Christmas is all month long!

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." ~Roy L. Smith

Our first Christmas Tree! We set it up the day after Thankgiving together. Add a little fire, Christian music and peppermint coffee, I think we started a fun family tradition. I love it!


So at first he acted a bit annoyed at my need for a perfect tree, (you cant just throw lights on they must be woven in!) but after a while ditched his hum-bugness and secretly I know he enjoyed himself! :)

One of my 3 mini trees around the house. I absolutely love the Christmas holiday and our house is decorated all over. I love coming home and walking into a warm, inviting, holiday home.

"There has only been one Christmas - the rest are anniveraries." W. J. Cameron

Reagan's Story

Last Monday I came home to a very sick dog. After a few hours of continuous vomiting, I finally broke down and rushed her to the Animal ER. Well after a couple hours and ex-rays later, we agreed to surgery because they beleived she ate a foreign object. Well it turns out she had a rare condition in which her stomach was literally turning inside her body. Had I waited till morning to take her in, she may not have been able to be saved. Luckily, she is doing great now, 10 days later. Her stomach was sewed to the inside of her cavity, so there is no worry about it flipping again. Here she is today. Notice how her "cone of shame" is more than beat up after 10 days. When she was on her pain pills she was easy to keep down and quiet. Now that she feels better and doesnt have meds to zonk her out, she is a crazy boxer. One that has figured out how to eat the cone and run into walls to crack it!
Bless her heart! This was the night we were able to pick her up after surgery. I felt so bad for her, she was miserable and terrified of the cone. My poor baby girl.

You can see her huge scar if you look close enough at the picture.

This was the night we brought her home. Riley has never seen a cone and was checking it out. It was the cutest thing to see him nudge the cone up to poke his head in on her. He missed her so much when she was gone!

Happy Thanksgiving

Steve and I spent this year's Thanksgiving at his parents house. We had a nice relazxing time with each other and as always the cooking was amazing! The day after I kicked off the holiday spirit with the other crazies at 4:00am and completed a great majority of my Christmas shopping! I absolutely love shopping on Black Friday!

Apparently Steve snuck in a picture of me when I was frosting brownies. They were very good. Of course another thing I ate way too much of!

We have been very occupied with Reagan lately. Pictures of that soon to come. A week after emergency surgery she is still wearing "the cone of shame." I will post that complete story to you all when I upload pictures. She sure scared us, but seems to be healing just fine now.

Today I Made: Candycane Kiss Sugar Cookies

I was planning to bake sugar cookies tonight, and while waiting for the dentist, I had the idea of adding smashed candycanes to the dough and a candycane kiss on top. Who would have thought the dentist would give me such a sweet idea!

Hershey Candycane Kisses (1 bag)

6 smashed candycanes

2/3 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 TBS milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

1. Smash candycanes - I double bagged 6 canes and had my hubby smash in garage with hammer. :) You want them like fine flakes. Not too mush powder and not chunky.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter on med. speed for 30 seconds.

3. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until blended.

4. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat until blended.

5. Beat in candycane until blended.

6. Beat in flour. If it becomes hard to beat use wooden spoon for rest.

7. Chill dough for at least 30 min.

8. Preheat oven to 375*. Roll dough into 1/5" balls. (use flour on your palms!)

9. Bake for 9-11 mins, or until very bottom edges are brown. Unwrap kisses while baking.

10. Let sit on tray for 1 min. Press Kiss into center of cookie. Remove immediately and let cool on wire wracks.

My hunter is home!

Steve went to Montana for a week to go deer hunting with his Grandpa and work buddy, Scott. He had a blast learning from all the old pros and having valueable man-time. They not only shot the deer, but gut it and packaged it all on their own! Thank you Grandpa and Val for giving them this experience! Below is our freezer with most of the meat. (Some was immediately brought to the inside freezer.) He made maple sausage with some of the ground meat and we enjoyed that Monday morning as a breakfast burrito. I dont think I have ever had meat that was killed on Thursday and eating it on Monday! He also surprised me with a treat: Montana wine and taffy. PERFECT!

Today I Made - French Toast Casserole

Here is another one of Steve's new favorites! It's a neat way to enjoy french toast.

1 loaf french toast bread or cinamon swirl bread - cut in cubes

6 beaten eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 c. milk

cinnamon (optional)

powdered sugar

syrup

1. lightly grease 13x9x2 baking dish.

2. place cubred bread in dish

3. Beat eggs, milk, vanilla with whisk. Pour over bread. Cover and refridgerate at least one hour ( I do overnight)

4. uncover - bake at 350 degrees for 50 min.

5. Let cool 5 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over top.

6. Serve with syrup.

YUMMY!!

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Lately I have been very busy substituting. I had no idea I would have this much to do! I love that I am able to finally use my degree and teaching lisence. I think I can confirm I am a high school teacher. The other levels are fun for a day or so, but other than that, I just love teaching high school. Its also nice when I dont want to work, or make other plans, I just check that I am unavailable and wont get called!

Steve has been preparing and is super excited to go deer hunting in Montana with his gradpa and buddy, Scott. I am excited for him to go out and have "man time" and play in the wilderness. I am also very excited for fresh lean meat to return home, which will last us for about the next year. There is something I love about his desire to provide for our family in every way he can. :)

And of course, the pics above are of Reagan cuddling with Riley. Generally, she gets what she wants with him, and he is pretty patient. Every once in a while he gets mad, but clearly not tonight. Reagan is getting SO big!

A very excited Reagan

We had to leash walk Reagan for 2 weeks after she was spayed and she hated it! When we got the okay from the vet that she was all healed, we let her out to run. This is a short clip of the very long time she ran off all her stored up energy!

Today I Made - Blueberry Cheesecake (No-bake)

This cheesecake is so yummy! I've made it twice now and it is definately one of Steve's favorite! I like it because it is ridiculously easy and no baking involved!

3 c. crushed graham crackers

8 TBSP melted margarine (1 stick)

1 c. sugar

4 pkg Philidelphia Neufchatel cream cheese, soft

1/2 c. blueberry preserves or pie filling

1 pkg frozen blueberries: thawed and drained

grated lemon peel from 1 lemon

1 tub light cool whip, thawed

1. Mix graham cracker, melter margarine and 1/4c. sugar. Press firmly into 13x9 pan. Refrigerate while making filling.

2. Beat cream cheese and 3/4c. sugar in large bowl on medium until blended. Add preserves and lemon peel, mix until blended. Gently fold in blueberries. Fold in cool whip.

3. Pour over crust. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Wedding Reception - August 14.09

This was our beautiful second wedding cake! We had one layer the traditional white with vanilla filling, lemon with raspberry filling and pink champagne with champagne filling.

The reception was held at Steve's parents house. We felt so blessed to have around 100 people come out to show their love and support for us. His parents made that day very special for us and all of our family. Thank you!

Loving Fall

Even though we chose not to celebrate Halloween, I still bought pumpkins for only one reason: the seeds! I took the seeds, cleaned them off, tossed them in a bowl with cooking spray, johnny's seasoning (yellow bottle) and a dash of salt. Steve enjoyed eating them!

Seahawks in Seattle

Last Sunday Steve and I got up early to hear to Seattle for the Seahawks-Jaguar game. We arrived real early and met up with a handful of his co-workers to tailgate. I have never "tailgated" before and it was definately an experience. The game was a lot of fun and a bit embarrassing for the Jaguars, 40-0!

After the game we avioded the packed ferry and opted to wander about a local Asian market and grocery store. Steve and his buddy reminised about Japan and all the good eats they had there. We jumped on the less crowded ferry back to Bremerton and relaxed a bit. I was exhausted by the time we arrived home!

Nonetheless it was wonderful to have a day trip with my husband, especially to Seattle!

On Saturday, our baby Reagan gave me a bit of a scare. I noticed her ears were very thick and tender when I woke up, and within a couple hours, her whole face and eyes were swollen. Thank goodness the vet squeezed us in immediately because my little boxer was having a severe allergic reaction (most likely from a insect bite). Well after a couple shots and three days on benadryl, she is back to normal, but man, was I scared! Imagine when I have a sick child, and not just my dog. Oh, man!

TODAY I MADE: Cake Brownies

These brownies taste like a light chocolate cake, or a really fluffy brownie. I could make the same thing from a box, but I am satisfied knowing it is from scratch, and I know EXACTLY what is in them. So easy and yummy!

3/4 c. butter

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 c. milk

1. Grease 15x10x1 pan (or slightly smaller) with cooking spray, set aside. Preheat oven to 350*.

2. Melt butter in med. saucepan. Stir in cocoa and sugar until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat with wooden spoon until combined.

3. In small bowl mix flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour mixture and milk alternately into chocolate mix, beating with spoon after each addition.

4. Pour batter into pan. Bake 15-18 min or until toothpick is clean when inserted.

5. Cool for 2 hours on wire rack.

*You can add nuts if desired before baking. I do not like brownies with nuts, so I left them out.

Graduation memories

So I love looking at these two photos. The first one was Steve and I my high school graduation in 2005 and the second is this last June 2009 at college graduation. Look how much we've changed!

A little change for Fall!

I decided that my long hair was too much, and had about 8" sheered off! I love the new look and LOVE that the styling time is half! On this photo day I was all ready for my lunch date with Steve. We used one of our wedding giftcards for SilverCity and enjoyed a free afternoon out. THANK YOU!

TODAY I MADE - English Muffin Bread

This is one of the easiest breads I've made yet! If you like English Muffins, this makes two great loaves. I have no picture, it was eaten too quickly!

Cornmeal (for dusting)

6 c. flour

2 pkg active dry yeast

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 c. milk

1/2 c. water

1 TBL sugar

1 tsp. salt

1. Grease two 8x4x2" pans. Lightly spinkle with cornmeal. Set aside.
2.In lg. bowl combine 3c. of the flour, the yeast and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In med. saucepan heat and stir milk, water, sugar and salt just until warm (approx 120*F). Using a wooden spoon, stir milk mix into flour mix. Stir in remaining flour. (This may take some muscle!)
4. Divide dough in half. Place each half into prepared pan. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. (My bread loaves looked a but funny, but it will bake out). Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 min. or until about double in size.
5. Bake in 400* oven for 25 min or until golden brown. Immediately remove bread from pans and cool on wire rack.

** Let cool completely before sealing for storage, bread will mold quicker if it steams just slightly!
*** Eat plain or toast for a yummy breakfast!

Okay Okay Okay!

Okay, so I have got some complaints about falling behind on my blog. So I added some previous pics/blogs that I just never got around to. I will try harder to keep the puppy-fans satisfied!

Reagan is 5 months today!

My baby boxer is getting big! Although we think she is huge, she is actually rather small for a female boxer. Maybe she hasnt had a big spurt yet, or she is just going to be short. We are happy either way!

Heat Wave

We had a record breaking heat wave this week! Since wr have no AC we had fans all over the house going (which blew around the hot air.) Reagan found her spot early on, and it was hard to make her give this up! We have had 90-100* weather for quite a few days in a row and my house doesnt cool down below 85-90 at night! Seattle hit its all time ever high of 105* and lets hope that it takes another 100 years to experience that again!

50 cents of garage sale fun...who knew?

So on our afternoon walk, we came across many garage sales. I hate garage sales, but I also hate expensive dog toys, so I handed over two quarters in return for two old stuffed animals. The pups had a blast!


Not only were they tired from a long walk and chasing each other with these exciting new toys, but it was also 90 degrees out.

So after a long hard two hours awake, the BFF's took a nap on their new toys. The entertainment they will have for the next two days (thats the lifeline of stuffed animals here) was completely worth my 50 cents.

A few summer projects

I took the old, worn out, colorless pup and gave him a new paint job.

Some freshly planted flowers added a little color. And I bought the coco shell basket for a steal. Horray for bargains at JoAnns!

Add a matching seasonal wreath, and my front porch was complete. Soon I will be starting on the autum look.

Graduation Night at PetSmart

Mr. Riley graduated from beginners class at PetSmart today! Some of his highlights over the last 8 weeks have been: walking nice on a leash, lay down, shake, stay, leave it, drop it and coming when called. When we catch Reagan up to where Riley is (she is very close) we will look at possibly starting Intermediate class.

And since I cant just brag about one pup, here's Reagan, who was sleeping under a pillow. :)

AMEN

We viewed this in church on Sunday. It discusses whether our nation is a Christian nation or not. Very very well said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQOCvthw-o

TODAY I MADE - Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love chocolate covered bananas and these are the next best thing! They are real quick and easy to make.

2 c. flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
3-4 mashed bananas (the more ripe the easier to mash!)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c cooking oil
1/2 bag semi sweet choc chips (or more for hard core chocolate lovers)
Preheat oven: 375*

1.In lg bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Make a well in the center.
2. In med. bowl, mash bananas. Add eggs, sugar and cooking oil. Mix until creamy but still lumpy.
3. Add to flour mixture and stir just until everything is wet. Stir in chocolate chips.
4.Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin pans. I used mini muffin pans.
5. Bake in 375* for 11-12 min or until edges are golden. Made 3 dozen mini muffins.

Life becomes busy!

We have been busy busy lately! I had my 22nd birthday and treated myself to a Starbucks, a pedicure and enjoyed a night at home cooking fancy food with my hubby. (Steak, clams, and asparagus - yum yum!) I was also surprised with beautiful red roses. :) PERFECT.

The family has been busy planning for the wedding reception in August. So much is involved! And the best part...cake tasting! Central Market in Poulsbo won us over on the best cakes for sure! MMM cant wait until August to have it again.

Our pups keep us active. Steve has been taking Riley out - Riley pulls him on the skateboard - and Reagan and I run behind. It is hard work keeping up with the skateboard!

My puppy loves!

My goofy hubby with our kiddos.
Reagan has turned into quite a princess! Her personality is definately showing and she is very curious about everything - sometimes a little too much!

Here's Riley and Reagan! Reagan is now 10 1/2 weeks old and growing quickly! Riley is 3 weeks away from graduating beginners classes at PetSmart. What a wonderful program they have there and my wild Beagle now listens (we are still working on it!)