Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments

This Christmas is going to be very different for us.  Normally we have a 7.5 ft+ Christmas tree, I have a huge Christmas village that I LOVE to put up, we are also usually the house that goes way overboard on the outside decorations and lights.  You know the house that everyone drives by.  But this year we aren't doing any of that.  This year is the year for simplicity.

Most of you know we are living in a tiny, temporary home.  To have a 7.5 ft tree would take up my entire living room.  Now, like I told Chris, if we didn't have a 6 year old running around playing, I wouldn't care.  :)  On top of the small living conditions, all of our Christmas decorations are in storage.  When we were moving stuff into storage we loaded all the Holiday decorations to the very back of our storage units.  We thought our stuff would only be there for a month.  Surprise, surprise!

So, because it has been raining and cold and I am just too darn lazy to go dig through storage, we are making our own ornaments!  We are also getting a tiny little tree.  Maybe 4ft?  Maybe smaller.    Normally this would just bug me!  I don't know why.  I guess I am pretty set in the way things are done.  I am not one who tolerates change well.  But for some reason I am kind of excited about this.  Who knows what this will mean for future Christmas'!

All that to say (hey, i'm Italian, I can't help but tell the ENTIRE story before getting to my point!), today we made Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments.  The smell alone is enough to put me in a great mood!  Chris, Maggie and I teamed up and had a good time!  I made the dough, they rolled and cut.  Then we decorated with some glitter.  The ones that didn't get all glittered up will get painted.

All I did was take equal parts of cinnamon and applesauce, mixed together very well.  Made sure it wasn't too gooey-just a nice dough consistency.  Rolled out on a piece of wax paper.  Used cookie cutters to cut shapes, added glitter and baked at 170 for 1 hour on a cookie sheet.  Then took ornaments off the cookie sheet and put on cookie rack, baked another 1 1/2 hours.  Tie strings on them and then hang!  Super easy!

It was a nice family activity.  Everyone loves getting their hands gooey in dough and sprinkling glitter.  The Christmas music was going in the background, kitchen window shades open with a promise of snow!  Looking forward to hanging on our tree and having a "semi-homemade" Christmas!

Happy Birthday Maggie!

I can not believe my baby girl is 6!  

Little girls are made of daisies and butterflies and soft kitty cat purrs
And all the precious memories of times that once were.

Little girls are made of angel's wings and giggles and a firefly's glow
And all the happy feelings, deep inside, that we all know.

Little girls are made of cinnamon and bubbles and fancy white pearls
And snowflakes and rainbows and ballerina twirls.

Little girls are made of sunshine and cupcakes and fresh morning dew,
And these are the reasons, little one, why everyone loves you.

by: karen barnes






My life changed in ways I never could have imagines on December 17, 2004
There are no words to describe what this little girl means to me.
I feel like the luckiest person alive to have her.
I have been blessed beyond measure!

Another year has flown by!

Today is my birthday!!  I love birthdays!  I have always been one of those people who has loooong birthdays.  Meaning, they usually start a few days before the actual day and end days later.  LOL  I love that!

Friday night Chris and Maggie took me out to dinner, Mexican food.  I had a delicious Shrimp Cocktail, and then I was surprised with a new camera.  Chris bought me my Nikon for my birthday a couple years ago, but I have wanted a small camera for convenience.  So he bought me a Canon PowerShot.  I have been a snapping fool since I got it.

Saturday we went shopping at the Hardware store.  They have an awesome Garden Center.  Yes.  This was my idea of fun and exactly what I wanted to do!  I ended up getting some beautiful Gardenia plants and some English Thyme to plant under my front living room window.  Can't wait until they bloom.  Chris and Maggie took me out to lunch.  I had a wonderful French Dip Sandwich (my favorite!) and some french fries that were out of this world!  Here is a picture of my little beauty while we were waiting for our food:

My parents came up on Sunday and gave me my birthday present. After they left we went shopping and I bought lots of new clothes. (thanks mom and dad!)  This was big for me.  I have been waiting.....and waiting to by new clothes because I keep thinking I'm going to lose weight and don't want to waste money. Well, I bit the bullet anyway.  It's nice to have new clothes.  :)

Then Sunday night we had a "block party".  Everyone brought meat and a side dish and we BBQ'd.  Had a lot of fun, but it was a late night.  Maggie had a blast.

Today is my actual birthday.  I spent the majority of the day with my favorite girl.  My friend and her daughter stopped by for a bit. Chris came home from a side-job and took us out to Chinese food for dinner.  YUM!  We had:

Won Ton Soup

Honey Walnut Prawns and Asparagus with Beef

and Combination Rice

While there I found out I was born in the Year of the Goat.  I can't help but think that is just another sign that I need  a few Nigerian Dwarf Goats!  I kinda laughed at what the year of the goat says:

Except for the knack of always getting off on the wrong foot with people, the Goat can be charming company. Your are elegant and artistic but the first to complain about things. Put aside your pessimism and worry and try to be less dependent on material comforts. You would be best as an actor, gardener, or beachcomber.

Now after all this I was SUPER stuffed.  But, not too full for Rainbow Birthday Cake!  Check this out!

Whodda thunk a cake made with Diet 7Up would look so fun and taste so yummy!

Anyway, turning 43 isn't all that bad!