Christmas Party 2017 (With Game Ideas)

I’m usually really bad about taking pictures during any type of event but it’s no fun to blog about something without pictures so I made sure to take some pictures during our Christmas party this year. They aren’t the best in the world because our house was basically being lit up by all the Christmas lights in the house but you’ll get the picture (no pun intended).

We had around 24 people come this year. It was really fun. I think it has a lot to do with the people that end up coming and this year we had a nice mix of young, old, married, single, you name it they were here. Here’s my hubby and I in our party attire. *smile*

Normally I ask people to bring a finger food to share but this year I decided to provide the food and see how that went. My wonderful neighbor cooked the meat for me. She’s so fantastic and was such a huge help in that area. The party menu was:

DINNER:

Pulled Pork

Roast Beef

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Sweet Potato Casserole

DESSERT:

A yummy assortment of homemade cookies.

DRINKS:

Wassail (big hit)

Hot Cocoa

Water

After everyone was fat and happy I had a bunch of games lined up to play. Cause when you come to my house, expect to play some games. We don’t make you play because sometimes it’s just as fun to watch.

Games:

The Plate Game: I’ve played this one at our party for a few years now and it’s always so fun. I change up what they are to draw each year to keep it fresh. *smile* When they take the plate off their head to look at their pictures it always erupts into laughter.

Wrap the Present: This is the second time I’ve done this game. It’s a bit more challenging than the others but I like giving people a little challenge now and then. You basically have two people trying to wrap one present only using on hand each. I precut the paper and ribbon and then gave them all tea boxes to wrap. For some reason I didn’t get any pictures of this though. Sorry!

Build a Snowman: This is the first year playing this one but I think everyone liked it. It’s funny to see everyone’s technique on how they  build their snowman. I supplied toilet paper, crepe paper for the scarf and then I cut out buttons and so on.  Here are the finish projects.

The Box Game: This is one we’ve done for probably over 10 years now and it’s a favorite of everybody’s. We get a gift card, put it in a tin, put the tin in a box and then wrap up the box in another box and then put that box in another box and so on and they have to try to get to the tin while wearing oven mitts. Turn is determined by what number they roll on a die. If someone rolls the number you have to give them the oven mitts and they take over from where you left off. It’s so fun to watch. Here are a few pictures.

All in all it was a super fun, yet exhausting night. I’m always dog tired when it’s over but so glad we are able to do this for our friends each year.

Do you throw a Christmas party? Have any new game ideas? Do share!

HUGS
Kim

My Friend Wrote a Book and I’m Hear to Tell You About It!

Is my title direct enough? LOL! I like to let you know what you’re getting into. I’m good like that.

But it is true. One of my young single friends co-wrote a fun book.  And by fun I mean it has mystery, intrigue, action…. Everything you’d want in a good fictional book.

It’s called Dismantled Aponlea and it’s book 1 of a trilogy. The second book is set to come out in November. I can hardly wait!

If you click the picture it will take you to the synopsis of the book. They describe it way better than I ever could.

But I will tell you this. I could hardly put it down. You find yourself getting wrapped up in the uniqueness of each character and each chapter brought it’s own mystery. There were surprises and plenty of intrigue, to keep me coming back for more.

I’m very proud of this young woman for perusing her dreams and seeing them come true. 

If you’d like to learn a little more about one of the authors I had a little question and answer time with her.

Here’s my little interview with Maria Mckessey.

1. Me: How did this story come about?

Maria: The character Kelly Johnson formed from my oversized imagination as a child. Her appearance was inspired by both the Pink Power Ranger and Mary Anne from The Baby-sitters Club movie, while her story spawned from my desire to live a life as cool as Nickelodeon’s Alex Mack. The mashup character I’d created could pretty much do anything, fly, turn invisible, walk through walls and practice telekinesis. It was no wonder I preferred watching her world over living in my own reality. Being only six years old I had no concept of what a consistent storyline looked like. I’d say the story started to actually develop around the age of eight or nine when Dane Morris came into the picture. He was this mysterious dark character who produced a forbidden romance. When he entered he bred the primitive details of Dismantled Aponlea. Suddenly, there was conflict, the dark bloodlines, the schernols, the idea of a hidden world that these people descended from.

2. How long did it take you both to write it?

Raeven and I met our freshman year of high school in 2003. We began collaborating on the story around 2006 and distributed a few chapters to our close friends. By then the story was still playing out in my head eleven years later and reached its conclusion on October 25th, 2006. After we graduated in 2008, I gave Raeven the story to do completely what she wanted with it. Her enthusiasm to take it on really reignited my excitement for the story again. She wrote about five or six chapters, I think. But the beginning of Dismantled Aponlea, as you now know it (it was called Achanis: The Kelly Johnson Saga), started in December of 2008. I was lying in bed in a rented room in Orlando, attending a professional makeup school at the time, and had a flood of visions come to me about the story and the direction it needed to go. I called Raeven immediately and shared everything with her and then we decided to write the book officially as co-authors. So, we spent about eight years working on it until we completed a draft we were excited to publish. It seems like such a long time, but now I see that it needed to take this long. We had plenty of time to grow and mature in ourselves and in our writing

3. Who is YOUR favorite author?

Okay, so this will sound strange being an author of a work of fiction myself, but I do not have a favorite fiction author and I’ve never read more than one book from a single fiction writer (Besides children book authors). Instead, my favorite author is Guy Deutscher, a linguist. Years ago, I picked up his book The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind’s Greatest Invention and fell in love. I’ve read other language books, but his are my favorite. His other one Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages is very interesting. He just fascinates me with his understanding of languages. I love languages and history and cultures and that is why the culture of Aponlea is such a focus in the book. Raeven, on the other hand, is a fiction fanatic. She's usually musing about multiples authors, but the latest she's dubbed her favorite is Rainbow Rowell.

4. What can we expect in volume 2?

Now that Kelly knows her calling, she doesn’t hold back in pursuing it. You can see from the first volume that she is a determined individual, but in the second volume she learns to focus that determination towards a result that she feels the people of Aponlea need. There are a few surprises along the way and more information on some of the mysteries brought up the first time around. Some more questions are answered and some deeper ones raised. And even though the story isn’t over yet, I feel like the second volume leaves you more satisfied than the first. There’s more of a resolution and the question “what’s next?”. I think it gets you excited for the final chapter in the series. Oh and any one excited about Kelly and Dane’s relationship.

5. Who inspires you in your writing?

Raeven, my co-author, is definitely one of my inspirations in writing. I admire her style and know that she has influenced my writing since our working together. Usually the people who inspire my writing are the ones I know rather than authors I read or anything. Allison Jara is a friend whose writing I love. Her work is just so frank and I’ve always been someone who has written more metaphorically and like to conceal meanings. I think she’s challenged me to work more towards realism. Aside from those ladies I am a huge poetry fan and love Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson.

So there you have it. I’m sure this book is geared for a younger crowd but I at my age actually enjoyed it very much.
I hope you are able to check it out.

HUGS!

Kim

 

Gingerbread House Competition 2015

Yes I realize I have been absent for quite some time but this is one of those memories that I have to document on my blog because I love going back and looking at past competitions.

If you’ve been a long time reader of my blog you’ll understand that we do this just for fun. There are no hurt feeling and we want you to vote honestly for your favorite. And because we don’t want you to know who made which one I won’t be giving you any details until a later date.

There are 4 total to choose from this time. (My daughter was busy with baby) *smile*

So without further ado.

House #1

Bowsers Castle

 

House #2

The Starlight Inn

 

House #3

The Candy Coated Cabin

 

House #4

The Christmas Tree Lodge

 

And our honorable mention was made by a friend of ours but it’s not in the competition. He had a rough start but it ended up looking really nice.

The Snowflake Inn

 

Here is a picture of all of them side by side.

Now get to voting. If you’d rather leave a vote on my Homesteader’s Heart FB page feel free to leave one under this post on my wall.
HUGS!

Kim

Calling All Coffee Lovers!

 Those of you who have been to my blog over the years know that I love me some coffee. But when I first started drinking coffee it was all about the sugar and cream and caramel and chocolate sauce and whatever else I could get them to put in it. Well once I figured out that wasn’t the best thing for me (darn it) I resorted to only putting half and half in my coffee. You know what I found? Not all coffees are created equal. Shocker, I know! In fact, some coffees taste down right gnarly. Like, totally grody! Like for sure.

So over the years I’ve tried many many different coffees. I’ve tried those in coffee shops, in the bags, in the cans, you name it. But who I am going to tell you about today beats them all, hands down.

Let me introduce you to Penguin Yell Coffee. We’ll get to the name in a minute. First let me tell you a few reasons why I love it. And allow me to use bullets as to seem smarter and more organized. Cause life is all about perception right? *smile*

• It’s organic. It’s just better for you. And by better for you I mean if you’re going to drink it this makes it less bad for you. And by bad I mean it’s not bad unless you’re drinking a pot or two a day or if you’re doctor told you not to and you still do. So, yeah. moving on.
• It’s fresh roasted weekly. That’s right people you get as fresh a coffee as you can get without having to roast it yourself. And yes it does make all the difference in the world.
• It’s smooth tasting. I haven’t gotten that bitter taste that I get from some coffees.
• And the best reason of all, they are friends of ours and we love supporting families trying to live a more self sufficient life.

Intrigued? You should be. So what about that name? Penguin Yell. Here’s an excerpt from their website explaining how the name came about.

“The name wasn't solidified until 2013. My children suggested the name Penguin Yell and won me over with the meaning. My son, on an expedition to Patagonia, encountered a colony of Magellanic penguins. As he approached, all scattered except one. This brave penguin let out a cry and stood in defense of his lifelong mate as she lay nesting. My daughter added, "Daddy, penguins don't fly. They stand their ground." This little flightless bird displayed his qualities: faithfulness, courage, and grit. This story convinced me of the Penguin Yell. We hope you're inspired by these high ideals as you enjoy a cup of Penguin Yell Coffee. It is our privilege to offer you premium coffees, roasted on our Ozark Mountain farm.”

So what do you think? You ready to give it a try? You can visit their website at Penguin Yell and stay in touch and up to date with their goings ons on their FB page.

And no I’m not getting anything in return for my opinion I just love em’ and their coffee and so it would just be wrong not to share. :-)

OXOX,

Kim

A December Recap!

Since I didn’t have time to blog about these things while they were happening, I thought I would just do a “quick” little recap with pictures.

So let’s look back at some of the fun things that happened in December.

My bestest and I did some Christmas shopping together. Always a fun time.

I made cookies and goodies with these beautiful ladies.

I ate WAY to many sweets.  These peanut butter balls were by far my favorite.

We had our annual Christmas party, which was a blast.

We threw the family in the car and set out on our annual Christmas light scavenger hunt. It was so much fun.

 

We took our annual Christmas pictures. Here’s just a few out of WAY too many.

  

We managed to squeeze in a bonfire on one of the few chilly nights.

 

We destroyed our gingerbread houses. This year it was using a bow and arrows. We all did pretty good, but my hubby rocks at it. His is the second one.

     

I made Christmas dinner for my family and my Aunt and cousin were able to join us too.  

I love this picture I took of our Christmas tree and fireplace. It just looked so cozy. We haven’t had a fire since. It could be because it has been in the mid 80’s here. But who’s complaining. Not me!

 

Then Christmas day was upon us and we had a marvelous time. God is good!

We definitely made out with some Patriots gear this year. Like I said. I totally sucked them into my football world. Hee! Hee!

A relaxing sunset with friends was definitely in order by the time the end of the month came.

Well I think that just about sums up December. Now onward to January.

OXOX,

Kim