There's a printer give-a-way!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/special-offers/2010/11/name-your-favorite-holiday-recipes-and-enter-to-win-a-printer/

While checking out some of my favorite blogs I came across this give-a-way that is good through December 31, 2010. 

If you're feeling lucky - it's worth a try...

Good Luck,
Tess

Great artist!

http://nathanpinnock.com/Site/Welcome.html

Nathan Pinnock is an artist that has great imagination and can truly paint people!   I encourage you to go take a look at his gallery - you'll find yourself smiling in his Christmas grouping.

I should add that there is a give away over at Home Hinges... for the above painting...


http://homehinges.com/

Santa Claus is com'n to town.....

Tess

Christmas Homemade Ornaments...

Seeing the world through the eyes of a young child can add so much to our "traditions". What we 'adults' do with nothing more than a shrug, becomes a new adventure when you share them with the younger set.

Today our first adventure was paper flower ornaments.

step one - grandma forgot the camera!  You cut cool Christmas scrapbook paper into strips the same size.  Then you get your camera and start snapping as your little one uses a glue pen to outline the shapes on the paper.  Next sprinkle some snow glitter on the strips of paper.

Then you put them all together with a brass brad and spread them out to make a flower...

Then you take a fun picture with the little one grinning in the background!

Next was the Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments.

We mixed up 1/3 Cup of Cinnamon, 1/3 Cup of Applesauce and 1 tsp white glue (I'll leave out the glue next time) until it was like a big blob of Chocolate ~ as my granddaughter says. Just a suggestion ~ if your little one does not have a long attention span, 1/3 cup is plenty for the first adventure...

Here are a few photos of our process...

You have to make a ball and then press it down...

Next cut out a shape and don't forget to make the hole for the ribbon for hanging!

The last step was to put them on the cookie sheet to be put in a 200 degree oven until they have dried out...we don't know yet how long THAT is going to take! 

...but the house is smelling very Christmasie...


Enjoy your Christmas traditions!

Tess

December so soon?!

In June you think December will never arrive and then you blink and it is here! That was the case again this year.

My favorite things this time of this year...
1) Christmas Music
2) The smells of home cooking
3) All the decorations in the stores
4) Hanging of the greens at church
5) Watching Christmas movies with my family
6) Christmas morning breakfast

Enjoy your traditions this Holiday Season!

Ho..Ho..Ho..
Tess

Online Give-Aways!

Oh how I try to win from online blogs! Tatertots and Jello is giving away a wonderful little machine called a silhouette! I've tried several times for this little baby - it works for scrap booking, material, cakes, cards - just anything and everything you might want to create!

Click on the Tatertots and Jello icon above to go see all the info on the Silhouette-Sd

You must read the fine print of these give aways ~ some require you to return to their site and see if you've won, and some will e-mail you. Other sites are so popular you're up against 30 thousand entries (which is still better than winning the lottery)to win one little thing like a camera or mixer.

Still, I enter - it is fun!

Enjoy your family this week!
Tess

Something New - Curry Chicken!

My something new this weekend was to cook a family recipe for the first time; T.L. Osborn's Curry Chicken.

T.L. is my great-uncle (my grandpa's brother) who travels the globe as a missionary. When he came back from a trip to India he came up with this recipe.

2-pkg chicken thighs - boil without skin in chicken broth - remove, pick meet from bones, and set aside
1 doz eggs - boiled, peeled, and set aside

In food processor - process to very, very fine pieces -
3 medium green bell peppers
1 large onion
3 cloves of Garlic (the little sections)
1/2 of jalapeño - cleaned with no seeds

4 TBS Curry Powder
handful of salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Put the pepper mixture, curry, salt & pepper in the broth and let boil for 20 minutes.
Okay - ever watch those professional cooking shows - they all harp on doing taste tests, now is the time - you may want to add more jalapeños &/or add red pepper flakes to taste. This dish can get VERY hot!
Add chicken and eggs and let boil another 5 minutes
Shut off flame/heat and let all steep overnight.

Serve over rice with salad and bread on the side.

This is a family favorite and we always love walking into my mother's house and smell curry chicken cooking away.

The funniest story with this dish...my mom was cooking for 12 and tripled the recipe (including peppers) well, it was so hot we ended up with 1 Cup of rice to 1/8 C of soup! Poor mom, she was the brunt of that story for ... well, she's still living that one down!

Enjoy!
Tess

Found IT!

It is a wonderful feeling when I overcome small obstacles like...where's that font color! I know that some people think that is a laughable statement, but not to me. Next obstacle….changing them again when I change the background.

Yes, there are many links to help you understand this blogging monster, but I don’t really have hours and hours to read. I tend to follow my bosses philosophy – just hit enter until it works the way you want ~ HA! That theory is easier to follow when you have an 800 number for free assistance.

The big life lesson today is to reach out beyond your comfort zone and try, just try something new. Click a new button, shop at a new store, try a different dish at your local restaurant and laugh if it any or all ‘bomb’! When we laugh at ourselves, we are laughing with the world ~ not watching with fear and tears.

Plan something this weekend you’ve never done before~and let us all know of your experience.

Happy growth!
Tess