Andrew and I are dtiving home TODAY! I am just so excited, packing packing packing and cleaning though are keeping me busy for the next 5 hours! Man andrew and i are getting so good at packing. Im pretty sure that last year, I lived out of a bag for almost the whole time.......and gosh, i dont really miss it. But if it means being home and snuggling with my family and babies and kids.....that by all means bring it on!
Things I cant wait to do......
Give/Get hugs from......kynochs, sheppards,days, hosfords, clems, schulers, soon to be stirnuses, wonnenbergs, petersons, groveses, .....and ALL others!
Show off Tex to mine and Andrews Family!
Give little miss baby brylee all my love, and make her recognize her wonderful aunt laur laur! :)
Wrestle with Adam, Colee and Mina (this is the name that Maylia has given herself because she cant pronounce her name, therefore we call her it!)
Christmas friend annual party, cant wait for the shennanagans!
Christmas morning at my house......madness/kiddos/presents/cinnamon rolls/cheese and sourdough souffle, hot chocolate, playing with new toys out in the front yard for an hour!
Christmas night at the Hosfords.....more family hugs/presents/FOOD/ gus man (my other dog (german sheppard) that lives at andrews parents house)
Seriously the list goes on and on......I cant write it all, as i took a break from packing to write this, and I really need to get back to that!
Love you all, and cant wait to see you soon!
Mr. and Mrs. Hosford!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Birthday Weekend!
Well.....Andrews birthday weekend was definitely a HIT!!! Salsa dancing and then Sake Bombs and yummy Sushi for his birthday dinner! There were about 12 of us at Hayashi Sushi and Hibachi Grill, and I'm pretty sure we were the loudest table in the restaurant. Sake bomb after sake bomb! :)
Here is Andrew with his delicious food! He got a combo sushi/sashimi plate, and also another plate with just scallops, also an ocean salad, and also tempura veggies (and i think a miso soup and a house salad come with his sushi)! holy food is right! I had a spicy tuna roll with a cucumber salad......far less extravagant sounding but still just as wonderful! For all you sushi haters out there, I have always hated it......but I finally realized that it wasn't the fish that bothered me, its the seaweed. I really just cant handle eating it. When I eat a roll, the food gets separated from the seaweed and I can only tasted the seaweed and excuse me but it makes me gag! So I found out that you can order sushi rolls with whats called soy paper. So now I can enjoy the sushi, and I'm sure happy that I solved that problem. I suggest if you don't like sushi, try that. You can get cooked fish too, if the raw fish is what scares you. Here is a photo of us taking wonderful Sake Bombs! So fun yet so messy!
I know we aren't looking at the camera, but i thought we both had funny faces! After we left this restaurant we went to a bar, called The Fox and The Hound. Apparently its not hooters....but they only have women waiters/bartenders/bouncers. It was funny! We played shuffle board and pool for hours. And Andrew was handed shots left and right, one was called The Starry Night....and blech....it was goldshclagger and jeager!
Here is Andrew with his delicious food! He got a combo sushi/sashimi plate, and also another plate with just scallops, also an ocean salad, and also tempura veggies (and i think a miso soup and a house salad come with his sushi)! holy food is right! I had a spicy tuna roll with a cucumber salad......far less extravagant sounding but still just as wonderful! For all you sushi haters out there, I have always hated it......but I finally realized that it wasn't the fish that bothered me, its the seaweed. I really just cant handle eating it. When I eat a roll, the food gets separated from the seaweed and I can only tasted the seaweed and excuse me but it makes me gag! So I found out that you can order sushi rolls with whats called soy paper. So now I can enjoy the sushi, and I'm sure happy that I solved that problem. I suggest if you don't like sushi, try that. You can get cooked fish too, if the raw fish is what scares you. Here is a photo of us taking wonderful Sake Bombs! So fun yet so messy!
I know we aren't looking at the camera, but i thought we both had funny faces! After we left this restaurant we went to a bar, called The Fox and The Hound. Apparently its not hooters....but they only have women waiters/bartenders/bouncers. It was funny! We played shuffle board and pool for hours. And Andrew was handed shots left and right, one was called The Starry Night....and blech....it was goldshclagger and jeager! To end the night, we went to a bar called the office, Andrew had just downed a few more jeager bombs, and finally looked at me and said....OK take me home now! So on our ride home, Andrew managed to spill his ice cold water all over his crotch. I laughed so hard, and I also have an incriminating photo, but I decided to be nice and not post it! :) Here is a good one of us at the beginning of the night! Happy Birthday Andrew!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Best Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies Ever!
So I found the best cookie recipe the other day. I always like decorating cookies for christmas, and I've found that I never like eating them. This year I searched for a "good" recipie, that would both be fun to decorate and eat........so below is the recipie that I made, and they are amazing. I stood in front of the oven and watched them cook till they were perfectly browned, (took about 7 to 8 minutes). I only own heart cookie cutters, so thats why they are all hearts, so I went with a candy cane theme, but they still look like valentines day cookies......but they arent! I thought I would share my recipie with you!
The BEST Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies!
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness, (dough will probably be really sticky, so you might feel like you need to use more flour, which is totally fine…..I did). Then cut into desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet or on wax paper (preferred). 4. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. I stood in front of the oven the whole time they were cooking, I think its very delicate dough and will burn easily. Mine were mostly cooked by 8 minutes, but it depends on the size of your cookies. Cool cookies completely before frosting. Make sure to store in a covered container so they don’t get stale.
Cheese Frosting –
· 4 oz soft cream cheese
· 1 stick of unsalted butter
· 2 cups powdered sugar
· 1 teaspoon of vanilla
In a mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and butter (I used salted butter cause that’s all I had and it tasted fine), then mix in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, and after that’s all mixed add in the vanilla and mix till incorporated· 4 oz soft cream cheese
· 1 stick of unsalted butter
· 2 cups powdered sugar
· 1 teaspoon of vanilla
My completed cookies! I was pretty proud!
Friday, December 10, 2010
1.2.3....5.6.7....
I gave andrew his birthday present yesterday!!!
I had a few bags packed of yummy snacks/dinner, wine and champagne, and a great homemade berry pie for dessert. I also had ironed and layed out an outfit for andrew to change into when he got home! I was all dressed up in my dress and boots when he got home from work, and needless to say he was a little bit confused. (fyi, I told him I had something planned but didnt tell him what it was). So he showered, and changed, with me grinning ear to ear, so excited about what Im about to tell him.
As we were just about ready to leave, I told him the plan. We are going over to our friends Brittany and Justins house (also, they have a black lab mix named Ida......and she is Tex's girlfriend. They LOVE each other, so thats nice, we get a nice double date, and tex gets to uh...play too! ) We are going to drink some wine and eat a light dinner, AND THEN............WE ARE GOING TO GO LEARN HOW TO SALSA DANCE!!!!!
I think Andrew was seriously surpirsed and thought I was kidding at first! His face was blank for a few seconds! After telling him I was serious, he got totally into it. If you all know Andrew, you know that he LOVES to dance! Haha, so I thought it would be a totally fun thing for us to do, and the best part, its for 10 classes! So we get to go every thursday and learn more for 9 weeks!
After drinking a few bottles of wine, the 4 of us made our way to the dance hall....(while Tex and Ida played!) We got there, and accompanied about 16 others! We were all a tad nervous at first, but that went away quickly. The instructors put us in a girls line opposite the boys line, with a large space in between. We then proceeded to learn the first basic steps. 1.2.3.....5.6.7.... You say where is the 4 and the 8......they are pauses in the feet, so the instructors never say the number. Took me a while to figure that one out! It was hilarious. So first we learned the basic step, and got to try it with our partner, AND THEN, they made the girls rotate...........which made me feel like I was in nordquest all over again (for all of you that remember what that was) Andrew and Justin werent very excited about the rotation, but I had a great time dancing with all these different people. The instructors then threw in a turn (which was so hard) and then also this like teeter toter type of step.....which I got pretty quickly. After the instruction part was done, they played a few songs so that we could all practice with who ever we wanted to, so I of course ran to Andrew, and we busted it out! LOL! We definitely have more to learn, but it was so fun!
We all left with big smiles, and were so happy to have just done that, and we all cant wait to go back. I have a feeling there will definitely be some livingroom salsa dance practice before we go back though!
LOVE IT!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!
There are about 16 of us going out to dinner tonight for him, sake bombs, sushi, hibachi, YUM! Should be fun! :)
I had a few bags packed of yummy snacks/dinner, wine and champagne, and a great homemade berry pie for dessert. I also had ironed and layed out an outfit for andrew to change into when he got home! I was all dressed up in my dress and boots when he got home from work, and needless to say he was a little bit confused. (fyi, I told him I had something planned but didnt tell him what it was). So he showered, and changed, with me grinning ear to ear, so excited about what Im about to tell him.
As we were just about ready to leave, I told him the plan. We are going over to our friends Brittany and Justins house (also, they have a black lab mix named Ida......and she is Tex's girlfriend. They LOVE each other, so thats nice, we get a nice double date, and tex gets to uh...play too! ) We are going to drink some wine and eat a light dinner, AND THEN............WE ARE GOING TO GO LEARN HOW TO SALSA DANCE!!!!!
I think Andrew was seriously surpirsed and thought I was kidding at first! His face was blank for a few seconds! After telling him I was serious, he got totally into it. If you all know Andrew, you know that he LOVES to dance! Haha, so I thought it would be a totally fun thing for us to do, and the best part, its for 10 classes! So we get to go every thursday and learn more for 9 weeks!
After drinking a few bottles of wine, the 4 of us made our way to the dance hall....(while Tex and Ida played!) We got there, and accompanied about 16 others! We were all a tad nervous at first, but that went away quickly. The instructors put us in a girls line opposite the boys line, with a large space in between. We then proceeded to learn the first basic steps. 1.2.3.....5.6.7.... You say where is the 4 and the 8......they are pauses in the feet, so the instructors never say the number. Took me a while to figure that one out! It was hilarious. So first we learned the basic step, and got to try it with our partner, AND THEN, they made the girls rotate...........which made me feel like I was in nordquest all over again (for all of you that remember what that was) Andrew and Justin werent very excited about the rotation, but I had a great time dancing with all these different people. The instructors then threw in a turn (which was so hard) and then also this like teeter toter type of step.....which I got pretty quickly. After the instruction part was done, they played a few songs so that we could all practice with who ever we wanted to, so I of course ran to Andrew, and we busted it out! LOL! We definitely have more to learn, but it was so fun!
We all left with big smiles, and were so happy to have just done that, and we all cant wait to go back. I have a feeling there will definitely be some livingroom salsa dance practice before we go back though!
LOVE IT!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!
There are about 16 of us going out to dinner tonight for him, sake bombs, sushi, hibachi, YUM! Should be fun! :)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
So, today is December 9th! Which means Andrews birthday is tomorrow! Ive got a special surprise for Andrew today. I'm spending today prepping for it, and I cant wait for this evening! Although I think he figured it out, I'm pretending that he still doesn't know what we are doing. His gift is being given to him today, and we are going out to dinner for his birthday tomorrow. Which is gonna be a blast too! We are going to Hayashi Sushi and Hibachi Grill. I think there are gonna be like 15 people....and the number keeps going up! I'm pretty excited about that too! I haven't had sushi in a while, so we shall see how they make it in Texas.
On a little side note......we went downtown last night to celebrate for a few friends that just defended for their thesis....and passed. It was really fun, but..............there is just one thing that I absolutely cant stand about being in Texas. And it is the fact that..........people can smoke in bars/restaurants. Is so horrible. I absolutely hate it. You walk into a bar, and it stinks, and it holds a cloud of smoke constantly! Ugh. Although the smell does sort of.....disappear after a while, Ive been noticing that I really have a hard time breathing after a while.....I start to cough....It gets worse as we are there longer. And the really gross part, is that it completely seeps into your clothes. I cant stand this either. When I came home last night and was taking my shirt off, I can just smell it in my clothes, and I was pissed when I woke up this morning, because Andrew and I left our heap of smoke smelling clothes in our bedroom. I picked them up this morning and threw them into the wash....but gagged in the process. I don't see how people can smoke, its so nasty, bad for your TEETH, and your health, and the way you smell, and bad for others! UGH! (my side note ended up being more of a tangent....but oh well, maybe I can start writing a law to forbid smoking in bars here........hahahaha, then they are really gonna think I'm a raging California liberal!)
SO EXCITED FOR ANDREWS BIRTHDAY!
On a little side note......we went downtown last night to celebrate for a few friends that just defended for their thesis....and passed. It was really fun, but..............there is just one thing that I absolutely cant stand about being in Texas. And it is the fact that..........people can smoke in bars/restaurants. Is so horrible. I absolutely hate it. You walk into a bar, and it stinks, and it holds a cloud of smoke constantly! Ugh. Although the smell does sort of.....disappear after a while, Ive been noticing that I really have a hard time breathing after a while.....I start to cough....It gets worse as we are there longer. And the really gross part, is that it completely seeps into your clothes. I cant stand this either. When I came home last night and was taking my shirt off, I can just smell it in my clothes, and I was pissed when I woke up this morning, because Andrew and I left our heap of smoke smelling clothes in our bedroom. I picked them up this morning and threw them into the wash....but gagged in the process. I don't see how people can smoke, its so nasty, bad for your TEETH, and your health, and the way you smell, and bad for others! UGH! (my side note ended up being more of a tangent....but oh well, maybe I can start writing a law to forbid smoking in bars here........hahahaha, then they are really gonna think I'm a raging California liberal!)
SO EXCITED FOR ANDREWS BIRTHDAY!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tex!
I guess our dream puppy is growing into his terror chew stage later in his puppyhood!
Andrew and I went out to lunch yesterday, to this authentic mexican restaurant that we'd heard is the best in town. (sidenote, it is the best most authentic in town, but.......its just different than in CA. I think the mexicans that have restaurants here are from a different area than CA mexicans. because the food is just different. Also there is tex mex, which Im not a big fan of yet)....ANYWAY I thought we would take Tex with us, hes been places with us in the car many many many times, and i didnt even think twice about leaving him in the truck as we went to go eat lunch.
When Andrew and I walked back to the truck.....we noticed that the cab was a disaster. Tex had pulled all the papers/napkins/trash out of every crevice of andrews truck....and ripped it up and spread it EVERYWHERE. So Andrew on the drivers side, me on the passenger side......andrew opened his door, and out falls his rear view mirror. Andrew had his highschool graduation tassel hanging from the mirror, and tex somehow decided to play with it, and pulled on it and pulled it off of andrews windshield. How it didnt break the windshield....i dont know! But oh my andrew was pissed. And Tex is just sitting there......looking at us with his tounge hanging out tail waggin!
Also, he chewed on andrews gear shifter, so the end cap is no longer on, and then he chewed on the windsheield wiper nob.....so the wipers were going like crazy when the truck turned on.
I couldnt help but laugh.........I only got a glare from andrew. Love having a puppy!
Andrew and I went out to lunch yesterday, to this authentic mexican restaurant that we'd heard is the best in town. (sidenote, it is the best most authentic in town, but.......its just different than in CA. I think the mexicans that have restaurants here are from a different area than CA mexicans. because the food is just different. Also there is tex mex, which Im not a big fan of yet)....ANYWAY I thought we would take Tex with us, hes been places with us in the car many many many times, and i didnt even think twice about leaving him in the truck as we went to go eat lunch.
When Andrew and I walked back to the truck.....we noticed that the cab was a disaster. Tex had pulled all the papers/napkins/trash out of every crevice of andrews truck....and ripped it up and spread it EVERYWHERE. So Andrew on the drivers side, me on the passenger side......andrew opened his door, and out falls his rear view mirror. Andrew had his highschool graduation tassel hanging from the mirror, and tex somehow decided to play with it, and pulled on it and pulled it off of andrews windshield. How it didnt break the windshield....i dont know! But oh my andrew was pissed. And Tex is just sitting there......looking at us with his tounge hanging out tail waggin!
Also, he chewed on andrews gear shifter, so the end cap is no longer on, and then he chewed on the windsheield wiper nob.....so the wipers were going like crazy when the truck turned on.
I couldnt help but laugh.........I only got a glare from andrew. Love having a puppy!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Christmas time! :)
Well we did it! We put up our christmas tree, thanks to our friends Justin and Brittany for letting us borrow their tree, and lights! We finished decorating our tree today, and also put lights up on our house! So, this will be a heavy picture filled blog! :)
Here is our wonderful christmas tree! I decided to put our christmas cards on it, since I dont have a christmas card holder. :) So far we've only gotten two, keep them coming my friends!
Love these!
Andrew, yelling at me because im taking pictures of him and there is nothing he can do about it. At least he is smiling while yelling. :)
My little Tex! He doesnt really look very happy in this picture.....its one of those "MOM do I have to???" pictures! hahaha!
I just love him so so so much! I might have had to take a little break from the lights to wrestle with the puppy! Also it was super cold outside, hence the hat and gloves!
And here is all of our hard work! :) I love it! Its wonderful!
This is our mantle! It basically holds all the christmas decorations that we own. Courtesy of my mom, she sent a care package with the boot stockings, and the stocking holders! Also she got us the awesome believe sign too! I sat down for an hour today and tried to figure out how to make a bow with that red ribbon. Its seriously a lot harder than you think! I cant tell you how many times I ripped it apart and had to start over! The end result still isnt totally perfect, but thats just fine with me. It reminds me that I made it, and Andrew likes it (at least he claims) so Im happy.
Happy Holidays Everyone! I hope that you all have fun preparing for the season! Andrew and I had fun this weekend putting our little house together!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Texas Plates
Yes its true, I took my CA plates off my car yesterday! It was all a rush of emotions! The first thing Andrew asked me when he came home to seeing me putting the new plates on my car was.....are you ok???? In a very concerned tone. I love how he knows me so well. Im sure had it been a different time of the month, I would have been a complete wreck, but I was fine. At least I get to keep my CA plates right! And...I have to think ive got a nice souvenir when I finally move back to CA!
I spent the last two days driving in circles between The Texas Department of Public Safety, and The Texas Tax Collectors Office. It was such a fiasco, thank goodness Andrew took the day off work to help me out.
First, I went to the department of public safety....in CA terms thats the DMV! So I first tried to get a DL, and the lady at the front told me in order to get a TX DL I had to have a registered vehicle. (I was at first hoping to bypass this step). In order to register my car, I had to drive a mile south....Did that.....Talked to a new lady, and she told me that in order to register my car, I had to take it to a mechanic and get it inspected and validated! (WHAT!!!)
So....Went to the mechanic across the street.....and that took like 2 hours to get my car inspected (but....YAY it passed), So then, I went back to the Tax Collectors office (my car registeration place). I had to have my passport, my social security card, my CA DL (which right now has a whole punch in it with a new paper interim license because I changed my name to get a CA DL that says Laurin Hosford....and it hasnt shown up in the mail yet), my proof of insurance, and my insurance declaration, then my title to my car, also the validation from the mechanic......and my marriage license (since i have two different names on all the documents) WHEW! That was a whole lotta info to be carrying around. So at this point its 315pm....I have to leave my house to take TEX to the vet at 4....so I was rushing the lady in my head.....AND THEN......THE FIRE ALARM WENT OFF! Andrew and I just looked at each other like are you kidding me....?????
So Andrew left, to take TEX, I had to evacuate with the people.......no worries there was no fire! SO we went back in, i finished signing papers, and got to leave in time to pick up andrew and tex and go to the vet!
AND THEN, (yes theres more).....we get a phone call as we are driving to the vet, and apparently there is a whole backside to my title, that andrew and I both had to sign. Basically I spent another 2 hours there yesterday figuring it all out.....Finally got to go back to the DMV and got a Texas Drivers License!
So by the time I put on my plates, yes it was emotional but I was just so happy to have everything done with!
So now, heres my new "TEXAN-IFIED" car and my little helper! He's so handsome! :)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
December......Already???
Well, I really cant believe it is December already! I think throughout the whole year, I have been saying that every month......its july....where did june go? But anyway, I had a wonderful November. First, I started it off by being in santa rosa and willits. We got to witness a wonderful family wedding on the very place where Andrew and I got married. It was so lovely! Here is the bride and groom, Christine and Mike Griggs.
Next we got to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary!!!!! 40 years, that is such an amazing thing to aspire to! I love you both so much and will cheer you on for the next 40 years! :) We surpised my mom and dad with a dinner at Osake in santa rosa. We were all there, plus some wonderful friends. For a gift, we made a frame with all of their kids' hand prints. The 4 Sheppards, the 4 Days, and the 2 Hosfords! :)
NEXT......we got to celebrate THANKGIVING! Andrews parents, Paul and Diana, Memre Joanie (grandma), and Best Man Dave came to Texas to visit with us for a week!!! We had so so so much fun, eating, drinking, playing rummycube, drinking more, eating, shopping, eating more, drinking, going to a football game, drinking, eating, thankgiving, eating and more shopping and more drinking! lol Needless to say andrew and I were so happy to have everyone here. It was such an amazing week and one that we will remember forever! Here is my thanksgiving table....new china, new table cloth, new placematts and silverware, new wine glasses......I was so excited to finally use it all! :)
Next we got to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary!!!!! 40 years, that is such an amazing thing to aspire to! I love you both so much and will cheer you on for the next 40 years! :) We surpised my mom and dad with a dinner at Osake in santa rosa. We were all there, plus some wonderful friends. For a gift, we made a frame with all of their kids' hand prints. The 4 Sheppards, the 4 Days, and the 2 Hosfords! :)
NEXT......we got to celebrate THANKGIVING! Andrews parents, Paul and Diana, Memre Joanie (grandma), and Best Man Dave came to Texas to visit with us for a week!!! We had so so so much fun, eating, drinking, playing rummycube, drinking more, eating, shopping, eating more, drinking, going to a football game, drinking, eating, thankgiving, eating and more shopping and more drinking! lol Needless to say andrew and I were so happy to have everyone here. It was such an amazing week and one that we will remember forever! Here is my thanksgiving table....new china, new table cloth, new placematts and silverware, new wine glasses......I was so excited to finally use it all! :)
After thanksgiving, Andrew and I had to take the family to a Texas Tech Football game! The game was at 7pm and it was in the 30s. We were all bundled up, and still freezing. It was a fun experience for all of us. The picture below was taken like 5 minutes before we decided to leave. We left at ten minutes to go in the 4th quarter, the girls warmed up the car while the boys stayed and watched the rest of the game. Also, before I got up, I just so happened to find a $100 bill laying on the ground right next to my feet! I about fell off my bleacher seat! (I had to take Tex to the vet yesterday to get the rest of his boosters so guess how I paid for that....?) We had so much fun! Im sad that they had to leave, and am now counting the days until Andrew and I drive home for christmas! :)
Hope you all....or I guess I should say YA'LL had a wonderful November too!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Pretzel Jello Salad!
My FAVORITE thanksgiving side dish.....
PRETZEL JELLO SALAD
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this, it is something that I always look forward to at thanksgiving! I know most people are happy with turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy, but, Ive found that I hardly eat any turkey on thanksgiving. Its so funny, but I tend to load my plate up with all the yummy sides.
This one, is my all time favorite. Its kind of complicated to make, but it is SO SO SO SO SO worth the time and effort. The picture shown is not my version of pretzel jello salad, but super close. First, you smash up salted pretzels and bake them a pyrex dish with a stick of butter. That alone is just really yummy to snack on. Then while still hot, on top of the pretzels you put a layer of cream cheese that has been beated with sugar.......that by it self is also so good! This part is so tricky though, its hard to get the cream cheese mixture spread evenly over the pretzels without the pretzels all coming loose and incorporating themselves into the cream cheese. It just needs to be done slowly and with care. Next you put on an entire carton of cool whip over the cream cheese......might I add, its a wonder how all the ingredients dont get eaten up before they all get put togther! :)
After the cool whip.....let cool. Let cool means.......seriously put it in the freezer so it is super cold for the next step. Next step, make a batch of Jello. I use raspberry jello, and instead of using water, mix it with boiling pineapple juice. (it smells so good, its making my mouth water as im thinking about it) Then to that mixture dump in a bag of frozen raspberries. Because the jello is super hot at this point, it too must be cooled down. You dont want it to set, but by no means do you want it to be hot. Because the next thing to do is to pour the jello over the coolwhip. If the jello is hot, it melts the cool whip and makes it bubble to the top of the jello and totally takes over the jello....and also gets rid of the the beautiful layers that you want to create. So....make sure the cool whip is cool and the jello is cool! Then just stick it in the fridge, let the jello form, and its ready to serve. Oh man....I cant wait to eat this in the next week. Usually im the only one who eats it in my family anyway, so I get all the leftovers to myself too!
Question: Do they make gluten free pretzels? Im sure they must. We have a gluten free-eater, and Id like to accomodate! :)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thanksgiving Prep!
Well, its that time of year again! I cant even believe its here already. But needless to say I am so excited! Andrew and I are hosting our very first Thanksgiving Dinner ever at our new house! Yesterday, I took out all of our BRAND NEW china from our wedding gifts (still in their boxes), and started to clean them. I had separated them out into.....Dinner plates, salad plates, bread plates, saucer, and tea/coffee cups. I had 9 stacks of everything (minus the cups of course). I decided to start washing the dinner plates first....Andrew and I dont have a dish washer, so after washing them very carefully by hand, I set them in the dry rack right next to the sink. I was onto the fourth dish, and before I could even believe what happened.........the three previous plates that I had washed, had some how fell backwards over the counter, did a sumersault in the air and splashed glass shards everywhere all over my kitchen floor. After screaming....swearing.....crying....and peeing my pants a little, I called my mom hysterical over what had just happened. Basically, I dont think she could understand anything I tried to say for the first ten minutes! Once I stopped crying......we both kinda laughed and i felt a little bit better! I made sure to leave the kitchen alone for the next hour because, knowing that I just broke 3 of my BRAND NEW china plates, broke my heart just a little bit, and I couldnt stand looking at it.
Once I was fine enought to face my mess, I grabbed a box, and put all of the large salvagable pieces into it, and decided instead of throwing away my precious china, I am going to make some sort of a mosaic type platter. No sense in throwing it away right.....Ill just have my own matching plater to my china. Not quite sure how im going to make it yet, but Im sure you will find out when I do.
I finally finished cleaning, and drying my china, making sure to NEVER use the dry rack with my china ever again. Now my china is resting in a safe place, waiting for it to be used for our thanksgiving meal.
On another note, im so so so excited about cooking for thanksgiving! Just thought Id make a list of all the yummies that will be on my dinner table!
Turkey (DUH....)
Mashed Potatoes
Bread Stuffing
Meat Stuffing
Orange Crescent Rolls
Pretzel Jello Salad
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoes
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Pie
Berry Pie
.....
(I feel like im forgetting something, as if thats not enough food for the 6 people that will be at my table)
Im pretty excited, I cant wait to have a housefull! Andrews mom and grandma will be flying in on sunday, as well as Dave (andrews best man), and then andrews Dad is driving from South Dakota (where hes hunting at his familys farm) and should be here Sunday or Monday. Everyone is staying for about a week! We are going to take them to a Texas Tech Football game on the saturday after thanksgiving! That should be a blast! :)
I shall let you know how it all goes!
Another little note, I came home today, to find Tex sitting in the middle of a chewn up BRAND NEW box of kleenex! After punishing him, and making him go outside, I proceeded to clean it up. Where I found a chewed up tv remote....with blood on it! ew....! I continue to pick up the scraps.........and found one of Tex's Molars. Just thought that was kinda funny!
Happy Friday! (im giong to see Harry Potter tonight, and am so excited about it!)
Once I was fine enought to face my mess, I grabbed a box, and put all of the large salvagable pieces into it, and decided instead of throwing away my precious china, I am going to make some sort of a mosaic type platter. No sense in throwing it away right.....Ill just have my own matching plater to my china. Not quite sure how im going to make it yet, but Im sure you will find out when I do.
I finally finished cleaning, and drying my china, making sure to NEVER use the dry rack with my china ever again. Now my china is resting in a safe place, waiting for it to be used for our thanksgiving meal.
On another note, im so so so excited about cooking for thanksgiving! Just thought Id make a list of all the yummies that will be on my dinner table!
Turkey (DUH....)
Mashed Potatoes
Bread Stuffing
Meat Stuffing
Orange Crescent Rolls
Pretzel Jello Salad
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoes
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Pie
Berry Pie
.....
(I feel like im forgetting something, as if thats not enough food for the 6 people that will be at my table)
Im pretty excited, I cant wait to have a housefull! Andrews mom and grandma will be flying in on sunday, as well as Dave (andrews best man), and then andrews Dad is driving from South Dakota (where hes hunting at his familys farm) and should be here Sunday or Monday. Everyone is staying for about a week! We are going to take them to a Texas Tech Football game on the saturday after thanksgiving! That should be a blast! :)
I shall let you know how it all goes!
Another little note, I came home today, to find Tex sitting in the middle of a chewn up BRAND NEW box of kleenex! After punishing him, and making him go outside, I proceeded to clean it up. Where I found a chewed up tv remote....with blood on it! ew....! I continue to pick up the scraps.........and found one of Tex's Molars. Just thought that was kinda funny!
Happy Friday! (im giong to see Harry Potter tonight, and am so excited about it!)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Texans now?.....No.....Just Californians living in Texas!
Well, Im definitely new to this whole blogging world, but I thought it would be the perfect thing to capture and save funny moments of our new life here in the great city of Lubbock.
Andrew and I moved here on August 18th (a tuesday). We drove up to our new rented house (in our huge Uhaul towing my car)..... which we rented sight unseen. Needless to say we were a bit nervous, and excited at the same time. Turns out that we were extremely lucky, our landlord is wonderful and our 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house is perfect for us! We are adjusting well and learning more and more about this city/state......Here is a list of things I have had to.....um......adjust to, and think are interesting about Lubbock.
- FOOTBALL IS EVERYTHING!
- Its flat (I really dont think you know what flat means.....unless you see it)
- The street lights are all sideways
- Storms are way more intense......thunder and lightning for hours and flooding in 30 minutes of rain...ive still gotta learn about the actual winter/snow/ice storms though.....eeeks!
- They have different speed limits listed for day driving vs night driving
- The ice cream man drives by my house EVERY day! (i have yet to go get something, but.....i intend to get a firecracker one of these days!)
-All the Queso. People brag about their queso making abilities....what is it? Velveta cheese green chilies and salsa....sometimes added in with chili or ground beef.
- There is a 5 car long line at all the drive through smoke shops....YUCK!
- Grocery baggers at the store always walk you out to your car, always!
-Football....again....is the world....also tailgating fits in that category too!
-Mexican food.....sadly has been very dissappointing. Not authentic, people think queso is mexican food...IT IS NOT!
- You can smoke in restaurants and bars. Its horrible.....I cant breath, and it seeps into our clothes and even my hair! blah!
-Andrew and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the country music. Its not pop country....its what they call Red Dirt Texas Country! We love it!
Im sure there are way more things, but thats it for now. Im sure my list will get longer as the days go on.
So far we have had a blast. Teaching our little puppy man TEX how to do tricks. He is so smart its great! He learned how to use the doggy door in 2 days.....potty training was a cinch to date he can; sit, stay, lay down, shake, HI FIVE, and spin. He LOVES the bath tub. When taking a shower this morning, he ran in through the shower curtain, and just sat there in the water. Hes so funny!
More to come....Andrew and I definitely have a busy next week. His parents/grandma/best man are coming to stay with us for a week! SO EXCITED to have a houseful for thanksgiving!
Andrew and I moved here on August 18th (a tuesday). We drove up to our new rented house (in our huge Uhaul towing my car)..... which we rented sight unseen. Needless to say we were a bit nervous, and excited at the same time. Turns out that we were extremely lucky, our landlord is wonderful and our 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house is perfect for us! We are adjusting well and learning more and more about this city/state......Here is a list of things I have had to.....um......adjust to, and think are interesting about Lubbock.
- FOOTBALL IS EVERYTHING!
- Its flat (I really dont think you know what flat means.....unless you see it)
- The street lights are all sideways
- Storms are way more intense......thunder and lightning for hours and flooding in 30 minutes of rain...ive still gotta learn about the actual winter/snow/ice storms though.....eeeks!
- They have different speed limits listed for day driving vs night driving
- The ice cream man drives by my house EVERY day! (i have yet to go get something, but.....i intend to get a firecracker one of these days!)
-All the Queso. People brag about their queso making abilities....what is it? Velveta cheese green chilies and salsa....sometimes added in with chili or ground beef.
- There is a 5 car long line at all the drive through smoke shops....YUCK!
- Grocery baggers at the store always walk you out to your car, always!
-Football....again....is the world....also tailgating fits in that category too!
-Mexican food.....sadly has been very dissappointing. Not authentic, people think queso is mexican food...IT IS NOT!
- You can smoke in restaurants and bars. Its horrible.....I cant breath, and it seeps into our clothes and even my hair! blah!
-Andrew and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the country music. Its not pop country....its what they call Red Dirt Texas Country! We love it!
Im sure there are way more things, but thats it for now. Im sure my list will get longer as the days go on.
So far we have had a blast. Teaching our little puppy man TEX how to do tricks. He is so smart its great! He learned how to use the doggy door in 2 days.....potty training was a cinch to date he can; sit, stay, lay down, shake, HI FIVE, and spin. He LOVES the bath tub. When taking a shower this morning, he ran in through the shower curtain, and just sat there in the water. Hes so funny!
More to come....Andrew and I definitely have a busy next week. His parents/grandma/best man are coming to stay with us for a week! SO EXCITED to have a houseful for thanksgiving!
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Im no music connoisseur, and you wont hurt my feelings if you dont like it! But, I LOVE IT! and thought Id share a little piece of our lubbock world with you! :)
Here is a few songs that andrew and I love. If you have time.....listen! :)
Stoney Larue
Love you for Loving me
http://www.stoneylarue.com/musicvideo.html
First, there is probably a song already playing, they have an automatic radio on the left, you should turn it off. Then scoll about half way down, and click on the Love you for loving me song! Its wonderful, Its a song that andrew and I considered for our first dance song for our wedding....we just love it! Andrew and I got to see him in concern in SLO twice! Hes a blast!
Turnpike Troubadours
Every Girl
http://turnpiketroubadours.com/
Andrew and I went to see this band at a bar called The Blue Light, here in lubbock and we bought their cds! This song is wonderful. On their website you can play this song, first you must again stop their automatic radio. Its on the very very top of the page. And scroll down, the song is listed in the second music player, the first song.
Reckless Kelly
Crazie Eddies Last Hurrah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjH7LdwWva4
This is a fun song, one of those that everyone in the crowd knows and yells out! Andrew and I also got to see him in SLO once, and also here in Lubbock! :)
David Fenley’s band Poor J Brown
“Family Tree.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu6Fh8UfGis
This is just a funny funny song. We heard it on the radio once, and its so catchy! Not that my family tree looks like his, but it still makes me laugh! :)