Snow day

Yesterday was a great day in the Chicago area if you love snow. And I do...as long as I don't have to drive in it or shovel it. RJ loves the snow even more than I do, so he was happily elected for snow removal duty years ago. And since I work from home, I get to skip the driving in it part most of the time.

As soon as RJ got home from work yesterday, Hailey asked him (okay, I asked for her) to take her outside and try out her new snow gear. It turns out she loves the snow too!

Hailey and her Daddy played outside in the snow for about 45 minutes. RJ tried to bring her in a few times, but she kept saying "no". So they kept on playing!

Luckily her winter gear turned out to be good quality...her fingers were a bit cold, but everything else was toasty warm.

I look forward to the day when Hailey & I can share a cup of hot cocoa after a snowball fight!

Don't worry...I'm alive

Shame on me! I haven't posted in a bit, but in my defense I get so busy around the holidays. As does everyone, I'm sure, so it's not really a good excuse.

My Thanksgiving weekend was fabulous! My sister Lori hosted Thanksgiving this year. Her and her hubby made turkey and prime rib (yum!) And Hailey had her first sleepover at Aunt Lori's!

Amanda and I went shopping on Black Friday. We got started at JCPenney at 4 a.m. and shopped until about 9 a.m. Wal-mart was the craziest store...we even lost each other for about 20 minutes or so. But, it was all worth it because my shopping is 98% done and we got some great deals.

My dear little Sparky had to go to the vet yesterday and she's now on anti-biotics and cortizone from an infection. Last week she got away from me when I was letting her outside and tried to attack a dog 10 times her size in the backyard. Needless to say that wasn't a smart move on her part. She got bit on the back, the ear, and on her muzzle.

I wish I could say that will teach her to mess with bigger dogs, but she's been doing this ever since I can remember. She's almost 11 now. I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I drizzled!

Tonight is my first function with the Mothers & More club of the Oswego area. It's a Mom's night in - no kids allowed - woo hoo!

The theme of this Mom's night in is "unfinished project" & cookie exchange. Each person attending is to bring a project-in-progress such as a scrapbook, Christmas cards (it's still early for that - at least for me!), etc. I am bringing Hailey's first year scrapbook, which I have been neglecting for the last 18 months. The cookie exchange is optional, but seeing as this is my first function, I thought it best to participate 100%.


And because I want to make a good first impression, I decided to turn to the recipe pro in my family - my sister Lori. She gave me a recipe for Oreo Truffle Balls. I'd never had them before, but just the sound of them made my mouth water.

You can use any type of Oreo cookie and any type of semi-sweet morsels you choose. I made 2 different batches. The first is a peanut butter oreo ball dipped in peanut-butter chocolate. The second is a mint oreo dipped in milk chocolate with a white chocolate drizzle. This is a super-easy gourmet-like dessert!


Here's what the picture of the recipe looks like:

And here's what my finished product looks like:Not bad, huh? Clearly my photography skills need work, but the drizzle looks pretty good!

And just to make sure I was sharing a superb dessert with my new gals pals, RJ and I did a little taste test after dinner last night. His fav is the mint and mine is the peanut butter. And yes, they are as heavenly as they sound!