December went by so fast that I never got around to posting Dean's dessert of the month. The fact that I made them New Year's Eve doesn't mean I forgot!

Peanut Swirl Brownies (photo courtesy of Barefoot Contessa)



Anyway, Dean and I saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa and he immediately wanted to try these. I wasn't so sure since they had coffee in them...I'm not a fan of coffee.
However, since this was Dean's dessert choice, I made them and they were really good.

Click here and it will take you to the recipe...btw, I halved it because it makes enough for a crowd.

Gunter and the mole...

This past weekend was a busy one, especially for the kids youth group at church. They did babysitting and served breakfast to earn money for their summer trip.

Poor Kaela needed a nap to recharge....and Gunter snuggled in to keep her warm.



Then yesterday we went to see Ghost Protocol and did our toy drop while there....



We dropped Mr. Mole outside the Beauty and the Beast theater.

I hope someone found him......

After Christmas sew along.

Monday while watching Bama beat LSU, I was beating the stuffing out of Danny, my dammit doll.
Bless his little heart, he endured the beating with a smile...


I decided that this week, I would make a bunch of dammit dolls for the sew along. They make great gifts for upset football fans.
Here they are in a little bowl, ready to get their poems attached. I decided to make different faces...much more entertaining that way. I have a lot more to make still but these will get me started.

this guy is hoping if he doesn't look at you, you won't whack him...


this guy is simply waiting for the whacking to begin....


this guy is hoping he is so cute you won't actually whack him...


this guy is sad because he knows the truth....they are ALL going to get whacked...


and this guy is just flat out worried about all the violence!


I haven't attached the little poem yet but here it is:

When you want to climb the walls or need to scream and shout,
Heres a little dammit doll you cannot do without
Just grab it firmly by the legs
and find a place to slam it
And as your whack the stuffing out yell
Dammit dammit dammit!
If dammits not a word you say then twist its little neck
And grumble out repeatedly
Oh Heck oh heck oh heck!

Gunter to the rescue

Over the holidays, I came home from work one day to this:


I walked in and asked Gunter what he was doing and he said "Nothing, I'm stuck."
I asked why he was at the top of the tree and he said he was on a rescue mission...that the pretty snowflake fairies needed rescuing. Especially the one at the top of the little tree.

He then got snippy and said that it was VERY difficult to climb a Christmas tree, even a tiny one, without arms or legs.
He went on to inform me that after dragging himself up the tree by his beard to save the trapped fairy, she told him she didn't need rescuing.

Then as he tried to get down, he got wedged between the tree and the wall.
Poor Gunter....I think he needs a girlfriend.

spa for cats....

Leo and Suki both LOVE to cuddle up amongst the Christmas village I put up each year. I run a set of lights under the houses so I don't have to plug in a ton of individual houses. This is pretty and gives the cats a warm happy spot...like going to a kitty spa.

We took these photos (and a ton more) over the holidays....not the same day.

As soon as those lights turned on, the cats were up there.....whoever got there first won the right to sleep with a warm tummy.
















The bad thing is it is always knocked over and the fluff is pretty much destroyed if they leave in a hurry.



Oh....and when Suki plays CatKong and knocks them over on purpose!


I can just hear the villagers now! AHHHHHHHH CatKong!!!!!

After Christmas sew along.

I joined an after Christmas Sew Along thinking it was all about getting a jump on this year's gift making.

WRONG! I didn't read it...just joined. So then I find out (after actually reading the rules) that we are supposed to make stuff for ourselves!
Since I READ all this Wednesday, I decided to make something I could whip up quickly.

Lucky for me, I had an agenda that needed a cute cover! Since I didn't want to reinvent the wheel, I used a tutorial at craftblog.

The pictures were very helpful and I made this quickly. That bakers twine isn't part of it...but I'm too lazy to take another photo...



inside...with pocket and place mark...



I had some precious polka dot ribbon for the place mark but not enough so I used a teeny satin one for the time being...easy enough to change out later though... see?

and it looks (and works) just fine for the time being...

The best part is that the fabric was in my stash and the planner was a freebie.

Family.....

We had a nice visit from some of Dean's family over the holidays. His mom came as well as one of his sisters and her family.

We mainly hung out at home. I did a lot of cooking and visiting while the boys did things like going to the playground and walking the dogs.
The boys ADORE our dogs so they lavish them with a lot of attention. Believe me, it was a special treat for the boys to hold the leashes!
They took several walks through the woods and actually got "misdirected" one day (Dean never uses the word LOST) and ended up somewhere outside our neighborhood! oops...hit a dead end!
two boys walked faster than the others!


shadow play...



They got to play with sparklers and some fireworks New Year's Eve
Sometimes just hanging out with family is the most fun of all!