Welcome 2013!

 

 We had a wonderful Christmas.  A more simple holiday since finances were really tight for us this year but definitely not lacking in joy and happiness in celebrating the true reason for this holiday, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We are looking forward to this coming year to see all the God has for us!  I hope you have a blessed and Happy New Year!     

So Much Fun!!

Mary and I did some baking this year.  We tried a new recipe.  We made chocolate gingerbread cookies.  They turned out really good.  It was regular ginger bread cookie recipe with 3 tablespoons of dark cocoa powder and a 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground ginger (that was my idea).  Here are a few shots of her having a blast making and playing with her cookies.

 

We also had a blast at her Christmas party for her ballet class.  Here is a slide show to give you a sneak peak at what we saw.  The girls were all so cute!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Here is the link to the video: http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=11d6a853ecce32fd4d4fcd3&skin_id=1604&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

It's Looking A Lot Like Christmas

It is starting to look a lot like Christmas around here.  My Christmas cactus is in full bloom on my kitchen table.  When I was bringing it in from our greenhouse I accidentally dropped it on the step coming into the house.  It shook it up really bad and broke a big branch off.  I was so upset I began to cry as I had babied it all summer looking forward to one of the best blooms it had ever had and then I go and drop it!!  But it recovered and bloomed for me.  Mary said, "Mom look, it forgave you and now it is blooming!"

Mary has had fun making paper snowflakes and then using the snowflakes as skirts for ballerina paper dolls.

Here is our Christmas card this year.  I had fun getting some free graphics on pinterest.

Mary is all excited about the snow.  It doesn't snow very often before Christmas around here.  I think it is the most snow we have had before Christmas since Mary was born.  So it is really big deal for her.

Shot of the tree and Mary with the snow outside.

First snowman of the year with daddy's help.

Lots of snow everywhere.

Rich gave me this beautiful cross key chain for our 10th wedding anniversary.  I love what it says.

Anniversary Breakfast

Today marks my 10th wedding anniversary. For this special occasion my husband made some wonderful cinnamon rolls for breakfast. He made yeast dough last night put it in the fridge and then put it together and baked these cinnamon rolls this morning. They are so yummy and tender. I just love them. I ate three! Lois at Walking on Sunshine blog suggested that I post the recipe, so here it is.

Overnight Rolls
Ingredients need to be room temperature
Combine:
   2 1/2 teaspoons of granulated yeast
   2 teaspoons of sugar
   in a 1/4 cup of 85 to 100 degree water.
Permit these ingredients to stand until dissolved, about 10 minutes.   Scald:
   1 cup milk
Add and stir until melted
   7 tablespoons lard
Cool. Combine and beat well:
   7 tablespoons sugar
   4 beaten eggs
   1 teaspoon salt
Stir in the milk mixture and cool to 85*
stir in the yeast mixture and:
   4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Beat the dough about 5 minutes.  Place in a foil-covered bowl in the refrigerator over night.  Take out just before baking.  Roll the dough on a floured board to the thickness of 1/4 inch.  Spread generously with:
   Melted butter
Sprinkle with:
   Cinnamon
   Brown sugar
Roll the dough like a jelly roll.  Cut into 1 inch slices. 
Spray pan with cooking spray
Place rolls on cookie sheet.  Let them rise in a warm place for 1/2 hour.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 1/2 hour or until golden brown.  Makes 14 large rolls.  For a deeper and higher roll put in large muffin pans.  For flatter rolls use a cookie sheet. (my husband used a cookie sheet for ours this morning)  Top icing of choice.

I am posting this recipe on the Foodie Friday Link party today.  For more yummy recipes you can go here.

Ebay to Etsy

We have changed our store, Peace of Earth Ceramics, location from Ebay to Etsy. We think Etsy will be a better venue for our ceramic art work as Etsy is all about handmade things. So if you would like to go and check our store out you can do so here.

 

Our pup, Mackie, would like to wish you a very happy Christmas Season!