Random Addictions...

Many of you may laugh, but I wanted to share my random addictions of the past month or so. I usually don't have things like this, but for sure these are great! It all started with the hot tamales, we love to eat these at our apartment! They disappear pretty fast when they are around. Then I couldn't find a picture of this one, but I tried the veggie noodles at my favorite restaurant (Pasta Factory) and I LOVE THEM! Yes, the girl who despises most vegetables, loves them! It might be the fact that they are smothered in Alfredo sauce, but I do love them! :) And my good friend Shelly introduced me to these peppermint oreos last week.. thanks Shelly! Man they are good! I went the other night with Courtney and JD and we stocked up on a few packages (it is only a seasonal item). It was a great adventure of the night. If you want any of these it is Albertson's brand-- they are delicious! I think they will become a Christmas time tradition for me! :)

Rocky Road

Okay so this one is just for me, but if you would like to read it, feel free! :) Rocky Road is part of Christmas with the Gardner family. If we didn't have rocky road it might not quite feel like the holidays. My dad (aka: G-Dawg by all former students) makes this Rocky Road (it is a secret recipe). The week before Christmas this year I was my Dad's elf helper and helped him finish all his candy making for this year. Not kidding--- he makes hundreds and hundreds of plates per year (about 500). (He has also been making it for about the past 17 years... and perfecting it along the way. Everyone loves them! :) One example is that some of our friends stopped by the house on Thanksgiving and their four-year-old daughter exclaimed "Where is the reindeer poop!" She was so excited! (Her mom informed me that she really thinks it is reindeer poop). I love how many people my dad shares with over the holidays. Rocky Road will always be one of my treasured memories of Christmas time! Dad you're the BEST!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I love spending time with the family and that the focus of the holiday is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Here are fun pictures of the family! Some were on Christmas day and others were just fun stuff we did together. Merry Christmas!

Baby Dylann

Jeff, Prezlie, Kaulin & Julie

Chris & Reese, & Rushton

Prezlie & Paige

Mr. Bentley-dressed as Santa & Me

My cute little tree at my apartment this year. My roommates and friends helped string the popcorn- that was quite an adventure. :)

Andee & Ethan
Andee made the wonderful cookies so we could frost them together- the kids loved it!

Date Night with Aunt Reese

Athena

Courtney

My friends decided to hang out and entertain with me for a date night with my cute niece and nephew. We went out to dinner and then made Christmas trees! :) It was such a fun night with family and friends. It helped me to think about how blessed I am to have so many amazing people in my life! :)

Homemade Christmas

Every year we draw names for giving gifts between the siblings. I had Alisha this year and we decided to make it a homemade Christmas. It was a fun adventure! My trusty side-kick (Julie Thompson) helped me along the way! (I'm not very talented with a sewing machine, but I'm hoping to get more comfortable.) After many hours of working hard here is Alisha opening them on Christmas day! I was super excited to make them for her: a apron and place mats. So the funny part about the adventure is that Santa brought me the sewing machine about 3 years ago and this was its first adventure out of the box. :) Thanks Julie for all your help-- I couldn't have done it without you! And I hope you enjoy your new projects Alisha! Thanks for being such great sister! :)

Gingerbread

In mid December, this was my first attempt at making gingerbread! It really turned out to be a fun adventure! I made them for my cute kindergartners at school. We had been reading different versions of the gingerbread man all week long. Then Thursday night I made these wonderful gingerbread men (one for each class). I took them to school with me on Friday and He ran away! Can you believe it? He ran away! He did leave us some clues so that we could find him again! The kids were so cute. They loved it! When we found him, we ate him of course! :) I just love Christmas time and fun activities (and excited 5 and 6 year olds). I got a cute picture of each class with the gingerbread man--great memories!

Cranberry Ice...

This year I have thought a lot about family traditions. Cranberry ice is one of the traditions of the holidays for the Gardner side. For Thanksgiving and Christmas we make it to go with the wonderful food! It is one of my favorite things to look forward too! :)

Cranberry Ice Recipe

1quart fresh cranberries (12oz bag)
2 cups of water

Put water and cranberries in saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat when cranberries pop their skins. Allow to cool slightly. Pour liquid and cranberries through a wire sieve into a bowl. Rub the cranberries through the sieve with the back of a large metal spoon to push the pulp through, scraping the pulp off the outside of the sieve as needed.

Add to the cranberry juice and pulp:
2 C cold water
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice

Stir until sugar dissolves. Pour into heavy plastic containers and freeze. When ready to serve, slush up, fill cups half to two-thirds full with slush. Pour lemon-lime soda or sparkling water over the slush, stir to desired consistency, and serve.