Happy Halloween!

My sister and I had a photo shoot with Mason in his Halloween costume and then I designed these cards for her to mail out.

I think the bottom left hand pic is my favorite! I'm sure he was thinking we were crazy. haha.
Isn't he the cutest little pumpkin?!

gather around the table

We have a tiny table with four chairs. I love the table and the dark, richness of the wood. The size of the table doesn't really bother us a whole lot, until we have people over. It is hard to accommodate more than two adults, plus the table settings and the food.

I would love to one day have a breakfast area with a round drop leaf table.


And have a designated dining room with a big table that has leaves to adjust to just the right size.

I would line these up and down the middle as my centerpiece for Thanksgiving and use white dishes with rich oranges and reds for napkins.

Until then I will stick with my tiny table and use these lovelies on it.

Chili's--a copycat recipe

My mom bought me this cookbook for Christmas last year.

My favorite recipe from it is Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup. LOVE it. I love everything from Chili's, so of course I was excited to see this recipe in the cookbook.

I will warn you there are a lot of ingredients, but it is worth it. I promise. It also makes a TON. I freeze several containers of it.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup chicken bouillon powder
3 cups diced yellow onions
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups masa harina*
4 quarts water
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
8 oz Velveeta, cubed
3 lbs cooked chicken breast, shredded (I use a rotisserie chicken.)

Toppings:
Shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla strips (I buy a bag of these in the salad dressing aisle.)
pico de gallo (I buy this already prepared from the grocery store--saves time.)

Directions:
1. Add the oil, bouillon powder, onions, cumin, chili powder, garlic, and cayenne pepper to a large pot. Saute until the onions are soft and clear, about 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the masa harina with 1 quart of the water. Stir until all the lumps have dissolved. Add to the sauteed onions and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for an additional 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the remaining 3 quarts water to the pot. Add the tomatoes and return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the cheese and stir until it melts. Add the chicken; heat and serve.

4. Garnish with shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and pico.

(serves 16 to 20)

*Masa harina can be found in the hispanic food aisle. The kind I bought looks like this:

I have to have the tv on while I'm working on blog designs. I have watched every season of Bones that is available instantly via the Wii from Netflix. I have now moved on to Friday Night Lights.

I started season two on Sunday and I'm slightly obsessed with it.

I have been thinking about adding bangs for a while and Miss Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly) has further influenced that decision. I love her hair. Now, if only mine was thicker and longer.

I have faux side swept bangs. I have a cowlick and when I have short bangs they always split. I hate that. So my current faux bangs are long enough to tuck behind my ears. I want to give shorter bangs a try again. I'm sure I will regret it, but maybe, just maybe it will work this time. :)

I also want to find a great red lipstick like in the above picture. I've been looking, but I've yet to find it. Anyone know of a great shade for the palest of pale girls?

Monday night I took my BBBS Little to dinner at Cosi. We had the smores for dessert. She loved having the mini fire on our table.

We had house guests last night. Ty's sister and her family are on Fall Break and our house was halfway in between their house and their vacation destination, so they spent the night last night. A good way to avoid driving all day and wasting a vacation day. We love these two little munchkins so much and we always have fun!



Lucas took several pictures of me and Nuts. I'm sure Amy will have a good time deleting all of those. haha. I had a recruitment event yesterday evening and they were at the house when I got home. Lucas greeted me in his undies. Apparently, he doesn't like pants. :)

I wish I still got a Fall Break--those were the days.

weekend recap

I want this month to last forever! The weather is perfect, my husband is home and all is well.

• I downloaded the couch to 5k app on my phone and I'm loving it. I think I might actually finish the program this time. :) The app allows you to listen to music while you are running and then a male or female voice will come on and tell you when to walk or run and when you are halfway through and when you have minute left. It is much easier than looking at your watch every 5 seconds.

• I bought this cute piggy bank from Target for Ty. Isn't it perfect for him?!

• Speaking of Target, look at this cute top. (Ignore my creepy eyes--I sent this pic to Chesley and wasn't worried about how I looked. I just wanted her to see the top.)

It reminds me of something Emma Pillsbury from Glee would wear! I think it will be so cute tucked into a pencil skirt.

• We went to dinner Saturday night with Ty's parents, sister and brother-in-law. Ty's mom brought us this Halloween bucket full of candy and other fun treats, including those cute little pumpkins.

today's thoughts

• I'm sure everyone has been following the story of the 33 Chilean miners who have been trapped underground for 69 days. I love watching the rescue footage. It makes me tear up every time. What an incredible story of faith!

• We experienced an earthquake today in Oklahoma. It was such a weird feeling. The earthquake wasn't bad and it didn't last very long, but earthquakes are out of our comfort zone. We are used to tornadoes.

• I am reviewing med school applications and it seems like everyone speaks Spanish and has done translating in the hospital. I wish I could speak another language.

• I have eyed these stockings from Ballard Designs for years. The Christmas catalog came in the mail this weekend and I finally bit the bullet and ordered them.

The red for me and the striped for Ty.

• Ballard Designs got me in the Christmas spirit and I bought my first Christmas gift yesterday. Too bad my family reads the blog or I would post it. It's from etsy and oh so cute!
  

• The weather here has been amazing! I went to my cousin's 8th grade football game last night and it was so nice to just sit outside.
  

weekend recap

Friday
My parents, sister and nephew came to visit. They were on their way to my grandparents and stopped by to stay the night. We had yummy chicken and vegetable tostadas and these delicious cookies for dessert.
I can't resist these things in the bakery at Reasor's. They are chocolate chip cookies baked in a muffin liner topped with chocolate icing. I'm addicted!

Mason loves to be facing out and bounced to sleep. It is pretty exhausting and my sister has found alternative ways to get him to sleep, but I'm a good aunt and always bounce him. :)
When he was almost asleep I sat down and continued to bounce.

Saturday
I spent the morning playing with Mason and the afternoon designing blogs. I hadn't been at home for a whole weekend in so long and it was so nice! I ran errands and picked up some mums and a pumpkin. The stem came off the pumpkin and I'm thinking about super gluing it back on. :)

Ty and I went on a date Saturday night to Te Kei's. We had sushi, lettuce wraps and a rice bowl. Yum, yum!

Sunday
Ty went into the hospital early in the morning (Saturday, too), but he was able to join me at church. We hadn't been together in a long time and it was so nice. He had to leave early to get back to the hospital, but I will take what I can get.

This evening we are heading to a Sunday School class get together and I am taking this dip.

See that curtainless window in the second picture and the fabric hanging over the chair I am sitting in. Yeah, that has been on my to do list for months. I really thought I would tackle it today, but maybe next weekend...

I'm having some issues with the font sizing. grr.

Reunited and it Feels so Good

Last weekend I flew one way to Detroit to meet up with Ty. I hadn't seen him in a month, because he was on an away rotation. He left on August 31st and drove to Chicago. Halfway through the month he drove over to Detroit for another rotation. Our plan was for me to fly one way to Detroit and make the 16 hour road trip back with him.

We had a great weekend and road trip! We were so giddy to be around each other again!
My flight landed in Detroit around 8:30 pm and instead of staying the night in Detroit we drove across the river to Canada. Actually, we drove under the river to Canada via a tunnel.

On the Canada side looking at downtown Detroit.

It was such a dreary day!

Inside Caesar's Casino

I guess this is one of the main reasons to go to Canada, that and the drinking age is 19. Our hotel was crawling with 19 year olds in BAD club attire. It made me so thankful for where I am in my life! haha.

Our road trip through Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri consisted of a lot of McDonald's and gas stations.


We drove almost 10 hours on Saturday and spent the night in St. Louis. I had been once when I was 3 or 4, so that doesn't really count. I wish we would have had more time. It is such a beautiful city!


We stayed in The Hill district, which is an Italian part of town. We had a late dinner at Cunetto House of Pasta. Their portions were HUGE! This is a footed bowl and by the time I was done eating you couldn't even tell I had left a dent in my Fettuccine Carbonara.




The next morning consisted of breakfast from McDonald's and a countdown to the World's Largest Gift Shop and Candy Store. Ty had stopped there on his way to Chicago, so it was a must see on our return trip. :)


The I Love Lucy car inside the World's Largest Gift Shop

The Sights, the Sounds, the Smells

I love the state fair. It is such a festive time and there is always excitement in the air. Sadly, Ty and I have never made it to the state fair together. He has always been studying and the last two years he has been on a surgery rotation, which means he is constantly working.

This year, I took my Little Sister to Disney on Ice. My parents took my brother, sister and me several times growing up and I always remember it being magical.

H was very excited about riding the swings.

After riding the swings several times and devouring a corn dog it was time for Disney on Ice!
I had randomly checked facebook earlier in the day, something that I rarely do, and saw that my cousin had posted that she was taking her son to Disney on Ice. She lives a little over an hour from me and it was so fun to be able to see her! Their seats were in the same area as ours and we even sat with them for the second half of the show.

My favorite characters: the pig from Toy Story and Lumiere the candelabra from Beauty and the Beast.
It was hard to snap pictures of the characters, because it was dark and smoky/foggy in the bldg.




After the show, H and I shared a funnel cake and then I took her home hyped up on sugar. haha.

My September Secret

I bet you all didn't know I had been keeping a secret from you. Well, I have. My sweet husband has been on an away rotation all month. He spent 18 days in Chicago and 10 days in Detroit on a general surgery rotation. In order to make yourself a better candidate for residency programs, medical students have audition months. Basically, it is like a month long interview with a program. Talk about stressful!

In Chicago, Ty did seven 24 hour shifts within those 18 days. Oh and those 24 hour shifts are a lie--they are really like 32 hour shifts. Just a glimpse into what the first two years of residency will look like for us! Oh boy.

I am flying to meet him in Detroit as this is posting and we will make the road trip back to Oklahoma. I'm not a huge fan of road trips, but let me tell you I have never been more excited in my life. I have missed that man!

The month seems like it has gone fast and extremely slow all at the same time. September is always my busiest month at work, so that helped keep my mind off of being lonely. I have seen my family more in this month than any in this past year. It was so nice to be able to cuddle with my sweet nephew.


Of course, several things have gone wrong this month, but I learned that I have the greatest friends ever. Our garage door got stuck half way on Labor Day weekend and I physically could not get it to shut. So many people volunteered to come help me get it shut for the night. My dad even looked the manual up online to try to help me fix it.


Then, this past week I got an awful stomach bug. Being sick by yourself is awful. Thankfully, I have friends who texted, tweeted and called to make sure I was okay and to see if I needed anything. I have the sweetest friends!
Megan dropped this off on my doorstep. I was in desperate need of fluids!

I know Ty has been pretty lonely too! I don't think I could handle all the pressure of learning a new hospital environment, try to impress people and be all by myself.

Thankfully, it was just a month! I'm not sure how others handle things like deployment or other situations. I have a deeper respect for these families. I can't wait to start cooking again! It seems like I went on a month long hiatus and I have a lot of new recipes to try out. Yay!

Have a good weekend! I know, I will!