2009 In Review

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Did you see the calendar today?  Can you believe that it's December 31?  I certainly can't.

So here is my obligatory year-in-review blog.

In January, we put an offer in on a house here in town.  After the inspection turned up a few nasty surprises that the owners weren't willing to fix, we had to walk away.  It was difficult, but for the best.  The day of the inspection I saw a neighbor with a questionable pop culture figure painted on his jacket which made me uncomfortable.

In February, we celebrated my 23rd birthday.  Nearly nothing else happened.  Exciting, right?

March brought more house shopping.  We found the house that we would eventually purchase.  It is also the month that I discovered Oreo truffles.  Enough said.

April brought with it an older man who offered to marry me if I ever decided that I wanted to boot my man to the curb.

In May we made the big move to our new house and busied ourselves making it into a home.  It was also the month that the Mr's younger brother graduated from high school.

In June we journeyed to Missouri for Ty & Jami's wedding, which took place the day before our one year anniversary.  We had wanted to go on an anniversary trip, but the Mr. was in the wedding.

July brought the Mr's 25th birthday and the 30 minute cleaning challenge.

We finally made our first trip to Chicago to our beloved IKEA in August following a visit from my parents.

In September, I found out that I had been accepted into the CNA program that I tested for in August.  This is also the month that I went from working full-time down to part-time.

October was incredibly busy.  I spent all morning in class, learning the ins and outs of being a CNA.  I spent my afternoons doing homework and my evenings at work. My poor husband lived on turkey sandwiches and cereal.

In November, I graduated from the CNA program and began searching for a new job, which I finally found in...

...December.  We also spent several days in Missouri, where we got the Malibu stuck in a snowdrift.  This month we were also hit by an elderly lady who ran a red light. 

It's not a very detailed review, but that's basically all that happened this year.  I've been blessed with good health and a wonderful husband and family.  Here's to hoping that 2010 is even better!

Accident

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As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we were involved in a minor car accident yesterday.

We were driving east through an intersection that had been green for several seconds.  Half-way through, the Mr. noticed a silver car coming from the south at a fairly high rate of speed.  Realizing that they were plowing through the red light, he pushed on the gas in an attempt to get out of the way.

Obviously she still managed to hit us.

After the impact, we looked back to see the silver car driving away.  The Mr. wasn't having that, so he turned around and followed the car until it stopped.

The woman who hit us was 86 years old.  I felt bad for her, but we still called the police.  She wasn't happy about that.  She was ready to just go on her merry way.  Her car had no damage.  Her license plate was ripped off, but she wasn't concerned about it.  She didn't seem all that concerned about our bumper hanging from the back of our car.

She did receive a ticket after she admitted that she ran through the red light.  She tried to get the officer to let it slide.  She also didn't like hearing us tell him that she didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.  We were several blocks north of where the accident actually occurred.

What a crummy way to end 2009!  This isn't the only adventure our car has been involved in this week, but I'll talk about that when I post about Christmas.  Hopefully we can get a new bumper soon and put this behind us.

It's Monday

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I was going to write out a great post this evening, but I changed my mind.  It's been kind of a crummy day.  We were driving around town today and were hit by an elderly lady who ran through a red light.  We're both fine.  I have a couple of photos and will post more about it later.

But for now, I'm going to continue to relax for a while and read through my new cookbook.

Merry Christmas!

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Okay, so I am a couple of days late, but I have been busy spending quality time with my family.  I will be posting photos of our various adventures over the next few days.  But for now, here's a photo of what we have been dealing with since we got back home yesterday.

It's Christmas Eve!

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It's.  Almost.  Christmas.

!!!

I am so excited!

We open gifts with my parents on Christmas Eve, so we are spending time with them.  We just finished a delicious dinner and now I am chomping at the bit to open gifts.  I am that adult who gets really excited about gifts.  I've been picking them all up, trying to guess their contents, while my parents yell at me to get away from the tree.

Yes, I am that girl.

My husband keeps telling me to stop looking at the clock.  I can't help it!  I'm like a little kid.  Of course, I also love giving gifts and can't wait for my family to open theirs.

All right, it's time to go look at the clock every fourteen seconds until my parents give in and say we can open presents.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Decorations

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FINALLY!

I put our Christmas decorations out the week before Thanksgiving.  Please don't scream at your monitor.  We don't spend Thanksgiving at our house and it's nice to come back with it ready for Christmas.  We come home, unpack, and dive right into the Christmas spirit. 

Unfortunately, my house has been a disaster for the last month or so.  Each day I wake up and say I'll clean so that I can share my holiday joy with my readers.  Has that happened?  Nope. 

That, however, is about to change!

Please enjoy the tour of our home.

I found these adorable salt and pepper shakers at Target a few weeks ago for $2.99.  They are perched above the stove.  Will I ever actually put salt and pepper in them?  No way!  Do they make me happy when I look at them while I cook?  You betcha!

Here's an awful photo of our mantle.  Note the five stockings.  One for me, one for the Mr., and one for each of our evil monsters precious pooches.  I love the candles that I found.  I was considering going with solid red pillars until I saw these candy cane-striped beauties at Wal-Mart.  No, they are not scented.  Yes, I spent more than a minute trying to smell them at the store.  Moving on.  How about that Charlie Brown Christmas tree?  The Mr. doesn't understand.  Hello?  It has Linus' blanket as a tree skirt, it must stay on the mantle!

Here's the tv stand.  The Mr. insisted on mounting the television.  Please pretend those cables aren't there.  Thanks.

Here's a closeup of what's on our little media center.  The votive holders are leftover from our wedding (which is proof that not everything you buy for that blessed event is only good for one use).  The Santa Claus Christmas countdown was a steal at $7 at Hobby Lobby.  I bought it when there were still 19 or so days until Christmas.  When I turned it to five days, I nearly cried, as my shopping still was not finished.  Now I'm excited to turn the blocks.

This is obviously our stairway.  Can you see the tree?  No?  Well, do you see the gold star below the red bow on the right?  Yes, that star.  It's sitting on top of our tree.  Please don't make fun of our tree.  Here's the deal.  For the last several years, I have been using my grandparents' old tree (the kind where you insert each and every single branch individually).  Our first Christmas in Illinois was spent in a tiny apartment, so we bought a 2' tree and placed it on the coffee table.  At the time, we had a house full of barking locusts little puppies who enjoyed eating paper, so we thought it best to have the gifts off of the ground.

This year our tiny tree has nothing to do with the dogs or space.  It has to do with me and my being a tightwad more frugal this year.  I originally wanted to buy an artificial tree, but the 7' tree I loved was $300 and I refuse to pay that for a plastic tree.  So then I thought I'd get one on clearance after Christmas to use for next year.  In the meantime, I bought our 2' tree for $8 at Target.  I have since decided that next year I want a frasier fir. 

I find it amusing that the stack of gifts is taller than the tree itself.  Of course, I can't take the blame for this.  A lot of this is the Mr's fault.  Half of those gifts are for our nephews, Adrian and Mason.  The Mr. says that it's because they are only little once and that it is important to make it wonderful for them.  I think that next year we ought to limit it to three gifts.  After all, baby Jesus received three -- gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  We'll see what happens.

 

OH!  And last, but certainly not least, here is the front of the house.  Sorry to disappoint, but there are no lights out there this year.  We currently have zero outlets on the outside of our house and I refuse to have an extension cord running through my window.  Check back next year.

All right then.  I hope you enjoyed the photos of the house.

Merry Christmas!

Stick a Fork in Me, I am Done!

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...with Christmas shopping, that is!

We definitely put off a little bit of our shopping this year.  Waking up this morning, we still had three people to shop for.  We bought those gifts and a few others.  The pile under our tree keeps getting bigger and bigger.  We are definitely done, though.  No more.  Shopping today filled me with enough anxiety, I can't imagine going out in these crowds over the next few days.

I also bought some groceries today.  Ugh.  What.  A.  Mess.  I had to get all of the ingredients for my Christmas goody baking.  Here's what I have on the menu:

-- Brownie crackles

-- Fudge

-- Puppy Chow

-- Oreo truffles

-- Chocolate-covered pretzels

I'll take pictures of each and will include directions in a couple of days!

Welcome!

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Welcome to the new space!

This is definitely still a work in progress, but already it looks eight million times better than my other blog did.  I still want to do a few things to spruce it up, but I am loving my new header.  If anyone cares, I made it.

In other news...

Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away?  Holy moly!  I have been so busy the last couple of weeks that I haven't finished my shopping.  I'm hoping to get that done tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

What are your holiday plans?  Do you go out of town to visit family?  Does your family come to visit you?  We're heading to Missouri again this year to see our families.  We have at least a half dozen places to go in a short amount of time.  It's exhausting, but on the other hand, it's so nice to spend time with loved ones.

I promise I will take pictures of my Christmas decorations!  I've been enjoying them and keep forgetting to upload pictures.  Expect that in a couple of days.

With the changing of the seasons (can you believe winter starts in a couple of days?), my life, too, has seen some big changes.  I will talk about those changes soon (I want to leave you on the edge of your seat).

Anyway, that's all for now.  I need to go clean up my craft room (which I have yet to post pictures of as well.  I'm awful, aren't I?) and think about getting some sleep.

See ya soon!

What do you think?

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I clean up well, don't I?

Recipe Tuesday

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It's been a couple of weeks since I last shared a yummy recipe.  Have you missed them?  Yeah, I didn't think so.

That's all right, I shall continue to share anyway.

Guess what kind of culinary goodness I'm going to share with you this week?  I'll give you a hint...

Yes, I am posting a cake recipe.

Yes, that is a photo of me.  Being cute isn't new to me.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my favorite, favorite chocolate sheet cake.  It's from the Pioneer Woman.  You must make this cake.  Now.

Ingredients

• CAKE Ingredients
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.

Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Disaster

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Bear with me, I'm working on my layout.  It'll look nice eventually... I promise!

Happy Anniversary

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 Happy 6 year anniversary to my wonderful husband!  Please enjoy the excessive number of photos that follow.  Take a journey with me through the last six years...

 

Just a Bit of News

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I told you a couple of weeks that I had graduated from the CNA program I was in.  Before clinicals began, we took a tour of the facility we would be in.  While there, I filled out an application for a job.  I figured it would be to my benefit to have it in before clinicals so that they could see what a good worker I am.

Clinicals ended the week of Thanksgiving, so I didn't expect to hear anything that week.

I didn't hear anything from them the next week either.

I began to get discouraged.

Then I found out that they had contacted my current employer about me.

And then they finally called me last Monday.

I went in for my interview Wednesday afternoon.  Another girl came in after me, which immediately made me second-guess everything I had said.  During the interview, I felt like I was witty and personable.  I made a great comparison to CNAs being like the outfielders on a baseball team.  It was brilliant.  Having "worked" at the facility a few weeks before, the interviewers felt familiar, which kept me at ease.

However... when I left and saw another girl there for an interview, I suddenly worried that I sounded full of myself and arrogant.  So I left and went to do some shopping at Lowe's.

I didn't need to worry, though.  On my way home from Lowe's, merely an hour after my interview, the HR woman from the facility called me.

I GOT THE JOB!!!

Hooray!  I start orientation Monday afternoon.  I'm really excited to finally be working in the medical field.  Best of all?  It's not retail.  I may be able to start enjoying shopping again!

Christmas Decorations

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The good news is that I truly outdid myself this year with my Christmas decorations.  The bad news is that I had to take them down after two days.  I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever.  Great stories, but two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents, as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder and almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy).  By the way, she was one of the many people who attempted to do that.  My yard couldn't take it either.  I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up into my yard.

**Disclaimer -- I received this as an e-mail.  This is not my house.

Ketchup

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How about the weather in the Midwest this week?  We didn't get much snow, but it is cold.  When I went to pick the dogs up this morning, the thermometer in the 'bu* said 8F.  It was eight whole degrees above 0F.  Unfortunately, there was also wind, so the windchill was -8F.

I just want to say that I like cold weather.  I was born in the middle of winter (8 1/2 weeks from now... not that I'm counting or anything).  I'd be fine with the temperature were 8F, but only if there weren't any wind.  Wind is evil.  Unless you're sailing.  Or wind surfing.

Since it's finally cold outside, the Mr. and I decided to use our fireplace.  Having a fire in your living room is work.  We were constantly poking at the logs.  It was nice and toasty, though, and I'm really glad we have one.  If we have ice storms and lose power we will really appreciate it.

So toasty!

================================

The puppies are home!  Re-Pete was happy to see me.  Wally was still a little nervous.  And Penelope?  Well... she looked a little mad.  When I walked up to the cage she was in, she gave me this look like she was saying 'It's about time you showed up.'

The girl has an attitude.

But that's not important.  The important thing is that they're home where they belong.  The vet smell that has permeated their skin is another story.

We've been doing a lot of snuggling on the sofa today.  The boys are fine.  Penelope is taking things a little slower, but she's good, too.

================================

The Mr. and I had a nice dinner out tonight.  We had a fancy supper at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Have you ever eaten there?  No?  Go.  Now.  Leave a comment and go eat wings.  Their honey bbq sauce is delicious.

They have these silly computer games on the walls, which the Mr. likes to play.

================================

*The 'bu is our car -- the Malibu.

Dog News

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After the last litter of puppies, the Mr. and I decided that we didn't want any more.

Ever.

Of course, we kept putting off getting Penelope spayed and the boys neutered.  Around Thanksgiving, we noticed she was going into heat and realized our lives were about to become unpleasant.  We scrambled to call every vet in the county and found that prices ranged from $200-$350 to have our six pound chihuahua spayed.

Seriously?  I don't think so.

I asked a few friends and co-workers about it and was referred to a facility in a town 45 minutes away.  I gave them a call on Monday to ask about prices.  How much is it?  It's only $55 per dog.  Why are the veterinarians here so expensive?  Shouldn't controlling the pet popularion be an affordable priority?

I guess not.

So anyway... I dropped the puppies off this morning.  It was actually pretty sad.  They didn't want to go.  When I got home, I kept looking around for them when I lounged on the sofa or walked to the kitchen.  It's too quiet without them.

Penelope seemed pretty suspicious this morning and gave me the squinty evil eye.  I feel sorry for the vet and the vet techs who had to deal with this diva all day.

But yes, so we miss our babies and I can't wait to pick them up in the morning!

Ugh...

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I'm somewhere in the middle of this mess.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

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Happy 75th birthday to my favorite grandma!

For her 7th birthday, she received WWII (FDR made his famous 'Day of Infamy' speech that day).

This year, she received Cameron Gene, her brand new great-grandson, who was born last Friday.

Happy birthday!

My Blog

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As previously mentioned, I'm thinking about making some changes to my blog.  During the last couple of months, I was having trouble finding things to write about, mostly due to my demanding schedule that didn't allow me to do anything interesting.

So... yeah... I've been thinking.  I really like the idea of talking about certain things on certain days of the week.  I am considering doing that four days a week and then writing whatever the other three days.  How does that sound?

Here are the topics I'm considering:

Home improvements

Recipes

Fitness & Health (I need a lot of help in this category)

Flashbacks

Do you like them?  Are they crummy?  Stupendous?  I wanted to put crafting on there, but don't devote enough time to it.  I do want to write about my unfinished projects and projects I want to do, though, so it may pop up on one of my free days.

Anyway, that's what I'm thinking right now.  I'd love to hear more ideas from you!

What Is She Wearing?

Pin It Now! Dear Miley Cyrus,

Would you mind explaining this?

{Photo from People.com}

What are you wearing? I see the skin under your bra.

I don't have any children, but my cousin's 4 year old loves Hannah Montana.  I am 100% certain that booty shorts and a shiny bra (partially covered by a t-shirt or not) are not appropriate apparel for someone who is seen as a role model for young girls.

You and your stylist should be ashamed of yourselves.

Presents for Kids

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The Mr. and I have two nephews -- Adrian and Mason.  Adrian just turned four and Mason is two.  With Christmas coming up, we're racking our brains for gift ideas for them.

Two years ago, we bought Adrian the coolest gift ever.  This.

Check out that awesome motorcycle?  It's from Step2.  Adrian loved it.  The Mr. woke up on Christmas morning and Adrian was riding it around the kitchen in his diaper.  Best gift ever.  I was auntie of the year.

He was two at the time.  Last year, we bought him a fleece blanket (he loves soft things) and a Nerf gun.

Ugh, the nerf gun.

Affectionately known as a 'blaster gun,' I was not happy about this purchase.  He was three.  What three year old needs a Nerf gun?  Apparently this one did.  It's what he asked for.  We bought him one that shot tennis ball-sized foam balls.  What's the first thing he did when we loaded it for him?  He tried to shoot me in the head.  Uh-huh.  Guess who encouraged him to aim at me?  Men!

So this year, I wasn't sure what to get him.  I am so removed from the realm of little kids and have no idea what they like and what's appropriate.  So what did we get him?  This.  Again.

For the record...

I did not pick this out.  

I did not pay for it.  

I don't know that I want to be there when he opens it. 

I bought him clothes.

OH!  And while I have your attention... what do two year olds like?  We're at a loss for Mason.  We only see him at important family functions.  We've seen him so few times that we've never even heard him speak.  I'm certain that he can, I've just never heard it.

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Bargain of the Day!

Sephora is offering free shipping on many of their products and gift sets through December 14th.  All of the gifts are under $50.  Just use the promo code HOLIDAYSHIP.

Flashback Friday

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