Gingerbread houses bring families together
One Christmas I saw an invitation to create a gingerbread house at our local Wetlands Institution. There was a small fee to do this, but it sounded like so much fun. I took my two girls and two of their friends. We had such a blast making the gingerbread houses that I vowed to make some at home this year. The craft is a great way to connect as a family.
Start off by covering your table with wax paper. I prefer this over newspaper because my kids tend to pick candy off the gingerbread house and eat it. Next, gather together all of the supplies you'll need and place them on the table. Of course, you'll need graham crackers for the structure of the house and icing to act as glue. Some suggestions for decorative candies include M&Ms, candy canes, Twizzlers, marshmallows, Skittles, jelly beans, sprinkles, pretzels, gum drops, gummy Lifesavers and Christmas colored candy corns.
Now show your children how to stand up four graham crackers and glue them together at the sides with the frosting. Then cover the open top with more graham crackers, again using the frosting to keep them in place. Now you can form a triangle with some more graham crackers to form a roof. Once you get the house all done, you can begin decorating it.
Coat the entire roof of your gingerbread house with frosting. Start putting candy on the roof to decorate it. Use the frosting to attach even more candy to the sides and front of your house. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Just have fun and be creative. Display the gingerbread houses after the frosting has hardened.
Cut down on entertainment costs
Looking for a way to trim your budget? It is unlikely that you'll be able to trim your daily living expenses so it becomes necessary then to examine other categories within your budget. The first category that I trimmed after my ex-husband left and finances became tight was the entertainment budget. It wasn't as hard to trim this area of the budget as I thought it was going to be.
For awhile we eliminated going to the movies, which costs a minimum of $30 each movie (and that didn't include drinks or snacks). Instead, we pay $7.99 per month for a Netflix subscription that allows us to watch unlimited movies and television shows.
If Netflix doesn't have what we are looking for, we'll try the library. Libraries have a surprisingly large collection of movies and you can rent them for free. For movies that are much newer, we go to Redbox and rent them for $1 a night. Half the time we get a code to use with the Redbox machine and end up renting the movie for free.
Of course, there are other forms of entertainment than watching television. We already have a Wii so we stopped buying new games and started renting them from the library. You can purchase used games at a discount from stores like Game Stop.
Looking to get out of the house? Why not attend a high school or college football game? Take advantage of any local parades or festivals. Spend a day at the park or lounge around in the sun at the beach. We have a pretty big zoo in our town that is also totally free to visit. Always watch your local paper for coupons to local attractions. You may be able to afford them at a discounted price.
Finally, take another look at your library. In addition to books and movies, our library has a ton of free programs for county residents to take part in. My daughter has participated in an acting class, a Chopped food challenge, arts and crafts projects, and animal education sessions. Our library even has free exercise sessions.
NFL Status Report: AFC East
New England Patriots (8-3)
And the Brady-Belichick juggernaut marches on and on and on. Love them or hate them, quarterback Tom Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick are not letting up on the accelerator.
There sits Brady at No. 2 in the league in passing rating, behind only Aaron Rodgers. Brady has 24 TDs and only 3 INT. It’s just the normal noises in here.
Is there a weak spot? Well, opposing passers have racked up more yards per game against the New England defense than any teams except Washington and Tampa Bay (289 yards per game allowed). Will Manning or Schaub or Flacco or Roethlisberger be able to take advantage? Maybe.
Playoff Snapshot: They are a sure thing to win the East, and will be engaged in a close race with Baltimore and Denver for the other first-week bye (Houston ought to lock up the first one). Obviously, you can never count these guys out, and playing the extra week hasn’t derailed the last two New York Giant championship squads.
Miami Dolphins (5-6)
Yes, the Dolphins have kept themselves on the fringe of the playoff race, but they have to face the Patriots twice and the formidable-looking 49ers in the last five weeks. Good luck with that.
Ryan Tannehill has the distinction of keeping presumptive Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel on the bench and redshirted last year at Texas A&M, but he doesn’t have much distinction in the NFL, with only seven TDs and 12 INT.
Reggie Bush, a former Heisman winner himself, has had something of a renaissance with 662 rushing yards, but it’s not enough to make the Dolphins realistic contenders.
Playoff Snapshot: It would take a remarkable turn of events for the Dolphins to sneak in, but the AFC is lacking depth this year, so at least one unremarkable team is going to get in. It just looks like it will be the Colts and not the Dolphins.
New York Jets (4-7)
The whole soap opera about whether Mark Sanchez should be replaced by Tim Tebow is just a distraction. Regardless of who the quarterback is, the Jets are just not that good. Their only impressive win is a 35-9 triumph over the Colts, but otherwise they’ve had uninspiring wins and ugly losses. The running game is all right, with Shonn Greene getting 702 yards on the ground, and the pass defense has held up well despite the loss of Hall of Fame talent Darelle Revis to a torn ACL. But, on the whole, the Jets are just mediocre.
Playoff Snapshot: The Jets have a weak enough schedule that a late blitz and 9-7 record are not completely impossible, but don’t count on it. But that may need to happen to save Head Coach Rex Ryan's job. Even if they somehow snag a wild card, they won’t last long.
Buffalo Bills (4-7)
Buffalo has two of the top runners in the league in nominal backup C.J. Spiller (830 yards) and oft-injured starter Fred Jackson (314 yards), and that is one major bright spot. But, on the whole, the Bills don’t have much to offer, and their rush defense has been among the league’s leakiest (31st in the league in running yards allowed per game).
Ryan Fitzpatrick has proven to be a solid, middle-of-the-pack quarterback, but not a guy who can lift a mediocre team to the next level by himself.
Playoff Snapshot: The Bills would have to win out to get to 9-7, and, despite a weak-ish schedule, their date with Seattle would seem to make that outcome very unlikely.
NFL Status Report: AFC North
Baltimore Ravens (9-2)
The clock is certainly ticking for the veterans on the Baltimore defense, and now they face the rest of the year without longtime kingpin Ray Lewis, who is out with a torn triceps.
But maybe this is the year the offense carries the load. Joe Flacco has been strong under center with 14 TDs and just 7 INT, and Ray Rice has contributed 794 yards on the ground.
Playoff Snapshot: At the moment, the Ravens are in line for a first-week bye, but they still face the Steelers, Broncos and Giants, so things could change. Under the microscope, Baltimore doesn’t look as strong as it does from a distance, particularly with Lewis not there to anchor the defense, and an upset playoff exit would not be a surprise.
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
The Steelers have struggled more than they ought to have, and the key injury to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came at a very bad time. Big Ben will end up missing both regular-season games against Baltimore. Veteran backups Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch haven’t done much as Pittsburgh has slipped from 6-3 to 6-5 in Roethlisberger’s absence. He’ll miss this Sunday’s game in Baltimore as well.
But the defense is still there, no question. The Steelers lead the league in yards allowed, and are No. 5 in the league in points allowed.
And, luckily for Pittsburgh, the AFC isn’t so tough this year, and a 9-7 record ought to earn a wild card berth.
Playoff Snapshot: Even if they fall to 6-6 without Big Ben this week, they are still a strong bet for a wild card spot if they beat the Bengals in the next-to-last week of the season. If they make it, they’ve shown what the Roethlisberger + Strong Defense combo can do (two Super Bowl wins).
Cincinnati Bengals (6-5)
The Bengals have been sneaking up on people after three straight wins have put them back in the playoff picture. Cincinnati has been plenty streaky so far: 0-1, then 3-1, then four straight losses put them at 3-5, before the three-game winning streak put them at 6-5.
If they get through their next three games without another losing skid, their next game with Pittsburgh looks to be a playoff elimination game.
The Bengals have been doing a lot right, with quarterback Andy Dalton ranking No. 10 in passing rating, and ex-Patriot running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis picking up 767 yards on the ground. The defense has been above-average as well.
Playoff Snapshot: As noted, they probably have to beat the Steelers to get in. If they make it, an upset in the first round is not out of the question.
Cleveland Browns (3-8)
Cleveland started out 0-5 before getting its footing and starting to head in the right direction. A couple of in-division wins over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have to help their confidence, but the Browns still have a long way to go.
Rookie running back Trent Richardson (Alabama) has 755 yards, but rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) is completing only 55.6 percent of his passes and has thrown 13 INT.
Playoff Snapshot: It will be another year for the Browns to load up on draft picks and try to get more traction that way.
NFL Status Report: AFC South
Houston Texans (10-1)
Things seem to be falling completely into place for the Texans, as the road to the top of the AFC South finally runs through Houston, after a decade or so of running through Indianapolis.
Matt Schaub has been an elite quarterback, ranking No. 8 in the league in passing rating with 19 TDs and 9 INT, and he has one of the league’s top targets in Andre Johnson.
Then there’s Arian Foster … one of just four runners to already break the 1,000-yard barrier. And a strong defensive unit led by J.J. Watt.
Playoff Snapshot: Absolutely in the playoffs, and also a lock for a first-week bye. They probably would be Super Bowl favorites, but there are gentlemen named Manning and Brady in their way.
Indianapolis Colts (7-4)
After one year in the dumps (suffering through a near-winless campaign with Peyton Manning out with injury), things are full of hope in Indy. The main hope is for a full cancer recovery for Head Coach Chuck Pagano, who left the locker room early in the year for treatment.
The other hope swirls around top draft pick Andrew Luck, who has shown poise beyond his years (it probably helps that his father -- Oliver Luck -- was a NFL quarterback as well), and ranking No. 8 in the league in total passing yards.
That being said, the schedule as been a bit soft, they haven’t played Houston yet (they meet twice in the last three weeks, in an odd schedule quirk), and the defense has been nothing special. But, in a top-heavy AFC, they have put themselves at the front of the line for a wild card, and that’s something.
Playoff Snapshot: Looks like they’ll get in, but the Colts don’t have the horses to get very far.
Tennessee Titans (4-7)
Chris Johnson has shown flashes of his old, dominant self, and that probably counts as the highlight for the Titans. After only one good game in his first five, Johnson has rolled off six strong games in a row to raise his season yardage total to 942.
But the offense hasn’t gotten on track, with quarterback snaps shared by old vet Matt Hasselbeck and sometimes-injured second-year player Jake Locker.
And the defense has been below-average as well.
Playoff Snapshot: Tennessee would have to roll off five straight to be in contention, and that does not appear to be within the realm of possibility.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)
Things are looking pretty bad for everyone except those seeking to snag the Jags on the cheap and move them to Los Angeles.
When perusing these stats, remember there are only 32 teams: 26th in passing yards, 31st in rushing yards, 28th in passing yards allowed, and 29th in rushing yards allowed.
Quarterback Blaine Gabbert looks like a bust (he’s been replaced by Dolphins reject Chad Henne), and one-time stud running back Maurice Jones-Drew has only 414 yards and one TD.
Playoff Snapshot: Not this year, and not anytime soon.
NFL Status Report: AFC West
Denver Broncos (8-3)
Adding Peyton Manning; subtracting Tim Tebow. It’s hard to remember when those moves seemed risky. But Tebow had just led the Broncos to the playoffs, and no one knew if Manning could still play at the top level after four surgeries and a year off.
Well, no worries for Denver boss John Elway, who could get Denver back to the Super Bowl from the front office, after five trips as a player.
And there’s Manning right back near the top of the passing rating charts (trailing only Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady), and coolly leading the Broncs to six straight wins.
Oh, and the defense is really good, too.
Playoff Snapshot: Denver is certainly playoff bound, and in the hunt for a first-week bye. An all-Manning Super Bowl can’t be ruled out.
San Diego Chargers (4-7)
The window may be closing on Philip Rivers’ chances to lead the Chargers to the Super Bowl. After a 3-1 start against middling competition, San Diego has gone 1-6, with its only win over the hopeless Chiefs.
The Chargers finish against some of the worst teams (Panthers, Jets, Raiders), so a late run isn’t out of the question, but Rivers would have be dazzling, and so far he’s just been above-average.
Playoff Snapshot: Still alive, but an extreme long shot.
Oakland Raiders (3-8)
Carson Palmer has thrown for over 3,000 yards and 18 touchdowns, and that pretty much qualifies as the only bright spot for the Raiders. When your quarterback ranks No. 20 in the league in passer rating, and that’s your only bright spot, then you know you’re not exactly having a great season.
But there is one other bright spot: They aren’t the Chiefs.
Playoff Snapshot: No chance.
Kansas City Chiefs (1-10)
Could it get any worse for Kansas City? No, it’s hard to imagine how. After a complete, complete, complete disaster of a season on the field, the Chiefs now face one of the very worst off-field incidents in the history of the NFL.
If they can overcome that, they still have only six passing touchdowns for the entire season. Six!
At least running back Jamaal Charles has been good, but he’s not a one-man band.
Playoff Snapshot: Playoffs, no prayer. But plenty of prayers needed ... in addition to the No. 1 draft choice.
'Tis the season for eggnog
Who doesn't love a good eggnog come Christmas time? Well actually I don't, however, when you have an entire family that does, you learn how to make it. The important thing to note when making homemade eggnog is to any Salmonella present in the eggs is destroyed.
You will need the following ingredients to make eggnog:
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 2/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
Follow these instructions to make your homemade eggnog:
Step 1:
Place your eggs, sugar, and 1 cup of the milk in a small pot. Stir until combined.
Step 2:
Cook the ingredients in the pot until you get an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. According to FoodSafety.gov, this is the temperature needed to kill any Salmonella that may be in the eggs. You'll want to stir constantly as you cook this mixture or it will stick to the bottom of the pot.
Step 3:
Add the vanilla and remaining milk. Stir to combine and set aside to cool.
Step 4:
Whip the heavy cream until it starts to become thick. Fold it into your eggnog mixture once the eggnog has cooled completely.
Step 5:
Pour the eggnog into individual glasses.
Step 6:
Sprinkle cinnamon on top of each glass of eggnog and serve immediately.
Tip:
- If you choose to not to cook your eggnog and just stir all of the ingredients together, use either an egg substitute or eggs that have been pasteurized.
- You can also substitute the cinnamon with nutmeg. My family just happens to like the cinnamon better.
Get free cake at Shoney's
Shoney's is a popular restaurant that can be found in the following states: Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. If you live in one of those states then you are in luck!
On December 6th, that's this Thursday, Shoney's is giving away free cake. They are calling it Free Hot Fudge Cake Day. All you have to do is stop by the restaurant and request your free pieces of cake. Unfortunately, I live in New Jersey so I can't get the free cake, however, I have been to Shoney's numerous times when visiting my parents in Florida. I can attest to the fact that their food is delicious.
Although there are no strings attached to the free hot fudge cake deal, you might want to make a day of it and order lunch or dinner beforehand. The buffets include classic southern foods, such as fried chicken, meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes, baked beans, soups, salads and biscuits. Of course, Shoney's breakfasts are equally as great, but I don't think you want to eat a piece of hot fudge cake that early in the morning.
Shoney's has been in business since 1947 and the company prides itself on its home-cooked meals. I suggest you sign-up for Shoney's E-Club if you live in one of the 17 states that house these restaurants. You can get coupons geared toward new dishes as well as coupons for children's meals. You must be 13 years of age or older to join the E-Club. You can always unsubscribe later on if you feel that you aren't getting the deals you're looking for.
Get a free calender starring you
OfficeMax has teamed up with Elf Yourself to offer you a free calendar. This freebie is so much fun that I couldn't wait to share it with it. I used to have a subscription to Jib Jab because I thought the videos were so funny. Now I just stick with the free videos.
You can make a free video and request your free calendar in a matter of minutes. All you have to do is go to the OfficeMax Elf Yourself page and click “Upload Photo.” Next, you'll need to check the box that reads “I agree to the terms and conditions.” If you want to know what the terms and conditions are, you can just click on the words “terms and conditions” and they will come up.
The fun part comes next. Upload a picture of yourself from either your computer, Facebook or using your webcam. You can upload up to five pictures for five different elves. I used pictures of my kids and my nieces. I knew they would get a kick out of the video. With each picture you upload, you'll have the ability to rotate the picture or zoom in so that you can get your picture to fit inside the elf face.
After you have uploaded all of the pictures you want to use click “Let's Dance!” Your Elf Yourself video will begin to play. Sit back and have a good time watching it.
You can immediately share your video for free on Facebook, Twitter or via e-mail after you have finished watching it. If you want the free calendar, click the red “Free Calendar” button at the top right-hand side of the screen. You will get a code like this “272225” that you must print out and take with you to your local OfficeMax. An OfficeMax associate will help you get your free calendar.
Reading Pile: 12/2/12
A Plus X #2- Well this was a cute issue. It’s hard to complain when something is just cute and it’s not like it’s important to anything but they just wanted to have fun. I’m not a huge fan of Bachalo’s art these days but I didn’t realize he had a good sense of humor as he scripted this short Black Widow/Rogue story as well. The Iron Man/Kitty Pryde bit was a lot of fun as well, but it’s Peter David doing a short story with two sassy characters so it was pretty much going to be fun regardless. B
New Avengers #34- Oh, where to begin? Let’s start with the fact that this undoes virtually anything major in the past few years along with Wonder Man’s heel turn and the death of the Wasp. While I’m not a fan of Doctor Strange losing the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, it feels exceptionally weak to just suddenly undo it in a craptacular battle with Daniel Drumm. Also, didn’t Hellstorm go bad and join the Nazis in Fear Itself: Fearless? Did I totally miss a beat? Urg, ok, we gotta skip small crap like that if we want to maintain our sanity. My next big problem is with all the jam pages by all the guest artists. They are horrible planned and as far as a sequential narrative goes they make absolutely no friggin’ sense. While I personally really like Lucy Knisley and a few of those others artists, editorially and aesthetically it was a horrible choice to just shove them into this final story. Let’s see, what else is there to bitch about. Oh right, the sloppy and frankly embarrassing flashback montage of Luke Cage’s experiences with this team. First of all, really, you couldn’t just draw the actual events with new artwork? You had to copy and paste older artwork (ALMOST ALL DRAWN BY THE SAME ARTIST ANYWAY) onto a two page spread and use some embarrassing photoshop light filters to mask the square panel edges? THEY LOOK LIKE BAD PANELS OVERLAID BY A TEN YEAR OLD. THEY DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO COVER UP THE EDGES OF THE FEAR ITSELF PANEL. Ok, gotta calm down, Gotta find my center. <deep breath, in, and out> JHNSFUILHSAGUIYAUSAOYT9R7GYFDYG7OF7OG7SDFG6!!!!!! Oh, also, they waste four pages on a cover gallery with thumbnails so small that there is no logical aesthetic payoff whatsoever! It’s counter productive! Oh, and guess what? $4.99 for thirty pages of story, featuring three splash pages, three double page splashes, and nearly eight pages without any actual dialogue. I just……I just can’t anymore. I can’t review this anymore. My friggin’ head is going to explode if I go any further. There is no such thing as a negative alphabetical grade, so I’m giving this thing a Z. No, I’m giving it a Z Minus.
Lookouts #3- You know what, the very fact that this wasn’t Brian Michael Bendis’ final issue of New Avengers earns it an A+. It’s the best friggin comic ever simply because it’s a palette cleanser. Seriously, go buy it, look at the pretty artwork, and just appreciate that it’s not published by Marvel. A+