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On with the Holidays....

November 26, 2011 in HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS, RAMBLE & RANT

This year has sped by, but days are getting to be more of a blur! Any minute now it will Christmas.

I wish I would have foreseen all the Leappads being sold out! I could have gotten a purple on last month, and thought..."no...I like the green one". Damn it! Now there's nothing...nowhere! They're even sold out in the UK, and Canada. They're available on Amazon & ebay for $200, and quickly rising. That's crazy! Reminds me of Cabbage Patch Kids, when they first came out, were sold out, and selling in classifieds for $500.

If they're not gonna be restocked before Christmas, suppose I'll get him the Leapfrog Tag Junior system, and wait till his birthday in February, for the Leappad. That'll work. Not going to lose too much sleep over it. Losing enough over train sets! Plan on getting him a train set up with table, and there's the all in one deal at Walmart, for $125. I mentioned this idea, but guess it was ignored, bcuz his Aunt Beth bought him a Thomas the Train set. Are all train sets compatible? I think not. I've worn myself out on research. Brio, Thomas, Chuggington, KidKraft? Imaginarium? Center magnets, side-magnets, motorized, not....clearance for underpasses, etc. Agghhhck. I don't want 2 or 3 sets that don't work together, so buying one, large, inclusive set seemed like the best route to go. Doesn't look like it's going in that direction. So, my thoughts were to make a table myself. Instead I've recruited Pappau to make it.....that can be his gift to James, and I'll paint it. Figure out what the hell Beth bought him.........TrackMaster? And get compatible stuff to work with it. That'll be fun.

Went in with Beth on a motorized Jeep 4x4 (6 volt) car for James. It was a $99 special...Walmart, Pre-Black Friday. That was insanity!! Got to Walmart at about 7pm. First Black Friday I'd ever engaged in, and......maybe my last. I'd rather pay full price for towels, cookware, a vacuum...then sit by a display for 3 hours to get it half price. Didn't bother with electronics. Beth did stand in line for a Wii. Luckily those went on sale at 10pm, rather then 12pm (for electronics). James was snacking on candy and chips (my bad)....and got hot and bothered after the first hour. All in all we were there for 4 hours. Finally got him to bed at midnight, which isn't such a big deal seeing as his schedule the last couple weeks has been all outta whack. He's refusing to nap, then crashing around 5pm...getting up at around 9, and staying up till midnight. I'm finding it really hard to stay on top of work bcuz of it, and when he is up...he wants my full, undivided attention, which is new.

Beth got a tree yesterday, and James is all excited about it. "Okay................we bring a tree inside the house, and hang TOYS all over it! :D And...light it up, so we can play with the toys day, or night!" He seems most intrigued by the xmas tree stand full of water. I'm amazed at how many ornaments and candy canes can be stowed away in the water well of a Christmas tree stand. A lot! Which is where I found all of them last night, after I finally got him to sleep. :P

Beth bought the LED lights this year....both colored and white. I prefer colored lights, which was only reconfirmed when I plugged in the white ones last night. Yuk! Too bright, and spooky looking. LOL. James and I were in the midst of decorating the tree, when I decided to stop for the night, and wait to exchange the white for more colored. Woke up this morning, and the tree was all decorated................which sucks!!! Beth got off work last night, with a holiday bee in her bonnet, and decorated without us. Sorta pisses me off, bcuz it's the weekend, and she could have waited to have it a family affair. But, she didn't. Thinking I'll have to dismantle the whole thing now, and redo it with James (who missed out). Seems sorta anal, but now it's got those icky white lights mixed in and I don't like it. Okay...yes, it is anal. But......so what?!?

Will try not to be too much a bitch about it, when Beth wakes up. I know in her family...her mom is a pretty control-freakish...and most likely did the tree herself. The "right" way. That the whole thing was more of a 'decorative' project, that children & family should enjoy, but not touch or partake in. In my family it's a family gig....despite my mom being control-freakish too! GOD FORBID if it wasn't done right!!! What the hell is that about?!?!?!?! Mom's need to take a step back and relax! Good idea for a post maybe??

Anyhoo.........plan on heading out to IKEA later today to get a few things. They have a nice bed-frame that's only $50, and................we need one! I rearranged our room last night, and noticed the floor was wet under our bed. James and I co-sleep, and out mattress is two layers of memory foam on the floor. The bottom one is wet, I think from condensation. Can't think of what else it would be. So...need something to get it off the floor. Plus, will create some extra storage space, which is always needed. They also have some GREAT deals on toys! Most half price. And....they have wooden train set components. :P But..............still have to figure out if they'll work with what Beth bought? I'm doubting they will, as hers is plastic. Oh bother.

What's going on with everyone else in all this holiday hoopla???

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Thanksgiving Menu...

November 24, 2011 in HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS



I'm responsible for the entire dinner this year. Managed to get all the grocery shopping done yesterday, and prep almost everything. Made the pies, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Rubbed down the turkey with herbs & spices, and have it air-drying in the fridge...ready to go. Hopefully that helps expedite it all. The challenge will be keeping the house clean most of the day, and managing to get some graphic work done, and have dinner on the table by 3 or 4ish. We shall see. Got up this morning at 4am. It's 6 now...James is up, and...................I'm ready to go back to bed!!! Arrg.

What's everyone else making? Any good recipes? Would love to hear how it's all turning out. :)

 

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...the cake...

March 7, 2011 in ALL ABOUT JAMES, HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS, OUTSIDER VIDEO

It's all a little fuzzy now, but made some modeling chocolate (white) way ahead of time. Was super easy using 16oz white chocolate block and 7 Tbs. light corn syrup. Preheated the oven to (I think) 225, then turned it off, and placed the entire block (and cardboard tray) in the oven to sit & warm. Put James to bed, and when I got it up it was perfectly melted! Typically I mess up with too much heat...doesn't matter if it's the microwave or stove top...it seizes up and turns into a big, grainy, unusable wad. I mixed in the syrup, placed it in the fridge, and took this as a good sign. That was at the beginning of the week. The next day I began sculpting Sponge Bob characters. Wasn't too hard. Reminded me exactly of Fimo, or Scuply...can only work with it for short periods, bcuz it warms up too much and starts to distort when sculpting other features. The next day, I bumped the tray...and all the pieces shattered on the floor. Fixed them, and that evening James got a hold of the tray, and did the same thing!

Finally got them altogether and finished on Friday night. Had just put James to bed, and was excited to sit down and paint them all. Made myself some coffee, got out all my gel food-colors, and brushes, and....................total disaster! The color just rolled around on the surface. I'm an artist, so...when I say I tried everything...I did. I tried thinning the color with gin, and oil, dry brushing, etc. Nothing worked. They looked terrible. Was just too much fat in the chocolate for anything to stick. I guess powdered food color is what's needed, but I didn't have any. Holding back much disipointment...I decided to scrap the sculpted characters, and re-think the entire cake. I still had the fondant.

My dad and step-mom arrived the same evening, so luckily I was distracted. I started the cake Saturday morning....remembering all I had was white, self-rising flour, and A.P. whole wheat. I went with the organic, whole wheat, and a lemon flavored cake, with lemon curd filling. The cakes didn't cook all the way through (first attempt), and after trying to rebake them, etc. I scrapped it, and started from scratch with the self-rising. Second attempt was fine, just left out the baking powder, and soda. I made sure the cakes were completely cool first. I always rush, and then the frosting starts to slide off! I decided not to use the fondant. My dad thought it was gross.  :Sad: And...I really didn't see the point. I have some piping tips and just thought I'd do a more traditional cake/decoration. I guess the frosting was too stiff, and it tore up the cake some while doing the main frosting. My dad rescued me, bcuz I was almost in tears. LoL. I thinned out the frosting just a smidge for the decorative icing, but then it was too thin, and wouldn't hold shape! By then the cake was a mess!!!! It was past the point of frustration...now it was just silly-ridiculous! Might as well made it with two left hands, and I'm right-handed! James himself probably would have done a better job!

All in all it looked terrible. The cake tasted pretty good, the filling was too sour, but the frosting was nice and buttery, and not too sweet. Edible, and James liked it, so I have a year to practice!!! Patience, lots of love, and a sense of humor got us through this birthday laughing. Except for this one small incident with the birthday candle!

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Birthday Update...The Cookies

March 1, 2011 in ALL ABOUT JAMES, HANDMADE, HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS, YUMMY RECIPES

LOL.........well, I guess I already knew that the whole birthday thing wasn't going to go off without a hitch. Everything turned out GREAT, thankfully. Was just personal expectations I set too high for myself. If I had built-in camera in my house...the entire thing would have been worth taping & sharing, but elbow high in cookie dough, cake batter, and frosting...had little chance to use the camera. Unfortunately...no fiasco pictures! And, where my skills are concerned...that's honestly what it was...a fiasco!

I did make some amazing tasting cookies though! I used organic, whole wheat flour, and they turned out super-tasty, with that nice, heirloom look. I'll include the recipe at the bottom of this post. The icing I messed up on a little. Tried a quick recipe I got online, and should have known better. Was just powdered sugar and corn syrup....took forever to dry. They got a crust on them, but weren't set enough...and a minute after handing the cookie basket over to James....they were pretty much all destroyed. Still tasted good though! Always use the old fashion Royal Icing recipe with egg white, or meringue powder!!! Did I mention I was making a Cookie Basket for James?

Grampa & Auntie M came for the weekend, so on Thursday, as a quiet party....James opened his gifts from me, and I made him a Handy Manny cookie basket. Thought I could pull that off fairly easy, but he was up a lot that night, and all said....I was up till 4am. Making the cookies was pretty easy, even though I had to sketch out all the characters on paper, and cut out the cookies by hand. It's the icing that was a drag....so many colors for all those tools. Not worth making individual pots of colors, since each just needed a tiny amount here & there...I ended up pouring the un-colored icing onto a plate, then using it like an artists palette. Dabbing little dots of color, and using a toothpick.

handy manny iced cookies

handy manny cookies pat the hammer cookie

I rolled out the dough pretty thick to make sure they could withstand James' interest. They turned out nice & hard...like teething biscuits, which is good for him. Still tasted great though, which....is also good.

ROLL OUT COOKIE DOUGH RECIPE

Ingredients:

Makes: About 3 dozen cookies.

instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. In mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Do not chill dough. Divide dough into 2 balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 in. wide and 1/8 in. thick. Dip cookie cutter in flour before each use. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

Recipe may be doubled.

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I'll have to make a few more posts about the weekend/birthday. Have to try and clean up some, before baby wakes up. :Weary:

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Tried & True: The Paper Snowflake!

December 21, 2010 in CRAFTY CHRISTMAS CRUNCH, CRAFTY STUFF, FRUGAL, HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

One of the first Christmas crafts we get to experience in life is the simple yet fascinating....paper snowflake! Okay....maybe the awe has worn off (just a little) but.................it's time to get out the printer paper, the (good) scissors.....kick back with a hot mug of cocoa, and brush off that inner-child!

No tutorial here....just light-hearted trial & error. :) Go ahead...have fun! Here's some inspiration!

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Felt Holly Corsage

December 20, 2010 in CRAFTY CHRISTMAS CRUNCH, CRAFTY STUFF, HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS, TUTORIALS


Introduction

For a playful nod to the traditional Christmas pin, try these cheerful corsages. They're easy enough for a child to make but sophisticated enough for her mom to wear. Once you gather your supplies, it's a snap to make multiple corsages in a single afternoon. We used an assortment of trimmings: tiny glass ornaments, pom-poms, snipped pieces of tinsel, and velvet and silk ribbons to embellish ours, but you could also use buttons, beads, special fabric you've been saving, or antique milliner flowers found at a flea market.

Step 1

Print the template, and cut out. From a piece of felt, cut one 2 1/2-by-5-inch rectangle for each pair of leaves. Fold rectangle in half lengthwise.

Step 2Crease with an iron set to "wool." With the rectangle still folded, trace the template and cut out the shape using scissors. Unfold. To make the 4-leaf design, cross 2 felt shapes; using a low-temperature glue gun, attach at the center. For the 2-leaf version, dab glue at the center of 1 felt shape, and fold, angling the leaves.

Step 3Glue desired trimmings to the front and a bar pin or a barrette to the back.

Step 4To prepare as a gift: Cut a 4-by-5-inch piece of card stock. Punch 2 small holes, about 1 inch apart, into the center of the card.Attach the pin or barrette. Using a rubber stamp and a white ink pad, stamp a "tag." Write the recipient's name and a greeting.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Felt Holly Corsage - Martha Stewart Crafts

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