Lest anyone think from my previous post that I have lost my Christmas spirit, I am posting a yummy, super simple fudge recipe. I made homemade food gifts for co-workers that included this to-die-for fudge, Finnish Pulla (coffee bread) and Spiced Hazelnuts. The fudge is SO simple and the hint of cinnamon reminds me of the hot chocolate I tasted eons ago on our high school trip to Mexico. Yummy!
Ingredients:
1 lb confectioners sugar
0.5 cup unsweetened cocoa
0.25 tsp (I actually used closer to 0.75 tsp, but I love the stuff!) ground cinnamon
0.5 cup butter (real butter here, people, no margarine allowed!)
0.25 cup milk (skim worked just fine)
1 .5 tsp pure vanilla extract (again, the real thing here...imitation stuff is all alcohol!)
1 cup chopped nuts (I'm not a nutty fudge fan, so I left these out.)
Directions:
1. Line an 8" square baking pan with foil, allowing foil to extend over sides. Butter foil.
2. In bowl, mix together sugar, cocoa and cinnamon.
3. In a saucepan, heat butter and milk together until butter melts. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract. Combine with sugar mixture. Stir in nuts (if using them). Pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate at least one hour.
4. Use foil to lift out of pan. Cut into 2-inch squares. Diagonally cut each square in half, making triangles. Garnish with nut halves, if desired.
I found the recipe (minus the parentheticals, of course!) on www.allrecipes.com. Hope you find it tasty!
Cheers!
12.12.2006
City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks...
I firmly believe that everyone, at some point in their lives, should have two jobs. First, everyone should have to wait tables for a period of time. It makes for a better understanding of customer service (a topic for another day), and maybe, you'll learn to make change (again, another day). Second, everyone should have to work in a retail establishment. Only for a week, at some point between November 28th and December 25th. If everyone had the latter experience, I'm sure that holiday shopping would be a much more pleasant experience for everyone involved.
That being said, you must know that I love to give gifts. I love the whole process of finding "the perfect gift" for each person. I utilize all resources at my disposal to accomplish this goal. This year, I have to say that it is a wonderful convenience, having a darling hubby who works in retail management. Shopping for the sweet boys and their cousins has been a breeze. The internet has also been my friend. After seeing the great decoupage ideas over on Monogram Momma's site, I got creative and made some darling picture frames for Nana & Papa from their boys. DH's gift was also purchased online.
My holiday cheer and goodwill, however, got me into trouble this past weekend. My mother-in-law was set on buying the sweet boys some new shoes for Christmas, and she also wanted to return some items and check out the sales at Carson's and Penney's. This, of course, required a trip to the mall.
I'm going to blame it on holiday haze, because looking back, it was really one of those "What in the heck was I thinking?!?!" moments. I was standing in a mall two weeks before Christmas. On a Saturday. With two children. Rational explanation escapes me. We only shopped in the aforementioned stores. We braved the food court for lunch. It took us over three hours to complete this expedition.
Leaving out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror. My number of gray hairs seemed to have increased exponentially in direct proportion with the minutes spent in the mall. My eyes were glassy. Both sweet sons were asleep before we hit the mall access road. Alas, it was all for naught. We still had to stop at Target.
It's a wonder Santa doesn't drink himself into a stupor.
Cheers!
That being said, you must know that I love to give gifts. I love the whole process of finding "the perfect gift" for each person. I utilize all resources at my disposal to accomplish this goal. This year, I have to say that it is a wonderful convenience, having a darling hubby who works in retail management. Shopping for the sweet boys and their cousins has been a breeze. The internet has also been my friend. After seeing the great decoupage ideas over on Monogram Momma's site, I got creative and made some darling picture frames for Nana & Papa from their boys. DH's gift was also purchased online.
My holiday cheer and goodwill, however, got me into trouble this past weekend. My mother-in-law was set on buying the sweet boys some new shoes for Christmas, and she also wanted to return some items and check out the sales at Carson's and Penney's. This, of course, required a trip to the mall.
I'm going to blame it on holiday haze, because looking back, it was really one of those "What in the heck was I thinking?!?!" moments. I was standing in a mall two weeks before Christmas. On a Saturday. With two children. Rational explanation escapes me. We only shopped in the aforementioned stores. We braved the food court for lunch. It took us over three hours to complete this expedition.
Leaving out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror. My number of gray hairs seemed to have increased exponentially in direct proportion with the minutes spent in the mall. My eyes were glassy. Both sweet sons were asleep before we hit the mall access road. Alas, it was all for naught. We still had to stop at Target.
It's a wonder Santa doesn't drink himself into a stupor.
Cheers!
12.05.2006
Up the Down Staircase
As mentioned before, I have two sons whom I love dearly. Sweet Son #1 was a good baby. He liked to cuddle and played well by himself. He was inquisitive, but not especially brave. He never really liked "tummy time" and consequently was about 10 months old before he crawled, and didn't walk until 13 months. Sweet Baby Son #2 is also a good baby. Like his brother, he loves to cuddle and plays well by himself. He is inquisitive. That is where the similarities end.
Sweet Baby Son #2 is like the little brown monkey named George. His curiosity has gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion. He has discovered cabinet doors, television remote controls, his brother's toys, the Christmas tree, the electric train running beneath the tree, and any number of other items he really shouldn't be getting into. He crawled at 8 months, and for the past several weeks, has been walking around furniture with surprising agility and balance. He can stand by himself for 30 seconds at a time, and seems to really enjoy this newfound skill, sending mama's heart into palpitations.
His most recent excursion beyond the barriers sent him up the stairs. This all happened in the blink of an eye, but the gist of the matter is this. He is 10 1/2 months old and he climbs the stairs. Now don't get me wrong. This was bound to happen. I'm not really even sentimental about it. I'm scared to death.
I had it easy with Sweet Son #1. I fully admit this. All of my mommy friends with multiple children of the same gender have warned me countless times that the personalities are almost NEVER the same. Sweet Baby Son #2's curiosity and agility are matched only by his stubbornness and temper. He will not be swayed by the annoying big people who keep lifting him from the stairs and putting him back on the other side of the barrier. Did I mention he bites?
I am in SO much trouble.
Cheers!
Sweet Baby Son #2 is like the little brown monkey named George. His curiosity has gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion. He has discovered cabinet doors, television remote controls, his brother's toys, the Christmas tree, the electric train running beneath the tree, and any number of other items he really shouldn't be getting into. He crawled at 8 months, and for the past several weeks, has been walking around furniture with surprising agility and balance. He can stand by himself for 30 seconds at a time, and seems to really enjoy this newfound skill, sending mama's heart into palpitations.
His most recent excursion beyond the barriers sent him up the stairs. This all happened in the blink of an eye, but the gist of the matter is this. He is 10 1/2 months old and he climbs the stairs. Now don't get me wrong. This was bound to happen. I'm not really even sentimental about it. I'm scared to death.
I had it easy with Sweet Son #1. I fully admit this. All of my mommy friends with multiple children of the same gender have warned me countless times that the personalities are almost NEVER the same. Sweet Baby Son #2's curiosity and agility are matched only by his stubbornness and temper. He will not be swayed by the annoying big people who keep lifting him from the stairs and putting him back on the other side of the barrier. Did I mention he bites?
I am in SO much trouble.
Cheers!
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