Tuesday, January 26, 2010

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Kind of a silly title, but you don't know how long I searched for just the right song to go with this post (It was really hard to find a song related to food, cooking or Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip!). In the end, I didn't end up finding one that I thought went really well...hence the title I ended up with!

Things have been pretty much the usual around here. Busy as ever of course.

I guess kind of along the topic of my title; I heard back this evening from the agency we had called regarding the seminar they are holding for people interested in adopting some of the children from Haiti who are being brought to the United States. It seems that only children who come into the country with papers stating that they are orphans can be adopted. Still, I can't help feeling that this tragedy is an opportunity for us somehow...I don't know how it will all work out but I know that God has a plan.

The true reason for this post is to share a very yummy recipe that I tried recently. Saturday a few of us met at a friend's house to work on knitting hats for cancer patients; it's part of our efforts to raise money for our school Relay for Life team. So, I decided to bring this yumminess to share!

Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip

Start out with:
8 ounces softened cream cheese (room temperature)
2 cups sour cream
3 ounces bacon bits (I bought the type in bag as opposed to the crunchy ones)
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup chopped green onion, more for garnish
Chopped bacon for garnish, optional (I didn't use this; I figured it was fattening enough already!)

Mmmm...lovely green onions!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, combine all ingredients.


Spread in a 1 quart baking dish.
Cover and heat 25-30 minutes or until hot.
If you choose to you can garnish with some of the green onion.
Do you see the one that looks like a heart?
It didn't last very long but we sure did enjoy it! I served it with Wheat Thins, but I'm sure you could find lots of other things to gobble it up with! If you do try the dip I hope that you'll leave a comment and tell us how you liked it!

Now, I know that there are many musical purists that will be AGHAST that I'm choosing this version of the Rolling Stones song to share. Truth be told, I'm not a huge Stones fan (ducking quickly to avoid anything that might be flying me way). Phew! Anyway...I am a huge fan of Glee, so I am including that version for you to appreciate instead.

Hope your day is filled with good music and great food!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Geek in the Pink

Though he would never be caught wearing pink (GASP!) there is no question that I married my very own personal geek!

This was the excitement in our house yesterday:

What's in the booox??? What's in the boooooox??? Sorry personal joke: Warning, it is not kid appropriate!

Sorry, where were we? Oh yeah...so, this was what was really in there:


Caffeinated Goodies, including Mana Potion
See those cute little bottles there on the left? Yeah, that's "Mana" from World of Warcraft (yep, he's one of those GAMING geeks). Guess how much it cost...go ahead...guess. $20 bucks! Thank goodness for gift certificates!

A Gadget and Some Other Gadget
What do they do? I don't know...geeky stuff. Something about memory and static and blah, blah, blah...I'm a bit of a geek myself and even I was like...ZzzzzZZzzzz...

But look at how happy he was to get all his geeky goodness!

By the way, that hoodie he's wearing is just another testament to his geekiness. Really? Who needs that many pockets?!?! My geek of course! How else can he keep all his gadgets close at hand? (Thank goodness for my parents who love and support Dee's gadget habit!)

So, not only did I say "I do" to a sweet, kind and caring man who is allergic to chocolate and dairy products but eats them with wild abandon, a man who does the dishes, supports all MY habits (did you read my last post???) and loves cats too, I also married a geek; the only one I want to live long and prosper with.

Because of him I can truly appreciate:

Geek in the Pink (Darn you YouTube for disabling embedding on this!)


This one describes him almost to a "T"! Well, except for the "white" part of course... :smirk: I actually find it hilarious because I see so much that reminds me of him in the video. When I showed it to him again the other day his response was, "Hmmm...I've been wondering where my Klingon dictionary went."

Finally, I know that I can appreciate some of his geekiness because I am have a little bit of a geeky soul myself. I'm forever grateful that someone I love can appreciate the greatness that is Jonathan Coulton (JoCo to those who know him well...and his stalkerish fans.) So, I leave you with one of our favorite selections from this geek rock great:



I love you Code Monkey, with your big, warm, fuzzy secret heart.

Are YOU too married to a geek or do you pride yourself on knowing the difference between RAM and ROM? Why don't you share some geeky greatness in the comments section?

Monday, January 11, 2010

Obsessed

I fully admit that I can be a flittery kind of girl at times. My attention tends to wander after too much of the same thing. I've had lots of hobbies over the years (cross-stitching, scrapbooking, card making, just to name a few) and collected LOTS of different things (Winnie-the-Pooh, Boyd's Bears, miniatures...heck I even used to collect stickers back in the day (AKA second or third grade) in my ultra cool sticker album.

My latest hobby (please replace "hobby" with the word "obsession") is loom knitting. Besides being a flittery kind of girl, I am also a very uncoordinated one. Try as I might, even after multiple attempts with many patient individuals, I have yet to learn how to knit with needles. But from the moment I picked up the Knifty Knitter it was like magic (magic I tell you)! I have been churning out hats like my life depended on it and loving every minute of it! I've even introduced some of my friends to loom knitting (And dragged them down into the murky depths of my obsession as well...isn't that what good friends are for?).

So, without further ado, since I know you're about to fall out of your seat with anticipation, I present (drum roll please) MY PRECIOUSSSSESSSSS!!! I mean, creations...right, right, that's what I meant...TADA!

This hat went to my little friend Noah:

Sock Monkey was a very willing (and cheap) model:

A hat for my nephew, Nate the Great:

Another hat for sweet baby Nate:

This was a Christmas present from my mother-in-law:

One for Demmi as well:

My first donation hat:

To keep my Nana's head warm:

For sweet Miss Faith on her first birthday:
So there you have it, my latest obsession. I love that loom knitting allows me the chance to be creative, work with beautiful colors and sometimes even gives me a chance to do good for others. I'm really excited to see what I'm able to make in a few months as my skills continue to grow.

In addition, several of my teacher friends and I will be getting together to help make hats to use as a fundraiser for our Relay for Life team. How exciting; good friends, yummy food and knitting!

Today's video was the best I could find related to the topic of obsession. Dee's a Mariah Carey fan, but it's not just her singing he enjoys... ;-) While you're watching, maybe you can think of an obsession you enjoy and share it in the comments section!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Riddle

Too often I forget to say how grateful I am for my sweet husband who lets me sing out loud to the soundtrack of my life...even when I forget I hope that you remember. <3





Here's a riddle for ya, find the answer. There's a reason for the world...you and I.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Song for a Winter's Night

It certainly is COLD out there and seems like it will be for awhile. Possible snow flurries in the morning, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Really not too much to report overall today. It was a good day back; I was busy with testing and glad to see my kiddos.

Dee's taking his nap already in preparation for work tonight and I plan to follow him relatively soon. Hope to get a little more knitting done tonight as well as an episode or two of something on Netflix. I don't miss having TV too much, but there are a few shows I'm glad we can access online (LOST, House, Monk, Psych). The end of my day now seems complete knitting away in front of the computer.

On that note, we watched the first two episodes of True Blood last night. I really liked it, but that's kind of a given since there are vampires involved. :-) I can't wait for the next disk to arrive!

I think tonight I'll try and watch the Discovery Channel special on Secret Societies that I've been eying in my queue. Squeal!!!

In keeping with my Project 365 plans, here are a few pictures from my day:

Dee and I; he's trying not to look like he's forcing a smile...just in case you couldn't tell. ;-)



Nalla's not just a knitting kitty, she's a techie kitty too!


Nalla and her Dada:

I would be happy just to hold the hand I love on this winter's night with you...

Goodnight friends; I hope on this winter's night that you have someone special to hold your hand...<3

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Same Old Lang Syne

Welcome 2010! You're going to be a great year!!!

This year is off to a wonderful start! Since Dee had to work New Year's Eve, I spent it at the hotel so we could be together. As one area I plan to focus on this year is taking more photos (especially of Dee and I together) I had to start off the night with a picture:


For a little while now I've been thinking about doing Project 365 in the hopes that I'll end the year with not just more pictures, but also more blog posts. I think it will be exciting to remember those everyday moments as the year goes on.

Also, Hip Mountain Mama has a wonderful challenge going this year called One Small Change. I hope you'll pop over there and see what it's all about! My change for January is one that I've been working on for some time, but really want to focus on more. I will stop using plastic grocery bags completely. Not only do they create clutter in my house but the clutter they create on our Earth is awful! To help keep my goal I went around the house and found all the reusable bags I have that aren't already being used for something else (my knitting bag, the one I use to hold newspapers, etc) and washed them all. Now they'll be ready to put in the car so that I'll always have them handy! Also, I'm going to find one that will fold up small enough to keep in my purse for those times when we make a quick stop. Will you take the challenge too? Together we can make such a difference with only one small change!

Last night, since Dee was off with me, we jetted over to Chesterfield for a much needed and much enjoyed date night. After a little running around (Kohl's for me and Best Buy for Dee) we ended up in Michael's where they were having a huge yarn sale! Of course I had to stock up! I've been needing some solid colors since all my other yarn is multi-colored. Dee got a new art book and some pencils. From there we lounged around in Barnes and Noble for a bit before heading to Red Lobster for dinner; yummy food but yucky service.

The highlight of the evening was seeing the much anticipated Avatar in Imax 3D! Admittedly I knew little to nothing about the movie before going in, but Dee was really excited and had been talking about it for awhile. I'm SO glad that we went! It was amazing; visually stunning and a great story with a nod to several areas of environmental concern. I was very impressed and can't wait to see it again!

Here are a few pics from our fun night:







Hard to believe, but Christmas break ends today and tomorrow I'll be back with my kiddos. Today I'm trying to enjoy my last few moments; I see some knitting and movie watching in my future...

My song selection for the new year is an old one; one that brings back many memories of days gone by. If nothing else, it's the first song that comes to mind as the new year begins. I grew up listening to Dan Fogelberg and love so many of his songs. Unfortunately the video isn't the best, but the song more than makes up for it: