Celebrating Like It's 2009

We have had some great holiday celebrations. On New Year's Day we had a wonderful dinner with friends and family. Then we sang Happy Birthday to my brother Steve and my sister Tammy - no they aren't twins.

I don't know what it means - if anything - but it's an odd phenomena in our family. We have a lot of multiple birthdays without any twins. My oldest son (Jake) and my youngest daughter (Kara) have the same birthday too. And even my husband and I have the same birthday. On the bright side, it cuts down on the cakes I have to bake. :)

This is one cake I baked. We call it "lagekage" which is Danish and should be pronounced "Lauh Kay". And "lauh" is like "now".

Then we opened Christmas presents. My sister gave me this beautiful painting.



And I gave Serena a cute bracelet/necklace combo present.



Our extended family holiday celebrations were postponed due to weather. It was the worst snow storm in my lifetime (as far as I can remember) and it hit just before Christmas.

We didn't really mind because it was nice to stay home and have a quiet Christmas with the kids but we missed Steve and Tammy's birthday party. So, we had a little catching up to do.

Now we're all caught up and ready to move on - so we had to party like it was 2009. Oh . . ., wait, it is.

Time flies!

ANSWER TO THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY AND EARTH-FRIENDLY FRIDAY

ANSWER TO THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY: JOHN WAYNE


Earth-Friendly Friday: Here's a great website with lots of helpful information if you want to GO GREEN in 2009. You can click around the site and learn some helpful information but you can begin with their five initiatives listed below.

The five initiatives for the Go Green Project:

1. Generate compost. This is nature's way of recycling. Through basic and worm composting programs, children learn about ecology, biology and waste reduction.
2. Recycle everything that cannot be reused and purchase items that can be recycled. With fast shrinking landfill space and diminishing natural resources, recycling has never been more important. Recycling items such as paper, plastic, aluminum and ink cartridges reduces toxic greenhouse gas emissions and conserves energy. Manage E-waste by finding creative solutions to divert obsolete computer parts, cell phones and other such devices from the waste stream. Schools that recycle provide much-needed materials to manufacturers who produce recycled products.
3. Educate students, teachers and parents on environmentally-responsiblebehavior. When students, teachers and parents work together to make their schools environmentally friendly, they are more likely to take the same behaviors into their off campus lives. Our goal is to create environmentally-responsible school communities throughout the nation and across the globe.
4. Evaluate the environmental impact of every activity. Identify products and practices that could threaten the health of children and the world around them. Consider improving the campus environment with activities such as eliminating excessive energy consumption; evaluating the toxicity of pesticides used in classrooms and on playgrounds; improving outdoor air quality through increased carpooling efforts; and working to improve indoor air quality.
5. Nationalize the principles of responsible paper consumption. Consider purchasing post consumer recycled paper and office products. Use technology to communicate electronically as much as possible. Seek ways to provide Internet access to all school families.

2009 - HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009 is HERE! I can hardly believe another year has come and gone.


THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY: What was the stage name of Marion Michael Morrison?

Happy New Year

Come on all my blogging buds, let's gather around and sing: Happy New Year and Auld Lang Syne.

New Year's Eve-Eve

We all sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve but what does it mean?

It's an old Scotch phrase that means "Old Long Since" but would be more appropriately translated today to "Long, long, ago".

Some say Rabbie Burns wrote the poem but some say he only added to the already existing poem. If you're interested in reading the poem, and a Gaelic translation, click on Rabbie Burns' name.

Danish Traditions for The Holidays - Caramelized Potatoes

One of our favorite Christmas dishes is an old Danish family tradition that has been kept a secret for generations. But I'm willing to share it with my blogging buddies.

It is called Brune Kartofler. Brune = Brown and Kartofler = potoatoes. If you visit the All Time Cookbook website, you can see a picture of the finished product and I can testify that they are YUMMMMMYYY!

These brown potatoes are not a dessert even though they are really caramelized potatoes.

Here's what you need:

Four cans (14 oz cans) of baby white potatoes - precooked and peeled

Two cups of white sugar

One cube of butter

And here's the recipe:

Take four cans (14 oz cans) of baby white potatoes, drain the liquid and let them stand.

In a cast iron pan (preferably a dutch oven) pour in two cups of white sugar. Heat on low-heat until the sugar turns to a brown liquid. Stir in one cube of butter.

Then carefully place the potatoes in the caramel and let heat on low heat for 30 minutes.

WARNINGS: (Be extra careful with the caramel - it can pop when you place the potatoes in the liquid and it will burn) I add the potatoes with a long metal spoon to keep my hands back away from any splattering caramel.

Don't over cook the caramel because it will turn bitter and taste burnt. These aren't easy to make just right but they are a special treat.

YUM!

I made these potatoes for Thanksgiving and the kids said they tasted a little burnt so on Christmas I didn't cook them as long and the kids said they didn't have as rich a flavor as they usually do. I explained it was because we'd gone to the movies to see Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler, and I didn't want to rush the potatoes. So I cooked them slowly but didn't have enough time to get them as thoroughly coated as usual. However, my friend Jacqueline - who had never had them before - said she loved them. So, I guess it's what your used to. My kids just expect perfection - unfortunately parents aren't perfect. :) I told my daughter that "parents aren't perfect" and she said, "They should be. But, you can work on it."

The Scrap Award - 10 Things

Ten Honest Things About Me:

1) I hate house spiders;
2) I love chocolate;
3) I hate the smell of smoke;
4) I love ice cream;
5) I hate liver;
6) I love coffee;
7) I hate gory shows (except for horror films - okay, I know it's contradictory)
8) I love scary shows (Stephen King is an all-time favorite writer)
9) I hate split pea soup and pumpkin pie and I don't like apple pie either;
10) I love holidays - all of them!

Most of my "things" are about food - I wonder what that says about me. Maybe I need to go on a diet - thinking about food too much ;-)

I am supposed to tag seven people. But so many people have already been tagged, um, for those of you who want to play along . . . I'll say: 1) Jean Hall, 2) David Batista, 3) Matt Holm, 4)Teacher Ninja, 5)Christina Farley - when she's back from holiday. 6) Searching for a Hero; and 7) Cindy Pon - when she's back from holiday