happy birthday

Today is my amazing hubby's birthday.  He's 32.

I did what any good wife would...allowed him to plan his day and went along with it.  So we headed to the club to hit golf balls in the golf simulator, went to lunch, picked up all sorts of sugary candy at the store and headed home for some movie time.

I feel so lucky to be married so such a great man. Not only does he encourage me daily and boost my self esteem, but he often tells me I'm gorgeous, he still loves to hold my hand and be goofy with me, and most of all he makes me a better person, daily.  Minute by minute, I'm being sanctified through my marriage and he makes sanctification not so difficult, most of the time!

So here's to my amazing, gorgeous, fun loving, tender hearted, strong and solid, jesus loving, faithful, selfless, leader of a husband.

Happy Birthday Baby!

you're the best blessing I have.

For Sale

Here's the long awaited list of things for sale:

Nathan Waist pack

Kelty Bag

wool jute rug, pottery barn

pottery barn matine toile in sprout green headboard slipcover and bedskirt twin

view of twin bed with slipcover

wicker chest

queen pottery barn plaid comforter cover and 2 shams

chocolate brown Target Home queen quilt and 2 shams

Hurricanes from Target

TV mount

Huge cooler

wicker chest

pic of the jute rug and selling the entertainment center

bedding on king bed (dust ruffle, blanket, gray quilted blanket/shams)

sailing pics

green subway tile

pictures above the couch

drill set

waiders

vhs player

wet suit

also a target dresser in the same coloring as the entertainment center above (in really good condition)

if anything catches your eye just let me know:)

Happy Birthday to this guy...

He turned 9 yesterday...wish I were there.

happy birthday to a sweet, funny and stellar young kid.

Liam, you're my favorite 9 year old.

#14

You may remember that I christened my 30th year with a list of 30 things I wanted to accomplish.  I've been making a bit of progress on the list (head here to see) and I'm very excited to announce that #14 has been crossed off the list.

What's #14?  Well, it was to start a new blog.  Many reasons behind this.  Although I advertise my blog via facebook (amongst "friends") I've never really felt comfortable commenting on many of the blogs out there, though I *REALLY* want too. Something about keeping some of our private life well a little more private. 

So I've been dreaming of a new blog.  A place to not only share parts of our life, but things on biblical womanhood, DIY projects, food, and my favorite things.  I've tried food blogging and I've tried the personal route.  The food blog (Blissful Bounty) I will not be posting on anymore.  I'm not sure I will delete it until I can archive it somehow, but as far as this blog.  This one I will continue to update, although maybe just 1x/week or even less than that.  My goal is 2x/month and it will mainly be life things, pictures of family, etc.  So please continue to follow along, I love having you here:)

But because I would love to expand my blog to be comfortable with many more people reading it, I chose to start a new one!

Here she is.  Please visit:)

Caps for Sale

Eerrgh.  I *WISH* we had caps for sale.  That seems easier!  Instead we have half of a storage unit up for grabs.

Others may think we are a little hasty or spontaneous about purging our goods, but we happen to think we are just less attached and by the way, purging feels really good.  No not that kind of purging, the *getting rid of excess stuff kind of purging!

We’ve been thinking over our future lately, how long we will rent, when we will purchase our next home, and the absurd amount of money we pay to keep our things locked up across the highway.  It’s actually not that absurd, but still if we can save a little by downsizing our unit, then it’s cash in hand.

So this past weekend we put our thoughts into action.  Only problem we didn’t have a plan in place.  We just sauntered over to our unit, gasped in horror as to how much was actually in there, took almost everything out and then stared at each other.  Um…we need a plan.

We had furniture and goods for Goodwill, we had boxes to sort through, and plenty of tools to open a small hardware store.  So we rented a truck right there on the spot and got to moving.  Oh, and it felt so good to rid ourselves of so much stuff.

Our plan by the way was focused around the future.  We don’t know where we will end up but we are certain, in our frugal minds, that we will end up in a smaller starter home sometime in the next 5 years.  At the end of the day, we’d rather save and save until we can BUILD the house we really want.  That or renovate the perfect house.  Whichever one comes first.  To be honest, we're just really waiting until we can attain a mortgage for the same amount we are spending on rent and we spend peanuts on rent.  We'd also like to have money to run the company and invest in rental property.  We could be in a house now, but wouldn't as easily be able to BOTH of the other things.   Right now, we want the other things more, that and Alex has a view on when the housing market will hit bottom and his estimation is not for awhile.

So back to the caps or in our case stuff.  I’ll post a list later today with all the items and their cost before everything goes on craigslist in case anyone is interested.

One valuable lesson we learned, it doesn’t take a lot to make us happy and content and for that we are eternally grateful.

Ham & Cheese Pretzel Bites

OH my!  These are so yummy.

This year for Christmas day we did something a little different.  We had an appetizer party, meaning everyone brought appetizers and then we just ate all afternoon.  My kind of party!

In the past I have made pretzel rolls, which are amazing as well, because Alex loves soft baked pretzels.  In fact, our freezer is rarely without Soft Pretzels…the ones in the freezer section of the grocery, Superpretzel brand.  So this year I decided to try these, not only because we had everything to make them but also because I was sure they would be a hit.  In the end I filled about 2/3 with ham and cheese and then left the other 1/3 filling free.

Again they were delicious and what’s even better it was probably one of the easiest bread dough’s to work with.  And the biggest bonus, all 3 kids gobbled them up!


Ham & Cheese Pretzel Bites                          
(yields at least 48)
 
Ingredients:
For the dough:
1½ tsp. instant yeast
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
¼ cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
2½-3 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
½ cup small diced ham
½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

To finish:
6 cups water
4 tsp. baking soda
Kosher salt (or pretzel salt), for topping

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the yeast, brown sugar, water, milk, and 2½ cups of flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix until a dough has formed.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until a soft, elastic dough forms.  Add the remaining flour a 1-2 tablespoons at a time until the dough is tacky but not sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, until the dough has doubled in size and bubbles on the surface, about 1½ to 2 hours.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Divide into 4 equal pieces.  Stretch or roll one piece of the dough into a 12 x 4-inch rectangle.  Sprinkle some of the diced ham and the shredded cheese over one third of the dough closest to an edge, lengthwise.  Roll up tightly, filling edge first, so that the filling is tightly sealed inside.  Slice the log into 12 pieces and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Repeat with the remaining 3 portions of dough, and the remaining filling.

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Bring the 6 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.  Add the baking soda and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.  Boil the pretzels in batches, cooking for about 20 seconds and turning once. They should be slightly puffed.  Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to transfer them back to the baking sheet.  Sprinkle with Kosher salt.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Source: adapted from Annies Eats, originally from Gourmet, October 2009

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