New Resident to Casa Peterson!

Hope you didn't think I was talking about a baby!


Just paid for this beauty :) She'll be moving in with us sometime next week, we don't know for sure. She sure is nice and sweet, and very efficient with her time. Yes, she is a girl. You mean you don't assign your appliances a gender? That's a shame...

New Goals

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Ours was a little too eventful, if you ask me. Christmas Eve started early, with both of us having to work a half day. Then I left early (yeah, early on a half day!) because it was so slow and I was SO sick I could hardly lift my head. And no, it wasn't morning sickness :) So we went home and I slept for three hours while Adam cleaned the house so it would be spotless when my parents came over that night. How cute, right? Well, luckily for me, after I woke up I felt MUCH better but still not 100%. But the parents came over, we had a yummy dinner and then watched Miracle on 34th Street, opened presents, played Apples to Apples, and ate some really tasty bread pudding. It was a really great Christmas Eve (except for the sickness)
The next morning, we woke up, opened presents (my big present was a carpet shampooer, and Adam's was a camcorder) and got ready for the Peterson's breakfast. We spent the whole day with Adam's family and came home exhausted to spend some time with the puppy.
All in all, it was a great Christmas. Didn't take many pictures, but oh well.
Anyhow, on to something else! As the title of this post states, I've been making some new goals recently. Life's been SO busy that I fell like I'm always bummed about not doing something or stressed out about something else so I decided I need to do more that I like to do and things that make me happy. A clean house is one of them :) Bloggin is another. So that's why I'm posting today. I promise to post at least once a week, and find something fun to actually post about.

Today's post? The kitchen. We've begun the painful process of changing up the kitchen and our first step was the appliances. With limited counter space, we REALLY needed to move our mammoth micro off of the counter and above the stove where it belongs. Before:

See all of the space that was wasted? Plus the vent hardly worked and neither did the light. OUT I SAY!!! So we took it out. And the cabinet above it. Well, actually just moved the cabinet up. Here's our poor kitchen during the process.
Old microwave on the island, toaster oven on the counter, missing cabinet somewhere, and dishes all over. Oh, and I know I'm the WORST person for not putting any pictures of the inside of our house up, but I promise I will, hence the goal to post more often.
We decided to lift the cabinet now, rather then wait until we added more cabinets, so we wouldn't have to install the micro twice.
See? Look how pretty :) All done and with only ONE trip to Home Depot. A 20 minutes job that turned into a few hours. Plus, we're so glad we raised the cabinet, since leaving it would have made the microwave WAY too low. Oh, this picture shows the color of the kitchen so much better then the one above it. Kind of a neutral green.

Oh, and we replaced the dishwasher! This one even works :) Now I don't have to handwash ANY MORE!!!
Oh so pretty! And quiet! And shiny! And no buttons in sight! We've since replace then fridge and due to a Christmas bonus and a surprise check from our escrow account, we'll be able to get our stove sooner then expected! But that'll be a challenge since we're upgrading from Electric to GAS!!! Yippee! I'm just glad I don't have to run the gas line. Love ya honey!

Living the crazy life!

So, I know I've been totally MIA with my blog lately, but it's hard to do since we haven't done much "picture worthy" things lately because we're busy busy busy! Now that most of my projects are winding down (almost done Amber!) I thought I'd take a second to upload some pictures. Not very exciting, but it's all I've got people!

Here's me and Brody, on a Saturday morning (aka, no makeup, sweats and crazy hair). We try to take lots of pictures with him so we can remember how little he was! He's not little anymore! Last vet appointment had him weighing at just under 30 lbs and that was two weeks ago! I can hardly pick him up anymore.

Okay next not-so-exciting picture... We got free tickets to go to the Jazz game on Thanksgiving. So much fun! And we had pretty good seats. Highlight of the game? The guys that were accross the aisle and down a few rows were dressed in vintage Jazz uniforms (itty bitty shorts) and dancing their hearts out!

Of course, we had to get a Christmas tree after Thankgiving! We only got it just down the street from our house, but can you say Griswold? Looks great! Little full, Lotta sap!!

This is the first year we got to have Christmas lights. I think Adam was pretty excited, no, more like giddy to get those lights up. We had some stuggles (like blowing a fuse when we connected all 10 strands together! Shouldn't an electrician know better?) but it came out b-e-a-utiful!

disclaimer: our light colors in no way affiliate us with any college football team, even though Adam would like to think so

We've been up to a whole lot more, but I'll save that for a different day. Hope ya'll have a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Treats

Now that Christmas is almost here, I've been thinking of the infamous "Neighbor gifts." I don't like giving them, don't have time to make them, but boy do I love to receive them! With absolutely NO time this Christmas season, I'm heading to the good ol' reliable this year. Anyone in my family knows exactly what this is, right Cristl and Chantel? English Toffee!!! 15 minutes, not a lot of cost, and a big YUM factor! So, I'm letting you in on the family recipe so you can take advantage of this yummy, easy treat.

ENGLISH TOFFEE

1 cup whole almonds
2 sticks salted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup semi-sweet choc. chips
Brown paper bag (just because)
large cookie sheet

You can make this with pecans or walnuts, but I think almonds are the best. You can also make a double batch, but don't risk doing more then two batches at the same time. It may not work.

Follow the directions TO A "T" or you'll have a hard time getting the right result.
Before you start, it's best to get everything out and measured, because once you get started, you won't be able to stop going. Melt the butter on low in a medium-large pot. While the butter is melting, chop up the almonds so that they are in small pieces. Once the butter is completely melted, stir in the sugar and water and turn up the heat to medium high. Take 3/4 of the almonds and add to the pot (leave the tiny bits and crumbs for the topping). Stir with a wooden spoon and oven mitt because it's going to get hot! Hope your arms are strong because you're going to be stirring, a lot! It's going to start boiling and you have to keep it moving, so stir constantly and quickly, going over every part of the bottom of the part to avoid any burnt spots. Remember that paper bag? Well, this is when you need it because it will make you PERFECT toffee every time. Keep stirring and the candy will slowly start to darken in color. Watch that paper bag, because as soon as the candy is the same color as the bag (and you'll suddenly see a bit of smoke coming up) it's done! Grab your pot and dump all of the candy onto your cookie sheet. It'll start to spread like hot lava, so don't touch, cause it feeling like hot lava too. If you want fewer, thicker pieces, let it spread itself, if you want more, thinner pieces, take your wooden spoon and spread it out a bit (like spreading tomato sauce on a pizza crust). Wait a few minues and sprinkle those chocolate chips on top (while it's still hot). Let the chocolate chips melt and then spread that good stuff all over the top of your toffee. Don't forget those almond bits and crumbs that you saved, because those get sprinkled on top. Let it cool COMPLETELY (you can stick it in the fridge or freezer to hurry it along) and break it up using your hands into bite size pieces. Stuff it in a cute holiday mug or add it to a plate of other treats and that's it! Seems like a lot of directions, but once you make it once, you'll get the hang of it.





(linked to Kelly's Korner)

Brody

Having no new pictures on my camera (and after a request from my sista) here's more of Brody. He's now 12 weeks old and LOVES to chew everything! Luckily, we close our doors and he's only out of his kennel while we're home so we haven't lost anything to his chewing yet. He's almost house trained (and when I say almost I mean he's perfect for a week and then he'll have an accident). His favorite treats are pig ears cause he can chew them until they're gone (our favs too because that's the only way we get him to leave us alone for more then two seconds!). He's learned to sit on command and we're working on stay. He loves to play and wrestle with Adam. He's learned that after he goes potty outside to go to his bed, because that's where we keep the treats. He bites all of the time, but has learned to be soft and knows not to bite when we say no (but still likes to try to see how much he can do before we say something, which is never very long). He always thinks we have treats in our hands right after work, so he'll jump to get them though we never have anything. Brody loves tummy scratches the most and will go right on back as soon as you pet him, ready for a belly rub. He's such a stinker but he's our stinker and we love him.

(Don't let the pictures fool you! he's already gotten so much bigger since I took these!)

What would you do with $4000?

Since we bought a house in 2009, we get $8000 back on our taxes at the beginning of the year! Hooray! As much as I'd love to go to Europe, Australia, and New Zealand with that money, I'm a bit too practical (bummer, right?). We've decided to put half of it towards our savings account (gotta save for a rainy day) and the other half toward our house, the best investment we could make. So, that gives me $4000 to play with :) So, what would you spend $4000 on for your house? We're thinking about kitchen improvements and our yard, but what would you do? You might have a suggestion that I never would have thought about, so please, GIVE YOUR IMPUT!!!

It's a boy!

Hope that title got your attention! Nope, I'm not preggo, but we do have a baby boy in our house.

Meet Brody.

He's our new puppy :) Golden lab and so cute, even though he pees on the carpet if I don't watch him, and whines when I'm trying to sleep. But he's so fun!

This picture of him is right after his first bath on the day we brought him home. He's such a snuggle bug and so cute and chubby.

See, isn't he cute? Luckily, since it was Adam's idea to get a puppy right now, he gets to wake up with him at night to take him out. Fair, right?

New Pics

Can't start off another year without pictures, can you? Not me! Think of these as our not-engagement-but-not-yet-family pictures. Here's just a little glimpse of some Brooke has already edited. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! Now, I just get to pick my favs for her to make perfecto!

2 already?

Yep, today is our two year anniversary! Can hardly believe it's already here and what we've gone through together to get here (the good and the bad). In two years, we've bost lost our jobs, both gotten new jobs, went on two cruises, lived in three places (including the parents house), bought our first house, bought four new pair of boots, gone to 6 rodeos, never have thrown up (love that), and have gained a combined 50 lbs! (wish it was just him that had added the pounds)
These have been the best years of my life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. It doesn't seem like it can get better then this, but I've said that before, so I can't wait to see what IS better then this :) Love you sweetheart to the moon! Thanks for choosing me :)

Oh, heck, we've gained some weight, but we still look good!

Cruise 2009

We're back! I'm going to make this post as short as possible...really...I will...well, I'll try. We flew into Orlando on Friday. After lots of drama and not being able to pick up the rental car (don't even ask!) we took a taxi ($40!!!! No kidding, for 13 miles!) to our hotel. Brand new, so chic, and the beds were even comfy! We totally scored with that one. Went to TGIFridays (cause it was in the parking lot. No car, remember?) and hung out at our hotel until Chris and Caytlin came around 1:00 am with the rental car. Yeah, don't ask. Slept, woke up, and had a complimentary breakfast of belgin waffles :) Then we were off to Cape Canaveral. Here we are in the back seat, trying to enjoy the 45 minute drive and get overly impatient about the cruise. Dropped off the car and got on the ship. Luckily, since we were running late (is the car rental return by the McDonalds or Wendys???) we zoomed through the check in and were on the ship in no time! Here's were all of the action happens on the days at sea. See how fast I'm going through this? On Saturday and Sunday, we were just at sea, traveling to Mexico. On Sunday was a formal night, so I felt better that at least we were DRESSED for Sunday at least for an hour or so. We impatiently wait for our dinner to come. It was always so yummy. And after dinner. The sunset was amazing, but it sure was hot and humid outside. Plus I felt about 20 lbs heavier because, yes, you guessed it, I ate too much :)

First port, Cozumel Mexico! Our absolute favorite this cruise. We spent the morning shopping (only paying a couple bucks for a cute necklace is fine by me!) and Adam was almost giddy, getting to talk Spanish with the locals. They thought he was the coolest. And from what Adam tells me, they all seemed to really like my butt too! Walking down the street along the beach shopping. They paint the trees to keep bugs away, I guess.

After shopping, Caytlin was in desperate need of A/C and we were in desperate need of some food. So Adam asked around where we could find A/C AND good food for cheap, and they led us to this resturant. Their A/C was really just shade and ceiling fans, but we both loved it. I got Chile Relleno (good but different) and Pete got steak fajitas. Yummy!

After lunch, we took a taxi and Adam asked where we could go to a nice, free beach. After a 10 minute drive, our driver took us to a resort beach, which you'd normally have to pay for, but they just let us in :) Here are the boys snorkeling. Adam saw some black and white striped fish, a crab, and a barracuda!

Next stop, Belize! It was very pretty. We had to take tenders from our ship to the port, where we were supposed to meet our bus for the Cave Tubing Adventure we had signed up for. The river was too high, so it was closed and we got talked into going on an ATV Adventure instead. Kinda lame, it turned out, but we only had to pay what it was worth. Here we all are after getting off the 4-wheelers. It was so muddy, but since it had just rained so much, it was really more like muddy water then mud. You can't tell very well, but our legs are covered!

After we got back in town, Pete saw the fresh coconut stands and had to get one. I thought it was way gross! Not at all sweet like I thought. The pic is blurry cause our camera contastly fogged up from the humidity.

You still with me? We're half way done :) Hang in there! Next stop was Costa Maya Mexico! Here, Caytlin and Chris did there own thing and went to the Mayan ruins, while we preferred to hang out at the beach and town. We're walking down this LONG dock, and start to see fish in the water along the side.

As I'm walking and looking (never a good idea next to a ledge!) I see this big thing moving. Swimmer, no way. Holy cow, it's a sea turtle! It swam under the pier and out the other side, before I could get this picture. It was so cool!

We took a taxi to a town down the beach and went shopping. Love it. Of course, Mexican Coke in hand.

We chilled on the beach, and since the snorkeling was no good, we decided to get a massage instead. Oh yeah! $15 per person for 45 minutes. Full body massage, with oil, on the beach. Oh yeah! I loved having a Spanish speaking negotiating machine with me at all times :)

Since we had lots of time and were having fun just being in Mexico, we decided to walk back to the port, rather then take a taxi. Yeah, thought that was a good idea. This is us still smiling, cause we still have water in our packs. Here we are, walking our path.

We kept walking and walking, thinking we'd have to get there eventually, but it took a LONG time and it was HOT and we ran out of WATER! Finally, we got to the shops around the port, but a chain link fence with BARBED WIRE kept us from going inside. Luckily there were some Mexicans on the other side.....who couldn't speak English. Oh wait, that's no problem! Adam speaks Spanish! Well, they told us that unfortunately, there was no way to get in, or climb over, so we'd have to go all the way back! What? No way was I going to do that! So after almost giving up (me, not Adam) we decided to follow the fence and saw some things leaned up against the fence on both sides that might help us get over. So after CAREFULLY climbing over the barbed wire fence (yeah, I'm not even kiddin') all we had to do is sneek in with the crowd without being seen. Man, now I know how illegal immigrants must feel, cause all we were trying to do was get across the "border" without getting caught and sent back! Such an adreniline rush, but not a good one, let me tell you! We shopped for a bit longer, and Pete finally bought some Turtle boots he had been torn over since Cozumel.

Next day, Fun at Sea! Here's us on the lobby stairs after another formal night. It was too dark outside to take more pictures on the deck, and we were SO done with "stuffy" clothes.

So, what do you do when you're stuck on a big boat, for a whole day, without drinking or gambling? Not much! We decided to play volleyball but it was too windy. How about mini golf? Such a great idea, except we're on a moving boat and the wind is blowing the balls around!

Well, how about some BINGO?!? We were SO close to winning! We even shouted BINGO, but the announcer laughed and said she hadn't finished the number. Well, just don't drag out O73 when we need O70!

Maybe try making silly faces at the camera to entertain ourselves? Darn foogy lense!

Well, fortunately, we only had to endure that for one day! Next, Nassau Bahamas. They had a gazillion stores downtown, but they're all diamonds, handbags, and expensive stores like Gucci. Who buys that stuff? So, we trekked to the beach. And man, was it a journey. We're almost there, finally!

After playing on the beach for a bit, we decided to start walking back, but more leisurely this time. We were beached right next to the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, so rather then walking ALL THE WAY AROUND the resort, we decided to take a short cut THROUGH the resort. Smart us, right? Yeah, we thought so, until we were half way through and had to turn back because we weren't "staying at the resort". How snobby! But it was beautiful! See the arch above the right side of my head by the palm tree? The arch connects the two towers and is actually a Suite that is $25,000 a night, four night minimum! Can you imagine!

Took the ferry back to the main island and shopped until we got on the boat. We got a really cool painting and I bought a super cute necklace, made from fish scales! No kidding, it's so cute AND freaking awesome!

Next morning, we woke up to yucky, old Florida. Not that the Sunshine State is all that awful, but when comparing it to the waters of the Caribbean, it's hard not to be disappointed.

To fill in the time after we HAD to be off of the ship and before we needed to be at the airport, we decided to go to the temple. Such a good way to finish a vacation together, except that I didn't have my recommend with me. Luckily, after lots of attempts, I got a hold of the bishop and he hooked me up! Orlando Temple.

Okay, time to wake up now! I'm sure ya'll fell asleep during that SUPER LONG post, but some people (like me!) like details. Hope you enjoyed our vacation with us!