Happenings

Hello all ...

So, I'm falling down on the blogging job. I think a couple posts ago, I made some comment regarding trying to do this more often. Apparently, I lied :) I seem to be finding myself lost in a book, cleaning the house, cooking, helping my husband ... anything but being on my blogs and even checking other blogs!

I'm back, though with a bit of an update. Brian and I were very excited to close on 10 acres of land just outside of Lubbock city limits. It is a perfect space of land at the perfect location, and we are so excited about the opportunities to come with it. We have been major busy on land development projects ... mostly building fences. We have spent quite a bit of time surveying and setting t-posts. Most recently, we spent the weeking (in the crazy West Texas wind) cutting pipe and getting the pipe sections ready to be placed on the fence line. That was quite project and definitely took the place of me lifting weights for .. oh about the entire month! :)

This is our land ... welcome to West Texas ... wide open flatness :)

I didn't know Brian had the camera out, but this was the pipe cutting adventure.

Brian got caught with the camera!

I'm enjoying working on these projects with my hubby. They are definitely great relationship building times, and I know it helps him a lot. The land is coming along, and I'm SO looking forward to the day we can build a house and live our there in the peacefulness. It's going to be awesome!!

Now that I've displayed my efforts to do not-so-girlie manual labor, I'm going to confirm that I still have girly-ness in me! So ... baking and projects ...

I have two things that I've baked recently that were awesome ... one low-fat and one not-so-much!

Meringue cookies

These little cookies are amazing little bits of sweetness that are so light and low calories. They do take a long time to bake, so they are an exercise in patience!

These are vanilla meringue cookies. I didn't get a picture after they were done baking ... oops!

Here's the recipe for chocolate and vanilla meringue cookies. They are about 20 cal/cookie:

4 large egg whites (or the equivalent of meringue powder)

1/2 tsp distilled white vinegar or cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 200 F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy. Add vinegar; beat until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add sugar; beat until glossy stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla.

Remove half of meringue to another bowl; stir in cocoa until blended.

Spoon tablespoons of both meringues onto prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart each, making about 44 cookies - half vanilla-flavored and half cocoa-flavored. Or you can make marbleized cookies by spooning 1/2 tablespoon of each type of meringue into a mound and then swirling to two together with your fingers.

Bake until meringues feel dry and crisp all the way through, about 3 hrs. Turn off oven; leave meringues in oven for 1 hr. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks to cool completely. Peel off foil and store in air tight container at room temp. (Taken from the Weight Watchers weekly)

Now to the unhealthy delicious stuff!! I made these fabulous cinnamon rolls from our Lubbock Junior League cookbook .... best homemade cinnamon rolls I've EVER made!!

So sinfully delicious!!! I could blow a diet any day for this gooey goodness!

If anyone's interested in the recipe, just let me know! They were surprisingly easy to make for homemade :)

Lastly .. my new project:

This is an OLD tray (obviously) that my husband's grandfather gave me. I wasn't such a fan of the "beautiful" stenciled flower-work on the tray ;) But I had an idea! I am planning to paint a solid creamy white and then paint our name "Wise" on the tray in a pretty script with mayble some scrolling to accent. I am really needing to do something above my kitches cabinets. They really are very plain and in need of some help. This will be my start and inspiration ... now I need to actually get started!

Have a great and blessed day!

Decrapifying ... Quick note

I know I've told many of my friends, but one of my most favorite blogs in all of the world of blogs is thriftydecorchick.com. This woman is brilliant! She has opened my eyes to the wonder of very "thriftilly" decorating and designing. Such wonderful ideas and beautiful things.

Her latest postings have been about "decrapifying" her home. I have officially be inspired. Since I now have so much time on my hands with my lack of school and projects to work on ... my house will now become clutter-free and ultra organized. I'm getting excited about this. I feel like if I decrapify, then I can decorate the little things I haven't done. That's the really super fun part! Anyway ... you should check out her blog!

Another good one to check out is the Chicken Pot Pie Soup on skinnytaste.com. I made this for Brian and I, and he loved it. It was perfect for these super chilly days we've been having. Check it out! Only about 170 calories a cup, too, and full of yummy veggies and protein. Delicious!

Brian and I are very excited that we have a contract pending on some land! ... 10 whole acres! I'm very excited about this and nervous all at the same time. This will be our first big adventure ourselves. We don't plan to build for a while, but I know it will be fun to start working the land. More updates to come on this.

Have a blessed and wonderful day!! :)

I'm Back!!! :)

Hello world! I've resurfaced from the pile of books, tests, work, Christmas decorations, and holiday events! Life's settled down a bit, and I'm back in business! Boy, it feels good to sit down and take a deep breath knowing that I'm not putting off any responsibilities to waste my time away on this blog and facebook, etc. :)

I figure I might update a bit on life. SO much has gone on since my last past ... ages ago! I'll do a quick update and spare you from all the minor details that would make this pages and pages long.

Some of the highlights in the past few months:

NOVEMBER
November was a great month with two exciting events. Of course, I can't pass over the food-filled fun of Thanskgiving! I made a feast for an army with only 4 people to eat it, but we indulged ourselves in a rare fattening meal and loved every bit of it. Brian smoked the turkey ... yumminess!!

Then, we had an early celebration of my Mom's 50th birthday! It was a surprise party that turned out great, and we had a BLAST! It was so fun getting to do something special for such a wonderful woman who's always doing things for others. I think we surprised her pretty good! It was hard planning a party in Frisco, while being in Lubbock, but with the help of friends, my dad, and my sis (plus amazing service at Market Street) ... we pulled it off! :)

DECEMBER
Oh the month of Christmas! I absolutely love the Christmas season; however, this year it was dampened by studying for a certification test and a few other things. Fortunately, I am proud to say that I have officially graduated with my Masters of Science in Nursing!! Yay!! The last 2 years of studying and classes are now done! Unfortunately the Texas Tech HSC only has a graduation once a year, so commencement ceremony pictures and festivities to come in May :)

Then, I had decided earlier in the year that I wanted to take my Critical Care RN test, and also decided it would be a brilliant idea to schedule this test for December 21. What was I thinking?! Goodbye Christmas season for me! Once Thanksgiving was over and done, I had my head in a review book for 4 weeks straight. if I wasn't working, I was studying. But, in the end, it has paid off! I took my test and passed it! YAY!! I'm SO glad that's done, and I never want to do it ever again. It was hard! It was a great experience, though, and really has helped me to become more confident at work.

With that done, I did all my Christmas shopping in one day, wrapped gifts, worked, and prepared to head to Plano for a fun Christmas with the family. We had a great time, and it was so wonderful to spend some time together enjoying the true blessings and meaning of Christmas!

I love being home for Christmas ... so cozy and homey!

My handsome hubby!

Papa and Noni

Erin was SUPER thrilled to see she got a hat signed by Brookings from the Cowboys ... her long lost (married) love ;)

Brian and I went to Carol's Christmas pary ... it was a blast and as always, super fun to get dolled up!

We brought in the New Year with a deer hunting trip that brought home two doe! We discovered the ease of making deer jerky in the oven ... absolute deliciousness! I believe we'll be making jerky more often now!

If you made it this far through the post, congrats! That was quite long and picture-filled! I believe I will try to keep the updating more regular from now on :)

Have a blessed day!

"Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world"  Psalm 46:10