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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Blog Posts

This has been something that's annoyed me ever since I started writing my blog. There are people in the goerie.com blog site that don't update their blogs for months. I feel that you shouldn't take up the space if you're not going to keep up with it. That might not be accurate about the space thing but I'm sure others will not bother checking your blog if it's not updated. There are so many sports and specialized blogs such as Tall Ships, etc. that I think someone should have made them broaden their subject a tad so they could do more with it. Some of them have said at the beginning that they would write on weekdays only and take weekends off. I get the impression that it is more of a job to some. Others, I realize, are busy and this is just one more thing they've gotten themselves into. All that said, it only takes a couple minutes, you're writers anyway, and it shouldn't be that big of a deal to blurt out a few sentences about anything just to keep us informed. Maybe I'm too critical but that's the way I feel. Me, I'm looking forward to my 100th blog post coming up in a couple days. Stay tuned.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Craft Supplies

I'm feeling overwhelmed by all my craft supplies. I did make a dent in it over the holidays and I certainly have more ideas but it all seems like a bottomless pit. I started last summer in getting rid of some books and magazines related to crafts. I sorted through every book and decided what I honestly thought I would make. If it didn't make the cut, it was out. Then this spring I got rid of more through the garage sales which made a little money, hopefully not for more craft supplies. I still find myself now with a ton of pictures that need to be scrapbooked and 3 full bins - one full bin each of material, yarn and crochet thread. I know what I want to do with most of it, it's just a matter of time. All this stuff can't be relocated to the cabin - that's the bottom line so I either use of lose it. So what I did last night was pull out all the baby yarn. I found some more purple (I must have torn something else out) and I'll make another blankey for Audrey as that might be the last of it. Then with the rest I will make another baby blanket to put away for who knows who. The thing about crocheting is that I can do it even while I'm engrossed in another project such as scrapbooking. It sits with me in the living room as I'm watching TV. I've also been looking for another scrap afghan project to use up the rest of the yarn. This is a tough one because I usually don't make a pattern twice and there aren't a lot of patterns that I like. I know that unless I find one that I can work with, I'll give up on this before it's done. I remember my smart goal blog and the timely part and I want to say Easter for that yarn bin to be empty. Then I will use the bin to store my completed items. That seems like a plan and now it's in print for everyone to see.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

After Christmas Sales

As strange as it may seem, by the time Christmas is over I am so done with shopping that I don't even want to look at another ad or go to a store. Then I start thinking about all the Christmas stuff that's on sale, especially at Target, where I've gone before. However the last couple of years I haven't even been interested in the Christmas stuff. I had to buy rolls of wrapping paper so I'm good with that and I picked up Christmas cards at Ollie's this fall so I'm stocked for next year. The only thing I've considered going shopping for this week is a new pair of winter boots for myself and maybe a few things at JoAnn's (I will try and resist this urge). I'm really itchin to start some new projects so maybe I'll do some research and gets some good ideas. Otherwise I think this week will be spent eating the leftover foods, nibbling at some goodies, finishing a couple things for the next leg of Christmas travels and getting myself prepped for the New Year.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas

Well, this is my first Christmas Day blog. It is nice to have the girls home overnight and they seemed to like their gifts. We found out that my younger daughter knew about the t-shirt quilt I was making so I hid that in the bedroom until we were all done with the other presents. I still wanted it to be a surprise. I think she liked it and I certainly enjoyed making it. I'm already thinking about what to make for next Christmas. In the oven I have a prime rib cooking and it is starting to smell really good. I'm keeping it simple beyond that but I am making a winter fruit salad that I saw in a magazine. We're used to the summer ones when everything is in season but tend to forget that there's fruit we can use now. Pineapples were .99 apiece at Aldi's so I put that and canned mandarin oranges, kiwi and maraschino cherries in the salad. It smells wonderful. My cookies and candy are going over pretty well - more than enough to constitute dessert - however I did take a key lime pie out of the freezer. We'll just be relaxing after dinner and taking in a movie. You'd be amazed at how many other people have the same idea. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Cookie Marathon

I just finished my annual Christmas cookie marathon which this time also includes candy. There were some new ones on the list this year that I hope are good. Also a suggestion from my husband about putting orange extract in the sugar cookies. It tastes pretty good but my attempt at saving some time and doing slice and bake sugar cookies didn't hit the mark in my opinion. My slice and bake always turn out misshapen. A new one called Coconut Tea Cookies turned out good and very delicate. I was a little disappointed in my truffles this year but I did make the orange for the first time. It hardened up a little too quick so the verdict is still out on those. I tried to continue my desire to use up some of my pantry stash with my cookies. The coconut is gone but I can't seem to get rid of that almond bark no matter how hard I try. I thought I'd give some to my daughter for her peanut butter balls, but by the time I asked her, she had already bought her own. I'm also trying to improve on things for next Christmas so my marathon doesn't need to take place 2 days before Christmas. Unfortunately, my freezer has been too full to store any cookies that were made ahead of time. I guess that's all something to work on for next year. Merry Christmas Eve!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas Presents

There have been alot of articles in the paper lately about memories of Christmas's past so I'll share one of mine. I'm not sure how old I was or even if I still believed but one year I received a table and set of chairs for Christmas. It's always been a struggle for me and I'm sure the same was true for my mom, to keep everything a surprise until Christmas morning. That year it was my brother who found my gift in a little room off my parent's bedroom. This was an early edition of a walk-in closet, I'd say, and later on it would even become my brother's bedroom (but I digress). Anyway, when he found it, he shared his enthusiasm for his find with me. My parents overheard the conversation and quickly went upstairs and moved it. As my brother took me up to see it, it was no where to be found. Of course, I was very upset with him and thought he was just teasing me and being mean. He was dumbfounded! He was certain he had seen it. I can't remember the reaction on Christmas morning when it appeared again or if I got an "I told you so" from my brother. I think hiding presents has to be the hardest thing for a parent. Every time I thought I had a good spot, the kids would see something and I'd have to start all over again. Some years I would keep them in my trunk, but that didn't work well with the station wagon. A few years ago I decided enough is enough and as I bought the gifts I would put them under the tree. That met with much resistance from my older daughter who still wanted everything put out late Christmas Eve. I should have taken some advice from someone at work who said her daughter-in-law saved one big gift from Santa for Christmas morning and the rest were wrapped, put under the tree and were tagged from the parents. That would have saved me alot of hassle over the years.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The Christmas Re-gift

We've all done it so let's be honest. Usually it doesn't happen with good friends or family but there have been times when I'm getting gifts that I know are more of an obligation and sometimes I pass them on. I believe there are some rules involved like not giving it to someone who might know the original giver and having a quick come-back if asked where I got it, so we need to be careful. I've found myself, this year more than ever, trying to use up things and not necessarily re-gift. If I don't have any use for something and I know someone else might then it's re-gift time (plus a little candy). Of course, some gifts have too much meaning such as many of the gifts I got from preschool. I can never get rid of anything that is personalized even if it sits in my ornament box Christmas after Christmas. That's one thing I learned about gifts this year - if you put their name on it, they'll have it forever!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Recycling

There was an article in this morning's paper about a girl using magazines that were headed for the garbage to make Christmas ornaments. They were religious mags and both ornaments, last years and this, looked very nice. I try to recycle some of my Christmas stuff, much to the dismay of my husband. I would keep every box and bag during the year and try and reuse it again sometime. I think I've been fairly successful and haven't needed to buy boxes or bags at all this year. I also hate to throw away Christmas cards so the last couple years I've saved part of the front of cards that I like and don't have writing on the back. I even used one in the gift I gave the neighbors (a cute one that had 10 reasons to believe in Santa). Instead of keeping them in the card box, I think next year I'll put them right in with the wrapping paper and try to eliminate tags altogether. I remember one year at Christmas when I was teaching at the preschool I used old Christmas cards as postcards and sent them as thank you cards for gifts I received there. Of course, my problem has been the thrill at getting a bargain so when I shop the after-Christmas sales, I tend to overbuy the exact stuff I'm trying to recycle. What a vicious circle!

Monday, December 20, 2010

A Christmas Story

Yesterday we made a trip to Cleveland and visited the Christmas Story house in Tremont. The younger brother, Randy, was there to sign autographs. I had been to the gift shop before and it brings back many memories of the movie. Randy, if you remember, was the one who put on the snowsuit and when he fell couldn't get up. We missed the actual tour of the house since Randy was there but that was something my daughter could probably due on her own (she's been through it before and is very knowledgeable). It was fun to see different things from the movie such as a coat pole with hats on (especially the pink bunny ears), the half unwrapped BB gun in the corner, the notebook in the bathroom that had the words from the decoder ring, and of course the leg lamp at the living room window. It makes me want to watch the movie again. By the way, someone actually bought one of the leg lamps while we were waiting in line. It was really cold yesterday and the line was very long. I think the best time to go would be Christmas in July.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

McKean Beer

Yea, you read that right, McKean Beer - that's where we went to dinner last night. We were both pleasantly surprised. We noticed a while back that when they renovated the place they put a small restaurant in the front. They seem to cater to the Sunday afternoon football crowd with coolers lining one wall with all different kinds of beer (I found my diet Dr.Pepper) , a big screen TV, and a list of Sunday specials. We were up for the challenge as there's no other place in town for a pizza anymore, that we like. and it had been snowing all day so we didn't want to venture too far from home. I was hungry for the pizza and we weren't disappointed. It was a tad pricey at least compared to Pizza Hut these days but we were the only customers so service was great. A couple things on the menu, which by the way includes sandwiches, salads, wings, appetizers and pizza), caught my eye. They have the zesty sauce as they call it (you'll remember Middleboro had their spicy choice) and bacon on the pizza is considered 2 items, hmmm. Maybe one for the meat and another fat??? Anyway we enjoyed it and have enough for lunch today. I guess these kind of places don't scare me anymore. We've had some really good food at dives and some really bad stuff at expensive ones. Sometimes I judge a dish by whether I recognize all the ingredients and if I don't it sends up a red flag. Hey I watch Top Chef so I'm familiar with food.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sewing

I've been doing alot of sewing these past weeks (can't explain why for obvious reasons) and it got me thinking about my first project. It was in high school where we had to make a skirt and wear it to school, which was part of the test, I guess. The teacher got really mad at me because I cut my material the wrong way, bias maybe I don't remember, and made me feel awful. I was convinced that it would look hideous, based on what she said. Well, I made it (gathered, waistband with buttons down the front), wore it to school and I thought it looked pretty good. At least no one pointed at me and made fun of it, because no one could tell, except the teacher that I cut out my material wrong. The rest is history! That could have ended my sewing but I made most of my clothes in high school and college and then a few things thereafter. I manage to hold my own when it comes to sewing and even enjoy it when everything is working like it should. I have quite a stash of material that I've bought over the years for one thing or another but never got around to it. I'm finding now that alot of that will fit in to what I plan on sewing. Looking back on that sewing class I'm thinking what an awful teacher that was. She could have been so much more supportive like Tim Gund in Project Runway when he says "Make it work!" She would probably be appalled at some of the ways that I've made it work over the years.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

22 year Journal

Here's another blog inspired by Dear Abby (sorry, but it speaks to me). A while back a mother wrote about a journal she's been keeping every day since her son was born and she asked Abby when to give it to her son. I was so touched by that and I thought who wouldn't want a record of your mom's life when she became a mom. To read that in my mother's own words, good or bad, would be priceless to me. From the sound of it, to me anyway, this was her only child, she still had a good relationship with him (he just had a child of his own), and it was more of her diary depicting her journey through motherhood. I was stunned that several people wrote in and said she was a control freak, narcissistic, and wanted to ruin his special time with his child. Did I miss something in the first letter? I realize we all react and interpret things differently but based on the information she gave, how do these other people come up with this. Maybe some of us want to see the up side of things, I don't know. Others had the same reaction as me, in fact, the historical aspect was even mentioned. I wish I had the time and patience to do something like that for my kids, even if it had not been about them but, like this blog, recording ideas, thoughts, or even Dear Abby columns. I'd be curious how my kids would react to it.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Christmas List

I vowed to write a blog and remember the people we've lost since last Christmas so here it is. My list is three short this year without Grandma, Aunt Rita and Aunt Annie. At this point I'm usually putting together those boxes of goodies for the aunts for my husband to drop of on one of his trips to the area. It seems strange not to wrap a box in paper, fill with an apple and orange (something we used to get at the party where my dad worked), some of my candy (I found a bag of it being eaten by Rita at a summer bingo game) and a special treat or craft that I thought they would enjoy. Once I made my cake in a jar and Rita and Annie both said they loved looking at it and showing everyone before they tried it. They were always impressed with what I sent down no matter how simple. It's especially strange to not have Grandma this year. I can't seem to pass a box of chocolate covered cherries without thinking how much she would love them. Last year at the nursing home we bought her a bunch of her favorite candies. Of course, I love when she says she's never had it before and how good it is! Last year we missed Christmas Eve at her place (which will be someone else's place this year) but still had a nice visit at the nursing home . This year will be especially hard without her. Maybe it will be time to break out the home movies as a new tradition.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Homemade Christmas Cards

Well, I am astounded by what I just read in Dear Abby this morning. Someone wrote in about making homemade Christmas cards with her niece every year but this year she received a small check from someone saying she should buy the cards and here's money. I guess I chose my words carefully because I'm not shocked or surprised by this reaction. There are others who don't appreciate the homemade items but I do. When my daughter-in-law started doing scrapbooking, I saved every one of those cards she sent . I couldn't bear the thought of throwing something away that I knew took time not just money to make and send. I still have the homemade thank you card from Audrey on the fridge. I remember when I made a bunch of cards (all occasion not Christmas) with some poster paper cut into folded card size and paper napkins. I got the idea from Carol Duvall and I received many complements. All you do is put plastic wrap on the card then the top layer of napkin and iron them together. I've always wanted to make my own Christmas cards but didn't want to devote the time to it. That's why I commend this aunt for spending that kind of time , having that kind of patience and creating that tradition with her niece. I also think it would be amazing to see that child and her artwork evolve over the years. I feel sorry for the recipient because if she saved all those cards and that little girl grew up to be famous (who knows) then she would have something that would be worth a bundle or be priceless, whichever way you choose to look at it.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas cookies

Here's another Christmas tradition that I think we all love and that's making cookies. My mom had a few favorites that she only made at Christmas. One was her Hungarian nut rolls with the cream cheese dough and another were called Ones, which were deep fried dough strips dusted with powdered sugar. Both are simple to make but my family has never been interested in either. My husband doesn't care for the cream cheese and the kids don't like nuts. I've never made the Ones because of deep frying, despite being unhealthy (I know we're talking Christmas cookies) but I thought it was too much trouble. It seems no matter what I make, I'm the one eating most of them in the end! Anyway, I already made a batch while we were at the cabin the last time and gave some as gifts. It was a recipe I found in the paper that week and since it was the only one I had all the ingredients for, that's what I made. They were peanut butter sandwich cookies and they were good. It was a simple recipe with lots of pb and a filling with more pb and pb chips, which I had just bought at Ollies. I made three different versions of them as I thought the sandwiches were a little too big. So I did some single cookies drizzled with chocolate and others dipped half-way in chocolate. I should have given them all away because I ended up eating the rest once we got home. So that's kind of my plan for this year's cookie making (no, not the eating part) that I'll make some different ones that I've found in the paper in addition to some old stand-bys. I'll let you know what seems to be the hits.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Wrapping Paper Rolls

Well, I did my shopping yesterday but still no wrapping paper sheets like I wanted. I ended up getting three bigger rolls to use but when I came home, my husband asked me why I wanted the sheets. So I had to think about that for awhile - I mean, I didn't want to seem like I was a little OCD about it with no good reason! As soon as I brought them in I knew why - they wouldn't fit in either of my storage bins for wrapping. I have an upright but that is tooo short. I have an under the bed bin but that was tooo shallow. Now I need one that is juuust right but that's not happening anytime soon. I doubt if I will finish any of these rolls before Christmas as I like different paper under the tree. One year I tried wrapping everything in red - it just wasn't the same. I've also been trying to use up all those bags that I keep recycling - somehow they keep coming back. I really like the set of boxes I bought one year at Wal-Mart that included small and large one piece boxes in different shapes. They are decorated on the outside so all I needed to do was put some ribbon around and it was perfect. Those were no where to be found this year. Also what happened to plain old curling ribbon? The ribbon they're selling now also has some metallic stuff in there that is nice, but does it curl? Who knows - the package doesn't say! Just when you think you have the whole wrapping thing licked, they up and change it.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Three things - Dec. 10

OK, another three things I'm lovin today.
  1. The roads seem to be pretty clear out there today so I'm heading out to do some shopping. I'm down to my last remnants of wrapping paper anyway. One thing I'm not thrilled about is having to buy rolls of paper. The last time I was at Wal-Mart in Clearfield, they said they weren't getting the flat sheets. I'll try here.
  2. I love doing my hardtack in the microwave. I think even my mom would have gotten used to this. Before I would devote a good part of the day to my candy and now it's so much easier and quicker. Also the more I do it the better it turns out. Yea!
  3. I picked something up at Pat Catan's when I was in Cleveland and just yesterday got it out to use it - magnetic wreath hooks! Wow, are these things strong!! We need something like this to use at the cabin for our calendar. Just hope I can find them here somewhere. They are similar to the ones sold on QVC for metal doors or single pane glass doors (use both for glass).

There they are - as you can see I'm thankful for small favors.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Christmas Trees

Well, I got my tree up yesterday. I started thinking about trees through the years. It's one thing we've always had ever since I can remember - putting up a tree at Christmas. Even when I was in the hospital for about 3 weeks and came home Christmas Eve, there was a tree. I can't remember how it got up or who decorated it but I do remember wrapping presents and putting them underneath it. I remember heading out to buy a tree and even when my husband and son would go out and cut down our tree. Then there was the time our decorated tree fell down - my husband was out of town and I asked a girl across the street to babysit for awhile, that night it happened! When we made the move to an artificial tree, it affected us all differently. Some took it harder than others, but me, I was empowered. Being able to put up a tree whenever I wanted and not having to string lights on it changed my life. The year I had my accident the tree also went up even though it only had a few ornaments on it. Last year some of the lights didn't work on the tree and thoughts raced through my head that it could be the last year for it, but this year everything works fine. Go figure! When I was young we always had a real tree and I remember my father trimming the bottom and fitting it in this old metal tree stand with wedges of wood. One year while trying to straighten it out he cracked the top third of the tree - that was the best tree we ever had, we all said. I still have some of the Christmas ornaments from then - the balls. I still prefer putting up all my ornaments that have meaning for me whether it was something the kids made, something given to me or just something I found and bought for myself. Putting up a tree will always have those memories for me.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

New Weight Watchers

This topic has come up several times in other blogs I read and today in the food section of the paper so I thought I'd give my view. I quit going to WW awhile ago and not because of it but me. I failed and I know it. It's a great program with many success stories but I couldn't stick with it. Anyway, I've had conversations at work about WW versus Atkins or at the time a modified Curves diet. The discussion was about the carbs and my point was that even though WW didn't talk about the carbs, they were still factored in with the calories since they go hand in hand. The Curves diet recommended whole wheat carbs so they weren't cut out completely. I hear now that WW has remodeled the point system and includes protein in the mix. Good move! I've said this for awhile now, ever since I heard that NutriSystem adjusts its meals in protein depending on your age. They say older adults need more protein hence their food has more. That makes a lot of sense to me since I've been doing weights. You need that protein to help build muscle and then boost your metabolism. I think that's why us older people have so much trouble losing the weight. I'm not sure how others feel about the new calculations as I've heard it adds more points to different foods. I think some people need more structure in their diets and the fact that WW said you could eat basically anything you want (short of fruits, veggies, dairy, oils and water) as long it fell into the point category, gave some of us too much leeway. I do like the fact that all fruits are free!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Erie Weather

Just another typical winter day in Erie County. We made it back on Sunday, just in time! We debated whether to head back then or wait as we heard things were happening in the Erie area that were not good for traveling. My husband checked the internet on his phone (we've managed to access the internet for a few things) for the weather and found more snow was headed for the region so Sunday seemed to be our window of opportunity. As expected, once we hit Edinboro the world changed. Since then we've continued to get dumped on with snow and schools in the district have been closed for 2 days. That in itself is surprising since we've been used to snow and after the initial shock, things usually move according to plan. Just to let everyone know this was the right choice to head back when we did - the weather forecast for the cabin was more snow this week. One thing we noticed and were kind of tickled about was that we finally went someplace that had a better weather forecast than at home. At least at the cabin it might be bad right there but once you head out into the real world, it dramatically improves. At least we don't need to go anywhere special - just stay put until it warms up a bit.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Christmas Letter

Dear Abby just had a write-up in her column about these letters and she, more than this time, has said they are tacky and shouldn't be used. Well, Abby, let's give the other side their time. I used to feel like that and I would write a handwritten note on each Christmas card. I started sometime in Nov. and finished up, sometimes, in time for them to reach everyone by Christmas. At least I'm continuing the custom of writing cards! I finally succumbed to the notorious "letter" because I wanted to keep people informed as to what was going on in our family since this might be the only time I keep in contact with most of these people. I found I was saying the same things to each of them anyway. I try and keep it short and to the point without puffing myself up - it was easy cause there was never much to say! Personally I've always enjoyed hearing from others too, as long as they didn't ramble or exaggerate. I used to get a four page letter from a cousin who was quite a name-dropper and if I had been one of the names it would have been much easier to take. What was even more surprising was that she was Jewish! Anyway, I'll continue with my letters and I might even write to Abby and let her hear from the other side, unless she reads my blog.