Great Blogs- Cake Wrecks

This week's "Great Blogs' is one I go to when I have a little down time (hahahahahahahahahah) or just need a chuckle.
It is here at: Cake Wrecks. "When professional cakes go horribly hilariously wrong!"
The picture is from one of my all time favorites! yeah, silly but still a good time!

Wednesday Wisdom for the new year

As a new year begins and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in.
Jeffrey R. Holland

Back to work

Where did Christmas go????
yep, if you blinked you missed it, and now its back to work.
We spend out time laying around.....
ok, Elliott spent his time laying around!
but seriously, WHERE DID THE TIME GO??
Its a dog's life ya know!
At least some of us had fun.
(My mom and Elliott)

NEXT MONTH I BECOME A GRANDMA

Just what's out there in the bloggin world- Sue's news,Views 'n Muse

I love shareing places in blogville where we can all be inspired.
There are always SO many places to go and read, and look and experience... and share.
I'd like to share one of my favorate places, my BF Sue:


Her blog is always full of inspiration and information that makes you stop and think, whether it is about spiritual things, family things or American Idol (or so you think you can dance..) She has a wonderful gift for writing. This week Sue is having a contest.
so GO CHECK HER OUT> here

I also want to copy a bit from one of my favorite posts of hers..... about being a mother, a mother of adult children and about that "empty nest" thing.
I have this quote on my wall and it is such a bittersweet idea that it makes me happy and sad at the same time. Especially at holidays when I know my kids have their own families and other places they need to be:

Apparently, the empty nest is a syndrome from which I will never entirely recover. My life has many good things in it, fulfilling things––to say nothing of my wonderful husband-–but none of these quite fills the space or satisfies the longing for those golden days when every one of our children lived under one roof...when our family was always complete, not just in emotional bonding but in physical presence.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy that my children have grown and thrived and developed their own lives apart from mine. And yet, that particular victory of parenting is bittersweet. One of the ironies of raising and nurturing our young successfully is that we, in the doing of it, lay the groundwork for our own obsolescence. Or maybe I should say relative obsolescence. I'm very much aware that I am anything but obsolete in my children's lives. Having said that, my former role has seen its day.

On almost every level, this pleases me.

But it pains me, too. And that's the truth of it.

The Christmas Spirit- Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all.

The Christmas Spirit

Mr&Mrs Produce

We went to my work Christmas party.. I was taking pictures of everyone else ... realized that there wasn't one of us.....so then had my girlfriend take one of us.. aren't we cute!
ho ho ho
I need a good flash! Santa are you listening?

FUNKY Food Fun Friday

I have to go to my work Christmas party... so thought I'd make some Festive and FUNKY looking centerpieces. Well I didn't know they would be funky looking until after I made them. They looked so cute in the Cookbook... but now they are just FUNKY and I don't really know how they taste... probably....yep you got it F-U-N-K-Y

They are pretty easy to make (OK really easy). I had square vases from our wedding and figured I could use those around the different tables.

You need:
Marshmallows, Almond Bark, Sprinkles (a variety), 'sticks', Styrofoam balls and red&white candies. (I ran out of the candy making white sticks, so I just cut down some ka-bob skewers)

Melt the almond bark in the microwave and realize that it is hot hot hot
Poke a stick in a marshmallow, dip the tip in the almond bark, dip tip in sprinkles.. you can let it cool on wax paper, but it will have a flat side, so I just stuck it in the Styrofoam ball.

To prepare the vases, you cut a little part of the Styrofoam ball off so it has a flat side, spoon some almond bark in the vase as a "glue" and put the ball, flat side down, into the vase and wait for it to harden (and harden it will!)
Then you can just poke the sticks into the ball after you have dipped them in the sprinkles.
After you have your sticks in the ball, you can cover the ball with the starlite candies.
yep pretty funky and FESTIVE.............hopefully everyone else will be thinking the same thing!!!
I'll be they are glad now that they didn't ask me to head the decorations for the RS luncheon tomorrow! Although I had some GREAT ideas.... oh well their loss.

Wednesday Wisdom

As we express our gratitude,
we must never forget that the highest appreciation
is not to utter words,
but to live by them.

-- John F. Kennedy

My obsession continues

as I decorated for Christmas.... I realize that my obsession of old Christmas ornaments has GROWN...
bells, stripes, and flocked
I just love the red one in the middle that says Merry Christmas Mother
I put some gold bells on the dinning room lamp
and the little ones in an old glittered sleigh
and all my aqua ones in the aqua room.

Look What I'm making

I am so excited about these cute little memo pads. I am making them for all the ladies in the office, they are a great-different-cool- thrifty gift ( I am trying to use the word Thrifty instead of cheap!) They are pretty easy too, just turn on a good movie (like Julie&Julia) one that you can just enjoy and not have to really think about... and just sit and cut and glue and CREATE.
I found out about them here
You start out with a dollar store picture frame. the stand up kind: You cut a cute piece of paper to fit it, then glue it on.
Then tie on ribbon, glue an embellishment of sorts ( I used some stickers but you could use anything, buttons, charms etc.)
and VIOLA, you have reallllllllllllly cute memo pads.
I've made 10, and I just can't stop making them... (had to get another Red Box movie The Accidental Husband) and I just keep getting ideas and make more and more!!!!!

Happy Birthday Derek and Devon

Today the twins turn 24Derek
Devon

Happy 24 years of fun and life.
ok they never read my blog, they don't even know I have one. Whatever, I do and I wish them Happy Birthday, lots of fun&frolic&friends....
We had a great night at Claim Jumper, yum yum


My handsome Mr. Produce, Big Daddy of them all! ( hmmm he's thinking, I can't believe my sons are THAT old!)

Christmas sTrEsS

so...... is it appropriate to StReSs out at Christmas, I mean everyone talks its the season to be jolly? How about all the expectations?? i mean... who are you to believe.. the ones that talk about being organized ( i AM organized) and the list makers ( I am a list maker). We are empty- nesters, no one at home but our spoiled old man dog but it seems that my stomach is still in knots about Christmas, and parties and decorating the house and getting ready for the church (RS) dinner and then figuring out how to buy (or make) everyone presents on a small budget.......

and then... wishing like I actually looked like the model in that picture,..... like my house wishes it looked like the models in the Christmas pictures.
sigh.
anyone else with me?

Wednesday Wisdom

The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within--strength, courage, dignity.

Ruby Dee

food fun Friday - Caramels

We are going to visit the twins for their birthday this weekend... so I have to make my traditional Caramels (after 3 years its a tradition right?)

CARAMELS
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
1 C light (clear) Karo Syrup
1/2 lb butter
1 can condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
-cook over slow heat, stirring constantly until it forms a stiff ball in water.
-remove from heat, stir in vanilla
-pour into buttered pan and cool

now here are the things I've learned.
-DO NOT double the recipe.
-you cook it over the stove for AT LEAST an hour, yep an hour!
here's Mr. Produce helping me stir:
It forms a darker caramel color as it bubbles:
it forms a ball of sorts in water when it is done:
I prefer the thermometer method. The books say it should reach between 238 and 248... although I only got mine to go to 230- and it still turned out ok.
pour it into a buttered pan and let sit all night.
You then cut it into smallish squares.
pop them out (the first one is always bad, so eat that one!)
wrap them up in squares of wax paper:
and there you have it a tasty new tradition

Wednesday Wisdom

Mr. Produce thinks I'm crazy when I talk about my blog friend Sue or my blog friend Karyn..... but i do feel a connection with all my blog friends. I follow several blogs are so enjoyable to read and glimpse a part of their lives that they feel comfortable enough to share.
Cathy, here, who is an amazing graphic artist make the above sentiment. She is first so talented and second very generous with sharing all sorts of art and crafts and even a fun and yummy birthday celebration ice cream cake. She announced her brothers unexpected death last week and I still can't help feeling so sad for her.

Blog friends are real friends. They share all sorts of stuff, good and bad, thoughtful and yummy and newsworthy.

I love my blog friends.

my obsession

I am obsessed with Old Glass Christmas ornamentsThis is one of the ways I use them. I have been collecting pictures of ornament wreaths for YEARS! I noticed up here that all the senior citizens are "downsizing" and getting rid of all their old ornaments. So happily I buy them.
I have quite a collection.
I pull the silver hang tags off of them and glue them to a greenery wreath.
I love the SHINNY ones.
then after they are all glued and no sparse areas or holes, I quickly "blow dry" them so all the hot glue hairs are melted.
I have recently begun to use the ornaments with flocked prints on them. They look cool too.


This one was made using a hanger, something I saw on a blog here at Eddie Ross. I LOVE THE PINK AND SILVER. actually I have about 6 boxes of silver and pink to use to make a REALLY LARGE heart wreath for Valentines day. I think I finally have enough pink to finally make it!
This is a Really Large wreath (about 40 inches round) That I am still working on. Hopefully I will be done in a couple of days and put it over the fireplace.