Merry Christmas to All

Here's hoping everyone had as wonderful a Christmas holiday as I did. Catching up with friends, meeting my man's family, and relaxing with my family was the perfect way to spend my week home. And although I didn't see the sun once in eight days, it was a fantastic week; one that I wish could have lasted just a bit longer. Take a peek.

Enjoying my momma's fantastic cookin'!

This is my mom laughing hysterically as she opened one of her gifts. It was kind of like the bunny pajamas Ralph gets in "A Christmas Story."

Merry Christmas!!

I Hear Sleigh Bells

I don't know about you, but I definitely still believe in Santa Claus. As you may or may not know, I've been unsuccessfully searching for a job for about 4 months now. Jokingly, I said I wanted a job for Christmas, clearly something no one could actually get me. BUT in the past two weeks things have really been happening. I've been called in for interviews, and I may even have multiple job offers coming. My luck has really turned around, and in the spirit of Christmas I'm giving credit to good old Kris Kringle. Thanks Santa!! (Don't worry, I know the real reason for the season is Jesus...and I love him more than Santa.)

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Just a few reasons why I LOVE this time of year and some favorite holiday traditions:

1. Watching Christmas Vacation on the night of Thanksgiving

2. Hanging Christmas lights

3. Picking out the perfect Christmas tree

4. Decorating the tree and house

5. Christmas shopping (minus the crowds and crazy people)

6. Getting together with friends and family

7. Baking and decorating Christmas cookies with my mom

8. Christmas music and movies

9. Sipping hot chocolate by the fire with the tree glowing nearby

10. Christmas Eve candlelight service at church

11. Driving around neighborhoods Christmas Eve looking at lights

12. Christmas morning and homemade brunch

13. Spirit of love and giving

14. Being home

15. Jesus Christ

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

And I'm not kidding! Right now The Weather Channel says it is 2 degrees outside, BUT feels like -16 degrees. The past couple of days it hasn't reached temperatures above 13 degrees and snow flurries have accompanied it all. It is seriously cold out there -- bitter cold. It even looks cold outside. A blanket of white covers most everything, gray clouds hang low in the sky hardly letting the sun shine through, and smoke pours out of chimneys across town. The trees even shiver in the wind. I've tried to avoid going out in it, but unfortunately I've actually spent quite a bit of time out and about. And every time the cold chills me to my bones; it takes me quite a while to warm up all the way to my fingers and toes (which are always cold). They say it's supposed to warm up to 30 by Thursday and maybe 35 by Friday. I can't wait! It will probably feel like a summer day. :o)

A Date

Tonight I went on a date with my man, and it was quite lovely. After a quick dinner of sushi, we went to the nearby theater and saw The Blind Side. AMAZING. Seriously, this movie is great. I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to see a feel good, inspirational flick. And it's a true story, which makes it even better (in my humble opinion).

Now, for a good night's sleep curled up in a warm bed. It's freezing outside!!

My Christmas Wish List

found here

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(another option found here)

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found here

Let me know if you know where I can find one. Ugg!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Turkey Day full of great food, great friends, family, and football!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

I'll admit, sometimes I am...both literally and figuratively.

The pastor at the church I've been going to lately just finished a series on Living Without, and today's topic was Living Without: Fear. He began by talking about fear, in general, and told this story. Gunther Gebel-Williams was a lion tamer who performed in circuses all over the country. On one particular night he was performing with Bengal tigers. They were surrounding him in a circle and he was in the center on a stool with a whip. Suddenly the lights went out; the arena had lost power. Gunther couldn't see, the audience couldn't see, but the tigers...they could see. So Gunther, who was surrounded by 20 tigers, couldn't see, and he knew the tigers could see; but he also knew the tigers didn't know he couldn't see. So he kept doing his thing, whipping his whip and working with the tigers, all the time pretending he could see. After a few minutes the lights came back on, and to everyone's relief Gunther was still alive and the tigers were still in order. In all that darkness, Gunther had kept fear at bay.

The pastor then likened this senario to the world. The world, he said, is a dark place, ruled by the Devil. We are surrounded by darkness, but God is the light. He came into the world and said "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

He talked about three types of fear: fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of death. Then of course he gave examples of people related to each of these types of fears. Did you know Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts comic strip and Charlie Brown and the gang, was a complete failure most of his life. Yep; he failed every class his 8th grade year and had to take it over. Then in high school, he failed physics, Latin, English, and math (whatever level he was in). He failed in so many ways, but there was one thing he could do and that was draw. He knew he could draw, specifically comics, so he submitted his drawings to the yearbook committee hoping he could contribute to the yearbook in that way. They said his drawings weren't good enough. Eventually he submitted his work to Walt Disney. He got a letter saying his drawings were good, but they wanted to see if he could take a story and put it into drawings that would make an animation. So he did this and sent his work back to Walt Disney. Again he got a letter; this time it said he was very talented but it just wasn't what they were looking for. Only after all this failure did he create Peanuts. He knew God had a plan for him, and he wasn't afraid of failure because he knew he would eventually find his calling. And, of course, he did.

I think this was something I needed to hear today. Because in this time when I am searching for a job and feeling like nothing will come my way, I needed to remember that God has a plan for me. I need to not fear and remember that there is job out there that God has waiting, just for me.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.'" -Jeremiah 29:11

Frustrated

So I know I've only had my credentials for a week, but I've been searching for a job for much longer. It's been months and I've still got nothin'. It's really starting to get me down. I'm one of those kinds of people that has to be busy all the time and has to have goals and projects and whatnot, and I feel like I'm just at a standstill. I can't really invest my money towards my interests when I have none to spare. It's really frustrating. Please pray for something to come my way soon! Thanks.

BIG Happy Face!

I passed my RD (Registered Dietitian) exam today!!! Thank the Lord....for real, I could not have done it without Him. I am so happy and relieved to have that done, and to have my life back (no more studying!!). I have the biggest smile on my face, and it would take a really bad thing to wipe it off right now. I couldn't be happier. Hopefully a job will be soon to follow!

Lately.

All I've been able to dream about lately are vitamins and minerals and other food related things. Hopefully all that will end soon though. I take my RD exam tomorrow, and God-willing, I will pass and be done studying. That being said, please pray for me to have a clear mind and my thinking cap on...and just for me to do well in general. Hopefully I'll have good news tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

So after a large snowstorm, the kiddos had a beautiful day for trick-or-treating this past Saturday. It was in the 60's and sunny -- not a cloud in the sky! We took advantage of the beautiful day as well by heading up to A-basin to get in some early season snowboarding. It was the perfect day for it, but since it's still early season not many runs are open and with only one lift operating, the lines were out of control! So we actually spent most of the day hanging out at the cars, grilling out and enjoying eachothers company.

The sunrise over the mountain was beautiful!

Check out the line in the background. It was SO long!

You could tell it was Halloween at A-basin. People in costumes were everywhere!


After snowboarding we headed back to Denver to carve pumpkins and pass out candy to kids, one of my favorite Halloween activities. The kids are just so darn cute!! I think my favorite costumes were a little lion and a dragon (or maybe he was a dinosaur?). There was also a little bumble bee that was pretty precious! To cap off the night, we got dressed up in our costumes and went out to dinner. It was a pretty tame night, but very enjoyable after a long day in the mountains.

Can you guess who carved each pumpkin?! I'll give you a hint, Donnie and I carved one together.

Ours is the little bugaboo! Kim carved the funny face, and Mike did the witch.

Snow Day!!

In OCTOBER nonetheless!

The snowstorm has finally passed. It continued for about 48 hours straight, complete with snow, wind, and cold cold temps. Schools were closed all over the Denver metro area most of Wednesday and all of Thursday. Some even continued to be closed Friday. So natually, during these days when driving was limited to essential trips, we played outside in the 24 inches of snow in the yard. We made a little snow park and goofed around on our snowboards; we made snow angels; I attempted to make a snowman (the snow was too dry); I got buried in the snow; and we played fetch with Crockett, who was very entertaining as he bounded through the snow that was deeper than he is tall. It was tons of fun, and so far, the snow hasn't gone anywhere. So I'm sure there will be more playing, and lots of shoveling.

(If you look closely, you can see my snow angel!)

Calling All Horrible Drivers

It's your time to SHINE!!

The first winter storm is blowing it's way through Colorado. Schools are closing, drifts are forming, roads are icing...it's the real deal. And it's not even Halloween! If only this continues through the winter, it will be a great snowboarding season!!

Treats, Treats, and More Treats

This past Sunday my friends and I had a full blown "Fall Day," and we did it right. To be perfectly honest though, we didn't get it all done. We had plans to sip on apple cider all day while making pumpkin bread, caramel apples, pumpkin seeds, and carving jack-o-lanterns, but we only got to the first three because studying took up more time than planned. Pumpkin seeds are carving jack-o-lanterns got rescheduled to this coming Tuesday (tomorrow); I'm sure I'll have pictures and stories to come.

If you want to have a nice little 'fall day' of your own, just follow these simple recipes and enjoy! (All recipes came from "A Taste of Heaven," a cookbook my parent's Sunday school class put together a few years ago. I have yet to come across a recipe I don't like.)

Spiced Cider: (Compliments of Carla Fields)
1 gal cider
2 qts water
1 cup sugar
2 tsp whole allspice
4 sticks cinnamon
12 oz frozen orange juice
12 oz frozen lemonade

Combine all ingredients in a large pan and simmer for 1 hour.
(The men chose to enjoy this drink with 1 oz of whiskey per mug of cider while watching football. Yeah, they weren't too involved in our 'Fall Day' except for enjoying the products of our labor.)


(Picture compliments of Google Images. Honestly we just bought apple cider, but the recipe sounds delicious and I recommend anyone try it!)

The pumpkin bread, however, we made from scratch and it was delicious! Mmm, so moist and good. (The picture is still borrowed from Google Images because I forgot to take a picture of ours, but it looked very similar.)

Pumpkin Bread: (Compliments of Mary Ann Ryan and Kris Spengler)
1 cup oil
3 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin
4 eggs
2/3 cups water
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tsp nutmeg

Mix together oil and sugar. Add pumpkin, slightly beaten eggs, and water. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredients, and mix well. Add spices, mix well. You may use two large greased loaf pans or 4 smaller ones. Bake in 350 degree oven. For large loaves bake 1 hour. For small pans bake 35-45 minutes. Bread is done with toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; then remove from pans to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil for storage.

Finally, we made some caramel apples. This was a pretty simple process, and the recipe followed was on the back of the bag of caramels we used. The sticks for the caramel apples were also in the bag of caramels. Simply take 5 apples and wash and dry them well. (If they aren't completely dry the caramel will not stick to the apples.) Insert popsicle sticks into the stem side of the apples. Place a piece of wax paper on a large plate, spray with cooking spray, and set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine 1 bag of caramels and 2 tbsp water. Stir constantly until caramel is completely melted and smooth. One at a time, dip the apples in the caramel and spin until apple is covered in caramel. Scrape the caramel off the bottom of the apple and place on waxed paper, drizzling top of apple with caramel if needed. Repeat with the other apples, and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Optional: prior to placing in refrigerator, dip in chopped peanuts. Enjoy!!

The recipes were delicious and we had a great day. I hope you all (if anyone reads this) gets a chance to enjoy these recipes too. And if you do, enjoy your treats!

Well, Hello Winter!

Yes I know it's not really winter, but if you lived in Colorado you just might think it is.

One ski area (at least) opened October 9th! And then, the next day, it snowed/sleeted down in Denver (and this wasn't even the first snow). Man was that a cold, dreary, lazy Saturday. We made chili and watched TV all day. I'm not going to lie, I kind of enjoyed it. :o)

The next weekend was beautiful -- thank you, Colorado weather. We had 60-70 degree weather and beautiful sunny skies! Then, naturally, it snowed at least 6 inches the very next Tuesday.

You would definitely think it was winter here, except for the few remaining leaves on the trees and the pumpkins sitting in front of most people's homes.

Hopefully it's nice for trick-or-treaters!!