Snow, snow, go away, never come back.

Like the new layout? I had to twist Derrick's arm to pose for me. ;)

We had a massive snowfall on Friday. I didn't leave the house once. It snowed aaaaaalll day. And the next day when I finally did emerge, everything was WHITE. That may sound like an obvious statement, but when I say it was white, I mean, that was the only color you could see. This will sound extremely cheesy, but it really felt like we were in a winter wonderland. I know, gag, but that's the only way I can explain it! All the snow is on one side of the trees, too, which looks so odd. Here's the view from our front door:




I hate to say it, hate to admit it, but it's really beautiful. Ok, I need to repent now.

There must be a little black cloud hovering over me, b/c not only did I break Derrick's Christmas present, I broke my own. I was all set to sew away Friday night on my quilt when I broke a needle and then the machine didn't work smoothly like it should. Great. So Saturday we took it to the Singer shop to get repaired. Luckily, it's under warranty. But now I don't get it back until the 12th. Booooo. I'm such a loser. Here's Derrick enjoying his new toy:


I FINALLY saw Across the Universe yesterday. The music was amazing, and the lead actor is strangely adorable. His accent wasn't helping, either. ;) There were parts that were straight up crazy, but blame that on the acid the Beatles were on. I'll bet if you were high, that movie would be even better.

Awhile ago I mentioned I had some mildly exciting news. Well, today I am officially the Young Women's President at church. (Meaning, I am the leader over all the 12-18 year old girls.) I told you it was just mildly exciting. But I think it will be a good experience, and I'm excited to start.

I can't believe tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Am I the only one who thinks this year has just FLOWN by?? Um...where did it go???

LAAAAAME

What is the lamest song on the radio right now? I'll tell you. "Tattoo" by Jordin Sparks. Holy crap, could there be a worse song??

You're still on my heart, just like a tattoo,
Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you.

GAG! Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you?? Who wrote this? I never was a Jordin Sparks fan, and this definitely seals the deal. We need more Blake Lewis.

The problem is I catch myself singing this. Time to bring out the electric shock therapy.

Christmas cleanup

A little Christmas recap:

Friday night was the Nutcracker, which was great. There were some very strange creative liberties taken with the plot, but it was still awesome. We had great seats, and then afterward walked to Starbucks and had a caramel apple spice. yummmm!

We left at the crack of dawn on Saturday and drove over the river and through the woods to my grandparents' house in Erie, PA. The drive was mostly easy, except for the 45 minutes it took to drive 2 miles at the Indiana/Ohio state line to pay the $4.15 toll. LAME. Oh, and guess who got the lucky part of that drive? I got to do a lot of knitting, though, which was AWESOME. I'd post pictures, but it's a surprise for someone, and I don't want to spoil it! Soon, though!

Sunday we went to church, which was a VERY friendly ward. It was their Christmas program, which was pretty good. Later that night my cousin hosted a cousin party so we went to that and hung out and ate.

Monday was Christmas Eve. We did some last minute shopping and had lunch at Chick-fil-A, which was of course, delicious. We visited with my aunt and uncle and then went to Christmas Eve mass at the church all my relatives go to out there, United Methodist. Lots of singing and bell choir, which is always nice. Crazy recitations, but the underlying message of Christmas was the same.

Christmas morning we woke up early--Hello! Santa came! We waited for my grandpa to get up and then we opened up our presents. Derrick totally spoiled me and I got a new sewing machine, the purse I wanted, and the 2nd and 3rd books in the twilight series! He liked the clothes I got him and was totally surprised when he opened his new guitar! And then I promptly broke a string. :( Boo! Luckily it came with extras, so we popped on a new one. Now he just needs to learn how to play it and serenade me! Thanks to David Luke, the Guitar Hero, and his expertise in helping me pick one out!

We got a webcam from Derrick's mom, as well as a cool dinner bell thing with our name on it. Anyone have Skype? We can have a cyber chat face to face! One of my favorite gifts was a 9x13 pyrex dish with our last name etched on the bottom. Now when we take it to potlucks or to a neighbor they'll always know who it belongs to! So cool! Thanks to David and Tiffany for that one! My grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles were way to generous in their gifts to us, and they all seemed to like the spice rub I made. My parents gave us "A Christmas Story"--a true classic. All in all, we had a great Christmas, and had a great time spending time with family. We played games every night and played with all the kids and their new toys.

We drove home yesterday, leaving early to avoid Chicago traffic which we hit anyway.

Now we're home. It's supposed to snow tomorrow. And I have absolutely nothing to do. Well, nothing I HAVE to do. Now my troubles are deciding whether to read, or knit, or sew. Decisions, decisions....

A huge THANK YOU to Rose's Kitchen for the box of delicious cookies! Completely unexpected, and totally loved and appreciated! Included were sugar cookies, malted whopper cookies (which are amazing), and molasses spice cookies. All packaged in a homemade box with adorable label. I'll post a pic soon.

Yikes! It's late! Nite!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Generally, I am a fan of all things Christmas, especially Christmas carols. I will admit that there are a few songs I cannot stand, such as "Christmas Shoes" and "Little Drummer Boy". I don't know what it is about the whole pa-rum-pa-pum-pum, but it drives me nuts.

Have you ever listened to the words to "Here Comes Santa Claus"? They start out innocently enough:

Here come Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus lane
Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer
Pullin' on the reins!
Bells are ringin', children singin',
All is merry and bright,
Hang your stockings and say your prayers,
Because Santa Claus comes tonite!

The next verse is relatively tame, talking about toys for girls and boys and jingling and jangling. But it's the 3rd verse that has me confused:

Here come Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus lane
He doesn't care if you're rich or poor, he loves you just the same!
Santa Claus knows we're all God's children,
That makes everything right
So fill your hearts with Christmas cheer,
Because Santa Claus comes tonite!

Santa knows we're all God's children?? And somehow that makes everything right?? Does this even remotely make sense at all?? NO! The answer is NO! I just find it ironic that a song about a fictitious fat man contains a reference to God. Bizarre.

Christmas songs I love: O Holy Night (but who doesn't?), I heard the bells on Christmas day, I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, click this to hear it, and The Nutcracker Suite. And....Derrick surprised me with tickets to see the Nutcracker tonite!!! YAY! Oh, and have you heard Dominick the Donkey?? Hilarious.

I feel bad hating Christmas songs. Like it's a sin or something. Someone please tell me I'm not the only one who hates some Christmas songs.

Nifty gifties

Here are a couple pictures of the chest my dad made for me. Isn't is beautiful?? I've already put some of my graduation stuff in there. It's all cedar, so it will be great for storing stuff that I want to last a long time. He also made me a wooden pen, and the clip part is the medical staff and serpent. It's pretty sweet.


This came in the mail from Evelyn. I think it's super cool, now I just need to place to put it.


There's a place headquartered here called Penzeys Spices, and they have little shops where you can buy their spices. It's the best store ever, if you love spices, which I do. They're all alphabetized, and you can browse them and smell all the different varieties of paprika, or oregano, or whatever. And they're all pretty cheap. You can even buy them in bulk, even cheaper. I'm making my own spice rub and putting it in cute jars I got at Ikea as Christmas gifts for my aunts and cousins in PA. In case you're wondering what spices, here is the recipe, courtesy of my mentor, Martha Stewart.

Makes 1 1/4 cups (enough to season 5 to 10 pounds of meat, poultry, or seafood)

• 1/3 cup coarse salt
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (optional)

And I keep forgetting to post this, but my cyber-friend Caitlyn showed me this site called Freerice. You answer vocabulary questions, and for every one you get right, the United Nations will donate 20 grains of rice to help stop world hunger. Learn new words and feed hungry mouths!

I'm a nurse!

This past week has been ridiculously crazy busy. It all started on Thursday when my parents got into town. I still had my final clinical evaluations, which sucked, and we had a mini baby shower for a girl in our class. I made her a sweet rattle cake. Check it:


I made dinner for my parents then headed out for our final nurses night out. Always a good time watching drunk people. And the best part--I remember what everyone does and says and the next day they don't.
That's a very drunk Joe, who told me my head tasted "delicious!"

Friday we picked Sara up from the airport and then somehow wound up hitting various grocery stores in the area. We met up with Derrick and went on the Palermo's Pizza tour, a local company that makes frozen pizza. At the end we ate some pizza, which was really good. We also tried a buffalo blue cheese pizza which was AWESOME. Because of this little tour, Palermo's has gained two more customers. Check it out if they sell it near you.

We picked up Evelyn late late Friday night and then came home and crashed.

Saturday was the pinning ceremony. Sara pinned me, and I had to present the class gift with Joe, pictured above eating my head. Overall, a nice ceremony, and I didn't trip! Joel and Whitney were able to come, which was awesome, considering there was a giant snow storm going on outside. We hit up some Cheesecake Factory afterwards and then a trip to Candy Cane Lane to check out Christmas lights. So pretty.

Sunday was university commencement at US Cellular Arena. They called everyone's name. Luckily December graduation is smaller than June. We got to be called first of the baccalaureate degrees, so that was good. Then we just had to hang out and wait for everyone else. That night was the party, where we had a keg of Sprecher Root Beer. It was so good! After everyone left, I did a keg stand. But not very well. Oh well, what you expect??





I got some awesome gifts. The first was from my dad. He made a cedar chest, and it's beautiful. I need to take a picture of it. It's so cool. Totally made me cry. I love it. My mom got me a nurses watch-which is cool b/c there are 15 second intervals marked off for taking vitals. Sweet. Mike and Linda got me a pair of Crocs, which are the epitome of nursing, right? I can't wait to give them a shot--they swear by them! I got a gorgeous sweater from the O'Neills, which I am currently wearing as I type. And Derrick got me a Lladro, which is ADORABLE.
Isn't it perfect?? What a stud. I love it. I stare at it all the time.

My house is an absolute wreck, and I'm not doing a thing about it. I don't have the energy. I spent all day in Schaumburg at Ikea, which is the greatest place on earth, and Woodfield Mall, which is enough to wear anyone out.

I can't believe school is over. It's still so surreal. I'm a nurse! That's so crazy! I couldn't have done it without the love and support of my friends and family, though, so THANK YOU EVERYONE!! I love you!

Cooookies

We did all of our holiday baking last week. It took 7 hours, but it was fun. Derrick practically made everything. He is the baker in the family, after all! I would love to send everyone a plate of cookies, but since I can't, here are all the recipes we used, and you can make it yourself if you want! Some of these I've posted before, but here they are again!

Speaking of cookies, I was supposed to go to a cookie exchange tonite, but since it's been DUMPING snow since 6 this morning, it's off. Boo. School was canceled today, but by the time we found out we were already at the hospital. Lame. But we got out at noon so that was nice. Now I'm all snuggly on the sofa watching TV. Love it.


Neiman-Marcus Cookies

2 cups butter (that's 4 sticks)
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp soda
5 cups blended oatmeal (in the food processor)
1 8 oz Hershey bar blended (again, in the food processor)
24 oz milk chocolate chips (2 bags)
3 cups nuts (optional)

Blend butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, salt, baking poweder, soda, and oatmeal. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Oreo Balls

1 pkg. oreos (not double stuff)
1 8 0z. pkg. cream cheese, softened
White Almond bark

Process oreos until ground into a fine consistency. Blend in cream cheese. Form into balls, chill. Dip balls into melted almond bark. Chill to set.

Puppy Chow
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
6 c. Crispix cereal

Combine chocolate chips and oil. Microwave on high 1 1/2 minutes or until chocolate melts. Stir in peanut butter. Pour mixture over cereal. Stir to coat. Place powdered sugar into gallon size storage bag. Add coated cereal and close bag tightly. Shake bag gently until cereal is thoroughly coated with sugar. Refrigerate in bag or other air tight container. Makes about 8 cups.

Peanut Blossoms

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Peppermint Bark

2 bags white chocolate chips (or Almond bark)
20-30 starlight mints

Break mints into pieces. I use a hammer to break them apart--in a zip lock bag. Sift the pieces, saving the dust. Melt the chocolate and stir in the peppermint dust. Spread onto wax paper. Sprinkle mint pieces over chocolate, pressing the pieces into the chocolate. Chill to harden. Break apart into small peices.

Holiday Biscotti (courtesy of Giada)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

Sugar Cookies
From the Lion House Cookbook

1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten

2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla

3 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Shape dough into a ball and chill for a couple of hours.
On floured board, roll out dough (about 1/3 at a time), and cut shapes. Thicker dough will make softer cookies, thinner will make crispy ones. Bake at 400 on lightly greased cookie sheet for 8 minutes, or until light brown. Cool on a rack. Decorate.

I like my cookies soft, so I cut em thick. Don't let them get brown, either. Brown is bad. They will look like they aren't cooked, but they are. Trust me.

I like to ice them--

1 stick butter, 1 egg, 3 cups powdered sugar, and almond extract. Color if you want. Beat, beat, beat until combined.

Snappy George's (Gingersnaps--I don't know where the name George comes from....)

3/4 c. shortening
1 1/3 c. sugar (reserve 1/3 cup)
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 c. flour

Cream shortening and one cup sugar. Add egg and molasses. Beat well, mix in all remaining ingredients except for the 1/3 cup sugar. Shape dough into small balls. Roll the balls in remaining sugar and put on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes in 375 degree oven. Makes 24-36 cookies.

Root Beer Float Cookies (courtesy of Kaylynn)

1 box white cake mix
1 stick melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp Root Beer extract
Sugar for rolling cookies in
Betty Crocker vanilla frosting

Combine all ingredients except for sugar and frosting. Roll into balls, roll balls in sugar. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Frost with vanilla frosting.

It's been too long

After my Honors ceremony tonite, we grabbed some McD's for a celebratory dinner. I rolled down my windor and ordered at the speaker then drove up to the first window, paid, then continued onto the second window, where I waited behind another car, with my window down. I didn't think anything of it. Then Derrick mentioned that my window was down, and that it was 29 degrees outside, and here we are sitting with an open window, thinking it's not even cold. WHAT'S WRONG WITH US? We've lived here too long. So long that sub-freezing temps don't phase us. It's not until it dips into the single digits that we start to think it's cold. That's just sick and sad.

You wanna know why I love Christmas? "Last Christmas" by Wham. Greatest Christmas pop song EVER. That's a bold statement, but I'm willing to stand up for it. Defend it to the death if I have to. I have been listening to it nonstop this whole week. Derrick can attest to that. I don't know what it is about that song, but I never ever get tired of it. What is it about George Michael's voice that I love? It's strangely attractive. I know he's a giant perv, but I love him. And Jimmy Eat World's version is great, too. But what isn't great by Jimmy?

2 more days of school, baby.

Lush

How is it that there has been a Lush in Macy's at Mayfair for a whole TWO MONTHS and nobody told me? I know it's partially my fault that I have been neglecting the mall of my presence, but still! I had to find out from my HUSBAND. That's just shameful, ladies.

Lemon Fusilli

While blog-stalking I came across this recipe and instantly had the desire to make it. While trying figure out how to get this recipe, I got a free cookbook from Costco over Thanksgiving, and wouldn't you believe it, this recipe was in there. The Culinary Gods are waving their spatulas over me.

It's VERY good, and something I think the folks over at Rose's Kitchen would enjoy. (but Rosana--your blog never accepts my posts!!!!) It is very much "chick food" and in order for Derrick to even consider eating it I added grilled chicken to the sauce. I also made some other alterations. For instance, I had no idea until just now copying the recipe here that it called for broccoli. Whoops. I also omitted the tomatoes, which I later regretted if only for color purposes. I also couldn't find arugula in our dinky grocery stores around here, so I used spinach instead. Just as tasty. I took it for lunch the next day and it was just as good, and I even commented that my lunch looked, tasted, and smelled like Olive Garden leftovers. I know, I'm a dork. Anyway, bon apetit! (I didn't take this picture, Food Network did, but mine looked just as good!)


Lemon Fusilli
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 cups heavy cream
3 lemons
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch broccoli
1 pound dried fusilli pasta
1/2 pound baby arugula (or 2 bunches of common arugula, leaves cut in thirds)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest from 2 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli in florets and discard the stem. Cook the florets in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula, Parmesan, tomatoes, and cooked broccoli. Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4-inch thick crosswise, and add it to the pasta. Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.

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Another day, another 3 inches of snow, another fun ride into the hospital this morning. It totally sucks, but I guess the one good thing I can take away from all this is that I can drive in the snow like a champ.

I saw my first birth yesterday. It was pretty sweet. The mom was an absolute trooper--she literally doesn't feel when she has contractions. It wasn't until she was 7 cm dilated that she started to feel uncomfortable. She didn't take a drop of pain meds, and pushed maybe once and that kid just slid out. It was more like she farted out a baby. So crazy to watch.

I turned in the last of my assignments today, which was AWESOME. Last night when I finished my papers I did a huge happy dance around the living room. I seem to be doing a lot of happy dances lately. Yay.

Now that I'm done, it's time to clean and bake. My goal is to get all my Christmas baking done and distributed by next week, before everyone leaves for vacation. We'll see how that goes...

11 Days!

We got buckets of snow on Saturday. Like 6". I had class that morning and then planned on going grocery shopping afterwards. What should have taken an hour took three. That's why I hate snow. Even while it was falling I was cursing it. Never did I think in my mind, "Oh how beautiful!" Now everything is iced over and dirty and gross. Derrick even fell on the ice today. Try to suppress a laugh. I am. I still feel really bad for him, b/c I know it's only a matter of time before I'm flat on my back on the ground.

Today was the last day of academic classes I will ever take. Hopefully. I wanted to bust out of my skin afterwards. I sufficed by doing the happy dance. I just have to make it through 2 more weeks! I can't believe it!

Friday I had my new hire physical and filled out all the paperwork for my new job. Exciting stuff.

I have other mildly exciting news as well, but that will have to wait to come out. And no, I'm not pregnant. Calm yourself.

I have two more assignments to finish by Wednesday and then I'll never do another assignment again. But for some reason I'm SO not motivated to finish them.

Guess I'll go try again.