Before and after

It’s shameful how long it's been since my last post. I’d like to blame it on the season – it’s been hectic personally and professionally – everyone wants to get something in before the year ends… then again the fact that I pretty much had two weekends in a row with a day spent entirely in my PJs I think that excuse might just be void and null.

So I lament… and now I’m over it.

To kick-start my efforts again, I have to share a before and after I’m very jazzed about.

We closed on our house on May 13, 2011. Until last Saturday we had two pictures hanging in the entire house… in the bathroom. (I know!)

Then this weekend I decided I wanted more for our walls – I wanted them to say – “someone lives here…”

And so it began... before:

No - the painter's tape hasn't been here the whole time - we're not THAT low-rent

After:

And only three unnecessary holes in the wall!!

A small start – but I have to say I think I've stepped up the decorating ante - home wall art did increase by 350% after all… Nerd alert.

I’ve also definitely had the project completion high for the past few days – walking past the wall just to look at it. Here’s hoping I can keep some momentum going… or maybe at least set a deadline for myself so that more gets done. I’ve found that by inviting people over I’m often inspired to finish projects… that or con people into helping me finish.

So you might be on the lookout for an invite for the Super Bowl… we’ll either be BYOBing or BYODing (bring your own decor)!

Our first holiday together

Although Justin and I have been together for more than five years – we’ve never spent a major holiday together. Ever.

My adage was that until a ring on was on my finger I would be eating my turkey and drinking my Christmas wine with my family and no one else’s. Then after our engagement it was easy to rationalize that we should spend our last “single” holidays with our respective families… I’m sort of surprised that we managed to spend the holiday together AFTER the wedding.

What can I say? I like my family traditions…

Although evolved since I’ve gotten older, for the past 7 years or so the holiday (Thanksgiving or Christmas) usually starts off with mimosas and breakfast. I then usually help my mom by making snacks to pick at before the main dishes are ready (I leave the heavy lifting of the real cooking to my parents… I’m helpful but I’m not THAT helpful).

About lunchtime we switch it over to wine and my fabulous cousins come over. We eat, we visit, we drink… After everyone leaves the rest of the day is spent picking over leftovers and doing whatever. It’s a small event (in terms of people) for us but a good time nonetheless.

This year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I asked Justin about what they do and the response was “We eat and I hunt.” Thanks for the 411.

The “we eat” result:

Although it was definitely weird not being with my family (I only teared up once!), the holiday was nice. There was good food, a TON of people (I think I counted 20 or so) – all wonderful, black Friday shopping planning, and the typical overeating and turkey-induced naps.

The “I hunt” result:

In true fashion with all my hunting excursions with Justin - I got in trouble. Apparently, whispering “Bambi” after 3 hours of boredom of seeing nothing is hunting faux pas… so naturally I did it again as we were leaving to go home.

The life lesson:

For me it was another moment that reminded me that as soon as I get used to the way things are… they change. And although not always easy, as long as you’re in the company of good people who care about you – you can’t ask for better.

My first Pintrest project

In the Pintrest world the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups. The people who post pictures of their crafts and the people who attempt to recreate them. These are their stories.

This weekend was my first attempt at a Pintrest project after falling in love with this holiday gem...

Bring on Christmas!!

I read the blog that it came from and it seemed easy enough - in fact it read like a foolproof craft. The perfect little Saturday afternoon project.

So I went to the dollar store to get the ornaments - not only cute but cheap!! I had to make a run to Hobby Lobby because I was missing some large green ornaments but otherwise I was on my way to wreath perfection.



The supplies




The MOST important tool in crafting :)

 Ok - so step one - bend a wire hanger into a circle

Check

Step two - hot glue the tops of the ornaments on so they don't pop off... easy enough??

Lesson one: When buying a hot glue gun - the low heat ones should read "This glue gun is a slight step up from Elmer's School Glue - it will take forever and won't stick - get the high heat unless you're five and like to eat paste."

Ok - so minor glitch but I make it work - I'm on my way to becoming a craft pro.

Wrong.

One thing the blog doesn't mention is what to do when your cheap ornaments from the dollar store break at the top... that's right... They. Broke.

But I'm optimistic - heck I've got my most important crafting tool - my Coors Light - and darnit my mom raised me to be a problem-solver.

Problem solved.

Yup - $30 later at Home Depot and I have a battery-operated pre-lit wreath. The whole time I kept trying to determine exactly how much my "cheap" craft ended up costing me. I decided to have another Coors Light instead.

After spending the next two hours trying to get my crummy hot glue gun to work... the finished product.

Super cute right? Yeah.. it was...

Lesson two: When buying a wreath hanger if you get the plastic one so it doesn't "mess up your wreath ambiance" you're asking for trouble - or at least your wreath broken and laying on the front porch.

I told Justin the house was rejecting my craft since I tried to skip over Thanksgiving decorations...

My wreath and I ended up coming out a little worse for wear - but we managed to make it. Next time though I might be using Pintrest for buying ideas instead of crafting...

A tribute to my Crock-Pot

Those who know me know I have a slight obsession with my Crock-Pot. Ok – “slight” might be an understatement for someone who has hugged an inanimate object…

But can you blame me? A few ingredients, a few minutes of prep and then you go about your life only to be greeted with the awesomeness that is a crock pot meal.

To honor all the great meals my crock pot has bestowed upon me, I thought the best tribute was to share the wealth with a work-weeks’ worth of crock-awesome:

Grocery list:

·         Canned Food Section

• 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup (2 cans)
• Chicken broth (1 large box should do)
• Jar of spaghetti sauce
• Rotel tomato (2 cans)
• Tomato Sauce (either 1 large can or two medium-sized cans)

·         Produce

• Baby carrots (I usually get a bag)
• Small red or white potatoes (Again I usually just get a bag of these)
• Onion

·         Dairy

• Cream cheese (8 oz)

·         Dry foods

• Flat egg noodles
• Pasta (whatever kind you want)
• Minute rice

·         Spices

• Salt
• Pepper
• Worcestershire sauce

·         Meat

• Stew meat (2 1lb packages)
• Pork chops
• Frozen chicken breasts (usually comes in a bag)

Meal 1 (Chicken Rotel)

1. Add 2-4 chicken breasts to Crock-Pot
2. Add both cans Rotel
3. Cook on low all day (I’ve let it go 11 hours before and it’s fine)
4. About 20-30 minutes before eating add equal parts Minute rice and water
5. Salt to taste and serve

Meal 2 (Beef Stroganoff)

1. Add one package of stew meat to Crock-Pot
2. Add 1/2 onion, both cans Cream of Mushroom. two tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup of water
• Note: I don’t care for onion so I usually put the half in there whole so I can get it out easily – if you’re an onion enthusiast, you’ll want to chop this up and throw it in
3. Cook on low approx. 8-9 hours
4. About 20-30 minutes before eating, cook egg noodles separately and add cream cheese to Crock-Pot (stirring until melted)
5. Mix noodles with Crock-Pot goodness and serve

Meal 3 (Pork Chops)

1. Pre-brown pork chops in frying pan
2. Put browned pork chops, chicken broth, half bag of baby carrots, and half bag of potatoes in Crock-Pot
3. Cook on low all day
4. Serve

Meal 4 (Chicken Spaghetti)

1. Add 2-4 pieces frozen chicken to Crock-Pot
2. Add jar of spaghetti sauce and cook on low all day
3. Just before ready to eat, cook pasta separately
4. Combine pasta and Crock-Pot goodness and serve

Meal 5 (Stew)

1. Add remaining package of stew meat to Crock-Pot
2. Add remaining onion, baby carrots and potatoes along with tomato sauce
3. Fill tomato sauce can up with water and add to Crock-Pot
4. Add salt/pepper
5. Cook on low all day and serve

 Happy crock-potting!!

We sleep in a twin bed…

Not really – we sleep in a California King-sized bed but it feels like I’m sleeping in my old twin from growing up… why you ask?

The Culprit Juno.

I know what you’re thinking – that little thing? How can a dog that size possibly create an impact…

The evidence.

This is just a tasting of what it’s like sleeping with a puppy. It’s compounded by the fact that she likes to sleep with her head on your pillow oh and she likes to be right next to you so if you scoot away she’s right up on you two seconds later.

Did I mention she snores?

Needless to say, now that she’s making it through the night without having to go outside it’s time to transition her to the floor with Molly.

Sunday night was our first attempt.

Time for bed. Juno hops up onto the bed and curls up in Justin’s spot. Justin puts her down and goes and brushes his teeth. Juno hops up onto the bed and curls up in Justin’s spot again. Justin pushes her to me and says I get to be the bad guy.

So I push Juno off the bed. Two minutes later Justin is in bed and so is Juno. I THINK he put her on the floor (she wouldn’t come near me when I pushed her off) – at that point I was over training the puppy to sleep in her own bed so I don’t know.

 

What I do know is that around 4am Juno and I were in our normal spooning position and I was back to sleeping in a “twin”.

New name – new signature

Well after nearly two months of marriage – I got around to that pesky name-change thing. I’m officially a “Goff” at work but no one told my hand about it…

As part of my job, I have to sign off on ad proofs before they run. I also get to sign off on billing. So... basically if something gets messed up or billed incorrectly there’s a trail of guilt that will always lead back to me.

Perhaps my hand knows this and is trying to go incognito on my behalf? There is another “WT” at the agency… this could be a subconscious way to preserve my sanity (not to mention my job!) if something goes wrong?

I could ponder on the legitimacy of this argument but instead, after five “incorrect” signatures, I decided I just needed to practice my new name...

And I’ve officially regressed to middle-school status…

And with that... I think I'll call it a day.
WT er... WG