Category: Meanderings

There are certain times of year that make me a bit melancholy and for me and for many others, today is one of those times.

This morning I sit at my kitchen table in the stillness of the morning and close my eyes and remember.

I remember teasing with my mom that last year over silly putty she bought the boys… I remember riding snowmobile with my dad, and I remember… oh how I remember and miss my sister Tara.

The people of my heart may no longer be with me on earth…

but the memories remain…

forever and ever

and no one can change that.

My wish for all of you today is that your heart memories remain as fresh and real as the day they were made.  That you know that you are never alone and that many people care about you – some you may not even realize….

Today is Christmas.  May yours be filled with love, happiness, and joy.

Merry Christmas!

Sheila ♥

Good morning!!!!

I had a wonderful nights sleep and am reading to put the finishing touches on Christmas planning and Christmas weekend.

This morning I sit at my kitchen table watching Al and Chance play cribbage.  This is my version if a modern-day Normal Rockwell.  Of course…. to the left of them you can add me to the picture with my oversized COFFEE CUP tapping away at my laptop and now the picture is complete….

I spoke to college Son already this morning and he is at the airport in Florida flying into Minnesota this afternoon and should be home around 5:30 pm.  NICE.

Tomorrow both boys will be home, College Son and Navy Son and we will all spend the day together.  I just have to figure out what I want to make for Christmas dinner and snackies….    🙂

On Sunday morning College Son has to go back to Mankato for work and Myself, Navy Son, Chance and AL are heading to our cabin up North for the day to snowmobile and spend the night – we will be back on Monday.

I do have posts yet throughout this weekend and I pretty much have a SSSQQQUUUUEEEE idea of what may be under the tree for me so you can bet there will be pictures….  😀

If I do not get a chance to chat with you over the weekend know that I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

What are your plans for this Christmas Weekend?

Good morning!

Do you ever have those nights where you just toss and turn and feel like you never really slept?

I just had one of those.  Until about 3:30  a.m. I am rolling around the bed, this way and that… my mind on some sort of mental caffeine rush.  I am processing Christmas, the gifts, what is left to do, plans for the weekend, my kids, my life, work out schedules, eating habits…

(I really should have just got up and done something really productive like clean a closet or crochet a quilt)

ANYWAY… the inevitable thing with nights like this is that I usually crash in the deep sleep around 4 a.m. only to awaken 2 hours later knowing that I have to get up.

GAH.

All that said, I do feel pretty good and I am ready to rush off to work and have an awesome day as tomorrow – Friday, I am off.

WOO HOO!!!  Perfect timing to prep for Saturday and the weekend… which I will talk more about tomorrow.

G’ Morning.

It is true that I am over the worst of being sick.  All that is really left is the cough which is annoying but doesn’t feel like I am on death watch like I felt a couple of days ago.

With the post I put up yesterday about all the Biscotti that I was cranking out in my new-found health… I have to add that the insanity continued into last night as well.

I believe I am pretty much “biscottied” out.  Ten batches and way too much sampling has put me in a biscotti like coma…. seriously, I think you could dip me in a cup of coffee and I would hardly crumble at all.  I even smell like a cookie and that is after my shower…. it must be in my pores.  How festive of me.  😎

I am going to seriously need to hit the gym and hit it hard after the holiday weekend.

Any other baking comas out there?

Good morning.

Lets recap yesterday to relive how I made it to this post title…

Morning…. blah’s  still sick, skip the gym.  have a 10 a.m. meeting to attend but go home from work afterward.  Fall asleep in recliner until 4:15 pm.

Afternoon:  Wake up when Chance gets home off of bus.  The plan is to crawl from my recliner position to my bedroom and go back to sleep, but oddly I have a burst of energy.

Late afternoon:  I start making Biscotti for my co workers.  I had bought the ingredients over the weekend but have not felt well enough to do anything with that.  I start by making a double batch of Chocolate Dipped Orange and then a double batch of Chocolate-Chocolate.  I complete both of these and then proceed to make Pickle Butts (hey – I don’t make the names for these things!) for an appetizer potluck and White Elephant Christmas party we are invited to.

6:30 pm:  Arrive at White Elephant party, eat real home-made connoles made in front of us by a guy who is 100% Sicilian.  Uhhh… yum.

8:30 pm:  back home and crank out a double batch of Cinnamon hazelnut biscotti to finish off my gift bags for tomorrow at work.  Finish cooking at 10 pm.

6 batches of biscotti – thus the post title.

As of this morning I am feeling good and am optimistic that my 4 days of being bogged down with this horrible sinus/cold/headache/achy bone thing is over.

*Happy dance.*

GAH.  Day two and still feel pretty blah.  I am achy and coughie and tired.

This is so not me and it is sucking up all my weekend.

I have yet to Christmas shop.  It’s true!  I was out of the country December 1 – 10, arrived back in Minnesota a week ago today and tried to get organized last weekend, worked all week and now my big shopping plans consist of me once again in the recliner, with my blanket, laptop, and books.

Not cool….. not cool.

Brad (Navy Son) after a bit of turmoil yesterday that looked like he would not be able to come home for Christmas resulted in good news, with a little maneuvering and help on this end, we got him on a plane and he will be here for dinner tonight.  WOO HOO!!!  His birthday was the 16th so we are doing his birthday tonight.  He will be staying in Brainerd until the 30th.

*using all my strength I do a fist pump in the air*

My final chatter this morning is a recipe.  In early November my girlfriends and I had a girls baking and crafting weekend at our cabin.  It was a blast and many of the recipes I had shared with you, but have yet to complete the craft projects or this recipe here.

My friend Heidi brought this one for us and it was YUM!!!  Easy to make, no baking required, and tasty too.  What’s not to love?  SO today I leave you with this:

Almond Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies

A box of Townhouse crackers

Smooth Peanut Butter

Almond Bark (white or white and chocolate)

Optional:  sprinkles, chocolate chip drizzle

wax paper

Lay out a large sheet of wax paper where you will be working.

Take Ritz crackers and spread peanut butter on one, and top with another to make a sandwich.   Continue doing this until you have created as many cookies as you would like.

Melt almond bark (if doing them all white, melt enough white to cover all cookies…. is making them half white and half chocolate melt enough white to cover 1/2 the cookie (in this case you would dip one end in until half way up the cookie, let dry on wax paper and then dip other end with chocolate).

Dip all your cookies covering them completely and then set on wax paper to dry.  ** If you wish to add sprinkles do so while the bark is still wet.  If you are going to melted chocolate over the tops, wait until bark is dry.   (For faster drying put cookies on wax paper in refrigerator on a flat space.

These cookies are easy to make as a quick treat and freeze well.

That’s it for this morning…. off to read a bit and then decide if I can get it together enough to brave the stores!!!

Morning fellow readers 😀

I am home today – my first Friday off in about three months and I am THRILLED.  Not only because I just really want to sit at home snuggled in a blanket and surrounded by books, but because I have a nasty head cold and I really just want to sit at home snuggled in a blanket and surrounded by books.

😀

*cough cough*

The extent of my morning activities was getting up throwing on sweat pants, t-shirt, hat and coat and driving Chance to school.  Making my way back home, brewing a pot of coffee, and hauling laptop, blanket, cell phone, and a stack of books downstairs tot he recliner.  I am now all tucked in and blissfully reading and writing reviews.

I have so many things to share with you that I have to start capturing the ideas.  I still have recipes and craft ideas from my girls weekend in November to share.  I have Honduras thoughts and pictures, weekend cooking, and more…. but today – today I am focusing on a couple awesome bloggers that make up this community and have both made me smile in the last few days.

First of all if you did not participate in the Secret Santa (Book Blogger Holiday Swap) exchange, I highly recommend you add that to your calendar of things to do for next year.  It is such a blast!  My Secret Santa I sent to was Sarah at GreenBeanTeenQueen.  Here she talks about the gift she received.

I received mine as well this past week.  Mine came from Stephanie from Books For Nerds. 😀  Check out my gift:

I know, right?  TOTALLY SSSSQQQQQQUUUUUEEEEEE worthy.  Safe Haven looks so wonderful and Climbing The Stairs has been on my wish list for a long time!  😀  Thank you Stephanie!!!

… and then yesterday I got home from a long day at work where I wasn’t feeling very well.  I had cancelled dinner plans with a friend so I could just come home and die pass out on the couch.  I picked up the mail on my way in and smiled when I seen this card:

Thanks Trisha, you have no idea how nice that was to receive!  🙂

So, I am on recliner duty today and I am so prepared to invest in some great book time.  I hope to write a few reviews I am behind on so I can just pluck them into place this next week.

Have an awesome Friday everyone!!!!  Any fun plans for the weekend?

Good morning.

*yawns.  stretches.  Reaches for coffee cup.*

The craziness of life is back on.  I went from work to the gym to a meeting to dinner with Chance last night…. ending my day with my feet up in the recliner watching episodes from season 2 of LOST.  The more I watch the more Sawyer cracks me up…. he is the king (THE KING!) of nicknames.

Oh but don’t take my word for it….

These episodes have been fun to watch during a little down time in the evenings…. however I still need to get in my reading time.  😀

Today is my last day of work for the week and I am HAPPY about that!  After another full day here, tomorrow I have a day to myself….. uhhhh….. BLISS!!