Hummin Bird

wait? what you mean still believes? Eh why would they ever stop believing? You people trying to tell me there is no Santy Claws? I think you all drank the wrong punch. Santa is very real. I know it for a fact. What is the world coming to? Next thing you know people will be trying to tell me theres no such thing as the Easter Bunny! Ha! How crazy is that!?!?!

The Fakers Fruitcake kids love this, even if they dont like real fruitcake 1 box of cake mix ( we use the betty crocker butter recipe mix) prepare per directions on box 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chunk pineapple 1/2 cup cherries (pitted and sliced, or just use the ones out of the jar) 1/2 cup apple (peeled and cut into chunks) 1/2 stick butter (melted) 1/2 cup brown sugar Pre-heat oven to 350 (or whatever the box directions call for). Pour the melted butter into a 13x9 baking dish and spread it around evenly until the bottom of the pan is covered. DO NOT wipe out or drain off excess butter. Next sprinkle brown sugar into pan over the melted butter. You do not have to cover the bottom of the pan completly just try to sprinkle brown sugar evenly. Next place all of the fruit and pecans into the pan. Spread it out or the length of the pan. It will not cover it completly there will be spacing. Next pour cake batter into pan over the fruit. Do not stir. (really your just layerinig it). Now bake as directed on box. When you remmove the cake from the oven let it rest/stand for about 15 mins, to give the glaze (sugar & fruit juice) time to set. Now you can cut the cake into squares and use a spatula to take the pieces out and flip them over onto a plate (ala pineapple upside down cake) serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!!!

Yep lol And now my DS7 is asking for "The King" as is that guy fromt he burger king commerical . I dont know what is wrong with my children lol

Lastnights baking treat. Alot of the things I post will be easy or premix, I do do alot of baking from scratch but these things I post for the most part are things I do with the kids and its easier to use cakes mixes and icings. "Nightmare Before Xmas" You will need 2(two) 13x9 pans for this 1 Box of white cake mix (prepare it per directions on the box) 1 jar of cream cheese or vanilla frosting a couple drops of red food coloring a couple drops of orange food coloring a couple drops of black food coloring green sprinkles (colored suagr) 10 gummi worms cut in half crushed oreos Preheat oven per directions. Prepare cake mix as directed. Once you have mixed the batter, pour half the batter into a 13x9 rectangular pan. (I dont grease or flour my pans I just cut a pan sized peice of parcment paper and put in the bottom of the pans and the cake never sticks. ) Next put a few drops of orange food coloring into the bowl with the second half of the cake mix. Once you have blended the coloring to your liking pour the batter into the second 13x9 pan. Bake cakes as directed and let cool then remove from pans. decorating! the most imporant part!!! the white cake is the bottom layer. Seperate the jar or frosting into 2 sections. In one half color it with the red food coloring. The other half blend in the black food coloring. Frost the top only(not sides) of the white cake with the red colored frosting and then sprinkle with the green sugar sprinkles. Next layer the orange cake on top of it. Frost the top only (not sides) of the orange cake with the black frosting. Spread crushed oreos over the top to make it look like dirt/soil. Next stick gummi worms down into the oreos/frosting. Whala! Nightmare before Xmas. You dont frost the sides of the cake because of the layering visual!

Netbooks !!!!!

Ive never done the outlets, but with tweens this year alot of what they want is clothes and shoes, is it worth the drive from Lakeland to hit the outlets? I think its like 1.5 hour drive

I use to do my shopping in Tampa/Brandon but I moved to Lakeland so Lakeland it is this year

Im an accounatnt so its in me to atleast TRY to keep track, but some how every year I manage to go over budget and I dont seem to realize it until January lol. I have software I use and everything lol. I keep a log of what I spend for gifts, crafts, food, decorations, everything. But for some reason the week and a half before Christmas I lose my mind and just blindy buy whatever I want and shove the recipts into a box, never once checking the spreadsheets for budget lol.

Mannnnnnnnn this is right up my ally. I throw a Christmas Party EVERY year lol. Because im usually so busy with shopping I do all finger/small foods and deserts. Some I make, some I have made at a deli or sweet shop. I have 2 of the long rectangular fold out tables that are always covered with food We do the blind gift thing but I always stress that its under $10 and unisex. This is how it usually goes...... As people are arriving my daughter hands each person 5 clothes pins (we buy the wood ones and spend about 2 days decorating them) for the "word" game we play. Because it is Christmas, we usually use Christmas as the word. If you hear someone say the word of the day then they have to give you one of thier clothes pins. The person with the most clothes spins at the end of the party gets the Big Xmas gift (usually some kind of giftcard) I also, have a smaller table upfront that has simple hors d'oeuvres on it like deviled eggs, stuffed olives, candied cherries, burt sugar peanuts so they can munch with out digging into the bigger yet. And my DH plays bartender for awhile while everyone mingles and settles in. Once jsut about everyone has arrived (usually within 30 mins of when the party started) a few of the kids (mine and friends) perform. Sometimes they get up there and sing a song or they have put together a little skit. Its always very fun and entertaining as all of them are goofballs lol. Once that is done, we ask someone to say a prayer and bless the food we are about to eat. Once the prayer is done I walk over and rip the cover off the tables of food lol. Its always funny because people are always trying to peek at whats going to be served. I make a big deal out of the revel every year. While everyone else is eating I go and start making the "Cranberry Celebration" drinks for our traditional toast. (the recipe is int he holiday recipe thread) Once everyone has finished eating we pass around the drinks and usually 2 or 3 people will make a toast or say a few words and we drink up! Then its time for the gift exchange. As people bring a gift in I stick half of a numbered ticket on it and put the other half of the ticket in a christmas stocking. I also write everyones name down that brings a gift on pieces of paper and put them in a seperate stocking. I pull a name out of the green stocking and they come up and pull a numbered ticket out of the red stocking and that is how they get thier gift, the one with the matching ticket. No one is allowed to open thier gift until all gifts have been handed out. Once Im done handing them out, DH counts down from 5 and blows a wistle and you should see everyone tearing into the gifts. We continue to laugh and mingle for awhile and then its time for the word game to be over. Myself and one or 2 other people will go around and count and collect the clothes pins frome ach person who decided to play the game. Once we figure out who had the most clothes pins we announce thier name and give them the gift. Now everyone is making plates to take home or packing up to go. I take all of the clothes pins and put them on the front table and everyone can take one as they leave (they double as ornaments) I have friends who still have a clothes pin for every year since 1998 lol. edit: we always have stuffed stockings to give to all the kids also. I make sure to fill them up with all kinds of candy and little noise makers The parents love me lol

lol the rollback on the ground beef alone is going to make me start shopping there again. Do you know how much ground beef a home of 2 adults and 6-7 kids (depending on if the nephew is over) goes through each week!

We started our holiday baking lastnight (we usually bake or make something atleast 5 nights out of the week up until new years good way to keep my kids outta trouble) lol so here is what we made The Fakers Fruitcake kids love this, even if they dont like real fruitcake 1 box of cake mix ( we use the betty crocker butter recipe mix) prepare per directions on box 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chunk pineapple 1/2 cup cherries (pitted and sliced, or just use the ones out of the jar) 1/2 cup apple (peeled and cut into chunks) 1/2 stick butter (melted) 1/2 cup brown sugar Pre-heat oven to 350 (or whatever the box directions call for). Pour the melted butter into a 13x9 baking dish and spread it around evenly until the bottom of the pan is covered. DO NOT wipe out or drain off excess butter. Next sprinkle brown sugar into pan over the melted butter. You do not have to cover the bottom of the pan completly just try to sprinkle brown sugar evenly. Next place all of the fruit and pecans into the pan. Spread it out or the length of the pan. It will not cover it completly there will be spacing. Next pour cake batter into pan over the fruit. Do not stir. (really your just layerinig it). Now bake as directed on box. When you remmove the cake from the oven let it rest/stand for about 15 mins, to give the glaze (sugar & fruit juice) time to set. Now you can cut the cake into squares and use a spatula to take the pieces out and flip them over onto a plate (ala pineapple upside down cake) serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!!!

I am at a loss with this. Its so overwelming. both my daughters (12 and 13) having been begging for a laptop, but now they have decided they want netbooks. And I jsut dont know anything about any of this and trying to self educate is just making me crazy

We put ours up Thanksgiving day because its tradtion for our combined familes (our mothers are bestfriends and weve spent childhood and every holiday together lol so it was only logical we end up as a couple) and we take it down Jan 1st. because of some kind of superstition that if you take it down before the new year you will have bad luck for the year.

Alcoholic Christmas Cheer ( layered shot) 1/2 shot Peppermint Schnapps 1/2 shot Egg Nog First pour Peppermint Schnapps into shot glass and then the Egg Nog (or vice versa which ever way you prefer since this is a layered shot.) Cranberry Celebration (alcholic or non-alcholic) I serve this one EVERY year during my christmas party cause i can serve it with or without alchol since I have a wide age range and some people just dont drink but they can still get in on our traditional toast. 3oz Cranberry Juice 2oz Orange Juice Splash of lime cordial Soda Water or Seltzer Frozen Cranberries *Optional 1.5 oz Vodka (gett he good stuff dont skimp on quality please! it makes a differnce in the taste of the drink) Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Combine Cranberry Juice, Orange Juice, splash of Lime Cordial, And vodka (if you are making alcholic verson). Shake well and strain into a collins glass filled with ice cubes. Top off with soda water and place 3 or 4 frozen cranberries on top. Enjoy :tu Drunk Santa 1/2 oz Vodka 1/2 oz Southern Comfort 1/2 oz Amaretto 1/2 oz Sloe Gin 1/2 oz Triple Sec 3 oz of any sweet Red punch (Hawaiian Punch or Tropicana Strawberry is what I use) Put all into a shaker with ice and mix. Strain into a glass.

Non- Alcoholic Christmas Passion 2 oz cranberry juice 4 oz spiced apple cider 2 thin thin slices of red apple (with skin on) Place one slice of the apple in the bottom of a clear glass. Put 3 ice cubes in glass on top of apple slice to hold it down. Pour liquids in glass over ice. Lay the other slice of apple on top of drink. Angel's Delight 1/4 cup whipped cream 5 small scoops of vanilla ice cream 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/4 cup 7 up or sprite 1 Banana (peeled and cut up) or 1/2 cup cut up strawberries. Combine ice cream, pecans, soda, and banana (or strawberries) in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into martini glasses and top with whipped cream :tu

I also have some holiday drink recipes if you guys would like those also!

Nope, only because as much as the anticipation kills me at the same time its part of what I love about christmas lol. For DH and I not knowing what we got until xmas morning gives us a chance to re-live atleast one day of our childhood.

I usually leave them in the stoarge room at our family resturant, once I did however bury (yes, in the ground next to the shrubs) a really nice watch my DH wanted. He is super nosey and he goes through everything including the resturant and my office. So i put it in a ziploc bag, then into a sealable container and then buried it.

This thread/topic is def. for me. I shall return with some wonderful recipes lol ( outside of my career I also co-own a resturant/catering business with my mom)

Lets see, once my DD asked for Ronald McDonald (the real thing) lol the next year she begged Santa for one of the Coke Polar Bears (also the real thing) My other DD asked for Jalepeno(sp) peppers from Popeyes Chicken My nephew (3) is now asking me can I please tell Santa he NEEDS a sombrao (wtf) or he will simply die. His words not mine. Simply die. lol

This is gonna sound weird I think, but I wrap 2 times each season however the first time I wrap it isnt really presents lol. When the tree goes up on thanksgiving, I get a bunch of differnt sized boxes and wrap them really really pretty (foil paper, ribbons, bows, tassels, all kinds of trinkets lol) but nothing is inside them, they are purely for decoration and suspense (it kills my kids because they never know there are no gifts in them, its hillarious to see them try to sneak and shake the boxes and things like that lol) The second time I wrap is on Xmas eve, its a tradtion for me and DH because Im an accountant at a marketing and advertising company and he's a garbage man, so the holiday season and end of 4th quarter/year is really hectic work schedules for us. So on Xmas eve when we put the kiddies to bed we break out A Christmas Story and Miracle on 34th Street, get a nice bottle (or 2 lol) of wine, turn the lights down jsut enough to still be able to see to wrap the gifts. Its really the only "holiday" experience we get to have alone. As far as wrapping paper and accessories, I have absolutely obsessed. I have one of the those storage sheds out back (looks like a little house) and its filled with nothing but xmas decorations and half of it is nothing but wrapping paper and bows and ribbons and foil and tissue paper, and and and lol. The list goes on and on. I also make my own bows Just 2 days ago I bout 20 rolls of wrapping paper from the Dollar Tree (i mean who can pass up sponge bob xmas paper for a buck a roll!) and DH was livid lol. The summer we went through and "cleaned and organized" the storage shed and I had wrapping paper I had to throw away because it was deteriorating (sp)

Candy actually has a longer shelf life than people realize. I work for a company that respresents Mars and my kids have been eating xmas candy since May, right now they are actually eating Easter candy lol. I got a box full of dove bunny rabbits on my desk as I type this. Alot of products take awhile to go through marketing and advertising. Like the Glade air freshner, Ive been using the Bayberry Spice since mid June lol and thats apart of the new holiday collection that just went on to shelves a couple weeks ago.

I live 364 days a year planning for Black Friday lol. Back during the TME craze, I decided I would goto Walmart first. I had never been a Walmart shopper before that particular BF, however I found out they were going to have $5 sandwhich makers and I thought they would be good gifts for a few younger family members who had just started college or were getting ready to. I had no intention of even venturing towards the toy department, but for some odd reason they decided the sandwich makers should go smack ont he end of one of the toy isles. When we finally made it to the sandwhich makers I grabbed 3 and turned to walk away because there was a mob of people headed in that direction. Needless to say someone pushed me down and the next thing you know someone stepped on my leg and crackkkkkkkkkkkkk. I screamed but yet instill several more people all trampled on top of my broken leg. Luckily a big burly guy grabbed me before I was completly trampled and carried me to an EMT outside the front of the store. My black friday shopping was ruined that year all because of a $5 sandwich maker, which I didnt even get to purchase. The following year my mom bought me a sandwhich maker as a joke gift for christmas. I didnt find it funny at all, however everyone else thinks it was hillarious because they tried to warn me the sandwich maker was in no way worth braving the Walmart BF crowd. Lesson Learned. :)

this would be such a good idea. I dont normally do walmart on black friday because a few years ago I got my leg broken in a walmart mob, so i avoid at all cost.

I think the question should be "Why would you NOT shop on Black Friday?" I mean only a crazy person would pass up the deals, atmosphere, and bonding time IMO. But truly for me, now its all about tradtion, my family and friends are scattered all over the world, but since we are from a small town everyone is susually home for thanksgiving, so BF is a chance for us to spend sometime together and catch up all while doing what we love best SHOPPING !!!!!!! its the only time most of our husbands dont mind us shopping together lol.