Girl's Night Out

It's been far too long since all the girls from the neighborhood have gotten together! Tonight we gathered for dinner at 77 South in Overland Park. It was a lively, loud place that resembled your typical, uppity "Johnson County" sports bar & grill. There were mixed reviews about the food from the group but all in all, everyone enjoyed the atmosphere, conversation & wine!

After dinner we said our goodbye's but there were several of us who weren't quite ready to call it a night. Melissa, Natalie, Michelle, Erinn & I headed closer to home & stopped in at our local bar/grill for a few more cocktails & ended up playing a mean game of Country Bingo where you had to guess the artist singing the song & cross it off your bingo card. So fun...
And no night out in our small town would be complete without stopping in at the "hole-in-the-wall" bar we call The Hideout.

It was so good to see these girls & I am looking forward to many monthly gatherings with them in 2012!

Go Team!

I work at 3 different hospitals & spend the majority of my days at the "sister" hospitals. Today I was working at the main hospital & as I was passing our scheduling desk area I noticed they had changed the design on the CV LAB Staff bulletin board:

It is designed as a football field & each member of our lab represents a football player with our boss & supervisor as the quarterback & running-back. Then in the lower left-hand corner I spot me....wearing my bouffant surgical hat....in a KU cheer-leading uniform....with a bulldog who is also in a cheer-leading uniform :)

My coworkers know me SO well!

I just wish my legs looked that good & I was that skinny in real life :)

Bubba's 7th Birthday

The handsome boy on the right is having a birthday today!!!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY BUBBA!!!

We celebrated this evening by singing "Happy Birthday" & all sharing vanilla ice cream from Sonic:

I think he liked it?!

I still can't believe that it's been 7 years since we brought home this little roly-poly:

Was he not the cutest, wrinkliest little bully you ever did see?

Title Boxing

I have looked like this in my jeans for far too long:

(Ok - maybe this pic is a bit dramatic but you get the idea. I don't seriously look this bad in my jeans but I do feel like it sometimes).

I am refusing to buy bigger new jeans so it is finally time. Time for a new & healthier HT. After much prompting & begging by my friend Stephanie, I finally broke down & joined Title Boxing. I have heard great things about this place & I am surrounded by several friends who are also members of TB. They motivate me to go on the days I don't feel like it & I do the same for them so it is nice to have that extra "push" to quit feeling lazy, get up off my butt, stop the excuses & just go.

It is only one hour but I have never sweated so much in one hour in my life. It is a MAJOR cardio workout & will kick your butt. The first 10 min is a cardio warm-up, then 35 min of punching/kicking the bag, combined with bear crawls, push-ups, mountain-climbers, squats - anything to keep your heart-rate up. The last 15 min is an ab workout - usually with medicine balls. They usually play great music & the trainers aren't so bad to look at either :)

I have been going 3-4 days/week for the last 2 weeks now & have already noticed that my jeans are fitting differently & that I have lost 3 lbs so far - YAY! That would make anybody want to keep going!! Besides, there are TB clubs located ALL over the KC metro area & are also conveniently located by each hospital I work at so I really have no excuse to not go!

So with my girlfriends help & my "not so tight" fitting jeans, I think that is all the motivation I need to stick with it!

Babies, Bullies & Brunch

This morning I went to a baby shower brunch for our co-worker Tammy which was hosted by my dear friend Samantha - momma of the baby bullies. Tammy is due the beginning of March & is having a little girl which they are going to name Samantha! Our hostess Sam loves to believe Tammy is naming the baby after her but no matter how many times she tells her that is not the case she just doesn't believe it ;)

Sam had a lovely breakfast spread of muffins, bagels, banana bread, egg bake, hash-brown casserole, & a fruit tray with yummy Mimosa's & coffee to drink. It was all so good - especially the Mimosa's :)

We gathered around & watched Tammy open all her gifts & it was so fun "oohing & aahing" over all the cute little outfits & baby stuff she received. A bunch of us all went in and bought her the car seat she had wanted & I also made her a cute diaper caddy (seen below in the brown/pink basket) full of diapers, wipes, powder, Desitin, & hand sanitizer. She loved it!

Next we played a couple of games. The classic "guess the size of Mama's belly" using ribbon & "guess the number of jelly beans & M&M's in the baby bottles". Needless to say, I didn't even come close to having the right length of ribbon OR the correct count of candy so no prize for HT :(

The best part of any shower - in my opinion - is the cake! It was chocolate with a buttercream icing & it definitely did NOT disappoint! Sam even let me take home a couple of pieces for myself Shane since there was SO much left over! SWEET!

I was so excited to see one of my dearest friends - Camille & her 4 mos old baby girl Reyna. Camille & I work together & after she had Reyna she went PRN & only works one day a week. Since I work at 3 different hospitals, we never end up seeing each other :( It was great to get to see them both & catch up!
I also got to see the bully babies - Maggie & Miles - & spent much time giving them smooches & hugs. Sam refers to me as their "Auntie Heather" & you could SO tell that they missed me - they would hardly leave my side ;)

It ended up being a really nice shower spent with wonderful friends & we all can't wait to get to meet Miss Samantha once she makes her appearance!

Bully-sitting

We were once again bully-sitters for our friends Sam & Jason this past week as they unfortunately had to go to Memphis for Jason's grandfather's funeral. They ended up dropping off Maggie & Miles on Wed evening & for the next 4 days we enjoyed every second with these adorable bully babies!

Here are a few pics from their visit: Miles on the left, Maggie on the right

Me & Maggie asleep in the recliner - she is such a snuggle bunny :)

The "babies" hogging the bed

They are SO well behaved, so fun & so adorable & I was a bit teary-eyed when it was time for them to go home. I get WAY too attached to these little cuties but after they have been gone a couple of hours I am reminded how nice it is to get back to our norm!

Hoping they can stay with us again real soon!

A Date & the Bike Show

There are times in a marriage where you have to make sacrifices & do things you don't really care to do but because you love your spouse you suck it up & do it because you know he does the same for you.

Today was one of those days.

I got to enjoy a "date day" with the hubby & it was his turn to plan our day! We started out by eating lunch at Jose Peppers & then made our way to the Overland Park International Trade Center to check out the Wide Open Bike show. We met his brother James & his girlfriend along with 2 other couples that he usually rides Harley's with. Honestly, I wasn't crazy about going but I knew Shane was excited to check it out & really wanted me to go with so I did my wife duties & went along.

From the minute we walked up to the building, I knew my Ugg boots, cute lil' scarf & Coach purse was a little too "Johnson County" for this shin-dig. I was surrounded by hundreds of male & female bikers in all their biker-gear & women walking around with nothing more on than little tiny bikini briefs & a sparkly bra. Let's just say that Harley Davidson motorcycles wasn't the only thing on display!!! There were TONS of vendor booths which is where most of these girls were working at.

We both really enjoyed checking out all the bikes & all the elaborate detail that went into them. This bike was my absolute fave & if I owned a Harley I imagine that it would be similar to this color:

Painted on the fender was a "blinged" out tiara on top of a skull which was also displayed on the gal's helmet & leather coat:

Love the rhinestones!

We were walking around, taking it all in & then we both freaked out when we spotted Michael Ballard & his girlfriend Angie from the show Full Throttle Saloon. We LOVE that show!!! For those of you who aren't familiar with it, FTS is the world's largest biker bar located in Sturgis, SD. It is only open 10 days out of the year when the Sturgis Bike Rally takes place in August. This bar gets around 15,000 visitors per night & the show is about what goes on there during those 10 days. Michael is the owner of the bar.

They had a HUGE trailer on display with TONS of t-shirts, hoodies, bandanna's & stocking hats. I ended up getting a cute black t-shirt with "bling" on it & says Full Throttle Saloon, Sturgis SD on the back & looks totally "biker-ish". It will be perfect to wear while riding with Shane ;) He also got a little something - a FTS stocking hat & a long sleeved t-shirt. After we made our purchases, we got in line to have our picture taken with Michael & Angie. They were both SO cool, so very nice & more than willing to stand there with us while we got a picture:

Surprisingly, it ended up being a lot of fun & I so enjoyed hanging out with the hubby for the day participating in a hobby that he loves.

Who knows, I may end up being a "biker-babe" after all!?!

SD bound

Friday, Dec 30
With Christmas & all the hustle/bustle behind us, I was feeling myself getting rundown & before I knew it, I had a fever, stuffy head, aches, pains, a horrible cough - all the symptoms that comes with the flu. Next thing I know, Shane gets it too so we were both down & out for a few days.

We both ended up missing a day of work & I almost wasn't going to be able to make it to South Dakota for the New Year weekend. Luckily, my fever broke Friday morning & after a shower, I wasn't feeling all that bad so I ended up making my way to SD & arriving just in time for dinner.

My brother Steve & nephew Caleb were already there while my other brother Chris, his wife Rachel & nieces Kyra, Joslyn & nephew Lane were on there way. Unfortunately, my sister & her family weren't able to make it back home this year & were definitely missed.

It was great to get to see everyone & spend some time together - especially with the kids. They are growing SO fast!

Saturday, Dec 31
Today was our "Christmas Day". We did our usual Christmas morning tradition of waking up early, made a big pot of coffee, gathered around the tree & proceeded to hand out & open gifts. My niece Joslyn was so excited to wear her Christmas dress & looked so stinkin' cute:It was much fun watching the kids (& big kids) open their gifts & it seems that we were all pretty good this year as "Santa" was very kind to us!

Mom collects Santa's & got yet another one to add to her collection!

My dad got 2 huge bottles of wine - his favorite!

My brother Steve got a KU t-shirt from Shane & I as a joke. He is so NOT a fan of the Jayhawks & either is his wife, Meghan. She is a Mizzou fan - boo :( My brother was accepted into the CRNA program at KU last month & will be starting in June. Shane & I thought it would be nice to start adding to his wardrobe early so we got him a t-shirt that says "Property of Kansas Jayhawks"! We both didn't really think he would ever wear the t-shirt but much to my surprise he wore it that day. Even wore it out to lunch with his buddies! I think he secretly likes it but he would never admit it ;)

After we opened gifts, we followed tradition & headed to the kitchen where we made breakfast which consisted of banana pancakes & bacon. Even Joslyn helped!

The rest of the day was spent hanging out, having a "dance-off" by playing Just Dance 3 on the Wii & watching movies. It was so nice being able to spend the last day of 2011 with my family!

Me & my niece Joslyn

Sunday, Jan 1

Happy New Year! As usual, I ended up sleeping right through the midnight hour - thanks to NyQuil! That stuff is the "bomb-diggity" when you are sick - no joke! I started my day by my sweet niece Joslyn waking me up, crawling up into my bed & snuggling with me for quite some time. Couldn't ask for a better way to start my New Year :)

My grandparents, Uncle's Doug & Mike, my Aunt Denise & our family friend Mary Ellen came over for lunch & it was really nice to get to spend some time with them all. I always cherish the time I get to spend with my grandparents & can't help but think that every time I see them it may be the last :( They are healthy & get along really well for being in their mid 80's but unfortunately I am often reminded that they won't be here forever so getting to spend time with them means the world to me.

Before everyone left, there was one special picture taken. This is 4 generations of Freier men (& one little boy) - L to R: my grandpa, my dad, my nephew & my brother:

After our company left, the rest of us gathered around the TV to watch the KC Chiefs/Denver football game & enjoyed the rest of the day together.

My brother Chris & nephew Lane

Later that evening, my mom & I met my BFF from high school, Heather, her daughter & her mom for dinner at Ruby Tuesday. I always enjoy getting to see Heather when I am home & have fun reminiscing about our high school days & how far we have come since then.

Monday, Jan 2
My visit home has come to an end & I was on my way back to Kansas early this morning. As much as I love seeing my family in SD, I enjoy getting back home & seeing my own family of Shane & the furries & sleeping in my own bed. It ended up being an uneventful drive back & when I got home I was greeted by lots of butt wiggles & slobbery kisses from the furries - not Shane :)

So far I can say the new year is off to a great start...

Bake-Off

It almost didn't happen since I have been so busy these past few weeks but as you can see below, I managed to get it done! The 2011 Annual Bake Day was a success!

I started baking around 8am & the very last sugar cookie was frosted at 3:30pm. I put on my apron, turned up the holiday music on my iPod & me & the kitchen become one. Shane pretty much knows to stay away until I am all done & then I will have him sample everything I made to make sure it is worthy of being shared with others. He tends to like my sugar cookies the best so I always make sure to bake extra ;)
This year I tried a couple of new recipes which are definitely "keepers" for next year. Here is what I baked up today:

- Peanut Butter Balls
- Oreo Truffles
- Salty Pecan Chocolate Bark
- Cherry Almond Blossoms
- Macaroons
- Iced Sugar Cookies
- Choc Toffee Caramel Bites

I SO enjoy doing this bake-day & look forward to it every year. I just love trying new recipes, making old, tried & true recipes & packaging them all up into cute little boxes & delivering them to our wonderful neighbors. I know they thoroughly enjoy them & that makes all my hard efforts absolutely worth it.

If you are interested in any of the recipes above, please let me know! I would be happy to share the recipe with you!

And now I'm going to go grab a glass of milk, a sugar cookie...or two & go put my feet up ;)

CHRISTmas

For this is truly what the meaning of Christmas is all about - Happy Birthday Jesus!

Our Christmas morning began by following tradition of sleeping in late, opening our gifts with the furries & then I make a huge breakfast.

Here are a few pics of our morning:

Millie opening up her new Nylabone. I think she likes it!

Bubba opening up his new "stuffie"

I had to help Neo open his gifts....& so did the bullies :)

Shane LOVED his new bulldog flannel jammie pants - from the furries of course :)

It was funny how the bulldogs were attentive to every single present we opened while Neo could have cared less. Not sure why, but those bullies go crazy when we open presents around them. And as usual, here is a pic of Millie hoarding all the toys:

Santa ended up being very good to me so I guess I was a "good" girl this year!? Shane didn't do so bad himself & of course the furries were spoiled rotten :)

Hoping you all were able to enjoy the Christmas weekend with your loved ones!

Merry Christmas :)

Christmas breakfast

While we were opening our gifts this morning, I had a yummy dish baking in the oven for our Christmas breakfast. It was a Baked French Toast Casserole with a Praline topping & maple syrup. I had watched Paula Deen make this on one of her shows a couple of months ago & it looked SO good so thought I would give it a try.

The recipe says to make this dish the night before so on Christmas Eve I had prepared the casserole to let it sit in the frig overnight. I ended up cutting the recipe in half since it is just the two of us & I arranged the french loaf bread (about 20 - 1/2 inch slices) in an 8x8 baking dish.

Next I mixed the egg & cream mixture:
And poured it over the bread:
I wrapped it in foil & put it in the frig until the next morning. Once morning came, I pulled it out of the frig, made the praline mixture, spread it all over the bread & baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
This is what it looked like after it was all bubbly & done baking:
And the words from my hubby after tasting it?

S: "This is f'n awesome" :)

I must agree, it was very yummy & definitely a dish I will be making again!

You can find the recipe here for anyone who wants to copy this dee-lish dish!

Hustle Bustle

My days & nights in December have been filled with chaotic craziness. December is always a busy month for most but for some reason it seems to be more busy than usual for us?!

In the last few weeks, I have spent many late nights at work, taken a lot of additional call, spent my spare time X-mas shopping, decorating the house in it's annual holiday decor, attending holiday dinners, parties & gatherings with girlfriends, hosting parties, wrapping gifts, baking holiday goodies, spending time with Shane's side of the family & just living life.

Honestly, I hate being this busy but when I think about it, I realize how blessed I am by all this "busy-ness". It means I am employed at a great job, I can make extra money when I want to, I am lucky to have a car & money so I can shop, buy presents for others & groceries so we can eat. We are blessed to be surrounded by wonderful things & a roof over our heads. All these dinners, parties & gatherings mean I am blessed with wonderful friendships. The ability to bake holiday goods means my neighbors will receive a "goody-tray" from the Taylor's again this year & knowing they look forward to & love this little yearly tradition warms my heart! Spending time with family is what gathering for the holiday's is all about & I am blessed to have a wonderful family on my side as well as Shane's side that we are able to spend time with.

So as we gather with loved ones this Christmas & welcome a new year, we wish for you & your family many blessings, good health & much happiness.

Merry Christmas from the Taylor's :)