Quick weekend recap

A bit behind ... came home later than expected yesterday after a very mentally exhausting weekend - preparation weekend/last practical module (and first for me in about 2.5 years!) before the final exam/before I am going to re-sit the 3rd part of the exam. :) 

I went through to Glasgow Airport (the module took place at the Holiday Inn there) on Friday courtesy of Citylink Buses (and the price has gone up considerably for a open return ticket!!). Felt like I didn't study enough (and I probably didn't, but confessed that immediately to the tutor) -  but fortunately the knowledge which was dormant for the last 3-ish years is still there ... just hiding in the "cupboard" of my brain! :)  Been doing revision both Friday and Saturday evening though.

Had a very good tutor, and I am glad that Sports Rehab & Education has added this practical module (Module V), which did not exist when I sat the exam ... and failed one part. I am more confident to resit now, and should be ok once I have brushed up on my A (Anatomy) and P (Physiology).

The exam is on 20 January 2010!!!

Will be busy until Saturday so am not sure if I can post the JYC entries via the calendar option tomorrow morning before the rush starts ... otherwise you'll have to wait until Sunday. :)

Haven't had time to do the entry for Day 6 yet either ... :o Cannae wait until next Monday when I  will have more time to get organised for Christmas etc. ;)

Journal Your Christmas Day 5 "Counting Down"

Advent Calendars today ... and I have the same ones each year, including a crafty one from Dani's Forum (German Scrappers). But yes, usually the wooden Tree one, a chocolate one (this year DH and I agreed to share one - just for the diet! ;) So we get the choc on alternate days) and my tea one. The latter might sound funny, but my German tea shop "Der Teeladen" has an advent calendar where you get a tea probe (testing package for just one pot) each day - different flavours. I LOVE that one! :)  Makes me take some time out as well.

My mum gave me one of the Makramee Advent calendars she's made waaaayyyy back when I was about 10 or so. I had planned to put the Scrapbooking Advent calendar on it, but unfortunately most packages don't have any way of attaching it. Ah well, maybe next year ... I actually got it from her (she's got another one for my big sis) for future kids ... but yeah... well... that still has to wait a bit. :( 

So ... what advent calendar/s do YOU have?

Journal Your Christmas Day 4 "Perfect Christmas"

Mmmh... somehow I am feeling a bit a cheater with all those archived entries ... but on the other hand ... things this year are just not working out just yet for a quiet and relaxing Advent/Christmas ... so there! :P LOL. And there will be lots of original 2009 entries later on. :D Promised!

Journal Your Christmas Day 3 "Christmas Cards"

Fresh from the Archives ...

Today's prompt is CARDS. As for this year's cards ... none made, but hoping to catch up Sunday/Monday for that. ;)

Slight difference this year? Scout Post in Edinburgh is no more... :( And I am wondering with the whole lot going on and money situation I am going to cut down on the cards being sent by mail - will resort to E-mail ones this year mostly I think.

Quick update...

just before I start studying for a bit. ;)

Got my granny's Vanilla Crescent (courtesy of my sis). :) So will do some baking Sunday/Monday or later next week. :)

Still hardly any presents done/bought ... needs to be sorted by Sunday/Monday for the overseas people.

Got a headache... typical. :o

Further update later on, really need to get some studying done now.

Journal Your Christmas Day 2 - "Weather"

Ok... another archived JYC entry ... ;) I just don't have time this year to do them new. :o Far too much stuff on, and Christmas just sneaked up on me!! No cards done, no doors opened on my Advent calendars (bar the tea one of course!!).

Prompt was weather and we were encouraged to cut a snowflake. I just did a Quilling class that time and decided I try to quill a snowflake. The result is not half bad, eh? ;) Haven't really quilled anything since, but I have purchased a quilling book and will look into that again. :) 

The first "fresh" LO for JYC 2009 will be on the 6th I think. :) Then I have a couple random ones and then quite a lot still to do - at a time when things will be a bit quieter for me I hope.

Journal Your Christmas Day 1

Ok... that's the first entry I started in 2006 and finished in 2007. I am not going to make a new entry for this year as I finally want to finish this album (on it since 2005!!) - but I will be working on digi LOs from Jessica Sprague's Holidays in Hand class and post them here when I get the time.

Cookie Swap Blog train!!

If you've come here through the "Cookie Swap Blog Train" from Amber's Blog then you know why you've landed here... ;)  If you're one of my regular readers or just found my blog, you can read about this Blog train here.

If you would like to go to the front of the train and have a look at all the "carriages" please go to Lois' blog - she's the conductor! ;) 

I'm a sucker for Christmas Cookies ... never leave enough time to bake them though, and I always end up with the same ones.  My granny (dad's mum) used to do the baking for the whole family, and she always had TONS of cookies ready to go onto our "Bunte Teller" (a Christmas plate with cookies, chocolates, satsumas, apples - just everything. It's a selection plate of every Christmas sweet snack really. ;)  ).  She used to store them on her "Loggia" (balcony) in one of those seats with storage space. They were always nice and cool when we got them. 

My absolute favourite cookies are the "Vanilla Crescent". And though I have tried for years now I never ever get the same result as granny.  ... Neither does my big sis, for that matter. ;) 

This year I decided to start the baking early ... in the past years I always just did a quick batch on Christmas Eve, but this year I will start baking the first week in December ... I have a couple more people this year I can offload cookies at if we got too many. ;) 

 So... here is a recipe for Vanilla Crescents (or "Vanillekipferl" in the original) - I have stashed my granny's recipe away somewhere safe and cannot find it again... :o My sis will check her books and send me an e-mail but that will be most likely tomorrow or later this week . So I might post my granny's recipe later together with a photo of my own results (instead of a web pic).  :) 

Vanilla Crescents without Egg (approx. 50)

                    
(photo source: ichkoche.at)


Ingredients:
250g Flour
200g Butter
100g Sugar
75g powdered Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2 packs of Bourbon-flavoured Vanilla Sugar
100g ground Almonds
2 Vanilla Beans 


Directions:

1. Mix the flour, vanilla sugar, powdered sugar, salt, almonds and butter. Knead into a smooth dough. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Form dough into finger-sized rolls and cut into approx. 5cm long pieces. Form into crescents and lay out on 2 baking sheets lined with waxed/baking paper.
3. In the meantime, slit open the vanilla beans lengthwise, scrape out the pulp and mix thoroughly with the sugar. Place in a shallow bowl.
4. Immediately after baking, roll the crescents in the vanilla sugar.

If you enjoyed my recipe and like the photo, please go to the next carriage, where Cate is already waiting with her recipe. ;)

Crafty Advent Calendar

Have you seen the new blinkie on my sidebar? The wonderful Katharina Fei of "Whiff of Joy" and her team will be providing a crafty Advent Calendar.

I LOVE her stamps - only got into them late this year ... and have to admit it's mostly Elizabeth Bell's stamps I like. They have put the Magnolia Stamps into the background now. ;)

Anyway - have a looksie at Katharina's Blog - she's giving away a surprise package!! :)

Advent Calendars Ready? NO!

I don't know... somehow I am a little out of sync with everything right now. Maybe it's the news about my job, maybe it's just me being generally not prepared whatsoever. And maybe it's the quick trip to York the weekend including first Advent. Or maybe it's me trying to get some studying in to get prepped for the preparation practical weekend for the Exam (most likely beginning/mid January).

I haven't got the Xmas decos down from the loft. I haven't got our advent wreath out, the first candle therefore wasn't lit yet.

Do I like it? NO - Not at all! :( . And it seems it's every year the same, Christmas is just creeping up at me ... that so doesn't work out with the advent time I had when I was a kid!!

I'll be doing a to-do list for this week, which will include about 3-4 hours studying every day plus other things.

Today my brain wasn't functioning for studying ... the cold is back with a vengeance, but this time we step away from the cough (it's still there, but only coming up sometimes) and now we're back to snotty/stuffy nose  - switching from blocked to runny at random.  
:(  Brain being cotton-wooley, so I had a look at the Tortora about 30 mins and that's that.

Made my way into town to meet up with my best (UK) friend Sharon to have a cuppa Chai Latte at  Caffe Nero's.  Even with Princes Street being opened again it is a round trip of 2.5 - 3 hours (which involved only 1 hour time with Sharon & her boyfriend!!).  I really hate that about Edinburgh!!!

But it was definitely good to have a quick catch up with Sharon again. :)