Christmas Tree is Up!

We put up our Christmas tree on Saturday. I am soo happy! We bought a new prelit Christmas tree this year and the lights look so good - way better than if we strung them ourselves. Here's a pic:


We got a new angel too since our star wouldn't stay put on the top. I just love it. I have a couple more things to put out but most of it is finished. Tonight's project will be to put the garland and lights on our banister going upstairs. I got red garland and our banister is white so I'm going for a candy cane look.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have exciting plans for the weekend. Michael and I are going out to eat with Mum and Dad. It should be fun and no dishes to do! Yippee!

I'm dying to get some Christmas decorations up, but Michael won't have any of it until the calendar says December 1st. I think I'll be able to get away with putting the window candles up this weekend, but the tree will have to wait until next Saturday. We got a new fake tree so we'll be able to enjoy it all month long. I will miss the scent of the pine, but I'm sure the wreaths I'll get will satisfy my urge. And if they don't, there's always pine scented candles. ;=)

Anyhoo, I hope you all have a great Turkey Day and if your celebrations take you away from home, have a safe trip!

Christmas Shopping

I'm so happy. Christmas is 39 days away and I have more than half of my shopping finished! I know what I'm getting for the other folks, I just need to get to the stores and pick it up. Yay me!

Finished Product

I finally sat down the other day and made my no sew blanket. It's chocolate brown on one side and pink on the reverse. It wasn't hard to make and I figured out a couple things to do differentlly when I make another one. All in all, it probably took about an hour to make. What do you think? It's so soft and comfy and big enough that Michael and I can both enjoy it when we're watching TV. =)

I still have a little bit of fleece left over, so if I can figure out how to thread my sewing machine, I may try to make a coordinating pillow. It will be mostly brown with a pink stripe.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

I've got another yummy recipe to share. I made this Crockpot Beef Stroganoff last night for Michael and me. The house smelled sooo good when I opened the door when I came in from work. The timing was perfect. It was just about ready to eat when I got home, so I cooked up the egg noodles and all was ready to go when Michael finally beat the traffic monster that he was fighting on his was home.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
2 1/2 lb. chuck roast
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (I used Campbell's Health Request)
1 packet of dry onion soup mix
1 1/3 cups of water
1 small onion chopped
1 4 oz can of mushroom pieces, drained
Extra Wide egg noodles for serving

1. Place the roast in you CP
2. Mix together the 2 cans of soup, the soup mix and water
3. Place veggies on top of roast
4. Cover roast with soup mixture
5. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (I did mine for 10)
6. Just before serving, stir up the beef in the CP to shred it up and mix in with the gravy.
7. Serve over egg noodle and enjoy!

So far so good with my culinary adventures! This one already has a home in my recipe box. I hope you like it too!

Craft Project

I have a craft project that I am going to start tonight. It is for a no-sew throw blanket. I got some hot pink and brown fleece to make it with. I had to buy a little extra of the brown fleece since it was the end of the bolt, so I think I may make a pillow out of the left overs. I'll post a pic once the project is complete.

Great Weekend!

We had a great weekend. Friday night Michael and I went out to The Stockyard with Eamonn for Michael's belated birthday dinner. It was yummy and we had lots of laughs.

Saturday morning we hopped the bus to Foxwoods with our friends. After a losing morning, things turned around after lunch. I put $20 into a nickle machine and ended up winning $3066!! Can you believe it??!! That is going straight to our vacation fund for a trip in February. We had fun in the evening at the club with the Chinese food spread and duet that was playing - lots of laughs and lots of dancing.

Sunday was a quiet day. We seemingly slept in, but with the time change, I was actually up earlier that I thought. We relaxed most of the day watching TV and then the Pats v. Colts in the late afternoon. Yet again, it is still great to be a Boston sports fan! After the game we enjoyed some Spaghetti and Meatball Stoup. It's a recipe from 30 Minute Meals. You can find the recipe here. I just enjoyed some left overs for lunch. Yummy!

Yummy Dinner

I wanted to share this yummy dinner recipe with you. Last night I made Chicken Divan using this recipe that I found at the Campbell's Kitchen website. It was sooo good. I served it with rice and we loved it. It will definately be a keeper in our house. It only took a few minutes to put together and then I had a chance to relax while it baked in the oven.

The things I did differently were to increase the cheese for the topping to about a cup and I increased the breadcrumb topping significantly as we love our crumbly crusts. I used about 2 T of melted butter and probably 3/4 C of Italian breadcrumbs. I also recommend baking the casserole a bit longer than the recipe calls for. I found that it took closer to 45 minutes to fully cook through.

Give it a try!

BTW - Wish us luck!

Michael and I will be heading down to Foxwoods for the day on Saturday with a friend's yacht club. It should be a fun day. We'll have most of the day at the casino and then head back to the club for Chinese food and a DJ in the evening. We've gone on this trip before and it is always a great time.

Wish us luck that we do well!

Christmas is 54 days away!

I started our Christmas shopping today and already have one person all set, though I will not divulge who it is. I've also been thinking of what my holiday craft project will be as part of my gifts to people. I have a few ideas and I'm sure my family and friends will like them.

I'm also taking suggestions for gifts, so let me know if there's anything you'd like this year and I'll put it on my list of possibilities.

Our Evening

So this year I had way too much candy for the trick or treaters. I bought 5 bags because we ran out so early last year. Well, last night we only had about 15 kids come by so needless to say the last batch got a good helping of candy from our house.

Once we turned off our light, Michael and I settled in to watch 1408 with John Cusac. What a thriller! We really enjoyed it. Lots of twists and turns that I couldn't have predicted. I reccommend it.

My Kitchen

Good Morning!

So, I pulled out some new placemats that my mum got for me and set them out on our kitchen table last night. They go nicely with the French Country-ish feel I have in my kitchen. I think they make my table look really cute. Here are some pics:

Here's a close up of the placemat - it reminds me of some place that might be on the French Riviera:

Well, we ended up staying in last night for my hubby's birthday. He was too pooped from work so we've postponed dinner until Friday night. I don't mind - that way we can extend the

celebration!

So do you have all of your candy for the little goblins tonight? I've got mine all ready. I hope we get to see some cute costumes! Last year we had so many little cuties at our door, I hope it's a repeat this year!

Comment Graphics at pYzam.com

Cool Site

This is a really cool website I saw on G4 TV's Attack of the show. Check it out for all the latest gossip and such.

Buzz Feed

Papelbon Jig

Check out my boy Papelbon and his step skills!

Check out this video: Papelbon Jig



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World's Shortest Personality Test

I like taking these tests and now that I have a blog, I figured I'd post the results.

Your Personality Profile

You are pure, moral, and adaptable.You tend to blend into your surroundings.Shy on the outside, you're outspoken to your friends. You believe that you live a virtuous life...And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye.As a result, people tend to crave your approval.

http://www.blogthings.com/worldsshortestpersonalitytest/">The World's Shortest Personality Test

Red Sox Rolling Rally

Here's a few pics from the parade:

A flatbed truck with the Dropkick Murphys playing:

The World Series trophy:

The view from our balcony:

My Very First Blog

Hello out there! This is my very first blog. I thought it might be something fun to try as I've been looking for a new hobby. Well, I don't know what I'll be blogging about on this - probably a bunch of random thoughts, hence the name "Ali's Ramblings".

Anywho, my name is Ali and I live in Boston, MA and today was a great day to be a Beantown sports fan! The parade of the 2007 World Champion Red Sox just rolled by my office at lunchtime. It was great fun to be able to watch the parade go by from the 10th floor balcony of my office. I have some pictures that I will post once I get them uploaded. The red, white and blue confetti was blowing all over and some even made its way up to our balcony so I have a little strip of red confetti as a souvenir.

Today is my hubby's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY! I plan to take him out for a special dinner after work today. Venezia - Yummy!

Well, that's all I can think of right now. I'll be back once I get my pictures uploaded. Stay tuned!