Conversation from last night:
Me: Greg.... you are unbelievable.
Greg: (in his rap voice) I'm unbelievable. Take the "be" out and I'm un-leavable.
Greg always tells me that the reason he says so many silly things to me is that eventually he is bound to say something hilarious.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Saturday morning pancakes
This is what happens when after you make your husband's favorite breakfast, he is still sleeping... you blog!
So while I wait, I thought I would post my recipe! I found this on allrecipes.com, and it was the highest rated recipe with over 2,000 reviews!
Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
And this morning, I made a strawberry sauce to go along with it...
Strawberry Syrup
Well, I think I hear somebody waking up finally!
So while I wait, I thought I would post my recipe! I found this on allrecipes.com, and it was the highest rated recipe with over 2,000 reviews!
Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon white sugar | 1 1/4 cups milk 1 egg 3 tablespoons butter, melted |
Directions:
| 1. | In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth. |
| 2. | Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. |
And this morning, I made a strawberry sauce to go along with it...
Strawberry Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups mashed unsweetened strawberries
- 1/4 cup water + 1 tsp cornstarch (a slight change to make it thicker!)
Directions
- In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Gradually add strawberries; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (change) During the last minute or cooking, add the water and cornstarch.
- Serve over pancakes, waffles or ice cream.
Well, I think I hear somebody waking up finally!
Monday, January 11, 2010
My new years resolutions
I know this post is a little late, but who says you have to start them right on Jan 1st? I guess that kind of thinking is why they are so hard to keep.... way to get off on the wrong foot I guess!
Well, here is my attempt at New Years resolutions for this year!
1. Become a "morning person."
That means waking up and enjoying it i guess? For me it is more of a "don't waste Saturdays and holidays by sleeping them away." And hopefully the enjoying part will follow. :-)
2. Make (don't buy) lunches. (4 times during the week day)
Greg and I hate looking at our statement seeing the list of transactions at food places. It literally "eats" away at your bank account! I am, however, leaving one day a week open for the occasional "lunch with the work guys" for Greg.
3. Try my hand at once monthly grocery shopping.
This one was created yesterday as I made my very first Sams trip since receiving my card a month ago. Now during this trip I learned many things; you can easily get in big money trouble by thinking "bigger is better," but on the other hand, paying solely for packaging at Kroger's is what makes buying in bulk worth it. One "free day"- (what is that?) I am going to make a point to sit down with my receipts and break down the "costs" to see what thing to buy where. I will have to share my findings with you all too! This also means planning meals for a month! I have saved weekly menus from the past couple months, so this may not be so hard... but it is worth a try!
4. Pay off 75% of all debt.
This means Greg's car and both our school loans. We have been extremely blessed in many ways in this area as my car is paid off and running pretty well (knock on wood!) and our very gracious friends James and Natalie have allowed us to live in their house rent free while they are located overseas for Jame's job. What a wonderful feeling it will be to be DEBT FREE!
5. Read and pray with Greg every day.
We both are involved in BSF where we have assigned "homework" for the weekly Bible study, and we find we are rushing on Sunday nights to complete our lesson! So working on this every night will keep us in the word and keep us from unnecessary stress! We have also found that being in constant prayer and praying together has strengthened our marriage and personal struggles immensely! It is easy to forget, so this is definitely a goal for this year!
6. Step up my "homemade" ventures.
After trying my hand at "couponing" I have found that it is very time consuming and has taken a bit of a back seat a I have started full time work. However, in its place, I have been trying my best to make as many things "homemade" as possible. This can save so much money and end up being healthier than some of the store bought options. So far I have made homemade "bisquick." And that is about it, so I have a long way to go!
7. Tell my family I love them more often.
8. Follow through with at least 2 of the new years resolution listed above!!
Happy belated New Years to everyone!
Well, here is my attempt at New Years resolutions for this year!
1. Become a "morning person."
That means waking up and enjoying it i guess? For me it is more of a "don't waste Saturdays and holidays by sleeping them away." And hopefully the enjoying part will follow. :-)
2. Make (don't buy) lunches. (4 times during the week day)
Greg and I hate looking at our statement seeing the list of transactions at food places. It literally "eats" away at your bank account! I am, however, leaving one day a week open for the occasional "lunch with the work guys" for Greg.
3. Try my hand at once monthly grocery shopping.
This one was created yesterday as I made my very first Sams trip since receiving my card a month ago. Now during this trip I learned many things; you can easily get in big money trouble by thinking "bigger is better," but on the other hand, paying solely for packaging at Kroger's is what makes buying in bulk worth it. One "free day"- (what is that?) I am going to make a point to sit down with my receipts and break down the "costs" to see what thing to buy where. I will have to share my findings with you all too! This also means planning meals for a month! I have saved weekly menus from the past couple months, so this may not be so hard... but it is worth a try!
4. Pay off 75% of all debt.
This means Greg's car and both our school loans. We have been extremely blessed in many ways in this area as my car is paid off and running pretty well (knock on wood!) and our very gracious friends James and Natalie have allowed us to live in their house rent free while they are located overseas for Jame's job. What a wonderful feeling it will be to be DEBT FREE!
5. Read and pray with Greg every day.
We both are involved in BSF where we have assigned "homework" for the weekly Bible study, and we find we are rushing on Sunday nights to complete our lesson! So working on this every night will keep us in the word and keep us from unnecessary stress! We have also found that being in constant prayer and praying together has strengthened our marriage and personal struggles immensely! It is easy to forget, so this is definitely a goal for this year!
6. Step up my "homemade" ventures.
After trying my hand at "couponing" I have found that it is very time consuming and has taken a bit of a back seat a I have started full time work. However, in its place, I have been trying my best to make as many things "homemade" as possible. This can save so much money and end up being healthier than some of the store bought options. So far I have made homemade "bisquick." And that is about it, so I have a long way to go!
7. Tell my family I love them more often.
8. Follow through with at least 2 of the new years resolution listed above!!
Happy belated New Years to everyone!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Grandpa
Every day there is something that reminds me of my Grandpa.
I drove past an ice cream shop a couple days ago and remembered the many times he would take my sister and me to Marble Slab on Sunday's to get a waffle cone. He would always point out how they used a "marble slab" to mix in the toppings and laughed because both of us would want our ice cream plain. I would always get sweet cream, and Ciara would always get strawberry. Grandpa would make fun of her because every time he asked her what she wanted, she would always reply "I like strawberry!" I can't tell you how many times we've repeated that phrase over the years! That was such a fun ans special moment every Sunday.
This past Wednesday I was looking through some children's books to read to my class during our child development unit, and I remembered my Grandpa sitting in his chair in the kitchen reading to Ciara. There was the book about the old woman and all those "damn rabbits" in which he taught my sister to recite everytime. I thought it was hilarious; my mom, not so much. And then there was "Katy the Kitten." When Grandpa would ask her to get a book from the back room, it never failed that she would bring it back, but Grandpa would always read it. I remember him reading to me as well. There was this book about a boy and his friend "bear," and he would always yell "beans!" That was my "Grandpa" book.
A couple night ago when I was bringing some ice cream to Greg, I clanked the spoon against the side of the bowl and told him my Grandpa would always do this to "call" Trey in from the living room. Trey only being a baby, would crawl right to Grandpa knowing he was about to get some vanilla ice cream!
I remember Grandpa teaching me how to play poker with a stack of nickles to gamble with, when he would give us his spare change to put the silver in the safe and the pennies in the water jug, watching the old cartoons with him in the living room, making Bonnie bark like crazy when he would yell her name as he walked up to our front door, laughing when he would get socks and underwear from Grandma for Christmas, taking Clyde for walks and coming back to tell me he let him poop on my first grade teacher's lawn (he called her Meanie Deanie... her name was Mrs, Diner.), convincing me that all my teachers would hang out at the bar after school, joking to my mom that she never fed us because we would pig out on red licorice and Grandma's soup when we came over, when he would tell us that he gave Santa Clause whiskey instead of milk and cookies, laughing when I would leave him and my uncle Bruce silly messages on the white board in his office, making fun of Polish people, teasing my Grandma of how "bad a wife she was" and that she made him "miserable" when we all knew he loved her so much, and how he would have traded the world for his grandchildren.
My Grandpa was the most humble and giving person, and never wanted anything in return or any attention on himself. I think we can all agree he deserved a million more years with us.
We miss you so much Grandpa.
I drove past an ice cream shop a couple days ago and remembered the many times he would take my sister and me to Marble Slab on Sunday's to get a waffle cone. He would always point out how they used a "marble slab" to mix in the toppings and laughed because both of us would want our ice cream plain. I would always get sweet cream, and Ciara would always get strawberry. Grandpa would make fun of her because every time he asked her what she wanted, she would always reply "I like strawberry!" I can't tell you how many times we've repeated that phrase over the years! That was such a fun ans special moment every Sunday.
This past Wednesday I was looking through some children's books to read to my class during our child development unit, and I remembered my Grandpa sitting in his chair in the kitchen reading to Ciara. There was the book about the old woman and all those "damn rabbits" in which he taught my sister to recite everytime. I thought it was hilarious; my mom, not so much. And then there was "Katy the Kitten." When Grandpa would ask her to get a book from the back room, it never failed that she would bring it back, but Grandpa would always read it. I remember him reading to me as well. There was this book about a boy and his friend "bear," and he would always yell "beans!" That was my "Grandpa" book.
A couple night ago when I was bringing some ice cream to Greg, I clanked the spoon against the side of the bowl and told him my Grandpa would always do this to "call" Trey in from the living room. Trey only being a baby, would crawl right to Grandpa knowing he was about to get some vanilla ice cream!
I remember Grandpa teaching me how to play poker with a stack of nickles to gamble with, when he would give us his spare change to put the silver in the safe and the pennies in the water jug, watching the old cartoons with him in the living room, making Bonnie bark like crazy when he would yell her name as he walked up to our front door, laughing when he would get socks and underwear from Grandma for Christmas, taking Clyde for walks and coming back to tell me he let him poop on my first grade teacher's lawn (he called her Meanie Deanie... her name was Mrs, Diner.), convincing me that all my teachers would hang out at the bar after school, joking to my mom that she never fed us because we would pig out on red licorice and Grandma's soup when we came over, when he would tell us that he gave Santa Clause whiskey instead of milk and cookies, laughing when I would leave him and my uncle Bruce silly messages on the white board in his office, making fun of Polish people, teasing my Grandma of how "bad a wife she was" and that she made him "miserable" when we all knew he loved her so much, and how he would have traded the world for his grandchildren.
My Grandpa was the most humble and giving person, and never wanted anything in return or any attention on himself. I think we can all agree he deserved a million more years with us.
We miss you so much Grandpa.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Birthday and Christmas
Those two go hand in hand for me! Having your birthday 2 days before Christmas isn't so bad... I am now at the point when combining gifts is encouraged (especially when they come in the form of KitchenAid stand mixers... I'll brag about that later!) but I will always love and appreciate my mom wrapping my gifts in actual birthday paper and making me a normal birthday cake. (leaving the red and green icing behind!)
Looking back at all my birthdays, I have come to realize there are a lot of things that make Christmas birthdays great! 1. Family is in town! 2. Christmas vacations means I have gotten to spend my birthday in some fun places! I will never forget eating "birthday" breakfast with the characters in Disney World! 3. Its the most wonderful time of the year :-) 4. My husband can take me to the Nutcracker...
Which was my wonderful gift from him this year! Gold stars go out to Greg for sitting through a ballet!
Getting ready for the show! Greg was way more interested in the orchestra pit than what was happening on the stage...
The mice... I didn't have the guts to ask for a picture with them.
Greg wanted to take me ice skating at the "Discovery Green" park in downtown Houston, but it was closed due to "unseasonably warm temperatures." Of course. 75 degrees and rainy. December 23rd.
But I had no clue this cool park was in the middle of downtown! Here's a couple pictures.
I had an amazing birthday! And an amazing husband!
Now on to Christmas!
This year, being Greg and I's first meant that a "Christmas schedule" had to be planned! Lucky for us, my family seems to do things early in the day and Greg's side celebrates later in the evening. So on Christmas eve, we made our first stop at Grandma's house.
This year Trey got to be Santa! A Santa with skinny jeans? Is that legal?
Opening presents. Ciara never gives a normal smile.
Neither does Trey.
Grandpa's calendar! It is a tradition to pass around the calendar and see what month and what pictures all of us ended up in!
Looking through my camera, I noticed that I am not the best "photographer." Thank goodness for my sister-in-law Cristie who always takes great pictures! I just might link her blog when she has them up because I am missing all of Greg's family pictures!
But I did get our first "married Christmas" morning!
I woke Greg up at 7:00 am...(hence the coffee) because you just CAN'T sleep in on Christmas! We started the morning off by reading from Luke, the Christmas story. It is so important to remember the true meaning of this holiday as sometimes it can be easily forgotten in the "hustle and bustle"
Greg opening his stocking!
Sour patch kids and a very sleepy Greg.
I wonder how long I can keep these pictures up on my blog... before Greg tells me to take them off!
MJ cd... now I get to hear "Billie Jean" 24/7... what was I thinking??
The Office trivia game!
Barbie Fashion calendar. Perfect for my classroom! (And this will be the only "early morning" picture of me!)
Wireless printer... we have wasted a lot of paper and ink playing with this! haha
Santa heard Greg this year and he finally got his firetruck he has always wanted! Cristie... we are saving this for Tyler! haha!
And drumroll.... Santa heard me this year and brought me an iTouch. I now have way too much technology in a device that is meant to play music! But it is also way too much fun :-)
On our way to my Aunt Julie's house, we spotted Santa... except he wasn't on his sleigh...
And at the Mercer's house later that day, Rowdy (in his classy sweater) opened up his gift from us!
I wanted to throw this one in... Christmas this year would not be complete without a snuggie! Thanks to Greg's Grandma, we can now stay warm AND use the phone, read a book, hold the remote, cheer at a football game...
And for the final picture, as I said in the beginning of this post, here is an example of a sweet combined birthday/Christmas gift...
Yes... a stand mixer... a KitchenAid stand mixer! In the past 2 days I have used it 4 times :-). Thank you Mercer family!!!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!
I think my next post will be on some New Years resolutions... I have a lot! :-)
Looking back at all my birthdays, I have come to realize there are a lot of things that make Christmas birthdays great! 1. Family is in town! 2. Christmas vacations means I have gotten to spend my birthday in some fun places! I will never forget eating "birthday" breakfast with the characters in Disney World! 3. Its the most wonderful time of the year :-) 4. My husband can take me to the Nutcracker...
Which was my wonderful gift from him this year! Gold stars go out to Greg for sitting through a ballet!
Getting ready for the show! Greg was way more interested in the orchestra pit than what was happening on the stage...
The mice... I didn't have the guts to ask for a picture with them.
Greg wanted to take me ice skating at the "Discovery Green" park in downtown Houston, but it was closed due to "unseasonably warm temperatures." Of course. 75 degrees and rainy. December 23rd.But I had no clue this cool park was in the middle of downtown! Here's a couple pictures.
I had an amazing birthday! And an amazing husband!Now on to Christmas!
This year, being Greg and I's first meant that a "Christmas schedule" had to be planned! Lucky for us, my family seems to do things early in the day and Greg's side celebrates later in the evening. So on Christmas eve, we made our first stop at Grandma's house.
This year Trey got to be Santa! A Santa with skinny jeans? Is that legal?
Opening presents. Ciara never gives a normal smile.
Grandpa's calendar! It is a tradition to pass around the calendar and see what month and what pictures all of us ended up in!
Looking through my camera, I noticed that I am not the best "photographer." Thank goodness for my sister-in-law Cristie who always takes great pictures! I just might link her blog when she has them up because I am missing all of Greg's family pictures!
But I did get our first "married Christmas" morning!
I woke Greg up at 7:00 am...(hence the coffee) because you just CAN'T sleep in on Christmas! We started the morning off by reading from Luke, the Christmas story. It is so important to remember the true meaning of this holiday as sometimes it can be easily forgotten in the "hustle and bustle"
Greg opening his stocking!
Sour patch kids and a very sleepy Greg.I wonder how long I can keep these pictures up on my blog... before Greg tells me to take them off!
MJ cd... now I get to hear "Billie Jean" 24/7... what was I thinking??
The Office trivia game!
Barbie Fashion calendar. Perfect for my classroom! (And this will be the only "early morning" picture of me!)
Wireless printer... we have wasted a lot of paper and ink playing with this! haha
Santa heard Greg this year and he finally got his firetruck he has always wanted! Cristie... we are saving this for Tyler! haha!
And drumroll.... Santa heard me this year and brought me an iTouch. I now have way too much technology in a device that is meant to play music! But it is also way too much fun :-)
On our way to my Aunt Julie's house, we spotted Santa... except he wasn't on his sleigh...
And at the Mercer's house later that day, Rowdy (in his classy sweater) opened up his gift from us!
I wanted to throw this one in... Christmas this year would not be complete without a snuggie! Thanks to Greg's Grandma, we can now stay warm AND use the phone, read a book, hold the remote, cheer at a football game...
And for the final picture, as I said in the beginning of this post, here is an example of a sweet combined birthday/Christmas gift...
Yes... a stand mixer... a KitchenAid stand mixer! In the past 2 days I have used it 4 times :-). Thank you Mercer family!!!!I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!
I think my next post will be on some New Years resolutions... I have a lot! :-)
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
An attempt at a Christmas card...
I was really excited about being able to send out Christmas cards this year (by the way, everyone will be getting them a little late....) so of course the picture had to be perfect. Join me on my journey to the "perfect" Christmas card picture...
The first one was okay, but a little awkward. Check out my Frankenstein hand.
Then it just got out of control...
Merry Christmas from the Mercers!
The first one was okay, but a little awkward. Check out my Frankenstein hand.
Then it just got out of control...
Very funny Greg.
Merry Christmas from the Grinch's?
Merry Christmas from the Mercers!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Christmas firsts
Greg and I are getting ready for our first Christmas as a married couple!
And to commemorate this wonderful occasion, I photographed every step of putting up our first Christmas tree! :-)
Our naked tree needed a skirt...
Next is the beads. But I had to smell them first. Ever since I can remember, the beads that went on the Christmas tree smelled awful. And why I would make sure they still reeked year after year... I have no clue. But a Christmas tree is not a Christmas tree without those stinky beads.
The stinky beads on the tree!
The ornaments...
Drumroll please......
And to commemorate this wonderful occasion, I photographed every step of putting up our first Christmas tree! :-)
Yes, this is the first step... it's pre-lit. Which is pretty much amazing.
Our naked tree needed a skirt...
Next is the beads. But I had to smell them first. Ever since I can remember, the beads that went on the Christmas tree smelled awful. And why I would make sure they still reeked year after year... I have no clue. But a Christmas tree is not a Christmas tree without those stinky beads.
The stinky beads on the tree!
The ornaments...
And now the star!
Drumroll please......
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Oh and I almost forgot! The ornaments collected for me by my mom through the years were passed on to me for when Greg and I were to start our own tree.
Check out the "globe" in the middle. Every year we joke that mom must have been feeling very "multicultural" that year. haha.
We have yet to find an "Our First Christmas" ornament, but I might just have to make a Hallmark trip this week to pick one up... and maybe a Tyler candle...and some Vera Bradley. :-)
Well, there is our first tree! I will be posting some more Christmas "firsts" later next week as I will have plenty of time on my 2 week long break!!!!
Oh and I almost forgot! The ornaments collected for me by my mom through the years were passed on to me for when Greg and I were to start our own tree.
Check out the "globe" in the middle. Every year we joke that mom must have been feeling very "multicultural" that year. haha.We have yet to find an "Our First Christmas" ornament, but I might just have to make a Hallmark trip this week to pick one up... and maybe a Tyler candle...and some Vera Bradley. :-)
Well, there is our first tree! I will be posting some more Christmas "firsts" later next week as I will have plenty of time on my 2 week long break!!!!
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