'Tis the season for...Trees!!

So I have really been slacking here lately, my apologies. So much bustle around my house getting ready for Christmas. Actually, it kinda looks like Christmas came and puked inside my house! Such a sparkly mess...but it will get better, of this I am sure. The first order of business in  my house, is the tree, which is finally up and beautified...pictures will be coming soon. (I only have night shots of it, and really want to show all of the beautiful blues and silvers in the daytime) So in the spirit of Christmas, and of giving myself a HUGE small pat on the back for getting our tree up, I have scoured the net in search of some beautiful, and some very unique Christmas trees. Here ya go y'all!

So Victorian, I love this one..

This one reminds me of Charlie Brown, adorable!

What?!? Still love it though!

This little one makes me shiver..brrr!

This one just looks so fun!!

I really like this one, and I am not a huge fan of white trees, but WOW!

I hope y'all got some yuletide inspiration from these great trees, and don't forget to check out Nanny's Corner for the beautiful Poinsettia tree. Also, I will be posting next my awesome Santa wreath, and some other pretty ones I have seen along the way! Happy decorating!

Nanny's Corner: Beautiful Poinsettia Tree

This time of year the time just seems to fly by. Before we know it Christmas is only 15 days away and we are behind the eight ball.  Literally trying to juggle all eight at once.  Tee Hee    I really meant to get this post up last week, but as you can tell by my lateness things are not getting any less hectic.

I hope that everyone had as wonderful Thanksgiving as I did.  We enjoyed three of our grandchildren-- Heather with her husband Josh and children Hailey and Zack;  Kristy and her daughter Anna (Kyla was sick); Weston our grandson, plus daughters Terri and Connie for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had such a great time with them.

Now if I can just get everything done I am supposed to for Christmas I will feel pretty good about the New Year fast approaching.  LOL

My cousin Doug Hinkle made his mother a Poinsettia Tree for Christmas this year and I wanted to share with you how he made it.  If you or someone you know is at all handy with a saw and hammer this is pretty easy to make.  Takes lots of Poinsettia's (depends on how tall you want your tree) but well worth it when you see the finished product.

First he built an "A" frame with a circle on top and a square on bottom to stabilize it.
Next he added construction cloth to cover the frame.

Now it's time to begin adding the Poinsettias.  WOW!  Just look at the finished tree with lights on it.
He used a child's table to set this one on so there is plenty of room below to put all of Santa's gifts.  You could use the same concept and make a table center piece..just on a smaller scale.  Hope you enjoy trying this one.

Until next time, Love and Hugs

Vacation

Phew! Thanksgiving is over and now begins the countdown to Christmas... Am I prepared???  Of course NOT!  But I will surely try. I cant wait to pick out our tree this weekend, and use all of those decorations that I bought during the after Christmas sales last year...yay!  My wheels are turning for some Christmas projects I would like to tackle, and new cookies and treats to burn bake. I am not at home today, we are actually on vacation still, so I am really lucky to get any internet signal where I am at, soo I can't actually use any websites I need to use to add pics this time. I guess what I am saying is this is just me stopping in to say hey! Nothing real fun, or interesting. Sorry y'all!  When I get home I will be putting up a fun Christmas Wreath post, I can't wait for y'all to see it!

Thanksgiving Togetherness

   

What is one of the things in our day to day lives that we take for granted the most? Our families, and the fact that they may be there today, and then tomorrow they may be gone. All too often we blow through our day, only to get to the end of it and then get up and start all over again...when we should be stopping along the way and enjoying all of those special little moments that we cannot get back once they have passed.We should be s-l-o-w-i-n-g down and taking in all of those little quirks that we grow to hate love in each other, and we should be enjoying every waking moment we have with these loved ones, because this crazy life we live does not last forever. When I die I want to have no regrets. Most of all, I do not want to be wishing, or leaving loved ones wishing...that we had said more, done more, felt more. I want to know that I have left them feeling more loved than humanly possible, so that there is no doubt in their minds how I feel about them. 

   This is the time of year that we should all band together and spend that extra time away from work, or school, together just enjoying each other. We all have our differences, and differences of opinion. All of our lives take different paths, and God leads us each down different roads, but the one constant should always be family. The one thing you should always be able to count on is your family, and vice verse, your family able to count on you.This time of year, we put all of our differences aside, and disagreements get checked at the door, and we just enjoy those special moments, remembering why we love each other to begin with.

I am going to leave you all with some ideas for special family togetherness activities that everyone can enjoy, and I hope you all actually try some of them out, or at least just take a few minutes out of your busy schedules to enjoy each other, Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!!

Nothing brings people together like joining a good cause, or supporting a charity. Click here for some ideas...

 

Family Tradition...start a tradition, something that you all can do together every year. One example is breaking the wishbone, and the person who ends up with the longer piece, gets their wish!

Make Family Survey Place Mats...a great way to get to know each other better! Learn more here...

A Thankful Tablecloth...just might be the best idea I have seen for a family Thanksgiving craft yet!  Here is where I found this gem of an idea...

I hope everyone has a very Blessed Thanksgiving!!!


Till next time...

Another day in the life...

Morning all! So I have to tell you all what happened to me last night. I had been in the hospital all morning with chest pains, I know, I am way too young for that stuff, but I have a history of heart problems starting back when I was about 13. So anyways, after coming home, and lying down for a few hours, watching a couple of Lifetime movies...which, by the way are soo addicting, it's like a can of chips, once you have one, you have to have another... and another, giggles! Okay, so on with my story... After going between the hospital, and the bed all day long, I decided I was going to Wal-Mart to get some O.J. I was really craving that O.J. So I went as I was, pajamas, no bra, messed up hair, no makeup, and hospital bands still on. I walk through the front door, so far pretty much unnoticed, which was the plan, I really didn't want anyone to see me like this. Then I get to about the produce area when all of a sudden my feet came out from under me, one leg went to the side, sorta almost backwards, if that even makes sense...and the rest of me was flat on my back. So much for going incognito...I was suddenly surrounded by well-meaning passer-bys, trying to help me up. Well, I was so embarrassed about how I looked, and of course falling in front of everyone, that I just told the Wal-Mart employee that I was okay, I really just wanted to get out of there. With my O.J. of course. But oh man, by the time I got home, my ankle, my knee, and my back were hurting so bad it made it hard to sleep. So now I guess  I am debating on whether or not to go to the doc, and then, if I do, should they be the ones to pay for it??? After all, the floor was soaking wet right where I fell, and there was no sign, at least not until after I fell. I just don't know. Any advice anyone can give me? I know this is not a very informative, or educational post for any of you, but I promise I will try and get something fun on here tomorrow, plus we will have another Nanny's Corner coming up soon. Alright y'all, now I am off to take care of the hubby, who is now in the same ER I was in yesterday with a very bad migraine...just another day in the lives of the Champion's. 

 Till next time...

Christmas??? Yikes!

WOW! I have been walking around stores, seeing nothing but Christmas decorations and hearing Jingle Bells, and Deck the Halls...Am I the only one who gets nauseated at the thought of Christmas coming so fast? It seems like just yesterday we were saying "Happy New Year!" Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas like everyone else, I just NEVER have enough time to get it all done, never. I do, however, love the thought of decorating for Christmas, that is always the fun part, and I truly believe you can never have quite enough decorations...sooo, I am going to start showing some of my favorite finds across the web. I can't wait to show y'all my Christmas Gift Project for this year...so beautiful, easy, and most important of all...cheap! Here are some of my favorite project ideas, I hope you also find something that inspires your creative side, like I did.

Love this! 

Can't wait to start collecting Pinecones!

You could totally do this from Dollar Store supplies, LOVE IT!

Never would have thought of a topiary made of Christmas Ornaments, and the Ornament Chandelier is Beautiful!

How cut are these? My kids could totally make these, cant wait to try...

Okay ladies, now that we have some inspiration, lets get crafting! I would love to see some of your projects, feel free to email pics to me. I am hoping to have my ducks in a row by Thursday to show y'all my awesome Christmas Gifts that we have been making this year!

Till next time...

Nannys Corner: Sweet Potatoes - Sweet Treats

Hi everyone....I'm a little late with my post this week...my husband had back surgery two weeks ago so things have been a "little" hectic.

Last week my friend and neighbor Lori Ellis gave me some sweet potatoes from her garden.  They are so sweet and delicious compared to the store bought ones.  I used two with dinner last night....mashed them with butter and served them with our Salmon fillets.

Then last evening I got this idea to make some Sweet Potato Muffins with the remaining ones.  So this morning I wrote a recipe for them and set out putting them together.  Wanted to see if they were good enough to share the recipe with you.  Of course, I thought so...Tee Hee...but then my husband tried one, and he said they were really good!  I will apologize for not having a photo tutorial this time.  I will do one next time I make them, which I am sure will be soon with Thanksgiving around the corner.  Here's my recipe:

Bake @ 350 degrees for 28 - 30 minutes.  (or until tester comes out clean)

Recipes makes 6 jumbo muffins.

Whisk together the following dry ingredients  in a medium bowl and set aside.

2 cups flour

2/3 cups granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

In larger bowl combine until smooth ( I used my immersible hand blender for this)

1 egg

1 stick unsalted butter (softened)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups cooked and peeled sweet potatoes

To this add the dry ingredients and mix just until  moistened.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!  Happy Baking!

Until next time,  Love and Hugs

Topping:

1 Tbsp. flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Mix together and sprinkle each muffin with heaping tablespoon of topping, and enjoy!