Another Chance Ranch

Lazy Days & Giveaways - Lots of Editing!

Cookbooks, they're everywhere!

I Love It!

Well, I just happened to get an extra cookbook.  Hmm, what should I do with it?  I'm thinking I will give it away.

Here's the deal, just tell me what your New Year's traditions are.

Do you make resolutions?

Eat black-eyed peas?

Cabbage?

Party?

Sleep?

In years past I have slept.  I kind of like that plan for this year as well. Plans have changed, we were invited to a party at a friends house.  We are looking forward to it.  Oh no!  What do I wear?  I always fret over stuff like that.  It's okay, really.  I know I am weird.  :)

Please leave your email address for me when leaving your comments, it will make it easier to contact you when you win. :)  It will be a random drawing, enter as many times as you like but the entries have to be different.  I am going to have McD check them. :)  Do you believe that one?  Ha

The deadline to enter is 11:59 pm, (CST) December 31, 2009.

The winner will be announced New Year's Day. Good Luck!! Now, I am going to be lazy and not post tomorrow. I am just going to enjoy reading your comments.  Does editing a post count for posting?  I wasn't going to post anything today, but I couldn't help myself. 

So if you are reading this again to read the edits, Bless You, but tell me something.  Have you taken your Christmas decorations down?  Or do you wait until the new year? 

Now for a little more info on the cookbook, just in case you haven't Google'd it or Bing'd it.  Have you ever tried Bing.com?  I like it!  Sorry, I digress.  

Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book - John Deere - Collector's Limited Edition

This cookbook is amazing!  There are pages upon pages of recipes.  It has, are you ready for this, 656 pages of goodness.  Now keep in mind that these pages are not all recipes.  There is the John Deere story, how to live Green in your everyday life, Cooking Basics, Emergency Substitutions, Equivalents Charts, etc.  Oh and there is a Glossary that ROCKS, it has photos.  I just glanced at it again, and there is even a section for 20 Minute Meals.  20 Minutes!  That is a whole 10 minutes less than our friend Rachael Ray. 

I love Rachael Ray, just sayin'.  She is one of those people I would love to meet someday.  Do you have anyone famous that you would like to meet?  Oh that is a completely different post I know, but really...tell me in the comments.  It will count as more entries.  We are pretty slim on entries.  Oh well, better chances for you guys!

Anyways, you will love this cookbook.  Or it would make an amazing gift.  I can't wait to start cooking from it.  This weekend I plan on starting, but it will take forever to decide which recipe to try first.  :)

Be sure to comment, and come back tomorrow.  Not only will I be announcing the winner, but I will be making an announcement.  Well, it's another giveaway, but I can't tell you what it is until tomorrow.

See you next year!

New Reads

I have been quite the lazy one lately.  I took a few days to just do nothing but focus on my family, and my husband.  I did do the necessary laundry and cleaning of the house, but I didn't really do much on my computer.  That meant no blogging.  Sorry. 

Then I took off work yesterday.  I had a good reason to begin with, but that reason fell through.  You see, the kids were coming in from Colorado for Christmas and I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.  Well, that didn't happen.  But instead of going to work, I went ahead and took a much needed "ME" day.  Do you ever just want to take a "me " day?  I did.  And to make the day an even better day, McD took off work as well.  We spent all day together.  It was pure bliss!

For McD's birthday he received the box set of the Band of Brothers DVDs, so we watched those all.day.long.   I didn't really want to watch it because I am not big on war movies, etc.  But, I got sucked in. 

We had to take breaks to do a few things like laundry, cook, feed, etc.  During these breaks I did a little blog reading.  I am looking for some new blogs to read.  Why?  Well, apparently some of the blogs I used to read are no longer there.  Either they stopped blogging, or I missed the boat when they moved their blogs.  So, I have been looking at new reads.

I found this chick - Kelly's Korner - and she has more than one blog.  She has several.  Go to her profile to check them all out.

Then I found this Browne Eyed Belle.  Look at their new home.  How gorgeous is that?  Of course I didn't link right to the house photos, you have to find them.  The front doors are so inviting; it is a beautiful home.

And last but certainly not least, this one...We Are THAT Family.  You know, that family that you look at in the store and kind of shake your head.  The only reason I say that is because of the post I read that her husband wrote.  Of course I didn't link to this post either.  You have to spend a little time looking at this blog. :) 

Do you have a blog?  Leave me a link in the comments.  I am revising my blog list and am thinking of adding it to my page. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

From us and ours!

Wrapping it up!

Wrapping everything up! Sometimes I get wrap happy! If someone gets several items I might throw them all into one box and wrap it. It would save time, right? But I usually wrap each individual gift. I am not sure why, I guess I just enjoy seeing them unwrap several packages.

I wonder whose gift this is...hmmm. :)

Oh! Don't you just love how the wrapping paper has the cutting guides now! I could kiss whoever came up with that idea! Love it!!

Back to wrapping, what else am I supposed to do during The Blizzard of 2009?

Food & Gifts at Work

We have a table of food: my cheese dip, BBQ, spinach dip, cute pretzels with chocolate, puppy chow, Mexican layer dip, and what kind of party would it be without the Kickin' Pretzels? So, my pretzels are there too.

We just had brunch because it all looked so good. I've never had cheese dip at 10 in the morning, but hey, it was delish!

Then one of the women here at the office delivered gifts to everyone. It is a little water fountain. I put mine on my desk, filled it with water, and have been waiting for it to work for 10 minutes now. I am thinking it isn't going to work.

Oh wow, it started working as I typed this. Too funny!!!

Christmas Lights

We had planned to look at lights last weekend, but we weren't able to do it. So last night was the night.

There wasn't much traffic, which was nice because we usually go on Christmas Eve and it is crazy. There were some really pretty houses, some not so pretty and one kind of spooky looking one. Seriously, it could have been decorated for Halloween. Maybe they are doing more of the pagan stuff.

I thought McD would drive around for about 20 minutes and be ready to leave, but he surprised me. We drove around for almost an hour, and I loved every minute of it.

We have a house here that we have named "The Griswolds House." they have everything lit up. I think they may wear lights themselves. Well, the Griswold house was dark. Maybe they had a bulb out. Oh don't you hate it when that happens. The one bulb goes out so the whole strand won't work. Ugh! Well, it was either that or they weren't home.

But their neighbor was. Check out their lights.

Posts of the Past - December

Last year around this time we had some really cool things happen over night.  Click here to see the photos.  This was something I'd never seen before, or could remember seeing.  So, with the bad light, and freezing conditions I got out there with my camera and took photos anyway.  Check it out.

The year before that, 2007, I threw McD a surprise 50th birthday party and was a bit panicked.  We had just moved into our new house, decorations were not up - and I am not talking about Christmas decorations, I am talking about art on the walls, etc.  It looks a lot different now, but then everything was bare.  It was kind of sad when one of our friends, Harold T. Holden, said that we had a very nice house, but it would look better with some art on the walls.  The very next week I hung 4 of his prints.  You see, he is an artist.  A very good artist.

2006 is the year I started blogging.  I am going to have to start going back and looking at the different things I blogged about, because I completely forgot I told everyone this story.  I guess this is a story that other kids could learn from, but it just hits a sore spot with my sister and I.  We got over it, but it left scars.  Ha!

After looking back over some of my posts of the past, posts of the past, hee hee I crack myself up. Sorry, it isn't even really funny, it is just early.  Anyway, I have enjoyed looking at some of the past posts and might even find some more to share or elaborate on.

Have a great week everyone!  Christmas is just right around the corner!

Updated to correct the first links.  Sorry about that.

Tag, I'm It! Christmas Edition

I've been tagged!  It has been a really long time since I have been tagged, so I thought I should participate.  It looked kind of fun.  This kind of thing always seems to suck me in. :)

Qtswede tagged me.  Check her out.

This was originally started by Heather at the Top Ten Christmas Blog. I don't know if I know of enough blogs to complete the tag, but I will sure as sugar try.

http://toptenchristmasblog.com

RULES::


*Just simply copy & past the questions into your blog and then answer them.


*Then, tag 5 or more of your favorite blogs, and leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged.


*When you post your blog, please spread some Christmas Cheer and leave a link back to the Top Ten Christmas Blog, and the blog that you were tagged by.



1.Have you started your Christmas Shopping?

Yes, I think I am finished, but you know how that is.  I will have at least one last minute gift I need to get.


2.Tell me about one of your special traditions.

Um... I can't think of anything super special. We go to my parent's house to exchange gifts, but this year we drew names.  We don't really have any real traditions, except for eating a lot, and the same thing every year. :)


3.Are you a black friday shopper?


Um no. I avoid any and all shopping on Black Friday, unless it is online.  I usually try to have all of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving, but it didn't happen that way this year.


4.When do you put up your tree?

Usually I put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving, Black Friday to be more specific.  Oh wait, that is kind of a tradition.  Well, until this year.  I didn't really put up a tree.  I drug one out of the closet, but it isn't your typical tree.  I looked for the Charlie Brown Christmas tree that used to be at Walgreen's. 


5.Do you travel at Christmas or stay home?

We do both.  We get up on Christmas morning and exchange our gifts, then we hit the road and go to my parents. 


6.What is your funniest Christmas memory?
Funny? I can't think of anything funny, but I bet my sister will read this and several funny memories come to mind.  Oh wait, I thought of something.  I got almost finished with this whole thing and remembered  what happened two years ago.  It was about a week before Christmas and we received the credit card bill in the mail.  There was a rather large charge on it, and I was really questioning it.  It was at a store that you rent movies (Hastings), buy cd's, etc.  I could not figure out for the life of me what could have cost that much money.  So, I called the credit card company to dispute the charges.  The nice gentleman at the credit card company was very nice about it all, it was taken care of and the necessary paperwork would be mailed to me.  Then I finally got a hold of McD and told him what had happened, and what I had done.  There was an unusual silence on the other end of the phone.  You see, he was out of town while all of this was happening.  After the long silence, McD told me that he had purchased my Christmas gift at Hastings, and that was how much it was.  I don't remember how much it was, but let me tell you...those Seinfeld DVDs are expensive!!!  Oops!


7.What is your favorite Christmas movie of all time?

I don't have just one favorite Christmas movie, I have several.  We always watch Christmas Vacation (another tradition), and The Santa Clause.  We love watching the grandkids' faces as they watch Santa and the reindeer.

8.Do you do your own Christmas baking, and what's your favorite treat?

We don't really bake a lot for Christmas.  I have baked in the past, but anymore we don't make just a ton of baked goods for the holidays.  But my mom makes the best popcorn balls ever, and she makes them especially for me every year.  (Well, I like to think they are especially for me.) :)

9.Fake or real tree?
Fake.  We bought a fake tree 16 years ago because we had carpet, and the real needles were really hard to clean up.  So I broke down and bought a pre-lit Christmas tree.  I think it is about time for a new tree.  My friend Stef got a new tree this year and I think I need one.  :)


10.What day (as a mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
Well, I try to plan everything so far in advance that I don't have a panic set in.  Thank goodness.  Panic will set in when I forget a gift for someone.


11.Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
Oh yeah, remember me mentioning last minute gifts?  There ya go.


12.What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?
Seeing the happiness on all of my family's faces, especially the kids. 


13.What Christmas Craft do you like best?
I guess I don't have a Christmas Craft.  I need to work on that for next year.  :)  Hmmm.


14.Christmas Music: Yes or No? If yes, what is your favorite Christmas song?

Yes!  Yes I love Christmas music!  Harry Connick Jr is one of my favorites.  ELVIS sings my all time favorite Christmas music.  I don't have a favorite song though.  I like them all, almost.

15.When do you plan to finish all of your shopping?

I hope I am finished.  Fingers crossed.

Okay, here is where I am supposed to tag 5 people, but I would rather not.  :)  I am a rebel like that.  If you would like to do this please leave me a comment and I will edit this and add your name/link to this post. 

My Sister Rocks!

Okay, I am not a "real" photographer.  I've never claimed to be.  But, with that said, I think these turned out okay.  :)

The weekend after Thanksgiving my sister and her family came to stay with us so I could take their family photos for Christmas cards.  I was honored to be asked because I know how my nephew, and brother-in-law just love having their photos taken. 

Here are a few of the shots.

 

This is one of my favorites.  I could pick it apart, but my sister looks beautiful (as always) here. 

Let me formally introduce you to my sister and her family.  From left to right: Garrett, Sweet Momma, Trooper, & Lawrence

 

Lawrence loves the horses.  He even rode Hickory while they were here.  McD just failed to tell anyone he was taking him out to ride the horse, so we only have one photo of him on a horse.  As soon as he saw his Aunt Julie driving the gator he wanted to ride the "tractor" with Aunt Julie.  :) 

 

Men love machinery!  Even little men.  :)

 

This just happens to be one of the smiles that melt my heart.  (And he knows it!) 

 

And this is our little cowboy.  He wants to be a cowboy, and we can make that happen.  (I love the peanut butter & jelly all over his face here.)

So, now you have been introduced to my sister and her family.  Now you have faces to go with the names.  More sister stories to come.  :)

We love you guys! See you soon!

Linda's Cranberry Cookies by Vicki

Well hello there!

Julie has allowed me to park here for today and get my food blog fix taken care of.  Once upon a time I had a food blog, however to have a food blog required me to 1. Cook every night (Which I do) and 2. Take pictures of what I cooked.  Sometimes I just don’t have time for that picture taking part.  So the food blog dreams went up in smoke. 

Then about a month ago I sent Mrs. Julie a Banana Bread recipe and said, “Hey this looks good! Cook it for your blog!”  She sent back, “Hey cook it for me and you can be a guest blogger”.   Neither Julie nor I have much experience in Guest Blogging but we are going to knock it out and give it a try! 

Then I lost the Banana Bread recipe.  

Story of my life.

However, my friend Heather gave me a cookie that I could not get out of my head.  All buttery, soft with white chocolate and cranberries.  Little bite of heaven I tell ya!  I told Heather I needed the recipe.  She smiled and said “Okay I’ll get it for you.”  Heather is one of the nicest people I know.  I am positive she would get me the recipe but I am not known for patience so before the day was up I called Amy Jo and explained to her how I needed this recipe.  She knows Heather better than I and must have heard the desperation in my voice because she then contacted Heather for me to then get the recipe.  You have to network people!  Network!

So I may have lost the Banana Bread, but I found something better.

This cookie recipe.

Turns out Heather got it from allrecipes.com   So I’m crediting Heather and allrecipes.com cause stealin’ recipes as your own just ain’t right! 

Gather up these Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 (6 ounce) package white chocolate chips

1/2 (6 ounce) package dried cranberries

Let's get it started!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  You’ll need at least two baking pans.  I used three because I was hoping to get them all done in one whack.  I tend to forget I’m baking cookies and the second batch ALWAYS ends up burnt.  I have two Pampered Chef baking stones and one good ol fashion cookie sheet.  The cookies on the cookie sheet were done quicker than the ones baked on the baking stone so beware on your times.

Combine baking soda and flour in a bowl and set aside.  (Once I didn’t do this “combine” action very well and let’s just say baking soda does not taste so well.) 

Combine butter, both sugars and instant pudding until smooth.  Add eggs one at a time making sure one is combined well before adding the second egg and with the second egg throw the vanilla in there too.

Now add the flour to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.  Don’t be over mixin’!  Gently add the white chocolate chips and cranberries and drop cookies about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

You want these cookies out at just the right time, a little crisp on the edges but still soft in the center.  Oh! And you MUST let them cool before removing from the pan or they fall apart.  For the baking stone it was more like 15 minutes and for the cookie sheet it was right at 10 minutes.

The bright cranberries make these cookies perfect for Christmas time gifts or to have a plate of them on the table when company comes over.  I have a box of butterscotch pudding in the cupboard and some left over Heath Bits in the freezer.  I’m going to combine them next week and might throw in some pecans for the fun of it.  Try this recipe out, mix it up with your favorites and report back here.  I’d love to hear what you come up with!

Thanks Julie for loaning me your blog and letting me get my food blog fix fulfilled. I hope I did right by you and maybe you’ll let me come over and play again another day?

Over and out. Check you on the flip side!

-Vicki

Well, Mrs. Vicki these sound just delightful.  :)  Thank you for taking me up on my offer.  We will have to do this again.  And didn't you say you used a special action on those rounded corners on your photos?  Do fill me in on those.  Sorry for the technical difficulties yesterday, we have learned a very valuable lesson. :)  Thanks to everyone that offered their advice, I do appreciate it.

Enjoy your evening everyone, I am off to watch Survivor.