Oh Nuts

I have never really seen myself as a person who does a bucket list. Instead I think of myself as more of a reverse bucket list person. Because whenever I do something that could be considered bucket list worthy I almost always say "I can cross that off the bucket list now." So here is my reverse bucket list, at least everything that I can remember. Piano Guys concert (2015) Trace Atkins concert (2016) the musical "Wicked" (2006-ish) seeing "The Phantom of the Opera" (2016) flying half way across the country (2016) Traveling half way across the country by myself (2012) Going to the March for Life in Washington D.C. (2012, 2013) There are probably more things that I could add to the list to make it longer, it's just whether I remember them or not. Of course the list will continue to grow as I add more stuff to it. And what I have so far is a pretty good start. 

Are you looking for a new dish towel or two for the kitchen? Or a new pencil bag? Or even a clean/dirty magnet to put on your dishwasher? Well I know the perfect place to get all three at once. And you can buy them all without even having to even leave your house. All three items, plus potholders, can be purchased on the Whimsical Kitchen  website. This website is run/owned by my friend Elizabeth as a way to share " Unique, Geeky, Vintage-inspired and Artistic dishtowels," and other items, with people who enjoy cooking and creating in the kitchen. Because of the variety offered they work great as gifts, especially if you know someone who is in the kitchen often.    Besides bringing personality to your kitchen and being inexpensive,  there are several ways for you to follow Whimsical  Kitchen online f or updates on new designs and sales. Mailing list:  http://blogspot.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a408c37c13528df3073e8b91d&id=87620576d0   I...

For several weeks I had been seeing a sponsored movie trailer on Instagram for a movie called "Before I Fall." After seeing it multiple times I decided to look it up. When I pulled it up I learned that the movie is based on a novel of the same name by Lauren Oliver. Since it sounded interesting I got the book from the library. Even though the label on the side of the book claimed that it was a teen novel, I personally didn't think it qualified as such. While I thought that the idea for the book, which is "What would you do if you had to relive one day of your life over again?" was very interesting I didn't agree with some of the things that were brought up in it. Because of that I wouldn't let any of my younger siblings read it until they were 20 or older. Found on Google Another book that I just finished reading is "The Whole Town's Talking" by Fannie Flagg. It was a very interesting book to read because the chapters were, on av...

I don't really know where this recipe originally came from, but it is in our house and it tastes good and is easy to make. So here is the recipe for easy crock pot mac and cheese. Ingredients: 3 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese 2 1/2 cups Milk 12 oz. Evaporated Milk 8 oz. Cream Cheese 16 oz. Elbow Macaroni Directions: Put all ingredients, except for macaroni, into the crock pot. Leave on low for an hour. After 1 hour, stir the sauce in crock pot. After the sauce has been "crock potting" for about 45 minutes, make macaroni & drain. Add cooked macaroni to sauce after it has been drained. Add any extras you like. (Ham, bacon, etc.) Cook on low for another 45 minutes. Feeds approximately 6-8. Tip: you do not have to add all evaporated milk or cream cheese if you do not like it very cheesy.

I know that we are just leaving the Christmas season and that you may be wondering why I am talking about themed gifts. Especially since this seems like a topic that would be helpful before Christmas day. The reason why I am posting this now is that because themed gifts work for birthdays as well as graduations, going away parties, etc. painted and photographed by me For a number of years now, instead of getting a present for every single sibling, as well as the parents, because it gets rather expensive, my family has started doing this thing where my mom puts all of the siblings names on pieces of paper and then puts it into a bowl. We are then supposed to pick a name out of the bowl and that is the sibling that we buy a present, or two, for that Christmas. And this year, once I had the name of the sibling that I was buying for, I slowly started coming up with ideas as to what to buy for my "person" as we have started calling them. My "person" this year fo...