What I'm Looking Forward to in 2011

I can't believe it's the last day of the 11 in 2011 blog challenge!  It's been so much fun!  I've been inspired and have found some great new blogs. 

Today's Topic: What Are You Looking Forward to in 2011

2011 has started out great, and I'm hoping that it continues on this path!  I have many things that I am looking forward to this year, Lord willing.

Student Teaching

I'll begin my student teaching in February, less than a month away.  It's exciting and a little scary all at the same time.  I'm hoping my maturity (aka: age) and experience as a mom will help me in the classroom.

Holidays

I love decorating for and celebrating holidays with my family.

Vacation

We are planning a great trip to Colorado this summer and I just can't wait!

10th Wedding Anniversary

I feel so blessed to have spent the past 12 years with my wonderful husband.  I'm so glad we are celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss this year!

Romance

I'm looking forward to a romantic getaway with my hubby and some date nights.

Summertime

...and the living is easy!  I think it will be especially true this year since I'll just be finishing up student teaching and balancing the other three million things I have going on.  Summer is my time to relax.  Bliss!

Birthday Parties

My children have birthdays five days apart in June, and I absolutely LOVE planning their parties.  I seriously start planning months in advance, and I think I get more excited about it than they do! :)  I really want to do a combined circus/carnival themed party this year, but my daughter wants a party at Chuck E. Cheese. (Boo)  We'll see how this one pans out, but I will plan a party sometime this year!

Balloon Fiesta

We are planning on going to the annual Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM this October.  Our youngest hasn't been yet, so I'm excited for him to see it!

Being Thin Again

This was me right before I found out I was pregnant with my youngest (who is 2 1/2 now).  Big difference from where I am now, but I am working on it and am determined to lose the weight.

Spreading God's Word

Our congregation is organizing a huge door-knocking campaign to spread the Gospel.  It is happening in June, and I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm praying that it will be a huge success and that we will be able to reach a lot of people.

Wishing you all a fabulous 2011!!!

Places I Hope to Visit This Year

Check out Kit's blog to see more about the New Year blog challenge!

Day 5: Places You Hope to Go this Year

We are hoping to take several trips this year.  We had hoped to take a cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary, but when we started looking at them, most of them were already booked.  I guess you have to plan really far in advance for cruises especially if you are not able to be flexible with travel dates.

I love planning trips and then having them to look forward to in the future!

We are planning a family vacation for this summer and have decided to go to Colorado.  I have never been before and hear it is beautiful.  One of my husband's favorite vacations as a child was to Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak, so of course this beautiful area is on the agenda.

 Colorado Springs.  Beautiful, plus there is a lot to do.

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A view of Pikes Peak.  Breathtaking!

We plan on visiting Denver, Pueblo, and the Royal Gorge too.

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I'm excited for this trip! 

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The Hubs and I are also planning on taking a romantic, long weekend getaway to one of our favorite places: The Texas Hill country.  We are way up north in the Texas Panhandle, so it is completely different in terms of geography and climate.  I absolutely love Fredericksburg, TX and would actually consider moving there if the opportunity arose.



I'm very much looking forward to a getaway with my Mr. for some much needed alone time!

We love New Mexico and go there every year.  We are planning to take a trip to Albuquerque in October for the Balloon Fiesta.

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Beautiful Albuquerque.

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Balloon Fiesta.  So neat!  We've been before and loved it!



Since Santa Fe is just about an hour away, we'll probably go there too.  I love Santa Fe.  So much shopping and beautiful scenery.  I have bought some really beautiful jewelry from Santa Fe. 

We will probably head down to Lubbock, TX this fall to pick apples HERE.  It's only a couple of hours away, so it would most likely be a day trip. 

These are a few trips we are planning to take this year, Lord willing.  There is nothing better than having some fun trips planned!

Best Leftover Recipe

I'm linking up with Kit and MJ for 11 in 2011.  Today's topic: Best Leftover Recipe

We don't eat a lot of leftovers in our house.  I've never been a big leftover eater and my kids can be quick picky.  Sometimes I grill or bake extra chicken for upcoming recipes, but I try to cook enough for our family for one meal.  If we do have leftovers, my hubby usually takes them for lunch.

I do have a really good beef stew recipe that tastes even better the next day, when all the flavors have meshed together.  It comes comes from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book that I got a decade ago and is completely falling apart.  It seems like a lot of ingredients but it comes together really quickly and easily.  (Note: I'm listing the crockpot version because that is how I always make it.)

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

2 T. flour

1 lb. beef stew meat (cut into 3/4 in. cubes)

2 T. cooking oil

2 c. vegetable juice

1 c. water

1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges

1 t. instant beef bouillon granules

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. dried marjoram

1/2 t. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

2 1/2 c. cubed potatoes

1 c. frozen green beans

1 c. frozen corn kernels

1 cup sliced carrots (I use one bag of frozen vegetables to replace the green beans, corn, and carrots)

Place flour in a plastic bag and add meat, shaking to coat.  Brown meat in the hot oil.  Drain.  Layer the meat, onions, potatoes, and frozen vegetables in crockpot.  Combine vegetable juice, water, bouillon granules, Worcestershire sauce, marjoram, oregano, bay leaf, and 1/4 t. pepper.  Pour over meat and vegetables.  Cover and cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.

This stew is hearty and delicious and even better the next day!

Favorite Holiday Memory

I'm linking up today with MJ @ teaching in heels and Kit @ A Step into My Life for this fun blog challenge.  Check it out!

Day 2: Favorite Holiday Memory

Wow, it's hard to choose because I have so many.  I really enjoyed taking Abby to see The Nutcracker, just the two of us.

This was our second year to go together.  It is such a nice mother/daughter time, and she just loves it! 

Here is the ornament we chose to commerate this year's show.  We chose a ballet slipper last year, but Abby was set on an ice skate. :-)

I also loved that we adopted our elf Charlie this year.  {We tried to do the traditional Elf on the Shelf but my kids were scared of him, so our family got a really special elf instead! ;-)}

I had no idea how much joy this little guy would bring to our holiday season.  My kids, especially Abby, loved waking up every morning to find him.  Abby was so sad when he left...she cried and my heart was a little broken.  He did leave her a note assuring us that he would be back next year. 

This was truly our best Christmas ever, so we made so many memories that I'll cherish forever, but nothing can compare to seeing the look on my children's faces on Christmas morning!  Christmas is just magicial when you have little kids.

Resolutions for 2011

Kit at A Step into My Life is hosting a blog challenge to help welcome in the new year!  Check out her blog for a full list of topics and be sure and link up!

Day 1: New Year Resolutions

I don't really like the word "resolutions".  Instead, I prefer goals, so that is what I am going with.  I have several goals for 2011 (check out the top bar on my blog under 2011 Goals for a complete list), but I will just list some of the most important ones here.

*Lose weight and become healthier.  This one is my most important.  I have been carrying a lot of extra weight since I had my son (over 2 year ago...) and it's time to do something about it. 

*Study the Bible more.  I really want to make sure that I study the Bible everyday.  Plus, I want to schedule more frequent family studies.

*Complete teacher certification and find a full-time teaching position.  Anyone who is a frequent reader of my blog knows that I am about to begin student teaching after 6 1/2 years as a stay at home mommy.  This is the last step until I am fully certified to teach elementary school in the state of Texas.  I hadn't planned on working outside of the home until both of my children were in school, but I finished a lot sooner than I thought and have to do the student teaching now.  (I'll hold off on finding a full-time job if it is just too traumatic for my children)  It is both exciting and scary all at the same time.  It will be, without a doubt, a huge change for my entire family.  Please keep us in your prayers while we transition through this new chapter in our lives.

*Find and keep balance in life.  Since I will have a lot more on my plate this year, I want to ensure that I make time for what is really important to me in life: God and my family.  We are a busy family with a lot of obligations, so I want to scale down where we can so we can spend time together. 

These are the things that I am working on this year.  Hope you meet all of your goals for 2011 too!

Blog Challenge Day 14

I can't believe it's already the last day of the Blog Challenge.  It has flown by!  Today's topic: Oprah's Favorite Things- What would you choose if you were in the audience?

Hold on to your hats, dear readers, because it is time for:

(Notice since this is Oprah's last season, it's not only favorite things but ULTIMATE favorite things)! 

Now scream like a raving lunatic!!!!!

Okay, on to the list.  Can't I just pick one of everything and be done with it?!  My list is geared more toward the really decadent (aka: expensive) items since in reality they will not be under my Christmas tree this year.

Sophia Satchel by Coach.  Being that I would never buy myself a $398 bag, this would be a real treat.  I love the crimson.

iPad.  I want one!  I don't even have an iPhone. :-(

Le Creuset Cookware.  I'm a big fan of the Pioneer Woman and she raves about this line of cookware, so it must be great.  Plus, aren't the colors just yummy?

Sony Bravia LX900 HDTV with 3D (with Sony Blu-Ray disc player and 3D movies).  This would be a crowd pleaser for my entire family (mainly my husband). 

Royal Caribbean "Allure of the Seas" Cruise.  (Enter crazy, maniacal screaming)  My husband and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in 2011 and have been talking about taking a cruise to celebrate.  This would be perfect, especially if Oprah paid for it. ;-)

Blog Challenge Day 13

The Christmas challenge is almost finished.  Today's topic: Favorite Cookie Recipe.  I love to bake so it was really hard for me to narrow it down to one recipe.  This recipe is one I make frequently at Christmas and is always a hit.

I wish I could say that I invented this recipe, but I did not.  It comes directly from the Eagle Brand Cookies & Treats cookbook my mama gave me years ago.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Double Delicious Cookie Bars

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1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14-oz) can condensed milk
2 cups (12-oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
1 cup (6-oz) peanut butter chips*

(*Any flavor of chips can be substituted in any combination; I always use butterscotch chips instead of peanut butter and have substituted white chocolate chips too)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for glass dish).  In 13x9-inch baking pan, melt butter in oven.

2. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over butter; pour condensed milk over crumbs.  Top with remaining ingredients (chips) and press down firmly.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely and cut into bars.  Store covered at room temperature.  Makes 24 to 36 bars.

(* These are incredibly rich so I recommend cutting them into small squares.  A little bit goes a long ways!)

Blog Challenge Day 12

It's Day 12 of the Blog Challenge: Show Us Your Decorations.  I'm so excited to see how everyone else decorates for the holidays!

I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to holiday decor.  I tend to stick with the classic red, green, and white color scheme.  Don't get me wrong, I have seen some absolutely gorgeous holiday decor in a variety of colors.  I think the more classic style appeals to me because it takes me back to my childhood Christmases.

Our Christmas tree.  I prefer having white lights on the tree instead of the multi-colored lights so that the ornaments are showcased.  Notice my cute wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby!

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments:

Ballet slippers.  Abby and I got this at the Nutcracker last year.  So pretty!

Cloisonne cardinal.  I got this at an ornament exchange years ago, and I just love it.  A red bird on the Christmas tree is supposed to bring good luck.

Angel.  I love this one because it was a gift from someone special and the little blonde-headed girl reminds me of my Abby.

Cookie ornaments.  I bought several of these from Kohl's recently with various sayings like "HoHoHo", "Believe", and  "T" for our family monogram.  They were inexpensive and fit right in with my decor!

Our mantle.  We don't have an actual fireplace but we do have this lovely antique mantle that was passed to us from my husband's great-aunt.  After seeing Aly's craft post,  I added a few coffee bean filled vases to the mantle.  I love the extra glow it adds!

  
Dining room chandelier.  I just wrapped it with a white poinsettia garland and embellished with some little bird ornaments from the dollar spot at Michael's.

A close up of a bird.  They are different colors and patterns.

Christmas dishes.  These is a really inexpensive set I got at Wal-Mart a few years ago, but it looks really festive in my hutch.

A little snowman vingette on my coffee table.

A matching snowman decoration on a side table.

A cute little set in my kitchen.  It includes a napkin holder, toothpick holder, and salt & pepper shakers.

I have a lot of of little festive knick knacks all around the house, plus my Christmas Bath & Body Works handsoaps in the bathrooms.

Outdoor decor: I didn't get any pictures of the outside all lit up.  I fully intended to take some pics and didn't get around to it.  I will take some and post them soon.  Here are a few things I have outside.

Front door wreath.  Nothing fancy.  We have a storm door, so it's hard to fit much in between the two doors.  It gets smashed everytime I close it.

Poinsetta wreath on the house.  It's right near our house address plaque. 

I have a couple of flags outside too, but the wind is blowing like crazy here, so I couldn't get a clear picture.

Small Mary Engelbreit garden flag.  The other flag is a larger house flag and it has Snoopy on it.  My daughter loves it!

I'll try and post some outdoor photos later.  I love it when it's all lit up!

My most precious Christmas "decorations"?  These two cuties!