It worked...at least one thing did!

So the motivation that I was hoping that my husband would get from receiving the electrical items for Christmas for our basement worked! On Saturday he worked on it for most of the day with his father and brother. They were able to frame up about 3/4 of the family room (which is the only half of our basement). I'm just hoping that Mike will keep the motivation going until it is finished!!! I took pictures of the process and planned on posting them, but last night I realized that we didn't put our camera software on the new version of windows that we just put on. So, maybe tomorrow I will get around to doing it and then be able to post the pictures.

As for my other task that I was going to conquer on Saturday of making bread...well...all I have to say is DUMB DUMB bread!!! Since I got up early because of all the pounding in the basement, I started making the bread early. It looked, tasted, and felt how bread dough should. But the dumb thing just wouldn't rise!!! I mean, not even one little bit after trying all day...I'm serious...I tried for 8 hours to get it to rise! I even tried the "trick" that my mother had told me of putting a bowl of water in the oven and heating the oven to 200 and then turning it off when it got to that temperature and then putting the bowl with the dough in the oven (keeping the bowl of water inside as well). Now I know that it was nice and warm inside the oven because I felt it and occasionally I reheated it back up to 200. But nothing! Part of me wonders if I doomed to be a bread buyer for life. See...it's times and experiences like this that makes me not want to cook! My husband thinks that it is the yeast that I buy and that I need to get the expensive kind. So, since I got his permission to purchase it I will have to go get some and try yet again!

It's over???

Is Christmas really over??? It feels like just yesterday that Thanksgiving ended and thoughts turned towards Christmas. We had a really good Christmas. It was nice to be able to spend time with family. On Christmas Eve we spent a few hours at my parent's house. Well, I had good intentions of taking pictures of our gathering and game playing, but I didn't take any pictures. And that's not all...I LEFT our camera at my parents. So I wasn't even able to take any pictures on Christmas! Oh, and I wished that I had my camera last night when we were opening up gifts at Mike's family. My little nephew (who will be one in a month) was having a rough day and was standing next to a box that came to his armpits. He all of the sudden then folded his arms and put his head down on the box and started crying. The poor little guy! We found out a little while later that his first tooth broke through. But it was such a Kodak moment and I didn't even have my camera.

This may sound silly, but the gifts that were the best were the electrical outlets and wiring that we got so we could start working on finishing our basement. For the last year I've heard my husband say that he was going to start at least doing the family room downstairs while it was winter. It has yet to formulate into actual action. But I'm hoping that it is the right amount of motivation for my hubby. We've also planned out that the money we received from various family members is also going towards building supplies for the downstairs.

Another gift I just LOVED is the KitchenAid that my parents gave us. I've always wanted one, but they've been too expensive to ask for. My parents also gave me a mixing bowl set with measuring cups and spoons. They are great gifts...but are my parents trying to tell me something??? I mean, my mother has always known that I don't like cooking. I have fond memories of my mother trying to persuade me to cook dinner for our family so I could have the practice and know how to cook for when I get married. So I guess cooking macaroni and cheese and Top Ramen doesn't count as cooking. I will admit that since being married I've cooked more and more of a variety as well, but that doesn't mean that I like cooking. I love making desserts, but that's a different story. My cooking frustration is that all while I was in college I was able to make bread. But since I've been married I've struggled and can never get my dough to rise. I cannot figure out why, but part of me thinks that it is because of how cold our house is. But then again one year in my basement apartment in college we didn't turn on the heat above the set limit because we didn't want to pay more and my bread still rose. Who knows?! So, it is my goal that this Saturday I'm going to use my new KitchenAid and attempt (yet again) to make bread!

There is worse!

Well, I guess there are things that are worse than packing before your move. That is, getting to the new office, and it's not ready for you. They were still painting and finishing the wiring when the movers got there yesterday. So, instead of moving into my office, I went shopping! I ended up finishing my Christmas shopping, a little birthday shopping for my husband, and some baby gifts for a nephew and a niece not due until April and May. When we got to the office on Wednesday there were guys still working on it. Then on Thursday there were still some guys working in the building, but not as many. And it wasn't even until Friday that we got our office phones up and working. My poor supervisor leaned up against a wall on Wednesday that the painters had just touched up (and didn't leave any sign of warning) and got paint all over her pants and jacket. I think she ended up going to court or a meeting with a shoe size white paint spot. On Wednesday all I felt that I did was arrange and rearrange my office. It is frustrating trying to figure out where I want my desk and my computer desk (if I even want that). I'm kind of picky because I don't like people seeing what I'm doing on my computer (not like I'm doing anything wrong though), and I don't like having my back to the door so people can scare me, and I don't like feeling like I'm boxed in. So, as for now my office is kind of how it was in my previous office and we will see how I like it.

Anywho, Merry Christmas to all and to all...take the day off!!!

Office Moving Day

Okay, can I just say how much I hate packing and moving! It is annoying how you just get everything into boxes and then you have to unpack it all a while later. So, for those that don't know, I am having to change office buildings. My entire team has to move into a new building with the DCFS Transition to Adult Living teams. Needless to say, I'm not too excited about the move because it is farther from my home and I have to get on the freeway and the new office is in the "spaghetti bowl" area of the freeway so traffic is going to be horrible! I'm also not excited because my new office doesn't have a window. I've been spoiled for the last 3 years and have had a HUGE window in my office where I can look out and see the weather. It is also very stupid that we have to move during the busiest time of the year. It is frustrating to have Sub-for-Santa gifts being dropped off at the office and try to get them out before the BIG move so we don't have to pack them in boxes or personally move them.

But trying to look at the positive of moving, I am hoping that the new building will have better heating so my fingers aren't purple while working and I don't have to plan my outfits according to office temperature instead of outside temperature. Another positive, I guess, is that we just have to put our stuff in boxes and label it with our new office number and the movers will do the rest.

So they told us that since the movers will be moving all of our stuff tomorrow that it would be a good day for us to go out and do home visits with our kids. Um...hello!...our kids are still in school this week and won't be home. So, I'm planning on using that time to finish up my Christmas shopping and get gifts wrapped. Then I will go into my new office tomorrow afternoon and try to sort everything out and get at least my computer up and running. Anywho, I guess I should get back to finishing packing...joy of all joys!

Gingerbread house

So, last Friday I sat at home (alone as usual since my husband has had school on those nights this semester) and I baked our gingerbread house. Then on Saturday (while my husband was gone yet again...this time helping his brother with granite) I made the hard tack candy and poured it in for the windows. The last night my husband and I sat down and decorated the gingerbread house. Now, it doesn't look like the fancy kinds that are in holiday windows or even at the Festival of Trees and it looks more like little kids decorated it. But for me all that matters is that this tradition continue. I've grown up with this tradition as long as I can remember. And I am hoping to be able to carry on this tradition when I have kids.

O Christmas Tree

This weekend was the beginning of the Christmas season in our home. To start it off we got 8 inches of snow Saturday. Then that afternoon we went and got a Christmas tree for $20 at Smiths Marketplace. It spent the night in the garage to let the snow and ice melt off of it. My husband brought in the tree last night and we decorated it. There is nothing like a fresh tree! I don't know if I could ever do the fake tree thing because I don't think that they have as good of shape or smell as the REAL thing. I honestly don't know what it is about a lit up Christmas tree, but I could sit and look at it for hours. I have fun memories as a child of being able to sleep under the Christmas tree one night during the holidays and having the lights be the last thing I see as I go to sleep. Some day hopefully I will be able to start creating that memory for my own children. But as for the rest of the Christmas decorations, it will come out in our house in between my husband working, going to school, studying for finals, and taking finals.