The minutes, the hours, the days...

It is so amazing to me how quickly each year goes by. Even high school, nearly ten years ago, seems like just yesterday. This past year was full of events and memories that are unforgettable. There have been happy and sad times, and everything else in between. I find myself anxious for the coming year, to improve myself as a wife, perhaps as a mother, and as a daughter of God.

This past December was quite eventful. It was our first full month in our new home, and we had our first snow here. It was beautiful, AND we got to shovel a driveway. Which is, of course, just awesome.

Actually, I really like shoveling. Even though it took us a full hour to do it together, it's fun to be working at a task that shows immediate results, and then have delicious hot chocolate. Plus, it was enough snow to keep Ryan working at home, which was even more awesome!



My sister and her family came to Colorado to visit! It was so great to see them.  Her daughters have hilarious personalities. I can only hope that my future kids are as fun as hers!

It was Christmas!!

We made kaesespaetzle for Christmas Eve dinner. It is a German dish of homemade noodles and cheese. Does it get much better? I am aiming for that to become a new tradition of ours...

I am definitely starting to learn that Ryan is a stinker spoiler. I got him Rummikub (a fun tile game) and a few other whatsits. He got me a heavenly food processor. Who do you think exceeded our "price limit"? I must say, however, that I do not mind being spoiled. 

I have already put that puppy to good use: it helped
to make some amazing pie crust for Christmas dessert.

We made wassail again this year. I love that new tradition. The smell in the house and the taste in my mouth are both to die for.

I "started" my career as a personal chef. Right now I have a guinea pig client - my dentist's wife. The first time I went there was very quite fun. I think that I will greatly enjoy this new job, assuming that it takes off the way that I want it to. I have spoken with somebody who is going to allow me to advertise on her website (she provides nannies, and it seems like a pretty good fit for families who might also need somebody to cook for them), and am in the process of getting a business license.
I just need a catchy name...

I hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Years, and here's to a great 2012! (I, for one, am excited to see the hoopla that ensues on December 21st.)

Wedding!!

This past weekend Ryan and I were privileged to attend the wedding of a dear friend of mine, Anna. She and I met in Grand Junction, where we were both attending Mesa State College. We hit it off pretty fast, and there was never a time that I didn't have a blast hanging out with her. We did lots of crazy and stupid stuff, but it has made for some fun memories.

One night, we exclaimed to each other that whenever we got married, we would be each other's bridesmaid. That was five or six years ago. After I graduated from Mesa, I moved away. Anna stayed in Grand Junction with her boyfriend, Jordan, and I saw her once or twice when I went back to visit. We weren't the best at staying in touch, but our friendship did not fade. When I got engaged, I knew right away that I wanted her to be one of my bridesmaids. She happily accepted the invitation, and she and Jordan attended my wedding. That was the first time I had seen her in at least two years. She was getting married in December of 2011 (she was engaged at the time of my wedding), and she asked me to be a bridesmaid for her as well. Of course I was honored!!

When we got to the bed and breakfast where the festivities were being prepared for, it was like not a moment had passed. I was with a best friend again. That is, after all, how you tell a true friend, right?

The day was lots of fun, and the ceremony was lovely. It was held in Manitou Springs in a darling part of town. It was very picturesque.

check our her fun socks!

the beautiful bride and myself

We laughed, we cried, we ate, and we danced. They had an awesome cake decorated in silver and blue snowflakes. It had a blueberry filling that was to die for!! And the groom's cake was an old school Nintendo console, and was an amazingly moist carrot cake. The music they played was really fun and interactive, like the Electric Slide and Hokey Pokey.

this meant me!

:)

I loved seeing Anna marry her best friend, and I wish them the best for their life together! Congratulations Jordan and Anna!!

Just one of those days

Buns In My Oven

Yesterday I spent all day putting together a recipe bank for my new business venture. That involved going through everyone of my cookbooks and filing all the recipes I had made and liked. It seriously took forever, and I wish that I could have gotten paid for it.

Anyway, as I was looking at recipes, I decided I should probably make something too. We had some cow milk in the fridge (which we don't drink) leftover from making mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving that was on the day of expiration. Since I did not have a plethora of time to sit and knead dough and such, I used a recipe out of my bread machine cookbook for some rolls.

They are called Butter Rolls. They were quite tasty and fluffy and made our tummies happy. In fact, half of the batch was gone by the end of the night. Don't judge.

Here is the wonderful recipe:

Butter Rolls (no Delay Timer)

All ingredients at room temp, except milk

2 T sugar

1 tsp salt

2 3/4 C bread flour

2 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 C water

1 egg

7/8 C milk (measure 1 C and take out 2 T)

1/4 C butter

1) Measure all ingredients into bread pan, starting with liquids and finishing with yeast. Be sure that yeast does not touch any liquid (make a well in the flour to be sure).

2) Select Dough setting

3) Press Start

4) When signal goes off, remove dough and knead once or twice to release air. Shape into 12 rolls.

5) Place on a greased baking sheet (I used an ungreased pizza stone), cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow to double in size, about one hour. **For fast rising, preheat oven to 200 degrees F for 5 minutes and then turn the oven off. Place the rolls covered with a towel in the oven; this will cut rising time in half.**

6) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (be sure to remove the rolls first if you had them in the oven to rise). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and give a hollow sound when tapped.