An Alternative Christmas

Well, we did Christmas a little differently this year. The boys and I went to the movies after we paid our dues at the grandparents' house. It was enlightening realizing how many people would rather go to the movies then go to Christmas dinner with their families! We went to three theatres before we found one with any seats left! I said to Rob "Don't these people have lives? What are they doing watching movies?" He of course said "Mom, you know that means you don't have a life either." Well thanks kiddo. We saw Sherlock Holmes. Excellent, my dear Watson....

My Favorite Holiday Recipe

Okay, here goes. I have alot of favorite recipes because I am a baker a Christmastime. Every year I have a Holiday party with my closest friends and their husbands and I bake for weeks and weeks (don't worry, I freeze everthing to keep the mold off!) and then everyone eats until they are as full as they can be. Probably the most asked for recipe is my brownie recipe. I have to say (she said modestly) that they are the best I have ever eaten. So you can try them and let me know if I am right! I must warn you, make the frosting. It is the key to their greatness. One of my friends calls me every month when mother nature visits and begs for these brownies. They are POWERFUL!
Karen's Brownie Recipe
Preheat oven to 350.
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Stir ingredients together by hand until mixed.
Grease a 13X9 pan. Cook for 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from side of the pan. DO NOT OVERBAKE! These are gooey brownies, not cakey brownies.
Let cool and then frost.
Frosting
Sift one package powdered sugar (about 4 cups). Melt 1 stick butter in saucepan, add 4 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1/3 cup whole milk (no substitutes). Heat until mixture is free of lumps and extremely hot, almost to a boil. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and stir. Mixture will be liquid enough to pour over brownies and spread with a knife. Let cool until frosting hardens. Enjoy!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I think it is a good time to get back to the blog. I have neglected it for too long. And as my first blog in a long time, I am promoting my fellow etsians who are the etsy bloggers choice this month. CalKat are two friends that make beautiful jewelry together. I especially like this one http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18172832 because I love Santa Claus. It is a bookmark too! So it is extremely useful as well as lovely and cute. An all around winner! Check out their shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/CalKat. They offer free shipping too!

Good Old Days

I visited with my mother and my sister this weekend and they gave me an album my mother had made about me back in the 50's. It was her attempted at early scrapbook-making! Anyway, looking through the photos just reminded me of how drastically things have changed between when i grew up and my kids' childhoods! First of all, no car seats back then. How did mothers travel with wild children loose in the car back then? Amazing we all survived! I ate spam sandwiches on white bread covered with mayo everyday and lived to tell the tale. My mother was not much of a cook back then. Also, those spam sandwiches would sit in tin lunch boxes outside in the San Fernando Valley heat. Never got sick. Then there were the days when i would leave with my best friend on our bicycles early in the morning and be gone all day until dinner time. Nobody cared that we were gone all day (no cell phones).. they were just happy to have us out of their hair! In fact, I don't think we ever spent much time indoors unless we were sick! Now we can't let the kids out of our sight because of the fear some sicko will grab them.. and heaven forbid anyone see you feed your child white bread! You would be asking for a public lynching! My family definitely wasn't Leave it to Beaver.. but it did have a 50's kind of charm to it!

My Hero

Tina is my hero. She is patient and kind and funny and caring. If you asked her, she would probably never admit to being any of those things, but believe me, she is an inspiration to us all. She is patient and kind to her daughter Molly who can be a trial most of the time. I think God gave Molly to Tina because He knew she is patient and kind. Tina cares about everyone she comes in contact with and I can tell you that she is loyal and thoughtful to her friends. She is even nice to people who aren't nice back. And she is one of the funniest people I have ever known. Thank you, Tina for being my pal and my partner.

Long Time- No Write

Ok if anyone out there reads this, Karen and I have neglected this poor blog for numerous reasons... I am not going to bore anyone with the details. We have created a new purse for our little line of fabric purses which is adorable, even if i do say so myself. We have our first 2-days show coming up at the end of October (yes, on Halloween) and we are madly trying to get ready for it. I have started yet another diet because all of my pants are too tight. I really hate getting old! I never had much of a metabolism... and with menopause, i think the metabolism is sub-zero now. I have resorted to coming home from work and putting on my sweatpants. How attractive I must be! Anyway, life has continued on... my daughter, Molly is as crazy and difficult as always... no rest for the wicked.. but sometimes i do stop myself and try to remind myself that she is a little child in a grown body and all she wants is love. I wish i could remember that all of the time.

Labor Day

This past weekend was the gorgeous Labor Day weekend. I even took Friday off so I had a four-day weekend! It is amazing how fast the time flies when you are away from work! Friday, my husband (who also took Friday off) took me to Home Depot. What a romantic get away! Anyway, we got the paint for the kitchen and he got wood for his wall unit he is building. Then i sewed. I absolutely love sewing! It instantly puts me in a good mood to create something with beautiful fabric. Saturday I played. I went to see my dear friend, Pam, who lives in Orange County. I hadn't spent time with her since January! We went to the movies (Julie and Julia, which i loved), then we had pedicures. This was my first pedicure, that's right, I was a pedicure virgin! Now I am hooked! My feet look so much better! Sunday I began the horrible job of painting the kitchen. It is such a tedious job... taping off the ceiling, then cleaning the walls...this after the joy of filling in all the holes and sanding.. Yuck! I only got part of it painted because i was exhausted and hot! I figure I should get it all done by Christmas! Between the two, give me sewing any day!