A Christmas Carol, Version 574

I'm all for holiday movies. I love them!  A Christmas Carol is one of my favorites.  But holy mackeral, how many versions of this have been made?  I'm currently watching (for the second time, if not third) the musical version starring Kelsey Grammar as Scrooge.  It's also got Jane Krakowski, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Jesse L Martin (Detective Green!  I didn't know you could sing and dance!).  I like this version, but I think my favorite will always be Mickey's Christmas Carol since that's the version I watched every year as a kid. 

I bought the DVD this month, so now I can watch it whenever I want and with no commercials!  There is
also an amusing version starring Vanessa Williams called a Diva's Christmas Carol.  And did you know Patrick Stewart has starred in a version too?  I believe I actually saw that one once. I wish I could see it again. I'm sad to say I've never seen the original movie with Alastair Sim.  So sad!  I need to see that one. For that matter I've never read the book either.  And you know what else I've never seen?  It's a Wonderful Life.  How can I have never seen this movie?!  I must remedy this situation one day.  Anybody got a DVD or VHS I can borrow?  :) 

Holiday Cookies and Fudge - A Review

Fellow blogger Jen from Redhead Ranting is offering some wonderful packages of cookies and fudge for sale through her website.  I was lucky enough to receive a sample of the goodies in exchange for providing a review.  I was more than happy to oblige.  Sugar and chocolate are my weaknesses, and you'd be hard pressed to find a sweet treat that I would turn down!  The choices include sugar cookies, fudge (with and without nuts), and Bourbon Balls.  I snagged this photo of the actual goodies from her website where you can order any combination of these tasty treats.  Check out the blog post here with links to order: The Holiday Treats Are Ready.

Photo by Jen

Fudge with Walnuts

Jen sent a generous chunk of fudge to review, and it was very good.  The texture was just right.  It was smooth and creamy, not at all grainy like some fudge I've had before.  This stuff was melt-in-your mouth smooth.  While I normally prefer my fudge without nuts, this sample was quite good and had an appropriate ratio of nuts to fudge.  The chocolate flavor was delicious and reminded me of Hershey's Kisses!  It wasn't too sweet or too rich.  I could eat the whole sample (about the size of a brownie) without feeling sick to my stomach.  This was a nice soft fudge that could be bitten into easily and without it sticking to your teeth.  I've never tried to make my own fudge before since the recipes I've always seen have required a candy themometer and seemed too complicated. If you feel the same way, check out Redhead Ranting to buy some of Jen's fudge - "baked with extra love"! 

Sugar Cookies

I've got one word to describe these sugar cookies - YUMMY.  I don't even know where to begin on these.  They were perfect!  I don't know how she got them rolled out so evenly.  They were the perfect thickness and biting into them was a pure pleasure.  They had LOTS of red and green sugar sprinkles, which I enjoyed.  There's no such thing as too many sprinkles! These cookies were evenly baked (no overly-browned bottoms like my cookies always seem to have) and so light and fresh tasting.  I must say it's almost frustrating how pretty and tasty these cookies were.  I've given up on trying to make sugar cookies myself because mine are always wrong.  They taste more like lightly-sweetened flour than sugar cookies, and I can never get them rolled out thinly enough without them tearing to bits when I try to use the cookie cutters on them. My solution has always been to make them thicker, which makes the final cookies either too soft or too hard, and overcooked on the bottom.  And mine always seem to lose their shape and get all warped when I try to move the cookies onto the baking sheet before putting them in the oven.  There is apparently some special secret to making sugar cookies, and Jen must be privy to it!  A tip of the hat to you, Jen, for these great cookies.  I could have plowed through 5 pounds of them easily! 

I don't do alcohol, so I asked Jen not to send the Bourbon Balls and therefore couldn't provide a review for them.  They look so pretty in the picture though.  If they could be made without the alcohol, I'd be all over them! 

Please check out Redhead Ranting now to order some of these homemade holiday treats!

Shouldn't Peanut Brittle Contain Peanuts?

I was craving peanut brittle for a while and finally decided to find some.  It was not as easy to find as I'd thought it would be.  I remember when I was a younger you used to be able to get it all the time.  I don't actually remember WHERE we bought it, but it wasn't hard to find.  And yet here I am in full craving mode, and I can't find any!  I eventually discovered some in the bakery section at Walmart.  It didn't look very impressive at all, but it was the only peanut brittle I could find.  What is it about cravings getting more adamant when you can't find the thing you are craving?!  So I bought this small package (11 ounces for $3), despite the fact that it has no peanuts!  I think the whole package has a whopping dozen peanuts in it.  You may think I'm exaggerating.  But I'm not!  Behold the proof:

This is what peanut brittle should look like:

And this is what my Walmart peanut brittle looks like:

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Can you see the sad, sad, difference?  My poor, pitiful peanut brittle.  :(

 

First photo found here.

PhotoHunt: Undesirable

Who knew I'd find a use for THIS picture?  This is a tentacle that washed up on shore at a beach in Hawaii. I'm not sure what made me think I needed to have a picture of it! See how the pebbles are sticking to it? It even comes with its own fly (see top right corner). Ew!

PhotoHunt

Adorable Baby Goat - A Sad Story

My brother has two goats, and when I was visiting in November, Zebra was very pregnant and was expected to give birth soon.  I happened to be back in town again this week and stopped by his house to drop something off and this adorable creature was there to greet me!

He had been born the day before along with a girl kid.  Isn't he just precious?  Unfortunately, the girl goat had died earlier in the morning.  This kid is inside in this picture because he had been found lying on the ground and very, very cold.  He was put over a heating vent on the floor and wrapped with towels and put under an incandescent bulb to help warm him. (Not a heat lamp, just a regular, non-CFL bulb.)  I fell in love as soon as I saw this little guy. He was so soft!  I decided at that very minute that I wish I had my own goat!  After he warmed up he seemed to be doing a bit better, and they were able to get some milk into him using a baby bottle.  Of course I don't know anything about raising goats, and I have no idea what is normal for a 2-day-old kid.  He sure could bleat loudly though!  He'd make a really loud noise and kind of stick his tongue out.  I thought maybe this was a good sign.  Not the sticking-the-tongue-out part, but the making-loud-noise part. 

He didn't move other than to stretch his legs or move his head.  I think they are supposed to be able to stand up right away like horses do.  I realize now that should have been a clue that things weren't as well as I hoped they were.  :(  After I left my brothers house, I was gone for several hours and assumed things would be progressing for the good with the kid.  Later that evening I got back to my parent's house, where I was staying, and my sister-in-law was there.  I asked her how the kid was doing and she said he didn't make it.  I'm so sad! I thought for sure he would be okay.  My poor nephews were devasted. And poor Zebra (mommy goat).  My brother and sister-in-law are pretty sure Zebra had mastitis and that the kids died because they picked up the infection from her and that's why they died.  I just hope Zebra will be okay.  It seems to be a pretty common occurence in goats from what I tried to find online.

I was so excited that Zebra had her goats and I took 25 pictures of the baby boy goat. I was all set to blog about it so I could show everyone the pictures. But then my happy cute goat story was blown apart when the poor dear died. I don't think I could ever raise animals like that. It would be too heartbreaking to have to go through things like this! At least with dogs and cats they are domesticated enough to be easier to take care of.  

Christmas at My House

When I was a kid, we always spent the weeks before Christmas hefting presents and shaking them and trying to figure out what was inside.  My parents made it even more of a challenge for us by not putting our names on the packages, so we weren't sure which gifts were for which sibling.  They'd just assign a number to the name tag (1 through 3 since I have two brothers) and only they knew which of us was assigned which number.  And if that wasn't enough, they also "rigged" the packages so we couldn't tell by weight or sound what was in it.  They'd put marbles, pennies, jingle bells, washers and other hardware into the boxes so they'd make a lot of noise and we'd have no idea if it was the actual gift or the little extras making that sound.  And then the odd brick or other heavy object would be placed inside to throw off the weight.  And of course you would never be so silly as to assume the box your gift was wrapped in was the actual box it came in.  So even the shape of the box was no help.  It was infuriating!  And a whole lot of fun.  I love a good mystery, and it was great to try to figure out what was in those packages.  A friend of mine used to always open her packages early and play with the toys.  Then she'd reseal the packages (which were hidden quite poorly in her mother's closet) and by Christmas she'd already be bored with them.  Where's the joy in that?  She'd be left with no surprises, no fun from her gifts, and she'd have to pretend to be surprised when she opened them on Christmas morning.  So sad! The anticipation is half the fun!

I remember the year my older brother bought me a Caboodles case.  I had wanted one so badly!  He rigged the package, but didn't think to tape down the handle.  So every time I shook it, I could hear the very distinctive sound of the handle banging up and down.  But I hate it when people are able to guess their gifts before they open them so I pretended I just couldn't figure out what was in that box.  It always takes all the fun out of giving and trying to surprise someone if they're able to guess what it is before they open it.  :(  So to all of you good guessers out there, pretend you don't know what it is, even if you do!  It will keep the fun going for everyone.  :) 

First photo found here.
Second photo found here.

Wordless Wednesday: Myrtle Beach Half Marathon Medal

Not-quite-wordless...  This is the medal I earned for completing the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon in February 2009. (Walking, not running.  Maybe one day!)