Friday Flashback: New Year's Eve 2008/2009

I wanted to post some old New Year's Eve pictures and these were the ones I was able to find. I was actually looking for the ones from 2006 because that was my best New Years Eve to date but I could only find them on Shutterfly and the resolution sucked. That year we were in New York City and went to a party at Roseland Ballroom until 4 in the morning. 2008 was fun too though. We got a group of friend's together and rented a stretch hummer and went to The Hardrock Casino. My New Years since then haven't been too exciting. This year we will probably hang with a few friends and play games and have some drinks.

Do you have any big plans for New Year's Eve?

Tag

So I am sure you have seen this tag thing going around and now I have been tagged
I think it's a cool way to get to know your fellow bloggers so I will play along
I was tagged by the wonderful Chelsea over at Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles

Rules:
1. You must post these rules.
2. Each per­son must post 11 things about them­selves on their blog.
3. Answer the ques­tions the tag­ger set for you in their post, and cre­ate 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.
4. You have to choose 11 peo­ple to tag and link them on the post.
5. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.
6. No tag backs.
7. No stuff in the tag­ging sec­tion about ‘you are tagged if you are read­ing this.’ You legit­i­mately have to tag 11 people.




11 Facts About Me:

1. I'm a Virgo but don't have many characteristics of one
2. I can touch my tongue to my nose
3. When I was in school my grade coincided with the year (e.g. 1st grade in 1991, 6th grade in 1996 & 12th grade in 2002)
4. My boston terrier Ruby is the 1st small dog I have lived with. I grew up with Rottweilers and the first people I lived with after high school had Pit bulls.
5. I was a waitress at Chili's for 3 years
6. I was a nanny for twins
7. On the subject of jobs- I had 7 tax returns one year from 2 different states. They were all small though
8. When I was growing up my family ran an aerospace technology company so I was dragged to lots of air shows
9. My husband and I went to our senior prom together
10. Since I had a baby, my right foot is about half a size bigger than my left
11. I don't claim to have a favorite color because it is always changing

Chelsea's Questions

1. What's one embarrassing habit you have?I tend to leave my clothes in a pile exactly where I took them off which drives my husband crazy
2. Do you have a lucky number? If so, what is it? I used to always say it was 19 but for no real reason except for liking it but now it is truly my lucky number because I gave birth in room 1519 at 12:19 pm. It was there all along, I just didn't know why.
3. New years resolutions: lame or are you planning on making some?I like resolutions. I definitely plan on making a few.
4. What's your favorite hair care product? Aveda Light Elements Smoothing Fluid
5. 2%, 1% or skim? If I'm putting it in something, skim. If I'm drinking it straight I'd prefer 2% or whole
6. Pepsi or coke? coke
7. Have you ever been out of the country? Where did you go?Yes but never overseas. Canada, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Honduras, Belize and St. Lucia
8. Would you ever date/marry someone taller than you? Yes I'd perfer them to be a little bit taller. My husband is only 4 or 5 inches taller than me so we see almost eye to eye when I'm wearing heels.
9. Whats your favorite part about blogging?Having a network of people who are in similar stages of life that I am and being inspired by them and hopefully inspiring them in return.
10. Which is your all-time favorite blog read? Pacing the Panic Room
11. What book are you currently reading?I just finished The Night Circus which was amazing. Now I am rereading the 1st Hunger Games because now that I'm not anxious to get through it I can pay more attention to the details. I am also reading Making the Terrible Twos Terrific.(I'll let you know how that goes.)


My Questions
1. What is the best gift you have ever given?
2. Has anyone ever thrown you a surprise party?
3. Are you excited about getting older or terrified?
4. What was your favorite game when you were a kid?
5. How old were your when you got your driver's license?
6. Do you remember your first kiss?
7. Do you prefer skirts/dresses or pants?
8. Who is your celebrity crush?
9. Is there a celebrity you can't stand?
10. What's your favorite comedy?
11. Do you watch awards shows? Which ones?

Tag Your It!

Melanie,Joanna,Sandra, Mama Bug, Geeky Love, Miranda, Jen, Lauren, Melissa, Elizabeth and Jennifer.

Skinny Broccoli Cheddar Soup

After the holidays most of us need to cut back on the calories and fat a little bit. I have developed a small addiction to broccoli cheddar soup over the past few months. I had actually never really had a creamy soup until about 3 years ago. I had convinced myself that I didn't like them because I knew they were usually super high in calories and fat. I caved a few years ago and tried some baked potato soup. After the first taste I knew I was a goner. My taste buds thanked me but my thighs did not.

Since I have been trying to shed some lbs. I decided to try out some healthier versions of my favorite creamy soups. Like I said before, I have a bit of an addiction to broccoli cheddar soup. Particularly Panera Bread's broccoli cheddar soup which basically tastes like Velveeta and heavy cream with some broccoli and carrots mixed in. The healthier version that I am going to share with you holds no comparison to that but it does help you get your flavor fix without od-ing on fat and calories. The original recipe is from the Eat What You Love cookbook but I of course changed it around a bit.



*Ingredients*

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped green onion
3 garlic cloves- minced
3/4 tsp dried thyme
4 cups reduced sodium chicken both or you can use vegetable broth if your a vegetarian
5 cups fresh broccoli florets- I used almost 2 heads
1 tbsp cornstarch
2/3 cup nonfat half and half
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar

*Directions*

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add green onion and garlic and cook for about 4 minutes or until onions are soft. Mix in thyme.



Add broth and broccoli to pot. Cover and simmer for about 10-12 minutes or until broccoli is tender but not mushy.



Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Pour soup back in pot.



Whisk together the cornstarch and half and half in a small bowl. Pour mixture into the soup. Add cayenne pepper and salt to the soup. Gently heat to a low simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until soup slightly thickens. Stir cheese into soup and cook for one more minute or until cheese is melted.

A cup of soup is about 180 calories and 6 grams of fat compared to most broccoli cheddar soups which average 280 calories and 18 grams of fat.

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: Walk

Aubs has been obsessed with walks lately
I mean OBSESSED!!!
Which overall is a great thing
I like to walk, she does too
plus we get some fresh air and a little bit of exercise

The problem with the walks is that she wants to go every time we come home from somewhere and it's light out
Every single time and immediately upon exiting the car
The problem with this is that sometimes I have groceries in the car or
I have to pee really bad or
She isn't wearing any shoes
This results in her screaming WALK at the front door and flinging her body on the floor

I held my ground today after coming home from Target
I told her "no walk right now" and locked the door
She screamed for a minute or two but then went on her merry way











Linking up with my usual lovely wordless Wednesday ladies
The Paper Mama, Baby Baby Lemon, and then, she {snapped}, Parenting By Dummies and Jenni from the Blog

Christmas Photo Overload

I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas, I know we did. Although it was a bit of a whirlwind with having the boy's birthday party on the 22nd. It was actually nice to take a bit of a break from cooking & cleaning yesterday. All the chaos even caught up with Aubs by Christmas day, she was clearly cranky while opening presents. She doesn't really get the whole opening presents bit yet. I know most kids have it down by her age but she could really care less, which I guess is kind of a good thing.

On Christmas Eve we went to my mother in-laws for a big Italian feast. My favorite thing that she cooks every year is shrimp and lobster fra diavolo and rice balls- so freaking good! The food was definitely amazing but the highlight of the evening was my father in-law dressing up as Santa.

This was the first time he had done this but I'm sure it is going to be a tradition. Being his first time, there were a few hiccups. They don't have a fireplace so he decided to come out of the attic door in the garage instead. He was suppose to tap the trap door with his foot to get the kids excited but he accidentally hit it too hard, breaking out the frame and sending it crashing to the ground. No one was standing underneath, thank God or else there would have been a Christmas Eve hospital visit. The other slip ups were minor in comparison. A little gum stuck in Santa's beard, fake wire frames making it hard to read the night before Christmas & the names on the presents, a bell left behind and a few adults making the mistake of calling "Santa" Bert. I'm sure he will have it down by next year but it was all a ton of fun and the kids loved it.




Relaxing at Nanny's the day before Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Three in Red
Joe, his mom & his step-dad




Doodle's gorgeous dress- I only managed to get pics from behind.
I might have to dress her up again and get some good ones


Stuffing Santa (that sounds kinda dirty, no?)


"What's that noise?"

Santa!!!!!

















Our tree on Christmas Eve
Don't worry all the presents aren't for Aubs.
Both sets of my husband's parents brought their presents for everyone over


We set up her kitchen so it would be the first thing she saw in the morning

Christmas Day









We had everyone over to our house for dinner and to open presents. I made my best lasagna to date!




Olivia is a big deal in our house
All Olivia- all the time






New chair- thanks Nanny

Christmas was an overall success!
My only regret is that I need to take more pictures of everyone involved.
We have a big family and only about 25% is represented.

Merry Christmas

Wishing Everyone a Safe & Happy Holiday!

Place Holder

I want to apologize for my lack of posts & blog hopping this week
I have been insanely busy with the holiday coming up & my husband's birthday
I have a bunch of posts in the work for after Christmas
I just get over critical when I am editing my photos and it ends up being a loooong process
That's why my last batch of Vegas pictures haven't showed up yet, still perfecting them

Last night my sister in-law Tamie and I threw a surprise party for our husbands
They are twins
The fact that they have always shared a birthday & it is 3 days before Christmas means that they usually get jipped
We wanted to do something special for them this year

The party went over great
We weren't able to surprise them as well as we would have liked
but they at least didn't know about the party until they got here-
separately & about a half hour apart
Oh well

I thought I'd share a few pictures from the party
I didn't take very many and the ones that I did take aren't that great so they were actually super easy to edit
Maybe that's the trick- take only a few crappy photos and then you won't have some many editing options


This was before everyone came and Tamie and I were in a mad rush to get everything done. Aubs grabbed the balloons and placed them on either side of her chair while she had an Olivia marathon.








Ruby was totally eyeing up Nathan's ice cream cone


I don't know if there will be much action here until after Christmas
busy busy busy

Merry Christmas!!!!

I Know Him!

My Sister In-law and I took Aubs to see Santa this morning
The Hubs and I tried on two other occasions but the lines were outrageous
I though she was going to totally lose it but I really want a yearly picture with Santa

She did better than we expected
She cried but nothing crazy
I think the real reason she was crying was because we just took her out of the stroller and she wanted to walk
Not sit on some old fat guy's lap

The picture that we ended up getting was her chewing pretzels
but I still think it's cute



Last Year's Picture



I am linking up with the hilarious Mandy over at Harper's Happenings
Head on over to see everyone else's Santa photos