Grateful

Thanksgiving was perfect. Absolutely perfect. We have so much to be thankful for and were so blessed to spend time relaxing with family.

My parent's just finished a massive remodel on their kitchen (the remodel actually encompassed four rooms!) and so we kicked off the Thanksgiving festivities with a party Wednesday evening. We had 30+ family members in attendance, many from out of town, and feasted on the most incredible food! Grilled fish, homemade noodles w/chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, homemade pillow rolls and lots of other yummy-ness! Dinner was topped off with 6 different homemade desserts and when the night was over we rolled out the door.

Brent and I were seriously worried we wouldn't have room for food Thanksgiving day we were so full!

One of the many many perks of living near family is waking up to to a text Thanksgiving morning with an announcement of a breakfast feast awaiting us. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit plus being able to walk down in pajamas and slippers...it was practically breakfast in bed. And yes, somehow we managed to eat again. :)

The actual Thanksgiving feast was around 2pm and every year my grandmother outdoes herself. I always describe it as a "Hallmark Thanksgiving" because really, that is what it is. The house is decked out, the tables are groaning with incredible homemade treats, the house smells incredible and it's just picture perfect.

Dinner was followed with our annual walk and football game. Two hours of football always makes room for the second Thanksgiving meal: Dessert! This year there was more than 10 pies plus 11 kinds of cookies to pick from. It was Epic. And there wasn't much left in the way of leftovers.

Christmas shopping kicked off early this year with the deals starting Thanksgiving evening but I'll save that for another post. Needless to say, the combination of the Ravens on TV and fabulous deals online was the perfect way to rest up for late night Black Friday Shopping.

Winners Winners

I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged. Lots has been on in our lives lately. We've been making so many memories lately that there hasn't been any time left over to document them. Also, a close relative has quite suddenly been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and in a matter of weeks has gone from seemingly perfectly healthy to quite ill. Any extra free time has been spent soaking in time there. Prayers for them and their family would be appreciated, particularly the little ones and the Holidays.

What have we been doing in the meantime? Lots of eating, shopping, decorating and preparing for the Holidays. Bonfires, family get-togethers, hockey...it's been a whirlwind! I am working to catch up. In the meantime, the winners of the shutterfly giveaway! Meredith, LeAnna and One Crafty Cupcake email me and I will send you your shutterfly codes!

Some Spice for Dinner

I've been cooking up a storm lately and one of our favorites has been a recipe I came up with on a whim. Taco Stuffed Shells. Mmmmmm. So. Tasty. We both awarded them 5 out of 5 stars. This will definitely be going in the family cookbook.


The picture's not great but it was the only one I managed to snap before the entire pan had been inhaled.

Taco Stuffed Shells

1lb ground turkey
1 package taco seasoning
1 lrg onion, diced
4 oz package cream cheese
14.5 oz can black beans, drained
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
20 large pasta shells
1 C salsa
1 C taco sauce
1 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1 C Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 ½ C tortilla chips, crushed
3 green onions, chopped
sour cream, olives & avocado (optional)

In a fry pan brown ground turkey for 2-3 minutes. Add onions to meat and saute until meat is cooked and onions are translucent. Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese and black beans. Cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well and set aside to fully cool. While the meat is going, cook the pasta shells, drain and toss well with butter or oil to keep from sticking. Pour can of diced tomatoes in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with salsa and taco sauce. Cover and bake in the oven at 350° for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle crushed chips, green onions and shredded cheeses on top. Cook for about 15 more minutes. Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, black olives or any other favorite tacos fillings.

Shoot em up!

The days just keep flying by. Our last couple weekends have felt jam-packed on the heels of very busy weeks. Thank goodness for organized planners and synced calenders!

I never got the chance to blog this last week but a couple of weekends we went out to a new-to-us shooting range with friends, courtesy of Groupon. It was loads of fun and we even managed to cap the evening off with some yummy cheese and chocolate fondue at melting pot.

Brent and I both had the chance to shoot some new gun being issued to the Navy that hasn't been released on the market yet. It had a couple of really cool features that we both liked and I told Brent that if he got me my own gun, that's the one I wanted. :) Stocking stuffer babe??? ;)






J shot his rounds so fast that I didn't get a chance to take a picture until he was done so I told him to pose instead. This is what I got. :)

While we were there, some guy was shooting off buckshot with a shotgun right next to us. Every time he fired, it was so loud we were all checking to see if our ear protection had slipped off. You felt it vibrating your whole body! I had to wait to shoot until he was between rounds just so I wouldn't jump when I was shooting! Ridiculous.

Also, we went before Halloween but the employees there had decided to dress up early. We were greeted by a few early colonial Americans and hilariously, it wasn't until we say a girl covered in full body make-up that we realized the guys dressed in the early American outfits were actually in costume and it wasn't their day-to-day garb. :)

We had a blast (no pun intended) and are already talking about going back. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon!

Our Own Little Snow-globe

We got our first glimpse of what kind of winter we are going to have this year. Several inches of snow decided to make it's appearance on the east coast on Saturday. Several inches of heavy snow.


We woke up to the above light swirling flakes & a faint visible dusting around 6:30AM and by mid-morning, when we went out for a hockey game Hubs was reffing and a little jaunt to Hobby Lobby and Michaels for some craft supplies, it had turned to large thick flakes falling at a fairly decent pace.

Thankfully, people actually took the snow seriously and most stayed in and off the roads. For once road maintenance actually believed the weatherman and were ready with the salt so we had very little trouble getting out for a few hours.

By mid-afternoon we were home, snuggled under blankets with the fireplace going and an NCIS marathon on tv. I made hot chocolate, pumpkin caramel cookies and garlic Parmesan monkey bread for us to munch on and I think it was decided that it was pretty much just the perfect day.

The snow continued to fall the rest of the day but by late afternoon it was mostly just large flakes swirling around, it felt like we were in a snow-globe! So pretty!

Seriously got me in the mood for Christmas though, definitely felt like fall was over and Christmas was right around the corner.

I started mapping out my Christmas crafts that I'd like to do and even starting working on the first one while we relaxed & watched TV. I always like having the non-food Christmas crafts near completion by the time December 1st hits so that they can actually be hung up and enjoyed during the Christmas season. It'll be nice to be able to take it slow and have plenty of time to get them done.

Who else has had snow so far in October? Do any of you have any Christmas crafts you are planning? I love hearing other people's ideas & plans!