from old blog

This is from our old blog. I had to get rid of it because an old coworker found this in july...creepy coworker lol! 

TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2011

Harr-y Pott-er (in my best english accent)

Guess what I started to read.....

I was anti-Harry for a long time. This was because I got dirty looks and nasty comments when I told people I hadn't read the books.

Those who went to my high school were really weird when they talked about Harry Potter....really necessary to dress up and base your life around this book? (This goes for those who are grossly obsessed with Twilight)

The last movie is coming out and it FINALLY seems interesting...so I decided to read the books!

I went to "Once and Again" book store and purchased the first two books for $11.00 total.....

This was in the cover of the first book.... :)

I really enjoyed the book. I am a sucker for dark and scary books...it got a little "evil" towards the end...yay!!

 But all in all...........I really really want a chocolate frog.

source

i'll pass on the every flavor beans...I'll pass on the grass.

I just found these two recipes...I think I shall make these very soon...

Butter Beer Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup cream soda
3 eggs
1 stick melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with liners. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cake mix, soda, eggs and butter on low speed for about a minute. Increase speed to high and beat for another minute. Fill cups 2/3 full and bake about 15 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched.

Remove to cool on cooling racks.

Frosting:
1 stick butter, softened
3 Tablespoons cream soda
3 cups powdered sugar 
1 1/2 Tablespoons butterscotch ice cream topping 

Beat butter and soda until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until just combined. Add butterscotch and beat on high for about 2 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Brooms: 
Pretzel sticks for handles
Laffy Taffy for brush

Flatten Laffy Taffy and divide in thirds. Using scissors, cut fringe in bottom 2/3 of strip. Wrap uncut end around pretzel stick. Done!!

ALMOST Butter Beer

Recipe: Butterbeer (from Fox News)

• 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 6 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

1. In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
2. Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
5. To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

Lastly, this butt of a cat was bugging me a lot yesterday. All he wants is food. He doesn't need it 24/7!

Our evil pug :D

btw: I think Matt is excited I am finally reading Harry Potter - he brought home Harry Potter the Lego game :)

Chinese and more Harry

Work for the both of us yesterday was pretty much normal...I sat at the computer all day working on leases and Matt had to deal with an ignorant customer.

I came home from work and started reading Harry Potter some more. I am on the 2nd book and have about 150 pages to go? 140? Who knows. I bought this book used also : )

I also got a text from my sister in law yesterday.....

She got one of those from a friend. I was so jealous!!

I am so proud of myself...I even asked her what card she got...I know my Harry Potter (first book only!)

I had no idea who she was talking about until I read later into the 2nd book and they talked about the guy...no wonder she had a sad face!!!

I have been craving chinese food every day for the past few weeks. I got this deal at HEB for Orange Peel Pork for only 5.00! I am not a fan of pork but got it anyway...I also had some fried rice to use and asked Matt if he could bring home some egg rolls.

After we ate some I asked if we could play part of the first chapter of Lego Harry Potter! I was Harry Potter for a while and then switched to Ron...no one really cares...but anyways it was fun but gaming makes me really tired!

source

 I had to stop after an hour and read some more, took a bath and had to go to bed at 930pm...that gave me 6.5 hours of sleep. Yikes.

Anyways...Matt and I were talking and were thinking about doing something for our 2nd Wedding Anniversary...we didn't go anywhere on our first...actually some of our friends tolds us they were going to the Ren Fest on our anniversary...so we went....I think we should crash everyone else's 1st anniversary too! lol...kidding...

We were thinking of going to Orlando and to Disney World and The Harry Potter Adventure Park....yes I am obsessed with the books...I can't help it!!

For those who have been....Where should we stay? What should we do? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Trip to Dallas

Matt and I went to Dallas this past weekend, we had a wedding to go to! I had not been in Dallas since 2007.

This little guy had to stay at Grandma's. He had so much fun...everything is better at Grandma's!

we had to stop at in-n-out...

I personally thought that the BIG MAC tastes a lot better...what is all the hype about?!

 I didn't even take a picture of the food. The restaurant gave me anxiety with all the people in there and trying to find a seat.

yup, we found these at the mall. gross

This was at a mall that was color coded....It was weird and a bit confusing.

The view from our hotel room

Why yes I chose the Double Tree Hotel for the cookies!

The Wedding!!

Matt and I

:)

such a cute couple :D

We went to Rise No. 1 ...a restaurant in Dallas that specializes in Souffles...and $225 HAND TOWELS - unreal.

Hands down the best soup I have ever had.....

Tomato and Basil with pesto and the marshmallows are goat cheese!

I had to take another picture....

FANTASTIC artichoke!

I was not a fan. Souffle is not my bff...I had a chicken one

Matt had a crab souffle...it was actually really good!

Apple Tart!!!

yuuuuuuuuuuuum

We finally got to come home to this kddo

and this cat who is annonying 95% of the time.

....The goodies we received!

that is one heck of a good quote

we got parting goods when we left the restaurant!

I got this shirt at Delias!

We had to stop at Bucees!! When we did we got free samples!

I finished this book on Sunday and immediately went to Target to get the 4th!

Um...overwhelming amount of pages to read!! I am estimating that I will finish this on Thursday...too bad that work and sleep and eating and talking to people get in the way of this ;)

yikes. Just started.

Matt and I watched the movie last night, I'll talk about it in my next post!

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2011

Love October!

 

 

“EACH ONE SHOULD USE WHATEVER GIFT HE HAS RECEIVED TO SERVE OTHERS, FAITHFULLY ADMINISTERING GOD’S GRACE IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS.” 1 PETER 4:10 (NIV)

(THIS WAS THE DEVOTIONAL BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY - IT CAME WITH THIS QUIZ THAT I TOOK - AND THIS WAS MY RESULT---) 

SPIRITUAL GIFTS TEST (GO HERE)

 

HELPS / SERVING

Helps / Serving (Serving Gift) - The gift that enables a believer to work gladly behind the scenes in order that God's work is fulfilled. The special ability God gives to some to serve the church in a supporting roll or to invest their talents in the life and ministry of other members of the body enabling them to increase their effectiveness.

The divine enablement to accomplish practical and necessary tasks which free-up, support, and meet the needs of others.

People with this gift:
- serve behind the scenes whenever needed to support the gifts and ministries of others (without having to be asked)
- see the tangible and practical things to be done and enjoy doing them
- sense God's purpose and pleasure in meeting every day responsibilities
- attach spiritual value to practical service
- enjoy knowing that they are freeing up others to do what God has called them to do.
- would rather do a job than find someone else to do it.

1 Corinthians 12:28-31
Romans 16:1-2
Acts 9:36
Mark 15:40-41
Galatians 6:2
Romans 12:6-8
1 Peter 4:11
Philippians 2:19-23
Luke 22:24-27
John 13:14

I am not a vocal person. I really like to be behind the scenes…did this quiz hit the nail on the head or what?!

I woke up today just wanting to pray. Pray for all my friends, friends that I don’t talk to, family members…etc. So at 5:49am I stopped my work and prayed… I sometimes have a hard time of paying attention so I wrote all these prayers down while I prayed….

(I prayed for a particular family member and their job situation yesterday morning (6/15)and that afternoon - the person got a JOB! - THANK YOU GOD!)

This is how I see me….I have some friends going to Brasil later this year….the women will minister to the kiddos and guide the families to GOD while a lot of the men build the church. I always felt like I was the type of person who wanted to help build…the silent type that was still serving GOD…. Working behind the scenes – just like that quiz said : ) I always felt like sometimes I wasn’t good enough because I really am not vocal when I serve GOD...but I really am.

-----

I have officially hit 341/734 in the 4^th book! By the end of today, I should hit 604! Yikes! That is going to be a challenge! (I wrote this 6/15 and published it 6/16 - work was tough yesterday I only hit 417!)  I think we have also decided to spend 3 full days in Orlando! We are going to do BOTH Universal theme parks and then spend a day at Disney World in the Magic Kingdom area. We have to decide by the end of July for this Universal package we really want…you get a free breakfast at the Three Broomsticks and EARLY admittance. We will so be riding those HP rides. I got a free app the other day (Thanks to Whitney) and it was telling me that there was a 2 hour wait for one of the rides!!  We won’t be going during the summer but in October so it will be less crowded…….

ANOTHER awesome reason to have an anniversary in October is HALLOWEEN! I know a lot of people don’t celebrate that holiday…but we do – we aren’t celebrating Satan or even dressing like him…we don’t dress like hoes but I sure do enjoy the fun it brings! Especially the candy! CANDY CORN!!  CANDY PUMPKINS! I also thoroughly enjoy those Reese Pieces commercials…

The lightening flashing with the Jack O Lantern showing up on the chocolate is my favorite part!

A lot of not good stuff happened at work yesterday...nothing I did...but I so wish I could talk about it...let's just hope this issue gets resolved.

I also had a last minute project yesterday that made me end up staying 15 minutes late -  11 hours and 15 minutes of me being at work yesterday - but I handed my boss the work and he was like "OH! You're still here?" and I said "Yup, wanted to get this done" and he said - you've got dedication....mmmmhmmm :D

Matt and I watched the 2nd Harry Potter movie, I still have to talk about the first one...I'll get to that, but I have to work now :)

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2011

Sorry I haven't been posting. Our internet is REALLY bad and we really haven't had much of an internet since last Tuesday. Good thing because I haven't been in the mood to post anything at all. I feel like I have been a hermit for the last week.

Please pray for our pug, Presley. He has to get some itty bitty tumors removed soon. I pray pray pray PRAY that it is a Level 1 and that he will be okay. He has his surgery July 14th.  I really need xanax today. Level 3 apparently has a 6 month survival rate but is also very very rare.

don't want to think about this anymore. He is my kiddo.

deeeeep breath.

MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011

haven't been able to post, our computer's internet has been awful....

hopefully it is better today!

source

I cried from laughing so hard. I was probably exhausted and wanted to sleep - and Presley wanted NO sleep....it was a long night :)

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011

short but sweet

Sorry for the lack of updating. I don’t update at work and when I come home the last thing I want to do is touch the computer. I really just want to read. : ) I’ve been reading so much that my dvr shows are so backed up and it actually feels good! TV = turned off or on the new channel.

I will post tomorrow about our trip we took to Boerne last week – let’s just say I made some butter beer and butter beer cupcakes!

I just hit page 700 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! I have about 170 more pages left! I expect I will be finishing book 5 tomorrow!

Matt and I have watched movies 1-3. I was not a fan of the 3^rd movie which was a big bummer because I really enjoyed the book. They left A LOT out of the movie.  

I will probably be done with book 6 and 7 exactly one week until DH part 2 opens! Not sure where we are going to see it yet, not at Midnight though -  If we saw that movie we’d probably get out around 3ish  and Matt has to work at 8am and I would have been up for 24 hours which is never good.

I hope to relax a lot this weekend and hopefully we can make our final decisions on our plans for our 2^nd anniversary! I am so excited! This better happen!

I will leave you with Presley....

stuck under the bed....

exhausted!

MONDAY, JULY 11, 2011

What We Have Done Lately!

We are going to talk about all the stuff I meant to during the month of JUNE!

Our internet is still awful so cut me some slack :)

I decided to make my first cake ever a few weeks ago! I googled a July 4th cake because that day was around the corner and I wanted to be festive.

I can not find the recipe for the life of me, but people told me it was fanatastic!!

I don't remember if I ever showed these to y'all but we made ButterBeer and ButterBeer Cupcakes

not a huge fan of the butterbeer

I was OBSESSED with the cupcakes. They tasted "warm" - if that is a taste at all. They were fantastic!

This lasted on Presley's head for the length that it took me to take the picture.

Bribed him with a treat.

Other than that I have just reading alot. I finally finished the Harry Potter series. It took me a month. I am so sad that it is over. :(

Matt and I hope watch The Deathly Hallows Part 1 sometime this week and then finally catch the movie that Saturday. No - I am not that type of person who waits in line Thursday night to go see the movie. I rather sleep.

I did start reading The Hunger Games this past weekend. I really enjoy it! I am about halfway done. I don't even want to put it down! I can not wait until the movie comes out. It is so interesting!

I don't have anymore time to write today - as I did this during my break. I'll try to write more soon!!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

For those who miss Harry Potter

3 Grown-Up Books For The Hogwarts Grad

by ANNIE ROPEIK

iStockphoto.com

text size A A A

July 13, 2011

The Harry Potter franchise has its last hurrah on Friday, and fans like me are facing a forcible graduation from the protection of a fictional universe we've always known. I was 7 when Harry began, but I'm 21 now, and it's time to broaden my horizons beyond Hogwarts.

But what to pick up first? To me, the perfect post-Potter book isn't an imitator, but rather something entirely different (darker, perhaps, or less padded with childhood optimism) that's laced with threads of familiar territory. Through striking and unexpected lenses, these three books give new life to my favorite foundations of Harry's literary magic.

---

The Magicians

By Lev Grossman, Paperback, 416 pages, Viking Adult, list price: $16.

Cry derivative all you want — Lev Grossman's novel, hailed as Harry Potter for adults, is all that and more. Combine Narnia, Potter and your sullen, booze-fueled college existentialist phase, and you'll have the world of Quentin Coldwater, a high school senior from Brooklyn who finds himself enrolled at Brakebills College, where he studies to be a magician. It's everything you'd want from a freewheeling postgrad wizardry experience, and the magic itself is wonderfully scientific — messy, sprawling, while technical in a way that Potter forgoes. But it's in the self-reflective thread of Quentin's journey, which culminates in a true-to-genre magical quest undercut by a vein of harsh realism, that The Magicians shines. The endgame is a heartrending, cathartic examination of the nature of magic and our relationship to the stories we wanted to live in as kids — required reading for anyone trying to recover from a lifelong love affair with a fictional world.

---

Ender's Game

By Orson Scott Card, Paperback, 352 pages, Top Science Fiction, List Price $6.99.

The first installment in Orson Scott Card's classic science-fiction series offers a gripping study of how to make a soldier, told through the eyes of child prodigy Andrew "Ender" Wiggin. Set at a futuristic school where kids learn the art of war through battle simulators, Ender's Game shows the vicious toll that thankless expectation exerts on young people, while Ender's own journey has an uneasy sort of "chosen one" edge to it. Card expertly twists your emotions as you watch the boy genius molded — not entirely with his own permission — into the perfect leader, with his capacity for love and hurt compartmentalized behind ruthless cunning. Ender's voice is a mesmerizing mix of childlike wonder and calculating cynicism, and it's stunningly easy to get lost in his war games. This exemplary piece of sci-fi is a chilling and heartbreaking take on what happens when children inherit war.

---

The Secret History

By Donna Tartt, Paperback, 576 pages, Vintage, list price: $16.

Donna Tartt's acclaimed novel centers on a group of classics majors at a small college in New England whose aspirations toward antiquity careen terrifyingly out of control. But folded into the thrilling story, which is tinged with a crisp, dizzied academic appeal, are dark ruminations on the gifts and curses of the ancients. These ubiquitous archetypes, models and moral codes make up every story we know to some degree — whether it's a reluctant hero's quest, a battle between good and evil or simply a journey through a life. In The Secret History, Tartt offers a fascinating perspective on the influence of the classics on our lives, with a stunningly written moral narrative that warps and coils in on itself to reveal truths about good and evil that most would be afraid to discover.

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/14/137802346/3-grown-up-books-for-the-hogwarts-grad

MONDAY, JULY 18, 2011

yay!

PRESLEY IS CANCER FREE!!!!!

He has his surgery on Thursday. I was on pins and needles and barely ate the whole day! My mom and I picked him up at 4:30pm. His tail was down and he was completely out of it. We came home and just had him sit with me.

He cried a lot :( He also desperately wanted to eat but I think his stomach was upset. He finally conquered the upset tummy and ate. He did cry and eat at the same time. Reminds me when I was a little kid and was in trouble during dinner....I would cry and eat at the same time.

He wasn't able to fall asleep until 2:30am. We stayed up with him until he finally passed out.

Meet patchwork pug . . .

franken pug. . .

that's all we have.

Those are his battle wounds.

He was finally back to his normal self this past Saturday. I missed the wagging tail and the crazy personality!

I did have a baby shower on Saturday. I really slacked on the picture taking...but here is one...with my beautiful bra strap showing...classy.

I am bottom left. and pale.

We just got a phone call from our vet letting us know that 2/5 bumps that we removed were cancerous but they were a grade 1 - which is the best to get - and that it had not spread and that he is officially cancer free!!! yayayayayayay!!!!

Our kiddo is cancer free!!! Thank you so much for all the prayers, Thank you, God!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011

Pray

Please pray for Presley tomorrow.

He was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor two weeks ago and is heading into surgery this Thursday between 730am-2pm. I get to pick him up tomorrow between 4 and 430.

Matt and I have found 4 little tiny tumors on his body (think pimple size) that need to be removed.

We want them to be a Case 1. Pray for Case 1.  We find the results in 3-5 days.

Pray for our sanity.

Pray that Thursday morning will go okay since he will not be able to eat (he has a strict routine and doesn't like to stray for that - not getting food will be a big deal) 

Pray that they will get all the tumors

Pray that the surgery goes a-okay

Pray that his recovery is fantastic and the best that it can possibly be

Pray that everything heals great

Pray that everything will be OK.

Thank you, God, for bringing this wonderful joy to us. We are so thankful. Our faith and trust is in you.