Finger Football (Part 2) and Fievel

Eric and Whitney(who finally have a blog) came over this weekend so Eric could help Ryan get the rest of the nursery furniture upstairs... and just to visit.

Ryan and Eric had to get a game of finger football in since, you know, Eric's the big stud Division 1 Wide Receiver and all!!! I'm thinking the Ivy League education was more useful than the Football training since the game has so many rules.

Ryan in scoring position...
Something good just happened...
Kicking a field goal or extra point
So determined...
Once again, there was a lot of laughter and when Eric is around it's never a dull or quiet evening!

And a few pictures of their puppy Fievel who was just a few days out of having his man parts removed and forced into a onesie because his neck is so long he could still reach his stitches with a cone collar.
Resting (or pouting)
Trying to figure out why there is glass separating them!

Finger Football

My parents always find something sort of silly to get Ryan for Christmas. One year was one of those little remote control helicopters they were selling in the malls. This year it was Finger Football. Kevin and Steph came over last weekend and Ryan convinced Kevin to play with him


It looked pretty fun, but more complicated than we imagined.


And requiring a little more skill. But they had fun and there was lots of giggling (manly giggling) invovled as they played.

New Camera

My parents got us THIS for Christmas this year. (THANKS!!!!!) I was so excited and surprised as I had only half mentioned I wanted one to my mom many months ago. She'd been plotting this for months and getting information from all our family members that have them. My dad used to have his own dark room and I've always wanted to learn more about photography. Now, I have no excuse because I have the perfect camera to start out on. I've got lots to learn and need to do it before Cason arrives!

Yesterday, I met Suz, Luke and Hudson for lunch and took a few pictures. It's amazing what this camera can do on its own (I sure had nothing to do with it)... and of course cute subjects like these two make it even more fun!

Red Bird Problem

We've had a problem with this stupid red bird (cardinal I guess) liking to peck/fly into the window of the utility room and guest room window. Ryan had this problem at one of his spec homes and we did some research. Everything says that during mating season certain birds (including cardinals) are very territorial and they will see their own reflection and think its another male bird so they attack. I guess hitting the glass doesn't teach them anything and they just keep doing it. Sometimes its so bad they start to bleed! Most solutions were to keep the blinds shut, put the screens on the windows, and other methods to make the windows not have a reflection. None are "pretty" solutions..

Since the problem at our house was not affecting anyone's sleep we never did anything about it. Then, the bird (or his friend) took a perch on our outdoor cooler one day and saw himself in the glass door to our bedroom. For the past couple of weeks, he's been attacking himself in the window every morning around 7:00. I did more research and still found no fool proof solution other than to try to make the window not reflective.

I came home last night to Ryan's version of this solution.... (click for full effect)


And Ryan re-enacting this photo...

It worked this morning... Ryan said he even saw the bird perched on the cooler so we'll see how long it lasts. If we follow the advice of the websites I've read, Ryan's threatening picture will have to stay for a couple of weeks for the bird to forget that he has an enemy in this spot.

Baked Cinnamon Apples

I've never been a huge fan of baked apples, apple pie, etc. I guess as I've gotten older, I'm starting to like more things. Recently I've been craving cinnamon baked apples... so much so that I ordered them instead of fries or mashed potatoes at Chili's recently!

I had never made them before and wanted something really easy. Ryan's mom sent me two of her apple recipes. One I didn't have the ingredients for and the other was for the crockpot and I was in more of a "be done when dinner is done" mood. I found a recipe on Recipe Zaar that called for 45 minutes of baking time and had pretty much the same ingredients as the crock pot recipe I already had so I gave it a try. They turned out fantastic... but the results of 10 apples disappeared waaaaaayyyy too fast in our house!

Hot Baked Cinnamon Apples
By: Recipe Zaar submitter "Elmolvsu"

10 apples, cored, peeled and sliced thin
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)
1 dash salt
1 dash nutmeg
fresh whipped cream (optional) or ice cream (optional)

Place cut and peeled apples in a mixing bowl and gently mix all the ingredients together.
Put apples in a non-stick pan, and cook covered for 45 minutes at 375°F.
Stir at least once every 15 minutes.
Once they are soft, cook for another few minutes to thicken the cinnamon sauce.
Tip: Put everything in the baking dish and then mix it since there is less to clean up.

Several of the reviews said this can be made in the crock pot as well and one even said she made it at her desk at work. I could totally torture my cube mates letting this cook all day and making them smell it but not get to eat it! Ha!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

I love anything I can cook in a crockpot. Since work + commute makes for long days, its great to have meals that are ready when I get home. This recipe has been a big hit on a local message board for some time but it took me a while to get on the bandwagon. Not sure why but we were missing out for the past year. I am not sure who this recipe "belongs" to but I wish I did so I can give them credit.

Ryan and I both really like the way these turn out and its super easy. I told him tonight that I was glad he liked it because we'd be having it a lot after the baby is born!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
1 chicken taco seasoning packet (you can use a reg. taco seasoning packet but the chicken kind is best)
6 FROZEN chicken tenderloins (or 3 frozen breasts)
1 container of fresh pico (or can of Rotel)
1/4 c. Olive Oil
1/4 c. Water

Cover the bottom of the crockpot with the taco seasoning.
Lay frozen chicken on top.
Pour Pico/Rotel over chicken.
Pour Oil and Water over everything.
Cook on Low for 4-6 hours. If home, turn meat half way but not necessary.
Shred chicken with a fork and stir into juices.
Let cook/simmer for 30 minutes more (if time is tight, I skip this step)

Serve on tortillas with a shredded Mexican cheese blend. Great for leftovers, too.

I always use Rotel because I tend to make this when I'm having a "what to cook" moment. I keep Rotel and Taco Seasoning in the pantry most of the time and there is always some frozen chicken in my freezer from sale days when I stock up. Fresh pico would go bad in our house so I never buy it.

As an aside, a neat tip I learned (from another source that I can't find anymore) is how to make your "big" crockpot smaller. Many people get the bigger crockpot with the programmable/digital timer which can be too big for meals for two. We aren't big leftover people (with some exceptions) so I like to just cook enough for the two of us on many things. What I learned is that you can put a covered casserole dish inside your crockpot to make it the right size for smaller portions. This way, the meat is in a smaller space and is able to continue to cook in the juices and not dry out. I use the appropriate size Corningware French White covered dish to hold whatever I am cooking (brisket, roast, pork loin, chicken tacos). Just place the casserole dish with the food you are cooking, covered, into the crock pot. Put the crockpot cover on and cook as directed. Works like a charm and since the casserole dish is smaller I can normally fit it in the dishwasher for easier cleanup. Here is a picture of mine (uncovered after cooking) for reference.

Monday in Woodforest

I woke up today in a funk. We stayed up too late last night budgeting for life after the arrival of Cason Philip and then I didn't sleep well...or really at all. My mind was racing and I was extremely uncomfortable (I'm a stomach sleeper and, well, that's just not possible anymore). So needless to say, today was not a good morning. I was tired and cranky and the water works started. It was just one of those mornings.

So the rest of my day just sort of had that same blah tone. I worked, tried to focus, put dinner in the crock pot, etc. And then things started to take a turn...

First, Ryan got home and said "Hey, come look", directing me to the garage door. And this is what I saw (well, it was sitting in the driveway... I didn't get a picture before Ryan brought it in).

Now to most of you, this is just a really big, new trashcan issued by the trash company. Nothing special. But to me, this trash can was probably the first thing today that made me glad I got out of bed. You see, we've been in this house for over 3 months but TODAY is the first time I've seen this trash can. This trash can symbolizes the end of bags of stinky trash sitting in the garage for a week at a time. This trash can symbolizes the end of waking up to torn up trash bags and trash on our driveway on trash morning (raccoons we assume). This trashcan symbolizes... well you get my point. Whatever was holding up delivery of trash cans to our new neighborhood was finally worked out and all is right in garbage world.

The trash can itself would have been enough to brighten my day but then there was more. We ate dinner and were cleaning up when Ryan said "It's pink outside... get the camera." And he was right. The sunset view from our back porch was beautiful. God is Good!

Family Room Changes

While we had both familes at the house for Christmas, we decided to move our big chair and ottoman from the bedroom to the family room so we'd have some extra seating. Plus, my mom was dying to make it her morning reading spot! We always planned to get a chair of some sort for the family room but wanted to do something upholstered in a fun print. Since Ryan's brother helped him move the chair to the family room and I couldn't help him move it back to the bedroom, we decided to play with the furniture arrangement to see if a chair this big would fit so we know what to look for.


Some pictures from before



And now...
All four pieces fit really well and I love having the chair in the family room. We still want to get a non-leather piece so we can move this one back to the bedroom and now we know what size to look for. I don't know WHEN we'll get the new chair since there are probably a few other things we need to be focused on first!

Christmas 2009

We hosted Christmas at our house this year. My parents, grandmother, niece, brother and his dog all came from Mississippi and stayed for almost a week. It was great to have my family see the new house and especially to spend some time with Grammy, James and Helmi as I see them even less than I see my parents. Admiral enjoyed having his cousin Gus around for several days too.

On Christmas morning, Santa came to visit and we opened gifts with my family. All of Ryan's family (parents, both brothers and their wives, and of course all the dogs) joined us for lunch.

It was great to celebrate our first holiday in the new house with both families. Here are some highlights.

Grammy and Helmi making Grammy's famous Lemon Pie.

Helmi in her adorable Christmas Dress

Santa came to visit.

Helmi helping Neanie open her gift... handmade by Helmi (with some help from James).







In the kitchen where I spent lots of time!

My first attempt at Grandmother's dressing.

Admiral getting his gifts.

My family

Ryan's family

All the dogs (I suggest you click on these to see them full size!!)

Fievel makes his escape and Clive TRIES to follow.

Playing Mouse Trap

Admiral and Gus relaxing in the sun.


For the full roll of pictures, click here.

Happy New Year

Last year I did a sort of 10 year review. I guess you should normally do those on a year like 2010, when you roll to a new decade. I jumped the gun... mainly because 1999 was a big year for me and 2009 seemed like an appropriate 10 year mark.

As I look back on 2009, I again realize how blessed I am. The highlights of our year and the blog are:

• We built and moved into our "Dream Home". For me, it was a hard, stressful process. For Ryan, it was all fun. He'd do it again tomorrow (good thing since its his job) and I hyperventilate just thinking about picking out tile, paint, granite... breathe... breathe...
• We sold the "Best Boat Ever" (and promised each other we'd get another one one day)
• I gained two amazing sister-in-laws when Ryan's brothers Kevin and Eric tied the knot.
• We traveled to New Hampshire for Eric's Graduation, to Nashville for my friend Ross's wedding and to San Antonio/Seaworld with my family.
• Admiral gained 3 doggie cousins.
• And last but not least... telling our friends we are expecting a baby and finding out It's A Boy!

Since I've often devoted a lot of my blog to the food I cook, here are some of my favs from 2009:

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies - "Chocolate Heaven" and "Almost Molten Lava Cakes"
• Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies - "A Red Velvet Valentine's Day"
• Rockets Iced Sugar Cookies - "Baking for Sports"
• Fried Pickles
• Cheesecake Pops - "Cheesecake Pops -- The Easy Way"
• And a few more that haven't made the blog yet... I guess 2010 will get credit for those!

2010 is going to be a great year! I can't even begin to image how my life will have changed by January 1, 2011.