Snoopy, COME Home.....

What is the world coming to? This WAS my prized Christmas Decoration. We put it up last week, last night, probably during the wee hours it was taken from my front yard!!! That is right, stolen!!! Why do kids, most likely, have to go and STEAL Christmas decorations?

Guess my security system needs to be updated!




Needing to re-find my Christmas spirit.......

Cozyflier

Here Kitty Kitty!

So, once again, I say why buy expensive cat toys? Here Gizmo is wrapped up in my garland! Corellia and R2-D2 look on.



Where is the red light? Though it doesn't show up in the photo, the cats had great fun chasing a laser light Thanksgiving day. I don't know who had more fun, the cats or us adults watching!




Talus is so pretty! Chris finally found her harness that she had hidden under the spare bed in his apartment!!!

Oh happy day!

Cozyflier

Falling For Leaves

Oh how I remember as a kid jumping in BIG leaf piles in the Fall. I loved it! It was a favorite past-time on a Saturday in the surburbs of Chicago. All the kids in the hood would make a huge pile of leafs then we would spend hours jumping in them.

Fast forward 30 years ~ leave it to my kids to figure out a way to make this old time favorite game into a modern day marvel! I was so happy when the kids said they wanted to rake leaves without being asked to, then I found out why!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you have had a blessed day.

Cozyflier

Cat Tales!

So you all know that we have 2 cats, and my 22 yr old has 2 cats, right?

Well, last week, Chris, texts me. Rare for him! He was working on programming homework and couldn't find his eraser. He remembered that Talus, one of the cats, had been near by.

Now, when 'they' were kittens we worried about toys. Ha, not anymore, 'they' can make a toy out of anything. The strange thing about Chris' cats is that they like to leave him presents in his shoes. I don't mean nasty presents either!!! Chris finds coins, plastic caps, you name it in his shoes.

So, back to the eraser. Chris went to his shoes when the eraser was missing. First he found an actual cat ball in one shoe, then in the other? Yep, you guessed it! The eraser was in the other shoe!

So, before you put on your shoes, better look for presents!

Cozyflier

Creamy Cheese Pie

Creamy Cheese Pie – Carrie
If you like Cheesecake, you will LOVE this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients: Cream Cheese, Eggs, Sugar, Vanilla, Lemon Juice, Graham crackers, Butter, and Sour Cream

Crust:
12-14 Crushed graham crackers
¼ 1/4 Cup melted Butter
Combine and pat into pie pan

Main Pie:
12oz. Cream Cheese (do NOT use light or low fat)
2 Eggs Beaten
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. + Lemon Juice
Combine above ingredients and beat until frothy. Pour into graham cracker crust. Bake 350* for 15-20 min.

Remove from oven and cool 5 min.
Add topping; return to oven cook for 10 more mins.
Remove from oven, cool at least 5 hours, may freeze

Topping:
1 Cup Sour Cream (do not use light)
3 1/2 TBLsp Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla (clear vanilla works well but not required)

Sorry, No pictures, haven't made any since last Christmas. Just thought I'd share!

Cozyflier

Thurs 11-12 Post 2- Disney- Shape UP!!h

Please go to:Rikki's Blog and read her post if you are a die hard Disney fan.

Even if you aren't, read it and help us to let Disney know, they need to shape up!

Thanks,
Cozyflier

Pumpkin Dip

Sorry, guess I'd better learn to plan and take 'before' ingredient pictures!

AJ got this recipe from his 4th grade teacher. When the parents came to school for Thanksgiving lunch, dessert was in the room. AJ loves pumpkin!!!!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Pumpkin
2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (at room temperature)
4 Cups powdered sugar
1 generous teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Ginger

Cream softened cream cheese with hand mixer in large bowl. Add pumpkin and powdered sugar one cup at a time until thoroughly mixed Add spices last and mix well. Serve with gingersnap cookies for a Thanksgiving Day treat!

Note, my kids like it with pretzels too!! I know, they are strange.

Enjoy!

Cozyflier

Amaretto Bread

Hope you still have a bread machine in your pantry collecting dust!


Ingredients:
1 pound loaf 1 1/2 Pd loaf
2 Cups Bread Flour 3 Cups
2/3 Cup Milk 1 Cup
1/2 Cup chpd hazelnuts/ 3/4 Cup
slivered almonds
1 Egg 1
2 Tbsp. Sugar 3 Tbsp.
2 Tbsp. Marg/Butter 3Tbsp.
4 tsp. amaretto or hazelnut liqueur 2 Tbsp.
3/4 tsp. active dry yeast 1 tsp.
1/2 tsp Salt 3/4 tsp.

Amaretto Glaze 1 recipe:
1/2 Cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp amaretto OR hazelnut liqueur OR almond extract. If needed, add 1 or 2 tsp milk to make drizzling consistency.




Add yeast and flour. We use room temperature milk, butter, egg, or warm slightly in microwave. Dump into machine, add nuts, sugar, amaretto, salt. Push Start!


Let the machine do the kneading!




Our machine does a rise, kneads, rises again!


Bakes and then cools!


We take it out!


Slice it, then I glaze it - top picture!

Enjoy! Found this recipe in BHG- 1993!!!!!!!!!!

Great for breakfast, coffee clutch, or just a snack!

Cozyflier

Organizing

From This:


Why do I feel like I'm more productive when I have a job and do stuff of the weekends? Does anyone else feel like this? When I wasn't working, I painted, re-did furniture, cleaned, etc!!!!!!!!

This past weekend, I organized all those wonderful recipes I've been pulling out of magazines for years, printing off the net, and getting from niece via e-mail and throwing in the cabinet!
To This:


My solution? 2, count them, 2 three ring binders and almost 200 page protectors! Then I re-organized 4 cabinets in the kitchen to make my cook books and these 2 new binders more accessible! I hope this is all worth while!!

I did find an old friend of a recipe that I will be sharing.

Cozyflier

Holly Cookies

I know it is early, but I want to post this early so you have time to perfect your skills, and gain weight!!! These look difficult, but really are simple. I have been making them since I was 10, I'm almost 49!

Sorry, I forgot to get an ingredient picture.

1 stick butter
30 Large Marshmallows
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Green food coloring - to your appeal!
3 cups Cornflakes, NOT frosted
Red hot candies

WAX paper



In a double boiler, melt the butter, add the marshmallows, stir frequently. When they are melted, add the vanilla and Green food coloring.


It should look like this!
Add the corn flakes, and gently stir to coat them in the green. Reduce heat slightly, don't want to cook flakes!

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper, put 3 Red hot candies onto the 'Holly' let cool.



You should end up with this!

Yield: depending on the size of cookie between 60-80 cookies!

Helpful hints:

I keep a small cup of water on the stove and dip spoons into the water between each cookie. Keeps the goo from sticking!

Stir the flake mixture every once in awhile, keeps recoating the flakes, and keeps the mixture evenly warmed.

Helps to have an extra pair of hands for the red hot candies, great job for a child!

After a few hrs take a table knife and loosen from the wax paper and put into a storage container with wax paper between layers of cookies.

These are very addicting!

enjoy!

Cozyflier

Cross Guard Duty

One of the honors of being a BMOC during 5th grade is getting to be a cross guard! Luckily, AJ got to do this a few weeks back while it was still decent weather. Yes, I'm behind in blogging! Anywhere, here is the cross guard in action!






He really enjoys school. September Student of the Month, student council class rep, and cross guard. Should I ask what's next??!!!!!!

Cozyflier

Hi Ho!!!!!!!!

Hi ho, hi ho it's off to work I go....
That's right friends, I can't call myself a SAHM any longer! I've gone back to work, at least part-time. I've always done retail sales or worked for my husband in the medical office.

I'm now working at Coldwater Creek. A wonderful ladies clothing store with a few home decor items. I'll be working during the holiday season. Don't know how much time I'll have for blogging, but please don't give up on me!!

Hugs,
Cozyflier

Happy Halloween!

Well, the annual Halloween Party was a HUGE success this year. I don't have many pictures because I was sooooooooo busy! We had about 85 kids running around - inside and outside on Friday night and at least 25 adults meandering and helping!

The trampoline had a steady line, we only allowed 5 at a time on it. The zip Cord pretty much had a continuous line of 15. We popped 280 balloons, played musical tombstones until my back was screaming and went through more chips & dip, cookies, brownies, pixie sticks, and witches brew! The kids thought the chocolate fountain was the coolest thing they had ever seen! OK, maybe the dry ice & fog vapor was the BIG hit of the party! Maybe it was a tie, one was fun to play in the other was yummy to eat!!

Here are a few of the pictures I was able to snap. You'll have to watch facebook for my friend Val. She is a professional photographer and she was taking photos!






Our work of art! When the game room/sun room was re-painted and ceiling repaired, we didn't have the lattice work put back up. So, we took the streamer roll and tossed it back and forth. Decorating was easy!!


Ever the mad scientist, Doc shows a group of kids what dry ice will do in boiling water! Wish I could have remembered where I had put the black lights


Mummy wrap!


Tyler with the dry ice! Tyler totally surprised me by coming into town for the party. Luckily, he came 2 days early to help me get ready!









My Star Wars fanatics! AJ the Jawa, and Chris in his Storm Trooper suit do battle in the front yard!!

Hope you all had a great Halloween.

I start work Monday at Coldwater Creek! I may not be around much more than I have lately!


Have a great week!

Cozyflier