Warning: Cuteness ahead

My sister sent me these pics on Facebook today & they are TOO precious not to share with you all - even though it clearly says "do not copy" across the pics! Their photographer, Hea.ther Lo.ng did an amazing job & I can't wait to see the rest of their photos when I visit them in a few weeks! Here is a sneak peek!

I may or may not be a bit biased, but I think I just might have the cutest niece & nephews ever!

Is this pic of my niece not adorable? LOVE that little crocheted hat - perfect for Easter!

And how cute are these two??

My sister & her husband definitely produce some super cute kids! They are so stinkin' cute I could just eat them up :)

3 more weeks....

Outta Control

So I may or may not be out of control when it comes to shopping for my niece Jensen. She is only 9 days old & so far I have bought all this:

I just can't help myself - little girls are just so much fun to shop for! She is definitely one spoiled little girl already :)

Acts of Kindness

I would consider myself a kind person. One that goes out of my way to help others. I am more a "giver" than a "receiver" & will do things for others in hopes they too will "pay it forward".

According to Wikipedia, the definition of a random act of kindness is: a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people.

I have been the recipient of 3 random acts of kindness this past month alone & wanted to share them with you. In this day & age, acts of kindness from others is sometimes not seen very often but if you look around, you will see that it does exist.

1) Emily is my hair stylist & I have been going to her for 10 years now. She also lives a mile from my house & joins in on our monthly girls game-night gatherings so we are pretty close friends. 

A few weeks ago Emily had cut my hair & did an awesome job - as usual. She first washes it, trims it, applies a protecting product, dries it & then uses the flat iron to make sure my "stack" in the back is evenly cut. As she was using the flat iron on my hair I noticed it was steaming & I prayed my hair wasn't burning. It seemed to look okay when she was all finished & I made my way home. 

Once home I jumped into the shower & styled my hair so I wouldn't have to wash it in the morning. As I was combing through it, I noticed on each side of my head that my ends were frizzy & damaged.....ALL OVER! The flat iron had fried my hair after all :( I ended up texting Emily the next day to let her know in hopes she would have some magic product for me to use. Well, needless to say, she felt HORRIBLE. That night she showed up to my house - in tears, with this:

It was an "I'm sorry, please forgive me" basket filled with Aveda hair products, a candle, bottle of wine, slippers & candy. Plus she is giving me a free haircut...or two because she felt so bad. And all I wanted was some product to help make my hair not look so frizzy! Thanks to Emily for "doing right" by your customer & your friend :)

2) I work with a super kind lady who is always doing nice things for others. A couple of weeks ago I was telling her about how I hate cooking food in a bowl in the microwave because it always burns my hands when I try & take it out. Well, little Miss Crafty surprised me with these so my delicate little fingers wouldn't get burnt anymore :)

They are quilted bowl covers & are microwaveable so I no longer have to grab a hot bowl - so stinkin' clever! A few months ago she also made me these quilted pot holders....just because! Both have cute little dogs on the fabric - even bulldogs - as she knows I am a dog lover!

3) I have many blogs I follow. Some are about food, others are friends of mine & several are blogs about individual struggles with infertility. I have always kept this part of my life private on this blog. I created a 2nd blog a couple of years ago that is private to most & only deals with my own struggles of infertility. I have gotten to know many fabulous women through these blogs who have been very supportive of me & I of them. One of those women is Amanda. She has never met me nor does she know me in real life. She only knows me through my blog. She has offered me kind words when I was down, has often prayed for me & Shane, as a busy mother to twins, she has sent me several emails with encouraging words & then a few weeks ago I get this in the mail:

She sent me a St. Gerard medal which was blessed at a mass in St. Gerard's honor last year, a St. Gerard handkerchief that has the words Hope, Faith, Prayer embroidered on it along with a lovely note from Amanda. 

For those that don't know, St. Gerard is the Patron Saint of Motherhood. I keep the medal in my wallet so it is always with me. The handkerchief is next to my bed & I hang on to it as I say my nightly prayers. This very kind, tenderhearted girl whom I don't know much about sent me these things out of the kindness of her heart & it touched me. Her gesture meant the world to me & I hope she knows just how very thankful I am for her thoughtfulness.

I ended up "paying it forward" & ordered a St. Gerard medal for a girlfriend of mine who is also struggling with infertility. I gave it to her last week & she was also touched by the gesture. I pray every night for all of "us" out there dealing with infertility & hope St. Gerard watches over us all.

Introducing....

This very proud Aunt would like to introduce to you my very sweet & adorable niece - Jensen Kristine

 

She was born Tuesday, March 27th at 8:18pm & weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz & 21 inches long. Her big brothers Tanner & Cael are so very excited to have a new little sister. Pretty sure she is going to be very "protected" by these two :)

 








 Unfortunately, I am going to have to wait 4 more weeks to visit them all but I am hoping the month of April goes by quickly. Since my sister & her husband didn't want to know what they were having, this Aunt was unable to shop for cute baby stuff but now that Jensen is here, it is GAME ON! 

One thing is for sure, she is going to be one spoiled little girl. First item to buy on the list - a KU onesie so she can represent the Jayhawk nation with her 2 brothers! My sister & her husband are going to have 3 lil' Jayhawk fans whether they like it or not :)

Recipe Blog

I have created a new blog - yes I seem to have way too much time on my hands :)

It is a "recipe blog" that will be a collection of what I am whipping up in my kitchen. It is called none other than: Recipes from HT's Kitchen. I am hoping to share with you old & new recipes as I make them week to week.

Why did I start a recipe blog?

There are a few reasons: 1) I have 4 different areas I keep recipes: in a recipe box, in a binder, on Pinterest & laying around cluttering my kitchen counter. It was finally time to get organized. I went through all my recipes & weeded out the ones I have never attempted nor will I try to attempt, threw away the ones the hubby didn't care for & finally filed all the recipes thrown into my binder under specific categories. 2) I have a lot of co-workers & friends who are always asking me to share a dip recipe or a dessert recipe or meals for the crock-pot so instead of having to write the recipe down each time I can just post it here for them to print off & share with others. 3) keeping all my "favorite" recipes in one spot & de-cluttering my kitchen makes me happy!

Where do my recipes come from?

The collection of recipes I am going to post include my own recipes, old family favorites, recipes from friends, recipes from other blogs & recipes that I have collected over the years. I am in no way a professional cook or baker. Cooking & baking is just one of my passions & is a huge stress-reliever for me. I am forever looking for that one recipe that is a "keeper" to file away with the rest of my "tried & true" recipes. All these recipes I will be posting have actually been made in my kitchen at one time or another & undergo careful scrutiny by my husband, co-workers & friends - none of whom have any credentials other than the fact that they like to eat :)

I am always bringing in "treats" for co-workers or am being asked what I brought for lunch as everyone at work knows I cook & bake ALL the time. Hey, I have no children so I have time to do this stuff ;) I am often asked for the recipes so now with this new blog I can direct co-workers & friends to my blog website rather than write it down for them. Feel free to try these yummy concoctions for yourself & definitely share the recipes with others.

Hope you enjoy making & eating these recipes as much as I do :)

Madness in March

Research done - check

Brackets filled out - check

Brackets submitted - check

And so it begins....my absolute favorite time of the year (right behind Christmas):

Can't wait to see what kind of "madness" the basketball games bring in the upcoming weeks! If you need to get a hold of me for the next 4 days, don't be surprised if my phone goes straight to voice mail. I will more than likely be hanging out in the recliner, glued to the TV, highlighter in one hand & brackets in the other :)

Showered

My girlfriend Michelle is in town this weekend for her bridal shower & I was so very excited to get to see her. I missed her last visit over the Christmas holiday as I was in SD so a hug for this girl was well overdue! I haven't seen her since her going-away party this past July. She will be getting married April 28th in Manhattan, KS & I am looking SO forward to seeing her walk down the aisle.

We all gathered at Tomfooleries on the Plaza for mimosa's & brunch this morning. After everyone enjoyed a yummy meal, we watched as Michelle opened all her gifts. It was fun to "ooh & aah" over all the interesting & fancy things she received. After the gift opening, Michelle went around the room posing for pictures & visiting with all her guests. It was really nice to get to catch up with her & hear all the exciting details about her upcoming wedding. Her wedding colors are purple & silver which did not surprise anyone at all as she is a HUGE K-State fan & that is their school colors.

Before we all left, we managed to get this cute photo of Michelle (wearing a purple dress of course) with some of her old co-workers from St. Lukes:

Me, Darcy, Michelle, Lisa & Peggy

Viva Las Vegas

Last Wednesday I woke up super early to catch a 6:30am flight to Las Vegas with my girlfriend Heather (HK). It was mainly a "work trip" but we did manage to have a little fun & see the sights while we were there.

We got into Vegas around 7:45am, picked up the rental car & were on our way to the Vdara - one of the newer hotels in the middle of the strip located next to the Bellagio. We got checked in, ended up on the 42nd floor & this was the view from our window. Awesome view of the Bellagio Fountains (lower right hand corner):
We got settled in & then we were off to get some breakfast & see the strip. We spent the majority of the day walking in & out of hotels, shopping, eating & taking it all in. As we were shopping, I spotted this cute bulldog in the window & cracked up because that is exactly how Millie lays with her back legs crossed. Plus the fat rolls & paw on the dog dish is SOOO her :)

I inquired how much it cost & after a 5 min explanation of how it is 1 of 85 pieces made by an Asian artist, blah blah blah, they said it was $899.00 - um, yeah....moving on.

Inside the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden with a "Chinese New Year" theme:

Awesome chocolate fountain that went all the way up into the ceiling:

Since we had both been up super early that morning, we didn't last too long into the evening. We were tucked into bed by 9pm exhausted from the day & joked about how we were getting "too old for Vegas"!

Thursday, March 1st.....

We woke up early, got ready & made or way down into the conference room for 7 hours of education & learning. We are heading up a new trial at work that has to do with kidney arteries & hypertension & I was chosen to do some additional training on the subject, bring back what I learned & give a presentation to the staff. HK was chosen for her hospital as well.

After a long afternoon inside, we decided to get out, venture off of the strip & enjoy the beautiful day so we headed to Hoover Dam since HK had never been there. It was gorgeous weather, amazing scenery, the sun was shining & we had the BEST afternoon:

Standing in front of Hoover Dam & underneath The Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

On top of Hoover Dam overlooking Lake Mead

We are 840 ft above the Colorado River, on top of the Memorial Bridge with Hoover Dam/Lake Mead in the background

After a wonderful afternoon on the Dam, we made our way back to the strip & got ready for dinner. We headed over to the Rio for their amazing buffet & even caught the Masquerade Show in the Sky on our way out. For those unfamiliar with the show, the best part - it is free, about 25 min long & they start with a "burlesque" type show with singing & dancing. Then they all hop on a "parade of floats" above the casino floor & move along a track in the ceiling while dancing & throwing beads to everyone below. It is fun, colorful, high energy & very entertaining.

Next we headed on over to the Monte Carlo for the show - Jabbawockeez. HK & I would watch them when they were competing on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew & won 1st place for their season. Now they have their own show in Vegas & it was amazing!

On our way back to our hotel, we made sure to walk past the Bellagio & enjoy an evening fountain show. So pretty:



Friday, March 2nd...

We woke up early for another 7 hours of class-time & ended up getting done a little early so we again ventured outdoors & headed out to Red Rock Canyon for a little hiking & sight-seeing. It was another gorgeous day & was extremely windy but we didn't let that stop us from having a great time.

After our road trip through the canyon, we headed back to the strip to get some dinner. We were going to try & go to another show but after stuffing ourselves silly at the buffet, we realized how tired we really were & decided to head back to the hotel & call it an early night. We are definitely getting "old" :)

Saturday, March 3...

It's been fun, but it was time to head back home. We got to the airport early, had breakfast & were up in the friendly skies by 11am. It was so nice to get to spend some one-on-one time with HK but I was ready to get back home to my hubby & the furries. It's always fun & exciting getting out of town but it is SO nice to get to come back home :)

Thanks for the all the memories HK!!!

Bully CPR

It was a usual Sunday morning. The hubby was up early while I was sleeping in. I was dreaming or thought I was dreaming when I heard the worst sound out of my husband's mouth.

"Heather......get up......wake up now.....Heather....there is something wrong with Bentley.....he isn't breathing.....hurry.....get up......Heather wake up....."

The fear, panic & desperation in Shane's voice was like nothing I have ever heard before. I can still hear him in my head & feel sick to my stomach every time I think of it.

I flew out of bed, damn near tripped over the pet gate in front of our bedroom door, almost fell down the stairs & then I saw Bentley laying lifeless on the kitchen floor in a pool of phlegm & vomit. He wasn't breathing. I tried to move him out of the vomit & he was limp. I immediately thought he was dead. While I was doing this, Shane is frantically trying to tell me what happened. He said Bentley was trying to throw up & just collapsed to the floor. After he told me this I instantly felt a wave of relief come over me & I knew he was going to be ok....eventually.

It is called "vomit drop" & is very common in Bulldogs due to their elongated palates. I have seen Bentley do this twice before while Shane was out of town. Unfortunately, Shane has never witnessed it....until this morning. When bulldogs try to vomit & nothing comes up, their carotid artery will constrict due to the wretching & will cause them to vagal & eventually pass out. After a few minutes, they will come to & recover as if nothing ever happened. Definitely scary to watch.

I opened his mouth, did a sweep, cleared what mucous I could away from his trachea & pulled on his tongue. I then rolled him on his right side & as I did this he started moving, tried to cough & was able to clear more mucous out of his throat. He then came to, started to breathe & just laid there in a daze. Scariest 60 seconds of our life! I was 2 seconds away from giving my dog mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing & CPR. And for those of you who don't think it can be done....watch this video:



Actually this video is quite informative & can be used on ANY dog breed - not just Bulldogs. If you have a dog, please take a few minutes to watch it. I pray that none of you ever have to experience something as scary as this with your beloved pet.

Shane & I both laid on the kitchen floor next to Bentley for about 10 minutes petting him & loving on him until he finally got up but his recovery was quite slow. He was coughing up a lot of phlegm throughout the day & was quite lethargic. I almost took him into the ER Vet to have him checked out because I was worried he might have aspirated vomit when he passed out. But after watching him closely & listening to his lungs several times throughout the day he seemed to be fine. He didn't start acting himself until the next day & that is when I felt he would truly be ok.

Ugh - we love that silly dog so much. I am SO dreading the day when Shane & I lose him - it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it :(

Love you Bubba :)

Game Night

Tonight the neighborhood girls gathered at Melissa's house for February game night. There was a great selection of wine, a dee-lish spread of food & as usual, many laughs shared by these fun girls.

I decided to try out a new dip recipe & it seemed to be a hit with all the girls. It was called Greek Dip & I served it with pita chips. Must have been good as there was hardly any left by the end of the night. It was a layered dip consisting of chive/onion cream cheese, hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta cheese & kalamata olives. I will put the recipe below if anyone is interested.

After we ate, drank & got caught up with everyone we gathered around the table to play Left, Right, Center which ended up being a lot of fun. Everyone brought $5 in quarters with them & we went around the table rolling the dice, passing quarters to our left, right & to the center & a few of the girls were lucky enough to win the jackpot in the center.

The girls called it a night around 11pm as many of us had to get up early the next morning. As usual, it was nice to catch up with these wonderful ladies & I am looking forward to seeing them again in March when it is my turn to host this monthly event.

Greek Dip recipe:
1 tub chive & onion Philadelphia cream cheese
1 container Sabara original hummus
2 med tomatoes, diced fine
1 cucumber, diced fine
1/2 cup red onion, diced fine
4 oz container crumbled feta cheese
jar of Kalamata olives, diced
artichoke hearts, diced (optional)

Serve with pita chips & enjoy :)

Pain in the Butt

I have had a pain in my butt lately & it believe it or not his name isn't Shane :)

For the last 6 months, I have noticed this pain/burning in my left butt cheek that is deep & radiates down my leg after I have been sitting for even short periods of time. When I get up from sitting, I have to move slow & usually walk with a limp until my leg feels normal again. Last week I jumped up to help a co-worker after sitting for quite some time while feeling the all too familiar pain in my cheek, then my left leg was tingly & I almost fell flat on my face. So I finally caved & made an appointment to see the Dr.

I thought for sure it was my sciatic nerve that was bothering me but after seeing the doc & performing a few "tests" which involved provoking sciatic nerve compression by doing flexion, adduction, & internal rotation maneuvers, as well as taking some X-rays it was determined it wasn't sciatica...kinda, sort of.

Turns out I have "piriformis syndrome" - a neuromuscular disorder that occurs when the sciatic nerve is compressed or irritated by the piriformis muscle which aggravates the nerve causing sciatica-type symptoms. Nothing too serious but it is something that is painful, uncomfortable & quite annoying.

To get rid of this annoying diagnosis, I have been instructed to take muscle relaxants at night, NSAID's during the day, do stretching & exercises that target the gluteus medius & hip abductor muscles daily & avoid activities like running, bicycling & unfortunately certain sex positions (what the heck?) which all aggravate the muscle while healing.

This is the literature the Dr gave me regarding this condition & sex because I didn't believe it either:
"it has been suggested that sexual intercourse can aggravate piriformis syndrome due to the abduction and external rotation of the hip joints by the female in the standard “missionary” position. Therefore, in women who suffer from piriformis syndrome, maybe copulating in the prone or canine positions would be better choices to avoid exacerbating the condition".

Who knew??

I can see the conversation now: "Sorry honey, my butt muscle is still healing. No lovin' for you!"

Ok - I better keep this clean. My family reads my blog & I'm sure I've already said too much :)

SO - am I going to live? YES. Will this pain go away? more than likely, YES. But if none of these things seem to be helping, then we will need to get a little more aggressive with treatment by doing things like physical therapy, massage, custom foot orthotics, gait correction or deep heat ultrasound treatments.

Here's hoping that my pain in the butt goes away soon because as simple as it sounds, it is starting to become debilitating.

Hmmm - however, I think I could handle getting massages every week?!?

Super Bowl

Another year, another Super Bowl!

This year we decided to stay home to watch the annual football game. It wasn't for lack of being invited elsewhere because there were several invitations. We just both agreed that it would be nice to hang out together with the furries, in our jammies & enjoy the game & the commercials without all the socializing .

So, instead of going to a SB party, I decided it might be fun to bring the SB party to us.

I made some new appetizers for the two of us to indulge upon during game festivities & thought I would pass along the recipes since they were oh so yummy.

Chicken Roll Ups - a cheesy, chickeny, pastry pillow puff


"Pigs in a Blanket" - made with hotdogs & no cheese. So easy, simple & yummy with a side of ketchup & mustard!












3-2-1 Dip - a spicy, creamy, sausage dip served with Tostito's chips
I can't find a picture for this dip but trust me - it is GOOD & always a hit at parties!

As far as Super Bowl 2012 goes:
the game - close, good & I'm glad the Giants won!
Half-time entertainment - have been & always will be a fan of Madonna
Commercials - I've seen better in past years SB ads

Here are a few of my favorite 2012 SB ads:







Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Here's hoping the week ahead is a quick one!