Thursday, January 31, 2013

Thirty Thursday's {23}

List your top three hobbies and why you enjoy them?

Abby:
1. Decorating
2. Cooking/baking
3. Running

Why?  I like decorating and thinking about design and style elements. There's a sense of gratification when someone walks into your home and complements something. It makes me feel like someone else has an appreciation for something I've done.  I suppose the same is true for cooking and baking. I like to make tasty treats and I like knowing exactly what I'm putting into my body. I really like to run, it gives me the ability to "get out" my stress, frustrations, insecurities and anxiety. According to Pinterest, running is cheaper than therapy and I agree. (I also enjoy running so I can continue to bake tasty treats.)

Alex:
1. Watching sports
2. Spending time with the family
3. Playing golf

Why? I love to watch sports because I'm a man. I like being with family, especially since I'm an uncle now and the kids are pretty stinkin' cute and at the end of the day, family is always there. Golf has been a long time hobby that challenges me and is still a lot of fun.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Thirty Thursday's {22}

If you had to move out of the country, where would you move?

Abby:
I would move to France. I would sit under the Eiffel Tower and eat croissants until I turned into Audrey Hepburn. Or Vespa around and see all the beautiful French things...and people. I would take an art class and become fluent in French. Now I want to go to France even more...

Alex:
I would move to Australia. I already speak the language and it seems to be quite adventurous. Australia has good weather, I could learn to surf and I could hopefully develop a nice accent.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Tragedy of First Position


My poor mother gets the brunt of the blame for most of my life's "problems." However,  I chose to quit dancing- especially ballet.  I quit not because I didn't like it, but because I was not very good and all of my classmates were far more talented. I do not post this to make fun of this sweet girl. She's adorable and it just goes to show that ballet is not easy or for everyone. You just have to know that you're not going to be good at everything and suck it up and try. Here's to trying....



Isn't she cute and determined and so stinking funny?!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Celebrate the small stuff...



We were early to church and I wasn't late or rushing to work at all this week!! Yay! Go team Abby-on-time! Hopefully I can keep my "resolution". That's about all of the excitement around here, so what's going on in your lives?


Friday, January 18, 2013

Snow Day

Over Christmas "break" (a long weekend) we got some snow and I never showed you any pictures of our fun! My sister's blog shows some of the kids but this is not your average mom blog here...we post about ourselves :) so here are Alex, Moose and I in the winter wonderland!






Thursday, January 17, 2013

Thirty Thursday's {21}

If you could be an Olympic athlete, in what event would you compete?

Abby:
I would be a gymnast! They are so cool and if I'd only been in tumbling classes instead of t-ball, I'd be better than Gabby Douglas. :)

Alex:
I would be a champion ping pong player, I'd be awesome. Or, I would fence; having sword fights as a career would be pretty cool.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Rise and Shine!

I'm not a morning person but, I am a breakfast person! I occasionally eat breakfast for lunch and dinner. Since I'm not  a morning person and my New Year's resolution is only going so-so, this Pinterest recipe was very appealing. I made these cupcake omelets and they are very good. All you have to do is put them in the microwave for a few seconds with some extra sprinkle cheese on top and you're ready to run out the door to meet the day! 

Omelet Cupcakes:

a48deaaf33148d71dd533a97e7d36ce1 Egg, Prosciutto & Tomato Muffins
You can definitely mix up the ingredients, like you would an omelette or egg scramble. The recipe below made 12 cupcakes.
Ingredients
8 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 slices of ham
1 chopped green pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
Add eggs, milk, salt and pepper to a bowl. Beat together. Mix in ham, green peppers and cheese. Grease cupcake pan and pour mixture evenly into pan, so they’re about 3/4 full. Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until egg is set (ours cooked in 24-ish minutes). 

I edited this for what we used. But, to see the original recipe and website visit this website!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Happy New Year...a week (or three) late.

I'm a little overdue, but Happy New Year! Along with the new year, come the resolutions. On New Year's Eve, at 11 pm a man posted on Twitter, "Great. I have one hour to lose 40 lbs." Good intentions pave the road to H-E- double hockey sticks...at least that's what they say...

Last year I decided to write a letter once a week to someone or many someone's and I did it! I only wrote to one person, my niece Nora. I chose her so I could chronicle the year, it's events and my hopes, dreams and prayers for her. She has 52 letters to someday read and learn about the year 2012 from my point of view.

This year my resolution isn't really measurable, but hopefully I can do it. I am going to try my hardest to work on my time management and (hopefully) stop being so late for everything. Here's hoping :)

Happy third week of the New Year and hopefully you've not broken your resolutions...yet!

(Ironically this post is three weeks late...)

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thirty Thursday's {20}

Describe a silly memory from your childhood.

Abby:
This is incredibly embarrassing but it's the first thought that came to mind...let me preface this story by stating: I did not want to play T-Ball. My mom made me, forced me is more like it but, I played T-Ball, nonetheless. I wasn't good at it and even though it was just for "fun" I had no fun. So, I was the typical little girl that sat in outfield picking dandelions, minding my own business, drinking a ton of Gatorade and dreading the time when we were at bat. Batting was inevitable and in true T-Ball fashion, everyone bats- including yours truly. In one game I batted and ran like crazy...to third base, and then to second base, and then I realized I had gone the wrong way...and then I pee'd my pants. I will not make my children play T-Ball, I may not even let them if they want to because I'll be reminded of my terrible past...and now I've made this public knowledge. Great.

Alex:

Growing up, our dentist was good friends with my dad.The dentist's office was about 20 minutes from where we lived so, I fondly remember getting out of school to get my teeth cleaned. Dad would come to the school and pick Greg and I up and we would blast the radio all the way to the dentist. I remember getting my teeth cleaned and the very first time they had to numb my mouth, I had no idea what was going on.  The hygienist had to leave the room for some reason and  I remember going numb, thus creating a ton of saliva. So much saliva that it completely drenched the paper towel they clip to your neck. I didn't know if the saliva was part of the numbing, so I just let it go.  Later the dentist came to check on me...he laughed a lot, and then he went out to the waiting room and got my dad so he could laugh too. Silly story? Yes. Embarrassing? Not quite like Abby's...

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Recent happenings

Just a little update of our recent fun. We are really enjoying our pretty, new floors but, that's not stopping my endless "To Do" list from growing. I made a cute little front door plaque. I painted a piece of wood with chalk board paint, stapled on a ribbon and added a cute flower that donned a wedding gift we received from my cousin's wife, Amanda.

Then Alex painted our hallway "Snowfall" white by Behr on Friday evening. He let me help for a little while before kicking me out, apparently I'm not as skilled as he'd thought. And for the grand finale, we bought our pantry and assembled it. It's not what I was expecting, but I do like it and I'll really enjoy not having to keep my soup cans next to our towels in the linen closet. We purchased the pantry on a whim from Lowes and being the awesome planners that we are, we drove the Focus. While highly gas efficient and safe, it's not really great for transporting large objects. After Alex and Dylan (the Lowes loading "specialist" -he looked 17, which in my opinion is too young to be a specialist in anything. It just goes to show that they'll give anyone a title these days...) shoved the box in the car we puttered home to assemble. Three hours later and a few choice adjectives the pantry is holding my soup cans beautifully. Now to do laundry and create more fun activities to add to the list.





Thursday, January 3, 2013

Thirty Thursday's {19}

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

Abby:
If I could live anywhere, hmm....I suppose it would be a toss up between a tropical island and Becky's basement. If I could be on perpetual vacation, there would be very little that could bring me down. I know Becky's basement sounds silly, but it's a nice basement and I could be a few yards from her at all times and Alex would come, too. I grew up next door to my aunt. So, my mom and aunt were (seemingly) always together (however, they will quickly point out that that's not the case, and they don't eat every meal together) and I would like to always be with my sister...but I'm not to sure that she, Jared or Alex would like this arrangement. 

Alex: 
I would live at (insert our address) so I could always live with Abby, and we've done a lot of work and I just want to stay and enjoy it. 


*Editor's note: Alex's response is not very creative and I (Abby) assumed we were to choose a different location. But, I do like and enjoy our new little ranchalow with Alex. 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Floors

Our Kitchen floors were not attractive...at all. They were scratched, stained and just worn out.

After the wall came out there was a large space where there was no flooring, just the sub-flooring. So, a new floor was on our to do list. Alex's dad is the handiest of handy men and was eager to help us. The floor went down in one (long) day. But, Eric, Sue and Alex did a great job and I tried to help, but ended up getting in the way, so I was on vacuum duty. I think the pictures speak for themselves...


We used Pergo and I think it looks fantastic. They did a great job. On day two Eric and Sue came back to help lay the quarter round and base boards. I know for certain that we couldn't have done it with out their help and we can't thank them enough. But, thank you so much! Hopefully, we can help you with your house soon!