Christmas Treats

I have a quick and easy recipe to share this morning. Christmas time is generally when people make all kinds of candy. My personal favorites are my grandmother's fudge, turtles and peanut butter balls. But some of that candy is time consuming to make. This recipe is not. I got this recipe from a dear, sweet lady that is a volunteer and board member of the Museum. Mrs. Claire is her name and you have to pronounce her name with a very heavy southern accent. She has the most wonderful accent and I just love her to pieces. So I want to share her recipe for what she calls "bark" and I have to admit, I have never tasted a saltine cracker this good! These treats remind me of toffee candy, which is a  favorite of mine. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• Saltine crackers
• 2 sticks of margarine
• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 6 oz. peanut butter morsels

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Layer the cookie sheet with saltine crackers.



3) Melt the margarine and cup of sugar on the stove. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

4) Poor the butter/sugar mixture evenly over the crackers.

5) Bake crackers at 400 for 7 minutes.
6) Mix together the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

7) Remove crackers from oven and immediately sprinkle with the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

8) Spread the chips over the crackers with a knife or a spoon.

9) Put in the refrigerator to cool.
10) Once everything has cooled and hardened, break crackers into pieces.

11) That's it!

Told you it was a quick and simple recipe. So make a batch this holiday season. You won't regret it!

Happy Birthday!

One of my dapper dachshunds celebrated a birthday this weekend. Saturday, December 10th marked Oscar's 10th birthday. After all of his back problems this year, I am so thankful that Oscar is able to celebrate this milestone birthday. He is a trooper and doesn't let much get him down. Happy Birthday Oscar!

(And I guess I should mention that he shares his special day with my brother, so Happy Birthday, Brad!)

Victorian Christmas 2011

No, those are not my dachshunds. But these cutie patooties were out and about last night in Thomasville at the annual Victorian Christmas celebration. I spotted these guys from across the street and had to go get a picture of them. There was actually a third dachshund with them as well, so I felt that it was fate calling me over to go see them. I know I embarrassed Stacey to death going over to talk to these people, but us dachshund owners are a special breed. We understand. We get it. When you see something as cute as two dachshunds dressed up riding in a wagon, you go in for a second look.

We had a nice time walking around downtown. Stacey and Jason were very kind to let me third wheel it with them last night. Hopefully I didn't embarrass her too badly. But if Jason is going to hang around, he will have to learn to deal with me. I sometimes don't have a filter on that mouth of mine.

I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the quality of these photos as you can see above. I didn't want to completely embarrass Stacey bringing out the big camera, so these are all photos I took on my phone.

It was pretty crowded last night. It was so cold, so I was glad that there was a good turn out. I'm sure it will be even busier tonight, considering that is when many out-of-towners will come enjoy the festivities.

We got to see a lot of people dressed up in Victorian Era costumes. The people above were the strolling Christmas Carolers. I told Stacey that I was kinda glad that they decided to hire the Tourism Coordinator job at the City internally, because if I had gotten the job, then I would have had to dress up and work the event both nights in the freezing cold. But knowing me, I would have enjoyed every minute of it!

They had lots of activities for the kids. They had a "winter wonderland" complete with real snow for the kids to play in, a train to ride around, visits with Santa, and marshmallow roasting around fire pits.

The middle picture is of the Civil War Encampment that the Sons of Confederate Veterans coordinated to teach people about how people celebrated Christmas during the War Between the States. Jason and Stacey wouldn't let me get my picture with a guy that was all dressed up in uniform. Bummer. They also didn't understand why the soldiers were there, camped out right next to this:

They were right next to the live Nativity Scene that my church puts on every year. I don't think neither Stacey nor Jason appreciated my history lesson on the Civil War prison that was in Thomasville near the end of the war. No stroll downtown would be complete without a history lesson from me. Jason learned the hard way. But he did learn of the rumor that there is a mass grave of Yankees underneath Broad Street in front of the Methodist Church. Soldiers were brought to Thomasville from Andersonville at the very end of the war as Sherman was marching through Georgia and the sick ones were taken to the church. It is rumored that a bunch of those sick soldiers died and were buried right there in the front of the church. Again- this is all allegedly.... Moving on.

All in all, it was nice to go get in the Christmas spirit. Hopefully tomorrow I can get out and actually buy a Christmas present. That's right folks, I haven't bought one single present. Not one! I am going to see if I can keep my vow and only buy gifts from downtown Thomasville. I think I can make it happen. Hope everyone is taking full advantage of the local activities of this holiday season.

Do Your Ears Hang Low?

...Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie 'em in a knot, can you tie 'em in a bow? Can you throw them over your shoulder like a continental soldier? Do your ears hang low? (Not to be confused with the song Do Your Chain Hang Low)

Ok ladies. We all have hang ups about our bodies from time to time. We shouldn't, but we do. This is one of mine:

For those of you who know me in real life, I usually sport my usual diamond studs. Today, I am actually wearing dangling earrings. I will wear earrings like this from time to time and I have tried to get better about it, but I still feel self-conscious when I do. Because if you notice, my earring hole (that sounds really gross, lol) is a bit stretched out and it really bugs me. If I wear earrings like this, they are usually out by the time lunch rolls around. I am just paranoid that they will stretch my ear even more. I realize that this hang-up about my ears probably makes me really weird, which is what I thought too, until by accident yesterday I came across an article about earlobe surgery. I received an email from BirchBox letting me know that my monthly box had shipped out and there was a link in the email to their blog and the title of the link was "Are Ear Jobs the New Nose Job" and like always, curiosity killed the cat. So I clicked on it and read it. It did make me feel like less of a freak that this earlobe drooping phenomenon bothers other women and not just me. I would love to know someone who has had this done, or used the plumper like the article talked about. So, if you have any experience with this, please let me know.

I have thought about not wearing earrings for like a year and letting my holes grow back up and then get them re-pierced but I'm not sure I want to go that route. I could barely stand to get my ears pierced the first time. Granted, I was only 5 at the time.... Which is actually a pretty funny story. So I might as well share it. I was in kindergarten and I had begged and begged my mother to let me get my ears pierced. I finally wore her down, so off to Tyrene's we went to go get them pierced. I was so excited and jumped up in the chair, ready. That is until Tyrene came at me with the ear gun thing. Yep, down out of the chair I went! Needless to say, my mom took me back a couple more times whenever I had decided I had enough courage to do it. And every time I would get in the chair and change my mind. One day, I was at the dentist's office (Remember David from my Thanksgiving post? Yeah, his dad is my dentist. Got to love a small town!) getting a cavity filled. So Dr. Corbin had me in the chair flying high on the gas. He filled my cavity and I thought I was ready to go. Little did I know that my mom had called Tyrene while I was in the back and got her to come to the dentist office with her ear gun. So while I was riding the nitrous oxide, high out of my little 5-year-old mind, Tyrene popped in and pierced my ears, right there in the dental chair! How's that for an ear piercing story? I'm probably the only person in America who can say that they got their ears pierced at the dentist's office! I'm super cool. I know this :-)

I realize that this was a very random subject to post, but I just couldn't believe that article when I saw it yesterday, so I had to share it.

Wisdom Wednesday

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~Isaiah 9:6

Well guys, we are officially in the holiday season. I still can't believe there are only 18 days until Christmas! For December, Wisdom Wednesday will consist of posts related to the real meaning of Christmas. I believe Satan has done a fantastic job of getting the focus off of Jesus at Christmas. It's all about presents, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, etc. and not about the birth of our Lord and Savior. So today I will post this that I found about why Jesus is better than Santa.


Santa lives at the North Pole…JESUS is everywhere.


Santa rides in a sleigh…JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year…JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies…JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited…JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited.

You have to wait in line to see Santa…JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap…JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn’t know your name, all he can say is “Hi little boy or girl, what’s your name?”…JESUS knew our name before we were born. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly…JESUS has a heart full of love

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO…JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says “You better not cry”…JESUS says “Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.”

Santa’s little helpers make toys…JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but…JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree…JESUS became our gift and died on a tree…the cross.

We need to put Christ back in CHRISTmas, Jesus is still the reason for the season.


7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" 15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." ~ Luke 2:7-15

Dachshunds, Domestic Service, and SEC Football

As random as my title is, that is how random my weekend was. Friday night, I met my friend Will for dinner at the Mexican restaurant for a little catch up. I haven't seen or talked to him in awhile, so it was nice to see how things were going with him. After Stacey being gone for over a week, it was nice to spend the evening with an actual human being rather than my four-legged friends JR and Brutus. And speaking of which we had a very nice week together. Can't say that we did much considering it was rainy and cold for most of the week. So instead, we opted for quality snuggle time, which is what they do best.

Pretty much anytime I sat down, they had to be in my lap. And if they were in my lap, they were sleeping. Those two crack me up. I was so glad that they came to spend some time with me and I'm sure my parents enjoyed the break from the destruction that they cause on a daily basis! My sweet mother came over Saturday to pick up her "grandchildren." So off they went back to the country after somewhat becoming city dogs once more. Saturday night, our Sunday School class had our annual Christmas/SEC Championship party over at our teacher's house. We had an awesome time hanging out, eating waaay too much, and laughing. My friends' little boy, Wyatt, decided that I was his new bff, so I got a lot of play time with him which I really enjoyed. Granted, I was among many, many Georgia fans who were disappointed, but we still managed to have a good time in spite of their loss. So I was thankful for that.

Finally, on Sunday I headed over to the Museum to meet up with my Historical Society family for a lecture and the opening of their traveling exhibit on domestic service in the Gilded Age. It was a very, very good program and I enjoyed learning about this unique aspect of our country's history. It's not usually a story that is told that often due to the stigmas attached, so it was very interesting to hear people's personal stories and some history behind that whole system.

I thought Ephraim, our Curator, did a wonderful job incorporating Thomas County's own unique spin about domestic service. He added several pictures and stories about servants and their experiences right here in our own backyard. I was glad to see that story told in such a way that it normally would not be presented.

So that was my very random weekend. I promise that I will step up my game and have some more interesting posts soon. I'm sure ya'll all get tired of hearing about my mundane day-to-day life!

Picture Overload

Whew! I have been a busy girl this week and haven't really had that much time to blog. But I thought that I should post a few pictures from Thanksgiving before I forget. First off I want to share a recipe for a delicious cake that I made.

I made the Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt cake that was on the cover of Southern Living back in August. When I saw the recipe, I just knew that I wanted to make it for Thanksgiving and I was glad that I did. If you click on the link above, it will take you to the recipe. It's a little long to put into this post. It wasn't that tough to make, just a little labor intensive considering you had to peel and chop the apples to put in the cake. I used a mixture of Gala and Granny Smith apples. The recipe calls for just Gala, but after reading the reviews, many people said it needed a bit of a more tart apple, so I threw in the Granny Smith. This cake is good if you like a cake that isn't overly sweet. And the praline icing is to die for. My mother and I ate just pecans dipped in the icing and it was better than an actual pecan praline. Yum, yum. You need to try this recipe.

Let's see....I recruited my brother to play photographer on Thanksgiving and take a few pictures of me and the boys for our Christmas cards. Yeah, trying to get three dogs to cooperate and then have my brother try to work my camera and pose us wasn't really working out. I will just show a few of the outtakes.

It helps, Brad, to have us all looking at the camera! I have so many of this type of photo, it's not even funny!

Of course, my dad's dog Jack thinks that he is a dachshund. He had to be in the photo too. Sorry Jackie, but you won't be making the Christmas card!

This was Brad's favorite photo of the day for some reason.

He called it the "dogs looking to heaven asking Jesus to save them from their miserable lives.." My brother is not right is all I can say about that one. But the dogs do look pretty funny all looking up to the sky like that. And please excuse my extremely white-trashy roots. I promise that is on my to-do list to get taken care of. But for now, it's nothing that a little Photoshop action won't take care of. ("I'm gonna be in photoshop all night"...name that TV show) But looking at this photo makes me realize just how bad they really are. Guess I will have to bite the bullet and take a Saturday to get that done. When, I don't know but it is of importance after seeing this! See mom- I told you my natural color is no longer blonde, but brown!  

Just had to add a picture of my daddy. Just because I can :-) He had to show off his newest fruit tree.

See that tiny thing? Yeah....that's supposed to be a grapefruit. They are so small, but are actually really good. We ate them like an orange. They tasted like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange. Really weird. I told my dad that I was impressed that his grapefruit tree lived because I sent home my lemon tree to him to plant at his house that I had grown and nurtured from a tiny cutting off of my grandmother's tree into a nice large plant, and somehow my father managed to kill it.

What Thanksgiving isn't complete without a little target practice? And yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a sweet, old recliner doing duty as a target holder. Who doesn't have one of those laying around? Ha ha. Cue the Sanford and Son music here. This picture is of all of the boys gathered round to see why they couldn't hit the bucket. "The sites were off" was their excuse, yeah right. They just needed a girl to show them how to get the job done!

My grandmother made the trip down to Blountstown to spend Thanksgiving with us. Would you believe that she is 88 years young? Barrett got a lot of great-grandmother time and it was so sweet to watch. And speaking of Barrett...I think he might have a career as a cross dresser someday.

Yes. Those are my boots that are a very nice thigh-high on Barrett. I haven't laughed so hard in a while. It was so funny watching him try to walk in heels. His father was so proud. After that, I sealed the deal and taught him a few cheerleading moves just for good measure. It was priceless.

Of course, there were lots of photos taken of the boys. I love this picture of JR. It says a lot about his relationship with Brutus. Brutus stole his golf ball and was chopping away at it and JR was just like "really?" Poor little Eeyore face breaks my heart!

And no trip would be complete without doing a little animal watching. Mainly the deer and cows out in the cow pasture.

My father's sign is still kicking. It cracks me up. If you can see Jack is following the cow ("Cow dog" as my father calls Jack). Trust me, Jack is anything but a cow dog.

We also got a little home improving time in this past weekend.

We painted some furniture! (or daddy painted some furniture...) I am re-doing my bedroom, so out comes the paint. I love projects like this. They are fun to me. I will post more about the finished project later when it all comes together.

Ok, I really need to get to work now, so I will stop with the photos. But this is just a little sampling of my Thanksgiving weekend. I hope everyone had a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving like I did. It wasn't anything fancy or spectacular, but it was spending time with people that I love and that's the most important thing.