Blessedness.....

The end result. :-)

When the kitchen is messy, one is incredibly tired and definitely isn't feeling like cleaning said kitchen or even thinking about cooking dinner and the husband just quietly steps in and makes dinner.....well, lets just say that I am one very lucky lady!!! But get this, not only did he make waffles from scratch and cook them, he also cooked down strawberries into a wonderful jam to spread on them. A-m-a-z-i-n-g.
I love my man!
Nuff' said. :-)

Checklist

-Clean bathroom- Check
-Organize kitchen cupboards- Check
-Take down and pack away Christmas Decorations- Check
-Move furniture back to living-room- Check
-Vacuum all carpet- Check
-Run two loads of laundry- Check
-Bathe Roy- Check
-Update blog-Check :-)

Now to crash on the couch with a cup of coffee and a Country Women magazine.

Life is good!

Outside my front window.....

...is this Hawthorne tree with little red berries. Don't they look pretty against the snow?

When we got a rapid accumulation of snow the other night, I was thrilled! It doesn't seem like winter when all you've had is freezing temperatures and NO SNOW!!! I was hoping for a white Christmas but alas, it was not to be. Ah well, at least we made up for it this month, I mean, 8 inches?!?! Yippee!!! :-)  Now to bundle up the Little Man and go make a snowman before it all melts....:-)

Christmas Gifts 2011

Here are the pictures as promised of all the Christmas goodies. Photo credit goes to T.W for kindly taking all the pictures since I'd forgotten and frantically called asking her to help me out. :-) Thanks sis!

White Chocolate Lemon Cream Cheese Truffles

These were so much fun to make and of course I made extras of everything to sample. Its not a good idea to make something to give when it might not turn out or something, right?. ;-)

Milk Chocolate Brownie Truffles

 Simple to make but very time consuming with all the freezing and such to make the chocolate workable. I want to try a version with caramel in the center sometime.

At left is the Lemon Curd, Then the Pumpkin Cranberry Bread and last is the Apple Butter.

Oh, writing up this post is making me hungry!!!

Oops, I hear Little Man waking up from his nap. I'll "talk" to ya'll again soon!

2011, Christmas Baking, Odds and ends, 2012, Baby......

As I sit here waiting for my cup of tea to brew (its got to be brewed for a good 5 minutes or it isn't tea. ;-) I'm thinking back on the past few weeks, indeed, actually the past months or the latter half of 2011. It was a great year in so many ways, definitely a year of growing (and not just because I'm pregnant, hah!:-D). I've always felt very close to Jay, he is such an awesome man and I love him very much but as we passed the 2 years married mark it obviously got me to thinking about things, being married and how different life is from even when we first married. I thought that when we married that we were really close, not that we couldn't grow closer but just that we were way ahead on being a newly married couple in that I trusted, adored, loved.....(you get the idea;-) him very much. But, all that said, I still realize how much closer we've actually grown together and if its possible, love each other more than that day over 2 years ago. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

Oops...tea's brewed and the mail just arrived....be right back.........

Okay, where was I...? Oh, right! Getting really sappy....alright, I think ya'll know what I mean, at least those of you that are married will understand what I'm trying to say, hopefully its not so jumbled that you can't make head or tail of what I mean. :-)

Ahhh....there is nothing like a hot cup of tea with shortbread cookies....(except maybe a nice cup of coffee with a dollop of ice cream on top where the coffee is super hot and the ice cream is really cold and slowly melts into the coffee.....;-D)

This year (or actually, it was last year....;-) I decided to do homemade baking for Christmas gifts for family and try to make it fun and easy but really good.....good tasting I mean! :-) It sorta worked, it worked in that I got the fun and good tasting part down but easy was not, well, not so easy. ;-) Being almost eight months pregnant and staying up 'till 2:00 in the morning making apple butter was lots of fun but I did sort've crash the next day. Crash in that I had to drink four cups of strong coffee to stay awake because it was Christmas and I didn't want to miss anything. Silly reason I know but still. I loved making all the different goodies though and I would never have been able to do it without the awesome help from a super sister.....hats off to T.W.!!!!!!! She not only made several batches of Pumpkin Cranberry bread but also did the family recipe for Shortbread and gave loads of advice and encouragement as I fretted and worried over this or that. Thanks T.W! 
I do think that if I do it again I will plan much better, do things that can be done ahead of time much sooner...(like canned apple butter.....;-) and make sure I don't worry too much over what so and so might think about such and such. :-D Oh, and T.W very kindly took pictures for me to show you the end result of all that fun and yummy work which I will show in the next post since this one is getting very long.

I haven't made any New Years Resolutions really.....I did decide to get outdoors more but that's not too hard for me anyways so I don't think I'll count it as a resolution. Other things coming up in 2012 are baby of course! This pregnancy it seems like the months have gone by much quicker and that might be because we've not only been really busy but I've also felt better. Baby should arrive sometime next month, probably later rather than sooner and we'll see just which side of the collective cousins wins out....boys or girls. ;-) I do have an inkling as to what it might be but I'm not saying since I'm not sure enough and I will be really thrilled with either. :-)

Well, I think this post is long enough ;-) and so I shall say good evening and I'll be posting other random things very soon.

December 25th, 2011

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Life lately.

Besides being busy lately (as usual of course!) with everyday life, I've been working on other things. Things like re-doing the living room, Roy's room and our room. It's a slow process as I search out and look for items I like for the different areas and try to find that perfect little piece to complete a room. It takes time but I know I'll be so much happier if I'm sure, and I mean really sure I'll like something before I buy it. :-) I did take before pictures but since I'm not rushing in re-decorating it will probably be a while before I post any.

Other than that I've been trying to keep the house clean with the occasional help from my wonderful Mum and sisters (Family is awesome to have around. ;-P) and working on making sure I cook more healthy meals. Definitely going to have to get a menu plan worked out sometime soon.

Little man is sick right now. It's a rather nasty cold/flu that is going around and so he's into lots of cuddles and drinking lots of goats milk. Poor little guy! He did sleep really well last night which was surprising since his nose was stuffy.  Here's to hoping he gets better really soon!

I made Cheesecake Caramel Pumpkin Cups the other day and they were excellent with a cup of tea (or coffee! :-) I plan on making them again soon, especially since I now have some leftover pumpkin that just has to be used up! ;-) Oh and I didn't make them in a mini muffin tin, well, I didn't have one so I had to use my regular sized tin. It was such a bummer!:-D

Well, I'm off to make lunch or should I say, re-heat the leftovers from last night for lunch. (It's a wonderful garlic cheese sauce (recipe from sis, T.W) over noodles so it'll be yummy!:-)

Bye!

A Resource I Love!

If you are like me and try to go the more natural route when it comes to buying anything from Shampoo to makeup to baby wash, then you'll love this website. I found it on another blog and since then I've been going through it searching to find out what exactly the products in my bathroom cupboards have in them. Its nice that it rates them from 0-10 with 10 being the worst for your body. A very nice website for reference if you want to be more careful what you use everyday on your skin, in your mouth,...etc...,!

Keep in mind that I don't think one should go all out and only buy products that are rated 0 or should throw away everything and start fresh but it does give one a good place to refer to if you are concerned or curious about what you use.

Anyways, I've enjoyed searching the website and its been a nice resource for me and hopefully it can be for others.

Happiness is.......

...getting up early to go yard sale-ing (sp?) with Jay.

...helping him do paperwork.

...feeling baby's gentle kicks.

...having a hot cup of homebrewed Starbucks coffee.

...trying on maternity clothes from last pregnancy and finding new favorites I've bought since then.

...Roy smelling sweet and clean after getting a bath.

...the fresh smell after a gentle rain.

...waiting for the newest cousin to arrive sometime this month!

...homemade strawberry smoothies.

Life is good!

Something new...

I know it’s been a while since I've posted and lots has happened since I've done so but I saw this Blog party post on my sisters blog and thought it would be lots of fun to do. So, here goes....

1. What are two songs that describe your life right now/you as a person?

Oh boy.....I have no idea! Sometimes I feel like the song from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers "Oh, What a beautiful Morning..." I'm afraid that's only one song but I've been up since 4am and thinking of another this late in the day sounds painful. ;-)

2. Do you like the color pink?

Yes, but not to wear really unless its mixed with other colors in a print or something and its not the dominant color in the group. 

3. What is your favorite flower?

Calla Lilies, I love their quiet elegance and beauty. I always meant to have them in my wedding bouquet but when it actually came time for that momentous occasion I was so distracted by the incredible man I was marrying that I forgot! Sounds corny I know but its true!!! :-)

4. How many states have you been to?

Um, quite a few I think....let me attempt to remember them all....Oregon, Idaho, California, Washington, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Washington D.C., Ohio (I think...?) 

5. What is your favorite thing about June?

The green hills and fields and the wildflowers that dot them. They are a definite reminder to me that we have a God that loves beauty and his creation.

6. What do you most fear?

I have many fears. Maybe one of them is being too trusting of others? 

7. What color dominates your wardrobe?

Green and denim most definitely. My style is sporty/natural and therefore denim is a favorite of mine, the green is just because I love the color and it looks good on me or so I've been told.

8. How do you normally do you hair?

Down mostly and pulled back with barrettes or hair clips. I'm kind of in the stage of not really being sure what I want to do with it but I keep it trimmed and neat and I'm trying to decide on my course of action. After getting it permed recently I'm a little at a loss as to what it needs now. What does one do with semi frizzy hair that has a mind of its own?!?! 

9. Do you prefer milkshakes or smoothies?

Milkshakes are delicious but when I was pregnant fruit and kefir smoothies were the order of the day and my were they good!!! 

10. Describe your “dream wedding location”

Uh, I guess I didn't see this question before. Is this blog party for un-married ladies only? Oops! Well, I had fun answering the questions anyways if it is and as to the answer to this one, I'm married and our wedding was at my dream wedding location, a building styled to look like a vintage barn with the interior furnished and able to seat people in comfort. It was a beautiful wedding planned expertly with (mostly by :-) my awesome sister, K.

Well, that's all folks!