Every year my children love to take cupcakes into school for all of their friends. These are this years cupcakes.
All of the cupcakes were topped with edible glitters and really gave off a lovely sparkle.
This year i also made some cupcakes just for all of the teachers and staff at my children’s school. These were put in the staff room for everyone to enjoy.
Source::http://robertcargill.com/2010/12/16/a-christmas-tree-so-tacky-glenn-beck-would-be-proud/
Boss Creations Glowing Cross "Put the Cross back in Christmas" Trees. Now in "Natural" and "American Flag"
I simply don’t know what to say about this line of merchandise. A company, Boss Creations, has tried to put the ‘cross’ back in Christmas by selling Christmas trees with actual glowing crosses in them!!
And just when you thought Santa’s special troop of fundamentalist tacky elves couldn’t get any worse, Boss Creations has gone and Glenn Beck-ified Christmas by creating a red, white, and blue American flag Christmas tree, complete with glowing cross. Boss Creation’s new ‘Christian Nation’ Christmas tree (I kid you not, I’m not making this up) means they’ve gotten back to the true meaning of Christmas and put the ‘America’ back into Christmas.
(John 11:35)
Seriously?The existence of this product has forced me to create a new blog category entitled HOLY CRAP, because that is literally what garbage like this is: HOLY CRAP! Or, like Steven Colbert said, “It’s like George Washington and Jesus teamed up and declared independence from taste.”
They even took the time to write President Obama a letter. (I wonder if they’re Republicans?)
HT: Steven Colbert and Steven Colbert.
5. I Am Scrooge: A Zombie Story for Christmas
Was Tiny Tim’s disease something more sinister? Also, Jacob Marley has never been more frightening.
4. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies: A Book of Zombie Christmas Carols
Hopefully containing The Little Drummer Boy (was delicious) by Brains Crosby and Dead Bowie.
3. The Last Christmas
Written by Brian Posehn, its Santa vs. the post apocalypse.
2. A Very Zombie Christmas
Comic from 1990, before the current zombie craze. Get it while its still cheap.
1. The Bible
Oh, I went there. I apologize, but had to take the cheap joke. Merry Christmas one and all.Share this:DiggFacebookRedditStumbleUponbook, books, brains, Christmas, comic, Comic book, comic books, comics, humor, Jesus, jokes, parody, zombie, zombies
VA - Io Canto Christmas (2010)
Genre: Christmas Songs | 1CD | MP3 320 kbps | 118 MB
L'amore fa miracoli (Cristian Imparato e Mattia Rossi)
Jingle Bell Rock (Francesco Pugliese)
White Christmas (Sara Musella e Alessandro Casillo)
Jingle Bells (Roberta Cassarino, Anna Volpato, Carol Olivo, Anna Carone, Angela Tesoro, Giada Indino, Fatima Deodato, Ilaria Paolicelli e Maya Pueri)
Happy XMas (Alessia Labate, Federica Bensi e Alessandro Casillo)
Santa Claus is coming to town (Simone Frulio, Enrico Nadai, Alessandro Casillo, Kevan Gulia e Kevin Peci)
O Holy Night (Benedetta Caretta e Cristian Imparato)
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow (Andreea Olariu e Ilaria Paolicelli)
Silent Night (Stefania Tesoro e Danica Muscat)
All I want for Christmas is you (Andreea Olariu)
Ave Maria (Benedetta Caretta, Andreea Olariu e Elvya Garofano)
You raise me up (Federica Bensi, Benedetta Caretta, Andreea Olariu, Cristian Imparato, Mattia Rossi e Alessandro Casillo e Mirco Pio Coniglio)
Childhood (Cristian Imparato)
We love local government and we also love Christmas!Christmas is a funny time in all workplaces; and none less so than in Local Government. Here are five things to look out for:
1) Christmas decorations from the last century. Strangely this was happening even before the age of austerity taught us all that recycling was better than aimlessly spending money on such cheerfulness. Often, this is because the decorations have been bought by one or two members of staff and to throw them away would basically be an insult to them. I love this sort of kitsch-ness so would happily use the decorations for the next century: maybe I’ve been in local government too long!
2) Christmas parties will be organised with teams that you probably don’t know and with people you’ve never met. The key determinant here is who the manager (or party organiser) gets along with. Thus parties involving IT, legal and adults social care are not uncommon. Again, I find this strangely refreshing; am I getting old?
3) Because all people are paying for their own way in these parties there will be disagreements about the type of event should be organised. This will vary from those who want a few drinks and some peanuts in the local boozer all the way through to those who want to do cocktails, dinner, drinks, a show and then some trendy nightclub which we’re all too old for. Inevitably we end up meeting in the middle either through negotiation or because one person simply takes control and decides for us. I prefer it that way!
4) Every member of our team will bring in sweets, crisps, cakes, biscuits, oranges, mince pies, breakfast and any other food with over 100 calories per bite and then share them. Equally, every member will say constantly that they are over-eating but somehow each day the pile of food will be gone ready to be replaced the next morning.
5) There will be a general feeling of goodwill amongst staff. Even this year when nearly everyone I know is under the threat of redundancy Christmas decorations, food and parties have helped lift the spirit of us all. And long may it continue!
We love Christmas!
Today was a very, very busy day for fracas; it was one of those days where you start running right from the get-go and it doesn’t stop until, well… now. Now being oh, 11:41 pm.
This morning, when getting ready to leave the fraccy house, I had to make sure Mr. Frac was made aware of one very important and obvious (to me) fact. Oh, it wasn’t that I had dragged my sorry behind out of bed, made a nutritious lunch on homemade bread for the fraccy student, and organized myself so that I had my to-do list (actually a purse sized notebook) ready with a complete list of where I had to go, what I had to do and what I needed to purchase that day. The most important fact that needed to be pointed out at 8:00 am this morning, was that I am able to get myself ‘ready’ in about 5 or 10 minutes, ‘ready’ including getting dressed, brushing teeth, washing face, applying makeup and ‘doing’ hair.
I would bet this is less time than many of you men out there take.
So pardon me if I chuckle at Santa here. I can get ready faster than he can, and could probably show him a thing or two about organizing his ‘giant man-purse’.
I know.
Once upon a time not so long ago in Kerala, the Christmas Day table was a smorgasbord of homemade wine, painstakingly roasted duck and fresh toddy appams among the delicacies. But the times have changed and the meal, still delightful, has undergone a makeover with the menu now tailored to suit busy, westernised lifestyles.
So, the table is now groaning under the weight of turkey meat, in keeping with more western tastes, appams made with the more convenient coconut milk and the quicker beef stew instead of roast beef.
"The influence of the western world has seen the entry of turkey meat in Kochi, especially during the Christmas season and this has replaced traditional duck roast normally served during Christmas lunch," Kochi-based Nimmy Paul, a homemaker and cookery expert who specialises in Syrian Christian dishes and also conducts cooking classes for foreign tourists, told IANS.
Another change is the absence of domestic helps, who could be seen scurrying around homesteads along with the women of the house getting ready for the big day.
"Today that category is gone. It is because of this reason that on Christmas Day many families either arrive at hotels or order from hotels," said Paul.
The central districts of Kerala - home to a large number of Christians who make up 22 percent of the states 32 million population - mark Christmas with the maximum fanfare. Catholics are the dominant group, comprising 50 percent of the Christians in the state, followed by the Orthodox Church with a population of around 2.5 million. Jacobites, Mar Thoma, the Church of South India and the Pentecostal churches make up the rest.
Another change is in the breakfast menu on Christmas with the traditional Kallu appam (made with toddy and a paste of coconut in the shape of a small dosa) giving way to the laced appam, made using coconut milk.
"Yes, the change has taken place because these days fresh toddy is not easy to get," said Molly Cherian, a housewife in Thiruvalla. She adds that beef roast for Christmas Day breakfast has been replaced with chicken or mutton stew.
Other staples for breakfast are steamed banana, cake and halwa.
Lunch has also seen the advent of fish as a main dish.
"In my younger days, a variety of meat dishes ranging from beef curry, chicken curry and even pork were the main dish apart from vegetable dishes like stir fried vegetables made with onion and garlic seasoning and grated coconut. Today, cooking for many has become a laborious process. Hence, many people go for chicken or mutton biryani," said retired banker Varghese George, who is also an accomplished cook.
Old timers also recall with nostalgia the ritual around making wine at home when the buzz would begin in October itself.
"I remember my mother used to make sure that by the end of October latest the grape wine was prepared and kept for fermenting because it required nearly 45 days for the wine to be ready. These days, wine making is no longer an activity except for those who have taken it up as a business. Today we simply buy the wine," Saramma Joseph told IANS.
With the food focus moving from the home to the market, confectioneries are making a killing.
"The biggest change over the years has been the increase in the variety of cakes. Not long ago there were just three cakes - plum, tea and a cake with hard icing. Today, we ourselves make around 15 varieties," said Prithviraj, who hails from the popular Mampally family in Tellichery and runs the Best Bakery chain.
Costs had gone up, he said, with one kg of plum cake selling at Rs.175, up from Rs.160 last Christmas.
But the Christmas spirit can take care of that.
(Sanu George can be contacted at sanu.g@ians.in)
