generalparenting

I live in Oregon. Not in the mountains and not on the coast but somewhere in between. It rains here from about October until April or May and it rains a LOT! Well on rare occasions the kids wake up in the morning and scream, MOM THERE’S SNOW OUT SIDE!! This is the sound that woke me up at 7:35 even though it was a day I could normally sleep in. Yes my kids are older, 12, 13, and 16, but they still get just as excited as ever to see the snow. I have to admit I get excited to just because I miss it from when I lived in Pennsylvania. This may be our only snow fall for the year so the kids know they have to enjoy it fast before it turns to slushy goop. See the snow is usually closely accompanied with…. you guessed it… rain. Any way it is snowing here so I have to get up and start making some warm hot chocolate and toast with maybe some biscuts and gravy because they are going to want something to warm their tummies when they get in.  My little snow bunnies should be in soon so I have to go. Have fun and Stay warm!!

Presents are opened and there is gift paper and plastic packages laying everywhere covering the living room floor. Everywhere you look there is something Christmas realted. I take tons of pictures and then rush to the kitchen to check on the duck and start breakfast. Eggs, sausage, biscuits, and gravy are on the menu for Christmas morning breakfast. I hope everyone is hungry because we generally don’t eat a full lunch on Christmas Eve or day. We generaly eat finger foods because when possible we eat dinner early. Hopefully around three dinner will be ready and then this evening we can just stick to left overs. Christmas day is always so busy for me. I get up early, start dinner, wake the kids ( yes I wake them up on Christmas morning LOL), watch everyone open their presents, take a ton of pictures, quickly pick up wrapping paper and plastic packaging, and then of course I have to check on dinner and start breakfast. That is just the begining, then I have to make plates of food for the kids that work at Blockbuster ( they know us by name and have become friends), have to stop and see a few people wishing them merry greetings, and then back home to make left over sandwiches. Like I said lots to do. But isn’t it so much fun.

Cooking and Baking, wrapping last minute presents, visiting friends and family, enjoying dinner, hugs and kisses to each person who enters the house, mistle toe, Christmas trees, Cookies, Santa Claus, and Midnight Mass, this is the typical Christmas eve. I will be spending this evening with my mother, kids, and my best friend. I will deliver the last of my Christmas cookies and I will sit and relax while everyone enjoys the dinner of the Eve of Christmas. I don’t generally eat much when I cook big meals. I’m not sure why. I end up being a left overs person. My mother is going to go home after dinner and plans to be here early tomorrow morning. My best friend is staying the night and I am hopefully going to sleep tonight at least a little because I have to get up early to start the duck. I hope it’s completely defrosted. Now is when I start to worry about whether or not the meal is going to turn out ok. This will be interesting if nothing else because I’m making duck and turkey. Actually two ducks and turkey breast. I can’t wait until Christmas Day. I love Christmas even if the meal is cause for being busy. There is nothing like it. “Twas the night before Christmas” and all through the house not a creature was stirring except for me.. and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and the real festivities begin. The Christmas Eve and Christmas Day parties are the best. It’s time to spend time with your family and friends.  I love this time of year. I feel so close to my family on Christmas. We share, genuinely share ourselves, our love and kindness. We eat together, which isn’t always the case, and we talk. We talk about hopes and dreams for the new year. We talk about all of the things life has made us to busy to share. The little things in life that are often over looked. Things that are important and things that may be silly. It doesn’t matter, we just talk. It’s wonderful. Any way, I am going to be doing a lot the next two days so I am going to write my next two days posts now so that I can spend time enjoying my family. I hope you all have a happy holiday season. And if you celebrate Merry Christmas! 

I love Christmas music. I have a lot of CD’s with Christmas music on them but I just don’t have one that I love all of the music. Sometimes I’m in the mood for country Christmas music sometimes I’m in the mood for classic Christmas music. I’ve decided to not go on the hunt again for new Christmas CD’s to try to find the perfect CD that has all of the musicians I want or style of music that fits all moods. I figure what is the point. I am going to end up wanting a different kind of Christmas music eventually being to versatile to listen to just one kind of genere. I have found instead an internet site that has all the catagories of Christmas music and a huge variety in each catagory. AOL Radio powered by CBS RADIO. It even has a section for humorous Christmas songs. It has a kids section, a country section, even the most loved classic section. Check it out for all of your Christmas music needs. If you have a surround sound for your computer this is perfect!!! To find it I went to Yahoo search, typed in local radio station listening, and typed in Christmas music. The AOL site is there. There are even stations that play Christmas musi all year around.

Have you recieved many holiday packages in the mail this year? As I wrote a few weeks ago I mailed out my Christmas cards at the end of November but I decided this year to mail out some Christmas goodies this year as well. I didn’t mail those out with the cards. I figured it would take a week or so to get the cookies and candy so I did not mail them out until the 15th. To be sure my recipeints did not receive broken up cookies I put them in a tin with tissue paper between each layer of cookie and I packed them in a box with more tissue paper packed tightly around the can so the can wouldn’t get banged around while traveling from Oregon to the destinations across the country. I hope that everyone who recieved my edible mail enjoyed it, I know that when I receive packages like these I absolutely love it. Maybe Karen is right and I should go to those cookie exchanges.

I love this recipe but I’m not sure who to give credit to for it. My grandmother made it this way when I was small and I used her recipe only to find that this recipe is similar and I have found the exact same one on the back of three different kinds of evaporated milk and in several cook books so I guess I will just call it the famous fudge recipe.

Ingredients:

1  1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 Tbs. butter

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows ( I use the christmas colored ones )

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Line 8×8 inch square baking pan with foil lightly sprayed with non stick spray

Mix sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in a medium heavy duty sauce pan stirring contantly. Boil and continue stirring constanly for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Stir in marshmallows, the chocolate chips, the nuts, and the vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared b aking bpan, refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan take off foil and cut into pieces.

I have yet another recipe for fudge. Yum Yum. This is a rich tasting chocolatey delight that everyone with a sweet tooth who loves chocolate can appreciate. I love chocolate and can’t eat more than a piece at a time. It relieves my worst sweet attacks. This is the ingredients that you need.

INgredients:

2 cups milk chocolate chips

2 1/2 cups prepared chocolate frosting

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Line the bottom of one 8×8 inch pan with foil that has been slightly sprayed with non sick cooking spray or lightly covered with butter or margarine.

2. In a small saucepan slowly melt chocolate chips stiring constantly to not burn the chocolate. Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and add the frosting as well as the walnuts to the chocolate sauce stiring until smooth.  Pour into prepared pan and refridgerate until firm. To add a bit of a different taste to it you can swirl in some peanut butter or rasberry jelly. The possibilities for additions are unlimited really. After the fudge is cool cut into squares and serve. This is a tastey addition to your fudge recipes.

I wanted something different this year for Chrismas. Every year we have ham and turkey. Every year. I thought we could still have the ham and a small turkey or turkey breast but I wanted something different. I thought, “Let us have a classic Christmas dinner with goose, just like in the movies” well I have never had goose so what the heck, why not try it? It would be a new experience for Christmas. Something I’m sure the kids would love… the trying something new, not sure if they would love the goose. Any way I went on a wild goose chase.. ha ha. I went to store after store looking for a goose for our Christmas dinner. They are NOT easy to find in my area. I finally found a store that had goose. Great. So I start looking at them and realized they weren’t very big. Happy that I would be having turkey and ham as well. Then I started looking around to find the biggest one. I found it. The perfect one, the goose that I would be cooking for Christmas dinner. I looked at the price and couldn’t drop that bird fast enough. OUCH!!!! I reluctantly picked up a duck that was next to it and looked at the price to see how bad that was. After seeing the $50.01 price tag on the goose seeing the $11 price tag on the duck was much more appealing. I have had duck, it tastes wonderful and I know that my children love it. It’s not something I would normally buy because the price is still a little rich for my blood but for Christmas it is just perfect. So this year after playing duck duck goose with food and prices I will skip the goose and stick with the duck.

This is one of my favorite recipes!! I love this stuff. You will need:

Ingredients:

Five Medium Idaho Potatoes

One Large White Onion

Four Or Five Hard Boiled Eggs ( as many as you want, I use a lot)

One Large Sweet Maui Onion

3/4 Cup Of White Distilled Vinegar

1/2 Cups Of Granulated Sugar Or Brown Sugar ( I prefer The Granulated)

Directions:

Peal potatoes and cut into cubes about 3 inches big. Fill a large pot about 3/4 of the way with hot water. Bring to a boil. Carefully so as to not burn yourself put potatoes in the water and boil until the potatoes when a fork can be easily inserted but if the potatoes fall apart when you stick a fork in them they are over done. If this happens you can still work with this but it won’t be quite the same. While the potatoes are boiling cut up your onion into 1/2 inch slices or smaller depending on your taste if you are going to be eating them. I eat them so I cut them to 1/2 inch. Cut up your hard boiled eggs in large chunks including the yolk. Place in a large bowl and set aside. Mix your vinegar in a small bowl with your sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. When your potatoes are done drain them. Be careful they will be HOT. Put them into the bowl with the hard boiled eggs and onions. Pour the Vinegar and sugar mixture over the potatoes and serve immediately. This is meant to be served warm but can be eaten cold if you want. I like them either way. For those of you who like bacon you can also add a slice or two of cooked bacon cut into small pieces. I hope you enjoy this recipe, I know my family does.