Blogmas Day 9 & 10 - Warmth and Cookies

 I didn't get a chance to do Day 9 yesterday so I'm going to combine it with today's Blogmas.

I am not a fan of winter or the cold weather.  Even though I don't like the cold I also don't like bundling up and covering myself up with too much.  I just don't like the feeling of being smothered.  So I don't wear scarves or turtlenecks unless I absolutely have to.  I just recently purchased one of these head bands.

I took this picture this morning after my shower and before makeup.  But that's my new headband.

I also don't own any winter boots.  I better add that to my Christmas wish list.  It would make playing in the snow with the kids much more enjoyable.

I also love my flannel sheets and heavy blanket to sleep with.  I have to be warm when I sleep and that's pretty much the only time I'm okay with being bundled up.

I'm thankful to have a house with working heat when the winter weather comes.  And during this cold season I enjoy sipping on hot tea, cappuccino, hot chocolate and coffee with peppermint creamer.

This year I am looking forward to trying a few new cookie recipes and hopefully work on a gingerbread house with the kids.  Every year I made a batch of sugar cookies and use my Christmas shaped cookie cutters.  The kids help putting the ingredients in the bowl and mixing everything together.  Then they add the sprinkles.  With little kids it becomes a mess that I try not to stress out about.

The recipe for these cookies are on the box of my 101 Cookie Cutters. 

Roll-Out Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsps baking powder

3 cups flower

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Mix baking powder and flour, add one cup at a time, mixing after each addition.  The dough will be very stiff; blend last flour by hand (if dough becomes too stiff, add water, a teaspoon at a time).  Do not chill dough.  Divide dough into 2 portions.  On a floured surface, roll each portion into a circle approximately 12 in. diameter and 1/8 in. thick.  Dip cookie cutters in flour before each use.  Bake cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet on top rack of oven for 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. 

Makes 20-24 average size cookies.  

You can tint the dough with food coloring or add sprinkles and frosting for an added touch.  

These cookies are soft and chewy and are a big hit for anyone I bake them for.  

I am going to try making these Pretzel M&M Hugs and these Crinkle Cookie Cakes.  I have never made cookies from cake mix before. 

Blogmas 2014 Day 8 - On My Wish List

This is a tough one for me.  I'm not usually one to tell people what to get me.  Plus, I think I have everything I need.  My focus is always on what to get my kids, my husband and my parents.  My dad is the hardest to shop for. 

But if I had to choose some things that I'd like to get or could use I believe I'd pick the following.

Jewelry.  You can't go wrong with jewelry.  To be more specific I'd love a new pair of earrings.  I haven't had a new pair of earrings in years and I haven't wore any earrings in a long time. 

Some books.  I love reading but don't do it enough.  Maybe a book by Joyce Meyer or Karen Kingsbury.  Or some kind of faith-based devotional. 

Something with the scent of lavender.  I'm told lavender is great for helping you to relax and deal with stress.  I've been dealing with too much stress lately. 

I just don't know what else I would ask for.  Honestly, it wouldn't bug me if I didn't get anything at all.  You know the one thing I don't like to get as a gift is clothes.  Usually when someone buys me clothes it just hangs in my closet for years with the tags still on.  Unless you know a person's size and style buying clothes as a gift doesn't make sense.  So maybe a gift card to a shop would be good ... oh yeah ... can't go wrong with gift cards.  I'll add that to my list too.  

Blogmas Day 7 - Handmade Christmas

Handmade presents are so special.  I don't receive handmade presents unless their from the kids and it doesn't matter if it's something scribbled with some unidentified picture (you know how little kids are) it still means so much to me.

Before having children I tried making handmade gifts for others.  One year I painted ceramic figurines, another year I painted wooden sculptures and another year I tried making candles (oh, that was a mess!)  I did make a shadow box for my dad and another for my mother-in-law.  My dad loves fishing so I made a fishing theme inside.  I made it look like the inside of a fishing cabin where I glued a small table and chair and a tackle box and fishing rod and even some small fishing magazines.  These are all items I bought at a craft store that is supposed to be for doll houses.  It turned out so adorable.  It hangs in the extra bedroom at my parents' house.  I wish I had a picture to show you.  I made a garden theme for my mother-in-law.  Those were fun to put together.

This year I decided to make salt dough ornaments with the kids.  The recipe is on my box of cookie cutters.  I pulled out all the Christmas shapes and then mixed up the dough (using flour, salt and water).  I rolled out the dough, just like you would when making cookies, and I pressed each shape with the cookie cutters.  I stuck them in the oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes just like the recipe said.  Well, let's just say, the ornaments didn't come out right after it baked.  Some were still soft in the middle and others grew bubbles and got all lumpy.  I have no idea what happened there but I allowed the kids to paint them anyway.

 

There may be a few worth saving but for the most part these ornaments didn't turn out as I had hoped.  At least the kids had fun. 

Without fail, year after year since my son was born, my most favorite gift to create and give is a calendar for my husband to use at work.  I've created the calendars at either Artscow or Shutterfly but if I'm running low on time (like this year) I just create one at Walgreens and it's usually ready the same day.  The thing I love, love, love about Artscow and Shutterfly is that when you sign up for an account and create/buy products you will randomly get e-mail offers for free or discounted items.  Same with Walgreens.  I'm always getting e-mails for discounted prints or a free 8x10 print.  I've also used those sites to create photobooks too.  

 And I can't forget this one!  I always wanted to be a writer.  That is my dream.  Well, if you can imagine, becoming a writer and getting books published isn't easy.  A few years ago I decided to create a fun book for my parents and I found a website that allowed me to do just that.  I wrote the story and my husband drew the pictures.  I wrote the book about two dogs my parents used to own, Boston Terriers named Rocky and Barney.  Rocky and Barney were brothers from the same litter and they were such humorous dogs with different personalities.  They really kept us entertained.  So it only made sense to create a children's story about Rocky and Barney.  Of course, if you didn't know these two, you wouldn't understand it.  That's what made it so special.  You can see the book here.  Rocky and Barney's Day Out.  That's probably the most heartfelt gift I ever made anyone. 

Blogmas Day 6 - Opening Presents

When I was a child we would go to my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve for dinner.  The house was packed with aunts, uncles and my many, many, many cousins.  My grandparents always had cards for each of us with money inside.  That was their gift to us.  We'd usually exchange gifts that our aunts and uncles gave us as well.  Then we'd get home and the present from Santa had already been placed under the tree.  Even though it was probably about midnight by the time we got home I was able to play with my new gift from Santa and that is when we all gathered around the tree to open the rest of the gifts.  My dad never wanted to wait until Christmas morning.  Christmas morning was usually spent playing with all my new gifts.

Now my parents drive to Long Island, New York to my sister's house and have a Christmas Eve party there where they all open gifts from each other.  I've been able to visit for the Christmas party from time to time but in recent years we stay home here in Pennsylvania.

If you didn't know this about me, I used to live on Long Island and came here with my parents when I was 14.  The rest of my family still lives on LI.

Since my husband and I got married and moved in together we decided to exchange gifts on Christmas morning.  I like it so much better that way.  We've kept the tradition going with the kids.  When they go to bed I put all the gifts under the tree so they have a nice surprise when they wake up.  Even before breakfast they waste no time tearing into the presents.  Then we go to my father-in-law and his wife's house to have dinner and exchange gifts with them.

I wish I had a photo from my childhood Christmas to share but my parents have them at their house.  So I'll just share one from last year.  I have to be honest, Christmas has become so much more meaningful and so much better since having children.  

I also want to take a moment to thank Sandra and those on Sandra's blog who stop by and read my blogs and comment on them.  I love the visits and the comments.  I don't have many followers and don't receive many comments on here so it's been nice.  THANKS! 

Blogmas Day 5 - Favorite Christmas Food

Honestly, I'm not sure if there is any particular food that I look forward to the most when it comes to Christmas.  As a child we used to go to my grandparents' house for Christmas Eve dinner and they would have a turkey among so many other things to eat.  In recent years we've always had ham; whether we make it here at home or we go to the in-laws for Christmas Day dinner.  Then there are the sides of potatoes, veggies, biscuits and whatever else is decided on.  Then there is dessert.  My sister-in-law makes a dump cake, which I haven't tried.  My husband loves it and begs me to try it but excuse me, I just can't get myself to consume anything named DUMP cake ... lol.  I usually make a chocolate cake and a few years ago my son suggested we turn it into a birthday cake for Jesus so I always make a cake that says HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS. 

I do make a batch of sugar cookies and use my Christmas shaped cookie cutters.  I'll hold off on that recipe until it's time for the Christmas cookie post.  :-)

I can't wait to read what everyone else eats for Christmas.  

Blogmas Day 4 - My Favorite Christmas Music

I LOVE Christmas music.  My list is long ... but I will pick one song here.

In my house, we are big Duck Dynasty fans.  Last year my husband bought me their Christmas CD Duck The Halls.  It's been in my car since and every time we are driving somewhere (ALL YEAR long) my daughter asks to listen to "Away in the Manger" sung by Sadie Robertson.  So I decided to post the song here.

It starts with Mia, a little girl who reads from Luke 2 (Hey, I posted that the other day).  Then Sadie, Mia's cousin, sings the song.  Such a beautiful voice.

I also enjoy other classics such as Silent Night, O Holy Night, Breath of Heaven to name a few.

Blogmas 2014 - Day 3 My Favorite Christmas Movies

When I was a child I loved watching Miracle on 34th Street.  Every year I looked forward to watching it with my mom.  The movie came out in 1947 (Wow that is the year my dad was born) but I actually enjoy those old classics.  My mom and I used to watch a lot of the old movies together, like Singing In The Rain and some other ones that the titles aren't clicking in my head right now ... but anyway, back to CHRISTMAS movies ...

This movie is about a man who fills in for the intoxicated Santa at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and he is such a hit they hire him to be the Santa for the mall.  He claims he's the real Santa and even ends up going to court because people think he's mentally unstable.  In the end they all find out he truly is the real Santa, including this young girl pictured above (Natalie Wood) who didn't believe in Santa at all before he came along.

I also enjoy National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Oh, that one just cracks me up each and every time I watch it.

Clark Griswold wants nothing more than a perfect Christmas with his family but everything seems to go wrong for him.

The most recent movie that I enjoy a lot, and my family enjoys it as well, is Elf.  My kids insist on watching it all the time.  When my son was 3 he wanted to watch it throughout the entire year.  That's okay, it never gets old in my opinion.

 After sneaking into Santa's sack at the orphanage as a baby Buddy grew up in the North Pole where he lived with the elves.  But when he grows up and finds out he's a human he takes a trip to New York City to meet his dad and live among other humans.  His dad, who is on the naughty list, is obsessed with his career but Buddy helps him to learn what really matters in life.  If you haven't seen this movie yet I suggest you watch it.  It's cute and humorous. Good for the whole family.