Christmas Part 1

When I think of Christmas, I think of traditions. I think of some of my childhood memories. I think of our first Christmas together as a married couple. It makes me happy. Happiness is a good thing. Happiness brings good cheer. Good cheer brings happiness for others. All this is good.

My mom always made peanut butter balls and fudge. I love them. I remember looking forward to Christmas for this reason. I was so excited last year to make them! I not only made them but lots of others things as well! It is now our tradition. This is the second year in a row!

Don't they look so good? They were...and we still have some peanut butter balls left!

Another thing that was exciting this year was personalizing all the gifts. I loved wrapping everything. It was more fun to see the look on their faces when they saw their own personal gift. Dave's dad loved it!

I am pretty certain that I will be doing this for many more years to come!

I sure do love the holidays. I love everything that comes with them. I am sitting here looking at how beautiful our tree is and sad that we soon have to take it down because taking it down means the holidays are over. 

I can tell you one thing...I am certainly looking forward to Valentine's Day!

Stay tuned for the Feast of the Seven Fishes!

12 days of Christmas continued...

I can't say this enough but I have the sweetest and most creative hubby around!

He surprised me with the 12 days of Christmas and came up with the mose unique ideas!

8th day of Christmas - 8 chapsticks

9th day of Christmas- 9 dollar Wawa gift card (best gift ever! I love my half coke/half diet!)

10th day of Christmas- lotion for all 10 of my fingers.

11th day of Christmas- 11 months of healthy eating plus an extra one. ;)

12th day of Christmas (not pictured) - a winter coat that I knew about ( i guessed it and I hate surprises) and enough warmth for 12 years!

Waffles

We got a waffle maker for Christmas... We were excited to use it...
Even if it was only four o'clock in the afternoon!
More of our Christmas to come!

12 days of Christmas but only 7 for now! :)

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

(3 of my favorite hymns)

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

(it is for 6 and older..ha ha)

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

(I can use this 7 days a week)

Dave is so cute and surprised me with the 12 days of Christmas. I know some of these gifts may be a little strange but it's so cute and has made my day over and over again. I sure do love him.

I can't wait to see what he comes up with for the rest of the days of Christmas!

Christmas tree!

Over the weekend Dave went with his dad and brother to get our tree. I was a little bummed that I couldn't go but in the end happy I didn't go! They were there for like 5 hours! I would have lost my mind! They went to the same farm we went to for fall. I mentioned to Dave last week that I wanted to cut down our own tree this year..kind of joking about it and he took it seriously! He really did cut down our tree! I couldn't be happier with it! He did such a great job. I made him take the camera not only so I had proof that he cut it himself but also because we are starting our own traditions and want to always remember every special moment in our lives! Here is what he and his brother came up with...



Looks like they had fun! I thought it was really neat that they got to ride the horses out to the trees! I think I will let them do it by themselves next year too!

Can't wait to decorate our tree tonight!

Philadelphia..

Dave and I love Philadelphia. We had our first date there. We had our first Valentines there. We were married there. So we had an idea to make a collage. That we did! We made a quick trip downtown and let me tell you..it was interesting! Dave drove and he would put his hazards on or drive around the block while I jumped out and took the pictures. I was running around like a crazy person! I am sure people thought we were a bunch of weirdos!

We finally finished it and we love it!

We have some other ideas too! We can't wait to actuallly have our own house one day and do whatever we want to it!

Tofu Teriyaki

I was a vegetarian for a long time. When I served my mission in Brasil that stopped! They eat so much meat there I really had no choice. I am grateful for the food there and really needed it and it was really good! Anyways..lately meat has started to really gross me out. When I say meat..I don't mean beef. I mean every kind of meat including chicken. I am lucky that Dave is ok with me making meatless dinners a few nights a week.

I make anything from veggie burgers to tofu.  Last week I made my favorite dish.



Teriyaki Tofu!

It's really easy to make. Here is the recipe for those of you who may want to go out of your comfort zone and try something new.

1 package of extra firm organic tofu

1 bottle of teriyaki sauce..your choice

1 bag fresh snap peas

1 bag of carrots peeled and cut

1 onion chopped

(you can add more veggies if you would like)

Brown rice

Make rice. Open tofu and drain. Cut into thin slices. Fill tofu package with teriyaki sauce. Let it marinade.

Cut all the veggies and steam them. In a pan put some teriyaki sauce and add tofu. Cook on medium for about ten minutes. Add veggies. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.  

You're done!

Now all you do is add some rice and you have yourself a great meal!

I really love this stuff and could eat it all the time!

Dave turns 33!

Dave had an awesome birthday this year..it was on 11/11/11! I was an idiot and forget to take our camera out with us all day.  The only pictures we have are from the celebration on Sunday. Oh well!
We ended up doing 11 different things that day...we went to breakfast, and dinner and now I forgot the rest. I am a crappy wife! It was a lot of fun.



Dave got spoiled and got an ipad from his parents. Lets just say..I think I am enjoying it more than he is. Ha ha!

We are loving the holiday season and are excited to get our tree this weekend!