What I'm Lovin'!



I'm totally lovin' my new shirt I got for Christmas!  I think its pretty cool..what do you think?



I'm also lovin' the great DEALS I scored yesterday while out doing my after Christmas shopping..finally!!  A couple days late due to the weather, but I made it!!  I made out really good!  Some new Christmas dishes, Christmas fabrics (the rudolph one I'm going to make the baby a blanket with), nightlight, pretty candles, ornaments, trees and an arch for my Christmas village (that lights up!) and of course I stocked up on the basics like bows, tape, and wrapping paper!!  I also got a Christmas cactus for $2! 

And I couldn't resist buying our little one his/her first little Christmas outfit!  Isn't it cute?!





I also went in Bath and Body Works (HIGHLY recommended that you go this time of the year for the 'yellow' sale!!!!) and came out with some yummy lemon/vanilla body spray and cute lady bug car freshners!

Did anyone else score some goodies on the after-Christmas sales?  If so, please let me know what you got and where you picked it up!  Reason being (besides just plain curiosity!)..I had NO IDEA about B&BW after Christmas sale until I was talking to, of all people, a rep from our phone company, Frontier, and we somehow got on the convo of sales and she told me about it!  Weird way to find out about something like that, isn't it?  Just goes to show ya..you never know where you'll find out something new!!

Our Christmas!!

I thought I would share with everyone what all we did over the weekend on Christmas!  I do hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends and celebrating the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  If there is any a time to celebrate..I feel that Christmas it definately the season!  Without Christ, we would have nothing.  I'm so thankful for that hope we have in Him.  :-)

Our Christmas Eve is usually the most jam packed.  We started off the day by going to see my mother in law and giving her a present.  After spending some time there, we headed home where I got out some of the premade and homemade appetizers I had for this year!  I had bought some dips from Schwan's (buffalo chicken and spinach artichoke), as well as made a garlic parmesan peppercorn dip.  We also had some homemade slushy punch, chex mix, peanut butter balls, and a cranberry cake with butter sauce (can we say calories?)!  Quite the spread!!  I only wished I had gotten a picture of everything lined up on our beautiful bar, but I did take one later that night, after most of it was put away.  Shame on me for not remembering to take more pictures!!

You could definately say the punch was a hit!!  I'll be sharing the recipe with y'all later on in the week!   So to enjoy the appetizers and gift opening was me and Damon as well as my parents.  They stayed for a couple hours and it was so nice to have that time spent together!  We all had a very enjoyable time!! 

(Damon and my dad opening gifts)

(My mom and her new turkey dishes!..she's a collector!)

So after they left, we opened up our gifts to one another!!  I thought that Damon had more than me this year, but I still could be right on that one.  But it sure did seem like I opened more than he did!!  I came away this year (from both Damon and my parents) plenty of new maternity clothes that were much needed!  Damon came away with a variety of things.  I thought you might like these pictures...

(Damon..hamming it up for the camera!)

 And of course, our kitties both got in on the excitement as well!  Ravey got a remote controlled mouse..THRILLING and the best gift ever!!  I think she thought it was real!!

(Not to be outdone by Thomas..he's such a good little picture poser!!)

The following day, Christmas Day, we had a nice dinner at my parents house!!  It had snowed quite a bit overnight, so my dad came and got us in his truck (we don't have 4 wheel drive).  They live out to theirselves so snowy winters makes it a hard time for us to get to their place!!  We had a great dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, homemade rolls, sweet potato casserole, and apple pie and a yule log for dessert!  My yule log was so pretty, but wasn't the greatest!  I think if I ever do it again, I'm gonna do my own recipe instead of following one.  The cake was WAY too dense!  But we had a nice time, nonetheless!

We came home and snapped some pictures by the tree.  I thought these turned out great!!

(Showing off my new bracelet and necklace (the necklace was my bday gift)!)

And let's not forget the star of the show, Ravey!

Hope you guys enjoyed seeing a glimpse into our little Christmas!!  Can't wait to read about everyone's this week!



Christmas Goodies!

I was busy today making my all time favorite Christmas treat..peanut butter balls!!!  Can we say YUM?!?!  Its just not Christmas around here without that holiday staple to snack on at some point or another!!  Turns out I wasn't the only one with the same mindset either.  When I went to visit my parents this afternoon, my dad was making some too!  Great minds, huh?  I had hoped to dip some of ours in white chocolate as well (Damons favorite) but for some reason..I sometimes have problems with white chocolate chips wanting to melt.  They instead want to 'clump'.  Anyone else ever deal with this..and if so how do you avoid it??  Makes me mad that I pretty much waste a good bag of white chocolate chips I could have used for something else!  Anyways, they turned out GREAT and I plan on not only eating some but sharing with my neighbors!  I plan on fixing up a little treat bag for my dear neighbor next door and giving it to her 'hopefully' tomorrow.  I know how much she loves chocolate!!  Here is a preview of what I've been up to..be forewarned..it will make your mouth water!!

And you remember the peanut butter cookie recipe I shared with everyone a little while back?  Here is the finished product!  I also plan on giving away in treat bags!!

So I want to wish all my dear readers out there a very Merry Christmas!!!  I probably won't be doing anymore posts until after the weekend so I can spend time doing more baking, wrapping presents, and being with family, of course!!  Be safe everyone if you plan on traveling, and enjoy the reason for the season!! God Bless!!

Incredibly tired from doing nothing

I don't know if its a pregnancy thing..but I haven't done much of anything today (its still monday for me folks) and I'm totally exhausted.  We had snow, snow, and more snow all day today plus freezing temperatures..so going out any wasn't in the cards.  I stayed in all day with Ravey and my pj's on (I'm not complaining) and just lounged.  The most I did all day was make a pot of soup for dinner!  Can we say yum to chicken tortilla soup?!  It was soo good and perfect for this snowy day!  Now tonight I'm just worn out.  Maybe its all the dreaming I've been doing every night catching up with me (you ever wonder how a person really rests when they dream every..single..night?).  I KNOW thats pregnancy related!  Crazy dreams anyways.  Any other pregnant ladies out there dealing with that?  I had a crazy dream last week that I went to work in the coalmines with Damon (told ya it was crazy!).  Then last night I dreamt he was laid off from work (ugh..I don't want to relive that nightmare!). 

But anyways, I'm going to do a total 360 here and ask for your help in some new Christmas appetizers!  I just realized tonight that this weekend is the last weekend before Christmas (whoa..where did the time go?) and that I need to be figuring out this week what I'll be serving on Christmas Eve when my parents come down.  Each year, they come to our house on Christmas Eve..and then we go to their house on Christmas Day.  I always have some assortment of appetizers each year and have pretty much done something different every year.  Its alot of fun though..I must say!  I'm not totally sure what else I'm going to have this year and was hoping you guys could pass along some ideas!  I'm up for any suggestions!  So far..I know we're having spinach and artichoke dip, buffalo chicken dip, and I'm going to make a punch recipe I found online this evening.  I thought about assorted cheeses, some type of spiced or something-another nuts, maybe chex mix (since dad likes it!), and oh yeah..a recipe for a raspberry red velvet cake I saw in one of my magazines!  Maybe I had more ideas than I thought..but..I'd still like some input on the subject!   Can't wait to hear what all you guys have to say!

Holly Jolly Blog Hop ~ Christmas Decor!



Today in the Holly Jolly Blog Hop thats being hosted by Kristin, Natalie, and Amber we are sharing pictures of our Christmas decor!!  How fun!  Even though I have previously put up some pictures of my house all decked out..it never hurts to show everyone again..just in case ya missed it the first time!  So here goes!

(The tv stand..love the angel on the left!)

(Entrance to the master bedroom)

(Computer desk and front entranceway)

(Mistletoe ball at entrace)

(The cats stockings I made for them..so cute!)

(Little tree in the dining room)

(Dining room garland)

(My favorite..the dining room table!  Love the golds!)

(Tree in my sewing room)

(Tree in Damons 'hunting" room!)

(Master bathroom)

(Last but not least, our Christmas tree!!)

New ornaments, a blog hop, and some thanks ;-)

Ok..I have several things to post on for today so I'd better get started!  First, yesterday I received my ornament from Beth, my ornament swap partner that was hosted by the lovely Brittany from Unexpected Suprises!!  I was blown away by Beth's choice for my tree, it was gorgeous to say the least!!!!  And I had the perfect spot picked out for it, right in the front and center of the tree!  Take a look!!

(Isn't it pretty!)

(Even prettier with the lights turned on to 'illuminate' it!)

Thank you so much for the pretty addition to my tree, Beth!!   You did a fantastic job and I just hope you liked the ornaments I picked out for you as much as I like mine!  :-)



Second on my list for today, is the Holly Jolly Blog Hop that is being hosted by Kristin, Natalie, and Amber!  Today we are going to share our favorite recipes for the holidays!  You know how much I LOVE to bake this time of the year..so of course I have some favorites!!  One of my "must have's" for the holidays are my peanut butter cookies!  They aren't just any regular pb cookies, mind you, but they are filled with pb and cream cheese, drizzled with chocolate!  Need I say more?  I posted about them several days ago, so in case you missed it, here is the recipe again!  :-)

Mel's Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup crisco
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

2 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
In large bowl, beat crisco, butter, peanut butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls; roll in remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Place on a baking sheet. Using the end of a wooden spoon, make an indentation in the center of each ball.
In small mixing bowl, beat peanut butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Spoon some of the filling into each indentation in each cookie.
Bake at 350 degrees until done (I usually just keep an eye on them..I'd say about 8 minutes or so..depends on your oven). Remove from pans to cool.
Melt the chocolate chips (I do mine in the microwave..stir often to prevent scorching) and stir until smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over each cookie.

AND..last but not least..I wanted to send out a HUGE thank you to all my dear blog readers out there.  I know my last couple of posts have been a little on the 'down' side of things as I've been dealing with alot of aggrevation with insurance companies, doctors, and the like.  But I must say, the comments I've received from my readers the past couple of days has truely lifted this girl's spirits!!  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your kind words of encouragement, your prayers, and just for commenting.  I know sometimes its hard to comment when someone is venting all thru their post for the day, but you guys didn't let that stop you and you gave me a more positive outlook on something the other day just seemed to totally weigh me down.  I appreciate you guys more than you'll ever know and am grateful for the friendships I have made on this 'little blog of mine'!!  Thanks again..and do keep praying for me and the little one growing inside of me..and all the stuff I talked about before!!  :-D

Love and Candy Canes,

Letter to Santa!





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Dear Santa,

I have been a 'pretty' good girl this year..wouldn't you say?!  I hope you'll have some sympathy for this pregnant woman if I haven't been all I should have been throughout the year!  I'll just blame it on hormones!  :-)  Anyways, here are some things I'd like to have for Christmas this year..hope you can oblige!

Some maternity sweaters from Motherhood Maternity



Jewelry is always nice...

A healthy baby (but not until next May)...