The Christmas Story

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The Christmas Story

Luke 2:1-20 New International Version (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Crabby Housewife

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Super Easy French Bread

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Super Easy French Bread

French bread is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. This bread goes perfect with pasta or soup. However, making it takes forever. I like to make my own bread when I can to control the ingredients, limit the sugar in it, and use whole ingredients.

Please pardon my photos. They aren’t the best in the world and I cut the bread in half to make sure the center was done before snapping the pictures. It was done and delicious, by the way.

I started to look for a solution to bake my own French bread without having to knead it, let it rise, punch it down, knead some more. That’s so much work and this isn’t the 1950s.

Here is the recipe I came up with based on my old recipe books, some trial and error and looking at other bread machine recipes I had on hand. The result was a tasty, simple bread that paired perfectly with our dinner.

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Super Easy French Bread
Author: Crabby Housewife
Ingredients
  • 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour can use bread flour if that is what you have on hand
  • 1 packet yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water
Instructions
  1. Add flour to your bread machine baking insert.
  2. Make a small crater in the center of the flour and pour yeast packet inside.
  3. Sprinkle sugar on top of yeast.
  4. Add salt and baking powder around outside edge of crater.
  5. Pour water on top and set bread machine to "dough" setting.
  6. When bread machine is finished, divide dough in half and shape into long, narrow loaves.
  7. Cover and let rise 60-90 minutes more.
  8. Bake at 450-degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes (about 20 in a gas oven and about 25 in electric) or until crust is golden brown.
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DIY Last Minute Christmas Gifts to Make

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DIY Last Minute Christmas Gifts to Make

If you’ve procrastinated until this point, you may almost be in a panic. Christmas is this week and you don’t have gifts for anyone. However, there are still some unique gifts you can make that people will not only appreciate but won’t throw you into debt as you enter a new year.

Jarred Bath Salts

Bath salts are very easy to make with just a couple of ingredients. Put them in a Mason jar or pretty glass container and you have an elegant gift that any woman on your gift list will appreciate. Simply purchase plain epsom salt or sea salt and an essential oil fragrance. Be careful with the essential oils you use. I’m just getting into essential oils, but you do need to be careful with anything you put on your skin. Lavender is a mildly scented, pleasing oil that works well for creating jarred bath salts.

As a disclaimer, I did sign up recently to purchase Young Living essential oils as a distributor. If you are looking into essential oils, I believe these are high quality. However, you can also purchase high quality oils elsewhere. It just depends on your preference. I’m enjoying trying out my oils for different things at the moment, such as creating bath salts.

Old Sweater Mittens

I saw a post, including a video tutorial on taking those old sweaters that you no longer want or that don’t fit and making them into cute mittens. This is a fairly quick project and mittens are always a useful gift for the youngest on your gift list to the oldest.

Get the instructions at Creme de la Craft.

Recipe on Wood Cutting Board

You can also purchase custom boards with names on Groupon, but I love this idea of taking an old family recipe and sharing it on a cutting board. This gift is great as a housewarming gift, a wedding, or Christmas. You can read the details about this idea at Nutfield Geneology, but if you are handy with a woodburning tool, you could easily create this yourself.

Wooden Brooch

These would be cute gifts for sorority sisters or teens. You simply use some small blocks of wood, glue, an image you love and some mod-podge. The hardest part of these is waiting for the glue to dry. However, within a day you could have a nice collection of little trinkets for a gift exchange or a small present. What I love about this craft is that you can personalize it to suit the person you are making it for.

Get the instructions on Homemade Gifts Made Easy.

As a side note, she also has a really great tutorial on making ceramic coasters that would be a good gift for anyone.

Clementine Wreaths

These make great gifts for neighbors, friends, or a host of a Christmas party. Who doesn’t love clementines? Since you can buy them in bulk, you can make a lot of these for very cheap. You could also do nuts, apples, etc.

You can get the tutorial at Omiyage Blogs.

Hope these ideas help save you from your Christmas shopping procrastination. I’ll let you go so you can go get started on your gifts. Merry Christmas!

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Make Your Own Grommet Curtains

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Make Your Own Grommet Curtains

Grommet curtains offer a custom look to rooms, but I often find that the selection is limited on the patterns and styles available. Add something like needing room darkening abilities and it is almost impossible to find a design that matches your personal tastes and decor.

The best design and instructions I’ve found are at One Good Thing by Jillie. She covers how to measure, cut, sew a simple seam and add the grommets. We are in the process of redecorating, so I can’t wait to sew up some new curtains for my bedroom and later my living room.

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Saving Money with Tiny Packets of Parmesan Cheese

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Saving Money with Tiny Packets of Parmesan Cheese

On Friday nights, we often have pizza for dinner. Sometimes I make it from scratch, sometimes it is frozen and sometimes we go ahead and order Pizza Hut. Tonight was a Pizza Hut night as oldest was home from school and we wanted to treat ourselves and her a bit. The guy at the counter asked if we wanted any Parmesan cheese packets and my husband said sure. This young man loaded us down with enough packets to last a month. Or, maybe we just don’t use as much as other people. Whatever the case I wasn’t about to waste all that cheese. Continue reading Saving Money with Tiny Packets of Parmesan Cheese

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