New Things Monday

White asparagus! Yep.....white, not green. LOVE IT!! It taste and smell the same, just lacks the green color. We researched the white asparagus to see if it was any different from the green and one website said it's kinda bland. So, I made it like I do with the green. I figured this would make it tastes the same and I was right. I chopped them up into little pieces and cooked with some extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian dressing and chopped bacon. :) It was the same, just different colors. The white is def better for me b/c I have to be careful with my green veggie intake b/c it messes with one of my meds so I'm glad the white tastes the same. :)

At work the other day I came across a simple recipe for something called Georgia Crackers from a country artist. (Little Big Town's- Kimberly) They sounded delish and I knew I wanted to make them. I had everything here at home to make them so I made them last night.

To make these you will need:

Townhouse crackers

Peanut butter

Chocolate bark or chips (melted)

Sprinkles

First, spread peanut butter between 2 crackers and place on cookie sheet covered with foil or wax paper. Melt your chocolate. Using tongs place the pb filled cracker in the melted chocolate to coat. Place on your covered cookie sheet to set. Add sprinkles (I chose red and green for Christmas). Refrigerate for an hour or so until the chocolate sets. Yes, it's that SIMPLE! :) Enjoy!! And believe me when I say this.....make a lot b/c they will be all eaten within minutes. They are that good. :)

Homemade Pizza

The other day at Wegmans (the best grocery store ever) I picked up stuff to make our own pizza. I thought it would be fun for us to do together.

I got a package of Longo's Sicillian Pizza crust (2 come in the pack for $4), pepperoni, cheese and pizza sauce.

Preheat your oven at 425 degrees. On a baking sheet, put down some foil and spray with pam. Put the pizza crust on the baking sheet. In a small bowl add some extra virgin olive oil. With a brush, paint the whole crust with the olive oil. Then start adding your toppings. Nate decided to put some cheese on top of the crust, then sauce, pepperoni, and then more cheese.

I told Nate to put the rest of the pepperoni on top cuz I like a lot of it. :)

How cute? And it's so simple to make. We stuck it in the oven. The package says 8 to 10 min until cheese is perfectly melted. I think I left it in the oven for about 15 min since we went heavy on the cheese. haha

Doesn't that make you hungry?

It was soooo good. We even had leftovers for lunch today. And I heated up the leftovers in the microwave and it tasted just as good as if it had come right from the oven. And the great news, we still have another crust, pepperoni, cheese and sauce to make another pizza. :)

A Christmas Story Play

Humorist Jean Shepherd's memoir of growing up in the midwest in the 1940s follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB gun under the tree for Christmas. Ralphie pleads his case before his mother, his teacher and even Santa Claus himself, at Goldblatt's Department Store. The consistent response: "You'll shoot your eye out." All the elements from the beloved motion picture are here, including the family's temperamental exploding furnace; Scut Farkas, the school bully; the boys' experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin; Ralphie's father winning a lamp shaped like a woman's leg in a net stocking; Ralphie's fantasy scenarios and more.

Kristen, Dave, Joe, Sharon and I all went to the play together. It was great. Lots of laughs and lots of fun. :) I can't wait to go to another one. :)

Projects!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Months ago, I wanted to get some projects crossed off my list. It didn't happen because I didn't have nails to complete some of them. Remember? If not, this might refresh your memory. :)

Kristen and I had some time to kill before we went to a play. So, we got the nails, screws and the drill and decided to complete some tasks! We hung up the sheepy picture in the sheepy room. :)

We hung this Amish picture up in the dining room. We got it as a gift at our 10th wedding anniversary party from the Hathaways. :)

Another gift from our 10th anniversary party. The one from the Anderls. We hung the Miller Family sign in the foyer. :)

I finally got my shelves from IKEA and we hung them in the grey room. One for my Microphone collection and the other for...

my little ceramic radio collection. :) I put my little letters behind them. It spells out radio. I wasn't happy with not being able to see the letters that well. :(

I went to Lowes and got a piece of wood. I measured the shelf and then cut the wood with my handsaw. (Yes, I was careful) The next step, I sanded the rough parts on the wood. :)

I then used my table in the craft room and used mod podge and paper to cover.

I carefully, used my exacto knife trimming the paper off from the edges. :)

I placed the wooden block behind the radios and then put my letters back on. It's still a little low but at least you can see most of the letters now. :) YEY!

I also decided it was time to tackle the craft table. It was a mess. So many things scattered about on the table. I figured I'd clear the table. I put everything in an empty drawer that the mics and radios were sitting in. At least with it off the table it's out of mind for now. Most of the things are projects I need to finish working on but don't feel like right now. I'll get to it eventually. :)

Now look how clean it is. :) I'm unsure if I want to hang the message board or get a bigger one made by Kristen and hang it and then put the smaller on on the other side of the room. :)

December Birthdays

December is a busy month. Lots of Birthdays!!! :)

It all started on December 5th. This day is Nate's birthday. Nate's mom made Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and garlic bread sticks. It was fun. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)

Nate's mom was so sweet and made another cake for Kristen and Dave. Their birthdays are December 6th and December 8th. It was great too b/c Kristen's mom, Milbrey was in town so she was able to come help celebrate. :)

The following weekend, I planned a birthday get together with all of our friends. We all went to Sharon and Joe's for the party. The theme was 'It is your birthday' from an episode of the office. haha I ordered a bunch of Chinese food and we put it all out on the counter like a buffet and we all chose what we wanted. It was awesome and was apparently Dave's dream. I think everyone enjoyed it and most of us left with leftovers. :) The boys also played poker and the girls played scategories. :)

Here is the birthday gang with the cake Kristen made. :)

Yesterday, for my siblings, I planned for everyone to get together at Logan's Roadhouse for a late lunch/early dinner. (Ashley and Kirk- December 19th and Natalie- December 20th)

I made white funfetti cupcakes with vanilla icing and rainbow sprinkles for everyone to devour. :)

They were yummy! :)

New Things Monday

For new things Monday today I decided to feature the Kumquat. Nate and I got these from Wegmans the other day. They are like a very small orange, just shaped like an olive. The smell like oranges. You eat the outer peel as well as the inside of the kumquat. It's sour and salty at the same time. Sad to say, I'm not a huge fan. I also tried it without the outer peel. I don't suggest that unless you like sour things. haha :)

Gingerbread House Exhibit

Today, Jessica and I went to the Gingerbread House Exhibit at Ferry Farm. It was a lot smaller than we expected it to be. But it was still neat to see them. A lot of hard work was put into them from children to adults.

This one of the Old Country Church was my favorite. I voted 'fan favorite' for this one. :)

Look at the little piggy!! haha

This one had to of taken many hours. There was a pumpkin patch, and gardens with corn, lettce and carrots. Very detailed!

Independence Hall
Carl's ice cream stand! :)

New Things Monday

My Mother-in-law and her friend, Susan made Baklava last week. I'd never had it before. I figured I'd either love it or hate it. I decided to try a piece and make it my feature today. I didn't really like it. :( I looked up the recipe since I have no idea what's in it or how to make it. It calls for honey which I'm not a huge fan of so maybe that's why I don't like it much. At least I tried it. :)

New Things Monday

I didn't really have anything new today. I was kinda lazy and sleepy and slept in till 12:30pm. I did have string cheese from Wegmans. Yep, I'm plugging Wegmans brand again. :)

Some string cheeses are waxy but these are not. It's very good Mozzarella string cheese and it's the perfect little grab on the go snack. :)

My new headphones!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

I put all my ornaments on my Christmas tree today. Though, not without help. :)

Lots of ornaments!

My little radio
One of my favorite ornaments. My Aunt Betty, made this in 1985. On the left is my older sister Natalie, hanging an ornament, standing next to my brother, Kirk. Then on the right, is me peeking from behind the tree, standing next to my little sister, Ashley. :)

This is on the back of the ornament. :)

Some more of my favorite ornaments. This is an ornament from a trip to Tangier Island. :)

My Amazing Grace ornament. :)

This little clown guy I made in 6th grade art class. My first one was actually stolen off the Christmas tree that was on the stage in the auditorium at my middle school. Yeah, the nerve of someone stealing it. My teacher felt bad so she let me make another. I'm not a fan of clowns but I do love my little ornament. :)

I love Christmas Baubles! :) I have little tiny ones (silver, gold and pearl white). I got them many years ago from IKEA.

My barn ornament.

Sheepy ornament. I have several sheepy and gingerbread men ornaments. :)

Our tree. :)