Snow day and baking

I got an early text from my boss saying I didn't have to go into work on Friday. Which is probably a good thing because I was feeling like crap. A week and a half with this nasty cold. Ugh. Corvallis experienced some extreme snow Friday morning. They've been saying it was going to snow for awhile and I was expecting maybe a couple of inches.... like always. But I woke up to a good 5 inches of snow! May not seem like a lot to some people but here in Corvallis that's something to celebrate about it! Later on it continued to snow when it finally stopped.

I woke up today thinking the sun would come up and melt all the snow.... But I don't think it go higher then 28 degrees! Seeing as I didn't get to go enjoy the snow yesterday, I decided to venture out today. We have a "lake" at our apartment complex and I was curious if it had frozen over. Sure enough, it did.

I really wanted to go over to the lake and step on it... but being a responsible adult, I decided not to. Instead I walked around some more and took more pictures

I can't see my feet!

Big pile of snow!

I couldn't stay out for very long. My hands and face became numb and I figured that was enough snow for one day. Not to mention the cold air is terrible my lungs. I decided to go the store and pick up some things to do some baking! I tired a new recipe and made cake batter cookies!

Easiest cookies ever! The only thing I would change is reduce the amount of sprinkles.

Happy Saturday

Tasty Tuesday: My first turkey dinner

 

So some of you may have heard about my big turkey dinner I won. Everyone at work was entered into a drawing and if your name was pulled my boss provided us with a big turkey dinner, as a way of saying thank you. Well somehow my name was pulled and I brought home a whole collection of food as you can see in the top picture. I'm not much of a cook and have never cooked a turkey, or made mashed potatoes from scratch but I guess getting free food and one way to learn!

I provided green bean casserole for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents which was a huge hit as well as the cranberry sauce. Sunday was the day I decided to start cooking. I looked at the instructions on the back to figured out how hot the oven was suppose to be and to see if there were any tips on how to cook it (there wasn't). I then lathered up the turkey with lots of butter and garlic salt, put it in a 13 x 9 inch pan, set the oven, covered it with tin foil and let the turkey bake. It was a 13 lbs turkey and a website online said it was going to take 4 and 1/2 to 5 and 1/2 hours! So glad I put the turkey in early on Sunday

 

 

As it was cooking I did a web search and found a website about turkey roasting for dummies. (Ok the website didn't really say dummies, but that's how I felt haha) It told me to check it every 45 minutes and to keep doing this until the internal temperature reached 180 degrees. Uh oh... I don't own a cooking thermometer so when the 4 hour mark came I would just slice it open to see if it had been cooked all the way and if "the juices ran clear" according to the instructions. I had help from Tyrel but he approved of the coloring after 5 hours so I called it good.

I had to look up a recipe for mashed potatoes and the stuffing was the instant stuff so it was super easy. Overall great learning experience. I've been sick so everything taste kind of bland to me, but Tyrel approves!

 

Flashblack: A memorable thanksgiving

For the past couple of years Thanksgiving has been a hard holiday to celebrate. I mean it used to be one of my favorite holidays, because it meant I get to see family that I don't normally see that often. But now a days Thanksgiving means remembering the tragic day I lost my best friend. It was just the day before I heard that my friend had been in an accident. The accident caused him to have severe brain damage. The outcome didn't look good. I went to see him at the hospital. I remember it being a surreal feeling. I saw my friend laying there, with a machine hooked up to him to help him breath. He looked like he was sleeping. I kept waiting for him to sit up with a smile on him face saying, "I'm okay." I went home thinking this can't be happening. I eventually fell asleep and received a phone call early in the morning saying that his brain was no longer functioning, and that I needed to come up to the hospital if I wanted to say goodbye to him. I dreaded that drive up there knowing this would be the last time I get to see my best friend. But saying goodbye to him, meant giving another person a chance at life.

Michael was an organ donor. And as a donor the doctors only have so much time to save the organs once your brain stops functioning. The sooner the doctors can retrieve the organs, the better, which is why I know his mom made the right choice. I know that Michael wouldn't have wanted to live the rest of his life in a bed, hooked up to a breathing machine. He made the choice to donate his organs and we wanted to fullfill his wishes. The doctors were able to use his lungs, heart, liver, kidney and eye tissue for transplants. As hard as it was to say good bye it made me feel a little better know that someone else was receiving a new organ and another chance at life.

Three years later and I still struggle with losing my best friend. But I try to look at it as a way to be extremely grateful. Michael was the oldest of 4, which meant that he is missed by 3 younger siblings. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a brother. His mom lost a son. No parent should ever have to bury their child.

Cherish every moment and every person in your life, because you never know when it will be the last time you see someone.
I take this into consideration everyday. I always make sure to say my goodbyes to someone. Even if I'm only going to be gone for a short amount of time. I'm constantly telling Tyrel how much I love him and there is a rule in the house that you cant leave the house without saying goodbye and a kiss. It's a rule that I get from my mom. Every morning before I left for school I had to say goodbye to my mom and give her kiss. Whenever I had family over, I would go around the house kissing everyone goodnight before I went to bed.

Anyway, sorry about the long written and sad post. I just feel it's important to write about it. Gets things off my mind and puts things in a different perspective. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving.

Cold nights

The days are getting colder. The layers are increasing. The days are getting shorter.

I don't know why but I love this time of the year. I prefer cold weather over hot weather any day. I'd rather be cold and be able to put on more layers to stay warm, then to be hot stripped in my underwear and STILL be hot. Summers are miserable and once it reaches it certain temperature all I want to do is stay indoors where there is AC. When the weather is colder I actually want to do my more things. There is nothing better then enjoying a nice walk in crisp fall air enjoying the different colors

Saturday was the last home football game. Being a true Beaver believer I bundled up in multiple layers of clothing and enjoyed some tailgating before watching the game. It was very cold and the game didn't start off very well. By the time half time started it was 26 to 0. I went to warm up by the fire at the tailgate. Normally I wouldn't let a score bother me so much but we were playing so bad that I didn't think it was worth going back...  It was still nice to hang out with freinds and family though. And I still love my Beavers! (Even if we lost 69 to 27)

Wordless Wednesday: Home decor

Flashback to my new beginning

I was recently looking through some old pictures back from 3 years ago. As I was looking at these pictures I realized that a lot of things took place that year. At the time I was finishing my last year of school. I had been struggling a bit, considering at the time I was doing student teaching while working part time. I didn't have much free time, was running on a little amount of sleep and my boyfriend at the time had broke up with me, leaving me heart broken and unable to concentrate at school work. Little did I know that 3 months later my life would change

Before spring term started, I decided that enough was enough. I wasn't going to waste my life on someone who was allegedly cheating on me. No more would I suffer through manipulation and emotional and psychological abuse. I was done. I wanted to go back to being me; back to being happy!

  

I got a new hair style, (and color) and surrounded myself around loved ones so I knew what it felt to be happy again. I was able to focus on my school work. I finished winter term, and completed my student teacher. I started spring term with a new perspective on life.

In June 2010 I graduated from OSU with an Early Childhood Education and Development degree. A week later I started a new job. Everything was going great

On June 20, 2010 I went on a date with an old friend from high school. The date was a huge success and we really hit it off! We continued dating and everyday he stole my heart. I've never really believed in love at first site. I didn't think it existed in real life, only in fairy tales. But after reconnecting with Tyrel, I was in love already. He was kind to me, and treating me nicely. I could be myself around him. We continued dating and waited for the "puppy love" phase to disappear; but it never did. 3 and 1/2 years later I'm still happy as ever.

Today I'm thankful for finding such an amazing guy. Someone who could make me happy, someone who I could talk to, someone I can spend the rest of my life with.

Black and White Sunday: "Pumpkin Patch"

The one year olds were too little to go the actual pumpkin patch. So my co worker created her own version of the pumpkin patch at school!