CD Review and Tracks from Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas

I picked up a stack of Christmas CD's at the library recently and wanted to share my thoughts. First, I'll start with the four I wasn't to impressed with. Susan Boyle: I'll Be Home for Christmas, was not one of my favorite Susan Boyle CD's. I've always been a Susan Boyles fan, but honestly nothing stuck out and I haven't listened to it again. I was really looking forward to the The Seth Mae Farlane: Holiday for Swing CD, but found it pretty average, compared to some other swing style CD's I've heard. This was the only CD in my stack, that was a new release. Again, good, but not great. The Glee Christmas Albums: Volume 2 and 3 were good compilation CD's. They have a good mix of songs and talent from the show. Volume 3, even included a Hanukkah song.

I was most curious to listen to the Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas. This one pleasantly surprised me. I wanted to go like it, but honestly thought it was going to be pretty bad. It's not going to win a Grammy, but I'd describe it as FUN. It's something different and something I think may give you a few giggles.

It's starts off with the song Ragin Cajun Rednect Christmas, sung by Willie. I'd say..its not bad and not great. The title will tell you exactly what it's about, but it was fitting that the "Commander" started off the CD. Track #2 was I'll Be Home for Christmas, sung by Missy Robertson. This one surprised me the most, because she can sing. They have several songs with guest, so when I heard this song the first time, I actually stopped to check out the credits. Track #3 is Uncle Si "singing" You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch and a perfect combo I thought. Track #4 is Christmas Cookies with Phil, Miss Kay and George Strait. It's all about the real "sugar" he gets from Miss Kay, while the cookies are in the oven. Phil doesn't really sing, he more talks his way through the song, but it's one of my favorites on the CD. Track #6 is another fitting original called Hairy Christmas, with Willie, Luke Bryan, Phil, Uncle Si, Jase and Jep. The first verse sets the tone, for an entire song about rednecks, beards, shotguns and Jesus.

"Santa's sleigh might fly right on past
With all the camouflage around this place
So, we bought every string of lights Wal-Mart had
Now he can see the house from outer space
Shot down some ducks and some mistletoe
A lot of love and a pot of gumbo"

Track #11 is The Night Before Christmas; Uncle Si Style. He reads his way through a story about Willie being all "Chubby and Plump" and bringing toys and goodies for everyone. The CD ends with Silent night sung by the entire family, Phil doing a closing prayer and Willie doing a closing statement, similar to the TV show. 

 My final thought on this CD, is how fun it would be to own a piece of cultural, Christmas memorabilia.

Christmas in July Dinner 2014

This year, I wanted to do something different, so we took the idea of Ugly Sweaters, gave it a summer twist and wore Hawaiian shirts. My gals, Shari and Shae took it one step further and showed up with these fabulous coconut additions. Trust me, they we're the topic of endless jokes all evening.

2014 has been a year of change in our family, so our little celebration had to work through a few absences. My best friend Tammy passed this year, so she was absent and Ciara's best friend Konner (our summer Santa) has moved out of state for college. Both we're missed, but in our thoughts. Ciara had a the idea to make this chalk board sign and send it to Konner. 

We played a quick game of Christmas Trivia, but next year we need to amp up the game, because this batch was way to easy.

We all had a blast exchanging or gifts. Everyone did a great job of making them personal and that's what makes it so much fun. 

After dinner and gifts, the kids went outside to try out the new super soakers I gave Shae. They we're an instant hit and I have no doubt that they will be put to great use for the remainder of the summer.

 

Once again, I'm thankful for my friends and family putting up with my Christmas antics and playing along. I love them all!

A Hello Kidney Cake... A Special Celebration!

This past week, my niece celebrated her 1 year anniversary of her kidney transplant. Although her health has been far from perfect this past year, we are blessed by the donation and the life saving changes because of it.
She chose to celebrate and honor the donor of her kidney by releasing balloons with her family.

 I wanted to honor her and celebrate her accomplishments by making her a special cake. I knew I wanted to make her a Kidney cake, but after doing a search for ideas, I was flooded with choices. Believe it or not, alot of people have made Kidney cakes. Some are silly, others more realistic and some just have a weird color and I wasn't sure I wanted to go there.

Since my niece is 12, I wanted to be more girl friendly. Once I crossed paths with this photo and the group online, I knew I wanted to use it as my inspiration.

If you are interested in purchasing any Hello Kidney products or connecting with the group, you can do so at these links... 

 Hello Kidney On Facebook  

Hello Kidney T-Shirts


Now, I'd like to say upfront.  I'm far from being a cake expert, but I've dabbled in cake decorating a bit. 17 years ago or more, my friend called me and said.."Hey, lets go sign up for a cake decorating class". She was trying to find a new hobby, so I volunteered to tag along. We bought all the necessary supplies, enjoyed the class, but once we were done she never used those tools again. Me on the other hand, had a 2 year old daughter and put my skills to use for birthday cakes and parties throughout her childhood. Some turned out great, others so, so.  This one, I happen to be pretty proud of and even happier at how simple it was to make. Here are a few photos from the process.

 I started with a 9x13 cake, a paper template and a frozen cake. Using a frozen cake, warmed just a tad, gives you stability to cut your cake into the shape you want.

 I used the template as a guide and just used a sharp knife to cut a guide on top of the cake. Once I had my guide, I went back with a longer knife and carved the cake out. If you are having difficulty carving it, because it's still to frozen, just let it sit a few minutes and try again.

One of the most important steps in making a decorative cake is putting 2 layers of frosting on. The first, is your "crumb layer". You frost the cake quickly, with a thin layer of frosting, pop it back in the fridge or freezer for a few and then come back to put your final and thicker layer on. This keeps all those crazy crumbs from your carving taking over your final frosting master piece. For more details on crumb coating your cake, check out Martha Stewart's video tutorial.

This cake only required two colors, but two of the hardest colors to mix. Black and Red. I just so happened to have Wilton's tubes of each, which made my task even easier. Easier on time, but these tubs can give your hands a workout. I always seem to find these tubes on clearance after holidays and pick them up for future use. Christmas Red, can be used for Valentines Day, Valentines Red, can be used around the Fourth of July...ect! Just think ahead and outside of the box.

Here is my final piece.....

My 19 year old daughter was pretty impressed, being a Hello Kitty junkie. When I told her "to bad I never made you a Hello Kitty cake as a kid". I was quickly told "I still can", so I'll have to keep that in mind.

Now, on to the most important part of the story, delivering it to my niece.  As you can see from the photos, her smile tells the story.

Now on to more important things. Let me take a moment to share Shae's story and tell you how you can find out more information or get support following a diagnosis. In a matter of months and less then a year, my niece Shaelyn went from being a healthy young runner, to a fragile young lady, needing a desperate kidney transplant. After multiple misdiagnoses, and lost previous time, she was diagnosed with  Wegener's Granulomatosis. 

The kidney loss was a result of lost time treating her disease. Before she could be put on the transplant list, her disease needed to be stabilized. This was accomplished and just 6 days after being put on the transplant list, she was called with the news. She had a donor!

Today, her life is getting back to a "new normal". She's been home-schooled this past year, but plans of returning to middle school in the Fall. They've also been working hard at supporting and bringing awareness to the treatment of Wegeners Granulomotosis and Vasculitis by organizing a non-profit called W.G. Warriors.  In support, many of her friends and family, wear Red on Wednesdays to support Shae and W.G. warriors all over the world.
 

To support or contact W.G. Warriors, you can locate them on the web and Facebook.

W.G. Warriors Web Site

W.G. Warriors Facebook Page

Better Homes & Gardens 1959 Holiday Cookbook

On my Confessions of a Holiday Junkie Facebook Page, I shared the cover of this book I picked up at a vintage store. I think my love for these books, stems back to my love of hosting parties. I love to read about the formality of what was expected in years past. Some of it, still pertains to current day, but other topics are just worth a good laugh. 

First up....

What Makes A Party Click?

    To help you roll out the red carpet at your party, we give dozens of ideas on what to serve-everything from snacks to a big holiday dinner or special occasion smorgasbord. 
    We've tried to make things easy for you, the hostess. You'll find many recipes you can fix ahead, others that keep last-minute fuss to a minimum. This will leave you free to chat with guest, enjoy your own party.
     Unless you know your guest well, it's best not to serve anything that's too unusual. As a rule, men like simple food while women take to the "something different". 
     When planning a dinner party, pick foods that can wait. Guests might be late.
     You'll want to make the most of an upcoming holiday. Even just a special dessert-heart shaped cake, Easter Bonnet cookies, Goblin Frosties-makes the simplest meal an occasion. 

Tips for hostess to keep in mind for smooth-running parties 

Careful planning is the secret to successful entertaining

* Invitations-send out one week to 10 days ahead of time for most parties. But plan on two to three weeks during the holidays. 

* Here's how to organize your party if you're new at entertaining. List the major jobs that must be done ahead.  Examples are: What to serve; groceries to buy; how you want the table set; and when to cook the food. Plan a schedule and check off each item as you do it. 

* Serving something new? It's a good idea to try the recipe first-see if you like the flavor, if it suits the occasion. 

* You'll save dish washing if you count smart ovenware and electric skillets that can travel from kitchen to the table.

* Before the party, decide how to split duties between the host and hostess. 

* Budget your time-save a precious hour before guests arrive to relax.

Merry Christmas in July

The good thing about CIJ is having fun blogging about it, the bad thing is...while having so much fun and planning for Christmas in July, I run out of time to blog about it. I have so many ideas running through my mind, but haven't sat down to blog about them. Tonight however, we celebrated with our annual Christmas in July dinner. Today is the 25th of July and in our house, that means family, friends, food and fun!  The tradition seems to be growing each year and we gather a few more guest. I love having friend over, but the bad thing is my house just doesn't accommodate everyone well. But we squeeze in and make the best of it. It really, doesn't leave us much room to spread apart, so when one of us laughs, we ALL laugh!

So my next topic...the new camera in our home. My daughters first big purchase after working this summer, was a fancy new SLR camera. She was offered a deal she couldn't refuse, by a fellow student from school. After using my camera for years and going through several of her own portable camera's, this new camera is her prized possession. Over the past year, she's been slowly taking over the photographer role in the house, so when we have family get together or go on trips, she's the one responsible for taking the pictures. That works great, until she's with her friends and forgets she's the "Photographer". Tonight my BFF surprised me with an awesome birthday cake he made and my daughter missed the whole thing, until I got her attention and by then she had missed them all singing happy birthday to me. You moms know how it is, you are always on the backside of the camera and getting you in the picture can be difficult. She finally joined in and here are a few photos of my cake. I'll have to come back and do another post on this cake alone. 

Just like Christmas, we exchange names and buy one gift for the person on our list. We all know each other pretty well obviously, so it can be a lot of fun and HYSTERICALLY funny. 

 The "Last" book Aunt Sandy will ever read....

But NOT because she's "Old"

We all decided that Lesley finally needed a planner. 

I mean, she only works 4 jobs! 

My nerdy husband got the Gumby and Pokey toy he wanted, along with some Gumby Gummies.

Ciara got some Monogrammed towels from Aunt Sandy for college and had another break down moments. Something about towels and totes, seem to set off those moments in our house right now. 

And when Mike gets a Nerf gun, watch out. All must take shelter!

We did it potluck style this year and that worked really well. It kept the cooking at a minimum for everyone and better yet, the house stayed cool. We also "enjoyed" of a new kind of meat tonight - Hamurkey
Let's just say, it was suppose to be a honey spiral cut Turkey, but tasted like Ham. Literally, it was the weirdest thing ever. Needless to say, I won't be buying that again at Costco.

When you tell people you are having a Christmas in July, the response is pretty black and white. You hear....wow..that's kinda weird, but sounds fun or you hear...ARE YOU CRAZY. It's 6 months early and I hate doing it in December, why would you do it twice? Well my answer to this is family. You know, I married into a pretty big family, however my immediate family is an adopted family of friends. Often, they have other places they have to be and this is just one more excuse to gather then together for a night of fun. We could do it in August, but since I love Christmas, CIJ just sounds like a good excuse as any. It gives us one extra day a year to pull out the wrapping paper, wear a pair of Christmas earring and start day dreaming about how we wean to accomplish so much for the upcoming holiday season.

On that note, I"ll end with one final photo...