Goodbye 2009

Happy New Year's Eve Day to all my blogger friends! My wish for you is a happy, healthly, hopeful, safe and fun 2010! We are spending New Years Eve with dear friends and I know the evening will be filled with good food and lots of laughs! Today I am working (yes working on vacation) and doing laundry and making a dessert for tonight. I'd love to dig into my scrapbooking stuff, but it is last on the to-do list today! Lots of cold and snow are in the forecast here in SW Michigan for tonight and the rest of the weekend. Be safe and have fun...

Lazy Vacation Days

Happy Tuesday After Christmas!! Here are a few shots from our Christmas day.

We opened stocking and gifts at home. We gave the girls a Wii on Christmas eve and they both got a camera from Santa. It was a very nice and relaxing Christmas morning.


Here are my beauties just before we left for the day.


Our next stop was Grandma and Grandpa Youtzy's house for a yummy turkey and ham dinner and loads of gifts. This is a photo of all the Youtzy's grandkids.

Our last stop was my brother Rick's house where the Riggin family gathered our Christmas. We played the stealing game with gifts and then ate a wonderful turkey dinner. Luckily we all like turkey!!


And before we left Rick's house, we took a family photo. It was a beautiful Christmas day!

I'm on vacation until January 7, 2010. Yeah!! Yesterday the girls and I did returns and shopped. I was exhausted. Two teenage girls at the mall is a bit much for this old mom!! Today I'm going to putz around the house all day. Tomorrow I work at the scrapbook store and New Years Eve we are going to spend time with friends having dinner, playing games and ringing in the new year!

I love Vacation!!

Lucky, Lucky Me!!!

On Thanksgiving Day I won a gift basket from the amazing scrapbook artist Donna Downey. I was so excited to receive it earlier this week. It was full of amazing scrapbooking supplies! I don't even know where to begin! And the coolest thing was original art work from Donna. It is beautiful and I LOVE it!

Thank you so much to my friend Patti, who posted the contest on her Facebook! I have a little something to share with you!! And thank you to Donna and her husband Bill who were very kind to me and contacted me a couple of times. I feel so lucky!

And... I actually plan to scrapbook over Christmas vacation!!! Yeah!

SNOW DAY!

We are under a blizzard warning. It's COLD, Snowy and Blowing.... that means WMU is closed!!! The University doesn't close often and this is the last week before exams. So you know it's bad out for WMU to be closed. This means a day at home for me!! I'm going to bake and craft all day. No cleaning. No laundry. No housework at all. Just baking and crafting for me! Yeah!!! I hope you enjoy your snow day too...

Christmas Tree Hunt

Yesterday we went on our annual hunt for the perfect Christmas Tree. It is one of my favorite days of the season! The weather was cold and sunny and perfect! It took us about 20 minutes and there she was.... all tall and pretty and perfectly uneven branches for decorating! I LOVE it!

Such silliness and fun!!!

Crafts and Cookies

I'm in the Holiday spirit! I saw this idea on someone's blog... really I must be better at paying attention. So, I'm sorry I cannot give credit where it's due. This is not my idea, but my version. If you know me, you know I'm no where near perfect and in fact when crafting, tend to like the imperfections that make it homemade. So, this is now hanging in my guest bathroom. LOVE it!

It is simply punched squares of coordinating patterned scrapbook paper in an 11" x 17" frame. I die cut "Be Merry" and glued it on. I think I will do this for each season/holiday for this bathroom. Maybe next time it will be a little more even!! I don't care - I love it!

This idea I saw somewhere too.... can't even remember if it was online or on tv. Anyway, I bought a big container of shatter proof ornaments and I strung them on a hanger. First I hot glued the tops on so I didn't have any falling ornaments. I hated working with the hanger and will probably end up remaking it and putting it on a thinner wire. I don't have the hand strength to twist the hanger, although it holds all the ornaments nicely. This wreath greets you as you come in my front door.

Last night I made one of my favorite Christmas Cookies - Nestle Crunch Snowballs. YUMMY!! They are a perfect little butter cookie with Nestle Crunch bars in the dough and then rolled in powdered sugar. What could be better? Why sharing with you of course! ENJOY!


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
5 (1.55 oz. each) NESTLÉ CRUNCH Candy Bar, chopped(about 15 snack size are perfect)
1/4 cup powdered sugar


Directions
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. BEAT butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar and salt in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract; gradually beat in flour. Stir in chopped Crunch bars. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets.


BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and bottoms are lightly browned. SIFT 1/4 cup powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheet; cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes. Carefully remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar if desired. Store in airtight containers. Freezes really well.

Times Have Changed

You know times have changed when your 14 year old daughter sends you an instant message on Facebook that she is ready to be tucked in! I couldn't stop laughing!! I was in my bedroom right next to hers. I was on the laptop on Facebook and she had her Ipod Touch and was also on Facebook. It was really funny!