Playing with the Cat

The Nativity Collection- Robert J. Morgan (Book Review)

The Nativity Collection is a small gift book of six Christmas themed stories. Now, I have to admit, I’ve never understood the ‘gift book’. Maybe that's because I’ve received a few and never read them. Which would be my fault and not the fault of the book.

I enjoyed each of the stories. Some funny, some sweet, some brought tears to my eyes. I especially enjoyed ‘Over My Dead Body’, with its humorous ending. There are lots of pictures throughout the book, with a Christmas theme, however I had trouble getting over the ‘stock photo’ look of them. I would have loved to see pictures that went along with the stories. 

I think this would be a good selection for someone who enjoys short stories or gift books. It certainly could sit on a coffee table during the holidays and be a quick read for any guest.

 

This book was provided for me from Booksneeze.com free of charge in exchange for a review.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

 

I have to pass on this great recipe. I love this quick bread (and it covers the fruit and veggie group, right)? I skip the egg substitute, because its not something I ever would have in the house. I also use less sugar, maybe 1 1/2 cups instead.

 

Ingredients

• 3  cups  sifted all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon
• 2  large eggs
• 2  cups sugar
• 2  cups  grated zucchini (about 1 1/2 medium zucchini)
• 2/3  cup  canola oil
• 1/2  cup  egg substitute
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 2  (8-ounce) cans crushed pineapple in juice, drained
• Baking spray with flour

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and next 3 ingredients (through ground cinnamon) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

3. Beat eggs with a mixer at medium speed until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil, egg substitute, and vanilla, beating until well blended. Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in pineapple. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5–inch) loaf pans coated with baking spray. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

 

I usually double the recipe and put some in the freezer. I also save the pineapple juice for my kids to drink. Cooking Light is the source of this, if you want to check it out.

Our Sponsored Children Binder

I read a post this morning from 1+1+1+=1 on making a special craft for your sponsored children. It was a great idea and she also mentioned that she keeps correspondence and things needed to write to their sponsored children in a notebook. I thought this was a wonderful idea, since all our letters and drawings are in a box taking up space in the closet and never getting looked at. I set to work right away on a binder for our sponsored children.

We sponsor 3 children who live in the Dominican Republic. Two girls through World Vision and 1 boy through Dominican Advance. The couple that started Dominican Advance are friends of ours and before we moved we were able to be their home office in the states and got to help with all the paper work involved with child sponsorships and support. We got to meet the little boy we sponsor two years ago and were able to meet his mom and sisters at their home. I know they are doing great things and we are so blessed to be able to be a small part of what they are doing.

Since all of our children live in the same country, I made the binder reflect that with the flag and map on the cover. Inside I have a tab for each child, and one for the information on where to send letters. I also like the idea of keeping supplies needed to write to them, such as the right sized envelopes, in here.

I just found this blog, where she is making a craft to send and is going to post a few times a month on projects to make and is challenging all us lame sponsors to get writing to our sponsored children. I love the idea and will be posting in the future about what we are doing for our kids!