Cake, anyone?

So in the past three weeks I have been getting the extreme creative itch for cake decorating. Right now my skills are rusty and supplies are scarce but I'm VERY determined to be successful! Not financially or popular, but actually being satisfied with what I have done. 

I am my own worst critic.

I still have a long way to go, but look forward to each opportunity....each step. :)

Sweet and spicy chicken

This recipe is my favorite, not just because it is delicious but because it is simple and quick!

Ingredients needed: Chicken breasts, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, butter, honey and chopped pecans.

You can cook this anyway you want! I've cooked it in the oven and on the stove. 

When cooking in the oven I just season my chicken with the salt, pepper and cayenne pepper(to taste...I like mine spicy) and before placing in the cookware I use a quarter cup of butter for two to four chicken breasts depending on size, and either spread over the bottom or cut up and scatter the butter in the dish. Then cook it at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. When the chicken is just about done, pour honey(to your liking) over the chicken and sprinkle with pecans. Place back in the oven for at least 5 minutes and then serve over rice.

For the stove begin with heating your pan to a medium heat and use only 2 tablespoons of butter. Season your chicken to your liking and place into the heated and buttered pan. Cook the chicken until done(I find the chicken stays more moist when covered while cooking). Remove chicken from pan but keep the sauces. Add another two tablespoons of butter and add honey and pecans as well. Stir well and once all the honey and butter are mixed and melted serve over the chicken and rice! Yum yum!

Recently I started using chili powder as well which adds more zing to it :)

Enjoy!

flubberflay

I have an activity for you to try or, if you have already done this....do it again!

First, you need a friend because doing this alone is weirder then weird. You will also need a camera, of course,  to show your success.

Loosen and wet you lips. Relax them so that they are lazily pursed.

Hehehehehe! You're doing it, I know you are!

Back to lazily pursed.

Now exhale, forcefully. 

If the picture didn't fully capture the beauty, try try again!

Pumpkins!

It's pumpkin time!

I have a new found love for the fall and winter after first experiencing it in Colorado Springs. Though I must say Germany's winter is much more gentle then Colorado's.

I had the pleasure of carving three pumpkins for a harvest/halloween themed 'Spaghetti Night' for our health clinic this past Friday. 

First you need some or just one pumpkin, perferrably one with as little flaws and it helps if it is taller, but sometimes choices are slim.

Next is the carving kit which you can buy from a grocery store and there are usually a few to chose from. 

The green kit was from last year for two dollars and the orange was bought this year for four dollars. The tools also come with a book of designs for tracing.

 Then you flip the pumpkin over and carve out a nice hole out of the bottom and start de-gooping! There are scrapers provided in the carving kits but I use my hand to get all those delicious seeds out first. 

 

Oh! Don't forget the bowl for the seeds!

Once you get the inside of the pumpkin cleaned out you're ready for carving. 

I found a great site for designs that you can print off for free! http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/mpatterns.htm

The result, fun decorations made by you!

 I love FALL!

P.S. Don't forget to bake those pumpkin seeds! Here is the recipe I have used every year and never can get enough of. 

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/caramelized-spicy-pumpkin-seeds/detail.aspx

4th of July Weekend

This past July we had four days of traveling and wonderful Diane and Isaac time! 

I was super excited to get away with the husband and made travel plans for the weekend, hoping to fill each day with fun and as much sight seeing as possible. 

First, I had to find a dog sitter or kennel. 

A few friends recommended a place that lets your dog play and run all day long and has kennels for sleeping. It sounded perfect so I made arrangements and had plans to drop him off first thing Friday morning so we can hit the road soon after. 

That plan went straight down the toilet! 

We spent almost 2 hours looking for the kennel! The address was an old one, therefore the GPS was taking us to a random street. I called(and probably woke up) two different people trying to get directions, but no luck. Oh my! So we waited till almost 5pm to try again and a very wonderful friend of ours DROVE us to the kennel. Talk about pathetic! LOL!

After that fiasco we grab some dinner and hit the road. Unfortunately we lost a day but our weekend really smoothed out after that.

Our first two nights we spent in a beautiful town called Mittenwald, Germany. It's only a 30 minute drive from Austria and nestled in the Alps.

The town was so beautiful! We spent the day exploring and got to see a parade and found out that Mittenwald is the home of violin making. Here is a link explaining the history of violin making in Mittenwald: http://www.chambermusicians.org.uk/mittenwald_violin_making.htm.

After our time there we headed to Garmisch-Partenkirchen germany to stay at the Edelweiss hotel which is on a military installation and the lodging is strictly for military. We met up with some friends of ours, enjoying chill time, some American food and fireworks!

A view from the Hotel.

View from the hotel room.

We came across this gorgeous site while strolling around the hotel.

 We had one day left of sightseeing so we decided to take a drive to Innsbruck Austria and check out the Swarovski Crystal museum. 

Entrance to the museum.

It was so artistic and mind boggling to see all the sparkling crystal. I like sparkly things :)

The weekend was so fun and relaxing. We picked up Lucky when we got home(and found the kennel ALL BY OURSELVES.....YAY) with more memories and gratitude on our hearts for the amazing blessings God continues to shower on us.

A successful dinner

I had to share this amazing recipe!

My friend posted this on her blog http://justasgoodrecipebox.blogspot.com/2011/10/jerked-chicken-marinade.html.

threw it all in my trusty blender

beautiful.....

It was delicious and simple! I set it up in the morning, placed the chicken in the marinade and had dinner ready within 45 minutes. 

The extra marinade in the pan I poured over our bed of rice.

Thank you Anna! Isaac said this one was a keeper and he RARELY says that.

You must try!

The big 30

Recently we celebrated Isaac's 30th birthday. 

That's a big number! and a good reason to make it a big celebration. We started out by having some very dear friends over for some drinks and fun.

Good times........ :)

 But that wasn't all we did. That next Monday we hopped on a plane for Dublin Ireland!

This random yet amazing structure is the Christ Church Cathedral

First stop...Jameson Distillery

Isaac was one of few selected to sample their different kinds of liquor made all over the world. A shot of Jameson, a shot of Jack and a shot of Johnny. What a way to start your day!

 Next Stop, Guinness Storehouse.

Isaac had the opportunity to learn to pour his own Guinness. I never knew that it was a process but, it actually takes over two minutes to pour. If you do it wrong, you have ruined a glass of Guinness...

Ta da!

After those two stops we spent the rest of our our time wandering the city seeing all the beautiful sites and experiencing the culture

(food and shopping ;)

 We were told to go to the town of Howth(hoooth) Ireland by our wonderful host. It's a small town built on the breathtaking cliffs which was exactly where we wanted to be. But first we had to hop on the train to get there.

"Say cheese!"

 And we have arrived!

We spent a few hours hiking along the cliffs just mesmerized by the beauty of the water and everything around us. Then, I started to get the case of 'wobbly knees' as we continued hiking and the trail became more and more narrow, right on the edge. The drop made my head spin every time I looked over. So we headed back...sorry Isaac!

We made it back to Dublin later in the afternoon and came across this man writing in the middle of the walk way. He was pleading for a job, explaining his situation and wishing he had listened to his parents and done something with himself. I found this to be very interesting.

Walking, walking, walking. We did tons of walking in our five days in Dublin.

Dublin is very much a college town and the area to the left in this picture(Isaac's right) is called Temple Bar district. It's a strip with restaurants and bars. Fun atmosphere but we could only handle being over there for so long. lol.

The Dublin Castle.

  

This trip was such a blessing and so fantastic! We met people from all over the world and made some really neat friends.

Happy Birthday Isaac! I pray that this was one you will always remember. :)