Beautiful Weather Finally!

Today was a great way to end a fabulous weekend. Friday night, we had a lively night of beer pong and we got to see our friend Chad. And last night, we played bar bingo with our good friends Bill and Paula, who we also haven't seen in a long time.

This morning we woke up late and had a delicious blueberry pancake breakfast and then headed out to go grocery shopping since we were out of food (we pretty much only eat pancakes when we're out of milk for cereal...lol).

When we walked outside to go shopping we were really excited about how warm it was! Our thermometer on our deck read 59 degrees and we had the windows wide open all day long. Words cannot describe how incredible it feels to have open windows after months of being shut inside! It's wonderful to breathe the fresh air and hear what's going on outside. Tonight, we stuck to Sunday night homemade pizza tradition (4 weeks in a row i think...) and of course watched Desperate Housewives!

What a great day...hopefully the start of a wonderful week!

Rainy Days

It has been rainy since yesterday, most of the snow outside has melted, and everything is brown and gloomy. But I must say that I really am enjoying it! I guess I missed the rain...and rain means that SPRING is here! It's so peaceful in our apartment today with the lights on and the quiet drip-dropping sound outside.
A month ago, it was impossible to even tell that there is a pond outside because it was covered with so much snow. But now it looks like our pond is melting...and maybe our little beaver friend will come out to play soon! That is, if he survived the frigid cold. I actually googled beavers this morning to see what they do all winter(I know, totally dorky). Apparently beavers don't hibernate, but are active all winter long, swimming around under the ice and eating the food stored up in their little lodges. Pretty miraculous!
Anyway, I can't wait till everything turns GREEN!

Celebrate

I was reading an article about happiness today, and apparently, happy people find something new to celebrate each day, simple as it may be. I really want to try to find things to celebrate in my own life on a daily basis...what a wonderful way to recognize happiness where it is often overlooked in our day-to-day. Here are a few things that brightened my soul today:

....My delicious, french vanilla flavored coffee this morning......

...blueberries in my cereal..........

...........sunshine..

...chatting on the phone with sis-in-law Nicole and hearing about our nephew's newest antics...

..a clean house and the smell of my laundry detergent................

...and my handsome hubby of course!

Beer Pong Madness

So, basically, there has been a lot of beer pong going on around here since my last post. Since James and Mike have decided to venture back to Gustavus to win the big "March Madness" beer pong tournament, they have been practicing every weekend and James has been practicing around the clock. We have cups full of water set up on our classy card table....which serves as our dining room table... and every time he walks by, he takes a shot. I think it's so funny that I have been snapping pictures here and there. Here are a few shots of James practicing:
















The tournament is March 20. Good luck GUYS! hah hah

Skiing and Snowboarding

This weekend, we were lucky enough to get out on the slopes of Powder Ridge with Jenn, Chuck, and Zach! James didn't really think he wanted to ski, especially since it had been so long since he had been, but he realized as soon as he went down the first hill that he was still pretty good at it. I decided to snowboard after much debate, and I feel like it finally clicked for me last night after many other days on the slopes trying to learn(even though I fell and got a huge bruise on my butt:)! We had SO MUCH FUN!

Winter

So, I have to say that snow is a lot more magical when you only see it while you're on vacation. Since living in Minnesota, I have obviously become a lot less excited about snow. It's easy to let days and days go by without appreciating any of the beauty here. However, last week, we woke up to beautifully frost covered trees and I realized that winter actually is really pretty....even after 3 months of brutal cold. I'm definitely trying to enjoy the white beauty more. Atleast it's warming up enough for us to do some more ice-skating and skiing and enjoy being outside in the snow...

My Sweet Sister!

James and I got the best surprise in the mail from my sister earlier this week....a whole box of goodies for us! She is so sweet. I had been complaining that I never get to waste money on celeb gossip mags anymore....so guess what was in the box....MAGAZINES! haha. There was also a cute pink coffee mug, an 'H' magnet for our fridge (I'm obsessed with monograms...nobody will ever doubt what our last initial is around here :), and an assortment of pens for James since he's a teacher and "teachers need pens!" We also got a date idea book, a DVD (Now and Then, a fave of my sis and I), and a bunch of pink bubblegum and heart shaped chocolates that I have been guiltily devouring since they arrived.

She must love us. And we love her too...thanks Jen!

Hearts, Hearts, Hearts!

This Valentine's Day it seemed like love was in the air everywhere. At the pre-school, we finger-painted red hearts, frosted heart shaped cookies, cooked pink pancakes, and read love themed books! All these festivities ended on Friday with a pink, white, and red celebration in which the kids exchanged valentines and treats in their home-made mail boxes. Lucky for me, they did not forget to bring valentines and treats for their teachers! As if this wasn't exciting enough, the most handsome hubby ever was waiting at home for me that evening with a big red bouquet of roses, a box of chocolates (muy yummy), and a precious little teddy bear! LUCKY ME!
The Valentines festivities continued pretty much all weekend. Saturday, we went to James' mom Jenn's house for fondue! I had never had fondue before and I had no idea what I was missing. It is such a fun way to eat!
Then, on Sunday (REAL Valentine's day:), we went ice-skating! I have been wanting to ice-skate for forever since I got a pretty pair of white skates for Christmas from my sis-in-law Nicole. This skating adventure was totally overdue, but totally perfect. I actually did pretty well...especially when Hubby let me hold onto him! We decided we're going to have to get out for a lot more ice-skating before it warms up. After that, we went to see the movie Valentine's Day (which was very cute and funny), then we headed home to make our heart-shaped pizzas!

We have been obsessing over pizza-making. We just LOVE making them. So why not make them heart-shaped in honor of the holiday? Here are pictures of our creations. We're pretty proud:

And in case anyone else wants to try to make pizza, here is our recipe:

WHOLE WHEAT DOUGH (makes 2 pizzas):
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet of active dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

First dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then sprinkle packet of dry yeast onto water. Allow to sit 10 minutes until foamy. Next, stir in the olive oil and salt, then the whole wheat flour, then 1 cup of the all purpose flour. Stir until it begins to come together. Tip dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Then, place the dough in an olive oiled bowl and turn dough coat it. Cover with a towel and allow it to sit in a warm place for about an hour or until it doubles in size. Next, separate it into two balls and use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten the dough. If you want it to be HEART SHAPED, simply make it into a heart! Heat oven to 400 degrees.Next, pick your topping! Bake crust for a few minutes before adding the sauce and toppings. Bake pizza for about 8-10 minutes or until it looks done.
CHICKEN ALFREDO- we used Classico four-cheese alfredo sauce, spinach, tomatoes, chicken, and mozzarella cheese. This pizza was incredibly good.
BBQ CHICKEN- we used Famous Dave's Hot n Sassy sauce, chopped red onions, chicken, and mozzarella cheese. This was really good too. Next time we'll try adding cilantro!