Christmas Countdown - 2016

  • Thread starter Thread starter Crown 84
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Maureen said:
If it gets the roads open (and the council will move heaven and earth to get the roads to the slopes clear) I'll take it!! Today, we have been an island. All roads in and out of town were flooded - even the buses couldn't detour anymore. SO.SICK.OF.RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Also the sub zero temps and arctic blast on the way with all this water will mean ICE!
 
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graywolf70 said:
WOW, 100! That's terrific!! A very happy birthday to everyone!!

On February 19th my parents will celebrate their 50th anniversary and I have NO clue what to do for them. My mom hates to travel so giving them a vacation away is out. I thought about a party, but neither of them want that and no - they're not surprise party type people. My perfect gift - pay off their mortgage, but that won't be happening unless I will that lottery you're all talking about. LOL

On February 23, Bud and I celebrate our 20th anniversary. :) It's a pretty cool year in our family. LOL



*blinks* Tell ya what - someone else can split it with me. They can have the snack sticks. I'll take the drink. ;)



Aaaaaaaawwwwwwwww! YEA!!! I'm so glad you liked it and hope it adds to your Christmas line up! :D



Thank you again Crown! Much appreciated!



Sending you some housecleaning mojo! LOL



HMG - I'm so sorry about your migraine - hope it passes very soon.

Funny about your parents! Would be so exciting even if they won a portion of it! My dad has played the Florida lottery ever since it started in 1988. LOL He won a few times with 4 out 6 numbers. Several thousand dollars - that was great!!

I ended up on ABC Action News on Christmas Eve. I was out doing some shopping. They were at the shopping center interviewing, "last-minute shoppers." LOL The reporter asked me, "How did you end up being a last minute shopper this year for Christmas?" I laughed, looked at my watch and said, "It's not 11:59pm. Besides, 'last-minute,' is a mindset. Christmas is when you celebrate it, it doesn't have to be the 25th. I love every moment of Christmas. The excitement leading up to it and that last few harried moments before everyone opens their presents. This isn't some frenzied last-minute dash to me. It's just part of the fun and memories I make with my family."





OH MY!! How beautiful!! I'm so jealous and yes please - can you send me some too? LOL



That sounds like a great evening!!!

Our one dog did the same to the one plushy toy that was given. All the rest were balls or Nylabone type chews that take them forever to kill. I learned last year that one of our rescue dogs loves to destroy anything stuffed, furry or soft. LOL I actually have toys for the other dogs that they take turns playing with in my room away from her. She gets a special chew toy that only comes out when one of them goes in to play with a plushy so she's not inclined the stand and cry at the door. She thinks SHE'S the one getting special treatment. I took the others away so she can lay upside down on the floor, hold it between her front paws and chew without being bothered by everyone else. LOL Her nickname is "Godzilla."



My question is - was it a course in dealing with customers who are angry, or for you dealing with your own moments of customer rage? Like 'Road rage." Sometimes I am mystified by the level of restraint and calm some people are expected to demonstrate while someone is screaming at them about something ridiculous, just because the screamer is a 'customer.'

I watched a manager at Save A Lot smile patiently while some outraged woman screamed in his face because they were sold out of eggs on Christmas Eve. Because that's surprising? He just smiled and nodded and told her he was very sorry for the inconvenience and he would be happy to give her a rain check for the egg price, but another truck wouldn't be in till December 26th. She just kept yelling and yelling. He kept smiling and nodding. I thought, "Wow - I would have stabbed her with a stick of butter by now."



ROFL I thought the exact same thing!!!



*See above Godzilla reference to our dog* I'll have to remember this one and film her next time she decimates a shoe, or plushy toy. I'll wind it back and realize she actually made it and then loped backwards.



Minta - I have and I found that mixing them half and half gave me the best consistency and flavor. Milk was too thin and lacked some of the flavor we traditionally associate with pumpkin pie. Heavy cream alone was too sweet in my opinion and caused the filling to sort of 'fluff up,' when baked making the consistency odd.
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What a milestone for your parents! Happy early Anniversary to them!
And Happy early Anniversary to you & Bud, too! <3

I'll split it with you! YUM!

Snow is on the way ;)

:snowball
 
So our Epiphany was amazing!!

Day started with me walking past a storage shed we have behind our house and thinking, "I really would like to find a particular nativity set to put out today!" I knew it was put in that shed when we moved here, but a family member had lived in this house before us. When we moved in, they deserted most of their things. So I spent the first two weeks moving all of their things out before we could move their things in. I didn't want to just throw them out. It was their stuff. So I boxed it and put it in that storage shed... where it remains... unclaimed.... 6.5 years later. LOL But it means that a few boxes of ours are behind those items.

Yesterday morning was cool so I got to work, made my way back through all the boxes and storage bins to our items, got my hands on the box with the nativity items and see a white box beneath it. I didn't recognize the box. I took it down, opened it - and lo and behold were all of my most cherished Christmas decorations. I've been upset about it every Christmas since we moved here because I never found them. I thought they had been stolen as we had so many people helping us move, who brought people with them I didn't know. I label everything and had a packing list so I knew where everything was... except these items who were boxed by someone else at our old house, brought over here, and placed high on a shelf in the storage shed under the nativity box.

I sat outside on the back porch crying as I unwrapped every one of them, checking them for damage and then gently repacking them since most of them would be getting put up in a few days. I did keep out a few and put them up along with the nativity. The box went into the closet in my office where I keep the rest of the holiday decorations. I was so excited! I couldn't believe it!! The Christmas album and then this too??

Then I got an email from Icing Smiles. Icing Smiles is a volunteer baking organization that does dream birthday cakes for children with terminal illnesses or in long term health care whose families can't afford those types of ornate cakes. They also do them for siblings of those children. Last year, I was taking a class from a Food Network baker and asking a myriad of questions about the products being used. (I'm one of those annoying people who uses whole, organic, fair-trade, yadda-yadda and big on not feeding people products that cause health issues - i.e. white sugar, white flour, shortening, vegetable oils, etc.) She finally asked the director who I was and he told her I was a regular class taker and always asked things like that. She went and looked up my info and went through my portfolio. She herself is a volunteer baker for Icing Smiles (which before then I'd never heard of). She recommended me to them as a specialty baker who can do decorative cakes for children with dietary restrictions.

I put in my application and became one of their volunteer bakers. That was... October I think. I hadn't heard much from them since. Yesterday - I got an email and had not one, but TWO cakes assigned to me for children in our area. I am so over-the-moon honored to be able to do this! It feels like I'm having Christmas all over again!

THEN - yeah it was a 3-fer day. My son comes home and informs me that the seasonal job he had wanted as Parks ranger assistant at Yellowstone National Park was just offered to him. It's May through October. It's full time, 4 days per week, then 3 days off. The 3 days off they have full access to the entire park and all the facilities free of charge. So it's all the hiking, conservation, fly fishing, horseback riding, skiiing, snowboarding and camping he can stand. They have on-site apartments and he's already had one reserved for him and meals are provided in the park's dining room. So all living expenses are covered, full time salary and spending the entire summer season in Yellowstone National Park. Pretty good way to spend your 20th birthday before you leave for your enlistment. The job he has now is with Florida State Wildlife and Game Commission and they're giving him a leave of absence so he won't lose his position there either or his benefits.

It was a phenomenal day!! AND - my Epiphany gift from my son was a gift bag filled with an assortment of my favorite whole bean coffees. Christmas he gave me two giant boxes of custom loose teas from a local tea shop. I'm in Heaven. LOL Note my ID icon - yeah - that's my facial expression for real right now.
 
graywolf70 said:
So our Epiphany was amazing!!

Day started with me walking past a storage shed we have behind our house and thinking, "I really would like to find a particular nativity set to put out today!" I knew it was put in that shed when we moved here, but a family member had lived in this house before us. When we moved in, they deserted most of their things. So I spent the first two weeks moving all of their things out before we could move their things in. I didn't want to just throw them out. It was their stuff. So I boxed it and put it in that storage shed... where it remains... unclaimed.... 6.5 years later. LOL But it means that a few boxes of ours are behind those items.

Yesterday morning was cool so I got to work, made my way back through all the boxes and storage bins to our items, got my hands on the box with the nativity items and see a white box beneath it. I didn't recognize the box. I took it down, opened it - and lo and behold were all of my most cherished Christmas decorations. I've been upset about it every Christmas since we moved here because I never found them. I thought they had been stolen as we had so many people helping us move, who brought people with them I didn't know. I label everything and had a packing list so I knew where everything was... except these items who were boxed by someone else at our old house, brought over here, and placed high on a shelf in the storage shed under the nativity box.

I sat outside on the back porch crying as I unwrapped every one of them, checking them for damage and then gently repacking them since most of them would be getting put up in a few days. I did keep out a few and put them up along with the nativity. The box went into the closet in my office where I keep the rest of the holiday decorations. I was so excited! I couldn't believe it!! The Christmas album and then this too??

Then I got an email from Icing Smiles. Icing Smiles is a volunteer baking organization that does dream birthday cakes for children with terminal illnesses or in long term health care whose families can't afford those types of ornate cakes. They also do them for siblings of those children. Last year, I was taking a class from a Food Network baker and asking a myriad of questions about the products being used. (I'm one of those annoying people who uses whole, organic, fair-trade, yadda-yadda and big on not feeding people products that cause health issues - i.e. white sugar, white flour, shortening, vegetable oils, etc.) She finally asked the director who I was and he told her I was a regular class taker and always asked things like that. She went and looked up my info and went through my portfolio. She herself is a volunteer baker for Icing Smiles (which before then I'd never heard of). She recommended me to them as a specialty baker who can do decorative cakes for children with dietary restrictions.

I put in my application and became one of their volunteer bakers. That was... October I think. I hadn't heard much from them since. Yesterday - I got an email and had not one, but TWO cakes assigned to me for children in our area. I am so over-the-moon honored to be able to do this! It feels like I'm having Christmas all over again!

THEN - yeah it was a 3-fer day. My son comes home and informs me that the seasonal job he had wanted as Parks ranger assistant at Yellowstone National Park was just offered to him. It's May through October. It's full time, 4 days per week, then 3 days off. The 3 days off they have full access to the entire park and all the facilities free of charge. So it's all the hiking, conservation, fly fishing, horseback riding, skiiing, snowboarding and camping he can stand. They have on-site apartments and he's already had one reserved for him and meals are provided in the park's dining room. So all living expenses are covered, full time salary and spending the entire summer season in Yellowstone National Park. Pretty good way to spend your 20th birthday before you leave for your enlistment. The job he has now is with Florida State Wildlife and Game Commission and they're giving him a leave of absence so he won't lose his position there either or his benefits.

It was a phenomenal day!! AND - my Epiphany gift from my son was a gift bag filled with an assortment of my favorite whole bean coffees. Christmas he gave me two giant boxes of custom loose teas from a local tea shop. I'm in Heaven. LOL Note my ID icon - yeah - that's my facial expression for real right now.
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I love it when everything works out like that!!!!! What a fantastic day - well done you!!!!
 
graywolf70 said:
So our Epiphany was amazing!!

Day started with me walking past a storage shed we have behind our house and thinking, "I really would like to find a particular nativity set to put out today!" I knew it was put in that shed when we moved here, but a family member had lived in this house before us. When we moved in, they deserted most of their things. So I spent the first two weeks moving all of their things out before we could move their things in. I didn't want to just throw them out. It was their stuff. So I boxed it and put it in that storage shed... where it remains... unclaimed.... 6.5 years later. LOL But it means that a few boxes of ours are behind those items.

Yesterday morning was cool so I got to work, made my way back through all the boxes and storage bins to our items, got my hands on the box with the nativity items and see a white box beneath it. I didn't recognize the box. I took it down, opened it - and lo and behold were all of my most cherished Christmas decorations. I've been upset about it every Christmas since we moved here because I never found them. I thought they had been stolen as we had so many people helping us move, who brought people with them I didn't know. I label everything and had a packing list so I knew where everything was... except these items who were boxed by someone else at our old house, brought over here, and placed high on a shelf in the storage shed under the nativity box.

I sat outside on the back porch crying as I unwrapped every one of them, checking them for damage and then gently repacking them since most of them would be getting put up in a few days. I did keep out a few and put them up along with the nativity. The box went into the closet in my office where I keep the rest of the holiday decorations. I was so excited! I couldn't believe it!! The Christmas album and then this too??

Then I got an email from Icing Smiles. Icing Smiles is a volunteer baking organization that does dream birthday cakes for children with terminal illnesses or in long term health care whose families can't afford those types of ornate cakes. They also do them for siblings of those children. Last year, I was taking a class from a Food Network baker and asking a myriad of questions about the products being used. (I'm one of those annoying people who uses whole, organic, fair-trade, yadda-yadda and big on not feeding people products that cause health issues - i.e. white sugar, white flour, shortening, vegetable oils, etc.) She finally asked the director who I was and he told her I was a regular class taker and always asked things like that. She went and looked up my info and went through my portfolio. She herself is a volunteer baker for Icing Smiles (which before then I'd never heard of). She recommended me to them as a specialty baker who can do decorative cakes for children with dietary restrictions.

I put in my application and became one of their volunteer bakers. That was... October I think. I hadn't heard much from them since. Yesterday - I got an email and had not one, but TWO cakes assigned to me for children in our area. I am so over-the-moon honored to be able to do this! It feels like I'm having Christmas all over again!

THEN - yeah it was a 3-fer day. My son comes home and informs me that the seasonal job he had wanted as Parks ranger assistant at Yellowstone National Park was just offered to him. It's May through October. It's full time, 4 days per week, then 3 days off. The 3 days off they have full access to the entire park and all the facilities free of charge. So it's all the hiking, conservation, fly fishing, horseback riding, skiiing, snowboarding and camping he can stand. They have on-site apartments and he's already had one reserved for him and meals are provided in the park's dining room. So all living expenses are covered, full time salary and spending the entire summer season in Yellowstone National Park. Pretty good way to spend your 20th birthday before you leave for your enlistment. The job he has now is with Florida State Wildlife and Game Commission and they're giving him a leave of absence so he won't lose his position there either or his benefits.

It was a phenomenal day!! AND - my Epiphany gift from my son was a gift bag filled with an assortment of my favorite whole bean coffees. Christmas he gave me two giant boxes of custom loose teas from a local tea shop. I'm in Heaven. LOL Note my ID icon - yeah - that's my facial expression for real right now.
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What an AMAZING day!

So HAPPY for you, that you found your cherished Christmas treasures!!!!!
*Hugs*

Congrats on the cakes, as well! What a lovely organization. Bless you for sharing your talents!!

And congrats to your son, what a wonderful job. And the access will be awesome, as well.

God bless :)
 
Festive Spirit said:
In winter, I feel like I never have enough sleep. Come summer and the sun starts rising at 3;30am and I can wake up ready to go. The light and change in temps make a huge impact on mood and motivation I think. Plus the cold slows your metabolism down so not your fault at all - these months are for hibernating :D LOL!

Enjoy your lie in tomorrow !!!
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Oh yeah I get up earlier and easier in the summer too!
 
graywolf70 said:
So our Epiphany was amazing!!

Day started with me walking past a storage shed we have behind our house and thinking, "I really would like to find a particular nativity set to put out today!" I knew it was put in that shed when we moved here, but a family member had lived in this house before us. When we moved in, they deserted most of their things. So I spent the first two weeks moving all of their things out before we could move their things in. I didn't want to just throw them out. It was their stuff. So I boxed it and put it in that storage shed... where it remains... unclaimed.... 6.5 years later. LOL But it means that a few boxes of ours are behind those items.

Yesterday morning was cool so I got to work, made my way back through all the boxes and storage bins to our items, got my hands on the box with the nativity items and see a white box beneath it. I didn't recognize the box. I took it down, opened it - and lo and behold were all of my most cherished Christmas decorations. I've been upset about it every Christmas since we moved here because I never found them. I thought they had been stolen as we had so many people helping us move, who brought people with them I didn't know. I label everything and had a packing list so I knew where everything was... except these items who were boxed by someone else at our old house, brought over here, and placed high on a shelf in the storage shed under the nativity box.

I sat outside on the back porch crying as I unwrapped every one of them, checking them for damage and then gently repacking them since most of them would be getting put up in a few days. I did keep out a few and put them up along with the nativity. The box went into the closet in my office where I keep the rest of the holiday decorations. I was so excited! I couldn't believe it!! The Christmas album and then this too??

Then I got an email from Icing Smiles. Icing Smiles is a volunteer baking organization that does dream birthday cakes for children with terminal illnesses or in long term health care whose families can't afford those types of ornate cakes. They also do them for siblings of those children. Last year, I was taking a class from a Food Network baker and asking a myriad of questions about the products being used. (I'm one of those annoying people who uses whole, organic, fair-trade, yadda-yadda and big on not feeding people products that cause health issues - i.e. white sugar, white flour, shortening, vegetable oils, etc.) She finally asked the director who I was and he told her I was a regular class taker and always asked things like that. She went and looked up my info and went through my portfolio. She herself is a volunteer baker for Icing Smiles (which before then I'd never heard of). She recommended me to them as a specialty baker who can do decorative cakes for children with dietary restrictions.

I put in my application and became one of their volunteer bakers. That was... October I think. I hadn't heard much from them since. Yesterday - I got an email and had not one, but TWO cakes assigned to me for children in our area. I am so over-the-moon honored to be able to do this! It feels like I'm having Christmas all over again!

THEN - yeah it was a 3-fer day. My son comes home and informs me that the seasonal job he had wanted as Parks ranger assistant at Yellowstone National Park was just offered to him. It's May through October. It's full time, 4 days per week, then 3 days off. The 3 days off they have full access to the entire park and all the facilities free of charge. So it's all the hiking, conservation, fly fishing, horseback riding, skiiing, snowboarding and camping he can stand. They have on-site apartments and he's already had one reserved for him and meals are provided in the park's dining room. So all living expenses are covered, full time salary and spending the entire summer season in Yellowstone National Park. Pretty good way to spend your 20th birthday before you leave for your enlistment. The job he has now is with Florida State Wildlife and Game Commission and they're giving him a leave of absence so he won't lose his position there either or his benefits.

It was a phenomenal day!! AND - my Epiphany gift from my son was a gift bag filled with an assortment of my favorite whole bean coffees. Christmas he gave me two giant boxes of custom loose teas from a local tea shop. I'm in Heaven. LOL Note my ID icon - yeah - that's my facial expression for real right now.
Click to expand...

Oh Greywolf I am so over the moon for you. To find those decorations after all this time is nothing short of a christmas miracle!!! Congrats on the baking jobs- what an admirable casue that is. Also Congrats to your son on the job. Wow you are of to a great start to the new year!!!
 
graywolf70 said:
So our Epiphany was amazing!!

Day started with me walking past a storage shed we have behind our house and thinking, "I really would like to find a particular nativity set to put out today!" I knew it was put in that shed when we moved here, but a family member had lived in this house before us. When we moved in, they deserted most of their things. So I spent the first two weeks moving all of their things out before we could move their things in. I didn't want to just throw them out. It was their stuff. So I boxed it and put it in that storage shed... where it remains... unclaimed.... 6.5 years later. LOL But it means that a few boxes of ours are behind those items.

Yesterday morning was cool so I got to work, made my way back through all the boxes and storage bins to our items, got my hands on the box with the nativity items and see a white box beneath it. I didn't recognize the box. I took it down, opened it - and lo and behold were all of my most cherished Christmas decorations. I've been upset about it every Christmas since we moved here because I never found them. I thought they had been stolen as we had so many people helping us move, who brought people with them I didn't know. I label everything and had a packing list so I knew where everything was... except these items who were boxed by someone else at our old house, brought over here, and placed high on a shelf in the storage shed under the nativity box.

I sat outside on the back porch crying as I unwrapped every one of them, checking them for damage and then gently repacking them since most of them would be getting put up in a few days. I did keep out a few and put them up along with the nativity. The box went into the closet in my office where I keep the rest of the holiday decorations. I was so excited! I couldn't believe it!! The Christmas album and then this too??

Then I got an email from Icing Smiles. Icing Smiles is a volunteer baking organization that does dream birthday cakes for children with terminal illnesses or in long term health care whose families can't afford those types of ornate cakes. They also do them for siblings of those children. Last year, I was taking a class from a Food Network baker and asking a myriad of questions about the products being used. (I'm one of those annoying people who uses whole, organic, fair-trade, yadda-yadda and big on not feeding people products that cause health issues - i.e. white sugar, white flour, shortening, vegetable oils, etc.) She finally asked the director who I was and he told her I was a regular class taker and always asked things like that. She went and looked up my info and went through my portfolio. She herself is a volunteer baker for Icing Smiles (which before then I'd never heard of). She recommended me to them as a specialty baker who can do decorative cakes for children with dietary restrictions.

I put in my application and became one of their volunteer bakers. That was... October I think. I hadn't heard much from them since. Yesterday - I got an email and had not one, but TWO cakes assigned to me for children in our area. I am so over-the-moon honored to be able to do this! It feels like I'm having Christmas all over again!

THEN - yeah it was a 3-fer day. My son comes home and informs me that the seasonal job he had wanted as Parks ranger assistant at Yellowstone National Park was just offered to him. It's May through October. It's full time, 4 days per week, then 3 days off. The 3 days off they have full access to the entire park and all the facilities free of charge. So it's all the hiking, conservation, fly fishing, horseback riding, skiiing, snowboarding and camping he can stand. They have on-site apartments and he's already had one reserved for him and meals are provided in the park's dining room. So all living expenses are covered, full time salary and spending the entire summer season in Yellowstone National Park. Pretty good way to spend your 20th birthday before you leave for your enlistment. The job he has now is with Florida State Wildlife and Game Commission and they're giving him a leave of absence so he won't lose his position there either or his benefits.

It was a phenomenal day!! AND - my Epiphany gift from my son was a gift bag filled with an assortment of my favorite whole bean coffees. Christmas he gave me two giant boxes of custom loose teas from a local tea shop. I'm in Heaven. LOL Note my ID icon - yeah - that's my facial expression for real right now.
Click to expand...
What an amazing day! So many good things coming your way!!
 
Edge612 said:
I know. But the bad part is when you doze back off and "10 seconds" later you wake up and that hour is gone lol.
Click to expand...

Been there too!!
 
Minta said:
So how is everyone today? I got a question for our bakers on here .. has anyone made a pumpkin pie using whole milk or heavy cream instead of evaporated milk? Later this month I am thinking about cooking a turkey breast and I want to make a pumpkin pie. I have always made my with evaporated milk but I want to experiment a bit.
Click to expand...
Good afternoon Minta. Sorry I'm no help, but I hope you get your ? answered! Have a great day!

 
graywolf70 said:
Sending you some housecleaning mojo! LOL

Thank you for the mojo!!! :D

My question is - was it a course in dealing with customers who are angry, or for you dealing with your own moments of customer rage? Like 'Road rage." Sometimes I am mystified by the level of restraint and calm some people are expected to demonstrate while someone is screaming at them about something ridiculous, just because the screamer is a 'customer.'

I watched a manager at Save A Lot smile patiently while some outraged woman screamed in his face because they were sold out of eggs on Christmas Eve. Because that's surprising? He just smiled and nodded and told her he was very sorry for the inconvenience and he would be happy to give her a rain check for the egg price, but another truck wouldn't be in till December 26th. She just kept yelling and yelling. He kept smiling and nodding. I thought, "Wow - I would have stabbed her with a stick of butter by now."
Click to expand...

ROFL - "stabbed them with a stick of butter"
emo30.gif


 
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