Magic Christmas Bars

Around the holidays, I love to bake super-Yummy recipes. Here's one I've been baking for years and the kids still ask for it.

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted butter
1 can 14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups chocolate chips
1 and 1/2 cups coconut flakes
(optional: 1 cup chopped nuts)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix graham crackers and butter together and press into baking pan for the crust.

Pour sweetened condensed milk over crust.

Layer coconut and then chocolate chips.

Bake for 25 minutes or until coconut just starts to turn golden.

Let cool for ten minutes (if you can) cut and serve. Yummy!

Santa Claws is Coming to Town

Here comes Santa Claws, Here Comes Santa Claws - right down Santa Claws Lane


The holidays are upon us and Santa Claws is Making a List
- he's checking it twice
He's gonna find out who's naughty or mice

Santa cat is coming to town

Almost Homemade

I'm trying to make a lot of my gifts this year to help keep down costs and not contribute to the over-consumption and consumerism that has become the holidays.

I had an idea for my boys, since Jacob and Luke both like to sketch, I bought them inexpensive sketch pads and then used some art adhesive (we had sitting around the house) to glue on some of their own art to the sketchbooks.

I think it adds a personal touch and is fun. But you could do the same thing for other people. It wouldn't even have to be homemade art, it could be a photograph or a favorite saying. Just glue photos of favorite holiday meals to a notebook and give it to a cook in your life, add a couple recipes to the inside and you've got a fun, thoughtful present that didn't cost much more than some time.

You could do the same thing for the gardener is your life. Glue some favorite flower photos to a notebook, add some paper for notes and tuck away a couple seed catalogs you can pick up for free (usually) at your local garden store, and you've got another fun gift.

I'm wishing you a Happy, healthy--almost--Homemade Holiday!

It's easy to come up with ideas if you think for a minute or two.

So, if you have an idea, please share it in the comments so others can enjoy the season without breaking the bank.

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SAY, "HUH?"

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?

3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?

4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

6. Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

7. Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?

8. Why do "tug" boats push their barges?

9. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?

10. Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting?

11. Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?

12.. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

13.. Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?

14. Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?

15. Why is "phonics" not spelled the way it sounds?

16. If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?

17. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

18. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?

20. Why is bra singular and panties plural?

21. Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead?

22. Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase?

23. How come abbreviated is such a long word?

24. Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?

25. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

26. Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one?

27. Christmas - What other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?

28. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?

Earth-Friendly Friday

One thing we can give at the holidays that won't cost a penny is time. Last weekend my husband helped my son make a home-made frame for a piece of art he'd bought at a festival.

Jake wanted something special but custom frames are expensive and he wanted real brass or copper accents, which made the prospect more expensive. So the art sat and waited for Jake to get a little extra money. But it waited...and waited... until my husband offered to help him make the frame from scratch. Together they cut the glass out of a recycled window, wood left over from another project and brass. Then they bent the brass and screwed it all together. It took some time but only cost $4.00.



So, maybe you can't cut wood, bronze or glass, but what talents can you share with those you love? All it takes is time and maybe some creativity to create beautiful things together. It not only creates wonderful gifts, it creates memories that will last a lifetime.

Instead of buying gifts, think about making them or giving the gift of time.

Answer to Thought for Thursday

Answer: Stevie Wonder

Thought for Thursday

Thought: In 1980 what entertainer wrote and recorded the song "Happy Birthday" to gain support for a national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?

Take a guess and then come back around 3:00 to see if you were right.