Vacation Pictures--Days 3 and 4

Vacation Pictures--Days 1 and 2

Having fun at Canaan Valley, WV!

Vacation Quote of the Day

(Read as child wailing while tears are streaming down her face...)

But Mommy, I don't WANT to listen!

Sigh.

Keeping Creative Kitchens: Thanksgiving Edition

This week over at Meant To Be, Alaina has themed Keeping Creative Kitchens as the Thanksgiving Edition. As a kid we never had much of a Thanksgiving tradition other than making massive amounts of food and having friends over to eat. One year when we lived in Belgium we actually only had 1/2 day off of school Thanksgiving Day and had to go to school on Friday! So for this week's edition, I will write about some of the "new" traditions that our families have been doing.

My parents, in dealing with a very empty nest on Thanksgiving Day for the last eight years or so, always invite over a single airman from the Air Force base they live near, or sometimes two! They really enjoy providing a little touch of "home" to these young people, and I believe the guys that come over are very thankful not to be eating Ramen noodles on Thanksgiving day!

My brother and sister-in-law head into the mountains for Thanksgiving dinner with Cecelia's parents. After doing this for about five years, I have noticed that my brother is really excited to go home and see "Mom and Dad" and enjoys helping prepare the feast.

Our family (Patrick, Morgan, me, in-laws, and extended in-law family) have all been gathering at my in-laws' house in central West Virginia for a definite feast! This will be my 10th Thanksgiving with them, so I guess that officially qualifies as tradition! I am not one for Thanksgiving food...in fact I really dislike turkey, stuffing, cranberry anything, green bean casserole, and other traditional Thanksgiving fare. Two things that have always been present at Tenney Thanksgivings, however, are homemade macaroni and cheese (YUMMY) and Rice-a-roni (I used to think this was odd, but LOVE it, so I don't complain!). This makes Thanksgiving much more palatable for me, and I really enjoy the huge dinner, the million cooks in the kitchen, and the laughter. It has always been a great time.

Dad's family gets together the Saturday after Thanksgiving for what we dubbed "Merry Thanksgiving" our celebration of Christmas and Thanksgiving together as a family. This has changed over the years from the type of food we have been serving, from tradidional Thanksgiving meals to hors d'ouvers and sweets this year. We exchange gifts, enjoy watching all the kids in their presents frenzy, and visit together.

One tradition that I would like to start this year with the Tenneys, especially our little section of the Tenneys, is the turkey tradition that Alaina mentions in her post. I want Thanksgiving to be meaningful for Morgan as a time for family and praising God for the things he has provided over the last year. Please be sure to check out Alaina's blog for more ways to keep creative kitchens!

Honored

Today my blogland friend Alaina at Meant to Be honored me with an award!





Since starting Morgan's website three years ago and this blog shortly after, I have found that the highlight of my day is posting updates about our family and reading other blogs. I was never one to keep a journal, but have found that blogging is so easy for me. I have been connected to some AMAZING Christian women through this, including Alaina, and I am very thankful for it!



As is the tradition in blogland, I will honor some of my favorite bloggers with the same award.


The Risk Family--good friends of mine from work, Jim and Lori write about what is happening in their lives as a family with their young son. Since starting this first blog, Jim has gone on to create three more focusing on some of his favorite topics: lighthouses, fantasy football, and current events.


Catherine Wheels--friends since high school, Catherine has always had an amazing talent for writing. I was so glad to be reconnected to her about 6 years ago through e-mail and blogging. She uses her blog to write about current events, books, and her beautiful children while keeping the focus on God and her Christian values.


Confessions of a CF Husband--this is an amazing blog written by a man whose wife is living with Cystic Fibrosis. It has captured every day of their lives including the birth of their daughter at 24 weeks gestation, his wife's double lung transplant 3 months later, and their continued struggle with the disease. This is an amazing blog. I encourage you to check it out. The amount of faith and love for God that Nathan shows is truly inspiring and their family story is awesome.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

1) Is it crazy to anyone else that in 2008 there are still pirates out roaming the oceans?

2) There should be societal rules about decorations....Christmas decorations should NOT go up and on (lights) until THANKSGIVING DAY or preferably after. I saw at least 4 houses with their Christmas lights on and 2 Christmas trees lit and up inside people's houses as I was driving around Morgantown last night. Along that same line, Christmas decorations (or the next holiday for that matter) should not be put out in stores until the last holiday is over. KMart in Charleston had their Christmas decorations out in the beginning of October, right next to the Halloween decorations. Talk about a juxtaposition of ideas!

3) Why does the WV Department of Highways always choose to do major road construction the week that the university students are moving in? Or start a bridge repair when it's 32 degrees outside and snowing?

4) What is it about the holidays that turns normal people into rude, pushy, psychotic shoppers?

Thanks for checking in on the random thoughts of the day!

And the award for Most Awesome Wife goes to...

Today I finally pulled off a surprise on my husband. Not only was it a surprise, it was a HUGE surprise!

Patrick will be turning 30 on December 13th. We are both big football fans. Patrick had never been to see a Pittsburgh Steelers game. I thought, what better way to remember a big birthday than with a big day! About 5 months ago I decided that since he will only turn 30 once that he deserved the chance to go see a Steelers game. My original hope was to get him to the December 7th game vs. Dallas but those tickets were very overpriced. Instead I decided that today's game vs. San Diego would be a good game, since the Chargers would be bringing Philip Rivers and LaDanian Tomlinson. I recruited Patrick's cousin (and best friend) Matt to go along to the game. The hardest part was keeping it all a secret for so long!

Today Patrick was talking a lot about what needed to be done today and all the work that he was going to do this evening for his presentation tomorrow. It was so hard not to spill the beans! The big surprise went down like this:

First, I wrapped the tickets with a Steelers toboggin in birthday paper. Morgan was postponing a nap the best she could (which in retrospect worked out nicely for the plan) so she and I went to "lay down for a nap" around 1:00. Matt and Melisa showed up at the house around 1:15pm. While Patrick was opening the door I sent Morgan out with the present.

He was surprised. After I turned the camera off video he started getting really excited. With less than 3 hours to game time, he had to hurry to get ready since they had to leave in time to get up there, park, and get in.

Or so he thought.

The second part of this present was LIMOUSINE transportation to the game! Matt, Melisa, and I all went together for a limo to take the guys. I was enjoying watching Patrick rush around, and then Melisa said Matt could change his clothes in the limo and Patrick looked at me and said "A limo? You got me a limo?!?!" I don't think the smile (seen in the 3rd picture) left his face the rest of the day!

I am really glad that we did get the limo...it was frigid outside, snowing, and driving would have been terrible. The guys got to sit back, chat about the game, and were driven right up to the front of the stadium! Patrick said when the game was over the driver was right outside the stadium, car warm, heated seats on! The Steelers ended up winning the game 11-10, so that made it even better. And Patrick was happy because L.T. scored a touchdown and Patrick has him on his fantasy team!

Happy (early) birthday honey. I hope your day was great.

Morgan

She may look like daddy....

But she has Mama's curls!

Keeping Creative Kitchens--Ode to Kitchen Must Haves

For this week's edition of Keeping Creative Kitchens I want to speak highly of some of my favorite kitchen items. So here they are, in no particular order:

1) A sturdy, LONG handled wooden spoon. I make my own spaghetti sauce in a very big stock pot. This process requires a very long spoon. I only use wooden spoons when I make my sauce....it's more about tradition than anything else. But this utensil is an absolute must in my kitchen.

2) A dishwasher. Not because I am lazy. Because I have a very particular habit of only using a glass for one type of liquid. For instance, a glass that originally held milk can ONLY hold milk. It cannot be rinsed out and used for another liquid until it has been washed with soap and water. The only exception to this rule is if the original liquid in the glass was water. Due to this habit, I use a lot of glasses. And Morgan uses a lot of glasses since I am normally the one who gets her drinks. Without a dishwasher I would be washing glasses ALL THE TIME.

3) My Cutco paring knife. This is the perfect sized knife. It fits so nicely into my hand, has remained sharp for years, and I use it for all sorts of things. I open bags with it, cut meat with it, take tags off clothes with it, and of course use it for the normal things like slicing fruit and peeling potatoes. I have other knives, even specialty knives designed to be used by butchers, but this is my all-purpose, go to knife.

4) Disposable gloves (like the kind the people in Subway wear). I hate touching raw chicken. I can just slightly tolerate touching raw hamburger. I don't mind cooking these items as long as they don't ever have to touch my skin. I always keep a box in my kitchen so that my family does not have to suffer a protein deficiency due to my irrational grossed-outedness of raw meat.

5) My yellow Smiley face cookie jar. This is a kitchen must have only because I can always say there is at least one smile in my kitchen every day! It also reminds me that occasionally (when I allow myself to get Oreos) that there is a great surprise inside that smile!

What do you have to have in your kitchen? Is there something you just can't live without? Be sure to check out Keeping Creative Kitchen's host Alaina for more ways to keep a creative kitchen!

Simple Thanks

Dear Veterans,

May God bless you always for your continual sacrifice for the land of the free. And may there never be a day that goes by where you don't hear a loud "THANK YOU" from Americans.

Sincerely,

An Indebted Citizen

30 by 30

Pounds to go: 19.5

Months to go: 4

*I have fallen off track a little, but still the scales are slowly coming down. I have gotten to the low end of my current pants size and the upper end of the next pants size down. If I can get 5 pounds off before Christmas, I will be VERY happy!*

Not a baby anymore

Today Morgan got a big surprise when she got up from her "quiet time" (read this as NO nap today...sigh). Papa and Daddy converted her bed from a crib to a BIG GIRL BED.






Morgan has been very excited about Cinderella and the princesses lately, so we transformed her nursery to a room fit for a Princess! Even though the Disney Princesses are very popular right now, I was able to find the valences and quilt on clearance. Paired with some solid pink sheets, a pillow case I found for a dollar two years ago and a crown pillow that Nana bought and we have a princess bed.



I found the sticker saying at the Dollar Tree for a dollar as well. I'll post pictures of the completed project once I am able to get the nursery border down and the rest of the decorations put up. But for now, here are a few pictures of my princess in her big girl bed.

Cinderella Sleeps...finally

Keeping Creative Kitchens--Pepperoni Pizza Dip

A family favorite, and often asked for appetizer (or dinner if you are like me and eat so much of it that you are stuffed full) is the following Pepperoni Pizza Dip. It is really good, and can be adjusted to fit your tastes. I would wager that you could also top it with other traditional pizza toppings if you like. We like it just they way it is here. This can also be made the night before and thrown in the oven right before serving.

PEPPERONI PIZZA DIP

8 oz softened cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ cup pizza sauce (reserve ½ cup for topping)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 cup mozzarella cheese
sliced pepperoni--quartered

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup pizza sauce, oregano, red pepper and garlic powder until smooth.

Place in oven safe dish and top with remaining pizza sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Add sliced pepperoni and mozzarella cheese, bake for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with tortilla chips, bread sticks, or sliced green peppers.

Make sure to check with Alaina's weekly feature for more ways to keep a creative kitchen!

The Long-suffering Dog

Our dog, Bailey, will be 8 years old on Christmas Eve. She has been a part of our family for over 7 1/2 years (since February 2001). Before Morgan came along, she was our baby. Most of the time she still is! We spoil her rotten. She sleeps in our bed and is basically glued to me when I am home.

(Sorry about the horrible hair....this picture is over 4 years old!)

Bailey puts up with a lot from our family. When Morgan was a baby, Bailey would be shooed away while I was trying to feed Morgan or bathe her. When Morgan started crawling Bailey's ears and tail were constant targets for Morgan to grab. When Morgan started walking Bailey became a tripping hazard.

Now that Morgan is older, Bailey has been subjected to more embarassing moments. The latest came last Sunday while Morgan and Daddy were playing "barettes". Morgan thought it would be fun to involve Bailey in the activity. You can see that Bailey was less than amused.

I do remember as a child dressing up my first dachshund, Shadow, in baby doll clothing and pushing her around in a baby pram all day! Guess it must be in the genes.

A few more Halloween memories

All dressed up and ready to go!

Mandatory picture with Mama

Morgan and our 97 year old neighbor, Helen

Patrick joins in the fun

The final haul

(you will notice that the bucket is COMPLETELY full,

after 2 nights of trick-or-treat and a stop at Mama's office)