I Can't Come Up with a Witty Title Before I've had my Coffee

     You know what I discovered last night?  My husband is extremely competitive!  I was up all night because he wouldn't let me go to sleep until he had won a round of cards.  I kept winning which meant we kept staying up.  Finally I had to cut him off for my own sanity.  I passed out, exhausted, at 1:00 am only to be awoken at 7:00 by a four-year-old Howler Monkey who was calling to the moon or something.  Today requires coffee.

     Thankfully my competitive J has decided to make it up to me by making breakfast and coffee :-)  I think I'll keep him.  I've been so preoccupied with Christmas projects that I haven't really felt like cooking.  Shocking, I know, but I have some really fun crafts I'm working on right now, which I'll share later.  In the meantime my dinners have been a little more thrown together than usual, but that's okay because I found a new favorite for a quick weeknight meal.  I saw a picture of these on Pinterest, and decided to try it.

Cornbread Waffles

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix (this was just enough for J, Monkey and I; you may need more if you have a bigger family)
2 cans of your preferred chili (or click here for an awesome crockpot recipe)
Toppings such as lettuce, diced tomato, cheese, salsa

Mix Jiffy according to directions on package.  Cook in waffle maker according to instruction that came with your waffle maker.  Meanwhile heat up chili.  When the waffle is cooked, spoon chili on top and add desired toppings.

Enjoy :-)

     This meal literally takes under 10 minutes to make, and J and Monkey love it!  It's perfect so that I can feed my restless natives and still manage to get back to my craft room in record time.

     One of the crafts I'm working on is an Advent calendar.  We had one as a kid, and I remember my sisters and I taking turns each day moving our little mouse into a new pocket until Christmas day.  I've been wanting to make one for Monkey, but I could find a cute enough template.  Last night (in between card games) I started finding ideas for one.  I had never heard of a Jesse tree before, but after seeing this one on another blog, I decided that's what I want to do.  I like the idea of each ornament teaching another part of the Bible that led up to the birth of Christ.  I'm not using her pattern (sorry, $52 dollars for a craft kit? No thanks.), but I do like the idea.  I'll let y'all know how it turns out.  :-)