Christmas Food Traditions

There are a few things that I make every year at Christmas, and I've added one or two this year. Christmas would not be the same at our house if I didn't make Homemade Chex Mix. I think this stuff is way better than what you buy at the store and it lasts a long time. Hashbrown casserole is another dish I make for Christmas Day. I'll be working 7-3 again this year on Christmas so I'm going to do make ahead or crockpot dishes for our lunch/dinner. My easy Cheeseball is great to take to Christmas parties and I think I'm going to take it on Christmas Day to work for the girls to snack on.

This year I'm doing something I did last year, therefore (in my mind), making it a tradition: buying a 9 pound spiral sliced honey ham for two people. I didn't intentionally buy a ham that big just for me and Erik, but my local HEB (the best grocery store EVER) has a deal right now where you buy a ham or turkey and get $20 in other items free. When I went to the store yesterday to purchase this ham the 9 pounder was the smallest one they had, so that's what I got. Last year we ate ham for days and then I froze the rest and used it over the next couple of months. My last new recipe is one that I used to make with my grandmother (mom's mom) when I would visit her at the holidays: Peanut Butter Balls. Oh man. These things are dangerous! They are very easy to make and very rich so you only need one or two at a time!

Here's the link for Chex Party Mix.
http://www.chex.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=6709&CategoryId=343

Easy Cheeseball

2 pkgs cream cheese, softened

2 or 3 green onions, chopped

3 or 4 tablespoons real bacon bits

2 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1 tsp seasoned salt

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients except pecans. Form into ball. Roll ball in pecans, covering completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, best if overnight.

Peanut Butter Balls
3 cups rice krispies
1 jar peanut butter-the smaller jar (I think 14 or 16 ozs?)
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
8 tbsp. butter, melted

12 ozs chocolate chips
2 or 3 tablespoons Crisco

Combine the rice krispies, PB, and powdered sugar. Next pour cooled melted butter into the mixture and stir well. Form into ice cream scoop sized balls. Melt chocolate in the microwave with 2 tablespoons Crisco. Stir until you get a thin consistency; you can always add more Crisco to make it thinner. Take a toothpick and stick it in the PB ball. Dip the PB ball in the chocolate and you can use a spoon to help coat it. Refrigerate the PB balls overnight.

Note* I used creamy and crunchy peanut butter and I prefer the creamy.

Black Cloud

I'm sure most of you who read our blog regularly know by now that my grandfather passed away last Wednesday and the funeral was last Friday. On another sad note, Erik's maternal grandfather passed away early this morning. Both of our grandfathers had cancer. I was unable to attend Poppy's funeral due to work responsibilities, which seems cold, however when you are the main bread winner and paid hourly you just can't miss 2 days of work in a row. I was and am pretty upset about it, mostly because I wanted to be there for my grandmother. While Poppy's passing was very unexpected because his cancer treatment seemed to be going well, Erik's grandfather was very sick. We were fortunate enough to see him on our 1800 mile round trip during Thanksgiving. Both of these men had been married to their wives for 35 plus years and left a lot of people mourning their passing. Our community group at church has graciously volunteered to bring a few meals by our house over the next week, of which I feel totally undeserving and humbled. They have wrapped us in prayer and we are so honored to be a part of this church family. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us.

P.S. I have been trying to post pictures of our trip from Thanksgiving but for some reason Blogger will not let me. I don't know if the file size is too big or what but I'll keep trying.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

It has been raining off and on for about a week here in Waco and frankly, I'm sick of it! We don't really have a fall season here in central Texas, but the weather is so nice and cool and usually very sunny. I miss that weather. If I can't have the beautiful foliage that Tennessee in the fall offers, I should at least get to enjoy the sun! What really stinks is that our back yard turns into a pool when it rains constantly, so we have to keep part of the yard blocked off so the dogs don't drag in all kinds of mud. What I am getting at is that even though this weather is stinky, it's perfect weather to make soup! I love, love, love this soup. It's so hearty and delicious. This recipe came from crockpot365.blogspot.com aka the Crockpot Lady's website and it's a crockpot version of Olive Garden's soup. So if you're having a rainy cold weather week drag out your crockpot and make this soup!


--1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
--1/2 large red onion, chopped
--1 cup carrots, chopped
--2 celery stalks, sliced
--2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
--1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
--1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
--4 cups beef broth (check label for gluten!)
--1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
--2 tsp oregano
--1 T tabasco sauce
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time

The Directions.


Brown the meat and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crockpot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and tobasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

(P.S. I copied the ingredient list and directions from the website!)

Because there's not enough pictures of my dogs on this blog

Stephanie took this picture of Roxy while she was visiting. I think she looks a little like Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda. By the way, if you haven't seen that movie, you need to. It changed my life. (J/K)

Crockett is getting so big! He's still smaller than Roxy and I think he's about done growing. His dad was small and I kind of hope he stays this way!

Frequently we fing Roxy "hiding" under the beds or bedskirts. Sometime just her face or nose is covered up.

I bought these adorable (and cheap!) Halloween t-shirts for the dogs at Target. This is Crockett reaction every time I put it on him. He mopes around as if he's being punished.

I took this picture when I first bought the shirts before Crockett could get depressed about it. Roxy actually really likes hers.

Rebecca and Stephanie come to visit!

The week of September 11th my two best friends of all time came to visit me! Stephanie drove from Jackson, Tennessee to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pick Rebecca up and then they drove down to Waco. We had such a good time eating, hanging out, playing the Wii, and traveling to San Antonio and Schlitterbahn.

Rebecca hanging her head in defeat.

Steph and I got pretty competitive while playing Harry Potter.

I kicked both of their butts in Mario Kart.

At the Alamo! It rained the whole way to San Antonio and the whole day there. We couldn't even take the Riverboat ride since it was shut down due to the weather.

I had to take a picture of Crockett Street.

This was above the Mexican restaurant we ate lunch at. The food was sooooo good and I love their salsa!

We finally made it to Schlitterbahn! That was after Erik met us in Round Rock because somehow I put our tickets in the trash at my house. I am no longer in charge of tickets!

On the tram between the sections of the park.

Rebecca and Steph I'm so glad you guys came to see me! I wish the weather (and my attitude) had been more pleasant, but next year will be even better!

What's Been Going On with Us Lately

Not much, I can tell you that! Erik started school last week. I was told that 2nd year was supposed to be super easy, but it seems like Erik's reading assignments are really long! He is enjoying the content of his classes, though. I'm going to brag on him and say that he got really awesome grades last quarter. We both knew that going to school during the summer quarter would pay off! Also, he has some job interviews lined up for an internship next summer. We really want to go to Hawaii for vacation next summer, but that's not going to happen unless he gets a good internship.

Crockett continues to be a fun, wonderful dog. He loves to lick toes, chew on rocks (why I don't know!), and he follows Roxy around everywhere she goes. He is cuddly and sweet. Operation Leave Crockett Out of His Crate While We're Out of the House occurred this week, and I'm happy to report that other than bringing in grass from the backyard he left the house untouched. He occaisonally still has accidents at night, however we have his crate on top of a plastic mat so it's easy to clean up. These usually only occur on mornings when we sleep in, so I think he just can't hold it a full 11-12 hours. I don't know how to fix that, because when I've worked 3 -12 hours shifts in a row I am going to sleep in til 9 the next day!


For some reason when I go outside to throw the ball with Roxy, Crockett likes to bite her ears. I love the look on her face in this picture!

I included this picture of my new work shoes because I have gotten lots of comments on them at work. My wonderful purple Crocs with no holes have sadly been discontinued, which really stinks because they matched the color of my scrubs perfectly. I don't like to wear tennis shoes at work because my feet get too hot, so I was at a loss what to get now that my Crocs are really worn down. Anybody who says that nurses sit on their butts all day has never spent a day on my floor. I am constantly walking back and forth to my patients' rooms, adjusting monitors, messing with beeping IV poles, and catering to the needs of laboring women. It's exhausting! I wouldn't have it any other way. I could never work a desk job! Anyway, Crocs came out with these new Tilda's in a plum color and I bought some. They don't exactly match the purple color of my scrubs, but they are so comfortable. An added bonus is they are easy to clean, which is good in case I get some birth juice on them (hey, birth is messy).


In other good news, I got promoted at my part time job! And I never even worked a shift! Actually what happened is they called the night before I was supposed to do my first shift in the home to let me know the address had changed. I looked up the new address and it was in a scary, dangerous part of town that is known for crime and drugs. I called them back and told them I didn't feel safe going to the home and that I would not show up for the shift. This is totally legal by the way, it's only abandonment once you take report on the patient and then leave. The nurse who hired me called me a couple of days later to ask me if I would like to work 1-2 days a week doing case management for their Waco pediatric patients. This basically involves me making visits to the home every 60 days, chart auditing, and submitting hours to insurance companies. I did some training yesterday, but I still have lots to go. I am excited that I don't have to do home care. I am also excited for the extra paycheck!

A week from today Rebecca and Stephanie will be at my house! I am so. freakin. excited! I haven't seen Rebecca since we moved to Texas, and I saw Steph briefly when we went to TN before Christmas last year. I desperately need some best friend time. We are going to San Antonio and Schlitterbahn! I can't wait!

Lake Texoma and a family crisis

Two days after we returned from California I drove Erik to the Killeen airport so he could spend the week in Tennessee with his family. I had to work 3 days plus I had an inservice that I had to attend so I couldn't go. At the end of the week he and his parents drove down to Lake Texoma, Texas which is about 1 1/2 hours north of Dallas. I dropped the dogs off at the vet/kennel (where the girls go crazy over Crockett) on Saturday and headed up there. We went to the pool and walked around some and just relaxed. On Sunday Erik's parents drove to Love Field airport to pick up Natalie who had been working in New Mexico. On their way back from the airport an SUV rear-ended them at a stop-light that wasn't working. No one was seriously injured, but Natalie was taken by ambulance to the ER at some hospital in Dallas. Erik and I were eating at The Jalapeno Tree (yummy food by the way) when his mom called us. So we drove to Dallas and spent the next 7 hours waiting for them to clear Natalie to go home. Unfortunately she suffered some bad whiplash and their car was in really bad shape. We spent the next 2 days hanging out by the pool, kayaking, and grilling out. It wasn't quite the vacation Erik's parents and sister had in mind!

Erik's parents car.

Our first time ever kayaking. It was hard work!

On our condo balcony. Can't you just tell how much Erik loves to take pictures?

Waiting for the elevator. Erik is too cool for pictures.

Our condo was really nice. Two huge bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchen.

California Vacation - Days 5 & 6 (San Francisco)

Jessica and I headed back down to San Francisco for the last couple nights of our vacation. Wednesday was our anniversary, so we decided to take a sunset cruise of San Francisco Bay. Sounds romantic, right? Well, considering that (1) our catamaran's dock was right next to some very stinky sea lions, (2) the fog obscured any view of the sun whatsoever and (3) we were accompanied on our trip by about 40 Australian students on a Contiki tour, it wasn't that bad. At least I got some cool shots of the Golden Gate Bridge when we passed under it.






Thursday, we took a tour of Alcatraz island. Not only is the prison facility and its very interesting, but the island provides some great views of the city.










We enjoyed our vacation very much, but we're both very happy to be back home in Waco.

California Vacation - Day 4

Jessica and I headed out to Bodega Bay this morning. Bodega Bay is located on the coast and was the setting for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. We had brunch at The Tides restaurant and watched sea lions play outside the window while eating. Then we drove up California State Route 1 for a little ways, stopping to take pictures along the way, before turning back inland.




The little holes covered some of the bluffs, and every once in a while one of these critters would pop his head out. We're still not sure what they are.







After turning back inland, we stopped and visited a winery. It was beautiful.

After leaving the winery, we got some homemade ice cream at Screamin' Mimi's in Sebastopol.

Finally, we ended the day with a round of mini golf. After all, what vacation is complete without a little putt-putt?

California Vacation - Day 3

Today, Jessica and I got up early for the 170-mile drive up Highway 101 to Humboldt Redwoods State Park to see some Coast Redwoods. The scenery along the drive was amazing.




These trees are huge. It was almost unreal to see them in person.


Jessica is helping here to provide some perspective. The center marker shows the size of the tree when the Magna Carta was issued in 1215. The second to last outer marker on the right was the size of the tree when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.


Here Jessica is getting ready to drive through an old Coast Redwood. Jessica did most of the scary mountainous driving during the northern-most part of the drive since I am a wimp. By the way, this tree is still mostly alive despite the tunnel through the middle.

California Vacation - Day 2

Jessica and I started the day by visiting Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Santa Rosa. Interestingly enough, it has the same name as our church back in Texas (must be a popular PCA church name). Afterward, we changed and headed out in our Dodge Charger to Point Reyes National Seashore on the Point Reyes Peninsula north of San Francisco.


We stopped at this quaint restaurant for lunch at a little town in the Reserve.

The main thing I wanted to see at the Reserve was the Point Reyes Lighthouse on the tip of peninsula. The only problem about visiting the lighthouse is that you have to park about half a mile from the lighthouse. The walkway is then along the top of the cliffs in the cold, wind, and fog. The last obstacle is stairway of over 300 steps down to the lighthouse on the tip of the cliff. Jessica decided she didn't want to try it, but I really wanted to see the lighthouse...and I paid for it. I felt like such a wimp after having to stop to rest and catch my breath on the way back to the car...But I got some great pictures and saw some amazing sights.



This has to be one of the most beautiful areas of the country. The rolling hills/mountains, the diverse vegetation...it's amazing. It's also interesting how you can drive 10 miles from the cost and the temperature raises about 10-15 degrees.



We ended our day by walking around downtown Petaluma. We then ate dinner at Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Petaluma, thanks to a gift certificate from Tony. I had steak and Alaskan King Crab; Jessica had steak and lobster tail. It was amazing.