I've been dreaming of a white Christmas

Well, it's already white here, so no, I'm not dreaming of a White Christmas. I do have to tell everyone that I found the BEST cd ever!!! If you have ever watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, you'll understand why this is so exciting to me. I found a CD that has all the songs from that movie on it!!! And...this is the best part...it was only $5.99!!!! It came in a collectors tin with a stocking. My sisters and I loved that show and looked forward to it every year. I have always wanted to find the CD but never could. I will listen to this all year round, I'm sure.

We went skating yesterday and that was super fun. Tanner loves skating and is really good at it. We also slept under the tree for our advent activity. We've also baked, iced and decorated sugar cookies and played in the snow. Tonight we are watching "The Nativity Story".

I have been doing a lot of reading of the General Conference issue of the Ensign and am feeling inspired to what my goals for the new year should be.

Other than that, things are going well. Tanner is done school for the holidays. He is really excited to be going to Calgary for a day. His concert at school was SOOOOO stinkin' cute. He was a little panda bear (well, all of the Kindergartners were). They all did a really good job.

Have a happy holiday and a Merry Christmas.

The secret...

...to great Gingerbread cookies that do not crack is to use parchment-lined cookie sheets. Last night Tanner and I made gingerbread family cookies and even on my Pampered Chef cookie sheets, they cracked but on my regular cheap aluminum cookie sheets that were lined with parchment paper, they were smooth. Tonight we will decorate them and then possibly give some away...lol. We will give some away. We don't need 5 dozen cookies. The following is the recipe for the cookies. It is from the cookbook "The Essential Mormon Cookbook" by Julie Badger Jensen. I LOVE this cookbook and use it A LOT. I used it when I was asked to make funeral potatoes and I had no clue how to make them. Anyways, here's the cookie recipe:

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 egg
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 1/2- 5 cups flour

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar; set aside. In a small saucepan heat molasses to boiling. Pour molasses over butter and sugar and add the vinegar. Let cool. Add egg. Mix in sifted dry ingredients. Chill for at least 1 hour. Roll on lightly floured board or surface and cut as desired. Bake on well-greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes and 350 F. (I baked for 8 minutes only and they turned out great)

So try and enjoy!

Also, I found these useful tips in time for Christmas:

Soften butter in a hurry...just grate the amount you need or invert a small heated pan over the butter dish

To prevent cheese from sticking to your grater, chill the grater first by placing it in the freezer for a few minutes.

Gravy too salty? Ada a few pinches of brown sugar. It will mellow the saltiness without sweetening. Throw in a chunk of raw potato and the same thing will happen.

To get rid of strong smell on your cutting board, cut a lime or lemon and rub the cut side over the board. Or make a paste of baking soda and water and apply generously.

So thankful

Yesterday we had testimony meeting because we missed it last Sunday. There were lots of people who were thankful for the service that was given to them because of the big snow storm. As I was thinking, I thought about how grateful I am to the people who helped us with cheerful attitudes. After talking to my Mom and realizing that no one even offered her help to dig out her garage...not a neighbor, not a member of her ward, no one, it made me think about how blessed I am to live in a community where everyone helps everyone else and that's just what we do. It makes me grateful that I DON'T live in a city...even Lethbridge. More positives just went on my list of things that make where I live a great place to live!

I have reflected a lot on the last year and this year has been for sure one of my top 5 years. 2000 was one: married! 2003 another: Tanner born 2008:Emerson coming into the family and 2009: turning 30. This has been a wonderful year filled with, I feel, much growth for all of my family. I am looking forward to a new year with, hopefully, more growth (read:maturity), more love, more joy, more learning, more fun/sad/challenging times. I am sad to be saying goodbye to my Primary kids. I had a rough patch with them but I have really grown to love them and have love, love, loved teaching them.

We are making and decorating Sugar cookies tonight...most likely just making and decorating tomorrow. We have also had a p.j. party and watched 'The Flinstones Christmas Carol, 'The Muppets Christmas Carol', and 'A Christmas Carol' (the first, black and white version). I have never seen any of those. I have seen a version of the Christmas carol, but I can't remember which one it was. I have also seen the actual play twice. I LOVED it! You must go if you can. It is well worth the money and it's such a neat experience.


In process of making the cookies



The decorated cookies


Saturday, we went to the Temple in the bad weather. It took us 55 minutes (normally 35 minutes) because we drove so slowly. I love the Temple and I love that Matt and I have made a commitment to make it a priority in our life. We have truly benefited and been blessed because of it.

We went today and picked out our yearly Christmas tree ornament. We decided that every year, since we moved, we would pick a new ornament as a family. The first year I picked a stocking. Last year Tanner picked a glass tree, and this year Matt picked a snow filled snowman ornament/ball. None of them match the Blue and Silver decor that is on our tree, but each ornament has special memories from that year.

Well, that's all we've been up to for now. I am starting to get really excited for Christmas. I will be back tomorrow and Wednesday and then on Thursday is Tanner's school Concert!!!!! I can not even convey the joy and excitement I feel for this. I am close to floating on air. My little boy, in his first school concert...ahhhhh....So much more to look forward to!

Christmas tips

I was just looking for some Christmas movies and music and came across a few websites I thought I would share.

fanpop.com -you can watch over 100 classic Christmas shows from Garfield to flinstones to Simpson's (for those of you who like them, I DO NOT!) to friends.

classicchristmasmovies.com- again, watch right on their website some classics like miracle on 34th street, it's a wonderful life, Rudolph the red nose reindeer.

allthingschristmas.com- exactly what it says...all things from decorating to traditions to movies to watch to tips to meal ideas.

live365.com- listen to Christmas music 365 days a year.

Christmas is coming!

Lots has been happening in the last week or so. We started our advent Calendar. We have gone to the ward party, started the nice jar, put up the tree and decorations, gone to the old fashioned Christmas (Matt took Tanner because it was so stinkin cold out), written to Santa (okay, we haven't done this one yet, but we will tonight), we were supposed to go to the First Presidency Broadcast, but Church was cancelled so we assumed they didn't show the broadcast here, and today we are making cookies and taking them to someone in need.



Last week was a busy one. The best day was Wednesday. Susanne and I drove up to Calgary and went with my sister, Megan, to So You Think You Can Dance Canada Tour!!!! Megan and I screamed and screamed and then we screamed some more. Susanne did lots of screaming too. It was so much fun! Susanne is the only friend I've ever travelled with and she is great company. It's nice to be able to travel/vacation with people that you can be yourself around. My sister Megan is so fun. She was like a kid in a candy store. I have only ever seen the American version of the show so all the dances were new to me because I didn't watch the Canadian version of the show. Megan and Susanne knew what dance every one was and could tell me if it was a good one or not. So that was fun. I'm glad we went.








(some random Christmas shots)

Then on Thursday I got on e-mail that one of my other best friends had her baby. I am so excited for them. It is their third baby and they have all boys. Congrats again, Jamie! I always get so excited when my friends have babies.

On Friday we went to a fabulous Christmas party. It was soooooo much fun. I had a blast. We played 2 truths and a lie and then did a gift game. It was hilarious. It was an adult only party so that was nice to get out without Tanner for a few hours. Tanner went to the Bishops house and he said he loved it there and it's his favorite place because one of their boys has Star Wars Lego. So he was in heaven. Santa may have to do a small trip to the store to get some Star Wars Lego...lol.

On Saturday it was crazy!!! Tons of blowing snow and coldness.

Everyone seems to have a "cold day" story and ours is not very exciting but here it is anyhow...when Matt went to do the papers on Saturday morning and the car got stuck just as he pulled off the drive way...so it was sitting on the road. I suggested to Matt that he call his friend and ask to borrow his quad to deliver the papers. So he did and his friend was so gracious and lent Matt one of his quads. Then as we got talking I thought of when the night came and our car sitting, half covered by snow drifts, on the road. So I suggested we try to get it onto the driveway and call and see if someone could help us. Lucky for me I have a best friend who's husband has a shovel on his quad and was happy to come and help us. So we finally got the car on the driveway and we are so thankful for the help that was given to us. We had to have the car towed backwards onto the middle of the road to get a "run" onto the driveway, but it worked! Then we went over to Susanne's house and ate, watched footloose (my first time ever!) and played games. It was a blast.

They cancelled church here on Sunday and that was kind of weird. But all in all, it's been a great week-ten days. Matt came home Thursday night and that was wonderful.

So ever onward. It's suppose to be cold for the next couple of days so we'll have inside days.

I'm half way done

I am just about finished my Christmas cards. I just glued the "face" part of the cards onto the card stock. I think I have done 150 cards or more. It stinks that I can't post pictures. I am hoping that we can get Internet at our house in the new year. Then I'll have to back post a ton of pictures.

Matt left this morning for Medicine Hat for a week. He has some temporary work for now. I don't mind him being gone during the day but I really hate being alone at night. Tanner will be sleeping in our bed while Matt's away. Tanner loves to sleep with us but he's a bit of a bed hog so we don't do the 'family' bed thing. He can sleep with either one of us, but not both of us.

Tanner was so funny the other day. He got $26 for his birthday and Matt was asking him what he was going to get with it. This is the conversation:

Matt: So, what are you going to get with all that money you got for your birthday?

T: (without hesitation) a really cool hot wheels

M: but grandma collins got you 5 new cool hot wheels. pause...Aren't they cool enough?

T: uhhh...no! I need a cooler hot wheels. Or maybe I'll buy a really cool backugan.

As if the toys he got weren't cool enough! I am seriously thinking of having him go through his toys in December and having him fill a box to give away or donate. He has a ridiculous amount of toys. I think we might make this a yearly tradition at Christmas time. I think it will help him to be more giving and generous. He recently broke a friends toy and I told him he would have to choose one of his new birthday toys that he got and give it to his friend. He was really upset about that, but he needs to learn that he can't go around being careless with other people's toys. He has to be respectful. Maybe I'm over-reacting....I don't know. Is this just a "boy" thing or can they learn to be respectful of toys? I'm glad that for Christmas, we got him the Transformers cartoon on DVD and Santa made him a rag quilt. We decided not to get him toys because even though I have asked people not to, they always do buy him toys. Matt has a large family and I have a fair size family that buys lots of toys for him so Matt and I do other things. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one with this problem of excess toy giving. Maybe as he gets older it will calm down a bit. Okay, so that was good to get it off my chest.

Well, I think that's about it for now. As I am telling myself today "chin up, tomorrow is a new day."

Have a good one.

Footloose

Thanks to my dear friend, Susanne, I will be watching Footloose for the first time ever. I am so excited! There are several movies that I have never seen that I need to see to be one who can say "oh yeah, I know that movie". I'll let you know how I like it when I see it.

All I want for Christmas

I was thinking about gifts...mostly because I'm pretty much done my shopping...and I thought, not for selfish reasons, I would put mine up here. I am a huge list person and I love to shop from lists. My friend has a "favorite" etsy list and I think that is such a good idea. So the things I enjoy or like are:

1. Bath and Body works soap-gentle foaming or moisturizing NOT the deep cleaning kind. Betcha some of you didn't know there was a difference...lol

2. Brown/tan brads for my card making

3. Zip up Hoodie in any color

4. One of those winter hats that covers the ears and has the tie dangling down.

5. Movie passes

6. Any Church movie (I really enjoyed Forever Strong)

7. High School Musical #1, the Re-Mix

8. Taco chips and cheese sauce (for nachos and cheese) it's a weakness

9. Mini Wheats (brown sugar) because I am slightly addicted...lol

That's about all I can think of.

I'm really looking forward to doing our first Christmas together as a family here at home. I have list of 24 different activities to do during the month of December. some of them I used from Megan's blog from last year.

Some of them include: A Jerusalem dinner, go for a drive and look at the lights, go to the old fashioned Christmas downtown, go to the ward party, have a $5 dinner, watch Christmas movies after making a Christmas treat, sleep under the tree (or really close to it) as well as some other things.

Some of them have to be placed in certain places (ie the ward dinner or the old fashioned Christmas) but I'm going to have to make up some sort of calendar to put them all in. Sadly, I do not have an advent calendar.


(The Advent Calendar I made)

My sister made one for the little boy she nannies last year and I asked her if she would make one for Tanner this year. She didn't make one for his birthday so maybe for his Christmas gift she made him one...who knows...one can hope. If not, I am going to make a permanent one in the new year. I'll have to make a temporary one this year.

I've been SOOOO crazy busy making Christmas cards to sell. Matt asked me today if I was done and I replied "I hope so". So that's why I haven't gotten around to making an advent calendar. I would love any ideas or if any of you have one, could you let me know how to make it.

It doesn't really feel like Christmas because there is no snow yet. Matt said he heard on Friday we're suppose to have snow. I love the snow, but I'm enjoying the snowless weather right now.

So in other news...Tanner had his 6th birthday! I invited 9...yes NINE children over to our little house. We were so very lucky and had great weather. Matt and I took them over to the park and played there and Matt started a game of 'what time is it mister wolf'. Everyone seemed to have fun. He got too many gifts. He got a beautiful Nativity from my Aunt. He really loves my Mom's nativity from when we were kids so it's nice for him to have his own. It's an adult type one. Porcelain and a really fancy, moss covered stable. Matt and I don't even have a stable for our nativity. He got 7 new backugans, 3 new transformers, some monster tonka trucks, sugar cereal (he LOVES, by the way) and some bionicles and dress up clothes. He got more than that (I KNOW!!!!! SERIOUSLY!?!? totally ridiculous the amount he got) but that was the main part of what he got.
My sister Melany got him this pressure nerf ball gun...it is soooo much fun. Matt and I use it A LOT! I told her I would like another one so Matt and I can have gun fights. It's just a gun that shoots balls. I know, I'm such a bad parent...encouraging gun fighting...lol. It is so like Melany to get something like that. I can't wait to see what she gets him for Christmas. I didn't do a fancy cake this year (making cards, remember) so I bought these Wall-E cake decorations. Tanner loved them. For his friends party, I did a caterpillar cake. Sharon lent me her jumbo cupcake pans and I made one for each child and they got to decorate the cupcake and take it home for their treat. They all had fun with that. Well, that's probably more than what everyone cared to know about his birthday, but we had a good time...even though he fighting a cold AGAIN!



















Matt is still looking for a permanent job. The Fed-Ex thing...well, we haven't heard back from them at all. So we're back at square one. He has some odd jobs that he's working on, but nothing to bring in the income we need for our bills. He counted the number of places he's applied to right now and he told me it's 27 places. And that's just in the last week. So hopefully something will come of it. I'm not too stressed this time round. We've been through this before and the main thing I learned is that I can't force someone to hire Matt so there's no point in stressing too much about it. Obviously, I'm a little concerned, but we're praying and Matt is doing the best he can. We know that we're doing all we possibly can to put figure out what to do. But that's enough of that.

We just got our new ensign today so I'm excited to read that today. I love the ensign and it really makes me feel so grateful and appreciative of what I have. It really helps re-set my priorities every month or re-affirms that what I'm doing is what I should be doing. Tanner uses the 'Friend' to do Family Home Evening lessons. He will usually read the picture stories (the ones that have pictures for words) or read the 'Matt and Mandy' story. He would teach FHE every week if we let him, but I have to put him into the rotation in the new year. I would like to make a FHE chart because right now I just have it on our calendar who's doing what.

Well, sorry for the LONG winded entry. I had a lot that I was thinking about and wanted to share. I hope everyone is enjoying their day and has a great week!

Check this out!

I came across THIS and entered to win. It would make a great baby gift...don't you think? I have a friend who's expecting this month and I just found out this morning that another friend in Calgary is expecting. So many babies! too bad it wasn't me...lol.

Soemthing funny

My Mom had this at her house and so I copied it...

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it...don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.


Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow ear? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is 1:1. If you have two bodies, your ratio is 2:1, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can think of a singe one, sorry. My philosophy is: no pain...Good!

Q:Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! food are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they are permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit ups if you want a bigger stomach

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel good food around

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. And remember: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather a skid in sideways-a glass of wine in one hand, chocolate in the other, body thoroughly used up , totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, what a ride'.

And for those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.