The older you get, the faster time flies....

...At least that's certainly the way it feels these days. 

I'm not totally sure where the last four months have gone, besides from the bottom of the calendar to the top, but they were, for the most part, a GREAT time!  I hope you can forgive me for not posting more sooner!  Hopefully I can catch you up in posts shortly.

Just another trip to the field...This side mirror will never tire of seeing this road...

A dear friend over at Sandhills & Cow Patties recently put it out there that she was looking for recipes for Cinnamon Rolls to curb her Hubby's appetite for them.  Then he corrected her and asked for CARAMEL Rolls instead.  (Apparently he's never had a Wheat Montana Cinnamon Roll that I dream about to know they can be better sans caramel!)  I know these are not Caramel Rolls, but I think they are better since they are bite size, take less work, don't need a fancy pan and are great for mornings when working cattle is top priority (which is what she wants the recipes for anyway).

I probably wouldn't have tried the recipe, but D pulled it out of a little magazine we get up here called North Dakota Living.  Good luck with yours!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!  Sorry I don't have any pictures but the last time I made them and meant to take a picture they went from pan to hands and mouth too fast to get a good picture!

CARAMEL PULL-A-PARTS

2 Frozen loaves of Rhodes Sweet Bread Dough, thawed
Cinnamon
Sugar

Syrup:
3/4 cup Vanilla Ice Cream
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Butter (don't substitute Margarine)

Cut dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Put into a greased 13x9 pan to rise. 

After rising, combine syrup ingredients and stir in saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until sugar dissolves; DO NOT BOIL.  Pour syrup over rolls and bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes.  Flip pull-a-parts onto a cookie sheet to serve.


MY NOTES:
Make the balls fairly small as they rise quite high and quite fast, and you don't want them too much higher than the pan (which is why my tops were almost burnt before my bottoms were done the first time I made them (I had too big of balls to start)).

If the caramel isn't going in between the balls of dough, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes between the dough balls to separate them.

Melt the butter THEN add the sugar and ice cream so that you aren't waiting on the butter to melt.

In our  9" x 13" pans it usually only takes a loaf and a half of dough to fill the pan, so if you're able to cut yours in half you can definately get two pans out of a bag of dough.

Good Luck ~C~ on your quest for good Caramel Rolls!  I hope all who try this recipe enjoy them!

Always ~
Christine

Penny. Penne!

We have returned!  We survived coastal Alaska, Victoria, BC and each other in the group!  I'm pretty sure I have close to 2000 pictures to go through now, but hopefully a couple of them turned out well enough to have printed on Canvas to be some new art in our house. 

 

We also celebrated D becoming a Godfather for the second time this year!  Congrats BRP!  We love you so much!

 

This recipe we tried awhile ago but it definately would have been perfect for a busy post-vacation week.  This one came to us on one of those catalina things that prints out when you buy certain foods/items at the grocery store and the cashier hands it to you with your receipt.  I did not feel like there was enough of the cooking cream to place on top so I just mixed it all in with the sauce and topped it off with more Mozzarella.  Next time we make this I'll probably take two tubs of the cooking cream out so I have enough to put on top as well.  I hope you enjoy this!  This would also be a good one to make up in the morning or night before and have sitting in the fridge ready to go in the oven when you get home at night.  (Sorry no photo...as this didn't come from someone else I can't borrow theirs and the camera was still down when we made this one!)

Baked Penne


1/2 lb. Extra-Lean Ground Beef
1/2 cup EACH Chopped Onions & Green Peppers
1 (24 oz.) jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 (10 oz.) tub Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme, divided
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
3 cups Cooked Penne Pasta

Heat oven to 350*F.

Brown Meat with Vegetables in a large non-stick skillet.  Stir in Spaghetti Sauce, 3/4 cup Cooking Cream and 1/2 cup Mozzarella; cook and stir 2 -3 minutes or until Mozzarella is melted.  Add Pasta; mix lightly.

Spoon into 2-quart casserole dish.  Top with remaining Cooking Creme and Mozzarella.  Cover.

Bake 20 minutes or until heated through, uncovering after 15 minutes.

Beef! It's what's for dinner baby!

Hi Everyone!!!

I promised you a new recipe from me every Wednesday and I might be on vacation, but Blogger has this great little thing called "Schedule" that lets me set this up so that I can have this post appear to you today while I'm in the middle of the ocean or hanging out looking at mountains or whatever we are up to at this exact moment.  Wish you all could be here with us!  Enjoy this Stroganoff recipe I found over at Eat Cake For Dinner.  My mom wasn't one to make Stroganoff when we were growing up, but the neighbor did and would invite us over every once in awhile.  This reminds me a lot of Mrs. St.'s recipe.  I hope you all enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff from Scratch

1 lb. Top Sirloin or Tenderloin Steak
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
3 Tbsp. Butter, divided
8 oz. Mushrooms, chopped
1 cup Onion, diced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 - 2 1/2 cups Warm Water
3 Beef Bouillon Cubes
5 Tbsp. Flour
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 cup Sour Cream

Slice Steak into strips 1/4" thick and about 2" long.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.  Melt 2 Tbsp. of the Butter in a large skillet over medium heat and then add  Mushrooms, Onion and Garlic to the pan.  Slightly increase the heat and melt 1 Tbsp. of Butter in the pan.  Add Beef and saute, stirring for 3-5 minutes or until pink is no longer visible.  While the beef is cooking, whisk water, bouillon, Flour and Worcestershire Sauce together until smooth.  Add this mixture to the beef and return the musroom mixture to the pan as well.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes to thicken.  Remove pan from heat and stir in Sour Cream.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over Egg Noodles or White Rice.

** NOTE:  I used Ground Hamburger instead of Steak and we loved it this way too!


ENJOY!  See ya' in a week!

CHRISTINE

Ole! Ole, Ole Ole!

YAY!!! We leave for our trip to the great state of Alaska in less than two days!!! I can't wait!!! I am unbelievably ready to have some time off of work, quality time with D without work or business distractions, and remember what true elevation looks like!  OH!  It also looks like there will be a chance to at least stop and say hi to Nan.  I miss her cranky, old face something fierce right now so that might be one of the parts I'm most looking forward to at this point. 

Our trip actually has us making three stops in Alaska and one in Canada.  All because of Canada we have to take our passports.  Which reminds me, I wonder what D did with those after he registered our trip.  I should probably go find those quick.

Nothing else is really new here, just packing and trying to be caught up at work before we leave.

This weeks recipe is more "South of the Border" than "North to Alaska", but when I found it and saw how easy it was going to be I knew if it turned out it would be perfect for weeks like this when we have so much going on it's nice to have supper ready when we get home at night.  It's also by those great and crazy sisters over at www.sixsistersstuff.com!  I wasn't too sure about them when I put everything in the crock pot.  It seemed like the liquid levels were off a bit, but you do want them dry and they came out perfect!  Before you put the chicken mixture on your tortilla try to squeeze out as much moisture as you can.  Trust me on this.  And trust me when I say that you HAVE to try this recipe one day.  It's even great as leftovers and that's a bonus in our house!

Thanks Six Sisters for the GREAT recipe! (And WONDERFUL
picture that made me want to try them in the first place!)

Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas

4 Chicken Breasts
1 (14 oz.) can Diced Tomatoes (Rotel works as well!), undrained
1 small can Green Chilis
1 (8 oz.) package Cream Cheese
Tortillas
Monteray Jack Cheese (or your favorite kind of cheese/cheese blend)
2 Tbsp. Melted Butter (or olive oil)

Spray the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.  Place Chicken Breasts in the slow cooker.  Dump in the Diced Tomatoes, Green Chili's, and Cream Cheese.  Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours LOW or 3-4 hours on HIGH.  Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, take it out and shred. Return the chicken to the slow cooker (mix it in and it will absorb some of the juices so it's not so runny).  Keep warm until ready to make quesadillas.

To make quesadilla, heat a skillet over medium heat.  Top half of each tortilla with cheese and a scoop of the chicken mixture.  If you want some heat, add some chopped jalepenos to the quesadilla.  Fold the tortilla over and press down.  Lightly brush melted butter (or olive oil) on both sides.  Cook two filled tortillas at a time (3-4 minutes each; until they are golden brown), turning once. 

Serve with your favorite salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

** We did not use the Butter or Olive Oil and instead used our pannini press to make our quesidillas.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!  I should go find those passports now and make sure they are in our carry-ons.  Here's a little Johnny Horton to help you get in the mood for our trip!

"He Man, Woman Hater!"

A much be-lated HELLO EVERYONE!!!  I apologize for such a long absence.  Many, many, many things have been going on here.  It seems like over the last couple of months the only time I've had to sit down and write to you I had the choice of writing to you or going to bed.  I have a DANG comfortable bed...Haha.

The seasons feel like they've officially changed out here on the prairie and with that a renewed promise to myself to write to you more often.  One of the things I/we have accomplished over my time away from you was to try several new recipes out. 

Yes Alfalfa!  We did get something accomplished while I was away from blog-land!  Many things actually but I'll start by sharing this one with you.

This recipe was given to me by my Grandma S. after she randomly tried it out of a cookbook that she hadn't opend in quite some time.  She had a point in the email with the recipe.  We get many new cookbooks over the years, but after you've tried everything you think you're going to like, how likely are you really to go back and relook at that cookbook and try something else?  Welp, like me she was in a cooking rut and wanted to try something new; only she opened a cookbook she hadn't in awhile. 

This Wednesday's recipe comes from the "Festival of Nations 50th Anniversary Edition Cookbook" that Grandma S. has in her kitchen. He Man Spanish Rice was a fairly quick and easy dish that did not overfill us when we ate it and we decided we'd try it again (as did the Grandparents!)!  I'm sure the boys in the He Man, Woman Hater's Club would agree with us and eat it as well!

He Man Spanish Rice

1 lb. Ground Beef or Buffalo

1/2 cup Chopped Onion

1/4 cup Chopped Green Pepper

2 or 3 Cloves Chopped Garlic

1 tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Chili Powder

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 can Tomato Soup

1 can Water

1/3 cup Rice (Long Grain)

Cook the Meat, Onion, Green Pepper, Salt, Garlic and Chili Powder in a skillet until browned. 

Add remaining ingredients and cook for 30 minutes longer or until the rice is done.

Can lay shredded cheese on top and put in the oven to melt.

NOTES:  We did not have any long grain rice on hand so we used the Minute Rice we keep on hand and it turned out just fine.  We also did not put cheese on top and put in the oven; rather each person put their desired amount of cheese on top of their serving.

(Picture of my hometown borrow from

the Festival of Nations website.  It looks

to be around the early 1900's.?)

It's great when a town can get together and celebrate their heritage and where they've come from.  The Red Lodge Festival of Nations has been celebrated every year since 1950.  If you happen to be up in the area in early August this year (or any year) be sure and check it out!  It might seem kind of corny, but I can still hear old Joe Kosorok's accordian music (then again, he played that all year long...) and the festival theme song blaring out over the town speakers.  I never thought I'd miss it, but it does kind of have some nostalgic quality now. 

Anyway, I hope you find this recipe at least "O-Tay" in your book. 

Hope everyone has a "He Man" kind of Wednesday!

Christine

Not a Cake...Not a Cookie...Not a Cupcake....It's Bar Time!

 

No, not Bison Bar time (though one does always have a good time when they are at the Bison).  DESSERT Bar time!  Hmmm...Theme week here?  Rolo Cake Mix Bars earlier in the week and today Red Velvet Bars!

 



(Photo from Eat Cake For Dinner. 
Sorry, my camera is still down!)

For these bars you will need:

• 1 stick Butter, softened
• 1 German Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1 Egg
• 1 - 1 oz. bottle Red Food Coloring
• 16 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

To make these bars:

• Preheat oven to 350*F.
• Combine the Butter, Cake Mix, Egg & Red Food Coloring.  Batter WILL be stiff!
• Spread into a greased 9" x 13" cake pan. 
• Beat together the Cream Cheese & Sugar until creamy.
• Add the Eggs & Vanilla and beat until smooth.
• Spread over cake batter mixture.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the bars barely start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
• Cool COMPLETELY before cutting.

I enjoyed these bars.  I really did.  D was fairly undecided on them.  He thought he liked them, but the cream cheese layer didn't appear to be setting up right (and with the egg in there I wanted to make sure it was) so I left it in a bit longer.  Turns out it may have been TOO long.  My pan was a little dry, but could be because they were overbaked or because D cut into them before they were fully cooled.  Either way, I enjoyed them enough to make them again that's for sure! 

I've got to scurry home and finish PMS-SIL's Baby Shower present and the "Man-Shower" present D will be giving her husband (which the girls will be crashing later that day).  Sunday we'll be in heading North (not to Alaska, but maybe someday soon!) to watch a friends little girl in her first figure skating show.  So excited!

Have a GREAT weekend!  Hope all of you enjoy the GREAT weather we're supposed to have this weekend (or whatever weather is coming your way, wherever you are!)

Always~
CHRISTINE

"Joy, temperance, and repose, slam the door on the Doctor's nose!"

According to http://www.quotationspage.com/search.php3?homesearch=nose Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said those exact words at some point in his life (how they know this I'll never know nor will I sit here and question it either).  Right now though, those words slightly reflect how I feel about my nose and the doctors I've seen about it.  Right now I am fighting my THIRD sinus infection since Christmas!  (This one started coming in last Monday!)  For lack of better words, THIS SUCKS!  I feel like someone has slammed the door on my nose!  You can't provide me with a cure or a way to avoid getting another one, I'll slam the door on YOUR nose!

(One co-worker made it sound like this is how my face looked on Monday!)

(To some extent, this is more how I've felt at times! Haha...)

But, in the moments I was thinking clearly this last weekend I did try to make a couple of different dessert bar recipes that I've had stashed away to try.  (I'll share the other later this week.)  It seems as though if I bake on Saturday or Sunday I make enough or more than enough to last us through the week (pending guests and how good it turns out to be).  Today's recipe comes from the Six Sisters' Stuff Blog.  Though I have never met these girls I love them!  I find WAY too many recipes on their site to try (I'll definitely be featuring more recipes from them!), as well as many great tips and tricks to try out! 

(Do these not look absolutely delicious???
SO quick and easy!!!
Please forgive me for borrowing their picture!
My camera is not behaving right now!
Thanks Six Sisters' Stuff!)

Rolo Cookie Bars

1 (18.25 oz.) Yellow, Vanilla, or White Cake Mix, dry (I believe I used a Yellow cake mix.)

5 oz. Evaporated Milk (Make some Potato Soup for supper & use the remaining instead of cream!)

1/4 cup Butter, melted

40 Rolo Candies, unwrapped and cut in half  (I think you could have opened a few more and it would be even better!  Who doesn't love extra chocolate and caramel?)

• Preheat your oven to 350*F.
• Spray a 9" x13" pan with baking spray.
• Beat Cake Mix, Evaporated Milk and Butter until combined.  (Mixture WILL be thick & sticky!)
• Divide batter in half and press half onto the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Bake until set (8-9 minutes) & remove from the oven.
• Place the candies, caramel side down, on top of the "base".
• Drop the remaining batter on top of the rolo's in teaspoon sized amounts. (I found it best to scoop out and, since it was so sticky, "break" and drop in chunks with my hands on top of the rolo's.)
• Bake an additional 20-24 minutes longer or until the top begins to turn golden brown.
• Cool completely before cutting into them (if you can stand to wait that long!).

These were super easy, left the kitchen fairly clean afterwards (ok, most of the mess was from something else I was cooking at the same time or had just cooked!).  Plus they are a bar that hasn't gone bad quickly so they've lasted us a couple of days!  I hope you enjoy them as much as D and I have!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

CHRISTINE

What Happened to Spontaneity???

When did our lives become so scheduled?  Eat at time X, meet so-and-so at time Y, go to bed at time Z, etc. 

Then again, I guess if you think about it, our whole lives have been this way.  Since birth we were on a schedule.  Eat every 3 hours, poop every two, cry uncontrollably from 5:30 to 9:00.  But there was a time.

Ahhhh...College...Ok, so we had to make it through 13 years (ok, 14 if you count Pre-School) of classes being fully scheduled.  8:00 AM to 3:30, three recesses in between with a Lunch Break in the cafeteria with the BIG kids sitting on the other side of the room and you knew if you looked at them wrong they could beat you up just by staring you down.  There were cootie bars that only certain people could touch and if you weren't that person and that bar was on the door you might not be able to get to the cafeteria to get the milk for snack time!  CRISIS!  Your biggest competition was over whose mom sent the better crackers for snack time and why oh why did your mom have to send something SO UNCOOL for you!

But College.  College was a time where there may have been a schedule, but you could fudge the lines of schedule if you felt like it.  Ok...Where I went to college one could get away with it at least.  You could study when you wanted, when you made your schedule it was a schedule that you wanted for classes that you wanted.  If you didn't want to go to class at 8:00 you could probably get away with not doing it at that time.  And then you graduated.  Degree in hand and the words that every graduation speaker says:  "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."  Wise words, but they should have said something more like:  "Tomorrow is the first day you'll be on a schedule for the rest of your life."

There's working out, going to work, soccer practice, ballet lessons, piano lessons, feeding people, or at least yourself three times a day, seven days a week and usually at the same times EVERY DAY!  I'm not saying that schedules are bad.  Some days I'd be absolutely lost if I didn't have a schedule somewhere reminding me about a doctor appointment or eye appointment or meeting with the boss or whatever it is.  The one thing I keep falling behind on is scheduling WHAT will be at those meals that come around three times a day.  It's not that I don't have food at my house; if you think this is the case please stop over and feel free to snoop cupboards at any time. 

I seem to be able to make a plan at the begining of the week of what we'll have every night for supper and then it seems like something derails the plan.  D heads out of town with a load somewhere; I forgot to buy something at the store on Tuesday night; or I just don't feel like cooking by the time I get home at night.  This week though, THIS week WILL be different.  I hope.  Ok, I hope by putting it on here that it will help me to stick to it and make it different.  And I hope you will join me it this resolution.  Heck if we can conquer it for a week, we can do it for two can't we?  And two can turn into four right?  And four into 52?

SALE-A-BRATION!!!



(NOTE:  Please read the next few lines in a beautiful sing-songy voice OR just imagine that I'm singing it to you in the LOVELY singing voice that I have!)

It's the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year.

With the kids back in school and

MSN telling you how to fight SAD.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

There'll be workshops for hosting,

marshmallows for toasting and

shoveling cars out of snow.

There'll be scary out-of-state-driver stories

and tales of the glories of Sale-A-Brations long, long ago;

It's the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year!!!

Ok, Ok.  That's enough singing for now, though I promise I'm still singing and dancing in my head.  Why you ask?  A very good question.  Because I LOVE Sale-A-Bration SOO much!

Here's how it works.  For every $50 you spend on Stampin'Up! products, (either Digital OR Occasions/Idea Book Catalog, OR any combination you chose), you earn ONE FREE item out of the exclusive Sale-A-Bration catalog!  Sale-A-Bration items include:

• 2 digital CD's (one EXCLUSIVE),
• Exclusive vinyl Decor Element (available in 4 colors),
• Stamp Sets (4 SAB Exclusives, 5 our of the IBC),
• an Exclusive package of Designer Seriers Paper (I am in LOVE with this paper!),
• an Exclusive Ribbon & Brad pack (Dear SU!, you would make me SO very happy if you added this ribbon and these brads to the next Idea Book & Catalog!),
• Brights Designer Buttons (These are FANTASTIC with the Button Buddies Set!),
• Flirtatious Fabric,
• Simply Sent Set of Cards,
• Embossing Folders,
• 2011-2012 In-Color Cardstock.

Also part of the Exclusives this year when you Host a workshop and your sales reach $150 you automatically earn an exclusive tote just for Hostess's. (Pictured at right.)  When your sales reach $400 you earn a bundle of some of the exclusive products!

 

The card to the Left here was made using this GREAT bundle of products!

But these great products aren't the only reasons to participate in Sale-A-Bration.  If you've ever thought of becoming a member of the Stampin'UP! family THIS is the time to do it!  The demo kit has been reduced to $125 (it's almost a $400 value!) AND SU! has put an additional bonus on the kit.  If you sign up at any point during Sale-A-Bration you will get 1 package of Designer Series Paper or a Digital Download each month for the next 11 months!  Between these GREAT incentives you get almost $500 in materials for only $125.  Contact me today to talk more about this GREAT offer!

All of these items are VERY fun and can't wait to come home to you!  If you haven't seen the Sale-A-Bration catalog (or the Occasions Mini Catalog which also has some VERY fun ideas and products in it!) check out my website (hint: click the word website) or call, text, FB, comment here, or email me (christine_stamps@hotmail.com) and I'll get you one right away. 

With all this FUN stuff you can earn from now until March 31, 2012 why are you still sitting here checking blogs?  I can't wait to share all of this with you.  In fact, if you place an order between now and the end of Sale-A-Bration your name will automatically be entered in a drawing for a complete set of the EXCLUSIVE products (does not include the products found in the Idea Book & Catalog) that I will give away at the end of the SAB promotion. 

How can this not be the most wonderful time of the year?  The more you spend, the more FREE items you earn!  And, if you sign up to host a workshop during this years SAB with me you will earn double the chances in my Big Shot Giveaway Drawing!  (And I really am toasting marshmellows this weekend...Making S'Mores bars for a get together!)

Happy Sale-A-Brating Everyone!

Christine

Winter Stamping-Bee: Cards With A Cause!

Good Afternoon Everyone!

Just a friendly reminder about the Winter Stamping-Bee THIS Sunday, January 20, 2012 starting at noon at my home.  This stamping-bee we will be making all sorts of great cards to support the Cards With A Cause idea we started in June 2011.  They absolutely LOVED getting all of the wonderful cards last summer when Patient/Teacher Friend delivered them.  Here are some of the cards that were produced during last summers Stamping-Bee: Cards With A Cause evening:

In all we counted almost 300 cards had been made to donate to the Cancer Center at the time.  I can't wait to see everyone and see what we come up with this time around!  Remember there's no need to bring anything besides yourself and the willingness to dive in and make some cards.  I will have everything else (including snacks!).  For more information on the project please review the post from October 2011:  Every Time A Bell Rings An Angel Gets It's Wings. 

Last fall (after the original blog post) I received a letter from the Cancer Center where the cards had gone.  Here is what the Manager of Volunteers had to say:

Dearest Stamping Champions,

The cards you sent us are a welcome gift.  We have placed them in baskets in various waiting areas of the Cancer Center.  We called them "Care Notes" for lack of a better name, and the sign tells everyone, "Care enough to give the very best.  Give someone you care for a Care Note."

They seem to be going well.  Everyone comments on how creative they all are.  Patients, caregivers and staff alike are giving them and receiving them.  Please let your team of stampers know how much joy their gift has brought to our patients.

God bless each and every one of you.

Sincerely yours,

S.G.

Manager of Volunteers

NO experiance making cards or even putting two pieces of paper together with glue is needed for this project!  I hope to see many of you there on Sunday!  For more ideas of what people came up with last summer feel free to check out the "Cards for Cancer" Album on my Facebook page.  Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

Always~
C

It's been TOO Looooong!!!

... And I DO apologize!  There are many times over the last 3 months where I've had some great posts lined up in my head and just never got back to the computer after sitting at it ALL DAY LONG!  Haha... Since you last heard from me on here we've been to Minnesota... ...

(This is about as good as they get when you only get to take pictures from the passenger seat of the Pete driving down the highway...too bad we hadn't gone at least a week before and could have seen more fall colors.)

OH!  Why were we venturing to Minnesota in a semi you ask?  We went to Minnesota to pick up one of these:

(HEY! Look at THAT! There's the Purple Pete hiding on the other end!)

(BF checking out the insides of his new toy...)

We went to ... MEXICO!!!

(D really is a man of steel and could have lifted that ship himself IF we hadn't had so many margarita's on shore!  Thanks PMS-FIL for the trip!)

We got back and I had fun watching a friends little boy one afternoon; though after he woke up I'm not so sure he was having fun anymore...

(This totally worked better the first time we tried it when he was more asleep the first time but of course I couldn't find the camera the first time!)

(My little buddy's mom and I made these adorable ornaments with his handprint for his parents and grandparents as part of their Christmas present as his "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments.)

(Yeah...he liked taking these pictures a LOT better than the first ones 1.5 months earlier!)

I also tried a few new recipes over the last three months...some have worked...MANY (in the words of D) have not worked.  Cheeseburger Meatloaf, Orange Candied Carrots (even the MT family agreed that they probably shouldn't be made again after trying them at Thanksgiving), and Lasagna Soup are amongst the ones that will NOT be made at our house again.  (Unless any of you have a better recipe for some of these than I did and think we should try your variation!) 

There were a couple of recipes that did work out though!  Among them (that I did get pictures of) are:

(Sugar Cookies using Stampin'UP!'s Sweet Pressed Holiday Cookie Stamps and their cookie recipe.  I did cheat and use frosting out of a tube, but these cookies were just WAY too easy and cute using this cookie stamp!  EVERYONE needs to try this product out!  Want to score a set of the Occasions shapes for spring for free?  Sign up to host a workshop during Sale-A-Bration and you could earn a set for free!)

(Cake Batter FunFetti Fudge!!! Super easy and cooked in the microwave.  Was a little on the sweet side BUT I recommend eating a smaller piece then!  It REALLY did taste like cake batter!)

(Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Salty Pretzel Crust.  These were AWESOME!  I should have broken the pretzels up a little more, but they were still delish and I can't wait to have an excuse to make them again!)

The temperatures have finally fallen this winter (even though the snow isn't really following suite) so I hope everyone is staying warm.  If you've got kids out in these temperatures I suggest checking out my friend Jennifer Jen's The Olive Star Boutique on Facebook and Etsy and her new collection titled "The Snow Angel Collection" for keeping those kiddos warm.  She does some GREAT work and these are just too cute to keep to myself! 

Well everyone, it is bedtime.  I hope you've enjoyed a look back at some of the things that kept us busy toward the end of the year.  I have many projects I'll share with you later that I tried out in December (made some glass ornaments, some advent calendars, decorating the house, etc.) but I don't want this post to be any longer than it is (it's already longer than I had wanted it to be!).  Hope to see many of you on Sunday for the Winter Stamping-Bee:  Cards for Cancer!