This is my meal at Brett Favre's Steakhouse- yes, my sweet potato was THAT BIG (Mike's hand for reference) and yes I did get my 12 oz. prime rib smothered with a bleu cheese crown- so good!
We're off to Green Bay tomorrow morning to drive up for Sunday's Packers vs. Lions game! It will be my 4th Packer game, Mike's 5th and his sister & Mom & Dad's inaugural (in celebration of Mike's sister Sarah's 21st b-day-yeah!) We are so excited! I am especially stoked to wear my new awesome winter boots and gloves that Mike got me for Christmas :) made to withstand the frigidness of the FROZEN TUNDRA...
None of this "Happy H0lidays" stuff for me- I wish YOU a MERRY CHRISTMAS and I hope this year we all celebrate with our families and loved ones the true meaning behind the celebration, the Christmas Story, and miracle of Jesus' birth.
90 degrees was the change in temperature that Mike & I got to experience in one day as we traveled home from Jamaica on Monday. It was quite the shock to go from beautiful & sunny weather in the 80's & 90's to below freezing temps as we re-entered into Iowa on a partially snow & ice covered runway...but who am I to complain? We had a wonderful and relaxing vacation we'll never forget!
Have you read the Twilight books yet?! I just finished the series last night and I absolutely LOVED them. Not lying, these were the most intriguing books I've read since Harry Potter and those of you who know me should realize this means I'm obsessed. Please, please check these books out and read them- no matter how odd the subject seems at first (vampires, I know, but it is a total romance, too)! Then we can discuss together your new obsession! P.S. The movie comes out Friday, too. Never as good as a book, though, if you ask me.
What more can I say but thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who have served in the military and are serving today to protect our rights and freedom as Americans. We wouldn't be where we are today without you.
First Joe Paterno literally went down demonstrating an onside kick at like 85 years old, injuring his knee. Secondly to add insult to injury the Hawkeyes took him and his Penn State team DOWN last Saturday with a last second field goal for the win! It was quite the upset and Mike and I were lucky enough to witness it- it was so awesome and exciting despite the freezing cold that only true fans like us brave at 9 in the morning for a 2:30 game...it is called tailgating and we still do it, yes we do. The Hawkeye fans rushed the field and we would have joined in if we weren't so high up in the stands so I captured a little video to remember the madness- check it out. 
Jessie & I took another cooking class at the New Pioneer Co-op last week, this time we made fresh hand rolled pasta! It was fun as usual as we mixed, kneaded, rolled and sliced the dough into fettuccine pasta. From there we made a salmon and dill sauce, citrus butter sauce and the grand finale of a seasonal butternut and roasted garlic sauce to sample with our pasta. Tasty stuff and and always much more fun with my sister- who else would help me make fun of the overly serious lady who thought she would just answer the questions herself and the other lady who asked if there was anyway to make pasta without flour in order to be healthier....umm, seriously?!
In 2000 I voted in my first presidential election and voted absentee ballot as I was a freshman at the time at the U of I in Iowa City and still registered in Black Hawk County. In 2004 I was an intern in Washington D.C. and voting absentee once again (talk about an exciting place to be at the time- for real). The 3rd presidential race in my voting lifetime happened today and I found myself at my local polling place voting with a paper ballot and ball point pen- old school style for the first time- complete with little cardboard privacy walls and no need for identification of any sort. Does that seem wrong to anyone else? Regardless of how we all got our vote in over the last couple of weeks and today, something big is happening in our midst and history is in the making- gotta love it!
...that was what Mike said to me last night as I come in the door after work and working out to find a dozen roses to greet me, dinner in the oven and a growler of my favorite beer from Granite City poured and waiting in a frosty mug for me- complete with fresh orange slice. Seriously. Nice move hubby :)
2 weekends ago on a Friday after work Mike & I met at our favorite campground to tent camp and relax just the two of us before the weather got too cold. We scavenged for firewood (lots because Mike LOVES huge campfires), cooked hot dogs, drank tequila we bought in Mexico :) and watched the sunset over the reservoir. The next morning we read our books on the rocks, watched a professional wake boarder practice jumps on the water and packed up to go home. Even though it was just one night & day of cozy camping and relaxation it was just the break we needed. We highly recommend it. Happy Weekend everyone!
This is a picture of my last harvest of tomatoes, green peppers and grape tomatoes. Not nearly as good as the August crop but overall a successfull first vegetable garden. I'm already planning for next year...
This is a picture of our front yard and our little tree that is currently changing into its fall wardrobe. See the star on the garage in the background? I bought that about a year ago and Mike hated the idea immediately so therefore it only took about a year and my winning a bet in order for that baby to make an appearance- nothing like a little sheer determination on my part!
