cherry tart

I didn't have time, (or didn't make time) to get any baking done before Christmas so during Christmas break I am doing some Valentines baking...

...the easy way.

First, you buy store bought crust, and store bought pie filling.

Yes, sigh, you've got me, this isn't all exactly homemade, but the pie filling said that it's a new formula--it doesn't use High Fructose Corn Syrup and it is now and always has been gluten free so it's gotta be wholesome.

Right?

So today we baked a wholesome and homemade treat.

Cherry Tarts.  That's what I'm calling them.

These little treats can be for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines  (balemtimes as my four year old calls it) or when ever you just want a delicious treat.


Let me show you...

down time

Here are a  few scenes from our Christmas morning...

hey sugar

Besides this being my fave Christmas movie, it has taught me a lot about elven culture which has been very helpful since we've had one living in our house since Thanksgiving.

The movie clip explains why Chris was found this way this morning...

winter allergies

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of my family being sick and tired.  We have two, especially, that just get sick or cough starting in the fall and don't stop it seems all winter long.

It occured to me that those two children are the ones with "winter allergies".

Duh.

So, I did my research.

Here is some of the information that I found that I would love to pass on to you and hopefully it helps if you are one of the many of those that suffer from winter allergies.

Could I Be Allergic to my Christmas Tree?

tree

Meanwhile back at the ranch, we are still decorating for Christmas.

We had the tree up in it's stand for a full week before we had the time as a family to decorate it.

The youngest is four and a half and  isn't a full danger to the tree, but I did have to take all the candy canes off the tree because it was a constant battle just in the day and a half we had them on it.

 Pick your battles right?

rescue scene

I don't usually actually get holiday decorating finished on time, let alone early.  Usually, it is either put off until the last minute, or not done at all.

Halloween?  Nothing. (except last minute costumes) (that were pretty great if I do say so myself) (I think I work better under pressure..)

Thanksgiving?  Nothing.

But, for Christmas, we already have our tree up (undecorated, but up).  I have the cinnamon scented pine cones out, and I have finished re-doing a wonderful Nativity Scene that I picked up at a thrift store last spring.  I'm thinking it's a pre-Christmas miracle that it lasted through a move and sat in my garage until now and didn't get broken.  Yep, it's a miracle.

Here are the before and afters...

elf on the shelf

Meet Christopher Popinkins.

gee whiz collection

Here is a tip that I know you are dieing for me to share.

We were having cheap frozen pizza dinner last Tuesday night.  We like to doctor them up a bit.

My hubby adds mushrooms and olives to almost everything.  Pizza is no exception.

I knew we had canned whole olives at home and didn't buy sliced olives thinking I could just slice up the ones I already had.

It got a little tedious and then I had this idea...

redeemed

Do you remember the project spray paint fail?  

The bleeding through?

The pinkish hue?

I do.

I had to fix it.

what happens in Vegas...

Just a little sunshine for those of you having cool or cold Thanksgiving holiday weather...

 We were invited south for Thanksgiving day feast with my brother, his family, his wife's family my sister and her family, my dad and his wife. 

South means VEGAS baby!!!

hand washing saves lives

Meanwhile, back at the infirmary, we've been battling everything from bronchitis, to the flu to pneumonia.

We just can't seem to get on top of it.

So, I woke up one morning feeling the need to sanitize everything, buy more hand soap for the kids' bathroom and even break down and get some hand sanitizer.  I went to the store and bought several bottles of bathroom hand soap and one bottle of hand sanitizer.  I put several bottles of hand soap in the kids' bathroom.  Do you think they will get the message?

rebel without a clue

I've been away for awhile.

I've had plenty of projects under way.

Just none that I really wanted to show anyone.


 Sometimes I get a wild hair and think I'll do these projects all by myself.  Translation: without a pattern.  Without following instructions.

 I'm a rebel...

max mix--guest post

Do I have a treat for you.

A friend--an ollllllllllddddd friend from the good ole high school days, is guest posting for me today. 

canning season ramble

I won't bore you with all the details again, but suffice it to say, canning season is here (to stay for awhile). 

We've canned Elderberry Jelly, Plum/Elderberry jelly (the best!), peaches and tomatoes this year so far. 

 We have friends with an orchard that just gave us a ton of apples.  Yes, I'm quite sure that there are one ton of apples in our house...

I'm tired just thinking about it...

dutch oven bag

Do you go camping?

Do you cook with a dutch oven?

Do you cook with a dutch oven while camping?

Do you hate the black, dirty mess you get when you pack away your dutch oven?

Well then I have something for you...

homemade weed killer

They say too much salt kills...

That may be why this homemade weed killer works so good.

myth busting, new baby and baked goods

I just want to get a few things off my chest. So there's a myth out there that says if you don't have powdered sugar, then you can just put regular granulated sugar in the blender?

B.S. my friends. B.S.

I'm a pretty little bird...

The weather is cooling off more now.  

I love opening the windows in the morning and letting the cool air in.

ahhhhhhh.....

The cool air is only part of why I love to open the windows. I love to open the windows and sit for a minute and listen... 

... listen to the birds.

soap opera episode II

I think I'm nesting.  

We are expecting our first grand baby any day now and I'm on a bit of a cleaning spree.

Yes, if you're wondering, I'm too young to be a grandma.  Wayyyy too young.  

*Ahem*

All this cleaning led me to think about one of my favorite things of all time.

My soap pump.

bread fail

My grandma always said, "the whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead."

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Good Morning!

We've all heard how breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Especially a healthy one right?

Jelly filled donuts maybe not so much.

 So this morning I thought I'd have a healthy breakfast unlike yesterday where I may or may not have had said jelly donuts...

inspiration

Trust in the Lord 

Elder Richard G. Scott

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"Getting through the hazards of life requires understanding, skill, experience, and self-assurance like that required to sink a difficult basket under pressure. In the game of life, that is called righteous character. Such character is not developed in moments of great challenge or temptation. That is when it is used. Character is woven quietly from the threads of hundreds of correct decisions (like practice sessions). When strengthened by obedience and worthy acts, correct decisions form a fabric of character that brings victory in time of great need."

entryway second impressions

An entryway is a homes first impression in my opinion.  Okay, maybe the front door is the first impression, and the entryway is the second, but you only get one chance to make a second impression...*ahem*

So for 3.5 months our homes second impression has been pretty sad.


Today was the day to make a good second impression.


That should be a song...

tomato, tom-ah-to

It's tomato time.  I just have to include this post on the all-things-canning-channel because they are simply (pun intended) the easiest thing to bottle imo.

dutch oven artisan bread

 I mentioned to my hubby that I saw on Pinterest a bread that you bake in a dutch oven and his ears perked right up.

how uncanny--Bottling Jelly/Peaches

It's canning season again.

We love it.  Last Saturday my hubby and the rest of the clan (give or take) helped bottle elderberry jelly, plum/elderberry jelly and peaches.  (Tomatoes are on deck).

It was a fun family work time.

Here are the fruits of our labors...

soap opera ~ homemade laundry soap

I'm on my soap box today...

 

...about homemade laundry soap.

my idea of a board game...

 Lookey loo at what I found at the thrift shop!

  A carrom board.

  It looks like the one my grandma had.

 I think I paid all of four dollars for it.

piece baby...make quilts, not war

birthday quilt

 Hubby has been hinting that he wants me to make him a quilt.

For a while...

The Nanny Bag--Original Diaper Bag Design

Baby on the way...

how cheesy--Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Who knew making mozzarella cheese was so simple!?

Ok, maybe my husband should ask that question....because he made this.  

He's been talking about making cheese for a while.  Here's a tutorial of sorts. 

blue, white and red

Happy 4th everybody! 

So, my husband can get up earlier on his day off than he ever can on the days he works...

lucky us!

"breakfast" rolls

I like to experiment in the kitchen.  I'm a scientist at heart.

min. i. mal.

It's hard for me to be too serious, but in all seriousness, I am trying to become a minimalist.


 You'd think that that word would be smaller...

Minimalist

pinterest to the rescue!

kickstand challenged

 So we have had a problem at our house.  Kids have either forgotten how to use their kickstands, or they just don't care.

So here's what I did:

gettin' my Duggar on!

 


I sometimes always think that the Duggar children could run my household better than I can.

We have five children between my husband and I (and a grandchild on the way).  It's amazing and we love it and I need all the help I can get.

montessorus

Did you hear about the bones they dug up?  They come from the "montessorus"...
No. Not really...

That's the word I gave the Montessori school that is going to be the new school for two of my children.  If only one of my children were going, then I would call it Montessori, but because there is more than one going...kinda like fungus, octopus...
You get me?

what dreams may come...

 I haven't yet blogged about the musician in me because, well, I like to read blogs about DIY home projects, or food or sewing or something along that creative line, and therefore that's what I like to blog about. But here's a post about the fun I get to have as a musician--with a twist..

diaper bag de'but--The Nanny Bag TM

messenger bag style

I don't even know how to begin to introduce you to my diaper bag design.  I guess I'll start by telling you how I came to the idea.

LOL challenge

 I checked out my favorite blogger, Sarah at A Beach Cottage, today and accepted her challenge in her latest post--"love it or lose it".
I love her blog.  She is real.  She lives in Australia--what's not to love about that?!
Anyway, she and I have some things in common.  She lives by the beach.  I want to.  She has an all white beach cottage.  I want one.  Hmmmmm...Well maybe me wanting what she has doesn't exactly mean that we have it in common, but one thing she and I DO have in common is our love of "collecting" stuff...

First step is acceptance right?

brownie in a mug

Sometimes you just need a treat. 

Have you ever heard of one minute cake in a mug?   Some of you probably have.  It. Is. DeLIGHTful.  Upon googling a recipe, I came across BROWNIES in a mug.

 D. I. V. I. N. E.

 I call brownies in a mug, wait for it...

file that

finally...kinda a big deal for me.

Bragging a little bit.

I did it.

on the fly...

You notice I didn't post much of anything about Thanksgiving.  You might have noticed I didn't post much of anything about Christmas.  Maybe you didn't notice at all that I didn't post anything about New Years either.  It's not because I didn't do anything on those days.  Quite the contrary.  We had quite the festivities.  I just don't know how to get it all done.  Something has to be set aside and it's usually this blog.  Sorry  blog.  I do love you...