Gooey Butter Cookies!

1/4 tsp. Vanilla
1 egg
1 8oz package of cream cheese softened
1 stick of butter softened
1 yellow cake mix
Powdered sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat butter, vanilla, egg and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in dry cake mix. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Lightly coat cookie sheet with cooking spray. Drop dough by the teaspoon-fulls into bowl of powdered sugar and roll them to cover completely. Place the dough balls onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 12 minutes or until a light golden brown. Makes aprx 4 dozen cookies.

Variation: Substitute the yellow cake mix with a devils food cake mix. Both versions are really yummy!!!

I got the recipe from my good friend Tami! She made them for us last summer and we loooooved them! If you cook them longer than 12-13 minutes they will be more cake like cookies rather than soft and chewy. Both are good though! Enjoy! Let me know if you like them!

Another infamous moment from Bo!

I guess Boaz really liked his lunch. I gave him cheese, pepperoni, Turkey Bacon, crackers, and Raspberries. He had eaten all the raspberries I gave to start off with so I gave him a few more, needless to say I think he really liked them! The funny thing is when I got him up this morning he instantly asked for a bath, I said no we will have one tonight or tomorrow. Well he got one, I think he did it on purpose. LOL!



What a Ham.



Look at it this way, since it was everywhere, the counter, the floor, and the highchair, my floors got mopped! Clean and Sparkly!

Fun Fact about us! Coffee addicts.

Jason and I have come to notice the different tastes between different brands, blends and roasts of coffee. So here are some tips and some of our favorite coffees:

1: Grind your own beans,the taste of the coffee is so much more fresh!

2. For a stronger coffee taste use a french press.

3. Store coffee beans in an air tight container, that way they do not get dried out and will retain their flavor, the bag it comes in is not good enough and is not air tight.

4. Spend the $2-$4 extra dollars and get a quality package of coffee. The better the quality of the bean the more you will enjoy your coffee experience!

Our favorite brands and roasts of coffee:

1. Caffe Verona- Bold roast by Starbucks

2. Sumatra- Extra bold roast by Starbucks

3. Original Blend-Medium Roast by Duncan Donuts

So what are some of your favorites?

Did your child ever do this?

Bo did not get his afternoon nap today, because we were out all afternoon running errands. Usually he takes little naps in between stops, however, that did not happen today. So when we got home at 4:15 I set him in his highchair to eat something before he went down for his late nap. He was munching away when I walked into the living room for a couple minutes and when I didn't hear him talking I looked at Jason and asked if he thought that Bo fell asleep? So Jason peaks his head in and sure enough Bo had fallen asleep. This all happened within just a couple minutes of me walking out of the kitchen. He was really tired, so I took him upstairs to sleep a little more comfortably in his crib.

Decorating question?

So this coming Friday we are hosting our Church Christmas party at our house and I am going to be decorating and preparing for it all week. Jason even took Friday off of work to help me out!
My question is:
What are some Holiday decorating ideas that you have used in the past that people have loved?

You can post all your ideas and answers in the comment section of this post! Thanks and I can't wait to see all the fun ideas!

Recipe of the week:

Chinese Chicken Salad:

Grill time: 8-12 minutes
Total prep time: 30 minutes

Salad Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp peanut oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely shredded carrots
1 cup roughly chopped cashews
1 cup bean sprouts
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup copped fresh chives

Dressing ingredients:
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp black bean sauce with garlic
1 tsp minced garlic-about 2 cloves
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp mustard powder
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1. lightly coat the chicken with oil. Season evenly with chili powder, salt and pepper. Grill Chicken over medium heat. Remove from grill and let cool until you can handle it with your fingers.

2. Using your fingers, pull the meat apart into shreds roughly 1-2 inches long. Place in large bowl. Add the remaining salad ingredients. Mix well

3. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients until emulsified. Add enough dressing to the salad to lightly coat the ingredients. Mix well and serve immediately. Serve at room temperature.

Makes four servings.

This is a really yummy cold salad! We love it, plus it's healthy! I hope you like it as much as we do. Try it and let me know what you think!

By the way, I was able to find all the ingredients at my grocery store down the asian/mexican isle.

New promotions and retired list

Free Shipping on all orders $70 or more from December 9-December 23.
The free shipping special is good on retiring stamp set orders as well.
All stamps sets that are retiring are offered at a 10% discount.

The following link will take you to a list of the retiring stamp sets.

Retired Stamp list

Visit my website to place your order today. Stampin' Up is guaranteeing that your order will ship by December 16th to arrive in time for Christmas. Therefore your order must be placed by December 16th. You can also find the current promotions and flyers on my website.

My website

Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas!

Online Store...

I have started a new online store for all my crafts and handmade goods. If you or anyone you know is interested you can visit my store at the following link:

http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Ajbindewald

I will be updating my store on a weekly basis or as stuff becomes available. Check it out!

Cards

These are a few of the new cards that I made a couple of weeks ago.

Mini Notebooks

These are some mine notebooks that I altered. I covered them all with SU paper except the second one. Added some ribbon and there you have it. They are perfect for your purse, or to use at your desk!

Magnetic post it note holders, and card sets!

I think these are just cute! I covered a 4x4 cardboard coaster with SU paper! Addeda cute library clip, some ribbon, and then your post it notes!






The first card set is made with the Organic Grace stamp set, riding hood red, SU paper, and old olive ribbon! This is a set of eight.


This set was made with the pocket silhouettes, SU paper, Baja Breeze and old olive card stock. This is a set of eight.

Desktop post it note holders

I made these using the plastic picture frames available at walmart. The paper and stamps are all SU.

Chocolate tins:

These are a few Chocolate tins that I made for my recent craft show.
There are 12 pieces of chocolate nuggets in the tin. Tins can be purchased at papertreyink.com

These tins are currently for sale at my online store:
http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Ajbindewald

Busted...

Bo thought Joel needed to learn how to cook. What's for dinner?



So I was feeding Joel one morning and Bo was playing in the family room, so I thought....I walked into the kitchen and found that Bo had taken my canister of powdered sugar out of the pantry and decided to play in it. He even got measuring spoons, a cookie scoop and a spatula out of the drawer. This was one of those situations where you just can't help but laugh, even when you are trying to be serious.

Busted.

Some of my favorite pictures as of late!

Cute boys!

HUH...

So funny.

At the circus!

Sale-A-Bration

Get Ready For Sale-A-Bration!!! 

Dates effective: February 1-March 31

Customers: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $50 purchase.

Hostesses: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product with a $300 or more workshop, in addition to the normal hostess benefits.

Recruits: Choose any retail stamp set (a value up to $47.95) from the current catalog when signing up during the promotion.

Contact me to book your Workshop or Stamp Camp. I have Several dates available for you to choose from. Hurry before they are gone!

Gift Giving Guide

Are you in need of some gift ideas? Well look no further, click on the Holiday Gift Guide and you will find gifts in the $10, $25, $50, and $100 range. Stampin' Up! has many gift ideas, some of which include stamps, accessories, scrapbooking supplies, Decor Elements for your home, Christmas decorations and much more. Browse there list and you will be able tofind that perfect gift for everyone on your list!

Holiday Extravaganza

Check out these great bundled deals from Stampin' Up! One stop shopping for the crafters and scrapbookers in your life. Click on the shopping Cart to view all the great specials!