Happy Birthday Kennedy

Well, I've finally got some cards to share with you. I needed to do a birthday card for one of my granddaughter's, so I decided to check out the weekly Sketch Challenge on Splitcoast. It was a pretty good one so I made my card accordingly. It is always so much easier when I have a starting place - sketch, colors, etc.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card: I used the dinosaur from My Favorite Things clear stamp set and the balloons are from Crazy for Cupcakes. The green and pink striped paper is actually digital paper!!

Now I just have to buy a gift card to put in it & get it in the mail.

Recipe Box

I want to share one of my Christmas gifts with you!  My sister, Marianne, made this recipe holder for me.  She did a super job.  You know, she is the one who told me, when I moved here, that she was not going to get into doing cards and stuff that I did - she is a quilter and was going to continue with that.  (Think she's made one quilt since I've been here!!!)  When we went to CK Convention in August, she signed up for Quick Quotes Club Q - a monthly kit club. This recipe box is one of the monthly kits that she got.

These are the dividers -

These are little bookmarks that I would think you could use for placeholders or even attach them to the recipe cards.

These are the only 3 recipes she included in the box but they each tell a story!!  We LOVE my grandmother's vegetable soup.  I make at least 2-3 huge batches every year and eat on it all winter.  (I'm the only one in my house who will eat it - Sonny doesn't like veggies!)

The Vinegar Pie is another one of our grandmother's recipes.  Not many people have heard of vinegar pie and we usually get strange looks.  But, it is really good and easy to make - tastes kind of like a chess pie.

The Chicken Spaghetti recipe is mine from an old Beta Sigma Phi recipe book.  Marianne came to visit me in Texas when Derek (her oldest son who is now in college) was only 3 or 4 years old.  He was is a pretty picky eater - only eats chicken (to this day!).  I made the Chicken Spaghetti and she told me he wouldn't eat it.  Well .... he just about cleaned the casserole dish!!  Now, it is a favorite of both of us!

Now, I just have to come up with more special recipe to put in the box!!

Twas the month after Christmas .... and I ate too much

'Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt.
I said to myself, as I only can"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"

So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore,
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

The world's best back scratcher

My mom is, hands-down, the best back scratcher ever!!!  Marianne & I love to have her scratch our backs.  She has always scratched our backs and our kids backs.  Whenever Mom would come visit me when I lived in Texas, my kids would get on either side of her and pull their shirts up so she could scratch their backs.  They still do!!!  When she worked for a major construction company in Charlotte - many years ago - one of the women executives would call her in her office and lock the door & pull up her blouse for Mom to scratch her back!!   Marianne is always backing up to Mom for her to scratch her back so I don't get as much back scratching!!  (don't understand, I am the favorite after all!!!)

Here's a picture of Mom scratching Marianne's back at our family Christmas dinner Saturday!!

Christmas with the family

Saturday night we had our family Christmas.  My brother came over with his two kids, my sister and her family and my mom and my other sister joined Ashley, Sonny and myself for a great meal where we all ate too much!  After dinner, we exchanged presents and visited.  My brother brought their Wii and I kicked their butts in bowling!  My sister, Angela, challenged my Mom to a game and she pretty much kicked Mom's butt too!  Then we had to try the boxing - we pretty much got KO'd pretty quick on that one.  The Wii is really fun!!

I went to Weight Watchers today (haven't been in a month!).  I was all prepared to pay since I didn't think I had stayed within the 2 pounds that you have to do from your goal weight when you reach Lifetime, but I was ok - just barely!!  Let's just say, I couldn't have put on another ounce!!!   Now to lose those 2 pounds!!  Maybe if I threw away some of the cheese balls, sugar cookies, pizzelles, Moravian cookies, etc. that I have downstairs!!

Here's me and Ashley.

Marianne's 2 sons and Kelly (Derek's girlfriend).  Think Derek is napping!

My brother's daughter, Lexie.

My brother, Lee and my hubbie.

Marianne & Ashley.

Hand Crafted Christmas Cards

Here are a few of the Christmas cards I received this week.

This is from Jackie Parkins (she works part time at Stampers Alley).  I love this label - think it's a Nestability .... I WANT IT!!

This is from my English friend, Margaret who lives in Texas.  I just love the poinsetta!!  Great job, Margaret even if I did have to pay the additional postage on it!!!

This is from my upline, Carol Bartle.  She lives in Tacoma, Washington.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Scrabble

Word Game Inventor Was a Bad Speller
Odd as it may seem, the man who created Scrabble, Alfred Butts, was himself a bad speller. His wife, Nina, helped him with the spelling part as he was conceiving his word game.

Alfred fooled around with the creation of Scrabble for years. He started working on it at his home in Newton, Connecticut, in 1931. He painted wooden tiles, each with a letter of the alphabet, then kept trying to figure out the best point value for each letter based on frequency of use.

He went through several name changes for his game. He originally called it Lexiko, then Criss Cross, and finally, Scrabble.

At last, in 1948 - seventeen years after he began - Alfred was ready to copyright the name and rules. He took it to game manufacturer Selchow & Righter and they agreed to put it on the market.

For the man who couldn't spell so well, his invention became the best-selling word game in the world, and the second-best board game in sales, after Monopoly.

~Strange & Fascinating Facts about Famous Brands by Charles Reichblum

Hope your Christmas was merry!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and were surrounded by the ones who love you. We had a great day .... pretty low key but with family so it was special.

Sonny & I were able to sleep in until almost 9!! (Funny how you can do that when there are not any little ones around on Christmas morn!) Ashley woke up earlier and popped the breakfast casserole (that I had made the night before) in the oven so it was ready to eat pretty soon after I got up. After breakfast, the three of us opened our stockings and our gifts. We oohed & aahed over all our goodies. The highlights .... I got a BIG SHOT!!!, a Just Rite rectangle stamp set, a set of Nestabilities, Bed & Bath shower goodies, books ..... Sonny was in love with his Steelers lightweight jacket from Ashley, books, thermals, and a Steelers DVD from me. Ashley got books, a shredder, windshield wipers (she asked for them!!), necklace, a Steeler gnome (really cute), electronic Crossword puzzle/Sudoko game, Tunes gift card .... I don't remember all of it!! Anyway, let's just say, we did good!!

My mom and sister, Angela, came over in the afternoon and we opened gifts again and ate, and ate .... then ate some more!! We are waiting until Saturday night to have our big Christmas meal when the whole family can be here. My brother and family live in Charlotte and usually are with her parents on Christmas and my other sister, Marianne, drove up to the mountains to spend the day with her in-laws. So, tomorrow night we'll be eating some more and opening more presents. . . Extending the holiday as long as possble!!

One of the highlights of my day was hearing from my son. He and his family live in Tucson. I was very happy to hear from him as things are not good between us at the moment. My grandson, Jayce, got on the phone for a minute and I was able to tell him Merry Christmas (he's 2 1/2). He had a big Christmas even if he was a little bit sick. Jeff said Jayce got a scooter for Christmas and was scooting all over the house and threw up on the scooter a couple of times! Today, I saw pictures on my daughter-in-law's blog that they got SNOW (in Arizona)!!! The pictures of Jayce are priceless!!

Enjoy the weekend!

Sharon

Candy Cane leftovers!

Below are some tasty tips on what to do with those extra Christmas candy canes. Enjoy!

• Use as a stirrer for hot cocoa. Mmm, minty!
• Crush, then use them to coat the rims of glasses for peppermintinis! [recipe at quickandsimple.com/magazine)
• Add ½ cup crushed candy cane to a single batch of cooled pudding for a peppermint twist.
• Use as a colorful topping for plain ice cream.
• Save for Valentine's Day. Glue two together to form a heart and stick it on the front of a card. Or, you could attach a ribbon at the top and hang it from your door for a sweet decoration

MERRY CHRISTMAS

C is for the Christ Child and the child in all of us.

H is for the Heart of God, in Whom we place our trust.

R is for our Redeemer, Who is finished with His chore.

I is for Isaiah, who had told it all before.

S is for the Shepherd lowly shepherds came to see.

T is for Three wise men, who were wise beyond degree.

M is for a Manger, a simple manger where He lay.

A is for bright Angels who were standing by that day.

S is for the Star that shone and still shines out today!