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Original poster

Living In America ..You say Goodbye, I say Hello, ...

611 replies

kickassangel · 04/07/2009 14:46

New Thread.

OP posts:
madwomanintheattic · 08/12/2009 02:36

soooo, what do you about glasses when it's way below freezing then? we're in frosty alberta and dd2 can't see as they keep freezing over lol...

she's definitely not ready for contacts (she's 6 with cp) but i can't keep her indoors until april? i'm wondering if ski goggles and a balaclava would just be too weird? a pink one maybe?

oh, motrin and tylenol, def.

Original poster
kickassangel · 08/12/2009 02:38

well, dd is in bed with vicks on her chest - i should imagine that works just as well. she just has a bad cold so hoping she's better tomorrow. we're in the middle of remortgaging &i HAVE to drop some paperwork in.

christmas nearly done & dusted, all stuff sent to the UK, just got a few bits to get for dh & dd. we're away for christmas, so when we get back we'll buy all the cheap things left over & have a big meal & pressies then!! yippee.

OP posts:
CheerfulYank · 08/12/2009 02:45

Hey, jumping in as well!

I always give DS warm honey for a cough. A couple spoonfuls at nighttime coats his throat and I feel more comfortable giving him that then drugs.

Vicks is good. We have a vaporizer that makes Vicks fumes and it's always been helpful.

Twirl · 08/12/2009 03:16

Just checking in from DC....., I always read but rarely post, not sure why....
Anyway, the elf on the shelf is a big hit in our house and guarantees good behaviour throughout December. The elf has control of Santa's naughty list!!!
We do warm honey too, but mixed with chamomile tea.

nooka · 08/12/2009 04:22

That's interesting madwoman, we have three glasses wearers in the house, and have not had freezing up problems (at least none so far or that I can remember from last year). the only times my glasses steam and therefore could freeze is when I'm wearing something over my face, so that my breath goes up instead of out. If that's happening I think ski goggles are probably the way to go. It's only -15C here, but cold! We also went into the wilderness and cut down our Christmas tree at the weekend. It does feel like a special thing to be able to do. We also walked on a lake and watched some ice fishing (the ice was about 6 inches thick). Our puppy thought it was fabulous!

Earlybird · 08/12/2009 12:06

Thanks for medical advice. Usually we do OK with a flu shot and echinacea but once in a while, something else is needed.

'Someone' didn't move the elf Sunday night and dd was most concerned the 'magic' had gone. But, thank goodness, the elf moved yesterday so all is OK.

My family announced a few days ago that the decision had been made to forego exchanging presents for adults because we all basically have what we need

madwomanintheattic · 08/12/2009 16:14

thanks nooka - i think it is the breath going up issue... but it's been -35 here since saturday and she gets nose bleeds if her face isn't covered...
today we compromised and i sent her to school with her glasses in her bag lol... she doesn't really need to see on the way there...(!)
i think i'm going to be digging out the ski kit a couple of weeks early
i love the cold weather, but the logistics with small people take some getting used to - at least when they are babies you can just throw a duvet over the carseat lol...

Original poster
kickassangel · 08/12/2009 20:43

it's still diddling around at freezing, but no snow yet. last year there was over a foot of snow & - temps every day. i'm glad it's not that cold yet, but hoping it does freeze soon as our neighbours have built an ice rink in their fron yard!

OP posts:
nooka · 09/12/2009 04:51

We don't have much snow here either, but it is much colder than usual for December. It's snowy in the hills, but our family skiing resort has put off it's opening date for a fortnight. At -35C I would be wearing a balaclava and skiing goggles!

jabberwocky · 09/12/2009 22:04

the glasses freezing thing is very annoying. Let me know what works.

earlybird - so you are way ahead of the game now We decided to forego adult gifts last year and instead contributed $20 each to Heifer Project. Easy-peesy and feel goodness all around.

dooneygirl · 11/12/2009 00:21

Hi new people! (waves) Hi people on the thread who haven't been on in a long time. (waves) Busy here.

madwomanintheattic · 11/12/2009 01:47

jabberwocky - someone suggested i spit in them... but i think that only works for swimming goggles?! can't decide if it's worth trying, or if dd2 would be horrified!

jabberwocky · 11/12/2009 03:15

I do know that vaseline in the nose keeps your nose hairs from freezing

Earlybird · 11/12/2009 11:02

Can't help with the freezing eyeglasses - must be really annoying!

Dd and I have been invited to a Christmas Cookie Exchange, so we need to get baking.

I was thinking about potato chip cookies (never made them before), which are supposed to be divine (and hugely fattening - but that is the point at Christmas, isn't it? )

As long as I'm setting aside the time to bake from scratch, it would be great to make some 'oh-my-gosh-those-are-outrageously- yummy-cookies', so wonder if any of you have fabulous recipes you'd be willing to share?

Earlybird · 11/12/2009 11:04
dooneygirl · 11/12/2009 14:58

Give me a bit, I'll be back later today with my favorites, Earlybird.

dooneygirl · 12/12/2009 06:00

Sorry, Earlybird, got incredibly busy today. There might be big changes for the dooney household. I'll try to get those for you tomorrow. I'm zonked and going to bed.

Earlybird · 12/12/2009 12:31

dooney - no problem. I found a recipe for potato chip cookies that is supposed to be divine (as odd as that sounds).

Would love to have your fave recipes in reserve though - when you get a chance to post/share.

Hope all is OK with you. Your last post has me concerned. Let us know how you are, when you can. xx

madwomanintheattic · 12/12/2009 17:15

our cookie exchange was last week - i made triple chocolate brownies, but now have a cupboard full of gingerbread, sugar cookies and fudge

the potato chip cookies sound interesting! going to have to google...

Earlybird · 12/12/2009 19:15

Cookies now made. I thought the first batch looked a bit bland, so threw some red/green sprinkles on top to make them look a bit more festive.

They look a mess, but luckily taste yummy.

madwoman - they are a variation of a sugar cookie with potato chips, which makes them a bit crunchy. Very good, if I do say so myself!

dooneygirl · 12/12/2009 22:25

Oh, no. Don't be concerned. I'm not spilling the beans yet, because we haven't decided, but it is a good thing, not bad. Nothing super major, and we are NOT adding another person to our family.

I thought I had more of my cookies online. I guess I have a lot of them in my recipe file.
I have a few to share, though.

These are my favorite cookies in the whole world. Colin's, too. They might not work for you, though, because they have a lot of odd ingredients you might not have on hand, but I'm strange enough to have everything on hand. If you ever do try them, the recipe has 2 errors in it, but the author has made a comment in the comments section telling you what to do.

These are my favorite roll out cookie.

These aren't really holiday, but they're my favorite cookie to make when I want something easy. Sometimes I cheat, and they taste pretty good.

I haven't tried them yet, but these.

jabberwocky · 13/12/2009 16:57

Well, there went my first guess

SuperBunny · 14/12/2009 22:35

I love potato chip cookies. Must find a recipe.

Dooney... hope everything is ok. x

Original poster
kickassangel · 15/12/2009 03:11

Ahhh, I have just discovered that cookie exchanges are 'normal' - i thought it was just the group i went to. We had our christmas party on sat. i didn't do the cookie exchange as we're about to leave for colorado, but did take part in the ornament exchange.

the house we went to was amazing - one of those truly HUGE midwest houses, where the kitchen/family area is bigger than the ground floor of your average 3 bed terrace in the UK.
Inside there were more Christmas decorations than i have EVER seen. One of the trees (there were three in the living areas, apparently there's one in each bedroom)was 12 ft high & 6 ft wide. It was just covered in lights & just absolutely shimmered, it was so bright. Honestly, there were decoration everywhere - if you know the 'cats sleep anywhere' poem, just imagine that but with decorations. BOTH the staircases had several Christmas themed cuddly toys on every single tread.

Have I gone on enough? I want to go back, just so that I can gawk some more. I obviously didn't get enough of them all on Sat.

OP posts:
nooka · 15/12/2009 04:22

Those cookies with the spice and crystalised ginger sound fabulous. I might look out for those spices. My Christmas favourite is very very gingery gingerbread, made with stem ginger. I don't think that you can get stem ginger here though.