Our 1st Christmas

We’ll we officially survived our 1^st Christmas as husband and wife. It was completely crazy with (3) days of non-stop Holiday jolliness. Instead of boring you with all of the details I’ll give you a quick schedule summary.

Christmas Eve Early Morning – Opened our gifts from Santa. I got an awesome pair of binoculars and a Starbucks gift card.

Christmas Eve Morning – Drop gifts off at dads. This would be the first year I’ve ever missed CE at my dads.

Christmas Eve Late Morning – Drop gifts off for the Schneider kids and chat

Christmas Eve Early Afternoon – Head to the White’s to meet-up and head east to the Sewald Christmas Eve celebration

Christmas Eve Night – We attended the Sewald celebration where I took honorable mention with my mud pie, The Great White Hunter got a new pair of gloves in the man gift exchange and I got a scarf (which I took) in the ladies gift exchange.

Christmas Morning – Woke up at the White’s and opened gifts with the entire family. The Great White Hunter and I scored with awesome gift cards. We then ate a quick meal of eggs Benedict prepared by Will’s sister Tanya that were amazing. We all ate enough to make ourselves sick or it could have been the tiny éclairs Deanna had set out.

Christmas Afternoon – Dinner at Cliff and Kathleen’s, The Great White Hunter's aunt & uncle, with the entire family

Christmas Evening – Dessert and Coffee at my dad’s house.

Day after Christmas – We went to a Holiday celebration in at my mom’s house with my uncle, my nephew, Scott, Sarah, the kids and Pam. We opened a ton of gifts and ate all day long. Needless to say by the end of this day we were happy we wouldn’t have to eat for a week.

These two former single people had a pretty crazy Christmas with our new “married” schedule but it was worth getting to spend all of the time with everyone in the family. Happy Holidays!

Santa came early...

Will was informed today that we need to have kids because our Christmas wrapping is just too nicely done.

A Cowboy Christmas Carol

Last night The Great White Hunter and I along with mom, Pam, Uncle John, Scott, Sarah, Riley, Wesley, Charley, Jack, Linda, Jim and Deanna all went to dinner and then attended A Cowboy Christmas Carol at UCCS Theater Works. It was presented by Waddie Mitchell a Cowboy poet from Nevada, that reminded me a lot of Baxter Black. The performance took place in a very small theater with not a bad seat in the house.

Waddie began the show by telling stories of his youth, children and wife in an old rhyming fashion. After some hot whiskey and a short intermission he along with (2) other individuals, one a fiddle player, presented a Christmas Carol brought to life by an old cowboy as Ebenezer. It was an amazing performance full of surprises and really funny moments. Even though it was past all of our bed times once the performance had ended everyone had a lot of fun.

The Broadmoor

This past Sunday we attended brunch at the Broadmoor as a Christmas celebration with The Great White Hunter’s family. We had Tanya, Casey, Allie, Linda, Steve, Courtney, Jim, Deana, Kathleen, Cliff and of course The Great White Hunter and me. This was a buffet style meal and included anything from the normal breakfast type food, sushi, salads, fruit, cheeses, pastries, all kinds of meats and many different types of sides. If I had to choose my favorite dish it would have been the eggs Benedict, it was delectable. Then came the desserts there were tarts, cheesecakes, cakes, a chocolate fountain, ice cream, desserts that included liquor, a cookie brownie type mixture and of course the family’s favorite bananas foster. Everyone sat and ate in shifts for about 2 and half hours. I believe Steve and The Great White Hunter were pretty close for the most food ate, but The Great White hunter may have won slightly. Well, actually it could have been his (5) rounds of banana foster that put him over the winning edge. I on the other stand within the pack but really impressed people with my dessert capacity. For those of you that know me you know dessert is my favorite. But, this was the first time The Great White Hunter’s family saw me with an all-you-can eat type environment. Needless to say I think I impressed them or maybe sickened them by my ability to put away the sweets. Once the display of eating was concluded we all rolled ourselves out the door to enjoy the amazing weather by the lake.  The Great White Hunter and I finished off the day with a nice nap, to help our stomach digest of course.

Our 1st Christmas Tree

Growing up my family always had (2) Christmas trees. One tree was real and was decorated with handmade lace decorations, babies breathe and sparkling white lights. While the other tree was fake and was thrown up on by all kid oriented Christmas decorations from hand made one of a kind popsicle stick frames to ornaments that had been given to us as we were growing up. When I bought my own home I choose to go the fake route with my Christmas tree and I choose to decorate it with ornaments that my parents had given me each Christmas while I was growing up. The other half of this relationship grew up with all kinds of real Christmas trees, even a yucca plant Christmas tree one year.  When The Great White Hunter purchased his first home he celebrated Christmas by not having a Christmas tree, yes he was the typical bachelor. This year when the holiday season rolled around we decided that we would start and family tradition, cutting down our own tree. Yes, along with the Griswolds we would travel from the city out into the wilderness to find a perfect tree that had a shining light on it while a choir sang Halleluiah in the background.  (Side note – due to my pickiness I was informed that this was no longer a family tradition because I take to darn long to choose a tree.)

We traveled along with my sister and her family north of Calhan to some land that my Brother-In-Law’s family owns. We started the trek around the woods to find (2) perfect Christmas trees. The weather was a bit chilly by lucky unlikely Audrey (from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) we weren’t frozen from the waist down and all stayed pretty warm. The Maranville family was the 1^st to find their perfect tree and after a full party search and a couple of maybes Will and I found our perfect tree.

When we arrived home with the tree we were pleasantly surprised that it was the perfect height and width and there was no cutting necessary. We decided to get all new decorations (green, gold and red balls) and The Great White Hunter was very excited to use some of his feathers from past hunting trips. 

Our 1^st tree is a perfect representation of our new world, the tree like our relationship is not always perfect (Side note – There are no perfect trees randomly placed out in the middle of nowhere) but when we add in the bulbs that are chic and shiny but simple (my two cents) and the feathers from a dead wild animal (The Great White Hunter’s contribution) the tree turns into an amazing piece of Holiday Cheer one that we are both pleased with.



Before



After

Weekend Visitors

This past weekend we were lucky enough to host Steve, Linda and little Ms. Courtney (The Great White Hunters  brother-in-law, sister and niece) for a quick stay on Friday evening. They were headed to the North Pole the next morning, so The Great White Hunter and I thought why not celebrate Christmas a little early. We had bought Courtney a Dora The Explorer tent for Christmas but decided to set it up for her to play in while she was here. It was a hit! Not only did she enjoy it but everyone got to take a trip through the tunnel and into the tent. We had a fabulous evening with them and were bummed when the tent got pack away to head west to the North Pole.

In Honor of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This past week my bestie posted on her blog about the fact that it’s the most wonderful time of the year, since its NFR time. And in honor of her post I’ve posted a few photos that were taken BTK&M – Before The Kid & Marriage.

So here’s to my NFR trips of the past!

  

Our 1st Adult Purchase Cont.

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about The Great White Hunter and I making our 1^st grown up purchase,  a vacuum, but not just any vacuum the LG Luv300B. Well, the vacuum finally arrived to our humble abode this past Friday and today Charley and I took it out of the box, put it together, started her up and took her for a test drive. Needless to say when people, mom I’m talking about you, say with a vacuum you get what you pay for I believe them. This vacuum is a little piece of heaven put in a dark blue body, with a long cord and with the controls right on the handle. It’s amazing and at this point I would recommend it to anyone.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas..

 

Black Friday

At 2:48 am I was awaken by our very loud visitors (Sarah and Sandra) getting up and motivated. It was time for the elbow throwing, tripping, slapping and all of the other wonders of Black Friday to begin. (Side Note – for all of you out there that think I’m crazy for going shopping on Black Friday this has been a mother daughter tradition for 5+ years and we LOVE it.) The three of us made our way to Colorado Springs to pick up my mom at four hundred hours (Side Note – 4:00am). We headed to the mall where we were met with no lines and front row parking. (Side Note – due to our competitive nature I’m not allowed to give out specific information of our Black Friday strategy.) We hit some amazing sales and were able to pick up some really good deals. We shopped and shopped and shopped and finally ended our day at 4:30pm. If you do the math we left my house at 3:30 am and arrived back home at 4:30 pm that’s 13 hours of shopping. Let the Holidays begin!

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

We started off the morning at 7:00am when we placed both turkeys in their cooking contraptions for the day. The guests began to arrive promptly at 10:00am when the relish tray and bloody mary’s were served. Ads were looked through during the morning while off and on football games were being watched. The side dishes were made by me, my mother and Pam and The Great White Hunter and Scott took care of the turkeys. (Side Note –Scott did mash the potatoes and they did turn out amazing.) Charley, mom, Pam and I made the turkey gravy that really turned out to be the best gravy I’ve ever attempted.

At approximately 1:15 dinner was served………..(Side Note – holding out for the drama affect.)

All of the food tasted amazing! Even the grilled turkey was amazing and actually much juicier then the bird that roasted all morning. After tasting the results I would recommend grilling a turkey to anyone. Plus, the bird doesn’t have to cook on as high of heat and it takes just as long as it takes in a roaster or oven. AMAZING – I give props to The Great White Hunter on that little cooking find.

We finished up the afternoon with more ad surveying, naps of course and some home movies. My sister contributed the pies and they were awesome; pumpkin cream, mocha silk and caramel apple. We had a few guests come and go but everyone finally left around 9:00 that evening.

Ladies and gentlemen I can’t believe it but these two former single people pulled off killing two firsts with one turkey.

Our 1st Thanksgiving

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our home this year, so killing two firsts with one turkey. (Side note – referencing killing two birds with one stone.) Our 1^st Thanksgiving together and hosting our 1^st family holiday meal. We are planning on around (10) people at our home tomorrow and we are both so excited or maybe that’s nausea we’re feeling. Anyways, I wanted to pass along my definitions of each letter of the word Thanksgiving as The Great White Hunter and I prepare for tomorrow's event. Here it goes;   

T – is for Turkey which The Great White Hunter plans to grill, so weird

H – is for Home where we are blessed to host our first Thanksgiving

A – is for Amen what we’ll say after the prayer

N – is for No one will be leaving the table hungry

K – is for Katie because well that’s my name

S – is for the Savory pies that my sister and Charley are making

G – is for the Gigantic mess that will be made in our kitchen

I – is for the Incredible people that will be visiting

V – is for Victory the word we plan to shout if we pull this off

I – is for Intoxicated which some of us may end up being J

N – is for Noon one hour and counting before dinner is served

G – is for Giving and that’s really what the day is all about

Wish us luck as these two former single people try to pull off their 1^st Thanksgiving dinner.

Our 1st Adult Purchase

This past week The Great White Hunter surprised me with a fabulous catalog full of all kinds of goodies that we could purchase using his credit card points that he has stacked up over the years. Like a good newly married couple we sat down to discuss our big purchase. Should we buy the big TV to add to the other (5) TVs we own, including one that isn’t even plugged in and (2) that are sitting out in the barn. Or a new kitchen appliance that counter top mixer wouldn’t be a bad addition. Jewelry, yes ladies there was jewelry in this catalog, big blingy jewelry. Well, after discussing it we decided on a new vacuum. Yes, everyone a vacuum. If you read my previous blog or talk to me at all you know that over this past weekend our current vacuum died on me. So, like good adults we decided that a vacuum is just what we needed and just like our child like maturity we needed to find the coolest vacuum possible. So, we decided on the LG Luv300B. Amazing! It looks really cool and apparently it works pretty well to, but I’ll give my review once I have used it for a while.  

Recipe Update!

Both items have officially been tasted. J The cookies received a so-so rating. They look like they would be really rich and crunchy, well their exactly the opposite.

The pie on the other hand got an OMG rating. Apparently, if you need a pie for the upcoming holiday season it should be the triple-layer mud pie. Oh, did I mention it’s super easy to make.

My 1st Weekend Alone…

This weekend was the opening of pheasant season along with the opening weekend of white tail bow hunting out in Kansas. So, needless to say the Great White Hunter was headed east before Friday’s work day was even over. But, what this meant for me was my first weekend home alone. Some may think this wouldn’t be that big of a deal but the reality is I’m a scaredy cat. That’s right people you heard it here 1^st I’m a nervous, horror movie thinking big sissy la la when it comes to being home by myself. And to top it all off it was the 1^st time alone at The Great White Hunter’s, I mean our house. Plus my whole family, mom, dad, sister, everyone, was in Florida which really equals a million bigillion miles away. (Side note – I’m making up a lot of my own words today please don’t judge.)

The 1^st night alone wasn’t a big deal, just every little noise I heard I rose up in bed ready to take on the bad guy that had quietly snuck in the double locked front door. Let me tell you thought I’m pretty sure I could have kicked some major butt with all the adrenalin that was shooting through my veins.  Well, when the sun rose on Saturday morning it was time to get to work. When most wives are left alone by their husbands to go hunting they hit them where it really hurts, the pocket book. This would give most wives the perfect opportunity to go shopping shopping shopping. Well, being the new wife that I am and ignorant to most wifely things I cleaned. That’s right I did the laundry, including the Great White Hunter’s, and I cleaned the house. Well, that’s until the vacuum officially died on me and my fabulous sister-in-law Tanya reminded me that maybe shopping was a better idea. So, Saturday afternoon was spent shopping. The shopping was not just for fun stuff but also baking goodies. On my weekend home alone I experimented with a few recipes that I would like to share with you. Let me warn you though the only individual that has currently tried either recipe is me and let me just say I wouldn’t tell if you my cooking was really bad or not.  Cmon’ you guys know me better then that.  And, actually while we are being honest here I haven’t tried the pie yet. Ok ok, I’ve tried all the layers of the pie I just haven’t officially tried them all together. I will update everyone once someone other than me has tried both items. So, here goes nothing…

Chocolate Raspberry Thumb-Prints

What You Need

2 cups flour

1 tsp.  baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

4 squares  BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed, softened

1-1/4 cups sugar, divided

1   egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup red raspberry jam

HEAT oven to 375°F.

MIX flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min.; stir until chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in cream cheese. Add 1 cup sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour mixture. Refrigerate 15 min.

ROLL dough into 1-inch balls; coat with remaining sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Press your thumb into center of each ball; fill each indentation with about 1/4 tsp. jam.

 

BAKE 8 to 10 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 1 min. on baking sheets; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.



Delicious! Well, at least I think so...



Triple Layer Mud Pie

What You Need

3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

1/4 cup  canned sweetened condensed milk

1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1/2 cup  chopped PLANTERS Pecans, toasted

2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

2 cups  cold 2% milk

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Side Story – Being the new domesticated person that I am I bought a graham cracker crust for my Mud Pie. I read the directions on the inside of the pie crust lid where a little elf told me that before filling the pie crust I must put it on a cookie sheet. A little confused but trying to be a domesticated diva I took the little elf’s advice. I placed the crust opening side down on a cookie sheet………..and I watched it completely break into pieces. This is where the cussing began. I really didn’t want to have to go buy another crust but I need a crust to make a pie. When ding for once in my domesticated life I had a solution. I crumbled up the rest of the once was a KEEBLER crust, melted butter, mixed the two together and walah a “homemade” crust. I did get a snap shot of the “homemade” crust but realized I didn’t get a picture of the crumbled pre-crust.

MIX chocolate and condensed milk; pour into crust. Sprinkle with nuts.

BEAT pudding mixes and 2% milk with whisk 2 min.; spoon 1-1/2 cups over nuts. Stir half the COOL WHIP into remaining pudding; spread over pudding layer in crust.

TOP with remaining COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 3 hours.

All of the layers were amazing, so I'm hoping all of them together are even better.

Ok, I really can’t take the credit for this so THANK YOU Kraft Foods for your fabulous Holiday dessert  website that has amazing, yet super easy, recipes that can make even this former single girl look domesticated.