Recipe #1: French Toast Casserole (for my day 0 project)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Toast-Casserole/Detail.aspx
This was a good recipe, but the inside was still too gooey when the top was brown... I gave it a 3/5 stars and will stick to regular french toast.

We had a baby shower for my SIL, Kristin today and it was fun (and a lot of great food)! Her nursery is Mickey Mouse themed, so she got lots of Mickey stuff and I made her a diaper cake:

Bathtime pathetic-ness

I've seen a few friends blog this- Complete 101 tasks in 1001 days. The list was harder to make than I thought... I got a little desperate at the end and stole some stuff off other people's lists :-)

Here are the Rules from the website: http://dayzeroproject.com/about/
(11/101)

1. Build a snowman
2. See a movie in 3D- toy story 2
3. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
4. Go rockclimbing
5. Spend a rainy day watching films in my PJ's
6. Pay off credit card
7. Eat at 10 new restaurants(3/10) Todai, Burger Bar, Brazilian Steak House,
8. See 10 classic movies I've never seen (0/10)
9. Go ice skating- Raymie's Bday party
10. Go to a concert
11. Go camping
12. Volunteer
13. Fly a kite
14. Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"
15. Stop biting nails
16. Go to the zoo- went to Columbus and Cleveland this summer
17. Go fishing - didn't catch anything (3/20)
18. Ride a roller coaster
19. Go skiing
20. Finish a book in a day- skinny bitch (3/21)
21. Go to a haunted house
22. Paint a picture
23. Make a new friend
24. Fire a gun
25. Take a bubble bath
26.Go vegetarian for a week
27. Get 3 massages
28. Read 20 books (5/20) Skinny Bitch, Short Straw, Plum Lovin', Love Lies &Liquor, Santa Fe Dead
29. Make a list of 101 things that make me happy
30. Work out every day for a month
31. Get a new pair of glasses
32. Host a party
33. Ride a train
34. Organize photo collection
35. Go tubing
36. Surprise someone with flowers
37. Buy myself flowers
38. Scrapbook the wedding
39. Visit an apple orchard
40. Do a random act of kindness for a stranger
41. Go a week without chocolate
42. Wear a dress every day for a week.
43. Plant a tree
44. Go hiking
45. Go to a new amish store
46. Go to the beach
47. Have a picnic
48. Get a pedicure
49. Visit a pumpkin patch
50. Plant an herb garden
51. Go without fast food for a month
52. go canoeing
53. Visit a local winery
54. take pictures in a photo booth
55. Make 100 new recipes (4/100) French toast casserole, snickerdoodles, ciabatta bread, 3 cheese penne bake,
56. Send a card to someone just because
57. Go Mini Golfing
58. Send a holiday card to all nieces and nephews
59. Cash $200 from the coin jar
60. Go to 3 different farmer's markets (2/3) Sunbury, Mount Vernon
61. Go to a clippers game
62. Go to a Blue Jacket's game
63. Go to the Wilds
64. Make a ginger bread house
65. Don't put hair in a pony tail for a week
66. Buy a great digital camera- started saving!
67. Clean out my old room at Mom's house- took a load to good will!
68. Stay off the computer for a full day
69. Try 5 new fruits or veggies (0/5)
70. Run 6 races (2/6) Hoover Hustle 31:07 4-18, Rescue Run
71. Fit into a size 8
72. Take a creative class
73. Contribute to savings every paycheck
74. Get window boxes for front deck
75. Stain front deck
76. Stain back deck
77. Make a path to front steps
78. Organize my scrapbooking room
79. Visit a city in Ohio I've never been to
80. Give up texting for one whole day.
81. make apple butter
82. watch casablanca
83. make a homemade pie- apple- yum!
84. Buy something on Etsy
85. try 3 new ice cream flavors
86. Give 100 compliments in a day
87. Learn to play craps and play at a table in Vegas- hated it!
88. Wear a bathing suit in a public place and feel confident- think i just don't care anymore.
89. Build a bird feeder
90. Take a picture(s) every day for a month
91. Order a drink with a dirty name
92. Buy a friend a random gift
93. Get a new bedroom set
94. 10 random acts of kindness in 1 day
95. Go a whole day without saying anything negative
96. Use only reusable bags shopping 10x in a row
97. Organize Basement
98. Have a sister night
99. finish this damn list
100. Get a shark mop
101. Take the husband on a great mystery trip

More snowy stuff...

shoveling off the deck

Let me in!

on the roof

I spent the last few snowdays making a bunch of shower invitations for my SIL's baby shower...

I ran out of the white so I used some off white- they're not as "brownish" as they look in the picture!!!Here's the outside

and here's the inside!

I still need to address envelopes- the not fun part :-(

B & P snuggling

We had such a fun night tonight! The drive home from school wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- it took a while, but not bad! When I got home, we took the dogs for a walk. It was so pretty! We had paninis for dinner and went over to the inlaws to clear their driveway (not that it did much good). We built a big snowman (pictures to follow:-) and played cards. The mile home from the inlaws to our house was horrible! But we're home, safe, and don't have anyplace we need to be this weekend, so I'm settled in and sleeping in tomorrow!

We had our first snow day last Friday. I was terrified they wouldn't call school off- Thursday night it took me twice as long to get home as it usually does and it only got worse throughout the night! Bill was at classes until later and the roads were horrible for him- especially in AV.

So, it was a fun 3 day weekend. My plans were to get all my Christmas stuff away, which I did most of on Saturday, but we both ended up with food poisoning on Saturday night :-( We're still feeling run down, but hopefully, we'll be a little better by tomorrow. I'm super bored and tired of just sitting around. I was hoping to get the house nice and sparkly, but I was pretty much worthless today!

This is crazy Pdog with one of his toys.

We got a bunch of snow and went sledding at Davis Beach in Apple Valley. Not as good as the sledding last year, but still a fun time. Next time we go, we'll take the dogs- there were 4 goldens (one puppy) and a black lab there. I'm still really enjoying living out here and how pretty it is. I took my camera with us when we went sledding but kinda forgot about it. Oh well. Next time.

Massive baking fail...

I had some very ripe bananas, so I figured I'd make some delicious banana bread. I mixed up all the ingredients, put them in a pan and baked them at 325 for 40 minutes. I check it regularly and sure enough, it sure looks done. So, I take it out and let it cool, come back in 10 minutes and the flippin' thing has deflated or something. so I stick a knife in it and it's super gooey, but like I said, the outside is done. I decide to flip it onto a plate to better evaluate the situation. It SLIDES out of the pan (in a bad tidal wave kinda sliding way). Being the resourceful person I am, I put it on a baking sheet and decide to make a.... well I'm not even sure what to call it- Banana lump? I suck at baking! Here are some pictures for your amusement:

After the tidal wave

The banana lump

Bill actually laughed when I brought it to him to eat.

On a totally unrelated note: Happy 2010!

We had a very fun holiday season and hope you did too!

These are the Christmas cards I made this year.

We took a walk this morning and everything was so pretty with the snow!

Playing after the walk

Brin

Sammy

Busy! Busy!
I decided to make my own Christmas cards this year using my cricut. I'll be posting pics of them after I send them out. I've only made about 20 and I need a whole lot more than that...The plan is to make as many as possible this weekend (maybe come up with a more simple design so I can crank 'em out faster). My sister and nephew are coming to visit, so I can make her and Z-man help. Diana is so good at the crafty stuff and is going to teach me how to sew(starting this weekend).
School is going well. I'm anxious to get back to the regular schedule after the holidays- I feel like we haven't gotten a whole bunch done lately with all the plays and general crazyness. Needless to say, I'm so excited for Christmas break! We go up until next Tuesday! We survived both the big and little kids Christmas programs and they were so cute!
Bill starts a new job with APex this Friday. I'll blog more about that when I understand it more :-) so thoughts and prayers that it goes well would be appreciated!
One of my best friends (that came to our wedding about a year ago) recently was engaged and has set the date to get married in Vegas at Ceasar's on July 31st! Katie and I met in college when we were both doing a summer program for kids in Sicily. I'm going to be part of the bridal party! I'm so excited!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday! We had the Bentz side of the family over to our house for dinner. Everything was delicious and it was a fun night!

We put up the tree this past weekend

Sammy didn't like being a reindeer...

The man's version of putting away the leftovers:

Yes, that is mashed potatoes, still in the pan, and chicken on a spatula in the fridge...

So, a teacher started with a new class in Columbus. Wanting to make a good impression, she told the class she was an Ohio State fan. She said, "Raise your hand if you're a buckeyes fan too". The whole class raised their hands, except for one little girl.

The teacher said, "Sally, you don't like the bucks?"

Sally said, "No, I like Purdue."

"Why?" The teacher asked.

"Because my mom and dad like Purdue" Sally responded.

"You don't have to like and do everything your mom and dad do. You should figure out what YOU like. What if your mom sold drugs and your dad stole from stores? What would you be?"

Sally says,"A Michigan fan"

I accidentally shocked myself with a dog collar today and it hurt! No wonder the dogs have learned so quickly!

It's getting to be that crazy time of year when it seems like you barely have time to breathe!


First of all, the Bentz side of the family is having Thanksgiving at our new house! We had it last year too and it was very fun! I'm not nearly as nervous this year about the turkey, but I am wondering what else I should make- the plan is to keep it simple, but delicious. The MIL is bringing the pies and stuffing, and SIL said she'd bring whatever I wanted her to. The tricky part is Bill's father is a very picky eater, so I want to make sure he has enough to eat- I guess I'll just tell Kristin (sil) to bring something Chuck-approved and he'll eat turkey and rolls and what Cheryl (mil) is bringing. I don't think anyone will go hungry...


Speaking of dinner and going hungry, (the only reason I write this is because I'm fairly certain the hubby doesn't read the blog...) Bill's new favorite thing to do is, while I'm making dinner, he'll be on his computer or whatever, and if I make any kind of comment, he'll say "Just wait a minute and I guess I can come show you how to cook" or some comment like that... this coming from the man who makes a killer mac n cheese or omelet (or at least pretends like that's all he can make) He thinks it's hilarious. I think that's why they don't let donkeys attend school...


It's coming up on a year that we've been married already! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone! We have so much fun together and I think we compliment each other well, especially in the sense that he's so easy going to balance out my need to plan everything! I sincerely am lucky and am enjoying my life so much (despite constantly being sick)!


I honestly don't remember a time when I've been so sick so often. I think it's been a rough year for everyone- I missed 2 days this week, which were spent sleeping and coughing. :-( I know it doesn't help that I see over 500 kids/week and touch all the computers/mice that they do! It's all part of teaching the lovely little ones!


Not to keep rambling or anything, but the funniest thing happened the other day at breakfast duty- I was walking by this group of boys (4th & 5th graders) and I heard the word "MoFo" being tossed around. So I go up to the table (a little thrown) and ask what they were calling each other. They repeat "mofo" and I launch into my "school appropriate language" speech. One of the boys stops me and says, "What's wrong with saying that?" So I say, "Well, ummmmm, what do you think that means?" and he says "You know, a cross between a mohawk and a fro?".... ohhhhh. Mofro! So relieved, but they're probably wondering why Mrs. B was so scandalized at the word... Hope I didn't accidentally teach them something new! I'm enjoying teaching for the most part this year and feel a lot more comfortable with the subject and the older kids than I have the past 2 years.


My commute is so much better since we moved to AV. It's such a pretty drive. In fact, the other day on my way home from work, I saw a bald eagle just sitting in a field! It was amazing! Bill, however, started a new job that's in the Polaris area- it now takes him about an hour each way. He says he doesn't mind it and is such a good sport, but I do feel bad for him!


My sister and her family came to stay with us last weekend and we had such a good time! We went swimming, cooked lots of good food, played and watched football, and played cards (once the kids went to sleep). See Sharon's blog for a few pics and cute stories with the kids.


We're in the process of training the dogs with the invisible fence... which is what my grandma would call "interesting". Sammy and Palmer are actually doing very well. You show Palmer the flag and he runs the opposite direction. I was taking Brin out this morning and she started shaking when I put the collar on her :-( Needless to say, we didn't train- we just had fun and barked at a couple deer. She's a good listener and pretty good about staying around anyway, so we'll see. I'm trying to come up with a good Christmas card that will rival the ones I've sent out in years past (using all 3 instead of just Brin) but haven't gotten one together yet- hopefully I will...


I got a notice to join a page on facebook the other day for my 10th high school reunion!!!! It startles me that it's been that long! So crazy! AND I just realized that I'll be 28 in less than a month! Goodness!


Wow! I guess I had a lot to say! If anyone is still reading, hope that was a cure for your insomnia!