly.
On the stove top, heat the butter, brown sugar and sugar to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in Apple Butter. Pour mixture over the dough, and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, turn upside down onto serving plate, and remove pan. I found this awesome recipe @ AllRecipes.com

Sunday Stealing

"Welcome back to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. We will be very honest about our theft: We always let the owner of the selected blog know that we have ripped their meme off. In turn, we will always provide a link to their site. Join in the fun and rip it off of us every Sunday. And stop by fellow thieves blogs and have some fun... Cheers to all us thieves!"

This week's Meme was originally posted by Catherine Donovan @ Marvel Not a Girl

The Can't Sleep Meme

Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? Nope :)

When is it hard to kiss someone?
When you wake up with morning breath!

You're trapped in a room with your most recent ex for three days, what do you do? I try not to kill him! lol

Does it matter to you if your significant other smokes?
I am not fond of it, but if he smokes outside than I can deal.

Have you ever regretted letting someone go? Not for very long.

Where would you go if you were butt naked and locked out of your house?
Around to the backyard where there is a tarp I can use to cover my nakedness!

Do you want to please everyone? Sadly yes...

Have you ever been called heartless? Yes....

Someone calls you at 3:00 AM, who do you expect it to be?
My mother

Does it matter if your significant other drinks? Nope

Which is better, amazing eyes or an amazing smile?
Wow that is a hard one, I am going to go with amazing eyes.

Do you want to get married and have children one day?
Already been there done that!

Are you easy to get along with?
I think so, but I have my moments.

Do you ever want to go to sleep and not wake up? Yes on occasion.

Are you shorter than your Mom? Yes

Describe your life currently in one word: Chaotic

Are you on medication for anything? Yes

Who would you allow to read your thoughts for one day? Jeremy

Are there things in your life that you will never be able to get over? Yes

If you woke up naked next to the last person you kissed, what would your reaction be? Hi Honey :)

If you want to read more about the meme or join in the fun please visit Sunday Stealing.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Split Pea and Ham Soup.

This is one of our favorite recipes to make during the winter months. We always make it after Thanksgiving that way we can use the Ham hock! Sometimes we even make it after Christmas if we have a ham that year. It is awesome and so incredibly tasty, we usually double the below recipe so that we have leftovers for lunch the next day! I hope you enjoy! :)

Ingredients: 
* 1 bay leaf 
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 onion, diced
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1-2 carrots, diced
* 1-2 stalks of celery, diced
* 1 large or 2 small russet potatoes, diced
* 1/2 lb ham, diced and of course the leftover Ham hock from Thanksgiving dinner!
* 7-8 cups of chicken stock or vegetable stock
* 1 1lb bag of dried split peas (rinsed)
* Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large cooking pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until slightly tender. Add the garlic and ham, cook for 60 seconds. Add the stock, split peas and bay leaf to pot. Then add salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium low heat for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Add the carrots, celery and potatoes then cook for an additional 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf. Enjoy.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

30 of 52

T-man and I playing around on Thanksgiving! :)
and one of our family photos from Thanksgiving! See my whole family is goofy! lol
"52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!"

To join in on the 52 Weeks challenge or just to see some awesome photos visit Forever in Blue Jeans.

Thursday Thunks

A brief description of the meme:

"We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!"

Now on to the questions and of course my answers!

1. Sometimes when you are sitting around doing nothing, a thought randomly pops into your head. How many measuring cups do you own? Oh like ten...

2. What is your favorite ice cream topping? Hard shell chocolate

3. Egg nog - is it digestible? Yes LOVE it!!

4. Were you one of the insane humans who went to a store last Friday? HELL NO!!

5. There are 12 months in a year, anywhere from 28 - 31 days in a month, depending on the year, of course. Each day holds a special meaning for someone, some days hold a special meaning for everybody. Do you have a 2010 calendar yet?
Nope, but I will be getting one soon! :)

6. Kids are funny sometimes and say the darnedest things, but it's ok because they are kids and they are so adorable. A two year old is cute when they say a swear word. Admit it, they are. What was your favorite nursery rhyme growing up? Hey - if you don't have a favorite, just work with me here and pick the first one that fell off the wall and broke like an egg or came out of the sky like a cow who just jumped over the moon. The Ants Go Marching.

7. Most of us have some type of machine that people like to call 'vehicles'. Some are blue, some are yellow, some are red. Some have trunks, some have beds and some even can't decide if they are a car or a truck. We put gas in them, check the oil and drive them all over the place and stop them in places called parking spots. Picture in your mind the machine you currently own and if you own more than one, picture the one you last drove - when was the last time you had a new tire on it? LOL! Just this past week.

8. For those of us on Facebook, do you wish to share your Facebook identity with us? Not this time!

9. Santa's coming! Where's the best place to hide presents? Any clever little tricks for keeping those nosy people from ruining the surprise?
We usually hide ours in the garage or at Grandma's house.

10. Have you heard that the world is going to end in 2012? Some people think that the world isn't actually going to go BOOM! and be no more, they think that the "end of the world" is actually going to be a worldwide takeover by a certain country and/or religion, which all has to do with the current president of the USA. Do you agree? Uhmmm no.....

11. Butterfly, butterfly fluttering through the air, please don't land on my freshly washed hair. What brand of shampoo did you use this morning? (and for those of you who still stink.. think of yesterday morning... and if that still doesn't apply to you - go get your stinky butt in the shower!) LOL! Suave for me.

For more Thursday Thunkers please visit here!

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesday participants check out these wonderful blogs: Ma Vie Folle, Mommy's Joy and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Meet the world's top World of Warcraft player

"That's an unofficial title, though I think it's pretty safe to say that "Little Gray" has played more Warcraft than you. A lot more.

Courtesy of Gamepro comes word of the Taiwanese player's absolutely insane Warcraft accomplishments. In addition to having nabbed every single one of the game's achievements (minus a brand new one that cropped up in the game's latest patch), he's the first player to complete all 986 tasks listed in the game's Armory. Considering that over 11.5 million people play the game worldwide, that's one heck of an honor.

And that's just the tip of this online gaming iceberg. Playing as a Tauren Druid, Little Gray has racked up some staggering numbers: he's completed nearly 6,000 quests at the rate of about 14.5 per day and killed nearly 500,000 enemies while dying only 8,543 times himself.

How? By doling out an awe-inspiring 7,255,538,878 points of damage...but before you label him some sort of mindless brute, know that he at least had the heart to heal 1,377,435,762 points of that back. Unsurprisingly, he's also a bit of a loner, having "waved" at other players only once.

If it's tough to put these massive numbers into a real-world context, consider this: a member of our Yahoo! Games team (who will remain unnamed) once logged an average of six hours a day playing the game over the course of a year -- and never came close to achieving so much with his character.

We could hazard a few guesses, though. At 14.5 quests per day, it would take about 414 days to reach Little Gray's 6,000 quest mark. Speaking conservatively, a veteran Warcarft player can pretty handily knock out three quests in an hour, which would mean about five hours a day for Little Gray.

But that's just for quests. You do a LOT more than that in Warcraft, such as going on raids, engaging in player vs. player combat, and tinkering with your abilities and gear. It wouldn't be even remotely surprising to find out that Little Gray has spent in upwards of ten hours a day playing the game."

by Ben Silverman @ Plugged In

Ruby Tuesday

"You are invited to participate in Ruby Tuesday!

What are the rules?
On Tuesdays you can post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED. Your photo can contain lots of RED or a little RED. When you've posted to your blog, come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky and leave a comment."

The cool Turkey cake that Adrienne brought for Thanksgiving dinner! The kids loved it and the whole thing was gone quickly! The legs and body are sculpted out of icing! lol
Please visit Mary @ Work of the Poet for more Ruby Tuesday participants!

Ten On Tuesday

"10 Things You Want, but Wouldn’t Buy for Yourself"
  1. Iphone
  2. Laptop
  3. A Wii
  4. Season 1 & 2 of True Blood
  5. Season 1 & 2 of Dexter
  6. A membership in the Disney Vacation Club (DVC)
  7. ARC Membership
  8. Photography classes
  9. Kitchen Aid Pro
  10. Laser hair removal
To play or just to see others answers please visit Ten on Tuesday!