A fabulous Christmas

We had such a great Christmas that we only took three photos the entire day!  Imagine that!?

We were so excited about the gift that we got my dad this year.  My folks still have a few horses in the barn where we grew up.  Living in Michigan, the winters are COLD and things FREEZE.....like water buckets in the barn.  Breaking water buckets in the winter SUCKS!

Well, as it turns out, they now make heated water buckets.  So, we ended up getting a few for my dad - what do you get for a guy who has everything?! 

These were a HUGE hit!! 

Happy?  I KNOW so!

Hope yours was enjoyable and spent with those you love!

Min & Glen

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

We hope you all enjoy the holiday with your family & friends!

Min & Glen

(and Gizmo & Tucker too - they wanted to get in on the Christmas Action as well!)

A little Chill-axin' at Christmas!

Yep, leave it to Gizmo to get us in the Chill-axin' Spirit of the Season!

And this is BEFORE the Cat Nip starts running Rampant in our house!

Min & Glen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Cuz'!
Hope you have a fabulous day!!
Hugs
Min & Glen

It's beginning to look.....

a  lot like Christmas!! 

The Christmas Tree is lit and the kids are fast asleep under it.  A fire is lit in the fireplace,  the lights outside are all aglow and yep, the C-O-L-D winter weather has arrived.  Snow to arrive  next week......
 Tis the season!

This was Gizmo & Tucker last night no joke, maybe an hour after we got the tree decorated.  They both LOVE the Christmas Tree skirt for some reason.  This is usually where we find them during Christmas.

What is it about Christmas time where you can just sit and enjoy the lights and the spirit of the season?

We're so glad we got the lights outside put up before the weekend.  I can't even imagine putting up the lights outside this weekend.  BRRRRR!  It was super freezing just running back and forth from the house to the garage freezer while we were making chocolate and when we got down the Christmas boxes.

I made a crazy amount of chocolates this weekend.  Of course, no photo yet.  I made, kisses for the cookies I'll be making on Saturday for our exchange on Sunday.  Chocolate Covered Cherries and Mint Chocolate Covered pretzles, mmmmmmm.  Yep, they all had to pass the 'quality control inspection'.  :o)

Here's hoping the Christmas Cards will be finished this week and in the mail.  I always start to panic a bit when we start getting everyone elses cards.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season! 

Min & Glen

A Happy Turkey Day!

Whew, what a whirl wind LONG weekend we had!!  Every year for Thanksgiving, we host the 'Turkey Day After Thanksgiving' Dinner at our house for Glen's mom & dad, bro, my mom & dad, my favorite cousin Eric and his friend John.  We celebrate it the Saturday after Thanksgiving because Glen's brother drives in from Indiana.  This year was no different. 

On the actual Thanksgiving day, Thursday Glen and I celebrated quietly at home.  We saved all the 'extras' for Saturday's meal, but nonetheless, we both went to bed WAY TOO FULL!  Tis' the season!

Friday, we finished getting things ready for Saturday's dinner.  Picked up the rest of the veggies and added extras we'd need.  I even made a quick run to Michaels.  After getting run over by a woman with a cart because apparently I wasn't moving fast enough when she said excuse me, I decided that I'd had enough 'Black Friday' shopping and headed home.  Friday night we spent the evening celebrating with some of Glen's family and friends at Nicole &Tony's wedding reception in Livonia.  They got married in California earlier in the month and came home to celebrate with family and friend here in Michigan.  We always have such a great time with our family.  We got to hang out with Glen's three cousins, the kids, my pen pal Claire, Glen's aunt and uncle and friends.  I'd love to show you photos, but realized AFTER we got there I'd forgotten our camera.  Glen's cousin Geanine took some photos, so once she e-mails the photos, I'll be sure to share. :o) 

Saturday morning we were up early.  I made my first Lemon Meringue Pie - this has always been my dad's favorite.  And I found out Saturday it's Glen's dad's favorite too.  The basa & kraut went into the crock pot about 9:30 and by 10:30 the house smelled WONDERFUL.  Usually Glen and Rick deep fry us a turkey, which is always fabulous, but this year in addition to a small turkey, they deep fried us some FABULOUS melt in your mouth beef tenderloin.  Can you say YUMMO?!?!?!  WOW! 

The photos I DO have to show you (because apparently I couldn't for the life of me remember to get the camera out) were taken today.......DOH!  My  mom and dad got to our house first and my mom is always on the look out for fun Christmas decorations for our house.  Well, she outdid herself again!  She found these super neat lights at Ikea (yep, I'll be there one day this week to pick up another strand of them).  Aren't they cool??

And then she found this neat magnetic snowman, er, snowwoman, er, well, it was a bit of both yesterday with all the silly minds that were in the gutter.......This is the G-rated version. 

We were all still laughing about the snowman this morning when I talked to my mom. If you can't laugh and do silly things with your family, who can you laugh with?

We had such a great Thanksgiving weekend. This is the part of the year that we love because we get to spend some wonderful time with family and friends. It truly reminds you what life is about and just how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family.

My apologies for not cleaning up these photos a bit.  For some reason, since we've upgraded to Windows 7 which runs a 64-bit operating system, I'm not able to use the editing software on photobucket because it uses Flash that only works on the 32 bit browser.  Of course, I don't know enough to figure out how to 'fix' the browser situation we're having.  Ah, the joys of technology. 

We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with full tummies and great Black Friday bargains!

We'll be dining on leftovers tonight, but hmmm, beef tenderloin left overs, no way we're arguing!!

Min & Glen

A Blessed Weekend!

What a great weekend we've had.  Spending time with family and friends reminds me just how blessed we are.

Yesterday we enjoyed the day with both sets of parents!  My mom and dad came out so we could work on CUSTOM pillowcases.  My mom is the pillowcase queen - over the years she's made us some of the funnest pillowcases.  We got several cut, ironed and sewed, until we broke one too many sewing machine needles.  I know I have some in my studio, but do you think I could find them?!  Of course not!  Needless to day, we were able to make a dent in the fabric we've been collecting all year long.  We'll start over again the day after Christmas!  Glen's mom and dad joined us about 6 - even though we planned Ribs and home made french fries (which Glen grilled (ribs) and they were AMAZING!!!), Glen's mom wanted us to taste some city chicken, kupusta (I'm not sure if it's spelled right), Pierogi and meatballs, which was all FABULOUS.  Probably not a good thing to know this little Polish restaurant is just a few miles from where I work! 

We always love when we can get together.  It's so nice to invite our folks out and just let them sit and enjoy while we get everything ready for dinner.  Their company is wonderful.  It's nice to be able to do for them what they have spent so many years doing for us! 

We are so grateful that our mom's and dad's get along.  My mom and mother in law sat and talked while balling up yarn my mom spun for me to use on all these slippers I'm knitting for Christmas.  That yarn will be used for a special pair of slippers for myself and my two moms.

Our dad's sat and chatted and talked at the football game on and off throughout the evening - we were hoping for an Iowa win over OSU - didn't happen......(we do a lot of talking to the TV during football season at our house.....).

Today was a clean up & take it easy day. 

We like to think we're pretty tech savvy to a certain extent at our house, but for the first time today, I Skyped with my best friend Shelly in Topeka.  It was so much fun to be able to craft and actually show one another what we were working on instead of just spending hours talking on the phone like we usually do.

Thank you Shelly for such a fun day - I know we didn't get much done, but it sure was a fun experience!!

So, tomorrow we have the day off (Veterans Day observed), so we're going to get a head start on getting ready for our Turkey Day After Dinner we host every year the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Nothing like getting a head start!!

We hope you have a great week this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Min & Glen

Halloween has come and gone.....

But not without some fun pre-Halloween and Halloween photos to share!!

So, Friday afternoon, Glen and I decided we'd carve pumpkins.  So, on my way home, I stopped by Kroger and all the carving pumpkin's that had been outside the store, were no where to be found.  It was raining, so instead of heading inside, I went home.  Not too long after that, Glen called Kroger to confirm they had pumpkins.  "Yes, they're inside." was the response we got. 

So, we hopped in the car and headed to the store.  Much to our surprise, there were NO pumpkins (except the super small gourd like pumpkins) to be found.  And so the Great Pumpkin Adventure began.  Off to Meijer we went.  Meijer has everything, right?  WRONG!  No pumpkins there either.  So, we decided we'd go to Peel's - surely they HAD to have pumpkins.  On the way, we stopped by VG's, just incase THEY had pumpkins.  No Go there either.  So FINALLY, after three stops, stop four was fruitful (in the rain and dark), we went to Peels and got our pumpkins.  Always something, isn't it?!  Note to Self - GET PUMPKINS PRIOR to October 30th!

So, from this -

 

to this -  

Our pumpkins are on the front porch and will be lit again tonight when I get home (we're going to get all we can out of our spooky Halloween creations!)

We also got to celebrate a very special boy's 4th Birthday on Halloween!  We Celebrated Colin's Birthday (and of course, went trick or treating) with a little purple dinosaur who can "ROAR" like nobody's business.  Glen hung out at Amy & Andy's and passed out candy and shook his head at the less than stellar college football officials calls.

This was my attempt to take a pic of Colin before we left to go trick or treating......Can you say up close and ROAR?!

Here's the Trick or Treat Trio, complete with little purple birthday dinosaur.

Last stop, home to Trick or Treat with Uncle Glen (Colin kept telling Amy and I we should keep trick or treating and he would go home with Uncle Glen).

Aunt Min, Colin & Uncle Glen with the Birthday Boy (Colin was ready for Birthday Cupcakes!!!)

And of course, photos of the birthday boy blowing out his candles!

 

We can't wait until next weekend when Colin has his BIG birthday party with all his friends & family at the jumpy jumpy place.  Guess Glen and I should get working on our Dino-related costumes, huh?

Hope you had a fabulous Halloween and enjoyed the weekend AND that extra hour of sleep we gained with Daylight Saving Time.

Min & Glen

Happy Birthday Colin!

Wishing you a HAPPY HAPPY 4th Birthday!!!

We love you!!!

Aunt Min & Uncle Glen

Yep, I think Fall is Offically here........

We're so not ready to give up on summer (I'm still wearing flip-flops and it was 41* when I left the house this morning.......).  Football season is in full swing, the fireplace has been used 2 if not 3 times already and I think our veggie garden is done producing for the season.  Yep, it's official, Fall has arrived.  There's no way of turning back the trees that are changing color.

Min & Glen

Go Blue!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to My Wonderful Hubby!

And many more.......

Love Me

Sometimes you're the Bug....

And sometimes you're the Cat in the Pool.........

That's a face that says "SOMEONE'S GONNA GET IT WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE!"

Hope you're having a better day than he is!!!

Min & Glen

FINALLY!

How about Them LIONS?!

It's not a BASH.....

Unless you look like White Trash!

So, these are the photos from Susan & Kris' White Trash Birthday Bash we thought we'd share to provide a good chuckle for you.  Too bad we didn't get a better picture of Susan's 'birthday cake' that was comprised of Twinkies, Ho Ho's, Ding Dongs & Cup Cakes.  It was a bit difficult in a fat suit to get around to the front of where Susan was blowing out her 30 candles.  And yep, that's a beer can wind chime in the top of the birthday cake photo!  So, in true White Trash Fashion -

Love the photo (and the Budweiser sign in the background).

Hope you had a terrific weekend - I know we did - Michigan won and are now 3-0 on the season!!  WOO HOO!  Go Blue!

Min & Glen

Happy #30 Sue!

How's it feel to be officially 30? No more 20-something!

Wishing you a WONDERFUL birthday!!!

Your 30's are AWESOME!!

Min & Glen

WOO HOO - GO BLUE!!!

Can I tell you just how HAPPY we are that Michigan beat Notre Dame!

Way to go Michigan!!

GO BLUE!!!

And I think it was these two that rooted them on to the 38-34 V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!   
It had to be the hair!! :o)

We just realized looking at the photo that Colin hit the nail on the head with his hand gestures - Michigan was the Winner - Notre Dame - LOSERS! 

Better luck next year!

Way to go Boys!!

Thanks so Amy, Andy, Sue, Kris and our favorite little nephew for a great football watching/horn honking/hootin' and hollerin'/scrapbookin' kind of day!

Go Blue!!

Min & Glen

Happy Birthday Mom!!

 

Wishing my mom a super happy birthday today!!

Min & Glen

Can you say ORGANIZATION?!

Ever get into one of those modes and you just can't stop?! Last week with all the rain, we both got on this organization kick. Originally it started with 2 new shelves and a peg board in the garage which then overflowed into organizing the storage space in the basement under the steps which lead into organizing the closet in the basement.

HOLY MOLEY! But what a great dent we've made.

We both laughed about the high-tech label maker we picked up, but just about everything now has a label! You know what's in EVERY box without even having to pick up the lid!! Talk about organized!

Organized Basement Steps Storage

Organized Basement Storage Closet

The Garage is just about done, so hopefully we'll have those photos to post soon. :)

We've decided once the fall arrives we'll be doing some attic organization. I can hardly wait.  Good thing Target has rubber bins on sale again this week.  :o)

What is it about getting organized that makes you feel like you can take on the world?

Oh and I have to share before I forget - on Monday we tried our hand at broiled tomatoes with mozzarella cheese - can you say yummo!

We did the shake & sprinkle method, so no measurements here.

Two medium tomatoes, sliced in 1/2" slices

Mozzarella Cheese

Balsamic Vinegar

Fresh basil

Pinch of Salt

Garlic Powder

Crispy Bacon crumbled

Cut tomatoes into 1/2" slices. Lay on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Salt & Garlic Powder. Drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. Top with Mozzarella Cheese, fresh shredded basil and crispy bacon. Put about 3" from broiler. Broil until cheese is bubbly, melty and a bit crispy. You won't even get them off the baking sheet before you're diving in.

Needless to say, we'll be having more of these!!
This weekend, we also spent sometime with my mom and dad - kicking off the College football season!  My dad and Glen took in the Michigan State as well as the Michigan game, Marching Michigan Guy and the Ufer Horn.  It's a spittin' image of the Ufer horn!

 While the boys watched football, my mom and I made a run to the yarn shop - can't NOT use a 20% off birthday coupon and then we came back and in four hours made roughly 70 jars of jam.  This is just a little yummy visual for you!  Peach, Peach Raspberry and Strawberry.  Yep, YUM!! 

We hope that you had a terrific holiday weekend - it was a nice way to end summer (even though it seems like we hardly had one....here's hoping for an Indian Summer!)

 Min & Glen

What happened to SUMMER already?!

Can someone please get in touch with Mother Nature and let her know we're due for Summer?! So, we thought we'd have a nice weekend outside, doing stuff around the house, in the garage - that kind of thing. Hmm, rain Friday, overcast and blah yesterday and of course spitty rain and clouds today! GREAT Summer weekend!!
We did some tinkering around inside, which was good. Heck, watching the Lions play last night it was like it was Fall already - I think we both had jeans and pull overs on!
Today my friend Suz had her Entertaining at Home Party. The Theme was Fiesta.....of course, I had no 'fiesta' wear.......but my spicy friend Amy was the life of the party!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Min & Glen

People....

So I think we both had a good laugh today. We stopped at the grocery store today to pick up a few things (and of course forgot Milk & Sour Cream - DOH!). Anyway, we THOUGHT the weather was supposed to be nice all day - not quite the story. As we're walking out of store, it starts raining. No biggie, it was relatively warm (high 70's low 80's). We get to the car, get the groceries into the car and get inside. . . . it starts raining harder. And then out of no where here comes the headless parking lot lady - Okay, she wasn't headless, but we couldn't actually see her head past the plastic bag she had over it.
Weren't we told as kids growing up that plastic bags don't belong over your head?
Just a little chuckle for the day!
Happy Weekend!
Min & Glen

Happy Anniversary!

It's hard to believe that it's been 6 years since our unforgettable wedding!
Where were you when the lights went out?
Min & Glen

Summer has arrived!!

Nice that summer is finally here, even though it's AUGUST!

We've been keeping busy around here. We got to spend some time with Glen's mom, cousin Geanine, Johnny and Claire (my summer pen pal) last Thursday! What a terrific day we had! We met up at Great Lakes Crossing and walked the mall. We got little Johnny a new pair of tennies and looked for a book bag for Claire for school. The part that we all really had fun with was spending some time in the Bass Pro Shop (I think that was the one). If you've ever been in one of these shops, you know what I'm talking about. If not, picture this, little ponds, a huge fresh water fish tank - like 8 or 10 feet tall. Yah, that huge. They had tents and ATV's, boats, live ducks, live fish, stuffed wild life. And the part that made this so fun was walking through it with a 2 year old who was fascinated by everything! Between Johnny & Claire, they sure made it a fun time.

Believe it or not, these little ducks are real.Claire, Johnny & mom were looking at the little pond with the ducks.Now, THAT'S a FISH!A boy on a mission!There was a fish in this tank that I swear was 5' long!And this was a play area the kids played - it was cool even for big kids!!Of course, no play area is complete without a carousel.
After our extensive walking through the Pro shop and the mall, we met Glen at The Rain Forest Cafe for lunch. Now, I'd never been there, but what a really neat place. The ambiance was super cool - 'thunderstorms' ever 30 minutes, wild life that moved and looked real. It was very cool (even to the adults!). Over the weekend, we enjoyed some serious rain on Saturday - ALL DAY and on Sunday, we enjoyed the arrival of summer - FINALLY! 95* and sunshine. Nice that it finally arrived! We ended up spending the day at our friends pool. A great way to wrap up the weekend. So, that's life at the Kantina lately. We hope that you're enjoying your summer!
Min & Glen