february 2013

Hello, loves!

Here's what our February looked like for Camp Ewers...  

Cheesecake and shopping date with the best mom in the entire world.

Cooking.

I try to cook at least three nights a week.

Cooking dinner after a long day at the office is far from what I'd rather be doing some days.  However, it is so rewarding when Hubs loves the meal.  I enjoy trying new recipes and really, really enjoy adding recipes to our list of favorites.

This sweet and sour chicken recipe definitely makes the list!

Yes, I use paper plates.  

We implement the "I cook, you clean" policy in or home.

Dale has been feeling spunky lately!  Yeah!

I started him on Glucosamine supplements. 

They have made a DRAMATIC difference!

Months ago, I began noticing that Dale wouldn't wake up with me in the morning.  I knew his joints were more stiff than when he was younger, but wasn't sure what, if anything, I could do for him.  After doing a litthe research (there's a webmd for pets!), I came across Glucosamine.  Within three days of his first supplement he was standing up at the foot of my bed before I could get both feet on the ground.  He's much quicker to get on his feet, more playful, and his self esteem has improved.  In fact, he may be downright full of himself.  I busted him on our bed the other day and while a part of me was surprised he could or would even jump up there, I knew (and he knew) that he's not allowed on on our bed.  I walked over to him to help him get down but before I was able to, he jumped down and took off after one of the cats.  Crazy old man!

*Supplements sold at Wal-Mart.

Polly has been doing laundry.

That's not true. 

I only wish it was.

She does like sleeping in the dirty laundry.



Bill spends the majority of his time waiting on his daddy to get home from work.

And trying to stay warm.

Our Sundays have been spent napping, movie watching, and relaxing.
Below is a picture CJ snapped of me and the fur kids doing what we love.
We make the most of our Sundays here!

Hubs was finally able to taste his first batch of home brew!!!
They tasted great!

Yes, that's Kramer on the labels.

I am so proud of him for being so patient and creative!

Our hot water heater went out a few weeks ago.

It had been a long week and I welcomed Friday with open arms.  I was so looking forward to a margarita date with my man.  First, I needed a shower.  Problem was - there was no hot water.  The pilot light on our hot water heater had been out before but we were able to fix it.  Not this time, baby.  We were convinced that we weren't going to let a little cold water come between us and our margaritas.  Literally.  I wasn't about to get in a cold shower.  So, we heated up water on the stove and I was able to bathe in approximately three inches of water.  It did the job, just fine!



We had family come in town from Chicago and had so much fun spending time with them.  CJ and I both feel grateful that we had the opportunity to make such special memories with such fun cousins!



Dave and Melanie's son plays baseball at Southern Illinois.

We we went to go see #33, our Derek, pitch against UAB.

Go Salukis!



My friend, Meredith, came by and brought me this pretty little coffee mug.

Wasn't that sweet?  I love it!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

xo

janurary 2013



I can't believe January is almost over.

I really feel like I say that about every month.

Since our wedding last year, time seems to fly by.

Either way, January has come and gone.

Here is the proof that we enjoyed it...

Polly loves watching TV. 

Hubs was watching a game on his phone and showed it to her.

It was the perfect size for her!



Polly:  Mom looks like she's really enjoying relaxing right now.

Bill:  She does.

Polly:  Do you want to jump up and dart around the house?

Bill:  YES.

Polly:  And meow at the top of our lungs?

Bill:  YES.

Polly:  And run really fast behind her head?  She hates that! 

Bill:  YES.

Polly:  And...

Bill:  HUSH.  She's reading our minds.

Polly:  What?

Bill:  Stare at her. 

Polly:  No.  Let's stare right behind her head!

Bill:  Why?

Polly:  She thinks we see things that she can't see and it freaks her out.

Bill:  Ok.

(I realize that I just completely made up a whole cat conversation)



Busted.

My cousins came for a visit.  We enjoyed their company...but we really, really, really enjoyed this little girl's company even more.  Sweet girl!



We did some babysitting for my SIL.

We made homemade pizza, baked a birthday cake, then watched Ice Age 3.

I hope my nephew and neice had as much fun as we did!

Happy Birthday, Jonah!

My handsome, big hearted, soccer playing nephew managed to turn another year older.

I get sad when I look at old pictures, but excited to think about the young man he'll become.

He truly is such a special little boy. 

We love our Jonah James!

My talented husband completely refurbished our bathroom cabniets.  The cabinets and shelves are as old as our house...which is almost 100 years.  Do you know how many layers of paint can accumulate in that time?  Me either.  CJ sanded the cabinets all the way down to the original wood, then put a fresh coat of white paint on them.  They look fantastic!  In the picture below, only the two bottom cabinets are up.  He did finish all four, but we can't decide if we want to put them up or leave the space open.  



Date night.

Ahhh, date night.

I made chicken pecan fettuccini with broccoli italiano one night.

Click here for the recipe.

It was delicious.  And easy.  Winner.

Tonight, I made parmesan crusted chicken.  Instead of mayo, I used fat free sour cream.  CJ and I both enjoyed it and it only required four ingredients including the chicken.  Winner.

Tomorrow I'm making baked sweet and sour chicken.  I'm hoping it will be all sorts of yummy.

Last week, my sweet man came home with a dozen roses.  I was so happy!

Aren't they beautiful?

Last weekend my brother had his engagement party.

My family and I had a great time and we are so happy for John and Mary!

I had to take a picture of how HOT my husband was/is.  :)

CJ got a beer brewing kit for Christmas. 

Because beer brewing in Alabama is illegal, we are not brewing it.

What you see below is very thick apple juice.

Really.

xo



december 2012

The last month of 2012 looked a little like this...

I look forward to Southern Comfort egg nog each year.  

With a few sprinkles of nutmeg and cinnamon, it's like dessert!

While my mind is now focused on desserts, I should also mention that I love hot chocolate!

What's better than sweets?

Diamonds!

Hubs surprised me with these little pretties for our one year anniversary.

I'm a lucky girl.

He also bought me this!

Kidding!

It's one of the private/corporate jets that CJ details.

Hubs has a talent for making older planes look new, no doubt.

He's taken his knowledge of all things paint related along with his eye for detail and applied it to refurbishing older furniture.  He's so talented!  

Below is an old sewing table that he made over and gave as a gift to his sister and BIL for Christmas.

When he's not busy at work or looking for his next furniture project...he's building fires.

We love our fireplace - I think we make one three or more nights a week!   

For the record, I do things too!

Pictures of me folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or unloading the dishwasher just aren't very cute.

Pictures of food are more interesting!

This Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe is easy and yummy.

This Beef Stroganoff Recipe was also very good.

This recipe for the best sandwiches ever is one of our favorites.  We crave it!

Have I convinced anyone that I slave over the oven day in and day out?

Maybe?  Yes?  Good!

By the way, if you truly are convinced, you are probably one of those people that fall for the "free cruise" phone calls with waves crashing and seagulls squawking in the background.  

What does consume a lot of my time at home is rounding up puppy dog hair.

This picture was taken after spending only fifteen minutes with my Furminator.

Because this little puppy dog seems to have a hair turnover rate of about 3 seconds.

Oh, and keeping Polly out of the fireplace...and out of everything else for that matter!

Wait!  AND keeping Bill off of our laptop.

No matter how much trouble they cause, we love our fur kids.

They sure do keep us laughing!

Look at this picture closer.

See that squirrel?  

So did Bill.

Polly missed it.  Honestly, she probably didn't care.  

She'd rather watch television than nature any day.

We also had a great time preparing for Christmas.

I really enjoyed wrapping presents.

CJ really enjoyed framing his face with tinsel wreaths in restaurants.  

What would any month be without pizza?

Not a good one!

We visited Slice a few times.

The Rockefeller pizza is yumm-o to my tumm-o.

Oh.

And...

My brother asked his girlfriend, Mary, to be his wife on Christmas day!

I am so excited for them!

As if that wasn't enough excitement, my cousin Victoria met her little girl on January 1st at around 11 am!  

So, that's our December. 

xo