The best Ornament!

I saw this in the Hallmark store and couldnt stop laughing. They had a baby bib also and that to was adorable. I try to buy a new ornament or two each year, well this one is home sitting on my tree.

My first craft show was a disaster financially BUT is was a success in learning for us. We learned all kinds of things we will do next time to promote my stuff, market it better which hopefully will help things out. The crowd was not that great which didnt help. The other thing I didnt like about this one is that we had to get up at 430 AM to be there and get everything settled. I was so tired that I didnt have the best personality. Anyhow, its over, I'm relaxed and ready to begin my Christmas baking!

Christmas Tree!

Here's my Christmas Tree for this year. I decided to move my recliner out of the living room and have the tree here. This way you can view it from the dining room table as well as the living room. I like it! I never like the way I decorate the tree, but to me this is pretty good. I just feel that I dont do well at this kind of thing.

I have my first craft show this weekend and I'm nervous. I have made so many candles and body care products and I just dont know what to expect! The candles that I have sold so far everyone is loving....but still being that its my first I just dont know how the shopping mood will be. I hope it goes well!

After this show is done, I'm going back to relaxing some at night--and I hope to catch my favorite holiday shows as well as enjoy some Christmas Baking. I've got a good portion of my holiday gifts purchased already.

How about all of you, how are your holiday plans coming to pass?

Sometimes this is all you need

Its been a crazy 2 weeks for me and my family. I cant even begin to tell you how hard it is to keep going at a full time job outside of the home, attempt to build and market my body business and candles as well as try to be a good Mom and Grandmom. Some of you may already know exactly what I'm talking about. When anything happens out of the ordinary, it just throws you completely off kilter and its almost humanly impossible to keep the pace. Trying to please everyone, do a good job at work, is just exhausting. AND..I'm trying to learn how to make new scented candles all the time--and for me its not easy. I also threw in my first Craft Show to attend to market my products and so I'm trying to build a stock....Anyhow, I came h ome yesterday after a nearly 12 hour day at work just wiped out and thinking of cancelling my craft show project because I dont know if I'll be able to get my stock up. On my table were these beautiful flowers. My first thought was---Baldyman remembered to get some nice flowers for the Thanksgiving meal. Then I saw the card..it says ---Thank you..well I knew then it wasnt from Baldyman. What would he thank me for? Well theres alot I guess but I just sensed it wasnt from him. We've got alot of personal tough times going on with our 3rd son and trying to help him. He is the one who put the flowers there with a very nice card saying Thank you for all we are helping him with. I just thought after reading the card....Ya know, sometimes this is all you need in life--someone grateful for trying your best. I dont need big fancy houses, new cars, diamonds, wonderful trips all the time--I just need to know sometimes I'm a good Mom, grandmom and that I do my best. I may not be the best--but I do my best. So, I'm feeling very thankful that my kids know I try hard. Add to that, another nice letter came my way from someone that really made me smile inside so this week on top of being very physically and emotionally trying was also very heart touching.

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving meal with their loved ones and your homes are full of laughter and love. This is my most favorite meal of the year. I absolutely love it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Martha Stewart

This is my Martha Stewart Witch. I need to take another photo, but if you click on it maybe it will look better. I waited for her for 2 years. We were going to actually make one, but then I found the GrandinRoad Catalog and decided I would make it easy and just pay for it.
These legs are adorable. I'm thinking I'm going to place them in my trunk and let them hang as if I stuffed the rest of the witch inside. Arent they the cutest?

The book, is called Wednesday Letters. I ordered that from a Victorian Magazine. It was described as a book where a husband wrote his wife a love letter on the first night of their marriage and then proceded to write her a letter every Wednesday for the duration of their marriage which I think extended over 40 years. I thought it was true...I dont know if it is or not but I can say for me I'm disapointed in the book. Its hard to follow, to many players and to many things going on....its not just about the letters. If it gets better I'll let ya know!

More Halloween Decor!

I guess you could say i'm officially accepting that summer in Wisconsin is closing and Fall has arrived. This is my fireplace. I cant wait for Halloween to hand out treats, my pumpkin is always ready for Grandchildren's little hands or my kids when they pop in or guests. I end up filling up this pumpkin at least 3-4 times before Halloween is even here. Once the pumpkin is on the fireplace mantel, everyone knows there are goodies in it.
I dont do tablescapes. This would be as close as I come. I decorate my table for Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years and Easter Dinner. Thats it! I've added Halloween now to. I even forgot that I have a Ghost and Pumpkin Salt and Pepper Shaker.
And here is my fireplace all lit up! I still have so much more to put out,,,this isnt even a touch of what I have. I'm going to scale back though, big time. I've told my kids to come pick out thru my decorations because I'm scaling down and what dosnt go--is getting donated. Last night it was a great night to have the fireplace lit up once again, all decorated. I hope everyone had a nice weekend and you can all say We are officially into Fall!

Easter came early for my house!

We had our Easter Dinner this weekend, since most of our 5 children wont be around next Sunday. I actually liked it this way. That means I will have an extra long weekend next week, and I wont have any committments! This was my bed on Friday as I got out the baskets and got them all together. Not only do I make baskets for the grandgirls, but also for our 5 adult kids. I know--alittle lame-but thats the mother in you I guess. I had a ton of leftover candy and I think I will give that to some family at work. Our dinner turned out great-I think it might have been one of my best ever. I made ham, lamb, Sweet Potato Pie, Hash Brown Casserole, Greek Salad, Applesauce, Green Bean Casserole, Dinner Rolls. For dessert we had chocolate cake and sugar cookies. Everything turned out really good.
This photo here--is a blurry shot of our little chiminea. We've been lighting it up before we go into the hot tub. It adds just alittle extra atmosphere and I get that smell i miss so much. Our fireplace in the house is gas which is nice, but i really miss that smell of wood burning.
This here is a photo of our hot tub--not a great photo--but this is it! We go in here just about every night--rarely miss a night. We've been doing this for over 5 years now. We always joke if this thing goes down--we will do whatever it takes to get another one because we just love it so much. Neither of us get sick that much anymore and its just great for an end of day relaxin and gettin ya ready for bed. That was our weekend--I hope everyone had a safe nice weekend!

Christmas Decorations are DOWN!

I felt really sad putting it all away...house is all cleaned up--no more pretty lights, no more whimsical things to look at and smile. All the pretties tucked away for one more year. Each year i notice it gets harder and harder for me to put it all away. Its almost like as we put things away--we also know we are putting away the extra good moods people are in this time of year, the goodwill thoughts of men, the hope and excitement of everyone...all that gets put away in the boxes also. We find ourselves now thinking about getting thru a couple more months of rough weather, tax season, and the longing for our bodies to feel the warmth of the sun once again. January can be a pretty gloomy month.

I've put out the few Valentines Things I have--but it dosnt help much. I'm going to have to find some ways to give myself some cheer to get thru to Febuary...that month for me is much better. The days are longer--sometimes warmer and we find outselves trudging thru the stores to check out the newest garden gadgets, yard ornaments, deck items...at least we have that to get thru Febuary!

Merry Christmas!

Here is the calm--all the gifts unopened and waiting for their excited owners! Actually this looks like nothing compared to what we had--I had so many gifts I had them all over the house. The kids brought all their stuff over to--so you can imagine with what we buy for them and they for us--its ALOT of gifts to open.
Here we are in the midst of opening and checking things out. My 3rd son got me a Dyson Vacumn Cleaner..unreal. They vacumned up the hallway and parts of my bedroom--it was pretty embarassing what that thing picked up...I vacumn daily--and lets just say I felt like a pig. I will LOVE that thing.
Here are our grandaughters and my daughter's in law. The kids were pretty excited. We bought them all craft type gifts...so they will have plenty of neat things to make over the holiday break.
Here is part of the crew chilling after opening gifts. Everyone is pretty tired out. The excitement sure does get ya dosnt it? We all live very close--so they went home to relax for abit--and then we have dinner at 1!
My oldest son Jason and Ms. Ellie. She's a trip,,,a ton of fun. She went home to put her pretty Christmas dress on,,,let me tell you-she did NOT want to leave. We bought her that Smart Cycle--where you plug it into the TV and pedal to places. She's lovin it.

Christmas was huge for us this year...our kids bought us gifts we had no idea were coming. Not only did I get a Dyson Vacumn, but we got a new skillet, a juicer, a 2 day weekend trip to Sybaris--which is a Romantic Paradise. My girls got me a manciure kit, a trip to the spa, Thomas Kinkaide Calendar which is my favorite and relaxing Cds...gosh--I feel spoiled rotten! Baldyman got me a beautiful necklace--which I will get a picture and post it another day. I cant wait to wear it--its going to shine on New Years Eve dinner. I hope everyone had a great Holiday and found yourselves pampered! For me, this was one of the most pampering Christmas Holidays we have had. Our kids were joking saying--see it paid off this year to have us! Dinner is at 1--Prime Rib and Ham! I cant wait. Merry Christmas!

Chocolate n' Cinnamon Cappuccino Mix

Here ya go! A homemade Christmas gift that I made last night and not only was it very easy, it was VERY good. I'm not a coffee fan, I dont drink it, but most people do and we all know what a hit Starbucks and other places are with people. This little mix--you mix all the ingrediants in one bowl, and then place it in the jars. Thats it! This recipe calls for placing the mix in quart size jars but i used half pints, which gave me almost 4 jars. I kept the 4th for the Baldyman. He sampled it last night and it was Delish! All I was missing was the whipped cream to have on top--which Cool Whip now makes its cream ready to spray! If your looking for a pretty inexpensive, last minute gift or just enjoy making a gift homemade--try this! I used Ball Canning jars. I had a harder time locating those than anything else in this recipe! Enjoy!

1-1/2 Cup Sugar
1 C. Powdered Sugar
2/3 Cup Instant Coffee Granules
2/3 C Powdered Coffee Creamer ( i wonder how a flavor would add taste to this!)
1/2 C Unsweetened Cocoa
1T. plus 1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Mix this all in a bowl very well and then place in jar! Tie a pretty ribbon on it and add the Instructions on the jar and your done!

Instructions: Place 1-1/2 T Chocolate Cinnamon Mix into 8 oz boiling water. Mix until dissolved...sprinkle with Cool Whip or Whipped topping and Enjoy!

Buried in Wisconsin

You can kinda get a feel for how much snow is falling if you look at how deep it is on Genie. I hate to impose on her while she's doing her bathroom duties...but I couldnt pass the photo up. She dosnt like this much snow and really had a hard time picking her place to go potty. We probably have about 8 inches so far.
Here are a couple of photos from across the street of our home...its quite windy, cold and snowing very heavy.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of what's going on here right now....its not pleasant at all. So far, all schools are closed, most businesses. BUT...guess what? So far no malls or stores have closed. Soooo, once this slows down---us Christmas shoppers can get back out there and search for great deals. Thats what we have planned later today once the snow subsides.

Christmas Trailer!

Baldyman and I camp alot in the summer. We have a 1952 Pink and Blue Rollahome trailer that while old and funky...we love it. This little trailer christmas house for some reason just reminded me of our trailer. Of course it dosnt look anything like it---but you can tell by looking at the details someone...loved this trailer. Alot of life is in this little trailer house. Thats how I feel about ours. Its one of the oldest trailers in the campground but yet--its very very homey and cute. We put alot of life into it. Each year we do something to it--no matter how small. He wont paint it--he's liking that pink and blue...despite it being an eyesore. At this cold time of year, there are times I really miss camping, sleeping to the sound of crickets and night creatures and thruout the night, checking out the stars on the deck. Nothing is more beautiful than when you can see a million stars because its so dark. I found this little Christmas Trailer House at Lowes. I wanted it but wasnt willing to pay the near $35.00 dollar price tag. I went back last weekend to see if it was still around, and yep it was AND it was now half price. I paid for it brought it home and set it in my office. A gentle reminder of what is coming in a couple months.....Camping!

Baldyman and his Santa Shorts!

Alright everyone, I forgot I had this picture of Baldyman from last Christmas. He probably forgot I have it to! Yep, this is what I'm married to....kinda scary huh? This man can push his stomach out so far it unbelieveable...he's won alot of Fair contests but doing that and the workers assume he's much heavier than he really is. I look at this picture and oh man.....I must really love this man. I wont tell him I put this up yet-I will wait a few days and then show him. Hey, he let me take it so that gives me free rain. My cousin and her partner Jim always find these silly things to wear and last year Baldyman got his first pair of Santa shorts and a Santa cap. He added the socks and shoes and WaLa--another great outfit. I hope this gives you a good chuckle to begin your day. I'll be back later with the winner of my little giveaway!

Gingerbread Man!

Ok, here is the Gingerbread Man I made....now dont go laughing. I'm not the craftiest person around and I got lots to learn. Thats why he WONT be listed on Ebay or Etsey or wherever else one sells their goodies. He needs work, no doubt about it. I think he's pretty cute for my kitchen window though and that is where his new home is right now. What I dont like is that he's to thick,,,well even that would be ok...but flip him over and WOW--is he a mess. He has cracks--some potholes going on and other things that would make you go YUCK!
You would not believe how many things I missed when I painted him. I missed a button at first, his nose and eyebrows and that ribbon on his neck. Everytime I painted him and it dried I would find something else! I like him for me...but I will keep working on a gingerbread recipe that is easy to work with and dries up nice and hard and dosnt have such an ugly backside. Actually now that I think about it--his backside looks like mine--wrinkly and dimply!

Cookie Recipe and Baldymans Hat!

We're all busy and most of us LOVE those easy recipes that are also very good! Heres one for ya. I call em Surprise Cookies and I tuck inside an M'M. Now I bet no one who knows me even the slightest would have guessed that. You might want to double this recipe because it dosnt even make quite 3 dozen. Heres the ingrediants: 1 cup butter, (unsalted), 2/3 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 2-1/4 cups flour. Heat oven to 350. Roll dough into small balls and tuck inside the middle an M'M, raisin..you get the idea. Bake for about 10 minutes--until you can see the bottom is lightly browned. Let cool and roll in Powdered Sugar. Enjoy! As you notice in the picture--I also had my tea with mine--it was soooo good!
And here is Baldyman and his crazy Penquin Hat he runs around town in. I guess the older he gets, the weirder he gets to. I tried to get him in his Santa Shorts and shirt and my pink shoes he wears all the time--but that was pushing it. If anyone has a Lowes around them--that is where this hat was purchased. My cousin and her partner Jim bought it for Baldyman, they also have Santa ones. Their both adorable hats.

Merry Monday, My Giveaway!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I did,,very relaxing PLUS I got a good part of our Christmas Shopping done and baldyman wrapped it all. Its nice to see gifts under the tree finally. We got about 3 inches of snow and as of later today we are under a pretty big Winter Storm Watch. Where I live--we are expecting anywhere from 6-15 inches of snow. I would say---we wont be going anywhere as of later today....and I'm thinking my work will shut down--so hopefully I will have a day off tomorrow!

This is a photo of my giveaway! It includes some chocolate from a company here in Milwaukee that makes the best candies. Quality Candy--their chocolate is very expensive-I beleive they order their chocolate from Africa and its a very good candy. I have a caramel in it, toffeees, chocolate creme and something else I forgot...(hey I'm 50). As for the meat sticks, our local butcher makes them and they are a huge hit around here. If your going to buy meatsticks--DONT go to the local grocers--NO--you gotta get them made by a butcher! These are honey flavored ham sticks...ummm..you do NOT know how bad I wanted to rip open the package and have 1. Whoever wins this--if you notice the package is taped, dont worry it was only me! I also have a believe ornament..because I now all of us believe in something and of course the cocktail napkins which have a great saying on them...i'm sure anyone would enjoy handing these out with a drink to celebrate the upcoming Holiday!

We will pull a name out by 12 noon on Friday and I will ship this out right away!

I also took a picture of the Baldyman in his penquin hat...I will post that either later today or Wednesday...I'm tellin ya--the man should be put away. I'm trying to convince him into putting his Santa shorts on and Christmas shirt to--he says he isnt to fond of being something to laugh at on my blog--OHHH come on, he knows its done in love!

Tomorrow the Thinking Girl topic is going to be Depression. I deal with it--I know others do...I hope you will all come back and share your thoughts on it! Have a great Monday. Let the Snow begin in Wisconsin!

Gingerbread Man!

Well here he is...he still needs to dry out for 2 more days. He's cute as heck..but thick! I do think I want him alittle thick so he can lean up against the window and not crack if he ends up falling over. I dont know yet if I will keep this recipe for making him because the other side looks like crap and I really want these to end up looking super nice and being strong. Once I get him painted and ribboned up--I will post him again if he actually lives that long...you just never know what the next 2 days will bring to his little life.

As you can tell I'm not that big into crafting but there are a couple things I do have in mind that I want to perfect and possibly sell later on. He is one and I came across some other neat ideas last night--tonight I'm off to locate some of the supplies. I'm on a mission and that is to have some sort of income coming into our home to replace mine if I end up deciding to leave my job within the next year or two. A part time job out of the home and then something from home would be sweet! If anyone of you who stops by happens to know of a recipe to make gingerbread ornaments or tricks on painting them--feel free to leave your tips!