Tag: christmas

my mom is magic!! and merry christmas

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i am going to flip the script a bit here, this wasn’t a strange phone call from my mom, it was a strange phone call to my mom!

so christmas eve day found my daughter and i making an old family cookie recipe that involves rolling and cutting the dough,while the boys talked about video games and got started on the holiday cheer. we followed the instructions and go the dough mixed up and it held together well in the bowl (as expected)

however when we tried to take a ball and roll it out on the counter it broke apart. we thought we should add a bit more milk, but i never bake and the kid leans more toward cupcake mastery, so we did the smart thing and called mom/grandma for help. i described in detail what was happening, that it seemed right in the bowl but wasn’t quite ready when being rolled. she thinks for a second or two and says, add 2 tablespoons of milk and mix it all in.

and i shit you not, from 1500 miles away, that woman somehow looked at my bowl, might have even kneaded it a little in some magical way and knew not only that we needed more milk but exactly how much we needed. MAGIC I SAY!

P.S. the cookies were excellent.

Spicy griddle cookies (no need for the oven)

3 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin or apple pie spice

1 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

stir dry ingredients together in bowl, cut in shortening til mixture is mealy. Beat egg and milk together, add to flour and mix until well blended.

Roll out 1/4 in thin and cut into desired shapes.

Heat griddle until water drops ‘dance’ on it. Lightly greas griddle, place cut outs on it leaving space between cookies

Flip when tops become ‘puffy’. makes around 4 dozen 2 inch cookies

Best served warm

cookies, family, strange phone calls from mom

Day 56 | Feb 25 | On Your Bedside Table

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IMG_3299

The bears are… JJ on the right, given to me by my husband on our first Valentine’s Day together, and JoJo on the left, given by me to him on our first Christmas together.  26 years ago this year.  some books I am reading, my spare glasses, phone charger and the wrist band i wore a few weeks ago while having surgery on my hand

 

 

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Christmas is over…

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Well, Christmas is over, although i am still enjoying some vacation days.  Christmas to me is all about being with family and the friends you consider family.  but of course the presents are nice too 🙂

This year as we unwrapped gifts on Christmas Eve, i got everything i wanted, including the warmest fuzziest slipper boots  I have ever owned, my feet think they have died and gone to heaven.  also a Captain America hoodie that my husband swears i am never allowed to wear if i go out in public with him. a great laptop case for my new baby laptop….

2012-12-27 10.59.25

My in-laws sent us the most delightful shipment of chocolate covered strawberries from Shari’s Berries, my single most favorite snack in the world.  Technically it was for the whole family so i have been forced to share.

The stocking of course had the main staples of a chocolate orange and some sweetarts.

Christmas day was spent with friends for dinner and some long overdue hanging out.  then back home to spend some time doing nothing specific 🙂

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas

random mutterings

Merry Christmas

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2012-12-24 20.59.18

The first year my daughters boyfriend joined us for Christmas we were sort of at a loss for gift ideas then while running around shopping we found a giant container of cheese balls. Deciding  this would make a great joke gift we grabbed it and then a gift card as a real gift. much to our surprise he was delighted with the oversized snack. This is the 3rd Christmas in a row now that a giant container of cheese balls has been under the tree and he honestly appears happy when he gets them. the picture  above reflects this years gift, the original was much bigger, purchased at Costco, but we thought a non joke gift should be a little more reasonably sized for one person 🙂

I hope all your holiday dreams come true, Merry Christmas.

random mutterings

A new toy, err.. I mean useful electronic device…

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So, i love gadgets… and i have been wanting a tablet computer for a while but they were just outside my price range for ‘toy’.  i have been in an ongoing battle will Dell recently because the laptop i purchased in November 2011 has never really worked properly. i finally convinced them a month or so ago that no matter how many times they replaced the screen the touchscreen-ness was NOT EVER going to work properly. they decided the best solution was to allow me a full refund on the laptop so i could use that money to buy something else… well who doesn’t love it when they get all their money back on a year old product?!  so i jumped at the chance, and it was just my luck that they have recently released a new computer  the Dell XPS 12 Convertible Ultrabook.  i have always wanted a convertible, it is like a laptop and tablet IN ONE!  i had to have it!xps 12

i placed my order back on Nov 25th and much to my chagrin the estimated delivery date was 12/12/12.  sure it sounds like a cool day, but i wanted it right then, what good is next day delivery if you don’t actually get the product the next day….

fast forward to 12/11/12 and i get an email explaining politely that my order was delayed and my new estimated delivery date is 12/19 that one doesn’t even sound cool, it is just a regular day 🙁

today i get an new update indicating that my new estimated delivery date is 12/25 which is also a cool day, but not one you expect UPS or FedEx delivery on.. perhaps Santa Claus had brought in for an emergency delivery? (that was my husbands theory)

i call the nice folks at Dell, and they are nice, really, just not always so very helpful.  i just want to find out if i am really ever getting a new laptop because while the broken one is doing fine really (it was the touchscreen that has problems, everything else is fine) i have an RMA i need to use to send it back, but i want to transfer things to the new computer first.

i am assured that they are doing their best to get it out, although one of the 3 individuals i talk to confides that none of the recently ordered XPS 12s have been shipped as there is some sort of delay in getting a part or something and was not optimistic i would ever see a delivery and another of the 2 kindly bumped my shipping to next day, which is great but the next day after NEVER isn’t very comforting.  after speaking with the 3rd and last person of the day, i am pretty sure i am not getting a new computer for Christmas and i might as well just start  thinking of it as a Valentines Day present.

i am complaining in instant messages to any one who will listen (or at least not actively block my messages) when i get an email from Dell.. with a tracking number… with an estimated delivery of TOMORROW.

i can only assume from this experience that impatience and whining do indeed get you what you want..  (take that MOM!)

after i get it and play with it a bit i will let you know if it was worth the wait 😉

random mutterings

#photoadaymay – snack

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i love snacks 🙂 i especially love snacks that have a healthy element and a junk food element 🙂 i had a get together  with some friends to watch Downton Abbey Season 2, it was a marathon session starting at 11am and going on until around 9pm.  we got through the whole season and the Christmas episode.  Now we just have to wait until January for season 3…  but anyway.. this was my snack using some of the leftovers from that gathering.  Dill Pickle Pringles are truly proof there is a higher power and he wants me to have tasty snacks 🙂

and for the record, this is a proper snack..

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#marchphotoaday 3/7/2012 – Something You Wore

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Day 7… Something You Wore

Well, growing up, we had everything we needed: food, clothes, shelter, and lots of love.  there were a lot of things we WANTED but that was harder to get.  Looking back I am thankful for the things we did have, even though back then i would have really loved just one name brand pair of jeans or sneakers 😛

I like to think I  have raised my daughter with the same ideals as she knows that if she needs something she has but to ask and it appears before her, but if she WANTS something, that too can be arranged, but is going to take a little more time, and probably some effort on her part.

So below you see that now as an adult i can indulge my wants a little more so i introduce to you my Converse Sneakers 😛  i love them, i wear them almost exclusively.  as  a matter of fact there is a pair missing here, that i wish i still had, they were so worn out that last year when i was back ‘home’ visiting family my aunt felt the need to shore up my poor grey lo-tops with camoflauge duct tape.  For Christmas my daughter bought me the black lo-tops to replace the poor little things and i finally a week or so after Christmas bid them adieu, much to my husbands delight.

My daughter also has a collection, including 3 or 4 pairs of various batman themed cons as well as a knee high pair that i covet 😛  these have all been purchased with her own money.  perhaps those will appear someday in another post 🙂

photography

apologies to the hat

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So….. my awesome crochet teacher, Dee, assures me that the hat does not hate me, and I am doing a fine job.  perhaps my yarn is a bit thin and so perhaps  it is taking longer than I might like, but it will be a fine hat when it is done.  we discussed the addition of a pink heart thereby making it a Valentines Day hat rather than a Santa hat, I think that is more along my finishing time line 🙂

I only stayed a few minutes down at Jazi Crafts as I seem to be not feeling well this evening… just tired and stressed about the  ceiling I think, no actual illness.  I certainly hope not with Christmas just a few days away.

We have our tree up, but decorating will wait until Thursday night when we are all home at the same time.  most of my shopping is done, I need to get some wrapping done. but I am otherwise ready for the holiday.

crafting, Off Topic
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