Today's Adventure...

I know I've posted about this before but, our family enjoys drinking Raw Milk. It tastes sooooo much better than store bought and is very healthy for you(read some of the links on that website)! The first time Amy tried it she said it tasted "alive". Today Sarah and I set off about 9am for our hour-long trek with threat of sleet and snow, thankfully we had neither. Here's what we saw...



(we didn't think they'd stick around, some were a bit antsy but some came right on up)


(this babe licked our hands with her rough tongue)


(she really liked getting her nose petted)




(isn't she a doll?)

Nothing but cuteness...

We're getting there....

Who knew it would take hours and hours to get the lights on a 12 foot tall tree? I was worn out after that activity so we are taking our time putting the ornaments on. Besides, I've got the kids' cold now. Sigh.

Doesn't it look better already?(sorry for dark photos, in my editing program they look just fine but blogger makes them much darker-at least on my monitor they are**edited** they are fine once the post is published so maybe its just the blogger uploader/previewer making them look dark)



Mark and I went to a wonderful Christmas party last night. There was enough food(and I mean good, real food) to feed 4 times the crowd we had(about 50). There was karaoke, a chinese present exchange(the one I brought got stolen twice-that was the limit), and a fire(on a table, not in the fireplace)! A groovy time was had by all. We came home and watched two rented movies, the new Indian Jones(very fun and fast moving) and The Happening(ohso lame).



Ryan had church this morning but we decided against Joe Muggs today. Mark and I went to his office to get a ladder for the tree doings. Then he took Ryan and friends to the mall for the afternoon, making it back in time for the Cowboys game of course.



We have misplaced our ornament hangers so I'm stealing them from my glass things that won't go on the tree due to certain kitties named Gyspy, Jasper and Tallulah. They are fascinated and have all been to the top of it already. We're hoping once the ornaments are on they'll get bored with it.

I am Channeling the Great Griswold...

(Clark Griswold)

Ye of little faith will behold a wondrous sight.


(the faithless)

Come check late Sunday afternoon to see the transformation!!


(it said 11 feet on the tag, our ceiling is 12 feet, someone got it wrong)

****edited: oops, I think our ceiling is only 11 feet, my bad.****


(we have it anchored to the wall in two places and the ceiling beam as well)

Christmas Foods....

***updated***I moved the pictures to the bottom of this post lest people think we eat Guinea Pigs for Christmas dinner(thanks Aaron!).

Quite possibly my favorite thing about celebrating Christmas, besides the trees and lights, and fun, is the food!

We don't do a lot of parties and such but now and then we'll attend something that requires a dish or snack. My favorite side dishes to take along are Broccoli Rice(or Quinoa) Casserole and Special Dilled Potatoes. I'm actually taking the potatoes to a party tomorrow night!

My new favorite snack is my special recipe Deviled Party Mix. I use a large roaster pan for it because I like having it last all week long. My recipe goes something like this(all amounts are extremely approximate, sometimes I have to adjust as its cooking)...


(Pillsbury image)

Deviled Party Mix

Corn, rice, and wheat Chex cereals(about 3/4 or more of each box)
Quaker Oat(meal?) Squares cereal(I usually use all but a bowl or two of this)
pretzel twists(most of the bag)
salted mixed nuts(larger can)

3/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup(or 1/8th) spicy horseradish mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper(or more)
1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt(remember, this is a large amount of cereals to cover)
1 teaspoon each, garlic and onion powder

Mix the oil, margarine, vinegar and honey together and melt in 225 oven for about 13 minutes. Mix in spices and mustard, adding more oil if it doesn't seem like enough to coat all the cereals.

Add oatmeal squares first, then the rest. Stir well to coat, usually several minutes. Bake at 225 for 15 minutes. Stir well again and continue stirring every 15 minutes for about an hour. Because there is so much it sometimes takes longer to get it all dried out so play it by taste and texture.

Tomorrow we're going to get our tree at Danville Farms. I'm hoping to get it up and ready for lights before we go to the party. Sunday will probably be the big decorating day for us though.


(last year's mantel)


(Shimmer and Stella being Christmas angels)

Christmas Art....

(these were all done about 3 years ago using the paint program that came with windows)


(I used this one as a banner on my blog)


(I really don't know who drew which pictures)


(this is probably my favorite)



(guinea pigs of course)


(ok, so Spongebob isn't Christmas but he sure is cute!)

Oldies but Goodies...

It wouldn't be Christmas without...