Goodbye, Dalton

I was saddened to read that Dalton lost his battle with Cystic Fibrosis last Saturday.  It's still unknown if he was able to set a new record for Christmas cards received, according to the ABC News announcement I read yesterday.  My hope is that, in time, his family will apply for the record in his memory.  It's pretty awesome what people can do when they join together on behalf of something they care about, isn't it?

Dalton's Card Count Update

I've been following Dalton's mom on Facebook and I am happy to see that as of about 5 pm, Friday 12/28, the Christmas Card total is 711,597!  That is awesome!  Totally awesome! 

If you would like to send a card, here's the address:

Dalton Dingus
HC 62 Box 1249
Salyersville, KY 41465

Ugliest Chirstmas Sweater Contest

I had never heard of the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest until a few years ago and I've got to say that I am strangely intrigued by this.  I don't really know why, but I am.

If you're interested, here's a Facebook contest where you can vote for your favorite ugly Christmas Sweater!  You have to "like" First Kentucky Bank's Facebook page before you can vote on the individual picture.  There are only eight photos, so you've got time to click over and vote for your favorite!  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas 2012

 

 

May your days be merry and bright!

Happy Holidays!

Conquering the Rum Cake

Oh, it was so rewarding to finally get the Rum Cake just right!  Whoo Hoo, I was a happy camper last night.  And, as promised on Facebook, I'm here to share the recipe with you!

First, a little back ground story.  See that paper in the picture?  That's the recipe written down by Gail, my mother-in-Law, years and years ago.  I don't know how I came to have that notebook of her recipes, but I am honored to have it.  The Rum Cake recipe is the very first recipe in her little notebook.  She used to make this cake for Casey's birthday every year so I never tried it until after she passed away.  And for the last six or so years I have been unable to attain the glory that was her Rum Cake!

I joked last night that all these years she's been watching from Heaven and having a good laugh as I miss her mark year after year.  Well, I have been following her directions to a T, so I couldn't figure out what the catch was.  I even looked up recipes on the Internet last year for comparison.  All the recipes I looked at were pretty much the same as the original recipe.  See, the problem with this cake is that everyone kept telling me I had too much rum in it.  Well, I followed Gail's directions.  How could my cake be turning out any different than hers?

After much debate, I decided to tweak the recipe a little this year.  Instead of waiting until the end to add rum to the glaze mixture, I added the rum and water at the same time and boiled it all for five minutes.  Let me just tell you that was the trick to getting this cake just right!  So, here's my slightly adapted version of Gail's Rum Cake.  Enjoy!

Bacardi Rum Cake
1 pkg Yellow Cake Mix
1 pkg Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix (I used the small box)
4 eggs (I think I only put in three, whoopsie!  The batter was a little thick, come to think of it!)
1/2 c Chopped Pecans

Mix cake as directed on package (my cake mix only called for three eggs, so maybe I was okay).
Put chopped pecans in the bottom of bunt cake pan.
Pour cake mix over pecans and bake (I baked at 350 for 45 minutes).

Rum Glaze
1 stick Butter
1/4 c Water
1 c Sugar
1/2 c Rum

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in water and sugar.
(Stir in rum here if you want the buzz-free version of the cake.  Trust me, it's now or never!)
Boil 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in rum (only if you want the buzz-inducing version, Designated Drivers recommended!).
Drizzle over cake.

And there you have it!  If you make a rum cake of your very own, please come back and leave a comment letting me know how it turned out!

Written on Friday, December 21, 2012.  Posted on Saturday, December 22, 2012.

Gifts for Teachers

You could probably find a million ideas on google for good or bad Teacher gifts.  I didn't have time for that.  Now, I don't like to think of myself as a cheap skate, but I definitely don't want to sink a large amount of money into a gift giving project. 

Finding the right package is the first step when planning your gift to give to all the wonderful folks at your child's school.  Most little tins or plastic bowls will cost you in the neighborhood of a dollar per person.  You could opt for the plastic treat bag instead.  But, I prefer those styrofoam coffee cups from the good ol' Dollar Tree.  These babies come in a pack of 6 for a buck and they are heavy duty so they hold up well and the lid stays on nicely, even in the hands of a Kindergartener. 

The next step in keeping your cost low but the sentiment high, is to decide what to put inside each cup.  I filled each cup with a packet of hot cocoa and a handful of hard candies I picked up at the Dollar Tree as well.  I chose hard candy because most people enjoy it and it was inexpensive.  I specifically picked the bags with the biggest quanity for my dollar.  Think butterscotch and peppermint and cinnamon discs.  Werthers are very festive, too.

For a little over fifty-cents per cup, Patty was able to hand out 24 little goodies to teachers and faculty this morning.  And let me tell you, she looked like a professional gift giver!  It was so adorable. 

Oh, and I used my Photoshop program to create the little circle on top of each cup.  It has a little Santa and reads, "Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas this year".  A line from my favorite Christmas song, I might add!  There is nothing handier than digital scrapbooking.  I placed two circles into a blank 4x6 .jpeg and printed them at Walgreens.  Plus, I got 33% off my order yesterday!

That picture on the bottom right is the classroom gift.  It's full of things like Lysol wipes, baggies, crayons, and pencil top erasers.  I grabbed one of the holiday basket bags and a red charger plate (both at the Dollar Tree) and tried to make a pyramid of goodness.  I gotta say that charger plate really gave the gift stability.  And who knows, maybe the class can use the plate in an activity or re-gift it!

Either way, Patty had a blast handing out those cups today and I know the class will be able to use all of the goodies in their giant goody bag when school begins again in January! 

Update: Ug, I found two terrible typos in this post!  Eeek.  But, it's all fixed now!

The Tree is Up, Finally!

Finally!  Our Christmas tree is up and decorated!  I know a lot of folks put the tree up right after Thanksgiving, but I think we might make a new tradition for ourselves and put the tree up just a couple weeks before the big day.

These are cell phone pics of Patty putting a few ornaments back on the tree after one of the kitties playfully knocked them off the tree while we slept.

We handed over the non-breakable ornaments to the kids this year and they had so much fun decorating!  When you have little kids, it doesn't pay to be a perfectionist!

Happy Holidays!

How Do You Do Your Christmas Cards?

I love Christmas Cards!
I love sending them.
I love receiving them.
I love everything about them.

Except the price.

Thankfully, I am a self-taught Photoshop user and this little hobby of mine saves me big bucks each time I need to send out any type of photo greeting card.

Actually, doing it myself makes it better than a 2 for 1 deal. Yay me!  I'll be sharing our Christmas Card on the 25th, stay tuned!

But, for now, here's my cousin Korrie and her family. 
Did you notice her cute little baby bump?

Toys R Us Disappointment

I was so happy to get this email notification from Toys R Us that the Doc McStuffins toy was available again! 

My happiness was quickly followed by disappointment as I realized it was not in stock for ordering and there was no way to check store availability.

Really Toys R Us? 

Really?

Update: As I flipped through the pages of the Kmart sale ad on Sunday I spotted the very same doctor kit!  I got online as fast as I could and was able to use the store locator to find and order this for store pick up!  Hooray!  Oh, and it was only $19.99 at Kmart.  Take that Toys R Us!

Send a Christmas Card to Dalton

Want to be part of a Guiness World Record?  And help a little boy's wish come true?

It's pretty easy.  All you need to do is add Dalton Dingus to your Christmas Card list.

Dalton is a nine year old from Salyersville, Kentucky and he has the wish to set the world record for Christmas Cards received. 
That's a pretty awesome wish. 
Read his story reported by ABC News.

I sincerely hope anyone reading this will send a card out to him soon.  This is going to be the very first card I send out this year!

Dalton Dingus
HC 62 Box 1249
Salyersville, KY 41465

Update:  I contacted Dalton's mom on Facebook to get a card total and as of Sunday evening, the total is over 110,000.  Hooray!  If you are planning to get a bunch of cards together, she says counting them in advance is helpful.  My plan is to put cards into gallon sized baggies with a total written on the outside. 

Go Elf Yourself!

I got intrduced to somethg really neat and funny a couple weeks ago: JibJab and Elf Yourself. 
Here's a little funny to start your day!  Patty and JT as elves!  I had trouble using the website so I downloaded the app to my phone and didn't have any more problems!  Hope this video link works!  The kids both loved watching these cute elves!

Did You Get the Toy Catalog This Week?

The Toys R Us toy catalog arrived in our mailbox this week.  I left it on the kitchen counter and just waited to see what would happen when the kids spotted it.  They had it spread out on the dining room floor and all I heard was, "I want that one!"  Over and over again.  They even brought it in the car for the ride to school today.  Patty was flipping through it on the ride home this afternoon and about half way home she said, "I love you, Mommy," totally out of the blue.  I'm pretty sure she was buttering me up!

Site to Store

While the rest of the house is asleep, I am up early doing a little Santa shopping and trying desperately to figure out why doll clothes are so darn expensive!  And why are those "american girl" dolls so expensive, too?!  Holy cow! 
Thank goodness you can get comparable dollies at Target for under thirty bucks.  But, the clothes are just too expensive everywhere.  I think I'm going to have to learn to sew, like really learn to sew. 
I was happy to stumble upon these two sets of doll shoes at Walmart.com and ordered them for Site to Store because I love some free shipping.  Well, little did I notice that I only changed the pickup location for one of the two items.  Santa is off her game today.  Note to self: change location for EACH item in the cart!