It’s been awhile since my last post, but I have a good reason for that ~ I’ve been in Guatemala with my dad! Anyone who knows me, knows that a part of my heart is always in Guatemala. Since adopting my younger sister in 1999 from Hogar Rafael Ayau Orphanage in Guatemala City (now known as San Miguel del Lago when they moved outside the city), I’ve always felt a strong desire to travel there and be a missionary at…
Happy 3 Kings Day! The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the 3 Kings (or Magi) presenting their gifts to baby Jesus. This is usually when we take down Christmas decorations and wrap up the end of the season, but it’s also the day for making homemade donuts! Growing up, my mom and grandma always put coins in the donuts to symbolize the gifts of the 3 Kings, but with the way my kids go after donuts, I’m not taking any…
Eli and Ava were so excited about Christmas this year, especially our “Elf” that visited every day. I’m sure you’re familiar with the Elf on the Shelf craze, but we don’t subscribe to the elf-who-makes-messes ~ I have enough legitimate messes with daily life that I don’t also need to be cleaning up shoes lined up to look like a train, or a toilet paper zip line strung from the loft! But, knowing that the kids really wanted Elfie to…
Move over pecan pie, you have competition! I love pecan pie, but it is soooooo sweet. However, I found the most delicious pecan pie COOKIE recipe that brings just the right amount of sweetness in the filling, but is balanced with a nice shortbread cookie base. It’s an odd dough and I went back to re-read the recipe a couple times to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, but it was correct ~ just very crumbly! It actually doesn’t come…
From the time Eli could walk, he was climbing everything!! When chairs and tables were too mundane, he started climbing the outside of our stair railing. Now he has moved onto climbing door jams. He mastered the monkey bars at every park this summer, and happily told me he mastered the entire climbing-obstacle-circuit-course on his school playground. He is active and I love that, especially because he equally likes to play video games and veg-out in front of the tv….
My mother-in-law makes a delicious cookie for Christmas every year. It’s one of those special recipes that only makes an appearance at Christmas, so when I see a plate of them on her table, I savor every morsel. Luckily, not too many people like them due to the anise flavoring, which means more for me 🙂 Springerle (pronounced spring-er-lee) cookies originated in Germany and are known for the intricate designs on each cookie made by using a “Springerle Rolling Pin.”…
I made my “radio debut” this past weekend on St. Gabriel’s radio. It was such a cool experience to be in a real recording studio and be able to see a little of what goes into making a radio program. Thankfully, it wasn’t a live show, or I don’t think I would have had the nerve the go through with it! Ha! Knowing it was recorded and able to be edited made the whole experience a little more manageable 🙂…
There’s gnome place like home this holiday season, and every home seems to be sporting a gnome! I’ll admit, I’m captivated with these little Scandinavian folklore creatures that have taken Christmas by storm. Walk into any home décor store and you’re bound to see gnome dinnerware, gnome towels, miniature and giant gnomes, stuffed gnomes, and ceramic gnomes. Look outside, and you’ll find an adorable greenery gnome, which is exactly what I’m going to teach you to make in this post!…
Mincemeat – the single most misunderstood word during the holidays. I blame it on whoever came up with that name. I mean really, minced meat?? Who wants to eat that?! However, I’m here to tell you to give it a try and you might be pleasantly surprised. I was at World Market the other day leisurely strolling the holiday aisles while the kiddos were at school (so for once, I was able to really look at the unique goods!) Lo…
If you read my posts from the last couple weeks, you might have sensed my disappointment with Christmas light displays this year ~ Franklin Park Conservatory too expensive, and Wonderlights too seizure-inducing. But, let me tell you about a display that is truly worthy of the admission price and you should definitely check out – Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo. I need to preface this post by saying your experience will completely depend on the day you visit the zoo…