Gleanings of Wheat

Christmas style. Yesterday I took the kids to Navy Pier's Winter Wonderfest (so expensive, but fun) and when I got home I noticed something in my purse I'd never seen before. A cd sampler from Northern Light Orchestra  (MySpace link). Classic rock takes on Christmas carols? Yes please. This thing is really well produced, and I got it for free! No idea who these guys are, or how I got this, but I'm enjoying it a lot. You can check out their site here .

I was recently discussing "fancy" coffee with Carla  and she mentioned that she makes her's at home. I'm a big fan of mochas in general so I figured I'd give this a shot. Place chocolate syrup in bottom of a tall, thick glass or large mug. Prepare 1 shot (1 to 1 1/2 oz.) of espresso . Steam the milk. Add 3/4 of the milk to the glass or mug and stir gently. Add the espresso and stir again. Add the rest of the steamed milk. Place a dollop of  whipped cream  on top of mocha and sprinkle with chocolate shavings or cinnamon for decoration.

Ok, so she's not my Grandma, but since the girls decided to share I thought I'd pass this along too! Merry Christmas! 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg slightly beaten ¼ cup sour cream ½ tsp. nutmeg 3 cups sifted flour 1 tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt Work butter until creamy. Stir in sugar gradually, then beat until fluffy. Stir in egg and sour cream. Mix well. Sift together flour, nutmeg, soda, and salt; stir into mixture. Mix thoroughly. Chill one hour. Set oven for 350 degrees. Roll out a small amount of dough at a time, ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut with Christmas cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool. Decorate with colored frosting and red-hots. Frosting: In a medium bowl, stir together until smooth: 4 cups powdered sugar 3-4 tablespoons water Adjust the consistency as necessary with more powdered sugar or water. Color as desired. To store, cover the surface of the icing with a sheet of plastic wrap.

My BFF is coming home next week (AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and we're planning on cooking dinner...which has turned into a yum fest. Realistically we've picked out three days worth of food - and yes, almost everything I've picked out is chocolate - so either we're gonna be really fat or we've got to cut it back to one day's worth. I'm not sure which is gonna happen.

A few years ago Rebecca St. James was part of a Veggie Tales' project - VT redid A Christmas Carol, but spun it for Resurrection Sunday/Easter. It still wigs my kids out a bit, so we don't really watch it, but in the video Rebecca's character sings a song that has stuck with me since the first time I heard it. This morning as I was praying and reflecting upon Christ's birth the song popped in my head again, so I thought I'd share it. There’s a story that started on Christmas When a baby was born in the night And those who came far, who followed the star Were seeing a heavenly sight ... a heavenly sight. Well the years hurried by, and the boy, now a man Could make the blind see with a touch of his hand He was born to be King -- he was Rabbi and Priest But the best that he had, he gave to the least ... He gave to the least. He was born and he died, almost 2,000 years ago He laughed and he cried, he felt all the fears we know But what does it matter? A

You know, when I decided to start enjoying Christmas I really didn't expect it to be a huge change. Honestly, I didn't. I knew thought things might be a bit different, but I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it. I guess that's me thinking God doesn't do big things, I guess that was me (unknowingly) believing a lie. It started small, when I'd hear "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" for the 100th time that day I just wanted to be able to grin and bare it while out in public. Now, I'm not saying I like hearing it - or anything - 100 times a day (and I swear, I doubt that's much of an exaggeration) but I'm honestly not just gritting my teeth trying not to complain anymore . Confession time? I've been having a bad few months, spiritually. Not gonna go into detail other than to say I've been struggling not struggling as much as I should be with certain areas of sin in my life. I've had these moments where I know God breaks thro

Love & Olive Oil has this yummy looking recipe up - and of course it is a Giada recipe . 18 to 20 ounces fresh ravioli or tortellini 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts 1/4 cup grated Parmesan directions Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Drain ravioli onto a large serving platter. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the foam subsides, and the butter begins to turn a golden brown, about 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Let cool for about 1 minute. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Transfer the ravioli to the pan saucepan with the balsamic brown butter. Sprinkle walnuts and Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately.18 to 20 ounces fresh ravioli or tortelli

MckMama is giving away a touch screen computer. I want it. I need it. Ok, maybe I don't need it. But I really really really want it. Does three reallys count as needing something? If it does don't tell my kids. You can enter here , but really - don't. Because I want it. And then you'd be competing against me. So don't click, don't tweet about it, and certainly don't blog about it. Thanks!

As I mentioned before , the Stuff Christians Like blog helped raise $30,000 in 18 hours back in November. That blew the end of the year deadline out of the water by a mile. Then Jon doubled what he was trying to raise. And guess what? God delivered. An additional $30,000 was raised before the deadline was even close. $60,000. Two schools. Hundreds of kids will get an education. Amazing.

Last month I downloaded JJ Heller's Christmas album b/c I could get it for free. She's got a wonderful voice, the album is marked with lots of acoustic guitar & piano, and a meshing together of her own words and traditional carols. Anyway, you can get it at her site for free till the end of this month, and I suggest you do. It is a wonderful album. From her site: WAKE UP THE WORLD (2007) **FREE THROUGH 12/31/09** This Christmas EP features a tasteful blend of JJ's voice, Dave Heller's acoustic guitar, piano by Ben Shive, and very light percussion. Recorded, mixed and mastered in Nashville, TN during the summer of 2007.

This is awesome looking, and really, who doesn't love strawberries & brownies? 1 box prepared brownie mix 1 jar of frosting fresh strawberries sucker sticks In a greased mini muffin tin, make the brownies. Remove, let cool on a wire rack. Frost. Stick a sucker stick through a strawberry and into a brownie bite. Cover and refrigerate until serving.