Happy New Year's Eve !!!! (2008 ---> 2009 )

Happy New Year's Eve Blogland Neighbor-hood!!!


WOW ! Wasn't it just Christmas ? (for that matter, wasn't it just New Year's Eve 2007 ?!?!?)

Anyway, as yet another year comes to a FAST close, Kitty and I want to say how much we enjoy this Blogland Neighborhood and your friendship ....a toast to all of you for a happy and healthy 2009 ..... Have a fun and safe New Year's Eve !!!! .....and ......





..... GO PENN STATE !!!!









Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

A Merry Christmas to all......

......A Merry Christmas to all.....







......and to all a good night ......









From our home to yours ..... have a happy and peaceful holiday !

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

How Kitty Stole Christmas.......

Well hello out there Blogland Neighborhood ! Here we are just a few days from Christmas and unfortunately Kitty is still in a snit because we didn't have time to bake cookies yesterday. She was pretty annoyed about it and besides that "Bah Humbug" she shouted, she also was mumbling something about if she doesn't get to bake cookies then she'll just steal Christmas so nobody else has any fun either ......we better check and see what she's up to.....




....hmmmmmm...looks like she's got a pattern and she's cutting something out of that fabric......



.......well this looks harmless ..... she's just sewing something .... maybe a new Christmas outfit ......





.....hmmmmmmm..... she made a Santa Claus outfit ..... I wonder what she's planning to do with that .....and why is she looking at the dog like that?




......did she just tie a stick on his head to try and make him look like a reindeer!?!?!??




......Kitty !! Where are you and Max going ?!?!??




......Kitty !!! You better NOT touch those presents !!!



......(GASP) I don't believe it .... she took them anyway and piled them in the sled!! She says she stole Christmas and now she's going back home with her full sleigh......




....but looks whose there waiting for her when she gets home .... it's Santa himself.... Uh OH!!! .... but.... he doesn't scold Kitty for what she's done.... he just explains to her the real meaning of Christmas ....suddenly Kitty understands .....



.....and decides to return all of the Christmas presents ....




.....then she heads home to enjoy a quiet, peaceful evening (and Max is all set for a long winter's nap)....

PHEWWWWwwwwww! I'm glad we got that situation under control!!! I'd hate to have had to bail Kitty out of jail!! (and I apologized again for not having time to bake cookies yesterday .... and I told her we'll try to do it tomorrow).


Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Aunt Irma's Cranberry Pie

Happy first day of winter Blogland Neighbor-hood! I'ts cold and blustery here .... a little bit more snow and mixed stuff earlier today, but not much ..... just cold!! (the wind has really picked up.) (oh, hey, how do you like that artsy attempt at a close up of those cranberries? ... more like a pathetic attempt..... I keep sayin' the MBIAJ Photography Dept should AT LEAST read the directions that came with the camera!!!)

Anyhow, Kitty came over because we have ALOT of holiday baking to do .... first off, we're making Aunt Irma's Cranberry Pie (well, I don't know if it's hers originally, it may have come from one of her Garden Club cronies .... but as far back as I can remember, my mother , Aunt Irma's sis, or Aunt Irma has made this pie for the holidays.)

OK ... we better get started..... first of all, here's the ingredient list:

2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shelled walnuts

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/4 cup melted shortening


Grease 10 inch pie pan.


spread cranberries over bottom of pan....



.....sprinkle with nuts and 1/2 cup of sugar....




....beat eggs well.....



...add the flour, melted fats, and sugar. Beat well....



....pour batter over the cranberries ...




....Bake 50 minutes at 325 degrees or until the crust is golden. Good with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping (direct quote from Aunt Irma and Mom...)

....OK.... it's in the oven......tick tock tick tock tick tock ....... DING !!! DONE!

















.....oh boy....look at the time!!! I didn't realize how late it's getting!... Kitty, I don't think we'll have time to bake cookies this afternoon .... it's my mother-in-law's birthday today , and Mr. Moonbeam's birthday tomorrow .... so the inlaws will be here for dinner at 6PM and I still have to bake the birthday cake ..... YIKES!!!




......."WHAT !!! We don't have time to make cookies today ?!?!?!?!"




...."Well.... THAT DOES IT .... I'M LEAVING !!! ...and BAH HUMBUG!!"



....oh brother .... there she goes again .... we'll see if she stays on Santa's "Nice List" !

Well, I better scoot and get started on that birthday cake .... and then figure out how to make a pork roast .....be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow (but don't overdo it!)

Well, happy Friday Blogland Neighborhood! We're so glad you enjoyed our "2nd Annual Sugar Plum Fairy Spectacular" !! (Thanks for all the fun comments!).




Today, like much of the country, we had some snow (followed by and mixed in with sleet ..... kind of messy and tricky to drive in, but pretty to look at!) Anyhow, I needed some greens (as my mother calls them .... translation = clippings of pine/evergreen trees) for a little outdoor decorating (because it's less than a week until Christmas and , NO, I'm not finished decorating, among other things!) .....so, I dusted off my boots and dug out my mittens and trudged out to the woods behind our house....


....to clip some clippings (all the while hoping that's not illegal .... but I'm pretty sure I was still on our property .... I think....)





......I happen to know this bench is MINE and is on our property .... so my mittens and clippings are allowed to be there !!!! (O.K. so it's falling apart and nobody should actually sit on it ..... unless it's that park ranger who keeps trying to give my kids a fine for riding their dirtbikes too close to / or probably on state park land .....)

Anyhow, lets take a walk around to the front of the house .....



.......hmmmmm.... that tree looks like a telephone pole.....








.....OK ... my tootsies are FREEZING .... I think those boots leak .... let's go back in the house .... we'll go in the side door....



.....oh ... that's what I needed the "greens" for ... I tie them on those skiis (those are my Dad's early 1950's skiis .... complete with pointy, dangerous looking ski poles!)











....Ahhhh.... now that we're back inside, my tootsies are thawing out ....
Oh, hey look at this fun Gooseberry Patch Christmas book I picked up at the grocery store a few days ago .....






















Kitty and I planned to do some baking.....




....gathered up our equipment and ingredients for cookies and Aunt Irma's cranberry pie ..... but, as usual, got side tracked and did NOT accomplish SQUAT in the baking dept ..... or the wrapping dept ..... or the gift sewing dept .... or the Christmas card writing dept .... (sigh) ... status quo around here!

Anyhow, we're supposed to get more snow on Sunday so, maybe if we're stuck here at home, Kitty and I will at least get the cranberry pie made ..... and if we do, we'll be sure to post the recipe ....it's a good one !!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Sugar Plum Fairy Boot Camp ......not for wimps

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood! I'm glad you enjoyed our little holiday tour of Jim Thorpe ....it definately is a quaint little town. In an effort to continue to bring you the best in holiday entertainment, we here at MBIAJ Headquarters would like to present to you our "Second Annual Sugar Plum Fairy Spectacular". (last year, of course, was our first ....you can click here to see it.... and click here for the Tu-Tu tutorial ).

But, before our Spectacular gets under way, we'd first like to share with you some of the behind the scenes preparations. A great deal of hard work goes into becoming a Sugar Plum Fairy (this verified by our dancers Tyler .... our defensive tackle and power lifter Sugar Plum Fairy, and Evan .... our soccer player and dirtbike racer Sugar Plum Fairy)....




......there are push ups .....



......and more push ups .....




.....and pull ups ....





.....and even MORE pull ups ....



......and ENDLESS hours and hours of practicing those plie's.....



........and MORE plie's .....


















But, as any dedicated Sugar Plum Fairy will tell you, it's all worth it in the end when the curtain goes up and the music begins (P.S. don't forget to turn up your speakers so you can fully enjoy the music)....... and now, without further adoo....we present to you our "Second Annual Sugar Plum Fairy Spectacular" (the condensed version) .....starring Tyler and Evan .......

.....(click on any of these pictures to better see the serene looks on our dancers faces)




........Ta Daaaaaa.....











Well, we certainly hope you've enjoyed this year's Spectacular .....please feel free to sit through an encore performance .... and while you do that, I have to run out to the grocery store to get a couple of cases of Pop Tarts (that's what Evan and Tyler charge for this most recent episode of public humiliation!)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Dressed in Holiday Style

Hello out there Blogland neighbors! Well, a short, very short 2 weeks from today is Christmas Day ..... uh oh ..... and, as is par for the course, we're just zipping along here at MBIAJ Headquarters at a SNAIL's PACE !!! So, since I can't show you any significant progress here at Headquarters, I thought I'd share pictures of some of the shops in town all dressed in holiday style. So, fix a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate (or maybe you'd prefer a martini?), kick off your shoes, tell those kids to knock it off and get to bed, and enjoy a brief little tour of Jim Thorpe, Pa all dressed up for Christmas (I won't even talk during your little tour so you can actually have a little peace and quiet .... )














(oops, some of these pictures are hard to see ... so , you can click on them to make them bigger so you can actually see them!)


I took these pictures this past Sunday when it was FREEZING outside .... my fingers were NUMB !! (that's my excuse for lousy photography ... this time .... and I'm sticking to that story!) Anyhow, I was freezing, so I ducked into Mr. Moonbeam's business establishment, The Inn at Jim Thorpe to stand by the fireplace and get warm .... so I took a picture of the Christmas tree in the hotel lobby .....



.....isn't that pretty !!! This is the tree Evan and Mr. Moonbeams picked out and cut down .... and the ladies that work at the Hotel decorated it (which is why it's so pretty and actually DONE ... because yours truly has nothin' to do with it!!)








Well, I hope you enjoyed our brief little holiday tour ....and, as much as I'd like to sit and visit with all of you a little longer, if I don't remove my carcass from in front of this computer and actually get myself in gear, I'll have to keep passing off the hotel Christmas tree as ours!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Monogrammed tote .... DONE ! Rotting pumpkins...FROZEN ! Christmas tree .... NOT FINISHED !!

Happy Sunday evening Blogland Neighborhood! (actually, here at MBIAJ Headquarters, it's 12:23 AM ... as in early Monday morning ) .... and, as usual, Mr. Moonbeams and the offspring are all tucked in and cozy and , as usual, I'm up doing laundry. Please excuse any and all mispelled words and all grammatical errors as my head needs a good dose of Draino to unclog my ready to EXPLODE sinuses !

Anyhow, back to our first topic this evening ..... I FINISHED .... yes, FINISHED the mystery polka dot project !! (I think I finished it yesterday .... but my clogged head isn't sure) ..... and, here it is ......




.....my Monogrammed Tote Bag ....ta da ....I decided to be brave and enter it in Martha Stewart's Gifts by You contest. It's listed under the Home Decor and Crafts category (under "lucyeths" ... my undercover code name :) I also decided to enter my Fleece Pocket Scarf under the Fashion category (again .... code name lucyeths:) Martha's got some GREAT prizes !!! but, I'm up against some stiff competition ....such as Miss Happy Zombie , Miss Beth's Bagz and Miss Georgia Peachez.

(we'll be taking a short intermission here so I can blow my nose and get Evan's jeans out of the dryer and put his gotchies in (that was my granmother's word for underwear).... be right back.....)

OK ..... now on to our 2nd topic .... the rotting pumpkins are still on our front porch, but now they're also .....



.....FROZEN !!!! (that's a dusting of snow in our yard .... and the temperature was a balmy 28 degrees with icy cold WIND that just goes right through you .....yes siree.... those are 2 pumpkin ice cubes!!)

.....and now for a report from our Christmas Tree Decorating Dept ......



.....ahem !... 'scuse me .... (apparantly Shadow was a bit bored with the tree decorating, or lack there of, and fell asleep with his Santa hat on ).

OK ... is anybody else available from the Tree Decorating Dept who can give us an update? .....oh, OK ... Daisy can fill us in......Daisy, your report please....



"It's NOT DONE !!!"




.......(sigh) .... OK, well can you show us what your dept has finished so far ?

.....well, to start off, Shadow wanted to try on the antlers (Sam would have none of it and hid under the bed)......


.....then Evan tried to untangle some lights .....




.....then any and all progress came to a screeching halt because apparantly there was something far more interesting on TV......

But, at the end of the day this is where we stand ....



.....lights are on the tree, some ornaments are on (and some are knocked on the floor by the 4-legged staff members), the angel is listing starboard, open boxes are scattered around the living room , and the rest of the crew wound up back in front of the TV again .... (but, all in all, I must give credit where credit is due .... if it weren't for Evan the tree wouldn't even be dressed as far as it is!)

Well, time to blow my nose ...again.... and get the gotchies out of the dryer....and then blow my nose again .... OH! WAIT !! in my cloggy, sneezy runny nose haze I almost forgot to show you THIS !!!!! The "I Love Lucy" fabric in all it's glory is now available on eQuilter.com !!! I can't decide which one I like best, so I'm just gonna ask Santa for some of EACH !!!

Be back soon!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)