Blog Tiffany

Mmmmmm...Lemons...

I bought 2 huge bags of lemons several weeks back, and had not used any of them.  I hate for anything to go to waste, so I searched for a recipe on Pinterest that I could use those lemons on...quick!

I found one.

Lemon Curd

I love Lemon flavored and lemon scented anything.  My favorite pie is Lemon Meringue.  Mmm, mouth is watering just thinking about that.  anyway...

Taylor and I cooked up a batch on Sunday. (while waiting for our Christmas tree to be delivered)

Here is the recipe, from Betty Crocker.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Tablespoon Finely Shredded Lemon Peel

1 Cup Lemon Juice (about 5 large)

3 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine, Cut up

3 Large Eggs, Slightly Beaten

1. In heavy 1 1/2-quart saucepan, mix sugar, lemon peel and lemon juice with wire whisk.

2. Stir in butter and eggs. Cook over medium heat about 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats back of spoon (do not boil). Immediately pour into one 1-pint container or two 1-cup containers.

3. Store covered in refrigerator up to 2 months.

Very quick and easy recipe. 

Taylor and I wanted to see if we could taste the difference if we used the bottled Real Lemon Juice, so we made another batch.  Well, I wasn't paying attention, and I added way too much sugar.  So, yeah, we could taste the difference.  Each batch made just a bit more than a pint, so we poured it into this small black bowl that I always use for reheating gravy, you know, like around Thanksgiving time.  I had just made some fresh rolls, more for the leftover turkey gravy than the Lemon Curd.  Shad walks into the kitchen, apparently swipes a roll and dips it into the lemon concoction, thinking it is gravy.

All Taylor and and I hear from the living room is, "what the h*ll was that?" As he's wiping Lemon Curd out of his mouth.  That will teach him to just dip his roll into someone elses bowl!

Taylor has put her curd on toast several times.  I keep just going in with a spoon.

That's just how I roll.

The tree arrived, thank you Paula and the Alaska State Ferry System (we were weathered in again)

I got it set up and decorated in record time.  I still need to add that Tiffany touch, but that will have to wait til my next shopping trip out of town.

High School Basketball starts tomorrow for Chance, I'm super excited!  Talk to you soon!

 

Dear Santa

I have been a good girl all year.

All I want for Christmas this year is a Kick Sled.

I promise I will look so much happier when I use mine!

I will let Ridley take me for a ride!

And I will even share it with my family, on occasion.

I can even Kick it to the grocery store to save on gas!

Tiffany Haller.....

____Naughty

or

___X__Super Duper Nice!

Tis the Season

This was taken about 6 years ago, but it's still one of my favorites.

I was all "gung ho" today to put up my Christmas decorations, but things didn't end up the way I had hoped.  Chance started to hang all the white icicle lights along the front railings of the porch, but when he was done and went to plug them in, they all didn't want to light up at the same time.  (He did test them before hanging them)  I guess I have been toting these lights around with us for quite some time.  We always argue about putting them up.  I refuse to have colored lights on my house, and Shad thinks white lights show a lack of festiveness.  Whatever.  So, Shad says we need new ones.  Well, it's not like I can just run down to Target and get some new ones.  They will have to wait til the 5th when we fly out to go to Kenai for a few days. 

Then on to the Christmas tree.

Yeah,

no.

I want a tree up now, and if we get a real one, I'm sure to kill it before Ash even gets here.  So, Shad is so excited that I am excited about Christmas, he offered to get us a fake tree. 

WOOHOOO!! 

I can't kill one of those! 

My Sister in Law is going to see what they have in Homer tomorrow, I may have a tree by tomorrow evening. (doing the happy dance)

Aaaaanyway.

I have been pinning some fun Christmas things on Pinterest, and I wanted to share a few.

Ahh yes, let's start with the Pink Tree!  It's made out of Crepe Paper.  Love!  This is from Daisy Pink Cupcake.  Super cute.

This is a cute Paint Brush Ornament by Missy Mac Designs.

I love these cute little guys.  Every year I say I'm going to make them, but never do.  This one is done by Factory Direct Craft Blog.

And here is another, smaller version.

This is from Today's Fabulous Finds.  My dilema?  I can't paint or draw to save my life, so the faces would never look so cute. :(

This Button Ornament is made from a wire hanger, a little glue and lots-o-buttons, made by Shanty-2-Chic.

And last is this fabulous Picture Ornament from Scrapper Girl. This one is so cute, and looks quite easy to make.

There is so much wonderful creativity out there on the web.  Hope you liked the ones I have showed you today.  I'm off to sort my white buttons and look for some wire!

Got Boots?

We sure do!

We have been bombarded by lots of snow already.  I am LOOOOVING it!  There was a pretty crazy snow storm here on Tuesday.  Shad and I decided to go for a little walk, so I could take some pictures. 

That didn't turn out so well.  Most of the pictures didn't turn out, and we didn't make it very far.

It was way too cold for this girl.

I did get to break in my new furry boots though.

This is from my front door, just to the right of those stairs is my office at the firehall, and right next door is Shad's office.  That was as far as I made it on our big walk.  I guess I will wait til the sun comes back out and the wind stops blowing.

We had a nice time at Thanksgiving dinner.  It was still snowing, and the kids were really excited to go snowmobiling for the first time.  Taylor had a blast and has decided that she wants too buy one.

This is where we were.

Normally they have a glorious view of the Kachemak Bay, the mountains and Volcano, but today with the dark looming clouds, there wasn't much of a view.

I am so looking forward to Christmas this year.

Why, you may ask?

Because my Ashley will be moving up here to Seldovia in about 18 days!  She and Cody will be here on the 15th of December.  This will be a very special Christmas for the family.  Lights will be going up tomorrow! 

Have a nice weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

I hope everyone has a wonderful day filled with friends and family.  We are headed out the road to Shad's Uncle's house.  It has been snowing crazy here for 3 days, so lots of snow to go power sledding in!  Will have pictures tomorrow.

Have a happy day!

Brrrrrrrrr

Can I just say, Dang it is cold here!

It was 5 degrees below zero when I left for my class this morning.  I left my tea in the car and when I went back for lunch, it was frozen solid!  That is way too cold for me.

I drove to Palmer yesterday to have one of my friends cut my hair. 

My friend Jana, aside from being an amazing firefighter, owns her own beauty school/salon.  The whole place has a "fire" theme, it's quite fun!

That's not me in the chair.

:)

That's me after my haircut.

Thanks Jana!

I spent all day Saturday & Sunday in my Safety Officer class, then went back to the hotel and did some crafting.  I didn't take my camera with me, so please bear with my phone photos that I took.

I made some Christmas coasters.

These are a quick and easy last minute gifts.

1. All you need is some 4x4 tiles, you can get them at Lowes or Home Depot for about 16 cents each.

2.  Some Christmas (or other) paper napkins.

3.  You will also need some Mod Podge, a foam brush, thin sheets of cork and some Clear Acrylic Spray.

4. Trim the napkins to about 3 3/4 x 3 3/4, and Mod Podge it onto the tile.  When it's dry, add another coat on top.  When the tiles are completely dry, spray them with the clear acrylic spray.

  (I crinkled up my napkins to give them a little texture.)

Trim a piece of cork for the bottom, and adhere it with hot glue.  When they are done, stack them up and tie with a ribbon...ready for gift giving!

I left Wasilla at 8am this morning (it was -14 degrees) and I headed back home to Seldovia.

I don't think I will leave town again untill I go to CHA in January, I don't like traveling by myself.

Anyway, I got my turkey before I got home.  We are going to someone's house for Thanksgiving, but I still have to make a turkey for sandwiches!

Best part of the day.

Have a great "short" week.

Thoughts to Ponder...

I am in Anchorage tonight, staying at our favorite Hotel, The Dimond Center.  It was built by the Seldovia Native Association, and when any locals come to visit, this is where we stay.  It's kinda wierd not having the family with me.

Missing them :(

I was lucky that I got out this morning.  The winds kicked up again earlier in the week, and we had two days with no planes in or out.  I was convinced that I was not going anywhere, I didn't really pack untill this morning when I called Homer Air and they said they were flying.  Yeah!

So my first stop?

I have to admit it...

I hade to have

some

Taco Bell.

Had to do it.  Wasn't as good as I hoped, but I enjoyed it.

Strolled through Michaels, Walmart and Old Navy, nothing too exciting.

So, here is my thought that I am pondering...lol

I had talked to my friends before I left Washington about doing some sort or Scrapbook retreat weekend up here in Seldovia, and a few were very excited about it.  My schedule didn't really allow for it this past summer, but I am settling into a routine now, and I have the time to do it this next summer.

I have lots of ideas in my head, but I need to put them on paper to see if it is really doable.

The location is wonderful.  Our convention center looks right out into the bay, you can't get much better than that!  Anyway, lots to think about.

Tomorrow I'm off to Palmer to get my hair cut, then to Wasilla.  I'm hoping for no snow, 'cuz this little 2 wheel drive car I rented is not so great in snow or ice.

Aaaaanywaaaay...

Have a good weekend!

T-shirt Scarf Tutorial

I saw this cute scarf on Pinterest,

and decided to try to make it myself.

You can see a great video tutorial on The DIY Dish.

You need to start with a T-shirt, size XL works good.  Since my moto is "more is better" I'm going to use 2 T-shirts.

In two lovely shades of Pink!

Use a 9 inch paper plate, and cut out as many circle as you can get out of your shirt.

The hot pink one was a long sleeve, so I got a few more out of that one.

Now cut a spiral into each circle, all the way to the center.

Take each spiral, and stretch the pieces out.  This will allow the edges to roll a bit, so it will hide any minor imperfections in your cutting.  When you get all the pieces spiral cut, you will need to glue the ends of two of them together with fabric glue.  Do that to all the pieces, except one.

Use that last piece (I used one of each color) and tie all the pieces together.  Now you have a scarf!

Now, my A.D.D. kicked in, so I didn't have the patience to make a flower, but how cute would that look? Can you tell Tay wasn't thrilled to pose for me?

This took about 45 minutes total.  Fun project, and so easy for a kids/tween project.  Great way to use up old t-shirts.  I'm all about recycling!

I have a business trip to Anchorage on Thursday, and I am super excited to go shopping.

I took a few pictures on my cell phone of our grocery store today.  Let me share, and you'll know why I'm so excited to go shopping!

This is the the view, standing at the front door.  Only 4 aisles.

And that is the end of the store.  Only 2 shopping carts to use.  The owner keeps a lot of stuff in stock for such a tiny space. 

This is the produce department.

And this is the meat department.

The refrigerators are empty because of the storm we just had.  They bring things over on the ferry every two weeks, and the ferry was cancelled on Sunday because of the big seas.  The next one will be tomorrow.  So...a shopping I will go in Anchorage.  I need to check out the local scrapbook stores, if there are any.

Have a good week!

Now wind!

We are holding on tight, but I've never seen wind like this before!  It sounds like a freight train running through the yard.  It snowed some more, but then the temperatures rose and the wind kicked in.  The power blew out this evening, and Taylor and I sat and played Scrabble by candle light.  The generators in town kicked on about an hour later, so most of us have power.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that it stays on all night.

Will keep you posted!

~Snow~!!

We have snow! OK, we have had snow, but we are expecting lots more this weekend.  Just like last year, we got our first snow on Halloween.  It's always fun to Trick or Treat in the snow.

Here are some pictures off of my deck this afternoon.

And this is down the street.  My house is the one on the left with the light on.

After I dropped the kids off at school I came back home, and as I was walking back into the house and I noticed how quiet it was outside.  Not just quiet...I mean lacking any sound at all.  It was almost erie, but very cool.  Then watching the snowflakes falling gently from the sky, it just gives me a chill.  I'm very thankful for this little bit of paradise that I live in.

I will take pictures on Sunday to see how much snow we actually got.  They say 9 inches....not sure that will happen.

So, to keep with my snow theme...

Let's check out some great projects that I have come across this week.

This one...

O

M

G

A gorgeous card by Jean Martin. 

Love the colors!

And here is another one by Jean.

Beautiful!

I love all the patterns on this layout from Cindy Tobey.

And of course, love the pink in this one from EKSuccess.

This sweet layout is from Scrap a Little.

OK, that's enough snow for today.

Have a great weekend!

Some Pendants

I ordered some more glass tiles, this time in a few different shapes.  I got the 1 inch squares, the teardrops, and some heart shapes.  I think they will make great stocking stuffers at the next few craft bazaars that we have. 

Here are a few that I just started.  Please forgive the photos, it is quite dark here!

Love the Chandelier.

This one is a gift to a very special girl in our lives.

And the fun little Bird House.  I have about 60 that I am making, in between all my other little projects.

Another thing I am working on, are these tiny little Christmas ornaments.

They are made out of paint stir sticks.  Cool huh?  Wish I could take credit, but no, I saw it on another Blog, Today's Fabulous Finds.  Go check it out, she has great printables, and easy step by step by directions.

I can't wait to put up my tree and add my new decorations.  Boy, I thought I would never say that.

Me.

Not.a.big.fan.of.Christmas.

But, hey, things change.

She made hers with wire, but I live in the middle of nowhere, with limited supples, so twine it is!

And I have to share this with you.

I love green onions.  I am always sending the kids to the store for green onions, and half the time they are out.  So I wanted to grow my own.

Easy Peasy Mac and Cheesey!

So, the next time you use a bunch of green onions, instead of throwing out the ends, stick them in a glass of water.  And wait.

But, You don't have to wait too long.

See the little sprouts on the top?  That was 12 hours later.

And this is another jar I had after 3 days!  I know, right?

When you want some onions, just trim a little off the top.  I started this about 2 weeks ago, and have already used them about 3 or 4 times.  My hope is to find the perfect long, narrow container that will fit in my window sill.  When you don't have much light during the winter, and your access to anything fresh is almost non-existant, a few little onions can make a difference.

My kids think I'm nuts, but hey, whatever.

And one last item.

I had a surprise party for Shad last week.  It was a celebration of his new position as Police Chief.  I Facebooked our family and some of our closest friends, and asked them to bring a potluck dish to share, and to show up at our local Multi Purpose Room at 5:30.  I was floored by the amount of people that showed up.  Nearly every person I invited as well as a few more, showed up.  I called Shad and acted all frantic and said he need to come to the MPR right away.  I can see our house from the MPR, and I watched as he quickly jumped in his Police vehicle to head over.  When he walked into the room, everyone yelled "surprise!"  He was totally speachless.  I mean

SPEACH

LESS.

We had some great food, good conversations, and he got to see how much support he has from the community.

Our old Police Chief, Andy, got up and said a few words.  He presented him with a plaque that was given to him by one of Alaska's biggest Troopers.

He said some great things about him, and Shad got totally choked up.  It was sweet.  Everyone got to see the more sensitive side of him.

Shad really isn't that short, Andy is really tall.

OK, he's kinda short...

I will be back...Tomorrow!

Promise!

Halloween and such....

We had a blast at the Halloween Carnival!  My neice came over and did my make up, and we were running SHORT on time, so it was kind of a quickie job, but she did a great job.  Thanks Nichole!

Poor Shad, I did his makeup in about a minute and a half.  I am SO not a make up artist!

Here is a close up from the end of the night.  I thought it would be smeared everywhere, but not too bad.

We had a great carnival.  The Sophomore Class (all 4 of them) ran the Pie throwing booth, or in this case, Cupcake liner throwing.  They made more money than the other classes, and who was one of the favorites of the night....

Yep, Chief Haller!  Way to help out the girls honey.

I have been making cards again....

made 30 in one night

in between laundry

dinner

and cleaning the house.

Here are a few.

The scrapbooks don't really sell up here, but the cards sell like hotcakes, so I keep making them.

I got my tickets for CHA in January.  I will be staying down there for about 11 days,

and....

Teaching a class!

Yeah me!

I will be teaching in Santa Maria, CA on Saturday February 4th.  Here is a peek at the project.

Everything is from Canvas Corp.  Love it!

I have been working on some glass pendants and some Christmas ornaments, I will share those with you tomorrow.

I.Promise.

Good night!