Cutting the Endless Christmas List

Here is a Christmas parenting tip I wish I had when my children were little. In our Advent Bible study entitled "The Redemption of Scrooge" the author,  Matt Rawle, provided this advice to keep kid's Christmas lists under control. They used the Want, Need, Wear, Read, Share approach to their children's gift lists. 

British mother of three, Emma Tapping's Instagram
photo of her Christmas tree, which went viral last year.

The concept is simple - five gifts and that's it. One is something you desire/want, one is something you need, one is an item of clothing to wear and one is a book you want to read. Finally, there is an extra gift for you to share with someone else. No overwhelming mound of gifts, no excess - just enough to enjoy without overkill.

As the queen of excess, this method never occurred to me, but I like its simplicity. It allows the family to enjoy gifts while still maintaining the focus on the meaning of the holiday. Rawle said his children are still excited on Christmas morning and that it has not detracted, but enhanced their Christmas.

He points out that our abundance is someone else's deficiency. That unworn sweater in our closet could have been a source of warmth for someone who is cold and homeless. The extra pair of shoes might have helped a barefoot child or the unused bath set a source of hygiene for a young mother. 

This is why one gift is a present to share. It reminds children of the importance of not just receiving, but also of giving. 

So this season, when you think you should buy that "one more gift," pause for a moment. Is it a want, need, wear, read? If not, maybe it is time to share.

Fiesta Fun

IT'S FIESTA!

The last two weeks of April are Fiesta in San Antonio. It is a city-wide celebration that incorporates hundreds of events, food and fun. To celebrate, I decided to make my first fiesta wreath. Paper flowers are seen everywhere during fiesta, but I had never made them successfully. 

After some YouTube viewing and a little research I made the wreath above. I made two wreaths in one evening while I watched a movie. The time consuming part is fluffing out the paper flowers.

Pre-Cut Flowers Saves Time

Not handy? I found some pre-cut paper flowers at Dollar Tree. The yellow and pink flowers were from a garland that I cut apart. I used the string from the garland to tie the flowers onto the metal frame. I cut down some larger flowers (the pink and blue ones at the bottom of the wreath) that were also pre-cut. I made the green and purple flowers and the light blue flowers myself from tissue paper also purchased at Dollar Tree.  They don't have the tissue flowers on their Website, but I found them in my local store. You can purchase pre-made tissue flowers for about .24 each at Aliexpress.

Other Materials

The 18" wreath frame was from Michael's and the ribbon was another Dollar Tree purchase.  I used the curling ribbon and leftover garland string to tie the paper flowers that I made.

How To Make the Wreath

Wreath making is easy. I used 11 smaller flowers (about 6") on the sides and top of the wreath. Each flower is simply tied to the metal wreath. Three larger flowers  (8") were tied to the bottom. Long curling ribbon is tied underneath the flowers on the bottom of the wire wreath. 

This is a very simple project that look festive. When the flowers are crushed or faded, they are easily replaced since they are just tied onto the wreath and not glued. 

Happy Fiesta!

Chicken or Egg?

Both chicken and egg came simultaneously this Easter. I saw these online and thought I'd take a stab at creating chickens from our deviled eggs. 

They are a bit time consuming. First you cut the zigzag top off the egg and take a small chunk off the bottom to flatten the base, so the chicks can "sit" upright. Trying to get the yolk out without damaging the white is a skill I did not quite master.

From there you simply make deviled eggs. 

Deviled egg recipe:

Egg yolks (dozen)

1/2 c. Real Mayonnaise (1/2 cup)

White vinegar (about 1 tbs. to taste)

1/4 tsp salt

dash of pepper

Beat with a mixer until smooth. Put mixture in a plastic zipper bag and cut off one corner. Use bag to pipe the filling into the eggs.

Use whole peppercorns for the eyes and a small piece of carrot for the beaks. 

Tip: My Dash Go Egg Cooker made perfect eggs that were easy to peel. I highly recommend using an egg cooker to hard cook your Easter eggs.

Perfect Crock Pot Roast

Pot roast is a great make ahead meal in the crock pot. Everything you need for dinner is ready when you get home. Perfect for weeknight company. Here's the recipe.

4-5 lb. chuck roast (get the cheapest cut you can find)
1 bag mini carrots
4-5 peeled potatoes cut in thirds or quarters
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

Line crock pot with a bag (for easy cleaning). Place a layer of carrots and top with a layer of potatoes. Put roast on top of veggies. Cover top of roast with soup and pour one can of water over the meat. Top with package of onion soup mix. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until you are home from work.

Best Travel Deals

I don't think my husband had any idea how much planning I put into our travels. That is until he spent a couple of hours looking over my shoulder as I relentlessly sought out the best deal for an upcoming trip he was taking.

Getting the best deal is a time investment. It is, however, an investment that pays big dividends.

Here's an example of a NYC trip that I took:

Expenditure                 Regular Price                    My Price

Lodging (7 nts.)

Fruit Cordials

Making my own fruit cordials is probably a natural outgrowth of my recent wine making efforts. After a little research I found the process was simple. Basically if you have fruit, vodka and sugar, you can make a cordial.

Berry Cordial

My first effort was a berry cordial. Here's what I did:

Wash and hull 1 qt. fresh strawberries, 1 qt. raspberries and 1 pt. of blackberries.

 Lightly mash fruit to release juices.

2 c. sugar

1.75 Liter bottle of vodka (being from Texas I prefer Tito's Vodka) or approx. 7 cups


Put Fruit in a sterilized jar add sugar and vodka and shake vigorously.

Place in a cool dark place and shake every week for at least 4 weeks (long makes for a smoother liqueur.

Strain fruit from liquid using a strainer and a coffee filter to get out all the fruit.

Serve over ice or mix with half and half or my favorite, vanilla, sugar-free creamer for a sweet, after dinner drink.

Some recipes I considered have you make a simple syrup. This one did not call for making the syrup and the sugar seemed to mix just fine.

Pear Cordial

My second cordial effort was with pears. We received a couple of Harry and David fruit boxes for Christmas and had a lot of pears. Our choices were to eat the pears or make cordials. As you can imagine, drinking the pears won out.

The pear recipe called for making simple syrup.

3 c. sugar

2 c. water

5-6 medium pears, washed, peeled, cored and sliced

zest of one lemon

3 c. vodka (again, Tito's was my choice)

1 Tbs. Fruit Fresh (or ascorbic acid)

Boil water and sugar until sugar is dissolved and solution is clear. Cool.

Combine pears with Fruit Fresh, simple syrup, lemon zest and vodka in a sterilized jar. Close jar with lid and shake. Place in a dark place and shake weekly for 4-6 weeks (longer for a smoother cordial)

Enjoy!

Glass Painting is a Great Relaxer

Art Therapy

This has recently become my "go to" art therapy. It is so relaxing to paint a simple design on glass. I started doing this following one of those "drinking and painting" girls' night out sessions where we learned the ins and outs of glass painting. The class was sponsored by Drinkable Arts and was great fun. Since then, glass painting has been for winding down on the weekends.

What You Need

Clean, dry glassware (Dollar Tree has a great, inexpensive selection)

Paint for glass - I use Plaid's Folk Art Enamels

Glass Writing Pens - Great for words and fine lines - I use Deco Art Glass Paint Markers

Alcohol Prep Pads (to erase mistakes and clean painting surface)

Paint brushes (don't go cheap on your brushes - buy quality ones)


How to Paint Glasses

I generally look for ideas online. If you search for glass painting ideas, you won't have any problem finding many options. Make sure your glass is clean and dry. I generally wipe the glass with some alcohol pads just to make sure there are no remaining fingerprints and oils.

Once you select an idea, start painting. Do not water down paint; use it straight from the bottle. Remember that the paint is only safe for the outside, so don't paint the interior of a drink ware.  If you make a mistake or change your mind about your design, alcohol will take the paint off cleanly. The alcohol prep pads do the trick nicely.

Also, painting the stem and foot of stemware is a nice option. Dots are easy to create with the stick end of your brush and look great for many designs. I find it hard to write words and lined designs with a brush, so that's where I use the paint pens.

Allow your glasses to dry a minimum of 8 hours, overnight seems to work well. Once they have dried, place the glasses in a cold oven on a baking sheet. Turn on the oven to 350-375 degrees (per instructions on paint) and allow to bake 30 minutes. Turn off oven and allow to cool. This will prevent cracking of your creations.

Once cool, your glassware is dishwasher safe on the top rack. I've washed one of my glasses almost 20 times in the dishwasher without any paint chipping.

Products We Love

I received a Christmas gift that I had no idea I needed and now cannot imagine life without it. The gift -- an egg cooker.

Yes, I had seen them around from time to time; however, it never occurred to me that I had a need for one. After all, what is so hard about sticking an egg in a pot or skillet.

The egg cooker I received is a Dash Go Rapid Egg Cooker. It can cook a boiled, poached or scrambled egg or even create a small omelet. I've done all four, and they work great. My favorite is the boiled egg. 

I like my eggs hard boiled, really hard boiled. The cooker takes about 10 minutes to achieve this. You put in the egg, large side up. There is a handy little pin on the water measuring cup that you prick the large end with to make a small hole. Measure the water in the cup to the desired doneness level you like (I fill it up to the top as the indicated line for hard boiled is not quite done enough for me). You put on the cover, unlatched (the latch is only for transporting the cooker), push the button and make your bacon and coffee/tea. The unit has a loud buzzer that signals the end of the cook cycle. I leave my eggs sit for 2-4 more minutes once it buzzes to let them cook a bit more.

Now here's the really great part. The eggs peel like a dream. I have not had one egg that didn't peel perfectly, even the eggs that were fresh from the hen. Fresh eggs are generally impossible to peel, but not if you prick the egg and use the steam cooker. 

Deviled eggs that are generally nightmarish to make because of peeling the eggs, are now a common dish at our house. I can't wait to use this at Easter. Maybe for once we can have deviled eggs that don't bring the devil out in me trying to peel them.

I haven't tried other brands, so the Dash Go is the only one I can speak to. If you've tried others, please feel free to share your comments on them.

Oh, and for the record, there have been no payments for any endorsements I make in this blog. They are my opinion only and an honest review. Thank you Terry for this great Christmas gift!