Five Things Thursday

Is there anything better than babies at Christmas? I've decided to devote my "Five Things" post this week to babies and their pictures.

Little Travis wasn't too happy to see the "big guy" which lead to this:

"Mom, what? I have to get this letter to santa and try to repair the damage before it's too late!"

And then there's this little cutie:

 Little Evie took to santa right away.

"Well, santa, I guess you're right---mine is as big as yours!"

Here's my little baby, Elizabeth:

"Grammy, I'm not a baby!!! I'm 8 years old and have just finished my "Girls on the Run" race. I'll see

you in 3 days! I can't wait!" And neither can I!

It doesn't matter how old your baby might be, they are always fun at Christmas!

The Happiest of Mail

Considering I don't do cards anymore, I always feels so lucky when people keep me on their Christmas list. Well, this year, I received a few very unexpected cards.

This is an unusual sight in my mailbox, but so welcome!! Of course when I saw the stamp, I knew right away it was from the UK! My stamp collecting from all the way back to the fifth grade came in handy identifying the stamp. If there was any doubt, you can look closely at the "air mail" label and see that it's "Royal Mail." Gotta' love that! Inside was this awesome handmade card:

This one is from High in the Sky. That would be my friend, Sian. I had seen this gorgeous card on her blog, but had no idea that it was coming my way! Thanks, Sian!

 Imagine my delight when I saw not one, but TWO envelopes of "Royal Mail."

This stamp is really large and beautiful. That poses a dilemma---use it in my scrapbook or put it in my stamp album?  I do think the scrapbook will win out. Inside was this surprise:

A homemade ornament from my friend, Miriam. She hosted an ornament swap earlier in the season. It was so much fun to see ornaments sent around the world. I never realized I'd be getting one from her! Thanks, Miriam!

This one came from right here in the good old U S of A!

One of my newer friends from St. Louis, Carla----made this card for me. If you can't tell, there's stamping, coloring and die cutting. Thanks, Carla!!

There's nothing more fun than receiving actual mail. I have gotten many other great cards from family and friends---too many to post. Thanks to all of you for that! I feel truly blessed.

Quick Post

Everybody's busy and so am I---all fun stuff. But I did want to share a couple of reallllllyyyyyy good and easy recipes.

This one is from Miss Daisy's cook book. Miss Daisy used to have a tea room in the 1980's. It's and old recipe and I haven't made it in years. I got it from my friend, Nancy who served it for the first time at a spring luncheon in 1987. She made it for me recently which reminded me of it. I'm happy to have it in the freezer for the holidays.

Frozen Cherry Salad
1-16 oz. can cherry pie filling
1-14 oz. can crushed pineapple
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
13 oz. Cool Whip or other

Mix all ingredients and freeze in a 9x13 pan. Cut in squares to serve. I like to let it sit a bit before eating so it can thaw a little.

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The following recipe is from another blog I follow. I've gotten a lot of good recipes from Plain Chicken. These are out of this world and couldn't be easier.

Brown Sugar Ham Rolls
1/2 shaved deli ham (I used Boars head)
4-5 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1 pan frozen Sister Shubert dinner, thawed (these are a southern thing---any frozen yeast rolls that are already cooked can be used---sort of like brown and serve---they come in a round pan).

Preheat oven to 350.

In a saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar and dijon mustard. Stir until everything is melted together.
Remove rolls from pan. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the rolls in half. Tip: to easily reassemble the rolls, remove one of the outer rolls and set aside. This will help with lining up the rolls when reassembling.

Put bottom of rolls back into the pan. Brush half the sugar mixture on the rolls. There's a lot, but it will seep in. Top with ham and then Swiss cheese slices. Spread remaining sauce on top. Replace the top rolls. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

If you give either of these a try, let me know how you liked them.

I'm a Social Realist!

I took this free personality test. I am a Social Realist. It describes me to a "t." Take the test yourself and tell me in the comments who you are!

Social Realists are popular persons full of energy. They are reliable, well organized and helpful. Traditional values are important to them. Founding a family also plays a central role in their life. Social Realists have a marked social streak.

They are always ready to listen to the worries and problems of others and spare no effort when they are asked for help. With empathy and understanding, they can sense what other people need. Social Realists are always willing to highly regard the strong points of the other person and to excuse that person’s weaknesses. They are the most sociable of all personality types. Social contacts are very important to them.

Social Realists find it very difficult to cope with conflicts and criticism - harmony is their elixir of life. Acknowledgement and esteem are very important to this type. Differentiation on the other hand is not necessarily one of their strong points. At work and in partnerships, they are loyal, committed and always there when needed. They find it easy to make friends due to their open, warm manner and they have a large circle of friends. In love, they are faithful and attentive and care for their partners with a great deal of imagination and sensitivity. Social Realists show their feelings openly and honestly. Should a relationship break up, they tend to blame themselves. That is why they find it very difficult to end a partnership even if it has not fulfilled their requirements for some time.

Social Realists are more conservative types. They have a set system of values and rules which is orientated to the prevailing traditions. They prefer clear, structured surroundings and work processes; they find too much change und unrest unpleasant. Their strong points are carefulness and reliability and not so much flexibility and spontaneity. Social Realists are open-minded towards anything new only to a limited extent. But, should one be looking for someone to fulfil a task reliably and exactly, they are the right persons.

Adjectives that describe your type
extroverted, practical, sentimental, planning, emotional, temperamental, energetic, tradition-conscious, loyal, helpful, devoted, reliable, caring, objective, thorough, organised, warm-hearted, open, friendly, sociable, chummy, obliging, self-sacrificing, public-spirited, sensitive, kind, demanding.

5 Awesome Things on Thursday

For your enjoyment:
1. The Florida State University Acabelles!

2. A beautiful love story!

3. Pre--school performance with a surprise ending.

4. Unbelievable garden.

5. And finally, a new quick and easy recipe for the holidays with an awesome tip at the end.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
1 spice cake mix
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin (or mashed fresh)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 large eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan. Blend all ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Scrape sides and beat another 2 minutes. Bake 32-35 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for at least 20 minutes before frosting.

Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
3 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 T. milk
1 t. vanilla 

Mix all ingredients. Frost cake. Refrigerate for 20 minutes uncovered!  After 20 minutes, cover cake with saran wrap and return to the refrigerator of freeze. 

By chilling first, it keeps the saran wrap from sticking to the cake! What an easy idea? Did you already know that one?

Productivity Slowing Down

That's what I get for bragging about my productive weekend. I've had a fun couple of days, but other than a little baking, I haven't gotten any work done. The Christmas closet is haunting me. I really need to get to it so I can enjoy the rest of my week. I don't think it's going to happen. I have to knock out my work first thing in the morning. It's too hard for me to get motivated after noon. Heck, the day is almost done by then.

After a Christmas concert on Monday night and dropping off my friends, I took myself on a mini light tour. I love Christmas lights.

I do not have a fancy schmancy camera, so I can never get really good pictures in the dark. That's okay, I don't want a "big" thing to carry around.

Seeing the lights, reminded me that I very well may be the reason my family is so competitive.  When the girls were little and we were making our way to St. Louis for Christmas, I remember that I'd start a little contest to keep them occupied for the many hours it took to get there. We counted Christmas lights---the right side of the car vs. the left side. After all, it's kind of hard to play the alphabet game in the dark. Of course, there was the usual arguing--"those weren't Christmas lights, that was a store" or "you do not have 22, that last one didn't count." Still, watching for those lights got us all in a festive mood. Now-a-days, I especially enjoy seeing them because I have a real appreciation for how much work it all is. Thank you to all the people out there that put up Christmas lights. It's a little present you give to others.

Yesterday, I got tickets (free) for my friends and I to tour the governor's mansion all decked out for the holidays. There were trees all over the house.

 This tree greeted you when you walked in the front door. It's decorated with framed photos of each governor we've had.

 This tree was dedicated to the indians (I've already forgotten which tribe). I love the arrows sticking out. The guy that decorated the trees lives here right outside of Nashville. He's the same guy who decorates all of the trees in the White House. He does ours first!

Leave it to Tennessee to decorate their trees with dead animals. Actually, this tree was dedicated to Davey Crockett. I guess he was from TN. I think he's like Daniel Boone---he's been just about everywhere.

There were stuffed pheasant on top. I did like the branches sticking out all over with the red berries.

 The nativity set was beautiful.

This is what mine looks like. Jordan and Morgan made these when they were in kindergarten. They are precious to me. I have a HUGE set of Lenox figurines. And by huge, I mean not only large in size, but also in numbers. They are hand-painted and very detailed. I quit getting it out several years ago---maybe even 10. It's just too much work. I think I'll see if one of the girls wants them.

I wish I had a picture of our first nativity set. I bought it through one of those home decorating parties that were so popular in the 1970's. As we were unwrapping it, Sandy decapitated Joseph. She was about 5 at the time. I glued his head back on and we used it for years. I have no idea when I got rid of that set. I wish I had been more sentimental in my younger years.

That leads me to these cute photos from years gone by.

We had a fund raiser through our woman's club at church. You donated $25.00 and santa would show up at your house some time during the month of December. It was always a surprise. Mindy wasn't too happy.

Do these clothes yell out 80's or what? Sandy is going to kill me for posting this one!

 We had our first snow on Monday night. This is pretty typical for us---not much.

I like seeing out of the windows in the sun room. Some times, this is all we get. A few times, we've had enough snow to really cover everything. In all the 29 years we've been here, we've had about 5 inches 3 or 4 times. It's the ice that causes a problem for us. We don't get much snow, but we get plenty of ice.

I really need to get to work now, but it's hard to pull myself away from this:

I'll choose the couch, a throw, a fire, Christmas lights and my laptop any time. I can be a good procrastinator.

A Very Productive Weekend

I had the BEST weekend! I spent pretty much all day on Saturday planning out the year for A Year of Memories (AYM). I put class kits together and wrote the January handout. I'm ready---and excited!! It's going to be another fun year. We have two "newbies" joining us this year. More on all that later.

Back to my productive weekend. On Saturday night, I watched 4 1/2 hours on Nelson Mandela while stitching and wrapping a few gifts. Part of that time was the movie Invictus---starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman as Mandela. It was sooooo good. Of course, Matt Damon---need I say more? Okay, I will---Morgan Freeman!!!

Speaking of movies, my friends and I saw The Book Thief last Wednesday. I read the book a couple of years ago. The book was good and so was the movie.

Today, I finished my book---Mr. Churchill's Secretary. That was really good too, with lots of plot twists. I'm getting ready to start The World's Strongest Librarian. I'll let you know how it goes.

I got a double batch of cookies made and put in the freezer and made shrimp scampi for dinner. The laundry is caught up and I've made my grocery list and schedule for the week. Tomorrow I'm going to clean out the Christmas closet. I'm not exactly looking forward to it, but getting a chore done is what allows me to reward myself with fun with my friends. We're going to a concert tomorrow night. Tuesday, I got us tickets for the governor's mansion.

I love going in to a week after a productive weekend. I have a lot going on this week---50% work and 50% fun. Perfect amount!

So what do you consider to be your work to fun ratio?