Why the UPS man hates me (the mailman, too)

Right now we're in the middle of a little snowstorm. Little meaning we'll likely get about 18 inches when all is said and done. Fun right?

Here's our parking lot at work with some of the snow. Can you see it flying through the air? We just had a little bit of a lull, and it's expected to pick up again around noon. Travis and the snowblower will be good friends this evening! The snow started yesterday, and we probably had about 4 inches by the time I got home. 

Now, for why the UPS man hates me...I came home to this:

Three large boxes and three bags. Some may have come from the post office, so I'm including the mailman in this as well. They should think of it as job security. Most of this is from my parents, who are coming here for Christmas. They like to send all the presents here, then wrap them up. Closer to their visit we will be getting boxes of their clothes and shoes as well. It's cheaper than flying with it! When I sent this picture to my Dad this morning, he said "and there's still more to come". 

So I apologize to any package delivery person who may have to come to my house. I'm really just looking out for your best interests. The economy has hurt us all, I know. I would hate for you to lose your job, knowing that I did not do my part in keeping the mail system going. We must band together! 

Hints of Christmas

It's the day before Thanksgiving, and all the food is bought. Nothing is prepared yet, but it will be. Then Friday I will be like a whirling Christmas dervish trying to get all of my decorations up during naptime. I decorate then so little hands don't try to play with all the decorations and break things. They're less noticeable once they are up. But in the meantime, some hints of Christmas have been popping up.

These cookie trays magically appeared at the grocery store, so one magically appeared at my house. I'm not sure why I love these so much. Homemade are so much better, but there's something about these pre-made cookie trays that just say "Merry Christmas!" To me anyway.

Then, another box magically appeared via the UPS driver yesterday:

Candles! Christmas Candles! Yankee Candle Christmas Candles! I will admit, I have an addiction to Yankee Candle. I especially love buying Fall and Christmas scents. They had a buy 2, get 2 deal, plus free shipping. How could I resist? 4 might be a little much, but then I'll have some left over for next year. Right? Maybe...

I'm trying to keep my spirits up today. Our sewer is backed up, and despite spending 4 hours last night snaking out our sewer line, we still had to call in a plumber today. I haven't heard the damage yet, but I'm preparing for the worst. So the little things like candles and cookies are keeping me happy.

Also, I'm going to see Catching Fire tonight! Huzzah! If you don't know what this is, please come out from under your rock and read a book (or 3), and then go see this movie. 

Cheddar Chili Cornbread Pasta Bake

This weekend was bitterly cold up here in the Northwoods. Bitterly. Cold. Also, windy. Yay, wind! (where's my sarcastic emoticon?) I don't think the temperature went above 15 degrees all weekend. We also had a lovely little storm front roll in on Friday and stick around all weekend. It's still here, although the sun is trying to peek through.

Needless to say, it was a cuddle up and watch movies type of weekend. I also had a wicked sinus headache for 3 days, which really meant that I was going nowhere. We did have to deliver our turkey on Saturday night to the in-laws since they're hosting Thanksgiving this year. I'm more than happy to let someone else do most of the cooking!

But Sunday I was looking for comfort food. Light bulb!

Cheddar Chili Cornbread Past Bake, or in other words, a whole lotta yum. This recipe is quick and easy, with very minimal ingredients. Just my style. You're supposed to cook it with leftover chili, but that's like a magical unicorn in my house. Instead, I supplemented with Hormel & some canned chili beans.

5 ingredients! That's awesome. Ok, well you also need milk and an egg for this particular type of cornbread mix. But still, doable!

So basically, you cook your noodles al dente, then layer an 8x8 pan as follows (spray with Pam first, although I forgot and it came out of my Corningware dish ok):

- pasta
-cheese (a hefty amount)
- chili (I mixed the chili and beans together)
- prepared cornbread mix

Then just pop it in the oven for 35ish minutes at 425 degrees. In the end you get something that looks like this:

That picture is actually from the original blog where I found the recipe (via Pinterest), but that's really what mine looked like. You can use a spoon or fork to lift the cornbread up a little to check that it was cooked entirely. I could see lighter spots in the middle when I pulled the dish out around 30 minutes, so I let it cook a little bit longer.

Let me tell you what, it was so good! I really wish that I had brought some to work for lunch today, and I'm jealous that my husband likely ate it all for his lunch. We will make this again! The only thing I'd do differently is add one more can of chili, or brown up some ground beef to mix with the chili & beans. Just to give it a little more chili goodness. Enjoy!

Drive by (type by? read by?)

Just a quick post and run. I had to share this picture of me from this morning:

Here I am, all decked out to run in 8 degree temps. I doubled up and wore winter tights and sweatpants. Guess what? I was totally warm and had a good run! The neck gaiter still gets a little damp and then chilly, but I think I have to work on not breathing on it once I pull it down.

Anyway, I know I look sexy and slightly mannish in the picture, but I just had to prove that it works! Also, yes, that is Batman's utility belt, for those that were wondering.

Happy running!

Buffalo Chicken Bake

YUMMMM. Who doesn't like buffalo chicken anything right? I've tried several different recipes for buffalo chicken mac n'cheese or pasta, most of them utilizing the crock pot. This is the first one that I've thought, "I will make this again!" I found the recipe through Pinterest here.

 We did follow it pretty true to the original recipe. I just added some bleu cheese crumbles to the top at the end. It was cheesy and creamy, and didn't get dried out. The top layer of pasta and bread crumbs get just a little crispy for a little bite. Served with a side of peas or a salad, this is a great recipe for a cold winter's night!

Santa's here!

A little early, though, right?

I love Christmas. LOVE. But I'm all for celebrating holidays in their correct months, and not getting to ahead of things. I've written about this in the past, and I still feel like "hey, let's have Thanksgiving first, then on to Christmas!"

That's not to say that I don't start preparing for Christmas early. Most of my gifts are bought, and we do have outdoor lights up on the house already. Well, to be honest, some of them never came down from last year. But that's neither here nor there. Come Black Friday our tree will be going up. There are just some things you have to do early.

One of those things is family photos. I like sending out and receiving holiday cards, and I really love making photo cards now that we have Emily. They're so easy! Create, put in an envelope, address & stamp, and off they go! But the past few years I felt like our pictures weren't quite up to par. One year was to dark, the next looked a little fakey with the LED lights from our tree blazing behind us. So this year, I wanted to do professional photos.

We have a fantastic photographer in town that would be more than happy to do a session with us. Unfortunately, she's a bit out of the budget at this time of year. So, I had the brilliant idea to do a session at JCPenney's. Maybe not the best option, but a dang good one (and cheaper too!). Plus, they had a sale going where we could get the CD with all our images for $50. Local photog charges like $300 for this. No brainer, right?

So I put outfits together for us, buy Emily something new and cute, and off we go to Duluth (nearest mall with JCP portrait studio). The drive is 1.5 hours away. I figured, we'd get there a little early, see Santa since we're there, and maybe look around for another top for Emily. I liked the one I bought, but you never know what you can find at the "big" mall.

We stopped to see Santa first, and Emily loved him! She ran to him with open arms, and sat in his lap for 5 minutes. We were the only ones in line, so Santa really took his time with her. I guess my daughter is turning into a fashionista, because she told Santa that she wants boots for Christmas. Boots! She's so funny!

So, off we go to JCP for our pictures. We were a little early, but that's how I roll. We get there, they tell us it will be about 20 minutes, so I take Emily to the restroom to change into her picture outfit. When I get back, all of a sudden the wait has gone to 45 minutes. What the heck!?! Now, it's 5pm. Close to dinner time. What am I supposed to do with my 2 year old for 45 minutes this close to dinner? I was so worried that she would get crabby and our pictures would be ruined.

I sent Travis off for a pretzel and some water, so we could tide things over for awhile. The studio also had some toys, and a really wonderful staff that helped keep Emily in good spirits. She got so comfortable that she was playing peek-a-boo with everyone in the lobby and even walked herself behind the counter at one point.

When it was finally our turn to take pictures, Emily was fantastic. She is such a ham! We got some really great pictures, and I cannot wait to make our Christmas cards and get some prints made! But, you my dear blog reader, will have to wait until after I send our cards out to see them. No spoiling the surprise here! I will leave you with this cute picture though.

I know, my daughter is the cutest kid in the world :o)

Life Mantra

I recently read another blog that mentioned having a mantra for running. Or just for doing hard stuff, and getting through it. I think this is a fantastic idea. The blog showed a chart of 4 columns with different words in each column, and you picked one word from each column to create your phrase. So it could be something like "run swiftly, think power" or "be fierce, think courage". So I'm sitting there thinking about what my mantra is, and I realized that I already have one. 

When I'm running, especially on those long runs, there is a lot of thinking involved. But eventually I wear myself out with my own inner talking. Usually I rely on music, or (just recently) an audiobook. But in the really tough spots, I pray. I pray to God for strength to get up this hill, to make it to the end of my run, to not poop my pants (hey, let's be real here), and I thank him. I thank him for the ability to run, for my family, for my health, for my water bottles and energy chews. Whatever, He's listening. 

A few months ago I found this pin on Pinterest:

On shoes! That's cool!

I thought, that's really cool! But maybe a little flashy and not quite my style. But the Philippians verse has really stuck with me, and it's been my motivation in tough spots. I guess you could say it's my mantra. I really do chant this to myself at times when I'm running. Especially up long hills. 

 I guess if you're not religious, this specific idea might not work for you. But I like to think that God is with me at all times of my life, and he's giving me strength to get through challenging situations. It's so great to hand over the issues or problems that I feel are to big for me, and know that He will help. I loved this quote so much that I bought a wall decal and hung it above the main door in our home.

It's not as wonky looking in real life. 

I think this can apply to so many areas of life, not just running. Preparing for a tough day at work? Here's my reminder before I step out the door that I will get through it with His help. It's kind of nice to know that someone has my back when I need help. So while it may not be your traditional mantra, it's mine and it works. What's your mantra?