6th Anniversary Ring

Kevin had this ring made for me for our anniversary.  I love it!  Thanks, dear!

Indian Springs Awesome Park

Fly Swatter Painting...aka Body Art?

eh...this is okay

sponges are better.

I think green is my color.

ta-da

(note to self: the problem with painting your tummy 

green is it tickles like crazy when mommy tries to scrub it off)

the next logical step

Rainbow Party

 We had a super fun rainbow party today to celebrate Corinne turning four.  I gathered all the best ideas and could find, and added a few of my own.  It was so easy since rainbow colors are everywhere.

We made this banner with foam glitter sheets cut into letters and then sewn together quickly with the sewing machine.  

 A few of the decorations, wind spinners, felt shapes sewn to make garland, and ikea art.

We did some pop bottle bowling.

We used different sized balls down the ramp to knock down colored water bottles

 Marble painting

 Veggie Tray

(tomatos, carrots, yellow peppers, broccoli, eggplant)

 Fruit Skewers

(watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew, blueberries, blackberries)

 M&M Bar

Rainbow made from everyone at the party.  

The invite told them to dress in their favorite color.

Rainbow cake for the grown ups.  This is just double white cake recipe split into 6 bowls and gel food coloring was added.  I wanted a light a fluffy frosting, not something heavy like butter cream.  So, I made this with banana pudding and pink food coloring.  I took one spoonful of each color in the ice cream cones.  

And then just a wee bit of parachute time.

I think it was a great rainbow party and I know my four year old had a blast.  We gave all the kids the big bubble test tubes (we had one of each color).  

Towel Joy

Those who have always been thin or fit can stop reading right now. I promise, you can not relate to this post.

I had something exciting happen the other day. I was out of bath sheets (giant towels that are soft and wonderful to wrap up in) and had to pull a standard towel out of my linen closet. When I got out of the shower and dried off I wrapped the towel around me. Do you know what I found out? It closed!! I was completely decent, no hip peeking out, no diagonal towel that closed at the top and had a big gap at the bottom. It has been a while since I used a standard sized towel. So, I don't know when this happened, but I am strangely thrilled by this development.

other exciting developments:

- I can do more than 10 pushups

- I weigh less than I have since Kevin has known me

- I have muscles, you can feel and see them

- The smallest clothes I own are out of the under bed storage and on my body

Christmas Break

Well, vacation has flown by. The first week was spent in the holiday whirlwind and we have been low key and not feeling well this past week. We all return to our regular schedules tomorrow. I know Kevin would prefer not to be sick (or deal with us sick) over his vacation, but I think he has enjoyed me not wanting to do anything for a few days. I am so ready to feel better. Kevin and I did manage to stay awake to see the ball drop.

I decided to do a a 365 project this year. I will be posting a picture a day. My goal is to experiment and try new things with my camera. I am not off to a great start since I was low on energy yesterday, but I am confident this will be an enjoyable project. If you want to follow you can do so here.

No resolutions over here for 2012. We are doing well on our 2011 fitness programs. Kevin is doing great not smoking. I am so proud of him. It will be a month smoke free tomorrow. Yay!! I have lost 27 pounds and am antsy to get back to the gym when Corinne goes back to school this week.

Go State!

Holiday School Gifts

We have a big, amazing team that work with Corinne at school. So, I was having a hard time deciding how to send them nice holiday greetings. I decided on the treats and packaging above. The treats are rolls melted on parchment for 5 minutes at 300 degrees with a pretzel pushed on top when they come out. They are easy and yummy. I put them in cellophane bags and created the bag topper. It is like a greeting card, folded in half with one side printed upside down so it fold correctly. Then a staple or two to hold it in place and TA DA. They were a well received little treat.

Holidays are coming

I guess I am due for a another regular sort of update entry in addition to a recipe.

It has been a while. School is going great for Corinne. The long holiday weekend was hard for her. I am not sure what we will do over Christmas break.

I have been working out while Corinne is in school. The place I am going the instructors are mean to you and for some reason that is keeping me motivated. They push and I like it. I feel great and can do 10 pushups. You have to start somewhere.

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year. I love having everyone over for turkey day. Kevin grills / smokes the bird perfectly and I think all the side dishes are fun to play with. This year I made rolls from scratch and put things we are thankful for inside them. I may post that recipe sometime. It was fun to open a roll like a fortune cookie and everyone read a thankful thing.

I surprised Kevin for his birthday and took him to the shooting range and to see "Harold and Kumar" in 3D. I had never held or fired a gun before. It was a whole new experience. We had fun, and I killed a bear :)

We also found and decorated the world's most perfect christmas tree of the weekend. I smile every time I look at it.


Happy Birthday, Kevin. I love you!

Happy Birthday, Kevin

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting



Yield: 18 cupcakes

For the filling:
~2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
~1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
~2 tablespoons butter, softened

Frosting:
~8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
~4 tablespoons butter, softened
~1/2 cup peanut butter
~2 cups powdered sugar
~1 cup cool whip

1. Prepare Filling: In bowl, with mixer on medium speed, mix confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons butter until blended. Shape mixture into 18 balls. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or get your cupcake maker out). Line 18 standard muffin-pan cups with fluted paper liners.

3. Prepare boxed brownie mix as directed on package.

4. Spoon batter into each muffin-pan cup, about 1/4 full. Have your assistant (Corinne did an awesome job) drop 1 peanut butter ball in center of each cup and top with enough batter to cover the ball (2/3 full total). Bake cupcakes 30 to 35 minutes (20 minutes in the cupcake maker) or until toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Immediately remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

5. When cupcakes are cool, prepare frosting. In large bowl, with mixer on medium-low speed, beat butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter until smooth and blended. Add powdered sugar slowly, incorporating fully after each addition. Add cool whip and beat until smooth and creamy. Frosts cupcakes. I did put the frosting in a ziploc and cut the corner to get the lovely piping you see below.

Wedding Gift

This is a wedding gift for a dear friend getting married on...11/11/11 after being with her significant other for 11 years. I hope they like it.

I took wooden letters, glued them to the canvas, and the spray painted and sanded multiple coats to get a near even finish. I seem to get to close to everything I spray paint.

Projects

Some of the projects I am working on in my spare time: