Managing to enjoy the Holidays

I understand that for many people having a lot of things to do around the holidays feels over whelming. It just shows me how totally different people can be! I love to be busy around the holidays, having lots of places to go to just means there are more family members i can visit, more beautiful meals to enjoy and sometimes pass out some Christmas gifts too and of course I love bringing goodies to all our parties too! But it seems for most people this is not their idea of a Merry Christmas, and I believe it is because going to all these dinners and such feels overwhelming to them as they are not as prepared as they would like to be. Which is why I start slowly preparing for the Holidays in October and in October it is all those same people who call me crazy that are stressed out around Christmas, my advice is start slowly, do your shopping in October, there might not be as great of sales but the shelves aren't picked over and the stores are not as packed too! I start wrapping gifts in November so therefore i even have time to do some wrapping for family too. I start my baking in November too and finish in December, it is all about being ahead of the game, I plan out in October what I want to bring to each house as a hostess gift, everything is very well planned ahead, and I always plan for last minute invites so that (hopefully) nothing catches me off guard! I think that when a over whelmed person gets invited to a dinner or function they are not excited to go cause they are focusing on what they have not yet accomplished, so this is my advice, at this point in the game the 22nd of December, if you have not yet accomplished something for Christmas such as Christmas cards, decorating, baking, let it go, if it was important you would have found a way, it's not important to you so simply let it go, so that when you are attending functions you can enjoy yourself, let it go! If someone hands you a Christmas card and you have none for them, explain that this year you. let that go, and perhaps you will try again next year! People (hopefully) aren't giving you a card to get one back, but because they simply wanted you to have one. If someone stops in at your house and notices it isn't decorated you can simply state, I never got around to it this year, thats okay, sometimes there is not enough time in the day! We decorate in November, we do everything in November so that when Christmas comes we are ready to enjoy it and for next year that is what I suggest to all of you, preparation makes for a wonderful Christmas season, cause now all our goodies are in the freezer to be put on trays for hostess gifts, our gifts are wrapped and under the tree, our cards where mailed weeks ago, everything is done, so when i think of my 10 family Christmas dinners, I think FUN! Everything is ready to go, it is just a matter of getting cleaned up and dressed. SO i have let you all off the hook on many things but here are a few thing I insist you manage to fit in to your Holidays, down time! Super important, with all the running around you will be doing you need to schedule some down time at home to sit around and be lazy and watch Christmas movies! The other thing is NEVER show up to an event empty handed whether that means you had to run to the store last minute and grab a bottle of wine or chocolates or whatever (it is best around this time of year to keep a couple extras around) any leftovers of wine or chocolates can be used during your down time! :) Give yourself a break let go of what you didn't get done, focus on what you did get done and enjoy this time of year, it is so special and it only comes once a year, let's not forget to take the time and enjoy all our family and friends you never know what the future may hold. Enjoy your Christmas, let go of what never got done and focus on spending time with family and friends!

Be Joyful!

Do things that make you Joyful! Or at least do things that make your life easier so that it is easier for you to be Joyful! All of my Christmas baking is done, I have made so many goodies I have enough to choke a horse LOL! We will soon be delivering them to deserving people all over this great community and beyond! Can't wait! Now it is time to focus on more fudge making! Today I will be making 12 batches of fudge lol, thats 30 pounds today alone lol! So now that my Gift wrapping is done and our goodies are baked it is time to do fudge and find time to relax too! One thing that will help all you women around this time of year is chocolate lol just kidding, well it will help too, but i was talking about cleaning out your purse, either it is filled with Christmas shopping receipts or it is about to be, the last thing we need is more weight on our shoulders, clean that junk out, and while most of you probably do this quarterly if not more many of you probably do not think to clean the outside of your purse, as I am sure you have all heard by now, that lovely bag of ours is crawling with germs! Yuck, clean it out, get some weight off your shoulders and lose some cold germs while your at it! I know plenty of you are sick right now, and this is just the worst time of the year to be sick, there is so much to enjoy, so take your cold and embrace it, it's not going anywhere anyway, so make hot chocolate, getting a warm blanket and curl up on the couch and watch Christmas movies, you feel to crappy to do anything else anyway! Turn it around, try your best for you and your kids/family to enjoy this Holiday Season, we all want to see our loved ones happy! you don't want to send Christmas cards? Don't, just be joyful, don't want to bake, Don't! Do what you want this Christmas, make it yours, do it your way, whatever way that may be! The one thing i think you should all do this season is spend time with family, it is so important! Even if you don't feel like going out, try to make an honest effort to see your family, if the big family Christmas is too much then make sure you make time to see them at another time. Family is Joy, you will find it there, there is nothing like family. Enjoy these days, they only come once a year :) Please everyone make this Holiday yours, do what ever you need to do to make this Christmas Joyful!

Christmas baking! (How to survive it!)

Today we are going to discuss Christmas baking, I love Christmas baking and I normally bake a lot anyway so for me it is not that huge of difference, but for most of you i realize that is not the case, but don't worry i have a little trick for all of you that will save you some back ache! Here is what I do, I start off with my stacks of recipes books and look through them to decided which items i want to make this year, I make a lot of Christmas baking every year, because every year we go to 10 different Christmases and every where we go I bring a plate of all kinds of Christmas goodies, a gift to our Hostess! Don't forget your Hostess or Host at every party you attend this year, no one should ever show up empty handed! So i make my list of all the recipes I want to make on the list i also note which recipe book this came from and the page number, cause you think you will remember but you might not and the idea here is to avoid stress, so write it down. Then take a look at your calendar, decide which days you have some time to spare and then on that day write down the recipe you plan to complete, here is an example of what i am making, December 8th was "Best ever chocolate chip cookies" Dec 9th "Short Bread" today December 10th "Reese's Peanut butter bars" etc etc, if you don't have much time on a certain day, choose something easy, or skip that day, if your day is looking empty choose and recipe that takes more time, of course some people prefer to do it all in one day, but by the end you are exhausted and not feeling very Joyful! And that also means that with only 2 weeks to go till Christmas you need to find a whole day to devote to baking, hard job. Take you time and bake daily, it breaks it up! I turn on the Christmas tunes and get to baking, try not to miss a day, it will be very hard to make it up, if something comes up and you absolutely couldn't find the time to get your recipe done, let it go, don't make that item, instead of trying to fit it in another day and over loading yourself. Here is a list of all the goodies I am making for Christmas, if you want any of the recipes just leave a comment or message me on face book! Of course FUDGE! LOL! Then Best Ever chocolate chip cookies (I am not bragging,that is their name lol) Short Bread (buttery yummy goodness), Reese's Peanut butter bars (So easy and so awesome), Bacon and Cheese Burger egg rolls (Not a sweet, but still a special Christmas treat) Rolo cookies (yummy chocolate cookies with a delicious rolo tucked inside), Amish caramels ( this is a new one for me, I hope they turn out, I don't have much luck with caramels), Pecan Tassies (which are basically mini pecan tarts ( another new one for me, the dough is a different type then i am used to so we shall see) Then the super easy yet delicious, Chocolate dipped pretzels! Hope you all enjoy your Christmas baking! And of course there are plenty of you who are simply to busy to bake Christmas goodies or your simply not bakers, there are still options for you, there are always local people selling all types of goodies at your local craft and bake sales, and if you look online a lot of people are selling Christmas goodie trays ready to roll, then there is the option of buying items at the store and simply adding your own personal touch. If you don't have time to bake, don't take it on, don't stress yourself out! You have enough going on and the idea is to enjoy this time of year, make that your priority!! Trust me a good family will love whatever you put in front of them as long as you are happy! So go on, make your lists, whether they be shopping lists or baking lists, make you list and get started we only have 14 days left! Happy Baking!!!

Yesterday we were lucky enough to get some nice company come visit, it was nice to see Stacy and Aiden, while Stacy was here she commented that it always feels warm and cozy here, and honestly, I don't think there could be a better compliment! Of course I made a smart comment like "of course it's warm in here it's wood heat, it's so hot i'm dying!" lol! Which was true it was really hot, but not what she was getting at and it got me thinking, it really doesn't take much to make your house to go from "non-warm & cozy" to "warm and cozy" here are a few things we do to try and keep our home feel welcoming! First of all those of you who have not yet decorated for Christmas, do it! I know right now it feels like a huge job and burden, but once you get started you can see all the beautiful things you have, and those ornaments remind you of special people, some who have passed and others who were just thoughtful enough to think of you, maybe some home made items from your kids or their kids, that kind of stuff warms your heart, so while it will be work to decorate the house, do it, the rewards for your heart and home are worth it! I always like to have something that smells nice in the air, whether that be a Oil burner or wax burner, or a yummy home made potpourri simmering on the stove, or something yummy baking in the oven, either way it is all good and adds to the coziness of your home! Next we almost always have a home made treat to offer our company, while this task would be very hard for you folks who work outside the home, you should offer your company something, anything is appreciated and of course a drink :) I am terrible to remember this one so I leave our goodies in a glass display on the counter so people can grab something themselves and usually my mom or Joe will remind me to offer a drink. Having some "tunes" on is always a plus, and at this time of year we have beautiful Christmas music to listen to, check out http://www.jango.com/profiles/50262626?l=0 it has free music with no commercials you can click on Christmas music and then the type of Christmas music you like, we only get to listen to this music once a year, so abuse it, and lastly find something to entertain your company, if it is a man, give him your husband to play with lol or at least his tool shed if your hubby isn't home! If your company has kids provide them with something to play with, anything, pencils and paper, tupperware, toys, tv, anything, it allows the parents to have a more relaxed visit, and of course your self and your wonderful witty conversation! Try not to be distracted, stay involved in the conversation, if you follow all these tips i would think all your company would leave feeling truly welcomed, on the other hand if you don't like company, do none of this, lock the door, make sure your guest waiting at the door sees that you are in house, but that you are not answering the door, this is a sure way to make them feel unwelcomed and hopefully they wont come back LOL! Hope you are all enjoying this blog and all the build up to Christmas!!

well it has been a busy and wild few days around here between the car trouble and our shopping trip, sorry i haven't had time to blog, but here it is now, Today I had some alone time and it was very deserved and very nice, I went and got my hair cut by the lovely Jody at Young look, I love when she cuts my hair and this time it really needed it, I am so happy to hair my hair back to normal, Dec 1st has started and it is now crunch time to get ready for the holidays and my hair is half way holiday ready lol, now i just need to get it colored, and my lovely mother has offered to take care of that for me, hopefully soon, then i went and got my toes done, they are beautiful and festive in OPI's "getting Miss Piggy with it!" lol! too cute, but they mustn't have been dry enough cause they smudged :( but the girls at the Spa said they will try and help me, I hope help comes my fast LOL! So my toes are halfway holiday ready lol! It is also time to start making my fudge, I have lots of orders and that is so wonderful, so every night this week I will be tackling different flavor, tonight is Orange, these are all going to be so awesome! Every year around the holidays we chose different places to donate to, usually some where over seas and then a couple local food banks. This year we have decided to perform random acts of kindness locally, around Laurier and Ste Rose and we are so excited, maybe you will be one of our random acts, please research this on Google or Pinterest and give it a thought this Holiday season, our goal is to simply put a smile on some ones face, we are preparing for the big day, and I can't wait for the day to come! I Love Christmas!! Our cards are almost all sent out except for a few more to hand deliver and one left to get the address for! Tomorrow I will be backing 11 batches of fudge! LOL Yummy! Well I hoe you are all enjoying the build up to Christmas it is just as big a part for the season as the day itself! And to those of you who are feeling bummed out because Christmas has become all "commercialized" remember, no one can take "Your Christmas" from you, it is what you allow it to be, cut back on your gifts to each other and use the cash to help other, who ever you like, weather it be your neighbor, someone disabled, or your mail man, you Holidays are what you make of them! So turn on some classic Christmas tunes and enjoy the season! Have a great night!

Well Friday was an insanely busy day around here, we sold 180 movies and made some black friday shopping money lol! Started my day Black Friday shopping, what a rush! Running around trying to get all the deals, I was pretty happy i got most everything i wanted, but some things had already sold out by 9am! Bummer! Oh well you win some you lose some! But let me share with you the deals i did manage to get! First off, we wanted to get Netflix so we got a blu ray dvd player with wifi from the source, regular 140 on for 69.99$ oh yeah i was pumped lol! Then we got part of Kenzie Christmas gift, a v tech v reader (it's basically a ereader for kids, it reads the book to them shows videos and games, it's awesome and educational), I am so excited for her to open it! it was regular 90$ on for 30$ :D then i got her an extra "book" (cartridge) for it regular 25$ on for 5$, I rocked black friday lol! I had fun too, left Kenzie home with her Daddy and I shopped to my hearts content lol! turns out just this week Joe scratched my lagostina frying pan and the non stick started to peel, so i chucked that out and got me a new pan :) reg 50$ on for 18$ and got more lunch containers reg 20$ on for 10$, awesome possum! Then i went on to deliver movies and movies and movies lol, turned out i needed an HDMI cable for the blu ray dvd player, so on Saturday we (my mom and I) headed back, we got most of mom's Christmas shopping done, another good thing done! The mall was crazy friday and saturday! We finished shopping grabbed some supper and quickly came home and unloaded the car cause we had a mustangs game to get to!! And we won 8-0! Oh yeah! Today we are enjoying our new Netflix, 1000's of tv shows and movies to watch for 7.99$ a month, it just cant get better than this! Loving it! So today is Netflix day in this house lol!! Tomorrow we head to Brandon for a Kenzie and Joe Birthday combo brunch at GG's then off to Joe's last Physio apt!! YAY! So proud of you Joe! Then quickly head home to get ready for the next Mustangs game! Lovin winter!

Food!

Today post is all about food,...well perhaps other things will sneak in there too! lol! Today I am making my first ever attempt at making Chinese food from scratch at home, we shall see how this turns out, hopefully yummy! My whole life i hated Chinese food, if my family ordered it i would get a burger or toast, anything but Chinese food, but when i was pregnant i developed a taste for it and now i love it! SO tonight i am making baked sweet and sour chicken and fried rice! Sounds good, my mom is coming for dinner so i will have a taste tester as Joe will be at work, I am making my rice right now as I was told older rice is better for fried rice. This morning for lunch I made yummy "Soucy" eggs Benedict, my Dad never did come up for a name for this breakfast dish, so that is what we have always called it, you start with home made bread toasted top it with butter or cheese, then raw onions on top of that you add your fried egg and then top with home made canned tomatoes, trust me it is to die for! Plus it looks beautiful on a plate so it is a great breaky for company! This afternoon I will be making sunset gourmets brownies, i will let you know how they turn out! Here is the recipe for the Chinese Chicken: Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken The chicken coating: 3-4 boneless chicken breasts salt + pepper 1 cup cornstarch 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup canola oil The sweet and sour sauce: 3/4 cup sugar 4 tbs ketchup 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar 1 tbs soy sauce 1 tsp garlic salt Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs. Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes. Below is the greatness you will get when it's all cooked:

and here is the fried rice recipe: Fried Rice 3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best!) 3 tbs sesame oil 1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed) 1 small onion, chopped 2 tsp minced garlic 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1/4 cup soy sauce On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated! **You could really play around with this rice too! Try adding some diced ham, or green onion :) Yum!

I never got a chance yet today to make Kenzie's craft but i think instead we will have some mommy daughter time after supper tonight, just me her and ELF and of course popcorn lol! I'm not a fan of popcorn but she sure is! I love to give her treats once in a while, she sure appreciates them and lastly here comes my non food portion of this post, I made some center pieces for my house today and they turned out beautiful, i love them, special thanks to my hubby for going out and getting me some beautifully green spruce branches! And here is how they turned out :)

when the center pieces where done i made some potpourri to make the house smell homey and delicious, here is what i used for the potpourri, an orange, a few sprigs of spruce tree, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, it smells like Christmas in here and also a little like candy lol! Hope you all have a great day! credit for the chicken and rice recipes goes to pinterest