WHEW! That was fun!

Got tons to say and even more pictures, I'm just gonna throw it all out there and let you guys figure out what goes with what. OK? Good.

Christmas eve C got to stay home, so that was a small gift right there; I had made sauce earlier in the week for tonight b/c I had seen a recipe about adding good things to your diet without sacrificing taste... this one was substituting pasta with spaghetti squash. Now, if you know us, you know that we are not good about eating fruits and veggies AT ALL, and I'm starting to feel badly about that because of The Girl, so I bought a spaghetti squash. I cut it in half lengthwise and scooped the seeds out. At this point it is just like working with a pumpkin, it even smells like one. Then I sprinkled it with some extra virgin olive oil and S&P, turned them cut side down on a roasting pan and shoved those bad boys in the oven at 400* for 45min- an hour. They even smelled good when they came out of the oven, they smelled kinda like roasted chicken actually, ANYWAY... then I scraped my fork inside of it to make the spaghetti noodle things and put some parm cheese on it then sauce and then b/c I think it looks pretty, more parm cheese on top! I really enjoyed mine, and I really enjoyed knowing that I was eating something that was good for me. The Girl really liked it too. C says he had trouble with 'the texture', but that the taste was really good. I'm pretty sure he was just having a mind over matter moment. He never knew of texture aversion until he met me! So here's some pix of Christmas eve dinner...

Right out of the oven, the one on the left is all scraped up already, to give you an idea...


mmmmm, ready? dig in!



I decided to start our own little CE traditions, and made sugar cookies. This year, I didn't have an assistant, but I'm pretty sure next year I will. I did have plenty of helpers to EAT the cookies though!


At one point, she even managed to help herself to some cooling on the rack on the counter. Note to self: push items you do not want on the floor or in the garbage or broken or missing or in someones mouth... further away from the edge! You will do good to remember this! ;)

There was much playing and fun and love in our house this night!

yes, that is a dog bed, but what can I say? It's comfy!



awww kisses! I mentioned there was love, right? ;)

She had sauce on her face, he was only trying to help! :)

We were SO BLESSED on The Girl's 1st birthday that she had so many presents that I put away a few for her to open later, when I thought about getting them out for her I decided that it was too close to Christmas. So I wrapped them up Christmas style and let her have them again! Some of you may have seen these gifts before. :) Thank you, she REALLY loves them! :D

Christmas eve we let The Girl open one gift, I would start the tear, let her continue it, but as soon as a piece came off in her hand she thought she was done, so mostly she enjoyed me ripping the paper and of course I made a big show of it so it looked REALLY fun. :D That night's gift was a puzzle with animals on it, we spent A LOT of time that night making animal sounds. :D I'll try to post some video another day for you. :D I'm not sure when The Girl went to bed, probably sometime after midnight, I put the rest of the gifts out and took some pictures (for you guys of course), b/c we all know that I don't scrapbook! (grrr!!!)



Here it all is... except for the stockings, they are 'hung by the chimney with care'. ;)




ok, I'll post Christmas day later, got lots to do!

~Til next time!

too many thoughts in my head!

so I'm getting some stuff out here....
we had some GREAT weather here yesterday and today. On Sunday it was disgustingly warm, in the 70's, yesterday it was in the upper 20's and windy, today it's in the lower 30's and icy and I'm totally LOVING it! It's really put me in the Christmas-y mood. I'm hoping to get those pictures taken today and post them up here for you.
C was sick over the weekend, and also stayed home yesterday. He got up today still not feeling 100%, but showered and went to work anyway, well, shortly after he left, the phone rang I could tell it was C and so did not want to get off the couch, The Girl and I were snuggled under a blanket on the couch and both dogs were cuddled up to us and it was SO COZY. I managed to detach myself from all the cuteness and get the phone, I answered it with 'this had better be good' and C says 'I'm on my way home'. He checked his voicemail and he had missed a call saying that the team was working from home today. I had told him last night that he should bring his phone upstairs in case he got a call in the morning. Apparently the call came in while he was in the shower and I was already downstairs w/ The Girl. Let's just say he isn't getting much work done today. LOL!



She is such a daddy's girl!

A quick 'exercise':
Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following.
They have to be real places, names, things . . . nothing made up.
And you can’t use your name for the boy/girl name questions.
What is your name? Denise
Four Letter Word: Damp
Boy Name: Dennis
Girl Name: Dorothy
Occupation: Dentist
Color: Dark blue
Something You Wear: Denim
Beverage: Dr. Pepper
Food: Dumplings
Something Found in a Bathroom: Doody! :giggle:
Place: Denmark
Reasons for Being Late: Distractions
Something You Shout: DUMMY

Have a great day!

~Til next time...

EW! GAG!!!

Soooooooo I thought I was going to spend some time in my scrap room last night....
I opened the door and was engulfed in the foulest smell EVER!!! C thinks something died in the wall in the closet. Thankfully, it's in the 70's here today, so I made C open the windows to kinda air out the room, maybe after church tonight I'll be able to take a deep breath, run in and grab some supplies and maybe work downstairs in the dining room. Wish me luck!

~til next time!

Is that better???

Someone mentioned that a previous post of mine about The Girl falling asleep in the highchair was useless b/c I didn't have pictures.....





is that better?? :D


and I took this one about 5 minutes ago.




~til next time...

What's happening?

Not much here, actually. Since we got back from our Tday trip, we've been taking it pretty easy. The Girl has vastly improved her health, so we are all happy about that. The only thing is now she has decided that she is an early to wake up type of kid. I know that some of you wouldn't think that 8:30 is 'early', but I very much enjoyed quiet time by myself before I had to start my day and now that she is up with me... well, the time is not so quiet or spent by myself anymore. This year, I will be accepting babysitting coupons for Christmas presents! LOL The good thing is that she is enjoying her classes at The Little Gym more now though, b/c she is awake more to participate in them! :)

C has been practicing at the church for a small Christmas program that we are doing on the 21st. You are all officially invited to attend and hear C sing and play his saxophone... not at the same time of course...or I'd have to sell tickets! :)

We did have some sad news this week, our former pastor in IL passed away on Monday as well as one of the ministers in our church here. The passing of Bro. Joy is especially sad b/c it was a shock and he was young and has kids at home. The passing of our former pastor is bittersweet. For the past few years, his health was no longer permitting him to live a quality life. We are sad b/c we will miss Pastor Switzer and we know that the family has to bear this pain, especially around the holidays; it does help to remember that he is no longer suffering.

I've been spending my time decorating for the holiday and the winter season. I'm hoping to get some good scrapping time in to make a few gifts. I'm also hoping for some time to spend baking some goodies in the kitchen. :D I don't think I've made a cheesecake yet in my new oven! It's also the time of year for Snowflake cookies... YUMMO!!! I need to do some clean up and then I'll take pics of my decorations for you to check out! LOL Someone needs to see them! I can't think of a time when we'll get to have people over. :(

Hope you are all doing well!!!


~til next time...

As promised....

I didn't like it one bit!

Ro- In the last 2 pix, do you see what she is holding in her hand? :D