Last Chance!

Today and tomorrow are your last chances to get your favorite Scentsy fall/winter scents. Here's what's going away (maybe forever!).

Central Park Pralines
Christmas Cottage
Christmas Tree
Cozy Fireside
Clarity
Cranberry Spice
Eskimo Kiss
Gingersnap
Guava Nectar
Just Peachy, Ginger
Peligro
Pineapple Paradise
Poinsettia Pine
Pumpkin Roll
Rainforest
Rustic Lodge
Sentimental Cider
Snowberry
Spiced Grapefruit
Toasted Caramel Sugar
Tropical Twist
Twilight
Vanilla Suede
Vanilla Walnut
Winter Wonderland

All of these scents are 10% off this month. Now is a great time to stock up! Also, if you are making an online purchase, please click on "Africa Mission Trip Fundraiser" first. I am donating my whole commission from sales on this party to my Sister in law Tiffani and friend Tracie who are going on a mission trip to Africa this summer. Thank you for your support!

Stauffer Sunday

A couple of weeks ago, when my Dad knew he was going to be visiting for the weekend, he asked if I could put a Stauffer Sunday together. A Stauffer Sunday is when the whole Stauffer crew gets together. For many, many years, this happened on the second Sunday of EVERY month. I grew up with this being a given. It's what we did. Sometimes we would complain about it, but most of the time we were excited to go see all the cousins. There are 14 cousins (plus my two step brothers makes 16). Growing up, before my parent's divorce, there were 23 family members that gathered. That didn't include any "adopted"  family members. The Stauffers have an open door (or extra plate) policy.  The family that hosted made the main dish, and the others were given food assignments. Each month we would celebrate that month's birthday's and anniversaries. On your birthday month, you were asked to give a speech. We would all gather before lunch, and Grandpa would ask you about your year, and your walk with Christ. He would ask about school and anything else you were up to. We hated giving our speeches! It was so embarrassing! Any other family announcements would happen here to. Engagements, babies, you name it.  Then Grandpa would give a little sermon about what was on his heart. He would then pray for lunch, and the rush to the kitchen would begin.

We all have very fond memories of Stauffer Sundays. It was wonderful to grow up in such a close, loving family. The last few years we haven't carried on this tradition. The family has just gotten too big.

So when Dad asked me to host a Stauffer Sunday, I said.....well......we will see. When Grandpa passed away a few days later, I knew we needed a Stauffer Sunday as a family. I planned on doing tacos and everyone chimed in with food that they would bring.

The family has grown to over 70 people now. I was really nervous about having enough food, and enough room in my house! I made 15 pounds of taco meat!

We ended up with 52 people on Sunday! It was crazy! Kids were running around everywhere, my cousin's were wrestling on the floor with anyone they could grab (me included). The bigger kids (and a great Auntie that will remain anonymous) were playing Just Dance. And we had more food than we could all eat. It was comforting to us all to be surrounded by family.

My Dad's wish is that we can do a quarterly Stauffer Sunday. It's not easy, and we need a bigger space! Hopefully we can keep this tradition going in some way or another. I want my kids to grow up with the same family time.

Here's the crew from Sunday!

Auntie and Drew

My sister just sent over a disk with family pictures. I had to laugh at the amount of Auntie and Drew pictures she had. This last one is from a year ago January. He has outgrown calling me "Auntie Hottie", which makes me sad. I'm now "Auntie Howee". He's still my little monkey boy!

Letter to Grandpa

We had Grandpa's celebration of life today. It was a great service, with so many people! I was having a difficult time this morning. My head knows that Grandpa is in a better place, but my heart still hurts. All 16 of us grandkids were asked to write a letter to Grandpa. Some excerpts from these letters were read today. I debated whether to post my letter, but decided that it's good to share what an amazing man Grandpa was.

Dear Grandpa,

You were truly one of a kind. There will never be another like you. You were a giant in your faith, with a humble heart. While others talk of their faith, you walked, lived and breathed yours. You had the biggest heart of anyone I know. You freely gave a Christ like love.

One of my earliest memories was spending the night at your house and getting colored pancakes for breakfast. You would flip a rainbow of pancakes all morning long. Us kids thought you had magical pancake powers. And now Dad flips pancakes for my kids. You started a tradition that will be passed down for many generations.

Another fond childhood memory was skiing with you. Especially when you sent me down my first big hill by myself, and Dad had to try to catch me before I hit a tree.

You never had to preach about service, you showed us all how to serve others. You gave freely of your time and talents. I will never forget the times you helped drive tractor at our pumpkin festivals. Everyone loved getting a ride from Grandpa. You did this out of love (and for a cup of coffee). You were also known to sneak out to the "bathroom" while a group of us were out to eat, only to find that you were paying everyone's tab. You never wanted recognition for your service, it just gave you joy.

As kids we never knew how lucky we were to have Stauffer Sundays. Didn't everyone get together with their families every month? I can't tell you everyone's birthday, but we knew what month they celebrated. Your birthday month was when you had to give a "speech". While we fought that as kids, we also knew we were loved and cared for. We wanted to please you and give a good report every year.

When Nate was born, you exclaimed, "5 great grand daughters and one great grandson". You called him Nate the Great, which has stuck to this day.

I feel that I am the most blessed, because I had the best last moment with you. When I saw you last week, you gave me a hug and kissed my cheek. You said, "I love you very, very much". You then asked me to pray for dinner (because you almost "sinned" by taking a bite before prayer). You held my hand as we prayed. Grandpa, I will treasure that moment in my heart forever.

You have left the greatest legacy, your family. We will do our best to emulate everything you were and stood for. We will follow in your footsteps of service and love. We will tell the world about Christ. We will do all of these things because you showed us how.

I love you too Grandpa, very, very much!

Holly

Goodbye Grandpa

Grandpa Stauffer went to be with his Lord on Tuesday. He is finally pain free! While this is difficult for us left behind, we know he is singing in Heaven with his boys. Grandpa had the biggest heart of anyone I have every known. We are all blessed to be a part of his legacy. I love you Grandpa, very, very much!

Grandpa's Letter

A few months ago, Grandpa Stauffer called and wanted to know if I knew how to "do that email thing". He wanted to email The O'Reilly Factor with a viewer letter. So I told him I would help him out. Grandpa gave me a hand written letter, and then I  deciphered his handwriting and emailed this letter. The letter is a great testament to who Grandpa is and what he stands for. I'm sharing this  now for his grandchildren, so that they get a chance to see Grandpa's words.


I just finished and enjoyed, Pinheads and Patriots, very much. I am 82 years old so was affected much by the depression. My Dad was affected even more. He never borrowed a dime, all cash for cars, house, ect (personally). When the war started in 1939, he was forced out of contracting and moved to a farm given to him by his father in law. I bought my own farm in 1950 and raised 4 boys and 1 girl. I supplemented farm income (dairy and poultry) by 10 years driving a milk truck, 10 years as a fertilizer salesman and 26 years as an Insurance agent. Long days and hard work, but the rewards were 5 children, 16 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren. Lots of love, a wonderful wife and no regrets. I am a regular Factor watcher.

Alvin Stauffer
Lynden, Washington

Tale of the Teapots

I LOVE coffee. And hot tea. And hot cocoa. And hot cider. Ok, you get the idea. When I'm cold, I like to drink something hot. I'm always cold! So I use my tea pot ALOT!

My morning routine consists of me starting a teapot of water first thing. I make my instant mocha, and Lily gets a hot cocoa. A couple weeks ago, I was following my normal routine, but forgot to check that there was actually water in the teapot, before I turned on the burner. Being that I have a brand new stove, within a few minutes, the empty tea pot had melted the plastic handle on the lid. The tea pot was still usable, except for the fact that hot steam would burn your hand when you picked it up.

So I bought a new tea pot. What I didn't realize, was that this tea pot didn't whistle. I'm known to start something and get distracted by another project. I rely on the whistle to remind me that I started a pot of water. So just a couple days after I bought the new tea pot, I was reminded of my forgetfulness by the sound of the smoke alarm. The tea pot had boiled until it was dry, then started melting (a very stinky smell!) and smoking, setting off the smoke alarm. Thank goodness for the smoke alarm!

So I had ruined two tea pots in a week. I had posted my tea pot adventures on Facebook, and my Aunt Joni felt sorry for me. She bought me a new tea pot. But she made sure that whistled. And boy does it whistle. It's the most annoying whistle there is......and that's a GOOD thing!

A friend also brought me an electric tea pot, that turns off on it's own. I'm starting to think that people were very worried about my safety!

Africa Mission Trip Fundraiser

My girlfriend Tracie and my sister in law Tiffani are going on a mission trip to Africa this summer. I am so proud and excited for them. They are stepping out in faith. They are scared, but know that God will break their hearts.....in a good way. Here's Tiff's blog post where she tells why they are going to Africa. She made me cry with this post!

Mission trips are expensive. Both Tracie and Tiff are going fundraisers to cover the costs. I wanted to help, and the best way I can right now is a Scentsy fundraiser. I am donating my whole commission from all sales on their fundraiser. To help them out, click on my Scentsy logo on the side of the blog, then click on  "buy from party" next to the Africa Mission Trip fundraiser. Then shop away.This fundraiser will be going the whole month of February. Thank you in advance for helping me, help them.

Uncle Dan is the Man!

Dan was super Uncle today. He was up early to help get our nephews on the bus before school, then went out to babysit the other nephews for a few hours. He came home and offered to take my friend's kids for the evening so she could join us for girls night. Gotta say, he scored a TON of points with a lot of people today!!!

Pajama Day

The kids had Pajama Day at school last week. I was getting ready that morning and told Lily to go get dressed. She looked at me with 13 year old attitude and told me, "Mommmmmm, it's pajama day, I don't have to get dressed!". Oops! Glad she remembered.

It hit me as we were walking to school that this is their last Pajama day together. Next year Nate will be in Middle School, and things will be different. I'm trying to cherish these last few things that they have together in Elementary School! 

Tasty Tuesday...... A Few Days Late

It was a crazy week, and I wanted to post a great recipe for Tasty Tuesday, and didn't have the time. So, I'm just a few days late. This recipe I have had for a few years, but finally perfected it around Christmas. A big thanks to my Aunt Joni, who made potato soup on Christmas Eve. She was listing the ingredients in her soup, and it gave me inspiration on how to make this one better. I have had many requests for this recipe, so I figure it's easier to post it and share with everyone. I was craving this all week, since we have been wet and cold. Something about warm soup is comforting on a soggy night. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup
4 large baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Additional, cheese, green onions, and bacon to top

Bake potatoes until soft, cool. Scoop out pulp and reserve. In large dutch oven, melt butter, then add flour. Stir constantly until bubbly. Add milk, chicken bouillon and stir for 10 minutes on med heat until thick and bubbly. Add bacon, green onions, and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and stir until blended. Top with additional ingredients if desired.

Spring Sprint Portland

I was blessed to get to travel to Portland to attend Scentsy's Spring Sprint. I had 4 of my team with me, two of which I had never met before. What an amazing time we had! We saw the new Spring/Summer products, listened to some great training, and took home new products! Really, my favorite part was being with my team. They are the sweetest people, and it was fun to hang out with them for the day. I can't wait for convention in Fort Worth!!

$1 Sweater

I went to a consignment store the other day looking for a sweater for a photo shoot I was doing. I lucked out and found exactly what I was looking for on the $1 rack! I was so excited. Along with it, I found another sweater on the same rack and bought it also. I came home and threw both of them in the wash. I should know better, and SHOULD have read the labels. I guess I just got caught up in the excitement of cheap sweaters.

I pulled the sweaters out of the wash and found they had both shrunk to half of their size. I was so mad a myself! Both labels said that the sweaters were hand wash only. (I never buy things that are hand wash only, I just don't trust myself to remember that). The one "fuzzy" sweater I bought was some sort of rabbit hair? It's so small it will fit Lily now! And all that "fuz" that was once on the sweater, stuck to all the towels that were in that load. For the last few days we have been pulling "fuz" off of ourselves after toweling off after a shower.

So lesson learned, check labels when buying clothes. And it's not a bargain if you shrink the sweaters!

Visit with Grandpa

I stopped by my Grandparent's house today to say hi. Grandpa Stauffer has had cancer for years. He fought the first two go arounds, and now that it has spread to his bones, he doesn't want to go through that again. He was really deteriorating over Christmas, and we really didn't know how much longer he had. This last week, I had heard he went out to a funeral and was getting up and around some. I had to go see this for myself.

When I stopped by today, Grandpa was getting ready for the visiting nurse to stop by for his bath. She showed up not long after me, and brought him back out to the living room in his wheel chair all cleaned up. He looked better than I had seen him in months! I leaned over and told Grandpa that he looked handsome. He gave me a funny look and repeated back what he thought I said, "You bought a bottle of infamil?". Grandma and I just busted out laughing. I repeated what I first had said, and he laughed too. I told him I understood, because I used to be deaf too! Grandpa might be losing his hearing, but he still has the biggest heart around.

Happy Birthday to ME!

My poor husband (literally) always comes home to a big honey do list. This time there were some very pressing things that needed to be done/fixed. The oven had just broken (needed a new heating element) and the pellet stove needed a new igniter. Along with that, we were down to our last bag of pellets, and needed two tons. I had ordered the part for the oven so that it was ready when Dan got home. Ok, so I ordered what I thought was the right part. Dan headed out to get the parts needed and came home with a NEW stove and a NEW dishwasher! Happy Birthday to me! Who knew that a new stove and dishwasher could be so exciting! No more rust stains on my dishes! And my stove heats my tea pot pretty quick. Lily was impressed at how fast I made her hot chocolate! Dan also got the pellet stove fixed, and two tons of pellets in the carport. Pretty impressive!!

Birthday Weekend

I had a great Birthday weekend out at Birch Bay. I had my 5th annual Girls Night on Friday night. My 8 besties came out for a night of giggles. We all look forward to our girl time, all year long! The next night the family came out to the condo to celebrate Drew and my birthdays. I had Nate and Drew that night in my room, and they stayed up late watching movies. What a memorable weekend!

Why I do what I do

My Scentsy story is a good one. It's about timing and changing my life. My girlfriend had been raving about Scentsy for two years before she finally just bought me one as a Christmas gift. I loved it as soon as it warmed up. For a week my house smelled fabulous from one little cube of wax. The scent was Toasted Apple Butter, and to this day, that scent reminds me of why I fell in love with Scentsy. A few weeks later I was invited to a Scentsy party, and was the only one there who had my own Scentsy already. After hearing that I could make a business out of something I love, I signed up. At the time I was going to college full time, so I didn't have time to do parties, but still sold a bit to friends and family. After I graduated that spring, I jumped into my Scentsy business. And that's what it is, MY business. It will grow or fail, depending on ME. And while I have had ups and downs, I know I am in this for the long run.

What I never imagined happening, was growth. I have become more confident in myself as a person. I'm not just a Mom and Wife. I am a business owner. I have gained friendships, and gotten out of my circle of friends. I have gotten to travel and see new places. I get to have coffee with my Scentsy sisters and talk about our passion for this company. These same "sisters" are some of my biggest cheer leaders, and I am theirs.

There is no way I could sell Scentsy if I didn't stand behind the company 100%. What's great is that they stand behind their consultants. They work hard to help us be successful. They busted their tails to make sure everyone had orders in time for Christmas. I had a customer place an order on the 20th of December, and she had her Scentsy on Christmas Eve. Scentsy Rocks!

My financial goals have a purpose. I want to be able to make enough money to get my husband off the tug boats. It's difficult with him being gone as much as he is, and a shore side job would mean so much to our family. When you have a purpose, it's much easier to reach for those goals.

Scentsy just announced a new start up kit. It's the best one yet. For only $99 plus tax and shipping, you get his whole kit! (contents may vary)

Do you have a New Years Goal? What would a couple hundred dollars mean to you every month? Mommy money? A car payment?

Click on the Scentsy logo on the side of the blog and visit my website. Click on Join to learn more. Contact me with any questions!

Oh, and for January, we have Bring Back My Bar. 20 discontinued scents that we voted on to bring back. Guess which one I voted for??? Toasted Apple Butter!  Available this month only, in bar form!

Have a Scentsational Day!!

Tasty Tuesdays!

I made a yummy soup yesterday and am enjoying the leftovers for lunch. It's a healthy soup, loaded with flavor. Hope you enjoy!

Pizza Soup

1/2 lb Italian turkey sausage links, sliced, casings removed
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 tbsp chicken bouillion
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 tsp dried basil


Brown first five ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

Goodbye 2010

I always wonder how time flies so fast! It feels like I was just writing my Goodbye 2009 post. I just looked back and saw my goals for 2010. I have to say I did a great job with them. I finally took control of some health problems, resulting in two ear surgeries and many trips to the chiropractor. And I have to say, it was well worth the pain! I have been good about visiting my Grandparents more, and have plans in place to continue with that. (Side note, please pray for my Grandpa Stauffer who is struggling with great pain from cancer). While I still struggle every day with giving God control of my life, he has shown me glimpses of how his plan is greater than mine. I met goals with my Scentsy business, and have set new ones for next year.

It's been a great year, and I am thankful for the blessings we received. I feel it was a growing year, learning lessons and seeing God's wisdom.

Praying that you all have a safe and Happy New Year!

Christmas Blessings

It's been a wonderful Christmas. It was only a few years ago that we would cram 6-7 Christmas celebrations into two days. Now it's down to 6 total, spread out over a few weeks. The only thing that could have made this better would have been to have Dan home. He tends to be working every other year, and this was his year. We have been very blessed and I am grateful to have this holiday season with the rest of the family.

Christmas #5 will be here today with my Dad and Step Mom. It's a wild and crazy crew, and I better go hide the breakables. Click here to see how last year ended up.

Here's a few of the pictures from the Christmas celebrations so far. Hoping you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Gifts from the heart

A few years ago I was struggling with what to get my grandparents for Christmas. It's not like they need anything. I know they love to have me come visit, so I came up with a great idea. I made them certificates for the Bread of the Month Club. Once a month I made the designated bread and delivered it to them. They loved it, and were always happy to see me. This also gave me a reminder to go visit them more often. Lately I have been making  a lot of soups and have been bringing some over to the grandparents to share. So for this year, my grandparents are getting certificates for the Soup of the Month Club. I printed out the schedule of soups, and bought some containers to deliver them in. I figure one big batch of soup will be enough for both sets of grandparents, and then I make the rounds to deliver it.

So maybe soup and bread are not your thing. Maybe you could do a muffin club, or cookie club. The idea to make gifts from the heart, and give your time.

Yes, I am Auntie Hottie

I had to get this on video before he stops calling me Auntie Hottie!

Bad words vs Inappropriate words

Lily has been the bad word police this week. She told me that her friend had to turn the volume off on the movie they were watching because it was saying bad words. I was assured that there were no bad words in that movie by her friends Mom. Lily told us the movie said the "s" word.......stupid.  I have always told the kids they were not allowed to say stupid. It's just not something I wanted them to call people. Just like shut up. It's just not allowed. Problem is, Lily thinks they are bad words. So Lily and I had a talk about how some words are not bad words, just inappropriate words. I hope she understood what I was talking about. I can just see her telling her teacher that some classmate said the "s" word and the poor kid gets sent to the office for saying stupid.

Scentsy News

TA DA!!!

I am super excited that I made Scentsy DIRECTOR! This is a huge accomplishment and even more that I got there a month before my goal date. I am so thankful for Scentsy and the opportunities it gives it's consultants. I now get to name my team and go to Boot Camp in March!

This summer, Scentsy had an incentive where you could earn certain prizes. I earned an ipod nano and I got mine yesterday. I spent a couple hours playing with it last night. It's super small! Lily is pumped because now she gets my old mp3 player. (What's really sad is all I had to show her was the on and off switch. She had that puppy figured out in 2 seconds flat. We won't talk about how long it took me the first day.....).

Need great gift ideas? Check out my Scentsy website. From stocking stuffers like scent circles, travel tins, room sprays and fragrance foams to great teacher gifts like plug ins and scent packs. My favorite holiday scents right now are Christmas cottage and Eskimo Kiss. And don't forget about Scentsy Buddies. What a great cuddly gift for the child on your list!

Click on the Scentsy logo on the side of the blog to shop! Thank you!

Christmas Projects

Is it just me, or are there five million projects that need to be done in the next few weeks? I'm feeling very overwhelmed (which is normal for this time of year!). Just when I think I am getting somewhere, five new things pop up. I started making lists, but then keep forgetting them at home. Yesterday I made a list of things that had to get done that day. I think I will keep this up. If I can just get certain projects done and out of the way, I can focus on the day to day projects. So what have I been working on you ask? (Thanks for asking!). Here's just a few, and mind you, I can't share them all because they are gifts!

• Project Pace (after school program that I work at school). I'm filling 70 frappacinno jars with cocoa mix and mini marshmallows. The kids will decorate them and add a gift tag. 
• Baskets for Christmas presents (homemade goodies inside).
• Shutterfly book for a Christmas present ( gotta say, it turned out so cute, I bought one for myself. Really defeated the purpose of a free book!). 
• Christmas shopping.....slowly but surely I will get it all done.....the list is BIG. 
• Christmas cards are finally done and mailed. 120 cards in all!

That's just a few things. What's your projects??

Snow Family 2010

Here it is, our annual family photo. A big thank you to my sister Amy who took the picture!!

Black Friday

I survived another great Black Friday. If you are new, here's the link to last years Black Friday post. This year we added a few more things to do and NOT do on Black Friday!

• DO NOT go to Walmart! We went once and it was not worth our time. Today I heard that friends of mine were trampled at Walmart. Walmart shoppers are just a different kind of crazy!
• Find the hidden registers! Today we got in line for the pharmacy in Target and saved getting in the line that wrapped around the whole store! At Sears we found only one person in line in the shoe department. 
• Make friends with the people around you in line. They may just grab you the 2nd to last external hard drive!
• Make sure you double check your coupons from the paper. I thought I had a great coupon for Old Navy, only to see that it was for Thursday. Oops! We did have a coupon code that worked, so all was good. 
• Share coupons you don't use. Mom shared a 15% off coupon with a lady with a cart full of things at Kohls. Probably saved her $30!

This is the day the Lord has made

I have had a rough week. One of those, is it over yet weeks. Nate's bike was stolen from our carport. I over committed myself to too many things. We are in the middle of a fierce freezing wind storm, making everything more difficult. I was worried about losing power last night and couldn't find the keys to the generator. The wind broke my front screen door, ripping it right out of the frame. It's now bungee corded to the front door. I hurt my ankle trying to get the screen door to just stay closed (don't ask why I thought kicking it would work). The smoke alarm keeps going off randomly (because of the cold wind). So I haven't been sleeping well, and am fighting a cold, making everything more challenging.

As I was grumbling about all of this, the song "This is the day the Lord has made" came into my head. It's an old hymn that I haven't sung in years. It was one of my favorites at camp. At camp, everything is great, fun and perfect. So of course you can sing with all conviction that "this is the day the Lord has made, I will be glad and rejoice in it".

Of course today I am struggling with the "I will be glad and rejoice in it". I do have so much to be thankful for, that I need to stop getting caught up in the daily battle. I need to rejoice in today, even if today sucks.  I may not feel like Super Mom this week, but I can be thankful and rejoice in things that I take for granted.

Everyone's been posting their thankfulness lists this month. I truly am thankful, but just didn't feel like making my list. I really think it is important to make the list, knowing that the list will never be complete. Things that are frustrating now, may just be something we are thankful for next year.

So here are just a few of my things I am thankful for. I will rejoice in these things. God made this day, and I may not like how things go, but he's made this day for me!!

• I am thankful that my kids are good students. I am thankful for their caring teachers and staff at their school. 
• I am thankful for power. Thankful that I have heat and food and all the modern convinences. 
• I am thankful for a husband who makes so many sacrifices for our family. 
• I am thankful for my extended family and how much they help me out.
• I am thankful for the technology and surgeon that were able to fix my genetic hearing loss. 
• I am thankful for the soldiers and their families who make great sacrifices for our country.
• I am thankful for my church and the freedom  to worship as I please. 
• I am thankful for my friends who are there to lend and ear when needed.
• I am thankful that God is not finished with me yet. He's teaching me every day, and while I may not like the lessons, he knows what's best for me.

Poor Hobbs

Poor Hobbs. It doesn't look like HE likes to play dress up.

Snowy Morning

We have a very cold snowy morning here. We have just a dusting of snow, and my kids would be out playing in it, except for the 30 mph gusty northeastern winds. Puts our wind chill at about 15 degrees right now. Lily's dance class was canceled so we are having a lazy morning in our jammies.

I started working on Christmas cards this week. For the first time ever, I decided to look in my Christmas bins and see what I had, BEFORE I started. I couldn't believe what I found. 4 different boxes of cards, 3 packages of photo letters, and 7 packages of stationary. I already gave a heads up to all my family and friends, don't compare Christmas cards from me! My goal is to use up most of it so that I can start fresh for next year. (More like buy all of the same at the after Christmas sale).

Our family picture is done, and I have done a test run copy from Costco. I learned years ago to do a test run before printing 120 copies. I was glad I did, because my file was bad and the resolution was very poor. A big thank you to my sister Amy Parsons.  The day we did our family pictures, my family had on grumpy pants. Mainly the little missy, but the "boys" weren't helping. After 15 minutes I threw in the towel. Amy did her magic and got us a great family photo. She truly is the BEST!!

So I am breaking my rule of  "NO Christmas music before Thanksgiving" and listening to "Let it snow". It's  fitting for the day, and I am getting in the mood to get my Christmas letter done. I will post the new photo once I get all the cards out. Everyone stay warm today and be safe on the roads!

Christmas Ideas

I'm the family member that everyone calls for gift ideas. I can't always help, but I do my best. Years ago I had the idea of making a family cookbook. I told everyone to get me the recipes, and I would do the rest. I never received a single recipe. This idea has been on the back burner for years. So this year my Mom stepped up the plate, gave everyone a deadline and is putting a book together. It's a photo book, with recipes. She's doing it as a gift for Grandma (Grandma doesn't have a computer, so I can share this with you.....just don't tell her!). The rest of us can purchase a copy too.

Photo books are a great Christmas gift. My sister started making me an annual family album as a birthday gift, and now she's so busy, I make my own. We have put many different kinds of books together. One for Grandma and Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary. One of Lily and Emma having a tea party (I will treasure that one forever). There's also one from a camping trip, and one of our award winning sand castle. Last year I made an ABC book for my nieces and nephews. I found pictures of Nate and Lily for every letter in the alphabet. It was a cute book and a fun gift. You could make your own I Spy book. Take pictures of your kids toy box, messy room, ect and add text for things to find.

I like to do my books through Shutterfly, but you can also use Walmart, Photoworks, Kodak, ect. I like how user friendly Shutterfly is, and they ship out quickly. Watch for sales, all of the site are promoting these books right now, so get a good deal!

Auntie Hottie

Drew is my favorite nephew right now. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but how can you resist a tiny little angelic face that says, "I love Auntie Hottie". It just melts my heart every time!!

He's also making up for the fact that his brothers called me Auntie Woof Woof. They were about Drew's age, and I have dogs, so to them it made sense.

The twins have also started chanting an old favorite rhyme of theirs.

Enie meanie miney mo
Catch a tiger by the toe
Auntie Holly LET HIM GO
Enie meanie miney mo.

Gotta love those boys!

Tasty Tuesdays!

Wooo hoo, I remembered Tasty Tuesdays!


Today's tip is about prep work. I learned years ago while working at a sandwich shop, that when you have all the ingredients prepped in front of you, making sandwiches was fun....and yummy! I hate making fresh sandwiches now, because I don't have all the options I want.

Tonight's dinner is a stir fry, and it really only takes 20 minutes (after 20 minutes of prep work). The best thing to do is think ahead and have all the prep work done. Maybe this is while the kids are napping, or maybe the night before, whatever works for you.

This helps with many other things too. Like packing the kid's lunches. I try to have things like veggies already cut up into little baggies, and easy for me to grab in the morning when I'm throwing their lunches together. So many things are made easier if the prep work is done ahead of time. So think ahead. On nights with sports practices, you know you will be rushed at dinner, so have the prep work done ahead of time. It's also great to think a couple days ahead. Say you need chicken tonight, then cook up double, so that the chicken is pre cooked for later in the week.

This is one of my favorites, so enjoy!!


Cashew Chicken

1 1/2 cups boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 1/4 cups boiling water
4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp brown sugar
 1 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 8 oz can water chestnuts
 1 cup cashews


Hot cooked rice or Chinese rice noodles. 


In saucepan, combine bouillon, water, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and ginger, mix well. In large wok, brown chicken in EVOO. Add bouillon mix, stir until slightly thickened. Add mushrooms, green onions, celery and water chestnuts, simmer for 5- 10 minutes. Add cashews and serve over rice or noodles.

I Survived

Surgery on my ear went well. I am thankful that they listened to me when I said I get very dizzy and nauseous. They gave me a patch that helped for the first two days. I'm still dizzy and nauseous, but it's getting better. I can actually hear a little bit out of my right ear! Last time it took 10 days for the swelling to go down, and almost 6 weeks before I had pre-surgery hearing back.  My taste buds are still messed up and I don't feel like eating, but that was expected. A big thank you to my hubby for being a great nurse! Thank you to everyone for their prayers, I really appreciate them!

Happy Halloween!

 The kids had a blast at their Halloween parties at school. Their school has a fun tradition of parading each class through each classroom, so everyone can see all the costumes. I was a bit sad that this is the last year for Nate! This first picture is when Nate came through Lily's class.

 This is the first year we have all four dressed up. Nate wanted to be Commander Cody and he talked Lily into being Ahsoka. (Star Wars, Clone Wars). Then Dan said we should be Anakin and Padme. I had to find the costumes online, but after some research, got the right costumes, with the correct weapons. Our Trick or Treating is a trek across the whole county to see friends and family. It takes all night, and we only hit 9 houses. Here's our first stop at Aunt Ruthi's.

 As we headed out tonight, Dan remembered that we needed to stop for gas. There was NO WAY I was getting out in my costume, so Dan had to pump gas. Some Canadians drove by and waved, and got a good laugh at us. The kids popped up through the sunroof in the car and were "protecting" it while we got gas.

 Our nephews were waiting all night for Nate and Lily to stop by.

 We always get a picture of the kids together at Grandma and Grandpa Dennison's house. We had to move them to the big couch this year because the kids are getting big! Big props to my sister in law Tiff who made all four kid's costumes!

The last stop of the night was Mom's. I had to get a picture of Dan's dress (or fairy princess dress as he called it). We had a great time tonight, but I'm not making a habit of dressing up every year. I'm fine with going back to my "costume" as the paparazzi of the night.

Who are you today?

A couple weeks ago I was subbing at school as a Para Educator. I was in the cafeteria telling kids to eat, stay in their seats, and sneaking a bite of cookie from Nate's lunch (I was hungry!). Our principle came up to me and asked in all seriousness, "Who are you today?". Some people might get offended by the question, since he's known me for 5 years now. But I knew what he was getting at. What he wanted to know who I was subbing for that day.

That question stuck with me for days. Who am I today? When I am at the school, I wear many hats. Some days I am a substitute. Some days I am a volunteer. Some days I am PTO Vice-President. I am always Nate's Mom and Lily's Mom. Some kids call me Holly, most call me Mrs. Snow. (They can get away with calling me Holly if they are kids who come visit my house).

Those are just the hats I wear at school. Everyday I wear the hat of Mom. Everyday I wear the hat of Wife. I'm also a daughter, sister, sister in law, Auntie, Scentsy consultant, and friend. Don't forget, cook, maid, chauffeur, baker, shopper, bookkeeper, and keeper of the calendar.  That's a lot of hats to wear.

I struggle with juggling all those hats. I like to keep everyone happy, and sometimes wear too many hats at once. Holidays are the worst. Seems like I need to have every hat on at once, trying to make everything work. I know this is a struggle for most Moms. I was talking to a friend the other day who said she's having hard time wearing the working Mom hat.


When I went back to college two years ago, I put on the new hat of student. Other hats had to be put aside for that year, and some hats just were put on less. It was necessary for my sanity (and GPA) to leave that student hat on and treat myself as a student.

Next week I have to put on the hat of patient. I'm not good at that hat. Other hats will have to be put away for a couple weeks while I recover from surgery. I'm feeling guilty about this. I just need to keep telling myself that it's temporary.

What hats do you struggle with?

Who are you today?

It's Offical

We officially have the plaque on our wall. We get to keep this for the next year.....hopefully two because my name is going on it next year!!

Here I go again!

Today starts all the pre op appointments for my surgery next week. I am having surgery on my right ear this time. Same surgery as last May. I was telling my sister in law that this is kinda like childbirth. I know what to expect this time, I know I can handle it, but I know it will suck! The pain isn't the problem, it's the 14 days of being super dizzy. And the throwing up. And the loss of taste. Speaking of.....the surgeon was telling me that they have to move the nerve that affect taste, and that's why I lose my taste buds for a couple days. I'm trying to stay positive, but I know it's a long road before I feel better and notice a difference in hearing (last time it was 6 weeks before I had pre-surgery hearing back, and 3 months before I really noticed an improvement). Please keep me in your prayers. Thank you!

A Word From My Sponsors

Ok, so I don't really have any sponsors, but you will notice the friendly faces on the side of the blog. Amy Parsons is my sister. My very talented sister. I like to brag about her talents, but you really have to see them to believe. She is an amazing photographer. She knows how to get the natural smile out of people. No, she does not pay me to say nice things about her and put a plug on my blog (she does take my family pictures every year for my Christmas cards though!). Click on the link and take a peek at her website!

Next up is my brother Marty Stauffer. Marty is a great insurance agent, who truly cares about his clients. He looks out for your best interest. Marty saved us a ton of money this year when the insurance company raised our premiums 85%. He found ways to lower the cost without hurting our coverage. Give him a call for a no hassle, no obligation quote. (Note, Marty will take me to lunch for sending him referrals, so keep that in mind!).

Wayne Gardner is my step-dad. He's the owner and broker of Valley Land and Homes. He is a hard worker who will help you find exactly what you want in a home. He also does property management and will help you find a rental or renters. He's an honest friendly guy who will help you with your real estate needs. Give him a call, or check out his website.

And don't forget to check out my Scentsy website. We have new warmers and scents each month, so there is always something new to see. Silver Bells is November's scent of the month. I made up samples yesterday and will mail them out to anyone who is interested! There are only 7 more weeks to order before Christmas! Book your party now to earn Christmas gifts. Scent circles make great stocking stuffers. Too busy for a home party? I have basket parties ready to send out.

From my family and I, thank you for your support!

Applesauce

Sunday I finally gave into the apples that were taunting me in the garage. I LOVE homemade applesauce, but it's the most time consuming of all the canning (and the messiest). My kitchen needs a top to bottom cleaning after doing applesauce. I did most of it sugar free, since I was using mainly Jonagold apples ( I had a few apples from my tree added in). The kids always love to help turn the squeezo. Two big boxes of apples are now 14 quarts of yummy applesauce. I'm hoping to be done with canning for the year, but may have some more apples coming......maybe I'll finally try apple pie filling?

Pictures from the chili cook off

The first picture is of Dan's award winning chili. The second is my chili, and I still think it was pretty good! The last is the lineup of chili in crock pots, all labeled (it's a blind testing, nobody knows who made what chili) and ready to be tested. Each family also has a food assignment to go along with chili. When I asked Tracie what my food assignment was, her answer was, " Loser chili and cookies". Very funny! I made pumpkin shaped sugar cookies and Lily did the decorating. What a fun night!

And The Winner Is.......

10 different chili's were entered last night. Each one of them was VERY different. There were sneaky ingredients, like chocolate and veggie crumbles (had no idea that it wasn't meat!). When the votes were tallied, the winner was.........DAN! Seriously! He just got home the day before, and I bugged him enough that he decided to enter a chili at the last minute. He has NEVER made chili before. He had me running to two different grocery stores yesterday in search of his secret ingredients. I really thought his chili would be so unusual that he wouldn't win. I guess we all have different tastes, because not only did he win, he almost took the boobie prize as well. So you either love it or hate it.  Dan's chili was made with pork ribs and Asian flavors.....not your typical chili. It was really good though! And the winner of the boobie prize was.....Gordon!

We had a great time last night. The kids had fun carving pumpkins and playing in the hay. And of course, I'm thrilled that we get to take the trophy home!

Chili Cook Off Day

It's finally here. Our friend's 3rd annual chili cook off and pumpkin carving party. This is an event we look forward to all year long. The chili competition is fierce this year. I hear that my friend's 9 year old even made his own chili! Everyone has been working hard on their chili recipes, and I can't wait to taste them all.

I decided that chili #3 was my best. I let my sister and her hubby take some home and try it and they agreed. The trick is to find someone who is not in the competition, yet is still a chili expert. Case in point, I sent batch number two of chili to my mother in law. When she called to thank me, I asked her how the chili was. Her reply, " It was chili" . Not much of a help.

My brother called yesterday while I was making the chili (chili is best the second day). He was trying to sabotage me by telling me to put mushrooms in the chili. Mushrooms and other veggies (besides peppers and onions) are the mark of death in our chili competition.  His wife made Rachel Ray's Harvest Chili for the first cook off and got the boobie prize for last place. (Note, that is a great soup, one of my favorites, it just should not be called chili!).

The trash talk on facebook has gotten pretty bad this week. Yesterday we were all posting about our chili and how each one was the winning recipe. My friend Amy posted this link, saying I should bring a bowl of these jelly beans to the cook off. Seriously, she has a great point and I will be looking into that next year!

Wish me luck!!

Tasty Tuesday (a day late)

I was busy in the kitchen yesterday. I had volunteered to take a meal to my friend who just had a baby on Sunday (10-10-10). Really, this is just my excuse to go smooch on a new baby! Anyways....I made my famous cheesy garlic pull apart bread and it smelled so good, that I made another batch for myself. Soup always sounds good with fresh bread, so I made homemade chicken soup. I had a request to post both of these recipes, (HI Kristen!)  so Tasty Tuesday is a day late. The soup is nothing fancy, just plain good comfort food. Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

4 large carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/2 package egg noodles
10 cups water
1 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp granulated garlic
3 chicken boulion cubes
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
1 Tbsp Costco's no salt seasoning
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (leftover chicken works best!)




Bring the water to boil in a large stock pot. Add the carrots, celery and noodles. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 more minutes.

New Names

The kids in our family are going through a faze of renaming their stuffed animals. I think this is wrong, a name should stay the same, but the kids disagree. First Emma (my niece) decided that her cat Mow, is now Meow. He's been Mow for 6 years, you can't change that! Then baby Drew (her 20 month old brother) decided his Woof is now Puppy. It's really cute to hear him say "puppy", but it was also cute when he said, "woof". Today Lily joined the movement. She informed me that Day, who she has had since she was a baby, is now a girl and her name is Petals. REALLY? Not only do I think that you can't change names, but changing sexes......we won't go there!

Pink Bug

When I was 15 my Dad bought a wrecked Toyota truck, and fixed it up for me. I had to help with the sanding and masking of the truck. He taught me how to maintain the truck, check my oil, and how to change a tire. These were all good lessons, and made me appreciate my truck more.

Nate is starting to notice cars. Not just any cars, but mustangs. He bought a hot wheel car last month that was a '92 mustang. He loves that car and wants a real one. I told him to tell Grandpa. Grandpa goes to auctions and can find a mustang that needs work, and Nate can go help him fix it up. It's a great project, and hey, they have 5 1/2 years to work on it.

So when we called my Dad to tell him this, Lily decided to put in her request also. She wants a pink VW beetle. Yes, a pink bug. With Barbie stickers. And purple and blue racing stripes. She knows that Grandpa can paint anything, so this is what she wants. I tried to tell her that Barbie will not be cool when she is 16, but she didn't believe me. Everyone help me remind her when she's 16 that her dream car is a pink bug with Barbie stickers and purple and blue racing stripes. She will NEVER believe me!

Houston, we have a problem....

10 days until the chili cook off. There is one more chili I want to try before I decide on my winning chili recipe. This is serious competition! But, I have a problem. My freezer that is full of beef, froze over. It's so frozen, I can't open the freezer door. So I have about 100 pounds of ground beef (and I need at least one) is stuck inside my freezer. I refuse to go buy ground beef when I have 100 pounds of it here. So any ideas? Blow dryer? Or am I going to have to unplug the freezer? Yikes!!

Parent to Parent

My heart has been hurting for a family in our community. Last week a toddler was hit and killed while walking in a school crosswalk with her Mother and siblings. This is a horrible tragedy and I can't imagine the pain the family is feeling. While the driver that caused this is being charged, it truly was an accident. The problem is that these accidents are preventable.

This all hits too close to home for me. I'm the Mom in the crosswalk everyday. I walk my kids to school, and most days, have extra kids with me. Both before and after school, the lights flash on the sign saying 20 mph in a school zone. Still, EVERY DAY, I see people speeding. I see many distracted drivers. Just last week the crossing guard saw a lady speeding through the school zone, while brushing her teeth. I see people talking on their cell phones. I really don't care if you are late. That's your problem. Slow down and watch the road. It's kids lives that are on the line. My kids, your kids, your grand kids, your nieces and nephews. They are WAY more important than that call, or text. They are more important than being a couple minutes late.

So from one parent to another, I will be more diligent in my driving. I will slow down, and watch more carefully for kids on the road. I just ask that you will do the same.