40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 15

Today Jeff and I are thankful for the same thing - great neighbors.
We are so fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful, fun people.
We had our Christmas party last night, a progressive party themed "An American Christmas". Each couple drew a state, and served food and drinks that represented that state. We had an amazing night!
We visited Utah, Arkansas, West Virginia, New York, South Carolina, Mississippi, Montana...and one other state that I can't seem to remember right now. We had Long Island Iced Tea, New York Cheesecake, Arkansas Avalanche, Fried Okra, Deer Sausage, Carolina Sweet Tea, Sliders, Mountain Dew on Acid (that was a new one for me!), Mississippi Mud Pie, Sangria, Kahlua Cake, Corn Chowder, Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches, Mudslides, Pulled Pork Sandwiches...and more! Needless to say, we are full and sleepy today : )
I hope everyone has neighbors as wonderful as ours!

Pinwheels

Thanks to the wonderfully helpful ladies on the nest, I have an amazing new recipe!

I altered it for our tastes, and love, love these pinwheels!

I made them for my incredibly particular husband, and *gasp* he loves them!

He ate the two that I brought him while he was watching TV, and then, upon discovering that I was putting them in the fridge, says, "Why don't you put those on a plate and bring them in here?" That's when I knew I stumbled across something good. To get another opinion, I took them to work the next day, heated them in the toaster oven, and served them to my recipe guinea pigs - my coworkers. They loved them too! When I got home, there was a very disappointed hubby on the sofa asking for the leftover pinwheels. Oops.

I served these last night at our progressive neighborhood Christmas party. They were a hit! All the wives wanted the recipe.

We are currently cooking another batch to eat while we watch football this afternoon.

Okay, enough talking, here's how you make them -

PINWHEELS

1 8oz Block Cream Cheese

1 Tube Crescent Rolls

1/4 Cup Bacon Bits (I use the yellow Oscar Meyer bag)

2 Tablespoons Finley Diced Onions

Lay out about 2 feet of plastic wrap.

Lay crescent rolls flat, making one large sheet of dough. Press seams together.

Put cream cheese block in a microwave safe bowl. Defrost in the microwave. I used the chicken setting, and defrosted for 1/2 lb. of chicken. Worked great and makes it so much easier to mix and spread.

Stir in onion and bacon bits.

Spread mixture evenly over crescent roll dough.

Roll dough into a log shape, creating a spiral in the cross section.

Wrap in the plastic wrap, and place in the fridge. The colder the log gets, the easier it will be to slice. I made the logs the night before, and sliced and cooked them the next evening right before our party.

Slice the log into 1/2 slices, place on a baking sheet, and cook for about 15 minutes at 350.

Hope you enjoy them!

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 14

Today, I am thankful for cold nights. Usually here in Houston, it's hot, and Jeff and I sleep on totally opposite sides of the bed. But, when it's cold, every time I wake up we are all close and snuggly. I love it! I have to soak it up, because it's not cold here for very long.

Jeff is thankful for sleep today. I think this has something to do with the fact that I asked him what he was thankful for as we were falling asleep in the before mentioned cold bed. He really does love sleep though - he would sleep all day if he didn't have honey-do chores.

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 13

Today I am thankful for Bandit, our Pomeranian. He is 6 years old, and definitely our child! He brings so much joy to our lives and I feel so lucky that God blessed me with such an amazing doggie! He truly brings joy to our lives each and every day.

Jeff is thankful for Christmas, he is so excited!

Lessons - Never Judge

"Some People!" snorted a man standing behind me in the long line at the grocery store. "You would think the manager would pay attention and open another line", a woman said.

I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up was and saw a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine to accept her credit card. No matter how many times she swiped it, the machine kept rejecting it.

"It's one of them welfare card things. Darn people need to get a job like everyone else", said the man standing behind me.

The young woman turned around to see who had made the comment.

"It was me", he said, pointing to himself.

The young lady's face began to change expression. Almost in tears, she dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out of the store. Everyone in the checkout line watched as she began running to her car. Never looking back, she got in and drove away.

Several minutes later a young man walked into the store. He went up to the cashier and asked if she had seen the woman. After describing her, the cashier told him that she had run out of the store, got into her car, and drove away.

"Why would she do that?" asked the man. Everyone in the line looked around at the fellow who had made the statement. "I made a stupid comment about the welfare card she was using...something I shouldn't have said. I'm sorry", said the man.

"Well, that's bad, real bad, in fact. Her brother was killed in Afghanistan two years ago...he had three young children and she has taken responsibility for them. She's only 20 years old, single, and now has three children to suppport." He said in a very firm voice.

This story goes on, and the people in line all chip in to buy her groceries. Things like this always make me think about making snap judgements, which I am often guilty of doing. I pray that God gives me a pure heart that is not quick to judge.

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 12

Today, I am thankful that my grandparents will be able to travel to Texas for my Sister's graduation! My Emommy is not in great health, and they were waiting to get clearance from her doctor to travel - and they did! This way we will get to have Christmas with them and it will mean the world to my sister.

Jeff is thankful for Charlie Brown Christmas. As I type, we are watching the Grinch. We love these classic Christmas movies, they warm my heart and remind me of what Christmas was like as a child.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

It really is true...absence does make the heart grow fonder!

Jeff went to Cancun for 4 days for a bachelor party this weekend, and I was really looking forward to some time home alone. I leave before he does in the morning, and he gets home a few hours before I do in the evening, so I haven't spent much time at home by myself since we got married last April.

The first night was great, I cleared out the DVR, caught up on my soap opera, and didn't do the dishes as soon as I was finished with them. By the second night though, I was lonesome. I went to the bride to be's bachelorette party Saturday night, and by Sunday, I was really missing him! I think he should take a trip more often - it was so wonderful to see him last night! We had so much to talk about after not talking or spending time together, it was almost like when we were dating again : ) I've decided that weekends away are wonderful things!

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 11

Today I am so thankful for my husband. He is amazing.
He is in Cancun this week - weekend, and not having him here really makes me appreciate him:)
It just makes you realize how wonderful it is to be married and to always have him here.
I'm a lucky girl!

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 10

Okay, so I am terrible at my 40 days of thankfulness. Oops. I'm trying, I promise!

Today I am thankful for my parents. They are such amazing people that have taught me so many life lessons. Not only do I respect and admire them, but they are my dearest friends as well. We just got home yesterday and I miss them already!

Today, Jeff is thankful for Cyber Monday. He found a great deal on a new TV for our bedroom today online. We can't wait to put it up!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 9

Today I am thankful for new experiences.

Jeff and I went to the Texans game last night, and had such a great time, even though we lost. We are trying to do new things and experiences to keep things fun - and I am enjoying it!

Jeff is thankful for Monday Night Football : )

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 8

I'm back in town and back on track with my Thankfulness.

Today I am thankful for unpredictability.

Jeff and I had a great day today. We went to Hobby Lobby to pick out our wrapping paper for our Christmas gifts. I am usually a little obsessive about our wrapping paper. I love Christmas to have a theme. This year, I chose red and white damask. I already picked out the paper from some that my Mom found at Hobby Lobby last year, ordered gift tags, and bought my ribbon for bows. I just hadn't bought the paper yet. Well, Hobby Lobby does not have the paper this year. They have it in green, and black and white, but not the red that I had my heart set on. I was disappointed, it is time to start Christmas stuff, but I had to regroup. Jeff picked up some red paper with white reindeer silhouettes, and said, "I really like this". He NEVER has an opinion about these things! The paper wasn't too bad, and I figured that if I stuck with the red, it would be okay. After I said, "Sure, that's nice, let's get that one", and started to walk off, he picked up another roll of red paper, this one covered in cartoon snowmen and little snowflakes. "I REALLY like this one" - Jeff. I inwardly cringe and almost tell him to put it back - I HATE Christmas paper with cartoon figures on it. The reindeer were a stretch for me, but there was no way I was going to have my floor covered with cartoon snowman paper. Then, Jeff said, I like this, I'm really glad I came. How unpredictable. Who knew that he would be happy that I dragged him to Hobby Lobby, that he would choose wrapping paper, and that he would be happy that he came!

So, long story short, I am so happy for his unpredictability today!

40 Days of Thankfulness

I know I've skipped a few days...but I'm trying to keep on track :) I will be out of town starting tomorrow until Friday, so we will pick back up on our thankfulness when I get home. I am headed to New Orleans and Mississippi for a new project. I rarely get to travel for work, so I am so excited! Anyway....

Today I am thankful for my job. It is very stressful at times, but I really do love it. I am very lucky to work for great people in a fun atmosphere.

Jeff is thankful that he got his final deal for the month, so he met his quota! Yey! That is a huge relief for him.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 6

Today, I am thankful for my husband. We are not perfect, but he has been the perfect husband this weekend. When I got home from work last night, he had half of the bathroom painted, which is something I really wanted done, but was dreading spending the whole weekend doing. Today, he detailed the Tahoe, and took me to the Honda dealership, and helped me pick out an Accord. This is the first new car I have ever had. He was so worried about me liking it and being happy and comfortable with our decision, that it just made me love him even more. It's funny, since we have been married, sometimes he just does things that make me love him just a little bit more sometimes :)

Today, Jeff is thankful for his credit score, it came in handy on our car purchase today!

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 5

Today Jeff and I are both thankful for our home. There are so many people that do not have a place to call home, and we have a wonderful house that we love. Granted, there are many things we are dying to do to it...hardwood floors, painting, granite countertops, bathroom upgrades...but - I am so happy that we have it.

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

Today we are so thankful for the troops that serve our country and fight for our freedom and our rights.

Today always reminds me of one of my favorite moments with my Daddy. We were in Hawaii, on our last Daddy daughter trip before I got married. We were at a Japanese Steak House, where they cook at the table. We were sitting with 3 other people, all under 25, that were stationed in Hawaii. They were having their last dinner before they were deployed the next morning. We enjoyed their company so much, and had a wonderful time. They told us about what a splurge this was for them, and how hard it was to get enough money together just to fly home to see their families while they were on leave. When dinner was almost over, Daddy leaned over to me and said, "Do you think we should buy their dinner?" When they asked for the check, we were already getting up to leave, and I will never forget the look on the young girls face when she looked at Daddy and said, "Oh, Sir, thank you so much!" He said, it's the least we could do, thank you for what you do! I respect my Daddy so much, but in this moment, I was swelling with pride and thankfulness that he was MY Daddy.

I always try to make a point to shake soldiers hands when I see them out and about, and I hope that I can follow Daddy's example and do things to show them how thankful I am as an American and how grateful I am for their sacrifice.

Happy Veterans Day!

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 3

Today, I am thankful for feeling safe - in my country and in my home. Jeff is thankful for being alive. This was brought about by starting our "Thankful" conversation after watching a news story about those that were injured in the Fort Hood shooting. I cannot express how sorry I am for those that are injured and the families that lost a loved one.

40 Days of Thankfulness - Day 2

Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday :)

Yesterday I was thankful for kind and welcoming people. I went to a baby shower and a bridal shower this weekend, and I really didn't know anyone well at either (other than the ladies of honor). Everyone was so sweet and welcoming - and I had such a nice time at both. It is always awkward to go to an event where you are a little uncomfortable because you don't know anyone very well, and I am so thankful for others that go out of their way to make you feel welcome.

Jeff's Thankfulness on day 2 is for our Lord and his Grace.

40 Days of Thankfulness

40 Days of Thankfulness
I recently came across an exercise that I think will be very beneficial for Jeff and myself. It is so easy to get caught up in the details of everyday life, and forget to be thankful for all the amazing gifts that God provides for us. I am going to post something that I am thankful for each day. Some days will probably be more generic and frivolous than others, but I'm going to give it a try!

Day 1
Today I am thankful for TJMAXX. I spent about 20 minutes there, and managed to get a really cute shirt and finish the baby shower basket that I was working on. Jeff is thankful that he has a job : )


This fabric and pattern isn't something that I would usually buy, but I am really glad that I did. It was only $12.99!

Here is the baby shower basket that I finished for Kenny and Heidi, I found the basket in the home section of TJMAXX for $4!

I Carved a Pumpkin!

Sometimes I feel like it's my "job" in our marriage to do the cutesie fun things that I think wives are supposed to do. This includes carving a pumpkin for Halloween. Last week was incredibly busy, so I bought a small one and didn't carve it until Saturday afternoon. Oops.

I printed a small Texans Logo, and taped it to the pumpkin. Then, I used a safety pin and punched holes all around the outline. Next, with the help of a steak knife, a paring knife, and a razor blade - I carved our pumpkin. It was a giant pain and took quite a bit longer than I thought, but Jeff really liked it, which is all that matters. I should have cleaned up the inside of it a little more, but I was over the whole thing by this time : ) I put one of the led candles from our wedding in it, and it is still going!

Then, I washed the seeds, dried them, put them on some foil on a cookie sheet, salted them, and broiled them for about 15 minutes. They were so good, and the girls loved them!

Overall, I think our first married Halloween was a success!

Apron Review

So, I was looking for an apron to wear from Halloween, and I found the perfect one on etsy - and I thought I would share. I bought it from spicerakdesigns, and it was @ $30 including shipping. It was the perfect thing for my June Cleaver halloween costume.

The quality is amazing - the stitching it even and well done, and the length is perfect. I think I am going to order another one for Christmas! It came in just a few days - I would recommend buying from her!