Thursday, December 11, 2008

Cute (freaky) Snowmen..

I saw this over at skiptomylou.org . Candy corn for noses and candy eyes for...eyes. Put them on small white powdered doughnut and you are the domestic queen!

Wouldn't this be adorable for Christmas morning?


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Cookie Exchange and Saving Money...

Kelly from www.2passthetorch.com had this idea to share:

How to host the perfect Cookie Exchange Party
1. The husbands and kids went to one house, with snacks to share and beverages.
2. The wives went to a house directly across the street, with beverage and six dozen cookies, in half-dozen packages (so each woman arrived with 12 small bags containing six cookies each.)
3. We put our cookies on the table and opened one package as a sampler. This left 11 bags of half-dozen cookies to be exchanged.
4. We enjoyed conversation, drinks and snacks and when the hostess rang the bell, we each chose three baggies from the table. About 10 minutes and lots of laughter later, she rang the bell again. We each chose three more baggies. And so it went until most the cookies were gone.

There were probably 15-20 women at the gathering and we stayed for about three hours. But the system would work no matter how many women attended. Thanks to my very smart neighbors for creating such a perfect and fun way to host a cookie exchange!


So here is the money saving idea:

Check this out...tons of promotion codes for shopping online or in the store. Very cool! Don't ever shop online without a code! Please.
www.retailmenot.com


14 days left!!

Did you know...

goodreads.com has a Mormon book club?

Me neither.

Want to check it out?

Go here. I just joined. I'll start with January's book.

Enjoy!!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Old Navy Deals...

I wish I could really present you with a gift card...but finances won't allow it this year. Maybe next year. However I have something almost as good.

This promo code 20FREESHIP . There it is. Isn't it beautiful? Enter that number/word in the promo box at check out and get 20% off your order plus free shipping if your order reaches over $100.

You can do what I did and only go through their clearance items (make sure you do a search under clearance for the size you are looking for or you'll be frustrated with how many items aren't your child's size).

My breakdown:

Initial cost of the items plus shipping $278

But since all my items were clearance it was only $147 and change with shipping.

Then after entering my magic promo code it plummeted to $120.32

Can we all say, "SWEET!"

This is ONLY good Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday and online only. (shipping is only $7.00 so if you don't want to get to $100 it's not that big of a deal.)

Merry Christmas!

It's Getting Hot in Here...

So our weather is opposite of all of you who live north of Mexico. Us southerners are headed out of "rainy season" and into "dry season". Now that I'm ready to stop making the cinnamon rolls, soups and hot chocolate {although it was a stretch to try and feel that it was cool enough to make those} you are ready for them.

So in honor of Christmas {and winter for you} I'm going to throw a great sugar cookie recipe at you. And free of charge, a few tricks I've learned.

TRICK # 1
When rolling out your sugar dough, use powdered sugar instead of flour to prepare the rolling pin and counter so the dough doesn't adhere. Don't worry, it won't make them too sugary. I promise.

It will however make sure that you don't get floury dry tasteless cookies. Trust me on this one.

TRICK # 2
If you are using shortening instead of butter, put plastic wrap into your measuring cup before you add the shortening. Then when you have packed it in, you just pull up on the plastic wrap and pop the shortening out.

This ensures you get all of it out and you don't have a greasy measuring cup to clean afterward.

TRICK # 3

Did you know you can purchase something called "butter flavoring". It's lovely. Add a little to this recipe {or your homemade rolls} and watch out! You'll have your sweety asking for these cookies even more than he asks for....ahem....water.

Your welcome...oh and don't double this recipe like I did. It already makes 60 servings.
This is courtesy of www.allrecipes.com


The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
Submitted by: Jill Saunders
Rated: 4 out of 5 by 2071 members Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 8 Minutes Ready In: 3 Hours
Yields: 60 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Seven Month Mark

Just a picture of what a typical street looks like here. Costa Rica does have it's U.S. type streets but not very many of them.

So we have reached the seven month mark...I'm going to take a moment to pat myself on the back here.
{pat...pat...pat}

I've come up with an analogy for my relationship with Costa Rica. Do you want to hear it?

I figured. {Just humor me} Here goes.

When I first met my friend "Costa Rica" she was beautifully dressed, calming and full of adventure. I wanted to be like her. She seemed perfect.

Then I got close enough to see many brown spots, crows feet and a few occasions when she decided to behave with less than stellar character. {Our floods, struggling with the language and the difficulty of raising a large family here} I had to ask myself if I still wanted Costa Rica as a friend? Did I?

No, I was angry and disappointed.

I quickly learned that I couldn't avoid her. She was everywhere; the store, in town and even in my home. I then decided to stick it out and see what I can learn from her. Boy have I sat at the feet of this instructor. And now, finally, from this view, she is again beautiful to me.

I don't expect her to be something she's not. Her crows feet and quirkiness are what make her more attractive. I'm not trying to make her {Costa Rica} into what I think she should be and then be disappointed when she doesn't conform. I'm starting to love her for who she is...and our relationship is blossoming.