Happy 42nd Birthday!

Today is Peter's 42nd Birthday!! Happy Birthday, sweet pea! He had to work today, but came home to gifts and cards, and eventually, cake! Here are my boys with the cake. I am posting the recipes down below for those of you who are interested. It is a family recipe-homemade scratch cake and frosting. Quick and very easy, too. I really hope some of you try it, and let me know of your results!

This is the card I made for Peter. He is a great lover of westerns, especially Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. I like western and cowboy "stuff", and thought it would be funny to use the vintage image of a cowgirl, on a card for him for his birthday!! I used some new BG patterned paper (Granola) from my Secret Sister, some SU! stamps-Wanted, and some navy and brown ink. The scalloped edge punch, the round tab punch, and some computer generated words! He thought it was pretty cute.

This is the card from my Mom. She made it out of an envelope, and added a cardstock base. Great for $$ or gift cards!!Cody and I got Peter this HUGE Realtree duffel. He has a hunting camp, and is often transporting clothes and gear back and forth. The bag he has now is quite small, so this was a great find! It was so big that Cody got in it when I gave it to Peter! Too funny!
Here is a close up of the cake I made. It is an old family recipe-made from scratch. The cake is called Crazy Cake, probably for it's weird instructions, but it is easy, and it doesn't hurt anything to do it like it says to! Frosting is a boiled frosting, but don't let it scare you, it is easy, easy!


Crazy Cake

3 cups.flour
2cups sugar
1tsp. salt
2tsp.soda
6 rounding tlbsp. cocoa
Sift all together into baking pan (ungreased). Level off with fork. Make three wells in mixture with fork.
In one well put: 2tsp. vanilla
2nd well put :2 tlbsp. vinegar
3rd well put :2/3 cup oil
Pour over all 2 cups cold water.
Mix well with fork.
Bake 35-45 min. or till done when tested with toothpick. 350 degree oven.

Boiled Fudge Frosting:
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margerine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix in a saucepan the sugar and cocoa. Add milk until mixed, then add salt and butter. Begin on medium heat until butter is incorporated. Keep stirring. When the mixture comes to a ROLLING boil, continue stirring constantly, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir in a cold water bath until mixture thickens and you can hardly stir it anymore. Pour over cake and refrigerate til frosting sets. Enjoy!

This cake/frosting combo has been a favorite in our family for years and years. My mom has been making this since she was a kid! Please try it and let me know what you think!!
Thanks for stopping by, and Happy New Year!
**Keri**

Another couple of gifts!

Are you getting sick of show and tell, yet? Well, first off, this was my FAVORITE present this Christmas. My son went and got this all on his own, and that makes it the best. I collect Boyd's Bears, and this one has it all, It says Super Mom and it has glitter in the fur. What more could a gal ask for? Oh, and she has a cape!! Code thought she needed to sit up in a little chair on my worktable. Isnt' she cute??

Now, I also got a little surprise in the mail today! Annie--from Annie's Ponderings, a dear friend of mine, makes these adorable baby hats. I commented a while back ago, how they were so cute that I would wear one of them. I am a *big* fan of hats. SO, guess what I got today in the mail? Annie's first adult sized hat! If you want to visit Annie's blog, click here!! Annie is a fabulous sketch artist, rubber stamper, knitter-she does it all! Now I have to admit, I am not much for photos of ME, but I put those feeling aside and am doing this for Annie. Cody decided to get in on the pic, too. The hat is so cute!! Thank you SO MUCH, Annie!!

Last but certainly not least, this is probably the most interesting presentation of a gift that I have gotten in a while. My brother and his wife and family live on a farm, and raise most of their own meat and vegetables. He is also a Hospice CEO of two counties, and they are both ordained ministers. They do it all! And they have 5 kidlets! They have beef, chickens, and pigs. Every Christmas, we do a family gift, and our family always gets a big box of meat, frozen,or canned, or something that we can always use and is greatly appreciated! This year, we got canned pork. If you have ever had canned meat, you know how good it is. As a farm kid raised on canned beef, I can attest to how tasty and tender meat is that has been canned. So, while our gift this year was canned pork, the piggies were still in the barn. So this is what we got, to let us know what was coming. I took a pic from each side of the jar. Are they too funny, or what?!

I told them as soon as they handed me the jar that it was DEFINITE blog material!

So tell me, have you had canned meat? Did you LOVE IT??

Have a great night!!

**Keri**

My New Bag!!

About a year ago, I was introduced to a great new home-based party company. It is called Tresa Leigh Designs, and they make custom handbags. You can call it a "purse party." This is not one of those cheap knock off parties, though. My friend Peggy is a demo for this company, and I got a cute little bag from them a year ago. Well, she surprised me with another one, for Christmas! She knew I had some patterns and a certain bag all picked out, so she gifted it to me! Needless to say, I was so excited! If you would like to visit the website for TONS of information about Tresa Leigh Designs, {{CLICK HERE}}. Part of every sale goes to Trichotillomania awareness and research. They offer a wide variety of fabric swatches and trim swatches to choose from, as well as MANY different designs of bags to fit your needs. The one below, is the one I just received. It is the Holly, with a zip closure and pockets outside, and inside. You choose your main fabric, your accent fabric, and your trim. They make the bag, and your demo delivers it to you! It is so much fun choosing your swatches and seeing what combinations you come up with, look like when your bag arrives! There are many different patterns, some vibrant, (like me!!) and some more subdued. The colors are a bit off in the bottom photo, but I LOVE the greens and blues combination. I even showed you the inside, where you choose a lining fabric!





This second one is my first bag, bought a year ago. Another bright and wild one! This one is the Petunia. I again, took a pic to show you the inside lining fabric I chose.


Everywhere I go, people comment, compliment, and ask me about my bags! They are really nicely made, and very sturdy. Check out their website, and if you ever decide to get one, tell them Peggy (and Keri) sent you!!

Have you ever??

I got this from Mandy's Blog {{Click Here}} and thought it was kind of cool to scroll and see how my answers differed from hers! The items in bold are the things I have done. I need to get to work!!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught your self a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelos David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

So, lets see how you will do with the same list!

**Keri**

Secret Sister, 2008!

Good morning? I trust everyone survived yesterday? I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. Ours was wonderful! Busy, hectic, but wonderful!
One of my favorite parts of the day was finally getting to open my Secret Sister gift! I belong to a private, online group of about 20 women-all stampers, scrapbookers, and paper artists extraordinaire! We have been together for I believe 6 or 7 years now. Every Christmas, we draw names for Secret Sister! Well, my box arrived almost 2 weeks ago, with strict instructions to wait until Christmas! We all agreed to take photos to share with each other, of how pretty the packages were presented, as well as what the contents were. Here is my box-as it looked when I got it-well, not opened, but you know what I mean! Here are all the many beautifully wrapped gifts that were in the box::

Here is my favorite gift, a piece of altered art of my initial! I *LOVE* it! I am going to hang it in my craft room!!

Here is a pic of the rest of my goodies-patterned paper, chipboard, stickers, stickles, Nestabilities, and a QK Squeeze with a complete alphabet and some other dies!! I was completely spoiled!!
My Secret Sister was Lisa Renea, and you can go visit her blog if you click HERE. Thanks, LR for helping make my Christmas a most memorable one! Your generosity and kindness do not go un- noticed!
**Look for more goodies I rec'd yesterday, in more posts over the next few days!!**

Jesus is Better than Santa
Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
Jesus is still the reason for the season.


May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008
And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year

Merry Christmas

From our Family to Yours,

Pete, Keri, and Cody

Christmas Cookies!!

My dear friend Judy sent me a care package a couple of days ago. She makes THE best spritz cookies. So she sent me her recipes, and a cookie spritzer! I got down to business this afternoon-and made some awesome cookies! I am quite tickled with my production! I managed to get covered in green food coloring, but that is nothing new. Here are some of the other awesome goddies that she sent me-these great ornaments,
some monogrammed notecards, a box with some Yankee tarts, and a cute little basket full of kisses! Most of the goodies were made with the Big Shot that SU! is now offering, along with exclusive dies!
Thank you JudyB, I hope you are proud of my cookies, couldn't have done it without you!
Merry Christmas Eve!
**Keri**

Christmas Decorations, Part II

This is our family tree, in our livingroom. It is another artificial one, 7.5 feet tall. We put multi colored lights on this one, and it is laden with everything and anything you can imagine, from Hallmark ornaments to cartoon characters, to German Stars and ornaments Peter and I had as children. I keep saying that it is not possible to add another ornament to it, and I always end up putting more new ones on, every year! The first photo is of the tree, in the dark, with the lights plugged in. Not the greatest pic, but you get the idea!

The topper for this tree is a Boyd's Bear, dressed as a Santa, and he hugs the tree top. I think if I add one more ornament, the tree may tip over! Due to the maniac dogs, it is wired to the wall. I put it on the ledge, between the livingroom, and the porch, so I can decorate *almost* all the way around. We can see it from both rooms that way, too~! The lattice work barricade you see in the background is puppy confinement! She has managed to break two windows in her short life, and sometimes we need a
break!! I hope you like all my trees, I hope to be back with a few more photos tomorrow!
**Keri**

Holiday Decorating, Part I

Hello, everyone, and welcome to my virtual tour of Holiday decorations!! I went around the house yesterday, and took a bunch of pictures in the daylight, then went back and took some in the dark, with the Christmas lights turned on. This is only a portion of the decorations, I plan on returning these next few days with more-it is WAYYY too much for one post! This first tree is a 4 foot one, in our kitchen. It has c7 bulbs on it, and it holds all the ornaments from my Grandmother, and Peter's grandmother. The very fragile, antique glass ones?? Yeah, those.










Here it is, in the dark...



Here is a look into my Christmas village. Doesn't it feel like you are right there?? I love my village-I got all the pieces unfinished, plain white, and painted them. I added a couple each year, and now have a large collection!




I keep my village on our antique kitchen cupboard. I *love* my cupboard! It hold dry goods in the top, and various stuff like shoes, plastic bags, and placemats and tablecloths in the bottom.















This is a closeup of the adirondack woodsy kind of tree we have in the trophy room. I got the cute little mittens off ebay, and I added a lot of rusty ornaments, bells, grapevine wreaths, pip berries, and bows. It has many, many pinecones and white lights on it, too!


















Here is what it looks like in the daytime:























And here is what it looks like in the dark! Brodie was sniffing the presents, cause I wrapped her doggie treats yesterday!!

I hope you like my tour so far! There is more to come, so make sure to visit again soon!
Have a great week!
**Keri**

Final Buzz and Bloom Project::

Click here if you would like to check out my final Buzz and Bloom project. This is my last project as a design team member for Buzz and Bloom. It has been a great experience! The item I made is an album of flower photos from 2008. Check it out!
Have a happy Friday!
**Keri**

Silent Night, Holy Night...

I thought I would share this very peaceful photo I took, of Harley and our big tree last week. The tree is 9 feet tall, and Harley weighs 130 pounds, just so you have some perspective! When the tree gets put up, she immediately takes residence next to it. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but she lays next to it, almost under it, sits by it, looks at it, you name it. I hope to get a few more pictures of our decorations posted in the week to come. We are expecting three more storms in the next week (we just got 6 more inches last night) so I should have plenty of time! Things are going well here, I am not READY for the holidays, but I am keeping up, so that is a blessing! Have a great evening!
**Keri**

Christmas Card, 2008~

Hello everyone! I know, I have been absent for a week. Part of my problem is this-everything I have been creating is for a gift, and I don't want to post it and spoil the surprise!! I have been busy with family issues, the usual Holiday run around, a Murphy's Law kind of week! We got a storm in which it knocked out my phone service, and I was off on Monday, so I buckled down and started my Christmas cards! All 65 of them were done by Tuesday evening. I got THE best photos printed at http://www.blogger.com/www.scrapbookpictures.comI cannot say enough good about them. Wonderful product, great service, fast shipping. The picture quality is awesome! The prices are great, and they offer MANY other sizes of photos that others do not. You can even layer borders on your photos, which is what I did for my card photo! The paper is Wild Wasabi and Riding Hood Red, from Stampin' Up!. The stamp set is a retired holiday set from SU!, Merry Merry. I made this card to fit in a business sized envelope. I found solid red envelopes at Target, that matched the Riding Hood Red color perfectly! Inks used were Vintage Photo Distress ink, Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, and True Thyme. The patterened paper is Basic Grey, from last years Christmas collection, Figgy Pudding. The paper is called Trinket, and is two sided. The opposing side is brown. I am in LOVE with how it turned out. Really retro-vintage-ie!!



I also finished decorating. I was fortunate enough to inherit my grandparent's Christmas stocking from my Grandmother. This house is the last place that my Grandparents lived together, before Papa passed away, nearly 30 years ago. I always hang these stockings in rememberance of them, and their love for each other. They are hand knit!!

I hope everyone has a blessed week!
**Keri**

Christmas Wreaths

Good Sunday morning! Well, after visiting two of my regular blogs this week, I decided it was high time I took that artificial wreath off my door, go out back and cut some branches, and make myself a real wreath! I always used to either buy a real one, or make one, but have gotten lazy these past few years. Go HERE and HERE for the blogs responsible! My friend Peg came over yesterday, with her wreath frame, and we took TWO HOURS to make two wreaths. I am very out of practice! They are HUGE, as we used 18" frames. Thanks to both Tanya and Judy for great tutorials and tips on how to do this. It really helped refresh my memory! It was a nice time, we got to visit, and worked while we did. The first wreath is mine, with it's aqua/white/blue bow and sprayed white pinecones. The second one is Peggy's with a sparkley red bow, pine cones, and berries! They turned out awesome! What a deal, just 3 bucks for the frame, and a bit of labor and here we have a great huge wreath that would have cost a small fortune! We also got together to make some more of those snowman head ornaments out of the model magic. We had a great afternoon of crafting and visiting. Thanks for coming, Peggy! Well, I am hoping to get the last of the decorating done today, then I will be in clean up mode. I have been very productive these last few days, and don't want to lose my ambition! Have a great day!
**Keri**

Happy Friday!!

Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that my latest and second to last project is up over on the Buzz and Bloom Blog! CLICK HERE to check it out!!

Things have been crazy busy around here, as I am sure is the same with all of you. I taught a class yesterday for a group of about 20! My big brother is the CEO of Hospice for two counties, and he asked me to come and do a couple hours of crafting with his ladies, after their Christmas Potluck dinner! He said to plan on 35, but not all of them would participate. 20 was a big enough number! I prepared for 35. Each person made a marble magnet, 7 gift tags, and a post it note holder. They were all eager to learn, and very excited to see their end product. It was a really good time, after I got over my nervousness! I am not a person that likes being the center of attention, and I shy away from large crowds, so thank goodness brother was there to support! I wanted him to assist me, but he opted for fooseball instead. He does a wonderful job for Hospice, and it is obvious to see how much all his employees think of him. Probably headed back to Plattsburgh tonight for a big of shopping. Tomorrow is wreath making day. Look forward to a picture! Cody was sick yesterday and spent the day with Nana while Mama was gone, but he is back to school today. Still plugged up, but up and at em. My next big project is Christmas cards! I have all the supplies except the photos which should be here any day, then I can tackle that. Christmas is coming much to fast! Have a great day!
**Keri**

Christmas Time Is Here!!

Good morning everyone! I pray that everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving break?! Hard to believe that it is over already. I could cry. I am sitting here lacking so much sleep that my stomach feels sick, and the whole left side of my rib cage has pulled muscles in it, from lifting and tugging on heavy stuff. Hopefully today it will subside and I can sleep tonight!
We had a great few days off. I kept busy, that is for sure. I am probably a bit behind on dishes and laundry, but that is what Monday is for, right?
I have a ton of stuff saved up to share with you, so it should be a busy week! I revamped the blog for the holidays-quite a change from fall, huh? I like the soft colors!
The first thing I have to share with you today, are these adorable snowman ornaments I made last week. I got the idea from Jennifers Blog, SIMPLE FLOURISHES {{Click Here}} I tweaked them to make them more "me" by adding more ribbon on the loop, glittering them, and adding a mouth to some of them. I also "stained" the noses with a rust color, on top of the orange color, and wiped it clean, to leave the noses with darker creases. I used 2 inch foam balls, and I got 5 ornaments out of one package of the model magic. I love Jennifer's blog, and her great idea! My friend Peggy and I plan to make more on Saturday!!

This is a rusty jingle bell wreath. I got the grand idea after seeing something similar in an online catalog, that I should get the bells and make one for my friend for her birthday. I have a great resource for all things rusty-StreetCarJunction on ebay. Let me just say these aren't the bells that LOOK rusty, and are just painted brown. These actually ARE rusty. I love the wreath, don't get me wrong, but making them can get a bit messy!! I actually made 2 of these, it was a "one for you, one for me" scenario. The evergreen branch is actually artificial-but it looks so real! Each ~12 inch wreath contains 72 jingle bells in 3 sizes, then 1 more large one hanging in the center. It was a trial and error process, but I finally figured out which method looked the best as a finished product. I strung the bells one by one, in a pattern of large, med, small, and they all nested nicely and I fastened the wire at the ends to make a circle. Add the hanging bell, the bow, and the branches with some fine wire, and there you have it! Really simple, really cute! There are all kinds of bells out there, too. I just like anything that looks old.
So, drop me a line, tell me what you think of my new look!

I plan on blog hopping today to get caught up.

Have a great Monday!

**Keri**