Merry Christmas All!

I hope Santa was good to you! He was good to me in me getting to spend Christmas w/my parents! I left home at the age of 18 and have never been back for Christmas or Thanksgiving. So it was really special for me and I told my DH that I didn't need anything else. Though he had already gotten me a CUTTLE BUG! woo hoo! Gotta love those insects.

IT was SO nice having my mom and dad here to spend Christmas w/the kids. My dad had never met Gman and my mom was here when he was born 2 years ago. Woo hoo. It was soo funny in I didn't want my dad to go w/o presents so I wrapped up his shoes for him to open! hehehe Which was rather comical since we had been to Kohls earlier and he bought a Columbia jacket and was looking for some columbia boots but they didn't have his size. I thought wrapping his columbia shoes would fit right in! Can I tell you what a clothes aholic my dad has become? He didn't do any of that when I was younger and now he walked away with most of the stuff!Four pairs of pants and a nice jacket. Wowsers!

Hugs to everyone on this Christmas Day!!

Just Desserts

Okay, here are the pictures of what we're taking to the family christmas today. I had them all packed up and opened them up to take the pictures.

First, here's the 4 Layer Lucious Pumpkin Cake in trifle form. The only thing missing (so use your imagination here) is I will top it off with carmel sauce (the ice cream topping kind) and scatter some chopped pecans on top. I, personally, don't like pecans, but I am betting that by the time I make it back for some, the pecans will be gone! One can hope can't one? heheh

Second picture is the Spinach and Feta Filled Phyllo Dough. Imagine spinach dip inside of phyllo dough if you will. DH says it's a bit bitter, but I just think it's the his subconscious dislike of the feta. It is a bit tangier from the Feta, but delicious none the less!

Okay, I'm off to shower and get ready for the get together. I've got to run into town and feed some dogs and pick up the kids' Christmas pictures... yes I'm THAT behind on my Christmas cards. hehehe. Then we're off to the Family Function in this BALMY 55 degree weather!!!

Can you believe at this time tomorrow we will have dropped 30 degrees? If not more?! Not to mention we'll acquire a 30-40 mph wind. I really dislike wind in the winter, it just cuts right thru ya! Yikes!

But on a good note, my parents will be flying in so you KNOW it will be all sunshine and birds a chirping tomorrow as I run around madly doing last minute cleaning and laundry.

YES, it HAS been...

FOREVER since I've posted. Interesting how time flies when you've got too much on your plate lol. This past week was a doozy. Lgirl had her Christmas Program Tuesday evening and Christmas party WEdnesday. So that meant I had to make Teacher gifts and goodies for her classmates AFTER the program.

Yes, I did stay up until 2:30am and Gman deemed it necessary to wake up just as my head touched my pillow and keep me up another hour... can you say YIKES?! hehehe

Here's a quick pick of what I made the teachers. Both got coaster calenders and a covered list. I also made peppermint bark and put it into some coffee bags I ordered. I LOVE that stuff. It is so delish! (Can you tell one teacher's favorite color is pink and the other's is purple? hehe)

Oh and that Pumpkin cake I sent to work w/hubby? Apparently set some kind of record because it was gone by 9am! Can you BELIEVE it?! I am in the middle of making another one to take to the Family Christmas get together tomorrow. I'm baking the cake right now and will put it all together tomorrow a.m. I'm going to put it into a trifle bowl, so I KNOW it will look good no matter how bad it looks! heheh If I remember, I will definitely take a picture of it.

I'm also going to start some spinach and feta cheese phyllo dough thingys. I will bake them in the a.m. so they will be 'fresh', well fresher than baking them tonight. They sound simply divine too! I can't wait to try them.

I also have to go take care of some dogs in the a.m. and maybe try to run by walmart and pick up the pics of the kids so I can send off the Christmas cards. Yes, I'm VERY late this year! I'm just getting out Gman's birthday invites and his bday is next FRIDAY! Hehhe Thank goodness he's only turning 2 and could care less. hehe

My parents will be arriving on Sunday! This was totally a last minute thing. I told my mom I'd pay for her to fly over (they live in Idaho) which originally would have been the 27th. Well, it was only $6 more for her to fly on the 23rd and I figured it was worth it for her to be able to spend Christmas with the kids. She hasn't seen Gman since he was born. She came for 2 weeks to help out. So it's been 2 years.

AND she asked me to get a ticket for my dad too so he can come. He's NEVER met Gman! I'm SOOO very excited. He wants to play with his grandkids, it's so odd to hear that as our other Papaw doesn't play with them ever. Sad, I know, but true.

Woo hoo I am sooo durn excited I could bust!! hehehe

Baking

up a storm! Well, not really but I AM baking! Hubby's company has a cool Christmas Pot Luck... for 10 days, you can sign up to bring in a dish for everyone to try... "What better way to try a new Holiday dish then on us? " is what it said in the email lol. I was going to send something spinachy, but decided to break them in easy w/ a dessert item.

I wanted to try that Kraft Luscious Four Layer Pumpkin Cake for Thanksgiving but never got to. I thought it would be too hard for hubby to get a 4 layer cake to work, let alone cut it and serve it lol. So I opted for a 9x13 cake and would add the filling to the top too. Well, it is pretty ugly for my standards, so ugly I won't show you lol. But can I tell you how delish it is? The batter was so good I knew it would be delish when it was done!

Who would have thought adding some pumpkin, a couple of eggs, oil, milk and eggs to a yellow cake mix could be so heavenly? Not to mention you then mix cream cheese with pumpkin, spices and powdered sugar (mine was lumpy and that really bothered me) and then fold in a whole tub of cool whip and that's delish too!

So you layer that between the layers (cut the cake in 1/2) and I put it on top too. Right before serving you drizzle with carmel sauce and throw on some crushed pecans. One word for ya baby.... YUMMMOOOO.

Now I'm making one of my Grandma's cookie recipes. Grandma's Cake Cookies. This recipe is my brother's and my little sister's recipe AND it's super easy. So, I'm 'multitasking' so to speak. I've got a cookie exchange on SAturday AND I always make treats for my family at Christmas (I usually try to do their favs) and send them to them. Woo hoo! I'll have one down and about 4 or 5 more recipes to go.

Want the recipe? Here it is:

Grandma's Cake Cookies
1 box cake mix
1 egg
1 8-oz. tub cool whip
powdered sugar

Mix cake mix (my family's fav is cherry chip, but they don't make that anymore so this time I combined strawberry and funfetti!!), egg and tub of cool whip well. If you do it by hand it will give you a serious workout!

Drop by spoonful into powdered sugar, roll into a ball. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
To me, these are soo super sweet they give me a stomach ache, but everyone else seems to LOVE them. Easy peasy!

Here are...

the rest of the Thank You cards I made for a customer. I apologize for some of the blurriness.

All SU: kraft, wild wasabi, river rock papers, DSP fall flowers and soft sky, Happiness BG. Soft sky double stitched ribbon, small and large oval punches. The only thing is I forget which stamp set has that Thanks in it.

All SU: I can't remember the green, I just KNOW I don't like it at all! I also used rose red and pretty in pink. I have also forgotten the stamp sets, yes, I have OFFICIALLY LOST MY MIND!! Yikes!

All SU: kraft, really rust, vanilla and wasabi papers. I used Apple Cider DSP and the True Friends set (which I heard MADE it into the spring catty!! Woo hoo!!). I used 2 circle punches and the scalloped circle punch, twill and brads.

12 Days of Christmas

Okay, I'm going to try and embed this in them post, it is SO hilarious! I love this video! hehehe Not as much as that other MOM, but this is really good and I laughed out loud a couple of times, esp. when it was 'draidel' time! heheh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8


Okay, I don't know how to do this so click on the link above and check out the AWESOME acapella from these guys! Enjoy!

Stampin' Up's Retired Accessories List

Here's the accessories list that Stampin' Up! is retiring. See anything you can't do without? Better email me fast so I can get it ordered for you!

I'm sad to see some of the Designer Series Paper go, but I KNOW they have some good ones a coming! And I can't wait to see.


Item # Product Description
109198 Accents & Elements Borders & Blossoms
109199 Accents & Elements Little Reminders 2
109197 Accents & Elements Tagged
100700 Album Leather Post Black 8-1/2x11
105385 Album Linen Post Mellow Moss 8-1/2x11
104520 Album Linen Post Natural 8-1/2x11
104517 Album Linen Post Navy 8-1/2x11
105382 Album Linen Post Real Red 8-1/2x11
105392 Album Linen Ring Mellow Moss 8-1/2x11
104510 Album Linen Ring Natural 8-1/2x11
104513 Album Linen Ring Navy 8-1/2x11
105388 Album Linen Ring Real Red 8-1/2x11
105067 Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment I
105068 Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment II
108798 Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Confetti White
107246 Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Kraft
105747 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large
105748 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large Divided
105744 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Small
105749 Boxes Stamp & Supply Jumbo
105734 Boxes Stamp & Supply Large
105746 Boxes Stamp & Supply Medium
105745 Boxes Stamp & Supply Small
101052 Brayer Attachment Foam
107293 Cards & Envelopes Greeting Very Vanilla Medium
109149 Designer Series Paper Brocade Background
109161 Designer Series Paper Cerise
109162 Designer Series Paper Charbon
109155 Designer Series Paper Creepy Crawley
109152 Designer Series Paper Darling Doodles
109150 Designer Series Paper Dashing
108503 Designer Series Paper Petals & Paisleys
109156 Designer Series Paper Linen Prints
109147 Designer Series Paper Notations No. 2
109148 Designer Series Paper Outlaw
109158 Designer Series Paper Uptown
109157 Designer Series Paper Wintergreen
107285 Envelopes Open End Very Vanilla Large
107284 Envelopes Open End Whisper White Large
107296 Envelopes Shimmery White Medium
107287 Envelopes Square Vellum Large
107310 Envelopes Square Very Vanilla Mini
107294 Envelopes Vellum Medium
107290 Envelopes Very Vanilla Large
107291 Envelopes Whisper White Large
101016 Eyelet Tool Kit
105317 Eyelets Bold Brights II
105379 Eyelets Silver
105315 Eyelets Soft Subtles II
107282 Fancy Fibers Bella
107283 Fancy Fibers Elizabeth
103352 Stampin' Glitter Romantic Red
103349 Stampin' Glitter Silver Shine
106650 Greeting Glue
102620 Liquid Glue
103145 Page Protectors Post 8-1/2x11
104523 Page Protectors Ring 8-1/2x11
103598 Paper Vellum 12x12
105543 Pastel Refills Bold Brights
105544 Pastel Refills Earth Elements
105547 Pastel Refills Neutrals
105545 Pastel Refills Rich Regals
105546 Pastel Refills Soft Subtles
105962 Perfect Layers Tool
104184 Post Extenders
106522 Punch Spring Bouquet Flower
109722 Simply Scrappin' Creative License Hostess Level 1
109611 Simply Scrappin' Happy Me Hostess Level 3
109596 Simply Scrappin' Out & About
109626 Simply Scrappin' Primary Colors
109649 Simply Scrappin' Round Up
109635 Simply Scrappin' Secret Garden
109663 Simply Scrappin' Winter Bright
107415 Simply Sent Friendship Shapes
109230 Simply Sent Happy Day
105580 Spectrum Pad Blue Frost
101492 Spectrum Pad Celebration
105579 Spectrum Pad Cotton Candy
101336 Spectrum Pad Pumpkin Patch
100000 Spectrum Pad Un-inked
103953 Stamp-a-ma-jig Imaging Sheets Refill
104432 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Clear Embossing
101460 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Whisper White
102391 Stampin' Around Ink Refill Clear Embossing
103017 Stampin' Around Ink Refill Whisper White
103151 Stampin' Emboss Powder Hologram Highlights
105677 Stampin' Kids Pad Bear Brown
105676 Stampin' Kids Pad Beetle Black
105675 Stampin' Kids Pad Boxcar Blue
105674 Stampin' Kids Pad Gumball Green
105673 Stampin' Kids Pad Poppin' Purple
105672 Stampin' Kids Pad Princess Pink
105671 Stampin' Kids Pad Robin Red
105670 Stampin' Kids Pad Yahoo Yellow
103174 Stampin' Pastel Applicators
100852 Stampin' Pastel Erasers
100081 Stampin' Write Marker Going Gray
100945 StazOn Ink Refill Timber Brown
103088 StazOn Pad Timber Brown
107235 Tag Sheets Bold Brights
107239 Tag Sheets Confetti White & Kraft
107236 Tag Sheets Earth Elements
107240 Tag Sheets Kraft
107237 Tag Sheets Rich Regals
107238 Tag Sheets Soft Subtles
100894 Watercolor Brush Flat
101551 Watercolor Brush Medium
101331 Watercolor Brush Small
105395 Wire Works Metallic
105652 Wrapping Paper Whisper White
Stampin' Around wheels
100360 Acorns
109812 All about Birthdays*
109690 All about Christmas*
109812 All about Gratitude*
109676 Autumn Dots
104070 Bloomin'
107466 Bodacious*
105750 Bouquet*
107481 Butterflies & Blossoms
104065 Fishy
100267 Happy Jacks
107563 Ho Ho Ho
104312 Hot to Dot
104279 Leaf Prints
106062 Leaves Awash*
107479 Rough around the Edges*
101927 Snowman Fun
107465 Speckled*
105521 Spooky Skyline*
108979 Spotted*
107480 True Hearts
105033 Wings & Things
* Jumbo Stampin' Around wheels

Goodies for SALE

Hey there,

Okay, here are some of the things I sold at my CRAFT SHows and can now make available to you if you'd like them for Christmas gifts. Just email me and let me know what you'd like. I take paypal and I ship via Priority Mail. I can gift wrap if necessary and will ship anywhere in the U.S. WE can discuss outside the U.S. if you are interested!

Candy Filled Criss Cross Box-$1.75 each. You have a choice of what goes on front. There's the tag or a scalloped circle w/either the flower w/a heart in the middle, 3 heart flowers, or the Happy Valentine's Day tag (like sample). You have a choice of fillers too: red gummy hearts or pink white & red PLAIN M&Ms.

Love You Lollipops-75 cents each. Choose what image goes on front.

Sweet Peek-a-Boo Boxes-$1.00 each. Choose from Certainly Celery, Real Red or Regal Rose cardstock for the base. All boxes will be filled w/white, red & pink PLAIN M&Ms.

Covered Conversation Hearts-$1.50. These are made as is. There's a TO and FROM on the back that is optional.

Monogrammed Note Cards-10/$13: Let me know what letter to monogram and the person's favorite color and we can go from there!

Magnetic Coaster Calendars-$3.00: Made w/an array of patterned papers. Give me your favorite colors and I can send you pics of what I have or you can request a DSP and I'll make you one if I have it. Designer Series Papers I currently own: Ginger Blossoms, Berry Bliss, Wanted, Cerise, Au Chocolate, Flowers for You, Cutie Pie.

Tile Coaster Set of Four Coasters-$15. You can pick the stamp set and colors. I don't have the set to make the wild rose set, but I have all the other sets. The set with the glint on it is a coffee cup that is brown w/pink froth on top.

Wow...

it has it been busy lately! We've added a new addition to the family... and he's a big one! Take a look at this lovely boy! He's a 180 lbs, though he doesn't look like it. He's such a good boy.

ETA: Oh I guess I'm in SUCH a hurry I forgot to put his name in!! **THANKS Libby!!** His name is Bourbon, he was born on Mardi Gras. I am a pet sitter (I watch other peoples animals while they're on vacation) and one of my customers wanted me to adopt him because they didn't have a fenced in yard and their house was too small for him. He's four years old and can anyone guess what breed he is? He's been my favorite since I was a teenager and he's the largest breed out there..... He's an IRISH WOLFHOUND. Hubby said they were first bred to pull men off of horses... I believe it!! hehe

Nothing like a dog this size to make you feel like your house is small and cluttered lol. Bumps into things and gets his legs stuck in toys. Wowsers!

AND he can drink from the kitchen faucet without standing on his tippy toes! hehehe Don'tcha just love him? Bigger than a small horse so I guess he's out llama. He's a bit scared of my hubby, but then again, most dogs are!

I also signed up for a challenge in November and finished it within the time limit, but alas I didn't get it back to Tracy at Tracy's Happy Place in time. Life decided to happen w/2 sick kids. Gotta love it when a double whammy hits ya! hehehe So anywho, my challenge was to use brocade blue, certainly celery and pumpkin pie. I had a fellow MOMS clubber place an order for some thank you cards so I decided to take care of 2 birds with 1 stone! hehehe Here's the card I ended up making:

Wow, sorry for the blurriness, but you get the picture! All ingredients are SU. I've got 3 other cards I made, but will post them tomorrow. Have a good evening all!

Do Ya Love....

T!m Holtz? Well, do you know he's got a blog? (HEy, I could be the last one to know... it's happened before lol). I have been known to be THAT behind in the times! hehehe

Anywho... he's doing a Christmas Special... 12 Days of Christmas Techinques ! Can you believe it?! NOt to mention him giving out blog candy EVERY DAY TOO!!! Check it out HERE!

I have a snowball's chance... but a girl can dream! ehhhe THough today's technique scares me a bit.

Another AWESOME blogger is Starr Mercer (LOVE THAT NAME!!) She's a fellow SU demonstrator AND a Starbucks addictee. SHE's showcasing 12 DAYS OF RECIPES... the SKOR TOFFEE CHOCOLATE BARS look simply delish! I might have to make some of those hehehe.

So check out her blog too. I've got a sick child here at home that I get to 'drag' outta the house to FINALLY get my 2nd row, passenger side seat belt fixed (I hope!). We'll see how long it takes the dealership. Last time it took them 1 1/2 hrs to tell me they couldn't fix it without ordering a part. Nothing like waiting at a dealership that has a tv in the playroom that doesn't work and toys that have some much dirt and grunge on them you can't see who makes them. It had a dvd player w/no dvds though. I brought my own last week and couldn't get them to play. I seriously wanted to bang my head against the wall.

We were there a couple of months ago and I cleaned all the toys w/baby wipes and told them the chairs just needed to be wiped to get the BLACK smudges off of them. Do you think it got done? NOPE!

So I'm ready w/my CHARGED up portable DVD player (Black Friday snag!!) and I'll be taking dvds and a snack so hopefully the kids won't touch the dirty stuff. hehehe One can hope!

Have a GREAT day!

Stampin' Up's Retired List!!!

Okay, here are two links to Stampin' Up's retired list. One is alphabetical and the other is numerical. Check them OUT! If there's something you want, let me know because they'll be gone after December 31st. Sooner if they are a 'hot' item and sell out.

Alphabetical
Numerical

The retiring accessories (wheels are included in this category) list will be out on December 10th.


I can tell you I am definitely going to be selling off some of my retireds. So email me to see if I have it first and if so, I'd be HAPPY to sell it to you! Woohoo a WIN WIN situation!

I'm off to bed and I've got an SU party tomorrow. Afterwards I PROMISE to post some pictures of stuff!! Wish me luck and a 'fruitful' party! hehehe