Happy Holidays from the Cheddar Family (a mouse family that lives in Terry & Pam's house).

The Cheddar Family Christmas letter is written by Mrs. Cheddar (Mozzarella is her first name).

Well 2017 has been interesting for my husband Colby and me. For one thing, we haven’t spoken to each other all year! That’s mainly because Colby loves President Trump and I’m really bummed out because Mrs. Clinton didn’t win. Oh, I didn’t need therapy like some of us liberals did (I'm really embarassed about what babies some of us have been), but I really have had a hard time with the loss. In fact, this election sliced my family right down the middle like, well, sliced cheese and Terry and Pam, the humans we live with, didn’t help any.

Holiday food is always fun, unless of course it's your last meal and you're on death row eating it right before Christmas. That can't be fun. Now with that said, to change the subject, what does a log cabin, a snowman, a sleigh, penguins and an igloo have in common? You probably said, "Snow or cold weather." Okay, you're right, but when you're through reading this blog you'll be able to say, "Holiday food."

Let's start with the log cabin. It's a pepperoni log cabin. It was inspired by the witche's words in Hansel and Gretel, "Nibble, nibble on my house, who is nibbling like a mouse?"

To make the cabin, you'll need a loaf of white bread, eight sticks of pepperoni about 12" long, a package of sliced pepperoni, a package of cream cheese and a cup of Fage (Greek yogurt). To make the mortar, mix a cup of cream cheese with a cup of yogurt and season to your taste by adding garlic powder, onion powder and salt (stay away from any colored spices as you'll want the mortar to be white).

Cut the pepperoni sticks in half for the six" logs, cut off the rounded part of two slices of bread for the roof and put them in the oven at 200 degrees to dry them out. Cut the crusts off four slices of the bread and cut them into squares that will fit into the middle of the cabin for support. (You'll need more support for the roof and you can use more slices of bread cut smaller and smaller, or a roll works nicely.) Build your log cabin using the mortar mixture (don't even try to put slots into the logs so they fit together, you're going to eat the thing, not live in it). 

To make the roof, put the dried bread slices in place using the mortar mixture for "glue" and dab a little mortar on the pepperoni slices (shingles) and starting at the bottom of each slice, lay the shingles on in rows right up to the peak. (Be liberal with the mortar.) Use cherry tomatoes to adorn the peak of the roof. Use cauliflower around the cabin (it sorta looks like bushes covered in snow.)

If you’re a cozy person, you probably love being inside in stormy weather.

Now that winter will be coming soon, do you get the urge to cozy-up the place? Webster defines cozy as: enjoying warmth and ease, marked by the intimacy of family or a close group. It takes a warm and easy person to make a home comfortable. In every warm and comfortable home, you'll find a happy family.

When I was growing up, our house was always cozy, but as the holidays came closer, the coziness factor seemed to rise. Do you think it could be genetic? If it is, I got my cozy gene from Mom who got hers from Granny.

Every home that Granny made was warm and comfortable. Three of her homes that I can recall, were only two rooms. I remember one winter, Mom, Dad, my baby sister Peggy and I, had to live with Granny and Grampa for more than a week. The Northwest experienced what they call a Silver Thaw. I think I understand what happens when one hits. First of all, the air nearer to the ground is below freezing and the air a little higher up is above freezineverything, turning the landscape into a sugary, slippery wonderland. 

Before the Silver Thaw, it had snowed about six inches. When the ice storm hit, it covered the snow with such a thick layer of ice that we could walk across the snow and not crunch through. The ice collected enough to pull huge trees over. Power lines were powerless to escape the accumulation of the frozen water and electricity was cut off for more than a  week. That’s why we went to Granny’s. Our home was all electric. Granny had a wood stove. 

Do you feel as if you’re at a crossroads in your life? This year has taken an unnecessary toll on our emotions as women. All we want is for our families to be safe, healthy and happy. We want to be more organized because we know we'd feel better and live with more ease. We'd love not to have to hurry and have food to cook when it's mealtime. We'd love knowing where everything is because everything would have a place and everything would be in it. We intuitively know that disorganization affects all areas of our lives; our bodies, our work, our relationships and our homes and we know it’s possible to feel good in our bodies, be happy in our relationships, thrive in our work and have a home that is clutter-free, peaceful and welcoming if only we were better organized.

Do you have a sense that everything will work out, because it always does? Even the things you’ve called bad, in time, turn out to be blessings in the whole scheme of things. Everything does turn out, but when we have a calender and a plan, life is so much easier. We all work too hard at this thing called life.

Easier said than done?

It doesn’t have to be. Here’s an acronym for FORGIVE that came to me while writing “How to Live Happily Ever After: Cinderella did it and you can too.” FORGIVE: Focus On Recognizing Goodness In Virtually Everyone.

I shared that thought with my meditation group last night (we meet once a month). Forgiveness was the topic our leader, Klazina Dobbe, started the meeting with and even though I don’t usually share something that will be in an upcoming book (Cinderella will be out in January) I felt moved to share the enlightened thought with them and with you. It caused quite a stir as each person considered the meaning.

Sometimes things can get a little hectic during the holidays, especially if the gathering is at your house.

Here's a great idea using children's imaginations to keep them busy for an hour or so before the feast is served. AND you'll end up with a festive holiday tablecloth that'll end up a valued keepsake.

All you need is a twin-size, flat, white sheet, some butcher paper (or newspapers) and marker pens. Then sit back and  watch what happens when you let your little artists take over.

Video is 1:32 in length.

It's hard to ignore the fact that the holidays are here! We’re flashed with tons of emails squawking about Holiday Sales on everything from food and kitchen appliances to fake Christmas trees and yard decorations. We get inundated with sparkly catalogs hyping the urge to get new furniture (for holiday entertaining) and glossy pages advising us to consider getting new china for that holiday table and maybe even a new car (red or green of course).

We complain about the commercialism and materialism of the holidays, but put us in our local Starbucks slurping a yummy Caramel Brulee Latte from that festive red and green cup and we brim with excitement and anticipation about spending time with family and friends. Love is really what the holidays are all about.   

Starting with Thanksgiving, a holiday that marks our gratitude, to Christmas with its message of peace, love and joy, it’s a magical time and love is behind it all. The 5 words to remember are:

I'm coming to New York this November! There has been a little confusion about whether the seminar is this November or November 2018, because, well, it said that on the invitation I sent out yesterday. Well it's THIS November. November 28, 2017 Kathy Roberts and I will be doing a Get Organized in 2018 just enough to please you workshop. Actually we'll be in Arlington, New Jersey for the workshop and luncheon as you'll see in the body of this blog. I hope we can get together!

My son Michael and his family moved to Brooklyn last July and I'm going to visit them in November for Thanksgiving. Terry is going to stay home because of finances. (We shot our travel budget this summer going to Italy.) I'm flying on frequent flier points!

About a month ago, I was telling my friend Kathy Roberts (we've done two webinars together), that I'm going "back east" and she said, "Let's do a workshop together while you're here!" I said, "I leave to come home the day after Thanksgiving and doing a get organized workshop the week before Thanksgiving would be nuts!" She agreed, but then she said, "Stay longer and we'll do it after Thanksgiving."

Here's the back-and-forth dialogue after her comment:

Would you like to be in Club Organized and get organized just enough to please YOU?

Good, because this exclusive club for you, and not just anyone can join. You'll have to pass an admissions exam. As long as you can answer yes to at least five of the scenarios in the exam below you can be in the club. No BOs (born organized) allowed.

Of course we won’t ever have meetings (we’re all too busy and we'd only forget when they were!) and there won’t be dues or uniforms or secret handshakes, but we’ll all know we belong.

And we just might start having an annual convention here in Woodland, Washington. We’ll be a sisterhood of SLOBS (remember SLOB stands for Spontaneous, Lighthearted, Optimistic and Beloved) and we’ll be bound together by our love for our families and our desire to have clean, cozy, peaceful homes.

Here’s the test I promised you. Don't forget, if you can honestly answer yes to five of these SHE scenarios, you’re in the club! If you can answer yes to 10 of them you're eligible for admission into the highly coveted DE status (Deficiency Expert) of the club.

CLUB ORGANIZED ADMISSIONS EXAM

 Edible "Indoor" Snowman

This is the perfect time of year to serve this hors d'oeuvres at your next party. Imagine a snowman standing more than a foot tall, on a platter surrounded by fresh veggies, crisp crackers and salami. Guests will wonder what they’re supposed to do with him, until they dip into his luscious "snow" or cut into him for a chunk of his insides. Then they’ll keep returning for more, until the poor snowman is left looking like his brothers Frosty or Olaf on a warm day.

Here’s the recipe which is just one of 75 recipes in The Phony Gourmet, which is now 75% off at a clearance price of $5 plus postage and handling. This hardback cookbook originally sold for $15. Just click on the cover of the cookbook and it'll take you to it. 

 Cream Cheese and Garlic Snowman

Serves 15 party animals