Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentines Day at our house was kinda fun and definitely interesting this year.  When we woke up, I gave Tim a card and reminded him that I didn't get him a gift.  He's SO hard to buy for because he always buys what he wants when he wants and I've tried doing the "cutesy" gifts and he just thinks they're lame, so this year I decided he could get a card.

However, he surprised me with some really great gifts!   I got this super cute workout shirt, which fits GREAT!  He said he thought I might want a new running shirt for the 1/2 marathon in May.

I also got this awesome North Face jacket.  I tried this jacket on weeks ago and really liked it, but couldn't justify buying it when I already have several jackets.  So, when I opened the box and found the jacket inside, I was totally surprised!  The jacket is warm and I love it!

After Tim pulled off a great Valentines gift, I felt like I needed to do something for him...more than a card.  I decided to make him a delicious dinner.  I hit Maceys and ended up with what I thought would be a great Valentines dinner. 

We started the evening off with a bottle of sparkling apple-blueberry juice.  I'm not a huge fan of sparkling grape or apple juice, but I have to say that the blueberries were amazing.  I even broke out our fancy glasses.

While the potatoes were cooking and the grill was warming up, I made our salad.  We were supposed to have everything ready at once, but we ran into some problems.  Our salad ended up being an appetizer.

At Maceys, I picked up some "chicken grillers" from the meat counter.  I asked one of the butchers how to cook them and he said, "Grill them for 15-20 minutes."  I asked if you flipped them and he said, "Yes."  So, while the mashed potatoes were cooking, Tim fired up the grill.  However, the grill didn't get warm.  He realized that the propane tank was empty, so he swapped that out.  Round 2...we put the chicken on the grill, waited 10 minutes, and then flipped them.  I should probably mention that a chicken griller consists of a bacon wrapped chicken breast stuffed with wild rice, mushrooms, and something else that I can't remember right now.  We pulled them off the grill and this is what they looked like...

Until I cut mine open and realized that there was raw chicken on the inside.  Round 3 on the grill...we cooked the chicken for another 15 minutes or so and then checked the inside with our meat thermometer.  Of course, my piece (because I cut it in half) was totally overdone.  Tim's was good, but also a little overcooked.

So, my nice romantic dinner was a complete disaster.  We would buy the chicken grillers again, but I think I would definitely check with a different butcher on the actual cooking method/time.  Oh, and I've pretty much decided that since I'm not doing so hot in the Valentines/romantic department, I'll just let Tim spoil me on Valentines Day.  :)

What's for Dinner?

Dinner tonight was a SMASHING success!  Tim couldn't stop talking about how yummy it was.  He even said the recipe was blog-worthy...so here you go!  The recipe is called "Cheesy Potato Soup" and I found it in my Cooking Light magazine.

Ingredients:
1 T. butter
1 c. chopped onion
2 1/2 T. flour
3 c. chopped red potatoes (Tim said he wished the potatoes were in smaller chunks.)
1 1/4 c. 1% milk (I used 1/2 c. of 2% milk and 3/4 c. skim milk.)
3/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (I used a cup of reduced fat fiesta blend cheese...because I love cheese.)
1/8 t. ground red pepper
2 T. chopped green onions

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion to pan; saute 5 minutes or until onion is tender.  Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring onion mixture constantly. Add potato, milk, broth, and water to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.  Add 1/2 c. cheese and ground red pepper; cook 2 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently.  Top each serving evenly with green onions. (I added some cheese.)

**Tim said he would add some sort of meat...I would recommend bacon bits, but since we're trying to eat healthier, we just added some chopped up turkey I had leftover from dinner the other night.

You can find nutritional information from Cooking Light HERE.

Week 1 of P90X

On Saturday, we had our weigh in for the Biggest Loser: Hansen edition.  I've lost 6+ lbs since January 1.  I'll take it!  :)  Now, I just need to keep that going for the next few months.  Tim and I also finished our first week of modified P90X.  We did all of the strength workouts last week, including YogaX.  Tim pushed himself through the workouts.  We also ran 3 times last week (in place of Plyometrics and Kenpo) so our 1/2 marathon training is going great as well. 

Week 2 started today and we pressed play and brought it.  Tomorrow is a running day, but I may try to add in Plyometrics. 

Day 1 of P90X

Last Friday, our pull up bar arrived and we put it together on Saturday afternoon.  It was only missing one part, which was easily remedied by a quick trip to the hardware store.  Last night, we practiced pull ups using the weight bench for help.  I've never been able to do a pull up in my whole life, but maybe in 3 months I'll be able to? 


Today was day 1 of P90X.  I woke Tim up around 8:20am and we headed downstairs for our workout.  It was the "Chest and Back" dvd, as well as the Ab Ripper X workout. Tim and I alternated the exercises, so while I was doing push ups, he was doing pull ups and vice versa.  It was a tough workout, but we finished...although I'm not sure we were smiling.  I think we're going to be sore tomorrow, but I also think we get to have hot tub time tonight, so I'll take it.

Tomorrow is "Plyometrics", but since we're training for the 1/2 marathon in May, we're going to run instead, although I may try to fit in another workout, just to get some extra calories burned since we have a weigh in coming up on Saturday morning.

What a Great Dad!

When Rylan started middle school this fall, apparently a girl in one of his classes started calling him "Mustache Man."  He mentioned this several times to us and we asked him if he was ready to start shaving and he kept telling us no.  However, Santa brought him a razor and shaving cream in his stocking which apparently triggered the question "Dad, will you teach me to shave?" on Christmas night.

Because Tim is such a great dad, he said, "Yes" and down they went into the kids bathroom.  I followed right behind with the camera because I figured this was probably blog-worthy.

I have to admit I was very surprised at how well Tim did the "teaching to shave" lesson.  I wouldn't have done such a great job.

First, he let Ry play with the shaving cream. 

He also showed Ry how to use the razor by leaving the guard on and "shaving" his arm hair.  I kind of freaked out because I absolutely didn't want Tim to shave off his arm hair.

Then, he had Ry shave a section of his arm hair to get a feel for the amount of pressure you need to use.

Next, he had Ry put the shaving cream on his face.

 Then, he had Ry "shave" his mustache with the guard on the razor.

 Finally, it was time for the actual shaving!

This involved much laughter and many funny faces!

Then Tim did the finishing touches.  I guess that means that Ry is on his way to becoming a man.  He did have fun and told us that he's planning on shaving every time he comes to our house.

Mostly, I was just impressed at what a great job Tim did teaching him.  I would never have thought to use all of those different steps and to have him practice .  What a great Dad he is!

Christmas with the Elwoods

I was going to post this yesterday, but I had a MEAN case of food poisoning, involving issues at both ends of my food chain, so instead of blogging, I spent much time lying in bed or worshiping the toilet.  Definitely not how I planned to spend Tim's day off or the day after Christmas.

However, Christmas this year was awesome.  Tim and I spent Christmas Eve with my parents, and brothers and their families.  We ate appetizers and played games and I watched the Sound of Music with Cole.

Christmas morning, I woke up early, like I always do and got ready for church.  Because I sang in the choir this year, I had to be their early.  Unfortunately, that also meant that Tim got to come to church and sit by himself.  I love having Christmas on Sunday.  I love being able to start the day off feeling the spirit and really focusing on the true meaning of Christmas.  The program at church this year was fantastic and it definitely set the tone for the rest of the day.

After church, Tim and I headed over to my parents with Kona to have gingerbread waffles.  We love them but they are SO rich that I'm glad we have them only once a year...except that Tim and I made them for the kids yesterday too.  We got to watch Cole play with his new kitchen that my parents made for him.  He loved it and when Karen asked him how much he said, "46."  I have no idea what that means, but it was cute.

We came home and I sort of took a nap while Tim played a game on the Xbox.  The kids arrived around 2pm and we had Christmas at our house.

Kona even got to join in the fun and opened some presents and even shredded a box...his favorite thing to do!

Rylan LOVED his Pittsburgh Steelers tshirt!  In fact, I'm pretty sure he's been wearing it since he put it on Sunday afternoon.  I'm really hoping I can talk him into taking it off today so I can wash it.

Tim got a couple of new hoodies, a tool bag, a flashlight, and a few other things.  The only thing I was able to surprise him with this year was the 12 days of Christmas.

The demon dog made a few appearances.

Kyra got a new snowboard and some snowboard boots so she's all set for snowboarding this season...if we ever get some snow.

I got some super duper huge cookie sheets (Tim wants me to bake more...), as well as some other baking stuff, Sister Dalton's new book, and my personal favorite, a pair of super cute cowboy boots.  I don't have a picture of the boots yet, but I love them!  Tim said that we're turning into "cow" people, but I have no idea what that means.

After presents, we headed back to my parents for dinner.  My Dad made a delicious stuffed pork tenderloin and we had salad and baked potatoes and it was so fun.  Then we played games and it was time to go home. 

We decided to watch "A Christmas Story" and that went pretty well.  I ate some leftover 7 layer dip (hence the food poisoning) while Tim and the kids had candy and popcorn.  Apparently, I should have skipped the dip and eaten the candy.

Anyways, we had a WONDERFUL Christmas and I'm sad that it's all over.  I guess now it's time to move on to the next thing!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

 This is Tim's last surprise.  It's out in his stocking and he'll find it in the morning.  

It's just a little note telling him how much I love him.  I'm definitely the luckiest girl in the entire world to be married to such a SUPER guy who keeps making my dreams come true.  

Hopefully, he's had as much fun with the 12 Days of Christmas as I have.  Now, I'll just have to see what I can come up with for next year!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

 When Tim and I saw our wedding pictures, I was disappointed...disappointed enough that I didn't really want to pick out any to hang on our walls.  However, we did pay for several prints and they are our wedding pictures, so I decided for Christmas, I would pick out some pictures for Tim to hang in his office and to maybe display in our home.  The only problem was that I didn't have a chance to pick any out and I also wanted Tim to have a say.  I did contact our photographer to make sure I could still order the pictures and it's a yes.  So, now we just have to sit down this week and put in our order.

 

I should mention that Tim was really surprised by this gift and when I told him what I really wanted to do (make a book from all of our wedding pictures), he said we should totally do it and display it on our coffee table.  I guess that means I have a project to do in January.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

I had big plans to make Tim a yummy breakfast of german pancakes, sausage, chocolate milk, orange juice.  However, I thought that perhaps I should ask him what he would like...after I woke him and told him his surprise.  He wanted an egg sandwich...so he got an egg sandwich while lying in bed and watching tv.  Not exactly gourmet cooking, but he liked it.  :)

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

Tim and I are not huge movie watchers.  In fact, he RARELY will go to a theater to see a movie.  I knew that there were 2 movies coming out around Christmas that he wanted to see, so I figured this would be a great surprise.

However, I was surprised because on the 8th day of Christmas, he took me to see Mission Impossible 4.  In my head I was thinking, "Seriously, we couldn't wait until tomorrow," but I remembered that he wants to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie, so I guess that's probably the one he'll pick.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas

 

Today's surprise didn't go that great.  The weather is gray and gloomy and so is Tim's mood.  His test yesterday didn't go great so today is just kinda crappy.  However, we did have lunch together so I'll take it.  :)

The Seventh Day of Christmas

Today, Tim is taking a certification exam for work.  

He's been studying and is of course, feeling stressed.  

That's why he gets this gift today!

Why Does My Garbage Disposal Hate Me?

This morning I tried to play plumber and flooded my kitchen.  I'll get to the flooding part soon, but there is a preface to this story...

When I lived in my super tiny apartment in IL, I didn't have a garbage disposal.  It worked great...I just threw away my egg shells, vegetable peels, leftovers, whatever.  I did take the garbage out often, but it was seriously no big deal.  When Tim and I got married, all of the sudden I had a big fridge and an full size oven, a dishwasher and a garbage disposal.  These things have all been awesome, except for the garbage disposal...because IT HATES ME!

I don't think we had been married a month before I clogged the sink with potato peels.  It was a Sunday morning and I'm pretty sure I made Tim's day when I told him that the sink was clogged.  I watched him unclog it and I've never put potato peels in the disposal since then. 

Clogging the sink has happened a few or alot more times since then and I've watched Tim enough and even unclogged it myself to know what I need to do.  I should also mention that I rarely use the garbage disposal because it truly doesn't work for me.  Everyone else in the house can use it just fine, but not me.

This morning I made eggs for breakfast.  Because I've clogged the sink with eggshells before, I usually don't put them down the drain.  However, this morning, I used only two whole eggs and then four whites, so there were yolks and eggshells mixed together.  I turned on the water, I started the disposal and then I proceeded to shove one egg at a time down the disposal.  Tim says that I don't use the disposal correctly which is why it clogs, but I'm pretty sure that I used the proper procedure this morning.

We had our breakfast and then Tim went to study for his exam tomorrow, while I started to clean up breakfast...except the sink was clogged. SUPER!  I finished loading the dishes in the dishwasher, put a pot under the pipes under the sink, and started testing out my plumbing skills...and failed MISERABLY! 

All of the sudden there were eggshells...lots and lots of tiny pieces of eggshells...and LOTS of water SPEWING from the pipes...ALL OVER THE KITCHEN FLOOR! 

Very calmly, I called out to Tim, "I need your help."  Then, I hurried into the bathroom to grab ALL of our towels. 

He came into the kitchen and said, "What did you do?!"  Then, he started laughing.  We started cleaning up. 

He said, "I'm glad I came in here so fast. Perhaps next time you should have some urgency in your voice." 

I said, "I didn't want to freak you out." 

He said, "I'm the plumber in this house and this is something to freak out about."  Then, he laughed some more and gave me a big hug.
He said, "Do you see how much work you've created for yourself?"  I guess he was talking about the 2 loads of towels and rugs I'm currently washing, as well as mopping the kitchen floor.

I said, "Well, I was planning on cleaning today anyways, so I guess I've got a good start."

The kitchen is all cleaned, as well as the rest of the house.  The laundry is going.  I'm pretty sure I'm done with the garbage disposal.  I just wish it didn't hate me so much!

The Sixth Day of Christmas

One of the things that is really different about Tim and I is that I wake up early and don't go back to sleep and he likes to sleep in.  Also, apparently, Kona and I are QUITE noisy in the morning, although I really try to be quiet, so Tim seriously misses his quiet sleep in time.  This is why he gets this surprise!

The Fifth Day of Christmas

For today, I was planning on making Tim a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  They are his favorite...especially warm and straight out of the oven.  However, last night after I made 150 Oreo truffles, and 100+ gingerbread men (many without arms), I asked him if I could just give him a gift certificate for cookies that he can redeem whenever he wants.  I asked him if he was "cookie'd out."  He looked at me and said, "I was just going to ask you if you're cookie'd out."  So, instead of warm cookies today, he gets warm cookies whenever he wants.