Thankful

I have a friend who inspired me to do this (thanks Chelse). I get caught in a funk sometimes and can't seem to find the beauty of my day to day so here's what is making me happy today:

• I didn't straightening my hair today and I am LOVING the simplicity of it...even if it is poofy and wavy and probably not attractive at all.
• The ability to breathe at work.  Today was not a busy or slow day, just a perfectly breathable day.
• I'm getting a nightguard today.  For most of the world, this wouldn't be on their list.  For me, I'm so excited.  I spend every second of the night clenching and causing so much damage to my teeth that everyone at my dentists office knows who I am.  No, this is not a good thing.  So I am definitely thankful for this one.
• Aaron graduates in two weeks.  YAY YAY YAY!  I wish I could explain how happy this makes me.  No more stress of class and all nighters and essays for him.  And when Aaron's happy, I'm sooo happy.  
• Aaron told me that when he got home today my boys, dogs, kept going back to the garage door waiting for me to come inside too.  I love that they love me!  :)
• And most importantly, I am so thankful for my spouse.  I have the best man and my best friend as my husband.  He is so good to me and is so funny and so attentive and so handsome and so AMAZING!  I'm seriously so thankful for that man and that he balances out my crazy.  He hugs me when I need it even though snuggling hurts his back.  He always makes sure I have a lunch to take with me to work and makes me dinner when I've had a long day.  He wipes my tears when my heart breaks.  He laughs at my jokes even though I know I'm not very funny.  I love you sweetheart, thank you for being mine!

It's so easy for me to forget all of these amazing things and having to list them out like this was kind of hard.  But I'm glad I did.  I can't wait to get home and give Aaron a big fatty kiss and show him how grateful I am for him. 

Cake Balls

That's right, I said Cake Balls!   My sisters birthday was a couple days ago and I wanted to do a special kind of cake for her.  So I tried my hand at Cake Balls.   For those of you who may not have ever tried or even heard of them, cake balls are basically cake that you crumble up after cooking then add frosting to it.  Roll it into balls and dip it in chocolate.  Sounds amazing right!?!  ...it is...

This being my first time at it I wasn't really sure how amazing they would turn out, but I have to say, they looked pretty amazing!

And, they tasted pretty amazing too!  

I think they went over well and I will definitely be making these again!

We have a movie

Sometimes my husband just surprises me.  After four years together I feel like I know him so well that surprises are few and far between.  But last night, he surprised me.  

He made me a fantastic Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup dinner with left over Molten Chocolate Cake for dessert.  YUM!  So that in itself was a surprise.  I wanted to help but he kept telling me to go watch UP.  He recorded it earlier and was determined to have me watch it.  I have to be honest, I wasn't really in the mood to watch it.  But apparently I had "missed something" the previous times I had watched it.  So while I complained and came up with excuses he just kept on telling me to "GO WATCH UP!"  So I did...

...and I watched, and I complained...  (all in good humor)

I watched them meet, I watched them fall in love, I watched them get married, I watched them decide to have babies, and I watched them find out that they couldn't have babies.  Happy kids movie, right?  About this time in the movie I said that this movie is just depressing and why did he want me to watch it anyway?

"BECAUSE IT'S US!" 

It was said with so much emotion and conviction.  It was the cutest thing I've ever heard him say.  It may not sound like much to any  one else, but to me, it was perfect and meant the world. 

So we have a movie.  Lots of people out there have a song, but we have a movie. 

Vomit...

...spew, yak, throw up, blow chunks.  However you say it, what is it about it that makes you want to do just that...vomit?

On our way home from work the other day Aaron informed me that he wasn't feeling very well.  Soon after, he informed me that he was going to throw up.  Like NOW!  So he pulls over to the side of the road, and I thought he had made it when all of the sudden I see a spray of water hit the windshield in front of Aaron.  I look over at him and his cheeks are completely full of vomit.  Haha, I felt bad but I couldn't help but laugh looking at him.  He caught his vomit!  (Mostly)  So he opens up the door and starts throwing up on the side of the road.  Meanwhile, I catch the smell and hear the sound of it and I almost lose it too.  So while he's throwing up out his door, I throw my door open to and start gagging and coming sooo close to loosing it out mine.  Aparently, my weak stomach is funny to Aaron so he starts laughing, and I start laughing, then he starts throwing up again, and I'm out the door almost throwing up again!  ...and on and on the vicious cycle goes!...

It was the most disgusting, funny drive home we've had in a long long time.  And of course, once we got home he left his door open so that I could see the mess he had made on the inside of the car door.  TOTALLY...DISGUSTING...HOT DOGS!!!  Really!?!  Typical Aaron. 

Haha, I love that boy!

(Aren't you glad I didn't post any pictures of this one?)

Go Get it Boys!

Aaron and I are down to one car right now which results in him having to drop me off at work and pick me up everyday.  And when he does, there's usually Dozer and Tank in the backseat looking either excited and happy or sad and worried depending on whether I'm coming or going. 

Aaron picked me up from work the other day with a plan.  He had gotten a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and my boots for me so that we could stop for a walk on the Greenbelt with the dogs before going home.  It was so sweet and a perfect way to end the day.  I think Tank could tell something was in the works because he was so antsy and whiny the entire way there.  Anyway, we ended up down by the river and even though it was freezing outside, it is November after all, both boys ended up in the river...immediately.  They are so cute to watch because Tank is so fearless and Dozer is so not fearless when it comes to water!   He is getting better though...

Thanks for a perfect evening baby!

Pumpkin Carving!!!

I absolutely love Halloween because it's the beginning of the holiday season.  All the fun festivities start with Halloween.  For example; family, food, parties, and friends!  So, to kick it all off we carved pumpkins with Greg and Jacqui Tingey.  Thanks for the fun guys!

The boys finished in about 10 minutes so we were left to carve on our own.  (Anberlin is so stinking cute!)

I love my pumpkin...

The Boutilier's and their way too similar pumpkins!

The Tingey Family and their PUMPKINS!



Finished Products!

We had a great night and made exceptionally attractive pumpkins.  Now we just need to carve our last two pumpkins.  What were we thinking buying four pumpkins for just the two of us?!?!

My Dad

My dad is an absolutely amazing photographer and I just wanted to share a picture he took this summer.  He has a gift for always seeing our Heavenly Father in every opportunity and I love him for that. 

This is a view of a sunset outside my parents home.  Thanks for always seeing the beauty and sharing Dad!

Hahahahaha...

...hahahahahahaha...


You may be wondering why I'm laughing so hard.  Well, I'm not going to tell you...but man I wish I could!  We all know that there are some things that we just don't share with those around us.  What happens in the confines of your own home, sometimes just need to stay within the confines your own home.  It could be that someone picked their nose and ate it, it could be that someone fell out of the shower, it could even be that someone peed the bed.  Whatever it is, I know you all know what I'm talking about!  Man if walls could talk!!!


Last night as I'm laying in bed waiting for Aaron, he bends over beside the bed, and when he stands up...oh man I wish I could tell you what he did!  Keep in mind that he was trying to be funny, he just didn't know how funny he actually was!  Lets just say that his unintended hilarious act kept me laughing, and laughing hard, well into the night.  I really really want to tell you what he did, but I won't.  I think if I did Aaron wouldn't be too happy and I would actually be quite embarrassed myself. 


Funny thing is, he actually said this after it happened: "Let me guess, you're going to blog about this too!" 


So as I conclude, let me leave you with this one happy thought...good luck trying to figure out what really happened!


...hahahahahahaha...

Crepes...

...otherwise known as THE BEST BREAKFAST IN THE WORLD!!!
The other day at work, when there wasn't really much work to do, I was exploring the world of internet baking sites. And ooh did I find a good one! It's called bakingobsession.com. Seriously amazing. It's creator/chef is a russian woman who has exquisite recipes/taste. They are a little weird at times...I think it's the foreign thing (no offense to any foreigners out there)...but there are also some amazing recipes that I have to try! You may think I'm kidding about how amazing this site is but I promise, I'm not! If you love to try new things, check it out.
Anyway, while not working at work, (don't judge me, it happens to the best of us) I stumbled across a crepe recipe. I actually make crepes quite a bit. They are my absolute favorite breakfast. It's kind of like dessert in the morning for breakfast. If you're opposed to that idea, well, you probably shouldn't be reading my blog because almost all my baking is surrounded with calories and high fat content...deal with it! So I wasn't really interested in finding a new crepe recipe because my crepes are AMAZING! But I'm always looking for new ways to prepare them. These crepes that I found were a creme cheese custardy filling with blueberry sauce topping. YU-UMMM!!!

So I got up before church on Sunday, put my pretty little apron on (thanks Mommy!), and got to work. I made my amazing crepes. Heated up some blueberries with a little sugar, water, and lemon juice. (Don't forget the cornstarch for thickening purposes.) And processed some cottage cheese, creme cheese, and powdered sugar in my food processor until it formed a beautiful, smooth, white custard. Say it with me everyone: "Yu-umm!"

Downside of the morning: First, I forgot to take pictures of the process. :( Second, I spent so much time on my beautifully amazing breakfast, I didn't have time to get ready for church so I (without showering) pulled my hair into a ponytail, tried unsuccessfully to wipe the smudged mascara from under my eyes, and went to church. And yes, I did sit in the very back row!
I may not have gotten any pictures, but here is one from the website where I got the recipe. And yes, they did look that good sitting on my table!

Pat myself on the back for this one!
Here's the recipe. Enjoy!


For Crepes:
¾ cup Flour

3 tbsp Sugar

Pinch of Salt

2 Eggs

1 cup 2 tbsp Milk

1½ tsp Butter, melted


Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Cook thin pancakes on medium heat and serve with your favorite fruit filling.


For filling:
•l cup cottage cheese

•½ lb cream cheese

•4-6 tbsp icing sugar (more according to taste)

•Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
Preparation:
Process the curd cheese, cream cheese, zest (if using) and icing sugar in a food processor until smooth, for a minute or two.

Place a generous tablespoon of the cheese filling down the center of the crêpe. Fold the bottom part of the crêpe over the filling then fold the sides and roll up the crêpe as a cigar. Fill the rest of the crêpes in the same manner.


For Blueberry Sauce:
•4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (it is not necessary to thaw frozen berries)

•2/3 cup water

•2/3 cup sugar

•Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

•3 tbsp cornstarch

•¼ cup water

Preparation:
In a large saucepan combine the blueberries, water, sugar, lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for a minute or two; the berries should soften slightly, and some of their skins will pop. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water, and add it into the berries. Simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. You have to cook the cornstarch sufficiently enough to get rid of the chalky starch flavor. Taste to be sure it’s gone. Remove from the heat, cool, then refrigerate tightly covered.

I NEED A CAMERA!!!

Well...technically I do have a camera, but I feel like my grandma because I can't figure out how to get the pictures from the camera to the computer.  Pathetic, I know!  But I was thinking about my blog and how I need to blog more, but how do you blog if you don't have pictures.  I know you don't need pictures, but we all know that without pictures it's kind of boring.  So, here's my plan:

Step one: CHARGE MY CAMERA

Step two: FIND THE CORD FOR THE CAMERA TO THE COMPUTER

Step three: MAKE AARON SHOW ME HOW TO GET THE PICTURES FROM THE CAMERA TO THE COMPUTER, INSTEAD OF HIM DOING IT FOR ME.  (cause then I'll never learn and he'll have to do it for me everytime)

Step four: BLOG BLOG BLOG

Simple yet effective.  I like it!