Dec 11
16
Elf Sightings — Week 3
Saturday (12/10) Hiding out in Mom’s old Motorcycle helmet. Cozy.
Sunday (12/11) Aww he brought balloons for Scott’s Birthday
Monday (12/12) Playing a game with Skull the Troll.
Tuesday (12/13) Elfley made a Lego fort.
Wednesday (12/14) Chilling out in the Christmas Village
Thursday (12/15) Doing an impersonation of King Kong?
Friday (12/16) Spending time with Santa, almost like home
Posted in Holidays by .
Dec 11
13
Pinterest Inspirations
Thank you Pinterest. Because of you, my friends and family think I’m a cooking, crafting, and DIY genius.
Winding up a lot of projects this week. All inspired from Pintrest. Have a look…
Topsy Turvy Gift Display — Inspired by That Village House
She used re-bar, where as I used a 5 foot metal pipe in a flange screwed into
a piece of MDF.
Also, I live in Seattle and my porch gets very wet. To keep it water ‘resistant’ I used a combination of vinyl Tablecloths (red), extra large gift wrap bags (snowmen) and poly wrap (metallic trees). I used extra large bows found at the dollar store to hide the pipe between the gaps.
Chalkboard Wine Glasses — Inspired by Just Short of Crazy
Pretty much followed her directions exactly. Lots of fun to do, and came out great. We’re not wine drinkers, so a set of eight of these are going into the raffle for my Chorus’ Christmas Show tonight
Movie Snack Pack — Inspired by While He Was Napping, The Macs, & Julie Case Designs
This was a melding of ideas of various bottled gifts. Using Frappachino bottles, adding a movie and dressing up the carrier, I made a cute gift pack. This one is also going into the raffle tonight.
Chocolate Covered Oreos — Inspired by Hip Hip Hooray
I went back and forth on adding a stick, but decided to pass this time. I used melted milk chocolate chips and added a few sprinkles.
These are going into the cookie sale at the show tonight.
Chocoalte covered rice crispy pops — Inspired by Twig & Thistle
Made mine shorter and added holiday sprinkles. Super simple and fun.
Also going to the cookie sale.
Dec 11
11
Elf on the Shelf Birthday Wishes
Happy Birthday to the man who not only puts up with
my silly antics, but actually enjoys them too. A man
who understands that sometimes craft projects come
before dishes, and who takes all my “mischief” with
a wink and a smile.
Posted in Holidays by .
Dec 11
9
Elf Sightings – Week 2
Having an elf in the house is lots of fun.
Saturday (12/3) Surprised the kids with a new Christmas themed coloring book. He did color in a self portrait.
Sunday (12/4) Was found sitting on the dining table reading stories to KCs action figures.
Monday (12/5) Camped out in KC’s Chore can. Hint maybe?
Tuesday (12/6) Hang gliding tour of the living room
Wednesday (12/7) Climbing up (or is it down?) the Christmas lights
Thursday (12/8) Upside down on the curtain rod
Friday (12/9) Cozy in a stocking.
…
Posted in Holidays by .
Dec 11
8
Week Catch-up
Been a busy week at our house. I’ve been putting up lots of decorations, and I’m still not done. I’d like to be done with the decorating by Monday. Then I want to sit back and just enjoy it all.
Of course after that I may starting baking. We’ll see.
Speaking of baking, I’m going to my first Cookie exchange party. I was invited by one of the Bus Stop Moms. I’m looking forward to it. And on top of that, I have 2 or 3 plates of treats I need to do for my Chrous’ Christmas Show. We sell goodies during intermission.
Yesterday we got our Christmas tree. The kids helped decorate it, even the 2 year old. I haven’t had a chance to *ahem” tweak it yet. So we have a big clump of decorations near the bottom. Hehe.
Tonight I’m going to my Husband’s company Christmas party. It’s at one of those fancy shmancy Grown Up theaters. Apparently the employees selected to watch Die Hard. What a bunch of geeks. I approve!
KC’s bento is a little Sandwich heavy. I was finishing with the sandwich wreath when he come up and request little Christmas trees with sprinkles too. What’s a Mom to do? Any way I love the festive corn chips. They’re sold at my local grocery store. They put them on an end-cap display and they don’t last long. I only got one bag for Halloween (orange and black), this time I grabbed four bags. Now I should have enough for bentos and guests.
Here are two other bentos from this week.
Christmas Wreath Bento
Bologna ‘wreath’ sandwich
Holiday corn chips
Mini bologna Christmas trees with marshmallow tree spacers.
. . 
I got the idea from Pintrest to make printable coupons for the kids to use as stocking stuffers.
I have “15 minute bedtime extension”, “Skip one chore”, “extra desert”, etc…
I figured while I was at it, I’d share. Enjoy.
Click the images above or use the links Here and Here.
Dec 11
2
Elf Locations – Week 1
Elfley is getting settled in. Here’s where we found him this week.
Sunday (11/27) Elfley surprised us by putting up lights in our dark hallway. They’re really pretty led lights. Mom likes the domed ones because they shine colored circles on the walls and floor.
Monday (11/28) He sat in with some lights and trees in the living room. I think the lights give him a festive glow. =)
Tuesday (11/29) We found Elfley on candle sconce, good thing he did that now. Once the tree goes up this won’t be a good spot.
Wednesday (11/30) Efley tried to ride Mom’s decoupaged “Christmas Cat”. The cat didn’t seem interested and I don’t think it Budged.
Thursday (12/1) Elfley brought out the Advent Calender. That was thoughtful.
Friday (12/2) Back up on the shelf. But it looks like he got to playing with the kid’s magnetic letters.
Posted in Holidays by .
Dec 11
2
Little Holiday Bento
I talked to KC yesterday about the contents of his bentos.
I wanted to be sure he knew he could tell me if he didn’t like something, or wanted anything that he see’s in other kid’s lunches.
So he requested “cold dogs” and cookies.
Well, no cookies today, maybe next time.
Little Holiday Bento
Hotdogs
Satsuma Oranges
Cheez-its
Fefse w/ Cinnamon and Splenda
Dec 11
1
Oh Christmas Tree Bento
Yesterday KC asked for some more of the “tiny bologna sandwiches” for his after school snack. So I decided to give him a bunch in his lunch today.
Decided to go with a Christmas Tree Theme today.
I got these cute tree silicone cups (and the gift ones from a couple of days ago), on clearance at Target last year. It comes in a big “kit”, but (in my opinion) the package costs more then the sum of it’s parts. So I was pretty happy to pick this up at a deep discount.
I think I saw them again this year. So you can pick them up now, or wait to see if they’re still around after the holiday.
Oh Christmas Tree Bento
Satsuma Oranges
Hershey’s Kisses
Wheat Thins
Snap Peas
Mini Bologna Sandwiches with Christmas Tree Marshmallows
Found my 4 square box. Hubby put it down with the plastic storage containers. What WAS he thinking? LOL.
My 2 year old likes to play in there, pull out the bowls, stack them, drum on them, etc… so it’s usually in complete disarray.
We have a lot of our decorations up. But I’m still not done yet. Oh no. I have one big lighting project to do (at nap times) and a couple of outdoor stuff. The tree won’t go up for a couple weeks yet. We like to wait so that it’s still Fresh-ish on Christmas.
But I got my (pinterest inspired) window display up, fireplace lights up, lights in KCs room, AND Mom and Dad’s room (yes really). Elfly even surprised us by putting lights up in our dark hallway.
Hubby still needs to put up his Christmas Village and Nativity. I’ll pester him this weekend.
So anyway, fairly simple bento, but with my new Christmas Picks and the 4 square box, it looks pretty cute.
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Bento
Satsuma Oranges and Hershey’s Kisses
Lefse Cinnamon Sugar Splenda rolls
Snap Peas
Ritz and White Cheddar Cheese
Nov 11
29
Candy Cane Bento
Running late this morning, I was a little worried I wouldn’t get a picture of this one.
I seemed to have misplaced my favorite box – the 4 square lock n lock. Need to dig around the cabinets in case hubbie put it away in the wrong spot.
This bento all comes from the fact that I wanted to bust out the new teeny candy cane icing decorations (see it there on the broccoli?)
I had a little trouble with the red stripes on the sandwiches. My food markers weren’t doing it, maybe they’re getting old. So instead I watered down some food coloring and painted them on with a clean brush. Looks great too! Yay improvisation.
Got out the door at the usual time, but the bus was early. So we had to run for it. Us, and two other families.
Got a verbal invite to a cookie party from one of the bus stop moms. I’ve never done one before. It sounds fun, I hope I can swing it into my schedule.
Candy Cane Bento
Candy Cane bologna sandwiches
Hershey’s Kisses
Wheat Thins
Satsuma Orange
Broccoli
Nov 11
28
Get to know your Baker
Over the past few years I have developed a friendly relationship with one of the bakers at our local bakery. She lives in our neighborhood, and I stop and chat with her when I see her in the bakery. She’s very nice and even knows my kid’s names.
Recently, I decided to go out on a limb the next time I saw her in the bakery – if they weren’t busy. Today was that day.
I tried to describe to her what I do (bentos are very hard to explain in words), and asked they’d be able to sell me an assortment of cupcake picks.
She delegated me to another baker, and I got to pick and choose from their Christmas assortments. There’s no price structure for this sort of sale of course, so they pulled a number out of the air, and I paid a whopping $2.99 for the lot! I’m sure that being a regular well known customer didn’t hurt.
As the saying goes, it never hurts to ask. Just time it right so you’re not catching them at at a busy time. You never know.
Nov 11
28
Bento and Weekend Muffin Tin Meal
Hooray for Christmas bentos.
Sadly the sandwich cutouts don’t show well in the photo (and the bento is long gone to school). So I did a second sample to show just how cute they are (below). I used some plunger cutters I just recently got. They came out really cute.
I may experiment with cookies. Gasp, using cookie cutters for cookies?! What is the world coming to!?
Elfly has been busy. I’m thinking I’ll post weekly Elfly Updates, so watch for that.
Finally, here’s a nice Muffin Tin Meal I made for KC over the weekend. I just love Muffin Tin Meals, they always come to the rescue when I’m “Stuck” with what to fix.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I’m glad to be back to our regular school routine… for a few weeks anyway.
.
Nov 11
26
We have an elf…
I learned about “Elf on the Shelf” via Pinterest early in the fall. I really liked the idea, and when my husband did something similar (entirely on his own inspiration) with little ghosts around the house for prior to Halloween, I got even more excited about the idea.
So we now as a Scout Elf visiting us for the holidays. He appeared when we came home from Thanksgiving dinner at the In Laws. He left the book in plain sight but hid in the curtains while we all read it on the couch. His name is Elfly.
Today, Friday, he perched on a shelf in our dining room. A very nice spot to watch as we had many friends over to play games.
We’re going to have a good time with Elfly. I’m brainstorming up some ideas and keeping them on a Pinterest board.
Sure, it’s gotten very commercialized this year. With it’s own TV special no less. I don’t care, it’s gonna be a ton of fun.
You can still get your own Scout Elf. They don’t all arrive on the same day, some show up on the First of December, others a couple weeks before Christmas.
It’s past midnight now, and I should be in bed. It appears he’s already moved to a new location AND has already started to make some mischief. Tsk, tsk.
He’s put antenna on me, an eye-patch on Scott, a top hat on Tory, and turned KCs glasses into sunglasses! Silly elf!
Nov 11
23
Quick Heathly Snack
A lot of the time a really cute snack is all in the presentation. If I had used a regular plate, KCs snack would have looks small and not very interesting. Instead I used this new Nibble Tray that I just picked up for Tory.
Nibble Tray Snack
Ritz crackers
Cinnamon & Splenda Lefse
Peanut butter & Celery
Peanuts
Baby Carrots
Posted in Regular Meals & Goodies by .
Nov 11
23
Turkey Bento
Turkey Bento… or as I like to think of it. Grandma’s Intervention Bento.
I’ve mentioned my Mom is a regular reader (Hi, Mom). And for the record she is a major reason I’m doing bentos. When I was a kid she made fun cool lunches for me too. And I wanted to be *that* kind of mom. S’true.
A couple posts ago I mentioned I had gotten into a bit of a bento rut. So next thing I know, Mom’s at my door step with a bag full of groceries. Then she’s in my kitchen fixing samples for KC to try. Some of the popular items were the leftse rolls and snap peas seen in today’s bento. Thanks Mom, you’re the best!
I didn’t want to have Thanksgiving go by without a Turkey Shaped sandwich. Turkey shapes have intimidated me a bit (when I’m still groggy in the mornings), but when I saw a similar design on a cookie (seen on Pinteriest), I knew I could finally make a “turkey” sandwich.
Finally, I’ve added my first lunchbox printable. It’s a Autumn riddle. These are easy find on Google, just search for Lunchbox Printable. I also have a few scattered on my Pinterest boards.
Turkey Bento
Grape Tomatoes and Snap Peas
Leftse with Garlic Herb Cheese Spread
Turkey Shaped Bologna Sandwich
Apple Chunks
Nov 11
22
Got Kindle?
If you have a Kindle, and 99 cents burning a hole in your pocket;
you can now subscribe to Glory’s Mischief on your Kindle!
Glory’s Mischief – Kindle Edition
How cool is that?
Nov 11
21
Simple Autumn Bento
I have to remind myself, it doesn’t have to be a Show Stopper to be a good bento.
I brouse my favorite bentos (points over to blog roll on the right of the page), and often they are very simple, just plain healthy lunches.
And when I give myself freedom to be (for lack of better word) “ordinary”, then the Show Stoppers will come
So today we have a Simple Autumn bento.
Simple Autumn Bento
Apple
Half Bologna Sandwich – with leaf sprinkle
Celery
Pretzels with leaf cheese
Posted in Bento by .
Nov 11
21
Week In Bentos
So I think this is how it’s going to be… sometimes I’ll post weekly bentos, and sometimes I’ll post daily bentos. I think it will mostly depend on what my day/week looks like. Way to be decisive, huh?
A lot of times I don’t post daily just because I don’t think that day was all that impressive. I know, I need to get over myself.
My Mother (a regular reader – Hi Mom) asked if I was burnt out on bentos. No, hardly. In fact it’s gotten to a point that bento’s have gotten easier. I have however gotten into a bento rut, that I’m trying to shake out of. I blame part of it on KC. Suddenly he’s not eating bread. ?!?! Weird. So I got into a rut of sending hotdog chunks. There are other options, but sometimes it’s easier to lean on the standbys when you’re still groggy in the morning.
Yes I’m still doing bentos, no I’m not burned out. In face KC recently re-sparked my creative desire with the following two conversations (on different days)
KC: “I like your lunches Mom, all the kids gather around to see what I got”
****
KC: “I like your lunches better then the School ones. Yours have blackberries, and little forks, and broccoli”
Nov 11
9
Target Finds
I was out and about today, and found myself with no kids and a little time on my hands.
I took the opportunity to hit my local kids consignment shop, and made a trip to Target.
I can NEVER go to Target and NOT pass though their seasonal section. They were putting up Christmas stuff the day after Halloween … or was it the day-of? … No, no… I remember, it was the day BEFORE Halloween. But I digress.
Their Christmas stuff is all up and in it’s full (not over shopped) splendor. I held off buying any lights or decorations (for now) but passed thorough the edibles looking for bento-able items and came out with these three gems.
Frosted pretzel stars. Yum. I already ‘sampled’ a broken one. Om nom.
Teeny Tiny holly icing decorations. Compared to normal icing decorations these are leetle (not little, leetle). So cute.
And the Candy Curls. I haven’t sampled one (yet), but they are way cute.
