Time with Family

This year the hubs and I were lucky enough to have a few members from each of our families come out and join us at our home for Thanksgiving.  Nate's parents, both his brothers, his sister (who is currently living with us) as well as my parents, my niece and even my grandma Joyce were all out in gorgeous Colorado for a few days.  We had a great time stuffing our faces, playing games, going hiking and spending time with each other.

One of the best things I think we did was take my grandma out to a ranch that her and my grandpa lived at in Elizabeth, CO.  I'm not sure why but just being there and thinking about how my Grandpa was there years ago was really touching.... so glad we went.

I also enjoyed the night we were able to go bowling with both families.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.  Sadly, my family lost.  It just so happened to be Nate's brother's 21st birthday.  And of course we have to celebrate!

Giving Thanks

This year I find myself with a lot to be thankful for. 

• I am thankful for my loving husband who is my best friend. 
• I am thankful for our house which we have turned into our home. 
• I am thankful for my family who are always there for me and support me so much. 
• I am thankful for my job, although it has it's moments of being stressful and can upset me at times, I am thankful for what it gives to me. 
• I am thankful for my good health and the good health of my family. 
• I am thankful for my patients that can brighten my day and can teach me more than I can teach them.  
• I am thankful for my friends who I can turn to at any time. 
• I am thankful for the food on my table, although I wish it wouldn't go straight to my butt.
• I am thankful for everything I have.

Gorgeous!

Last weekend a friend of mine got married at a gorgeous location.  It was a great evening! The husband even dressed up all nice and fancy for me.  Of course he did wear his hot purple/pink/green shoes to match he outfit ;)   Gotta love him. 

Art Day

My niece (aka munch, as in munchkin) came out to visit!  Let me tell you, that little girl makes me so happy.  The only sad part is she is not so little anymore.   There have been times that I look at her and can see how much she has grown up since I moved away.  :(  I used to tell her I was going to shrink her on her birthday so she couldn't get any bigger.  I really wish I had that power.  Look how grown up she looks.........

(@ Coors brewery)

So far we've done lots of fun stuff on her visit, but my favorite day was yesterday when munch asked to have an "art day."  This worked out well for me because I had a lot of Pinterest projects I wanted to get done.  So we set off to the thrift store and craft store. 

First up on our project list were button trees (a pinterest idea).  Very simple project... 

Next we decided to put a coat of spray paint on a thrift store vase we found

($1.99)

And also add one to a frame I bought a while ago that is going to be turned into an idea board in my craft room.  

While we were waiting for those to dry (I'll show you the finished projects at a later time, as in when they are actually finished) we moved on to pinterest project #2, a felt wreath.  We have to trace and cut a bazillion circles, maybe not quite that many but it felt like it.  Maybe it's because some little stinker got tired of projects and only traced a handful and cut out a whopping two of them.  

I got them all put on the wreath but it turns out we need more circles... grr!  So now I have 3 halfway started projects and one completed one.  Oh well, it was still a fun craft day.  

Plus when we were done it was time to go up to Daniel's park for a dinner picnic and fun.   We got there right at sunset so it was perfect!! 

 (love these two sooo much)

 (munch is a pretty good photographer too)

This girl better get into softball because she is a natural.  After all, she didn't get the nickname Mini Me for nothing!  :) 

Trust me, I'm a dietitian

This is the best chip dip recipe out there.  It is super simple to make and crowds gobble it up. The hardest part of the recipe is waiting overnight before you eat it.

Cowboy Caviar

• 3 cans of beans drained and rinsed (I like black, butter and pinto)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 medium onion
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 large red pepper
• 1 small green pepper
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 cup sweet corn
• 1/3-1/2 bottle of light Italian dressing. 
• Salt & pepper to taste

*Please note this is all an estimation.  Go by the color of the dip, the more colorful the better. 

Mix all of the above together and let it sit at least overnight.  The longer you wait, the better it is.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Hope you enjoy!

Oops!

I might have let my blogging slip a little recently.... just a little.  I promise I have good intentions on blogging.  I take pictures of projects I work on, think recipes I try would be great to share, keep cliff notes on books I've read and want to update on all the fun stuff I've been up to.  But then I don't......and I really don't have a great excuse why.

But that is no more.  I am determined I will update more often!  Girls Scouts honor!!  (ps... I dropped out of girl scouts half way threw the year I was a part of it, so don't get your hopes up too high)  :)

Project list lately:

• Quilt for the husband!  He's excited for his very own quilt!  It's going to be light blue, yellow and gray. Don't tell him, but I think I'm going to like it so much that I steal it and he'll get the old blankets instead. I've got everything cut and have started sewing.  My goal is to have it done and ready to go to the top quilter people by Sept 1st. 
• Baby gifts.  Cousins and coworkers are popping out babies like crazy these days.  I was able to make one of my co-workers a really cute baby quilt in January with scraps left over from a previous quilt I had made.  It was so cute that I didn't really want to give it away, but instead stash it away for my future babies.  However, the husband gets creeped out when I do that so I had to part with it.  (We just won't show him the stash I already have!) Look how cute though... 

I have also been able to whip up some cute burp cloths as well.  They kind of look like giant maxi pads when they're not being used on a shoulder by a baby, but we won't mention that.  See cute again....

• Home improvements.  We finally have all but one room completely furnished.  We were able to buy some new couches and I found an thrift shop dresser that I turned into a TV stand.  It's a nice gray and light blue room.  My current favorite color combo. Check out the before and after.

So I guess I have been pretty busy looking back.  Sorry for the lack of blogging..... I really will try to do better. 

Until next time!