Yay! The cowboys won the Independence Bowl! :)

And in other news, yet another reason I need to keep up on getting my eyes checked... I cracked my tailbone when I bent down at work and didn't see a small wooden chair behind me. OUCH! Let me tell you, I am sitting down pretty carefully these days! NOT fun! I'm sure I'll be pretty sore for a while. It's actually pretty funny, but it sure makes me move slowly! :)

Go Pokes! I got home from work just in time to watch OSU in the Independence Bowl. Keep your fingers crossed for the Cowboys. :)
Yay for a 4 day weekend! Jason and I are both off work until next year. We have no real plans for New Year's Eve, but we may invite a few friends over to celebrate. We've got a new margarita recipe we like pretty well that makes blue margaritas. Yum!

Blue Moon Margaritas (makes 1/2 a pitcher)
1 cup tequilla
1 cup blue curacao
1/2 cup lime juice
2 cups sweet and sour

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher. Serve wtih salt and lime.

Well, I got my wish to be able to sleep late today. My boss called my cell phone at about 7:30 this morning and said since we had so few kids in my class today that I could come in at 11:00. If she had called about 30 minutes earlier, I would have just gone back to sleep, but I had just gotten out of the shower when she called. Oh well...I guess it got me up and around so I could have a leisurely breakfast, read my book and blog a little. That's a pretty nice morning.
Oh yeah, and I just remembered I have some Christmas gifts to wrap still. My girlfriends that we have happy hour with every Wednesday decided we'd wait until after Christmas to do our gift exchange. It's much more fun and relaxed that way.

I took advantage of the after Christmas sales today and bought myself some Christmas dishes. Dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, a cake plate and a pitcher all for 70% off. Yay! They're a pretty blue and white snowflake pattern so I can use them all winter long, not just at Christmas. And after I got home, I decided to give fudge-making one last try. I've got a pan of my Pawpaw's peanut butter fudge in the fridge and also a pan of Amaretto fudge. The peanut butter fudge still didn't seem to get up to the temperature it was supposed to get to (232 degrees) no matter how long we cooked it. It even boiled over the side of the pan even though I had it on medium! I have never been so frustrated. We'll see whether or not they turn out.
Other than than shopping and making fudge, I didn't do anything else exciting. I had a nice day off today. I'm glad we only have to work 2 days and maybe 1/2 a day on Friday, so it shouldn't be too bad, but I would really enjoy sleeping late tomorrow! :)

One of my new wine glasses before and after. :) And see all of those wine bottles in the background? Purely for decoration, I assure you. Haha


















We had a good Christmas dinner made from some recipes I found at my favorite recipe websites. Overall, I'm very pleased with all of these recipes. The rolls were SO delicious! The sweet potatoes and carrots were good, but I wouldn't want them all the time. I was looking for something different and boy did I get it with those recipes! They were pretty good though. And of course, the snickerdoodles are always a big hit when I make them. (Shawn, this is the recipe you need Jessica to make for you! But don't grab one hot from the pan when you've been drinking. Ha!ha!)

Herbed Roasted Turkey Breast
Recipe by Juan-Carlos Cruz from the Food Network

2 tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried sage
2 tablespoons dried poultry seasoning
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 (7-pound) turkey breast, bone in
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix thyme, sage, poultry seasoning, and garlic with canola oil. Rub seasoning mixture all over the turkey breast. Place onion, carrots, and celery on bottom of a roasting pan and top with turkey breast. Pour chicken broth over turkey and vegetables. Roast for 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 160 degrees F.

Dinner Roll Wreath
Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee from the Food Network

1 bag yeast rolls, frozen dough
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons ranch-style dressing mix
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley)
Fresh herbs, for garnish

Remove 12 frozen roll dough balls from bag. Use a nonstick spray on a baking sheet and arrange the yeast rolls; approximately 1/4-inch apart, to form a ring Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and set in a warm spot in the kitchen to thaw and rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter and ranch dressing mix. Brush tops and sides of rolls with butter mixture. Sprinkle rolls with finely chopped herbs. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Day Before Mashed Potatoes
Recipe found at www.allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
9 potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons onion powder 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black
pepper
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes.
2. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the cream cheese, sour cream, onion powder, salt, pepper and butter. Cover, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
4. Spread potato mixture into the prepared baking dish, and bake in the preheated oven about 30 minutes.

Balsamic Glazed Carrots
Recipe fount at www.allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups baby carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute carrots in oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Stir in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, mix to coat and serve.

Spicy Sweet Potatoes
Recipe found at www.allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled
and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive or canola
oil 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, toss sweet potatoes and oil. Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring every 15 minutes.

Jason’s Favorite Green Beans
Recipe by Amy

2 cans green beans, drained
2 cans beef broth
garlic powder
onion flakes
real bacon bits
black pepper

Heat green beans in broth. Add seasonings to taste. Simmer at least 30 minutes. The longer they simmer in the broth, the better they taste!

Snickerdoodle Mix in a Jar
Recipe found at www.allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups white sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar. Stir with a whisk, then place into a one quart canning jar.
2. Attach a tag with the following recipe to the jar: Snickerdoodles 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup of butter and 2 eggs. Pour in the snickerdoodle mix, and stir until a dough forms. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. 3. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be light brown. Cool on wire racks.
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Feliz navidad and ho ho ho. :) We had a great Christmas morning here. We woke up early and had some yummy Daily Grind Jingle Bell Java coffee. We put the breakfast casserole in the oven and got busy opening presents. I got a beautiful new watch, some CDs (new Ragweed "Back to Tulsa" cd...Yay!), a DVD Recorder, a pepper mill (which I'd been wanting for a long time) and of course the new stuff for my laptop. Jason got a humongous new stereo system w/5 disc CD changer, some houseshoes, a thermos, and some DVDS and CDs.
Right now, we're both busy playing with our new toys and listening to new cds on the stereo. Man, that thing gets LOUD! We tested it out earlier and both the cats hightailed it under the bed. Poor babies! :)
Now I've got a turkey breast in the oven, some dinner rolls rising and some peanut butter fudge in the fridge. Actually it's more like peanut butter SLUDGE instead of fudge. This is the 2nd batch I've tried to make. The first one didn't set up and it doesn't look like this one will either. I can't figure out what I did wrong. I thought maybe I didn't cook it long enough the first time I tried, so I made sure I cooked the 2nd batch longer. Well this batch is more firm but not by much. I guess we could eat it with a spoon or put it over ice cream. Hmm...or I could put it in some brownies. I'll figure it out. But it sure makes me mad that it didn't turn out. Guess I'll have to keep trying.

Grandma and Pawpaw, I wish I was closer for a million reasons, and one of those is because I wouldn't have to mess with making fudge! I love and miss you!

This is definitely a new Christmas morning tradition at our house! It's also a very easy recipe to make changes to. Change up the spices or add or omit ingredients to suit your taste. (Just make sure you leave the eggs, milk, cheese and bread amounts the same.) Enjoy!

Christmas Breakfast Sausage Casserole

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Ready In: 9 Hours 50 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp minced, dried onion flakes
3/4 tsp garlic powder (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp onion powder (more or less to taste)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
6 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes
8 ounces mild Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pkg shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
Additional garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk. Add the sausage, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Top casserole with hash browns and sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cover, and bake 45 to 60 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until set.
6. If you like crispy hash browns, broil for 2-3 minutes or until browned.

May substitute hot pork sausage or sage sausage or sharp cheddar cheese.

It's Christmas Eve and I'm blogging from the couch. I'm feeling much better (thanks for all the well-wishes). Today, Jason spent all day trying to get my laptop online. He finally had to call tech support and they had to give us some special IP address. After that, the details escape me, but it has something to do with a router, a wireless card and blah blah blah. All I know is that I can finally use my laptop to do my lesson planning, blog, check my email, etc. Yay! Thanks, honey for working so hard to get my Christmas present working! :) Love you!

Other than that, we've been pretty lazy today. It's been nice. We're just waiting til time to go to bed so we can get up tomorrow and open presents. We each have a large box under the tree that have been driving us crazy trying to figure out what's inside. Hmm...I know what his big gift is from me, but I'm not saying a word until tomorrow. I think tonight we'll just watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and hang out on the couch.

Sick again. I have a lovely stomach bug. Oh, the joys of working at a daycare. Wasn't I just sick 2 weeks ago? Yes. :(

What a good night! We had our Christmas party for work tonight and we got to find out who our secret santas were. Well, I accidentally found out who mine was early, but I pretended to be suprised anyway. I got some GREAT gifts! The first day, I got 3 coupons for free cups of coffee at the Daily Grind. **Really good coffee!** The next day, I got some cool sparkly pens. The 3rd day, I got some cute pink and brown monogrammed note cards. And tonight, I got a new book. Perfect gifts for me, let me tell you.

Also, before the party started, I went to Kohl's and bought a few gifts for people on my list. I also found some cute napkin rings that look like a knife, fork and spoon. I LOVE them! I also got a Ray Charles Christmas cd and I had also picked out some really cute snowflake cloth napkins that were on sale for 60% off, but I didn't actually get home with them. Luckily, I checked my receipt and I didn't end up paying for them, either, so I guess that's OK. But I REALLY wanted those napkins! Then, I went to Pier 1 and bought more gifts for people on my list and myself 2 of the pink and red and white polka dot wine glasses I've been wanting. (I tried to put a link to the website, but I think I need to practice using this version of blogger more before I try that one.)

Oh yeah, and at the Christmas party? We got a nice little Christmas bonus. Nice. :) Yay! Now, I can buy Jason some Christmas presents while he's gone this week and he won't know how much $ I'm spending. :)

Jason's working at the corporate office this week. Making big changes to save them big bucks. I hate that he'll be gone all week, but at least he'll be home Friday night...just in time for the weekend.
I've got the Christmas dinner for my work tomorrow night, then the usual happy hour with Amy and Kelly (and whomever else decides to come) on Wednesday, then Thursday night I have cooking night w/Liesl. Somewhere in there I have to get my lesson plan ready for next week. I'll have plenty to keep me busy while Jason's gone, that's for sure!
Have a great week!

I updated to the new Blogger beta today...we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I won't have to stare at that "publishing" sign anymore. Yay!
So far, I like that this new version lets you change the font and label each post. Ooh, and numbering and bullets are easy to do now too. :)
Jenni, have you updated to this version yet?

I apparently have a new boyfriend. Yep. He's 3 years old and boy can he yodel. It's the cutest thing! He says "Lu lee lu hee hoo!" Trust me. It's so cute you'll want to pinch his cheeks.

Went to Urgent Care again today. Same problem as last time. Runny nose, cough, shortness of breath, etc. Stupid dr. told me it was a cold. Guess what, buddy? It is NOT a cold! Unless I get a cold almost exactly every 2 months. He even said "Who did you see last time? Looks like my handwriting." Yes. I saw you. And you gave me the same crappy service last time too. And yes, I know I need to quit going to urgent care and find a real doctor. One who will actually help me figure out WHY I keep getting sick instead of only treating the symptoms. I called to make an appt. with a dr. who is on my insurance plan. I called them in early September and the first appt they had available was Jan 24th. Ridiculous! Good thing I'm not dying, right? I am feeling crappy and cranky and need to go to sleep. See why I haven't posted in a while? Monday, I'm calling to find someone on my insurance plan who can see me this week. My luck they'll tell me to go to the allergy specialist again. I already did that and he tested me for about 40 different things and I wasn't allergic to one of them. But I sure wasn't having this problem when I lived in Oklahoma. That's it! I just need to move back home. :)