Gobble Gobble Burp.

Today is Saturday. Feels like Monday. Too weird!

We got a 4-day weekend at work this year for Thanksgiving (finally!) and it's awesome! Thursday we did Thanksgiving at my mom's and had a blast. My BFF Honey and her husband Kirk came over, and it was absolutely lovely. My mom made an amazing turkey, there was much wine and eggnog (with liquor!) and we played games while we digested. Oh, and mine and ben's late-night pie making party turned out great results. The pumpkin was amazing!

That night Honey and I went and did some black friday madness. She got Rebekah this ginormous stuffed tiger that takes up half her bed... I got our family Christmas present (though we're using it already... an LCD HDTV and a blu-ray player. Super cheap and totally sweet. We only stood in line for 3 hours...

I only just recovered from the lack of sleep today... and now I'm making our turkey dinner yum yum! Time to chillax and clean the house... it's like a tornado swept through here!

Oh and my elbow is finally getting better. I bruised a tendon in my left arm about a week ago... It was bad. I still can't do my own hair or pull off shirts very easily, but I can, for the most part, fuction normally with very little pain. Isn't it funny how we can do that to our bodies? And all I was doing was pulling grocery bags out of the trunk...

Alright, back to my housework...

Thankful

This Thanksgiving we have so much to be thankful for! (please don't mind all the parentheses. I am feeling very comment-y today...)

Almost exactly a month ago, Ben lost his job at PetSmart. It was terrifying and awful. We scraped by, and as we started getting closer to the end of the month, we knew we were coming to the end of our rope. After Thanksgiving we wouldn't be able to make ends meet. Our Landlords were fantastic (very thankful for them too!) and worked with us. Our family and friends were fantastic (thank you mom for the money here and there) they made sure we had groceries and gas in the car when they could.

We prayed and worked and got Ben some interviews. They went well, and yet he still didn't have a job. Then a job I applied him for a few weeks before he lost his job called him up. In fact, the district (area? zone?) manager called him and said, let's get you in for an interview!!

After a two-week long application process (biting our nails the entire way...) they called and said... We want you to work for us! Not only that, but they got him started today so he'd get paid for the holiday. (Imagine working one day and getting the next day paid off!)

The pay is more than we imagined he'd get (we were getting desperate for anything... minimum wage...) plus commission on his sales. The hours are great (no late nights and short weekend shifts) and as far as we can tell the guys he works with are great.

Thank you everyone for all the words, prayers and little things that helped us get through the hardest month I think we've ever been through. Now... on to the future.

Gods Bless, and have a safe and happy holiday!

Snow Day!

So we got a lot done this morning before the snow started... but alas I'm still feeling like I'm losing my weekend.

Bekah's God-momma Honey came over and cut Bekah's this hair this weekend (we had a very entertaining Friday night... mwa ha ha)

Bekah no longer has a mullet. Praise the Gods! :) And as Honey reminded me twice... she is certified to cut hair. What a wonderful woman that Honey... we just love her to pieces..

Today I am making Pear and Blue Cheese soup. It is magnificent and I dare you to try it. I guarantee you will love it! I got the recipe from a chef at a restaurant we went to once, he just kind of walked me through it real quick and I wrote it down while it was in my head... Yummy yum yum!

Pear and Blue Cheese Soup:

4-6 Bosch pears (depending on size) very ripe and soft.
1 stick of butter
half an onion (or a small onion) diced
two stalks of celery diced thin
1/2 cup flour
Two 14 oz cans of Chicken Broth
Salt
Pepper
1/2 pint half and half (this you can use more or less based on your tastes... or use cream or whole milk)
1 cup blue cheese (I just buy a small tub and use it all)

Core and slice the pears (leave skin or not) and saute in the butter with the onion and celery. Let saute until the pears are softened. Then add the flour and mix (making a rou) and let the flour cook out the raw taste (about 2 minutes or so) then add the chicken broth. Stir well until the flour mixture dissolves into the broth. Add a dash of salt and pepper (I use low sodium chicken broth so it needs a bit of salt, with the regular stuff you may not)

At this point you can let it cook for a while, about 20-30 minutes or so to let the flavors truly meld, or once warm move on to the next step.

Now, with a stick blender (or in your food processor), blend the soup in the pan gently (to keep from splashing too much) and puree the soup mixture. Add half and half and blue cheese, and let get back up to temperature.

Viola.

I dare you to try!!

Picture HEAVY post...

I haven't posted a good set of pictures in forever (They're on my photography blog mostly) But here ya go...

This was bathtime the other night... this one ended up so sweet I framed it and put it in our bathroom... I just love her big sad eyes.

This one is too funny, she kept wiping the bubbles into her eyes then crying and wiping them back out... she was all sudsy at the end of it.

 

Bekah Trick-or-Treating at my work on the 29th... she had SO much fun and got SO much candy!!

A fun triptych I call, Dance in Three Steps :)

These are a series of pictures we did on a nice day, Bekah's a total ragamuffin, but I think they turned out okay.  She had so much fun twirling and dancing! I love that look on her face... what a little girl!!

This I call the "Little Ben" picture... I can't believe how much she looks like him!!

More to come!!