Fa la la la la la la la......bah humbug!

Can't believe it's almost the end of another year and another Christmas.  This house won't be celebrating much of a Christmas.  But at least I'll have my whole family here again this year.

When I look at it.....it seems to have whizzed by.  But then, when I stop and really think about it -- I remember all the amazing fun we've had this year.  I have also remembered all the hard work we've put in this year.

This picture sits in my bathroom and I look at it each morning and am thankful for the life that my husband works hard to provide for us.  I remember the fun that we had on this trip and all the other trips we are lucky enough to get to enjoy.  I smile when I look at my handsome husband, the guy that I was so blessed to have found.  I look at it and remind myself that I just need to get my butt in gear and work a little harder and the next fun adventure will be just around the corner.

 

And trust me........the next adventure is just around the corner!

Soup Adventure....Day 2, etc.

Part of our reasoning behind the soup adventure was so that we would stop eating such big and heavy meals at 10pm at night and then go to bed.  That's our life.  Can't change the dinner time very easily, so we are trying to change the diet.

If you think eating soup every night is easy.....it's not.  Lots of prep goes into every pot of soup.  But, we are eating home made food and not canned stuff.  Yay us!

Tonight's soup was:

Here's the final product......a creamy soup filled with potatoes, chicken, and egg noodles, and veggies

VERDICT:  Paul liked it.  Me not so much.  I personally like the other potato chicken soup I make.  Not sure if we'll keep this one or not.  However, the crusty bread that we ate on the side with it was delicious!

Now to change subjects.  We managed to get out last Saturday night to see a special band that was playing Led Zeppelin songs and there was no cover if you brought in an unwrapped toy.  This was the 3rd year that we have attended this event.  The music is always awesome.

We didn't get there until 10:30pm and the opening band was still playing.  We were shocked to see it was a band of 14 year old boys.......and they were amazing!  These kids have a bright future.

And to end this evening.....I want to give a shout out to my little sister who surprised me today with my birthday present arriving in the mail.  This beautiful evergreen wreath -- which promptly got hung on the front door.  Thank you Penny......it's beautiful!

What makes it even more special is that it will be the ONLY Christmas decoration we are hanging this year.  Bah humbug to us!  No decorations at the Gainor house this year due to too many other things going on and I just don't feel like getting it all out and then having to put it all away again.

Besides that.......I spent a whole evening helping this girl get her brand new Christmas tree and decorations up in New Mexico.

The Great Soup Adventure....#1

Tonight's entrée was the first night of us experimenting with new soups.

I've always been a little fearful of using ground turkey instead of ground beef, because I am a big beef eater.......but here's what we chose for our first one:

Here's the final product:

VERDICT:  Delicious. 

 

I loved it.  Paul liked it. 

I added shredded Parmesan to the top of mine.  Paul added Tobasco to his.

We ate it with Jalapeno Cornbread.

 

This recipe will earn a spot in our regular soup rotation.

 

 

In case you've been wondering

I'm back.  Just to let you know that I am still alive and breathing.

And in no particular order........here's a pictorial review of what we've been up to since we last "talked":

 Tried a new pasta........

 ......and made some Pasta Fagioli soup.  It was pretty good....just needs some recipe tweaking next time I make it and then it will be amazing!

 Ate some home made tacos, because life is better when you're eating tacos

 Cleaned my desk off.  Maybe I'll feel more professional (and motivated) if my desk is clean

 Ordering PZ supplies and a few small Christmas items online. 

Also having to spend time playing with that little dog.  She drives me crazy.

Framing this awesome picture that I took in London, where it will hang on our master bathroom wall.   We didn't like it in this frame........so we did this:

 

New frame.  Looks way better.  I really really love this picture.  Good memories

 

 Took a few hours off one day and visited IKEA.  Stopped at a restaurant on our way home and I seriously had the BEST tacos I've ever had in my life.  These things were amazing.
Paul opted for a hummus veggie sandwich on pita bread.  We'll definitely visit this place again.

 Messing up the house more as we begin the process of cleaning out the "game room" (aka junk room) and setting it up as our exercise room.  I'll have more pictures of this project later.  This was just the mess it created as we worked.

 

 It also spilled outside to the front porch.  (FYI....here it is 2 weeks later and we're only partially done and can't seem to find the time to work on it again.  We spent our Thanksgiving Day on it since it's the only day off we've had for awhile)

 We did stop cleaning for awhile to enjoy a small dinner with Paul, Cris, and I

 It was so nice, quiet, and stress free and I SERIOUSLY made the best stuffing I have ever made.  We all agreed we could have made a meal of just eating stuffing.

We had to get up early one morning and make a bunch of pizzas for a school

 

 We've been eating lots of really great soups lately and decided that soup was going to be our primary meal at least 5 nights a week.  That means doing research and finding all sorts of yummy soup recipes, making shopping lists, and hitting the kitchen.  Can't wait to try some of these.

 And last but not least, having to deal with this crap.  We were part of a group of small business owners that met with local law enforcement and our State Representative to discuss how we can all work together to stop all the crime in our area.

This is not something that I ever want to have to see again.

 

 

Give me some cheese..........

..........to go with my "whine".

It seriously has been a crappy week. 

I have a bunch of pictures that I was going to download.....but I don't feel like it.

It's been a crappy week.

I'll see you tomorrow.

The Reader's Digest Version

What a whirlwind of a week.

Don't have time to sit and jot it all down.......so you're going to get the abbreviated version.

Starting with last week.....payroll, busy with work, had to work in store, busy with work.

Left for Albuquerque very early on Friday morning (I left the house at 4am).

Spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday in New Mexico. 

Landed at Houston airport 11pm Monday night.

Arrived at my home at 1am from the airport.  My wonderful husband and my cute little dog were waiting on the front porch for me.  That really made me feel good.

I'm home.  Things to get caught up on.  Had to force husband to go to doctor.  He's been sick for almost 2 weeks.  He has bronchitis.  He's getting better with medication.

Don't have my pictures downloaded from the camera yet, but I will share what happened to be on my phone.

Whew........I'm tired.  But I can't wait to share the newest adventures with you.

P.S.  These pictures will all make sense to you at a later time....but in the meantime - enjoy!

 

 

Hello......how are you today!

Hope you've missed me.  I've missed posting here.

I've lots to tell you.  However, can't do it "write" now.

We've had Halloween, I've worked TONS of hours, we've been to Tucson, and I'm getting ready to go to Albuquerque to play in 3 days.

It's payroll week -- so I need to focus on getting all this stuff done before I leave.

However, I'll leave you with this awesome picture:

 

I did this on a slot machine in Tucson!

Yahoo!!!  Hope to repeat this in New Mexico.

 

See ya all soon......keep checking back for another exciting post!