Mock Ravioli

I made Mock Ravioli last night for dinner

3/4 cup Ricotta Cheese (I use the skim milk ricotta cheese)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup of chopped onions
2 teaspoons of chopped basil
2 teaspoons of oregano
parsley (didn't measure)
1 egg (I forgot this last night and still worked and tasted fine)
1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I use the turkey sweet Italian) - sliced
1 package of won-ton wrappers
2 to 3 cups of red sauce - homemade or store bought

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, garlic, basil, parsley, oregano, 1 beaten egg, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until it is brown and cooked through, drain and set aside.

Working 1 at a time, place a little mound of cheese filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. I don't measure but maybe it is about a tablespoon. Top with a slice of the sausage. With a pastry brush or a finger, dab a small amount of water along the edges of the won ton wrapper. You can either fold them and half or top with another whole wonton wrapper (which is what I did last night). Press the edges together with a fork. I will sometimes flip them over and press again on that side to make sure they are sealed as you don't want them to leak when you boil them. Place on a baking sheet lightly dusted with flour and cover with wrap to prevent from drying out. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. You can make these up to 2 hours ahead time and just tightly cover with some plastic wrap and refrigerate. But only do them 2 hours ahead of time or they might either dry up or get soggy.

To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In batches, add the ravioli and cook until they are tender and float to the top, about 2 minutes. Gently remove with a slotted spoon and drain. To serve place on a plate, top with some sauce and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Here are some pictures while I made them:

Bowl of Ricotta with sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, chopped garlic, onion


Mixture, piece of sausage on wonton wrappper. I am sorry I didn't get one after I put the other wrapper on but my hands were all sticky from working with the wrappers and water.

After I boiled...


Serving...

Dinner

Balsamic Chicken Breasts




White Beans with Pancetta and Sage

Crispy Beef

Neon Sign Blinking: You are Crazy!

Okay have you ever had a conversation with someone and say "yeah I can do that" and then later you realize how much work it will undertake? And what you really agreed to?

With Michael starting his own business and our computer room really needs to turn into his workroom/office since he will be working from home for now. Our computer room as of right now is very crowded with both of us in here. Michael could really use both desks so that while one video is rendering he will be able to work on our spare computer on other projects. And he is going to be getting a special printer to print on DVD/CD's so having me out of here would give him more room for that equipment. Plus all his other video camera equipment.

So Memorial Day weekend is coming up - meaning an extra day off so we discussed that it might be a good idea to convert the computer room into his office and move my computer into my art room. We both agreed it was a good time with the extra day.

This morning I was writing a friend and telling her I would like to do art this weekend and then remembered we are going to do all the rearranging. Oh my gawd it was like huge neon sign went on as I wrote her. I started picturing all I would have to do to get it to the state we need. Oh my gawd...what did I get myself into. It was my idea too that Michael needed his own office with more work space. I am bloody brilliant...creating all this work for myself.

See my art room right now has all it's space utilized, because....that is the only way it fits. We are going to have to move out a really nice futon (great rustic log frame to it). To do that means I will have almost move everything out of the art room - leaving a clear path to the dining room and a clear place in the dining room for the futon to go until we get it to storage. My art room has a heavy wooden filing cabinet, a heavy book shelf with tons of books - from paper back to books we had when we were in college (so heavy and thick), a long 3-part shelving unit (only thing that will probably stay in the room), and then my tables, crates, rolling drawers. I have A LOT of STUFF in my room. Oh my gawd!

Then Michael says to me on the phone just a little bit ago it might be a good time when we clear it out to steam clean the art room. And he is absolutely right. But that means tomorrow I need to get everything cleared out that I can before he comes home. And then after he gets home we will move the futon (weighs a ton because of the log frame) out. Then Friday I will steam clean and Friday evening or Saturday morning we will have to go buy a new computer desk for me since my current one ways a ton and looks good with Michael's current desk. Then Saturday start putting it together and start moving things back in the art room.

Okay NEON sign again blinking "OH MY GAWD" So I have been making plans on where everything will go as I clear it out to make a clear path. And now I am going to go do some packing.

So I am going to go get busy - and go pack and start moving things!

It's Official!!

After what has seemed like a decade or two, I'm Officially in business as of today!! I submitted my paperwork to the State, have my business cards and it's all official now.. As I look back, I can see the heel marks in the sand when I was dragging my feet.. Reaching the moment when things felt "right" took a lot longer than I had wanted, but it's the first time I've felt that the time has finally clicked at the right time..

So..

Reflecting Time Productions is open for business..

The website will be coming up next - as well be the appropriate demo.. From there on - I'll be bidding my time with the state and I eventually will submit my notice..

Thanks for everyone who has been there during this winding road.. It's been a long time coming..

Recap of Being Out of Town

Sunday May 14th I started with a migraine cycle - that seemed to get a little worse each day. But I killed it everyday - so by 3 or 4 pm I was okay.

On Tuesday we left for Denver. We try hard not to travel with Caesar and Chessie. Chessie has a hard time of it --- usually getting sick. So the Vet suggested basically an antihistamine to make her groggy and sleep. Well this is the first time she has had to have a pill in her lifetime and it was not a fun experience getting her to swallow it. Caesar is much better at it then her. So we got that done and made she sure she was reacting okay to it and then started loading the car.

Because of opening the new business both of us and especially Michael have a lot going on in our brains - so things are getting missed that normally wouldn't....both of us assuming the other has gotten or taken care of something and later finding out that neither of us did. So it has been a little trying on both of us....especially trying not to get snappy with each other for missing it (which is something neither of us has been great at during this time). Michael had something for work to take with us and so I thought he put it with his other work stuff. And he thought I had got it.

So we are on the road....just under an hour away from home when Michael calls his parents to tell them we are on the way. His parents mention something about work and that reminds Michael of the thing he needed to bring. Michael asks me if I got it. I said, "no." I mentioned I thought he had put it in his work bag. So we pulled over at the next exit to look in the bag and of course it wasn't there.

So yes folks we had to turn back. We went back got it and got back on the road. Despite the turn back we did make good time. It actually went fairly fast for adding the extra time on to the trip.

On Wednesday I woke up with yet again another migraine - worse then Tuesday. So I got up with Michael to eat breakfast right away so I could take something. Michael went to his meeting and I went back to bed for a bit. When I got up it was less but still not gone. We then got to spend the afternoon alone. After Michael's meeting we went shopping before meeting some friends of ours for dinner. We had a very nice dinner. They are such a great couple and we both enjoy their company so much. It would be nice if we could see them more often but I am grateful for anytime we get with them.

Wednesday night when I went to bed my migraine was still not gone. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't gone and that worried me a bit. At 3am Michael and I both woke up and I mentioned my migraine still being around. By 7am it had increased to a place where moving, light, and noise - HURT - so much. Well Thursday was Michael's niece's graduations and so I was hoping I could clear it up by the time we left but no such luck. And even by the time Michael,Frank and Joanne came back from the event - I wasn't anywhere near feeling better. I take that back it was better but not gone and those of you that get migraines know how they just have a lingering effect that is hard to cope with. So we stayed in for dinner but did go out for Cold Stone's after.

Friday I woke up with a lower level migraine. One that I can function with - no problem. It is normal for me. Sad to say but true. We had a late brunch. It was really good. French toast sandwich basically - it was piled with ham and cheese. It was very yummy! After brunch, we hit the Dollar Store. Yay! It was then close to the party time - I had a really nice time at the party with Michael's family. I got time to chat with everyone and ate a lot of good food. Everyone though was very concerned about my migraines so I got a lot of "are you okay" or "how is the headache" while at the party. But they were all so understanding and good about it.

Saturday we just did some running around and Sunday we headed back to Grand Junction. We had a very nice time in Denver.

the silver lining during a difficult time

It really has been a crazy couple of months. The end of April one of Michael's co-workers died. She was a vibrant young woman and it was a shock to us all. It really rallied his office together to help her parents and each other through the grief. Michael did a video for the memorial service. It was incredibly hard to do but also it helped us with the grieving process also. It came out wonderfully....celebrating her life. Because of it Michael really got a chance to show the community what he can do...so his co-worker was a guardian angel in a way to really help Michael realize his dreams and passion. We will miss her but at the same time are very truly blessed to have her give him his dream.

So since then we have had kind of a whirlwind of getting the business up and running. Michael has been getting paper work done and submitted and business cards together. I have been working on a calling card type website for now. And then we both will be working on a more flash intensive website to house his demos and really capture what he can do.

So just a little of where we are right now.

Bruschetta Stuffed Chicken

Tonight we had Bruchetta Stuffed Chicken....Michael raved and raved about it. It was really good.

The recipe is from Kraft Food and Family Magazine that you can get free on their website. I modified it -- as I usually do to most recipes. So here is what I did....

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained (I added some garlic and basil to it to taste)
1/2 cup of chicken stock
3/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stuffing Mix for Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (recipe called for 8 small chicken breasts and that is way to much chicken for just the 2 of us)
1/2 cup Italian Dressing (original recipe called for Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing but of course our stores didn't have that so improvised)
1/2 cup of roasted peppers chopped

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Combine tomatoes with their liquid, the cheese, chicken stock and dry stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.

PLACE chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pound chicken with side of heavy can, rolling pin or meat mallet until chicken is 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with remaining chicken breast halves. Place chicken, top-sides down, on large cutting board; spread evenly with stuffing mixture. Starting at one of the narrow ends, tightly roll up chicken. (I used some metal skewers to keep them in place and took them out half way through cooking.) Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle evenly with dressing and roasted peppers. I placed the remaining stuffing around the chicken.

BAKE 40 min. (I forgot this part but will try it next time --- Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 min.) or until chicken is cooked through (and cheese is melted).


Link to original recipe on Kraft's website.

Pictures of Michael!

Michael's parents have been BUSY scanning old slides and they were very kind in sending me a few....


Easter - 1970


Haircut - 1971


Roarin 20's - 1971

Bread

One day recently I wanted to make a loaf of bread but something different then my usuals...French Bread, Whole Wheat Bread or Herb Rolls. I went searching on my favorite website for Bread Machines recipes and found one for Rich Cheddar Cheese Bread. I didn't have cheddar but I had a blend so used that.

When I was making it, Michael called and I said that I didn't think the bread was going to turn out as it wasn't rising. And then...BAM! It seemed like I had only been away from it for a few minutes and it had definitely rose! It was almost pushing the lid up.




















It did turn out even with it rising so high. It was such a hit that it now Michael's favorite. He really wanted to eat the whole loaf that evening but he did restrain himself. But is is already being requested again.

Pictures of Caesar....

He likes watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer too! Such a smart kitty cat!

West Wing

This week Target has each season of West Wing (1 through 5) on sale for $22.99....on Amazon they range from $38 to $45 so it is a really good deal. (Also in the ad online it only shows season 4 and 5 of West Wing but in the paper ad it says including other season and in the store they also have them all as the same price.)

Michael said he might have to pick them up as it is just too good of a deal to really let pass. And we are big West Wing fans.

Pizza

I made a loaded pizza.....homemade whole wheat herb pizza crust, then topped in this order from bottom to top....mozz cheese, parm cheese, provolone cheese - then crushed tomatoes - turkey pepperoni's - ground turkey sausage that I browned with basil, oregano, garlic and onions - sauteed mixed peppers, and just a little sprinkle of cheese on top. It was so yummy!

Mail!

I have been sending out more snail mail lately and getting quite a bit also from my friends across the country. It is has been nice to have an unexpected card, note and package show up in the mail.

I have quite a few bits of mail that needs to go out and I got 2 pieces this week...a package and a card. The card was so pretty I am going to hang it up as inspiration for art but eventually it might be cut and used in a piece as it has some beautiful butterflies on it and if anyone has seen my art before -- I have a thing for butterflies. Flight, reborn, color, delicate and strong...and so on...there are just so many wonderful qualities.

And the package I was just blown away by as it was so generous and thoughtful. My friend sent a package to spoil a girl....bath beads, soap, make up, chocolate and more...

Dental work and Pancakes

I had dental work done this week that was pretty intensive for me and so I haven't been feeling well. I just been in pain and not able to stand doing much for any length of time as it starts to throb.

Michael made me apple/oatmeal pancakes last night as it was soft for my mouth and you would have thought I was eating the most divine piece of chocolate. After eating jello and ice cream for almost 24 hours - really having more solid food was so incredible I love this recipe that we use for pancake - they taste so delish!

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes

These are just so full of flavor and also filling. I really like to double the recipe so we have left overs for breakfast during the week.

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick cooking or old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon sugar or even splenda/sugar substitute
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk - low fat or fat free
1/2 cup sugar free applesauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Stir together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl.

Beat egg in separate bowl; stir in milk, applesauce, and oil.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until blended. Fold in walnuts.

Heat greased griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. Griddle is ready when a few drops of water bubble and skitter rapidly around.

For each pancake, pour scant 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Cook pancakes until puffed, bubbly and dry around edges. Turn and cook other sides until golden brown.

Yummy!

Yay for Ice Cream!

I have been to the dentist and so only can eat soft food for a few days. So having ice cream for dinner.

Art Goodies!

We went out town this past weekend and I came home with lots of presents! Michael's parents had a bunches of stuff for me...old games and old photographs. Everything is great! I love it all. Stuck in the bundle of photos were some old maps plus a high school diploma from 1923. So I just have so many wonderful things to inspire me and create!

Here is a picture of just a few of the photographs.....










close up of some of them....













Also while out of town Michael bought me a bunch of art goodies....metal, cloth, and paper bits that I am so excited to use.

One of my favorite stops while in Denver is the Dollar Tree and they had some dolls I plan on altering. One I think is going to be a political piece and the other I think an angel/spiritual type piece. I am going to pull their hair out, paint them and alter them so they are not even recognizable so that is why I need....

...the before pictures of the dolls...















And then....I had one more fantastic thing happen...I sent some friends some cookies and they sent me a thank you package filled with art goodies that was totally unexpected and unnecessary but very much appreciated.

Here is a picture of the wonderful art goodies they sent me....
















layers and layers of fun!

I am sure with all these wonderful things I am going to be creating...and get this artist block unblocked!

Linkage...

New article about Hybrid Implants

Sign-Language Town Planned for South Dakota

Laurent SD website

BABY BUMBLE BEE

A friend did a line from this little song as a subject line in an email and ever since I can't get the song out of my head....so I hope to infect others with this little diddy...

BABY BUMBLE BEE

I've caught myself a baby bumble bee
Won't my Mommy be so proud of me?
I've caught myself a baby bumble bee...
Ouch! It stung me!

I'm squashing up my baby bumble bee
Won't my Mommy be so proud of me?
I'm squashing up my baby bumble bee...
Ew! What a mess!

I'm licking up my baby bumble bee
Won't my Mommy be so proud of me?
I'm licking up my baby bumble bee...
Ugh! I feel sick!

I'm barfing up my baby bumble bee
Won't my Mommy be so proud of me?
I'm barfing up my baby bumble bee...
Oh! Another mess!

I'm mopping up my baby bumble bee
Won't my Mommy be so proud of me?
I'm mopping up my baby bumble bee...
Mommy, aren't you proud of me?

Cookies!

I made cookies last week that turned out really pretty good...for the first time of making them. Usually what happens is I make a cookie - it fails due to the altitude and then I work on ways to improve it to work here. But these worked FIRST try!

They really should be called Death by Chocolate - they are triple chocolate cookies. They had cocoa powder, white chocolate chips and then were suppose to have semi-sweet chips but all I had was dark chocolate so I used those. I am going to make some for some friends today and ask Michael to mail those off tomorrow.

Here is some pictures...

St. Patty's Day

In the 3 years of being with Michael - I have gotten out of making corned beef. One year we forgot that it was St. Patrick's Day and so he just got a deli corned beef sandwich. And I can't remember the other years why but something came up. Anyway, this year I am having to make it. I don't like corned beef at all. I can't stand the smell or the taste. ewww! So tonight I will have some left overs and Michael will have his corned beef brisket. They had a great deal on them at Safeway - by 1 brisket get the other free. So I will be making it again too.

I was looking for ways to cook the corned beef brisket before I had a chance to ask Michael how he wanted it cooked and I came across an article at the Irish Culture and Customs website. Corned Beef on St. Patrick's Day isn't even a tradition in Ireland....only in the USA.

Caution: Political Rants ahead....

Darby convinced me that I should connect my political rants blog to our Michael & Darby blog as well...

...so... just putting out the careful caveats that sometimes the rants are very ... colorful because I have a great deal of passion for what this administration has done to our country.. That said, I'm also very quick to point out that I also don't think the Democrats would fare much better - but what bothers me more than anything is that there is a complete failure by this administration on so many different fronts..

Clinton may not have been the "gem of a President," but we're losing lives.. Our government is corrupt and rewarding companies while our citizenry scrambles to get by.. We're not safer than we were before 9/11 - and it gets worse as time goes by..

So without further ado.... I introduce you to Spoons Rant..

Old Photos

I found these on my old computer a while back and thought I would share.....

Dad and I

Being held by Grandma

Cousin Rhonda and I (Me on right and Rhonda on the left)



Not sure how old I am here

Art Domain

Michael bought me a domain for my art! Isn't he the best! Nothing there but a coming soon page but the domain is www.darbyart.com For now I will be keeping my art blog up and might even after I get the website up and going.

Anniversary

Just recalling that moment that I met Michael for the first time - 3 years ago today. His smile made me melt and I think he captured my heart from the first hug. I love you deeply Michael and that love just gets better each day. You are a wonderful man and I couldn't have found a better match for me. Thank you for a wonderful 3 years and I hope we have many many more years together.

Change of Address

I just changed my art blog's url.....so please update your bookmarks with
http://darbyart.blogspot.com/

Various Whatnot

So I am not getting much time to fret about the dentist...my next appointment was suppose to be the end of Feb but they called today and said they had a cancellation for tomorrow and wondered if I would like it. They told me last time I was there that I will most likely be in pain for 24 hours. Yay me!

Not much else is going on around here. I really need to get going on my art room. It needs to be reorganized so badly. But it is such a huge project that at the moment every time I think about it I get overwhelmed with it. And I need to finish some projects but at the moment I can't even do that with how things are in there.

What else...

Watched Long Way Round last night from netflix. We watched it when it was bravo also but enjoyed it again. It is an amazing journey. Ewan McGregor and his buddy Charly Boorman take a trip around the world on motorcycles and film it. I love the places they go, their feelings as they travel, the people they encounter....it is amazing. Made me so envious...the traveling to new places and meeting so many wonderful people.

Crossing Fingers, Praying and whatnot....

....that the Broncos start doing better or Michael will be very grumpy tonight!

Wine

I was not a big wine person until I met Michael. He told me I had not had a good wine. And of course he was right. I had cheap dry wines that give me headaches before I met him. But now I drink smooth wines that each give a sensory experience...the smell, the color, the taste and the feel of them. The area we live in has quite a few wineries. And all of them have their unique award winning wines. And now I prefer wine over a harder drink.

Here is a couple links about Colorado Wine in general....

Colorado Wine
Colorado Wine Fest

We enjoy wine that is medium-dry to semi-sweet to very sweet. I do really enjoy the fruity flavor coming through in some of the blends also. We have a lot of Colorado fruit growers in the area so many do a blend of fruit with the wine.

Saturday we went to St. Kathyryn's Cellars first. I tried 3 or 4 different wines. But my favorites were Cranberry Kiss and Ruby Red. Cranberry Kiss is sweet but not too sweet as it has that Cranberry tang too. It is beautiful color and smell is so nice too. Ruby Red is a little bit dryer but still sweet. Again a beautiful color and smell.

Next went to Rocky Mountain Meadery. Mead is actually wine made out of honey instead grapes. The woman in the winery was very helpful and also just so sweet and beautiful. She came to the area 20 years ago with the plan to only stay one year and has been here ever since. Lancelot and Camelot are the ones Michael picked up. He really liked the mead. Lancelot is medium dry. And Camelot is sweet. It is so smooth. I was surprised how smooth the taste was in them.

Finally we ended our mini tour with Carlson's Vineyard as it is our favorite. They had a special on their Laughing Cat Red Wine so we got 2 bottles of that. And then the Laughing Cat Sweet Baby Red Wine as I wanted those to go with dinner. We ended up only drinking one bottle as we had quite a bit of wine on the little wine tour. The Laughing Cat Sweet Baby Red is sweet but not too sweet. It says on their site that it is blend from a merlot. The Laughing Cat Red Wine is a mellow red that is just all around good table wine. And at the price they were offering it right now it was hard not to pass up...so we didn't!

It was really their wines that made me start appreciating wine. The first wine I fell in love with there was their Gewurtztraminer. It is a spicy peppery wine but with a little sweetness to it also. And now our favorite wine from Carlson's is Fat Cat Muscat. It is so smooth. And the flavor just pops. Mrs. Carlson suggested taking and pouring a little of it in a champagne flute and then topping it off with champagne and a couple frozen grapes! Oh my that sounded exceptional. Maybe I can ask Michael if we can do that for our anniversary as we do have a bottle of champagne.

I have drank I think all of Carlson's wines and there is not one that I don't like. The cherry wine is great when you dip the glass into a melted chocolate....tastes like chocolate covered cherry. I really wanted another bottle of the Apricot but they have sold out of it.

We mostly drink local wines but we pick up others too. We enjoy medium dry to sweet wines. We have drank different labels in the Gewurtztraminer, Rieslings, Shiraz, Merlots, and Chardonnays. I also got a wine journal this weekend from my Mom so I want to start keeping closer track of what we drink and enjoy.

Shopping and Eating

We had a wonderful time with my parents did lots of shopping and eating! Two of my favorite things! It was great to see them and Michael and I are really happy that they were able to come visit us.

Yesterday we basically shopped all day long. Michael's Arts and Crafts is having a great clearance sale. 90% off Christmas stuff. And Mom and I went crazy in there. Mom bought me too much in there - a pack of Mary Engelbreit Christmas for 9 cents. A couple foam Christmas stamps for 9 cents. Oh and red, silver, gold and plaid ribbon that I use on packages and for art and craft stuff...for 19 cents a spool. They didn't have a ton of stuff left but they had enough to get us quite a few good buys. We also hit some of the shops downtown but because it was a holiday many were closed.

Mom and Dad Arrived!

My parents arrived safely. We whisked them out to do a mini wine tour shortly after they arrived. And came home with 8 bottles of wine! Oh my we tasted so many wonderful wines. I made stew for dinner, served with hard rolls and a nice red wine. We had butter cake with chocolate ganache icing and toffee ice cream after dinner to celebrate Dad's birthday early. The cake didn't turned out as good as I would have liked. The icing was great but the filling became hard instead of being soft and fluffy. And of course with the altitude the cake wasn't as high as it was suppose to be and that always annoys me.

I am so happy my parents are here as I have missed them a lot. It gets hard at times being so far away and not being able to see them very often.

Sharing a Link...

I have been meaning to share this link. He is a friend and one of my favorite artists. He has a piece for sale right now that I would love to have....since it seems to fit me well this past week also.

Happy New Year!

We had a very nice Christmas and New Years even though I had allergy attacks for Christmas and a cold for New Years. But we still had nice quiet cozy holidays.

Christmas Eve....I baked a ham with a honey mustard glaze. Served it with creamed potatoes, green beans and herb rolls. After dinner we took a drive to look at all the lights and tried to take some pictures of us downtown in front of the big Christmas tree but that was not working out well.

Christmas Day....Our day was very very relaxed...in fact I actually slept a lot! I think the month finally caught up with me plus I was having a horrible time with allergies. So we ate, watched movies and took naps all day long! Michael and I watched Polar Express and we both loved it! We watched Bourne Supremacy too. It was a DVD Christmas - we got Bourne Surpremacy, Meet Joe Black, Serenity and the Firefly TV series box set.

I think Santa thought we were really good this year as there were lots of presents under our tree. I got everything from domestic things: cookie cooling racks, new kitchen utensils, pie shields, measuring spoon and tea. To art things: Rubber stamps, little tags, cutting mat and brads. To books and movies: I got Paulo Coehlo's book The Zahir...that I started reading right away as I love his books so much! I also got Nick Bantock's book Urgent 2nd Class that I have been wanting for a while too. I got the coolest trivet - I found a picture of online. A calendar called ArtPlay that has great collages in it, a gift certificate and journal from my sisters. Michelle wrote in journal combine that with the card she gave and of course I was tears. It was one of those hallmark moments! We got great presents from Michael's parents too...such as the bears that I already posted a picture of...they were just part of the presents! So as I said Santa was very good to us!

Dec. 26 - yes we did it...we were out in the after Christmas shopping. I picked up a few things with the gift certificate my sister gave me. Plus we stocked up on Christmas wrap, tags and ribbon as we were OUT! Completely OUT! Michael had to do some creative wrapping on Christmas Eve.

Skipping to New Years Eve....I was sick with a cold. So we were kind of boring. We made potstickers and crab ragoon and then just watched movies until close to midnight when we watched the Dick Clark special being replayed for mountain time. We toasted in the New Year with a Carlson wine....Fat Cat Muscat! Yum! And then went to bed shortly there after....as I said we were boring!

New Years Day....we are doing what we did Christmas Day...sleep, eat and watch movies because I have a cold.

All in all..the holidays were nice even with being sick. It was quiet and relaxing which I know we both appreciated although we were thinking of our families and missing them. At Christmas time I try to do some reflecting on where my life is and how grateful I am for everything in it....and this year was no different. Nothing earth shattering uncovered....just that I am very happy to be with Michael and am grateful for having him in my life.

We hope that everyone has a VERY Happy New Year!

A Christmas Present....

Lookie what I got....



This pictures does not do them justice....they are beautiful bears! I want to find a little bench so they can sit under the tree together. Thank you Frank and JoAnne for the beautiful bears! I love them!

Merry Christmas!

These are photos Michael took of the tree. We do the tree in all red lights. Under the tree I set up all my Christmas Bears. I have chairs, a little red wagon, and a couple of sleds.

Holiday Pictures

Just a few pictures of the house during the Holidays!

This is a picture of an Angel that I know my Mom has had for quite a long while. If I recall right there were 2 more angels with the grouping and they were broke...by me. In the package she sent for Michael and I us to open during the holidays...the candle and the little Angel were a part of it.


The chair with a pillow...that matches the table runner on the end table that also matches the tree skirt under our tree.

Close up of end table.

The table....the placemats and napkins Mom bought me last year at an after Christmas sale. They are really pretty. They are a natural linen color with then velvet trim in green and deep red. They have embroidery of holly in berries to match the velvet. The Angel in the center of the table Mom and Dad bought me years and years ago. It is a tree topper but I don't think I have hardly ever used it as such as it is kind of top heavy. You can also see all my little hallmark houses in the background...sitting on the counter in the dining room.

An ornament on our tree that Michael's Parent's got us last year. I thought it looked so pretty hanging on the tree - so I took a picture.

Presents! Presents! Presents!

At the beginning of the month my family sent us a big package...inside was one present a day to open up until Christmas! It has been incredible! What a great idea! Thank you Mom, Dad, Michelle and April!

Here are all the presents lined up on the counter!



A few of the goodies we have opened up....

December 2....warm socks for both of us!




December 7th....holiday mugs and coffee!




December 9th....holiday napkins! They are very pretty!