Four calling birds

day #30

Is it horribly vain & not humble of me to say that I.lo.v.e. the cookies I made for Christmas?

because I do.

I don't remember the last time I made hard boiled eggs. Honestly, I had to look up how to do it, how long it needed to boil.

Went ice skating today, haven't done that in y.e.a.r.s however my rear did not meet the ice & the wall was my bff!

Also, today is the 4th Day of Christmas! Soooo... "on the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to my 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves & a partridge in a pair tree"

{I am thinking of ways to make a photo project out of this}

More today...

day #16.2

*Someone please tell me you get this! I find it too humorous to keep to myself.*

I made Christmas cookies! Never before have I made them myself, in fact the last few years I hadn't been involved at all. Years ago, when I was younger, making Christmas cookies was a B.I.G. thing, it was an all out activity. Since I was home schooled we could do this whenever we had the time. My mom would put on a {tape} of Christmas music, usually Kenny Rogers or Sandi Patty (her Christmas album from the 70's). This was fun, my mom would get aggravated because we (my two siblings & I) would get impatient & want to roll out the dough, or we would eat the dough. Eventually things would just get crazy, regardless it was fun.

Yesterday I made the cookie dough, my mom had about 4 recipes for sugar cookie dough, I found what looked like the best 2 & decided to make both to see which I preferred. Recipe #1 I cut in half because I didn't need {dozens} of cookies.

I found that recipe #2 was better, not as sticky, because I had minimal time yesterday & the dough had to chill, timing worked out perfectly because today I had time to do the cookies.

The cookies below are

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

I used a regular sugar cookie recipe then before baking I topped with crushed candy cane. After the cookies baked & cooled I frosted with peppermint frosting & topped with sprinkles & crushed candy cane.

They look so pretty!

While I made the cookies I listened to Kenny Rogers & Sandi Patty, just like I did when I was younger....took me back.

*

Yesterday I started making a wreath, I bought small ornaments from the dollar store (about 4 packs of 15 & 1 pack of 5) & I attached them to a wire coat hanger. To attach them I twisted the hanger apart, the ornaments just slide right on. I had my hot glue gun to glue any extras or if there was a malfunction with the ornaments.

I ran out of ornaments so I had to get 2 more packs (of 15), after it was full I re-twisted the hanger together.

....lo & behold, a wreath!

*

More Bokeh photos.

I went over to my friends house tonight &

was able to try a few more shots using the bokeh effect.

*{My Fav!}*

It looks like the light bubbles are spilling out of the cup.

Cookies

day #9

(My mini paper tree)

This morning I did a bit of shopping with my sister, I found two ornaments for my mom. They are snazzy. One a silver 16th note with bells & the other looks like a sock monkey but it has a blue "M" (for MI Wolverines), the body is gray. It goes with the tree decor & its for U of M.

I am made molasses cookies while watching Home Alone 2, reminds me of my childhood (the movie part). When I was a child, Home Alone was on TV all the time during the Christmas season & I hated it because I watched it all the time. The last few years I have been wanting to watch it but couldn't find it anywhere, just Home Alone 3 or 4. I still can't find the original one as a stand alone, it's always in a boxed set...oh well.

I love Christmas time & all the activities that come with it. The last few years I have felt as though I have missed out on so much because I was always working or had things to do. This year my schedule is very different. I made a list {you can see it by scrolling down, it should be near the bottom right, entitled "Things to do before Christmas"}, so far I haven't really done a complete thing yet. I would also like to have something for each letter of the aLpHaBeT.

Mmmm, molasses cookies! I love these!

(Recipe at end of post)

*

I just have to say, God is good. Everyday He is showing my that His timing is right. Currently God is doing some great things, they may be small for some people but for me it's a big deal. I'll post on that when the timing is right. ;)

For now what I can say is that everything that God does is for my benefit.

Prep Time:
10 Min

Cook Time:
10 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 20 Min

Servings (Help)

USMetricCalculate

Original Recipe Yield 5 dozen

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted margarine, 1 cup sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger; blend into the molasses mixture. Cover, and chill dough for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Roll dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until tops are cracked. Cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 120 | Total Fat: 4.7g | Cholesterol: 7mg

(Recipe from allrecipes.com)