Gifts at the Circus

I have felt a week behind since Thanksgiving.

I'm not sure whether I slept through an entire week and missed it, or just zoned out and drifted through a week in a fog. Either way, all of my activities were behind schedule: selecting & purchasing gifts, getting & decorating the tree, baking treats, and wrapping gifts. Since I've been incorporating more "green" living in my life over the past 10 years, I planned some of my gifts to be consumable or to be made from re-purposed items.

The first task was baking treats. I love to bake, and the holidays give me an excuse to bake lots of treats and give them as gifts and not eat them all myself. So I spent one weekend doing a lot of baking.

These treats are yummy! From my oven to your tummy!

Starting at "noon" on the plate the treats are: Hazelnut Thumbprints, Cinnamon Almond Brittle, Triple Chocolate Peppermint Brownies, Pecan Bars, Peppermint Drops, Stripes, and Sugarplums (in the center of the plate). The bread is Bananas Foster with a Rum Glaze. Delicious!! One of my treat gift recipients dove right in to the bag of treats and started with a brownie; he proceeded to make sounds that I am sure only his wife should hear!!!! Perhaps the brownies need a new title... If you would like any of the recipes, just leave me a comment and your email :)

Anyway, the next task was an item for the Book Club Gift Exchange. The guidelines: the gift cannot cost more that $5 and should contain something made by the giver. Since the Club is a Recipe Club (we cook/bake something inspired by the book to bring to the meeting and we share the recipe), I ruled out my treats. Instead, I remembered a crafty thing I really enjoyed a few years ago: Stained Glass.

I searched my arts & crafts bins to see if I still had any of my supplies. I was pretty shocked by how much I had stashed away:

I purchased glasses from the thrift store for a total of $1.88.

I decided to do a geometric design for the glasses, using straight lines for the 2 similar glasses and circles for the different glass. I painted the lines free-hand using the black leading paint.

After allowing time for the leading to dry, I began adding color in the shapes created by the intersecting leading lines. The paint is somewhat opaque and cloudy when wet but then dries to a much more "clear" finish.

I included 3 tea lights and my gift was complete!! Since we planned a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange, I had no idea who would receive my gift. The recipient seemed very pleased and I'm hoping her reaction was legit and not just a way to cover her plan to hide them on a closet shelf once she got home.

I was so pleased with these glasses that I painted empty jars (from salad dressing) for 2 friends. They were also pleased, and a bit amazed that I painted them. Seriously, it is incredibly easy!

Now to turn my sights to 2012. I have learned to expect the unexpected (especially in my house!!), so I look forward to whatever the future may hold.

I am not one to make resolutions just because of the date on the calendar. Every day is a good day for making a change, whether to better yourself, better your community, or better the world!

Pumpkins & Turkeys

Per usual, life has been a bit busy. It has been almost 2 months since I have posted! I fully intended to post about pumpkin carving and Halloween... then the calendar said it was November. So I decided to post about Thanksgiving instead... now the calendar says December. Seriously?!? Where is my "universal" remote that will allow me to pause time?


So this post will be a bit of a rewind into October and November.


PUMPKINS


I went through 4 pumpkins this year in efforts to get 2 jack-o-lanterns. No, I didn't mess them up. 


The boys brought home the first jack-o-lantern from daycare on Columbus Day. Of course, that meant that within 2 weeks, the poor thing was rotting and decaying. Bye-bye, Jack #1.


In the meantime, I had purchased another pumpkin to carve and keep Jack #1 company. My oldest, CT, wanted to be completely in charge of Jack #2... this meant it took a week for him to finish carving the darn thing. Of course, Jack #2 became rotted and decaying. Bye-bye Jack #2.


So my youngest, IG, and I purchased to more pumpkins the week before Halloween. I waited until the weekend to carve them and knocked out some quick knife-work in 10 minutes. I think Jack #3 and Jack #4 turned out very nice :)

TURKEYS


This year was my turn to host Thanksgiving. My mother and alternate: one of us hosts Thanksgiving while the other hosts Christmas. It's not that huge of a deal: it's just the 4 of my immediate family plus my mother. The most difficult part is not making TOO MUCH food!


This was my menu:

     Brown Butter & Sage mashed potatoes

     Herb Biscuits

     Cider-Glazed Turkey

     Sausage & Apple Stuffing

     Cranberry Pineapple Sauce

     Broccoli

     Caramelized Butternut Squash

I love to cook, and getting the opportunity to experiment with willing victims taste-testers is great.

The biscuits are missing from the picture? What? I didn't notice... okay, maybe I did. I over-baked the biscuits and they came out a little lot dry. So they were shunned from the photo. Every great chef makes mistakes. Right? Right??


So I hope to remember to photograph my next few projects. I am going to be crafty this month for my book club and for my friends. I am also going to be baking cookies and items to give as gifts. I seem to remember after I make something that I wanted to take pictures for my blog. Such as the delicious batch of applesauce I made 2 weeks ago. I love having an apple orchard 1/2 mile from my house! I want to make more applesauce to freeze so maybe I will remember to grab the camera then. We'll see.

A Day in My Life

As mentioned in my post yesterday, I kept a log of my entire day today. Technically, I will log midnight to midnight; I will have to add anything that happens after 8:00 p.m. sometime tomorrow morning since I will not be on my computer from that point on tonight.


I have often wondered where my weekend goes... now I know!


In the log, my husband is "BW," my 2 year-old is "IG," and my 5 year-old is "CT."




1:10 a.m. - IG whimpered enough to wake me up, but not enough for me to check on him.


4:15 a.m. - Doyle, one of the beagles, decided this would be a great time to get sick. Thankfully BW handled the clean up!


6:32 - IG is awake, but still in his room.


6:37 - IG and CT climb into bed with us. 


6:48 - IG gets me out of bed to find the missing "balloon" (little maraca). I dispense milk and bananas to the boys, turn on Sprout in the playroom, and head back to bed.


7:11 - IG wanders back into bed with me and hangs for a bit. CT brings a granola bar for me to open, which leads IG to go fetch a granola bar for himself. I take a moment to take my med, since I have to take it on an empty stomach and not eat for an hour.


7:26 - IG wanders back into bed.


7:34 - I give up and get up, throwing on sweatpants, a t-shirt, slippers, and a hoodie.


7:40 - Time to make BREAKFAST! I make chocolate chip pancakes (a double batch from scratch!) every Sunday that we are home. I freeze one batch of pancakes for the boys to eat during the week. While the pancakes are cooking, I empty the dishwasher, do more dishes, start the dishwasher, and make my coffee. The boys eat pancakes as the batches finish cooking.


8:28 - Finally sit down to eat my pancakes and check my "tech:" email, FB, G+, etc.


8:39 - IG has somehow "injured" his eye and requires kisses; he then climbs on my lap while I continue checking the tech. IG decides it is time to go shirtless and wanders off to play.


8:58 - Both boys fetch apples to eat.


9:10 - Refine my to-do list for the day.


9:16 - That's a lot on my to-do list! And my week looks busy, too!!


9:17 - Start working on letters for work only to discover I do no have a file that I need to complete the project. I do what I can then move on down the to-do list.


9:31 - Change a diaper for IG and refill his juice. (This happens often throughout the day, but I did not write them all down)


9:33 - Clean the toilets and sinks; I switch a load of laundry while I'm in that bathroom.


9:52 - Help IG find the lost apple (found on the playroom floor) and make a "pit stop." This is not my only "pit stop" of the day, however I neglected to write down when the other's occurred.


9:55 - Change the sheets on CT's bed.


10:05 - Fold one load of laundry. (BW took care of 3 loads today... woohoo!!)


10:30 - Realize I've been completely distracted by "Pop-Up Video" on VH1.


10:38 - Unload the dishwasher (yet again), do more dishes, and clean up the kitchen.


11:30 - Check the tech.


11:40 - Work on new tech stuff for work. (I love getting new gadgets!)


12:20 - Change a diaper for IG and tuck him in for his nap.


12:30 - Return to working on the tech stuff.


1:08 - LUNCH!!! And catch up on Project Runway :)


1:36 - IG is awake from him nap (not nearly long enough!), so I pause Project Runway to make lunch for the boys. As they eat, I clean up the playroom and vacuum upstairs.


2:10 - Time to bake the weekly treat!! I bake something each weekend to put in CT's lunchbox and for all of us to enjoy. This week is Lotsa Lemon Bars.

2:30 - Practice for the upcoming recital while the bars are baking.


3:00 - Mop the kitchen floor.


3:21 - Change the sheets on my bed and fold another load of laundry while watching Project Runway. Also do some ironing and organize my outfits for the week. Yes, I am that Geek. It makes my mornings just a bit easier to manage.

4:15 - Time to make SUPPER! I love to cook, so I tried a new recipe tonight: Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples over Polenta. It was pretty yummy. It needs a bit more flavor and color, but I'm not sure what to add, yet.

5:00 - EAT!!! During supper, BW and I work with CT to create a Consequence Chart. He's been displaying some not-so-favorable behaviors lately and we want a way to keep track of his choices and reward him for the good ones.


5:30 - Shower time! Why so late? I take my showers in the evening. I love going to bed nice and clean, and it is one less this to do in the morning.


5:45 - IG gets his bath. He loves to play in the tub! I sit outside the doorway (out of the "splash zone") to supervise. Tonight, I brought my MacBook and created the chart for CT that was discussed at supper. My mom called; CT talked to her while IG finished his bath.


6:15 - CT gets his bath; IG takes his turn taking to my mom on the phone, then I finally get a turn :)


6:40 - Make my lunch for tomorrow.


6:51 - Check the to-do list: DONE!!!


7:00 - Both boys brush their teeth, then IG goes to bed.


7:09 - Sit down to start typing up this blog.


7:30 - CT goes to bed; IG is already asleep.


7:44 - And now time has caught up with me...


I feel exhausted just reading over what I did today! I can focus a bit on ME before I go to bed :)

What Tomorrow Brings

I've decided that tomorrow, Sunday, October 9th, I will log my entire day starting at midnight tonight. Why midnight? Just to see if I am awakened in the early morning hours by a boy or a dog or a strange sound. 


I will "time stamp" as many of my activities as possible, and include all the minute details of my actions (except for the trips to the bathroom, of course).


Out of curiosity, I want to see what the heck I do on my "day off." With 2 small boys, 2 beagles, 1 husband and a house to run, my day off does not really include lounging :)


If tomorrow's log goes well, I will try to do the same thing on a work day.


Check back tomorrow evening to see what unfolds!!

Time for Tuesday

Time? What is this "time" of which we speak? I do not seem to have any currently...


Thanks for stopping by, especially if you are wandering in from the blog hop. Take a moment to look through the "30 Day Challenge" blogs that I posted for the month of September.

Say Hi Sunday

Thanks for stopping by, especially if you are wandering in from the blog hop. Take a moment to look through the "30 Day Challenge" blogs that I posted for the month of September.

Day 30 of 30 Day Challenge

Share A Picture That I Love

I wonder what he is thinking about...