Tradition

Today Ryan, my family, and I had our annual apple-picking adventure. We look so forward to this every year. We've been going every fall since I was in high school, maybe even before that. We were lucky today; it was hailing as we drove to the orchard, and the sun came out just as we got out of the car. :) We always take tons of pictures and today was no different...


I thought I'd start with some pics from years prior...

2004, just days after we got married... awwwww























2005, I thought this one was funny
















2006, def my favorite pic from last year



















2007... (my bro took a bunch of these... kudos to him)

















We also celebrated my daddy's birthday today (it was yesterday)! I made white chicken chili and apple crisp.... major yum. Since I didn't participate in the blog recipe exchange when it was first suggested, I thought I'd post the recipes for BOTH to make up for my slacker-dom... the chili was especially good, it was more brothy and like soup than chili, but it was so freakin delicious.... seriously, I might go heat some more up now....


White Chicken Chili
serves 6 (I doubled it for my family of 7, and had to use my big crockpot)

Ingredients:
-1 48 oz can great northern beans, rinsed & drained
-2-3 C cooked chicken (I used 1 whole rotissere chicken, it made exactly 3 cups)
-1 C chopped onion
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-2 tsp ground cumin
-1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 raw carrots, sliced
-3 1/2 C chicken broth
optional
-shredded monterey jack cheese
-broken tortilla chips
-sour cream

1. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker, stir drained beans, chicken, onion, carrots, spices, and broth all together
2. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours
3. Top with cheese, chips, and sour cream if desired.

IT WAS AMAZING! Seriously. So easy, too.


Check out the apple crisp recipe here... it was delish and all of the credit goes to Martha, hehe (too lazy to type the whole thing out when I can just link it)!


Such a fun day! Now how about re-heating that chili while we watch game 4...

pretty things

I've spent all day today cleaning... mostly vacuuming cat hair (using my mortal enemy vacuum cleaner)... nothing better than going on an all out cleaning spree on a dreary fall day. Ryan got a chance to hang a few things we've meant to hang for awhile now, I thought I'd share...


mom picked this wall hanging up for me a few weeks ago... I'd been looking for one like this forever... and I got around to spraying it black today



I picked up this cute hook thing shopping when we were in Michigan this past week... it's hung in our stairwell to the basement



my uncle made this mirror/key hook for our wedding, I recently pained it (it's not really done and I still have to scrape paint off the mirror, but I just wanted it UP)... yay!



and I just thought I'd share... Ryan tiled the side entrance in the past week or so... he's a good one huh? :) (don't mind the nasty wall... still needs to be trimmed)


It's the little things...

DYSON CONTEST!

Ok, so a few months ago I complained about how I hated my vacuum and how I abandoned it at our old apartment when we moved out. Many people advised me to get a Dyson... and sadly, I did not comply (or should I say, my wallet did not comply). Instead, we purchased this vacuum, since it was like 1/3 of the price of a Dyson. Sorry, but I hate it. Yes, it has all of the attachments, including a mini-beater thing, but I hate it. It is HUGE and SO SO heavy and I already sliced the cord with the corner of a wall (yes, a wall) and a piece that holds the not-very-long hose attachment broke off when I was trying to put the hose away. I shoulda sucked it up (ha) and bought the Dyson originally, but if I had, I wouldn't have been able to enter THIS CONTEST to Win a Dyson “Pink” Vaccuum in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! You all should enter this too.... but maybe not, since it would lower my chances of winning... ha!

FAME!

Our kittens are famous! They were featured on cuteoverload.com today! (click the link, then you just need to scroll down a few entries, it's from today, 10/19, and it's the one with the kittens in the pockets of the bathrobe) Now, I sent this pic in months ago, and since I check this site religiously each day, I figured it just didn't make the cut. They were so cute! They are HUGE now... I can't believe they once fit in a bathrobe pocket. Hehe. Our poor future children!

super six

Lindsey AND Rachel tagged me for this one... it's kind of sad when you have to DIG to think up interesting things about yourself.... sigh.


The rules: (copied totally from Lindsey's blog)
A.The rules of the game must be posted at the beginning of your post.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I am always cold. I have permament goosebumps. I complain about the ac in the summer. (beat a dead horse)
2. I always have to set my clocks fast, 5 minutes is usually the magic number. It's called OCD.
3. I've never smoked anything, ever. Can I call that an accompishment?
4. I am obsessed with teeth and everything that comes along with teeth. Toothpastes, toothbrushes, whitening systems, you name it. I guess I shoulda been a dentist.
5. I fell off a log when I was about 7 and got a branch jabbed into my head, right about my left eye. My dad let me look at myself in the mirror before we went to the emergency room... I had a huge hole in my head. Now I have a nasty scar and one eyebrow that is totally impossible to shape.
6. I can recite pretty much any nursery rhyme ever written. I learned this a few weekends ago at Rachel's shower when Becca initiated a game in which she read a line from a nursery rhyme and we had to come up with the title. I was a little freaked by my ability not only to name the nursery rhyme, but finish them, multiple verses and all. I really thought everyone knew all nursery rhymes.... if I ever recite them around Ryan he looks at me like I'm a PSYCHO...


Now to tag.... how about Amy, and ummmmm... yeah. Amy. I think you, AJ are the only one who would play along.... and I'd love to help you out if you are in need of entertainment on an overnight shift. ;)

3 years

*I was going to wait until morning to post this, but we stayed up until all hours watching Monday Night Football... I have so much anxiety and adrenaline running through me right now so I figured I should have an outlet and try to cheer myself up... boo dallas!!!* :(




Three years ago today I married my best friend. As cliche as it sounds, it's true. In the past three years, I have laughed more, cried more, felt more, dreamed more, grown more, felt more accepted, and loved more than I had ever before. Ryan and I both have grown so much in the past three years. The best part about anything that we have shared, through struggles, joy, worry, frustration, or elation, is that we were blessed to be able to share them together. Ryan is everything I ever prayed for.... he IS what I prayed for for all those years. 4 1/2 years ago, I even wrote out a list after getting my heart broken, yet again, of all of the things I wanted in a husband, the things I knew God wanted to GIVE me in a husband. I met Ryan not 6 months later, and I honestly knew days into our relationship that I had found HIM. Marriage has shaped me and taught me about sacrifice and pure joy.











RPK, thank you for being my best friend and my forever. I love you much more than I can say.

sweet progress

This weekend has been GREAT... Mom and Dad stayed over Friday and Saturday night and we worked on the house all day yesterday and a lot of today. We got SO MUCH done. Here are just a FEW things that were accomplished (mostly by Ryan, Dad and Mom... haha... SOMEONE has to clean up after them!)...
-doors to hall built-ins and doors to bathroom cabinet installed (custom-made by my Dada)
-porch ceiling torn out and a new one installed, along with a new light fixture





















-porch door replaced (hallelujah) and framed out
-front door repainted (only Mom can accompish this nicely... I think I may wait out on you to do the side one too, hehe) and framed out
-fun trips to home depot, as always
-got some pretty stuff hung up FINALLY (mom again)

-and the grand finale (cue trumpets).... WE PAINTED THE HOUSE!!!! NO MORE PINK/PEACH NASTINESS! The color (and the difference) is subtle, but perfect. I can't tell you how good it feels have this done. Actually, we're not fully done, Ryan is out there now (he actually JUST banged on the office window to scare me and make a stupid face at me), and I took a break to come in and obey all who have insisted on pictures... so here you go!!! taaa daaaaa.....
7.19.07



















halfway done... you can really see the difference here --->



















10.7.07 yaayyyyyy!!!
Thanks for all the help this weekend, Mom and Dad, we love you! Come back and I'll make more strawberries (work or no work, hehe) ;)



Oh, and for anyone wondering about my run last weekend.... I finished. That alone is enough to celebrate ;)

my face hurts

So supposedly I've disappointed a few people with my laziness and lack of posts... so here it is. A post BEFORE YOU EVEN GET HOME... take that AJ! Ryan, my parents and brother and sister, and I all went to see Brian Regan tonight, who is pretty much the best comedian ever. AJ and JK were there, too, OF COURSE, but they were way too cool to sit with us, or maybe Mike & Bev were the ones cooler than us, I don't know. Ryan and I saw him two years ago with Amy and John, and it was awesome, and this time was no less entertaining. I feel like we are part of some kind of cult or something, it's pretty sad when you can recite an act word for word and still die laughing... I'll leave you with a clip, it's older stuff, but still good. If you don't think it's funny, you need to either 1) never speak to me again, or 2) watch it another 20 times and memorize the material, then repeat it as it applies in real-life situations... trust me, you'll get it eventually.

Oh, and no pics from tonight, boo. I didn't want to risk getting my camera confiscated by the crazy usher ladies (who could DEFINITELY be donut ladies...) and I really had no reason to take any of all of us, even though I got to wear the supercute shirt Alyssa got me for my birthday... oh well. The video is enough. :)