Tuesday, November 29, 2011

it's the little things in life ...

He will steal all your cheese.
cheese monster.

...  a relaxing thanksgiving.
... a delicious thanksgiving dinner.
...  afternoon naps on the couch.
...  late afternoon walks with the dogs when everyone's putting out their christmas decorations.
...  seeing christmas trees lit up in windows.
...  a clean car.
...  listening to christmas music while putting up decorations.
...  4 days of hanging out with charlie.
...  supporting local businesses on small business saturday.
... finishing christmas shopping in november.
...  christmas shopping with charlie during our one trip to the mall.
...  having the broncos win.  again.
...  cheese and crackers.
...  thanksgiving leftovers.
...  monday lunch dates.
...  falling asleep watching a movie on the couch.
...  a clean house.
...  finding christmas decorations i forgot we had.
...  cheese and crackers.
...  grocery shopping on a sunday night when no one else is in the store.
... caramel pie.
...  watching the macy's day parade while drinking coffee.
...  hot chocolate.

Monday, November 28, 2011

it's the most wonderful time ...

it's officially christmas time.  
which in our house starts the day after thanksgiving and usually lasts until we get enough motivation to take down our decorations sometime after new years.  i think last year we had our christmas tree up until the 10th or so.  why is it that taking decorations down is never as fun as putting them up?  
anyway, in our usual tradition we decorated on friday while listening to christmas music.  
charlie has officially started listening (he always waits until after thanksgiving unlike me) and has even banned my iPod from our dock because 'his christmas list is much better than mine'.  

Tree climbing.

our tree is set up in the corner as always and it's been a challenge to keep the cats out of it.  they like to climb halfway up and then sleep in the branches, destroying ornaments as they climb.  ollie's eyeing the tree in this picture.  he especially likes to break as many of the glass balls as he can.

Santa dog.

the santa hat made an appearance before it became our tree topper.  neither dog is that fond of it.  henry tries to destroy it like it's one of his toys.  

Tumbling santas.

the tumbling santas were a gift from my mom and are my favorite christmas decoration of all. 

Christmas tree is up.

along with climbing and breaking ornaments the tree is ollie's favorite place to sleep.
he's officially given up the blanket on the couch now that he has his tree to sleep under.
and it doesn't matter if we put presents underneath, he'll just knock them out of the way.

in other news we've officially checked everything off of our 'to do before baby' list.  the clothes are washed, we have a doctor (finally), the room's all set up, our bags are packed, we're pre-registered at the hospital, the carseat's installed, we even have a stocking for him/her.  all we need now is a baby.  any day now.  whenever you're ready.  sometime in the next 2 weeks would be nice ...

Sunday, November 27, 2011

thanksgiving.

thanksgiving break is probably my most favorite time of the year.  
for one it's the longest break i get from work (reason number 1 why i miss teaching), it involves lots of cooking and eating, relaxing, napping, christmas decorating, days of thanksgiving leftovers, afternoon walks with the dogs, and spending time with charlie.  

on thanksgiving charlie and i watched the macy's day parade and then started cooking.  
we had made caramel pie and rice balls the night before and on thanksgiving we made smothered brie for an appetizer, stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and of course a turkey.  
on thursday we put the turkey in the oven and then both took a nap on the couch.  i don't think there's anything better than waking up to the smell of a cooking turkey.  
we also video chatted with our families back in MD. 

Thanksgiving turkey.

our turkey.  it fell apart a bit while i was getting it out of the pan, but tasted fine.

Video chatting w/family.
video chatting with family.  apparently charlie really liked the wine he was drinking.


Caramel pie.
caramel pie.  no disasters this time.


Dunkin loves turkey.
this is what happens when you feed dogs turkey.  they beg.  

Friday, November 25, 2011

i am thankful for ...

My boys.


...  my family.  the one i was born into and the one we're creating now.
...  walks with my dogs.
...  naps with the cats.
...  my job.
...  peanut butter.
...  itunes.
...  mountains that are 15 minutes away.
...  spending thanksgiving with the one i love the most and being able to video chat with the ones we miss.
...  our home.  
...  coming home to my husband every day.
...  decaf coffee.
...  my crock pot.
...  books.
...  our tea kettle.
...  weekend vacations with my husband.
...  visits from family and friends.
...  facebook chat, gchat, and email.
...  the 2011 holiday season. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

it's the little things in life ...

Sunday morning panera.


...  a monday off.
... sunday morning breakfast at panera.  we used to do this all the time and i miss it.
...  having our thanksgiving shopping done by the weekend.
...  seeing old friends.
...  target.
...  having no clothes in the laundry basket.
...  walking the dogs at dusk.
...  taking a nap on the couch with the cat.
...  moving furniture around.
...  christmas decorations in denver.
...  having the mountains get snow.
...  feeling this baby move all day long.
...  checking things off lists.
...  ipods.
...  when charlie charges my phone for me.
...  leftovers.
...  how i met your mother on monday nights.
...  no cable in the house.
...  when henry sleeps in the baby's room.
...  short work weeks.
...  candy canes.
...  peppermint tea.

Monday, November 21, 2011

things lately

...  i am off today, which is awesome.  i can't imagine how much better life would be if i never worked mondays.  i'm also really looking forward to thanksgiving.  we're planning on watching the macy's day parade, cooking all day like we did last year, and then spending the rest of the day eating.  i think we should have thanksgiving once a month.  

...  i made these donut muffins last week.  they weren't very donuty at all, but they were pretty good.  i'm thinking about making these pumpkin cheesecake muffins today, although i don't know if i want them in the house before thanksgiving.  
Donut muffins.

...  the nursery is pretty much done.  done as in i've stopped doing anything else in it.  i should probably take pictures before we have this baby and it becomes a disaster zone.  

...  speaking of babies.  we have the carseat installed, our bags are packed, and we're as ready as we're going to be.  i really wish i could pick the due date because i think just not knowing when it's going to come is starting to drive me crazy.  as much as i know it's still doing fine and all the growing it's doing now will be good in the long run i'm ready for it to come now.

...  i've been attempting to do a project 365 via flickr.  although i'm playing by my own rules because i've definitely missed a few days and there are probably too many pictures of the animals but honestly, after being at work all day they're usually the most interesting thing to take pictures of.  it's sort of crazy to see how quickly the seasons have changed in such a short time.

...  i'm ready for some snow and cold.  it's supposed to be almost 70 on thanksgiving which is just crazy.  
So ready for some snow.

...  charlie's been doing so much around the house lately.  it makes me so grateful that i married a guy who picks up half of the housework especially with me being pregnant, he's been doing all of the 'hard' chores, which makes it a lot easier on me.  


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

it's the little things ...

Henry in the snow.
watching henry run around in the snow.

...  a relaxing weekend.
...  an extra hour on sunday. the perfect day to have an extra hour.
...  making the final to do lists before this baby comes. 
...  christmas shopping.  in november!
...  the snow we've had lately.  makes winter not seem so bad yet.
...  watching the broncos on sunday.  especially when they win.
...  starbucks christmas cups.
...  space heaters.
...  a clean apartment.
...  charlie's last week of travel for a while.
...  afternoon naps.
...  finding easy recipes. 
...  an empty dishwasher.
...  when charlie takes the recycling out.
...  pizza on a friday night.
...  2 weeks until thanksgiving!
...  snow boots.  they're amazing.
...   a movie on a sunday night.
...  sunday walks with the pups.
...  quiet saturday mornings.

Monday, November 7, 2011

cookies and a crock pot.

i have a confession to make.  
i've never made chocolate chip cookies.  
i realized this the other day and then decided that i had to fix that.
and then i found this recipe on pinterest, which is incidentally the same exact recipe that my mom used when i was growing up.  and unlike me, she made chocolate chip cookies all.the.time..
also, i had a lot of pudding mix so i figured this was a good recipe to make.  
and it was.  
i accidentally added an extra egg.  apparently i can't tell the difference between 2 and 3, but they still tasted just fine.  

Cookies!
all ready to go to the oven.

Cookies.

and then charlie came home from the gym and ate 5 of them.  

in other exciting food news i've been looking for more crock pot recipes because 1. they are awesome 2. they are easy and 3.  i figure they'll come in handy with a new baby.  

i found a few that i'm attempting to try, but i made this recipe for chicken on sunday night.  
it was my first time actually putting raw meat in the crock pot but it turned out really well.  
if you're looking to make it i will say that it cooked really fast.  i'd definitely cook it on low the whole time next time but there definitely will be a next time.  i'm thinking that chicken chili might be next.  

Thursday, November 3, 2011

it's the little things ...

Bo


...  it's november!  which means thanksgiving and a baby very soon.
...  watching the dogs run around in the snow.  
...  listening to christmas music.  because it's cold, and snowing, and i want to.
...  having charlie home after being gone all week.
...  when i actually cook dinner and get to eat the leftovers all week long.
...  eating lunch outside and enjoying the last of the warm weather.
... parking my car in the garage. 
...  lazy sundays. 
...  meeting a new baby.
...  reading in bed.
...  afternoon naps. 
...  a clean apartment.
...  a random day off.
...  no cable.
...  clean laundry.
...  finally coming up with a baby name we both agree on.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

halloween-ish.

i never was a fan of halloween until charlie and i started our 'tradition' of carving pumpkins and making riceballs.  i think it's because after i turned 12 i always sort of hated dressing up and after i graduated college i've sot of hated bars filled with drunk people. 
anyway this halloween was no different.  we carved pumpkins, roasted seeds, and charlie made riceballs.  
i also dressed henry up as a squirrel for about 3 minutes and he hated ever second of it.  

Riceballs.
warning: these are not healthy.  but they are delicious.

Punkins.
i have no idea what these cutouts are supposed to be.  actually, the one on the right is supposed to be "bat kitty" whatever that is.  and i have no idea about the one on the left.  

i think the best part about the weekend was enjoying the last of the warm weather that we're going to get.  
i never mind snow as much when i know it's going to be in the 60s after instead of sitting on the ground for 6 months. 

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

things i love about fall ...

since the snow came and pretty much ended fall in a few hours i figured i better come up with my little things (fall edition) before i couldn't remember what fall was like.
of course we're due for more snow tomorrow and saturday and charlie has managed to miss all storms by traveling to tropical places like arizona and california.  and then he calls me when he lands in denver and is all 'oh no, i only packed flip flops and shorts and it's so cold'.  it's hard to feel bad for him when i'm scraping snow off my car and attempting to get the dogs to stop running around in the snow and come inside because it's freezing.  this is why we need a yard or for charlie to be home and play with them. 

anyway, this is why fall is awesome:
October leaves.

...  pretty leaves. 
...  yellow aspen trees. 
...  perfect temperature weather.  cold enough to wear jeans and a sweater but not cold enough for jackets.
...  drinking tea at night.
...  hot apple cider. 
...  pumpkin pancakes, and cupcakes, and cakes, and bread. 
...  throwing an extra blanket on the bed.
...  crunchy leaves on the ground. 
...  jack-o-lanterns.
...  kids in costumes.  (not the 18 year olds that dressed up in miniskirts and tried to get candy)
...  apple pies. 
...  chili (or anything) in the crockpot. 
...  mums. one year i will actually get some. 
...  roasting pumpkin seeds.  
...  afternoon walks while the sun is setting.
...  when there's snow in the mountains and sun in denver.
...  getting dark early enough to justify and early bedtime. 
...  riceballs on halloween.
...  dressing henry up in his costume.  yes, he was a squirrel again.  although he's getting a little fat for it.
...  boots. 
...  scarves. 
...  cozy weekends when you're happy to be back inside after a walk or two. 
...  football.  aka watching the broncos lose. 
...  fall tv.  i watch 1 show, but i'm always glad to have it back.