2011 In Review

2011

The year that started as any other year would but quickly turned out to be the best year of my life.

January 5, 2011

I finally got a new job. :)  I needed to get out of the current job situation and had been trying for years.  The economy didn't help my efforts, but finally I had succeeded.  The new job has been a blessing to my life.  Much more laid back than Corporate America and much nicer people to be around.  I am a better person because of the change that I made.  I am a believer that your surroundings (people and places) make a huge impact on your happiness and I choose to be around people that are positive, hard working, and give credit where credit is due.

January 7, 2011

My amazing boyfriend proposed!  I was shocked!  He set up the perfect atmosphere in his backyard and it was everything I could have dreamed of.  My life was finally starting to feel complete :)

September 17, 2011-Our Wedding Day! 

We worked so hard to plan the perfect wedding and it turned out amazing!  We were married at the Delaney Vineyards in Grapevine, TX (www.delaneyvineyards.com/).  Let me tell you, this venue was breathtaking!  They really worked hard on the little details that we wanted to make the day special.  We worked with many great vendors to help make our special day, just that....Special!  Our florist was Darla with Devin's Designs in Grapevine.  She was so great to work with and does spectacular arrangements!  I couldn't have been happier with her. CN Catering (http://www.cncatering.com/) provided the food, and I continue to get compliments on that.  I actually got to eat the food at my wedding and I must admit, it was delicious.  Speaking of delicious, our cake!!  Ruth Robbins, Tastefully Yours Cakes (http://www.tastefullyyourscakes.com/) was gracious enough to make our wedding cakes for us and they were so yummy!! She bakes and decorates these cakes out of her home in Southlake.  She really listened to our design requests and delivered beautifully.  I would recommend Ruth for any cake needs, not just wedding.  I have gained an amazing family who loves me and supports me, and most importantly a husband who is on my side :).

"My Greatest wish for the two of us is that through the years our love for each other will so deepen and grow, that years from now we will look back on this day, our wedding day, as the day we loved each other the least."

 

Honeymoon-

We spent our honeymoon at the Grand Hyatt Resort in Kaua'i, HI.  Let me tell you, this place will take your breath away.  The open breeze way to the amazing water views to the multi-level pool/salt water lagoon were something I had only seen in books.  We were greeted by friendly staff and quickly checked in to our room.  The rooms were so pretty and had great views (no matter what you were looking at).  This resort was so spectacular that you didn't even have to leave if you didn't want to.  We, however, wanted to explore all that the island had to offer.

We started our excersions with a golf outing at the infamous Poipu Bay Golf Course, The Home of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf 1994-2006.  (http://www.poipubaygolf.com/). --I highly recommend eating breakfast in the clubhouse before starting your golf outing.  David was like a kid at Christmas when he walked into this place (which happens to be just a short walk from the Grand Hyatt).  I had a smile on my face because he was so happy and excited to play where Greg Norman, Ernie Ells, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson have played.  The views that you have while riding along this course are too pretty for words.  I enjoyed just sitting back and taking it all in. 

After breaking a club on the second hole, not shooting too well, a couple of 'not so friendly' golf guys and a little bit of sun, I was ready for my promised massage. :)  I had agreed to let David play golf if I could have a spa day, little did I know that Mr. I Don't Do Spas wanted to come with me!  I was so happy that he agreed to spend this relaxing day with me, and in the end...he loved it! -Don't tell him I told you. The Anara Spa at the Grand Hyatt was relaxing and beautiful (http://kauai.hyatt.com/hyatt/pure/spas/). With the purchase of a spa package, you have access to the spa all day long.  The spa had saunas, hot tubs, a lap pool, lunch, and just a peaceful getaway from all of the other people at the resort.  We opted for the

Kauai Ku Uipo (Lovers) Escape

You’ll be presented with tropical salts, native Kauai Clay, and organic oils for you to apply and enjoy together in your deluxe lava rock shower and wild ginger steam grotto. Next, you'll enjoy a romantic, orchid-strewn bubble bath in your serene soaking tub for two.  In your private couple's hale, you'll then be treated to side-by-side Anara Massages and decadent Lokahi Garden Pedicures.

--We extended our massage time instead of the pedicures.

and spent 3 hours being pampered with the beautful Hawaiian backdrop.

Many people would wait to get a massage AFTER their 8 hour kayak, zipline and hiking tour...but NOT the Rogers'.  We do things a little different. :)  I let David pick this event out and let me tell you....He did a great job, but I was exhausted afterwards.  We knew that we wanted to do some adventourous things while in Hawaii and Outfitters Kaua'i (http://outfitterskauai.com/index.php) had a package that put it all together.  We chose the Kipu Zipline Safari and it started out with a 2-mile kayaking trip on the Hule'ia River, followed by short hikes to swimming holes and had lunch provided.  I don't know if it is good to eat before you zipline or after, but we opted for before.  (Everything turned out great, no sickness here!)  We took video of the quarter of a mile high zipline that we rode together.  David was able to flip upside down while filming so he video is a little stomach wrenching.  After the zipline we did a little more hiking that landed us at a really cute pool with water ziplines.  The weather was a little chilly for me so I opted out of this activity, but David had fun!  The end of the tour came after a motorized canoe picked us up, thank goodness we didn't have to kayak our way back.  I don't think I could have done it. 

Anyone who has visited Hawaii insists on taking a helicopter tour of the island.  I had visited Hawaii about 8 years ago and went on one in Maui.  I have terrible allergies and the pressure in the copter brought me to tears.  I didn't want David to miss out on this and to be honest, I wanted to try it again.  I'm so glad that I did.  The helicopter tour was probably my favorite thing that we did.  It was AMAZING.  We flew with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters (http://www.bluehawaiian.com/) which I think is the best on the islands.  Our pilot was very educated on the islands and was great at pointing things out while in the air.  We took lots of pictures and were lucky enough to fly on a slightly rainy day which made for even more waterfalls. 

Our last night in Kaua'i we went to the Lu'au at the Grand Hyatt (http://www.hyatt.com/gallery/kauailuau/index.html).  The food was great, the entertainment was fun and I even got pulled on stage to show off my hulu skills.  :)  All in all a great experience.

Our final day on the island was a long one.  We had to check out of the hotel at 11:00 am but didn't fly out until 10:00pm.  We knew that we would have plenty of time to do some of the little things that we didn't throughout the week and we took this time to purchase souviners for our family and drove the entire perimeter of the island.  Before we left home, we purchased the Ultimate Kaua'i Guidebook and it was by our side for the entire honeymoon.  It lists every historical marker that the island has and information on how to find them.  It is also helpful in finding restaurants, providing reviews and maps of the island.  A must have for anyone traveling to the islands of Hawai'i.  

Our honeymoon was full of fun, adventure, relaxation, quality time and I couldn't have asked for a better husband to share all of that with.  Our life together started out with a bang!

 I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for

The Rogers' !!



Merry Christmas

To you and yours :)

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah to Everyone!

Cowl

To continue with my crochet hobby, I found a pattern for a cowl that I wanted to try.  The website for the pattern is http://jjcrochet.com/blog/crochet-cowl-pattern-free-chunky-bulky-perfect-for-winter/.  This pattern is for her long cowl, which I made two of-one for myself and one for my mom.  She also has a pattern for a shorter cowl, which I used for my sister's.  If you add all of the time together for the three cowls, it probably took around 6 hours.  I tried to add some different design in the cowls with switching the colors, for my first time I think I did ok on that.  All in all, I am pretty proud of how these turned out.  Take a look:



I used Lion Brand-Wool Ease Thick and Quick in Lemongrass
Size P (11.5) Crochet Hook

 This was my first cowl to make, and I followed the pattern completely.  I wanted a bright color for my cowl, so I decided to try the limeish green. 


I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Navy and Glacier
Size P (11.5) Crochet Hook

 This was the cowl for my mom.  The color in the picture is a little off, but it is navy blue on the outside and a lighter blue on the inside.  I followed the pattern exactly, except for the attachment part, I did not turn this one like I did for the green cowl.



I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Fig and Grey
Size P (11.5) Crochet Hook

  This was the cowl for my sister.  I used dark purple and grey yarn and followed the shorter cowl pattern.  I did not add the twist in this one either. 

Since my mom is heading to Germany for the holidays, I thought this would be a perfect gift for her.  Pretty, warm, and homemade.  :)

Homemade Ice Cream

I love ice cream.  I even tend to eat more ice cream when it is cold outside rather than in the summer.  Weird, I know. :)  I like Cold Stone's ice cream because you can put several different things in it to make a unique treat.  David likes Baskin Robbins ice cream, but too bad for him that we no longer have one close to us. :(  Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla is probably my favorite store bought ice cream, followed by strawberry.  We just added the 90 calorie Twix ice cream bars to our ice cream resume...these are fantastic, but the ice cream I love more than any other has to be the homemade kind.  I can still hear the sound of my mom's ice cream maker churning away.  Her ice cream always tasted the best to me. 

Fortunately for us, we received an ice cream maker as a wedding gift and what better time to break it out than the WINTER! :)  These are alot different than I remember.  We don't have to use ice or rock salt, just place the bowl in the freezer overnight and then add the ingredients and churn for 30-35 minutes.

This machine comes with a recipe book that contains several great recipes, but this time I just wanted the Simple Vanilla Ice Cream.

Simple Vanilla Ice Cream

This ice cream can easily be dressed up by adding your favorite

chopped candies or sprinkles at the end of churning.

Makes about 7 cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ cups whole milk
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• pinch table salt
• 3 cups heavy cream (*Note:  I only used 1.5 cups of heavy cream, so I cut the rest of the recipe in half as well-We will see how that turns out.)
• 1½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

• In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed or whisk to combine the milk, sugar and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
• Turn the Cuisinart ® Ice Cream Maker on; pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 30 to 35 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

NUTRITION:
Per serving (based on ½ cup):
Calories 260 (67% from fat) • carb. 19g • pro. 2g • fat 20g • sat. fat 12g • chol. 75mg • sod. 45mg • calc.
66mg • fiber 0g

I mixed all of the ingredients and placed the bowl in the refridgerator and placed the freezer bowl in the freezer. 


Ingredients put into the mixer for 35 minutes




Finished product :)



CRITIC COMMENTS:
Me:  I tried the ice cream last night and thought it was really good.  It was very creamy, and I thought it might have a little too much vanilla in it.  I will tweek that for the next recipe.

Husband:  He just tried one bite of my ice cream and his first thought, "it's really creamy?"  I let him know that it was supposed to be that way, but I'm not sure he will like it when he tries his own.  We will see.  Update:  He wishes it wasn't so creamy.

Christmas Cheer

Christmas has to be my favorite time of year.  Being a December baby (Dec. 1) I like to think that all of the decorations are put up in celebration of me.  :)  I know that is not the case, but regardless of the reason that the decorations are being put up, it brings a smile to my face.  I like all of the lights that our neighbors are stringing in the trees and on their homes.  I like the garland that the City has placed on all bridges throughout.  I like the Christmas trees all decorated and displayed in the window for all to see.  I think that, regardless of a person's beliefs, they can enjoy all of the decorations and festivity of the holiday season.

David and I are still transitioning into married life and living together and it seems like everyday I find that there is something that I am missing, something that I had while living alone or something that I had growing up.  I'm not talking about things in my life, I simply talking about things....like a Christmas tree, stockings, lights, etc.  Lol.  Growing up we always decorated our Christmas tree as a family, each person putting their favorite ornaments on the tree and trying to find space for the ginormous bows.  After the family tree was completed, my sister and I would decorate our small room trees...-these trees were always so much fun and a sample of our personalities. We each had a stocking that would hang on the mantle or lay on the fireplace step and we couldn't wait to see what Santa had left in there on Christmas day.  I think the best memory that I have of the Christmas holiday is getting on the roof and hanging lights with my dad.  We did this every year and always together--this was our father daughter activity. 

Now that I am older and married, we don't have all of the Christmas decorating supplies!  David and I had agreed to fore go buying a tree this year since we will be traveling and we could get one on sale after the holiday season, but after seeing everyone else decorate I got sad.  :(  I really want a tree to put up and to decorate as our small family of two.  I have slowly purchased some holiday things at Hobby Lobby (all Christmas items are 50% off!).  I got us each a pretty stocking to hang on the fireplace mantle, decorated our dining room table, and made a pretty red wreath to hang on our door.  I'm hoping that all of the small things will jump start David and we can go out and buy a Christmas tree together.  He has already promised that this will happen, I'm just waiting on the when.  I'm trying to push for Sunday. hehe.  We are also going to put some lights up outside in our bushes, but we can't do that until the weekend.  We will not be putting the lights on the house because the roof is WAY to steep for me to get up there.  These projects are going to have to wait for the weekend because it is dark before either of us get home.  Thanks Daylight Savings Time!  I have faith that we will get these things done and have a pretty decorated house to enjoy this holiday season. 

I have taken a few pictures of the decorating that is going on at our house.  Christmas Spirit has definitely taken over me, and I love it! 



Merry Christmas everyone!!





Red Burlap Wreath

  

 



 Update:  We bought a tree and I love it! I think it is prettier than any other artificial tree that I had seen.  We got this one at Sears!  :) I posted a picture at the end of this post.  Here are pictures of the fireplace, coffee table arrangement and dining room.  Did I mention that I LOVE this time of year?





Our House

WE WON SECOND PLACE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!!




Dining Table

 


Close-up of arrangement

 


Coffee Table arrangement





Fireplace

 

Close-up of Fabric Trees



Our Christmas Tree!

  

Slow Cooker Lasagna

I took this recipe from the Betty Crocker website :

PREP TIME: 25 Min- TOTAL TIME: 6 Hr 35 Min -SERVINGS 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 3 cans (15 ounces each) Italian-style tomato sauce (The grocery store was out of the Italian-Style so I bought regular tomato sauce and it was fine) 
• 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces) (I will be adding additional cheese next time)
• 1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 15 uncooked lasagna noodles

DIRECTIONS:

• Cook sausage and onion in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, basil and salt.
• Mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. (Refrigerate remaining mozzarella cheese while lasagna cooks.)
• Spoon one-fourth of the sausage mixture into 6-quart slow cooker; top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Spread with half of the cheese mixture and one-fourth of the sausage mixture. Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and one-fourth of the sausage mixture. Top with remaining 5 noodles and remaining sausage mixture.
• Cover and cook on Low heat setting 4 to 6 hours or until noodles are tender.
• Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into pieces.

OTHER TIPS:

Something as simple as chopped fresh parsley will dress up this lasagna. Sprinkle on the parsley just before serving.

For lasagna with a kick, look for hot or spicy Italian sausage. Links can be used if bulk sausage isn't available. Just squeeze the meat out of the casings and cook as directed.

NUTRITION:
1 Serving
Calories 670 (Calories from Fat 270), Total Fat 31g (Saturated Fat 13g,Trans Fat 0g), Cholesterol 75mg; Sodium 1770mg; Total Carbohydrate 65g (Dietary Fiber 5g, Sugars 14g), Protein 34g
Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 30.00%; Vitamin C 20.00%; Calcium 60.00%; Iron 20.00%;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

CRITIC COMMENTS:
Me:  I thought the recipe was good.  I would add a little more cheese next time and possibly a few more spices.  I will also be trying the Italian Tomato Sauce to see if it makes a difference in taste.  All in all, it was a good recipe that we ate for a few days and I will be trying it again with a few modifications.

Husband:  He thought it was really good, didn't think it needed more cheese.

Date Night

Can you remember when you were in the dating phase of a relationship?  The getting ready every Friday or Saturday night to be picked up and taken out to dinner and a movie, or a basketball game?  Then you get married and those date nights are few and far between.  Why is that!?!  Why do we stop taking time to get away and just spend time with one another? 

When David and I married I asked him to promise me that we would continue to take date nights.  I don't care if they are only once a month, but something to plan a look forward to mixed in with the boring every day life.  Three months in and we are still holding strong to the promise. We have been country dancing a few times and out to a movie.  We even had a date night on a Thursday!  We went to see A Christmas Carol.  I was excited about it because Christmas is my favorite time of year and I love musicals, and this show was awesome!  The acting was really good and it put a smile on my face.  I think he hit a home run with this one.  :)-2 points for him. 

I know when kids come into the picture date nights will be harder to come by, but I will do my best to continue on...even if our date is to the grocery store.

Puppy Love

My little family currently consists of three, 2 adults and 1 dog-a very special dog that is.  My little Samson can make anyone smile just by his personality and playfulness.  I love my dog more than I ever thought I could love an animal.  He is like my child! 

Sammy, or Bubs, or Little Man (whichever we feel like at the moment) was born on May 19, 2007 to a party poodle mother and a Maltese father. 

I had been talking about getting a dog for a long time and knew that I wanted a Maltese, because they are so cute, great for people with allergies, and have great personalities.  I also knew that I wanted a male as opposed to a female, I guess I had always had boy dogs and knew how their mannerisms were.  I had searched the local papers and even thought about adopting from the listing of rescue dogs.  Ultimately my mom found a "breeder" just outside of her town who had one puppy left.  We all drove out to this house, in the middle of nowhere it seemed, to find at least 15 dogs running around all looking pretty nasty.  The woman came out of the house holding the cutest white puppy I had ever seen, she placed him in a wire pen and I got to watch him run around and play.  I fell in love instantly.  We were very skeptical of Samson's "breeder" as we came to the conclusion that she was running a puppy mill.  This was just a better reason for me to get my puppy out of there and give him a better life!!  I drove to the local convenience store and withdrew $300 and went back to pay for my new little puppy!  Here's what he looked like as a pup:

Samson is the best puppy I have ever had, he works so hard to please you, knows when he is in trouble, and listens better than some humans!  He always makes me smile when he jumps on you as you enter the door-it doesn't matter if you were gone for 5 minutes or 5 hours he is excited to see you.  He is a hard one to crack as well.  It's like he knows what is going on in my life and refuses to let people in until he knows they are going to stick around.  When I met David, Sam didn't care for him much.  Sam would hide when he was over and wouldn't even go near me.  Then something changed about 8 months into our relationship, Sam decided he liked David (8 months in was about the time that David said the three words).  Sam wanted to spend more time with him, Sam would run to him before greeting me, and Sam even cuddled with him on the couch.  It's like he knew that we had taken our relationship to a new level and Sam was letting us know that he was OK with it!  Smart Dog!  They say that animals are splitting images or their owners...I'd like to think so! 

Sam and I have had a few set backs just as any new mother would with their child.  We spent some days in the doctor's office because Sam ate something he wasn't supposed to and it gave him an upset stomach.  We had some accidents during our house training phase.  We even had some issues around other dogs.  I'm happy to say that most of these things have worked themselves out and he is better than ever.  Over the summer in preparation for our upcoming wedding, we all moved in together.  This was the first time that Sammy had stayed with anyone other than me or my family.  I wasn't sure if David was quite aware of how important Sam was to me on a day to day basis.  He had only really seen us interact periodically.  I would do anything for my dog, anything!  Little did I know that Sam was about to test me on this.....

In September of 2011, I had noticed that Sam was acting a little different.  I knew that he was sad that he didn't have his doggy playmate (Graci-my sister's dog) to play with anymore, but I didn't think that would cause him to lose all of his energy.  I'm one of those doggy mothers (and probably baby mothers) that gets paranoid about everything!  I began watching Sam when he went outside to make sure he wasn't getting into anything (previous history) and made attempts to search online for possibilities.  One morning I was talking to David before I left for work and remember telling him that Sam sure was getting to be a chunky monkey.  Sam has never been a heavy dog, always weighing in about 10-12 lbs.  His belly sure was getting big, but the rest of him seemed to get smaller.  I really started to worry, so David took him to his vet's office for a checkup.  I remember it like it was yesterday, I was eating lunch with a client and David called.  He had his worried tone and I knew something was wrong.  It turns out that Sammy had ascities of the abdomen. 

• Ascites is the abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. The leakage of such fluids may derive from blood vessels, internal organs, abdominal masses and lymph nodes. In some cases, the level of ascites may be quite evident often causing abdominal swelling to a point where there may be pressure on the diaphragm causing difficulty breathing in the dog. While ascites per se does not create problems, it is the underlying issue that needs addressed.

It was then that we started on this long road to recovery for Little Man.  We knew that ascities was the underlying issue but needed to run tests to determine the cause.  We were referred to a specialist and had several labs tests completed and it was determined that Sam's issue was PLE (Protein Losing Enteropothy).  Sam's body was not making enough of the protein Albumin to absorb the fluid in his GI so the fluid was draining into his abdomen.  We had tests run to rule out reasons for this, including kidney failure, liver failure, and heart disease.  So it really only left the GI tract to blame.  We went ahead and had Sam's stomach drained, but David and I opted against the scope (the scope would tell us exactly what caused the problem) because we have been able to treat the issue with a diet change and medication.  Luckily Sam hasn't even acted sick.  We now only feed him Royal Canine Gastrointestinal dry and canned food and our little guy can only eat carrots as treats.  We had to cut fat out of his diet.  We also give him 1 prednisone pill each morning and have monthly blood draws to check his albumin level.  We are on the right track and his levels are almost normal again and at that time we will try to taper him down and then off of the medication. 

Talk about a scary time for me!  At one time I thought I was going to lose my pup, and now we are working each day to keep him healthy.  We have learned alot, had great doctors and understand that this is going to be a thing we will deal with for the rest of Sam's life, but we are willing to do that.  He is apart of our family and we can't even think about not having him around. 

Here are pictures of his progress through treatment:

Creamy White Chili

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon canola oil (I used olive oil)
• 2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
• 2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

• In a large saucepan, saute the chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Yield: 7 servings

NUTRITION (Serving Size: 1 cup):

334 calories, 16 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 81 mg cholesterol, 1,045 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 22 g protein.

CRITIC COMMENTS: 
Me:  I received a similar recipe from a former co-worker several years ago.  I couldn't find where I put that, so I had to find another recipe and I had been craving this for a while now.  I have to say I loved it!  It was exactly what I had remembered it to taste like.  We will be having left overs!

Husband:  Thought it was really good.  Even though he wasn't a fan the first time I made it (from a different recipe)