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Creamer Bottle Snowman

Many years ago one of my girls made one of these creamer bottle snowmen at school. As soon as the other two saw it they wanted to make some too. Since then it has become a tradition.

They look forward to it each year. I think part of what they look forward to is buying the creamer so we can get the bottles. They like to get flavors that would go well with hot chocolate too. Christmas time is great for this because they come out with so many great flavors that are only out during the holidays.

This is another cheap and easy craft that kids love. If you do any crafts with your kids you will have everything already at the house. Just like making real snowmen you just use whatever you have laying around. The scarf can be made out of felt or yarn. You can then use beads, buttons, or even just cut up construction paper. The arms can be made from pipe cleaners of even just little sticks they find in the yard. The nose can be as simple as just a colored toothpick poked into the bottle.

The creamer bottles that are used to make these snowmen are the flavored kind that you buy in the refrigerated section at the store. I am sure you have never noticed before but the red pour top on the bottle looks just like a winter hat so it is perfect. All you need to do is take off the label and wash them out. If you will be displaying them in a high traffic area you may want to put a few pennies or water in the bottles to hold them down.

Candied Orange Peel

Candied Orange Peel is an acquired taste but once you get the taste you love it. The girls and I love them in many forms. Sometimes we make them soft and chewier. Sometimes we make them crunchy. Other times we go all out and dip them in chocolate afterward. They are super yummy, they make the house smell great, and they use something you would otherwise just throw away. You can also use other citrus fruits and make a colorful mix. Just be sure to make them in separate batches so the flavors do not mix.

Instructions

I make this with 4 or 5 oranges. If you do not normally eat that many oranges in your family you can freeze the peels in a ziplock until you have enough.

1. Cut the oranges in half across the middle. Then cut each half in an X to make four pieces. This makes it easier to peel off the skin and make the strips.

2. Pull out the fruit and cut the peel into strips. You do not need to remove the white part.

3. Blanch the strips by boiling for 5 minutes and then running them under cold water in a strainer. Repeat this step until you have blanched them 3 times. This will remove most of the bitterness from the white part.

4. While the oranges are in the strainer the final time, bring 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar to a simmer. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved and then place the orange peels back into the pan to simmer.

*note - If you are doing a larger batch you need to be sure that you have enough liquid to cover the orange peels. Just keep to twice as much sugar as water.

5. Let simmer for around 1 hour

Variations

Crunchy - Let the orange peels simmer until all of the water is gone. You will see it all of a sudden crystallize. Place on waxed paper to cool. Save the sugar for tea.

Chewy - Pull the orange peels out of the syrup before it all dries out and toss in sugar before placing on waxed paper. Have the syrup for your tea.

Chocolate Covered Oranges - Pull the oranges out of the syrup before it dries out but do not toss in sugar. Just place on a rack to dry and cool. Again save syrup. When the orange peels are cool dip them in melted chocolate. I prefer to just use chocolate chips. Place in a bowl and microwave at 15 second intervals stirring in between. It will become smooth chocolate very fast and there is no worry about it burning. After you dip the orange peels place them on waxed paper to cool.

3D Paper Snowflake

Neona made these one year at school and I thought they were so cool. I would have never thought of this one on my own. I think they look much nicer than the regular paper snowflakes.

All you need is a regular sheet of printer paper, scissors, and a stapler. Take the sheet of paper and fold the bottom up about one inch. Then continue to fold up the paper doing the accordion fold also known as the fan fold. When the paper is all folded put a staple in the center.

Now you can start to make your cuts. You want to make your cuts match on both sides so the snowflake gets a nice pattern. When all the cuts are made you open up the snowflake like you would a fan. (sometimes the paper needs additional cuts to open all of the way) I am always in a hurry so I staple the sides together. If you have more time you can glue them together.

Now you have a pretty paper snowflake that is ready to be hung up with a string.

Russian Tea Cakes

These cookies are another holiday tradition in our house. They are also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes. The girls love making the balls and they also love rolling them in the powdered sugar afterward. Yes, it can become a mess of powdered sugar when kids help but the smiles on their faces make the mess worth while. These cookies go fast in my house so you may want to make a double batch like we do.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven.
4. While still a bit warm roll in confectioners’ sugar. Roll again as they cool more.

Think and Make It Happen

I have been reading this book. Yes, I am still reading it. Well, I should say I am rereading it. It is one of those books that has to be read more than once. It takes time to change your thoughts and your life. Negative thoughts become a habit and habits are hard to break.

I look at this book as more like a textbook to be studied with principles to learn. This book might not be a huge thick book but it is stuffed full of great information. After reading it the first time I decided to go back and take notes. There is way too much information to just read it and have it all sink in.

I recommend reading it a chapter at a time. What I really like doing is rereading the same chapter every night before bed. This helps me look at how my day went. Did I use all of the ideas I learned during my day or did I fall back into some old negative habits? I can go over my whole day in my mind while rereading the chapter. I can also think about how I should have done some things differently.

This book shows us how much we let our thoughts control our lives. We need to take charge of our lives and control our thoughts instead. When Dr Augusto Cury talks about the difference between reacting and responding it really made me think. I am often quick to react to things and later when I think about it I wish I would have handled things differently. We need to stop and take time to think so we can respond rather than just reacting.

"Think and Make It Happen" is full of great tools to help you have a more healthy way of thinking. It can enrich your mental, emotional, and spiritual life. Your thoughts really do change how you live your life and how your life ends up. Now is the time to change your thoughts and make your life better.

Collapse of Distinction

Collapse of Distinction talks about how to stand out in a world of cookie cutter businesses. With the economy getting worse everyday, businesses need to be different to stay alive.

Look at what companies are closing down. Best Buy seems to be doing fine yet Circuit City is going out of business. We are in a world full of businesses that just copy each other. There is no longer enough business to go around so you want to stand out and keep your business.

This book brings up some great topics. Why would you want to be just like every one else? When customers do not see a difference in your business they also see no reason to just go to you.

I found this book to be a great resource. It is full of thought provoking topics and ideas. I would definitely recommend it.

I must also bring up the extras that come with the book...

This is the first "Nelson Free" book I have received from the Thomas Nelson publishing company. Nelson Free gives you a free audio version and a free ebook version when you purchase the book. You just go online and download the book you purchased. Talk about standing out and changing to meet demands. In a digital age this is a great move.

The book itself has an extra too. When you purchase the book you can log onto a website that goes along with the book. The website has more business information and you can share your story.

Fearless by Max Lucado

The world today can be a very scary place. Fear is waiting around every corner to get into your head. Fear can take over your life so that you can not even think straight any more. Yoda said it best when he said... “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

How is fear stealing your life today? Are you afraid of the bad economy and how it effects your life? Are you afraid that your current relationship will not last or that you will not find true love? Are you afraid that something bad will happen to your children? Fear is all around us and it can cripple us if we let it.

Many people are turning to religion to ease their fears. Faith is giving many families peace in a world of fear. As a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger I got a pre-release copy of a great book. Fearless by Max Lucado has such a positive message. I would definitely recommend this book. Everyone could use a positive message these days. The book cover says it all, "Imagine your life without fear".

Wednesday, March 16, 2011