Busy and happy

Gosh I am so happy that the school year is at an end. I am feeling busy, but relaxed and happy. A couple of times, though I have had the racing heart thing again - just like I did last year, but it's nowhere as bad. I have been making good use of ical and putting things down in the diary (I know Michelle, I hear ya!) and it's making me feel organized and not stressed. The Christmas cake is done, the Vanilla Kipferln are done, and today I made some shortbread stars half dipped into chocolate. My new kitchen is making everything a gazillion times easier. I can prepare the evening meal, and then just move over and roll out biscuits and have two trays out ready to take it - just heaven. I was thinking back to a few years ago, probably six years ago, our first in this house. I had the bright idea, (amongst others) that to make the Vanilla Kipferln really authentic I would make my own vanillin sugar, rather than buying it like I normally would. I had never done this before, so I got dh to buy the vanilla beans (poor boy nearly had a conniption when he saw how much they were), I cut them in half (I'd seen that on a cooking show) and then placed them into a Tupperware sieve (that had a base and a lid for storage) with icing sugar. This is where instructions would have been handy (or common sense) - as when I went to use the vanilla sugar, it was as hard as a rock!!!! I should have done it for maybe an hour or two, not a week lol......... So then I am trying to dust these hot biscuits with the Tupperware sieve when of course nothing came out. I bashed the container on the sink, because at this stage I had a crying baby on my hip........ Needless to say said container's lid and base fell off and I had icing sugar everywhere. At one stage I was dusting said biscuits with child on hip, vacuum cleaner on the floor and icing and crap everywhere..... I asked myself why am I doing this?? Back then, I did it mainly for my Dad, now I do it because I would not only have him to answer to, but it's become such a tradition, my whole family, especially my own kids just love them. So they remain a Christmas favourite. This year, however, after I have been making them for about the past 14 or so Christmases, they were quick and easy! No hassle at all, I finally have them wired, and my deluxe kitchen is just the best place for baking.

Like I have posted before, I am missing elements! I have found a widget though, that can resize my pics, so at least I can post them on my blog again. There is a facility within iphoto where you can upload photos to a blog or web page, I will investigate that further too. I am loving my imac, and learning much. I am also getting myself into stuff that I can't reverse, but I have always learnt best by my mistakes! I am so glad there are forums and groups out there where people are only too happy to help.

I have some photos. The boys at a girlfriend's house this morning. Just sitting down and being quite happy about having their photo taken. A scrapbooker's dream. I was complimented by a couple of the girls there how well mannered and lovely my boys were. I was very proud. They are such a handful and drive me around the bend nearly,but all the hard work and peristence on my part is well worth it when I get remarks like that. I thanked them for their great behaviour and said how nice it was to take them to someone's house. Billy-Joe noted that it was much better taking them to someone's house than a shopping centre - amen to that!! Tess had an above ground pool and the boys just had a ball. I didn't have to worry about them. There were other boys there, Tessie's two boys and yet they played with their own siblings.....strange.

My good friend Noeli from Springbrook was coming on Saturday, but he can't come now, hopefully he will come early in the New Year.







The yummy Vanilla Kipferln after they've just come out of the oven and are freshly dusted.