My Christmas Letter to You

Hm where do I start? I've been MIA for the last 6 months from my blog, I'd apologize to any and all of my readers, but frankly, I've been having way too much fun! As the year is rounding out, and the Christmas cards are pouring in, let me write a little about my last year as part of my Christmas card to you.

For starters Mr. W & I celebrated our one year anniversary!! Yep, one whole year with an amazing man & forever to go! I feel lucky to say that! We celebrated with a long weekend in Omaha, nice dinners & fun nights out with one another. Then, we got to help Mr. W's friends celebrate in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic their marriage! My handsome hubby made a very cute beach groomsman and we enjoyed every minute helping the two of them celebrate such an amazing promise. 

Then, I came back, chopped a foot off my hair to obtain what my lovely hair dresser refers to as, 'The Lob.' If you're like me you are probably wondering what that even means, it is a long bob. If you're like my Grammy, a bob is meaning around the chin, my 'Lob,' is cut A-lined about to my collar bone. Total mom-cut, but for anyone who knows me beyond my blog, this is a huge personal success. I have not had my hair this short since 2007.

While cutting my hair off was a big accomplishment,  I have some other exciting news! Mr. W and I will be packing boxes and moving! :) Only across town, but doesn't it sound so House-Hunters-International when I say it like that? I'm excited to be moving into a bigger house but in all honestly,  I will miss our little house. Mr. W & I have a lot of good memories in our little place.  I guess it will be time to make new ones as we embark on yet another journey together.

Every year I think I get a little more sad thinking about memories past. Mr. W thinks that is the weirdest thing, but I think it is kind of sweet. I think part of me is sad to see the memories be over and done with. No matter how much I try to savor the year, it passes me by. The other part is somewhat scared and nervous of what the next year will bring. Mr. W assures me 2015 will bring nothing but good things. I can't help but know he is right, and THAT is why he is my rock. 

So, I'd say its been a great year filled with blessings of love, happiness and health. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to in 2015. May each of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Xo

Mrs. W

Demo & Remodel.... Two of my favorite words

Recently, I have had a few requests to show some of our home improvement projects. When I told Mr. W this he laughed and told me we are, "taking a break," from those for a while. Well, typically that means we probably will not start on anything until at least fall, which actually is probably okay. We (Mr. W.) have practically gutted our entire house. When I moved in the whole upstairs (except the bathroom) had been done and the basement was the only thing left that needed some work. The basement was really my first project. Total 80's style wood panneling covering the walls and carpet that was not even secured to the floor. First was the fun part, demolition! I thought it was fun until we started taking down the drop ceiling. I'm only about 5'6 so I'm just going through the basement, grabbing and tearing down what I can reach. Well, the old owners seemed to like to hide things in the ceiling. Not only did we find about 5 florescent light bulbs, but we also found an old glass bottle of Pepsi and landscaping paper! Yep... This room was a beauty. Once demo was done Mr. W did the sheet rocking and woodwork. My brother-in-law was able to come over and help us paint (he is so good at it!) and then it came to the point where everything was done but the floor. We debated on the flooring for quiet some time, but decided to go with a floating wood laminate. Laminate sounds like it would feel like plastic, but this was amazing! It looks and even feels similar to real wood. Mr. W and I hauled it to the basement and started laying it. Once we got the hang of it, this was probably the easiest home project we have done that gave this room a total transformation look. The wood literally snaps together, no nails, staples or anything else you would need to hold it together.   Mr. W and I had a blast doing this together. While it was a lot of work, it's fun working on your first house together. It's even more fun when you get to enjoy it!  Pre-furniture and pre-woodwork, but still pretty!

Our Honeymoon: Whitehouse, Jamaica

Our honeymoon was great, but aren't they all? Great room, nicest pools, ocean walks every morning, snorkeling in the afternoon, and of course the little umbrella drinks (who doesn't love those?). The best part was after all of the hustle and bustle of our wedding, I got to spend time with my new hubby and it was just us! That was the best part. Now, Mr. W may put that right up there with the food, which I have to agree was the second best (5 star restaurants, sign me up!).

We went to Whitehouse, Jamaica. It was beautiful! The resort was all-inclusive so we were able to eat as much as we wanted, drink as much as we wanted, and not pay for a thing! Not to mentioned Sandals is a couples only resort so it was nice to meet other married couples, one of which we became great friends with. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone out there looking for a getaway. The staff was helpful, the drinks were cold, and the view was amazing! Oh, and the food, the food was absolutely fabulous!

I don't think I can count using all my fingers and toes (hubby's included,) how many times I have seen on Facebook, "Hey everyone, what is a good place to go for a honeymoon? Suggestions are appreciated!" Either all my friends are getting married... or all my friends are getting married! ;) Of course there are always the ones that respond right away and tell you every detail, and then there are people like me who like to keep their secret spot hidden!

Ok, it's not so secret but our honeymoon was special and amazing; we have vowed to go back on major anniversaries, along with taking at least one destination trip a year to have new adventures together. (This year is the Dominican Republic!) This may seem like a radical way for newlyweds to spend their hard earned dough, but we would much rather spend our money on trips and experiences that we can to do together, rather on clothing, bags, and jewelry. An article from the Huffington Post proves that experiences make you happier than stuff, and I can't agree more!

Here's how much fun we had:

On our sunset catamaran ride!

My huge lobster on our first night there

Mr. W found a live starfish!

Me & Mr. W

Spaghetti Squash

If anyone has every made spaghetti squash, they probably will be able to relate to what I'm about to say. I just started eating spaghetti squash probably over a year ago when my sister introduced me to the healthy veggie. Since, every time I have made it I always feel like it is a near death experience. Have you ever cut one of those puppies open? YIKES. Talk about the possibility of losing a finger.

So, this year being a smarter-brighter-married-grad student, I took matters into my own hands and looked up the easiest way to do this. I followed this tutorial to get the squash cut. It worked great, the only hard part was getting the hard shell of the squash to crack.

To cook the squash follow these directions:

1.) Start by preheating your oven. This time I cooked my squash at 375, but it was a little soft for me. I would suggest if you like it a bit crunchy preheat your oven to 350.

2.) After you have the squash cut in two, take a large spoon and scrap out the seeds just like you would a pumpkin.

2.) Next, fill a 9 x 13 pan with about an inch of water.

3.) Then, take your half or halves depending on how much you are wanting to cook at one time, and place them face down in your pan with the water in it.

4.) Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Once time is done, take it out and let it cool a little bit before touching the spaghetti squash.   Once it's cool, take a fork and scrap the inside. The squash will fall apart like little strings.

5.) Serve & enjoy! We like this best with salmon and fresh veggies!

Reviewed by: Mr. W

Star Rating: 5

Shrek: The Musical

Last year, The Crane River Theater Company started a new tradition in our town (At least last year was the first I was made aware of the 'tradition.') They put on the musical Seussical in the park, open to friends and family free of charge. They have created a neat atmosphere partnering with several vendors that come out to support the show with goodies for sale (ice cream, snow cones, pizza, and of course Runza). Seussical was absolutely amazing! We were completely blow away not only by the acting, but the props and backdrops were beyond creative. Mr. W and I took one of our nieces to the play and she absolutely LOVED it! As you could guess we were looking forward to going again this year.

So this year we hauled through the park with our blanket, lawn chairs and a nice picnic to watch Shrek: The Musical. It was absolutely amazing! This year they brought in actors from all over, Minnesota, Chicago, and of course some local favorites from right here in Nebraska. Our niece loved it! We loved it too but I think for different reasons. The play was amazing, don't get me wrong, but it was so nice to spend time with family outside and be able to enjoy every second. There really is something about savoring the moment when you know your little nieces are not going to stay little forever. She truly had a wonderful time, and I'm so thankful our town is able to put this on for families.  

Now for the pictures!

Avocado Hummus Dip

I keep thinking I like hummus even though I've never been brave enough to try it. So, I've been on the search for a hummus dip that tastes good and I have finally found it! This recipe is delish! It tastes more like a guacamole recipe than hummus dip. I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a go. I did alter the recipe from the original I found because I didn't have the ingredients and frankly, I didn't want to go to the store. How is that for lazy? :) The altered recipe was a hit, we actually took it to my sister's house for the 4th of July. It was nice to have a healthy option to munch on during the holiday!

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1 15oz can of chick peas
• 2 ripe avocados (soft enough to easily mash)
• 3 Tbs. oil olive, more for serving if desired (I used 4 Tbs. + a little water to make it creamy) 
• 3 Tbs. lime juice 
• 2 cloves pressed garlic 
• Dash of salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1 handful of chopped cilantro 

*You can use a food processor or something similar. I thought using my Magic bullet would be a good idea and be a little easier for clean up. After finishing the recipe it might have been easier to combine everything in the food processor, but the Magic bullet seemed to work fine too.

Directions: 

1.) Pulse chick peas, olive oil, lime juice until smooth. (Suggested time is about 2 minutes in your food processor.)

2.) Pulse avocados, salt and pepper, cumin and pressed garlic.

3.) Add handful of chopped cilantro. Mix together chick peas mixture and avocado mixture, either by hand or continually add it together in your food processor.

Chill for an hour or so and serve with pita chips or corn chips! Enjoy! 

Reviewed by: Mr. W

Star Rating: 4.8
(Mr. W is now using decimals. Taking his job seriously, he wants to give you guys exact ratings! :))

PriceMatcherz: Save money at the grocery store

  
     Each Friday, I try to post something helpful to wives or other women out there. While the topics vary, I’m very excited to share one of the best hidden secrets I have found since we have been married. A few years ago Walmart announced they would price match, meaning if another store had it on sale for cheaper you could bring the price and where it was on sale and they would give you that sale price. I always knew they did it but I didn’t get into it until recently. I came upon this website by accident, I think I was actually search for how to coupon. I always am amazed by TLC’s Extreme Couponing, those women walk away with $1,000 in groceries and pay maybe $3.00? I still will never understand that or how they have the time to clip coupons. I love using this site because I can make my grocery list, then go through PriceMatcherz to see what is on sale that we actually need. That way we aren’t just buy things just because they are on sale.

     This site goes through all of the local ads and in my hometown they match anything within 45 minutes of the local Walmart. All I have to do it look at the website and take my list with the prices into the store. While some of the prices matches I’m only saving .30 cents, I have saved up to $2.00 on some items.  The site also identifies if it’s a great deal, meaning stock up now! Let me give you an example of how this has helped us. Mr. W is a blueberry addict so whenever blueberries are on sale we stock up so we can freeze and eat them throughout the summer. Last week they had a pint of blueberries for $1.50 and we bought 6 pints. Normally, a four pint bag of blueberries sell for $10.00, so by doing this we were able to save $4.00.  While you may not think a few cents here and a few dollars there will add up to much to be significant, I was able to cut off $25 every week just by price matching. The best part? It takes me maybe five extra minutes a week to look at PriceMatcherz because they have already done all the hard work for me.

Happy Price Matching!!