Holiday Indulgence

Well, we are into that time of the year where over-eating is a must!  I must confess I am going to have a tough time staying on my weight goal this month!!  I should have gone ahead yesterday and weighed in and gotten it over with!!  Today was my Newcomer's Coffee where we each brought a dish to share.   With about 100 people present, you can just imagine all the food!  Luckily, I was at the last table to be called, so a lot of it was gone.  Not to fear though, I just got more at the dessert table instead!!  I was almost sick when I left!!  But .... it was soooo delicious!

Tomorrow is my stamp club get-together.  There's only 5-6 or us in this group so I shouldn't over-indulge on this one.  I am taking my 5-Cup Salad.  I always have this salad at Thanksgiving and Christmas but didn't make it this year for Thanksgiving.  It's so easy - I got the recipe when I first got married from my next door neighbors who were also Ashley's god-parents.  You mix together:

• 1 can pineapple
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can mandarin oranges
• 1 cup marshmallows
• 1 cup coconut

Yum!!

We are making calendars at stamp club.  We each took 2 months to decorate and we will be putting them all together tomorrow.  My months were January and August.  

I embossed the trees (from SU's Lovely As a Tree) with Holographic embossing powder (retired).  "Brr" is cut out with my Cuttlebug Alphabet.  The "ready, set, snow" saying is from SU's Best Wishes & More.

This one was fun!  The Sock Monkey with the inner-tube is from Life's A Breeze as is the flip flops in the sand!  The dolphin, fish and waves are from a Nestabilities I recently got.  I wheeled the sand and colored the shells with my Copics.  Everything is raised up with dimensional tape.

Can't wait to see the other pages of the calendar tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Splitcoast Challenge Share

Here is a card that I did last week when my sister and her friend were over and we were doing marathon projects!  I found this challenge on Splitcoast called Decorative Circle Medallion.  I used a retired SU punch and the Nestabilities for the circles.  I used a Sizzix snowflake die for the snowflake with a brad in the center.  The paper is from a paper pack that I bought at Stamper's Alley. 

I was hoping to share the Christmas Planners that we made also but Marianne & Sharon both took theirs home to finish them.  So, I don't get to see the finished projects!!  Marianne used a Snowman theme with hers and spent most of the day either dry embossing snowmen or using the heat gun & embossing powder to make her snowmen shiny.  She now wants a "gun" .... a heat gun, that is!!  She's already bought back her Christmas present from our Mom.  I had gotten a Cuttlebug a few months ago for Mom to give to her for Christmas.  Of course, Marianne knew it because she had told me that was what she wanted.  She used mine so much last week that she told Mom to bring the Cuttlebug over on Thanksgiving & she'd pay her for it so she could use it NOW!!! 

The SU Bundle 3-Day Sale has been a big hit!! Unfortunately, several of the bundles are already sold out. They were only a limited amount available - SU mentioned putting about 10,000 of the Curly Label aside and they are SOLD OUT. Also sold out is the All In The Family, Star Struck and the Mission Embossable bundle. You can still order these items individually but just not at the bundle savings. When you click on the items (see link below), it will show whether it is still available or not.

Check HERE for pictures of the bundle items still available.

Rub-Ons are on sale HERE.

You can get the Country Living bundle HERE

Thankgiving foods .... start walking and a pie recipe

Below are listed some traditional Thanksgiving food Points. They sure add up fast.  I don't even want to tell you what mine were!!  Look out "Y" - I'll be there next week!!!

• Green bean casserole (¾ cup) *4
• Candied sweet potatoes (1 cup) *8
• Garlic mashed potatoes (¾ cup) *6
• Mashed sweet potatoes, canned (½ cup) *2
• Cranberry sauce, canned (1/3 cup) *3
• Bread stuffing (1 cup) *8
• Pumpkin pie (1 slice) *9
• Apple pie, 1 slice (store-bought) *7
• Pecan pie, 1 slice (store-bought) *10
• White meat turkey, 4 oz, no skin *4
• Turkey leg, 4 oz, with skin *4
• Wine, 2 fl oz *1
• Vodka, 2 fl oz *3

Here's a Thanksgiving calculator to see how far you need to walk next week!!  For example ....

1 piece pecan pie (1/8 of 9-in pie)   -   480 calories

1 piece pumpkin pie (1/8 of 9-in pie)   -  180 calories

A slice of pecan pie, A slice of pumpkin pie, ...that comes to 660 calories. You will need to walk 6.6 miles, 10.64 kilometers, or 13200 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.

While we're talking about pies, I tried a new pie recipe Thanksgiving and it was really good!  It was in the Charlotte Observer & called a Twofer Pie because it was a combination pumpkin and pecan pie.  It's definitely NOT a Weight Watcher's recipe!!

If you want to try it, here's the recipe:

• 1 (9") single pie crust, partially baked & cooled
• Pumpkin filling:
• 1 C canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 2/3 c heavy cream
• 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp dark rum (or flavoring)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Pecan filling:
• 1/2 c corn syrup
• 1/4 c packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted & cooled (I just used marg.)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 C pecan halves or pieces

Position oven rack in center of oven & preheat to 450.  Put pie plate w/crust on a baking sheet lined w/parchment paper or silicon baking mat.

Combine all pumpkin filling ingredients in food processor & process, stopping to scrape down sides as needed, for 2 minutes.  Leave filling in processor for a minute.

Place all pecan filling ingredients - except pecans - in mixing bowl & whisk until smooth.

Give pumpkin filling a final pulse in food processor; then rap the bowl on counter a few times to release air bubbles.  Pour into the crust.  Spread nuts evenly over the pumpkin layer.  Pour the pecan filling over the top, pushing any nuts that float back down.

Bake 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temp. to 300 & bake 350-40 minutes longer, until top is puffy & a think knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

Thanksgiving is just a memory

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am still stuffed!!  We had a very nice Thanksgiving at my home yesterday.  My sister spent the night with us on Wednesday so she & I got a head start on our cooking when we woke up.  We had done most of the work beforehand so just had to make a couple of salads, pies and casseroles and figure out the timing of cooking it all!  This is the only time of the year I wish I had a double stove!!  We cooked the turkey on high heat and it only took a little over 3 hours .... the only drawback is every time the oven was opened, it got smokey in the house!  We had the doors open and a fan in the window.  Luckily, it was in the 60's and a beautiful day.  Our friends and relatives started arriving about noon and we munched on hors-doerves cheese and crackers - while waiting for dinner.  The guys went outside and played a little football.  After dinner, we sat around the table and played "Table Talk", a tradition I started last year.  It's a game of thought provoking questions.  I put 3 under each person's plate and they can pick one of them to answer or answer them all if they so choose.  The questions are like "What event in the past, present or future would you like to witness?"  What is your favorite childhood memory?"  It's a great way to get to know someone and sometimes you find out more than you wanted to know!!

Here's a pictorial tour of Thanksgiving at my house!

Our table setting .... BEFORE all the food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't this centerpiece gorgeous?!!  Our friends, Sharon & Bob always order the centerpiece for the table since Sharon doesn't cook!!

Marianne's oldest son, Derek, catching the football!

Harrison going for the ball .... if he doesn't lose his pants first!!

This beer's for ..... Marianne!!  Go Steelers!! 

My daughter, Ashley and her friend, Drew who joined us.

My sister & my husband.

Girlfriends!

 

Both my sisters on clean-up detail!!

After dinner snooze!!  My daughter's friend Drew and my mom.

Some Interesting Thanksgiving Trivia!

Three towns in the U.S. take their name from the traditional Thanksgiving bird, including Turkey, Texas (pop. 465); Turkey Creek, Louisiana (pop. 363); and Turkey, North Carolina (pop. 270).

Originally known as Macy's Christmas Parade—to signify the launch of the Christmas shopping season—the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy's employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. Today, some 3 million people attend the annual parade and another 44 million watch it on television.
Tony Sarg, a children's book illustrator and puppeteer, designed the first giant hot air balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927. He later created the elaborate mechanically animated window displays that grace the façade of the New York store from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade more times than any other character in history. As the Flying Ace, Snoopy made his sixth appearance in the 2006 parade.

The first time the Detroit Lions played football on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when they hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit stadium, in front of 26,000 fans. The NBC radio network broadcast the game on 94 stations across the country--the first national Thanksgiving football broadcast. Since that time, the Lions have played a game every Thanksgiving (except between 1939 and 1944); in 1956, fans watched the game on television for the first time.

Though many competing claims exist, the most familiar story of the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, in 1621. More than 200 years later, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941.

Sarah Josepha Hale, the enormously influential magazine editor and author who waged a tireless campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the mid-19th century, was also the author of the classic nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state in America, with a planned production total of 49 million in 2008. Just six states—Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and Indiana—will probably produce two-thirds of the estimated 271 million birds that will be raised in the U.S. this year.

The cranberry is one of only three fruits—the others are the blueberry and the Concord grape—that are entirely native to North American soil, according to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked on October 8, 2005 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice and 250 pounds of crust.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you plan to spend it. I hope that you are with friends and family who appreciate you.

I will have a full house tomorrow and just hope my turkey is thawed in the a.m.!! I spent today making my potatoes, apple pie, green bean casserole (2 different kinds!) and tomorrow will work on the cranberry salad and pumpkin/pecan pie. I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Stuffing the Turkey

Before you stuff your turkey ....... read this!

The Turkey Shot out of the Oven
by Jack Prelutsky

The turkey shot out of the oven
and rocketed into the air,
it knocked every plate off the table
and partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner
and burst with deafening boom,
then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows,
it totally coated the floor,
there was turkey attached to the ceiling,
where there'd never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance,
it smeared every saucer and bowl,
there wasn't a way I could stop it,
that turkey was out of control.

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,
and thought with chagrin as I mopped,
that I'd never again stuff a turkey
with popcorn that hadn't been popped.

Holiday Extravaganza Sale

Stampin' Up has tons of bundles on sale. Click HERE to see the flyer. Start making your list as these bundles are only available while supplies last. Check it out & give me a call or e-mail me with your wish lists. This sale starts Nov. 26 and will end Dec. 1 so there's not much time to take advantage of these great prices!

Crafty Monday

My sister and her girlfriend came over this morning and we played in my stamp room ALL DAY!!  So much fun!!  To begin with, we each picked out a Color Challenge from Splitcoast and a Sketch Challenge.  I gave them my notebook full of stamp sets & let them pick any one they wanted and we sat down and each made a card!!  They turned out great and they learned they don't need my guidance every step of the way and they could do it on their own!  Here are our cards -

 

This is Sharon's card (Girlfriend!).  She is sending this to a friend who is her final fight with cancer.  Very simple but pretty, don't you think? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my sister's card.  She used a stamp set from Great Impressions.  (She loves snowmen cards!!

This last card is mine.  The stampset is actually one Marianne brought over that I thought was soooo cute!!  And the "Happy Holidays" is a retired SU set that I bought at a sale this summer.

After doing our challenges, they made several Christmas cards from my Tuesday night class.  When I put away all my supplies from my class this week, I kept out 2 sets of each card kit just for this purpose.  So, they were able to work on the cards while I finished up some calendars I am trying to get done by Thursday!!   My sister also went through some of my card samples and found a snowman one (done by Wanda!) and made about 5 cards like it.   It's so cute and easy to do.  We used my Nesties for the Snowman circles and Dazzling Diamonds embossing powder for the sparkle.

 

I snapped this picture while they were working.  They didn't even know I was taking it - not real flattering but you can tell they are hard at work!  I kept trying to clean up their table for them and put things away but they liked cluttered like that .... would have driven me nuts!  Also, notice the quilts in their chairs!  I like to keep my house a lot cooler than most people and they usually freeze & complain!!  I just tell them to put their woolies on and come prepared!!  I actually turned the heat up today for them and I had on short sleeves!!

 

Tomorrow they will be back and we will be working on Christmas Organizers.  I'll post the finished product. 

Sharon

Whew am I tired! Marianne, "Girlfriend" (her friend, Sharon) & I spent ALL day at the Southern Living Christmas Show today. It is a tradition with Marianne to attend the Christmas show every year. She used to take our Mom, but she is just not able for us to drag her around that place. She wants to stop in every booth and "touch & feel"!! We arrived at the Merchandise Mart at 10 a.m. and left around 5!! Boy, do my feet hurt - that darned old plantar fascitis is acting up again and that concrete floor did not help it! But, I got a few items toward Christmas - a few things for Ashley and my grandkids. I got Jayce a book that will be written with his name in the book - all about animals. Can't wait to see it - they were out of it at the show and will mail it to me.

Speaking of Jayce, Darcie had the funniest story on her blog this week. It seems whenever Jeff goes out of town, something seems to happen to her. They live in Tucson so it usually has something to do with the animals in their area. This time, she was jogging with Jayce in his jogger stroller & he spotted a snake. Turns out, it was a baby rattler ... fortunately, a dead one. But, Darcie thought if theirs a baby, there's probably a mama around somewhere close. Later in the day, she was returning from taking Cassidy to school on one of the desert backroads she has to take & a "cat-like" creature crossed in front of her car. She stopped and saw it staring back at her in the woods (or I guess there it's the cactus!). She thought it might be a bobcat. When she got home, she googled it and it didn't look like a bobcat, so she googled another animal, and guess what it was!! A baby Mountain Lion!!! Seems she's always telling Jeff she's afraid to jog in the morning alone in case a mountain lion gets her and he laughs at her and tells her they don't have mountain lions in their neighborhood, but she better watch out because the sky might fall on her. Guess who's having the last laugh this weekend????

Tomorrow, I need to finish up the Calendars I'm making for the gals for Thanksgiving - 3 down & 5 to go!! And next week, Marianne & Sharon will be coming over for Cardmaking 101 so I have to come up with a few projects for them. PLUS .... get working on my Thanksgiving placecards & napking rings, PLUS my menu & grocery shopping.

Have a wonderful weekend!