the mess gets worse...

before the decorating gets done. YIKES!

My trees are up and looking pretty, my goal today is to put up the rest of the decorations, then to ruthlessly go through what I don't use and box it up to donate.






John 16:33 (New American Standard Bible)
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Very Yummy Coffee Cake

Very Yummy Crumb Cake

Ingredients
9 by 13 cake
2 tablespoons oil,
4 cups all-purpose flour,
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled

Directions
Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 325 degrees.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.
Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over flour mixture, and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.
Transfer pan to oven, and bake 20 -25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
Serve warm or cool in generous size squares.






"You can't keep trouble from coming, but you don't have to give it a chair to sit on." -New England Proverb
quoted from New England Girls blog

Giveaway for the start of this blog, my next big project and a gift idea

First I want to thank you all who have visited my new blog and left such nice comments. I promised some giveaways in my first post so here is the first one.
I love to enter other blog giveaways but I don't like to jump through a bunch of hoops to do it, so all I ask is that for an entry, just leave a comment on any post and every comment is an entry. And if you are a follower or talk about this blog anywhere, just tell me so and and each will get you another entry.
I'll draw a winner on Tuesday night, Dec. 8th.
And if you don't have a blog, please leave me a good way to get in contact with if you win.


the prizes are a small Pampered Chef bar board size cutting board
a set of Paula Deen chicken measuring spoons
and a knee-length apron sewn my me - red calico with 2 pockets



Here is my next project to conquer - I got down all the Christmas decorations from the attic and the craft room closet. I've been thinking about how I want to decorate this year and I have some ideas floating around. I prefer to think about a big job for a bit before I jump right in. Usually if I think it through, I can come up with a good way to do it and sometimes save some steps.



Last week, there was a free book offer at PhotoWorks.
The freebie blogs were saying it was taking a long to make them but I tried it with some old black and white photos of my parents and grandparents. It took me about an hour and was totally free with that offer - they are not free anymore but they are 25% off.
The UPS lady brought my book yesterday and it is so nice. The black and white photos look great in the mostly black book I selected. The original pictures were all tiny - less than 3 inch squares for most of them - so it is great to see them enlarged.
So if you are needing a gift for a grandparent this Christmas, a photo book from old black and whites would probably be really appreciated by them.


this is the cover of my book - my grandparents all dressed up

This is Uncle Bill, Grandma and my mom sitting on her lap.