A Hot Cuppa of Time

There's nothing like a snuggly blanket, a good book and a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate when the weather turns cold.  Sharing a quiet moment with the necessities makes life worth while, don't you agree?  I've been thinking about this very thing while our friends in the northeast have been affected by power outages and Sandy's wrath.  (Sending prayer for toasty goodness to our friends up north!)

Life gets so hectic sometimes that we often forget the little things in life that make life worth living.  We start off the year welcoming it in with wide expectant arms and a to-do list a mile long.  Valentine's Day arrives and we're toasting the loves of our lives.  Fast forward to Easter and peeps overflowing baskets of treats.  Memorial Day arrives with a nod to our fallen heroes.  July 4th celebrates our quest for freedom. On Veteran's Day we thank those who've given us the opportunity to grab that snuggly blanket, sit still, and enjoy our freedoms.  (Special thanks to my rogue who served our nation for 22 1/2 years, my two sons and nephew!)  Then on Thanksgiving we're thankful for all the many gifts in our lives until Christmas and New Year's Eve arrives and we start it all again.

Though we enjoy all these moments, we cannot help but be overwhelmed at times.  And while the world gears up for Black Friday, which means, as commericials attest, that the mad holiday crush is almost upon us again, we make lists and plan.  And as is typical with each holiday season, we tend to get caught up in the day to day grind without taking time to recharge batteries or enjoy the little things... like time spent with ourselves.

So in honor of enjoying the simple life and getting cozy with a book, I want to share one of my ultimate favorite recipes for something that is sure to fix you right up— my family's Hot Chocolate recipe. 

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 lb. confectioner's sugar
8 quarts powdered milk
2 cups regular sugar
1 lb. Coffeemate
1 2 lb. box of Nestle's Quick or Hershey's Instant
Marshmellows (opt)

Mix together and put into containers.  Use 2-3 heaping Tbsp.'s per cup and hot water.

This makes a LOT of hot chocolate mix, so be sure to have some ziplock containers or pretty sealed jars at hand. 

From my house to yours, may you all experience the snuggly comfort of a soft blanket and a good story.  Stay warm!

Katherine
Duke by Day, Rogue by Night Available Now
www.katherinebone.com

Oh! It’s My Favorite!

My favorite time of the year, that is!  Really, my favorite times of the year are a Snow Day, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving or my Birthday.  However, there’s one more day that’s just as spectacular.  And that day is…School Supply Shopping Day!  WooHoo! I do love me some school supplies.  Of course, being a writer, I must have office supplies.   Fun, whimsical entertaining office supplies like my high heeled pink shoe tape dispensers.  There’s one for magic tape and one for double sided tape, because you must have a pair of shoes, right?  Of course, there’s the matching sticky note purse sitting on my desktop, too. 

 

What’s more fun than a brand new box of Crayola Crayons?  Especially at fifty-four cents per box!  They’re all lined up in that production line order of color, with clean, pointed tips, and all in one piece.  They’re wrappers are fully intact.  They have those reliable color names we’ve all become attached to. Though, it still gets under my skin a little that the beloved Periwinkle is not included in the box of 24.  Sigh.

 

Anyway, I love that the Crayola Company leaves me just enough room to hand write my children’s name on the crayon next to the color name.  I know it sounds ridiculously anal of me to do that, but I learned years ago that that one little extra effort gives my kids a very serious sense of ownership and they take care of them better because their mommy labeled each and every color just for them.  So I cowgirl up and do it. Stephanie’s probably rolling her eyes at me right now!  Ha!  It’s okay.  I’ll still do it.  It’s mommy-daughter tradition now.

My next favorite school supply is closely related to the crayon and that’s the brand new box of markers.  Now this is where my inner five year old and inner 15 year old self can agree, as well as my outer 35? year old.  : D  See, Washable Markers have incredible qualities.  Like face painting and watercoloring and washing out of my clothes, too.  Regular Markers are equally good for things you don’t want to wash out as easily.  Like maybe a poster or a craft project.  But then you move up to the indelible, the magnificent Sharpie 24 Pack that has every little artist's dream wrapped up tightly in permanent color fixation.  Oh how I love me some colored markers!

And folks, that’s just the tip of the list!  The supplies go on and on with pencils and pens, sticky notes, lined notebook paper, folders, glue sticks, spirals, and so much more!  This year’s big purchase for me is college books.  Not fun.  But my favorite office supply purchase is the iPoint Evolution Pencil Sharpener!  Well…?  I needed one for my colored pencils.

 

Do you like shopping for school supplies or office supplies?  What’s your favorite item?  And here's the big question...

What's your favorite crayon color?