Baba Marta and martenitsa!

Today is the bulgarian holiday Baba Marta. On this day we wear a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn (martenitsa)
On the first day of March and few days afterwards, Bulgarians exchange and wear white and red tassels or small dolls called "Pijo and Penda".
In Bulgarian folklore the name Baba Marta (in Bulgarian баба Марта meaning Grandma March) is related to a grumpy old lady whose mood swings change very rapidly.
The martenitsa is also a stylized symbol of Mother Nature. At that early-spring/late-winter time of the year, Nature seems full of hopes and expectations. The white symbolizes the purity of the melting white snow and the red symbolizes the setting of the sun which becomes more and more intense as spring progresses. These two natural resources are the source of life. They are also associated with the male and female beginnings.

Martenitsa is usually worn pinned on the clothes, near the collar, or tied around the wrist. The tradition calls for wearing the martenitsa until the person sees a stork or a blooming flower.(from Wikipedia)

Special day!

Last weekend we were in Utah for a very special event - A.J.'s sealing and blessing. I have never felt so close to A.J. and Hans and never thought about how much I love them. I want to be a better mother and wife, to give my best that I can for my family.

We succeeded in getting together with some family and friends. The night before the sealing A.J. didn't sleep that well and we were really tired but happy.

Hans' blessing was really good and we hope that one day A.J. can develop the talents that he was blessed with.

Sugar cookies

The other day we made sugar cookies. The recipe is from Michelle, friend of my sister in law Holly. We haven't make these cookies in a very long time and we forgot how good they are.

Sugar cookies
makes 2-3 dozen

2 cups flour (sifted)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
sift together in bowl and set aside -

cream together:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggsAdd: Flour mixture gradually to the creamed mixture.
Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
Roll dough on a flour surface to a 1/4" thickness. Cut with cookie cutters or top of the drinking cup. Place cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes @ 375F

Wilton Butter-cream Icing

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups (approx 1lb) powdered sugar
2Tbsp Milk

- In large bowl cream margarine and shortening
- Add vanilla
-Gradually add powdered sugar one cup at a time beating well and scraping sides of the bowl often.
-Add milk and mix at high speed until frosting is fluffy.
(Keep in air-tight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.



I had a little helper so the end result is not the best looking but the cookies are so good.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My mom

This week my mom should have celebrate her 58th birthday. I can't believe that it is almost 10 years since she is gone and I miss her so much. I wish she is here, I can hear her voice, to see her smile, to hug her and to tell her how much I miss and love her....

Super Bowl weekend!

Yeah, we know that it was almost a week ago but we needed some time to recover from the Patriots' loss. We were so lucky that this year the Super Bowl was in Phoenix. They had so many things the day before the big game. We went to the stadium on Saturday. It was crazy - so many people, so loud, lots of music, lots of kids, lots of food places with burgers bigger than A.J.'s head.
The line to buy tickets was long! It was a 2 hour wait. Of course there were business minded people that bought lots of tickets and were scalping them on the site for double price. Well, we "helped" those guys and saved 2 hours in line. It was worth it.

We had so much fun with all the activities inside. I always loved soccer, but never ever thought that I'll like to watch American football. Too bad that our favorite team the Patriots lost! They had an amazing season...oh well,there is always next year...