Behind, but for good reason

I'm sorry I got behind on my 30 Days of Thanks posts. I was doing so well! But I promise I have a really good reason.

I have a big announcement

Wives Unscripted

Today I helped launch a collaborative blog with 12 other women. All of us met, while we were planning our weddings. We've kept close ever since, and decided that we want to open our lives up to you all. We've spent a while plotting and planning for this blog, so certainly go check it out. It's been a big labor of love for me because it allows me to use my degree! I've missed doing design work, so this will be a nice outlet for me. I'll still keep posting here though. With 12 other people, I won't necessarily post every day, so that will allow plenty of time for me to keep up here.

So give the link a click and check us out. This week is dedicated to allowing you get to know us!

Have a good Monday!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 7

Day 7: A Scent

There are lots of scent to choose from. I do love Vanilla Bean Noel from B&BW, or the smell of pretty much anything baking. But I think the smell I love the most and am most thankful for is my husbands smell. He spends nights away from home and the thing I love more than anything is when he comes homes after being away for a night or two and he gives me a big bear hug. That hug and the way he smells makes me so happy and loved.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 6

Day 6: A Pair of Shoes

Just like yesterday, I don't think there is one single pair of shoes I'm thankful for. Well maybe super comfortable ones on those long days of walking. But in general I'm thankful I have any shoes at all, let alone have a choice of what shoes I wear on any given day. I think it's something a lot of people in first world countries take for granted. Many people in third world countries don't have shoes. I know there are many organizations that help by donating money to foundations that help provide shoes to those people throughout the world that are in need of shoes.

So maybe I'm most thankful for those organizations that provide those shoes so that other people may be thankful for their one pair of shoes.

Deep thoughts these last couple of days. :)

30 Days of Thanks Day 4-5

So I got behind a day. I think I need to write these ahead of time and schedule them to post. Might work better. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to write a few for this week.

Day 4- A Snack

Popcorn. I can't say that it is my favorite snack of all time. There are certainly other snacks I enjoy. But popcorn is one of those comfort snacks. We have a Whirley Pop so we pop our popcorn on the stovetop. There is nothing better than a fresh hot bowl of popcorn to munch on while watching a good movie. And it is just really amazing how something you can eat off a cobb in a totally different way tastes so different when cooked a different way.

Day 5- A Place

I'm having a hard time with this one. There are a lot of places that I am really enjoy visiting or being at. There's the coffee house where my husband and I had our first date. There's our parents' homes where family gets together for holidays to celebrate. There's the park where we take our dog every week for walks. There's places we have gone on vacation that will always hold special places in my heart. So I guess I don't have one place that I am thankful for, but many, and for that I am thankful.

30 Days of Thanks

So Several of my Friends have been inspired by Lindsay over at Designer Wife to do a 30 Days of Thanks. I think it's a great idea and hopefully I want to challenge myself to do more blogging, so hopefully this will help. Each post may be pretty short, but that's ok.

I'm a little behind so I'll use today to catch up and then continue on.

Day 1: A person

I know it's going to be a little cliche, but I am most thankful for my husband. He is an amazing gift in my life. He supports me, he listens to me, he makes me laugh. If you've ever met him you know he is a wonderful man. We just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and actually the day this was supposed to start (Nov. 1st) was our 8th dating anniversary so I think it's quite appropriate that this what I am thankful for on this day.

Day 2: An animal

I only have one special non human in my life. His name is Baxter and I couldn't imagine my life without him now. We adopted him in Jan of 2008 just after we moved down to PA away from our friends and family. He has a lot of energy, but a lot of love to go along with that. Neither of us had had a dog before (well my husband when he was under 3yrs old) so this was completely new. We had to learn how to train him, and how to train ourselves. It wasn't easy, but it was very rewarding. I know that he has helped to prepare us to eventually become parents some day.

Day 3: A cozy place in my home

Well because the home I live in is not really "my" home, but belongs to my parents, I do have a hard time getting to the really cozy state in many places. I think really the only place is in our bed. The bed is the one large thing that my husband and I brought into my parents home that is officially ours. We purchased that bed when we moved in together to our first apartment. It is very cozy, and especially in the evenings before we fall asleep when we are all snuggled together, it is the greatest feeling in the world.

Ok I will do my best to post every day. And maybe I'll even add some pictures if i get the chance. But I will make every effort to post daily. Be sure to check out Lindsay's blog and also and who are also participating.

A Wedding, a Death, and a Baby

So I've been MIA for a few weeks. Sorry. I'm still really trying to get on my feet with this whole blog thing.

It's been a bit of a crazy few weeks for me. But I wanted to at least touch on a few big things that happened this past 2 weeks.

First, the death. The death of a man most hated by Americans, Osama bin Laden. Almost 10 years after the attacks on America on September 11, he was found and killed by US special operatives. FINALLY!!

There is a lot of debate about the mission. If it was carried out properly, if they could have taken Osama alive. So many ifs. But what it all comes down to is we got him. Honestly, I am kind of glad they were not able to take him alive. It would have caused more problems than solutions. Where would he be tried? Who would represent him? How much money would it take to house him until the trial? Guards 24hrs a day? What if he was killed while waiting for trial? What would happen to that person?Or worse what if he escaped while waiting for trial? The we would have to start all over again with our search for him, and I don't think he would be as easy to find a second time around (not that he was easy to find this time, but you get my drift).

Then there is the debate about the photos of his dead body. Should they be release to the public or not? Obama has decided not to release the photos. And I'm not going to attack him for that. There are certainly pros and cons to each. And there may be things the president knows about what they found during the raid that may have swayed his decision as well. I have to admit to being a bit curious. But at the same time, from the description released, any of the photos looked very gruesome. I don't know if I actually do want to see them. Also there will be doubters no matter what you do.

Now onto much lighter subjects

Second, of course is the royal wedding. I can't help but touch on this a little bit, it is historical after all. It will most likely be the only time I will witness the wedding of a future King (I was born after Charles & Diana's wedding). I have British blood in me from both sides of my ancestry. Of course every girl enjoys a wedding as well. What will the bride's dress look like; what kind of flowers will she have; what hats will the guests be wearing; what will the bridesmaid's be wearing? And this wedding was even more momentous as we witnessed Catherine Middleton go from commoner to royalty. And boy she sure looked the part. She. was. stunning. Her dress was amazing, and just what I imagined her wearing. It was elegant and simple. The jewelry was perfect to compliment the dress. And it was so sweet to see the way she and Prince William interacted.

This is the one time we really get a look into the life of royalty. I really enjoyed seeing what their wedding customs were. Learning that the bridesmaids are usually children, and that this was the first royal couple to have a "maid of honor" and a "best man". Also that they were the first royal couple to have lived together before marriage. Their ceremony is very deep with tradition, and I loved learning about that.

I wish I could have been able to watch the ceremony live. But unfortunately I needed to work. It would have been fun to get dolled up and watch while drinking tea and eating crumpets. But at least I was able to record it (thank you modern DVR's) and watch it the next day. All 6hrs of coverage.

Finally, my cousin (whom is like a big sister to me) had her baby a two weeks ago. I was able to get to the hospital only an hour after her bundle of joy had entered this world. It was amazing.Baby was still with mom post birth and had not been weighed or measured yet. I think this might be the only time I will witness this other than when my own children are born. Surreal is the only word that comes to mind as I watched this new life trying to take in the world. I am so glad I was allowed to be there to bear witness to this wonderful time in my cousin's life with her new family. It will be amazing to watch her daughter grow up, (and of course spoil her in the process) and hopefully I will have children for her to play with someday. In just a few short weeks she has already begun to learn about the world around her.

While on the baby subject, I just feel a bit compelled to touch on one more thing. This week the Top names of 2010. Most of the names in the Top 10 are classics, Michael, William, Emily, Sophia, Ect. However, there are more and more "trendy/modern" names creeping up there. Jayden for instance for a boy. I would love to know who started the damn "replace random vowels with 'y' and heck just add in a random 'y' where ever you want. I want to go back and time and convince this person that it is a horrible idea.

These poor kids are going to grow up having to spell their name for everyone. There were always names out there that could be spelled multiple ways, Stephen/Steven. But all you had to ask was is that with a v or a ph. Not oh is there a Y in there instead of one of the E's. I think 3/4 of this list this year contains random different spellings of traditional names. And really you are not making your kid "you-neek" by spelling their name different. The only difference now is that there is not going to be 11 Jennifers in one class instead there is going to be a Jenipher, a Jennyfyr, a Jennyfer, and a Jynifer. Really it's still the same name people. Sorry I know there are people out there that do like these names, but I know there are many out there like me who feel the same way about these names. End rant.

SITS Challenge: Spring into Action Day 2

I've decided to join the SITS Spring into Action Photography Challenge.

I really haven't done enough on my own with my photography since I got my new camera in Feb. I am hoping this will help me take more photos, and get better about posting them to my blog. I have a few posts that are photoless, which well is not so much fun. I have photos that are uploaded for posts, but never quite make it to the blog. I need to get better about that.

I took a few photos last night. In horrible lighting, at 11pm. If I had better lighting in these, I would have been happier with the photos. But I didn't, so I went outside today right when I got home from work and took a few more photos. It was freezing, my dog was so excited that I was home that he wasn't being very good at sitting still, and my battery was dying. Not a good combination. But I will share a few that I was happy with from each session. Hopefully as Spring really starts to appear, taking photos outside will not seem so much of a chore.

A few from last night's shoot.

And then from today. Much better lighting.

I really wish I had better subjects outside. There wasn't much outside to photograph yet since it's still been too cold for the flowers and plant life. Hopefully soon though. I would love some better subjects. Hopefully this weekend I'll have a chance to be outside. It will be much nicer weather.

Overall this was a great challenge. It really got me thinking about the composition in the camera which is much needed. I also really loved learning about the online photo editing tools. Though I own Photoshop, sometimes I just don't have the energy, and want to do something quick.

Letting go...

I had actually planned to post about this subject sometime soon. Well today is the perfect day. Today the ladies over at SITS are hosting a link up to Let Go.

There's something I haven't yet talked about here, at least not in depth. It's something I am ashamed of, so I try not to let people know about it. But I really shouldn't be ashamed of this. I know there are others all over the country that are in the same situation that my husband and I are in.

You see, my husband and I , live with my parents. We moved in with them about 3 months after we were married when my husband lost his job, then I lost mine. We've now been with them for almost 2 and a half years. We both have jobs now, but they are contract jobs that don't come with benefits. Couple this with the fact that we unfortunately had accumulated a fair amount of Credit Card debt, and you get a not so pretty financial situation.

I grew up with this ideal in my head, as most people my age do, that you graduate high school, go to college, get a job right out of college, get married, buy a house, and have kids. That's what is supposed to happen. Well, it didn't. I didn't get a job right out of college. I don't live in my own home, and we aren't planning on kids for another few years when we can be financially stable. I don't have a fairy tale life that I always thought people were supposed to have. I have a real life, live like most of the rest of the country does, and that is ok with me.

When we moved in with my parents, we thought it was only going to be for a few months. We had been living out of the area, and we thought that when we moved back home, and got jobs, we would be back on our feet in no time. Well, that would of been the case in a perfect world. However, all this happened during one of the biggest financial crises our country had seen in years. So, getting back on our feet was going to be much more difficult.

We have made the best of a difficult situation, afterall when we moved in we were newlyweds. It has certainly not been easy having 4 adults in one home, each with their own opinions, ideals, and THINGS. The logistics of how to fit all of our stuff was the hardest. We had to get a storage unit which is where our larger funiture lives (except are matress we brought that with us). It was hard at first for my husband especially to adjust to living with my parents and being comfortable at "home". We wanted to respect their space. Afterall they were nice enough to welcome us and our dog into their home. But it was, and still is difficult living with your parents. Logistics of who is cooking, who cleans what room, and how the cars are parked in the driveway were something we had to figure out.

It's taken me a long time to become comfortable talking about a lot of this with people other than my close friends and family. I feel like a lot of people look at our situation and assume we are irresponsible and lazy. We both work hard, and hopefully will both have permanent/stable jobs within a year. We will be paying off the last bit of our credit card debt within a month or two. We have worked hard to get that done. And we're thankful an inheritence was able to help us out with the last push. We now plan on staying with my parents so we can build up our savings so we will be ready when we leave to hopefully buy a home of our own. We are so thankful that my parents were able to help us. We are very grateful that we do have wonderful support system.

So today I am letting go of hiding, and saying hello to sharing my life.

Today is only the beginning.

Catching up...

I'm really trying to get better about posting. I think I may need to write posts, then add pictures later. I would love suggestions to help jump start my frequency of blogging.



I finally ordered and received my new P&S camera. I LOVE it. I did a lot of research, Mostly on Consumer Reports, but some other reading of consumer reviews as well on Amazon and other sites. I finally ended up pulling the trigger and buying the Panasonic FH20 in black. I am loving the camera so far. The zoom is amazing, and I happy so far with the flash and the stabilization. I haven't had too many opportunities to use it since it arrived. The camera is compact and perfect for sticking in a pocket or purse to bring along. It is a little heavier than some I have seen, but it is all metal exterior which is a nice feature.



My wonderful husband arranged a horse drawn sleigh ride for us as part of my Christmas gifts. We didn't go until the first weekend in Feb. due to scheduling conflicts and weather. But it didn't disappoint. It only lasted about a half hour, but it was such a different experience. My only complaint was that the park the ride was in was too familiar to me (we go to this section of the part about once a week, during the summer, much more). I wish that there was somewhere else local that we could take the ride that I would be more into the scenery more as it would be new.



We also went out to a wonderful dinner that we called our annichristine's dinner celebration. We had originally bought a certificate from Restaurants.com to use for our Anniversary in Oct. But, with the holidays and my husband's class schedule at the end of the semester we never used it. So, we thought it was a great night to use it. We went to The Grill at the Strathallen. It was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend it for a nice night out.

I think that's all for now. I'll make a separate post for my bakathon for Valentines Day.

Happy New Year

Well it's a new year which gives me the opportunity to maybe start blogging with a little more regularity. I have been meaning to do much more blogging, but I just keep putting it off. But I would like it to become more of a priority.

I think part of the reason I have problems is that I have trouble finding things to blog about. But I think I will start blogging more about everyday things and stop trying to come up with specific things to blog about. At least to get me started into the habit of blogging.

Not much has happened this year. Nothing exciting at least. Both my husband and I continue our quest to find permanent jobs with benefits. We are both employed as "temporary" employees or as "contract". Which is great, it brings in money to pay bills, but still doesn't provide us any decent benefits, nor quite enough money for us to move out of my parents house. Hopefully this year brings a permanent job to at least one of us, if not both.

I plan on buying a new point and shoot camera this month or next using Christmas money we received. It was something that we both want and need, and I've found what I think will be a great camera at a very good price. I hope to start getting back into my photography and posting more pictures here. I am going to shoot for at least a photo a week one I get the camera.

I don't really "do" New Years Resolutions as I really have a hard time keeping them. But I do like to set out a few goals that I would love to reach this year.

• I would like at least one of us to get a permanent job.
• I would like to try to blog more often. Once a week would be great, but I'll even settle for once a month.
• I would like to do more in the evenings. By this I mean try to accomplish something more than sitting watching TV and absentmindedly surfing the net. I would love to do more sewing projects, finish that darn afghan for my cousin's wedding (I would love to have this done by the time her baby arrives in April), get more into my photography, take the dog for more walks at night ect. I know this isn't easy since most nights I don't get home until 8pm, but some nights at least I need to devote to doing something to help me feel more accomplished.
• Save up money for something fun. Even if it is something not very expensive. I would like to save money for something that isn't needed. It's very hard for me to do this since we still have debt to pay off, but I think in order to feel happy sometimes you need to do this.
• Go on vacation, even if it is only for a weekend. Since we live with my parents, there is always someone else home. It would be nice to have a weekend of just us.
• Get on a gym routine. I had been doing great when I got out of work at a normal hour. But now not getting out until 7:30, the evenings are kinda shot for gym time. I need to get up early and get to the gym. I had been doing great with my weight loss, and am still doing great with eating well, but without the gym, it's very very slow going. I would like to be back to under 150 by the end of the summer (that's 15lbs from where I am currently). It would be even better if I could get back around 135 where I was through High School and most of college.

I really hope this blog can serve as an outlet for me. I was never good at keeping a diary or journal as a kid, unless I was forced to do so. But it think even if I can get an entry every couple weeks, even if it's short. That will be great to hold me more accountable and hopefully help me feel more accomplished.

Hopefully 2011 will be a great year for me!

Wishlist Wednesday

I thought I'd start a new tradition here that I have seen elsewhere. This will be especially good for me since we are still trying to save money, so buying things on this wishlist will be a rarity.

I would love to own a DSLR camera. I know eventually I will. I really like the Nikon D5000. I have always loved Nikon cameras and this one has a similar swivel screen as my current non DSLR which is great in many situations.

A new car. I still haven't decided what I want, but def something that we would be able to put Baxter's travel crate in the trunk area and have the back seat free for passengerss(children in the future)

I would love my husband or I to finally have a fully permanant job. We both have long term contract jobs, however, it still doesn't supply the stability that we really need to move forward with big decisions like buying a house or having children.

Finally crossed another barrier

It's Olympic time again. I so much enjoy anything and everything relating to the Olympics. I love both summer and winter, however, being from cold climate, I love watching the Winter Olympics.

It was unfortunate the way these games began with the death of a young Georgian luger the afternoon of the Opening Ceremonies. I detest how the media covered this incident. To show this young man's death over and over is horrible. Not to mention they played it at the beginning Opening Ceremonies when families are watching with children. I hope by the time I have my own children this is not something I have to worry about when we want to sit and enjoy the Olympics. I do feel so bad that it took the death of this young man for the creators of the sliding hill to fix the problem that caused this boy's death.

The games continued with a beautiful Opening Ceremony the displayed the wondrousness that is Canada. Such a beautiful country and they did a wonderful job of capturing the variety of the land and its people.

The first day of competition was great and ended with the US winning silver and bronze medals in the men's 1500m speed skating race. It was a great race with lots of suspense. The US also took home a Gold in the women's moguls from Hannah Kearney. It was a great opening day.

The second day was great and I got quite into the spirit of the games. There are two events that the US have never won a single medal of any other in; the biathlon and the nordic combined. Both are sports that have been dominated by Euopeans. The biathlon will continue to elude the Americans, however today was our day for the nordic combined. American Johnny Spillane finally earned us a medal. He won the silver in the normal hill 10k race.


The race was quite suspenseful until the end. The lead changing many times. And although it was not a gold medal in this competition, it was A medal. It shows that we are making progress in this sport and I cannot wait to see the future for this sport.

I will continue to watch as much coverage of all the sports as the games progress. I am inspired by the Canadian people who not only support their countrymen, but also show wonderful support of all the other countries and Olympians competing. Good Luck to all the athletes in the events to come, and Congratulations to all the winners so far!

Happy Adoption Day Baxter!

I am a day late with this post, but I feel the need to post it anyways. Two yeas ago, we adopted our amazing dog Baxter. We were both first time dog owners, and really had no idea what to expect. We had originally intended on getting a small-medium sized dog. We lived in an apartment at the time and didn't think a larger dog would work for us. But the minute we met Baxter, we knew that he was the dog for us!

Baxter was about 1.5 yrs old when we got him. We had plenty of challenges with him (he had food aggression, was not socialized with other dogs, and loved to get into trouble). The first night we brought him home, he got into a garbage can and ate something he shouldn't have (something he still loves to do if we aren't careful he'll eat all of the dirty tissues he can find). We called a 24hr vet who told us to induce vomiting to make sure whatever he did eat, didn't end up getting sick or with an obstruction. A month or so later he slipped his collar and went running through the golf course we lived on at the time. It took us almost an hour (and some pepperoni, doggie treats and endless frustration) to finally get him to come to us.

We spent many hours working with a trainer going to both individual sessions as well as group sessions with him. We worked with him at home, and spend months with him at home on the leash in the house to help him learn that we were his family and that he needed to listed to us. It was July of 2008 when things started to turn a corner. We had left him quite suddenly at a kennel to attend a funeral out of town for Josh's grandmother. When we returned as we got out of the car to go pick him up we heard him barking and saw him jumping in his kennel. We could tell that he was finally seeing us as part of his "pack".

This past year has been wonderful for him. We are in a house with a huge backyard for him to run allover and play all day during the summer. In the winter he can bound through the snow to his hearts content. We live close to a park that we frequent often. Both days this weekend we spent at least an hour at the park playing with many other dogs in the unofficial "dog park" area of the park. Though he plays with other dogs and has fun, he constantly is looking where we are and coming back to "check in" with us.

I don't remember what our life was like before Baxter, and I hope that we will eventually adopt another dog for him to play with and become part of the family.

Here is a picture of our "family" the night we brought Baxter home.



Happy Adoption Day Baxter!!!

Happy Halloween

Yes I was one of those dog owners this year. We found a cheap halloween costume for the dog, and decided to dress him up. He hated it. Can't you just see the look of excitement on his face? Anyways, Happy Halloween!!

I'm not the only one enjoying this weather.

This past weekend the weather finally started to feel like spring/summer. It was almost 90 on Saturday and then again today. Yesterday it was a pleasant 65 or so. We were able to break out the grill, eat outside, and really just spend some fun time outside.

These past few days have been HEAVEN for my dog Baxter. He has spent as much time outside as possible. Which of course has gotten him into trouble a few times, but most of the time he just lays in the grass and watches for squirrels and chipmunks (the source of said trouble when he tries to follow them into their homes under the patio and digs some holes).

Fri I didn't have to work and it was a beautiful 70 degrees outside so we decided to pack up and go to the pack for a while. He had so much fun. We played fetch, laid in the grass and unfortunately for Baxter, got stung by a bee(we think). Here's some great shots from our time at the part on Friday.

Sitting Nice

Laying out watching for the squirrels.

What was that?

Playing fetch at the park

Laying in the grass with his favorite toy, his "stick". It used to squeak, however he chewed it enough so it no longer squeaks, but he still loves it and even tries to bring it into bed with him at night.
And a quick message from Baxter, "no more internets mommy, come play outside with me!"

I will definitely be spending a lot of outside time with him in the weeks and months to come. He loves just laying outside in the sun then playing for a little while, then relaxing and cooling off in the shaded patch next to the house. I can't blame him it is utterly beautiful outside(even if it's supposed to rain again tomorrow, at least it will be warm rain!)

Feeling Nostalgic

Well I finished my quilt square for my cousin's wedding quilt tonight. It made me really think how fun it was to plan my wedding and get ready for it. She is about 4 months out now. It's so weird to think that as of Saturday I'll have been married for 6 MONTHS already.

The colors are all the colors her BM's(myself included) will be wearing and we will be carrying sunflowers. The center brown fabric I used for my own wedding on my Escort Card board. I wanted some way to pass on something from my wedding to her. This was the perfect way.

Her mother's wonderful friend is organizing this and I can't wait to see the finished product. I received my own wedding quilt as a wedding gift with scraps of fabric that meant something to each of the givers. I will certainly treasure it as I hope she will love hers.

Next project: I'm knitting them an afgahn as their wedding gift. As well as designing their wedding invitations. Which I really need to get started on!

Raspberry Lemon Upside-down Cake

This weekend we had our family over for a belated St. Patrick's Day feast. Since we were having such a heavy meal, I wanted a light dessert. I found a wonderful recipe for a berry cake utilizing fresh berries and a boxed cake. Since I knew I wasn't going to have a lot of time I knew it was a great choice.

Ingredients

• 1 package Cake mix any brand (I got a lemon cake mix, but really you could use whatever you like)
  
• 3 cups Fresh raspberries (enough to cover the bottom of the pan)
  
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used Splenda for Baking)
• 1 package Raspberry jello 4 oz. size (I got the sugar-free package)
  
• 2 1/2 cups Miniature marshmallows

Instructions

1. Prepare batter for favorite 2 layer cake mix, set aside
2. Grease 13 x9" baking pan (I forgot to grease the pan. I just cut around the sides and then inverted it. Since the berries are on the bottom they don't stick so all you have to worry about is the sides.
3. Cover bottom of pan with raspberries
4. Sprinkle berries with sugar
5. Sprinkle berries with jello
6. Cover berries with marshmallows
7. Pour prepared cake batter over all
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes
9. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto serving tray.
10. ENJOY!


You could also use fresh strawberries, blackberries or any other fruit you want really. The raspberry and lemon combo was so good. Everyone was raving about the cake last night. I will definitely make this again.

I forgot to take a picture, and really it didn't look all that amazing since I forgot to grease the pan. I will have to make it again and take a picture of it.

Time for a change

Well since I'm a newly married 20 something looking for a job I decided I needed a fresh look when I go on all my job interviews (that is when i get them).

So I finally got what many call, "The Post Wedding Chop":)

I went from This**Please excuse the horrible bed head I don't wash my hair before I go to the salon so it was quite gross today. Not to mention that I've been sick this week so I wasn't caring about my appearance.

To This

I really love the new cut. It is drastically different from what I had or have had for a long time. I had no clue what I wanted going in to the cut other than I wanted different. I let my stylist use his creative mind to pick something appropriate for me, and it ended up well.

I now have a ziploc bag of hair that I will be mailing off to Locks-of-Love tomorrow. If you have never heard of this organization they take donated hair of at least 10" in length and use them to make hair pieces for children who have lost their hair to medical illnesses such as alopecia areata or cancer. This is the second time I have donated my hair and I am happy to do so. I have really thick hair so hopefully it will go a long way to helping a child feel more secure with themselves while struggling with their medical issues.

Pork Potstickers

Josh absolutely loves Potstickers. So I though I would make some for the party with his friends. These turned out INCREDIBLE!! They were a little labor intensive to make, however they were totally worth it. The other good thing about these is that you could make the whole batch of them cook just a few, freeze the rest, then pull out a couple at a time to cook when you have company pop over. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

Filling:

3 cups minced nappa cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage) leaves (about 1/2 medium head)

3/4 tsp table salt

3/4 lb ground pork

4 minced scallions (about 6 tablespoons)

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

4 tsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp minced or fresh grated ginger

1 medium garlic clove, minced

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Wrappers:

1 package wonton wrappers ( it was the only thing I could find, I really don't know how many it made, probably at least 40 or so?)

dish of water

2 Tbsp vegetable oil( I used olive oil)

Directions:

1. For the filling: Toss cabbage with the salt in colander set over a bowl and let stand until cabbage begins to wilt, about 20 minutes. Press the cabbage gently with rubber spatula to squeeze out any excess moisture (I ended up having to grab it with my hands and squeeze out the liquid), then transfer to a medium bowl. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until mixture is cold, at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

2. For the dumplings: Place 1 rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of the wonton wrapper. Use the photos below and this website to help you know how to fold the wontons. I did find it very helpful to place water on the edge that you are trying to join. It helps the wonton wrapper stick to itself.

Place one teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper.

Fold in half once.

Fold in half the same direction again.

Fold the corners onto each other like shown in the website directions. It's really hard to explain, but they end up looking like "nurse's caps".

Transfer the dumplings to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. The dumplings can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to one month. Once frozen, do not thaw before cooking, start directly with step 3.

3. Line a large plate with a double layer of paper towels; set aside. brush 1 tablespoon of the oil over the bottom of a 12inch non stick skillet and arrange half of the dumplings in the skillet, with a flat side down (overlapping slightly if necessary). place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook the dumplings, without moving, until golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to low, add 1/2 cup of water and cover immediately. Continue to cook, covered until most of the water is absorbed and the wrappers are slightly translucent, about 6 minutes.


Uncover the skillet, increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook without stirring until the dumpling bottoms are well browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes more.


Slide the dumplings onto the paper towel-lined plate, browned slide facing down, and let drain briefly (if you let them sit too long they will start to stick together. Transfer the dumplings to a serving platter with scallion dipping sauce.

Let the skillet cook until just warm, then wipe it clean with a wad of DRY paper towels and repeat step 3 and 4.

Scallion Dipping Sauce:

Makes 3/4 cup

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp mirin

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp chili oil (optional)

1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 medium scallion, white and green parts, minced

Combine all ingredients in bowl and serve.

Orange Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs

These were something my mom used to make for our Holiday Open house at Christmastime. They are quite delicious. and very very easy to make.

Makes about 24 meatballs.

Meatball Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 egg white

1 green onion with top sliced

2 tsp grated orange peel

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp ground red pepper (optional)

Sauce Ingredients

1 can (16 oz) jellied cranberry sauce

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Directions

1. Combine cranberry sauce and barbecue sauce in slow cooker. Cover; cook on HIGH 20-30 minutes or until cranberry sauce is melted and mixture is hot.

2. Meanwhile, place egg white in medium bowl; beat lightly. Add turkey, green onion, orange peel, soy sauce, black pepper and ground red pepper, if desired; mix until well blended. Shape into 24 balls.

3. Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add meatballs to skillet; cook over medium hear 8 to 10 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink in center, carefully turning occasionally to brown evenly. Add to heated sauce in slow cooker; stir gently to coat.

4. Reduce heat to Low. Cover; cook 3 hours. Transfer meatballs to serving plate.

It really is a simple thing to make and you really could make the meatballs ahead of time then just stick them in the crock pot a few hours before your guests arrive to heat everything together.