12.31.2009

Play Dough Cookies...Yum!

As I said in my last post, on my visit "home" I spent a fabulous afternoon with one of my very best friends, Melissa. =) To help pass the time - and get our baking fix - we made Play Dough cookies, using the recipe that I found here.

Basically, you make the dough (which is edible, yes), wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer, if you're impatient like we are. I think about 20 minutes in the freezer is probably best, but if you're one of those recipe rule followers: 2 hours in the fridge. =) Then, take colors from each and roll them into small balls. Here's what you should have by this point.



{Wrapped in plastic wrap...}

{Rolled into balls}

Then, take 1 color from each and roll out into a small snake. Put the 4 (or however many you choose) colors together and roll into a longer sna
ke. Then, coil it! Here's what we ended up with:



**Little tip: roll them and bake them on parchme
nt paper. This was a lifesaver...something only Melissa would think of!!! ;-)**

Once you've gotten your cookies into a desirable shape - or one that you can make work - put those little darlings in the oven for 8 -12 minutes. *See recipe above for oven temp.* You can also put in sticks before you bake them so they look like lollipops. You should be able to get them from any craft store, but we got ours from Hobby Lobby.

Here's the way some of ours came out!

Yes, we did put them in Play-Doh containers just because we thought it would look cute!!! =D Why not?!

Then, to add to the cuteness, we put them in treat bags!
And, of course, we had to take a picture of ourselves with our baked goodies. =)
Just for fun, here's a picture of my nephew about to enjoy one of our goodies!


I hope y'all enjoy making these (and eating them) as much as we did!!!

12.30.2009

Christmas Festivities

Have been going on for over a week and I'm getting exhausted!!!

The Saturday before Christmas, we came back to NC to see my little niece! And, as expected, she is gorgeous...and TINY! So sweet. =) I w
as in baby heaven. Lol!


Monday, we left for AR to visit my parents and another portion of Joe's family. We were there through Christmas. I love my family...I really, really do, but sometimes I seriously wonder! I guess maybe I was just overwhelmed by being with my family in all of their loud splendor, but it was almost a little much at times. Is that terrible? Or maybe it was just the fact that I was staying at someone else's house...that always makes things a little difficult. And then throw in two 15 hour drives in two weeks...lots of food, tons of sugar, prese
nts, and family time...no wonder I was overwhelmed!!! =) We also had a white Christmas!! It was a powdery snow..with tons of wind, but white nonetheless! ☃

I did have fun shopping with Mom, though. I don't think my hubby or bank account appreciated that one too much though. ;-) Hehehe. Oh well! It's not every day I get to have some quality shopping time with Mom!

I also visited my bff, Melissa! =D We didn't get much time because of all the family stuff, but we did squeeze in time for baking Play Dough Cookies! Along with listening to some Michael Buble, laughing about our own craziness, and girl talk, we managed to make some pretty darn cute cookies! (Separate blog to come on those later, but I'll share a couple pics to tease you all!)


Now, Joe and I are back in NC enjoying some time with his family. By the end of this week, I have a feeling both of us are going to be in a sugar-and-family-induced coma. =P But, until then we will be enjoying as many minutes as we can with family. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family, full of laughter! ♥


12.18.2009

Christmas is Near!

I'm getting excited about Christmas!! I can't wait to see all my family, especially my new niece! =) However, I'm not excited about all the traveling and living out of a suitcase. We leave Saturday to head to NC to see my niece!! Then, Monday we're making the good 'ole trek to AR. Yay. I hate that drive almost more than I hate flying. So, you see the problem. =P


{I had to include a picture of my pretty little niece!}

Anyway, we're getting settled into the new apartment. I'm loving it! When all the boxes came, I was terrified that they were never going to get unpacked. We've managed to clear boxes out of the living room, bedroom, kitchen/dining area...but that's it. There are boxes crammed into the hallway leading to the spare bedroom...which you really can't get into anyway. It's beginning to feel more homey, but sometimes I wish I knew were everything was. Like the books I had on the bookshelf...they're in one of about 10 boxes labeled "books". Thanks for being specific, packers. A labeling like "books from bookshelf" would have been awesome.

Here are just a few pictures of the apartment. =)

After the movers brought our stuff:

It's getting there!!

12.14.2009

Ding, Ding! Round 2

...of antibiotics, that is. *sigh*

Right around Thanksgiving, I got this sinus infection...that I pretty much denied having for probably a week before I finally gave in and called the doctor. {Something you probably don't know is that I've been sick for the better part of my existence AND I have asthma that I should have outgrown, but no such luck. This asthma is also allergy-induced. As if I needed something to add on to the pile of things wrong with me. Ugh.} So, I called the doctor and they called me in some antibiotics that I've had countless times and I was pretty confident that it would work. I also was told to pick up some OTC (over the counter...I was a pharmacy tech. for a while) Mucinex and saline nasal spray.

I thought I was getting better, but my allergies were really starting to kick my butt. I assumed that it was just allergies and nothing else...then came the cough. Which, if you know anything about asthma, can be one of two things: just an annoying allergy related cough, or a warning sign. So obviously, I decided it was nothing and just decided to wait it out - maybe it would go away once all the boxes were gone. Last night, I started developing a sore throat. =( So, like any good girl, I gargled some warm salt water, took NyQuil and went to bed. And woke up with a sore throat like none other. {I used to get strep almost every year...got lucky last year and didn't get it.} I got up and made some coffee, praying that its lovely warmness would burn - I mean, cure - my sore throat. It helped but not as much as I'd hope. Curiosity got the best of me and I grabbed the combination flashlight/screwdriver thingy from my husband's nightstand to go look at what was growing in, er...irritating, my throat. And what did I find? Pretty much what I suspected, red with lovely white patches. *sigh* Time for the doctor's office. And since I just moved here...to the walk in I went.

I was actually quite surprised at how NOT busy the place was. Normally this time of year (and what with H1N1), places like that are packed. I guess I got lucky. They did a throat culture - those are fun - and it turned out that it was negative for strep. WOOHOO! So, the good 'ole doctor came in looked at my throat, listened to my heart and lungs...and wrote me a buttload of prescriptions - after asking me where I got my prescriptions because he wanted to give me a high powered dose of antibiotics to get rid of....this mystery infection. {By the way, the sore throat is from the drainage from my nose and its prolonged stuffiness. Yay.} I told him to go ahead and do it...I'm tired of being sick. So, I got a shot of steriods in the arm, antibiotics, allergy nasal spray, and oral steriods to go. Yay, me!

I'm sooooooooo tired of being sick. I've spent most of my life on the couch or in the bed suffering from cold after cold, infection after infection. I've had enough already!!!! I think it's time for a break!!!!!!! Hubby doesn't quite seem to understand...sorry, babe, still love you! For some reason, he thinks its in my head. Yeah. Like I really want to be sick. Who wishes to be sick?? And I can tell myself I'm not sick all I want...that usually makes it worse because I wait longer to call the doctor. And the reason I didn't fully recover from the sinus infection is
probably because of all the dust and junk that comes with moving! Grrrr! How many times do I have to remind him that my asthma is allergy induced -- not mind induced. And once the asthma starts to act up, my immune system starts to get all retarded and not help me fight off infection. Ugh. Still irritated.

I apologize to anyone who has a queasy tummy right now...I got a little descriptive...but, I needed to vent. =) Thanks for listening...er, reading!

12.09.2009

Moving Day #3

Finally came!!! Our stuff arrived this morning around 9:30! The movers were here, unloading things until a little before 12. =D Much quicker than the moving out...which doesn't make just a whole lot of sense, but who am I to question it?

As happy as I am to have my furniture, I did not welcome the 5.3 million boxes that were shoved (well, almost) into this little apartment. =( Downsizing is harder that I thought it would be. We still need to get rid of a desk. I'm seriously considering just giving it to the lending closet. I wonder if they would come get it for me? We don't have a truck and I HIGHLY doubt it would fit into the back of my car, even though the seats do lay down for storage.

Anyway, the extra bedroom looks more like a storage unit with carpet and a bathroom right now. =/ Boxes are piled almost up to the ceiling and, I swear, there's about 5 square feet of walking space. Our bedroom is pretty darn crammed, but I think once all the boxes are cleared out it will look just fine. The dining area looks pretty sad right now too. The only thing I accomplished today was unpacking the 10 boxes in the living room, connecting game consoles to the tv, and organizing DVDs. I don't know why, but I'm super exhausted. I guess seeing all those boxes kind of overwhelmed me. So, tomorrow (and for several days to come) I've got my work cut out for me. I suppose it does beat being bored and sitting on the floor though!!! I'll post pictures of this insane mess later...when I find the cord for my camera. =) Til then, picture 5200 pounds of stuff (including furniture) in a 903 square ft. apartment.

Now, for some rest before I start clearing these boxes out!!

12.07.2009

This Crazy, Wonderful Life ♥

Moving Day #2 came and went without a hitch. Well, except for the fact that the movers couldn't get their stinkin' huge truck down my driveway. Seriously - who on earth expects to see an 18 wheeler pull up at their house to move them? Not me. Then again, this is my first military move. And lessons have been learned, folks!

Lesson #1: Pack what you think you'll need f
or a week...maybe more.

Lesson #2: Keep some sort of toilet cleaner around...to clean up after movers/packers use the facilities. Blegh.

Lesson #3: Take allergy medicine!! All the dust had me sneezing and coughing for 2 days...and I'd recently ran out of my meds., which usually isn't that big of a deal. *sigh*

Lesson #4: Learn to interpret ebonics. Seriously. Couldn't understand the movers for like 2 hours.

So, here I am in our lovely new apartment...using my laptop for ALL of my entertainment, a rubbermaid box for a table/laptop stand, paper plates, plastic cutlery, paper cups, sleeping on an air mattress and staring at our wonderfully decorated Christmas tree. I REALLY hope that the movers get here Wed. afternoon instead of Thursday. This lack of furniture is killing my back!

*Side note: *loving* being here with my hubby and seeing him every day!!! *


In other news, my niece made her grand entrance at 9:30 last night!!! I so wish I could have been there! All the pictures I've seen are great, but I'm sure they don't do her justice! If she had come when she was supposed to - instead of waiting until I moved - I would have been there. Silly girl. But, she's beautiful and perfect despite her slowness. =) It definitely runs in the family! Mom and baby are doing great and getting into a routine. I can't wait to hold her! It may be a little silly that I'm so excited about this little girl...but hey, I can spoil her and send her home! Oh, the beauty of being an aunt and not a parent!!! Hahaha! =) I'm sure I'll get payback when we have kids, but oh well! I'll enjoy it while it lasts.



Meet Eden Rose, my beautiful niece! 6 lbs, 11.5 oz of perfection!
An early Christmas present for our family. =)

12.03.2009

Moving Madness, Day #1

Can I just say -- oh my goodness. ALL of my stuff is in boxes! Anything that's not liquid, flammable, or otherwise determined harmful is packed. For some reason, I didn't realize that everything was going to be packed until it happened. LOL! Don't ask me why. For instance, I assumed that I would still have my microwave and silverware...which I do not. This translates into take out for dinner! Oh well.

So, the movers were pretty nice. Interesting person
alities, but overall nice. I'm really glad a friend suggested I feed the packers...if I hadn't, they probably would have taken a 2 hour break. Those people are very serious about taking breaks!! They took 10 to "stretch" before they began packing my things...then took another 10 about an hour later. They took an hour for lunch - no biggie. I'd want an hour break too. And they took another 10 about an hour and a half later. Wow.

So, now that this is over with I'm a little less stressed. The actual movers are coming tomorrow to pick my stuff up. Definitely nervous about that. More strange people in my house...messing with my stuff. =/ And then moving it 200 miles. Plus, I have to get up early AGAIN because I have to take a shower at my sister in law's house. Why? No shower curtain!! Tomorrow is most definitely going to be an interesting day. I'm curious to see how all these boxes fit in the new apartment...yikes...

Here are a few photos of the moving madness. =)

{Believe it or not, this is my kitchen.}

{Master Bedroom}

{Spare Bedroom}
Who knew we had so much junk?! And why is it that you only realize this when you move?

12.02.2009

The Joys of Moving...

So, the movers come tomorrow and stress has already set in. I'm worrying about everything!! I'm getting things together that I want to take in my car...in other words, things that I don't want them to touch. =) I'm doing laundry, dishes and trying to clean up a little bit. I know that this place will be a disaster tomorrow anyway, but it might as well be clean my last night here.

I tried to call transportation to confirm that they're moving my stuff to our apartment and not storage, but guess what? Their system was down, so they couldn't check anything. Thanks for your reliability Army Transportation Office. Geez.

So, the movers will be here about 10:30 tomorrow. I decided I'd be nice and buy some lunch stuff for them to eat while they were here. I don't want cranky movers packing my things! I'm sooo worried that things are going to get broken in the move. =/ So, I'm going to make an effort to find the rest of my Christmas ornaments and put those in the car. I definitely don't trust them with those.

Off I go to do more pre-moving things. Wish me luck, say a prayer, and any advice would be awesome!