Christmas

The beautiful flowers Simon gave me.
Chaddie and Tanya



Chad's doggie Pancho















Christmas Morning before any presents were opened...













More of the presents...and there are plenty you cant see! ( for all the family)

Recipes

Here is a yummy dips for Turkey day and the holidays- by Bobby Flay and Real Simple

Disappearing Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 cups of diced or shredded chicken
1/4 cup cayanne pepper sauce
1 cup mayo
1 cup cheddar cheese
2 tsp finely chopped green onion ( optional)
1tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss chicken with cayenne pepper sauce. Stir in other ingredients, then sprinkle blue cheese on top. Bake un covered for 20 mins or till bubbling. Serve.


Creamy Salmon spread

8 ounces of cream cheese at room temp
2 tsp of horseradish
2 tablespoons of fresh dill
1/4 pound smoked salmon- chopped
Serve with crackers or veggies

In a small bowl combine all ingredients
add 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
This can be made and refrigerated a day in advance ( just one though!)

A little hi from Chad

Here is our Chaddie! He is almost home ( not in this pic but he is) We are so excited :) This is the first picture we have had of him since he left. Chaddie boy, we salute you and cannot wait till you are home! :)

Fall..

Semesters keep marching on.. doing good so far, Simon is doing a tad bit better than me He is on the Deans list. He did not have trouble with a couple of his teachers like I did though. My GPA is still past 3.0 ( 3.38) so I am happy and I am working to get it better and better. Here are a couple nice recipes for Fall. From my very favorite mag Real Simple

Garlicky Mashed Potatoes with thyme.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 8), peeled and halved
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 head garlic, halved horizontally
• 12 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• Serves 8

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and add 2 teaspoons salt. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 16 to 18 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, place the milk, cream, butter, garlic, and thyme in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Set aside until the potatoes are cooked.
3. Strain the milk mixture into the pot with the potatoes. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper and mash. Sprinkle with the nutmeg before serving.

By Kate Merker, November 2009


Maple Pumpkin pie
1 pie crust
2 large eggs
1 15 oz of pumpkin puree
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of maple syrup
1/2 tsp of ground cinnimon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 ground cloves

Set oven rack in lowest position, heat oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl pour mixture into crust, bake 60-70 minutes
Let cool before serving.
Serves 8

In the Fall

Another semester has come and gone, this time it was online, an alright class but nothing I did was really worth posting as it wasn't as nifty as other stuff in the other classes I have had. My parents came back for a little bit, mainly for my Uncle Orlando's funeral, which was a shock to everyone I think. He had his troubles but no one was predicting his passing so soon. I am so proud of his daughter Mckell who has coped so amazingly and keeps carrying on, doing great things. I know her Dad is proud of her, especially now. Simon finally got back into work after a bit of a space of not working, school helped fill the space but church mice we have been for awhile getting the little state help we can plus my parents have been amazing and have sent us bits every week to keep us going. Simon hopes to secure a better job soon as Macdonalds isnt giving him the hours he needs and he has the skills to do more than flip burgers and stuff.
Lets hope that happens soon. He has started working in the temple. something I think which will be good for him. I am pondering wither I should join him, I am not sure. I have been recently diagnosed with asthma after coughing for over 3 months, I am still trying to get it under control.
I will have to take the route one should take when making a decision like that. I plan on going to the temple still, but I am thinking for now, I might like the option to stay home if I would like, largely do to health reasons and I wouldnt want to let anyone down. I havent finalized that decision though. My parents are heading back tmw or Sat. I hope they wont have to be gone so long this time. I hope I am not too unique in saying I like my parents around, and yes sometimes right on top of each other is not so bad sometimes. I have no clue as to how long we get to stay in this place I call home now- it is no secret it will be sold at some point. Where to next and when? I try to to think about it too much as what will be will be alright but it crops up in my mind though all the same. Fall is approaching. officially a little ways off still but its on the horizon, nighttime already getting cooler. I am ready for it- really for the cool- not exactly ready for the cold though.

Another semester gone by

This semester I was given alot more choicei n what work I decided to do- These are my final three projects for one of my classes. Yes I know there are 4 pieces that is because I changed my mind and did two for Movement- one of the elements of design. Another semester ends, I think I did pretty well in these two classes- I would put the work from the other class but is in a different format that this site doesnt seem to like...

My Art

Well I have done 3 design classes now so I thought it would be a good idea to show off some of the things I have done. Click on them if they seem to be cut off and you will see the whole picture.

This is Kevin Whately, he has been in a few things but is most noted for being Inspector Morse's right hand man which then led him to have his own series, Lewis which is the the name of his character. I did this in my Illustrator class as my final project.

This is Wedge and he is my creation and has
been for many years. Years ago, my father had
a hernia and had to sleep on a wedge. I was
about 14 and had never heard of anyone sleeping
on a wedge, and thought it was funny and so I
began drawing wedge as if he were a person often
drawing my Dad in too. My parents love my
Wedge cartoons.











This is my very latest project I didnt take the photos, but I arranged them and the text.
This was done in my Photoshop class.





This is another one of my designs done in Photoshop class I drew the kitty and made it into a brush.