A Sweet Reminder

Had to include this video on my blog- thanks Jess. This is so sweet.

'Husband Approved' Recipes

Each Sunday we get together with a family that we've gotten really close to and play games. And with game night comes the inevitable- treats. Unfortunately we've discovered that treat night, I mean GAME night, sets us up for difficulty the rest of the week. Digging into the peanut butter M&Ms, cupcakes, and kettle corn makes it really easy to say on Monday, "What's one more night of treats?" and the same happens Tuesday, and before we know it, we've eaten a bus load of crap.

So, I bring to you Husband Approved. Take a gander at my recipe blog. Recipes labeled Husband Approved are recipes we've tried at game night. They are much more healthy- lower in fat and sugar. And they have endured the most rigorous test- they are approved by our husbands.

I've just started this project. Currently there is a recipe for Crock pot Baked Apples that is Husband Approved, and if you keep checking back, you will see more.

Check out these commercials!!

I ripped these off from a friend's blog cuz they were so cute! I had to share. The second one is the best.

10 Honest Things About Me

A friend tagged me to post 10 honest things about myself.

1. I hate dead things. I would rather have a spider that is alive and crawling around my house than kill it because then I have to deal with the corpse. Ewww....shutter. I can hardly write about it. I just try to leave all of those types of jobs to the fearless husband. I divulged this fact to a friend of mine and one Sunday at church she went into the bathroom to find a dead cockroach. She quickly walked out, but then remembered my fear. This dear friend of mine went BACK into the bathroom to get rid of it because she was afraid I would go in at some point in the day and see it. I've got good friends.

2. You know the little girls you sometimes see who dress up in princess dresses, plastic jewels and shoes, and sparkly accessories? I was one of those girls and have to stifle the urge to this day. I used to put on all of my favorite clothes at once. The more bling the better. I try to contain myself now that I am an adult, but it sneaks out in the form of my sparkly hoop earrings, lime green trench coat, array of eye shadows, and bright yellow flats. I fear I may never grow out of it.

3. Which leads to fact number 3. Since I was young, I've wanted to dye my hair bright purple. Actually, a couple of years ago, I had a purple streak in my hair for 3 days. I've never been really brave enough to do it for real because I'm afraid of the image. When you see someone with bright purple hair you think they are a total punk. I am not a total punk. I just think it would be fun to have a signature purple streak. It stems from my childhood love of bling- and my great grandmother who dyed her hair pink when she was in her later years. (Not sure how old she was but she had white hair.) I also want to be buried with purple hair. How funny would it be to go to a viewing of a grandma and you walk by and she's got bright purple hair?! I'd love it.

4. I. Love. Popcorn. I currently have 7 different kinds in my repertoire- kettle corn, butter cream, carmel corn, red hot cinnamon, chocolate, popcorn cake, and peanut butter popcorn.

5. If you've ever watched The King of Queens you've seen Doug do his 'hand to mouth.' JD and I practice it all the time. JD is much better at it than I.

6. I'm trying to grow my hair out. You wouldn't think so if you saw me, but the last hack job was due to a bad hair trim. I had two hair styles going at once and the only way to save it was to cut it more. Sad.

7.I can't snap my fingers on my right hand. I can on my left, but no matter how hard I try, I can't manage to squeak out a sound with my right hand.

8. I've never had cavities, but I never floss. I'm trying to do better with flossing because I'm afraid my luck will run out....

9. As part of my job I: have been physically attacked numerous times, called the cops, have been kicked in the head with a combat boot, have ridden in the back of a police car (to help support a student), physically restrained students, have seen body parts that should not been seen in the classroom, have had to call 911, have had to treat seizures, have had a student use a pencil as a weapon, have been sent to urgent care or the doctor from work 3 times, had a parent hit on me at parent teacher conferences, chased runners, have been hugged, been kissed, told "You my best friend, Santini," had a student invite me to be his date at homecoming, been proposed to by a student (on one knee and everything), cried at graduation seeing my students leave, received numerous notes and pictures from students, seen students change drastically for the better, and have had lots of stories to share.

10. I want a puppy.

I tag: everyone who reads this

True Love

It must be true love if....

....this (note socks) makes me swoon as much as...

....this.

Seeking Advice

I'm in the market for a wheat grinder. Anyone know about those? I'm looking for one that is a good starter model (aka- cheap) but won't poop out on me within 10 uses. I anticipate using it pretty frequently. Any ideas for brands, models, cheap places to get them, etc?

What would the world be like without internet!?!

A Montana Christmas

Montana welcomed us with lots of SNOW! Here is a picture of my dear brother- Allen Mr. Intelligent Sangster- out in the snow bare foot.

We got the pleasure of decorating the Christmas tree Christmas Eve. How gorgeous is my sister!!

Adding the star

You can tell Dad is concentrating hard- you think better with your tongue sticking out!

A snuggle break.

I love this picture- you can see the winter wonderland behind the tree.

Chocolate oranges make me happy.

JD and his basketball- one happy man.

So last year as a joke, my brother gave my sister Paige a frozen fish (eye balls and all) as a 'gift.' This year Paige got Allen a cow tongue. GROSS!! But she got him pretty good. I wonder what next year will bring.... any ideas?

Mom is holding up Paige's first ever painting. Pretty stinkin' good, eh? I think there may be some talent there!

This year my parents talked to all of us kids about how we were going to scale back this Christmas and spend time together rather than money. Every year Paige gives Dad peanuts for Christmas- this is a tradition that has gone on since she was a little girl. This year Paige gave Dad a baggie with like, 5 peanuts in it. Dad obviously got a kick out of it!

As we were opening gifts, something strange happened. Dad didn't find any gifts under the tree for him. After all of the gifts were handed out, I 'noticed' a small wrapped package hiding under the branches. I brought it out and it was for Dad. He opened it to discover a pack of batteries. He then had to find what the batteries went to. After searching the house, he found a Wii system- we had all pitched in to get it for him. His reaction was priceless!

Can I just say I'm pretty good at the Wii boxing? Even in my pajamas?

The best memory of this Christmas is the gift I gave to Brooke. I made Brooke a weighted blanket hoping that it would be as calming for her as it is for those with Autism. It is and as soon as I put it on her, her face lit up. I will never forget that smile!

JD loves the dogs.

Another fun thing we did while home was to have themed dinners. Each of us picked a country. We had to come up with a meal and an activity based on the country. Here was JD's night- Italian night. No one could sit at the table unless they were dressed like members of the mafia.

JD made an amazing spaghetti dinner and then we played a fun dinner game that got us rolling with laughter!

Dad had Caribbean night. We enjoyed salmon, jerk chicken, and shrimp.

And we dressed up for Caribbean night as well.

Dad has got the hang loose sign down pat!

Goof!

A game of Limbo was the logical conclusion of the meal.

Notice the Swiffer put to good use.

Such a classy family!

A group shot.

My beautiful sister. It's amazing that she was so sick only a month ago. Not only does she look great after a month in the hospital, but she looks better than she has in years! No one can beat that smile of hers!

I had Mexican night so I tried making tamales. Note: my hair was borderline scary the whole time while home. I'm happy to report that it is now back to its lovely self.

Happy New Year!