Reflection...

Hello all!  I do hope that everyone has had a wonderful holiday.  I was going through all my photographs of the past years and realized once again just how amazingly blessed I've been.  Not just this past year but through out my life!  I'm not saying that I haven't had bad things happen.  Like everyone else, my life has had some really low, low's and great sadness.  But, I believe that those have helped me to appreciate ALL the good in my life.  Okay, so some of you know that I wasn't very appreciative during the little "blips" I went through back in the mid- 90's (Florida) and again in 2002-03 (Leaving the kids & Iraq) and perhaps again in 2005-07 (Alabama).  And there were other times earlier when things were just awful and painful but... Those more recent icky's, were little blips (okay leaving the kids in the States and my honey going to Iraq was actually pretty traumatic!) in my otherwise awesomely blessed life!  My health has been nearly perfect, (odd cold here and there).   I have a husband who shows me everyday how much he loves me.  My children are healthy and happy.    My parents are still active and a part of my life.  I have friends who love me even when I whine and moan about how everything is NOT going my way!  And they are still friends after all these years, which is pretty amazing when you realize that I'm a military brat and started making friends long before the computer age and had to keep in contact through snail mail!  And just this year, I've made more fabulous friends!  My church family has been a great source of comfort and joy.  And this is new for me.  I've not been very "church-y" in the past.  I am only now learning that God has been putting people in my life (my whole life) for the purpose of bringing  me to Him.  And because of the (little, tiny) bit of stubbornness I have...(those of you who know me...STOP laughing!) it's taken me till last year to begin to listen and follow.   

As I mentioned earlier, I was looking at pictures, and I started thinking about how each of the people in my past helped to bring me to the place I am today.  Friends who showed by example (not words) what a Christian life is all about.   And I say a special Thank You to them in my prayers.  Because of them I am beginning to live a more comforting life.  A life full of the joys and wonders that Christ has to offer.  And I pray that I will someday be for someone else a witness to the love of God as those friends were to me.

So I will begin the year of 2009 with gladness in my heart for all I've learned from my old friends and my new friends.  With joy in my heart for the man who has kept me in his heart all these years.  With peace in my heart for the knowledge that I haven't completely screwed my kids up, because they are doing, oh so well!  And with growing faith that God walks with me now and forever!  I pray that you all will have a blessed 2009 and that the new year will bring you joy, good health and growth in your walk with Faith.   And to end this year on a fabulously joyous note...Happy Birthday to a woman who means soooooo much more to me than she can ever realize!  She knows who she is...  Love you bunches!  "C" you some day soon... I hope!  =-)

Happy New Year!

What a Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Filled with family and friends and good food!  That is what we had!  Our baby girl brought her boyfriend and spent Christmas Eve, Eve with us.  They made us this fabulous dinner of Salmon in a Salt Crust with Curried vegetables.  OH MY GOSH!  It was fantastic!  I was a bit nervous about the whole "salt crust" thing.  I must admit, I tried to be fancy once and made a salt crust for a chicken dish and it was supposed to be all "fancy" in that you brought this large salt crusted chicken out to the table and you  opened the crust up and Voila, there was your lovely chicken all tender and juicy....  Well, I did everything I just wrote about except the "opened the crust up and voila" part.  I nearly broke my knife tip and couldn't even put a dent into the salt crust with impliments brought out of my kitchen!  I had to get the hammer out of the tool box to bust that chicken out of confinement!  So THAT was in my head when my baby girl said she wanted to do a salt crusted salmon dish.  I figured we'd have to bring out the "big guns" to break the salmon free.  I should have known better.  My baby girl is a MUCH better cook than I am!  She got it right the first try and boy was it EVER, so yummy!  I would have taken more photo's but the aroma was just too much, we basically sat down as soon as she plated it up and we devoured it in no time flat!!!   Then we had Christmas cookies for dessert.

Then on Christmas Eve, we cooked Prime Rib &

mashed potatoes, homemade rolls and to 

please my baby girl...I decided to make one of her favorite pies which is Cranapple/Apple pie, aka., Crapple Pie!  It's a very rustic looking pie but it sure did taste yummy!  Christmas Eve dinner was actually our Christmas.  Baby girl and her boyfriend were leaving on Christmas morning (the real Christmas) to spend it with his family.  Which turned out to be really a good deal for everyone since we were having friends over who also did the same Christmas celebration a day ahead, as we did and the four of us ended up enjoying fabulously, delicious French Dip sandwiches!  My honey made the Au jus sauce with the bone from the bone-in Prime Rib of the night before.  Oh my goodness it was out of this world!  But, no pictures of that because we were having too much fun laughing, talking and eating and I just flat out forgot to yank the camera out!  So sorry...   =-)

So, the 26th we spent in Manhattan, Ks.  Christmas Eve it was 14 degrees outside... but on the 26th, in Manhattan the high was 68 degrees!  Talk about a drastic change!  I was sweating buckets in Kansas!  Okay, so maybe I wasn't "sweating buckets" because it was still chilly, what with the wind blowing and all, but it was certainly warmer than it has been lately!   So anyhow, we went to Kansas to visit with my honey's family and I did a little shopping at the yarn shop in town, and picked up a few skeins of super yummy fibers!   (It was Christmas all over again!) Then we headed back home to and as always it was great to see the sign....  =-)

Hurray, he's here!!!!!

I am SO happy to introduce Stuart to his new home.  At first I don't think he was too thrilled.  You can tell when he's not too sure about something because his little peaks on his hat will sort of lay down a bit.  I don't think he's too sure about our weather here.  It is much colder than Germany...  Today it is 5 degrees outside, but I wanted him to see our back yard with the snow falling.  Can you see he was looking a bit...unsure?

So then I had to put him down for a little bit and let him get warmed up.  I really needed to get a few thing done so I left him alone and in just a little bit I realized he was making friends with his new housemates.

I think they are all going to be the best of buddies!   So, as they were all getting to know each other better I decided to get some of the things done, that has been put on the back burner, like... cleaning, delivering goody bags and such.  And when I got home, what do you think I found?  Well, let me just show you!

I think he figured out how to use my camera faster than I did!  When I downloaded the picture of the boys getting friendly I also noticed all these other photo's that I am SURE I did not take!  But, they sure are cute.  It's nice to know he was checking out his new digs.  And if you look closely, his little peaks on his cap are definitely beginning to perk up!  That's a good sign... isn't it?

There were tons more pic's of little Stuart but I really need to get more things done today so I'll have to go.  But I can assure you that Stuart is going to fit in this household just perfectly and I will do my best to share all the wonderful things that Little Stuart will see and do here in Nebraska.  So for now, little Stuart say's "Tootles for now!"

Such fun....

So, the Christmas Caroling went off with out a hitch!  We had a great group of 11 and although the weather was in the high 40's when we started out, it turned colder about halfway into the caroling.  It was so much fun.  Our friend remembered to bring the flat-bed with hay bales on it so we all had a good sitting spot on the short rides.  We stopped at 13 houses and an apartment complex and found only 4 places empty for the night.  By the time we headed back to the house we were definitely feeling the cold!!!  We filed into the house and had warm gluehwine, spiced hot cocoa and spiced cider and the Panettone bread pudding with the Amaretto sauce was soooooo yummy!  Plus we had load's of other yummy munchies and we all had a great time eating, drinking talking/singing!  Unfortunately, no pic's.  I was having such a good time I forgot all about taking pictures.  I'll try to remember next year, promise!   

Oh, did I mention that we had another showing of our house the next day?  No word yet as to what the people thought.  Hopefully, we'll hear something on Monday.  Keep finger's crossed and prayers said that these will be the people who will buy this house!  

And today (Sunday) our low is supposed to be -1 degrees by 3 p.m.   It is windy!  And it's snowing!    It's going to be a wonderfully cold, snowy walk to church this morning!  I just love it!  =-)

Good eats, good friends, good times...

What a month it's been and it's only the 12th of December!  We have gotten to know so many wonderful people in this town and have been invited to SO many parties and functions that we've been on the go constantly, or so it seems!  And tonight is our turn, my honey & I are hosting our first Christmas Caroling party ever tonight!  This is something I've often dreamed of doing.  Having come from a military background, I haven't had the opportunity to do this in a cold climate (climate is an important part of the dream).  I suppose we could have done it in Germany both times that we lived there...  but somehow it just never happened.  So, anyhow, tonight is the night and we hope that this will become an annual event. 

 I have planned, some food and drinks that should help warm us all up after being outside in the cold.  I've got hot spiced cider and Gluhewine (German Wassail) and spicy hot cocoa.  Plus I'm making Panettone bread pudding with an Amaretto sauce.  AND, I FINALLY made the Martha Stewart recipe for Marshmallows, and they turned out beautifully!  I even played around with coating a few with chocolate and boy let me tell you the pleasure it gives in the mouth...... YUM!  So much so that I made another batch this morning, (since I ate more than I should have last night, sheesh).

Tonight we'll be going caroling and enjoying our friends and food and fulfilling yet another dream of mine in this wonderful little town we call, home......

It's beginning to smell like Christmas.....

Baking day!  Yesterday was a lovely day for baking.  It was VERY chilly outside and nice and toasty in here.  I love this time of year.  Not for the gifts but for the family and fellowship of

friends and all the yummy goodies that get passed around!  

Our local library has a "cookie walk" every year in December.  It's a fund raiser for the library and we have such great folks in our town which means we have great participation.  Anyhow, I worked on my contribution for the cookie walk yesterday.

 Now, don't look too closely.  The icing was a bit thin so I had issues with these kiddo's faces and clothing.  Actually, some of them look down right 

frightening! 

 But!  If you go strictly by taste.... mmmmmmm, they are totally scrumptious!

  My honey and I had a round one (you know, the leftover dough that you bake up so you don't have any wasteage).

  I decorated those so that they were cute and fun and we ate one after dinner.  And they were super yummy!  The icing is what takes the flavor over the edge!  Anyhow, my house smelled like gingerbread and I had Christmas music playing and the only thing missing was the snow falling.  But it sounds as if we'll be getting that this Sunday and I am so hoping that it is snowing when we leave for church!  I just love walking to church in the snow!  

P.S.  For future reference...  Dont' Blog & Bake!  The results are not pretty!

Brrrrr.....

I am here to tell you all...  It is getting cold here in Nebraska!   I went for a run this morning (because I ate about 15 little cream puffs yesterday (and eating 6 is 300 calories!!!!!).   Our church had their special "Hanging of the Greens" service last night.  And before we did that they served soup & assorted goodies to enjoy.  Well, I certainly enjoyed those cream puffs.  One right after the other!  So, I dutifully went out for a three and a quarter mile run to try to work off some of the said cream puffs.  It can get a bit windy around these parts (but it only seems so during three months of the year when you really don't need the wind, (we could use that wind in the summer!)  but, I digress.  So, I went out, ran, just came home and I looked at the dopler weather station and guess what!?!  IT is 19 FREAKIN' degrees out and we're not EVEN talking about the wind chill factor either!!!!!!!!!   I don't even want to know that!   It is no wonder that my face felt like it was about to break apart when I tried to greet my boys (Ricky and Ethan)!  Oh my gosh!  I have truely lost my mind!  Here is what the Mopac Trail (where I like to run) looked like this morning.

I still believe that I've lost my mind!  I mean, for anyone who knows me, I am a slug of a human being!  Seriously, my favorite thing to do is to sit on my bum and crochet, or paint or eat or read, talk, etc., etc., etc., so long as I can sit, I'm really a happy camper!  But, it's the eating part and oh, age, and OKAY vanity, that has gotten me to the point where I can no longer indulge in my favorite pastimes, which is doing those lovely things listed above (especially the eating part) and doing them while sitting on my bum!  I have, because of vanity, begun to exercise.  And the least expensive and productive way to do that is to run!  So these days not only am I trying to run three times a week, at least nine miles a week, but I am trying to limit my "hand to mouth" action.  Unfortunately the latter act is decidedly much more difficult to control.  Thus, the necessity for the "running".  

I'm not sure how long I can keep this up during the winter months.  I can run in snow, but the ice is killer!  I may have to actually put even more effort, time and thought into getting into the car and driving out to the A.F. Base and using the gym there.  Our Base has a really nice gym.  It used to be something like three hangars used to build airplanes in.  Anyhow, there is a track in there and a pool, tennis courts, racket ball courts, basketball, soccer, weight room, Nautilus machines and tons more stuff and areas!  It's monstrously huge!  But I don't like going because there are other people there.  I don't know about all ya'll, but I am not a pretty runner.  I breath hard and loud.  And I make grunting noises because I really don't like to be doing anything strenuous!  It's sort of my way of whining.  =-}   But I don't want to stop eating what I want and I don't want to have to buy more clothes, so.......

Tomorrow, I normally run, but since I ran today, I'll go for a walk because I know that I did not work off those 15 cream puffs today!  And I'm pretty sure I'm going to down that last piece of pumpkin pie tonight!  For those of you who don't have to exercise, enjoy it while you can because your day will come!   Mmmmmmwahahahaha...  (Oh, did I mention, I'm not nice either!?)  =-)