Christmas Day

I am just going to post all our Christmas photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in chronological order for family that wasn't here - and Rachel, this is what it looked like without a pixelated view through Skype....




Can you see Mittens the cat?! He was a little perturbed that presents were blocking his spot under the tree!
These next few are the kids finding the cookie crumbs and carrots that Santa and his reindeer had left on their way out of our house!

37 Things

So one week ago today it was my husband's 37th birthday. For my 36th birthday he did a blog post with 36 things he loved about me, and I had the best of intentions to do the same thing for him. However, as usual, life got in the way and here I am, a week later, finally with the time to do his birthday post.

So let's get on with the show...

1) He faithfully goes to work every day, to a job that he is good at, but doesn't necessarily love, to provide for his family.

2) He can make me laugh like no one else in the world.

3) He deposits money in my check account whenever I need it, and never asks for an accounting of how I spent it.

4) He took Sofia to a daddy-daughter dinner dance at church on Saturday night, even though I know that's not really his 'thing'. He did it because he loves her, and it made her happy.

5) He will park his car outside when I need to use the garage for projects, and not complain.

6) He let me re-do our house this last month - new floors and paint, and willingly paid for it all, even though surprise expenses kept cropping up.

7) He takes Coleman and Sofia to school every morning, which means I get to stay in my jammies a little bit longer:)

8) He will listen to Kids Bop in the car because the kids love it!

9) He never complains if the house is a mess, even after a long hard day of work.

10) He likes to buy groceries on Amazon.com. What is this box outside my door? Oh - a whole carton of sardines? Awesome....

11) He likes to watch the kids play Plants vs Zombies on his computer.

12) He lets me use his computer (believe me, this is major!)

12) He never complains when family has come to stay - my parents even stayed for 3 months once!

13) He was so thankful that I went and paid his car registration for him last week - even though it only took me 5 minutes.

14) He would rather I make him a gift than spend money on one.

15) He lets me go to my friend Brenda's house late at night - even though he knows I won't come home until 4 in the morning because we can't stop chatting!

16) He will call me at Brenda's house at 2 in the morning, just to make sure I'm OK!

17) He will then look after the kids in the morning so I can sleep, since I stayed out till 4am lol!

18) He has every computer game ever made, yet only plays about 3 of them. For some reason I find this rather charming!

19) He worries about things that I don't, which balances me out.

20) He is an amazing kisser...ok way more than you wanted to know, right?! But it's true!

21) He happily pays for the kids and I to go on vacation, even though he still has to stay home and work.

22) He loves his sister and enjoys hanging out with her, even though they didn't get on or speak for years.

23) He wrote 36 things he loves about me for my birthday :)

24) He loves to read, and when it comes to buying books on Amazon (or random grocery items for that matter) money is limitless!

25) I earn Amazon certificates by doing surveys, and often I will email them to him to use just to let him know that I love him, and then he won't use it because he is hoping that I will:)

26) He writes the BEST book reviews on his blog, about books I would never think of reading. Um hello, Common Sense and Rights of Man by Thomas Paine? Check them out! www.wildpokerman.com

27) He is academically more intelligent than me and I love that!

28) He won't ever admit it though. He has humility.

28) I love to read his posts on a gaming forum he is on - that's when I really see his intelligence shine:)

29) He could happily live without TV for the rest of his life. Who knows, at one point we may just do that on purpose.

30) He loves to snuggle up in bed with me and watch boxed sets of TV shows. We are currently on season 3 of Six Feet Under.

31) He has worked hard to make sure we are almost debt-free. Darn that house-payment!

32) I have given him orders not to bring me flowers as they just die and I feel it's a waste of money, but he still has a strong desire to do so!

33) Every time I go to a quilt show he gives me more money than I need, to spend on stuff I don't need, but just want.

34) He is forgiving, and also willing to ask for forgiveness, both of which can be hard.

35) If I really truly asked and meant it, he would move to NZ so I could be near my family.

36) He still makes me weak at the knees.

37) He is so kind and generous that it would be easy to think of another 37 things to say...



So there you go, darling. Happy belated birthday:)

Garlic Naan Bread

I've had a few requests this week asking how I make my Naan bread, so I thought just posting it on here would be the easiest way to show multiple people!

OK, I just use my basic bread recipe...

Put into mixer bowl in this order...(I use a Kitchen Aid...LOVE it!)

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbl yeast
1/4 C sugar
1/4 cup oil (or butter)
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 C Flour

Mix it all up for about 10 mins, adding more flour if it's too wet. It should be fairly wet, but manageable.

Let rise until double.

Cut into 8 pieces, and roll them out quite thin into any shape you want.

Put on tray, and liberally brush with a mixture of butter, garlic, and cilantro. I use 1 stick butter, about 4 cloves garlic, and a good handful of chopped cilantro.

Bake on high, about 450 degrees until it is starting to turn golden. It would be more authentic if you could bake them on a pizza stone, or on the grill. Or in a Tandoori oven if you have one. I know we all have one lying around ;)



So yummy! Enjoy!

The Party

Of course there is so much to catch up on since it's been forever since I updated this blog. I will try and post an occasion every few days until I catch up:)

Let's start with Sofia's party. It was a party for no reason at all - just because. The best kind of party! Really it was because it was the end of the school year and she wanted to have a party with all her friends. Any excuse for a party with that girl:)

It was so much fun, with games and prizes and lots of yummy food. Even Lolly Cake for all you Kiwis out there!! Take no notice of the date on some of the pics - it is wrong :) It was originally going to be outside, but due to rain we just set it up in the living room. A big banquet table in our tiny living room. Oh boy it was a tight squeeze, but still fun! Oh and take notice of the final picture. We finally have a cat! His name is Mittens and he is lovely.











Tune in for the next post...all about fun by the fire!