So long...Farewell

I've been a blogger for seven years now. I've enjoyed the creativity of writing about and photographing the things in my world.

But blogging isn't what it used to be. Most of the blogs that I follow haven't been updated for...well...going on almost two years now!

And, unfortunately, it's just becoming "one more thing I HAVE to do" because yeah...

I feel guilty if my poor blog has been neglected for a week or two!

So I'm finishing up this blog with a big

 "So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night"

I'll still be "stalking" those of you who keep up on your blogs (thank you! thank you! thank you! I love reading about your "adventures"...big or small!) but I won't be posting anymore...at least for the foreseeable future.

So...Have a Happy New Year...and Goodbye!

The Reason for the Season

MERRY CHRISTMAS

(thank you mormon.org/ for the stained glass story of the Nativity)

 

little packages of holiday joy

i'm in love

i found these little delights recently.

my all time favorite reese's treats are the bags of easter eggs that come out each spring.

not the big 'ol easter egg or tree or pumpkin that you can buy in a single package.

no, these little gems are smaller and come in a bag.

the christmas trees look suspiciously like the easter eggs...but with a little dent here and there to make them look "tree-ish"

they have the perfect ratio of chocolate and peanut butter

yum!

Deadly Icicles?

we are growing a big 'ol crop of deadly icicles at our house.

now, i didn't know that icicles could be killers.

yes, i know the line the Ralphie's mother says in A Christmas Story...

"Icicles have been known to KILL people!"

but in all reality, have you ever heard of a frozen eave-cicle

hunting someone down and bashing them to death?

didn't think so...

until i watched the news the other night and they had a story about "potentially hazardous icicles" (i'm leaning heavily on that "potentially" part. why a spoon could be "potentially hazardous" too...as well as kittens and socks and q-tips....just saying)

the news story went on to say that in 2010 five people were killed by icicles in St. Petersburg Russia.

(i'm thinking there might have been a little vodka involved with that ice hanging off the roof!)

but you never can be too careful...

so watch out for deadly icicles -

they could be stalking you now!

"blah"-idays

i've had christmases (christmusses? christmasi?)

where i'm full of the yuletide spirit.

every surface in my house (vertical or horizontal) is decorated.

i've made sleighfuls of goodies and crafts and fun things.

why, these years we are practically bursting with red and green joy.

then...

there are years like this year.

don't know what it is, but this is a year

i'm really kind of "blah" about christmas.

(i'm not the only one...daughter #1 feels the same way)

don't get me wrong... i love the holiday.

i just don't want to decorate and craft and cook

 all that much this year.

 so my brand new christmas tree is going "minimal" this year. i usually load it with ornaments that we've collected from every place we've visited. this year...i've got the alligator riding santa from florida and that's about it. 

apparently i'm not the only one affected with
seasonal blah-ness this christmas.

even our beloved christmas light parade was lethargic this year. of course, it was cold enough to freeze your toes, but the whole parade lasted about 10 minutes!

i guess that's just their way of saying...

"happy blah-days to you!"

Pasta al "Freez-o"

When it's cold and snowy and icy...like it's been all day (and still is!)

there's only one thing to do for dinner...

make something yummy!

Tonight we had Pasta al Forno

Ridiculously easy and

wondrously delicious!

Boil your pasta and while that's cooking make a super simple...and delicious! (did I say that already?!) tomato sauce

 Throw the pasta in with the sauce

 Then layer with some creamy mozzarella and Parmesan

Dish it up and enjoy the taste of summer in your mouth...

no matter what the weather is like outside!

 

Pasta al Forno

1 lb. penne pasta (or some other "tube" pasta will do)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2   14 1/2 oz cans of diced tomatoes, undrained 

(just plain tomatoes...no basil, no garlic, no nothing)

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon dry basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

8 oz. mozzarella, in small cubes (use the good fresh kind if you can)

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta until it is al dente. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and spices. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or till slightly thick. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and mix together.

In a lightly greased 13x 9 pan layer half of the pasta/sauce mix and half of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat topping with Parmesan.

Bake 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Yum!

nothing says "Christmas" like Swine!

I was doing some shopping at Tar-get yesterday

(wedding gift shopping...Christmas shopping is done, finished, complete! Yes...you may be jealous!)

I was standing in the check-out line behind a very nice older couple.

Nicely dressed, kind and considerate...the kind of couple who have probably been a very nice Senior Missionary duo.

I'm sure they drive a nice car, have a beautiful home that is clean and cozy and sophisticated without being cold and heartless.

You know the kind of people.

They had a big Christmas box they were buying.

And since I didn't have anything else to do

 (I WAS just standing in line!)

I was curious what was in the box. One side had the following words printed on it:

"Tinsel Pig"

hmmm...was that some kind of storage unit for Christmas tinsel?

Luckily the clerk had to move the box this way and that to find the UPC code and then I saw it...

I saw the front of the box.

No Christmas storage unit this...it was a tinsel-y lighted pig...

fit for decorating your holiday home.

 This made me totally rethink my assumptions about the very nice older couple.

Maybe, just maybe, they had Beanie Babies and creepy Teddy Bears lined up all over their beds and couches and chairs. Maybe they collected dancing hula girls and bobble heads from every state they've ever been in.

I mean who would buy a pig for Christmas?

Although, somebody MUST buy them because Tar-get is selling them!

I guess I've learned my lesson...appearances can be deceiving...

or maybe I just never knew that nothing says Christmas like a pink pig in a Santa hat!