60, Sixty, LX, Sessanta, Seasca

I woke up today and guess what, I am 60 years old!  How in the world did this happen? Yes, that's right folks today is the big SIX-O for me.  Time flies by too fast. 

A few pics of the old girl when she was younger.  The one on the left is me at about age 4-5.  Even back then I was a fashion plate, loved to dress up and I still do. On the right is me age 15, still in high school and A LOT thinner then!

 As I look back on my years, I see a life full of mostly ups, a few downs, but not too bad. I sat down and made a list of things I have done, things I like or dislike over the years, and here goes:

Always obeyed my mother, if I didn't I knew what was coming, made me a better person today.

Payed attention in school, no one can ever take your education away from you. Had nuns in my formative years of school. If you had nuns as teachers, you know what I'm talking about!

I didn't go to college, but I always think outside the box and am a logical thinker. Common sense, you need it! It goes a long way.

Married a man I met in first grade, still married 30 years later. Love him to pieces! He is a wonderful father and a great husband.

My biggest accomplishment - I have four great kids, two boys and two girls. 2 call me MA, 1 calls me MOM and one calls me OLD BONES. Yes that's them..........

They all graduated from high school and we put three through college who have degrees. All have good jobs and take care of themselves. In today's world THAT is an A+, I am so grateful for that.

I would go to the end of the earth for them.  Anything they need, I am always there. I treat them all equally and love them all the same.

The hubby and I had two houses built that we both worked on.  If your marriage can survive that, it can survive ANYTHING! A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into both projects.

I am a strong mama bear, don't mess with my family, my money or my food, you will see a side of me you have never seen before.  I'm Italian/Irish and that mix is crazy and  passionate.

I try to never cry, but if I do it's in private so no one sees me.

Don't like lazy people. I was taught nothing is free in this life, if you want something you work hard for it.  I instilled the same values in my kids.

Don't like a thief.

Don't like stupid drivers. Driver's on cell phones, eating while driving, putting makeup on while driving. YOU people need to get the hell off the road and make it safer for everyone else!

I speak up if something needs to be said.  If someone is being a jerk and needs to be told, it may as well be me to reel them in.

Sensitive and caring of others needs. My intuition is always spot on.

Love listening to music, any music but Rap and Frank.

I'm creative and artistic. 

Easily distracted, which means I can multi task 100 things at one time, hahahaha!

Honest, sometimes to a fault. You never have to worry what I'm thinking, because I will tell you.

If something is wrong or broken, I will always try to fix it, doesn't matter what it is.

I love food, almost every food (unfortunately), except okra, eewwww!

Coffee is my best friend in the morning.

I am a cook and a baker, depends what mood I'm in, sometimes I do both.

Love a party!

Love animals.

Christmas is my favorite holiday. EVERYTHING gets decorated!

My home and family are my sense of peace and harmony.

I like a clean house.  I'm OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) all things have to be in place, and I do things in repetition.  Yea, I know, it's crazy!

I like changing things around, a lot. Furniture, decor, clothes.  I have to keep things fresh so they are not boring to me.

I LOVE SHOPPING, especially shoes and clothes!

Like to get dressed up, even if it's just to the grocery store.  You never know who you'll see!

Have a close knit group of friends. I like my circle of friends small.Too many crazy personalities around is not fun for me.

Don't like big crowds.

Usually always flexible but depends on the situation.

Will not be taken advantage of. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Love to laugh. I think laughing is a key to longevity.  If you can't laugh at yourself, you're no fun.

Don't like to be called MA'AM! Now, young lady is acceptable.

I don't want to get older, I just want to be wiser, but I guess the wrinkles (when they come) will be a trade off.

So there you have it, a few things about me.

My family celebrated my 60th with a very nice dinner and gifts.  My son who is a chef prepared a home cooked meal for 10 people. The menu included a Spring Mix Salad, a Caesar Salad with homemade croutons, Fettuccine Alfredo, Linguine with Garlic Sauce, Roasted Broccoli, Sauteed Spinach in garlic, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Shrimp, Stuffed Cheese Bread and Herb Garlic Bread. My birthday cake was prepared by my oldest daughter, homemade chocolate with butter cream frosting, my favorite.

I love having my family around me. The night was so much more fun than going to a restaurant and having to be quiet and reserved. We're an Italian/Irish family and we're loud and proud!

I didn't get all the food pictures, but here are a few.

 I love a fresh made salad.

 OMG! The bread was soooooo good!

 My cake, better than any store bought cake for sure.

 And who doesn't like an aqua colored box?  Every girl loves them!

 Tiffany Initial Necklace, the E looks just like my writing.  Happy Birthday to you, if you are celebrating your birthday today!  Make the best of your day.

Go Forward With BIG Dreams

A peaceful and Happy New Year to all of you!  Go forward with big dreams, this is page 1 of 365 pages to write your own story.

Bring it ON 2017!

It's Time To Go

The putting away of the Christmas decorations has come and I dread this every year.  It takes forever to put all this out, and forever to put it all away.  I'm procrastinating, doing a little bit, having a fun day of lunch and Christmas clearance shopping with my sister, just what I need more Christmas decorations!  I took another day off to try and psych myself up to do this huge job.  Did a little more putting away and took a power nap,  see what I mean!  I feel like I am never going to get this done.  I am always so excited about setting it all up, because it looks so pretty, and don't like taking it all down, why do I do this to myself? 

You got it right Santa, hangin' out at the wine and liquor table!  It's going to be a long week.

Every year, I put all my "undecorating" decorations in the dining room, they get separated and piled everywhere.  It's the only room in the house that we use a couple times a year.  Then I go in at my leisure and pack things away.  The hubby will bring all of my containers up from storage and then he will carry them all down and put them away, he's a sweetie!

I gather things from each room in large laundry baskets and other large containers, keeps them safe from me dropping and breaking them.

 Table is piled high, but it's organized chaos.  All the greens with the greens, bows with bows, glass objects together, wreaths with wreaths, pictures with pictures and so on.

And my sister bless her heart, already started buying things for next year. I think I'm gonna need a bigger house!

 

Something Sweet Coming Your Way!

Christmas morning came and went so quickly this year, I guess it's because I spend most of my day in the kitchen.  Our kitchen really is the heart of our home.  Everyone who comes in, gathers around the counter and the kitchen table to snack on a variety of food items I put out before the big meal. We do have comfy couches and chairs in both the living room and family room, but everyone always chooses to gather in the kitchen, go figure. It's a busy day for everyone, and some do not eat breakfast because of all the running around they have to do that day.  I always try to have a breakfast item on the snack table to have with coffee or juice when they come in, it wakes them up!

So, every Christmas Eve I make a pan of my old fashion sticky buns, cover them and let them rise overnight.  I then bake them off in the morning, they're a special treat.  They only take about a half hour for piping hot, cinnamony, sticky, gooey, nut and raisin encrusted buns, you get the picture.  

This year I changed it up a bit to try something new, cinnamon buns on a smaller scale - Mini Cinnamon Buns made with puff pastry, they are so good we couldn't stop eating them!

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

I used a 24 cup mini muffin pan for two bite buns.

Sometimes you have to buy the the best brand to make something good, and sometimes you don't.  I used this packaged puff pastry that I found in the dairy section at GIANT.  It worked perfectly for the rolls,  I got exactly 24 mini rolls from one package for about $2.39, pretty inexpensive for something so good!

 You don't even have to roll the pastry dough out, just unfold it, brush with some melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and raisins, if you like them, we do! These are so easy to make, you will make them all the time.

 Pop those babies in the oven and watch them turn into something totally delicious.

 In about 30 minutes........

 AWESOMENESS, right there folks.

Perfect little cinny rolls coming right out of the oven, no frosting or glaze required, they are that good!

 And yea, the family kept eating them before everyone got here.  I think I said they were good already didn't I?

These are my old fashioned sticky buns, that I usually make on Christmas morning, check out that recipe on this blog (8/6/2013), they're great too.

PUFF PASTRY MINI CINNAMON ROLLS

Ingredients For The Topping

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup chopped pecans, or other nut you like

Directions For Topping

Preheat 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, with a fork or back of wooden spoon, mash the butter and the brown sugar together until all is combined.  Drop about a tablespoonful of filling into each cup of the muffin pan, then top each of the cups with chopped nuts, set aside.

Ingredients For The Filling

1 - 13.2 oz pkg WEWALKA Puff Pastry, GIANT dairy section

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins

Directions For The Rolls

Unfold pastry dough onto a floured board or other flat surface.  Brush the dough with the melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins.  Starting with the longest end of the dough, roll up tightly, tucking all the filling in as you roll. Make sure you finish rolling with the seam side down at the end.  Lightly pull on the dough at each end, to stretch just a little without tearing it.  Tuck the uneven ends under on each side.  For better measurement of the size of the rolls, cut the roll in half and then each half into twelve 1 inch pieces. You should have twenty-four 1 inch pieces when you are done cutting.

Place one of the rolls, cut side up, in each cup of the prepared muffin pan.  Brush each top with any remaining melted butter.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown and bubbly on top. Remove from oven, let stand for about 5 minutes. Flip the rolls out of the pan onto a parchment lined baking sheet larger than your muffin pan. Scoop out any remaining nuts from the pan and place on top of the muffins.  Serve warm or cold, they are great both ways.  Makes 24 buns.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

FROM MY HOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, SEASONS GREETINGS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for following The Bee Skep.

A few of my favorite Christmas Decorations.

 

Enjoy your holidays with family and friends!