warning..long post ahead

I shouldn't stay away so long!!
Ohhh staying at home watching movies is great. I don't get to do that nearly enough!
The marzipan hats were really easy, I just bought a tube of marzipan at the store. It was by the chocolate chips & baking stuff. It looks and feels like playdoh, and it's like a mini tube of cookie dough but about 1/4-1/3 the size. It was a little too hard so I kept popping it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up a little - one piece was in there too long and got a little burnt. Not good!
Anyway, I set about 1/4 of it aside and put some red food coloring in the rest. I rolled the white part out like cookie dough very thin and used the top of a spice jar to make circles, and made the scraps into little balls for the top of the hats. I made balls out of the red part and rolled one end a little smaller like a cone, then just pinched them at the end until they looked sort of like droopy Hershey kisses. Then I was really mad because I couldn't get all the pieces to stick together! So I made some frosting "glue" out of powdered sugar and water, I made it really thin and just dipped the bottom of the red hats into it and pressed them onto the white circles, then pushed the edges up around them. I poked little holes in the white balls and used the frosting to glue them on too. Then I took a paintbrush and painted frosting around the bottom edge and rolled it in white sprinkles, and dipped the tops into frosting & sprinkles too.
Whew, that sounds a lot harder than it really was! It was a lot of fun, well except for getting frustrated that they wouldn't stick together. I think next time I'll try almond paste instead of marzipan, it's the same but it has more almond and less sugar, so it's stickier.
I just love marzipan fruits but they are so expensive and really hard to find, there's this gourmet store at the Plaza that has them only at Christmas time and they are about $6-$12 for ONE piece of candy! I always buy some at Germany in Epcot but they only have chocolate covered bars and I like it better plain. It's kind of bitter but in small pieces it's SO tasty! I was really happy to be able to make my own. I found recipes online to make it from scratch and it looks pretty easy.
Linda, I made buckeyes tonight from your recipe. The peanut butter mixture tastes delicious, but they look like crap! I couldn't figure out how to dip them without getting chocolate all over my fingers, so I ended up dipping just the bottom half and they are all sort of pointy on the tops. They look like acorns (if you squint). I only made 1/2 the recipe and there are still SO many! I love treats that you don't have to cook.
That is awesome. Ill have to try them after we get home
Use a toothpick to dip the buckeyes the chocolate

just be careful they dont break in ½ from being too big and heavy.
Thanks for the idea Lyzziesmom- I want to make some buck eyes! Can you post the recipe again? I want to make sure I have all the ingredients before I go grocery shopping!
Jeremiah's Grandma is from Germany and she loves marizpan too. I used to get her some everytime we went to Disney when we were dating and still lived in Florida. Your santa hats came out so adorable!
Ill have to dig out that recipe at home, if you dont have it yet. Theyre so tasty!!
I just peeked into the girls' room before heading to bed and saw this, and had to share:
that is too sweet!
Hi!!
We just got back from Nathan's ballgame a little while ago. I'm feasting on some Cub Scout Kettle corn and Nathan is in the bathtub.
This weekend is a tournament in a town about 30 miles away from here; Nathan plays again tomorrow at 11am.
Linda:: I'm glad you got to stay home today and didn't have to drive in the snow!

Hopefully, next weekend Orlando will be warmer than it was in February. Are you all flying in to Orlando on Friday?
Did ayone watch George Lopez on Nick the other night? It was about him going to
Disneyland for the first time, because his neglectful mother would never take him. It was hilarious!! That episode had me in stitches!!!
Way to go Nathan on his great games!! I know, I had a headache and did NOT feel like battling the roads
so I didnt lol! It should be warmer than Feb. looks like 75-80ish!! Yeah, we arrive at 8:50pm and I cant wait!! I missed George Lopez, but his show is usually pretty funny!
My husband is so sweet to me. (Besides the tricking!!) What a great anniversary present!
Happy Anniversary, sorry I missed it, but that WAS really sweet of him! He can be pretty sly like that, cant he
Well...to answer your question about today...today was a very big day at work for me. I was my boss's last day! Would anyone like to celebrate with me?
Im so excited for you!!! that IS a great reason to celebrate YM
well have to celebrate more next week ! whoo hoo!
It's this Sunday- December 9! 2 years!
Congrats and Happy Anniversary.
Love the new ticker too!!
Yep!! Nathan and I are leaving for WDW next Saturday morning!! I REALLY tried to make something work out for YM's birthday, but just couldn't make it work.
We will fly down on Saturday and fly home on Monday afternoon, but we get to see the castle!!!
Oh.....we're staying at the Caribbean Beach.
I am SO excited for you guys. I want to stay there sometime too! I bet it is awesome.
I don't subscribe to him, but I know Linda does. Maybe she can look up that weekend for you!
Of coarse

I sent ya a pm Donna
Thanks Ashley and YM!!! I feel like I'm going into this trip clueless!! I have a feeling it's going to be REALLY crowded!!
Anyone know what does Tour Guide Mike say about next weekend?
No worries
youll have a great time. If you guys want to meet up, just let us know. I sent you my cell #.
Saturday evening is EMH at MK, so we'll probably go there. I thought Nathan and I might go to MGM on Sunday evening just to see the lights, but spend most of the day at Epcot.
That sounds fun!
Nathan is so handsome on his uniform.
How about a little trip to the Crystal Palace this morning? I'd love some Tigger waffles!!
I bet he does
hes such a cutie anyway! Oh yes, thanks for breakfast!
I'm off to the hospital. Rollercoaster----that's all I have to say. She's back to being worse according to my dad this morning.
I'll check in tonight.
Just want to give ya a hug and send some thoughts and prayers your way!
"Well that's what you get when you send me to bed for being bad"!

Don't ya just love kids!!!
I hope everyone has a great day!

is right
.. that is exactly what Kenny would have done

that just cracks me up!!!
I GOT THE TICKETS!! They were super expensive (twice as much as I wanted to pay), but they are decent seats, not in the balcony and not behind the flippin stage. Why do they even sell seats behind the stage? It's not a concert in the round... they are obstructed view. Um, if I wanted to just HEAR the concert I would pop in a CD thank you. Oh well... I really hope I get a decent tax refund so I can pay off my credit card faster!!
Glad you got tickets!! You guys will love it. At the Tim McGraw concert they had tickets behind the stage too
you could see
but obviously the rear most of the time..not that it would have been a bad view

lol
. But he actually turned around and sang a song just to them for that reason. I thought that was really cool of him.
Nathan had been acting like a little turd when we got home from his game. He's happy muching on chips and watching Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas.
Nathan acting like a turd
Kenny does that too!!!
We finally got our tree decorated
Yay!!! That is great.
Hi lyzziesmom!!
Hi YourMajesty!! :bowingdowntoherroyalhignessandnotkissinganyfish:

you crack me up pozey! Ill let you know how prestigecamera is
my lens comes Thurs. what I didnt like
.I ordered it last week..w/express shipping to arrive TODAY..I get to checking my email and have an email saying they need to verify my shipping info
hello..I paid for it to ARRIVE TODAY! GRRRR so itll be here Thurs.
you mean somebody actually noticed????
Of coarse!
Hey everyone...how about some donuts and coffee?
Oops.... how did that picture sneak in for breakfast?
oh thank you YM!!! Nice pic sneak too!!!
Have you taken them to see "Enchanted"? That would be a fun thing to do while DH is gone
have you seen it? we went Sat. and loved it! very cute!!!
Kenny is really excited about Alvin and the Chipmunks, and the new National Treasure too!! They both look good! Ill have to see NT2 at dtd
Hi, 2x2s!! You must have posted while I was taking f o r e v e r to type.
Gary knew that I was wanting to go to WDW for a couple of days; I just didn't know how that was going to work. Gary couldn't take off any more Mondays from work, because one of his coworkers has already claimed most of the Mondays in December It came to me like a vision one night to take Nathan with me!! I had almost talked myself out of it on Thursday, but Gary pointed out that I would regret not going. I'm afraid that day is going to come all too quickly when my little boy won't want to be seen with his old mom, I had better grasp the moment!!!
It did cost the extra airfare, but I got a really good rate at CBR with a $50 dining card. Nathan and I are just doing counter service, so that may get us through most of the trip.
You would regret it if you didnt go!! Thats awesome he encouraged you to go. Very sweet!
Oh...we are getting the ice
Hope things are getting better w/the ice you got.
Hey there Michele!!! Hope all is well. I figured you were enjoying Lilly quite a bit! Who wouldnt
!! shes so adorable
Friday night Blake and I went downtown to the Opera House to see The Lion King. It was amazing! Blake was funny tho. On the drive home I was asking him how he liked it. He said it was good but that he liked the cartoon better So guess what we watched yesterday morning??

sounds like Mike! I love the Lion King musical!!! Mike didnt care but Kenny really liked it. sorry bout the party
we dont even get that, so even $250, or even $25 would be nice for our guys
YourMajesty!!! Oh My!!! You are getting it WAY worse than we are!!
No ice at my house!! Just a little rain and mist!!
hope you still escaped the ice.
Helle, everyone!! Well, the games are finally done for the weekend....Nathan's "Blue" team beat the "White" by quite a bit.
Way to go Nathan!
Good evening everyone!
I didn't get around to making the fudge today. Instead after Madison and her friend where done dunking their heads in the snow....yes I said dunking their heads in the snow, they wanted to see how much snow their hair could collect they helped me make peppermint bark which we had a feast on when it was done.
YM your poor tree! I hope you can save it, it looks like it's a really pretty tree!
2x I made chicken noodle soup tonight too. I hope your family enjoyed it. Somehow chicken soup makes everything a little better. I hope grandma is doing o.k. tonight. So they have pumpkin massages for dogs? Madison loves the closet, she thinks it's comfy in there. Maybe when it's time to sell my house I can list it as a 4 bedroom rather than a 3!?!?
Donna tell Nathan good job on winning!
DH didn't catch a pheasant! However he said he wants to go again. Somehow I envision my golden years in a log cabin (that wouldn't be so bad) eating the mornings kill for dinner every night!
I'm a little sad, I have hunted everywhere for disney christmas cards and I can't find any anywhere. I guess I'm going to have to go buy some generic card to send to everyone.
sounds like Maddie had fun playing in the snow!
Emma revised her Christmas list this afternoon. She wants a Dora movie, a digital camera, her own phone and her own computer. Uhhhh.... ok, ok, no way and NO FLIPPIN' WAY. In case she forgot, she is ONLY THREE!
At this rate, I'm afraid of what she'll be asking for once she hits the teen years. A flying car, perhaps? A helicopter?
They learn early dont they!! Sounds like Kenny too
hell be asking for a Ferrari soon!!lol
Britt and I just finished making peppermint fudge.
sounds very tasty!!
Do you just say your taking a trip and he won't be there on the 17th??
I do
I might have to look for yet another seasonal job in addition to Yankee Candle. We're not doing very well, in the past few days I've worked, I've been sent home at least an hour early each time! And my manager had to cut everyone's hours this week because we're doing so bad. But the thing is, I'm only going to be here for a little over a month. Looks like I'll be picking up extra shifts once I start working at WDW.
Sorry about your hours at YC! Going home early isnt good. Youll be at wdw soon!!
Sorry, Ive never used ME
but I think you can use it one way.. from what Ive read here on the dis.
David was sitting here when I was reading that and he asked what that had to do with me. Then he said, "did you put on the board I went hunting"? Who Me?

I'd say you guys know more about us than our family, but our family reads this so I guess you know as much about us as they do!
For some reason when someone vacuums around here, they don't like to put the vacuum away, so it will sit in the living room for days or until I get tired of looking at it and do it myself. So I'm sitting here looking at it and someone decided to decorate it. Instead of putting it away, they put one of those giant red bows on the handle.
You guys know a LOT more than my family

Hi David

Lesa doesnt say anything bad!!! Your vacuum sounds funny w/a bow
Mike and I both are anal about putting things away immediately. Kenny is good about picking up too
he knows if he dont, itll be in the trash! Lol!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Sunday! We found a yummy place called the Fractured Prune (
http://www.fracturedprune.com/) . Has anyone heard of it? Its a donut place that allows you to choose what glaze and toppings you want! The donuts are fresh and warm, it was SO GOOD! I got the hawaiian donut- pineapple glaze with coconut topping. Jeremiah got one, I can't remember the name, with honey glaze and dipped in cinnamon sugar. YUM! We got a half dozen to take home

Good thing the place is pretty far away- we would be packing on the pounds if it were closer

but we were only in the plaza to get some rechargeable batteries and a memory card from MicroCenter!
Sorry you cant sleep.. I know that feeling !!! Fractured Prune sounds great!
Good morning!!
Well,it's just raining here right now. Gary isn't driving in to work today, because the ice storm looks like it's headed towards St. Louis. We appear to be East and South of the track of the the storm. I want all you guys to be careful if you have to get out in this stuff!!
I made a batch of cinnamon rolls this morning, just for you guys!!
Glad Gary isnt driving to work today! not worth it when its nasty!!!
My brother (10) wrote his Christmas list last week. It had: a 42" flat screen TV, an ipod nano, and xbox 360 elite (mind you, he already has a 360), a video game, and some clothes. He actually wrote that he knows he might be pushing it, but would really like these things. Gee, ya think?
I talked to him and he said he realized he wouldn't get everything on the list, but it didn't hurt to ask.
My stepmother ordered the furniture this weekend.

It should be here next week. However, I forgot to remind her about the mattress.
Hope everyone is doing well! Have a great day!
Omg
10 and wants all that
thats too funny! Yup, dont hurt to ask, as long as you have things that are realistic and your heart isnt broke on Christmas if you dont have a 42 flat screen under the tree!!
Good morning, all - a brief check-in... I've been reading, but just haven't had anything to say, i guess.
it's cold, it's thick icy and I woke at 5:30 this morning to the constant sound of trees cracking and falling - sounded like shotguns or fireworks going off around the house, just constantly. The neighbors have (had) a huge weeping willow that is now covering their and our front yard. Our pear tree in our back yard is gone, and our big (35-40 feet or so) oak is drooping pretty good. We live in a neighborhood where some of the homes are 20 years old or so, so there's a lot of mature trees. In the older section everybody has got trees down. Never seen anything like it. It was still pretty dark when I came in, but I brought my camera. We still have power but the main intersection near us is completely out. Didn't seem as bad here in town.
it is crazy to see, isnt it! Sorry you have a mess in your yard w/the neighbors tree! We had one a few years ago and it was a mess for sure. I lost 4 big trees at the rental! One was right across the 4 car garage and no one could get out of their garages
Doh! Hope you stay safe and warm!!!