Much to be Thankful For...

As the Thanksgiving holiday winds down, I continue to be oh so thankful for many things in life right now...

There are the blessings that I find each year that I continue to be thankful for...

My health...

My husband (who I LOVED getting to spend some quality time with this weekend)

My family (including one furry feline)

My friends and coworkers..I hope they all had a wonderful holiday this weekend

My home

My job and the fact that I do something I do enjoy (I need to keep this in mind as things get stressful)

A good book (I just finished my first James Patterson novel-I know he has been around for years but I am just starting to catch on)

Great coffee

A good Lifetime movie (I have one on right now)

The fact that I have one more day left in my holiday break before returning back to the grind-its been a wonderful relaxing break and I feel fortunate to get to spend it at home doing relaxing things:)

AND, I feel even more thankful for new, wonderful news that has come our way, including...


- The news of a new addition to the Tomlins family-SO HAPPY

- The news of a great friend heading back to Kansas-SO EXCITED


And now I will leave you with some Christmas decorations we set up around our house...just some touches...

Lydia always helps-or hinders...not sure which one:) 

 We got the toliet cover last year as a "gift". I was hoping my husband wouldn't find it but he did. 

So here it is.

I was going to make a new wreath this year, but instead I just updated one I had by adding an embellishment. I am quite satisfied with it.

For Thanksgiving dinner, I brought dessert-Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars. They are delicious!

Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix (butter pecan would also be delicious I'm sure)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Icing
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9"x13" baking dish. Bake at 350degrees for 25-30 minutes.
When perfectly baked remove from the oven and pour icing over the top. 

Note: I added more milk to the icing

I hope everyone has a wonderful, peaceful, thankful Sunday! 

Fall happenings

It's early and raining on a Sunday morning...perfect time to post.

I hope everyone is having a peaceful, happy fall so far. I feel like these past few weeks have been going by very quickly- work, house, sleep:) However, these past few weeks have brought many blessings, including...

The birth of an angel. I feel so honored to meet Arya Jean Hammerschmidt:) I look forward to watching her grow and take on this big world!

Celebrating birthdays. Marisa celebrated the big 18!

 

She has an exciting year ahead and I am glad I get to see it happen:)

We had a very quiet, yet enjoyable Halloween here in Lawrence, filled with pumpkins, Charlie Brown, and lots of leftover candy (always a plus.)

 I carved mine into a heart in case you couldn't tell. Shawn carved a perfect, classic jack o-lantern.

 Lydia opted to hang in the garage all Halloween-scrooge.

 

And now I am preparing for the upcoming weeks of busy, holiday madness. I have to say though I have finally caught onto the two words that may save me this holiday season- online shopping.

I read a quote the other day in a magazine that said you are not your to-do list. I also read something in a blog about the importance of being present in the moment, especially during the holiday season.

I plan to keep both of these things in mind as these next few months continue:)

And now I will get back to Amazon shopping, bookmarking Thanksgiving recipes on Pinterest and enjoying this rainy day with Netflix.

Love to everyone:)

Come rain or shine...

My husband is a man of loyalty. Being his wife, of course I deem this as a very good quality to have. This guy, though, truly defines the words "through thick and thin." When he finds something he likes or loves, he sticks with it. This includes American-made cars, Levi's jeans, and Heinz ketchup.

 

I have always known that Shawn was a loyal Jayhawks fan (one of the many reasons I married him-haha). However, after this weekend, I really saw how much the Hawks meant to him, and I learned another lesson about marriage/love along the way (you truly never stop learning-even after two years:)).

On Saturday, Shawn and I headed out to the football game. Shawn has been going to the games all year, and he happened to score some free tickets to this game, so I agreed to go with him. Of course, I was a little reluctant due to the weather forecast, but decided to forgo the thought since I promised Shawn I would go. It also has been a crazy stressful time at work, so I was all for spending time with my husband-even if it meant getting rained on a bit. So, I went along with Shawn when we went to Wally World to get ponchos (they had Jayhawks on them-perfect). When we arrived at the stadium, it was cloudy, but looked okay. However, as we approached the stadium, thunder started to roll.

We found our seats, and soon the game was underway. With about 1 minute until the end of the 1st quarter, it started to pour. And thunder. And then there was lightning. Soon the announcer came on saying that the fans need to take shelter. So, we shuffled down to the concession stand area, along with everyone else. Of course, at this point, about 2/3 of the people left. I have to be honest, I wanted to go with them. The idea of standing there, waiting out the impending storm that was supposed to last all night was not really my idea of how I wanted to spend my Saturday.

But then I looked at my husband. I saw a guy who, despite the rain and craziness, really wanted to be there. I saw a man, who, despite being upset, refused to make me hold the wet towels and jackets that were no doubt making him more wet. I saw a guy who wasn't going to let a little rain take away from a few hours of something that meant something to him and was a part of his history, his family and his life.

And so it was then that I decided that it was time to make the best of things. Shawn and I went down and hit up the concession stand while we waited. Then, when the rain cleared, we joined the other 10 fans who had waited it out in the stadium, and sat there and enjoyed our soda, nachos and hot dog. We then cheered on the Jayhawks as they struggled, got more behind, and came back in the last quarter, only to lose by one touchdown.

Two years ago I would have been pissed. Two years ago I would not have even gone. Two years ago, I still would have required nachos to get me through:), but I know that I don't think I had the love in my heart to stick something out with someone, just because they love it. And truly, with all of the Lifetime Movies, crying/emotional episodes and dinner/dessert-gone-wrong that this man has choked down, the least I could do was stand in the rain with him, as he stands for something he really believes in and loves.



Lately, I have felt more stressed out by work then I ever have. But when this happens, I have found that the best thing to do is refocus, and spend time with those you love the most.

Which is why we took some time today to be together and go take pictures and something we love, along with the Jayhawks- fall colors:)

 

Happy Fall Everyone!!! Spend it with those you love:) 



Fall-ah-la-la-la

Hello!

Shawn and I are just wrapping up a wonderful anniversary weekend. Our anniversary is tomorrow, but no one really likes to celebrate things on Monday, so we celebrated early. On Friday, we watched A Nightmare Before Christmas-mostly because I like the music and begged Shawn to:). Then Saturday, we went to the Legends and did some shopping and Casino time- we didn't win big, but we had fun none the less.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and it's been a wonderful 2 years:) It's really hard to believe it has been that long, which reminds me to continue to enjoy each day-because it flies by!!!!

Here are some fall pics of the house...

 We went all out this year with our "spooky ghost". I will send a video of this dude soon-he is rather creepy-wahhaha.

Spooky Kitty cookies- an Original Pillsbury Recipe:)

 

 

Things to Fall in Love with Now...

 

 

1. Stores. Everywhere- I love Fall decor, and even the aisles of Chirstmas get me excited:)

 

2. My friend Kelli visiting this weekend. Even though she's only going to be here a little while, it will be nice to see her:)

 

3. Going to the football game this weekend as well. Once a year, I do like to make an appearance-it is such a fall thing to do!

 

4. Lawrence in the fall- the leaves are a-changin!!!

 

 

5. My husband. As I celebrate 2 years with him, I am again reminded of how much we have grown together:) I look forward to continuing to build a wonderful life together, and continuing to learn more about each other and myself in the process. I love you!!!

 

 

Us on our wedding day eve-two years ago exactly:)

 

 



Another thing to love...

I recently have discovered/come to love Symbaloo- a way to display your bookmarks. I have made both a work and school mix.

Check it out if you want to think of yet another way to be techie....

www.symbaloo.com


Lydia loves technology. She loves the swaying feel of a dryer to put her to sleep:)

Other things to love...

1) New fall shows coming on (so far, love Go On, The New Normal and the X Factor)
2) Wearing jeans
3) Bath and Body Works- and the endless coupons they send me:)
4) Symbaloo
5) Enjoying Starbucks thanks to my generous best friend- Monday mornings come easier with a Pumpkin Spice Latte

Heres to Lower Temps...

It's finally coming, lower temps! In honor of this, I did some fall decorating.. (pics to come soon-I want to first put together a Pinterest-inspired centerpiece), and brought out the crockpot for a new recipe.

I have been wanting to make pulled chicken/pork sandwiches forever, but haven't really found the recipe I wanted, until I found this one in Woman's Day Magazine.

And here it is:

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
3/4 c vinegar cider
1 small finely chopped onion
1/4 c brown sugar, plus 2 tbsp packed
3 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
1 tbsp cornstarch
Buns

1. Whisk tomato sauce, vinegar, onion, brown sugar, molasses, salt and pepper in slow cooker insert
2. Add chicken. Cover and cook for 6 hours (high) or 8 hours (low)
3. Remove chicken, shred with fork.
4. Pour sauce into medium pot
5. In small bowl, blend cornstarch and 1 tbsp water-stir into sauce
6. Bring sauce to boil for 1 min until thickened
7. Pour sauce onto chicken
8. Serve on buns

I hope everyone enjoys the cooler weather- fall is a-coming!!! BTW- the official first day of fall is September 22.

Counting down to a cool-down...

The first thought I have as I write this post is that it is the same temperature today (the 3rd of September) as it was when I wrote my last post (beginning of August). When is the heat done-ahhhh!

Well, things at the Showman household have been wonderful and busy. I have gone back to work, so thats makes things much more busy (and the house a lot more messy) haha. But, its been good going back to work and seeing all of the kids, and even though things are busy, it's good to get back into the routine of working full-time (and it keeps me out of Target and Michaels, which is a good thing, haha).

I also haven't blogged in a while because Shawn and I have been working hard on redoing our yard and planting some flowers, and I wanted to wait until we are done until we reveal our work. In addition, I plan on busting out the fall decor next weekend, so I want to wait until I get that all set up as well (I know I act like I am Martha Stewart or some famous designer...like I am getting ready to put out some five page layout in Better Homes and Garden magazine or something:)

But, until that post comes, here is a little post about something yummy I made for din-din tonite:

I saw this yummy recipe for Pizza Cupcakes (or Muffins-either or) on Pinterest and had the ingredients to try it out:

You need:

 

Pizza Dough

Cheese

Pizza Sauce

Hamburger/Pepperoni

 

Spray/grease a muffin tin pan.

Preheat oven according to temp on crust package. 

 Divide the pizza dough into equal sections- I did four equal sections

Spoon in some sauce and toppings.

Bake for about 15 minutes (or more-test out the dough on one of them after you bake them)



And there you have it-little pizzas.

 

I saw a quote today that I really loved:

 

"Love is that condition in which happiness of another person is essential to your own joy"

-Robert A Heinlein

 

 



This guy looks happy:) And his wife is happy because he put up with another "Take a pic for the blog" moment.

In other happy news, the baby shower for Jenn went great! I was busy hosting, so I didn't take any pics, but I can't wait to see the pics that Jenn's sister-in-law took. It was a great event, and, most importantly, Jenn enjoyed it (and got lots of good loot for baby H). Hosting her baby shower will honestly be one of the most special things I have been honored to do in my life:)

I hope everyone took some time to just "celebrate" this Labor Day weekend. I have celebrated lots of baby showers, anniversaries and birthdays lately-there is always something to celebrate in life:)

Have a good night, and short week (yeah!)

La La Lasagna!

Last night Shawn and I made our first homemade lasagna.

Usually making lasagna for me means popping a Stouffers box in the oven, but Shawn convinced me to make it from scratch, and it was yummy!

Ingredients:
- Lasagna noodles
-Ground beef (however, we used ground turkey-it's an easy way to stay healthy, and really tastes the same when included in sauce and cheese)
-Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
-Cottage cheese (you can use ricotta cheese, but we used cottage)
-1 Egg
-Italian seasoning
- Spaghetti sauce

Steps:
1. Heat oven to 350
2. Cook noodles according to box
3. Brown and drain beef
4. In a small bowl, combine egg, cottage cheese,shredded cheese and some Italian seasoning (you can also use parsley)
4. In another bowl, mix beef and spaghetti sauce (leave some over to top the lasagna with)
5. In a 13 X 9 pan, spoon some beef/sauce onto the bottom.
6. Sprinkle some cheese on top, leaving some for another layer.
7. Lay noodles on top.
8. Continue to layer beef, cheese and noodles
9. Top the lasagna with your remaining plain sauce

You can't fool the vet

Today I took Lyida to the vet for her yearly check-up.

Or rather, I aroused my precious, fluffy, content little kitten from her usual 4 hour afternoon nap, only to put her into the car and take her to the vet, where she proceeded to have to be poked, proded and squeezed in all the wrong places.

The poor nurse, who kept saying how cute she was, tried to give her treats. Did Lyida accept them?

Oh no.

Not until the nurse left. She sure wasn't going to let her know she wanted them.

When the doctor came in, he took one look at Lydia (who by now was laying on his desk, near his computer, in a flopped position like she owned the joint) and said, "Miss, you have a beautiful cat." Followed by after one minute of looking at Lydia, "But she is a queen bee though huh?"

Who, my little girl?

No, not her. She has no personality whatsoever.

:)

5 things to love:
1) Lydia- well duh?:)
2) Having a smoothie everyday
3) Having time to put in a solid workout everyday,and still clean my house
4) Pinterest (I know I am still a newbie-just let have my moment:)
5) Getting to watch Ellen

5 things I could do without
1) HEAT- sooooo hot
2) Women at the gym who complain about sweating- really? You may not know this but YOU ARE AT A GYM
3) My poor plants-RIP
4) Construction in the summer- I guess it helps me discover the backroads:)

Developing good habits

We are proud parents. We have taught Miss Lydia how to brush her teeth.

Watch:

Don't worry-we dont use that brush-its hers:)

Digital scrapbook made with Smilebox