Filed under: Home
Since the last update, the concrete for the front porch is in. The front and garage is ready for the stones. On the inside, the electrical wirings are in. The heating is in including the fireplace.
Come Monday, we have a pre-drywall meeting to go over all the wirings to make sure that what we requested are in correctly before the drywall goes up.
Thanksgiving 2009
This year, we enjoyed Thanksgiving with friends. Husband, the girls, and I first had brunch at our home. We had ham with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (recipe from Martha Stewart) and steamed broccoli. The girls shared what the were thankful for. Husband and I also shared what we were thankful for.
Kida posing for a photo. Before brunch, we spent some time outdoors getting photos for the Christmas card.
Kylie eating Cheerios and holding her baby doll at Shazia’s house. Josh was practicing his lighting and quickly snapped this one. It was blurry but I toned it down by using sharpening in Photoshop.
Here, I’m talking to Kylie while Josh took a practice shot. Again, he was testing the lighting. Can you tell I seriously photoshopped this? I’m not telling. 
The table setting at Shazia’s. It was so beautiful just like something from a magazine.
The turkey, cranberry sauce, salad and buns. The turkey looked delicious but I’m sorry to say that I didn’t eat any of it.
Leg of lamb. It was so good! I’ve had lamb before and both times, I didn’t like it. The smell was too strong. This lamb was so tender and there wasn’t any smell. It was the best I’ve ever had!
Kida had a really great time playing with Shazia’s two sons. She asked me if she could spend the night at their house. LOL! Everytime she has a great time at someone’s house, she wants to spend the night. Kylie spent most the evening running from Shazia’s cute 2-year-old daughter but just before we left, the two girls were dancing to Indie music!
Filed under: Family
He’s saved me from myself in many ways and continues to do so. I can’t imagine my life without him. Sometimes I wonder where I would be if he never crossed my path. It’s scary to even think of that. Looking back, my life seemed pretty crazy and I always felt alone and afraid. I never gave much time to anything, always going from one thing to another, looking for someone or something to hold on to and show me that I belong. I always believed in myself but I just never felt like I had direction. He opened my eyes and allowed me to deal with those things I found difficult to even share with anyone.
My 2 angels. They continue to teach me patience, forgiveness, humor, and complete joy. I don’t know about other mother’s but I know that I struggle almost all the time on how to do things and what to say, especially when my girls asks questions or say things that I don’t expect from them. I do worry a lot about their future because I’m just afraid to have to let them leave me. I know they will do well in society. I just don’t want them to grow up so fast and become adults.
I’m also very thankful for my extended family, good friends, those who have crossed my path and have left a footprint on me, and most of all, freedom.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
My girls really liked the idea but they didn’t really care for the pie. I really liked the pie though. It asked for 5 (10-ounce) custard cups which I didn’t have so I made it with all the piggies in one pot. Also, there was no pig or ham in this recipe. It is a chicken pot pie made with biscuits that are shaped into little cute piggy faces. I personally would not have thought of this idea myself. I would have made a flower or another design out of the biscuits but my girls liked the little piggies.
Recipe (from cookbook “Cooking for Kids – Recipes Kids Love):
2 Cups frozen mixed soup vegetables
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can reduced-fat condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
8 ounces, chopped cooked chicken
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (I didn’t have this so didn’t put any in my version)
1 (7 1/2-ounce) tube (10) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
Direction
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Remove 10 green peas from frozen mixed vegetables (set aside). Stir together remaining frozen vegetables, soup, chicken, yogurt, water, thyme, poultry seasoning and garlic powder in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cover; keep warm.
3. Press five biscuits into 3-inch circles. Cut each remaining biscuits into eight wedges. Place two wedges on top of each circle; fold points down to form ears. Roll one wedge into small ball; place in center of each circle to form pig’s snout. Use tip of spoon handle to make indents in snout for nostrils. Place two reserved green peas on each circle for eyes.
4. Spoon hot chicken mixture into 5 custard cups. Place one biscuit “pig” on top of each. Place remaining biscuit wedges around each “pig” on top of chicken mixture, twisting one wedge “tail” for each. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until biscuits are golden.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 11 minutes
Filed under: Scrapbook
It’s funny how I never really thought of creating a scrapbook page on me. I’m usually thinking of my kids, a special occasion, or something/someone else. When I came upon All About Me Challenge, I realized that it was normal and okay to scrap about myself. So now, I’m really excited!!! The best thing about this (for me of course) is that my kids will be able to keep this for years to come when I am old and and then gone. Hopefully, their kids kids and so on will still have these scraps of me to remember by. Okay, I know I sound cynical but really it’s not meant to sound that way. All I’m saying is aside from scrapping about everyone and everything else, that I’ve realized it’s fine to also scrap about me. 
For more of my scrapbook pages, go here:
Note: I kind of went on a scrapbooking hiatus for a couple of years but I am back at it!
Kylie’s Hand At One Month – April 2007
I’ve got a few projects going on. One of them should be to clean the house but it isn’t. After leaving my job, I thought I would at least have some idea of what I’d want to do with my time besides watching my two girls. I find it strange that while I was working, I had all these ideas and things I wanted to do but just never had time for. Now that I have that opportunity, I don’t know where to start or what exactly I had wanted to do. I guess at first I was unmotivated. Actually, I think I was just trying to adjust to not being the one to bring home the bacon and also to change pace. I really have no rush to be anywhere fast now.
Here’s my list of projects:
1. Organize digital photos starting with 2007 photos and then going backwards until all are completely organized (printed or ebooks). Once that’s done, work on current photos I’ve taken with the last year until now.
2. Organize the 5 scrapbooks I currently have. Use up the cardstocks I currently have as well. Work on a new scrapbook using a technique that I am new to (this is pretty much all I can say about this project right now).
3. Clean out old clothes or clothes that are no longer being worn. Currently, I have 2 large trash bags and a box full of the girls, husband’s and my clothes. Once all the clothes are bagged, I will either send them to the Goodwill or give it to the Knights of Columbus.
4. Create an etsy account and sell jewelry that I’ve made so far. I created an etsy account a couple of weeks ago but did it incorrectly so I had the etsy team delete it so that I can start over. I’m going to make a few more jewelry pieces and plan how I will be shipping these out in (box, bottle, or bag) as well as plan out some other little important things before doing so.
5. Put up more books to be sold on Amazon.com. I’ve got about 9 books or so out there that I posted last week and none of them have sold yet. I hope they do soon though! I also have a ton of CD’s I’d like to get rid of.
My plan is to get all these done before the new year.
View from master bedroom – November 2009
It seems like it’s been awhile since I’ve updated on the house. Things are going smooth. The construction guys are really working hard on getting the outside of the house completed before the cold hits. Within the last couple of days they have:
1. Completed the siding on the house.
2. All windows are in.
3. Garage door is in.
4. Heating system in.
5. Roof completed.
Earlier today, they were in the process of pouring the rest of the concrete for the driveway. We should be getting snow by tomorrow or this weekend so I think they are trying to get the concrete in before then.
Husband and I were concerned about the extended deck. We had thought that it would be bigger than what we saw but the sales person showed us the blue print and it’s meant to be a small deck. I was bummed initially but I think it will be okay. We are planning to put a stone deck in from the walk-out and extend it out as far as possible. I’m also hoping for a small piece of dirt for gardening.
On Monday, when we met with the landscaper, he pretty much just wanted our thoughts and ideas on how we wanted the front lawn to look like. He scribbled a few of our ideas on paper and said that he will get back to us to show us a layout of what he thinks we would like based on the information we provided him. Since our neighborhood is covenant controlled, there are particular trees, flowers, and bushes that we have to choose from and since there are thousands of varieties out there, it only made since that he would put something together to show us. I asked if I could have an area on both sides of the garage parkway for planting annuals and he jotted that down.
Kida 2009
“I have learned and will still be learning on who are the people i can keep close with and whom i shall discard. It’s strange but this is life. In life there are always people who want to define you, label you, judge you and DECIDE for you what you should do with your life. These people are not able to see you as a Human Being first because they themselves are not one! They failed to realised that before they want to find flaws in others, they have to take a good look in the mirror first and admit that they can see these flaws in themselves. But unfortunately, to some, no matter how big a mirror you give them they choose not to see.” ~ Creative Momma [http://scrapwithlove.blogspot.com/]
Once upon a time, I dreamed of having all the people around me be merry and loving. I had hopes of wonderful memories and happy tears. Like a confused child I searched for answers to what went wrong. No one answered.
Sometimes, it’s best to discard. And, I shall.
Filed under: Family
Washington Park -Denver, CO – September 2009
Just the thought of being a mother to two girls and married to a great man to me is like a dream come true. Everyone wishes for a perfect family but only a few are granted this gift. I feel very fortunate to know that I am one of them. Every day, I thank God for my family.
My parents are my true heroes. Growing up, I used to wake up early just to hear my dad get ready for work and listened as he locked the door after him. I would pray that he have a good day at work. I thought he must always have awful days somehow and wanted to one day experience it for myself and see how I would handle those awful days because it wasn’t fair that he had to endure them while my mom just stayed home, cooked, and cleaned, and kept an eye on me and my six siblings. Little did I know how hard mom worked too. There was also a time that she watched us and worked the graveyard shift making $3 per hour. She used to always complain about how much money we never had and it never made sense because I would figure out her salary per week and think it was a lot of money she was bringing home.
My misconceptions of those times was a hard lesson learned.
Ever since I began to understand them I also realized that it doesn’t end there. Everytime I visit them I smile a little more and love a little more. They have shown me how to be a good and loving person, how to forgive and be humble, and how to be brave. I wish that I could give them more for their sacrafices. More love. More joy. More time.
How far we’ve come.
Filed under: Home
The windows are in and so is the driveway. They are currently putting the siding on as well as the deck. Next Monday, we will meet with the landscapers to go over design for the front lawn. The construction workers have been putting in lots of hours from sunrise to sunset. Today was a wonderfully beautiful and warm day. Unusual but not really for the month of November. It should start to get colder later on this month so I’m wondering if they are working long hours so that by the time the cold really hits they will be all done with the exterior.
