Party Time!

The only thing I really wanted for my birthday was a party. I was turning 30 and I felt like I wanted to really celebrate that. My birthday is 2 days after Christmas. It fell on a Monday this year and let's face it, everyone is still in the post-Christmas "fog" at that point. Birthdays around Christmas are no fun. It is such a busy time of year between family events, shopping and money stress.

I wasn't expecting or wanting anything elaborate. Just an evening of friends, family, snackies, music and maybe a drink or two and have it on New Years Eve. Well, that is exactly what I got. In fact, it was more than I couldv'e hoped for.

White twinkle lights, black/silver/hot pink color scheme, shiny stars hanging from the ceiling, lots of food, tasty drinks and a room full of people that love me.

The room was breath-taking and the details were amazing. I wanted a "New York" type theme so we could do the 9pm west coast/12am east coast countdown so people didn't feel like they had to stay super late. Especially those with little tykes. Well 9pm came and went faster than anyone realized. It was a very quick "3, 2, 1, Happy New Year" that only about half of the room heard.

Every detail was perfect. There were place cards marking the "names" of the dishes offered.

A candy "bar" for party favors (and for the kids to get the ultimate sugar high)

New York style cheesecake, Tasty Cupcakes and a New York Skyline Cake. Didn't my SIL jessica do an amazing job on that skyline? I think so!! And the cupcakes Minid made were absolutely adorable!



The kids had a great time dancing! Most of the adults were too shy (or too sober) to really get out there and get their groove on but a few of us did.

 I know it kind of looks like the WWF but they really were dancing.

I had friends from all walks of life join in the fun.

My favorite decoration was the sign on the wall. It said "Happy 30th Birthday Shannon" but the 3-0 was made up of pictures of me. Pictures from when I was little, from high school (scary), college, etc. It was the coolest idea! I wish I could've brought it home with me.

It was a really fun evening and it was everything I wanted and more. I was showered with love and gifts. My only regret? Not taking more pictures!!! I didn't get a single one of me with my family or with my bestie. Slack much? Oh and I forgot to put on the "30" Tiara that my friend, Emily, sent me. Woops! I may have to just get all gussied up in my pretty black dress and take a picture in it.

Thank You to everyone that was involved. Planning, making food, setting up, chipping in money, attending etc. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! It was perfect.

Ha Ha Ha.. Got ya!

A Fresh Start

Well here we are. 2011. Another year is gone and a new one is upon us. Times like this I am thankful for this blog. It really makes it easy to look back on the year and see what's gone on. Maybe I just have a bad memory but it seems like so much happened but I remember so little of it. I've enjoyed looking over my blogs and reading. Remembering.

Altogether 2010 was a pretty good year. There are always low lows and high highs. I am thankful for all of them. The lows make us stronger and the highs keep us moving forward.

I am looking forward to what 2011 has in store.

Here are a couple of my goals:

1)Get rid of this last 25lbs.. yeah, a lot of people make the "resolution" of losing weight. Few will follow through but I will.
2) Take more pictures
3) Take a moment atleast one a week to look at all I have in my life and give thanks

There are a lot more I am sure but I want to keep it small and achieve these goals.

What about you? Any goals for the new year?

Christmas

My Bad.. I posted about my Birthday before I posted about Christmas. oopsies!

Every year I tell myself I am not going to go crazy buying gift. One year I may listen to my inner voice. But in my defense... the gifts Jared bought are also in there.

I got Jared a special gift this year. A Kindle (aka eloctronic book reader). Everyone in our families knew so I had to give it to him before he got any accessories from the family. he was pretty surprised...

 

On Christmas Eve Jared and I visited his friend, Amber, and enjoyed some delicious authentic and home made mexican food. It doesn't get better than that! Amber always spoils us with stockings. We had a great time chatting with her and a couple of his other friends.

We spent Christmas Day at Jared's Uncle Pete's house. We snacked in the early afternoon and into the evening. I left around 6pm and headed to work. Unfortunately it was a nusy night at work. We were all hoping for a easy night of Christmas movies.

The day after Christmas was spent with my family. Every year we go to my parents house. I am sure sometime someone else may host it but it never feels quite like Christmas unless it is at Mom and Dads. There's still something so special and cozy about gathering there and celebrating.

Back in October my camera had a bad run in with asphalt and never quite recovered. The latch that kept the memory card and battery secure was broken so I had to tape it shut. Can you say ghetto? In any case, I didn't have the chance to take pictures at Amber or Pete's house. Thankfully I was given a new camera on Christmas Day so I was able to capture a few moments of my youngest nephew's first Christmas.



He had fun... eating the paper.

Big sister Peyton was happy to "help" him open his gifts. (aka do it for him). And of course opening her own.

And I simply can't believe how big these two are getting;

 Where has the time gone?

Christmas was wonderful this year. It never ceases to amaze me how much time, shopping, money, preparation goes into the holiday and it is gone in a flash. The best part of the holiday is spending the time with family.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Goodbye old friend...

HELLLOOOOOOO new friend!!

AHHH my new Shark Steam mop! I am ridiculously excited about this. I used it 10 minutes after I got home on the 26th. I sorta want to use it again. And again. And again. Daily? Is that too much?

I love that I can take off the cleaning pads and wash them. No more dunking a mop head into not so clean mop water. Plus the heat kills germs! Can you hear the angels singing? I can.

A Promise

Let's back up a few weeks before we get into the meat of the story. One morning while Jared was at work, he was sitting in his car snacking on his lunch when he noticed some little eye balls peering at him through the window. it was a raccoon. There were 3 of them. Being the animal mover that he is, he shared his lunch with them. While he was doing so I texted him using a "raccoon voice" and said something along the lines of "excusth me sthir. can you sthare your sthanwhich". It made him laugh. A lot.

Anyway..
For weeks Jared has been planning my birthday gift. I didn't have a clue as to what it couple possibly be. When his best friend went shopping with him and I was even more confused. It was driving me nuts.

For my birthday Jared took me to the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant. It is definitely one of our most favorite places to eat. Talk about delicious food! He was kind enough to give me my gift after we ordered appetizers. he said he was toying with the idea of waiting until after dinner but he knew I'd be going crazy.

I opened the bag and found this:

With this note attached:

Then I opened the most beautiful card that brought tears to my eye.

There was something else in the bag so I pulled it out and found this:

Woodstock was covering part of it so I asked "what is this". He told me it was a promise ring. I got very teary eyed but i refused to break down into massive tears in public. Let's face it, crying is not a pretty thing. Noses that run like a fosset, red puffy eyes, running make up. So I did my best to hold it together. I'm sure a couple tears slipped through though.

I took it out of the box but then stopped.

Me: "What finger do I put it on?"
(pause)
Jared: "I don't know"

We both laughed.

I decided to look it up online. There were all sorts of things on the internet. What it came down to is matter of personal preference. "They" say a promise ring that is intended as a pre-engagement ring should be worn on the left ring finger. I did worry about people taking it the wrong way if they see a ring on my left ring finger.

What I decided was, I don't care what people think. They can assume or ask, judge or not. All that matters is that is is a promise between Jared and I for a future together. I am just hoping people don't make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. It is NOT an engagement. It is a promise and a commitment. Still a huge deal and a big step for us. But let's not blow it out of proportion.

I am a happy happy girl. More than happy. I am blessed and greatly loved.

Here it is;

Perty, right? He did GOOD!

The Stuffing

My Grandma Ferguson used to make this every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has been a staple in our family for as long as I can remember. Since she passed away, 11 years ago, I have made the stuffing for the holidays. It is super easy and very very tasty. It is pretty close to the recipe on the back of the Mrs Cubisons stuffing box but with a few tweaks.

What you need;
1 box Mrs Cubison Seasoned Stuffing
1.5 cups Chicken Broth (Comes out to 1 - 1 1/2 :14.5 oz cans of broth)
1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage roll
1.5 Cups White Onion, chopped
1.5 Cups Celery, chopped
1 cup butter, melted
1 Tsp Poultry Seasoning
Salt, large pinch
Black Pepper, to taste

Here's how it works:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cook up the sausage, do not drain. remove from heat when done:

Chop up the Onion and Celery. I rarely measure it out. It usually comes out to about 2/3 of an onion and about 4-5 pieces of celery.

 When you're done chopping, toss them into a BOG bowl (you will add everything to this bowl so you need roomto work with)

Open the bags of stuffing mix and pour it into the same bowl. (There are 2 bags in the box, use both)

Melt up the butter and pour it into the bowl

 (I know the recipe says 1 cup butter and this shows 2 cups.. I made a double batch)

Then Pour in the Chicken Broth. Start with 1 cup and reserve the 1/2 cup for later.

Toss in the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning

Finally, pour in the sausage. grease and all (adds flavor!)

Now here's the fun part! Take off your rings, watches, bracelets. Wash your hands and get ready for messy hands. Time to mix allof this up reeeaaalllll good!

Really get in there and mix it up. You should feel the bread crumbs/stuffing mix beginning to get squishy. You don't want any of them to feel like croutons. If the mix seems dry, use the reserved 1/2 cup of broth and slowly add until the mixture is nice and moist. But NOT watery.

Finally, pour the beautiful concoction into a 13x9 casserole dish.

Cover with foil and pop it in the oven. Bake for 45 min then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 min to get it nice and crisy on top.

Enjoy!

I make a double batch at every holiday so we have one tray to devour and one for everyone to take leftovers. It is just as tasty the 2nd and 3rd day. Just ask Brian.. he hates leftovers and he eats this as leftovers. That's saying something.

30

Today at exactly 4:34pm, I will leave the 20s behind and walk straight into the 30s.

Remember when you were little and 30 seemed so old? In reality, it isn't. I feel like my life is really just beginning. I am not in the place I thought I would be at this stage in life. I honestly don't see that as a bad thing. Most of us believe that everything happens for a reason and God has our path planned out.

I know I have spent countless hours worrying and wondering about things in my life. Why haven't I dont this or why did this happen (or didn't)? I've learned it is wasted energy. Of course, we are all human and we all have these worries. But why have faith in God if we are just going to worry about everything that is happening?

I look back on my 20s and I see heartbreak, struggle, joy, sorrow, happiness, hard work, and abundant blessings.

In my 30s I am hoping for most of the above (I'd rather not have heartbreak and sorrow or struggle) and so much more. I am so grateful for all that God has blessed me with.

*A family that has been supportive through every moment of my life.
*Parents that have taught me how to be a good person and how tolove fully
*A boyfriend that loves me unconditionally and makes me so incredibly happy.
*Friends that have loved me through the good and bad times.
*Friends that have become family
*A job I love

There's so much more but I won't keep rambling. So... here we are. A new decade. A new set of adventures. And a continuation of a wonderful , blessed life.

"ForI know the thoughts (plans) that I think towards you,says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11, NKJ

Our First House

Our First Gingerbread House that is.

We bought a pre-made Gingerbread House at Michael's. We thought we would give it a whirl. I can't recall ever making a real Gingerbread House. You know, the kind actually made out of gingerbread pieces, not Graham  Crackers?

Little did we know, it is a long process. After you make the icing, you "paste" the 4 walls together you have to let it dry For one hour. Uh really? After that it dry you "oaste" on the roof. You have to let that dry for two to three hours. Thankfully we had some movies to watch while we waited for it to dry.

We both decorated one side. I say his side looks better, he says my side looks better. So I said I would leave it up to you all to decide. I won't post whose side it is in this blog but I will let you know whose was voted the best. So what do you think? Side A or B? Leave a comment w/ your vote.

Side A:

Side B:

Here's The front of the house. We both worked on it.