From the heart of us all

It is that time of year again...I am by no means a hopeless romantic.  I did however LOOOOOOVE my husbands gift this year:::: Chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva.  I had been hinting that I was craving them for weeks.  Yay to listening!

A good friend of mine, Erin is getting married this weekend in Door County at the Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay.  It is nice that we will have a little getaway just us two and celebrate with Erin and Joe!  I look forward to rekindling a little...

http://www.stoneharbor-resort.com/

Max is going to have his Auntie and Uncle watch him overnight tonight at our place.  He will LOVE it!  They always have a ton of fun:

So...I am going to go off and finish getting ready.  Have a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, here's to nothing...

This, really is my first "blog:.  I started this in hopes to actually post daily...but I have lacked.  Up until now I did not have a clear thought process.  I think I do now.

My brother, my only brother deleted me from Facebook.  Why is this relevant...because I cannot wrap my head around why I am so hurt by this.  After all, what did I do.  He recently broke up with my sister-in-law and I have not spoke to him since.  It is not like I am mad at him, it is just that I really want to stay out of it as much as possible.  My sister-in-law vents to me and I am okay with this...maybe I use the rationale of "I am needed"...she needs me, he doesn't.  To keep a long, long story short...we have not spoke for weeks.  We really have not had a real relationship anyway...but we at least spoke.  He would call me often for rides, where we would talk about sports mostly...I enjoyed that.  I knew that the only reason we talked was because I was convenient...but I did not care, I enjoyed the talks.

So, in spite of my sour attitude, or depressed state I am making Pumpkin Bread.  After Halloween I cooked our small pumpkins and made puree...I ended up with over 12 cups of puree.  Today, I use up my supply of puree.

Here is the recipe:

2 C. white sugar
1 C. brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 C. pumpkin
3 1/2 C flour, I use whole wheat, which makes it closer to 2 C.
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. each: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 C. water

• In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, cloves and allspice; add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition.
• Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 2 loaves.

I will post pics when I am done...

YUM!

Also...today is Super Bowl Sunday...I am a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan, they are playing in my stadium and I cannot root for either team.  Ah, the halftime show should be a blast though...GO BLACK EYES PEAS!

Day 1 of the rest of my "blog" life...

A little background about me and why I wanted to start this blog:

• I am a proud wife and Mother to an amazing 16 month old boy, named Max.
• I work full-time in the Human Services field; my "title" is Job Development Team Leader.  Fancy title but what I do is assist people of varying abilities attain and retain employment, I also lead a team of 6 Employment Consultants.  I LOVE my job!  Really, I do...I know you often hear people say that, but I cannot rave enough.  I have found a career that fulfills me emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially. My job also gives me enough flexibility to be a full-time working Mom. 
• I have everything I could ever have asked for...which brings me to why I named this blog "The Grass is Greener".  I truly feel like I live the dream.  Prior to meeting my Husband, Chris I dated a guy who will remain nameless who did not satisfy me in any way.  I stayed in that relationship because I was comfortable, after all we were together since High School.  I thought I knew what security and safety was...I thought I was happy, that he was "good" enough for me.  We separated in February of 2003; I did a lot, A LOT of soul searching but out of nowhere I stumbled upon my Husband.  I was done "looking" for Mr. Right, content being single, working my butt off and living alone.  I got to the point where I just didn't care to look...well at least for awhile.  The love, commitment ,loyalty and understanding that we share together is one out of a book.  He truly is my everything, perfect for me in so many ways.  We are polar opposites, but we fit; we really fit.  I hope he stumbles upon this some day to see how I feel because I know I do not tell him enough.  My last relationship pretty much soured me towards affection to the point where I am numb at times.  Chris has opened me up just enough and I hope over time I continue to open up and let loose a little; I have no doubt I will.  Every day I am more comfortable in my own skin...
• My 16 month old baby boy Max is my entire world.  I did not know what true, unconditional love was until the day I became pregnant.  I have been blessed with an amazing child.  He is smart, sweet and cuddly cute.  I may have the worlds most smiley and giggly baby.  There is nothing I wouldn't do for Max.  Words cannot express my love for that little boy...
• I have an amazing core group of friends and family.  I grew up in a "what I would call normal" family that had a unique dynamic.  I would say for the most part I grew up in a single parent household.  My Mom worked her tail off to make sure we (my 3 brothers and sisters and I) were all taken care of.  We never went without.  I will neglect to mention my biological Father as I have worked on myself for some time to forgive him and move on with my life.  My Mom married a terrific man when I was an adult.  He really fills my void for a "Father".  I wish I was more connected to him; but he is present  and stable and I really appreciate the constant.  My Mom and I have never really seen eye to eye but we love and respect each other.  My sisters are some of my best friends.  I have one brother Will and we were very close growing up since we are next to each other in birth order however over the years we have grown apart.  I do hope someday we can reconnect in a real sense.  I am grateful for what I have and know I am truly lucky.

...enough about me for today.  I envision this blog to be a spot for family activities, ideas, recipes...at the very least a place to collect my thoughts and let loose at the end of a long, but very worthwhile day.