New Year's Hodgepodge

1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2011?

Adventurous
Frustrating
Hopeful


2. Do you like shrimp? What's your favorite way to have it prepared?

I do not like shrimp at all. Therefore, there isn't a favorite way I like it prepared. Ha!


3. Is your house de-Christmased? If so when did you tackle that job? If not, when will the decorations come down?

Sort of. Our tree is down, and most of the decorations. We still have our Christmas cards hanging up, my snowman collection is out, and a few odds and ends that haven't gotten put away yet. We took the tree and most of the stuff down a few days before the new year.


4. Do you like to watch scary movies?

NO. Once I watch a scary movie, I cannot get it out of my mind. I prefer to watch comedies.


5. Ice skating~sledding~skiing~snowboarding~of the four listed which wintertime activity do you most enjoy?

Sledding. Although, I don't really go all that much anymore. The last time I went sledding, I cracked my tail bone on the ground and suffered for weeks! It stinks getting older...


6. Did you have a childhood hideout? Describe it.

We had a circle table in the hallway that had a tablecloth on it. I remember going under there when I just needed to get away from it all. I would read books and write in my diary. Since I shared a room with my sister, it was the perfect spot to go to when I needed some time alone.


7. What's a place or space that motivates you?

It's not really a place or a space, but whenever I watch shows like "Hoarders" or "Clean House", it makes me want to clean and throw stuff away!


8. Insert your own random thought here.

Here are some pictures of my girls having fun in the snow.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas Wrap Up

I realized that I have never posted anything yet about our Christmas! Oh boy, am I ever behind. It is about to get a whole lot quieter on this blog, as we are getting ready to make our annual pilgrimage to sunny Florida. This involves packing for five people....for two months. No small feat for sure! What to bring, what to bring....

Anyway, our Christmas festivities actually started on Friday, as we went out for a family drive to look at Christmas lights. Hubs took us to what we call the "Christmas House". This is a couple's house, that they TOTALLY decorate, inside and out, with Christmas decorations and lights.

Here are the girls next to their life size Santa.

Here is my middle daughter....in the middle of their house.

This ice cube snowman would look awesome in my snowman collection!

Here is their Christmas village. Very impressive!


The leg lamp from "A Christmas Story".

On Saturday, we went to our church's "Carols and Candles" Christmas Eve service. Then, we had our family over for a party afterwards.

Unfortunately, I guess we didn't take any pictures of that. But, here is a picture right before the girls came out on Christmas morning.

There aren't any pictures of the girls opening presents on Christmas morning, because now that they are older, they don't want pictures of what they look like first thing in the morning on the internet. Can't say I blame them. As you can see, there aren't any of ME on here either. Ha!

In the afternoon, we went to my sister and brother-in-law's house for dinner, and more present opening!










Santa brought me a brand new Crock Pot, so if you have any recipes that you love to make in the Crock Pot, please feel free to share them with me!



New pajamas! I am easy to please :)




We bought my parents a new vacuum, but little did we know, they had already bought one for themselves BEFORE Christmas! They thought it was pretty funny.

Now that I finally downloaded all the pictures, I can show you a picture of Chocolate Dream Delight. YUM!


We ended the evening with the kids playing their new "Just Dance 3" game on the Wii.

And a great time was had by all....

Chocolate Dream Delight

In my last post, I mentioned that I would be bringing Chocolate Dream Delight to our family Christmas party.

I was then asked what it was. Oh my, is it G-O-O-D! It truly is a family favorite!

I'm not exactly sure where I originally got the recipe, but I have been making it for years. For any of you that would like to make it, here is the recipe:

Chocolate Dream Delight

Mix together:

1 1/4 cups flour (I use GF Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix)
1 stick of softened butter
3/4 chopped nuts

Press in a 9x13 pan (I spray first with Pam), and bake at 375 for 15-20 mins. Crust should be golden brown. Cool

In separate bowl, mix together:

8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar

Beat, and then add 1/2 container of large cool whip. Mix. Spread on cooled crust.

In separate bowl, combine and mix together:

2 small (or 1 large) packages of instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk

Spread pudding mixture on top of cream cheese mixture.

Place remaining 1/2 container of cool whip on top of pudding mixture.

Top with either crushed nuts or mini chocolate chips.

Refrigerate overnight. Serve the next day.

Enjoy :)

Christmas Hodgepodge

1. Are you cooking Christmas dinner? How many will be round your table this year? What are we having?

In our family, one person never does ALL the cooking. We each have certain things that we bring. I will be making the Christmas ham, chocolate dream delight, and bringing pop.

This year, we are having Christmas dinner at my sister's house instead of ours. There will be fourteen people seated around the table....err...around the house. There isn't a big enough table for all of us in ANY of our homes!

We are having ham, potatoes, corn, salad, angel eggs (the same thing as deviled eggs, but we call them that instead :), pickles and olives, rolls, my chocolate dream delight dessert and whatever desserts everyone else brings! No shortage of food at our gatherings for sure! We always make too much, but that makes for tasty leftovers, so it's all OK.


2. What is one must-have Christmas cookie in your house?

Buckeyes!



Now, I have to be honest here and say that I have never made these. My Mom always makes them, and then brings them to my house. So see? There is need for me to make them! I told her that this year, she should try to make them with crunchy peanut butter. I think they would be even better that way!


3. Santa likes a glass of milk with his cookies. Do you? What kind of milk is on tap at your house-skim? almond? soy? full fat (Gasp!)

I don't really like to drink milk plain, so no. We drink 2% milk in this house.


4. Time magazine recently named their 'Person of the Year' for 2011. This is the person the editors believe had the greatest impact, for better or worse, in the past year. This year they chose 'The Protester'. Your thoughts? Who would you name Person of the Year for 2011?

I usually like to see an actual person named, not just a general one.

I agree with Barbara Walters.

Steve Jobs: Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of the Year for 2011 - ABC News


5. December 21st is National Flashlight Day... when was the last time you needed a flashlight and did you know right where to find one?

Well, the girls like to play "Flashlight Tag" so they use them then, but other than that, we used one during our last big storm when the power went out. No, we can never find a working one when we REALLY need it! Nor can we ever find the candles. We are not the most organized around these parts. Sigh.


6. Candy canes...yum or yuck?

I like them, but it's not like I just have to have them.


7. What Christmas carol lyric means the most to you?



I love the part that says:

Then rang the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

It reminds me that I serve a LIVING God. He is not dead, nor does he sleep. Amen!


8. Insert your own random thought here.

The next step in my medical "journey" is to have a sleep study done at the hospital on Thursday night. I have to arrive at 7:30 p.m. I told the lady on the phone that I sure hope I am not going to be required to go to sleep at 7:30! I am a huge night owl, and it is nothing for me to go to bed at 12 or 1, sometimes even 2 in the morning. She said that I will be allowed to watch TV until 10, and then lights out is at 11.

Sounds sort of like camp. Ha!

Other than being a little weirded out about being "watched" while I sleep, I am not concerned about this test. NO needles will be involved. Yay!

Happy Sleeping....

The Birth Plan

I remember what it was like the first time I gave birth. I was 23 years old, and I had my daughter in the hospital. My very special friend, who is a nurse, was by my side, and my wonderful husband was there to coach me along. My entire family was also there waiting for our newborn daughter to arrive.

I was in a comfortable bed, with clean sheets, and I had nurses who tended to my every need. I had all the ice chips a girl could want, and a bathroom with running water.

There was a television to distract me, and a CD player to play my favorite soft music.

I am a person that likes to have everything "just so". I made out a birth plan ahead of time, to ensure that everything would be done just the way I wanted it.

I made sure to bring all the comforts of home with me to the hospital, including my own pillow.

When I think about my first delivery compared to Mary, the mother of Jesus, I cannot imagine being in her shoes.

As I try to picture what it would be like to be nine months pregnant, and riding on a donkey, it is just inconceivable to me. Riding in the car during contractions was bad enough.

Then, to be told that there was no place to go to give birth, and I would have to give birth to my baby in a stable? I'm sure I would have complained, and whined, and probably even cried about the injustice of it all. I would have been mad at Hubs, because surely, SURELY, he could find a place! I mean....I'm about to give BIRTH! A stable just won't do!

We aren't told whether or not Mary felt this way. I'd like to think that since she was human, that may have been the case. The Bible never says she was perfect. Just that she was blessed among women. I'm sure she didn't always have the right attitude about things, and having to give birth in a stable may just have been one of them. After all, it is a known fact that pregnant women can be a bit....unreasonable at times.

Not that I would know anything about that though.

Just don't ask Hubs. He may remember things differently. But, this is MY blog, and I don't remember it that way ;)

Not much is said in the Bible about Jesus' birth. But, I am sure that a stable was NOT the ideal place to give birth to a baby.

I'm sure if Mary had her choice, she would have chosen a place a little more....appropriate. At least a place that would have had a bed for her to lie down in. I'm sure that her birth plan wouldn't have included giving birth next to farm animals or laying her newborn son in a dirty manger.

And yet, on that night so long ago, Jesus Christ was born. Emmanuel. God with us. Messiah.

He didn't come as a king, but as a tiny, helpless infant. He was born to ordinary parents, who were chosen by God to raise the Savior of the world.

This Christmas, as we remember His birth, we remember that He came into the world for a purpose. To save us from our sins, and give us the gift of salvation.

He came, not just for for the rich, or the educated, or the popular ones, but for ALL people. He came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly.

I can't think of a greater gift that anyone could offer me than the gift of salvation. A new iPad 2 pales in comparison.

The gift of eternal life.

This gift is still available today. Wise men STILL seek Him. But, it is a gift, and you must be willing to accept it.

Will YOU accept His wonderful gift?

Oh, Christmas Tree

Our tree is finally up!

In case you were wondering, we have an artificial tree. No "real" trees here.

Growing up, my Dad was allergic to real trees, so we always had an artificial one. I guess it has just kind of stuck with me. Seems safer than having a real tree too, in my opinion. And neater. No needles all over the floor!

I have had the same tree for quite a few years now. It is one of those "pre-lit" trees. Except for now, it no longer pre-lights, or even lights at all. That part of the tree only lasted a few years. I am still required to wind the lights around it anyway, so it kind of defeats the purpose of having a pre-lit tree. I now know this is a very common problem with these trees.

That would have been nice to know before hand.

For all of you considering buying one....you have been warned.

Last year, as we were in a rush to put the tree away, Hubs decided to just plop the tree, with all the lights still on it, back into the box. So, this year? It was loads of fun trying to get the lights OFF the tree, so I could untangle them, and put them on again.

I always get a bit weepy and sentimental looking over all the Christmas ornaments. I have some favorite ones, which I will feature in another post.

I love looking at trees that are super fancy and all color coordinated. You know, the ones that look like they were pulled right out of a magazine, with all of their glitz and glamour.

Our tree is not like that. There are no fancy bows or rows of matching ornaments.

Yet, I prefer my tree to those other trees. On our tree, every ornament has a story to tell. I can tell you how each and every one of them came to be on our tree.

The ones that were made by my girls are so very precious to me. The ones that have pictures of their adorable little faces on them? Even better.

Some we got as presents on our very first Christmas as a married couple. Others were given to our children as gifts. Several we have picked up, here and there, just because we liked them, or they reminded us of something, or someone, special.

Each one of them is unique in their own way.

I wouldn't trade my tree for anything.





Well....the tree itself can be replaced. It is starting to look its age.

And this time? It won't be a pre-lit tree that is purchased...

Just Imagine

When I was younger, I didn't have any Legos, but my brother did. He also had Lincoln Logs, and we would spend hours building things together.

Since I have all girls, Legos haven't been a real big part of our family. Unlike families that have boys, that word has never appeared on any Christmas list my girls have written.

Barbies: Check

Baby Dolls: Check

Kitchen: Check

American Girl Doll: Check

Legos: Ummm.....No

However, my youngest daughter has now taken a liking to them. Living in a small town, we don't have a Lego store. Sure, you can buy them at Wally World, but it isn't quite as fun.

So, while we were in Chicago, we decided to visit a real Lego store.

Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! THIS is what greeted us at the entrance of the store.

Impressive, eh? This is made entirely out of.....you guessed it....Legos! I can't even imagine how many hours it took them to put this together.

The Chicago skyline was in one window, and this Lego man was in the other. To be honest, this one rather surprised me. I was kind of shocked that in this day and age, they would actually make a Lego man smoking a pipe. They are not allowed to post cigarette ads on billboards anymore, or have commercials on television, or even advertise for them in a magazine. So, isn't it rather odd that a store that sells toys for children, would in a round about way, be advertising smoking? What do you think?

This gigantic dragon could be seen throughout the store. His head was at the back of the store, but his body appeared to be "coming through" the ceiling every so often all around the store.

Here is a close up of his mouth


This black cat with a white patch resembles my mother-in-law's cat, Cozy.


My oldest daughter said this reminded her of Hubs and I. Awww ♥


The best part of being at the Lego store? Playing with the all the Legos!



Here is our favorite cowboy, Woody, from Toy Story. I think they should have put Jessie next to him. That would have been cute!

This is Hubs, my oldest daughter, and my brother-in-law standing next to him. He was very tall!

Being at the Lego store made me remember just how much fun Legos can be. Hmmm....maybe I will put them on my Christmas list this year.

You never know, Santa just may decide to put some in my stocking.

I have been a very good girl this year....