Christmas wishlist

We all have them.  Here is mine.

Record Player

I have had many throughout my years and they all crapped out on me.  I've lived without one for over two years now and I want another.  I have found two that I like.

1. I really really really want this one.  However the Mister hates all my "old lady crap" sitting everywhere so I doubt this would ever have a chance to enter our home not to mention it would probably just crap out on me anyway.
2. This little beauty would probably be the best choice simply for the fact I no longer have a cd player anymore either and we could plug an ipod into it.  Best of both my old world and my Misters new technology filled world.  Also its small and that is neat.

Shower Head

Being a renter you have to give up on some things that most women don't want to think of giving up on.  This is especially true in the bathroom area.  Most bathtubs in rentals are about 4 inches deep.  I also have found most garden hose nozzles to be more efficient then the standard shower heads they put in rental bathrooms.  As you can't do anything to change out the tub, shower heads are incredibly easy to replace.  Also, if you save the crappy one, when you move it is as easily to change it back and take your wonderful new shower head with you!  Its like your own personal spa caravan.

I really really want a rain head shower.  Seeing as how I have a toddler it would make more sense to get a handheld.  Luckily I no longer have to choose between the two!   I just need to chose between this one, or this one.  

That is literally all I want for christmas.  Santa Baby, I promise I have been good.  

(Ish.)

I must also today say Happy Happy Birthday to my most adorable little Niece, Vera!  Three is a great year.  Now eat lots of cake and jump from couch to couch.

 Don't worry about what Mommy says, just tell her Aunt Crystal says it is okay!

And one more.........Happy Birthday to my Gorgeous little sister, Aryn!  I love you so much!  Make sure you get spoiled rotten today!!!!!

Weekend Update!

So I'm a little late but better late then never?


I had an amazingly fun weekend last weekend and haven't had the opportunity to share so I am going to play a little catch up.  First, my two best girlfriends came to visit me.  It was originally for friends thanksgiving, but since that was cancelled it was just for a wonderful relaxing time.

(Here is a nice oldie but forever will be a goodie.  Sorry girls.)

Since critters did this to our home -------------->













 We decided to have our friends thanksgiving at a new place called The Barn & CO.  The Mister and I went there right after it opened and it was horrible!  But we attributed that to it just opening.  In my opinion it was still horrible (really dumb waitress, soso food, etc.)  HOWEVER their mixed cocktails are delicious, they were able to provide us a nice space for a crowd and there was Foosball to keep the youngen occupied.  (Another thing to consider if you ever go here, It is right next to the El so your conversation will be stopped every 5 minutes or so while trains rumble by.)  However we all had a great time seeing each other.

After our dinner we headed back home for a good ol impromptu house party where Rhiannon proceeded to kick all of our asses in Just Dance.  I can't remember the last time I had that much fun.

The next day was all about shopping and I bought not only my wedding shoes, I also was able to find Rhiannon's entire wedding outfit for under the $100 price range.  

WOO-HOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Last Wednesday, The Mister, girls and I trekked downtown to see the big Holiday tree light up in Daley Plaza. It was so crowded and both girls were being pushed every which way.  It was an experience I am glad we were able to have but also one we will not be having again!  I think it will be much more fun to go when there are not 5,989,000,000 other people there.  After we left the mob we strolled down Michigan ave and looked at all the pretty lights and window displays........

This one is for my fellow Harry Potter nerds...............

Diagon Alley, anyone???

That is what it made me think of.....

Now to wrap up this ridiculously long blog post I will leave you with three pictures that make me laugh/happy.

For as long as the Mister and I have been together he has been getting AARP cards in the mail.  Even when we have called to inform them he is nowhere near the age to receive it they still send it which I find hilarious.  So imagine my reaction when this came in the mail for him yesterday.  

Oh yes that is a recruitment to a retirement home.  

Sent directly to the Mister.  

We finally caught one!

(Clara is not as amused about this as I am.)

And finally, here is Buehrle at his new home and with his new dog friend, Toby.  He looks so very happy.

This makes me SO very happy.

Splash of color

***** I started this post a while ago and never got around to finishing it.  Since I am using this recipe today I decided it was a good time to share it with you all! **********



It was quite the weekend at our home.  We had lots of family visit and It was full of wonderful things.

First wonderful part?  The weather!  It was a gorgeous 55 degree the entire time they were here!  As they left last night it started to rain.  It has been wet, cold and gross since then!

Since the weather was so nice we decided to take a stroll through the park.....although some of us did more rolling then strolling......

Clara showed off her suburb rocking and sliding skills to maamow..........

That night we decided to finally paint the blank walls I've been staring at for months now.....

Since I was feeding a crowd I decided to make my go-to- roasted chicken.  The next day I whipped up some homemade noodles and made my grandmothers famous chicken and noodles with the leftover chicken..  It is my favorite meal in the world!  I will share it with you now!

Grandma's Chicken and Noodles

• 3-6 C of flour
• 4 eggs, beaten 
• 1 Leftover chicken
• vege's of your liking

1. Take your leftover chicken, bones and all, and put it in a pot of water and simmer for about 2-4 hours to make a good stock.
2. While the chicken stock is cooking, beat four eggs and mix them with 3 cups of flour.  This will make a nice firm but moist ball of dough.
3. Put a good cup of flour on your working surface and start working it into your dough with your rolling pin.  You are going to want to keep doing this until you can easily roll them out.
4. Once you have your dough rolled out (to your liking, it doesn't matter how thick or thin you make it) cut them into however large or small strips you want and let them rest for a while.  My grandma always lets them rest for the day, my mom throws hers in the pot right away, so you can decide how long they should rest,
5. After your chicken has simmered for a few hours pull it out and put it to the side.  You want for it to cool down a bit before you pull all of the leftover meat off of it.  Put your vegetables you want into your pot and boil until soft, about 30 minutes.
6. Add chicken and noodles and boil for another 15-20 minutes.  The noodles should thicken up the soup, but if you want it thicker just throw some extra flour in at this point.

This recipe does take a good portion of your day to make, but it is not really labor intensive.  Sometimes I like to cheat and use packaged noodles.  If you do this know that they will swell up after they have been cooked and refrigerated for a day or so, but it still is just as tasty.

Happy Wednesday to you all!

Failed

So like most people in this world I try very hard at everything I do.  I commit myself 110% and can not stand failure.  The past couple of weeks have been so very hard for me and the family.  Our little stinker, Buehrle, has pooped in his kennel every single night since we brought him home from his "training".  We tried medicine,  I put him on doggie probiotics, we tried waking up every two hours, I even started making him homemade dog food in an effort to make his stomach happy.  We took him to the vet several times and each time they told us that he didn't have anything wrong with him.

I tried everything I could possibly think of and  every idea I tried I failed at.

Now I know that there are a lot of people out there who can handle two children, a really hard working Mister and a dog who likes to poop in his kennel every night, but I could not.  I was cracking under the stress of taking care of all these things and it wasn't fair to me, my children and my poor puppy who obviously needs more then I can give to him.

So Buehrle went away yesterday.  Right now it is temporary to make sure he will thrive in his new environment.  I'm kind of hoping he doesn't like it there so I can have a reason to bring him back home for my own selfish reasons, but I know that will not be the case.  He literally went to puppy heaven.  One of my best friends took him home with her.  He now gets to live on a farm where he will have lots of space to run, he has a pond he can swim in and he will have a new dog friend, Toby.  On top of all that he will have an amazing new master.

I spent the majority of yesterday feeling like I gave up on my baby and crying like a baby, myself.  I made the Mister promise not to ever bring home another living thing that I can fall in love with.  He laughed at me and promised he wouldn't.

I miss my dog  :(  I know dogs don't have the same emotions as humans but I hope he knows I love him.

Rate Your Landlord

I Have Learned Some Interesting Things As Of Late

1. Stabbing yourself with wood carving tools makes you look like a cutter.
2. I can never ever ever become a truck driver.  (Driving for long distances makes me see RED.  I've driven over 24 hours in the past week.  It blows.)
3. Rats can burrow through the foundation of your house and live in your home.
4. My dog is terrified of city buses and.......ducks.  

I get the bus.  Its big and hisses and beeps and if I were Buehrle I would probably yelp and hide behind my master if I saw one too.

But ducks?  Seriously?  And its not like they were crazy angry geese chasing after him.  They were just swimming in the pond.  We were on our morning run when I figured out these fears of his.  He ran to the other side of me so quickly it was like someone lassoing my legs.  Luckily I have *amazing balance and did not fall on my face.

*this may or may not be true.

One more thing I've been thinking about strongly lately?  

As a woman who has been a renter for the last twelve years I have been in some crazy situations.  I have lived in some very odd housing.  I have had some really great landlords.  I have had some really crazy landlords.  But I have also had some really shitty slumdog landlords.

So the other day the Mister and I were talking.  There are all these different websites where you can "rate" things.  Why isn't there a "rate your landlord" website?

First and foremost, there is Yelp, where you can rate damn near anything in the world (and whose ratings I strongly rely on for my everyday adventures in consumerism.)  There is great schools for when you start looking into your schooling options (and you should start early, folks.)  They even have sites for rating your college professor.

So why, I ask you, is there not any kind of *Rate Your Landlord* website?  You willingly hand over your entire life story to this complete stranger in exchange for a measly 12 months of your life.  And for what?  It is always a huge gamble!  The Mister told me it is a lawsuit issue and it could make it easier for people to get sued for slander, but its not slander if its true!

I know I would have missed out on a lot of headaches if this type of service existed.

What is your *favorite landlord horror story?

Long lists and Huge Projects

I've been so busy lately and I'm afraid it is only going to get busier.  Here is a list of things I have to do within two weeks.

1. Jay Cutler Trophy
2. Bears face wood cut out
3. Sew 5 christmas blankets (That are needed before next weekend)
4. Plan Friends thanksgiving and all that is involved with that
5. Figure out how to retrain my once angelic dog.
6. Laundry.  Lots and lots of freaking laundry.
7. About five hundred million more things for wedding planning. 

I think I can..I think I can...I think I can...I think I can.................

Crunchy leaves make for a happy baby!

Whomping Willow

Do you remember the magical tree that is planted on Hogwarts grounds?  

The one that was placed there to hide the secret passageway from Hogwarts that leads to the Shrieking Shack in nearby Hogmeade so Lupin could change into a werewolf in secret?

No?  Well I'll tell you.  That magical tree is called a Whomping Willow.  It is a very violent tree that will attack anything or anyone who comes near it's branches.  The branches of this tree function just like arms.

I believe overnight the tree outside my house has transformed into a Whomping Willow.  

View from my window*

*This may or may not be my actual window.

Or maybe it is just fall.  Yesterday was a beautiful day.  The baby and I spent it travelling.  I learned that the lace I like costs $213.00 a yard (Ouch!) and that felt blankets are easy to make.  So I bought WAY to much felt and plan on sewing everyone in my family a blanket for christmas.  

(The family that I live with, not all of you.  Sorry guys!  That would put me in the poorhouse for sure!)

My mama and my little sisters are coming to visit me this weekend.  They are also going to look at some colleges in the area.  Seeing I did not attend college the "proper" way I will not be much help outside of showing them how to get to and from.  I need to ask a bit of help from you all.

My question for you:  What are things to look for as well as good questions to ask when visiting potential colleges?