Only 364 days until Christmas!

 Ahh, our sweet dog letting us know how he really feels about wearing my scarf.

What a wonderful Christmas this year!  John and I had a great time spending our second married Christmas together.  I was very thankful that he had Christmas day off and we even got a surprise day from his boss to have off tomorrow!

This last week has been full of memories.  This past Monday, I had 3 of the 5 Northrip family members over to bake from scratch some sugar cookie cut outs...in our pj's.

I wanted to make them for my mom  who came into town today.  The best part.....I used Saudi Arabian cookie cutters given to me by my dad.  He used to live there and I guess he  thought I would use them.  That was 10 years ago....  Anyhow- they consisted of a very Christmas like sword ( which when baked looked like an alligator), palm tree, genie lamp, and camel.  

We also had some pan cake cut outs given to me by my mother in law.  Very cute.

The whole thing started because my mother gave me an actual Christmas cookie cutter but it was too thin and did not work.  And since I hosted a little party, I had to come up with something else.  So, Saudi and Pan cake cutters would have to suffice.  

 As you can see, some of the cookies were pre-school quality.  I now remember why I don't do this cookie decorating thing.....because I can't!

Christmas day was mucho fun-o too!

John and I had a great slow morning just the two of us.  We made waffles and opened our gifts together.  We listened to a Christmas poem from John Piper. TEARS.  It was about Christ and the sacrifice that he was to us and how it all started at his birth.  John listens to it every year and it is becoming our tradition now.  

We then enjoyed chatting with our family on SKYPE.  I love technology because I got to open my presents from certain family members in front of them through video.  

I talked to my dad and younger brother in Moldova (near Russia), I talked to my extended family in Odessa TX, Haslet TX and my brother and family in Brownsville TX.  It was awesome!  It helps me out a lot because I miss them so much and I was not able to go visit them this year. 

Our Diesel dog also had a great Christmas.

Here are some cute pics of our sweet puppy and all of the fun goodies for him.  He was so excited.  He got Christmas breakfast and was very spoiled by the plethora of toys.

.  

He did receive a special HEMP toy that is supposed to be okay for him if he digests it.  AND HE DOES!  We think he is addicted to Marijuana because when we take the toy away from him he goes crazy looking for it.  Anyway, here is his reindeer toy and how Diesel destroyed some of it in 5 mins. It's throwing up.  :-)

I also wanted to share the lovely night gown that my mother gave me.  John thinks it is the hottest thing ever.  :-)

  

I hope everyone had a wonderful time with friends and family.   my sweet mom came to visit us for Christmas.  I am so thankful that she came!

I've been replaced.

What can I do?  I mean, he is cuter.  He is sweeter....a better listener, sometimes he smells better, he is always happy when I am home.  I feel safe with him,he is obedient, he does what I tell him...sometimes.  I guess I can handle being replaced.

Diesel has replaced me with my Husband.

Rebekah Wiggins

This is for my very best friend while I was growing up. Today is her 30Th birthday and I wanted everyone to know how wonderful she is.
SHE IS WONDERFUL.

She is married and has two beautiful children...who look just like her. Now that we live in separate places and clearly have different lives, we find ourselves talking to one another maybe once every few months. But like everyone says...."we pick up talking like it was yesterday."

But with Rebekah, the only thing our conversation leads to is Jesus.
When we lived across the street from each other growing up, we would play everyday. She was my first friend at 4 years old. I remember...I was riding my three wheeler- Cabbage Patch.

Not sure how the conversation started, but it has yet to end. She was the first person to ever ask me if I wanted Jesus in my heart. I did not understand at the time, but what she said to me that day began the process of me coming to know the Lord.

Wow! Rebekah, you did a pretty important thing and I am thankful.

I know she is raising her children to be the same way...just read her blog and you will see her desires to serve her family and the Lord.
I wish I could find some old pictures of because I have a ton... but here is one showing her true friendship.

She is the pregnant one to the far left jumping (kinda).....isn't she so cute?

If you want to- go say Happy Birthday to her and maybe you will make a great friend like I did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBEKAH!.

Winter Wonderland

Diesel woke us up this morning at 3:30am. He was hungry apparently. I was very tired until I opened the back door to see the entire backyard covered in 2 inches of snow. SO FUN! I had to shove Diesel out because he is scared so easily by new things.

Now is was 4am and of course I was wide awake. I got online to see about school closing and to see if the roads were bad. I went and told John that he might want to leave earlier for work, (yikes) to be safe. When you have his job, if you can not get to work, they send the police or someone to come and get you.... to bring you to work. (just thought I would clarify.)

Anyway- the county I live closed it's schools so now I am waiting to see if my work is cancelled. They usually go by what the schools do, but by the time the afternoon rolls around, the streets are fine. BUT- by the time I leave the studio- it is bad again and I don't like driving home at night in all of it.

My friend called me to see if I wanted to go Christmas shopping this morning but I had to inform her that I was grounded until this afternoon to let the roads get a chance to warm up. She said that she learn to drive in these conditions and really she was only concerened about those crazy people that don't know how to drive in it. UM? That would be me.

She is from Ohio... I am from Texas.

ONe more thing. This is so immature I am sorry. One of the funniest things about Diesel and this snow.......yellow snow.
Man, it really looks like a lemon snow cone. :-)

Anyway, DON'T EAT IT!

By the way.. no work tonight. And my friend from Ohio came over and we ate dinner here.

Christmas Sweater Party

Well we had our Ugly Christmas sweater party last Saturday night for all of our friends at our church.   IT was so much fun.  We had about 35 people there and they all got dressed up in their ugliest sweaters.  Some of them were not that ugly but some of them were pretty bad. 

 

 John and I made a Turduckhen... well, we ordered it and then cooked it.  Turduckhen is a de-boned chicken, wrapped in a de-boned duck, then wrapped in a de-boned turkey all stuffed with cornbread stuffing and pork rice.  It was yummy.  I forgot to take a picture.  :-(

But here are some other photos for your enjoyment.
  The Winner- his grandmother was in town and actually got it out of her closet before he came.  he won because it was an original still in use.
  The men
  The Ladies
 The Chocolate fountain I purchased on e-bay for $15.

two of my favorite boys......

Sleeping on the couch on a Friday night.  It's perfect.

John is having such a hard rotation that our weekend nights are the same as the week nights.... early.  But at least he comes to the couch so I can "hang out" with him.  :-)

something to write about

We have just purchased two new computers.  I have zero pictures and I usually enjoy writing on topics that I have pictures for....so this is why it is hard for me to find something to write about.

However, we just got two new computers...HELLO! 

We are very excited to have two new mac babies in the family.  

I had an old ibook and it died a few months ago.  John has an old PC so we decided to upgrade.  He got a great deal through the university and we sure did take advantage of it. 

I feel like such an American with new toys and TWO new toys that are not cheap.  It is always a bitter sweet moment for me to get new things.  

I want to be generous with the monetary gifts we have been given but I also know it is not wrong to have nice things.  

I was reading in 2 Corinthians this morning about my Heavenly Dwelling place and how transient this life is and how eternal (which is a very long time) the unseen is.  

"Outwardly we are wasting away, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day."  

Am I?

I sometimes think that I am so focused on stuff (whether that be material things or my to do list)  that I am concentrating so much on the things that are wasting away.  I am very convicted that I have ceased thinking that Heaven is way cooler than my ___________. (new computers, christmas party, dog, work out schedule, cleaning house...) 

Anyway- there are some of my thoughts for today...I guess I always have something to write about.  

Christmas Party Napkins

John and I are hosting a Christmas party next weekend.  It is an overwhelming task to make sure that there is enough food and supplies so that everyone will be happy and enjoy themselves.

This past week, John's mom was in town and w

e decided to go hopping for Christmas gifts and party supplies.  We found many cute patterns for plates and cups and 

napkins.  It is very expensive!  We thought it would be fin to have plain red plates and provide SUPER CUTE napkins.  We both saw the same ones and loved them right aw

ay.  They were colorful and had cute 

cartoon characters with just the legs showing and fun little elf shoes.  The top read, "Jingle...." s

omething or other.

Well, a few days later, I decided I would gather all of the supplies so I could make a check list.  

Plates..Check

Cups...Check

Napkins..Check

I decide to admire my cute little napkin set and thank goodness I did. 

 

Taking  a closer look I noticed that my sweet little napkins were not so sweet.  Those cute little characters... a man holding his ladies close.  The reading on the top,... "Jingle MY bells!"

Can you believe it?  

Did I mention this party is for all of our church friends?  

After laughing out loud I started to think about my mother in law.  Did she think these were appropriate napkins for my party?  

John called her and thankfully, she thought the same way we did.  Apparently we were both tired from shopping and thought the napkins were simple "Jingle Bells" with fun characters. 

Andrew Peterson

Well I had a blog and realized after I posted it that I accidentally posted it on Johns blog.  So go and read it there!  :-)

http://sufficientgrace76.blogspot.com/

A hiking we WENT!

We finally made it hiking this year. I wanted it to be a little earlier in the year so that we could catch the trees in peak color change, but it was still PRETTY. I obviously said this word a gazillion times on the ride there and during the hike because my sweet husband made fun of me.

"Preeeeeety" "WOW, PREEEETY!" "ORANGE, PRETTY!" "Look John! PRETTY"!"

And yes, Diesel did great in his shoes. At first he was walking crazy, but we think that he was so excited by the new surroundings that he forgot about them. He had so much fun sniffing and eating everything! We enjoyed the two hour car ride home with a sleeping dog.

Voting Day Drama

I am proud to say that I voted! I even got a cute little sticker that says so. But oh what a morning. Here is some advice to all those who have never voted before ...... CHECK YOUR PRECINCT!!!!!

John was so excited that his boss let him come in late today so that he could vote. Late being 6:30am. So we got to our designated building and waited in a line of about 50 people. Of course, the church was not open yet, so as we stood in line for 20 min, the line grew longer and longer and longer. But no worries, we were "in the front." As we walked down a very narrow hallway, we noticed people passing us and getting into other lines... their precinct lines. So we asked a man that was helping which precinct were in, and he said, "Where do you live? Oh? You should be in the correct line." We were in the Town branch line.... 6:05a.

So I thought and pondered what it said on the little sheet of paper in my car. White berry? That sounds familiar. Town branch? That sounds familiar too? Stallion? Sure?

Of course they all sound familiar- THEY ARE ALL STREETS IN OUR SUBDIVISION!

So we decided to ask the guy again to look it up.

"Oh, are you an even number?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, You are White berry." 6:19am- inside the Town branch room to vote, four people a head of us.

End of White berry line- 6:20 am- out in narrow hallway- 50 people a head of us.

I almost cried. In fact, I teared up. John had to leave. I was so sad and upset because in my car, with a piece of old gum stuck on it, was a scrap paper with our building and PRECINCT name.

One hour later, I voted and walked out proud and defeated at the same time. Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband that sent me a text message saying I was wonderful and that he prayed for me.

I plan on going to stand in line with him. Because that is what best friends do.

So check your precinct, you'll never know where you might end up.

Pumpkins and Costumes

Clearly I am behind but I wanted to update everyone one the Halloween happenings at the Drexler abode.

Last weekend we had the Northrip family come over and carve pumpkins. This has been a tradition going on three years now. They did a great job with their pumpkins and I was sad to see them leave our door step.

Let's see what else has been strange and funny at our home? Well, John was invited by a co worker to go to a costume party. We thought it would be fun to go hang and we were encouraged strongly to dress up.

Earlier that week, I dressed up as a doctor for the girls at the dance studio.

I was not about to be a doctor at a Doctor filled party.....unless, I was going as John. That would only mean that John would have to go as me. Then, we could go as "The Drexler's My husband is so confident.... and very funny. By the way.. he did not fight the idea, He thought it was funny.

A hiking we won't go.

We were planning this past weekend to go on an amazing hike and taking beautiful pictures of all the fall colors. We even bought Diesel some fun shoes because we had heard horror stories of other dogs having sticks go through the paw and how their pads were shredded if they were not used to being outdoors for long periods of time. Even after being made fun of by our friends and families, we still bought the shoes. ;-)

However, the Friday night before the hike, we had the youth church lock-in. I don't know what I was thinking! The last time I stayed up all night long was a church lock-in when I was a youth! Well, I had stayed up to study for a college final but I had also consumed at least 6 cups of caffeine. Anyway, I figured that John would drive to the two hours to the park and I would sleep on the way.

OOPS! John was on call that night and HE went in at 12:45am and came home at 5:30am.
Unfortuantley, we both slept until 2pm. Fortunatly, so did our sweet dog...kind of.

Anyway- here is Diesel in his new shoes...... feel free to laugh.

Pot Sticker Fun

John introduced me to a small edible delight know as the POT STICKER.

When I tried to make them, they turned out VERY soggy but still had great flavor. When John made them they were perfect. We ate about 5-6 each and then we froze the rest for later. Here

is the recipe and some pictures for you to enjoy.

INGREDIENTS
100 (3.5 inch square) round wraps
1 3/4 pounds ground pork - I used a pound of Lean pork- Fatty Pork is better for taste though.
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root - I bought ground ginger in a bottle
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 egg, beaten
5 cups finely shredded Chinese cabbage - I used 1/2 of a green cabbage.
1 tablespoon Veg/Canola Oil

1/4 cup water - I used Chicken broth because I had it in the fridge.

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, egg and cabbage. Stir until well mixed.
Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pork filling onto each wonton skin. Moisten edges with water and fold edges over to form a triangle shape. Roll edges slightly to seal in filling. Set dumplings aside on a lightly floured surface until ready to cook.

In preheated vegetable oil, cook pot sticker approximately 1 minute per side, until lightly browned. Place water into skillet and reduce heat. Cover and allow pot sticker to steam until the water is gone.

For dipping sauce, we bought a POT STICKER dipping sauce. however, there are several recipes on line.

John did about 8 at a time- turned out great. If you want to freeze them, place them on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper in the freezer overnight. Put them in a Ziploc bad and store.

Fun Fall Weekends

Before we move from Lexington Ky, which I am not sure when that is happening, I have been determined to enjoy the fall weather and the "entertaining" KY venues.

Last weekend, John and I went to the Maker's Mark distillery and to Boyd Orchards. It was a gorgeous day other than it being hot for a fall day in KY.

At the Maker's Mark Distillery, we had the chance to take a free tour of how they make and bottle the bourbon.

This is the process of Fermentation. John thought it would be fun to share this process...I hope you enjoy it.
Wasn't that fun?

John is standing in the room with all the bourbon doing its thing for three years.

After the tour we went to the gift shop to buy our own bottle and had the chance to dip it into the wax ourselves.

John is dipping his bottle in the wax now, my bottle is the one drying there on the table...I did the technique called the "Slam Dunk." (yes, there is technique.)

Now, besides the fact that I do not like bourbon, I was so excited to buy a bottle and dip it into the hot wax. Whoo HOO! It kind of reminded me of being at the Renaissance festival and dipping my hand in the wax.

Afterwards, we drove towards home and stopped at Boyd Orchards. It was about 81 degrees when we got there and it happened to be their Fall Festival. It was crowded and hot and I felt like a little kid who wanted to go home. We picked some apples for baking and eating and found our perfect pumpkin.

Go ahead John, take the Apple!
I think his back braking position is for dramatics.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. This weekend, we are headed to Cumberland Falls for some hiking with our puppy!

By the way- I made a fantastic pumpkin cheesecake with sour cream bourbon topping! I got it off of the Maker's Mark website. It was very yummy. I have no pictures only because I was so excited to eat it.