Bruiser meet Camden. Camden meet Bruiser.

Camden Sowers

Sock Monkey didn't stand a chance.

She loves naptime with Daddy. Prior to this it was just her front paws sticking out from under the covers.

She’s been doing great since she’s been home with us and we’re pretty excited. On a related note: if anyone has any good advice on getting a resident cat and new dog to coexist, it’d be greatly appreciated.

In my book, 2011 will probably go down as an “alright” year. Even though I have had several things to be thankful for and happy about this year. But first, a look at my 2011 New Years Resolution.

I made a New Years Resolution in January to start running. Of course since I didn’t have a gym membership I had to wait until March when the weather cooperated to begin progress on my resolution. In April I competed in my first ever 5K Run. I started the race confident that there was no way I was going to run the whole thing since to date the farthest I had run at one time was 2 miles. But I kept chugging along and eventually I got to the point where I didn’t care how much more I had to run, I was in it for the long haul. I finished with a not-so impressive time. But…I FINISHED. I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever had that kind of feeling before and all I knew was I wanted to feel it again. So throughout the year I participated in several 5K Races and continued to run on a regular basis. This year will mark the only year I have actually kept the New Years Resolution that I made in January.

The most notable event that happened in 2011 was my husband and me buying our very first home. It was a tedious process but not much of a long one. We ended up buying the first house we toured. Being homeowners has definitely changed us, I believe. We now know what it feels like to take pride in our home. Whether it’s with landscaping, decorating, (future) remodeling or even with hanging Christmas lights it’s definitely been something that we’ve both enjoyed and has brought us closer together. After years of running around the county it’s nice to be settled for a little bit.

Career wise 2011 was stressful to say the least. I spent much of the year at a job where I was frustrated and unhappy all the time. It was taking over me and I knew eventually I had to do something about it. After numerous interviews and disappointments  I finally started a new job in October. The day I turned in my resignation letter was one of the top 3 best days of the year. A huge weight lifted and I felt like all the stress in my life had finally left me. It’s amazing how greed and money can make people so ugly. Now I have a job with no stress  and a generous time off schedule. And I’m finally content.

2011 was also the first full year of us being back in the Midwest. So that meant numerous trips home to see our friends and families and even trips to places that are special to us that we finally got to share with each other, like Mizzou for me and Wrigley Field for him. It’s been really great being back closer to the places and people we grew up around.
I’m definitely looking forward to 2012 and everything it has in store for me. I haven’t quite settled on a resolution yet but I’m sure I’ll update when I get one.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy new year and a FABULOUS 2012!

What You Need:

1 package Mint Oreo cookies

1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)

1 pkg Vanilla Almond Bark

1 teaspoon peppermint extract (I used mint extract and it worked perfect)

Green food coloring

What You Do:

Crush 4 Oreos in a small bowl – safe for later

Pour the rest of the package into a large bowl and smash with the back of a spoon (I used my stemless wine glasses since the bottom was round. Worked perfect)

Stir in cream cheese

Roll into small balls and place on wax paper (before I rolled mine into balls I let them sit in the fridge for 15-20 minutes so it was a little easier to roll them

After they’re rolled into balls, freeze for a couple of hours.

Melt the Almond Bark in a saucepan (I used my fondue pot) add food coloring and peppermint or mint extract as desired (I recommend tasting it to make sure it’s minty enough but not too overwhelming)

Dip the frozen balls into the Almond Bark and place on Wax Paper, spring some of the 4 Oreos you set aside in the beginning and boom! Mint Oreo Truffles.

As with the Cake Truffles you can make these any color you want. Red and Green would be great for the Holidays!

The whole first-time-cooking-a-turkey thing was actually much easier than I anticipated. Apparently using a bag is clutch. We smothered it in our beloved Old Bay. And it was amazing. Here’s a few visuals.

Husband got the fun job.

All ready to go!

Here goes nothin

All done and ready to be gobbled!

SO. Now the day is done. Turkey’s cooked, cooled and put away in the fridge. WTF do I do with all that turkey?? Here are a couple recipes (courtesy of both my Mom and my Mother in Law) They both mega easy and both dishes are…dare I say it…better than just eating the turkey alone!

Turkey Pizza

What You Need:
1 pkg Croissants
Classico’s Traditional Basil Pesto (Should be in the spaghetti sauce isle)
Turkey (chopped)
Italian Cheese
Sliced Tomato (optional)

** Turkey can be changed up with chicken or really any kind of meat you like. Also, you can nix the tomatoes if you’re like my husband and can’t stand the taste of raw tomatoes**

What You Do:

Spread the croissants along the bottom of a 9 x 13″ casserole dish (you could also use a cookie sheet or pizza sheet for a crispier crust)

Spread the Basil Pesto (I only used a thin layer, next time, I’ll use more
Pour on the Turkey (chopped)

Smother in Italian Cheese & Place sliced tomatoes on top

Cook according to the time on the Croissant package

Cut into slices and try not to eat the whole dish in one sitting.

Turkey Pot Pie

What You Need:

2 pie crusts
1 pkg frozen veggies (I used mixed veggies, broccoli alone would be good as well)
1 can Cream of Potato Soup
2 c. Chopped Turkey (Also..chicken can be used here for Chicken Pot Pie)

What You Do:

Spread one pie crust on the bottom of pie dish

Mix together veggies, soup and turkey.  Pour on top of bottom crust.

Roll out 2nd crust and place on top of the dish. Pinch together edges
Cut 5-6 slits in top of the crust for steam release.

Cook at 350 for approximately 30 minutes or until edges of crust are golden brown.

Let it cool then dig in.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I will also be cooking my very first turkey this year. Which promises to be amusing. Don’t worry, I’ll be documenting it for your enjoyment.

This one literally made me laugh out loud. And made my husband almost spit out the milk he was drinking. That’s how you know a commercial is funny.

This made me chuckle a little. Genius Idea for a commercial.

And of course the beloved Crazy Target Lady. Did you know she’s also on Twitter?

Hope everyone has a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix (and the ingredients it states on the box you’ll need to make the cake)

1 1/2 c. Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Package White Almond Bark

Food Coloring (optional)

Parchment or Wax Paper

Here’s What You Do:

Cook Cake according to Box and let it cool completely. (For a low-fat Recipe I substituted the suggested ingredients on the box with 12oz. diet soda. this can be tailored to your cake flavor too. Example: White Cake with Diet Orange Soda)

Once Cooled, crumble into a large bowl.

Throughly mix in Cream Cheese Frosting.

Once mixed, Roll mixture into balls and set on wax paper on top of a cookie sheet. I used my hands…so it got pretty messy.

Now they need to chill for several hours. (I froze mine for 2 hours)

Melt Almond Bark on Stove (If for some reason you have a fondue pot lying around that you might have gotten as a wedding gift and have never used *a-hem* this would work best because it keeps the bark at a constant temperature.)

(This is also where you would add the food coloring if you wish to do so.)

Once Almond Bark is melted, Roll balls in the almond bark until covered and lay on parchment or wax paper until cooled. (I just dropped mine in and then fished them out with a fork.)

Once cooled you can pack them up and take them with you or let them refrigerate until ready to eat or be served.

Easy Peasy, Right? Like I said, the recipe isn’t hard, there’s just a lot of waiting around – but totally worth it!

Well my month of 5K’s is officially over. And I have to say I’m a bit relieved. I love running but once I challenged myself to run a race every Saturday morning it felt more like an obligation than a hobby/passion. But I had fun none-the-less and that’s all that matters.

I do have to admit that I skipped one Saturday. Rarely does it ever happen that my husband and I have an entire weekend with no plans so instead of scheduling a race that day I decided to stay home and spend the weekend at home. Plus, the closest race was an hour away. Just didnt seem worth it. Besides that one weekend, here’s my schedule.

October 1 – 12:1 Run – Danville, Iowa http://www.twelve1run.com/
October 8 – Gold’s Gym/ Southern Illinois Hospice Run – Marion, Illinois
October 15 - iRun  – Carbondale, Illinois http://www.salukirun.com/iRun_Homecoming_5k/HOME.html
October 29 – Army ROTC Run – Carbondale, Illinois http://armyrotc.siuc.edu/?page_id=305

Most of the runs had something pretty cool and unique about it. The 12:1 run was on a rural highway in Iowa and had 3 or 4 bands playing along side the road as you ran. That was probably the coolest thing from all the runs. The iRun had a guy with a giant eye ball on his head who ran. And the Army/ROTC Run had a runner who carried the American Flag leading all the runners for the whole race.

Even though a couple different ailments kept me from doing my best in a couple different races (massive hills, sick with a cold and shameful to admit, a hangover)  Definitely was a good challenge for me.

I’ve collected all my swag: including the dog tags I earned from the ROTC Run. That’s right, Dog Tags.

And even beat my personal best time in the iRun. And found this pic on their website:

While I dont see myslef running any half marathons or even 10k’s in the future (not sure the attention span is there) I’ve enjoyed this month  and it has definitely reassured my dedication to running.

Well…tomorrow anyway. Per our Halloween tradition again this year we carved pumpkins. Thanks to Pinterest I had a million ideas on painting pumpkins and autumn decorating but then things got busy and time slipped away and I didn’t get any of it done. (Hopefully I’m not as lazy when it comes to Christmas) But alas, here are this year’s pumpkins

I’m sure you can guess which one I did.

This a big year for us – it’s the first year that we will actually get to have Trick-or-Treaters come to our house! Every year in the past we have lived in apartments where it’s not really feasible for Trick-or-Treaters to come to us. So we’re pretty stoked for it this year.

Also to abide by tradition we will be watching Hocus Pocus and I will make my first batch of Homemade hot chocolate tonight.

Oh, and I almost forgot. For the first time in years we actually had a Halloween Party to go to. I decided to be a hippie and Steve decided to be Brian Wilson from the San Francisco Giants.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! (Can you believe November is knocking on our door? eek!)