Swan Creek Candles

If you LOVE candles...I encourage you to visit a Swan Creek Candle outlet (store) OR if you can't smell the goodness in person, visit their website. www.swancreekcandle.com They sell soy candles- that smell SOOOO WONDERFUL. A few months ago- I was in Michigan and purchased my favorite scent- Dutch Apple Pie- and burned it each day for ALL day until it was gone! And since then, I have tried to find similar candles that would smell as good and burn as nice. Nope. Not even YANKEE!
So...I went online and bought some candles!! I actually purchase the "refill" kits- where you get a tub of wax- and then, you get to pick different wick sizes....and basically can create numerous candles of different sizes, etc., once you have the wax kit. It is REALLY easy to do (in your microwave) and is a cheaper way to go....

Anyways... This company offered free shipping for orders over $60- and normally, if you pay for shipping, they include FREE CANDLES with your order to off-set the shipping costs!!! This company is fabulous and I encourage you to check them out.
Scents I got and LOVE-
Orange Sugar Cookie
Dutch Apple Pie
Golden Delicious (apple)
NEW scent- Mango Mandarin
Lemon Grass (aromotherapy)
Buttercream Vanilla

All I can say is YUMMMMMMMMMMMM. The candles are soy- made in the U.S.A- and are lovely. So, I encourage you to order some today!!! :) I know that I am burning mine right now....and it makes the home a warm/welcoming/restful place to be!

30 is near

Soon I will be entering my 3rd decade. At the same time, my aunt margie will be entering her 9th decade- turning 90!!!

I don't feel older. I don't feel depressed about leaving my 20's....
Life lately has been hard as Jamos and I figure out our purpose (if you have any ideas for us, please, let us know.

I have been practicing my Salamba Sirsasana....above you can see me in full balance. I have to admit, it is hard! You basically lift from the ground up to get to this pose, and it is easy to over shoot and flip all the way, so that you do a sort of front flip. Now, I am 6ft tall- come on. So, of course, during my practice, I did smash into our front entry way table- broke the shelf- took it to the dumpster and then decided we could fix it! I also have bruises on my knee and a nice gash...but, it was worth it!!

new cat in town?

You must think I have no life. Which, is true. But, Apparently, my apartment deck is the place to be if you are a black cat. I am able to pet the one cat, but not so much the other(s).

This weekend was good. It consisted of...grocery shopping Friday night, homework, trying our hand at being crafty in the kitchen...We made from scratch- black bean soup AND some sort of asian spice pork with rice as well as from scratch silk pie.

Let me tell you- these recipes seem simple enough, but BOY do they dirty the kitchen and take up all your free time. The Black Bean soup (not in honor of my sweet black bean the kitty..- see i am crazy cat lady) required the purchase of a ham steak and black beans from the bulk dept. We don't eat a lot of meat at our house- mostly because the meat section at the grocery stores makes me feel a little sick- but anyways....it also required 2 large onions and some other random items....the process seemed simple enough. By the time it was ready to eat, I expected something magical, but to me, it just tasted like black bean soup. At least Jamost ate it- which he wouldn't normally eat canned black bean soup. So, that says something.

Next, Asian Pork Shoulder dish or whatever- required the purchase of a pork shoulder. Thank you to the butcher with the meaty gloves who came out from behind his case and showed me a pre-packaged pork shoulder. I needed 2 lbs, it came in 6lb portions with BONE. Ew. So, he showed me a different type of pork I could use...got that- got the bok choy- the chili garlic sauce and was ready to cook it up! This dish was a crock pot speciality and was pretty easy.

Next, the silk pie. This was NOT easy. It required making dough from scratch. It required mixing in a double boiler the eggs and sugar for over 8 minutes until it reached 160 degrees. It required an additonal mixing of eggs and sugar in a bowl as it was cooling for 10 minutes. COME ON! It also required the melting of chocolate, the whipping of heavy cream, the rolling of the pie dough....though, after chilling for 3 hours- it prooved to be worth each minute of beating over the stove. YUM.

We survived the mad search for the vanilla. Seriously, it was SO annoying. Our cupboards are awfully deep and dark and tall (though we are tall). it was frustrating as one person is mixing, one is searching and having a meltdown (okay- I was the one having a meltdown)... who put the vanilla on the top shelf where we NEVER keep food items?

Did I mention that slicing the bok choy in my mandalin slicer- Jamos and I both have slices in our right hand ring finger... which are now bandaged nicely.

How many times can I wash the dishes in one weekend? How many times can I run the dishwasher in 1 weekend?

Boy...now I understand why people eat OUT. Though, the results were delicious and we do feel proud of our accomplishments. Oh, and as for the bread of the day, we have made a rosemary/green olive/parmesean bread. It is quite strong in the area of the green olives....I probably bought the most powerful flavored ones at the bulk section of our central market- they cost a fortune for like 6 olives. Geesh.

Now, with all of that said, I am off to yoga. I need stress relief and I need it ASAP.

Winter Weather Watch

Above are the flowers I got when we worked at the bridal show in downtown houston for our MP booth. :) FUN!

What nasty weather we are having....not snow, but sometimes, just somethings, I would prefer snow over the cold rain we have been having here. Boo.

It is official. My husband is the break maker of the family.



This is the delicious "no knead bread" we made in our new dutch oven. It tastes just like the wonderful bread you find in all of the wonderful bakeries... yummmmmm. I tried making this bread before and it came out like a hockey puck. I blame bad yeast, but at the same time, it is nice to have a husband who has such skill in the kitchen.

Got plans for valentines day?! I don't know what Jamos and I will do but we are planning ahead so we don't have to spend the entire day doing homework like our normal Sunday routine seems to be. Last night was actually an EASY homework night!! I couldn't believe it. It was AWESOME! So refreshing!

There is a cat at the SPCA that looks a lot like black bean...i am debating in my heart if I need to go and check it out....I do have to say, after I made the poster with a picture of BB, I got a few calls of wonderful residents who were eager to tell me they saw my cat! Unfortunatly, not so much. It was just the unfriendly look alike who was also eating food on my deck. :( Sad.

Oh, something else I want to tell you- my lovely readers-
Eddie Bauer. Great store.
Most of my life, I have not been SO excited about E.B clothing, it just wasn't my style, but as I get older (less than a month from the ripe age of 30)...I am finding it quite nice! Comfortable, etc., AND, I am IMPRESSED with their customer service and quality of products! 2 years ago I bought Jamos and umbrella from E.B. Somehow it broke, and so I took it back to the store- they replaced it- no questions asked. Then, it ripped...so, we took it back and they replaced it again, no questions asked! They have a lifetime warranty on their products.

In a world of less quality and more quantity, I am learning to appreciate a good piece of clothing/item/etc., So, I encourage you to go to your local E.B store. They have an additional 50% off their clearance...Jamos got a winter coat for $35 (normally $150). Quality matters.

Is it just me or do YOU like the smell of laundry soap as much as I do? I think sometimes I do laundry JUST so I can smell the soap...

I have yoga tonight. I was always a bit leary of yoga.I had no idea what it meant, but I have to say, I have REALLY enjoyed the last 1.5 years of my yoga experience. A few months ago we started having it 2 times a week. I think without it, I would be MUCH more tense...I do need to increase my cardio....that should be a serious goal to have starting ASAP.

Welp, enjoy your day.

Lately...

This has been so wonderful! :)

Foot rub?

Boy was this weekend a whirlwind! Friday all day we had set up for MP, so I took a vacation day from work in admissions. We were SO busy from 9am until 11pm that I didn't think I could wake up and pick up breakfast for 200 people by 6:30am. But, we managed. I think the event went well and we had 200 people for this one, which is great! In October we only had 80 people- so, that makes a HUGE difference in everything! But, things seemed to go off without a hitch! Praise God.

Jamos came Friday night and worked Saturday too- he was the sound/lights guy which was awesome- since our audio guys bailed on us.

I can't even describe to you how busy our lives have been. We got home at around 6pm after being gone since 6:30am and had to start on our homework! And, today, ALL DAY from.... 12-9pm we have been taking quizes, writing papers, etc., it is unbelievable. I can't even belive it- and it is all for the 2 credit class- not our other 3 credit class. How can that be legal/possible?

Anyways, Pray for us. Pray for our sanity!!!