Good bye 2010...Hello 2011!
Wow. What a year! I cannot believe how busy 2010 was for us.

From babies who were adopted into amazing families
(and who's mama exclaims, "He's just SO HANDSOME!").....

To friends who found out they will have babies (yes! BABIES!) soon.....




To spending time with family.....

To spending time with family we haven't seen in many, many years
(or in the Big Guy's case--never met until the day before he was to get married).....



To connecting with old friends at reunions.....

And making new friends while making a difference.....

To weddings.....

And one awesome reception with a kick butt grooms cake (thankyouverymuch).....



2010 has been a year we will never forget.
Here's hoping that 2011 will be even better!

Happy New Year everyone!

Oh, Deer.....
For the holiday's the Big Guy and I went out to Montana to see my mom and step dad. I didn't blog about it prior to going because I didn't want anyone to rob our house. Not that anyone knows where we live. But still.

My mom and step dad live in Montana at the base of some incredible mountain ranges.

While out on the deck many a morning, we were greeted with deer.
Lots and lots of deer.

Need proof?




I felt like the Pioneer Woman who takes photos of the cows on her porch.
She has cows.
We have deer.

Merry Christmas, Everyone.....

Pic found on this site

I hope that you and yours have a great holiday!
I'm spending time with my family.
Eating things I shouldn't be eating.
Sleeping in.
Lounging in comfy clothes.
Gearing up for 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS.



And not feeling guilty about any of it.



Have a Merry Christmas!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful....
and if I had a fireplace, I'm sure it would be really delightful. But it's hard to find a blizzard delightful.

Well. A blizzard from Dairy Queen is quite delightful.
But that's not what I'm talking about.

I spent all weekend in my cozy townhome watching the snow swirl around outside during a blizzard. Even the cat got cozy on our bed. She wasn't going anywhere. Probably because I spoiled her rotten and turned on the electric blanket.



I do not remember the last time that we were under a blizzard warning. I decided to check out the road report. Check this out.

Yes. All of those "road closed" warnings are for pretty much half of the state.

I got out the camera and took some photos early in the morning. All of the things I've taken a photo of, are literally no more than 50 to 100 yards outside of my door. You can barely make them out due to the blowing snow.


Let's just say that I'm glad I was indoors this weekend and didn't need to go anywhere!


Because I stayed inside I have the cleanest, most organized house in town. I'd give a pregnant woman in nesting mode a run for her money!



But this.
This was the best.
I am friends with Sven Sundgaard, the local weather guy on our NBC station. He's a young guy (almost 30) and quite adorable. In fact, every year before the 3-day I will write on his wall for a "3-day weather update" and he always replies.

This was his update on Saturday evening.

You know it's bad when the weatherman says, "Winter....I'm over you, for real."

Is it April yet?

Don't Eat Fruitcake & Drive....

Because we have done a lot of our Christmas shopping online over the last few years, we tend to be on every mailing list available for catalogs. While they end up in the trash, I do look through them to see what types of items the company is peddling.

We got a catalog from a company called Figis. We've never bought anything from them before, but it was fun to take a look at the endless varieties of cheese and summer sausage.

As I got to the end of the catalog, I saw this listing for a fruit cake.

the best ingredients mellowed with premium liquor.


WHAT?!?


I had no idea that fruit cake had booze in it! Much less top shelf booze!
And it has been "famous" since 1917.


Look at the ingredients.....







Premium dark rum...100 proof bourbon....84 proof brandy.....
Now. What I find funny is, prohibition started in about 1920.
It is clear to me now that those who wanted to get their drink on during prohibition did so by eating grandma's fruit cake!


Is it odd that I'm now really tempted to try fruit cake?
I mean, how can booze in a cake be a bad thing?

Women Follow Directions, Men Use Duct Tape.....

The Big Guy and I have lived in our current place for a few years now (we rent) and our place uses electric heat. This means that we never really see a decrease in our electric bill between seasons. From running the heat to running the central air, our electric bill can be through the roof.


For the last few winters, we've put up plastic sheeting over our windows to help keep the heat in.

I have to be honest and say that this is the one chore I hate, partly because our living room has the those vertical-slat-blinds, which makes it difficult to put up the plastic. Nothing is worse than trying to put up double sided tape while trying to hold back the blinds.


I did our living room window a few weeks ago.
Nice.
Neat.
The way that the directions said it should be done.

Sadly, I got side tracked and couldn't complete the rest of the windows. So I asked the Big Guy to do them for me.


He put up the plastic and our home feels much warmer.
But in true "north woods" fashion, he felt he had an easier way to do the job with the same outcome.


Duct tape.
I'll let the photo speak for itself.





Thank goodness the blinds cover up the lovely silver border.

C is for Cookie....

This weekend I had a grand plan to do some Christmas cookie baking. Each year, the local paper, The Star Tribune, holds a cookie contest. Their issue of the cookie winners was published last week.

It just so happened that the Big Guy bought that paper with the cookie recipes. I decided on a few of their shortbread recipes and the Big Guy asked me to make him this year's winner, Pistachio Orange Cookies. If you'd like to see the cookie page from the paper, you can view it here.


I will say this.
These cookies are really....really....really....good.
And really....really....really....sweet.

WOWZERS are they sweet.

While they look innocent....





They are really a sandwich cookie.
The filling?

1 stick of butter
3 cups of powdered sugar
orange zest
juice of an orange (I was not buying orange extract...)





Sandwich that between two cookies made with butter and sugar, this is a cookie that will make your filling stand up and take notice!


I told the Big Guy that I didn't mind making them, but they were a lot of work and honestly, not worth it in my book.


Besides.
I don't need these in the house because if I did...that is all I would eat!
My hips (and my heart) can't take all of that!

Forty Things Before I'm Forty List....
I know, I know.

My last post wasn't all roses, rainbows and unicorns. I believe in one thing: being very transparent and honest. On my birthday, that was honestly on my mind.

But.

Age is just a number.
I was encouraged by a few of you to take life and run with it.
And that's what I'm going to do.

On Monday on my facebook page, I asked my friends to help me make a list of 40 things to do before I turn 40. Sort of like the 100 things in 1001 days list--but shorter.

So, here is what I hope to do in the next year....


1. Sign up and complete a 5K
2. Bike the Paul Bunyon trail
3. Go on the Rip Cord at Valleyfair with my cousin Karla
4. Read the Bible
5. Go on a trip to somewhere I've never been (airport layovers don't count).
6. Learn to make jelly/jam and how to can (with my mother)
7. Attend an information session on adoption
8. Attend the Opera
9. Pay off my credit card and shred it when it's paid off
10. Take a photography class
11. Eat a small steak (I haven't eaten beef since 1993)
12. Learn to shoot a hand gun (my husband will LOVE this one)
13. Go zip-lining
14. Go out to the Split Rock Light House on Lake Superior
15. Learn to make lefse
16. Research my family tree and find out more on my dad's father (he was adopted and we have very little information on his biological family).
17. Write a children's book
18. Watch every movie that earned the Best Picture Oscar since 1990 (borrowed from my friend Wendy's list)
19. Try every drink on the Caribou Coffee menu
20. Re-learn sign language (I took a class in college, but have slowly forgotten it)
21. Swim with dolphins
22. Send a message in a bottle
23. See a shuttle launch (this is the last year, isn't it?)
24. Visit the Minneapolis Institute of Art
25. Read the entire Harry Potter series again
26. Ride a Unicycle
27. Go to one game for every MN sports team: Timberwolves, Wild, Twins, Vikings
28. Go to a Minnesota Orchestra Concert
29. Write a letter to President Obama
30. Learn to juggle
31. Take at least one course online and finish it
32. Make an alumni donation to UND
33. Own something with the new UND nickname (I don't have to like it...)
34. Learn to make artisan bread
35. Go through a corn maze
36. Make a birthday calendar and send cards to those who have a birthday
37. Read the entire For Better of For Worse Comic Strip Series (that one is for you Kevin)
38. Make 100 handmade greeting cards
39. Make a gingerbread house from scratch
40. Watch every episode of Friends (believe it or not, have not seen them all...)

I'll keep you posted on my list and how I do. Besides, this makes for good blog material.

Watching me ride a unicycle is worth its weight right there.