Actress Jean Simmons died today at the age of 80.  She was suffering from lung cancer.  Hopefully she’s at peace now.  The kind of peace she looks like she has when she acts.  What an actress she was!!  What a beauty she was!!

Jean made movies like “Hamlet”, opposite Olivier and “Spartacus” with Kirk Douglas.  She also played opposite men like Burt Lancaster in “Elmer Gantry” and Gregory Peck in “The Big Country”.  She was also in a favorite movie of mine called “This Could Be the Night”.  It was never that big of a movie, but it’s a classic to me.  One could never forget that Jean was in tv mini-series that were epics in themselves like “North and South” and “The Thorn Birds”. 

Although Jean Simmons hasn’t made a movie in years, she will still be missed by many.  There’s something secure in knowing that actors and actresses like her are still around.  Little by little, we’re losing them though and as we lose them, we lose a piece of what Hollywood really should be and what it once was.

R.I.P. Jean….God Speed…..

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to go back to the crockpot on Wednesday nights.  It’s the best way for us to get a good hot family meal before religion class.  That means we don’t have to eat out or wait until after class!!  Oh and there’s nothing like the aroma in the house all day long as it cooks.  On the menu was….

Chicken Stroganoff

This recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens So-Easy Slow Cooker.  I pretty much followed the recipe, but I’ll not changes that I made.

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast halves and/or thighs  (I just used 3 skinless boneless breasts)

1 cup chopped onion            1/3 cup water

1 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained

2 10 3/4-ounce cans condensed cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic  (I’ve never heard of this, so I used regular cream of mushroom soup and added a Tablespoon of minced garlic)

12 ounces dried wide egg noodles

1 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream

freshly ground black pepper          fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

(I also used salt to taste and a teaspoon of parsley flakes)

Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces.  In a 3 1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker, combine chicken pieces, onion, and mushrooms.  In a medium bowl, stir together mushroom soup and the water.  Pour over chicken and vegetables.  (I combined everything in the crockpot and mixed it together once, but not over stirring.)

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  (I cooked it on low and it was served in 5 hours.)

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain well.  Just before serving, stir sour cream into mixture in cooker.  Serve over hot cooked noodles.  If desired, sprinkle with pepper and garnish.  (I cooked mine with the seasoning in it and I put a pinch of salt in the noodles when they boiled so they wouldn’t be “flat”.)

That’s all there is to it!!  It couldn’t be any simpler and we truly loved it.  The taste with all the flavors through it was amazing!!  Now, be sure to let me know if you try it and how it turned out!!

I know some of you are probably wondering where I am or if I still am.  Well rest assured, I’m still here.  Believe it or not, I’ve done it again and typed up blog posts, but didn’t post them.  I always do it in the wee hours of the morning, so I think they need to be “checked” again before posting.  The problem is, I never reread them or post them and often type up my next post.  Crazy I know, but that’s me!!

Stay tuned!!  HAHA

The Cardinals can all us die-hard Packer fans all the names they want, because as this picture clearly shows, there SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PENALTY ON THE PLAY!!  Up until this moment, it really was a good game….no, a great game.  I enjoyed watching it so much.  I said through the entire game, don’t count Green Bay out and sure enough, they rallied back.  Although they gave up 45 points, but the final whistle, the Pack had also scored 45 points.  No that doesn’t win games, but it sure does make it interesting and fun to watch.

I probably wouldn’t have cared if the Cardinals won, if they hadn’t won on a bad call.  There’s just no excuse for calls….or no calls….for plays like that.  It’s dirty!!  It sure isn’t fair and if that’s what it takes to win, then I don’t need it. 

Rodgers had a good day.  The Packers had a good day as a team.  The defense, I’m not so sure that they showed up several times during the game.  I hope now that their season is over, they get to work on that.  It’s not the first time I’ve seen teams run right through them.  Yet, they ARE tough!!  It just wasn’t their day, but offense surely did it’s part.  I think we had a good chance of winning had it not ended on a bad call.  I have to give Green Bay credit though, the fans are complaining more about it than the team is.  Then again, it’s too late for them and it doesn’t matter now.

Oh well….

CHEDDARHEAD UNTIL THE END!!

GO PACK!!

 

I’d like to wish all my family, friends, blog readers and visitors a very HAPPY and BLESSED NEW YEAR!!  I hope that 2010 brings you the best year ever.  I’m sure it will bring many surprises and many expected events along with the struggles and joys of everyday life.  I know I’m looking forward to each and every day and hope that you are too.

HAPPY 2010!!

 

This is one of my favorite times of the year.  Things have been so busy, but it’s been a good busy.  No matter how hectic, I know that there’s a definite reason and purpose.  It all culminates on ONE very special day. 

Although we’re still digging out here, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all my family, friends, and readers a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  I hope that each of you has a blessed day and that you enjoy your day, no matter how you spend it.  I know that our turkey is already cooking and soon I’ll be putting the ham in the oven.  We’ll spend the day talking, looking at our presents 100 times and just bask in the day together.

And please, no matter what you do today or how you spend the day….

REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!! 

 

Yes, you’re reading that heading right….it says “blizzard in OK”.  When I woke up this morning, I could hear the wind whipping and a soon as I looked out the window, I could see the snow swirling.  It was amazing!!

I hadn’t seen snow like this since I left Wisconsin.  Well, I guess we had some in Germany, but we didn’t have any real blizzards.  We were forecast bad weather, but nothing like this.  In fact, they said our chance of snow had lessened, but the cold would be extreme.  Looks like both are extreme!!

The roads covered fast.  I started getting worried early about the man.  I started calling his cell phone knowing that he wouldn’t answer.  I was determined to just keep calling because sooner or later, he’d walk past his tool box and hear it or go on break and see that I’d called.  When he finally answered, I told him I didn’t care what he had to do, including taking vacation time, but I wanted him home.  What’s normally a 15 minute trip took him close to an hour.  He said the patches of ice under the drifting snow were horrible.  They  made him take vacation time, even though Ft. Sill was closed to all non-essential personnel.  I think that’s wrong, but I can live with it because he made it home safely and is where he belongs.

We watched the snow build most of the afternoon.  By the time it started tapering off around 3pm, some of the drifts were over my knees.  The average depth of snow was past my ankles.  We don’t have an accurate measurement yet.  I’d have to say 4-6″ though.  I know there’s drifts higher than what’s in our yard and those are high enough.  Roads aren’t drivable, but you still see people trying to get out.  You also see lots of reports on tv about them in drifts or stalled along the road!!  Now what could be so important to go out in the worst weather we’ve had in 20 years??  NOthing if you ask me!!

Every church in town has cancelled their masses for tonight and many have already cancelled tomorrow.  Our church wasn’t listed, so I had kiddo call and tell Father that she couldn’t be alter server.  There’s no way we were going out on these roads just so she could serve.  We can find our own way at home to serve the Lord!!

Well I hope that you and yours are all safe and warm.  Nothing like a cup of hot cocoa and the twinkling lights while waiting for Santa to arrive.  I’ll share some pictures after I get them all downloaded.  With that I say…..

Merry Christmast to all, and to all a good night!!

I did a whole theme of printables called “Cookies for Santa”.  I’ve uploaded them to my 4Shared account and want to share them with you, my readers.  All these printables are various activities that all use Christmas cookies or cookies for Santa as the theme images.

The first items are number strip puzzles.  The first ”cookies for Santa” number strip puzzle is 1 to 10 and the second one is 11 to 20, with both using the same image.  Next are 3 more number strip puzzles, but they are for skip counting.  The first one is counting by 10’s, the second one is counting by 5’s , and the last one is counting by 2’s. 

I made a variety of puzzle templates, then inserted pictures of Christmas cookies and cookies for Santa.  The puzzles are stocking and gingerbread man shape puzzles in the first set.  The next set is tree and present shaped puzzles.  Finally, wreath and Santa shaped puzzles are the last set.  There are 3 of each shape puzzle in each set.

The final 2 items are just as fun as all the rest!!  They are memory cards with a storage box.  They can also be used to play other card games as well.  Puzzles with the ”cookies for Santa” theme is the final item.  These are just regular puzzles with no special shapes, but great for all ages to put together.  

Maybe all these games should just be played with a plate of fresh baked Christmas cookies and a glass of milk or mug of hot cocoa!!  However you play them, I hope that you enjoy them!! 

 

**The information that is posted on this blog is general information. It is not intended to substitute for obtaining advice from your principal, church or DRE. It is for informational and educational purposes only. All activities, games, information, etc. on this blog are free; however they are ONLY to be used for classroom and personal use. They may not be published on any websites, group, or other electronic media.  They also may not be distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit. If you know someone who would benefit from these materials, please refer them to this blog. Do NOT share your materials with them. Copyright © 2008 & 2009. All rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.** 

I know I haven’t been blogging much lately.  I’m sure you all think that I’ve dropped off the Earth.  That’s not the case though.  I’ve been pretty busy and I type up a blog post late at night, save it as a draft and say I’ll proof-read it in the morning and post it.  Problem is….I never do!!  HAHA  I do still have some saved and I’ll try to post them so that you all know what’s been going on.  I do return bearing gifts though!!  I’ve created several winter and Christmas printables.  I’ve uploaded them to my 4Shared and am sharing them with you!!

The mini-book ”Gingerbread Baby, Gingerbread Baby….What Do You See?” is loosely based on the Jan Brett book, Gingerbread Baby.  Great to read alone or as a supplement.  Gingerbread Lane is a file folder game that is played much like the board game, “Candyland”.  There are 2 versions, but the only difference is the background.  The directions, movement tokens and player tokens are the same for either version.  This is a fun family game for the holidays!!  I’ve made 2 “Say & Write” mini-books.  The first is “Say & Write the 12 Days of Christmas“ and the second is “Say and Write the ABC’s of Christmas“.  Both of these books are a fun way to learn how to write numbers, ABC’s, and other words.  “Shadows Under the Star” is a nativity shadow match game.  “Santa’s Bag Pattern Match” is a card game with storage box where player match the pattern on Santa’s suit to the the pattern on his bag loaded with presents.  I also made 2 strip puzzles counting 1-10.  The first is Christmas Pageant and the second is the Nativity.  These puzzles are assembled by placing the strips numbered 1-10 in order.  “Christmas Snow Shadows” is a ffg where several items that Santa needs have been covered by snow and the only way Santa can make his Christmas Eve trip is if all the items are matched to their snow shadows.  I also made 2 shadow match games using Christmas cookies.  These are fun games where the cookies are matched to their shadow on the cookie sheet.  The first is “Baked to Perfection” and the second is “Ready for the Oven“  The final item that I’m going to share today is some snowglobe puzzles for The Nativity Story.

I hope that you enjoy all these printables.  I’ve had so much fun making them and I hope that kids get just as much pleasure playing them.

 

 

**The information that is posted on this blog is general information. It is not intended to substitute for obtaining advice from your principal, church or DRE. It is for informational and educational purposes only. All activities, games, information, etc. on this blog are free; however they are ONLY to be used for classroom and personal use. They may not be published on any websites, group, or other electronic media.  They also may not be distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit. If you know someone who would benefit from these materials, please refer them to this blog. Do NOT share your materials with them. Copyright © 2008 & 2009. All rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.** 

I have been looking for printable craft projects for kiddo and I to do for Christmas.  I also want an easy printable nativity scene to do with my religion class.  I started looking and I was amazed at how many I found and for the most part, they’re really good.  I plan on sharing all that I found in this post!!

The first is a stand-up nativity located in the right column.  There’s also many other Bible and nativity printables listed on this page.  They’d be a great addition to any religion class or at home.  There’s also a printable nativity for a children’s school and church craft project.  It will link you to here for the black and white printable that the kids will color themselves.  There’s the beginnings of the manger scene, but I couldn’t find any other parts to it.

Next, there’s a couple different nativity dioramas in black and white or color available.  There’s also a fun mobile that can be printed and colored as well.  If you have a spare toilet paper or paper towel roll, there’s a really cute nativity scene at MakingFriends.  You have a choice of printing out the color characters or using the “Bible friends” and coloring them.  I also found some nativity scene clipart that could be used to create a nativity scene. 

An idea for older kids would be to make this creche from pipe cleaners.  There’s also a nativity scene that’s more complex.  On the same site is an uncolorized version.  It’s also available in PDF if you prefer that format.  There’s also a fairly inexpensive nativity scene craft project.

There’s a make-your-own nativity scene.  I also found an online nativity scene that can be arranged and printed when it’s completed.  If you have some extra clay pots around the house, this makes a cute nativity.  Perhaps even some paper or styrofoam cups for this nativity.  Here you will find a very small nativity scene to print.   

Other possibilities ideas are to do a nativity lapbook.  For little ones, you could also do a felt board story or other activities.  There’s another felt board story here.  Finally, I found a site with lots of links for the Nativity of Jesus.  These links are for coloring pages, memory verses, plays, children’s stories and more.  There’s also several links for The Nativity Story here.

I didn’t even begin to touch on the coloring pages.  That’s another post all together!!  I hope that you can find a printable craft for The Nativity Story among all these ideas.  Maybe even one that’s not printable, but uses items you might have around the house.

Remember….

Jesus IS the Reason for the Season!!