New Years at home...

We rung in the New Year...Happy 2013.....at home.  This is the second year that we've gotten together with friends and hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner Party.  We had a great time with some great friends.  We have wonderful people around us that help make our lives happy.  My friend Kim planned most of the party, and got us all organized, and made most of the food, then we hosted.  So much fun!!  The kit's are usually cheesy and this was no exception, from the names of the characters to the props.  (Tara Misu, Claire Voyant, Pepi Roni....hahahha).  I think it's a great new tradition that we've started for New Year's!!  

Christmas 2012...

 First try at Santa Bread....thought it was good until I saw it the next morning and it looked like a got stung by a bee.

Scout enjoyed his time up in Virginia...he got lot's of walks and lot's of treats.






We got to hang out with Uncle Ronnie.  It was nice to visit with him.

We spent sine time with the cousin's.  Fun times and good food.  A little time spent petting the kitty outside too.  Scout didn't get to come here. 

 My second try at Santa Bread came out much better.

Christmas Gift!!  

This little cutie was taking my "picture".

 Pretty Cardinals in the snow.....find all the red spots in the trees!!

A new cookie....

Okay, so I love looking at stuff on Pinerest.  I'm not sure I would do all the things I re-pin or like on there, but some of the stuff looks so good.  I have cool hair stuff, some workout stuff, and crafty stuff....and then I have a Yummies board.  Well....I saw this post about the best cookies EVER....well, I thought, maybe.  The link took me to someone like me who has a blog and made the cookies...and linked up to the original poster.  OMG!!  These are the BEST COOKIES EVER!!  Unless you don't like chocolate (there is 3 types of choc chips in them), and especially if you don't like Nutella....because these cookies have all of that.

So the name of these cookies (The Best Cookie EVER) is Nutella stuffed brown butter choc chip cookies with sea salt.  So to start with....who knew browning butter was first so easy....and second made everything taste so good!!  NO JOKE!!  I followed the instructions that the ambitious cook set out and it turned out beautifully.

When all was said and done, I don't like air cookie sheets (I already knew this, I got rid of all of mine years ago- but being away from home I have to work with what I have).  So my cookies are a little extra gooey, but they taste soooooo good!!  My mother in law even said she thought she had died and gone to heaven they were that good.

Warning when you go to the site, you will see yummy pictures, and you might get discouraged because you have to refrigerate the dough for 2 HOURS, before actually baking the cookies, but totally worth it!

Saddened and Embarrassed...

 The Connecticut school shooting events have been all of our minds.  Lot's of sadness about what feels like senseless violence. Lot's of anger.  Grief is a process, and there is a lot of grieving going on. My heart breaks for the family and friends dealing with the loss of those they love.  Whether it's from this tragedy or any other.  There are no words.

 I just read several posts on facebook that a friends liked.  Social media can be wonderful and horrible at the same time.  People feel they can be mean, or kind at will, and they feel the need to share that hate or kindness with EVERYONE.  I'm glad I know a diverse group of people.  I'm happy people have many options.  However to place blame and spread hate is just so sad.  One post was a video.  It talked about remember the ones who were lost, and the bravery of people like the teacher who saved her 16 students by hiding them in the closet.  In that video they did not name the gunman because they do not want him to become "famous" or a role model.  I understand this reasoning.

 The next post I read was about someone who blames the gunman's parents for his actions.  Saying that they had money and could of gotten the boy help.  This is the post that made me a little embarrassed to know these people.  They didn't write the post, they just liked it.

Here is my story:

 I grew up in a house where there was mental illness.  I can look back and see it.  Did I have a "normal" childhood?  Sure, it was normal for me.  I have an older brother.  We grew up in the same circumstances.  We both got "help".  There was counseling- individual and family.  There were anger management sessions, and circle groups.  There was a lot of therapy (for the kids) in my family.  Today I feel very well adjusted.  I am in control of my life.  I love life.  I do good whenever and wherever I can.  I feel blessed to have family and friends. If you ask my brother he will say the same thing.  The difference- it worked for me.  The counseling, the therapy, it worked.  It clicked.  For my brother....it's a whole other story.  He has been in and out of jail.  Addicted to drugs. In some pretty crazy situations.  My journey was easier....it worked.  His was harder...it didn't work for him.  He's working to turn his life around in the only way he knows how....now.  I can look back and see that even with everything given to my brother as help....he could of been just like the gunman who shot all those children.  It could of been him, and would it of been my parents fault?

 Do I really want the world to know I was a totally messed  up kid??  Not really.  But do you see that sometimes things, even given everything you can think of to give to fix it, just doesn't work out the same.  My brother and I are oil and water, night and day, different as different can be.....but it could of been the flip and then what?

I just want to close this post with....I don't know what a solution would be.  Tighter gun control? Better Mental Illness availability, tighter school security??  I don't think any of these things would of changed the outcome.  I think it all still would of happened.  I wish the world didn't have mental illness, and a need for guns and security....but that isn't they way the world is.  Sometimes we just have to throw love out there, and keep throwing it out there, and maybe someone will catch on, and throw some love back.

I didn't make it...

A little while ago I heard that the Nike Women's marathon was going to do a race on the east coast.  I was excited, as I've done (sort of) the race in San Fran.  Well I've done it, but it's the source of all my running angst. I really thought it would be great to be able to run in DC (about 4 hours away from here) and bonus it's only a half marathon (13.1 miles).  I knew I wanted to try and sign up.  The Nike marathon is super popular, it's probably because the finisher's "medal" is a Tiffany's necklace.  Yeah, it's pretty sweet!!.

So when my friend Kim D asked if I wanted to try and sign up, of course I was like....yeah!!  I signed up for my Nike Plus account (you had to have one to enter the lottery), and I put my name in (with all my credit card info), and hoped for the best.  Weeks went by, honestly it could of been months....but it was just weeks.  I was finishing up at work and checked my phone.....my friend Kim D texted me to tell me she got in, and asked if I had.  I didn't have an email saying anything.  I told her as such, and she said maybe it's because it was alphabetical.  Hmmmm.  I got home after work and still nothing.  I texted my friend Jeanne, who also was waiting to hear. Then around 10 pm I got an email, the email.  So Sad.  I didn't get in, Jeanne didn't get in.  Only Kim got in.  Maybe we'll go up and cheer her on...or just be sad and bitter at home.  We'll see come April!  *smiles*

Office Holiday Parties

Tis the Season, and since I work at 2 different dental office I get to enjoy twice the fun!  *smiles*  I work at two different offices in almost every way possible.  One of my offices is a single doctor practice, there are 5 of us total that work there.  The doctor invites us and our spouse out every year, usually for dinner and drinks.  This year we did something special, we had dinner, and then went to see "A Christmas Carol".  I was so excited, as I had not seen the Raleigh legendary show.  It was great, and the company was really nice as well.  Afterward the crew agreed to meet for drinks (however traffic had different plans for us, and Jason and I didn't make it.)

The other office has like 25 people working at it, there are 4 doctors!  We pick secret santa names to exchange gifts with each other, and also do a white elephant gift exchange.  We do a lunch for this party, and it takes all afternoon.  It's a great time to hang out with the whole office and have fun!  This year was just as great as last year. Yummy food, great company and fun times stealing gifts from each other.

It's a great time of year to enjoy the company of those you work with all year long in a different setting.  It's nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the office, see each other not dressed in scrubs.  I'm so lucky to be able to work at 2 great offices.

I love my hot tub!

Somedays it's just nice to go out and soak in the tub for a little bit.  The big tub with all the jets and it makes me happy.  Somedays it's hard to make myself change into a swimsuit and go out in the cold, but in the end it's totally worth it.  Just sayin'.....I love my hot tub.