It's the Simple Stuff

Dinner is Smokin'

Joe and Kel gave David a smoker for Christmas.  Today they are giving it a try...perfect weather for that right??  Is FREEZING!  But hey I'm not complaining because hopefully the end result will mean that I am eating delicious ribs and chicken for dinner!!!  In the meantime I'm getting ready to watch Duke v Maryland...GO DUKE!!  After the game Kel and I are going to go see Bride Wars!  Fun Saturday!

Too good to be true????

 

Check this link out!    Could Etown actually be getting a little "citified" in the not too distant future???  And would I just be in all my glory that it will practically be in my backyard???  Be still my beating heart!!!  This Jersey girl can only hope!!!

Marshmallows...

Last week I made homemade marshmallows and I'm actually very surprised at a few things...

1. How fairly easy they are to make
2. How well they turned out
3. How many people were impressed that I made them (I guess my reputation of not being a domestic diva has proceeded me) or that it was even possible to make homemade marshmallows!

I have promised some that I would provide a picture and the recipe.  Obviously this recipe is not my own and while I didn't find it on her site it is listed as a Martha Stewart recipe!  So here are the specifics....

Ingredients:

 

• 2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• Confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let it stand 30 minutes.

Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.

Clip on a candy thermometer; raise heat to high. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees (firm-ball stage). Immediately remove pan from heat.

With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin. Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to incorporate.

Generously dust an 8 x 12-inch glass baking pan with confectioners' sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar; let stand overnight, uncovered, to dry out.

You may be wondering what started my quest to make homemade marshmallows and the answer is really very simple...first I love hot chocolate and since as of late, PA has turned into the frozen tundra and I am in the perpetual state of being cold it has become my drink of choice.  Second I was invited to a friend's house for a girls' night out and she mentioned that she was going to have hot chocolate I thought this would be a fun treat to take along!  So there ya have it!

Now for the pictures....

I'm wishing that I was.....

HERE......

Kinsey left Tuesday for Disney to participate in their college internship program.  This pool is part of her apartment complex!  I'm jealous!!!  I wish I would have known about this program when I was younger, I would have loved to been able to live and work at Disney!!!

New Year

So we have officially been in the new year for a few days now, however I think I was still in holiday mode.  But now that the boys are back to school today, life is getting back to normal.  I love the holidays and am sad that they are over.  I miss the boys and wish I had another week with them at home!  We had such a great holiday.  Very busy, people coming and going the whole time.
Christmas Eve
Christmas morning....waiting on the steps before going down to see their loot.
Ringing in the New Year....shouldn't they have been tired????  This was just after midnight!
My Aunt Deb, Uncle Bob and Kinsey came for New Year's, Kinz brought her friend Allie!
Derek, Christina, Keira and baby Peyton came on New Year's Eve!!  We're so thankful for this easy friendship!  Its a come as you are kind of friendship! I had so much fun holding and cuddling Peyton....miss those baby days!

Derek and Dave
They play really cute together, holding hands, taking care of babies, ya know, girl stuff!
Mom and Dad
MomMom
Aunt Deb and Uncle Bob

Had the traditional Pork and Sauerkraut with mashed potatoes dinner on New Year's Day.  We watched football, played game and had a fun day.  David was a little overzealous with the sauerkraut and thus we are STILL eating it!  Pork and mashed potatoes are gone but the sauerkraut remains...may have to find some new recipes that include sauerkraut!!! 

Friday we went out to dinner with Jon and Becky and Joe & Kelly.  We went to this great Irish pub in Lancaster City called Annie Bailey's....such a cute place.

Saturday we slept in a little bit then headed off to Allentown to pick Owen up.  He went home with Aunt Deb so he could spend a few days with Karlee.   He was going to stay until Sunday but we missed him so we went and got him on Saturday!  We also said farewell to Kinz as she is headed off to my happy place!!  She leaves on the autotrain tomorrow for Disney.  She is doing their college internship program.  I'm jealous...I wanna go live and work at Disney!!!!
I'll miss her while she is gone, but I'm hoping for a long weekend visit down to see her!!

On the way to Allentown, Emma started with a cough and it only got worse while we were there.  By the time we left (late afternoon) she had a small fever and just wasn't herself.  She was very fussy on the ride home!  When we got home she was burning up, coughing, runny nose and just miserable.  David stayed home with her on Sunday since I needed to coach during 1st service and then serve in one of the 3 year old rooms during second.  Came home and David had dinner all ready :) then Emma and I snuggled in my bed and took a nap!

Which brings me back to today...Boys back to school, back to more of a routine.  Em, Grady and I are snuggling on the couch watching Piglet's Big Movie.  Emma is still sick...she keeps looking at me with her sad, sick eyes telling me...."I coughing Mommy" and "I sick Mommy"....boo hoo.  I feel so bad for her.  She does better while the Motrin is in her but when it is starting to wear off and before she can have more, her fever is back!  So we will lay low today and do lots of snuggling.  That's probably the only good thing about a sick kiddo is all the snuggles!

Uppercase Living

Happy New Year!  I can hardly believe that another year has come and gone and a new one has begun!  This is always an exciting time of the year with new beginnings and the same is true for Uppercase Living.  Our brand new Spring/Summer 2009 Catalog has just been released.  I just received a shipment of the new catalogs on New Year's Eve and I have been pouring over it ever since I got it.  Each time I look at it I see something new that I love and think "now where can I put that"! 

We have 5 brand new colors,

Shoreline Blue which is a beautiful placid blue color.

Green Tea, a nice calm green that makes a gorgeous statement and will compliment so many of our other colors for those two part expressions.

Etched Glass, this is a unique "color" which features a premium, long-lasting adhesive and has been designed for both indoor and outdoor use.  It is ideal for use on non-porous, smooth surfaces (i.e., glass, acrylic, ceramic, etc.).  It truly gives the "etched glass" appearance when applied to glass and mirrors.

Antique Bronze, this color is absolutely gorgeous and probably my new favorite color.  It has a beautiful sheen to it, the same as our Soft Silver, Soft Copper and Soft Gold colors.  It is definitely the color that will be used over and over again when looking for the perfect complimentary color for two-parters.  It truly is stunning.

Black Patent is our new Premium Bond color (the other being Glossy White. (This adhesive is specifically formulated to withstad vrious temperature and weather conditions.  It is not recommended for painted surfaces on the interior or exterior of your home, but in applications where durability is required. Suggested uses include automobile windows, storefront windows, and mailboxes)

The new Spring/Summer 2009 catalog offers several new and exciting features.  Things like expressions designed specifically your "BIG DAY", your Wedding Day....Just Married designs for the back of your get away car, beautiful monograms that would be perfect to customize your dance floor, doors at the church or reception facility and several other great ideas that will add your own personal touch to make your wedding day just perfect.  There is a new section to the catalog called Professional Environments that has great ideas to add a personal yet professional touch to your business.  And as always there are so many great new ideas for every room in your home as well as every person you know.  One of my favorite things about UL is that they seem to have something for everyone. 

Also, just hours ago, Uppercase Living, announced their New Inspirations Incentives program which runs from January 5th through February 28th. 

For Customers:  Click on the link to view the customer incentive.  This is a darling keepsakes!
Download Little Hands Keepsake_1208
For Hostesses:  UL is offering an automatic bump up to the next hostess level....this is in addition to any double-up rewards that you may already have!  Just click on the link for more details
Download Inspirations Incentive Hostess Flyer_1208
For New Demonstrators:  UL is offering both of their starter kits at a discounted rate, again click the link for details!
Download Starter Kit Plus_Inspirations_1208
Download Starter Kit_Inspirations_1208
Some of you LOVE this product, you have had an Open House (maybe even more than one), and there are some of you that I know would make great demonstrators.  If you know me, you know that I am not pushy and rarely, if ever, ask someone about their interest in becoming a demonstrator. But I'm going to take this opportunity to really encourage those of you that really, really LOVE UL, to GIVE IT A TRY!  There is no time like the present!  I know the economy stinks, and while this is not a get-rich-quick opportunity, it certainly is an opportunity to pay a few bills, save up for a family vacation, have a little extra spending money whether it be for your kids, or for YOURSELF, this really is a FUN business!  I have been with UL for almost two years and am just as excited about it now as I was when I started. I love UL because it is EASY to sell.  This company is so young and this is the GROUND FLOOR!  This is not high-pressure, there are minimums to be met but I promise they are attainable.  The minimum is $300 in sales for a QUARTER!!!  That means you have 3 months to sell $300.  If you think about it that is a MAX of 2 open houses in 3 months.  I would say 95% of the time my Open Houses average $400-500!  So that is ONE open house in 3 months.   We have an awesome team of girls that serve as a great support system, always offering encouragement, help and ideas to grow your business.  So if you have ever considered this as a possibility, I encourage you to contact me and we will talk about it together. And I promise that I will do all that is within my power to make UL a success for you too!

I would also like to remind you that I now have my own personal Uppercase Living website where you can view an enhanced version of the catalog.  You can also order directly from my website to make it more convenient for you to shop any time that suits you!  Just visit http://aimee.uppercaseliving.net  the new catalog will be available on my website on January 5th at noon.