I’ve been telling people about this today, and even put it in my Twitter stream, but I need to elaborate. The huge silver ornaments are actually either bouncy balls or beach balls that have been sprayed with metallic silver paint.
What a unique cheap Christmas idea. Love this!
It’s still snowing, we’ve got 6”+ and radar shows it still coming for hours. Not feeling the love, though. I have a tri-state boom that won’t go away and I’ve ingested so much caffeine that I‘ve got the jitters! Baa Humbug!!!!
But enough of that, I did find this article, it’s just fascinating. Look at all the candy they used making it.
Want to read about it? Sure you do, he’s the click. Have at it!
First we had freezing rain, then sleet, now we’re having snow. It’s intermittent, coming in waves, and not supposed to stop until tonight. They aren’t sure about accumulation, we’ll be lucky if we get no less than six inches.
So hubby decides to open the front door, which is frozen solid, so then of course he has to go out and bang on it with a shovel to unfreeze it. He’s out there in his Santa Claus PJ’s, I’m in the house, worried about him falling, but he makes it back alive! This isn’t a great picture, the door was steamed, but some things are best seen not so clear, if you get my “drift.” hehehe
If I were younger I would be enjoying this, but I’m old(er) now, my head hurts, my legs hurt, this front is intense, and I’m not a particularly happy camper. Maybe tomorrow I will be, or maybe not. Stay tuned...
I just adore this woman, I’ve always followed her and think that she is just amazing. She’s the real deal, a caring wife and mother, just a genuinely nice person. I took a bit of time this busy morning to read this article about her when interviewed by Life After 50.
Just thought some of you might like to read it as well.
Memories of a great Thanksgiving in the Smoky Mountains. We were snowed in from Tuesday until Friday, then literally had to drive on ice covered, steep, steep mountain roads down the mountain to shop. But we persevered, seriously scary, though, seriously scary. Ryan and his family were in Washington State visiting Lindsay’s family, so we gathered up the fur kids, John, Deanna, LC and I and trekked to the snow covered mountains for our turkey day, ummm, make that chicken and dumpling day, so much better than turkey. And yes, it was idyllic until we had to go down that mountain. But the shopping was great, so it was worth it.
And a picture of hubby and I that I actually like. We seldom take pictures together with LC smiling, so this is a keeper, and that snowy mountain is such a good backdrop. Even little Maggie is festive, all decked out in her Christmas coat.
So now I’m looking at pictures of sweet little Abby visiting her Great Grandma Baron.
And Ben, sitting on his Daddy’s lap, playing on the cell phone like a pro. No photos of Lindsay, though, she’s a mom, and moms are always behind the camera. :(
Deanna gave me this cute little snowman mug last weekend to sit on my coffee maker. I always keep my Splenda nearby in a vintage cottage cheese jar, and now I have hot chocolate in this great little sour cream jar that hubby picked up at a flea market last weekend. I put it all together this morning, and have a huge smile on my face just looking at it.
I’m thinking of making a sugar-free version of mother’s Russian Tea for the holiday season, but I’m having trouble finding Sugar Free Tang. Tang makes it, but people don’t drink Tang like they once did, stores don’t stock it and so far I haven’t had any luck finding it.
I posted a really awesome 2 carb, 25 calorie hot chocolate mix this morning on Jan CAN Cook Lowcarb - link to the recipe here - I stirred it up a bit ago, and it literally took under a minute to make it. You’re looking at it in my little jar, and it has hubby’s seal of approval. He loves it, and adding just a splash of half and half really gives it a great flavor.
And I’m happy to say, not that it’s interesting to all of you, but I feel the need to document this, after I gave myself permission to eat Thanksgiving Day and the eve before, I went right back to low carb and made it through the entire trip without gaining any weight. I didn’t lose, but the fact that I stayed the same was pretty awesome.
So I have a lot to smile about this morning. Christmas decorating is almost finished, shopping is 75% complete, the family is all safely back home, and I’m listening to Christmas music and looking forward to the holidays.
Hope you’re all enjoying Cyber Monday!!!! ~ jan
Maggie and I were scouting out mountain streams today for that fly fishing. You all know how I am when I get an idea, I'm Iike a dog with a bone. I even emailed a fly fishing company for information.
Gonna do it, just wait and see...
I just had a birthday, and I'm thinking about what I want to do before my demise, after all, the years are passing, I really need to get on this. For quite some time now, ever since reading Mary Alice Monroe's great novel, Time is a River, a wonderful story about a woman flyer fisher, I've dreamed about fly fishing. She planted a seed, and being in the mountains this week, seeing the shallow mountain streams, the thought of doing this has surfaced again.
Of course my family thinks I've finally lost it, but I'm adventurous, I can totally see them helping me out in a stream, with my waders on, patiently standing by me while I fulfill one of my last requests. They should do this for me, right? Ya, they should...
Currently stranded in a cabin somewhere in the snowy higher elevations of The Great Smoky Mountains.
Desperately in need of a BA (Breadaholics Anonymous) meeting ASAP! I'm just not strong enough to go cold turkey hehehehe...
Today is my sixty-fourth birthday. It’s a raw, blistery day in Heavensville, we’re busy getting ready for Thanksgiving, but I’m going to be serious for a change and talk about things I’ve learned, some are repeated, because I’m old now, it’s what I do, I repeat ;-) But I am smarter, the older I get, I’ve lived life, and learned a lot. I think as I’ve aged I see things as they are, not the way I wish they were, but warts and all, the good and the bad, I accept life for what it is. I don’t ever look at life thru rose colored glasses at this age, that ship sailed long ago.
So here goes, a little insight on this my birthday afternoon.
Listen to your gut, it will never steer you wrong.
It’s okay if you go to bed a little hungry, it makes you appreciate what you have in your life and how lucky you are.
Everything in moderation, truer words were never spoken, hard to adhere to, especially for me who goes overboard, but it’s sage advice.
Surround yourself with positive people, friends who love life and laugh and have the same values as yourself.
Don’t expect anything from people and you won’t be disappointed.
Don’t try to do it all and don’t beat yourself up if you choose to do nothing. Do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do.
Grandchildren are truly a gift from God, they change every single day. Write down what they say, take pictures of them, love them dearly, tell them they are the most special little people in your life, and be in touch as often as you can.
Realize that you only have the power to change yourself, you can’t change anyone else, you just learn to accept.
The grass isn’t greener on the other side. Take what you have in life and work with it, today’s society is too disposable.
You can’t bullshit an old bullshitter. You may think you can or you are, but you can’t and you’re not. Old women are pretty smart cookies, sometimes we’re just silent.
Go outside and be in tune with nature every single day. Regardless of the weather, nature is a powerful, wonderful thing. Embrace it and you will be rewarded with peace.
For the most part, people often don’t really want your opinion, they just want you to agree with what they are telling you.
Embrace your wrinkles, scars and age spots. Your battle scars are part of the aging process, be proud that you’ve lived long enough to have them.
Accept what you can’t change in life and try to do it with grace.
Don’t complain, people don’t want to hear it.
If you love someone tell them, you may never get another chance.
Treat yourself to some new jammes and yummy smelling lotion, then take a hot bath put on those jammies, slather on that lotion and curl up with a good book and a cup of hot tea. It’s the little things in life that give us such pleasure.
Take time for yourself, learn to say no. It may inconvenience others, but you are the gatekeeper to your soul, nourish it.
Oh my, I could go on and on, after all I am sixty-four years old now. But I won’t, I’ll just sign off with one of my favorite sayings from one funny, feisty lady, Cousin Minnie Pearl.
Instead of complaining about getting old, just say what Minnie always said - I’m just so PROUD to be here!!!!!!!!
If you’re not familiar with this site, you’re missing out. It’s just chocked full of memories, the nostalgia is good for the soul. We’re all busy, but take a few minutes and just enjoy… ~ Jan
Drats, I should have taken a picture of my dinner, but I was so busy scarfing it down that I didn’t think about it until my plate was clean. You all know how I go to the extremes with the things I do, but the more I get into low carb cooking, the more enthusiastic I get. And now that hubby is doing it alongside me, it gives me additional motives to try different things to keep him satisfied. And the results are paying off, he’s down 27 pounds, I’m down 20, it’s working, not fast, well for me anyway, but slowly and steadily. And we’re not alone, my friend Nisha and her husband, Charlie are eating low carb, too. Charlie has lost 30 lbs., Nisha 17 and they haven’t been low carbing as long as we have.
Coconut Oil is one of those things that the low carb community just raves about. Over and over I hear about the heart health benefits, there are so many recipes using coconut oil and I absolutely detest it, I can’t stand all of my food tasting like coconut, so it has been sitting in my pantry, I’ve been using it on my skin and that’s about all because every recipe I tried with it, I ended up throwing out. Well last week I was in the local Vitamin Shoppe and there was a 30 something woman checking out, and she had the loveliest blonde hair, shiny, shiny soft and she was buying a jar of, you guessed it, coconut oil!
I commented on how I can’t stand the taste of it and she told me that she was buying the virgin coconut oil, the same nasty oil that I had in my pantry that I paid $17 for at Whole Foods, and she said she used it to condition her hair. She puts it on dry hair, oils it down, leaves it for awhile and then shampoos it out. Then she proceeded to tell me that I need to be buying refined coconut oil, that it has no taste. The clerk brought me a jar, it was cheap, $7, I brought it home and oh my, it’s a life changing experience.
First I tried frying eggs in it, and they were silky smooth and delicious. The other night I breaded chicken tenders with almond flour, and fried them in the coconut oil, it was amazing. So tonight, badly in need of comfort food, I had cubed steaks in the fridge, I put about a half a cup of almond meal in a bag, along with a liberal amount of salt and pepper, wet my cubed steak so the almond flour would adhere, shook it in the bag while getting my skillet hot with the coconut oil, added the beef, along with thinly sliced onions and cooked it until one side was brown, turned it, covered it and cooked it totally about 15 minutes. Meanwhile I nuked a bag of frozen cauliflower, drained it, then put it in my trusty food processor with 2-3 tablespoons of butter, some shredded cheese, salt, pepper and a splash of half and half. Processed it to make faux mashed potatoes, but this is what took the meal over the top. Gravy, wonderful, rich, sinful gravy.
I took out the meat, and here’s the unusual part, guar gum, you buy it in the grocery store or the health food store, and it thickens food. But you can’t just dump it in, and it doesn’t take much, you just take a bit of olive oil and a teaspoon of guar gum and blend it together, then I added half and half to the pan drippings, not a lot just about half a cup or so, blended in the guar gum and it made decadent, mouth watering gravy. I put it over the faux potatoes and it was absolutely sublime. Really good, hubby loved it. And yes, we had this cranberry relish, the recipe for it is posted on Jan CAN Cook Lowcarb.
See what I mean, I just get all caught up with the things I do and have to tell you all about it. But this is soul satisfying southern, homey, cold weather, stick to your ribs food. And you can eat! No more going hungry, no endless days of chicken and fish, it’s real food! It’s a beautiful thing, low carb cooking, just had to share this...
This is a must read. Little children and dogs are good for the soul. You need a smile today, this is it. XXo ~ Jan
Okay peeps, it’s that time of year again, and have I posted a link to my annual Thanksgiving recipes. Nope, but I’ll get it in the sidebar soon. I’ve been as busy as a one armed paper hanger lately. I love that saying, it was one of mother’s favorite, but anyhow, I’m going to post the link so you can access. This recipe collection dates back to 2008, it’s my friends and family favorites. One of these years, I need to update it, but not this year, just too much going on...
Just click on the picture to access the page, click on the recipe you want and you’re off to the races. Happy Browsing!! ~ jan
I’ve been eating low carb since last May, trying really hard to make this a lifestyle instead of just a diet, and finding a whole new way of cooking along the way. I had recipes on my computer, in a kitchen desk drawer, tons of them on Pinterest and my system wasn’t working. I needed everything in one place, easily accessible by labeling the different categories of food.
So I decided a new blog was in order. Just what I need, yet another blog, but I’m always up for a challenge, and I do enjoy designing them, so after a little bit of labor, Jan CAN Cook Low Carb was born.
Even if you don’t eat low carb, you might enjoy my site, some of these recipes are so good, you will be pleasantly surprised. The pizza above is wonderful, it’s made with no crust, the crust is browned cheese. Hey, don’t knock it ’til you try it. I really like low carb because it’s so versatile these days thanks to great cooks who have learned to substitute carb laden ingredients for low carb ones. It’s not like the old days when you could just eat bacon, meat and eggs - YUCK! And the best part, I’m not hungry! Hubby is doing it as well and of course he’s dropped 25 lbs. in just a couple of months. He had an appointment with his cardiologist this week who told him to keep doing low carb, he’s doing great! Amazing turnaround from a few years ago when they thought this way of eating was unhealthy. But I’m not here to preach this lifestyle, I just wanted you all to take a peek at my new blog.
Here’s the link - jancancooklowcarb.blogspot.com
Grandchildren, what a gift! Ben is a busy, busy little boy these days. He’s up, he’s down, he’s on the move and never stops, ever! He chases Abby, she screams, he screams louder, they’re so cute together.
When they got here last Friday, Abby got out of the car and told me, “It was an extremely long journey, Grammie.” She’s so funny, she just cracks me up with the things she says.
I thought you all would like a peek at my sweet little grandkids, I enjoyed them visiting so much!
I loved Betsy McCall when I was a little girl in the 50’s, and eagerly awaited every issue of McCall’s Magazine because they always had a new story about Betsy and a page of dolls to cut out and play with.
It was great marketing, because you could also order patterns in McCalls Magazine so that your mom could sew you the same outfits.
Just a little trip down memory lane this sunny fall afternoon, I bet I’ve jogged memories of Betsy for others, as well. Right V?
He had tubes put in his ears this morning, now he’s recovering at home, looking like he wants to make a run for the border! Poor little guy, but this is going to put an end to those nasty ear infections. Love him!!!!
Our son John, and his wife Deanna are expecting! We are so happy for them, they will be such amazing parents, and they are just estatic about this baby.
And yes, we know what it is, but that’s for Deanna to share with you.
Link to her blog here and find out...
I’m such a proud Grammie to be!!!!!
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