Christmas Eve eve

Well after a bit of a hiatus due to the hectic schedule of projects to get accomplished before the family festivities and arrivals, I wanted to take a moment to post. It's been busy and I'm not even sure where to begin on the last few weeks. Two weekends ago we attended 2 of Michael's coworker's wedding at a local hotel on the beach. Being from Europe, the wedding was attended strictly by close friends and coworkers, so it was a nice small ceremony and luncheon. Although it was a bit breezy, the wedding was beautiful and lunch was great. That same night, we had a holiday party at another of Michael's coworker's homes. Where else (other than Florida) can you stand around a fire pit roasting marshmallows in short sleeves this time of year? The next morning was my birthday. It was a normal Sunday for us with catching up on stuff around the house and errands. I baked about 9 dozen cookies between cookies for Michael's work, my job's cookie exchange and extra cookies for the house for the holidays as well that day. We attended another holiday party and then this weekend had a party at bowling. We ended up in 3rd place for the first half of the season (good enough considering we only had 3 bowlers most of the season and only had 3 this final week). Hopefully we will regroup and do even better next half. I finally got the house cleaned and straightened and all the gifts wrapped this weekend and later today my mom comes in for a few days. Hopefully this nice weather stays (they are calling for 80's on Christmas) and on Saturday we will be able to paint the house (or at least get the primer coat done).
Not too much else going on. I have been having roller coaster days with being sick and it's starting to wear thin on me. I have no idea what is causing it (if it's food related, food-medicine interaction, just the illness, etc.) but go back to the doctor in 3 weeks. I need to get it under control since I am teaching a full schedule next semester (5 classes).

Hope everyone has a safe and merry holiday.

New Cookie Recipes

Spice Sugar Cookies

2 cups sifted flour, less if possible
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cream
extra granulated sugar, for decorating

Blend 1 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Cream butter, beat in sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla, and cream. Stir in flour, then add enough of the remaining 1 cup flour to make the dough stiff enough to roll. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill several hours. Preheat oven to 375F. Place on a lightly floured cutting board and roll to 1/8" thickness. Use floured cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 8 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter or shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoons baking soda
cinnamon and sugar mixed to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix together butter and sugar until smooth, then add eggs, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Stir in flour until well mixed. Roll into balls about 1" in diameter and roll in cinnamon and sugar to coat. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 8-10 minutes. Cookies are done when they are just barely browning.

SWD #3

Read other daybooks at The Simple Woman.

For Today... Tuesday December 2nd , 2008

Outside my window...cold, white clouded day

I am thinking...of the hectic week we have this week and weekend.

I am thankful for...our water heater not catching our home on fire while we were away.

From the kitchen...probably a lot of meals on the fly since I have so many evening commitments right after work until 8 or 9 each night.

I am wearing...jeans, long sleeve white shirt with my black cardigan over it.

I am reading...the next Patterson book (Daniel...)

I am hoping...for a smooth review session tonight and that it ends at a decent time.

I am creating...a felt applique Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tree skirt and then on to the advent calendar, ornaments, stocking and other tree skirt

I am hearing...music from the online radio playing in the background.

Around the house... it is still semi-disaster from yesterday's work with the new water heater, so lots of cleaning and reorganizing. I also need to get the tree up and decorated but that will need to wait until Saturday.

One of my favorite things...seeing the leaves change due to autumn (we saw it in Georgia on our way back this weekend).

A few plans for the rest of the week...review session for my students tonight, bridal shower gift shopping, bowling, maybe some more progress on the tree skirt on wednesday, class' final exam thursday, exam grading and decorating friday, Gators vs Alabama Saturday...

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... no picture this week.

SWD #2

Read other daybooks at The Simple Woman.

For Today... Monday November 24th , 2008

Outside my window...the trees are waving and the sky is blue. A nice autumnal day here in Florida.

I am thinking...Oh my! so much to do tonight after work. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon for Thanksgiving and I still have a checklist a mile long.

I am thankful for...gas prices below $2/gallon this week so this trip isn't as expensive as we had expected.

From the kitchen...Leftovers/ steamed vegetables tonight, On the road food (probably McDonald's (since that is Michael's favorite spot to stop and their restrooms are almost always the best) Tuesday night, Southern BBQ meal in SC with the family Wednesday night, Thanksgiving dinner Thursday of brown sugar cured ham, oven turkey (although I want to try to convince my mom to try a deep-fried turkey since they tend be less dry), homemade gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet corn and peas, turnips, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce and Michael's pumpkin pie and Jan's apple crisp...I'm sure there are dishes I am missing, but just thinking about dinner makes my mouth water, Friday and Saturday are probably going to be dinner outs since thanksgiving leftovers will be lunches.

I am wearing...typical Monday workday...jeans and t-shirt (my blue TriBeta one) with my Reefs (flip-flops)

I am reading...the new Patterson book (Sail) and around Christmas I will need to re-so my lesson plans for next semester's labs and get a headsup.

I am hoping...for an easy, howless drive tomorrow and that it only takes us 8.5 hours this time and that the puppies go to sleep after the first hour.

I am creating...well catching up on the ceramic pieces for my mom's nativity that I started when I was a child and just recently found tucked in the craft closet of my own house. I cannot imagine it got boxed up and moved from my childhood house to my own house without me knowing it was there.

I am hearing...music from the online radio playing in the background.

Around the house... do the laundry, pack our suitcase, pack all the extra stuff (dog's stuff, car stuff, books, etc.), set-up the feeders for the 2 turtle tanks, 3 fish tanks and over water the big turtles, feed the gerbil a little extra for while we are away. I also need to clean out the fridge and pack the truck tonight so I can prevent us from forgetting anything...oh what a night lies ahead.

One of my favorite things...decorating for Christmas (we pulled everything out yesterday and so when we get back next week, we can set the tree up and decorate it)

A few plans for the rest of the week...traveling to my mom's, Festival of Trees, Aquarium, some Christmas ornaments/decor and scrapbooking shopping with my cousin, aunt and mom on Wednesday (while the men are golfing), Thanksgiving with the family on Thursday, relaxing and spending time with family until we drive back on Sunday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... What the truck's backseat is going to look like on Tuesday.

Have a good Thanksgiving holiday!

Pictures of the Holiday Crafts

Here are some pictures of the wreath and centerpiece and some other projects that got accomplished yesterday. I hope to work on some more small projects this weekend (Mom's nativity pieces, some ornaments). It's another cool day and we have to start organizing and packing for the trip so I should have time to paint this weekend.

Wreath for the Front Door

Table Centerpiece

Welcome Friends Plaque

Winnie the Pooh Statue

Sick Day...

So last night was a rough one. I was up a good portion of the evening with a terrible stomachache. Therefore I stayed home today. I tried catching up on things around the house, but the dogs have been pretty hyper. Michael and I need to start packing for Thanksgiving and so I already made a list of everything to pack in the truck...after all I don't want another forgotten dress situation. I'm sure we'll forget something even if I make a list, but at least starting early will give us time to remember everything.

I also looked into a library card for myself for the local library. I grew up going to the library like every week and taking books out, and I want to get back into that. But here, the library costs 15/year. Maybe things have changed over the years, but I never had to pay a membership. I think I will need to go and take a look at the library to make sure it's worth it.

Ok, well off to take some more pepto. I'm not sure if this stomach thing is due to the medicine or maybe something I ate. I am still not sure if the Met is working, but I guess we will see the results (or lack thereof) in a few more weeks. I have my next appt. on the 12th. The dogs have seemed to relaxed a bit. Lucky is asleep on the other couch, Snowball is asleep on the top of my couch and Reese is in the big bed. I am going to try to accomplish some more projects around the house while it's quiet, just not sure where to start; tons of plaster crafts, wood plaque "Welcome Friends" and of course there's the wreaths. So much crafting, so little time. :)

101 Things in 1001

101 in 1001

Starting Date: Monday,December 1st, 2008

Ending Date: Monday, August 29th, 2011

Marriage

1. Cook dinner every weeknight for Michael.

2. Be more romantic with Michael.

3. Work on communicating my feelings more with Michael.

4. Plan 1 night a week for an entire month as a date night.

5. Kiss Michael every morning and every night for an entire month.

6. Compliment Michael every day for an entire month.

7. Do 101 special things for Michael.

8. Fight more fairly in a disagreement.

Religion

9. Find a local church Michael and I can start going to.

10. Post 20 Bible verses that touch my heart.

11. Resolve my "lost faith" and forgive him for my childhood loss.

12. Write about 100 things I am grateful for.

13. Read The 5 People you Meet in Heaven.

Motherhood

14. Continue to follow doctor's regime in terms of the medicine for TTC.

15. Start a family.

16. Remove the clutter and refocus our lives around our family.

17. Don't raise my voice for an entire month.

18. Begin a holiday tradition.

19. Make a nursery in the house.

20. Create a scrapbook for each.

Homemaking

21. Add curb appeal to the house.

22. Establish a weekly cleaning routine.

23. Follow that cleaning routine for an entire month.

24. Paint the house with Michael.

25. Clean out and organize the freezer and fridge.

26. Organize my office.

27. Take the donation clothes to Goodwill.

28. Fill the remaining photo frames around the house.

29. Reorganize the kitchen to accommodate everything.

30. Fill my recipe box with the recipe cards (rewrite all the scraps onto cards)

Cooking

31. Cook dinner along with Michael at night.

32. Make breakfast for Michael.

33. Make banana bread from scratch.

34. Make Italian Antipasto Salad for Michael.

35. Cook Christmas Eve. and Christmas Day meals with Michael.

36. Make salsa from scratch.

37. Learn a new Italian dish.

38. Learn a new Chicken dish.

39. Learn to make a soup from scratch.

40. Learn a new Asian dish.

41. Learn a new breakfast dish.

42. Learn a new dessert.

Financial

43. Eat dinner out on twice a week for a month.

44. Eat lunch out only once a week for a month.

45. Save $20 at the grocery store (via coupons or value buys).

46. Establish a budget for our household.

47. Stick to my entire budget for two straight months.

48. Cut our grocery bill to $30 for a two week shopping period.

49. Pay extra on our school loans.

50. Build up our savings to $10,000.

51. Payoff all my store cards to have no balance for an entire 2 month cycle.

Health

52. Take the dogs for a walk everyday for an entire week.

53. Exercise four days out of a week for 1 week.

54. Workout (run or swim) twice a week for a month.

55. Give up soda for an entire month.

56. Eat a green salad five times in a week as a meal.

57. Eat 3 servings of fruit every day for an entire week.

58. Drink only fruit juice or water for one week.

59. Make target weight of 120lbs.

60. Don't eat after 9pm for an entire month.

Kindness

61. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

62. Bring in a "treat" for my co-workers one week.

63. Do a favor for the older lady down the street.

64. Host the chapter at my house for dinner 1 night.

65. Host a "family night" at my house for 1 night.

66. Cook someone else dinner.

67. Offer Megan a vacation down to us and follow through.

68. Make a birthday cake for someone at work.

69. Offer a ride to one of the younger girls at work.

Pets

70. Make each of the boys a toy.

71. Find Reese a new coat.

72. Find Snow a new coat.

73. Find Lucky a new coat.

74. Pamper each of the dogs.

Randomness

75. Read Tuesdays with Morrie.

76. Post a picture everyday for an entire month.

77. Complete 2 old yearly albums on POGO.

78. Try a new berry.

79. Get a new hairstyle.

80. Read 50 books on my All-time list.

81. Catch up on the scrapbooking.

82. Make a wreath for each of the moms.

83. Visit Michael grandparents.

84. Recycle (even if the city does not want to bring their bins)

85. Visit Michael's aunt and uncle in Michigan.

86. Take better care of the Civic.

87. Try something new at a local eatery.

88. Do not splurge shop for an entire month.

89. Make a scrapbook for someone else.

90. Take Meghan for a girl's weekend.

91. Take a honeymoon with Michael.

92. Plan a bonding weekend with my female cousins.

93. Learn to surf.

94. Scuba dive in the Keys.

95. Go on a cruise with Michael.

96. Slim down my stomach and get my belly button re-pierced.

97. Start my education classes.

98. Bowl a 200.

99. Beat PCOS.

100. Blog about the items I cross off.

101. Write a new 101 in 1001 list.