It's the most wonderful time of the year

I love Christmas time, it's my favorite time of the year, and has been as long as I can remember.  I love December for that matter, maybe because my birthday is in December, but who knows. One tradition I stick by is putting our Christmas tree up, and all of the decorations when we get back from West Virginia for Thanksgiving.  When I was a kid, it was always on Black Friday, but given we aren't home that day, it's whenever we get back.  Anyway, this year was very interesting.  Seeing everything new through Baby Diesel's eyes, brings joy to my heart.  He got excited from the moment we took the boxes out of the basement, until we lit everything up.  Each time a box would open, he loved whatever was in it.  He ooohh'ed and aww'ed over the ornaments, the bows, even the garland.  It was precious!  Here are some pictures of our tree.

Helping daddy 

The finished tree

We let the little boys decorate a little tree anyway they want, the ornaments aren't spread out evenly, but it's cute because they did it all by themselves.

Little man was the biggest help, he stayed out of the way.

I can't wait to see his excitement next year.

Of course Da Freakout had to pimp, sad to say the glasses didn't make it much longer after this picture, baby Diesel destroyed them.

So far we only have lost two ornaments, one brand new one that never even made it to the tree, and a bulb, that was mistaken for a ball.  All in all, I look forward for the month to come.  It is the most wonderful time of the year!  

Hope you all have an Amazing December, and I look forward to seeing your month of celebration. 

Happy Holidays!  Love, BJ

What ever happened to Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays everybody! I hope that everybody had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I sure did. It was spent with my family, the food was great and I even had the opportunity to harvest a deer. How does it get any better than that. More often than not after Thanksgiving, people who do not have much sense seem to set out from their homes to add some darkness to an already black Friday.

 

It only takes a minute to realize how dangerous bargain hunting can be. It seems like there are more bargain hunting accidents than animal hunting accidents these days; and its sad. In a L.A. Walmart, one woman decided to mace a crowd of people waiting for their X-Box. Folks I've been maced, and it sucks, this lady was lucky however she strolled right up and purchased her item and walked leisurely out of the store. Only later to realize that Walmart has eyes in the sky and soon she was being hunted herself as video was pumped out on the TV stations. She later turned herself in. At least she has her X-Box to trade for her crack rock when she gets out.

 

That story was Los Angeles. Growing up in West Virginia I still like to think that stupid people like this have been quarantined in larger metropolitan areas. You could only imagine the horror I experienced when I read about all of the West Virginian's that stepped over a 61 year old pharmacist as he died in a local Target. However a group of nurses did witness what happened and rushed to his side to perform CPR until the EMT's arrived.

 

I am glad that my industry is sheltered from ridiculous scenes like this. I have recently endured another black Friday weekend from behind the gun counter. I must applaud my customers; they were no less patient than any other day of the week at a place where you must pull a ticket and wait to be served. Maybe it is because our customers belive that they would get shot if they acted stupid. I have another idea though, it's probably true but my customers have grown up in the rural big city of Columbus and are decent people who work hard for what they have and would most likely help you out if they had to. If the lady with the pepper spray would have pulled a stunt like that she may not have enjoyed this Christmas at all.

 

Be safe, act decent, and Merry Christmas.

Barry

Thanksgiving coloring placemat

Here's a pretty simple idea for your little one to entertain him while sitting at the Thanksgiving table.  All you need is your computer, some paper, printer and crayons.

Draw a Pilgrim and Indian, to the best of your ability
Scan it with your printer
Use your word or pages and type: I am thankful, you can even put your child's name and the year.
If it doesn't get too dirty, you could even laminate it and save it for years to come.
Here is how mine turned out

Da Freakout can color it tomorrow, and write what he is thankful for, or draw it.
Simple, and fun!  I hope everyone is having an amazing day, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Love, BJ

Cranberry Salad

You still looking for a yummy recipe to complete your Thanksgiving meal?  Well here it is, my Aunt Mar's perfect Cranberry Salad.

What you'll need:
 2 boxes cherry jello
1 1/2 cup boiled water
2 cups sugar
1 can crushed pineapple drained
1 cup diced celery
 2 cup ground cranberries
1 cup nuts chopped
1 T lemon and the zest of an orange

Boil water and add jello
Add the sugar
Add the celery, cranberries, nuts then add the drained pineapple
Last add the lemon and zest of orange
Mix all together and enjoy

Happy Eating! Love, BJ

Simple Hotel Sleep Solutions

Have you ever slept in a hotel only to be woken by sunlight through the blinds, light peeking through the bottom of the door or people crashing through the halls.

Look familiar??  I'm sure the sunrise is beautiful.

Here is a few hours later about 9 or 10 am when the sun is in full force.

Well this may not be a problem for everyone, but for me I occasionally work nights that require me to check into a hotel anywhere from 1 am to 6 am.  Checking in at these times only means that it will be difficult to sleep past noon.  There are a few things that I do upon check-in that help aide me in getting a good nights rest and may help you in the future.
Always ask for a room at the end of a hall.  I don't care about the walk, but I make sure I am away from the elevators and ice/vending machines.  I also make sure I am not placed near the house keepers laundry room or storage closet.
Next tell the front desk attendant that your room will not require cleaning and to not call or knock on the door.
When I finally make it to my room, one of the first things to take care of is those pesky curtains.  A simple solution is to take a pants hangar from the closet and pinch off those curtains.

There's was no point in taking a picture with the room light off since you'd see nothing but darkness!!!

When it is time to turn in for the night, roll up an extra bath towel and place it at the bottom of the door.

This keeps all light out from the hall.

Now that we have the room dark, how do we eliminate the noise.   The only two things, other than room placement, is to run the bathroom fan and wear earplugs.  The bathroom fan is easy.  If you have never worn earplugs to bed, it may take a little getting used too.  When you're laying there silent and still, with earplugs in, you will hear your heartbeat.  Odd to say the least but you will definitely block out all noise this way.

No point to this picture, just some ugly curtains.

Hopefully you will try some of these simple solutions and make your rest period at a hotel more peaceful.

Steve

Vampire cocktails

With Breaking Dawn coming out tonight, and I LOVE the series, I thought I would share some cocktails to celebrate!


I've shared this one before, but it's too good to pass up!


Vampire's Delight

2 oz rum
1 banana
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
grenadine

combine the rum, banana and ice cream in a blender. Swirl the grenadine around in two champagne flutes so that it coats the inside and pour the banana mixture into the glasses.


Vampire's Blood


1 ½ oz vodka
½ oz black raspberry liqueur
cranberry juice

Pour the vodka and black raspberry liqueur into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into an old fashioned glass and top up with cranberry juice.


Have a fangtastic day, and cheers to Breaking Dawn!  


Love, BJ

Dried Beef Dip

Are you needing a yummy appetizer recipe for Thanksgiving?  Here is a delicious cheese ball that you are sure to enjoy!

What you'll need:

1 large cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 small jar dried beef
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp.  butter
1/2 tsp salt

Mix cream cheese and milk until well blended.  Add dried beef, onion flakes, seasonings; mix well.  Fold in sour cream.  Spread mixture into bottom of small pie plate.  Saute pecans in butter while sprinkling salt over them.  Drop pecans over ream cheese mixture and bake at 350 degrees fro about 20 minutes.  Serve hot with favorite crackers and enjoy!

Love, BJ