Whew...I Need A Vacation!

After the whirlwind of the Christmas season, I need a vacation...and guess what, I'M NOW ON ONE! We thought we'd visit family in Colorado or even go back to Oregon again but we're not doing either. The bad weather all over has made us decide to stay home and get stuff done, spend New Year's Eve with friends, visit my FIL in Palm Springs, and overall just enjoy the time with no schedule. It sounds like heaven to me.

Our Christmas was dramatically different this year yet enjoyable. No family came into town (due to bad traveling weather) so it was unusually quiet. My sister Kim and her husband came for Christmas dinner which was nice. We all helped out in the kitchen and worked together to get dinner prepared. This is new for me. I'm learning to let go of things and enjoy the moment more, trying not to be so in control of everything. I don't have to "do it all" and I'm finally realizing it...and it's sure making life more fun for me and for everyone else in the process. We all helped out with the preparations but here is a picture of my two cute sidekicks and myself...




We originally had planned on more company coming and my thought was to include all of the women with the cooking so I bought aprons for everyone. We ended up only using 3 of the aprons but I thought it would be a cute "party favor" gift idea. My sister kept saying "you mean this apron is mine, really!?!"

Friday, bright and early, Kim and I hit the ground running. We were at our first store by 8:00am and I didn't get home until after 8:00pm. It's all caught up with me today and boy am I tired. This has been a pajama day...and I don't plan on getting dressed. I NEVER do this but I am today!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and that you are making time to relax too. I've thought of you so much over the holidays and wondered how you've all been. Each one of you have enhanced my life tremendously and made my Christmas so much more meaningful and festive. I appreciate you so much!

Speaking of appreciation, thank you so much for the beautiful Christmas cards and good mail that was sent my way. I loved it all!

Thank you Kacey!

Thank you Deb!

Thank you Jan!

Thank you Bren!

Thank you Jennifer!

And finally, this is what happens when your daughter gets a hold of your camera. I'd say she's got the SPT idea down pat wouldn't you!

I Love Productive Days

These last few days have been very productive ones for sure. Besides becoming the new dog groomer of the household, here are some samples of what's been keeping me busy lately...


This didn't keep me a little busy, it kept me ALOT busy...but boy does it feel good when everything is all packaged up and dropped off at the post office.

A few things for friends...


A little gift wrapping...



Little goodies for the dialysis techs/nurses/secretary that will be working in my unit with me on Saturday...


And now for the really good stuff...


I finally got some baking done. I've got a slew of things I plan on making but yesterday I made these yummy treats. Man are they good and they couldn't be any easier to make. Jan, thanks for posting about these. I also made sugar-coated pecans. Today I'll bake cookies, make more candy, and just maybe I'll get my Christmas cards done!?! Hopefully it will rain all day, it makes for perfect baking weather!

Have your last few days been productive...or are you really really BEHIND!

Weekend Plans

Guess what we've got planned in a few days...



Yep, it's Camping Club Weekend!

As some of you may remember, I stayed home last month and didn't attend the camp out...so I'm very excited to be seeing my camping girlfriends (and their hubby's of course!) It's been 2 long months.

I've mentioned that they are ALL gourmet cooks, except ME! Anyone out there got any good, easy recipes for me? I have a breakfast dish I'm going to try and possibly a dessert picked out to make, but that's it. I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Convection Cooking...

Ok...I need the low down on convection cooking...and fast! I'm already NOT a good cook but now this oven is making matters worse.

We updated our appliances this time last year. We replaced our old, outdated oven, microwave, dishwasher, and trash compactor. We got this oven and microwave combo...


I love the stainless steel look and all but I can't cook or bake worth a darn in it. We were told that we had to buy a convection oven because "regular" ovens weren't being sold anymore...that the newer homes were all being built with convections. Who knows...all I know is that I just wanted a regular oven...but didn't get it! And I don't like this new one! It's very intimidating!

Are there any secrets I need to know or any little bits of information I should be following in order to cook in this darn thing? I can't even get good cupcakes anymore. Case in point...I was voted to bring in cupcakes to work tomorrow. I have to mention that I'm pretty much the "Cupcake Queen" around here and truly bake a mean cupcake...or so I did. That's why I was voted to bring them in tomorrow. Well, my last 4 out of 5 attempts have produced cupcakes with hard tops but they are perfectly moist inside. Very frustrating. I've tried placing the pans on different shelves, different temps, you name it.

So what am I doing wrong? I'm very depressed over my cupcakes tonight!
Do any of you cook with convection and have been able to master it successfully?
PLEASE ADVISE!