Merry Christmas!

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you:  You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  "Glory to God in the highest.  And on earth, Peace, goodwill toward men!"  Luke 2:8-14

St. Nicholas

 There are many stories about the life of St. Nicholas.  I found my information here.  The following is a quick summary.  Click on the link to read more details.

St. Nicholas came from a wealthy family.  His parents died when he was very young.  He grew up in his faith and strongly believed to give to the poor.  He became Bishop and was know for his generosity, love of children and concern for sailors.  Under the Roman Empire he was persecuted for his faith.  He went to prison.  He was released and died on December 6.  The anniversary of his death became a celebration known as St. Nicholas Day.

There are many variations of the story of St. Nicholas. He gave money for three poor girls dowries, he helped children, gave to the poor. Do a little research.  You will even see how Santa Claus evolved. 

If you put your shoes out by the door, Saint Nicholas visits and leaves candy inside them.  

Do you have any special traditions you do with your family during the holidays?

Christmas Crafts and Holiday Gifts

It's that crazy time of year again!  

Snow 

Holiday Parties  

Snow  

Crafts  

Gifts  

Gift wrapping  

Snow  

Cookie making  

Hot Chocolate 

Sledding  

And more snow

Don't forget all of the Christmas music!

I put together this page and included some links from my blog to some easy Holiday Crafts and Gifts that you can make yourself, with kids or even a Girl Scout Troop.  Some of these are a great activity for those days when you are stuck at home because of the snow or cold weather.

Enough talking, lets get going! 

Christmas
Animal Ornaments 
Brazilian Holiday Flower (great children's craft)
Candy Cane Sleigh 
Christmas Cards and tags
Felt Heart Ornament 
Foam Gingerbread House (children's craft)
Foam Ornament Gift Tag 
Jingle Bell Bracelet (children's craft)
Mitten Gift Tags 
Mosaic Christmas Tree (children's craft)
Picture Frame
Snowman Ornament 
Stocking (out of construction paper) (children's craft)
Winter Scene (children's craft)
Snowman Ornament
Snowman Winter Craft (children and adult craft)
Ugly Christmas Sweater Felt Banner


Gifts
Homemade Bubbles
Bath Bombs
Laundry Detergent (powder)
Homemade Hair Detangler
Homemade Liquid Hand Soap
Homemade Lip Balm
Homemade Lotion


Miscellaneous Crafts/Gifts
Bangle Bracelet (wrapped)
Blank Books 
Bubbles (homemade)
Book Mark
Bottle cap necklace
Cork Board using Old Picture Frame
Decorative Wrapping Paper 
Dryer Balls
Fun Scrapbooks
Gift Box
Paint Chip Monthly Calendar
Pumpkin Soap Recipe
Twine Napkin Holders 
Note cards  
Homemade Sidewalk Paint 
Sit upon (a cushion to sit on)
Wrapped Bangle Bracelet


Don't forget to make some cookies this season.  They go great with hot chocolate!  (Well, cookies go great with everything!)  Here are some links to cookies that appear on the blog:

Cookies:
Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Avocado Chocolate Cookies 

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Chocolate Chip Blondies
Chocolate Chip Blondies (vegan)
Chocolate Chip Chokies (Mom's famous recipe)
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Hershey Kiss Pretzels 

Icing for Sugar Cookies 
M & M Cookies
Nutella Cookies 1
Nutella Cookies 2
Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Raisin Bran Cookies

Pfeffernusse Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Raspberry Lemon Cookies  

Red Velvet Cookies 
Sugar Cookies
Vanilla Pudding Cookies

If you make some sugar cookies, make sure to check this out for an easy Sugar Cookie Icing recipe.

Check out the Recipe page for other sweets recipes.

My favorite cookies are the pumpkin cookies, M & M cookies, Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies and of course the Pfeffernusse Cookies.  

Black Friday

I know I have been missing in action around here but I can't skip my world famous Black Friday post! 

Today is Black Friday!  That fun time of year where we push our credit cards to the limit! This is a great day for you to get in a workout by trying to snag that big screen TV! Try not to get into any fights! And if you want to be the first one into the store, why not camp there overnight! 

The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday and has always been known as the biggest shopping day of the year. For retailers, it marked the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In recent years, every Friday in November was a Black Friday Sale. This year, the entire month seems to be a Black Friday event. 

For those of you working on Black Friday, it's a crazy, long tiring day. Make sure you take those vitamins, drink plenty of water and plaster a smile on your face.  

If you are out there shopping, it can get crazy, so try to be safe. Also, be nice to the retail workers.  They don't make the rules or have control over the amount of inventory for that Billy Bass you want to purchase.  So, go easy on them! 

Of course you will need a little background music for this special day. Here is my Black Friday playlist for your listening pleasure. 

Man in Black - Johnny Cash

Paint it Black -  The Rolling Stones

Back in Black - AC DC

Black Cat - Janet Jackson

Black Magic Woman - Santana

Black or White - Michael Jackson 

Black Widow - Iggy Azalea

Black Hole Sun- Soundgarden

Black - Pearl Jam 

Blackbird - The Beatles

Black Betty - Ram Jam

 Black Gold -Soul Asylum 

Men in Black 3 Back in Time - Pitbull

Black Night- Deep Purple

Black Rain Soundgarden

The Long Black Veil - JohnnyCash

Ebony and Ivory - McCartney and Wonder

Black Dog - Led Zeppelin 

Black Velvet- Alannah Miles

Black Water - Doobie Brothers 

Men in Black - Will Smith

Blue on Black Five Finger Death Punch

Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

Fade to Black - Metallica

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall

Two Black Cadillacs- Carrie Underwood

Black Honey - Thrice

Black Rose - Volbeat

Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress - The Hollies

Now get out there and have some fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 In the year 1621, the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving feast. They invited the great Indian Chief, Massasoit, who brought ninety of his brave Indians and a great abundance of food. Governor Bradford and Captain Miles Standish were honored guests. Elder William Brewster, who was a minister,  said a prayer that went something like this;

"We thank God for our homes and our food and our safety in a new land. We thank God for the opportunity to create a new world for freedom and justice. "

Linus van Pelt

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 

National Handbag Day

  Today is my favorite day, National Handbag Day!  A day set aside for me to celebrate all of the time and headaches effort that I put into finding the perfect a new purse.  

Handbags come in many shapes and sizes.  They can be as small as an envelope or as large as a carry-on suitcase.  Handbags also come in every solid color and a variety of prints like leopard, zebra and even stripes.  You can get a sparkly bag or a purse with rhinestones.  There is a handbag out there for everyone.

Whatever you call it... purse, pocketbook, clutch, evening bag, case or pouch, handbags have been used for thousands of years.  The earliest bags were used to carry tools or gear.  Sometimes the user decorated them with beads.  And some dyed the material to make the bag.

How do you celebrate National Handbag Day?  Wear your favorite handbag today, of course!  Or use this day to buy a new handbag.  There are so many out there for you to choose!

 We all know that I celebrate this day because of my purse commitment issues.  If you need to read up on my scary purse stories, click  HERE, HERE and HERE .  I promise these stories are quite entertaining.

As you know, I sold my house in June and was homeless for five weeks.  I had to downsize which meant that I had to get rid of some of the purses that I own.  While homeless, I did purchase a new purse.  It was quite the commitment and I needed quite a bit of encouragement from RT (thankfully he was there and fully supported the purchase).  I am quite happy with this purse.  I have noticed though that there are a few purses that I kept when I moved that I should probably part with and feel that this would be a great time to start the removal process.  Prayers are much needed at this time

Happy Fall!

  "Fall is here!  Fall is here!

It's my favorite time of year

Football games and falling leaves
I'll take mine with turkey please"

It's that time of year set aside to think about falling leaves and all things pumpkin!  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice, pumpkin spiced latte, pumpkin potpourri, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies and just plain pumpkins.

Are you a pumpkin person?  A football person?  How about a Halloween person?

It's time to get your craft on and get into that Fall spirit!  Below are links to some of the Fall Halloween crafts and Costumes that I've blogged about in the past.  Some of these are great ideas to do with little kids and some are great to do with your Girl Scout Troop!


Halloween Crafts

Bat Pencil Cup  uses an empty can and construction paper

Extra Crafts - using construction paper, make owls, witch, ghosts and foam monsters

Mosaic Pumpkin - using paint chips

Mosaic Pumpkin - using construction paper

Owl - using construction paper

Pony Tail Craft - using ribbon (great for a Girl Scout Troop!)

Pumpkin and Ghost - using Popsicle sticks and paint

Pumpkin Magnet - using foam

Spider - using pipe cleaners and google eyes

SPIDER  using construction paper

Spider (under $1 craft)  using an egg carton, black paint and google eyes

Witche's Hat  uses foam and glitter glue

Pumpkin Soap


Have a party to go to and need a quick, easy Halloween costume?  Look no further! 

Costumes
Easy Halloween Costumes
Eye Candy Costume
Target Employee

It's also time to grab that apron and whip up some fall goodies!  Everybody loves pumpkin!  (well, at least I do!)

How about some Fall food ideas:

Vegetarian Chili
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Pie (from a Pumpkin)

Halloween Candy Dessert 

The Great Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 

Hope this inspires you to get into the fall spirit!  I think I'll go make some pumpkin cookies.

Enjoy!