Fun with Fondue

This evening found us battling the weather as we headed down to the Plaza to meet the WR game-night group for dinner at the Melting Pot. We all gathered for Michelle's birthday as well as our 1st official outing as a group for 2010!

B-Day girl Michelle & Rob The WR girls

Jeff & ErinnShane & I had never been to a restaurant that served only fondue so I was interested to try this experience out - Shane not so much! My husband is a meat & potatoes kind of guy and nothing about dipping your food into sauce or waiting for it to cook in a pot excited him in the least! BUT he was a good sport about the whole thing & I appreciate him being a trooper and coming with me! I think he even had fun & enjoyed dipping his food into fondue!

The girls posed for a quick pic before the "dipping" began. I loved how we all had color-coded fondue sticks - quite clever!

Our first course was the cheese fondue served with bread, veggies, & apples. We all shared 3 different kinds of cheeses & I must say the spinach cheese fondue was declared the winner!

Next course was the main meal where we simmered vegetables & raw meats/seafood in a fondue pot with flavored broth. Took awhile to cook all this but ended up being worth the wait. The last course was everyone's favorite - dessert served with chocolate fondue. We enjoyed dipping brownies, rice krispy treats, toasted marshmallows, strawberries, bananas & cheesecake in the yummy chocolatey peanut buttery sauce of hot goodness :) Everyone shared in some good food, always good stories, and lots of laughter!

Ken & Keri also had some news to share with the group! They announced that they will be moving this February but fortunately it won't be out of state! It is bittersweet for us as we will miss seeing them around the 'hood but are also very happy for them! We have all agreed the Jackson's will ALWAYS be part of the WR crew regardless of where they live & we look forward to the first game-night gathering in their new home!

3 courses & 3 hours later, we all parted ways and made our way back home in what was now blizzard type conditions. But before we left, Melissa was oh so nice to take a picture of Shane & I in the beautiful snow:

Thanks WR crew for a great evening and fun start to 2010! Looking forward to many more outings with this group!

Thankful

As I reflect on the year behind us, I find that I am thankful for many things! My family, our health, & secure jobs rank right up at the top but I am especially thankful for all the girlfriends in my life. I am so very fortunate to have friends who are a consistent part of my life throughout all the daily ups and downs. However, sometimes those that we consider friends appear to enter, then depart from our lives for reasons we try to, but don't always, understand. Those people come into your life for either a reason, a season or a lifetime and it takes a little bit of time to figure out which category they all fit into.

I'm sure you all have gotten this email at one time or another:

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficult time, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. Sometimes they lose touch and grow distant. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on.

Then people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it because it is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME friends teach you lifetime lessons: things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

Every girlfriend of mine has proven true of each of these catagories & sometimes it took me several months to figure out why certain people entered my life & why they left. They all seem to have come along or have been there at a time when I needed them most & for that I am grateful. On the flipside, I am saddened at the friendships that have grown distant throughout the year or have even ended. I still think often of these wonderful girls and am glad they were in my life if not for just a season!

My girlfriends are such a HUGE part of my life (just ask my husband :) and I just want to take this time to thank all of them for a fun-filled year full of memories, laughs & good times and for just being there. I SO look forward to many more gatherings in 2010!

Happy New Year to you all!

Breakfast for Dinner

Yep - that's right! Tonight we had breakfast for dinner - French Toast to be exact!

I am in love with my new griddle that Shane bought me for Christmas. Actually, I think Shane loves it more than I do :) He informed me today that he used it to make eggs & sausage for breakfast and again to make grilled cheese for lunch!

So when I got home from work, I declared that it was MY turn to use the griddle so I made French Toast for dinner! They turned out perfect and very dee-lish!

Who says that you have to eat breakfast food in the morning only?!?

Annual Baking Day

Every year around Christmas I reserve a Sunday to do my annual holiday baking. I SO enjoy planning my menu out, shopping for all the groceries and then spending the entire day baking while listening to Christams music. Once I am finished, I give a plate of goodies to all our neighbors here in the cul-de-sac, make a plate for my co-workers and make a plate for Shane & I to enjoy.

This year's menu of baked goods consisted of: sugar cookies, brownies, PB balls, PB Krispy Treats, Rolo Pretzals, PB Blossoms and Oreo truffles. I only had one cotastrophe this year and that was with the Turtles. I did everything according to the recipe and when it came time to take the turtle off the wax paper to dip it in the chocolate, I couldn't get it off the wax paper without it ripping and sticking to the caramel! I was pissed - had to throw the entire thing away. I'm thinking next time I won't use generic wax paper! That might have had something to do with it!?

All in all, it was a good baking day & I am exhausted from all my efforts! Shane made sure to sample all the goods before I put them on plates so according to him they were A-ok :) Here is a picture of the final project:

Merry Christmas

My most favorite day of the year is finally here!

Merry Christmas everyone :)

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland - 12" of snow - to be exact! Before we could open presents or have breakfast we (or I should say Shane) HAD to shovel some snow out in the backyard so the dogs would be able to go out and potty. After an hour & a few choice words, it got done. Then he attempted to take Millie out - NOT an easy task! Imagine trying to walk a 65 lb bulldog with a sling through snow up to her belly! And of course she had to walk all over the yard...back & forth....just to find the right spot to potty! Silly dog - she is quite the work-out!

Once Shane got warmed up and settled, we gathered around the Xmas tree with the dogs and proceeded to open our gifts! The bulldogs are like kids when it comes to opening presents! They LOVE to open gifts and tear up the paper & it is so fun to watch. Neo on the otherhand would just rather hang out on the couch watching - as you can see in most of the pics:

Bubba anxiously awaiting to sample Neo's "treats" that he got!

Both bullies trying to check out what is in the bag!

Millie showing off her new pink collar & stuffie that she got from Santa :)

Shane opening up a gift for Neo...

It's a new stuffie for Neo!

Bubba got a new collar too! He was exhausted after opening all his gifts!

After the dogs opened all their gifts, Shane & I openend our gifts to each other. Then I made us homemade waffles in my new Belgium waffle maker which was one of the gifts I had gotten for xmas from my parents. Shane also attempted to make eggs on my new griddle he got me - attempted being the key word ;) They tasted good but pretty they were not! Will have to work on that...

We spent the rest of the day lounging around watching movies in our jammies. The snow continued to fall on & off all day long & was so pretty to watch - until it was time to take Millie out again and then I cursed the snow :( All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas day at the Taylor house! Hope you all had an equally pleasant Christmas with your families! Safe travels to those who are out & about this holiday weekend!

Freier Family X-mas

Home sweet home....

Today we made our way north to South Dakota to spend the weekend with my side of the family for Christmas. We knew it was going to be a quick trip up & back but was amazed at how truly fast the entire weekend flew by!

Once we arrived, we caught up with everyone & waited for my dad to get home from work. Once he got home and settled, we all gathered around the Christmas tree & opened our gifts to each other. What fun it was to watch the kids open their gifts and see the joy on everyone's faces when they saw what they got. Below is my dad and nephew Lane opening a gift. It was a wonderful evening spent with family & Shane & I got some really nice gifts as well.

Saturday we spent the afternoon watching the KU game & then later we went to the movie "The Blind Side". For those of you who haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it! It was a fabulous movie that will touch your heart and change you forever! Go see it!!!

Saturday evening my grandparents, cousins, aunt & uncle came over for dinner and we had our annual White Elephant gift exchange which is always a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to be content with what they got as there was no stealing of gifts this year! It was so nice to get to see everyone. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Me & my niece Joslyn

My brother Chris & cousin Lexy with their boys Langdon & Lane.

My niece Joslyn in her new Dora hat

Shane, me & my brother Chris waiting to eat dinner

My nephew Lane

Sunday we were already making our way back to KC. We were both anxious to get home & see the dogs and get settled as we were back to work on Monday! It was a quick trip but was so much fun to see the family and enjoy everyone's company. My sister & her family were unable to join us and they were definitely missed! Looking forward to seeing them in 3 weeks as I make my way to WI for a visit!

"Secret Santa Bully" Exchange

I am a member of an English Bulldog forum & every year we take part in a "Secret Santa Bully" gift exchange around this time of year. One person is in charge and assigns all the participants a Bulldog(s) to buy Christmas presents for. I can't tell you how much fun it is to go and buy presents for another persons Bulldog and then later see the pictures of them posted on the forum website opening up their gifts & loving them.

This year our Secret Bully was Porkchop & his family from San Diego:

Bentley & Millie were VERY anxious to see what was in the box that had arrived from sunny CA!

The bullies investigating the organic "au natural" treats from CA!

"What is that in Mi-Ma's hand? Looks like a chew toy with a kitty on it...."

"Mmmm - these treats are yummy! More please..."

The bullies were spoiled this year by their Secret Bully and loved all their gifts & treats! And don't worry - even Neo got to partake in the fun and got a new little toy & treats as well!

A "Heather Day"

I am SO ashamed to admit it but as of Dec 11th, 2009 my house has not been decorated yet for the holidays! Can you believe I had to take a day off of work just to decorate? Once the family left from the Thanksgiving weekend, I was too exhausted to even think about digging out the Xmas stuff. Then I was sick for a week with an ear/sinus infection and didn't feel up to decorating. Next thing I know, it is Dec 11th & I still haven't even hung a stocking. I know - I can hardly believe it myself! Talk about a disappointment! Don't worry friends....this will NEVER happen again!

SO, I ended up taking a "Heather Day" today and loved every minute of it. Spent my morning sleeping in and awoke to a hot cup of coffee made by the hubby. Off to a great start so far...

I spent the rest of the morning on the laptop & caught up on my DVR'd shows from the week! SO nice & relaxing! After an early lunch, Shane left to run errands, I pressed play on the iPod, turned up the volume & the Christmas music quickly got me in the mood to decorate the house.

First things first.....the tree. Shane was so helpful by getting the tree up from the basement so all I needed to do was fluff and decorate. I just LOVE our tree when it is all decorated! SO pretty! After a few hours, the house was beginning to look festive for the holiday season & I was starting to look forward to all that the season has to offer!

Hard to believe I waited to decorate so late in the month of December! I guess I will have to leave the tree up past the New Year holiday to make up for my late start!?! :)

Tis the season.....

80's Xmas Party

Tonight was the anxiously awaited 80's / Ugly Sweater Christmas Party hosted by our friends Ken & Keri. One look at this couple when I walked through the door & I knew it was going to be a fun night!

Shane unfortunately was sick so he ended up staying home while me & my ugly Christmas sweater managed to have a good time without him.

As the other guests arrived, the outfits kept getting better and better:

Nick & Melissa as "Maverick & Charlie" from Top Gun

Brian & Jill as "Cousin Eddie" from Nat'l Lampoons Xmas Vacation

After much food & beverage was consumed we all gathered around the living room to open gifts. Everyone was instructed to bring an "As Seen On TV" gift and we proceeded to do a "White Elephant Gift Exchange" where you can steal gifts from the people who opened gifts ahead of you. It was quite fun and there were some very interesting gifts up for grabs.

Here Rob models his HD Vision glasses he got as well as Melissa modeling her new Snuggie:

And of course no gathering with this group would be complete unless we all got together for a photo op! Thanks Ken & Keri for being such a great host & hostess and for a fabulous time. We are looking forward to the 2nd Annual X-mas party next year :)

Millie Milz

I got to pick up Millie after work today & I was SO happy to see her smooshie little face! When they brought her out to me, I sat down on the floor in the middle of the waiting room and gave her a big hug, tons of lovin's and smooches galore. Everyone in that room was staring at me but I didn't care - I was just glad to be seeing my baby girl :)

Her leg was SO swolen & bruised and has 18 staples in it! She is on a Fentanyl pain patch until Sunday so I hope that helps her with the pain. She is to put absolutely NO weight on that leg whatsoever for 2 weeks so we have to use a sling to lift up her back end whenever she walks. With a 66 lb dog that is easier said than done! OH - the vet told us that is what she weighed before surgery so she is down 6 lbs! GREAT news!

Once I got her home she went in her crate and that is where she is staying for the rest of the night. You can tell she is in pain & is acting "drugged" so the best thing is to leave her alone for the night. I hope she does ok.....poor Millie Milz :(

*This pic was taken several days later so the bruising & swelling has gone way down!

Millies' ACL Surgery

Today is the day that Millie goes in for her surgery :( It is a bittersweet situation for me. On the one hand I want her to get better but on the other hand I don't want to put her through all that pain.

As we made our way to the vet, Millie was as happy as she could be riding in the back of the SUV. This overwhelming feeling of guilt hit me for getting her in the car that she so loves to ride in knowing that this trip wasn't going to end up with Sonic ice cream but something much worse.

We got to the Ortho Vet, I filled out the necessary paperwork, put a deposit down on the surgery and then it was time to say goodbye. I held it together pretty well up until this point. I knelt down, hugged her & she gave me tons of kisses & then they led her away. As she was making her way towards the back, she stopped, turned her fat little neck to look back at me and gave me the most saddest look. That is when the tears started to fall :( All these thoughts started racing through my mind...Are we doing the right thing? Is she going to survive the surgery? Will the surgery fix her? Will I ever see her sweet face again? As I got into my car I said a little prayer and asked God to watch over her as well as the surgery team and to please give them the skills they would need to fix my baby girl. Then I headed to work.

Call me crazy for reacting the way I did but she is my baby girl - only difference is she has fur :)

I finally got the news around 4pm that Millie was out of surgery, was extubated and was doing well. Woo hoo - what a relief! The vet said the surgery went great, she is expected to make a full recovery as long as we do our part with her care/recovery and she will be able to go home tomorrow! Thank God!

When I got home from work I immediately missed her presence. She wasn't waiting for me at the top of the stairs throwing up her paw in the air waiting for kisses from Mi-Ma - it definitely made me sad but I felt better knowing she was ok and on the road to recovery. One thing is for sure, I made sure to give Bubba & Neo extra hugs before bed :)

It's a boy!!!

Today is yet another exciting day in the Freier family! My sister Jen delivered a BIG but healthy baby boy! He was 9 lbs 3 oz and 21 1/4 inches long!

Congrats to my sister and her family! Looking forward to seeing them all and meeting little Cael in January!

Introducing: Cael Garry Trustem