Christmas

December 3, 2017

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas has arrived in our home!

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Harley couldn’t be more excited.

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‘Tis the season for evenings of nothing but Christmas lights turned on, soft Christmas music playing in the background and holiday candles glowing.

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And naps under the tree for Grimmy.

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I love the peacefulness and renewed sense of spirit and hope that this season always provides.

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And the general feeling of joy that seems to be spread across the city and our neighborhoods.

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Wishing you a Merry Christmas season as you embark on the many holiday gatherings with family and friends.

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Cheers!

 

January 3, 2015

You have two weeks off? What are you going to do?

Yes…. I had two weeks off from work during the Holiday’s.  It was pure bliss!    People asked me what on earth would I do with that time..  Uh, are ya kidding?  Fill it with fun stuff, of course!   I promise – I had no trouble filling my days.

Let’s take a little walk down memory lane.

December 19th – my last day of work and first official evening off.   Spent the evening with fellow 24 Hour Group X instructors working out!

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December 20th – bought a new Jeep Wrangler.  Totally got a smoking deal on it, plus they gave me more then what I owed for my Grand Cherokee..aka soccer mom car… so ya, duh.  I am going to buy it.

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December 21st – Traveled to Mt Ayr, IA with this hunk-of-a-man for a family Christmas dinner

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December 22nd – Taught Insanity, shopped, got a new tattoo

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December 23rd – Taught Insanity, spent the morning at my friend Sara’s, snuggled on her baby Ady, watched Kaeleen run around like a wild woman and then subbed another Insanity class at Northpark 24 Hour and baked my little heart out!

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December 24th – Two Family Christmases!

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December 25th – MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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December 26th – Day After Christmas 5 mile Run.   Whew!  Holy carbohydrates and wine.

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December 27th:  Treated myself to a Starbucks, shopping and another run.  Only 4 miles this time around.  😉

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December 28th – Last Christmas with the Pirtle’s!

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Some wrestling happened.  Kind of like on Four Christmases but without the family drama.  ha!

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December 29th:  Lunch date with my girl, Claire!   Then home for our new appliances delivery!  WOOT!  These were an extra special gift.  Thank you. 🙂

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December 30th: Traveled to Clarinda to get my hair done – I went back blonde – and then had lunch with Kayla and Nicole. That turned into 5 hours, plenty of cocktails and a ton of laughter.  Gosh I love time with girlfriends. I don’t have a recent pic of the three of us, so I will do a fuzzy throwback.

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December 31st:  Lunch date with my girl Jessica – you’re welcome for yet another throwback.

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And then it was time for NEW YEARS EVE celebrations, baby!

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January 1st:  A day spent at home organizing my new Insanity schedule and chatting with multiple folks about my next 21 day challenge!  We’ve got a LOT of peeps committed.   So excited for them and the transformations that are about to take place!

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I am teaching a total of 8 classes.   There are two more that aren’t listed above because they are being offered to a private group.  I have my work cut out for me!  Whew!

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January 2nd: A little Insanity practice, followed up by a lunch date with my girls Tyree and Sarah -> we taught together for several years at Buffett Middle School <- and her daughter Kennedy.  So great to catch up!

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And THAT brings us to today!   I am actually picking UP my new Jeep this morning.  Finally, she is coming HOME!!!

EEKK!!!!!  

And the rest of the weekend will be cleaning, laundry, packing for my new work schedule and meal prepping.

 

Have a super weekend, y’all!  I will catch back up with you again on Monday!

 

Cheers! 

 

 

 

December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas to You From Me!

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Wishing you and yours a Very Merry Christmas!

My gift to you is the recipe for my most requested treat, Caramel Chex! I only make it one time a year for a very specific reason:

It’s ridiculously addicting.

Consider yourself warned.

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Step 1: Heat sugars and butter over medium heat. On a prepared baking sheet spread out cereal, nuts and coconut.

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Step 2: Coat cereal mixture with caramel mix. Try not to drool.

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Step 3: Stir well, place in oven for 24 minutes, stirring every eight minutes to assure every cereal bit gets equally coated.

Step 4: After the 24 minute baking time spread mixture out on greased parchment paper making sure to create an even layer.

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Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, stir and break up with your fingers, continue cooling until caramel has set.

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Step 5: Try to keep your significant other out of it

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Step 6: Store as desired. I place mine in Gallon zip lock bags and add M&M’s. As the Chex settles it will stick together, creating clumps, so keeping it stored in baggies allows you to massage the chex mix to break it up.

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Printable recipe:

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I hope you enjoy family, friends, food and drinks over the next few days.

Cheers!

December 22, 2013

Spreading Holiday Cheer with Ugly Sweaters and Lots of Beer

It’s been a fun last few days. Today I’m trying to recover.

Cue Champagne Headache.

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Let’s recap!

Thursday

Thursday was my last work day until January 2nd! That’s what’s up.

It was also my last day in Office #1152. I move offices and jobs after the new year. Exciting things are happening! 😉

Let’s hope I can keep a cleaner office in 2014.  New Years Resolution, perhaps?

20131222-134611.jpgNo one ever follows through on those things.

That evening my friend Jessica and I went to an Ugly Sweater Party at Omaha’s newest Brewery and Distillery, Borgata. It is owned by one of our hometown friends, Holly Mulkins and her fiancé, Zac. They just opened the doors a few weeks ago so it was great to see the fruits of their labor.

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We enjoyed a crisp Pilsner, one of the best Bloody Mary’s and an Eggnog inspired drink.

20131222-131229.jpgAbove photos Courtesy of Borgata FB page

I look forward to visiting Borgata again soon!

Friday

Friday was spent doing last minute Christmas present shopping, a little house cleaning and teaching my last TurboKick class for the 2013 year.

That evening we went to an Ugly Sweater Birthday Party for our friend, Shawn.  Some seriously hilarious shirts amongst that crew.

20131222-131836.jpgThe Birthday Boy.   His catch phrase “Want to see Santa’s balls?” 

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20131222-131856.jpgCheesin’

20131222-131915.jpgHow cute are these 3 roommates?  Christmas Tree, Skirt and Present.  Clever.

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Saturday

Girls Night! Carrie and I met up with Tyree at her new house. Very excited for her! Beautiful home, cute neighborhood and a decent backyard for her puppy, Caza. We had appetizers and champagne at her house before heading to the Homy Inn.

Oh Hello, champagne on tap.  Can I interest you in a pitcher?

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We shared a lot of laughs and a few inside jokes over the yummy bubbly.

Stupid faces, free of charge!

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The crappy iPhone photos make me sad.  My brand new Sony DSLR is being sent in for repair.  Unhappy camper here!  Don’t even want to talk about it.

Moving along…

After the Homy we made our way to the Ozone to listen to the band eNVy.

Natalie Thomas, lead singer, is a powerhouse and so fun to listen to.   I’ve seen them a few times before and they never cease to amaze me.

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Photo Courtesy of FB

Sunday

And, so here we are at Sunday.   So far today I have managed to not do a whole lot.  I have finished wrapping presents, made a pasta bake, ran to the store and watched The Santa Clause.   I will probably spend the rest of the day picking up around the house and making my first round of Caramel Chex.  Every Christmas I get multiple requests for this addictive treat.  Recipe to come!

Have a great day, friends!