I love this video of Elise and Jack talking... it's so cute!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Christmas Program 2011! Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
I love this video of Elise and Jack talking... it's so cute!
Monday, December 12, 2011
How cute are these?
santa hat brownies
Aren’t these Santa Hat Brownies just so cute? Thanks to Erica’s Sweet Tooth for the inspiration. I was looking for a fun and simple holiday treat and I ran across a recipe on her website. They’re so good and easy to make, especially since I bought Trader Joe’s Ready to Bake brownie mix (just pour the ready-made brownie batter in an 8X8 pan and bake for 22-25 minutes). I whipped up some vanilla-mascarpone buttercream to simulate the white trim on the hats. Voila! A festive dessert to get everyone into the spirit of the holidays. It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!
Santa Hat Brownies
Adapted from this recipe found on Erica’s Sweet Tooth
Yields 12-16 brownies
Ingredients:
1 pan of your favorite brownies, cooled and cut into desired size and shape (I used a round cutter)
12-16 small strawberries, cleaned and hulled
vanilla-mascarpone buttercream (recipe below)
Mascarpone Buttercream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Method:
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and mascarpone cheese until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt. Add 2-1/2 cups of sugar, half a cup at a time and continue beating until smooth. Add more sugar, if needed to reach desired consistency and sweetness.
To assemble, pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream on top of each brownie. Cut off the base of a strawberry so it is flat and place it upside down on each brownie, pushing slightly to secure in place. Top the tip of the strawberry with a dot of buttercream to finish the santa hat
http://daisyt13.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/santa-hat-brownies/
IU beats #1 Kentucky!!!
Well, it was a loud crazy night at our house. Indiana is undefeated coming into this game against Kentucky, who is ranked #1. They led the entire game and almost gave it away at the end.... until Watford hit a buzzer beater... and won the game! Eric was going NUTS, I jumped out of my chair and Lauren was jumping up and down cheering! Elise wasn't sure what to think. For those that don't realize the magnitude of this win let me tell you.... IU has pretty much fallen apart since Bobby Knight left. We had a crumby coach that came in, actually he was a great coach, just a cheater, and when he was fired, most of the team left or got booted off... so the last 3-4 years have been very painful to watch, but now, they are getting good recruits again, they are winning against good teams and if just FEELS like it used to when every game was a good one and so much excitement, instead of dread of "another game". So this was big and it's really funny to watch Eric get so into the games again.... the spark is back.... no let's hope this is only the beginning of an awesome season.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Elise starts basketball!!!
Elise started her basketball camp last week. She LOVES it, and seems to really want to play. Eric is thrilled about that and has been working on the basics with her. She made her first basket yesterday! She was so excited. You don't realize how much strength and coordination it takes at this age to play basketball. It is really fun to watch... who knows, maybe our future Hoosier???
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Nothing says Christmas like homemade ornaments!
We started with our glass balls..
Brushed them with a little Mod Podge, not too thin because it dries too quickly otherwise.
Pick your favorite glass seed beads.. Hobby Lobby had a great selection.
Roll ornament in beads, you have to drop them on by hand to fill in the holes.
We put Elise's name on this one!
They turned out really cool. The girls are going to give them as gifts this year!
This was a really fun afternoon. The girls love anything crafty and sparkling!
Friday, December 9, 2011
"Did your family have a favorite song they would sing?"
My immediate family doesn't have a song that we sing, but what I do remember is that we had and still have this wonderful group of family friends that we all grew up with. The Heath Family: Ruth, Steve, Chris, Peter, Michael and Theresa, The Pokorny Family: Karl, Joyce, Sonja, Monica and Jason, The Hill Family: Jack, Marcia, Mal and Ryan and the Divine Family... that would be us. Our families have all been good friends since we were young kids (late 1970's to early 1980's) would be about the time we all met. Our family moved to Minnesota in 1978, so it was sometime after that. Anyhooo,
We used to have pizza parties at the Ole Piper Inn, downtown Wayzata, and we would always spend Christmas Eve at the Heath household making Fondue... yummy. Once we all started growing up and moving out of the house our gatherings became less but we still to this day seem to manage a gathering around Christmas time that the entire crew... the grown-ups, the grown-up kids and all of their kids, get together at Ruth and Steve's house for a Christmas brunch. We have lots of good food, Mimosa's and great company. It is never a dull moment at this get together. It is pure entertainment. When you get all of the Heath boys in a room together... look out! We get loud, the kids get louder and then comes the dreaded.... (yet we all do it and laugh)... 12 Days of Christmas!!!
Marcia Hill is our singer/entertainer each year. She performs in show choirs etc so she LOVES to sing. We all split up into months of our birthday and then we sing the 12 days of Christmas. Sonja's husband is a music teacher so he plays the piano for us. It usually takes about 30 minutes to get organized and figure out just exactly how the song goes again. Once we get it, we sing and we laugh and then we all take photos of the families and kids. When it is time to go we are usually ready to go because your ears are usually ringing because it is so LOUD in this house with all of the people.. it's not just the numbers that make it loud... it's the group of people... we joke, we laugh and usually find someone to pick on, that person usually ends up being my dear friend Mal, occasionally Mollie but she has grown up so she isn't such an easy target anymore.
When we head over to start the party it's usually on Sunday and we are usually heading back to Iowa so we say this every time.."we aren't going to stay long, so we can get on the road" but guess what, we always end up staying long but it's always worth it. I have years of memories with this wonderful group of people and I hope it continues for a very long time! So that is my long version of a "song" that we sing, it's more than that, it's family.
We used to have pizza parties at the Ole Piper Inn, downtown Wayzata, and we would always spend Christmas Eve at the Heath household making Fondue... yummy. Once we all started growing up and moving out of the house our gatherings became less but we still to this day seem to manage a gathering around Christmas time that the entire crew... the grown-ups, the grown-up kids and all of their kids, get together at Ruth and Steve's house for a Christmas brunch. We have lots of good food, Mimosa's and great company. It is never a dull moment at this get together. It is pure entertainment. When you get all of the Heath boys in a room together... look out! We get loud, the kids get louder and then comes the dreaded.... (yet we all do it and laugh)... 12 Days of Christmas!!!
Marcia Hill is our singer/entertainer each year. She performs in show choirs etc so she LOVES to sing. We all split up into months of our birthday and then we sing the 12 days of Christmas. Sonja's husband is a music teacher so he plays the piano for us. It usually takes about 30 minutes to get organized and figure out just exactly how the song goes again. Once we get it, we sing and we laugh and then we all take photos of the families and kids. When it is time to go we are usually ready to go because your ears are usually ringing because it is so LOUD in this house with all of the people.. it's not just the numbers that make it loud... it's the group of people... we joke, we laugh and usually find someone to pick on, that person usually ends up being my dear friend Mal, occasionally Mollie but she has grown up so she isn't such an easy target anymore.
When we head over to start the party it's usually on Sunday and we are usually heading back to Iowa so we say this every time.."we aren't going to stay long, so we can get on the road" but guess what, we always end up staying long but it's always worth it. I have years of memories with this wonderful group of people and I hope it continues for a very long time! So that is my long version of a "song" that we sing, it's more than that, it's family.
A few of my favorite things (shows)... at Christmas..
This is one of my all time favorites at Christmas time! You've gotta love Will Ferrell. This seen is so dang funny. It makes me laugh soooo hard everytime!
This clip is hilarious too! It will always remind me of my sister Mollie... we love the same kind of humor!
This has become one of our favorites at home. Thei girls love this show and it is super cute!
A good find and a wonderful memory!
I have been looking for recipes of things I can make for Elise at Christmas time. It's hard to find goodies that don't have egg, milk or nuts, especially at Christmas time. I found these and I had a flash back to one of my best friends, Jennifer Blomlie Waymire, who died in 2004. She used to make these every year and she LOVED them. So I discovered I can make these for Elise and remember Jen as well.
Holiday Wreaths
Holiday Wreaths
Deck your holiday cookie platters with these marshmallow and Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal wreaths.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup margarine or butter
- 1 package (10 oz. about 40) regular marshmallows
- - or -
- 4 cups miniature marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon green food coloring
- 6 cups Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal
- - or -
- 6 cups Kellogg's Frosted Flakes® cereal
- Red cinnamon candies
- Prepared vanilla frosting
Directions
1. Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring.
2. Add KELLOGG'S CORN FLAKES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Portion warm cereal mixture evenly by using a 1/4 cup dry measure coated with cooking spray. Using sprayed fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. Dot with cinnamon candies, using prepared frosting to hold candies in place. Store in single layer in airtight container.
Note
Use fresh marshmallows for best results.
Children should be supervised.
Green paste food coloring makes the best color for wreaths
MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
Microwave margarine and marshmallows at HIGH 2 minutes in microwave-safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute longer. Stir until smooth, then add food coloring. Follow steps 2 and 3 above.
TO MAKE ONE LARGE WREATH:
Press warm cereal mixture in 5 1/2-cup ring mold coated with cooking spray or shape in ring on serving plate. Remove from mold and dot with red candies. Slice to serve.
http://www2.kelloggs.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?id=1416
2. Add KELLOGG'S CORN FLAKES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Portion warm cereal mixture evenly by using a 1/4 cup dry measure coated with cooking spray. Using sprayed fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. Dot with cinnamon candies, using prepared frosting to hold candies in place. Store in single layer in airtight container.
Note
Use fresh marshmallows for best results.
Children should be supervised.
Green paste food coloring makes the best color for wreaths
MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
Microwave margarine and marshmallows at HIGH 2 minutes in microwave-safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute longer. Stir until smooth, then add food coloring. Follow steps 2 and 3 above.
TO MAKE ONE LARGE WREATH:
Press warm cereal mixture in 5 1/2-cup ring mold coated with cooking spray or shape in ring on serving plate. Remove from mold and dot with red candies. Slice to serve.
http://www2.kelloggs.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?id=1416
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