Out with Fall - in with Christmas

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving has come & gone! It is bittersweet for me as I LOVE fall & all that comes with it! And even though I am sad to see the pumpkin & fall decorations come down I am VERY excited for what goes up next - Christmas decor :)

And just as fast as fall came it was over with even faster! I spent all day today taking everything down & have replaced it all with the Christmas decorations. Christmas lights are hung outside, the xmas tree is up & twinkling, the mantel is decorated with a swag & stockings, the 2nd xmas tree is decorated, the mistletoe Yankee candles are burning, holiday music is playing, the bannister's are covered with greenery & bows & it is beautiful! Oh how I love Christmas....

While I was putting the X-mas tree up, Millie would not leave the tree alone! She kept sniffing it, took a nap under it & kept trying to hang her Cuz Ball on the tree. Can you see her under the tree in the 2nd picture? She hasn't moved since! I have a feeling she is going to be "trouble" these next few weeks!

And just like that, I think the Taylor's are officially ready for the holiday season!

Thanksgiving Week Review

Wow - what a whirlwind of a week! Sorry I have been MIA with my blogging! Been a bit busy this past week! Here is a summary of what went down:

Tuesday, Nov 23rd - I had my Dream Dinners session which took up the majority of my evening.Here are the 12 meals that I whipped up that are awaiting their arrival to my freezer! I made 9-layer Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, stuffed pork chops, along with several other chicken dishes. Oh how I wish I had that chest freezer already!

Wednesday, Nov 24th - My parents made their way from South Dakota to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with us. When they arrived I put the Papa Murphy's Pizza in the oven, opened a bottle of wine & enjoyed catching up with my folks. Later in the evening, I made a homemade cherry pie for the next day's dessert. My brother is coming over tomorrow & he doesn't like any kind of pie other than cherry so I wanted him to be able to enjoy dessert as well as his favorite pie for Thanksgiving.I am becoming quite the pie maker! First my apple pie & now a cherry pie from scratch. Wonder what kind of pie I should conquer next!?!

Thursday, Nov 25th - Not only is it Thanksgiving, but today my dear husband celebrated a birthday - 37th to be exact :) Mom & I spent the majority of our morning in the kitchen preparing the turkey, putting all the sides together & getting the table ready while my dad & Shane enjoyed a relaxing morning of sipping coffee, reading the paper & watching Fox News.

Around noon, Shane's brother made his way over to our house as well as my brother Steve, his wife Meghan, her son Caleb & my girlfriend Renee also came to join us in the feast. There was 9 at the dinner table & we all stuffed ourselves beyond full! We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & sweet potatoes along with green bean casserole & corn casserole. As always, there was too much food but am thankful for the leftovers!

Afterwards, the ladies cleaned up the kitchen while the guys headed down to watch some football. Once the kitchen was clean, we got the desserts out & ate some more :)The desserts from L-R: cherry pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie & in the middle Turtle Cheesecake made by my dear friend Stetson. There are no words to describe how dee-lish this cheesecake was!

The rest of the afternoon & evening was spent on the couch in front of the TV with our full bellies & a glass of wine. It was a pleasant afternoon spent with family & friends & I am so very blessed & thankful to have these wonderful people in my life. Hoping you all enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving as well!

Friday, Nov 26th - Black Friday!!! I am not one of those shoppers who get up at 3am to hit the stores. I have been there, done that & swore I would never do it again. As much as I love to shop, I love to sleep even more! My mom & I got going around 9am & we still managed to get some really good deals! We stopped at Toys R Us, Kohl's & Hobby Lobby & were home by noon! The lines were short. the traffic not bad & we got what we set out to buy!

After we got home we made a quick lunch & were off again but this time Shane & my dad were with us. I thought it might be good to get us all out of the house & enjoy some sites of KC while my parents were here so we all headed into downtown Kansas City to see the Steamboat Arabia museum.

This museum is dedicated to a steamboat called Arabia that sunk in the Missouri River in 1856. This steamboat was full of cargo & merchandise that was to be delivered to little towns along the river so when it sunk, the merchandise went with it. It was discovered by a group of men 20 years ago in the middle of a corn field by Parkville, MO & they decided to dig it up. The "treasure" they found was amazing & is all on display at the museum. Here are a few pictures of the findings:

I won't say anymore so you will need to check it out for yourself when you are in Kansas City! It was truly an amazing place & it definitely didn't disappoint! We all thoroughly enjoyed it & so glad we took the time to go see it

And no trip to Kansas City is complete without eating some BBQ! After the museum, we took my parents to Fiorella's Jack Stack for barbecue & it was oh so good! Ribs, burnt ends, cole slaw & the baked beans were had by all & it was dee-lish.

After dinner we headed back home for a movie & some relaxation. It had been a busy week so I was ready for some down-time with the family!

Saturday, Nov 27th - My parents were heading back to South Dakota today but before they headed north, we all stopped at Granite City at the Legends for lunch with my brother, Meghan & Caleb. It was a nice but quick visit & we were soon headed our separate ways. It was so very nice to have my parents here for a few days & as always I enjoyed seeing my brother & his "new" family! I am looking forward to seeing them all again at the family gathering over the Christmas holiday!

After we parted ways, I ran a few errands & then made my way home to get a start on hanging the outside Christmas lights. It was 65 degrees out & beautiful so definitely perfect weather to hang some lights.

Tomorrow the fall decor goes down & the Christmas decor goes up! Oh how I love this time of year!!!

Top 2

Top 2 Things on Your Christmas Wish List

1) Chest freezer - kind of a weird request but we desperately need one. We have a side-side frig/freezer & can hardly fit all my Dream Dinners & other frozen items in there. Pretty sure my parents are getting us one for Christmas :) At least I hope so because I have no idea where I am going to store the 1/4 side of beef I am buying next month!?

2) a camera - the Canon EOS Rebel to be specific! Been wanting this for a long time but unfortunately it isn't in the budget right now. I doubt it is in Santa's budget either :(

*sigh*

maybe someday...

Top 2

Top 2 Favorite Jobs

1) Domestic Diva - balancing a career, husband & furry children while I cook & bake like a professional, clean everything from laundry stains to washing windows to doing dishes, decorate on a budget, prepare meals daily, take charge of the family finances, sew, decorate, entertain, socialize & making homemade gifts & crafts on the side. It's a tough job (& one of my favorites) but someone has to do it :)

2) Cardiovascular Specialist/Nurse - I have been in the medical field since 1995 & out of every job I have ever had, this one has been the most rewarding.

It has been 15+ years of taking care of heart patients, seeing technology advance, following patients who desperately need a new heart, watching them go through a heart transplant & then seeing how their life has changed as they come see us every month for their heart biopsy. I have seen young people & old people die, I have been called in during the middle of the night more times than I care to count to help save a life while someone is having a heart attack & come back to visit them the next day & they are SO grateful for what we did. That's what makes me love my job.

I am surrounded by challenges daily. I carry immense responsibility. I step into people's lives & make a difference. Some bless me, some have cursed me. I see people at their worst & at their best. I never cease to be amazed at peoples capacity for love, courage & endurance.

When you work in a hospital you will see life begin & unfortunately, see life end. You will experience resounding triumphs & devastating failures. You will cry a lot. You will laugh a lot. And best of all, you will know what it is to be human & to be humane.

This is why this job is my favorite.

Bake-Off

This week at work is the Annual Fall Festival which includes lots of fun activities throughout the week. One of these activities is the Apple Pie Bake-Off Contest. I had signed up back in September & I am not really sure what convinced me to give this contest a try! Especially since I have never made an apple pie in my life but I figured what the heck - how hard can it be?!

I had an apple pie recipe that I have been wanting to try for awhile now so last night I put my heart, sweat & tears into this pie! There were rules to this contest that needed to be followed: crust must be homemade - no store bought/frozen crusts, must contain at least 60% apples, must include recipe, etc so I made sure to follow all the rules. The pie took about 2 hours to make & I can honestly say I don't think I am a fan of making pies. Cookies? yes. Cupcakes? yes. But not pies.

May I present to you: HT's Upside Down Apple Pie (with a candied pecan glaze)And may I introduce you to the 2nd Place winner of the Apple Pie Bake-Off :)

For my prize, I got a 2nd Place medal, a cookbook & a set of fall dessert plates. For the contest, there were 12 pies total & 3 people judging the pies. They were the Master Chef at Johnson Cty Community College, a sous chef from St. Lukes & the Director of Food Services from St. Lukes. All the pies were judged on presentation, aroma, taste, crust texture & filling texure.

It ended up being so much fun & I am so glad I participated. For someone who has never made apple pie before - especially with a made-from-scratch crust - I didn't do too shabby & for that I am very proud :)

Birthday & Cheesecake

Tonight the neighborhood girls gathered at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner & to help celebrate Keri's last day of being in her 20's! As of tomorrow, she will be 30 :) After everyone enjoyed a dee-lish meal, it was time to order dessert! Cheesecake was had & enjoyed by all - especially the birthday girl! It was another fun evening spent with these girls & we all wish Keri a very Happy Birthday! Welcome to your 30's Miss Keri :)

Top 2

Top 2: Things you are thankful for...

1) my hubby

I couldn't ask for a better husband, best friend, confidant, or companion. He is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me & am definitely thankful that he puts up with me :) I know somedays I can be difficult but he somehow just laughs it off & loves me regardless. Such a good guy...

2) my job at St. Lukes Hospital

It may sound silly, but I am SO thankful to have such a great job - a job that I LOVE going to everyday, a job that pays me well, a job where I enjoy working with my co-workers & a job that is so very rewarding!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards

This past week I got an email from Shutterfly showing off all their new holiday card designs. I must say there are tons of super cute ones & I am going to have a tough time narrowing it down to just one!

I really like their designs more & more each year & their website is very easy to navigate! For being so budget friendly, these cards all look expensive & professionally done! After checking out all they have to offer, I have it narrowed down to about 6 cards. Here are a few that I really like:

found here

found here

found here

Last year I bought our holiday cards from them & were really pleased with how they turned out! I plan on ordering them from Shutterfly again this year & lucky for us bloggers, this year they have offered 50 free cards to anyone who blogs which is such a great deal & huge savings!! Dave Ramsey would be proud ;)

So bloggers head here to check out their 50 free card offer. Sign up, write up a blog post, & they are yours! It's such a great deal!!

I am getting so excited for Christmas this year! I think I may put the tree up before Thanksgiving or possibly the day after?!?

Weekend in Review

*warning: photo overload

This weekend I made my way to Wisconsin to see my sister & her family & join in celebrating both my nephews' birthdays. Tanner was turning 3 on Sunday & Cael turns 1 on Dec 3rd.

I left for the airport after work on Friday & ended up sitting in the airport for more than 2 hours waiting for my delayed flight. I finally got in the air after 9pm, arrived in Milwaukee, rented a car & made my way 90 miles north to Neenah. I arrived to my sisters' house shortly past midnight. It was 1am by the time I got to bed & was woke up at 5:30am by a very excited 2 year old who couldn't wait for Aunt "Hedder's" arrival! I was quickly reminded that there is no sleeping in at their house!

We spent Saturday morning watching cartoons, playing with toys, running errands, getting stuff ready for the birthday party & making & sampling the cupcakes (or as Tanner calls them: muffins). By mid afternoon I was ready for a nap which I got to enjoy while the boys slept. Later that evening my sister & I made our way over to one of her girlfriends house for a little "ladies night" which consisted of food, wine & lots of girl talk. She has some really nice friends & a good time was had by all.

Sunday morning Tanner woke me up again at 5:30am with the lights on & dragging b-day presents behind him. He just couldn't wait to open "birf-day presents" so I got up & we watched him open the gifts I bought him. Then he convinced mom & dad to let him open their gifts to Tanner. We spent the next couple of hours playing with his new toys & getting ready for his birthday party.

My sister had Tanner & Cael's party later that day at a place called Rainbow Play Systems. It is actually a business that sells play systems, trampolines & sandboxes but will rent out the showroom on the weekends for kids parties.

Doesn't it look like fun? The kids all had a blast playing on all the equipment & even some of the big kids got to play :) The also have a great little party room where we all ate & enjoyed "birf-day" cake which Tanner was most excited about!

Since Cael is turning 1 in a few weeks, my sister decided to combine their b-day parties. He had a cute b-day hat on prior to this picture but he just wouldn't leave it on :( Here is Cael getting his first taste of cake: And after: I think he enjoyed his cake!?

Here is a picture of the whole family:After the party, we made our way home for naps. The boys were wore out as were the adults so we all laid down & then woke up to open the presents the boys got from the party. Here is a pic of me & Tanner with our KU apparel on! I ended up getting him a KU football jersey & he LOVED it!

It was so much fun watching them open all their presents - almost like Christmas! It was definitely a great day spent with these little guys & am so glad I made the trip!

I am so very sad to be leaving tomorrow but will get to see these two again come Christmas along with my other nieces & nephew :)

Duds

In my Halloween bowl this year were Twix, Kit Kats, Almond Joy, Heath Bars & Milk Duds. I had bought the candy over 2 weeks ago & managed to successfully hide it from Shane until Oct 31st - which is a miracle in itself that he didn't find it beforehand. This gave me a chance to sneak a few pieces of chocolate until the fun holiday arrived. While indulging in the yummy, chocolatey bag of goodness, I discovered I LOVE the Milk Duds. I mean REALLY LOVE the Milk Duds. I even found myself threatening Shane to not hand out the Duds to the little kids when they were trick-or-treating.So imagine how sad I was to discover this morning that all the Duds were gone :( It was a blessing actually because I really need to lay off the Halloween candy. I am beginning to see Duds developing on my left cheek!

Fast forward to today after work. I headed over to Target to get a couple of things & I had to walk through the "seasonal candy" aisle to get to where I was going. To my delight, there on the shelf right at eye-level were Halloween bags of Milk Duds - 30% off - which made them $1.88 a bag. Seriously, how can I turn that down!? Somehow 3 bags made it into my basket but by the time I went to pay, I came back to reality & only 2 bags made it onto the conveyer belt.

Damn you Target for putting these chocolatey caramal balls on sale & making them that much more irresistable!

Top 2

Top 2 favorite gifts you have ever received!

1) our English Bulldog Bentley (aka: Bubba) - for our 1st year anniversary, we decided to skip the "gifts" to each other & instead put that money towards adding an English Bulldog to our family. It was by far thee most fabulous gift we could have ever gotten each other & he has brought us so many years of unconditional love & happiness. I mean come on....just look at that face:

For our 2nd anniversary, I managed to talk Shane into getting a sister for Bubba - our sweet Millie:She was definitely the 2nd best gift I ever got :) She LOVES her mama & is the sweetest dog ever!

2) my iPod - my husband got me this iPod for my birthday a couple of years ago & I absolutely love this little piece of technology. I downloaded every CD I ever owned & put it in my iPod & have downloaded tons of songs off of iTunes as well. I think I have 2900+ songs on it right now! I plug it into my car & press "shuffle" on my way to work, I listen to it while cleaning the house, doing yard work, sitting outside on the patio, working out - there's not much that I don't do without my iPod around!

Tis the season...

So this morning I got into my car, turned on the radio as I do every morning & imagine my surprise when I heard "Silver Bells" playing!

*gasp*

What? Is that Christmas music??? Why yes it is! I immediately got all warm & fuzzy inside & turned the volume way up & enjoyed holiday music all the way into work!

Thank you Star 102 for being the only radio station in Kansas City to start playing holiday music the day after Halloween! Oh how I love you so....