{hello 2011!}

 who's ready for 2011?

are you making any resolutions?

what did you like about 2010?

what are you hoping from 2011?

if you want to end your year with a good note, may i suggest this movie. i thought it was quite entertaining. i do wish though that angelina jolie's new year's resolution would be to gain some weight. it hurts to see how she's just skin and bones. i wish 2011 will bring her health and wellness. 

{last minute blogging before christmas}

 the cutest snowflakes ever!

yesterday we headed to the west edmonton mall after picking up sienna's cousin to go with us. sienna and her cousin had fun at the galaxyland amusement park. i think they went for rides and played there for five hours! :)the mall was packed with last minute shoppers. it felt good not to have to buy anything. jay and i took turns at the mall but i honestly didn't see anything i wanted to buy. even for myself. :) it feels good when christmas isn't about stuff.

mind you, i loved getting a laptop for my birthday. :D

people waiting to get pictures with santa.

today is christmas eve but our celebrations don't start until tomorrow so i'm still vacuuming and baking today. lanttulaatikkoakin pitäisi ennättää tehdä. we let sienna open one of her gifts today (kind of for a finnish tradition but not really).

wishing you all merry christmas and all the best for 2011! if you don't celebrate christmas, then i'll wish you happy whatever you do celebrate plus all the best for 2011. :)

Picture a stable in Judea.

Picture a sacred, silent night.

And can you hear

The angels near

And see the star so brigth?

Picture the little baby Jesus.

Think of his life and words so dear.

Sing praise to him;

Remember him,

As you picture Christmas this year.

(by patricia kelsey graham)

(wise men image via google image search) 

{candy cane lane}

 yesterday, at midnight... oops! i mean right after an early supper, we went for a drive to candy cane lane. it's just a regular edmonton neighborhood except that it's known for people who really enjoy decorating their yards for christmas. 

i love the christmas lights everywhere. the winter days are so short and half of the time you feel like it's midnight. any additional lights are more than welcome in my humble opinion. sienna loves to see all the lights while we're driving about. makes a boring drive in the dark a bit more enjoyable. sometimes we say "merry christmas" or "ho ho ho" every time we see christmas lights.   

 these massive fir trees were my favorite. shooting white lights kept falling down all over the trees. and the wee tiny tree couldn't have had any more lights on it. :)

 on the way home we stopped at the temple to quickly snap few pictures. 

 then i'll end this posting with a little mystery. who can guess what these pictures are about? :)

{cinnamon, apples, veggies, maple syrup... :P}

one of my favorite things about winter is that you can make all sorts of delicious food in the oven. yesterday i tried this new recipe and we all enjoyed it so of course i'm sharing it with you all. you know me. :)

i think this would make a perfect potato/vegetable dish for your christmas table since it has cinnamon and cranberries etc.

Preparation time: 20 min.

Cooking time: 1 hour.

 

Festive Roast Vegetables

3 Granny Smith apples, cored, cut into 8 wedges

2 medium red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1" (2.5 cm) pieces

1 cup (250 mL) whole baby carrots

1 cup (250 mL) rutabaga, cut into 1" (2.5 cm) pieces

1 medium parsnip, peeled, cut into 1" (2.5 cm) pieces

1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges

1 red pepper, sliced

1 cup (250 mL) CAMPBELL'S® Ready to Use 25% Less Sodium Beef Broth

1/3 cup (75 mL) maple syrup

3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil

1/3 cup (75 mL) sweetened, dried cranberries

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon
Preparation:

Combine all ingredients well in large mixing bowl. Place mixture into shallow 13" x 9" (34 x 22 cm) baking dish.

 

Bake at 400°F (200°C), stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender – about 1 hour. Remove from oven and stir mixture well.

Additional Information:

Tip: Just after baking, stir mixture gently and broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to turn golden brown and caramelize.

Feel free to create new flavour combinations by using other vegetables – explore your market for locally grown produce. Just keep the overall quantity of vegetables the same, and replace them with ones that would cook in the same amount of time.

(recipe via campbells.com)

i didn't put rosemary in it as we're not big fans of it. i used chicken broth instead of beef broth. i also found that the apples got mushy when baked as long as the rest of it. i'd suggest adding the apples (and probably the red pepper too) in the last 15 minutes of cooking time.

delicious! :P

(image via google image search)

{this & that}

 one of our christmas traditions is to pile into a photo booth and get another strip of photos to add to our christmas tree. they changed the format from vertical to horizontal though so i need to do some altering with these.

 i've been hoping to find a new comic that i like since there's no more new calvin & hobbes being written. i might have found it. :)

 sigh. my brother&sister-in-law are here at the moment and they got to go to david "angel" archuleta's christmas concert. i'm just a tiny bit jealous. ok, i admit it, i'm quite a bit jealous. but i'm a big girl and i can handle it.

we'll have to take sienna to salt lake city sometime in the future during christmas holidays. the temple square is so gorgeous at christmas time with it's thousands and thousands of lights. what a magical place!

(slc images found via google image search)
here's an article about how much work goes into lighting up the temple square:
http://lds.org/church/news/lighting-up-temple-square?lang=eng

{tip tap tip tap tipe tipe tip tap!}

make yours at elfyourself.com.

{crazy about kirigami!}

 certain person was shopping for christmas gifts while coming across this kirigami calendar. that certain person knew that she was supposed to be buying gifts for others, not for herself. but there was only one of these left. of course she HAD TO buy this for herself. you all agree, right?

some of life's greatest joys are so simple. this calendar was cheap, yet it will provide many hours worth of enjoyment to this certain person.

wait, what are you saying?

that you know that's our kitchen table in the picture?

that you know how much i looooove cutting paper snowflakes?

that i'm known for ending up buying gifts for myself while shopping for others?

who? me? i'd never do such a thing.

well, ok. it was me.

don't you agree though that not a big crime was committed here? there really was just one left and if you snooze, you loose, right?

needless to say that this calendar won't act as a calendar. it's calendaring days were over before they really even started.

i mean come on - who could only cut one of these per day? what were they thinking! (imagine me rolling my eyes)

here's just a sampling of the designs i get to cut. yes, even hearts and babies and doggies and...!! i bet you can barely handle all the excitement either. :D

did i mention how much i loooooove kirigami?

i do, i do, i do, i do!

:D

{jaeson ma - love & joululauluja stadin slangilla}

ja sitten jotain paljon kevyempaa (sori, ei oo a ja o pilkkuja, oon jayn koneella).

tanne olisi pitanyt ehdottomasti paasta:

Snygeimmät joulubiisit Kallion tsyrkassa

keskiviikko 15.12.2010 klo 14:00


Hinta: vapaa pääsy


Lisätietoa: "En tsögaa valtaa glamurii..." Snygeimmät joulubiisit stadin slangiksi. Yhteislaulutilaisuus Kallion kirkossa...

:D

suurkiitos pikkusiskolleni suville joka tilasi mulle slangijoululaulu cd:n. paasisitpa mun kanssa pitamaan slangi karaoke bileet. :)

{this & that}

 one of my blogging friends agreed to do a magazine exchange so i was able to get finnish christmas magazines. (kiitos mannukka!) the chocolate didn't last long, needless to say. here are some of my favorite things from the magazines.

 

 so cuuuuuuute!

 another cutie. this hedgehog could help your home stay clean. these go near a front door and is meant to degunk (i think i just made that word up :)) your shoes.

 niin suomalainen kuva että. värikkäät, itse kudotut sukat kuivumassa patterilla. piti ihan ottaa kuva. :)

 kivalta tuntuva peli. ostaisin. :)

 hyvää joulua = merry christmas

 jippii! :D

 täällä on tapana koristella kuusi ajoissa. mikäs siinä kun useimmilla on tekokuusi. sitten saa nauttia joulufiiliksestä rauhassa ja pidempään. mekin yleensä koristellaan heti joulukuun alussa kuten tänäkin vuonna. joulufiilistä on vaikka muille jakaa. 

 en muista olenko koskaan aiemmin nähnyt sateenkaaren talvella. mitäs mieltä olette - onko harvinainen näky?

i can't seem to think ever seeing a rainbow in the winter. is it as rare of an occurance as i seem to think?