Today was a transition day, a day spent trying to get back to the "normal" way of life.
It is only January 2nd and my husband decided it was time to take down our outside Christmas decorations. It made me sad to see them being put away, another Christmas in our past. Where did the month of December go. It seems like it was just yesterday that the kids were anticipating with joy the lights going up and getting to help Daddy put up the nativity scene and Santa.
While the kids and Daddy worked outside, I worked on tackling the laundry pile that has gotten out of control these last few weeks. In between loads I snuck in some reading. The book is "Sarah's Key" and it has haunted me the last few days; probably too heavy of a book for this time of year.
But what made the day was that I finally got to stay home, read and drink hot chai tea! That is all I have wanted to do for the last couple of weeks and today I got to. I love a glass of hot chai tea mixed into coffee. The coffee shop that I used to go to made the best chai tea and it was even better with a shot of espresso in it. So when I make mine at home, I just put my mix into my brewed coffee. It is wonderful.
I found the recipe for it last year in a Taste of Home magazine. It is easy to make and you can make it as low calorie as you want. Also since it is a mix, you can control how strong or weak you want to make it. Here is the recipe:
Spiced Chai Mix
3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
1 1/2 cups sugar ( I use splenda)
1 cup unsweetened instant tea ( I use decaf )
3/4 cup vanilla powdered nondairy creamer (I use nonfat sugar free)
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground all spice
1/2 tsp ground cardamon ( This makes the tea!)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
In a food processor, combine all dry ingredients: cover and process until powdery. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.
To prepare 1 serving: Dissolve 3 Tablespoons of mix in 3/4cup boiling water; stir well. Dollop with whipped cream if desired. (I use brewed coffee instead of water)
I hope that it adds warmth and some spice to your life, as we begin this new year.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The Best Christmas Gift Yet.
When my daughter decided that she wanted Santa to bring her a horse, a real horse, I was afraid that she was going to get dissappointed. We tried to explain to her that Santa might not be able to get a real horse on his sleigh because it would probably scare the reindeers. She decided this was okay when we were at Costco one day and she saw Butterscotch the horse. This would have been fine, but she was almost too big for Butterscotch and I did not see her getting that much enjoyment out of her. After Thanksgiving she changed her mind, and decided she really wanted Santa to bring her baseball equipment. She wanted to play T-ball, so she needed a mitt, a bat, a ball and a T-ball stand.
The only thing was that she really loved horses and was always talking about them. So leave it to Santa, he got her baseball equipment and horseback riding lessons. This was the best gift that Santa could have gotten her! The night before her lessons she could not go to sleep and she woke me up at 5:30am to see if it was time to go. It was so hard for her to wait until 1:00pm.
Her lessons were with Miss Karen who did not live to far from our house. When we got to Miss Karen's ranch, she had a grin plastered to her face and it never left!
Miss Karen taught her how to brush the horse and put the saddle on. She was a little timid at first, but before too long she was right in there.
She got to brush the horse and also help with the saddle.
When she was able to get on the horse, she was in heaven. And of course, she looked absolutely adorable with her cowboy hat and her long hair. It didn't matter that it was overcast that day, her smile lit up the arena.
Miss Karen showed her how to hold her reins and how to get Mocha started. She was a little quiet at first, but before long she could get him to stop and to get started again. Miss Karen never led the horse, but showed my daughter how to get Mocha to do what she wanted it to do.
She had Mocha doing what she wanted in no time. Here she was getting her to stop.
Towards the end, she was even riding with one hand. She looked like an old pro after just a half hour.
When they were done, she rode Mocha out of the riding arena back to the saddling area. She got to go out the gate all by herself.
Miss Karen also taught her how to get off the horse using the stirrups. It was funny because the stirrups wouldn't go short enough for her legs.
She was so proud of herself when she was done. You would have thought she had just climbed Mt Everest. She was so happy.
She watched Miss Karen take off the saddle and go in the barn to get Mocha some treats. She sat on the horse trailer and I got some really cute pictures of her. These two were a couple of my favorites.
I know I am not objective, but she is one cute little cowgirl! I am so glad I let her buy the cowboy hat last summer when we were going to a baseball game and it was going to be 105 degrees. She picked out the cowboy hat and would not consider any other of the more girly baseball ones. It came in handy for the photo shoot of this riding lesson.
Here she is feeding Mocha her treats. Again she was a little timid at first but then got right in and gave them to her. She let Mocha eat them out of her hand. Miss Karen said she was going to be a fine cowgirl when she wiped the slobber on her pants.
Here is the little cowgirl leading her horse back to her pen. She looks so grown up and so little at the same time!
The only thing was that she really loved horses and was always talking about them. So leave it to Santa, he got her baseball equipment and horseback riding lessons. This was the best gift that Santa could have gotten her! The night before her lessons she could not go to sleep and she woke me up at 5:30am to see if it was time to go. It was so hard for her to wait until 1:00pm.
Her lessons were with Miss Karen who did not live to far from our house. When we got to Miss Karen's ranch, she had a grin plastered to her face and it never left!
Miss Karen taught her how to brush the horse and put the saddle on. She was a little timid at first, but before too long she was right in there.
She got to brush the horse and also help with the saddle.
When she was able to get on the horse, she was in heaven. And of course, she looked absolutely adorable with her cowboy hat and her long hair. It didn't matter that it was overcast that day, her smile lit up the arena.
Miss Karen showed her how to hold her reins and how to get Mocha started. She was a little quiet at first, but before long she could get him to stop and to get started again. Miss Karen never led the horse, but showed my daughter how to get Mocha to do what she wanted it to do.
She had Mocha doing what she wanted in no time. Here she was getting her to stop.
Towards the end, she was even riding with one hand. She looked like an old pro after just a half hour.
When they were done, she rode Mocha out of the riding arena back to the saddling area. She got to go out the gate all by herself.
Miss Karen also taught her how to get off the horse using the stirrups. It was funny because the stirrups wouldn't go short enough for her legs.
She was so proud of herself when she was done. You would have thought she had just climbed Mt Everest. She was so happy.
She watched Miss Karen take off the saddle and go in the barn to get Mocha some treats. She sat on the horse trailer and I got some really cute pictures of her. These two were a couple of my favorites.
I know I am not objective, but she is one cute little cowgirl! I am so glad I let her buy the cowboy hat last summer when we were going to a baseball game and it was going to be 105 degrees. She picked out the cowboy hat and would not consider any other of the more girly baseball ones. It came in handy for the photo shoot of this riding lesson.
Here she is feeding Mocha her treats. Again she was a little timid at first but then got right in and gave them to her. She let Mocha eat them out of her hand. Miss Karen said she was going to be a fine cowgirl when she wiped the slobber on her pants.
Here is the little cowgirl leading her horse back to her pen. She looks so grown up and so little at the same time!She can't wait until next weeks lessons. Santa got her four weeks worth of lessons. We will see if she is still this excited after that. I of course can see her barrel racing in a year! Just kidding since we live in town and don't even own a horse. For now we will just enjoy the half hour a week of joy.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Christmas Time
We had a very Merry Christmas this year, even a visit from Old Saint Nick! Here he is instructing us on the difference from "aside the nose" and "inside the nose!" Gotta love those replacement clauses.
The kids got tired of posing for pictures. I got a new lens for Christmas and I took over 500 pictures from Christmas Eve until Christmas Day! Thank goodness for digital.
My children got everything they wanted and more. I can't believe how everyone is so good to them.
My daughter looks so cute, she doesn't need that makeup she is putting on. Makeup is one of her favorite things to play with, thanks to her godmother who gave her some last year.
We have had a very blessed Christmas time! It has been very busy with work, family and colds! I hope to get back to my regular blogging after new years! Happy New Years to All!Wednesday, December 3, 2008
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house, and I love it! We love to turn all the Christmas lights on at night and no regular lights. It is beautiful and really helps get all of us in the mood for Christmas.
Here is one of our trees on Friday evening. It wasn't decorated yet but we could still light it up!
My husband has the outside almost all done. He worked all weekend on it even though he was sick! All he has left to do is go buy more extension cords! It is amazing how many more we end up buying every year.
My daughter was a big help on the living room tree. We turned up the Christmas music and enjoyed putting on the ornaments. I didn't let it bother me that all her decorations were in one spot, I just moved them later without telling her. It was more important that we were making Christmas memories.
Here is one of our trees on Friday evening. It wasn't decorated yet but we could still light it up!
My husband has the outside almost all done. He worked all weekend on it even though he was sick! All he has left to do is go buy more extension cords! It is amazing how many more we end up buying every year.
My daughter was a big help on the living room tree. We turned up the Christmas music and enjoyed putting on the ornaments. I didn't let it bother me that all her decorations were in one spot, I just moved them later without telling her. It was more important that we were making Christmas memories.
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