This evening, I discovered that all of the meat that I purchased on Friday has been in the refrigerator, rather than the freezer--the "sale by" dates were all December 6.  It was cook it NOW, or lose it--so I made sirloin burgers, a large pot of meat sauce, and as I type, the pork is roasting in the oven for carnitas.  So, dinner should be covered for the next couple of days...I am cooling off at the computer with a glass of iced tea, LOL!

This past week was busy.  A large and unpleasant task was completed~I am thankful.  A little boy turned six~he is so happy!   

Now I am trying to finish up all Christmas shopping and prepare for baking and candy-making.  My boys will have lessons to complete this week, then we might stop for the year. 

This evening, I am preparing all of my bills for the week and checking my calendar.  There are a couple of things that I need to schedule before January...

I will try to blog a little more this week! 

This is a busy week!  Actually, the past month has been quite busy--I miss blogging, reading, and commenting on my subs! 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my in-laws house.  My friend, Erika, visited from Finland (by way of Florida, LOL).  We had not seen each other in 18 years, since my senior year of high school.  I think I wrote about this--she lived with us that year as an exchange student.  On Friday, we went to the Renaissance Festival in Plantersville.  I haven't been since I was pregnant with Sailor, six years ago!  It is like a time-warp--I love that...

I thought that I would be finished with my Christmas shopping by now, but shopping has been put on the backburner for the past couple of weeks.  I am hoping to get the boys' stocking stuffers finished next week...

Sailor will turn 6 on Friday!  He wanted a big party (and we were planning it), but there is too much going on (and for once, I am not afraid to change plans, LOL!)...so, we compromised with him having a friend spend the night, for the very first time.  He is so excited. 

I've had my Christmas play-list ready for weeks and finally had time to post it tonight...enjoy!  (Just ignore that Peter Cottontail at the end, LOL--it's on reserve!). 

I am sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I am a little bummed about the whole xanga thing, and am wondering if I need to close it and open an anonymous blog somewhere else.  I don't want to do this--I paid for a LIFETIME membership last year--but I will, if I have to...

Today, we went to the zoo and the park.  We have been listening to Christmas music in the car (I know, I know), and the boys' favorite song right now is, "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  We all sing the ENTIRE song--it is so fun to watch them in the rearview mirror!  Anyways, I found myself resisting the compulsion to over-articulate the T's in the word "turtle" like Martha Stewart, LOL.  I think it was a couple of years ago when she made turtle doves on her show, and every time she said, "turtle", she made sure that the second T was just as *crisply articulated* as the first, LOL.  Obviously, it made an impression...

Tonight, as I was boiling potatoes on the stove, I burned the tip of my index finger!  Ugh, the pain of a burned finger or a little pin-pricked finger--it is THE worst.  I had my finger in a mug of ice water and Pilot (our 2-year old) got very upset because I would not let him have a drink!    I had to distract him with a sippy cup...

Speaking of Pilot, I think that I can officially say that he is weaned.  He is not happy about it.  For the last month, he has cried and been very hurt with my refusal...I do feel bad (and, I slipped up a couple of nights, when he woke up crying--I was so tired, I let him nurse...).  This is the longest I have nursed a baby, and it was much easier to wean the 5- and 4- year olds (at around 20 months), because I was pregnant with the next baby. 

Well, that is all for now!  I am going to go back to soaking my burned finger, while I read a little--The Secret Life of Bees.  I went to see this at the movies the other night and it was soooo good.  I found out, the next day, that my friend had the book--and so far, the movie is very, very close to the book.  Closer than they usually are (I never got over Where the Heart Is--I like the movie, but it was not nearly as good as the book!).

Soon after I woke up this morning, I was longing for the smell of Christmas (I wish I had a real Christmas tree in my house right now, and would if it would not be a fire-starter by Christmas, LOL!).  Last night I had an apple core that I did not want to throw away--I was considering making a simmering potpourri for the stovetop.  However, I found that I am out of almost everything that I use:  mainly, cranberry juice and cinnamon sticks (I have plenty of whole cloves!).  So, today I improvised:  I filled my teapot with water, the apple core, two heaping tablespoons of frozen orange juice, ground cinnamon, and cloves.  I brought the pot to a boil, then turned it down to simmer.  My five-year old, Sailor, came to me quickly, asking what that good smell was!  It smells a lot like the homemade spiced tea that I make.  The living room and kitchen are scented for the day, and I am back to cleaning and preparing for Christmas decorations.

Other things to add to simmering stovetop potpourri:  sliced oranges, lemons, or limes, or, if eating apples or oranges, save the peels to add.  Remember to add water or cranberry juice as the potpourri cooks down!

ETA:  It's a small world after-all!  I received an e-mail this morning that included a simmering potpourri where they used apple cider as the liquid--nice!

I use Pampered Chef bread tubes for the bread (I am not sure if they still sell bread tubes, but I found one of mine at an antique/thrift store and you can probably find them on e-bay).  I have the heart, the star, and the scalloped (flower) shapes.

I used the star:

Spray the tube (and ends) with Baker's Joy, attach one end, then drop in a tube of 10 biscuits and cover with the other end.  Bake it, upright on one end, in the oven at 375* for 45-50 minutes.  Let it cool completely before cutting--I like to use my electric knife to cut it, because the bread is quite dense (and, of course, I cannot find my electric knife...).

For the cucumber spread, I mince about half an onion, then peel, core, and chop two cucumbers, and mix with one block of cream cheese (two blocks if you like it less onion-y). 

Add salt and pepper to taste,

then spread on the bread.  With this bread, I like to make them open-faced:

I make these for teas and they are always well-received, LOL!

Also, you can swap out the cucumber for crumbled bacon (and add chopped mushroom stems), stuff in mushroom caps, and bake for 10-15 minutes on 350*.  YUM!

*Protected*

My husband sent this *super short* video to me--this is the industry he works in and we will be affected by--listen to the "S"-word slip.