Around the holidays one cookie is king in our home.  Pepparkakor cookies, or Swedish Ginger Cookies are my husbands favorite.  In addition to getting a huge tin of them from the store, usually my Mother-in-law sends homemade ones. 

**(This year we were going to make them, but just got too busy…. I am planning on making some for my hubs for his birthday!  SHHH!)

Apparently a love of the Pepparkakor is a genetic trait!  My son is a Swedish Cookie Monster!  If he even sees you go near the tin of cookies, he is on top of you begging for some.

Want to make your own Pepparkakor cookies?

Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies

• 1/2 c  Molasses
• 1/2 c  Sugar
• 1/2 c  Butter
• 1   Egg, well beaten
• 2 1/2 c  Sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/4 ts Salt
• 1/4 ts Baking soda
• 1/2 ts Ginger
• 1/2 ts Cinnamon
• Pinch Nutmeg

1. Heat molasses in small saucepan to boiling point. Let boil for one minute. Add sugar and butter to mixture and stir until butter is melted.  Let it cool. Beat in one egg. Sift together flour, salt, soda and spices. Add dry ingredien to first mixture and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl tightly and chill overnight.
2. Roll out a portion of the dough at a time on lightly floured pastry cloth.  Roll out pretty thin. Cut into desired shapes. (Hearts and gingerbread men are common, but you can do anything!)  Bake in a moderate oven (350) for 6 to 8 minutes.   These will yield: 10 dozen cookies

Another easy way to cook:  The dough may be shaped into a log and wrapped in waxed paper. Place in fridge and chill thoroughly overnight or longer.  The next day use knife to slice thin and bake in moderate oven (350). These should be stored in an air-tight container to last longer and bring out the flavors.  The dough can also be stored in the freezer for later use.

6 pepparkakor cookies only have 110 calories!  How awesome is that!  They really are the perfect holiday cookie!

Happy National Dog Day!

If you like puppies this is the post for you!

Here are some of the cutest puppies found on Pinterest just for you!!

Plus we can’t forget Tim Burton’s favorite puppy – FRANKENWEENIE!!

Aka – Sparky!

No matter what dog you love, hope you have a great National Dog Day!!

“Like” FRANKENWEENIE on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FrankenweenieMovie

FRANKENWEENIE arrives in theatres everywhere on October 5^th!

It’s been about a year since we traveled for Florida, so two weeks ago we spent a week in Florida visiting my Dad and Stepmom.  It wasn’t a vacation kind of trip, but we sure managed to have some fun along the way.

I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Traveling with a 3 year old is sure a trip!  I can’t imagine what it will be like once we add a second child into the mix!

Side note: This was Squishy’s 3rd trip to the Sunshine State! If you’d like to see the first two trips check out these posts! Grandpa Fail, Baby’s First Trip To Florida, and Safari Adventures!

My silly little man after eating his Chobani on the airplane!

I think my son looks so much like my brother in this picture.  It’s really neat to see different people in your children’s faces.

Walking back to the car after a successful trip to the beach!  The girls are my step-sister’s daughters – aka Squishy’s cousins!

Fun times at Chuckie Cheese! (At least the kiddos had fun, it was a bit of an anxiety inducing overload for the parents…)

The TV Screen above their ride! This was actually one of the coolest rides!

Baby BriBri in the swing! (She isn’t really a baby at 2, but she was the youngest and is sweet as pie!)

M in the swing! Isn’t she gorgeous!  She is 4.

I like to call this monkey’s in a tree!  I love how their outfits magically coordinated this day even though we didn’t plan for it!

In this picture you can see a bit of each of their personalities!

They all had such a fun time playing together.  Ages 2, 3, and 4!

Hey mom! I have a beard too!

My sweet Squishy boy!

Grandpa Mark and Squishy boy!  Squish loved LOVED playing with his Grandpa.

Yep, I can see the resemblance!

Being silly in Gigi’s wigs!

Did you travel anywhere fun with family this summer?

Every once in a while I get really excited about a post. 

Spoiler Alert: This is one of those posts! 

I am participating in the Hostelbooker’s 7 Super Shots game.  This game is all about sharing seven favorite travel photos based on some pre-determined categories.  I was a bit limited on my picture selection as I don’t have my hard drive from most of my traveling days.

Thank you Sarah who is the writer behind Wandering Off a fantastic travel blog and also lives here in Las Vegas.

A photo that…takes my breath away

It may be cheesy, but my son takes my breath away all the time.  To see the joy of child discovering something for the first time is just amazing.  This photo was taken at Peggy Sue’s Dinner and Dinosaur Park in Barstow California.

A photo that…makes me think

Look closely, what do you see?  Taken in the brush of the Mayan ruins in Belize, this shot reminds me to take a closer look, you never know what you might find!

A photo that…makes me dream 

Have you ever been to The Ringling Museum in Sarasota Florida?  It is really something to see.  More than just the circus the grounds are filled with amazing rose gardens, Banyan trees, and a lot of fine art.  I spent almost 30 minutes at this window/door.  There was just something magical about it.

A photo that…makes me laugh or smile

I took this photo on Sanibel Island, Florida.  My son was 7 months old at the time, and apparently the crabs on his shirt and hat had a big impact on his mood.  I can’t help but smile every time I see this shot

A photo that…makes my mouth water

Speaking of crabs… Yep, we caught our own dinner, and it was darn tasty I may add!  Taken in Hopkins, Belize.

A photo that…tells a story

To be fair, I wasn’t traveling for this picture.  But I love playing with my camera and got this action shot at Cashman Field here in Las Vegas for Cubs weekend.  Go Cubbies!

A photo that…I am most proud of (aka my worthy of National Geographic shot)

I stalked this butterfly for a long time.  He was amazing. Taken at Lake Nakomis Minnesota.

I am tagging:

• A Nut in A Nutshell
• Crazy About My Baybah
• Our Crazy Boys
• MizFitOnline
• Life With Little Cars

Is there anything more peaceful than a sleeping child?

She is a wife and an amazing mother to 3 beautiful children (her oldest is a cancer survivor), she is a very talented photographer, and like so many other military families, she lost in Afghanistan just over one year ago.  As she has been known to do, she turned her grief into others comfort, founding and creating Picture The Fallen.

Jessica’s strength, courage, and kindness is continually inspiring to me.  I only wish I lived closer to her, so I may know her friendship in person once again.  I hope you take the time to read her story, and remember Paul and so many other amazing people like him, who died for our country.

That’s about all I need to say when someone views the photo of my brother’s headstone hanging in my house.  You can look at the print and the words just start coming out; hero, American, death, Arlington, sad, amazing, and the list just goes on. It’s a constant reminder of what I am missing as well as what my parents, siblings, his wife and my own children are missing.  It’s a future that will never be and memories that will never happen with one of the most amazing people you could have ever met.

It’s a reminder that he was a hero way before he died because he was always willing to serve and protect, no matter the cost.  He was willing to give all andin the end, he did.

Like every other Gold Star Family, my parents had the two military men show up at the door and I got the phone call. That phone call changed it all.  We were informed that my brother, SGT Paul E Dumont Jr., was killed in a non-combat related incident on August 19, 2009 while serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

He was the fourth child of seven of us. He was the first boy, the comedian, the life of the party, and he was truly just livin’ the dream. Nothing will replace him. He died at the young age of 23. It didn’t matter to me how he was killed. The fact is that he was gone and gone forever.

That one word, forever. How do you accept that? You don’t really. I clung to my faith with all my might and just stayed there. I’m actually still there and I will continue to hang on to that one promise of being reunited with him. Honestly, on some days I feel that is all I have. I don’t think I could have made it or still make it, if it weren’t for that one promise.  I don’t mourn as one without hope. I know where he is, and one day I intend to join him there.

Like others, I enjoy going to Arlington National Cemetery. It helps me to feel closer to him. I hate leaving him and that guilt just eats at me. I feel like I am abandoning my little brother up there.  People tell me that it’s just his body and that he’s in a much better place, which I know. But on this earth, that is the closest I can come to being near my brother without it actually being him.

It was last year during one of our numerous trips up to Arlington that we realized there were so many families who couldn’t pay a regular visit.  For many, the distance has kept them away. As we stood by Paul’s marker we noticed numerous families snapping photos of their loved ones headstones so that they could show it to friends and family or keep them as mementos.

We wanted a way to honor Paul as well as the other thousands of men and women who have given their life for our country. It would be a way to keep their memories alive so that others would never forget. With me being a professional photographer, what better way than to start a non-profit organization that provides prints for Gold Star Families of their fallen heroes headstone.

It was then that Picture the Fallen was created.

What families do, is email us with their info, the info of their hero and what verse, saying or quote they would like on the print. From there, we travel to Arlington National Cemetery to locate their hero, take a photo and then provide a finished print. We wanted to find a way to include all Gold Star Families, so if someone’s soldier is not buried in Arlington, we allow them to choose a generic photo of Arlington National Cemetery that we have taken and from there they can personalize it.

We keep in mind that this isn’t for everyone but for those who have wanted them done, it’s helped.  It’s touching to receive the cards and emails from other Gold Star Families stating that they really appreciate what we are doing and that in some small way it brings them peace. We’ve had one family say that their print hangs in the front entry so that it’s a constant reminder to all who enter that some truly give all. Others like it hanging in their bedroom where it is a more subtle view and reminder of what they have lost.

I want people to know that my brother gave everything so that they can live in the land of the free. It’s not something I want hidden and there are many other families who feel the same way.

These prints are created for each Gold Star Family for their own personal reason.  Whether that reason is to show others what their hero gave or to have them feel close when they are so far away, it doesn’t matter. As long as we can help other GSF we will continue to travel to Arlington to take photos and create prints.

Nothing we do can take the pain the away, but we can honor these American heroes, promise that we will never forget and create a picture that is worth a thousand words.

Jessica Dumont- Oatman and the entire Dumont Family

For more information please visit, www.picturethefallen.org

You can also find Picture the Fallen on Facebook

Aren’t I lucky to have two such handsome men in my life?

My Packer’s Fans were clearly very happy on Sunday!  GO PACK GO!!

And today happens to be my Husbands 30+ birthday!

Happy Birthday Honey! I love you!

(This picture was take from my phone – please excuse the blurry-ness)

Parenting By Dummies
5 Minutes for Mom
A Beautiful Mess
Angry Julie

To Be Thode

Carrie with Children

Mom Spotted

(I forgot to post yesterday – so Tales from the Scale Monday??)

This week even though I am down, I find myself very very frustrated with my weight loss.  Once again, Nutrisystem is there to support me through my frustration.  I guess I am frustrated because I used to lose weight so much faster before I had a baby.  But now that my body is different then it was pre-baby, I need to take a different approach to my weight loss.  I need to stop being so hard on myself.

My goal this week will be to work on my water intake (which is awful…)  Hopefully that will help step up my metabolism.

I was also reminded that now that I am working out more, muscle weighs more then fat.  SO I plan on measuring soon, to see the changes there!

So how did I do this week??  Down another 1.4 lbs.  I am averaging about one lb per week.  I hope that drinking more water will help that change!!

Nutrisystem is doing something really really cool right now!  They are changing their prices to the lowest level in a long time.  Now you can get the Nutrisystem program at 2003 prices! Even the select program is on sale!  It costs $9 a day!!

If you are interested in learning more about Nutrisystem, or want to join, you can do so HERE or call 800-853-4689. All products have been provided to me free of charge as a selected blogger of the Nutrisystem Nation Blogger Program. My opinions are 100% honest and my own and my differ from yours. No monetary compensation was given for my opinion.

She turned a photo I took into a one of a kind original art piece.

Kathy turned that photo into this piece of original art!

I then turned to the Canvas People and had the photo put on a canvas, and voila! My own original canvas art!!

Kathy is now going to do this for you!

FOR FREE!!

During her February Love campaign you can send her your beautiful photo, and she will transform it into a one of a kind piece of art for your home.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

Check out her etsy for more of what she can do with your precious memories.  Feel Free to pass this along to anyone you think might be interested!

I am so excited to introduce the sixth Sponsor for the Handmade with Love event (Feb 2-6)!  **Each sponsor highlight post will have extra entries – so be sure to check them all out!

SugarCubes is the 3rd part of my Handmade with Love giveaway package #2 – Beautiful Too!

I recently was introduced to the sweetest designer who is making some very adorable and unique felt animals.  I asked her to share a litle bit about herself and her shop!

MEET Francesca:

Let’s see… I’m a 20 year old student studying English Literature at ASU. I started making the sugarcubes out of nowhere, without any knowledge of sewing, but I’m always excited to try new things– honestly, I got bored one night, had the idea “how cute would animals look in cube-form?” and figured it out from there!

They’re a unique take on stuffed animals and since each one is completely custom, there are so many possibilities and all of my clients can get the toy of their dreams! I really enjoy making them, plus, they’re helping me get through college. : )

I love that she just had an idea and went for it!  Check out some of these adorable SugarCubes!

Want some extra entries?  Leave a comment for each on you do  – but make sure to come back to the main event and complete the mandatory entry.  Otherwise these won’t count!  (I will add these entries to the entries on the actual giveaway!)

Follow SugarCubes  on  Facebook – be sure to tell her Family and Life in Las Vegas sent you! (1 entry)

Follow Sugar Cubes on DeviantArt (1 entry)

Tweet/Facebook “I am super excited 4 @FamilyNLifeLV #hwlg 2 Prize packages ($200) #handmade #giveaway get #extraentries http://bit.ly/sugarcubes “

That is a total of 4 extra entries!  Show SugarCubes some Family and Life in Las Vegas Lve!