October 1 - Happy birthday to me!
October 2 - Fun lunch at Benihana, including great fellowship with the Avances and Pangburns.
October 3 - Having a sick day at home provided some much needed rest. Sometimes I have to be forced to rest, but it's good when I do.
October 4 - When we got to the Cox's house for Foundation Group, Sydney and Lucy were waiting in the yard to greet me. They ran along side the car until I parked, and as soon as I opened the door, they ran into the street to my side of the car and shouted, "Happy Birthday!" It was so sweet. They were anxious to run ahead of me into the house to announce that the birthday girl was there, and we all celebrated with yummy brownies! Thank you all for making me feel so special!
October 5 - The dessert recipe at Apples of Gold tonight was AMAZING! It is so simple to make, yet delicious! I can't wait to make it at home.
October 6 - Michael picked me up from work tonight to get dinner and go to Bible study. Even though I know I now have to get up early to leave for work with him, it was nice to drive home together tonight.
October 7 - Fun Friday night! Italian dinner with the Avances, homemade apple turnovers (from the recipe on Wednesday) and ice cream for dessert, and Food Network's Halloween Wars.
October 8 - Birthday celebration dinner at Silver Fox.
October 9 - Lazy, rainy day! We had fun hanging out with Tim and Stephanie today. We had an early lunch with them, enjoyed a movie while it rained this afternoon, and then had dinner and dessert tonight while we caught another episode of Halloween Wars. We laughed that it felt like we were all roommates. It was nice to have a day to just hang out and do nothing.
October 10 - Rangers Win!
October 11 - Painting in the park with Foundation Group...fun times!
October 12 - Thankful for the wonderful rain to start the day!
October 13 - Happy Hour at Mattito's with Tim and Stephanie before Bible study. The Rangers lost, but we enjoyed the company and had a great Bible study afterwards.
October 14 - New recipes from Carrie's Kitchen. I'm very interested in the homestyle sweet potatoes this week.
October 15 - Rangers win the ACLS! (Second to the big win, the homestyle sweet potatoes were pretty delicious!)
October 16 - Great sermon this morning, followed by lunch with friends at Pei Wei.
October 17 - Sick days are no good, but I enjoyed watching lots of Grey's Anatomy today.
October 18 - Another sick day means canceled evening plans, but the fourth night in a row for dinner at home with my husband.
October 19 - Yummy dinner at Apples of Gold. I can't wait to make the Pumpkin Crisp myself! It's basically a dump cake but with pumpkin and other goodness instead of fruity pie filling. I wasn't sure at first, but it was amazing!
October 20 - Go Rangers!
October 21 - Great dinner with Mom and Dad, followed by some intense Liverpool Rummy! I didn't wait long to make the Pumpkin Crisp. We had it for dessert following Michael's delicous pumpkin chili.
October 22 - Great nap this afternoon!
October 23 - Beautiful weather today after last night's monster storms...love it!
October 24 - I love riding to work with my husband in the mornings. It makes getting up extra early seem worth it. :o)
October 25 - Piggie Pies...YUM!
October 26 - Yummy tropical pizza...I just realized this was pizza two nights in a row!
October 27 - The cool weather today was so nice! Is fall finally here?
October 28 - Good day at work today, and La Mexicana pizza was amazing!
October 29 - Halloween party at Brett and Kristen's house.
October 30 - What a gorgeous day for a bike ride at the lake!
October 31 - Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2011
Happy Halloweekend!
Saturday night, Brett and Kristen hosted a wonderful Halloween party. Kristen did a great job decorating her house and setting up the table!
Everything Kristen made was amazing! The mummy dogs and smoky cheese sandwiches were delicious and so was the witch's brew served from the smoking cauldron. Just watch out for the eye ball ice cubes!
Don't forget about the homemade pumpkin cheesecake. I left very, very full. The giant bowl of candy didn't help that!
It was so fun to see everyone's costumes!
Can you guess who Michael and I dressed up as?
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That's right. We went as Waldo and Wenda!
Michael had fun playing "Where's Waldo?" all night. (See photos above.)
Today, several of my co-workers dressed up. It was fun to see more costumes!
Tonight, the Avances came down to enjoy some pumpkin chili, watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and pass out candy to the adorable neighborhood kids. It was so fun to see them all dressed up! I wish we could have gotten pictures, but we don't want to be the creepy neighbors whose house is off-limits next year. So, instead, you have to settle for more pictures of us. :o)
When Michael saw how much candy Stephanie gave to the first two trick-or-treaters, he ran and got his "bag" to join in the fun.
I hope you had a wonderful Halloweekend like we did.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Only 54 days (and 1 hour, 55 minutes) 'til Christmas! (Tim liked to remind our trick-or-treaters of this fact, which all the parents seemed to appreciate!)
Outside and front entry way
Fireplace and living room decor
Dining room table and buffet
Everything Kristen made was amazing! The mummy dogs and smoky cheese sandwiches were delicious and so was the witch's brew served from the smoking cauldron. Just watch out for the eye ball ice cubes!
Don't forget about the homemade pumpkin cheesecake. I left very, very full. The giant bowl of candy didn't help that!
It was so fun to see everyone's costumes!
Vampire Host and Hostess
Mario and Luigi
Basketball Player and Referee
Catwoman and Batman
Monk and Beer Wench
Pirates
Miss Piggy and Kermit
Can you guess who Michael and I dressed up as?
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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That's right. We went as Waldo and Wenda!
Michael had fun playing "Where's Waldo?" all night. (See photos above.)
Group Photos
Today, several of my co-workers dressed up. It was fun to see more costumes!
Tonight, the Avances came down to enjoy some pumpkin chili, watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and pass out candy to the adorable neighborhood kids. It was so fun to see them all dressed up! I wish we could have gotten pictures, but we don't want to be the creepy neighbors whose house is off-limits next year. So, instead, you have to settle for more pictures of us. :o)
When Michael saw how much candy Stephanie gave to the first two trick-or-treaters, he ran and got his "bag" to join in the fun.
I hope you had a wonderful Halloweekend like we did.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Only 54 days (and 1 hour, 55 minutes) 'til Christmas! (Tim liked to remind our trick-or-treaters of this fact, which all the parents seemed to appreciate!)
October 26, 2011
The Gift that Keeps on Giving – October (Pizza)
Michael's October shipment arrived tonight...Pizza!
We had planned to be home watching the Rangers and eating nachos. Since the game was postponed until tomorrow night, we decided to wait and have nachos tomorrow night as well. This was a great last-minute substitution!
Tonight we tried the tropical pizza. Instead of the typical ham and pineapple, this one was shrimp and pineapple...right up Michael's alley! It was pretty tasty. (We were so hungry and excited to eat that we forgot to pause and get a picture after it cooked. Here is one before it went into the oven. It looked much better when it came out of the oven!)
The others that we'll try later are La Mexicana (ground beef, peppers, and chopped jalepenos!) and Verde (veggie - broccoli florets, green peppers, and onions).
It sure has been fun to try new things every month.
June – Hot Sauce ü
July – Ice Cream ü
August – Beer ü
September – Sirloin ü
October – Pizza ü
November – Peanut Butter & Jelly
December – Coffee
January – Jerky
February – Tea
March – Salsa
April – Lobster
May – BBQ Sauce
We had planned to be home watching the Rangers and eating nachos. Since the game was postponed until tomorrow night, we decided to wait and have nachos tomorrow night as well. This was a great last-minute substitution!
Tonight we tried the tropical pizza. Instead of the typical ham and pineapple, this one was shrimp and pineapple...right up Michael's alley! It was pretty tasty. (We were so hungry and excited to eat that we forgot to pause and get a picture after it cooked. Here is one before it went into the oven. It looked much better when it came out of the oven!)
The others that we'll try later are La Mexicana (ground beef, peppers, and chopped jalepenos!) and Verde (veggie - broccoli florets, green peppers, and onions).
It sure has been fun to try new things every month.
Five down, seven to go!
October – Pizza ü
November – Peanut Butter & Jelly
December – Coffee
January – Jerky
February – Tea
March – Salsa
April – Lobster
May – BBQ Sauce
October 11, 2011
Painting in the Park
Tim and Stephanie were in charge of planning this month's social event for our Foundation Group. Tim decided to put his own twist on Painting with a Twist. I've never been to Painting with a Twist, but it is an art studio that provides supplies and instruction so that you can create your own masterpiece. Everyone in the session paints the same painting. From the pictures I've seen, it's interesting to see how the final paintings differ. I've wanted to go to Painting with a Twist, but it runs around $40 a person.
Tonight, for $6 a person, we had our own "Painting in the Park with Tim." Michael and I arrived early and enjoyed a quick dinner.
Tim and Stephanie soon arrived with supplies.
Tim had picked out a few paintings, and we voted on our favorite. This is the printed picture we were working from.
Everyone had a lot of fun working on the paintings.
We soon ran out of light, and we had to pull the truck around to provide some light for our work.
We didn't all have time to finish, but here is the picture we were working from (top left) along with our "finished" (or in process) paintings. Not bad for a bunch of amateurs that ran out of time and light. :o)
We'll definitely have to do this again!
Tonight, for $6 a person, we had our own "Painting in the Park with Tim." Michael and I arrived early and enjoyed a quick dinner.
Tim and Stephanie soon arrived with supplies.
Tim had picked out a few paintings, and we voted on our favorite. This is the printed picture we were working from.
Everyone had a lot of fun working on the paintings.
We soon ran out of light, and we had to pull the truck around to provide some light for our work.
We didn't all have time to finish, but here is the picture we were working from (top left) along with our "finished" (or in process) paintings. Not bad for a bunch of amateurs that ran out of time and light. :o)
We'll definitely have to do this again!
Weekly Meal Plans - Carrie's Kitchen
Do you wish that you cooked and ate at home more often? Maybe you don't because it's hard to plan ahead and get to the grocery store for everything you need, or when you do go to the store, you always find that you are missing an ingredient when you actually start cooking.
If you do eat at home, do you find yourself in a rut of making the same recipes every week? If you are in search of adding some variety and making meal planning easier, I have something for you.
A lady at church has started a weekly meal plan website to help people like you! Check out Carrie's Kitchen at http://www.carrieskitchen.net/.
If you subscribe, you will receive a weekly email (each Friday) with a meal plan for the following week. The email includes a link to a comprehensive shopping list and full recipes that you can download.
You can subscribe for FREE right now as Carrie works on her website and generates more interest. Towards the end of the year, the monthly subscription will begin costing $6.95. This is a great time to try it out for free (no commitment necessary) and see if you like it. You've got nothing to lose, and you'll get some great new recipes!
I recently joined, and I am excited to try some of Carrie's recipes. I haven't yet made anything from her meal plans, but I had the honor of attending a dinner at her house and got to try a few of her recipes first hand. Everything she made was delicious!
I am excited to try some new things and stretch our tastebuds a bit! I know several of my friends try to do weekly meal plans and shop ahead of time, but it's hard to be consistent week to week. Hopefully this will make it easier.
You can see some of Carrie's previous weekly plans here. If you do subscribe, I'd love to hear what you think!
Sample Weekly Meal Plans from Carrie's Kitchen
If you do eat at home, do you find yourself in a rut of making the same recipes every week? If you are in search of adding some variety and making meal planning easier, I have something for you.
A lady at church has started a weekly meal plan website to help people like you! Check out Carrie's Kitchen at http://www.carrieskitchen.net/.
If you subscribe, you will receive a weekly email (each Friday) with a meal plan for the following week. The email includes a link to a comprehensive shopping list and full recipes that you can download.
You can subscribe for FREE right now as Carrie works on her website and generates more interest. Towards the end of the year, the monthly subscription will begin costing $6.95. This is a great time to try it out for free (no commitment necessary) and see if you like it. You've got nothing to lose, and you'll get some great new recipes!
I recently joined, and I am excited to try some of Carrie's recipes. I haven't yet made anything from her meal plans, but I had the honor of attending a dinner at her house and got to try a few of her recipes first hand. Everything she made was delicious!
I am excited to try some new things and stretch our tastebuds a bit! I know several of my friends try to do weekly meal plans and shop ahead of time, but it's hard to be consistent week to week. Hopefully this will make it easier.
You can see some of Carrie's previous weekly plans here. If you do subscribe, I'd love to hear what you think!
Sample Weekly Meal Plans from Carrie's Kitchen
Week of 9/19:
Monday - Herbed Wild Salmon w/fresh Asparagus, Wild Rice
Tuesday - Smokey Chicken Tacos
Wednesday - Triple Threat Grilled Cheese w/Entire Garden Salad
Thursday - Smokey Chicken, Mixed Greens w/Cilantro Dressing
Friday - BLT Sandwiches w/ Spinach Salad
Saturday - Almost Homemade Pizza
Sunday - Cinnamon Rolls
Week of 10/3:
Monday - Pulled Pork BBQ w/ Broccoli Slaw
Tuesday - BLT Pasta w/ Sauteed Spinach
Wednesday - Pulled Pork Tacos
Thursday - Shrimp Cakes over Butter Lettuce
Friday - Hot Dogs
Saturday - Taco Night w/ Guacamole and make your own shells
Sunday - Homemade Biscuits, Bacon and Eggs
Week of 10/10:
Monday - Old World Spaghetti w/ Caesar Salad
Tuesday - Balsamic Pork Chops w/ Green Beans and Baked Sweet Potatoes
Wednesday - Spaghetti Leftovers
Thursday - Tomato Asparagus Tart w/ Apple Walnut Spinach Salad
Friday -BBQ Chicken, Blue Cheese Potato Salad, Parmesan Corn on Cob
Saturday - Mother's Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Feta Salad
Sunday - Homemade Banana Muffins
Week of 9/19:
Monday - Herbed Wild Salmon w/fresh Asparagus, Wild Rice
Tuesday - Smokey Chicken Tacos
Wednesday - Triple Threat Grilled Cheese w/Entire Garden Salad
Thursday - Smokey Chicken, Mixed Greens w/Cilantro Dressing
Friday - BLT Sandwiches w/ Spinach Salad
Saturday - Almost Homemade Pizza
Sunday - Cinnamon Rolls
Week of 10/3:
Monday - Pulled Pork BBQ w/ Broccoli Slaw
Tuesday - BLT Pasta w/ Sauteed Spinach
Wednesday - Pulled Pork Tacos
Thursday - Shrimp Cakes over Butter Lettuce
Friday - Hot Dogs
Saturday - Taco Night w/ Guacamole and make your own shells
Sunday - Homemade Biscuits, Bacon and Eggs
Week of 10/10:
Monday - Old World Spaghetti w/ Caesar Salad
Tuesday - Balsamic Pork Chops w/ Green Beans and Baked Sweet Potatoes
Wednesday - Spaghetti Leftovers
Thursday - Tomato Asparagus Tart w/ Apple Walnut Spinach Salad
Friday -BBQ Chicken, Blue Cheese Potato Salad, Parmesan Corn on Cob
Saturday - Mother's Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Feta Salad
Sunday - Homemade Banana Muffins
Week of 9/19:
Monday - Herbed Wild Salmon w/fresh Asparagus, Wild Rice
Tuesday - Smokey Chicken Tacos
Wednesday - Triple Threat Grilled Cheese w/Entire Garden Salad
Thursday - Smokey Chicken, Mixed Greens w/Cilantro Dressing
Friday - BLT Sandwiches w/ Spinach Salad
Saturday - Almost Homemade Pizza
Sunday - Cinnamon Rolls
Week of 10/3:
Monday - Pulled Pork BBQ w/ Broccoli Slaw
Tuesday - BLT Pasta w/ Sauteed Spinach
Wednesday - Pulled Pork Tacos
Thursday - Shrimp Cakes over Butter Lettuce
Friday - Hot Dogs
Saturday - Taco Night w/ Guacamole and make your own shells
Sunday - Homemade Biscuits, Bacon and Eggs
Week of 10/10:
Monday - Old World Spaghetti w/ Caesar Salad
Tuesday - Balsamic Pork Chops w/ Green Beans and Baked Sweet Potatoes
Wednesday - Spaghetti Leftovers
Thursday - Tomato Asparagus Tart w/ Apple Walnut Spinach Salad
Friday -BBQ Chicken, Blue Cheese Potato Salad, Parmesan Corn on Cob
Saturday - Mother's Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Feta Salad
Sunday - Homemade Banana Muffins
October 9, 2011
Look Who's 30!
I can't believe my little brother is 30! Knowing he turned 30 made me feel even older than when I turned 30 myself. (I guess that makes sense, since it means that I am older!)
Aaron came in on Thursday night, and was able to spend the weekend with us to celebrate his birthday. He wanted it to be low key, so it was a laid back but fun weekend.
Yesterday morning he, Dad, and Michael got up early and went on a guided fishing trip. They had a wonderful time and caught about 70 fish! I don't have a picture of the birthday boy. This is the only picture that they came home with, but beggars can't be choosers. :o)
Mom and I did a little shopping while the guys fished. I got some great new fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving decorations. I'm excited to find good spots for my new stuff!
Last night, we all went to dinner at Silver Fox to celebrate. Mom and Dad have talked about Silver Fox a lot, but this was the first time for the rest of us to eat there. It was delicious! I had a wonderful filet, and the mashed potatoes and garlic mac and cheese were quite tasty. We also got free dessert for Aaron's birthday! We had chocolate cake, cheese cake, and an orange cream cake. I never would have ordered the orange cake off the menu, but I think it was my favorite one!
After dinner we came back to our house to open gifts. Aaron got a new driver for his birthday a few weeks ago. He had a golf tournament for work, so Dad and Mom took him shopping a little early. Tonight, he got a glove, some tees, and some golf balls.
I also got another gift...a great Christmas wreath that Mom bought in Canton. I love it!
Happy birthday Aaron! I'm glad that we got to celebrate with you. I hope 30 is a great year for you!
Aaron came in on Thursday night, and was able to spend the weekend with us to celebrate his birthday. He wanted it to be low key, so it was a laid back but fun weekend.
Yesterday morning he, Dad, and Michael got up early and went on a guided fishing trip. They had a wonderful time and caught about 70 fish! I don't have a picture of the birthday boy. This is the only picture that they came home with, but beggars can't be choosers. :o)
Mom and I did a little shopping while the guys fished. I got some great new fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving decorations. I'm excited to find good spots for my new stuff!
Last night, we all went to dinner at Silver Fox to celebrate. Mom and Dad have talked about Silver Fox a lot, but this was the first time for the rest of us to eat there. It was delicious! I had a wonderful filet, and the mashed potatoes and garlic mac and cheese were quite tasty. We also got free dessert for Aaron's birthday! We had chocolate cake, cheese cake, and an orange cream cake. I never would have ordered the orange cake off the menu, but I think it was my favorite one!
After dinner we came back to our house to open gifts. Aaron got a new driver for his birthday a few weeks ago. He had a golf tournament for work, so Dad and Mom took him shopping a little early. Tonight, he got a glove, some tees, and some golf balls.
I also got another gift...a great Christmas wreath that Mom bought in Canton. I love it!
Happy birthday Aaron! I'm glad that we got to celebrate with you. I hope 30 is a great year for you!
October 2, 2011
Happy Birthday To Me!
I had a great birthday dinner last night at Cheddar's with Michael, Mom, Dad, Jenni, and Rod. After dinner, we came back to our house for presents and birthday dessert.
There were so many presents that it looked like Christmas! (This picture was taken earlier in the day before a few more gifts were added to it.)
I got The Hunger Games from Rod and Jenni. If you haven't read this series, you should check it out. The books are great, and I'm excited to own the first one now!
Dad and Mom gave me a great pumpkin candle holder with really cute pumpkin shaped tea lights. They smell amazing too! They also gave me a gift card to Home Goods that I am anxious to use. One we get a few more things hung on the walls at home (frames, curtains, towel bars, etc.), I am going to be ready to do a little more decorating!
Paula and Mike sent me all kinds of great fall stuff. I got pumpkin walnut cookies with white chocolate (which we polished off tonight...delicious!), pumpkin scone mix, fall muffin paper cups, a cupcake cookbook, and a great mini pie cookbook. You make the bite-size pies in mini muffin tins. There are a couple that I am very excited to try. Top of the list is the s'mores mini pie! I also got a Thanksgiving plate to display, cute napkins, a "J" magnetic notepad, fall kitchen hand towels, comfy pj's, and a pretty scarf. It was so fun keep finding more surprises!
Michael got me a neat Christmas countdown. I have been wanting an advent calendar/Christmas countdown, but I haven't been able to find one that I really like. This one is a wooden box with 26 drawers and a compartment in the back. The back compartment has a little Christmas tree, one drawer has a stand for the Christmas tree, and the 25 numbered drawers have decorations for the tree. The first day, the decoration is red beads, and then the following days there are ornaments to put on...snowmen, candy canes, mittens, stockings, etc. It is so cute!
After opening gifts, we had fried pies and ice cream. We first had these fried pies from a shop in Oklahoma, and they are amazing! Mom got these in Canton yesterday, so they were fresh. We just reheated them in the oven, and they were tasty. I didn't get a picture before we tore into them, but they were delicious! We had cherry, pecan, apple, chocolate, blackberry, and peach. I think my favorites were the cherry and pecan.
Mom and Dad, thank you for a great dinner and yummy fried pies! Thanks to everyone for the great gifts! It was another wonderful birthday!
There were so many presents that it looked like Christmas! (This picture was taken earlier in the day before a few more gifts were added to it.)
I got The Hunger Games from Rod and Jenni. If you haven't read this series, you should check it out. The books are great, and I'm excited to own the first one now!
Dad and Mom gave me a great pumpkin candle holder with really cute pumpkin shaped tea lights. They smell amazing too! They also gave me a gift card to Home Goods that I am anxious to use. One we get a few more things hung on the walls at home (frames, curtains, towel bars, etc.), I am going to be ready to do a little more decorating!
Paula and Mike sent me all kinds of great fall stuff. I got pumpkin walnut cookies with white chocolate (which we polished off tonight...delicious!), pumpkin scone mix, fall muffin paper cups, a cupcake cookbook, and a great mini pie cookbook. You make the bite-size pies in mini muffin tins. There are a couple that I am very excited to try. Top of the list is the s'mores mini pie! I also got a Thanksgiving plate to display, cute napkins, a "J" magnetic notepad, fall kitchen hand towels, comfy pj's, and a pretty scarf. It was so fun keep finding more surprises!
Michael got me a neat Christmas countdown. I have been wanting an advent calendar/Christmas countdown, but I haven't been able to find one that I really like. This one is a wooden box with 26 drawers and a compartment in the back. The back compartment has a little Christmas tree, one drawer has a stand for the Christmas tree, and the 25 numbered drawers have decorations for the tree. The first day, the decoration is red beads, and then the following days there are ornaments to put on...snowmen, candy canes, mittens, stockings, etc. It is so cute!
After opening gifts, we had fried pies and ice cream. We first had these fried pies from a shop in Oklahoma, and they are amazing! Mom got these in Canton yesterday, so they were fresh. We just reheated them in the oven, and they were tasty. I didn't get a picture before we tore into them, but they were delicious! We had cherry, pecan, apple, chocolate, blackberry, and peach. I think my favorites were the cherry and pecan.
Mom and Dad, thank you for a great dinner and yummy fried pies! Thanks to everyone for the great gifts! It was another wonderful birthday!
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