Winter Wonder Land?

Well, this is Texas folks....and it is snowing...in March. Normally Spring is starting to set in and it is nice and sunny. The naked lady bulbs in my garden were even beginning to bloom. The daffodils were already in full bloom. My lavender and aloe were also starting to bounce back from the winter. But, I can't say that I am surprised really. There is that saying we have here, "Don't like the weather, then just wait a minute". Okay so, on Monday it was like 75 degrees. Then on Tuesday we had snow...just a nice light snow, nothing big. Wednesday..in the 60's and sunny. Today...first we start with rain in the 40's and end up in the low 30's by mid afternoon (and the temperature just keeps dropping) with snow and huge sleet like I have never seen before. Then we ended up with snow the size of a quarter and that just does not happen here. It was nice because I got to leave work early and will probably go in late because the roads will be icy and slippery in the morning. Now, I am going to cozy up with some hot cocoa, watch the food network, and do a little embroidery.

These are, not so great shots, of the snow. This past weekend was so nice that I got birdseed for the birds but, as you can tell there is not a bird in sight. They are too cold!

Maybe I will make some chili tonight for dinner, that sounds warm and yummy!

Cheers and stay warm!!! :-)

Buzzy as a Bee!

I love the holidays. It gives me a little extra "umpf" to get going and get things done. I have been working on my Christmas ornaments. I only made ten of them but would like to make more.

I am STILL working on the popcorn chain. It is so darn cute but extremely time consuming, not to mention that Jeff ate the entire last batch of popcorn before I was able to string it. Geez.

I think I may end up making a bunch of these ornaments with various fabric throughout next year so I will have enough to decorate the entire tree with. Oh...and might I say...thank goodness for pre-lit Christmas trees. One of these days I will go to the tree farm and purchase a real tree. Depending on where I am living years from now I may even be able to walk into my back yard and cut a Pine tree down like my sister can but....for now...the pre-lit artificial tree will do!

The other night when I was cooking dinner, I realized that I had like 20 apples. I am not quite sure how I ended up with so many apples but I figured I may as well use them before they go bad so...I made little individual apple crisps.

They were yummy and took care of the winter dessert craving I have been feeling since the temperature has dropped. It was actually a little icy this morning. Who would have thought in Texas we would have ice this early? We are expected to have even more cold and wet weather. I can't wait!

Also around this time of year I feel like bringing out the bread machine. I love the way it fills the entire house with the sent of fresh baked bread. Oh how I love my bread machine! There are so many different things you can make with it. I have made pretzels, pizza dough, dinner rolls and all types of bread with my trusty bread machine. You can even make pasta with it! That is something that I have yet to try. But, this is my little whole wheat loaf I made the other day. You can't beat the taste of homemade bread!

I have also been working on a few Christmas projects for my mother. I am making a few criss cross coaster sets for her to give to her friends as gifts this year. They are so easy to make and are such a sweet gift for someone. I have a few sets of my own that I use at home.

For the past several years my mother and I have been getting together to make "cookie in a jar" gifts that we give away to co-workers and friends. This year my mom thought it would be fun to change things up a bit and make hot cocoa mix instead. We took piping bags, filled them with 2 packages of hot cocoa, about 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips, a handful of marshmallows and tied them up with a little candy cane. It is a really cute gift idea and makes about 20 or so.

They are all currently sitting under my Christmas tree waiting to be given to friends. It has been rather tempting to grab one for myself!

The candy cane can be crushed and added to the hot cocoa or can be used to mix up the cocoa. Mmmmm!!!!

Cheers!