Z is for Zachary

You thought I had forgotten hadn't you? No, no... forgetful I am not, just sometimes... delayed. Punctuality is not my strong suit.

I must say, naming a child a name that starts with the letter Z comes in quite handy for projects like this. While most people struggle to think of something creative or original all I have to do is look to my first born.

My Zachary... such a sweet and sensitive little boy. He has an incredibly soft heart and loves deeper then anyone I've ever met. He loves to cuddle, superheros and angry birds. He is learning to read so quickly and colors like a pro. He was the first part of my heart to grow legs and walk around outside of my body. He is the biggest helper any mama could ask for and snores like a 300 pound man!

Ah Zac... growing so fast it makes my heart ache.

Y is for Yarn

Mmm... I love yarn! I'm planning to become a yarn making machine in the next year and become better practiced in my knitting/crochet ability. I can not wait to get started! So far I have about 5 patterns I would like to start with but I am going to try and rein myself in and complete one at a time... now to choose which one...

X is for Xenotarsosaurus

Sha-bam! Bet you weren't expecting that one!

W is for Whatever

"...Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
Phil. 4:8

V is for Vanilla

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Ah, vanilla... I love everything vanilla, except vanilla candles and perfume... strange I know, but the truth - what can I say?

I've actually been dreaming of a vanilla latte for a few days now... and a vanilla milkshake... such a shame the holidays are coming to an end... at some point I need to start dreaming of apples... and spinach... boo...

U is for Unexpected

Life is full of unexpected surprises, but then I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. Unexpected surprises, unexpected gifts, blessings, losses etc etc etc.
Lately we've been dealing with, what seems like, lots of "unexpected" things. Unexpected disappointments, unexpected blessing, unexpected losses, unexpected travel, unexpected knowledge... hoping that soon we'll be able to get more to the "expected" side of life. To start making changes that need to be made, moving forward in areas that we need to move forward with. The start of a new year is always filled with expectations, here's hoping that we don't run into too many "unexpected" obstacles in 2013!

T is for Truffles

Making Cookie Dough Truffles, was quite possibly the best and worst decision I made this holiday season. They are so dangerously good! I covered half the batch with dark chocolate, and the other with milk chocolate. I prefer the dark, my mister prefers the milk... make up a batch and you decide (the cookies dough is eggless making it perfectly safe to eat raw!!)...

Cookie Dough Truffles
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips

chocolate for coating, chopped

Cream together butter and sugar then add the vanilla. Add the flour and milk, alternating, starting and finishing with the flour. Add the chocolate chips. Shape the dough into bite size (or 2 bites size) rounds and place on a cookie sheet for a few hours, allowing to become hard.
Melt the chocolate you will be using to cover the dough either in the microwave or in a dish over a pot of simmering water. Plunk the cold dough balls into the chocolate, covering completely and lift out using a spoon. Tap the spoon 4-5 times on the edge of the dish, allowing the excess chocolate to drip off then gently plop the chocolate covered balls onto parchment paper and allow to harden, either on the counter or in the fridge.
Enjoy!

S is for Santa

To "Santa" or not to Santa, that was the question for the past 4 years in our house. I have 2 brothers and my mister has one, out of the our 3 siblings, we are the only couple doing "Santa" with our kids. I understand the debate that some people have regarding Santa, but we have decided to let our children live that magic. Besides, seeing the excitement they have for that chubby old fellow, is enough to convince me that we are a Santa family.

R is for Reading

This is what my typical (and current) stack of books looks like...
My devotional, a fiction, some sort of self help/improvement read, something inspirational, a hobby/learning read and a cook book. I always have a pile on the go and I slowly putter through each and every one of them, reading them cover to cover (even the cook book).

I am adoring all of these books right now and would recommend them to everyone!
The Daily Message is a super easy way to read the bible daily. There's a bit of a debate over this translation of the bible, but truthfully I think it's that way with every translation. I read it along side some more "traditional" translations but I find it helps me understand everything better.
The Hobbit, my mister has been trying to get me to read this book for years now! With the movie coming out he only agreed to my continued book purchasing one the condition that I finally read this book. It's such a fun read! My only complaint is all the descriptions of landscapes... I'm convinced that this is the difference between male and female writers and readers. Men like trees, and dirt, and rivers. Women like people, and feelings and discussing/building relationships. Men write, in extensive detail, about trees, and dirt, and rivers while women write more about character personalities, feelings and relationships... I'm getting sick of reading about rivers...
Seven, I love this book! Jen is hilarious and totally relatable. I have been struggling with our family's current state of excess and Jen's journal of simplifying her and her family's life is completely inspiring.
Granny Chic, Tif Fussell is my hero.
Respect the Spindle, a great breakdown of how to spin your own yarn with awesome pictures! This book has helped answer a bunch of my questions.
What Katie Ate, so good. Just... so good. Pictures are amazing, food is amazing, everything... amazing. I can't look at this book without getting hungry!

What are you reading?

Q is for Quilt

Last year after the holidays I went Christmas material purchase crazy. I had a mad gleam in my eye and took every piece I could find... I actually scared an old lady out of the isle while I was loading all the fat quarters into my cart while laying on the floor scouring the bottom of the bin... ok, I may not have scared her, lets be honest here, but between me on the floor and my cart, she was not getting anywhere close to my bin of discounted holiday fabric.
I had dreams of making a quilt big enough for our family to snuggle under, watching Roudolf the Red Nosed Raindeer with the plate of cookies left out for Santa and the magical twinkle in my boys eyes right before they fell asleep on the couch, in my arms, waiting for Santa to come. Alas, I forgot about the fabric until 2 weeks ago and haven't had the time to finish the quilt. I did make the top, which I am super excited about, but I doubt it will be completed before the new year, to tuck away for next year... which gives me another year to dream about being tucked under it, only this time I will have my girl along with my boys falling asleep in my arms. So cozy.

P is for Peppermint

I looooove peppermint anything... pop some chocolate in with it and I would consider trading a kid for it. I came across this recipe on pinterest and simply had to try it, and let me tell you! It did not disappoint!
Before I inhaled it all I tossed some into mason jars, covered the lids with fabric circles, tied it in place with twine and fell in love! Seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen!

I'm going to be gifting a jar of this heavenly creation to Zac's teacher along with the standard #1 teacher ornament this coming Friday... provided I don't cave and eat it myself...

*I modified the recipe ever so slightly by adding only 5oz of white chocolate and 5oz of semi sweet chocolate... I was hoping for a ripple effect... didn't happen... but it still tasted great! I also only tossed them in 1/2 cup of icing sugar.

O is for Ornaments

This year I had a grand plan to do 12 days of crafts with the boys over Christmas. Truthfully... I have failed, although Christmas isn't here yet so I do have a few more days to cram in a crazy amount of glue, foam and giggles and I will do my darnedest to succeed!
We made bell ornaments and pasta angels for the tree this past weekend and the boys were so excited to hang them. I love that we will have the memory of making them each year I pull them out of storage, and I love having little handmade touches on our tree! I'm thinking this may need to become an annual tradition...

N is for Nuts and Bolts

Growing up my mom only made Nuts and Bolts over the holidays and it's something that makes Christmas complete for me, even still. This recipe makes a.lot. but it always seems to go quite quickly.

Nuts and Bolts
675g box of Shreddies
425g box Cherrios
425g Crispix/Life
1 bag of pretzels
1lb peanuts/cashews
1 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp worcestershire
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large roasting pan, mix all the wet ingredients and garlic salt together and then pour over the cereal mixture. Bake at 200 for 1 1/2 -2 hours mixing regularly and sprinkling with garlic salt when mixing. Store in an air tight container once it's cooled.

M is for Meal Planning and Molly Makes

This picture completely sums up a good moment for me. Meal planning for the month and catching up on some old issues of Molly Makes. All this picture is lacking is the perfect cup of coffee.
(my bestie made up that lovely spreadsheet for the meal planning... on the bottom it even has a spot to write out groceries! so lovely...)

L is for Lately

Life has been pretty good lately. We are all in an excellent routine, starting to get a bit of a natural flow back and feeling good.

Zac had his first ever school Christmas concert! It was pretty exciting, and he was just so handsome looking I could have eaten him right up!

Miss C has become a bit of a diva the last few days, deciding she no longer needs naps and that we can all just suffer because of this. We're hoping to convince her again that naps are awesome and she should totally embrace them. Thank heaven she is still sleeping at night!

The boys were gifted a superhero memory game for Zac's birthday and it has reigned as entertainment in our world for the last week or so. My poor mister tries so hard, and he is improving remarkably, only to loose to his 3 and 5 year old pretty much every time! 

I have been second guessing some recent life decisions and trying to plan others, which has resulted in many more coffees and bizarre sessions staring out the window. I'm sure the neighbors think I've lost my head, but I'm ok with that.

All our snow has melted and all our Christmas shopping is done. We sent out our last package (of gifts) to family earlier this week and have started to receive some in!

Yay! Happy Thursday!

K is for Knitting

I feel like knitting should be an expected topic for the letter "K". Sadly the only pictures I have of my current knitting projects are still only in skein form. The list in my head however, is far to long to actually type out. The trouble with knitting is this... it's not quick. I like quick. I make easy quilt tops, in an evening. I crochet a hat, in an evening. I make pages and pages for photo journals, in an evening... are you sensing a theme? I can not accomplish enough of a knitting project in an evening to keep me stoked or excited about it. I do so love it though, the feel of the yarn, the different textures and patterns you can create with two simple stitches just done in different orders, the clicking of the needles while you work... all such an awesomely cozy experience... if only it were possible to complete an entire project, in an evening...

J is for Journalling

Ah, Journalling... I love the idea of journalling, I even try it from time to time, but I am no good when it comes to keeping up with my journalling... unless you count blogging as journalling... then I do ok...

I is for Inspiration

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Where do you find your inspiration?
I think inspiration is one of those things that can be found anywhere. I often find mine through people, colours, photos, books, pinterest (hurray for pinterest!) and I know some people find it though nature.
Are you constantly inspired or do you go through fits and phases? Personally I'm a fits and phases kinda gal. I'm often either suffering from inspiration overload or going through a dry spell.
Right now I'm about to burst with all kinds of "inspired" ideas. I have so many plans and desires to create, I just seem to have no time to complete them all. Alas I will, and until that time I have started a new endeavor of printing or writing down anything and everything that inspires me and plopping it into an inspirational journal. Inspiration boards don't work for me, too much of a good thing smacking me in the face whenever I walk into the room, so I have decided a journal is my best option... then I can control the inspirational face smacking going on...

H is for Hodge-podge

When I decided to alphabetize the themes for this months posts I went through each letter and thought of possible themes/words to write about. Some letters were easier then others and some I just couldn't narrow it down to one theme.
H is one that I couldn't decide... so many good words/ideas/themes start with the letter H...

Homemade: I could have talked about the dolls and stuffies I made for my little Charlotte to snuggle up with and how awesome I think they turned out!
Haberdashery... quite possibly the best word... ever!
Happiness: I would gush about my family and how happy each one of them make me.
Help: One of the best things about living in Canada is the Parental leave! My mister has been able to take a lot of time off work to help me with the kids and it has been awesome!
My Hunky Hubby: He's growing a beard... I like it, I like to look at it and rub it, I do not, however, like how it feels on my face, which leads us too...
Hanky Panky: There's not much of that going on here... see above.
Home: I would remind you how far we moved from family for my mister's work and how this time of year always has us reflecting on the meaning of "home". I would yammer a bit about how our kids home is here, in Newfoundland, and how we need to start thinking that way as well.
Holiday Baking: I would tell you about my plans to keep it low key this year, for the sake of my waist line, but that my boys had way too much fun making snowman sugar cookies; and that I think I'm going to make those delicious things an annual tradition in our house!
Hope: I could talk about hopes and dreams and goals for the New Year.
Hands: I'm kind of mesmerized by my kiddos hands... they are so small and chubby... I could write about them... but you would see just how odd I can be if I did that...

Seriously... so many H things!
What H topic would you choose?

G is for Granola

Granola is one of my most favourite foods... ever.
I eat freaky amounts of it, which makes it hard to keep in the house. In the summer I went granola making crazy for about 2 weeks, on the hunt for the homemade granola recipe. While most of my findings were decent none were blow your mind wonderful. Then I found this recipe. It's perfect. It's crunchy, it's sweet, it's nutty... I don't think I'll ever be able to buy store bought granola again.

Making granola is not hard by any means but I think it's super important to use regular oats (or large flake) instead of quick cooking. The quick cooking goes mushy when you add the liquid to it and never seems to crunch up. If you don't jar your granola after it's cooled and it gets sticky or soft, just pop it back into the oven for about 5 minutes, it will re-crisp and be wonderful all over again!

Mmmm.... so good....