Cold Weather

The snow is finally here! NH got it's first few inches this week, so me and my sister have been out prancing in the snow. While we can't have snowball fights or make snowmen (the snow is too powdery), we do gather up huge armfuls of snow and toss it on each other and we make holes in the snow. We also have fun chasing each other and playing on my dad's snow-piles that he makes with his plow.

After we play in the snow, we often times come in and have a cup of hot chocolate and play together- or depending on the day, do schoolwork. Snow days are usually fun though.

So what do you enjoy most about the cold weather and snow? Be it snow fights, building snowmen, or just relaxing inside with a fire, let me know in the comments.

Maddie

Baking

I know.... a lot of my posts have been about baking, but this post is not going to be too much about it. I just named it baking as an easy title. I got my Christmas baking done at 11:30 pm Sunday night, and the results were very good. Here is a picture:

About half of this batch disappeared at karate last night, but I made refills for tomorrow. My cake decorating class got rescheduled to today due to bad weather, so I am going to be bringing in a decorated cake for my karate class tomorrow.

But ENOUGH about baking. Today I was hanging out with my sister while my grandma got hearing aids. She and I made cookies, had a "picnic" (my sister used her play food), took care of her baby dolls, and then ate lunch together. It was quite fun, and at the end of it all, I did her hair with her and tried to teach her how to make a ponytail. She almost made one, but ended up giving up and asking me to do her hair. This was the result:

What did YOU do today? Leave your answer in the comments :)

Maddie

Toads

I was very worried yesterday because my toad was sick- he kept shaking and quivering in his back legs. I cried because I thought he was going to die, but then I got serious and started looking for the problem. At first, I thought he was shedding his skin, but it wasn't that. I examined his legs, but they seemed fine (apart from shaking). So I went to Dad, and I think he diagnosed the problem perfectly- a live cricket.

When the toads eat, they don't chew (for lack of teeth). They just grab it with their tongue and suck it down. Dad thinks that maybe a cricket wasn't fully digested and was moving around inside my toad giving him a stomachache. I gently massaged my toad's belly for awhile and then put him back into his home. When I went to bed, he was still quivering, but by the time I got up he was burrowed next to the pool and his legs weren't shaking anymore.

I nudged him a little to see if his legs would start up, but they didn't, so I would say he is better. I am just going to let him rest today, and hopefully he can fully recoup by tomorrow.

Maddie

Update on My Baking List

I have been going over what cookies and goodies I am going to bake for the holidays, and while I think I posted a baking list a while back, I want to update it- Now that I have taken my first decorating class, new doors are open to me.

OH! Speaking of which- my first class was on Monday and it was AWESOME. I will post a picture a little later of the cookies I decorated. My teacher is really nice- I learned how to do a star pattern. Next week, we have to bake a cake and bring it in, and she is going to teach us how to frost it, smooth it, and fill it. I am very excited!

But anyway- I decided I am going to do a few larger batches of cookies and I also have some more requests from Dad. So here is the update:

Sugar cookies (triple batch)
Snickerdoodles (triple batch)
Gingerbread men (triple batch)
Chocolate chip cookies (triple batch)
Cinnamon buns (double batch)
Jam thumbprint cookies (single batch, to make with Ashleigh)
Vanilla wafers (triple batch)
Pie (Blueberry and apple)
Cake (single)
Fresh Bread (one loaf)

I love to bake for my family and friends, and that is why there will be so many batches. I am just going to take a weekend for myself and bake- otherwise, I will never be able to complete my whole list.

I am going to end my post here. Please vote on the poll in the top right corner of my blog! =)

Maddie

Foolproof Blueberry Pie Recipe

I had a lot of good responses to the blueberry pie I made for Thanksgiving- so here is the recipe!

You Will Need:
1 pre-made Pilsbury Pie Crust
1 9 inch pie plate
6 cups of blueberries (1 bag of frozen)
1 cup of sugar
3 3/4 tbsp of cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp of butter, cut into small pieces

Prep:
Preheat your oven to 425. Unroll your crust and line the dish with it. There shouldn't be any overhanging edges, but if there are, trim them and then refrigerate your dough. Now, combine all of your ingredients except butter in a medium sized bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes (make sure to stir). Your filling should be thick when you pour it into your crust. Now, put your butter on top of your filling and seal your pie using the top crust. Cut 4-6 ventilation slits in your pie and then bake it in the oven (on the middle rack) for 30 minutes. Then, take your pie out, tinfoil the edges (so they don't burn) and place a cookie sheet underneath your pie before placing it in at 350 for 25-35 minutes more.

Serve with cool whip or vanilla ice cream.

Food for Thought

Dad gave me this exercise as a schoolwork project, but I nonetheless found it very interesting. So I am going to share it with you. You can give it a try if you'd like.

If you were somebody else, would you want to be friends with you?

What makes a good friend? Think of your friends. What are their strong points? What are they lacking? What would make them the perfect friend? Now, think about yourself. How many of your friends' strong points do you have...and do you also have the extra strong points you wished they had?

Now, how would you answer this question?  You may want to think about (as side issues) Does Dad attract the right kind of people into his life? Does Mom? What could they have done better to attract better people? What do they do wrong? Do I want to attract the same types of people into my life? If so, why? If not, why not? What type of people do I actually want to have in my life? Why? Do the people that I moon over actually fit the bill?

I think writing this down helps to some extent, but it is also fun to mull over the different questions. To me, the questions are very intriguing and helped me see myself a little better. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Maddie

News

Yeah, yeah... I missed my blueberry pie video. To tell you the truth, I forgot to take the pictures and I didn't even end up doing a lattice crust- I didn't have enough dough. But the pie came out great- I added enough cornstarch this time, and it was nice and thick. Served with a lump of vanilla ice cream... mmmm.

As for the cake, it was moist and the (frosting) turkey came out better than last year's. Once again, I didn't get a picture, so I cannot post it.

All in all, my thanksgiving was wonderful.

In a couple of weeks, I will be starting my Christmas cookie baking. I plan on making tins and giving them out, and on top of that, making double batches of various cookies and bringing them into karate for the whole class to enjoy. I will be busier than last year- and that's hard to believe (last year, I was up 'til midnight making gingerbread men).

I am going to put up a new poll tonight on christmas cookies- please vote on it :)

Maddie

Tell me how your Thanksgiving was in the comments!