There WILL be a white Christmas at my house!

What's that saying? A sucker is born every minute?

Well, my friends, my minute has come.

I realized this after I clicked "order" on this site.

Yes, while most of the country is trying to dig themselves out of that snowy mess, I am ordering "Snow in Seconds." Come on though, how awesome is this stuff? You can sprinkle it outside and it will look all snowy-like. In a few days, it will dehydrate but all you have to do is spray it with more water and BLAMMO! Snowy again!

I'm totally sold. I bought the big-boy pack.

My Dad will probably scold me when he sees it and whip out a massive stash of it yeah he totally is THAT Dad. I distinctly remember him drinking orange soda out of beakers when we were growing up. We were quite possibly the only kids in the neighborhood that had hazmat spills in our garage.

I am totally stoked to get this stuff in the mail. I am possibly MORE excited than the kids will be.

MAGIC SNOW!!!!!!

**All of you who are cursing me and my "warm" weather can hush...or move here. Yes, YOU. You know who you are.

Beautiul Christmas Wall Art & SITSMAS!!

First and foremost, Merry SITSmas!! Head on over to the SITS girls' site and link up for some bloggy love.

My hunt for all things Christmas knows no bounds. I found this fab little idea on Lowe's website. Yeah, I browse the Lowe's website. I must be perfectly honest with you here: I did not make this project. My good friend Ali did. She works at a lumber yard and had to work last Saturday. I knew it was gonna be slow due to the cold, yucky weather that was forecast so I emailed her the link and suggested it as a way to pass the time.

You probably have most, if not all of the needed items at home!

The only thing she did differently is that instead of building a frame and using a drop cloth for the base of the project, she simply re purposed some old artwork from her college days! I was none too happy with her for painting over her artwork, but it's already done! As an art major, she has a bunch of old paintings on canvas. She said it took her about 1/2 hr to complete the project. She bought a string of lights from the dollar store that have 8 different settings! It really makes the snowflake look awesome, AND it's fun to change it up with the different light patterns.

The first of our children to see this hanging on the wall just stood there screaming "OH MY GOSH!!!" They LOVE it, and so do we.

Peppermint Marshmallows

I know, right? Why do I opt to do baking/cooking/crafty things when I very well should be cleaning or something? I dunno, but I do.

I did all kinds of productive things this weekend. And by productive, I mean in the sense that it's productive for my sanity...not so much in the productive for my home's aesthetic appearance sort of way.

Friday night we got snow. Ok, that is perhaps a lie. The surrounding areas got snow. We got a lot of really cold rain. BUT, around 11pm there was a patch of snow on the radar that was making it's way our direction. Unfortunately I could not keep my little eyes open to wait and see if it actually snowed. Whatevs.

In any event, it was cold. I introduced the kids to hot chocolate. What goes better with hot chocolate than marshmallows!! Even better still? Peppermint marshmallows!!

I had seen a recipe for marshmallows on RootsandWingsCo WAAAYY back around Easter time (I wonder if they consider me a stalker?? lol). I had full intention of making their chocolate covered Easter egg marshmallows, but that never happened. I did, however, save the recipe.

3 envelopes of Knox gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cups corn syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons pulverized candy cane

Powdered sugar for dredging

In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pot on the stove, combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute. Pour boiling mixture into dissolved gelatin. Whip on high speed for 12 minutes, adding salt and vanilla. Here is where I strayed.

I have a TON of those giant candy canes. I broke one in half and pulverized the son of a gun in my magic bullet. I added about 2 Tablespoons to the marshmallow mixture.

Transfer mixture to a foil lined pan that has been sprayed with Pam. It also helps to spray your spatula or spoon. I took of my rings, sprayed my hands with Pam and spread evenly into the pan. Cover with a sheet of foil (again sprayed with Pam) and allow to set for an hour or so.

**NOTE** do NOT run your stand mixer on high during a very important Saints game, as they narrowly hold on to their perfect season. It will most definitely upset your husband.

After removing the top foil I sifted powdered sugar all over the top. Be liberal here people. Turn pan over onto cutting board and peel off bottom foil. Sift more powdered sugar. At this point my kitchen had a white haze floating about. It was kinda nice, lol. Made me happy!

Using a large kitchen knife, cut into cubes. You're going to need A LOT more powdered sugar to keep 'em from sticking to your knife. Toss all of the marshmallows in powdered sugar.

OH THE YUMMINESS!

The Land of Milk and Honey...Balls

Oh how I love some good balls.

Tis the season for various balls of yumminess.

Get your minds out of the gutter people!

Since I found this recipe on Mr. Breakfast, I've made them 3 times (only found the recipe last Sunday). Seriously, The Dude loves these and so do the kids, soooooo why not? They're super easy, nutritious, and a quick breakfast.

Milk & Honey Balls

1 Cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, your choice)

1 Cup honey

2 Cups oats

2 Cups nonfat instant dry milk

Combine all ingredients in medium sized bowl. You can mash it all up with your hands or with a spoon, whatever you fancy. I think I used about one Tablespoon per ball. Shoot for about a one inch ball. Your hands will be sticky...deal with it.

The add-in possibilities are endless: chopped dates, raisins, mini chocolate chips, nuts, coconut (toasted or not), and dried fruit actually. I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop there.

These are a little sticky to eat. Actually, sticky is a strong word. There is an ever so slight stick to them. You could easily remedy this by rolled them in toasted coconut, crushed pretzels, crushed cereal, nuts, whatever. I like them just how they are.

Nutrition Facts (per ball)
Serving Size 35 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories
95
Calories from Fat
38
% Daily Value*
Total Fat
4.2g
6%
Saturated Fat
1.0g
5%
Cholesterol
1mg
0%
Sodium
39mg
2%
Total Carbohydrates
12.9g
4%
Dietary Fiber
0.9g
4%
Sugars
9.1g
Protein
2.9g
Vitamin A 1%
•
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 2%
•
Iron 2%
Nutrition Grade B
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet