Happy New Years Eve!!!

 2009 is coming to a close. It’s hard to believe I started my blog 7 months ago. This has been such a great way for me to document our family. I know one day we will look back at some of my posts and get a good laugh. I love the fact that through this venture I have met some new friends and kept in touch with some old. I hope that the New Year will bring much happiness and keep you all well.
 Have a Happy New Year.

What the New Year will bring!!!

I am going to start this out by saying I am a crafters pack rat. I love crafts!!! Because I am a crafter I save things. In hopes that one day that item will come in handy. There are many things that I do and the stuff is scattered all over the house.  I make everything from building small additions to furniture, to painting anything that doesn’t walk, well maybe even walking….

I scrapbook, I not only bake but I decorate cakes.  I have many New Years resolutions but only one I know I can keep.  Consolidate and organize!!! The only way I can do that is to get myself a craft room.   I have My Cottage in the sky that I used in the past but because it is not attached to the house I find that I don't go out there as much as I should. Transforming a guest bedroom into a crafts room / guest bedroom would be more useful. This week I started to consolidate. As I was cleaning out my pantry I found buried in the back some old Candle jars. Now these will come into use in my craft room.

I put the candle jars in a hot pot of water.  Not Boiling!!!!

In a few minutes the wax will start to melt along the sides. As soon as the centers are soft I removed the hot glass with a paper towel. I then dumped the small amount of melted wax from the jar onto a paper plate. I immediately broke the remaining wax up with a fork and removed it from the jar.  

I put the jar back into the hot water for a few seconds to melt the residual wax off. I removed it again and with a paper towel and wiped it dry. As soon as the class was cooled I washed it with soap and water.

Dried it clean

This is why I save things.

I knew if I saved them long enough they would come in handy..(*_*)

We are going to go full swing in transforming the guest bedroom into my new crafts room starting the New Year. You will see step by step demolition and decorating.

Hardy Beef Stew

Christmas Eve was very cold here in Florida. I decided that we needed to have some good comfort food. I thought a hardy beef stew with mashed potatoes would really worm us up. I cooked the meat in the Crock Pot all day. The meat was so tender and the gravy was full of flavor.

1 three pound beef roast, cut into chunks
4 cups of beef broth
1 onion cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper cut into chunks
4 large carrots cut into chunks
8 mushrooms sliced
2 tablespoons of corn starch
¼ cup of parsley chopped.
Salt and pepper to taste

I added the meat and the beef broth to the Crock Pot and let it cook for four hours. After the four hours the meat is very tender. At that point add the Vegetables starting with the ones that cook the longest. Example: 1st carrots, green peppers, onions then mushrooms. Cook for two hours. Mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup of water and stir into the stew. Add salt and pepper to taste.

It is a tradition every year that my Father in-law and Mother in-law give us a Honey Baked Ham. That has become our family Christmas dinner. This year I served it with stuffing, corn and spinach.

Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day Dinner

Christmas Eve was very cold here in Florida. I decided that we needed to have some good comfort food. I thought a hardy beef stew with mashed potatoes would really worm us up. I cooked the meat in the Crock Pot all day. The meat was so tender and the gravy was full of flavor.

1 three pound beef roast, cut into chunks
4 cups of beef broth
1 onion cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper cut into chunks
4 large carrots cut into chunks
8 mushrooms sliced
2 tablespoons of corn starch
¼ cup of parsley chopped.
Salt and pepper to taste

I added the meat and the beef broth to the Crock Pot and let it cook for four hours. After the four hours the meat is very tender. At that point add the Vegetables starting with the ones that cook the longest. Example: 1st carrots, green peppers, onions then mushrooms. Cook for two hours. Mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup of water and stir into the stew. Add salt and pepper to taste.

It is a tradition every year that my Father in-law and Mother in-law give us a Honey Baked Ham. That has become our family Christmas dinner. This year I served it with stuffing, corn and spinach.

There is a very happy little boy

Christmas was so wonderful.  I love the reactions of our little boy and making his dreams came true.  When he sent his wish list Santa he only listed one item. He told me to write a letter to Santa so he could be surprised with everything else he gets.

He was very surprised that he received things that he loves.

The past two years on Christmas Eve, the Cisco Kid has left Santa a letter with his cookies.  This year he wanted to know if he was naughty or nice. 

We were in Target the Tuesday before Christmas and The Cisco Kid saw a toy that he really wanted. We told him that Santa is watching and he might bring him the toy. On Christmas morning when he opened that toy he said, Wow!!! Santa is really watching me. The Cisco Kid is a true believer. 

To make our Christmas very special Grandma and Grandpa came to spend the holiday with us.

Christmas Eve we got an unexpected visit from some friends. They tried to sneak up to the house. They parked down the street so they wouldn't be seen until they rang the bell. We spotted them and as soon as we opened the door they started to sing Jingle bells. They brought the most delicious deserts.

The Cisco Kid made a Ginger bread train.