Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Let's try this again...

Hey - you still out there???  This internet thing still around?

I just thought I was loving the new lap top!  That was, for the hour I used it at my sisters house where the wireless worked so well.  Back home was another story.  Routers and such have kept us living the old fashioned life for the last two weeks.  It wasn't all bad.  We have played lots of games, read, etc and no one fought over the computer.  Now, it wasn't easy, but we did it.  We had a hard time finding movie times and such as we really didn't remember how we did it before the internet....

Christmas was wonderful.  Relaxing.  Not stressful at all this year.  We all got way more than we should have!  Snow and ice was so bad we didn't make it to church Christmas eve, that was weird...

Highlights from the last few weeks:

Snow


Being a small part of a little blessing for another family that is having a very stressful Christmas.

Snow!!!!



Time with family








Did I mention how much we loved the snow!?!






Saturday, December 19, 2009

I'm back....

Oh, I am loving the new laptop.  I am a couple of weeks behind on all of my blog checking, facebook visiting, etc... It was a good time out from the computer though - I have had a million things to do so not using the computer probably saved me some time at night.
We are doing a quick trip to Dallas this weekend.  We are squeezing in two family Christmas gatherings, a little shopping, a Dr. apt and Six flags into a little over 48 hours! 

Did I mention that I love the new laptop?  Have a wonderful weekend!

Monday, December 7, 2009

I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite

A week or so ago Mike offer to buy me a new lap top for my birthday.  I thanked him for that sweet thought and told him I didn't need one and went on to defend my trusty, second hand, ebay laptop.  Next morning, NO BACK LIGHT.  So, new lap top on the way and with having to use the desk top, well, I almost forgot about the blog.  I've read, gotten more accomplished, etc. without checking all my favorite blogs. 

So, what have we been up to since the post Thanksgiving post?

A lot of this...



And here is the smiling,  happiest girl in town!  She is so excited to get her first point shoes.  Who new they cost so much and came in so many brands and sizes.  They have been on her feet ever since we brought them home.... the sister is very jealous.  We teased her because her 'step-sister' foot wouldn't fit in it no matter how she tried.  That only made her mad....


looks like the Elvis would like to try them on too


My counselor at school read this book and told me about it.  It is a sweet, very fast read.  We decided we needed a "Christmas Jar" at school.  We have a sweet little one who is very sick in the hospital and we are going to leave it on the family's door step Christmas eve.

I have to finish the multiple choir dresses tonight - it's the project that won't end!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Glad it's done...

No, not Thanksgiving.  It wasn't too bad with just our family. It was a very relaxing day!  And for that matter this whole little break has been very relaxing. 
The big girl left Friday to go out of town with a friend's family so it has been quieter than usual.
The little one and I have done quite a bit of Christmas shopping and we got all of the Christmas decorations up.

Last year, we went to Dallas for Christmas so I didn't put up much, just one little tree...  This year I am having a Christmas party for our dept. so I needed to decorate.
I realized after getting it all done that it looks like a Christmas store in here!  In our old house, we had a big  formal area.  Here, all of our living spaces are right together....
Here are a few of my favorites...


\\
snowman tree in my bedroom



Notice the very nice natavity?  Resting on a scrap of burlap... looks a bit like hay don't you think?
Mike gave the pieces of the natavity but I haven't broken down and bought the creche... it costs much  more than the actual stable that Jesus was birthed in...
Notice the dog in the back ground wearing her Christmas PJ's?  Well, it took two very brave girls to get them on her and she may have to wear them forever since she turns very mean when you try to remove them..





Dining room, still need to clean off the table from the remains of the decorations...


Do you see these sweet little kissing children?  We tried to get a sweet kissing picture every year.  The last few years it hasn't been as easy.  How come they don't stay that little???
 
So, we're at the end of the weekend.  It has been great except for today,
at the last possible minute, I am finishing sewing the Choir Dresses I was signed up for... I usually don't wait till the last min. on things, but this job is different.  I have to make 7 (or 14 if no other mom wants to help) and they are easy, easy to sew, but they are a red crushed velvet and they shed and make me sneeze!  One more to go, unless she didn't find anyone to do the others and tells me at the very last minute.  We'll see...
How was your weekend?

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanks-giving

Here we are in a whole different town from any family. 

Family that I am thankful for. 

I have been very unsettled about this whole holiday season.  

I have been very mad that because of Mike's work we can't go to family for the holidays.

I have been sad that no one was coming here for Thanksgiving and if they come at Christmas it will be after. 

My kids have been very unsettled by this.  We aren't used to being without family on the holidays.

But, here we are, getting used to it. 

I guess it won't be too bad, but there are few things that just won't be the same.  Things we won't do without others here. 

But being thankful isn't one of the things I will skip.  I know I am blessed and I am very thankful.

 1Thessalonians 5:18

in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Almost Every Thursday

Almost every Thursday my girls talk me into eating at Pei Wei. They have a weird dance schedule that night and it's easiest to eat out.  This week we went to a Kanakuk movie night on Tuesday and needed dinner on the way and guess what they wanted...
We all had forturns that related to needing more food...
a crab wonton a day keeps the dr away....
blah, blah, blah and start with a spring roll...

Every time we eat there we discuss how we wish Jennifer was with us since she loves it too, so Katie opened a forturn cookie for her...



Her forturn was what I pray for her every single day



so, Jennifer, you probably should do something with the lucky numbers too.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Cinnamon Rolls

Next weekend at Mike's family get together, it is a Thanksgiving brunch.  I have been looking for a reason to try Pioneer Woman's recipe for cinnamon rolls...

The sisters taking turns and working well together went out the window on this project.  Kellie wanted to do it all without Katie even in the room...it was a load of fun... But the good news, even the bickering of the sisters couldn't mess up the wonderfulness of these...



It looks like someone wiped their hands while helping me...

                                                 




Ummmm, butter....



It makes a ton

They were everything I thought they would be.
I sent a pan to our sweet neighbors to see what they thought... he just texted me letting me know that if I forgot to take the rest of them with us to let him know, he would come get them and something about he may have eaten the whole pan I sent over.


The final product...They taste as good as they look!
This is the pan the neighbor may or maynot have eaten all of...


Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients


1 quart Whole Milk
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Sugar

2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

2 cups (to 4 Cups) Melted Butter (I used two cups)
2 cups Sugar (I used a comb. of brown sugar and white sugar)
Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

_____

MAPLE FROSTING:
1 bag Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
½ cups Milk
¼ cups Melted Butter
¼ cups Brewed Coffee
⅛ teaspoons Salt
(I omitted the coffee and butter and still turned out great.)
Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1 ½ to 2 cups melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.


Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.


Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.


I have two big pans in the freezer to bake the morning of the brunch, a pan to bake to take to work in the morning, and 3 small pans in the freezer...
Here is what I learned... these take a while with all the differnt steps.  They are worth it.  Maple extract stains.  My granit is great for rolling things out on but is too good at hiding spots, you can't tell if you have it all cleaned up...Did I mention these are worth the trouble!