It’s Done

Well, we did it. We got through 30 days of blogging every single day. Most of it was likely boring, and you know what, that doesn’t even matter. All that matters is that there’s one for every day, I think. But now, we’re going to be in December, and with finals coming up in a couple of weeks, and then Christmas shortly thereafter, I think the blog might be neglected a little bit. Which is just fine! Happy beginning holiday season, y’all!

Weekly Darth

Ok, so with Thanksgiving falling on Thursday, I couldn’t do the weekly Darth that day, so here it is. Whilst he was here, he had some baby pics taken, and yes, they are as awesome as you think they are. I’m posting them all, because they are all amazing.

TOO CUTE FOR WORDS.

Foto Friday

Today I went Black Friday shopping, and the one thing I got that I love the most is:

This tiny Lego Christmas tree. After I got home, I put this together, and I love it so. I put it on the window sill where all my Lego’s go, and it’s so fantastic.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In light of the holiday, I’ll keep it brief. I did my standard run this morning, and I finished it almost 10 minutes faster than I did last year! I ran by myself this year, PJ isn’t running anymore, so I finished it in 33 minutes, going at my own pace. Pretty cool!

I enjoyed a delish thanksgiving breakfast with Husband’s family, and then had a great dinner with my family. After eating too much food and pie, I came home and laid in a food coma for the rest of the night.

I hope everyone else had a great holiday!

Pies and Cooking

So, before I start this, I’m going to level with you. I didn’t take a single picture of any of the stuff I made today. I forgot to get pictures of the pies I made, and the hot fudge I made. Yup, that happened. Dang it. So, here we go:

Tonight, I made the pies for Thanksgiving. I made a pumpkin cheesecake that didn’t really work out very well. I followed the recipe, but it made too much cheesecake-to-pumpkin pie ratio. I made a backup pie then, a peanut butter pie, an old staple, and I dig it. It’s a no-bake pie, so it’s easy and awesome. During the making of the pb pie, I learned I didn’t have any hot fudge in the house, despite previously thinking I had a full bottle. Dang it again! So I looked at recipes online, and finally found an easy one that I could make hot fudge at home! So after making that, I finished my pies. Here’s the recipe for the delicious hot fudge:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup half and half OR milk OR cream (which is what I used)
4 TB butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and keep stirring for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a heat safe container. (I used a small mason jar) Allow to cool and store in refrigerator.

Easy and delicious! So finally, my pies are ready, and Husband made an apple pie while I was doing these, so I think at this point, we’re all ready for Thanksgiving!

Taco Casserole

For dinner this past Sunday, we made a taco casserole that was made in one pot! It was ridiculously easy, and incredibly delicious. Here’s how to make it:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 Package McCormick Taco Seasoning (low sodium)
2 Cups Water
1 (15oz) Can Diced Tomatoes (low sodium)
1 (15 oz) Can Tomato Sauce (low sodium)
1 Cup Frozen Whole Kernel Corn
2 Cups Uncooked Elbow Macaroni
1 Cup Shredded Colby/Jack Cheese

Brown beef in 3 quart pot over medium/high heat. Drain fat and return beef to pot. Add taco seasoning, water, tomatoes, tomato sauce and corn. Bring to a boil. Add uncooked macaroni and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes (until pasta is cooked through), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover. Serve once cheese is melted.

Here’s what it looked like in the pot, after the cheese had melted.

And once I served it up, it was delicious and oh so tasty.

Miscellaneous Monday

I had to drive Rory back to the airport today, and it was a sad occasion. We didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together as I would have liked, but at least we got to see each other a little bit. The baby was as cute as his pictures convey, and it turns out I am pretty good at getting him to go to sleep. We had many much good times, playing on the floor…sitting on the couch…staring at each other…really, babies are boring. But I’ll miss his tiny face, and hopefully he’ll come back before he’s too big!

I don’t have school at all this week, which is really exciting! I mean, it won’t change my life too much, since I’ll still be getting up at the same time and basically doing the same amount of stuff, but at least I won’t have homework! …except I went ahead and decided that during this break I should work on my BIG homework assignments that will be due at the end of the semester. I’ve gotten a real jump on my math project, and now I just need to write a paper (for my geography class, what the what) and then I won’t have to stress too much at the end!

I have a small nephew that comes over from time to time, and he’s enamored with the magnets on my fridge. I have many much magnets on there, and he grabs the ones he can reach and plays with them. I usually can’t see him, I’m chatting in the room with his father, and this last week, he’s broken two magnets: a magnet (from Hawaii!) that’s a ukulele, and a school bus magnet I’ve had since I was about 16. So basically, this kid isn’t allowed to be in my kitchen anymore, at least not by himself. Hopefully I’ll not lose anymore to this vicious toddler!