It’s the most wonderful time of the year!! We are all getting together to celebrate this wonderful season called Christmas. Have I ever told you that my favorite time of the year is between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Sadly this year I feel like a bit of a scrooge. This has been a trying year but I’m sure trying to get past it because this is my favorite time of the year!
So anyway Saturday night we got dressed up and headed to the MO Governors Mounted Guard Christmas party. Hubby recently got involved with it. That makes me a Guard Gal :).
Anyway, everyone brought a gag gift to the party, and then all the guard members donated money to the CP Center in Webb City. I’d like to brag that they were able to raise over $200 for the CP center’s Christmas presents. They decided the money would be better than donating gifts, that way the center could buy the gifts that were really needed.
Then the fun ensued with the gifts. Oh yeah, we had food too… yum! Brisket, corn casserole, potatoes, ham, rolls, and desserts galore.
I have to admit this did brighten my spirits this holiday season! Now, where has my spirit gone anyway… has anyone seen it?
I never really thought of myself as a baby person, but I’m really smitten with mine! And by the way, she’s growing up WAY. TOO. FAST! She hit a month old on Saturday. Really? A month old :(. I have to tell you she was on her first horse at a month old… but shhhh don’t tell… lol :). I was too but again, don’t tell!… lol.
Anyway I wanted to do something to remember my baby as a baby so I went on pinterest after seeing that Katie had done the same thing and I found a recipe for a salt dough to make a Christmas tree ornament. Sweet!
My biggest fear is will it last? It did bake correctly and made a really cute ornament but I”m scared to death that it won’t last. Does anyone know??
Ingredients:
4 Cups Flour
1 Cup Salt
1 1/2 Cups water
This year I decided to make Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls instead of our traditional cookies for our friends and families. Hello yum is all I can say. I made 2 different rounds of Cinnamon Rolls.
Sadly this is the only photo I took of our tree with presents under it. Oy! I was in the process of wrapping presents this day and one of my friends emailed a photo of her tree so this is the photo I sent her back of our tree. (more…)
At our house, our Christmas tree is kind of like a living Christmas tree. I don’t mean we have a real tree because we don’t. And D the Man told me that fake tree fake presents, but we have a fake tree, and real presents. Just saying.
No what I mean is we collect ornaments every year that actually represent our lives/family every year. Trips, big monument things, etc. Sadly I think our tree is 6′ and we almost have it full. There are a few ornaments from when I was younger that I could take off if I needed to, but I don’t want to… so for now they stay :). Maybe one year we’ll have to have 2 trees but I’m not sure where we’ll put them.
Now in my kitchen up toward the ceiling I have these rack things. They were there when we moved in, I just repainted them, but still, when we buy ornaments I actually place them up on these hooks so that come Christmas I remember what I did with them. That’s what works for us. Sometimes we misplace things otherwise :(.
I’m sure most everyone has walked into a store these days and noticed the Christmas displays that have been haunting the aisles for over a month now. We definitely don’t want to jump holidays and forget about Thanksgiving, but Saturday November 2, 2013 we made an exception.
Over the weekend hubby, Tbug and I went to the first ever Newton County Christmas for Kids Bonfire and Chili Cook-off. The event was created as a way to raise funds for the kids of Newton County. Chili cook-off contestants made a pot of their best chili, paid $10 to enter their chili in the cook-off and let the judges do their job.
Hubby was excited to enter his chili. Saturday during the day Tbug went and hung out with my dad and she really wanted to make a chili to enter as well so dad helped her make chili and there were 2 entries from our house.
Tbug’s goal was to beat her daddy in the chili cook-off. I have to say, she accomplished her goal. And at the end of the night she just had 1 spoonful left. When she was going around telling people she made the chili, they’d look at me like did she really? I was like, yup. All my dad did was tell her how to do it and cut up her onions.
10 Contestants took their chance at winning the Gold, Silver and Bronze Spoons.
Once all the entries made their way to the table it was time to let the judges do their thing.
While the judges were judging, Grady and Jrod saddled up the horses and everyone took turns taking their ride around the pasture. There was also a bonfire set up so you didn’t have to worry about getting chilly on this wonderful cool fall evening. Although you couldn’t have asked for better weather!
Those who didn’t want to enter the contest for prize winning Chili could buy raffle tickets and take their shot at a bunch of choice prizes. Hubby won a gift certificate and a KC Chiefs sticker (btw, after Sunday they’re 9-0). I won a Tshirt (and I didn’t even know my name was in there). Tbug won hot chocolate. Perfect things for all of us :).
And don’t worry, after the Chili was judged, we got to eat. What can I say, we know how to eat. There was also stuff to make Frito or Tortilla Chip Pies, Corn Bread, stuffed jalapeno peppers and Desserts galore. If you left hungry, well it was your own fault.
At the end of the night the winners were announced. Earl got first, Jerry got 2nd and Rachele got 3rd (although she was at work so her husband had to accept for her!)
In the end, it is the kids who ultimately win! This was an event that was thought up and put together in 3 weeks. The goal was to raise $500. I’m proud of all the people who came out because with all the supporters, we raised $530 to go toward Christmas for the Newton County kids who deserve so much.
I’m so excited that hubby, Tbug and I were able to go and participate and it was awesome that Tbug’s chili beat out hubby’s. I know this because helped double check the tally’s and I promise, I was honest and truthful, otherwise my 2 would have won… lol. I’m just pointing out I didn’t rig it.
Two weeks ago on Rachael Ray they had one of The Doctors on the show and he was discussing food health and reading labels, etc. They picked up a bag of Bacon Bits and read through the ingredients… how scary was it that there was no bacon in Bacon Bits. ACK! So I guess the take home from this boys and girls, read your labels!
Ok now I’ll share a fun recipe with you, hows that for fun?!?! It even contains bacon bits, but the real things… just sayin!
Cheese Dip
1-16oz sour cream
1-8oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese
1-cup green onion
1-bag real bacon bits
For Christmas, (I know Christmas, what am I talking about) my mom had us come over early and help her with cooking preparations. To say she was a bit overwhelmed, well, we all have our moments and cooking in the kitchen is soooo my thing so I jumped at the chance to help out!! Besides she does everything else so brilliantly!!
The dip was sooo good that hubby and I couldn’t stay out of it. We practically ate it all ourselves. So then for New Years, we chose to make it again. We varied off this recipe we found on the Hellmann’s website a bit, but to remember what we did, well I’m not sure any 2 dips are the same anyway 🙂
Joplin recently got a new steakhouse. One thing about Joplin, there may be quite a few chain restaurants, however, when a new restaurant opens up, everyone and their brother seem to want to go eat there.
For Christmas my uncle and his girlfriend gave us a gift certificate to go to Longhorn Steakhouse… the new steakhouse in Joplin. For Tbug’s birthday, we were going to go eat there, however the wait time was 1 hour 15 minutes. No thank you. Dad travels for work and he says that’s pretty much the wait time at any he’s been to…. Crazy! So we left and went to eat at Jim Bob’s as there was no wait that night.
Jump forward to this past Sunday, when hubby and I woke up he wanted to go to Joplin so we got up and around and headed to town. After we went everywhere he wanted, but before heading to the store, we decided to try out our gift certificate at Longhorn Steakhouse.
We got there around 11:45 and were immediately seated. By the time we left there was a huge wait.
