New Flooring

This is currently taking over our guest room and office. We jumped on a great deal for solid wood floors, but now its taking over our house. I can't wait to finally get rid of all our carpet...

All Abby got for Christmas

Capellini Pomodoro & My First Attempt

Last night I had an itch to make capellini pomodoro. Its a dish that I always get when I go to Olive Garden and its probably got to be the most boring dish you could get, but I love it. Its simply angel hair pasta mixed with olive oil, tomatos, garlic, and basil. Thats it. I thought it would go well with our freshly baked artisan bread. I got the cookbook Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day for my birthday and just got around to making my first loaf. I have by no means mastered it, but I think I am going to love trying all the different kinds of bread (once I get the hang of it).

Family Photos

Some family photos (sans the pets) from Sunday morning. You can't really tell but there is SNOW falling in the background. Its weird to think that this summer there will be another member in these family photos!

Was there a need to put all three almost exactly the same picture? Of course not. I just thought our faces were my face was funny in the last two.

The real Christmas Card

This is our real Christmas card that we surprised our families with on Christmas...

Can you find them?

This was a picture taken over Thanksgiving at the Scogin's Thanksgiving. There are actually 3 babies in this picture. Can you find them?

Welcome Home Present

I really wanted it to snow this year! I was semi-sad to hear that we would probably definitely get snow in Columbia (when we wouldn't be there). But we got home today with a pretty white snowy house. No one had trampled through our yard and only the snow on the side walks had melted. Although it doesn't compare to the 8 inches we got last year, it'll do.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve started with a special breakfast (meaning Saturday breakfast)...

Have I told you how much I love my silpat?

And we finished the day going to the Christmas Eve service at Lexington Presbyterian Church. Can you believe it we've never been? Out of the 6 years we've been there we have always missed it. It was great! We then came home, ate leftover chinese food, opened each other's presents, and watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas! A perfect Christmas Eve.

Secret Santa

Every year my highschool friends and I get together for Secret Santa. I think we have successfully done it for 8 years now. I have not lived close to any of them since I went of to college but getting to see them at least once a year is great!

So cute

Since the Lentz family had their Christmas early, we have already opened half of our Christmas presents. Check out one of my absolute favorites of all time! This is from my sister Rachel and it was such a great idea.

Check out the artist's website here.

Multitude Monday, Week 34

380. Waking up this morning and not going to work
381. Friend's happy announcement
382. Warm welcome from the jr highers at church
383. Celebrating Christmas early
384. Impromtu Sunday lunch
385. Breakfast dates
386. Relaxing at home
387. Quality time with Glen
388. the dog park near our house is almost done
389. Leftovers
390. Time to finish last minute shopping

Week 33

Lentz Family Christmas

This past Saturday Glen and I hosted the Lentz Family Christmas at our house. I know its a week early but it was the only time everyone could get together. We had a non-traditional meal of chicken salad croissants, chicken nuggets, seven layer salad, fruit bowl, chips, rice krispie treats, and cupcakes. The highlight of the day was watching the kids play together. They really love each other. From the time that the kids all arrived to when they left there wasn't even an ounce of quite, especially in our little house. Abby had a blast too, but I think she was ready for everyone to leave by the end. She endured 3 hours of being shot at by toy guns, ran around, and trying to be rode by one of the nephews. At least I know she is great with kids and will be when we have a family!

Whenever I host things I do a terrible job at taking pictures. So this is the only picture I got that day.

Peanut Brittle

We buy my grandma peanut brittle every year for Christmas. This year I got a little ambititous and decided to make homemade peanut brittle. I found this recipe, and although it took me 2 batches to get it right, it turned out pretty easy to make. We bought a tin and wrapped it up with a pretty ribbon. It was the perfect homemade gift!

Friday Confessions: One reason my job is awesome

Once upon a time, I went to school full time and worked 25 hrs a week on top of that. My employers did not consider school breaks or holidays as a reason to give time off. Therefore I worked every Fall break, Spring break, and Summer. It was an aweful time. I thought you lost all your student vacation time when you got out into the real world and got a real job. Well, my job now is contracted. Therefore I am required (as if they really had to force me) to take off 2 weeks at the end of each year before my contract is renewed. Today is my last day working in 2010, and I will not return until January 4. I love it! I am completely sure by the end of my break that I will want to come back and be tired of being at home, but as of right now I am so ready!

Merry Christmas

Thanks to shutterfly and their 50 free cards for bloggers, we got a great Christmas card! Its thick cardstock and I love that it is matte finish. It better be nice though because before any sales or discounts it would have cost about $2.00 per card. Thankfully we got them free! All we had to do was pay for shipping. It will be hard for me to use any other vendor now.

Uh-Oh Chocolate Chip Cookies

Remember those Uh-Oh Oreos? Do they still make those? These are my Uh-Oh Chocolate Chip Cookies even those the white chips are actually white chocolate not vanilla chips. I found this recipe for Chocolate Caramel Cookies with Sea Salt, but didn't have the caramel so I decided to make my own cookie based off the recipe. They really are like a brownie disguised as a cookie. So good!

Uh-Oh Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

5 Tbs. Butter (I use Crisco)

7 Tbs. dark cocoa

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or more according to taste)

Mix together  softened butter/crisco and cocoa. Then add sugars. Mixture will be crumbly. Add in yogurt and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Dough will be thick. Stir in white chocolate chips. Roll into balls and flattened slightly on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Friends

Abby's friend Brio came and stayed with us this past Thursday through Monday. He was a little unsure of Abby at first, but I think by the end he really liked Abby, partly because she stopped jumping on him every time he came near her. Cosmo on the other hand did not like Brio and never softened up!

Birthday Fun

Last week was my birthweek. Yes, I said birthweek. I really think its fun to celebrate for an entire week instead of just one day. I received some really fun presents this year- the cookbook, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (I have heard rave reviews on this one!), a silicone baking mat, and a new measuring cup. I guess all these baking items say something about me! I also received birthday flowers from Glen. I LOVE having fresh flowers in the house, and he brought me my favorite, Alstromeria. To top it off, I got some Toms!

We finished the birthday week with a dinner with our good friends Andrew and Elizabeth (Elizabeth's birthday was on the 11th!). We went to Al's Upstairs. It is a little pricey but a good choice for a special occasion! If you ever go there, make sure you get the Lobster Bisque or you will be disappointed that you didn't!

Multitude Monday, Week 33

371. Good food and fellowship with Sunday school class
372. Great birthday week
373. Fresh flowers
374. Christmas tree and lights
375. Answered prayers
376. One week left of work before Christmas vacation
377. Fleece blankets
378. Email
379. Christmas cards

Week 32

Friday Confessions: Unwrapped

When my sisters and I were younger, both of our parents worked. So come Christmas season, presents sat under the tree. That meant we were left without parental supervision with all of our Christmas presents. I am not sure how long this actually went on, but we would unwrap and then rewrap all of our Christmas presents while our parents were at work. We got really good at rewrapping. You would never know it was ever unwrapped. Unless it was a particularly hard to rewrap present, we knew everything we were getting for Christmas.

Was it sneaky? Yes.

Was it bad for us to unwrap all our presents while our parents were at work? Of course.

Will I leave my future children unattended with their Christmas presents? Absolutely not.

Chicken Pot Pie

I haven't been doing too much from scratch cooking lately. I think its the time change. It just makes you tired and unmotivated when it turns dark at 5:00 everyday. However, I had a craving for homemade chicken pot pie. It really hit the spot! Yum!

Holly Jolly Cosmo

Cosmo has grinch-like tendencies but lately he has seemed a bit more on the jolly side.

The tree

I love Christmas trees, especially real Christmas trees. I really don't like fake trees, sorry mom. I know they are simpler. You don't have to water them, and your cat won't eat it. But real trees are so much fun and I love the scent that fills the house when you have one. The past couple of years we have gotten a modest sized frazier fir (the more expensive kind). This year we went with the 6-7 ft douglas fir. We picked a very full one, and it looked great. It sat outside all weekend, and we finally trimmed it and brought it in Monday night. We put lights on it tonight. After bringing it inside, I realized we got a tree that's a bit too big for our little space, but we rearranged the furniture to make it fit, and I love it! This year we also decided to go with just lights no ornaments and a topper. Simple but fun!

Christmas Spirit

This past weekend we watched ELF, got our Christmas tree, and took our Christmas card pictures. I think we are officially in the Christmas spirit! We still have to decorate the tree and put our lights up, but we are well on our way!

Multitude Monday, Week 32

356. Frozen yogurt
357. Impromtu date with friends
358. Free chickfila
359. Hot chocolate
360. My nephew's birthday party
361. Christmas trees
362. Christmas cards
363. Christ
364. Sermons during Advent season
365. New light shed on the book of Ruth
366. A month of free Wednesdays
367. Warm house
368. Birthday freebies
369. Half of Christmas shopping finished
370. Nights spent relaxing at home with my husband

Week 31

Friday Confessions: Ketchup

Is it ketchup (like it sounds) or catsup? Anyways, I have always loved ketchup, especially as a kid. I remember eating ketchup with absolutely everything- from steak (because my mom always wanted the cow as dead as it could be and almost burnt) to potato chips (which isn't that weird- they are kin to french fries, aren't they?) and even some "weird" things, like grapes. My sisters and I would play in the back yard in the camper. I guess we were playing house, but anyways they would make me ketchup sandwhiches. Yes, just ketchup between 2 slices of bread. It only fed my addiction. I am proud to say I no longer eat ketchup on steak because I get it cooked medium or on grapes because that is really disgusting, but I will occassionaly eat it with potato chips which I still think is not that out of the ordinary.

Do you eat any weird combinations of food?

Shutterfly is AWESOME

I love Christmas Cards, but who doesn't. We keep all our Christmas cards up all year round we love them so much! We have been making our own family Christmas card since we have been married three years ago and I love sending them to family and friends. I have been on a search for the best photo card designs out there. Shutterfly has some of the best! These are just a few of my favorites...

All of the cards a simple, clean, and fun! That's what I am looking for in a holiday card. But that's not all they have. They have calendars, thank you cards, and other cards. We have made a calendar which turned out great, and this past mother's day we used this card (with our own picture of course). Our moms loved it!

Shutterfly has great customer service. I have never ever had a problem with them shipping my items on time or had any kind of hang up on the website. The website is so easy to navigate and they really have cards, stationary, and gifts for all occassions!

Shutterfly has a great promotion going on this year to spread the news about their awesome holiday cards! They are offering 50 free cards to bloggers who blog about the cards that shutterfly offers. I, of course, jumped on this offer because I love shutterfly!

My Thanksgiving Contributions

We had 2 Thanksgivings this year. Glen's family on Thursday and my family on Saturday. I didn't get any pictures of actual people though I did take some of my contributions. I find there are enough cameras that I didn't need to grab my point and shoot to rival the nice digital SLRs that all the relatives with kids have so you are stuck with pictures of food.

Pretzel Kisses

Key Lime Pie

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie



Multitude Monday, Week 31

345. my nephews
346. my niece
347. hair cut/trim that was way overdue
348. spending time with family
349. Sunshine daily double
350. sleeping a ton over the break
351. Glen agreeing to watch Yes to the Dress with me
352. shop vac
353. fellowship in Sunday school
354. the beginning of Christmas season
355. my birthday is in 10 days

Week 30

Friday Confessions: Teeth

As I have said before I am was a pretty intensely competitive person growing up. With that characteristic comes injuries. When I was in nineth grade, I had my two front teeth broken while playing lacrosse. The thing was I didn't cry or realize how bad it really was until I got to the nurse's office and saw myself in a mirror. Then I began to cry. Not only had my teeth broke, but they broke into tiny pieces. My lip was all busted up and let me tell you I looked awesome. I had to immediately go to the dentist for them to try to repair what was left. Luckily my root wasn't exposed which saved me a lot of pain. To this day I have fears of my teeth getting hit again. There is a certain hockey like game that we play at Junior High Youth Group and I always hold back due to my fears. I also have a recurring nightmare that my teeth just start to crumble and fall out of my mouth. I used to have this dream at least every other month, but I am pretty sure I have made it almost a whole year this time! (Oh no, I hope this didn't jinx it.)

Does anyone else have those recurring dreams/nightmares???

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has an AMAZING thanksgiving. Glen, Abby, and I are headed to GA to celebrate 2 thanksgivings and sibling lunch inbetween. I am sure we will be stuffed by the end of this weekend.

Sorry Cosmo, you have to stay home. Your not a real car ride champ.

Friends Thanksgiving

We started a new tradition this year. Can I call it a tradition if its only happened once? Probably not, so it will be a tradition next year when we do it again. We had my small group Bible study girls and their families over for a potluck thanksgiving. It was a success. Not only did I successfully cook the turkey because last year it didn't really work out to well, but everyone brought the most amazing food. By the end of the night we were stuffed! I really wanted to take a group picture among other pictures during the night, but the picture below is the only one I got. I guess I will have to be better about it next year!

Multitude Monday, Week 30

335. a first Friends' Thanksgiving
336. a successful turkey
337. today, I am back at work
338. friends announcing pregnancies!
339. Glen only has to work 2 days this week
340. I only have to work 3
341. free books/movies from the library
342. chocolate pretzels
343. upcoming family events
344. cheesecake pumpkin pie

Week 29

Friday Confessions: Turkey

Last year I attempted to cook my first ever turkey. I was ready. I read all the instructions on thawing and cooking. I definitely knew what I was doing, and I was ready to tackle that turkey. The night before I checked on the turkey to make sure it was ready to go, and it was rock solid. I had taken it out of the freezer several days before, but it was still very frozen. I kind of freaked out, but I knew that I could thaw it in water in the sink. I however did not know how long that would actually take. So I filled the sink up added the rock solid frozen turkey and proceeded to change the water every 30 minutes like the directions instructed. This went on for a long time. It got so late that Glen said he would do it and let me go to bed. The next morning I got up at 6 am to start preparing the turkey, and I found that ole' turkey still in the sink. Glen had forgotten to put the turkey back in the fridge when he went to bed. So I called my mom and emailed the butterball turkey hotline. The consensus was that the turkey was not good to eat. So we ran to the grocery store, picked up some small turkey breasts, and never got to cook our turkey.

This year I plan to be successful with my turkey. We are having some friends over for a friends thanksgiving this weekend and I am determined to cook my turkey which by the way I got for $6! Yeah, that's a steal! Wish me luck!

Sick

What I thought was just allergies turned into a cold. So today, I will...

drink berry smoothies with Vitamin C and anti-oxidents

wear pajama pants all day

watch the entire TODAY show

update my blog

not go to work

clean the house

and take a nap!

Samples

When I started couponing I discovered the All You website. Everyday they post a free sample from somewhere on the web. Usually you have to fill out a short form and then they send you a free sample. I have gotten quite a bit of travel size stuff and even some coupons for a free full size item. Today I got a sample in the mail and it is the smallest, most ridiculously sized sample I have ever seen. I don't think I can even use something this small. Not your best, All You, not at all.

You can't see the detail in the picture but its only 0.5 fl oz.

Molasses Spice Cookies

After having tried to new Fall recipes and them being utter fails, it was good to make a tried and true recipe ~thanks to my sister-in-law Hannah!

Multitude Monday, Week 29

327. Fall cookies
328. Meeting new people
329. Free movies and books from the library
330. A long overdue coffee date
331. Lazy weekend
332. Fleece blankets
333. Getting to bed early
334. Cheap turkeys

Week 28

Friday Confessions: Elf

My favorite holiday movie is Elf. I laugh so loud everytime I watch it even if I am by myself. I can't help it. You could compare me to those Christmas music addicts when it comes to Elf. You know the ones who secretly listen to Christmas music in July. I can't even count how many times I have seen it, and I wouldn't want to, it would be embarrassing. I will admit that I think I might have watched it 3 days in a row last year... And maybe I secretly wish that I could wear an elf costume everyday during the holidays.

p.s. I am getting some *writer's block* when it comes to Friday Confessions. As much as I love it and I know you LOVE it, I will be retiring it at the end of 2010.

Lack of Recipes

I haven't posted any baking, cooking, or recipes in the last 2 weeks! What is wrong with me? Well I haven't been cooking as much lately. Maybe it's because we are super busy or maybe its because I am lazy. I did bake 2 things this past week which were both fails. One of them was a pumpkin gingerbread- not good. The other one was a mix- pumpkin scones- okay but I'll pass next time. It's been super disappointing. I do however plan to make Molasses Spice Cookies (recipe courtesy of my sister-in-law Hannah), and I know those will be amazing.

Window Project #2

We bought 2 windows a long time ago to do some art projects to hang in our house. We finally finished the 2nd project this weekend. Go here to see the 1st project. We wanted to turn an old window into a magnetic chalkboard to hang in our dining/living room. I have all our Christmas cards from friends and family hanging up and I wanted a better way to display them. Yes, we keep our Christmas cards up all year round! Is that weird? Does anyone else do that?

Anyways, the chalkboard part of the project didn't really work out since the surface wasn't smooth after we layered on 10 layers of magnetic paint, but the magnetic part was crucial so I deem it a success!

The cold

It got so cold this weekend. It was down in the 30s and I think below freezing at least one night. We are trying to hold off turning our heat on and that means it is absolutely freezing in our house. I think we made it all the way to December last year, but at this rate I don't think we'll last. We are taking measures to keep warm- layering extra blankets on the bed and wearing coats inside. Even Abby is having to take extra measures to keep warm...