Candy Natalgia

Mom and Dad recently came back from South Africa with my favorite candy. These bring back great memories of family coming to visit.

To Grandma's House We Go

How I Save Money- Programmable Thermostat

For Christmas I got a programmable thermostat, a penny pincher's dream gift. Minnesota has some pretty extreme temperatures. In the winter we keep the house too warm for the kids. They never keep the blankets on through the night. I loathe waking up any more than necessary and until they figure out the blankets I choose sleep over pennies. It makes me feel better that I can set the program to save us a little during the day while we are out. There is some debate if these actual save money, but according to Energy.Gov “By turning your thermostat back 10° to 15° for 8 hours, you can save 5% to 15% a year on your heating bill -- a savings of as much as 1% for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long.” Even if we are closer to the 5% range this thing will pay for itself in no time.

First Breakfast

Every morning Neal makes an egg sandwich for breakfast and the kids eat what we call first breakfast. They get another breakfast at day care.

Inside/Outside

Baby brother watches from inside as big sister tries out the new sled.

Mom Put the Camera Down and Get Me Out

Cinnamon Fudge Kind Off

I used Annie's eats fudge recipe, but instead of chocolate chips I used cinnamon chips and I omitted the cinnamon and coffee. I don't know if it was the different chips or if I boiled the candy too long, but this came out more like caramels than fudge. The good news is that is still tasted delicious.

King of the Linen Closet

365ish Project- Brody in the linen closet.

365ish Project

One of the reasons I'm starting this blog is to improve on my photography. I want to take better pictures more often. I'll be using a point and shoot and Minnesota light this time of year is challenging. I won't get better if I don't practice and play with the settings. This will be like a 365 day project, but I'm going to be realistic. I usually pull my camera out a few times a month. Actually expecting to get everyday will be a huge reach. Day 1 Keith with the advent calendar.