5 Question Friday

Hi! ::waves hands:: Did you miss me?


I'm done with school for a little over a month, now it's just waiting for the grades. Which I'm starting to think is worse than actually going to class.

I've got a ton of blog posts written. Ones that I had planned on editing a little and then posting, but I just never got around to it. But not to worry, I'm hoping I can manage an entire semester next go round of posts for you. You might be reading about Christmas adventures in May, but hey, it's better than a blank screen.

Big plans this weekend. My husband and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary on Sunday! Eek! It's hard to believe that its been that long ago. I'm also doing some cooking. Well, lots of cooking. Cinnamon rolls, fudge, cookies, oh my! And delivering a whole lotta Scentsy. I had a couple of parties the first of the month that I finally got the orders in, and I have a lot of people to drop off their loot this weekend! I love getting orders in, it's like Christmas!  I bought my new Christmas warmer and it's absolutely beautiful. It's white with snowflakes and when you turn it on the light shows up the snow flakes brilliantly! I want to leave it out all year, but John kinda protested last night. I'm hoping to grab some pictures this weekend! It's beautiful!

1. What's the best Christmas present you've ever received?

There have been a lot of great things that I have gotten over the years. But there really isn't one specific thing that stands out. John always gets me something that I will love, and my grandmother does an awesome job with getting me the best and neatest kitchen accessories that a girl could ask for. My parents always have something that's totally unique and off the wall too.

This year, I'm getting a Nook, or a Kindle. I'm not sure which yet. Because of school and the universities affiliation with Barnes and Noble, I'll probably go with a Nook. (Think cheap text books.) John's going to add a new firearm to his collection. Yippee. Actually, I'm finally thrilled that he has something he is excited about. It's nice that he has a hobby that he can share with my grandfather, and that keeps him from driving me crazy. Now, if only I could get him to love to read.

2. Worst/Funniest White Elephant gift ever received?

When I was in high school, my youth group at church did an exchange of white elephant gifts. I ended up with a tumbleweed that had been spray painted gold. It had ornaments on it and everything. It was funny and awful at the same time. I'm just thankful that I didn't end up with the gold cow pie.

3. Is your Christmas tree plain and simple (white lights and matching ornaments) or is it wild and crazy (colored lights with lots of ornaments collected over the years)?

We have a wild and crazy tree with 12 years worth of ornaments on it. When we got married we started our collection of ornaments. We have discussed doing something a little less crazy next year, but our tree is pre-lighted with multi colored lights. So I'm guessing until our tree dies, that we are going with wild and crazy!

4. "How" do you iron your clothes? The old fashioned iron/ironing board way, the shower, back in the dryer, etc.

Is this a trick question?

I have an iron. I have an ironing board. I do not use it to iron clothes. Period. If I buy something that has to be ironed, it hangs in my closet until I am tired of it collecting dust and then off to Goodwill it goes. I don't iron. Period.


I'm probably about to be stoned for saying this, but - I think it's a waste of time. You can buy clothes today that are made to withstand wrinkles. You can buy washing machines and dryers that steam your clothes so that you don't have to iron. And if you don't have the fancy equipment, a damp towel and 10 minutes in a hot dryer works the same way.


I only have an iron to press my cross stitch pieces before I frame them. But technically it only works as my dryer, since I wash everything before I frame it.

5. How much baking do you do for Christmas and what are your "must make" items? (I'm looking for recipes here, peeps...)

I try to bake quite a bit. But this year, with school and work, the baking hasn't even began. So I'm cutting way, way back.

I'm making cinnamon rolls this weekend. I promised my husband, and my friend Andrea that they could have cinnamon rolls. It's my first attempt using yeast. I hope I don't destroy my kitchen.

I usually make fudge. Last year I made 4 different kinds all total and divided them up between us and both of our offices. We had fudge running out of our ears. This year. Well I'm making 3-4 kinds. I'm dividing it up between 8 families. So I'm making a bunch of it. Hopefully no overload. Not sure the flavors yet. I have a lemon fudge, and a cookies and cream that both sound full of awesome, and then theirs the old standbys. 

My standbys are Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge. If you are on a diet (or trying to pretend to be on a diet) this is the fudge for you. It's not perfect, but it is more diet friendly than most and it's a breeze to make.

1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup fat free evaporated milk
2 tbsp reduced calorie margarine
12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
14 large marshmallows

Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Dump everything but the chocolate and marshmallows in a pan. Cook over low until everything is dissolved. Once you have lost the "grainy" look, dump in the chocolate (I use a bag of chocolate chips, no chopping). Stir until melted. Add marshmallows. I cut up my marshmallows (or try to use minis) because the large ones take so long to melt. I estimate about 4 mini's per large mallow. Once everything is all melted, dump in pan and refrigerate about 2 hours until firm, then pull it out and cut it up.


My other favorite is Marbled Orange Fudge (which is actually not too bad for you either). Think creamsicle fudge. Yep. It's full of awesome. The only thing I do different from the exact recipe is we reduce the orange extract down to 1.5 tsps. Which, right now I know your thinking - why? Well, if you like strong orange flavor leave the 3. If you want more creamsicle ice cream bar flavor, knock it down to 1.5. I also always add more food coloring until it's the shade of orange I want. So feel free to play around. It makes a lot, and it's very, very rich. So make sure you plan on sharing! The first time I made this, we split the pan in half with another family, and we both ended up throwing half away. You can't eat more than one piece at a time!

2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 pkg (10 to 12 oz) white baking chips
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
3 tsp orange extract
12 drops yellow food coloring
9 drops red food coloring
1. Line a 13x9 inch pan with foil and coat with cooking spray; set aside. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, evaporated milk and butter. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in chips and marshmallow creme until smooth.

2. Remove 1 cup and set aside. Add extract and food coloring to the remaining mixture; stir until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Pour reserved marshmallow mixture over the top; cut through mixture with a knife to swirl. Cover and refrigerate until set.

3. Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Discard foil; cut fudge into 1 inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 1/2 pounds, 1 - 1 inch cube