25 Days of Christmas (recap)

         I decided to finally put all of last years 25 days of Christmas blogs in one place to share with you this year. Although you will certainly be getting some Christmas/ Winter blogs again this year I am going to be super busy getting everything ready for Dustin to get home so I won't have time to get a blog out each day!!  So with no further ado here are your 25 days of Christmas:

Day 1: Frosty the Snowman Fridge

Day 2: Special Advent Calender for the Hubby

Day 3: Snow Day Fun!

Day 4: Christmas Card Holder

Day 5: Paper Snowflakes

Day 6: St Nicholas Day

Day 7: Decorating the House

Day 8: Glitters like a Diamond

Day 9: Christmas Music

Day 10: Christmas Star

Day 11: Oven Mitts

Day 12: Christmas Movies

Day 13: Yarn Wrapped Letters

Day 14: Table Decorations

Day 15: Christmas in the Netherlands

Day 16: Yummy Pie

Day 17: Christmas Pictures!!

Day 18: Christmas Lights

Day 19: Wrapped up memories

Day 20: Snowmen

Day 21: Sweet and Salty

Day 22:  Scrap-booked Christmas Cards

Day 23:  Ice Skating!

Day 24 and 25: Cookies and Presents Galore!


I know that is a lot to go through in one post, but I hope you enjoy the posts, and maybe even have a chance to make a few of them yourselves!!

Ice Skating in the Park!!

So I am so excited to show these pictures, you may recognize this beautiful couple from their fall shoot I did about a month ago. I have been actively planning out winter shoots for all my past clients who wanted to come back once the snow falls. But I was tired of waiting and wanted to have more pictures to work on. Smiling faces of my friends always makes the weekends more enjoyable!! And this was no exception, plus I got to be part of a really fun winter activity with them!! I hope you enjoy this preview of their winter photo shoot as much as I do!!

And look who else showed up to join the Sanson's ice skating!! Gosh they are such a cute family!! These are just a few pictures I snapped of them having such a blast. It was the girls first time skating and they were on the ice and going like pros!!  But don't you worry once Germany decides to get some snow I have a wonderful Idea for this family's next photo-shoot so stick around for more cuteness!!

Turkey Sweet Potatoe Shepards pie

This recipe is originally a Rachel Ray recipe. But since I am too lazy to write it word for word it is kinda dumbed down by me. Her version served 4-6 people mine serves about 3.

Need:

1 lb or ground turkey
1-2 sweet potatoes
1/2 onion diced
1 bell pepper (red)
1-2 sweet peppers diced
2 pieces of garlic
1 small can of tomato paste
Shredded chedder
small sour cream
little milk
salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, nutmeg and chili powder to taste

Instructions:

1. Start out by peeling and cubing the sweet potatoes, and put them in a pot cover them with water and boil 10-15 mins until soft.

2. While potatoes boil brown turkey, about half way through add the onions. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and chili powder. Once turkey is cooked add the peppers, garlic and tomato paste and let good for another 5-10 mins taste and season as needed. I needed more salt.

3. Once Potatoes are soft drain and mash with a small container of sour cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and as much milk as needed to make a creamy texture.

4. Pour the meat into a small baking dish, and cover with the mashed potatoes, add a layer of cheddar cheese and put in the oven at 450* and bake until golden!

5. Serve with a veggie and Devour!!!

Taking a step back.

           So I have had some heartfelt conversations with friends and family lately about the sentiment of actually spending time and writing to each other. It shows how much you appreciate each other. Facebook and email has made it so easy to just write what you are feeling at the moment and not really put your heart into it. Letter writing is non existent anymore. And I want to change this. My grandparents are not really connected to the internet and I feel like being so far away I rarely update them on what is going on in my life. So I have decided starting this Holiday season and for the next year I want to write to them as often as possible. Tell them about our great adventures, and just reconnect.

          Along with my grandparents a part of the military life is making friends and slowly slipping away from each others daily lives when you pcs. Yes you are still able to see pictures and anything they share on Facebook. But not everything is shared and you slowly realize no matter what you do they are distant friends in no time. So I have decided I am going to start writing to a few of them and try to stay more connected! I always had pen-pals in elementary and middle school and the joy of hearing from a friend by post is a feeling you can't replace. I plan to spend 2-3 hours a week writing letters, exchanging stories, and sending pictures to my friends and family. I want to take this step back and really connect with people.

        Just today I wrote my first letter to my Grandfather. I cried the entire time I wrote it because the holidays used to always be spent with my grandparents and this year one wont be here to share the joy with and I know he is going to be so lonely with out her there. I wish so much I could be there with him this Christmas. But I hope my letters, Christmas card, and another big shipment of pictures will help to keep him company.

Self Portrait

So I follow a couple photographer bloggers. And I am also friends with other photographers, and all of them think its very challenging but good to learn your photography skills by taking self portraits.

I totally agree now after trying that it is very challenging as we are our own worst critic. You have to work on posing, and lighting and angles and everything while also trying to take your own cues. So here are my resulting first self portaits.

Next year I am going to do a 365 photo challenge to produce one fully edited beautiful picture a day!! Will make me pay more attention to every picture I take. And taking a new one each day!! And I plan on having once a week be a self portrait and hopefully we will see throughout a year my improvement!!

Nothing like the love of a brother!!

I just wanted to pop on here and share a couple of the super cute pictures I took of the Thompson family!

They had 3 boys who were as charming as they were naughty!! I just loved hanging out with them and I can imagine playing with them everyday keeps you young! And they really loved each other you could tell!!!

This one is probably my favorite picture from the whole session!!

Scrapbooking your Christmas Cards

So although my time for this activity that I so so so love doing is very limited with house chores, working out and homework I do occasionally get to indulge!!

And thanks to my super awesome Aunt/2nd cousin, who has been awesome about hooking me up with scrap-booking supplies which are hard and expensive to buy here, I have been pulling out my supplies far more often!! I really do love documenting my life and fully intend to finish both the monthly and the yearly scrapbooks for Kyra and when I do I will share bits and pieces of them with you.

But as a quick project, that didn't require me to dig through pictures and supplies all that much I scrap-booked the Christmas Cards we received last year!! I originally saw this on Pinterest probably or maybe one of the many blogs I try to read. But either way I thought it was a brilliant way to save the picture cards each year and be able to look back each year at the different people who have come and gone in our lives :D

So here is Christmas 2012. Such beautiful people aren't they :D

And on an entirely different note that I wanted to brag about but didn't wanna make another blog about because it isn't all that exciting. We are doing another round of potty training, with the same methods as before and Today was a really great day not only did she go pee on the potty but went number 2 for the first time too!! She finally got enough stars to get her book prize and is just short of a toy!! Although I do count anytime that she starts peeing on the floor and I rush her to the bathroom to finish and she finishes on the potty as a star! But progress is progress even if its slow. Maybe it will be like weight loss slow progress is progress that sticks? Lets hope!

2 months of Blogilates!!!

So I am not sure all that much has happened as far as weight loss in the last month I have lost maybe 2lbs.

But from the day I started doing Blogilates until today I have lost 14.75 inches from around my waist, stomach, hips, and thighs! These number mean so much more to me than weight loss and I am glad I can finally see that!

Although I am proud that I am only .8lbs away from reaching the 150s. Weight comes off slow because I am gaining muscle but also because the weight that takes time to get rid of stays off!! So I am happy with my slow progress!

Kyra Bakes Cookies!

So in my previous blog I mentioned my computer possibly having a virus...I am not sure what happened to make it stop acting up but we are back to normal.

So now to write a couple blogs for you all!!

Well they aren't the most exciting blogs ever but lots of pictures to look at :D Although I am going to a Festival so those of you who like to read my blog for the travel aspect keep an eye out later this week, because if all goes as planned there will be some great pictures coming soon :D Not to mention all the Christmas Markets too!!

But for now....some adorable pictures of Kyra!!

Project 52: Colors

So I feel like it is time for an update on everything that has been going on!! I am currently 2 weeks into my 8 week course of women studies I currently have an A with a quiz under my belt!! So although the reading material is dreadfully boring, the class isn't half bad.

Also if you haven't already noticed I have gotten a new camera!!! And started to really pursue my interest in photography!! Maybe someday when we are back in the states where there isn't taxes and stuff to worry about I will be able to make money off of it. But for now I am simply doing it as a way to learn the ins and outs of photography!!

Today I did a family photo shoot so they could have pictures for Christmas Cards!! It turned out great and I will do a blog about it later!! Yesterday I also did a photo shoot of Kyra!! One of which will make it onto our Christmas Card!!!

But while waiting for them to come to the shoot today I had a chance to photography the beautiful colors of the park!! Fall is such a colorful time of year. Here are the 3 Prettiest colors I saw while I was there!

On another note I would like to thank everyone who comes and continues to come back and read my blog!! Because of you I have reached over 10,000 views!! That is amazing!! And proof that I am doing something right :D

Sorry I haven't been writing that much in the past week or so, I have somehow managed to get a virus that only affects a couple things on my computer but one of which is my Blog and it only allows me to see one line of text at a time so it is more difficult to read what I have written!! Hopefully when Dustin gets home he will know what to do!!


For complete list of all pictures from my Project 52 follow this link to Resolutions which has links to all of my project 52 blogs.

A tour of my house!

So this has taken forever for me to do as I tend to really clean one room at a time but by the time I get the rest of the house done, the room I started in needs cleaned again!! This is very normal I am sure.

But I have been wanting to take you on a tour of on post housing in Germany. We were lucky with out timing. We only qualified for a 2 bedroom house when we arrived 36 weeks pregnant. But do to the lack of availability, and frankly the fact I refused to have my child while still living in a hotel they reluctantly gave us a 3 bedroom!!

I have only one complaint about the house and that is the size of the kitchen but I am not sure a women will ever fully be happy with that part of the house seeing as that is OUR room lol!!

My kitchen nothing special and has limited counter space

Dining room, this room is weird shaped but We have managed to fill it decently

My living room Planning on getting a grey rug hopefully soon to add to this!!

Entry way!!

Extra room, this room has no real purpose at this time, however the couch does pull out to a bed so if we have guests :D

Guest Room Bathroom and me tehe

Laundry in the hallway!! Kind of annoying but its alright!

Our main bathroom!! This is the biggest bathroom I have ever had <3 br="" it="">

Hallway!!

Kyra's room, this one is my favorite!!

Dustin and I's room!!