Soap Making

I love Bookmobile Wednesdays. Not just because I LOVE books, and because Mr. Mike, the Bookmobile librarian is a super nice guy, but also because my good friend, Lady L., and her five kids come to visit. We always find something interesting to do, and the time flies by so quickly.

This week was no exception. While Tex was outside showing the boys his COOL new practice swords and daggers from Vision Forum (sorry, no pictures...I'll have to remedy that one), and they were blissfully bashing each other senseless, inside, the ladies were watching the Homestead Blessings dvd about Soapmaking, and being inspired to try their hand at making soap.

Just as the dvd finished, I remembered picking up a soapmaking kit at my mom's old school on her last day before retiring last June (can you believe someone was actually throwing it away, so it was FREE!!), and hunted it down. Inside of it, we found enough unscented base soap to make four remilled bars, some lavender fragrance, and a soap mold. Yay!

I also remembered that I had some lavender from one of Hubby's trips overseas on his old sub (Italy, I think), and ran upstairs to drag that out of the drawer. Then we grabbed a sturdy pot, two graters, the girls, and got to work.

First, we let the girls help grate the soap into the pot (wasn't that nice of us?). According to the video, remilling the soap means it will cure harder the second time, and it also gives you a chance to make many different types of soap out of one batch of plain soap.

We decided we wanted to try for a Lavender-Oatmeal soap, so we ground up a bit of oatmeal, crushed some lavender, and once the soap shavings were heated into liquid, we added the dry ingredients and the lavender essential oil.

Lastly, I poured the soap into the four-bar mold and sprinkled a bit more of the lavender on top for fun.

We let it cool, and within about an hour, we popped it out of the mold and decided that for a first try, it smelled pretty good and didn't look half bad! We each had two bars of soap and a sense of satisfaction over an adventure successfully completed when we were finished. (The next day, Bubba came over and liked the soap so much he asked to take one of my two bars home with him...I think soapmaking is going to be a popular pasttime, or at least the products that come from it will be!).

I am fairly inspired now to try the whole thing from scratch. The West Ladies describe making some pretty neat looking coffee soap (it's supposed to get funky odors off of your hands) and some cute cupcake-type soaps that would make adorable gifts. I will need a few more ingredients to do that, and a cooking thermometer, but the dvd was very clear about the process and so now it doesn't intimidate me the way it used to.

I highly recommend that you borrow these dvds from your church library (or purchase them. if you can), if you have any interest (but little knowledge) of some of the more homesteady arts. Invite a friend over, watch a dvd together, and have fun trying something new. We sure did!

I'd love to hear about any of your adventures into soapmaking...good and bad! And I am always open to hearing useful tips. Thanks!

Blessings,

Heather



Free eBooks From Kaplan

An interesting freebie I found out about on one of my Forums:

Through January 17th, 2011, you can select from 130 titles from Kaplan for FREE!!! for your Nook, Kindle, iPad, or Sony eReader.

Titles include: SAT, ACT, AP Test, GRE, and MCAT prep guides, Cleveland Clinic Medical Guides, getting into Law, Medical, and Nursing Schools guides, Investing guides, and books with titles like "Math for Moms and Dads." Quite a variety, though they do seem to be geared toward adult reading...But, hey, Mom needs time to learn, too!! Here's a complete list.

The download process seems simple. You can skip the optional registry process (and avoid emails from Kaplan, I think) by NOT entering in the $100 giveaway. Simply click on the words "Click here to access your free ebooks" at the top of THIS page.

Even if you don't own one of those lovely and handy book reading devices, I hear you can download the software for the Kindle to your PC and have access to the ebooks on your computer. I will have to figure out how to do that and go do some virtual FREE!! "shopping" soon...Hey, that was easy. I found the "Kindle for the PC" download HERE!!

Blessings,

Heather

Confessions of an Ex-Nerd

Let's get this post started off with some silly nerd jokes, just for fun:

Q. What did the proton say to the electron?

A. Stop being so negative.

A neutron walks into a restaurant and orders a soda.
Upon being asked the price, the waitress responds, "For you? No charge."

Two Hydrogen atoms were walking down the street.
One atom trips and falls and says, "Ohh Noo... I think I lost an electron!"
The other atom replies, "Are you sure?"
The first atoms exclaims, "I'm Positive!"

These are for little nerds:
Q.What does a proud computer call his little son? A: A microchip off the old block....
Q. How does Bill Gates enter his house? A. He uses "windows"....
Q.What did the computer expert do over the weekend? A. He went for a disk drive....
Q. What do computers eat when they get hungry? A. Chips...
Q. What did the acorn say when it grew up? A. Ge-ome-try!

I remember this one from school:
Teacher: What's the formula for the area of a circle?
Student: Pi r squared
Other Student: No they're not, they're circles!!
We thought we were so clever when we "thought up" that one.

My favorite: One day a farmer called up an engineer, a physicist, and a mathematician and asked them to fence off the largest possible area with the least amount of fence.

The engineer made the fence in a circle and proclaimed that he had the most efficient design.

The physicist made a long, straight line and proclaimed "We can assume the length is infinite..." and pointed out that fencing off half of the Earth was certainly more efficient.

The Mathematician just laughed at them. He built a tiny fence around himself and said "I declare myself to be on the outside."
If you ever went to school with someone who was a mathematician, physicist, or engineer, you know why this joke is funny...(or maybe you married one??)

A nerdy chemistry riddle: A guy walks into a restaurant. He says to the waiter, "I'll have some H2O." His thirst is quenched and he leaves happy.
Another guy walks up to the same waiter and says, "I"ll have some H2O too." He dies. Do you know why?

If you get this one, you are definitely at least a little nerdy: There are 10 kinds of people in this world: Those who know binary code and those who don't.

Now, for the review...

That was just a little nerdy humor to lighten the atmosphere and get this review of Virtual Nerd off to a fun start. I want you to know that I am allowed to tell nerd jokes because, yes, I will admit it, when I was in school I was considered a nerd. All my friends were nerds. I took nerd classes, and I sat at the nerd lunch table. I am not too proud to admit it. My friends were nice (if a little off beat), my classes were challenging, and the conversations at the lunch table were never boring local gossip or on-dits about the latest "cool" singing group or movie star. They were actual conversations about real issues that mattered. Whoa!

I was really only marginally good at being a nerd, though, because while my scores on the SAT were better than average, they were not perfect (several of my friends achieved perfect scores). While I wound up going to a good college with some scholarships, I did not have a full ride to Harvard or MIT (some of my nerdy friends did), and while I liked being intelligent, it wasn't the be-all-end-all to me the way it was to them. So maybe I was just a nerd-hanger-on. Hmmm. I don't know.

The reason I am telling you all of this is to show you that I have experience with nerds and I know what I am talking about when I tell you that Virtual Nerd is nerdy in the very best way. It is filled with detailed explanations about topics that are difficult for some parents and/or teachers to discuss. Not only are the explanations detailed, but they are CLEAR to non-nerds, too (this is why I explained that I am atypically nerdy...math was not my strongest area, hence the not perfect SAT scores). Virtual Nerd is an interesting tool that you might want to consider using in your homeschool, or for your public schooled kids, if you find you are experiencing difficulties in the areas of Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, or Physics. You can go HERE to see a two minute demonstration video.

Introductory Video HERE

Let me tell you a bit more about the program: Basically, Virtual Nerd is a teaching program which uses videos and virtual whiteboards to demonstrate various techniques in the above listed subjects. The topics are arranged by difficulty, and build upon each other, just as you would find them in a well-designed textbook. In fact, if you are using certain textbooks, you can click on the textbook titles (listed at the bottom of the screen), and Virtual Nerd will direct you to the virtual lessons that correspond to each lesson in the text. This would work great for those who are in public schools (as a tutorial) or those who acquire public school texts like my friends in Florida do (discards are available to homeschoolers for free).

After you click on the topic you need to learn more about, then either a young lady or a young man (both nerds, I guess...very nice and clever nerds!) appear to explain the topic to you in VERY clear and detailed terms, using a regular whiteboard on the video. To the side, you will view a "virtual whiteboard" that shows color-coded step-by-step instructions which allow you to jump ahead to where you are having real problems, or go back to view something again. We never had any trouble navigating these areas of the tutorials, and found them to be useful and helpful. Along the way, my son and I figured out that the clever nerds who started this service took their strengths from college, put them to good use coming up with this program, and are now rich, clever nerds...what a great life lesson for him, and highly motivating (because they really do seem nice and we like to see nice people being successful...you can read more about the founders HERE, and you can find out more about their "Team of Nerds" HERE).

At this time, Virtual Nerd does not offer practice problems, quizzes, or evaluations of any kind, though their site says they plan to expand in this area this year. Instead, it is a teaching/tutorial system that my son Tex thought was "excellent and interesting to watch." (He's taking Pre-Algebra). He would get his assignment from the program he is using as his main math source, check out the instructions there, then watch Virtual Nerd to clear up any uncertainties. During the time he was using Virtual Nerd to clarify methodology on equations, etc., he did not once have a need to come and ask me to explain anything further. Several times, though, he came to me, having clicked on something ahead of where he is supposed to be, and excitedly explained what new thing he had learned! He also really liked the tutors. He felt both of them were friendly, knowledgeable, and polite.

Virtual Nerd has over 1,000 videos to help your student with their higher-level math and basic physics skills. Currently, there are Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, and Physics videos in place, with more subjects under development for the future (Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Chemistry). Virtual Nerd provides students, teachers, and parents, with the extra one-on-one instruction and tutoring so often needed for the areas of higher math and science. I might be pretty good at teaching up through Algebra, and great with Biology, but start talking Physics and Calculus and I will be the first to admit that I need HELP! Actually, for those parents who prefer to teach their own students EVERY subject, Virtual Nerd might just be the tool you've been needing to brush up on those rusty areas you haven't touched in a "few" years (lol...my kids think I'm old, too).

Says Josh Salcman, one of the founders of Virtual Nerd, in an interview with edtechdigest.com, "Beyond the benefits to students, Virtual Nerd also offers benefits to parents and teachers. For parents, we provide them an option to receive weekly email reports of how their child is using the site." This makes it even more useful as a teaching/tutoring program for homeschoolers (we homeschooling parents love to keep track of what our kids are up to). I couldn't find a link to info about this benefit, but if you have other questions about Virtual Nerd, they might be answered on this FAQ page.

Virtual Nerd pricing is a bit steep to my frugal and FREE!-loving mentality, but considering the price of a personal tutor, or the cost in frustration and wasted time should a student stall in one place due to an easily explained (by the right nerdy person) misunderstanding, or should they even have to take a subject again, the amount you spend on this program can be considered a well-spent investment. The company offers several pricing levels. The first is a one-day deal, at $5 a day. This is perfect for a student who is studying for a test the next day and absolutely can't figure something out. Awesome! The next levels are the one week plan for $19 and one month plan for $49. These are ideal for a student who normally understands the course material, but is having temporary trouble in one limited area. The last pricing plan is the most economical at $129 for a three-month subscription. This allows full 24 hour access from anywhere you have the internet for three whole months. If you aren't sure if Virtual Nerd will be right for you or your student, you can try the FREE!!! 2 hour trial tour by signing up HERE.

We really enjoyed participating in the review of this program and I will definitely be looking forward to procuring their services when it is time for my next student to take Chemistry and Calculus. I am soooo relieved, you just don't know!! This is an invaluable product for those who have a need for it, and if you need something like this, you will know that I am talking to you, and you will be sooo happy you heard about it here, on my ex-nerd blog.

Blessings to all,

Heather

**I recieved a complimentary trial of this product in return for a fair and honest review of the services provided by this company. The opinions and experiences you read here are my own and not intended to guarantee that your impressions or experiences will be exactly the same. If you have any questions regarding this product, you may feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer them.

PS. I don't know if this promotion is still active, but if you are interested in subscribing, there is a place for promo codes, and I found one listed in an archived article HERE. It is worth a try...it's good for 50% off a subscription! You deserve a BONUS for reading this far...;-)

FREE!! Stephen Johnston Audio Bible Online

FREE!! image from http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/

I have been thinking about purchasing an audio Bible to listen to with the kids at home and in the car, but I haven't been able to decide if we will really use it as much as we'd need to to make the investment worth it. Imagine my excitement when I discovered Stephen Johnston's Complete Audio Bible available online for FREE! I LOVE free stuff...it's my favorite price.

I plan to listen to this version with the kids for a few weeks at home and see if we really use it. Then, if we do, I may take the plunge and order the Word of Promise Audio Bible (I love how they use multiple voices and sound effects, kind of like an old time radio show...it's nowhere close to free, but I think we'd get a lot out of it).

Here's the link to the welcome page for this audio version of the Bible. If you have found other good audio versions available for FREE! online, please let me know, so I can share them here. Thanks!!

Stephen Johnston Online Audio Bible

Blessings,

Heather

Winter Wonderland

It's amazing how a little bit of water can turn ordinary things into jewel-like creations of rare beauty. When we went outside this morning after freezing "winter-mix" came down last night, our world was transformed into a true winter wonderland.

Shhhhhh! CurrClick has a secret...

Shhhhhhh! CurrClick has a secret...there are loads of special freebies on their site right now...but you have to go check it out for yourself HERE!! One of them is a study from Hands of a Child. You know how good those are. Head on over today and pick up some freebies for yourself. It's for a limited time only, so don't delay!

Blessings,

Heather

Just the Facts, Ma'am

These days, educational games are a dime a dozen. There are aps for your iphone, math games for your child's handheld devices, and of course, very flashy and high res graphics games for your laptop. As a whole, I don't have a problem with any of these things, if they are working to help your child improve his or her skills, or even if they are simply entertaining them from time to time in a more educational way. But sometimes I wonder at the wisdom of wrapping up something as basic as memorizing math facts in the middle of an elaborate game scenario where the bulk of the child's time is spent running from one virtual place to another, fighting monsters or outwitting villains, with a minimum of time spent actually doing the math problems that need work. All the (sometimes confusing and distracting) bells and whistles can make one long for a simple pack of flashcards.

Math Facts Now! takes you back to the simplicity of flashcards. It is basically a highly customizable electronic pack of flashcards that gives the teacher the ability to choose an operation to work on (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), determine a problem set (using numbers 1-12), assign a number of problems to complete, set an amount of time allowed per problem, and even offer a reward for succesful completion of the assignment. The program is downloadable, or you can order it on cd-rom, and priced at $15.95 for both versions (with an additional $2.95 shipping and handling charge for the cd version), it is very affordable. It is available for Windows 2000, ME, XP, Vista and Windows 7 (with 4.5 Mb of free hard drive space required). Unfortunately, Math Facts Now! is not available for Macintosh users at this time.

Here are the particulars about the program:

• The teacher may choose to have the student work on addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.
• 
  The teacher may choose which numbers will be practiced (ie. you may choose to work on multiplying the numbers 1-12 only by the numbers 1-7).
• The teacher may create multiple problem sets with differing parameters (ie. you can make "Addition 1-10" and "Subtraction 1-5") that can be saved and reused.
• The program can be used with multiple students and each student will have access to every problem set, so you don't have to remake the same problem set for each student.
• The teacher can set the number of problems to be completed for each problem set, from as few as five problems, to as many as fifty (or maybe more...we never did more than fifty). So if you have one student who needs to work on addition 1-5 and is only able to complete ten problems at a time, and another who is also working on addition 1-5, but can do twenty problems, you can make different problem sets for each student. But if they both can only do ten problems, you can use just one problem set. Pretty handy, huh?
• The teacher can choose the amount of time given for students to solve each problem. We used sixty seconds for Ladybug, just in case she had trouble finding the keys, but you can use a much shorter amount of time to increase speed of recall. 
• The teacher can set the number of times a student is required to type out missed problems (ie. 1+5=6) from as few as two to...well, we went up to four, but I imagine you could do more!
• Missed problems are repeated once a student has typed out the correct problem. A red warning of "Be Careful!" shows to remind your student that this is a problem that was missed before. I thought this was great. It worked especially well for Ladybug because she can be impulsive and just guess. The warning slowed her down and reminded her that she needed to THINK.
• The teacher can assign a reward for students to be given upon completion of each problem set with 100% accuracy. This reward can range from something as simple as "a kiss and a hug" to something like "fifteen minutes playing time on the Wii fit." Or you can forego the reward. It's up to you.
• Teachers have the ability to keep track of each child’s progress and mastery of their math facts through reviewing past performance and progress reports.

Here's what we thought about the product:

Me: I loved it! What a great program for drilling math facts. I mean, I think math games are fun and all (my kids play them on our older computer), but sometimes it is more useful to just get back to the basics and drill, drill, drill.

My mom was telling me the other day that at her old public school they used to make every FIFTH GRADER write a graph of the times tables at the beginning of their SOL testing (there was no time limit, so wasting time making a chart wasn't an issue). That way, they wouldn't miss any problems because of not knowing their math facts. Come on...the average fifth grader needing a chart to help them remember 8 x 8? Sad. Math facts are the building blocks of everything having to do with math, so quick recall of them is essential to mastery of any other math skill that comes after that.

It was nice to see the progress my five and seven year olds made on their addition facts, to see the increase in their speed of recall, and to give out rewards of hugs and kisses, stickers, and an occassional cookie (hey, sometimes that is a fun incentive!) when a new skill set was mastered.

I liked that I could assign the drills and the kids could complete them without my having to be there every moment (I was still available, but I could be loading the dishwasher while they worked on their problems), and that they were enthusiastic about using the program.

The company even listened to the TOS Crew feedback and changed the problem limit from a minimum of fifty (yikes! for younger kids) to a minimum of five. How's that for customer service?

All in all, it was a huge A+++ for our family!!!

Here's What We Have to Say About Math Facts Now!:

Ladybug and Cowboy: We liked it. It was fun. It was a little hard to find the keys at first, but we figured it out. Ladybug was the best at that. We learned a lot. We want to keep doing Math Facts Now!

Tex: I tried the program just to drill and practice my facts (I already know them well), and it was a good program. I actually increased my recall speed when I used the program more (it tells you the average time it took you per problem). I think using this program is a good way to help make all math skills better because knowing your multiplication tables is so basic. The easier it is to remember your times tables, the easier it is to solve other problems, even algebra.

Math Facts Now! is an excellent tool to help your children practice and master their basic math facts. If you have children who are struggling with this skill, if your children are just beginning to work on this skill and need more practice, or even if your kids are doing pretty well, but could stand to speed up their recall, this program will definitely be a benefit to your family.

Click HERE to go to Math Facts Now! to try out a free trial.

You can go HERE to find out how to order Math Facts Now!

Click HERE to read what other TOS Crew reviewers have to say about this useful and efficient drill program. Check out other testimonials about the product HERE.

I hope our review was useful to you.

Blessings,

Heather

Our family received a complimentary download of this product in order to test it for the purposes of this review. The review you have read here is a reflection of our experiences using this product, and our honest opinions about its usefulness. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Stuck Inside? Exercise with a One Mile Walk!

Today on Facebook, Homeschool for Free (not my site, but another like it), shared this one mile walk with Leslie Sansone. I did it with the kids and it was a lot of fun! It takes about fifteen minutes and you will feel great when you are done (and it might wear your kids out a bit...an added bonus), so grab a water bottle and put on your track shoes and start walking!

One Mile Express Walk



Also try:
Five Minute Advanced Walk
Three Minute Advanced Express Walk

Blessings,

Heather

Change of Plans

I want to get a BIG shout out for the next Family Movie Night movie Change of Plans which premiers on FOX on Saturday, January 8th, at 8 EST/7 CST. Watch this movie!!!!!!

I watched Change of Plans with my seven year old daughter and my thirteen year old son and it was absolutely wonderful. It was appropriate for all ages in your family and has a fabulous message you definitely want everyone to hear. The movie covers multiple "big ideas" in a caring, compassionate, and family-friendly way. The characters are real, and charming, and suitable for everyone. I cannot think of one thing in the movie that I did not like. This is one you will not want to miss. So, please, take the time to add this heartwarming movie to your calendar, order out for pizza, and have the popcorn handy, then settle down on the couch or floor for two hours of enjoyment that will in turn tug at your heart, have you talking back to the screen (and talking to each other), and leave you smiling.

Here is my synopsis of the movie: Basically, a self-focused, self-centered, career driven (yet still nice) couple is surprised with the news that the wife has been named as guardian of her college best-friend's children after a fatal plane crash while on a Peace Corps Mission. The couple is hesitant to accept such a "change of plans" in their busy lives (he's an aeronautical engineer and pilot and she is an aspiring singer), but agrees to take on the kids "temporarily" until a permanent home can be found. The four children, ranging in age from fifteen to about eight, include three adopted orphans from three different countries, who find it challenging to adapt to American life after living in Uganda for so many years. The new "family" is faced with numerous challenges along the way (the biggest hurdle of which is the American social work system), and has to find a way to make all of their differences add up to something special before it is too late.

I was very pleased by most things in this movie, but most of all by the respect and kindness shown by all of the characters, especially the children. Even the wife's worldly agent tones down his language because he is speaking around children. I don't recall a single bad word that was spoken, and the music (of the wife's band), had a nice message and was not overly loud (she was a singer on American Idol, so her voice is good). There was a brief spate of bullying in the storyline, but actual fighting was not shown, and the consequences were real. There were a few tiny kisses between the married couple and they were shown well-covered in bed talking, but while there were romantic interests for the two high school aged kids, this was minor, it seemed innocent, and I do not recall any physical contact. The acting and the film quality for television were top-notch.

The older daughter repeatedly reinforces good manners, and the fledgeling parents do their best to step in and be wise guardians. When the children make mistakes, they are genuinely remorseful, and want to make things better...awesome! The older daughter mentions once that the ladies of her family have a tradition of cooking together, so she'd be pleased to help prepare meals (the wife does not cook). She also asks if she can say a prayer before a meal. She recalls what a caring father she had, who played a strategy board game with her nightly, and taught her important things every day (like how to ride a donkey backwards by sticking a thorn in its tail...Tex thought this was hilarious...) The youngest daughter likes to play, "Tell Me Something" at night, which is basically a chance for the caregiver to tell a story or share a memory. The wife told her touching stories about her mother and showed a profound depth of caring that was quite admirable. Personally, I liked this sweet idea and I think I will call our random memory-sharing experiences "Tell Me Something" from now on.

The movie deals with the differences between our country and other countries (we have soooo much), the difficulty of dealing with a loved one's death, culture shock and adjusting to a new place, integrating families, adoption and foster care, the importance of serving others, making a family dynamic work, respect, giving up dreams for a greater good, and how to choose what is the best thing...During the course of the movie, the young couple goes from self-centered to family-centered, and learns to love the day to day things that having a family brings...eventually finding them to be much more valuable than fleeting fame, fortune, or excitement. The husband says, "[The children] set us on a better path beyond our narrow vision." This sums up all of what the movie is about.

I think you will really like this one. We did. Please, remember that supporting what Walmart and P&G are trying to do with this Family Movie Night initiative is VERY important, so make sure you work watching Change of Plans into your schedule, or set your dv-r, or whatever you do, watch the movie, and then let them know that you really appreciate these family-friendly and appropriate-for-all-ages movies. It is so nice to see something wholesome on regular television (and so rare). Believe me, watching this movie will be a painless way of supporting a good thing. People out there NEED to hear this message, so let's work together to make sure more movies like this continue to grace the airways.

Here is a preview of the movie for you:


:30 Change of
Plans from Moms4FamilyTV.com on
Vimeo.

Check out the network page (with a trailer and a synopsis) for this movie HERE.
Support Family Movie Night by "liking" their page on Facebook HERE.

One last thing I think shows the heart of the movie: In a press release, Brooke White (she plays Sally, the wife) says, "I love this story, because it is emotionally-driven, yet light-hearted and fun. It also shows us that the family comes in all shapes and sizes, and reminds us that sometimes life doesn't turn out the way we planned, but it can be even better. It's a great lesson that I learned firsthand!"
I hope you enjoy this movie as much as we did.

Blessings,

Heather

Christmas Cookie and Candy Exchange

I had the pleasure of hostessing a Cookie Exchange for four other families today. It was a bit hectic trying to get the house ready for the occassion, but thanks to hubby, Tex, and the kids (and all of their invaluable help), everything was sparkling clean and prettily arranged for our guests' enjoyment this afternoon.

We each made five dozen cookies (that way our own families got some of our cookies, too) and packaged them separately in bags with a recipe card attached. The ladies (and their daughters) shared a few pots of Earl Grey tea and some lemon pound cake, while chatting about all things family and Christmas. The little ones ran around and enchanted the older girls with their easy laughter and hugs. The moms enjoyed watching their children, young and old, interact so graciously.

It was an altogether pleasant and worthwhile time that I definitely want to make a yearly tradition. I loved having the opportunity to fellowship with like-minded ladies and to get several new (and delicious!) recipes to add to my collection. Plus, my kids are so happy to have all those amazing cookies to enjoy over the next few days. I would never have found the time this year to make five different varieties of cookies, but one, I could do.

Here's what the ladies brought to the exchange:

• Christmas Candies (me)
• Ginger-Molasses Cookies
• Sugar Cookies decorated with icing and sprinkles
• Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Chocolate Fudge and Peanut Butter Fudge

I was sneaky and opened the bags tonight after the kids were in bed. Wasn't that naughty of me? I tried them all (incuding my own) and have decided that my favorite are the Ginger-Molasses cookies made by our friends, the P. family (yes, I even liked them better than my own contribution!). I have been drinking ginger tea lately to try and help my headache-related nausea and my migraines, so I guess I have developed quite a liking for the flavor of ginger. I found the slight zing to be exactly what I was in the mood for...I can't believe I actually picked something non-chocolate, but there you have it. I did.

Here is the recipe for the Christmas candy my mom makes every year (I made this instead of the cookies I'd planned to make because she is out of town helping her mother and I KNEW it would be a hit...it always is):

Ingredients:

One bag of chocolate morsels
One bag of butterscotch morsels

One can of salted red-skinned Spanish peanuts

1. Heat each bag of chips separately according to package instructions (well, I actually do all of the chips in one bag at once rather than by the cupful, so I have to heat it up for longer, but I do this incrementally and with stirring in between, so I won't burn the chips). I usually do the butterscotch first because they are a little bit tougher to melt.
2. Combine the chocolate and butterscotch in one bowl and stir in the peanuts.
3. Drop tablespoonfuls (for larger candies) of the mixture onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. For smaller candies, use a teaspoon (this is the best choice for families with smaller children. These candies are rich.)
4. Allow to cool and harden in the fridge, then store in an airtight container IN THE FRIDGE. Makes about three dozen large candies.
5. Enjoy! We are thinking this recipe might be delicious if made with peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch. What do you think?

So what is your favorite cookie/candy recipe to make at Christmas? Can you tell me why we only go crazy on the cookies once a year? We ought to do this more often. Well, then again, maybe my waistline thinks it is better to do this only once a year after all...

I hope you are enjoying your Christmas preparations.

Blessings to you and yours,

Heather