Great Russian Nutcracker

I know I have seen The Nutcracker in the past, however I only have a few faint memories of it.  Johnny, Nathan, Alex and I got all dressed up and headed to see The Great Russian Nutcracker last night.  It was beautiful.  Our seats were pretty much perfect (we got upgraded seats when we got there) and the dancers were wonderful.  The costumes, the backdrops,,everything was very Russian looking.  You know what I mean? My brother even said, "wow The Nutcracker lots very Russian."  It was neat to see there presentation of such a pretty ballet.  We all enjoyed the show very much and are already trying to decide what our next ballet will be.  It's not even December yet..so many more holiday festivities to come :)

Check out that snazzy A cup of T bow tie :)

Happy Holidays!

Love, T

Healthy Holiday Bites

The holidays are literally the worse times to attempt to be healthy or eat right for most people.  Between visiting family, friends and having potlucks at work your waistline may not thank you come the new year.  There are somethings you can count on around holidays..cookies, cookies and more cookies.  Here are two recipes that won't tip the scales.  I took them with me on Sunday to our little Holiday kick off and they were a hit. First up..

Roasted Grapes

You will need: 1 lb purple grapes, salt pepper and veg. oil

Preheat oven to 450

Place grapes onto baking pan, drizzle with oil and sprinkle salt ad pepper on top

Pop in the oven fr 12-15 min

They are yummy sweet with just a touch of salty!

Next up..

Christmas Zucchini Bites

You will need: 3 medium zucchini, blue cheese crumbles, Parmesan cheese, package of cherry tomatoes, pinch of pepper and basil

Preheat oven to 400

Slice zucchini in 3/4 in thick pieces, scoop out the middle, leaving the bottom intact

Stuff blue cheese crumbles in each piece, top with a small slice of tomato

Mix Parmesan cheese (about 1/2c), basil and pepper together in bowl

Sprinkle on top!

Pop in the oven for 5-7 min, until cheese is melted..

Enjoy this Red, White and Green Christmas bite!

Happy Cooking!

Love, T

ps. it's snowing :)

Kicking off the Holiday Season

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone it is time to get in the Christmas mood!  I never can bring myself to celebrate Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.  So let's celebrate!  Tonight Johnny, Tara, Nathan, Alex and I had a mini holiday party. We made appetizers and watched the Polar Express.  O yeah Alex made homemade hot chocolate like in the movie.  This was my first time watching this cute little movie and I will say it was pretty good, definitely a perfect start to the holiday season! I contributed a few healthy snacks and I will post the recipes in the near future.  Johnny and I are waiting for a pretty day to pick out the perfect little tree to put up.  I hope you are getting in the holiday spirit too!

When I got home Burli was ready to be in the holiday mood!!

Happy Start to the Holidays!

Love, T

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone! I hope you didn't eat too much :) I know I sure did.  Wednesday night is always a fun night at my parents house because we bake and get everything ready for Turkey Day.  We made pies, homemade noodles and lots of other yummies.  I had to work Thanksgiving night so I crammed two huge meals into a matter of 4 hours, woh I am still full!  What are you thankful for?

 I guess I had a secret supervisor:)

 I made this chocolate chip pecan pie for the second year now and Johnny stated he would rather have this pie over cheesecake, which is normally his fav :)

Thanksgiving day at our house is normally packed to the max with cousins, aunts, uncles and whoever else wants to join!  This year was much smaller yet very cozy.  I'm looking forward to a bonfire tonight to really celebrate Thanksgiving since I spent last night with the babies at work.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, T

Breaking Dawn..;)

Tonight I let my inner nerd shine bright by being entirely too excited about going to the movies to see the newest Twilight film, Breaking Dawn part 1! Yes I am one of those annoying people who are kinda sorta obsessed with the entire Twilight hoopla. I will say this was my favorite movie thus far and actually can't wait to watch it again soon:) eek! If you are right on board with me..what team are you? I remain firm in my standing for Team Edward;)) How he loves Bella is so dreamy, I mean they shouldn't be together for so many obvious reasons. She should totally pick Jacob but there's just something about that Vampire! Ok ok I will stop the torture of rambling about a vampire movie. Bottom line..go see it.
Happy Movie Night!
Love, T

Fill in the Blank..

I have been seeing this little exercise on some of my favorite blogs, most recently on Poor Pitiful Pearl and I wanna join the fun! There are a series of questions that state.."I am BLANK because." Seems kinda fun so here we go!

I am weird because...

I've never had brain freeze

I always sneeze twice when I walk into the sun (so does my dad and my brother)

Sometimes I eat a can of green beans for dinner

I hate steak

I'm rarely bored

I am a good friend because...

I cherish our time together

I love making even the smallest thing special

I don't judge you

If you let me, we will be exercise/running partners

What you tell me, ends with me

I am a bad friend because...

I'm not a huge fan of talking on the phone

I probably don't call you as much as I should

Sometimes I keep a lot to myself

I am sad because...

I miss my family daily

I put myself in other's shoes too often and I get overwhelmingly sad sometimes

I feel sorry for almost everyone I know at some point

My grandparents are getting really old

I am happy because...

I have a thoughtful, smart and interesting other half

I have turkey meatloaf in the oven and it's almost ready!

I have a wonderful family that I love to be around

All 4 of my grandparents are still living

I am physically able to run

 

I am excited for...

Seeing my good friend Ash over Thanksgiving break

Baking Christmas cookies

Training for a spring half marathon

The New Year!

 

Welp there you have a few little tid bits about me.  I typed the first things that came to mind under each category, I'm sure I could add a few more under each.  Any who you should do the same thing it really made me think and reflect on a few things in the process of filling this out! So go ahead and fill in the blank!

Happy Sharing!

Love, T

 

 

Blog Sponsor Love

There are 2 blogsI like so much I am a sponsor for them :) It's a great opportunity to get a blog, shop or page discovered by other lovely people who have similar tastes and interests.  I chose to sponsor these 2 in particular because they are so different yet so my taste!
The first one is a blog by an amazing creative soul Laura..
Violet Bella Blog Click on the link for great reads that tug your emotions and make you smile.
The second one is a blog by 2 vintage lovin' girls! I pretty much gawk at how stinking cute their posts/pictures always are Oh So Lovely Vintage Blog
Thy just did a post featuring all of their sponsors including me! Go take a peek here!

Happy Reading!

Love, T

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Johnny has been feeling a little under the weather lately so I thought a little chicken noodle soup would make him feel a smidge better. Turned out pretty tasty!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
1 package whole wheat egg noodles
1 Tbsp butter
1 can carrots
1 onion
2 cooked chicken breast cut in small squares
4 cans chicken broth
Salt,garlic,pepper,thyme,basil and oregano
( spices to taste)

Cook onion with garlic and butter in Dutch oven, cook noodles in separate pan. Add remaining ingredients to Dutch oven. Drain noodles and add to the Dutch oven. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 min.
Happy Cooking!
Love, T

World Prematurity Day

Today is a day to reflect and honor all babies who have been born too early. While most stories are happy, due to the wonderful technology and science now available, others are not as fortunate.  So please take this time to say a small prayer or take a moment of silence for all of those babies who have fought hard from the day they were born. 
I don't talk about my "real life" job on here much but today I am feeling so much love from parents of babies I have cared for I just can't hold it in. Most of you probably know this, but for those of you who do not, I am a Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) nurse. I truly believe it is what I was made to do. I've tried other areas of nursing and enjoyed them as well but there is just something different when I am working in the NICU. I was trained by some of the smartest, most talented people I have ever met.  While being stressful and at times down rite scary my job brings me so much self satisfaction it is almost unreal.  Being able to aide in sending a baby home healthy to their parents is absolutely priceless.  Some babies may only be in the NICU for a couple of hours, maybe a few days while others are with us for months upon months.  These babies are so fragile yet so strong, it is a day to day battle for them to grow and get healthy.  While I have the cutest patients in the entire world, the parents of my tiny patients are who I truly admire. 
The NICU is never in a birth plan or where a mom or dad sees themselves on Christmas Eve. How weird is it to have a baby and go home empty handed. Or maybe they haven't even had a baby shower yet, how do you explain to your other children that the baby in mommy's tummy is sick?  These are all things that make me strive to be the BEST NICU nurse I can be, to make this terrible situation some what tolerable. So to those of you reading this who have had premature babies or are currently sitting in a waiting room waiting to visit your little one in an incubator I love my job because of you.  Thank you for letting me be such a big part of you and your babies life, it means the world to me to help you and your tiny bundle of joy.

Happy Prematurity Day!

Love, T

Visit March of Dimes for more info.

DIY: Quick Lets's make a Cardigan!

I love cardigans and if you do too this DIY is right for you! All you need is a sweater you are tired of, scissors, needle and thread, buttons and you are ready to go.



Step 1: Cut a straight line down the front of your sweater.

Step 2: Pick out about 5-7 buttons of your choice.

Step 3: Sew buttons down one side of sweater

Step 5: Sport your new cardigan!

Happy Sewing!

Love, T