Fly Above

Always seek less turbulent skies.
Hurt. Fly above it.
Betrayal. Fly above it.
Anger. Fly above it.
You are the one who is flying the plane.

~Marianne Williamson; American Author, Lecturer and Social Activist

Snow Day

The forecast for central New Mexico was a dry, warm winter. It has been unseasonably warm. We need the moisture we usually get in the winter. Yesterday we woke up to rain. It slowly turned to snow by afternoon and was full on snowing all night. I love it. School was cancelled. Here in this part of New Mexico we get very few days like that. It snows this much maybe once every 3 or so years. A sledder’s dream. Except we couldn’t get a going start because there was too much unpacked snow I guess. My little cousin came home with me from El Paso the other day (not prepared for anything but warm weather, so Aunt Cathy found her some boots). She is in blitzed heaven, until she gets too tired from walking in it that is =)

Doesn’t look like much from here but this is the front of the house and my “buried” car. I am sure there was a bit more earlier in the morning.
 
My parents also live right across the street from a golf course as I have mentioned before (why my dad has a TON of golf balls) so I headed over there with the 2 kids, 3 dogs and a sled ( I went back for a bucket).
 
They are wearing snow pants so look almost A Christmas Story but not full body. I found walking through this slush that my boots weren’t really water proof. Good thing I had on 2 pairs of socks, one of which was REALLY thick.

He couldn’t get down the hill, I ended up having to go first to make a path for the kids to use. Cat loved it. She went down several times, with dogs running around ta boot.



I decided we needed to trek to the other side of the golf course where there is a bigger hill. We get all the way over there and can’t get down the hill on the sled at all. Bummer. And on the way the dog with the kids there decided she needed to go into the pond after the ducks. I had to pull her out of the water. She is a stinker when it comes to water. I wish I had gotten a picture of her trying to bury herself in the snow, it is too funny.


My dog, Kelsey, loves the snow. Not that the other two don’t, but she is more subdued about it. The pups went crazy. All in all, even though I have a cold, it was a good morning (except for the whining and my son being a meanie).

Christmas Goodness

Cookies, the theme of every Christmas around my parents’ house. For the last couple of years my mom has threatened she wasn’t going to make cookies this year. Then a few days later she is making them. Well, just a choice from everyone. She knows my favorite so I don’t feel guilty actually voicing my request but this year she said she wasn’t going to make it at all. I said that was fine I would make them myself. Then she was making them. Not sure why she says she isn’t going to do it.

This is a look into the tin in the freezer with a little of everything…

Black and White Snowballs, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Gingerbread men (there used to be more gingerbread cut outs but she downsized to just the men, hehehehe), Butterscotch Pinwheels, Pecan Fingers, Buttery Cutouts, Fudgy Oatmeal Bars, Lemon Pecan Snowdrops, Peppermint Meltaways and Fantasy Fudge was her “I am not making cookies this year”. The only ones I don’t see here are the Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies and a another powdered sugar covered one that I can’t think of the name. Argh. I sat here listening to the geese fly by and remembered, it is Almond Crescents.

The Pinwheels and Gingerbread Men were made for my son, he probably eats at least 1 a day. She keeps telling him he is going to eat them all, isn’t that the point? She just wants to make sure she has a few for the neighbors containers. My brother loves the Pecan Fingers. He was told if he wanted cookies this year he had to come get them himself (they live in Weatherford, TX which is MILES away from Albuquerque Metro area. I am pretty sure she sent some in their package of Christmas gifts. My dad’s choice (since Pecan Fingers were already being made) was a toss up between the Black and White Snowballs and the Mexican Wedding Cakes, of course she made both. The Fudge is for her, the Buttery Cutouts are for the neighbor’s containers. Not sure where the rest come in, she can’t help herself once she gets started I guess.


My ALL TIME favorite cookie, only made once a year, is the Fudgy Oatmeal Bars. When my mom kept saying she wasn’t making them I told her they were Nat’s (my sister-in-law) favorite too so she could say she was making them for her instead of me. I would have made them after last weekend if she hadn’t but I guess she decided not to be so mean and leave mine out =)

Fudgy Oatmeal Bars

• 1 ½ cups Brown Sugar                                                                
• 1 ½ cups chocolate chips                   
• ¾ cup margarine
• ¾ cup Eagle brand milk
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ Tbsp margarine
• ¾ tsp vanilla
• ¾ cup chopped walnuts
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ tsp vanilla
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¹/ɜ tsp salt
• ¹/ɜ tsp salt
• 2 ¼ cups 3 minute oats

Heat oven to 350º. Grease 13x9 pan. Mix brown sugar, ¾ cup margarine, egg and ¾ tsp vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and ¹/ɜ tsp salt. Stir in oats. Reserve 1/3 of this oatmeal mixture. Press remaining mixture in greased pan.

Heat chocolate chips, milk and 1 ½ Tbsp margarine in a saucepan over low heat. When melted add nuts, vanilla and salt. Spread over oatmeal mix in greased pan. Drop reserved oatmeal mix over chocolate. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. While warm cut into bars.

We keep them in the freezer, and I actually prefer to eat them right out of the freezer. YUM!!!

Some other great looking cookies I have seen around blogland…

Melting Snowman Cookies

Once again these cookies created by Meaghan at the decorated cookie are the cutest cookies I have EVER seen. You should check out her story, she has gone a long way and not gotten the credit for these cookies that she deserves, others have taken the credit for her =(

Milk Chocolate Gingersnaps

Those look GOOD, I will have to try them one year to see. Shared by The Recipe Girl.

Russian Tea Cakes

I had found this blog from Food Blogga where she had shared cookies from around the world. It seems maybe it was about 3 years old. I clicked on these gems because they are covered in powdered sugar goodness to see what they were like. She said think Mexican Wedding Cakes meet Southern Pecan Butterballs (never heard of those either). These delectables came from Half Baked.

“Loretta Lynn’s” or rather Mandy’s Holiday Cookie

I have never tried a cookie like this either but if one of the blogs I am following posts about it, I can share too =). Mandy pulled this from a 2008 post she did and can be found at Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

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I linked this with 

Funky Junk Interior's Saturday Nite Special

The Scrap Shoppe's Homemade Christmas

Remodelaholic's Recipe Link Party

All Things Thrifty's All Things Delicious
Entertain Exchange's Ultimate Cookie Link Party

Pretty Packages

I found a really easy project to add to my substance, or rather to make sure I had enough items for my craft fair when I feared I wasn’t going to have enough. NONE of them sold. =(  Now I am trying to figure out what I can do to them to sell. I thought about stuffing them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
They are the paper Mache bags. I cut off the other handles and added the braided ropes. All but one of them are painted (the pinkish snowflakes is fabric) and I either used masking tape or the circles from the end of the tulle rolls for the designs. I then painted glitter paint or glue on the top of all of them and embellished.

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I linked this up with
Tatertots and Jello's Weekend Wrap-up Party
Be Different Act Normal's Show and Tell Saturday
Craft Envy's Saturday Spotlight
Me Making Do's Your So Very Creative
Sisters' Stuff's Christmas Link Up

Snowmen

I love snowmen. I used to own a townhouse that had a nice ledge up on the living room wall right about where the floor would have been on the second floor. It worked perfect for a snowman landing. Now I have to create a space for them. Right now they are all packed away in storage so I can’t even take a picture to share. Instead I thought I would share some of the great snowmen projects I have fallen in love with out and about in blogland.

Amy over at Mod Podge Rocks created this cute shadowbox from a challenge. Cute!

Another Sizzix inspired shadowbox. This one was done by Lolly over at LollyChops. Adorable!

A paver snowman. Created by Staci at Lizard & Ladybug. That was a great idea when she couldn’t find the other pavers she was after.

A snowman created from shadowboxes from Andy at Poppies at Play. I don’t think I have ever owned that many shadowboxes in my life. What a great idea.

This guy by Crafty Chic Mommy is one of my favorites. I even attempted him but with a 1x3. Not quite as cute.

Melinda over at Under my Umbrella is a constant inspiration to me. I love her 2x4 creations. I have tried her creations with 1x3s and have decided they just don’t cut it.

I don’t think I would be able to eat these cookies by Meaghan at the Decorated Cookie because they are so dang cute.

I aspire to be a great crafter that creates projects others like to share. =)

La Cueva Craft Fair

Well, I survived my first craft fair. And now if I ever do one again I also won’t be entirely preparing only the 2 months before. I entered in the largest school craft fair in New Mexico. I got lucky (I thought) and got a cancellation’s spot. They had opened a whole new wing this year so I was amongst other 1st timers to this show and other La Cueva toddlers (the regulars get the prime spots in the cafeteria). I did not do well. No one around me did well, so I know it wasn’t really my stuff. I was so afraid I wasn’t going to have enough stuff or be able to display enough, I am so glad I had the lockers there. I sold out of my small birdhouses so I know what would have done really well. I also learned that people wanted more everyday things, rather than Christmas. Only 1 of my tulle wreathes sold. I wonder if I will sell everything on Etsy but can only list to see. What really saddens me, other than hoping I would make enough to make a payment on my credit card, is that I paid $75 to get in and had to buy a City of Albuquerque business license for $35 so I pocketed less after than just the cost to be there. I can only hope that I at least got my name out there.

The Merry Christmas/Happy Halloween blocks also sold. None of the fabric boxes (made by my cousin) or decorated bags sold. I did have a lady want a bag but she didn’t want to write a check and had no cash. Cross my fingers it works out that she still wants it and then some.

One tulle wreath sold. I heard a lot of those are cute or beautiful and many I can do that (I never say that in front of the crafters) but only 1 sold.

Of this stuff, the small birdhouses sold. The stocking is a candy jar, my mom made those. In the bottom picture you can see one of the yo-yo trees I did. There were 2, they were my first sell.

My hope now, other than Etsy, is also an open house in the garage. My only fear of that is people wanting me to lower my prices.

Now that I can slow down on my production, I am looking into upping my Etsy shop. I also would like to start doing something like Stampin Up. I don’t like the Avon or Mary Kay products so I would feel wrong selling either of those. I know that Scentsy does well but not sure if it is really for me (certain scents make me ill). I saw Stampin Up at the show yesterday and I heard of Creative Memories. So I am looking for any and all advice and or suggestions you all might have. I really need to get to be able to move my son and I back out of my parents so I need to make a living out of the crafting and selling and this is what I really want to do. I would love to make a living out of the blogging but that is a whole other arena.

Love

Allow others to give you loving care. Receive without guilt or apologies. ~~Anonymous