Glitter Birds on a Tinsel Branch

This is the last week before Christmas and like any other psycho, I've decided to try a few new crafts and sewing projects along with all of the other necessary things my schedule is packed FULL of. Why? It's simple. I cannot function if I only do the necessary things. I have to have a couple mindless, fun projects mixed in so I don't have a nervous breakdown!

So the other day I was looking through my Martha collection and came across this little gem from her December 2006 magazine. It's a centerpiece made out of a branch, tinsel and a few glitter birds. My husband went out back and found a branch that had fallen (cost 0.00) and I found tinsel at Target for 1.99. The only things missing were the birds. Hobby Lobby was selling a pack of birds for 1.99 and bought 2 and little Sophia let me use her glitter. Total cost, 8.00 and about 1 hour to put it together. It's going on my round dining table and I love it. Simple but kind of magical looking.


http://www.marthastewart.com/article/glitter-bird-centerpiece

Today I'm going to finish our Christmas stockings.

Cheesy Grits and Buttermilk Pie

I love living in the south. I really do! I've lived in the US all together for something like 19 years and most of that has been spent south of the Mason Dixon line. I hope it stays that way, especially because of the friendships I've made with "legit" southerners who have taken me under their wings and shared top secret personal info, like family recipes. Corn pudding for one, is a holiday favorite, boiled custard is another (I've never made it because you can buy it at the grocery store) pickled watermelon (never tried this either)... but here are two more worth trying over Christmas break. Ultimate comfort foods!

Cheesy Grits (a variant of a southern fave):

2 c water

1 1/4 c milk

1 tsp salt

1 c grits

1/2 c and 1 tbsp butter

1/3 c green onion chopped

4 oz velveeta

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 1/2 c shredded cheddar

1 can of spicy Rotel

Cook your grits in milk and water. Add salt and stir until it's thick and creamy. Add your 1/2 c of butter and stir. Saute the green onions in the tbsp of butter and then add to the grit mixture. Add both the velveeta and the cheddar until they're melted and garlic powder. Then stir in the rotel until it's completely incorporated. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes uncovered. SO GOOD WITH FRIED CHICKEN, COLESLAW AND HONEYBUTTER BISCUITS.

Lemon Buttermilk Pie:

3 eggs

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 tbsp flour

1 c buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp nutmeg

uncooked pie crust

heavy whipping cream plus one tbsp sugar

Mix well and pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake 40-60 minutes at 350. While baking, whip your cream and sugar until peaks form. Cool pie and serve with a healthy dollop of cream on top (It takes the edge of the tanginess and richness of the pie)

Butter makes everything better.

GO ARMY BEAT NAVY!!!

" The Army-Navy football game will take place Saturday afternoon at 2:30 eastern time. It is annually the last regular-season college football game and one of the oldest and most storied rivalries in any sport. The Army-Navy game tradition began in 1890, when Navy won. Army won the next season, and ever since it's been a hotly contested game. There have been 110 Army-Navy games, with Navy holding the edge, 54-49-7. That edge has come about only recently, as Navy has won the past eight games. Last season, Navy won 17-3 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The game will be played in the same venue Saturday. Army (6-5) enters the game with one its best teams in a while, though. The Black Knights are headed to a bowl game for the first time since 1996, as second year coach Rich Ellerson seems to have righted the ship at West Point. Navy (8-3), however, is no pushover. Under Ken Niumatalolo, who took over for Paul Johnson, the Middies have won eight games and will head to a bowl game for the third straight season. Overall, the Midshipmen have won at least eight games for eight straight seasons. The game will air on CBS."

UPDATE: Ugh, maybe next year Army.

Tree Skirt

Every year I feel the need to make new stockings and a tree skirt. Last year I was really into burlap. Yuck! It was so messy and when I tried to stencil the kids' names on the cuff, the paint bled and looked horrible.

So, this year I want to use real fabric and real batting and not have to get both my sewing machine and embroidery machine serviced immediately because of all the nasty lint. BURLAP IS BAD. Design sponge posted this free tutorial a couple of days ago for a super easy skirt you can make in less than an hour. Check it out: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/12/sewing-101-tree-skirt.html

Jason Hinds

One of my friends sent me this video about an amazing guy she knows from BYU named Jason Hinds. Watch it, it's great!!!

Wrestlemania 2010

Spencer had an AWESOME wrestling season! He was 7-1 and got 3rd at the district tournament. He had wonderful coaches and a great team. He's had the first pin of the season and the only wrestler to medal from his school. Very cool.

Turducken Day and MORE...

I haven't posted in a while because, like everyone else, I'M BUSY. Autumn seemed to fly by without stopping even once, so here's a little recap.


Lots of scouting, tap/ballet, wrestling, etc going on. The boys earned a respectable amount of merit badges and my oldest is just about ready to start his eagle. Cross your fingers and hold your breath!!


Turducken and ham were the main dishes at my parent's Thanksgiving feast. Turducken is a chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey with a creole sausage stuffing between the layers... Yummy, but a lot of meat, right? So after about day two, I couldn't take it anymore and was craving fresh fruit which resulted in an accidental persimmon overdose. Prior to this happening, I didn't know such a thing was possible, but it is. Don't eat persimmon skins (very acidic) and don't eat them period on an empty stomach. PERSIMMON POISONING!!!Unbelievably, I still managed to win a pretty tight game of Scrabble that same night and the only person in the country who lost weight over the weekend!

The egg rolls at the bottom right hand corner are always my hands down favorite Thanksgiving food. Although, my sister's boyfriend Anthony made a delicious corn salad that came in a close second. Thanks Anthony.

Sophie had a lovely tea party back in August for her birthday and I just found the pictures again. It was cute.

Church dances are always entertaining, and this quad-stake one was no exception. It was a little crowded and hot though! Yes Miley, there is a party in the USA.


Grace had a party with some friends at the corn maze. They had a great time, but I was paranoid the whole time about losing a child in the maze. I'm really fun.

Oh Horn of Plenty!!!

Phew.

This is the first year that our maple tree out front changed color. It was so bright that it almost hurt your eyes when you looked at it on a sunny day. I love nature.... no wait that's a lie, I love nature in a very controlled environment.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are looking forward to Christmas! It really is the most wonderful time of the year!!!!