Letting Go and Enjoying

Day 24

Not every holiday will turn out picture perfect, perhaps not any. And that's okay. That's what memories are made of.

the kids had a lot of fun playing with the paper houses and adding their

own touches.

next time I'll think we'll save the horizontal stripes for the kids

Looking Ahead- Christmas Closing Ceremonies

Day 23

Two years ago we started an end of Christmas tradition- Christmas Closing Ceremonies. It's like the olympic closing ceremonies, only it's for putting the Christmas stuff away. We have hot cocoa, we let the kids help us take the Christmas stuff down (and play with it a bit). We pack it all up and put it in the attic. It's become an exciting and fun thing because we hyped it up to the kids and had fun working together.

Carpeted Mess to Clean Trimmed-out Ledge

Day 22

This is one project I was really excited about. There is a ledge on the wall of our stairway to the upstairs. It was carpeted in the same carpet as the rest of the floor and the steps. That carpet got very dusty and dirty and there is no good way to clean it. It just looked ugly. Inspired by the Thrifty Decor Chick's stair remodel, I decided to take the carpet off and see what I could do. Under the carpet was a big mess, but I knew that from taking a peek underneath before I ripped it all up. I decided to build a ledge on top of what was there. I used a piece of primed mdf baseboard turned upside down for the bottom trim piece. I attached it with liquid nails and some real ones as well. A four by one inch long piece of mdf went on top, then on top of that, I used a nicer piece of 6" wide pine. I used a handsaw to cut the pieces to size and angle (in the corner the ceiling is at an angle). I used our sander to round off the edges of the top piece (the edges that would be sticking out anyway) and the part where I cut. I primed the top. Eventually I will also screw the whole thing in place and paint it all out. But the holidays came along, and I had other things to do. Since we don't have a mantle, this new ledge became a fun little spot to decorate for Christmas.

Spicy Almonds Recipe

Day 21

I was looking for a non-sweet treat to make to send to my Grandma this year. I found this spicy almond recipe online at food.com by googling spicy almond recipe. The recipe calls for cayenne pepper, which I thought might make it a bit too spicy for Grandma, so I substituted chili powder. These were so yummy I think I'm going to make some more today.

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin, Ground
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 cups almonds
• salt, to taste

1. 1Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. 2Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan.
3. 3Add worcestershire sauce, cumin, sugar, garlic powder and chili powder.
4. 4Cook over low heat for 2 - 3 minutes.
5. 5Add the nuts and stir to coat evenly with seasonings.
6. 6Spread the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
7. 7Remove from the oven and toss with salt.
8. 8Cool.
   
   
   
9. I could have even used more nuts than it called for since there was extra topping even after mixing really well.

Wrapping paper for the rest of the year.

Day 20

Today I paid a visit to Michael's and checked out the Christmas stuff already on clearance. I looked through the wrapping paper, which was 60% off and found some rolls that were solid colored or otherwise non Christmas looking. We've had a plethora of Christmas wrapping paper around here (which I've been happily using up this year) but basically none for birthdays or other occasions. Now we have some! It doesn't look like Christmas paper, but it's got holly on the label so it's gotta go. I bet it will probably get even cheaper as we get closer to Christmas. Maybe even cheaper the day after. But you can't wait too long, they're pretty serious about moving stuff out at the craft stores. The plain paper might go quicker as well. However, if you just need to stock up on Christmas paper, there will be lots of it at lots of places, discounted now as well as after Christmas.

Share the Love

Day 19

There are so many ways to help out at this time of year. Drop some change in a Salvation Army kettle. Buy some toys for tots or adopt an angel. Food drives abound. Cake wrecks is doing a charity a day for the second year in a row. There are many ways to help even with very small amounts.

Don't Forget Exercise

Day 18
My goal for this month is to not gain any weight. I'll get back to trying to lose weight in January. I'm trying to be realistic here. In order to not gain weight despite all the yummy treats, I'm trying to get a workout in five days a week, every week. Exercise isn't just for weight loss or maintenance though. It can help you reduce your stress and lift your mood. Who couldn't use some of that at this time of year? Try to squeeze in some exercise, it's good for you!