Dec 17, 2008

What do the 12 Days of Christmas Have to do with Christmas?

This was passed on to me, but I found it interesting enough to share. Hope you enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

Here is the Answer: From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.


The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus
Christ.

Two turtle doves were the Old and New
Testaments.

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark,
Luke & John.

The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five
books of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy
Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution,
Leadership, and Mercy.

The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love,
Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness,
and Self Control.

The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful
disciples.

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of
belief in the Apostles' Creed.


I set up a couple of 4x6 images to put in frames during Christmas and I have uploaded the jpg of two of them. One is the 12 Days of Christmas lyrics and the other is one of my FAVORITE Christmas songs, O Holy Night. Feel free to download, print and use as you wish. I have them in frames on the mantle.



Dec 8, 2008

Cinnamon Roll How-To

I found an amazing recipe for cinnamon rolls and after some fine-tuning, and a little altering, I am sharing my most favorite recipe for cinnamon rolls! What makes these so amazing? Well, read on and you will learn the secrets!

Click here to see the recipe then read on for step by step instructions.

First you start be making the dough. Simply get a box of Pillsbury's Hot Roll mix and make the recipe on the side of the box for cinnamon rolls, and yes, knead the dough 60 times.







While the dough is resting, at least 5 min., start making the caramel. You will need to melt 1/3 cup butter, 1/2 cup dark drown sugar and 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream (I used Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 2 min. then pour into a 9x13 pan.










Set the pan aside and begin making the rolls. First you need to punch down the dough and then roll it out. If you want to make 12 large rolls, just roll the dough out into a rectangle. For more, smaller rolls, I divide the dough into fourths and roll it out.





Next, spread 1 stick of unsalted butter evenly on your dough and follow with cinnamon sprinkled evenly. Then distribute 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar evenly on the dough and top with chopped pecans, if you so desire!






Now it's time to turn these into rolls! Start on one of the long ends and roll it up, making a long snake roll. Then you'll need to cut the dough into pieces.









Once all the dough has been cut into pieces, place them in the pan on the caramel. After all the rolls are in the pan, you'll need to cover them and let them rise for 45 min.










This is what they'll look like after rising.







Place them in the oven at 350 degrees and cook for 20-25 min. If the tops start browning too quickly cover the pan with aluminum foil. And after all that hard work, this is what you get.








You can make the icing while the rolls are rising or cooling, just don't let them get too cool, otherwise the icing won't spread well.

Make the icing, or double the icing recipe for really gooey rolls!

Beat together-
1 oz. cream cheese - softened
1/4 cup butter - softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 t milk


Spread and enjoy, just be careful not to enjoy the whole pan at once!





Dec 4, 2008

What's your Visual DNA?

My aunt sent me a link to youniverse where you can see your visual Personality, among other things. I always enjoying seeing if they work and really get me right. You don't have to sign up, log in or anything, just pick your favorite images in each group of 15 and you're done.

So here's my personality:
I'm a "Sofisticat;

You're romantic in your outlook with a bit of a taste for the exotic. You love
feeling the seabreeze in your hair, sun on your skin... You always take the
first dip. When it comes to art, you appreciate flair and precision. Highbrow
and in the know, you've got an eye for fine detail. As for music, it's the
soundtrack to your world. You're up to speed with downloading, and your mp3 is
always close by. Music helps you focus and concentrate. You probably find it
hard to ever switch it off.


What's yours?

Dec 2, 2008

Online Advent Calendar

Check out this Advent Calendar from Littlefield. Just a fun little site to check throughout December. Each day you can open a new door until Dec. 25th! They've even locked the doors so you can't cheat and open them all at once (trust me, I tried).