Thanksgiving Tradition

HAPPY 200th BLOG POST!!!

Some of the best blog entries are those that talk about family traditions. I love hearing how different family traditions can be... and (possibly) get interesting ideas for a future family traditions...

Well I wanted to share a Thanksgiving one...

They go by the name of Pumpkin Cookies... As far back as I can remember my mom has been baking these for Thanksgiving. She bakes them one night and we decorate them the next night.

I don't have the recipe... but they are very yummy with pumpkin, chocolate chips and raisins. My mom shapes them into pumpkins with a little stem.

Then we come over and frost the cookies... green for the stem and orange for the pumpkin part. Then the decorating... we make faces out of candy. They can be silly or cute. But they end up being creative. My mom made the comment this year that she remembers the days when the challenge was getting as much candy on the cookie as possible...Which has changed throughout the years

In my eyes Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin cookies. (The one on the bottom right is suppose to be Marge Simpson, which is freaking adorable!! Good Job Lindsey!!)

Some other pictures from Thanksgiving...

A great one of me and my sister
I thought this was a nice one of my brother and grandma working on a crossword puzzle.
And finally... Chad got to carve the turkey which made him VERY happy and excited

NFL Week 12 Picks

Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions
Oakland Raiders vs. Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills
Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams
Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons
Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans
Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Jets
Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals vs. Tennessee Titans
Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens
New England Patriots vs. New Orleans Saints

Chad
Me
Both

I didn't add up specifically this week, but I do know that Chad is winning by one!!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

In honor of Thanksgiving I thought I would write out the thing that I am Thankful for on a daily basis...

I'm thankful for having such an amazing husband... It means so much to me to have my other half, my best friend... even more so I'm thankful that he's doing wonderfully... we went through a lot of medical issues in the last year and it just strengthed our relationship... but I'm so thankful everything turned out the way it did.

I'm thankful for my awesome family. I'm so lucky to have such a close knit family and supports one another. I'm not sure how I would have turned out without them around... I'm truly thankful to have them in my life... everyone!!

I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday.

I'm thankful for my great friends. I know I'm luck to have suck great friends surrounding me. They support and listen to me... make me laugh and bring a joy to my life.

I'm thankful for my job. Not only am I happy to have a job... but to be in such in a job that I'm good at, that supports growth, and more so has co-workers that care... I'm truly thankful.

I'm thankful for my four babies at home. Pretty, Stitch, Bozley and Rowdy... they are the sweetest animals with such differing personalities that bring loads of joy to my life.

Party night

I know I just posted about the gift... but I wanted to post some pictures from the night as well... I'm going to limit myself to 5 (but considering I don't remember more than 3 of these pictures being taken I'm sure that will do...)

Keith, Me, Rachel, and Connor

Dad, Keith, and MeThe whole family - ignore my fattness... Chad, Rachel, Adriane, Janet, Keith, Connor, the other Chad, and my Dad
Chad and me
And shots... I'm sure this added to my stupidity this night... as well as the fact I don't remember most of the pictures taken... eek

Gift

I think that I mentioned a couple of times that I was making a gift for someone... well I'm finally able to post about it...

My step-mom turned 50 this year and we held a very nice party at Triumph Grill. I decide to kind of recycle/revamp a gift that we did for my mom when she turned 50.

I made a scrap book with every year in her life. When we did my mom's my sister, me, and my brother all did pages and did them by hand. For Janet's I did them on the computer.

I started out by going to Wikipedia and researching each year and picking out important or interesting events. Then Chad helped me format a square in Open Office's Powerpoint. I made one for each year and then printed them out on card stock. I used my new paper cutter to cut them out (the hardest part) and then cut out colored paper. I glued the card stock on the color paper and placed them in the scrapbook and voila!!

The book
The first page - a list of same day birthday
Some of the pages
And a close up (you can click on the picture to see it even bigger)

If anyone is interest in the template or the facts let me know and I can send them your way... I may revamp this project again... it's awesome b/c I learned a lot and it's a very awesome gift.

Master's Degree?

Lately I've been thinking more and more about getting a master's degree... but I'm not convinced I'm ready yet... On one hand I feel like a bachelor's degree just isn't going to cut it like it once did... I feel like a bachelor's degree just puts you in on the normal playing field and the only way to set yourself apart is getting the master's... I feel more ready now than ever before to get a masters. I finally feel like I have an area of study that both interests me can help me move forward where I'm working...

With that being said... getting a master's degree would be a lot of time, effort and work... I'm not sure I'm ready to commit my evenings to school again...

The most ideal program would let me do some online classes and some classroom classes... maybe thinking about Webster...

Now would be the time to do it... I don't have any kids running around... and it would be a lot easier to do the work now... but it's also a lot of money... What should I do?

I feel stupid

I really really hope I didn't make an ass out of myself on Saturday night...

NFL Week 11 Picks

Note: Even though these picks were posted on Sunday night we both made the picks before Sunday morning... just late in posting :)

Miami Dolphins vs. Carolina Panthers

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens

San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers

Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants

New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions

Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys

Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings

Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams

New York Jets vs. New England Patriots

San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Chicago Bears

Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans

Jenn

Chad

Both

To-date scores

Chad: 96-48

Jenn: 97-47

Chili Cook-off

For Veteran's day we had a chili cook-off at work. I was excited to participate since I LOVE the chili we make. So I entered our chili into the contest. It was a pretty good batch of chili for us...

I ended up winning 3rd place, out of 10 entries. I'd say that's not to shabby!!

I would totally share the recipe with everyone but Chad likes to keep that a family secret... so... you'll just have to find a time to try it :)

I won a $5 gift certificate to the Canteen, a retail store here at work... but bragging rights are better.

NFL Week 10 Picks

We're in the double digits...

Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Miami Dolphins
Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Jets
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
New Orleans Saints vs. St. Louis Rams
Buffalo Bills vs. Tennessee Titans
Denver Broncos vs. Washington Redskins
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders
Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals
Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers
Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Diego Chargers
New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts
Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns

Chad
Me
Both

I know I'm behind in the to-date scored... but I'm leaving you in anticipation once again...

Christmas List

Posting my list on my blog last year seemed to work out really well so I'm following in that tradition. (plus it helps that I can look back on what I requested last year...)

Nice Camera - I want to start taking better pictures than I can with my point and shoot... I'm not an expert on this, but I was thinking something like the Canon Rebel XSi - I also saw the one that Ashton Kutcher advertises (Nikon D3000) I guess I want something I can change lenses out and it can grow with me (or me with it)New Luggage - Since I've been traveling more I would like cute luggage. While this is from Target I saw a bunch at Gormans. I don't necessarily need a full luggage set - I would like something that rolls and if fun looking.Brownie Pan - so we can get more crust - There's also the perfect brownie pan that's As Seen on TV

Stand up mixer - KitchenAid in Red

Mario Brothers for Wii

Mini fridge - Like this 16 can one, I want something small capacity...

Board Games - Lots of others, but some listed below

Boggle

Perfection

Trivial Pursuit - Easy Medium Hard
Things for the House is big on my list this year!!

Corner Shelf - dark brown

Trash can for recycling - We want silver, foot-step

Nightstand Lamp - something like the first one, but not that color, skinny and short I REALLY REALLY like the second one

Clothes!!

Cardigans - size medium (all solid colors) like these from Old Navy, I also really like 3/4 length sleeve... I like crew neck.

Skits - size large

Casual tops - usually size medium I've become a big Old Navy fan - I like all sorts

Jeans - A brand from Kohls (Elle) seems to fit well, misses size 8

Earrings - I really like fun dangles (nice quality) - would like a purple set, silver hoops (bigger than small, smaller than big) and red. I really enjoy looking at Etsy for this to get some originals.

Flat Shoes - colors/patterns rounded toe, size 9 or 9.5

Headbands - thicker

Citrine cocktail Ring- ideally this one from Tiffany

Gift Cards:
**Home Depot
**Michael's
**Hobby Lobby
Snapfish

Target

Bed Bath and Beyond

Old Navy

Subscription to People Magazine

DVDs

The Hangover

Harry Potter 6

This cookie table book - Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong

These lovely Coach Purses
Coach op art sateen maggie (1439

I also like this Etsy Seller

This jewelry site is awesome too.

And a shirt for a great pit bull awareness organization.

ADDITION: Reebok EasyTone size 9.5

Chad's List: http://chad-xmaslist.blogspot.com/

I feel like I keep saying this...

I'm sorry I've been neglecting my blog... Here is today's reason... I have been working on a present for someone's birthday and that's what's been taking up my computer time as of lately. I promise to show you what I've been working on after the birthday in question... and hopefully everyone will be able to understand how much freaking time it's taken it... and I'm only about half way done... but it will be worth it in the end.

What's been going on with us?

Well this last weekend I "convinced" Chad to get a new tattoo. It didn't take a whole heck of a lot convincing... but he's been wanting to get one for quite awhile, and I decided Saturday was the day to do that. So we headed out to breakfast at City Diner and then went to Cheap Trix. He got the phoenix he's been wanting. He got half of it done and will have to go back for color. It looks super awesome. The tattoo artist was really excited about doing it as well, so that was fun.(pictures to come)

Saturday night we went to a trivia night with my mom, Keith, Sarah, Rachel, Mom's friend Becky, and our friend Michelle. The questions were good, we did ok... probably around the middle of the pack. We didn't win, but that's hard when the winning team only got 3 questions wrong!! Still a fun time!!

Sunday we had lunch with the family to celebrate my awesome little sister, Lindsey's birthday. She's 17 now (it's days like these I start to feel old considering I remember when she was born!!).

On Monday, Chad cooked us a wonderful stir-fry dinner. He made some super delicious thai noodles with chicken, green pepper and broccoli. Yesterday, I made Baked Potato Soup. It was just ok... pretty thick and heavy... I'm not sure I would make it again, but it was worth the try.

Something to look forward to in the next week - My Christmas List... I know everyone will be super psyched!!

NFL Week 9 Picks

Dang... the Rams actually won last week... YAY!!

Washington Redskins vs. Atlanta Falcons
Arizona Cardinals vs. Chicago Bears
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints
Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks
San Diego Chargers vs. New York Giants
Tennessee Titans vs. San Francisco 49ers
Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos

Me
Chad
Both

Stay tuned for our to-date scores... I will let you know Chad is now ahead of me... eek!!!

no break up reported

Remember in my last post where I was excited about getting U-Verse installed. I may not have expressed my excitement. I was planning in my head all the things I would DVR... it was going to change how we watched TV!! And most importantly we were going to dump Charter!!

Well the very nice U-Verse installer dude came all the way out here to spend about an hour to tell us we were not, I repeat NOT, within the allowable signal area. Chad was very angry!! The installer was perfectly nice about it, but geez... how did they not know this before driving out here beat me. He said that the signal only reaches 3000 (feet or meters I can't remember) and we were 4300 (ft or m) away. That's no short measure either way... so how U-Verse did not know this before coming out beat the heck out of me!! I mean they have been sending up mailings and a neighborhood canvas before we signed up. It's just so annoying.

So Charter... we remain in a committed relationship.

New Trick

This should be my weekend recap... but since the weekend was pretty uneventful due to El Chad being sick... I'll focus this post on R-diddy.

Chad taught Rowdy how to speak this weekend. It's so flipping adorable - he has quite the bark... Rowdy is very obedient... it's amazing how well he will listen. Thus far he will sit, stay, lay down, and speak... I really want Chad to get him to play dead and shake... I bet soon he will be able to do that as well.

Today is my AWS day... I went to the female doctor this morning... she said everything looks good... I also switched birth control pills, this might be a strange thing to be sharing, but I'm a sharing type of gal... so I'm excited to see how it works for me. Now I'm home... and the U-Verse guy will coming in a few hours... So I should probably clean up the house a bit... hmm... I also have some bulbs I've been wanting to plant, but haven't been able to due to all the rain... So how should I spend the rest of my day? Stay tuned.