It always helps to have something that will make you smile – especially this time of the year, between Christmas and New Year, when you are just working on catching your second breath to deal with all the holiday activities.

I was thinking about what to write – and then I thought that it may be a good idea to find what tohers are saying about New Year and find the ones that made me smile. Here are some of my favorites:

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Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to.

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An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

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Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits.

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Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.

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The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year’s Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you’re married to.

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New Year’s Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

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For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.

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People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas.

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One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.

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On this new year, be someone you yourself can admire

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Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

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It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future and imp[ossible to live in the past. Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.

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If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.

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Write it on your heart, that every day is the best day in the year.

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The bad news is – time flies. The good news is – you are the pilot.

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What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the New Year.

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Twenty years from now, you will be more disspointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So – throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe barbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails, Explore. Dream. Discover.

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Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. No man is rich enough to buy back his past.

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If it didn’t Bring you Joy,

Just Leave it Behind.

Let’s Ring in the New Year

With Good Things in Mind.

Let Every Bad Memory Go

That Brought Heartache and Pain.

And let’s Turn a New Leaf

With the Smell of New Rain.

Let’s Forget Past Mistakes

Making Amends for This Year.

Sending You These Greetings

To Bring you Hope and Cheer

Happy New Year!

Some special memories just happen – things people say, things people do…. And then there are some that you can create – and as the years go by, they become more and more special. This is my own story:

Almost 40 years ago, I made Christmas stockings for my two boys. The older one – Dusan – was just little over 2 years old and the younger one – Daniel was only 6 weeks old at the time. I made the stockings form couple of pieces of red quilted material, trimmed them with white and embroidered their names on it. We hang those stockings up every year – no matter where we are. and as the boys got older, the added tradition was to fill the stockings with little goodies and a large Toblerone bar. And as the years went by, I added stockings for new members of our family, When Dusan got married, “Kara: stocking went up, When Daniel got engaged to Nicole. “Nicole” stocking was added and when Abbie got engaged to Dave, “Dave” stocking was another addition. But the best and greatly cherished addition was the stocking that has “Jax” on it – that one is for Dan and Nicole’s son – our precious grandson Jaxson. And that stocking is about 3 feet long and it fill our hearts with joy to try to fill it for him.

Sounds simple and normal – I know that lots of people do this or something similar. But for all of us, one of the stockings became a very special Christmas memory. Dusan died tragically in a car accident in February 2010 and the first Christmas without him was very, very difficult. But that little tradition of putting all our stockings up became even more important. Dusan’s stocking just had to be with us – it was almost as if he was too.

And now – there is the second Christmas without him – and it is now time to start another tradition. . Last week, Daniel asked me if I would make a stocking for Jaxson, one they can put up in their house – just like I did for him and his brother. That made me feel so very, very good – it meant that the Christmas traditions I started are very special and Daniel wants to make sure they continue. I made a special stocking for Jaxson and added two more – one that says “mommy” and another one that has “Daddy” embroidered on it.

Maybe you want to make a special stocking that will start and very special memory for you – so – I am sharing what I did.

Here is a step by step process of how I made Jaxson’s special Christmas stocking:

1. Instead of making one from scratch, I bought a plain – and large – red and white stocking.

I started with just a plain red and white stocking - it had a little holly already embroidered on it, so that was a bonus that suited my design idea well

2. With a thin marker, I sketched Jacson’s name on to get ready for embroidering it into the top part of the stocking

Marking the letters with a thin marker before embroidering the name helps to make sure the letters are nice and even and still have that handmade touch

3. The special design I wanted to make was to start putting Christmas pictures of Jaxson onto the stocking and adding new ones as he is growing up. So far – I had two of them and the way I did it was to create fabric transfers that I could put a nice simple border around and attach them to the stocking. Making your own fabric transfers is not difficult – you will need transfer sheet you can buy at any store that sells office supplies and follow directions on the package.

Transferring pictures onto a plain white piece of fabric was easy, using readily available transfer papers and a hot iron

4. Once I peeled the transfer paper off my pictures, I trimmed the shapes about 1/2″ from the edges and clipped out little notches, getting ready to edge and “frame the pictures, before attaching them to the stocking

Cutting out little notches in the fabric helps when you need to fold the fabric to edge the picture - it won't bunch up on you. I trimmed the picture with a crochet ribbon - easy to make from a pure white material that has a gold tread in it.

5. I decided to add a pretty trim to the stocking, between the white and red part – again just a simple crochet from fun material that is easily purchased from a craft store. You can buy ready made trim of your choice and tack it on with either small stitches or fabric glue.

There are a lot of fun materials you can work with available - the one I used here is a yarn made of different colour little balls with pieces of yarn in between. As you work with it, the balls become connected - fun!

6. And then I attached Jaxson’s pictures to the stocking:

You will need to put a piece of cardboard into the stocking as you are attaching the pictures to make sure your stitches don't catch the back of the stocking. My special stocking now has Jaxson's first and second Christmas - and next year, I will be attaching Christmas #3 for him.

7. Here is what the stocking looks like when completed – with hopes of lots of special memories to come!

One of a kind special stocking for my grandson - with hopes of many special memories to come

8. And here are the two additions to Jaxson’s special stocking :

"Mommy" and "Daddy" stockings - because they deserve the special little goodies that Jaxson can put it for them - I know they have been very very good!

I hope my personal story will inspire you to take a little time and start creating your very own special Christmas memories.

Please send me your comments, suggestions, experiences and pictures – I love sharing with everyone and hope that you do as well!

Have a wonderful Holiday Season!

You can buy festive eggnog in a carton at your local supermarket, or you can make thick and delicious one yourself. It’s easy and it’s very good! Here is my favourite recipe for you:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of milk
• 1-1/3 cups of sugar
• 12 egg yolks
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of bourbon or rum (optional)
• Ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk milk and sugar together over medium heat, until sugar is dissolved – about 2 minutes
2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks
3. Whisking constantly, pour hot mixture into yolks in a slow and steady stream
4. Return mixture to pan, cook over medium-low, stirring often, until mixture is think enough to coat back of a spoon – 20-25 minutes. Do not let simmer.
5. Quickly strain into a bowl
6. Stir in bourbon or rum and chilled heavy cream
7. Cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled
8. Garnish with ground nutmeg just before serving

Hope you enjoyed this recipe, please send me your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

You can make your very own Christmas stockings and add a special touch to each one. Use them to decorate with, fill with treats and give as gifts!

Here is a really cute idea! You can easily turn woolen socks into one of a kind Christmas stockings – imagine hanging them on your mantel or accenting your armoire with them.

All you have to do is find the woolen stockings you like, and think how you can complement their look. Adding flannel patches, pieces of wool materials, trims, buttons, bells or a fringe will make these your very own. Most items can be stitched on by using a darning needle and narrow ribbon, yarn or cotton.

Adding a name is easy as well – here are 3 easy steps for you:

Insert a cardboard liner cut slightly larger than the sock, into the sock before decorating. THe liner will prevent stitching chatching the back of the sock

Stitvh letter, using yearn and back stitches - it may be a good idea to mark your letter on the sock first - easier to keep them the same size

Knot a loop of ribbon through top of sock for a hanger. You can put small treats into your sock or stuff it with a tissue paper or polyester fiberfill if you are using it for a decor.

And here is a very cute idea – making stocking for your four-legged friends and filling them with some treats!

treat your pets this Christmas as well - they know they have been good!

Hope you will enjoy making your own Christmas stockings – please send me your comments, suggestion and experiences – and pictures – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

You can go to pretty much any store and buy a very nicely decorated wreath. I checked a few yesterday and every one of them had something I would have done differently for one thing – the other thing is that the cost of decorated wreaths shocked me! You can buy a plain green wreath for under $10 – look at the decorated ones and the price tag jumps up to $40 and up! i actually saw a wreath that was selling for $90 and it didn’t even have lights on it! So – here is a solution:

First – go through your Christmas decorations and pick pieces that you would like to have on your wreath – set them aside. Then – venture out into your local store (Walmart will do nicely and you will save a few bucks too) and buy a plain artificial wreath and a basic set of mini lights if you want to light up your wreath. The alternative is taking a walk a picking up evergreen branches and then making a really nice, natural wreath – I am actually thinking about doing that.

Then sit down with all your stuff and start creating your very own wreath! And do not worry or get discouraged – remember that if you are not happy with what you are doing – just change it!

Wreaths can be embellished to achieve a variety of looks. You can add ribbons, ornaments, floral materials – anything that will reflect your personal style and add to the theme of your home Christmas decor.Artificial evergreen wreaths are very easy to decorate – you just simply twist the branches around each item to secure them – or use floral wire or hot glue to do that.

Start with using one item at a time, spacing them evenly around the wreath to achieve a balanced look. Add the large items first and fill any bare spaces with smaller ones. Secure items at  the surface as well as closer to inside of your wreath – that is to achieve a sense of depth.

And if you are going to put mini lights on – put them on first, light them and work your other items around them – you will be able to see better what the final result will be.

Here are a few ideas for you:

Artificial evergreen garland is wrapped around a grapevine wreath. A natural look is created by adding birch bark and twig birdhouses, artificial birds and stems of rose hips.

Santa's elf wreath is created by wiring a small elf (or choose another of your liking) figurine to this wreath, creating a focal point. Dried fruit slices, cinnamon sticks and paper twist are added to give this wreath a nice country look

Create this elegant wreath by first attaching a gold wire mesh bow to the top and then adding metal ornaments. This wreath works very well with the addition of mini lights.

Village house becomes the focal point on this wreath. Additional springs of greenery, cones and berries add texture and fullness. For the snowy effect, spray artificial snow over polyester fiberfill

I think these are beautiful wreaths and consider this: if you are still thinking about how to decorate your tree – extend the wreath decorating ideas  - they could be easily applied to that task!

Hope you have enjoyed this information, please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – and pictures as well! – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

As you can imagine, I have always been the one to make as many special Christmas gifts as time and energy would allow. My boys had shelves full of sweaters, hats, scarfs, handmade blankets in every room…. and eventually the rest of my family did as well. It really was time to start coming up with new and different things to create. So for the last couple of years, I have been making special gift baskets and gift boxes, creating unique sweaters for puppies (some with matching scarfs for mommies) and this year, I added my good old-fashioned recipes,pre-packaged nicely in jars or gift bags. And then – with some help from my son – the Mama-Knows online store was born.

Let me tell you a little bit about some of the products.

First - The Recipes in a Jar – it is a group of products that I am very proud of. Mainly because I am so very comfortable that everyone will love them. I have been told many, many times that I make wicked Chili, the best ever Butter tarts, very popular and frequently sought after Chocolate Chip Cookies, great Soups and even my two and half year old grandson checks with me every single time if I am bringing him Muffins.

Each one of these products is now packaged either in a glass jar or a nice gift bag, with a folder that includes the recipe and step-by-step directions. And you can check out all the products in the Mama Knows Online Store

Mama Knows Good Old Fashioned Chili - this jar contains 5 different kinds of beans and my very own premised spices and seasonings. It will make over 20 servings and is great to freeze.

Good Old Fashioned Chili in a Bag - same content as in the jar and of course - every product comes with a special folder with recipe and step by step directions

I have also created Gift Baskets – from the ones filled with cookies and chocolates, to one for the person that likes to bake (that one has a gift bag with my very own Chocolate Chip Cookies mix included) to a special one for the dog lover and another one for the Pasta Lover

Hope this give you a few ideas as to how you can make your very own special Christmas Gifts – and if you want to make it easy on yourself – you can just visit my online store and buy them from me!

For the baker on your list - festive cookie container filled with Betty Crocker utensils and my very own Chocolate Chip Cookie mix

For the Dog Lover - Ceramic food dish, filled with doggie goodies, including a frisbee and treats.

Perfect for you to share with others - whether they are your co-workers or employees or friends. Pretty festive red bowl filled with selections of cookies. chocolates. herbal teas, hot chocolate and candies

Great selection of items that will delight pasta lover on your list - all packaged in a white colander and of course - beautifully wrapped

There is a whole lot more items in the Mama-Knows online store – check them out today!

You already know that I love cranberries! And this time of the year is just perfect for adding them into all kinds of recipes. The topping is made by simply baking cranberries placed in layer over sugar and spices at the bottom of the pan.As the cake bakes, sugar caramelizes, forming a rich syrup. You can add sweetened whip cream that will make a perfect combination to this lovely spicy dessert.  I am going to include this treat in my holiday menu for sure! Hope you like it too – Enjoy!

Cranberry Upside Down Cake:

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of allspice
• 1-3/4 – 2 cups of cranberries
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups of flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the centre
2. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with about 2 tablespoons of butter
3. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of sugar with cinnamon and allspice
4. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over bottom of pan
5. Arrange cranberries in a single layer on top
6. With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy
7. Add egg and vanilla, beat until well combined
8. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt
9. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, until well combined
10. Spoon batter over cranberries in pan and smooth top
11. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake cake until toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean – 30-35 minutes
12. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes
13. Run a knife around the edge and invert the cake onto a rimmed platter

Hope you will enjoy this recipe – please send me your comments anytime – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

Let’s say you have bread in your kitchen that is a bit dry and a few apples in your fruit basket that are no longer the greatest for biting into; Here is what you can do and create a great tasting dessert for your family!

Apple Raisin Bread Pudding:

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter (4 melted, 2 cold, plus a bit more, softened for baking dish
• 5 cups of milk
• 6 large eggs
• 1-12/ cups of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons of grated orange zest
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• About 1 lb. of bread, day old buns of baguette, torn into small pieces
• 2-3 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish
3. In a large bowl, whisk together milk,. eggs, sugar, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and add bread
4. Cover with plastic wrap and weigh down with another bowl
5. Let stand until bread is soaked through – about 20 minutes
6. Fold in apples, raisins and 4 tablespoons of melted butter
7. Pour into prepared baking dish
8. Dot top of the bread pudding with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter
9. Bake until pudding is set and lightly brown on top – about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
10. Serve warm and it is great when you add vanilla ice cream or fresh whipping cream

Hope you will enjoy this recipe – please send me your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

Here is why I like Butter Cookies (aside of the obvious fact that they are delicious!) – you can make different varieties of final shapes and finishes and it looks like you have baked a great selection. And it can be all done from one basic dough.

Here is the recipe:

Old Fashioned Butter Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar
• 1 cup of col unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Optional:
• Egg wash: 1 large egg white beaten with 2 teaspoons of water
• Decorating sugar and sprinkles

Directions:

1. Place flour, sugar, butter and salt in a bowl of a food processor and process until mixture is the texture of course oatmeal. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this with a fork
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and vanilla and with motor running, add to food processor. If you are not using food processor, using electric mixer on a low speed will do the job as well.
3. Process until dough forms
4. Making cut out Sugar Cookies
5. Divide dough in a half and form into two ½ inch thick discs
6. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm – about 1 hour
7. Preheat oven to 350F
8. On a piece of floured waxed paper, roll out one disc to a 3/16 inch thickness and chill again
9. Repeat with the remaining dough
10. Flouring cutters ads you are working along, cut dough into desired shapes and carefully transfer to baking sheets
11. Re-chill rolled out dough it if gets difficult to work with
12. If you plan to decorate your cookies, brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar or decorative sprinkles
13. Bake cookies until edges are firm – not brown – 15-20 minutes
14. Cool for couple of minutes on the baking sheets and cool completely on a rack

Incredibly delicious Cinnamon Loaf - fresh and warm, straight from the oven - talk about comfort food!

I am very happy to share this recipe with all of you – as my new friend Selina Joyce from Alberta, Canada shared it with me. Joyce enjoys visiting my website and was kind enough to take some time to send me a personal note,letting me know how much she enjoys what I do and telling me her story. I very quickly discovered that we have a lot in common – especially when it comes to creating special family moments and future heirlooms. Very much like Joyce, I have also created personal cookbooks – full of handwritten recipes and stories attached to them and gave them to my sons. Some of the recipes had to be literally re-created, since both my grandma and my mom cooked as you would say “from their heads” and I have learned to do the same. Joyce sent me this Cinnamon Loaf Recipe – it comes from her grandmother, who used to make it for her when she was a little girl. Grandma passed away at a beautiful age of 105-1/2 and I totally understand why this recipe became so special – the Cinnamon Loaf is not only delicious beyond belief – it also fills the house with incredibly comforting aroma of cinnamon and vanilla.

Thanks you Joyce – and we are all looking forward to more recipes from you!

Old Fashioned Cinnamon Loaf:

Ingredients:

• ¼ Cup of Shortening or Butter (I used butter)
• 1 Cup of Sugar
• 2 Cups of Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
• ½ Teaspoon of Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
• 1 Teaspoon of  Salt
• 1 Cup Sour Milk (To sour fresh milk, just add a  tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice)
• 3.4 cups of raisins (optional)
• Vanilla Sugar (optional)

As I always say - it is a great idea to prepare all your needed ingredients first - it really makes cooking or baking much easier - and you won't forget to add a thing!

Cream sugar and butter first, then add eggs and beat until fluffy - it only takes a few minutes

Mix your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then add them alternately with milk to creamed butter and sugar.

Mix until thoroughly blended.

Adding mixed dry ingredients alternatively with milk - I used wooden spoon, since I didn't want my raisins to get chopped up by electric mixer

Put half of the mixture into loaf pan that you have greased with butter and lightly floured to prevent sticking.

Sprinkle about 1/2 the topping over the batter.

I chose to use half of the cinnamon/brown sugar mix after putting the batter into baking pan and the other half on the top - you can do it either way

Add rest of the mixture on top and swirl through with a spoon or a butter knife.

Sprinkle with vanilla sugar if desired

I used glass loaf pan to be able to take picture showing the cinnamon mixture half way in the batter

Alternatively, you can put all the cinnamon.brown sugar in after the first half of batter, top with remaining batter and swirl with a spoon of butter knife. I chose to create a bit of a cinnamon.vanilla crust, that is why I topped the loaf with remaining topping.

Putting some of the cinnamon.brown sugar mix on top and adding vanilla sugar will create a delicious crust - but you can put all the mixture after first layer of batter and then just swirl with a spoon or a butter knife.

Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

In the oven - let the baking begin and let that wonderful aroma fill the house!

Cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a rack and cool

This is now definitely one of my favourite recipes!

This Cinnamon Loaf tastes incredible – especially when you serve it still warm !

Hope you enjoy this recipe and thank you again Joyce! I will be happy to post your recipe, please send me your favourites – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!