This is a dessert platter

We're about to head over to our friends' house, and I would like to present, my dessert platter.

Everything on here was made by me except for the pretzels. Those were from a tin we got, but I thought I'd throw them on here anyway. My main goal was not to put together the most chocolatey, delicious-o dessert platter ever, but it was to clean out all the goodies that are at my house.

There are magic cookie bars, chocolate cookies, oatmeal scotches, pretzel turtles,and the aforementioned, chocolate-covered pretzels. You do not see the chocolate chip cookies on there because they are my Hubs favorites, and he would not be happy if I gave them away.

So farewell, my sweet friends. I hope you all get eaten so I don't have to bring you back.

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Goodbye 2009

The Baldwins have made it through 2009. It wasn't the most pleasant of years, but hey, there are ups and downs in everything. It's also the end of a decade. I'll be entering my 30s in the next few months, which I'm not really worried about. The Hubs has already survived his 30s, and he keeps telling me that they were better than his 20s. Let's sure hope so. So as the year draws to an end, here's a look back and some of the high and low points of the past year.

2009 Lows

• Finding out each and every month that we were a no go on the baby. Hopes from the two week wait were dashed with just one visit to the bathroom.
• The passing of Comet. I still can't talk about it, but you can read about it here.
• Hubs had his hours at work cut. He's back to a regular 40-hour week, but for several months, it was cut 20%.
• Was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and PCOS, and the Hubs was diagnosed with not so good sperm. That was one rough day at the doctor's office.
  

2009 Highs

• Meeting so many great people online through blogs and Twitter. It's amazing the connections that can be made.
• The Hubs and I are still employed. There are many people out there that have not been so lucky.
• We also celebrated our fourth anniversary and the Hubs 40th birthday.
• We went to several concerts and events including a couple Titans's game, Metallica, O.A.R. (for the 7th time), and the most amazing concert I've ever been to - Eddie Vedder solo.
• I lost 50 pounds!

If I had to give 2009 a theme, it would be the "Year of Infertility," but I also have to remind myself that it hasn't been that awful. I'm sure it could have been worse, but here's hoping that 2010 is a better year - a more fruitful year. There are a few more resolutions that I'll be setting, and I'll post about those later.

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Baking up a storm but also working out - gotta work on my fitness

We're one day away from Christmas, and I baked up a storm in preparation. I made yummy caramel corn, delicious chocolate chip cookies, tasty oatmeal scotches, sweet and salty turtle bites (left) and then there are the chocolate cookies that were supposed to be dipped in chocolate. I say supposed to be because that didn't quite happen. The white chocolate I tried to melt in my microwave just didn't turn out right. I think I heat it too much and it just turned into this hard crumbly mess. So no dipping for me. Oh well, the Hubs says the cookies are still good.

Why all this baking? Well, first off I love to bake. I think it's the sound of the mixer and the smell of the yummy goodies in the oven. I also have a bit of a sweet tooth. My sweet tooth has not been my friend over the years as I gained more and more weight, which I am now trying to lose.

If you have followed me for awhile, you might remember that I've lost 50 pounds this year. Lately, I haven't been too strict on my diet, but I'm still working out. So maintenance is my goal during the holiday season, and so far I'm doing good. I haven't gained any of the weight back, and I think that's because I've upped my workouts by signing up for a personal trainer and doing more running. That's right, I'm running. I don't plan on running a marathon or anything, but my goal is to do a few 5Ks next year. So far I'm doing good, but I know that it will be different running outside than on the treadmill. I've been stuck on the treadmill because it's been pretty chilly in the morning.

Now the personal trainer thing is new for me. I did that boot camp that wrapped up a couple months ago, and that was the first time that I did organized workouts with someone telling me what to do. It wasn't too bad. Then my instructor sent me an email saying she was moving gyms and offering personal training sessons. The gym is really close to work, so I go in the morning, shower then just walk over to work. Let me just say that she has found muscles I never knew I had. What seem like small little moves with weights make my arms feel like jello, and if I don't get a good booty soon, then I will just think I am doomed to always have a flapjack. She has me do so many lunges and squats that it is sometimes hard for me to walk down the stairs the next morning. It's not that painful though. It's a good burn. I'll continue going to her in the New Year, and my goal is to lose another 50 in 2010.

So here's to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers. I hope to close out with a year-end kind of post later, but in closing here are some pics of my yummy treats. Like how I do that? Tease with treats, sandwich in some workout updates and close it out with more delicious bites. It all balances out, right?

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What a week! At least it sort of kept my mind of the two week wait

It's been a long week. I was out of town for work, which I don't talk about on here for a reason. Let's just say it was a week of long days in a conference room. Needless to say, I was pretty tired when I got home on Thursday night. I was happy to see the Hubs and the Taiders though. I think they were glad to have me back, too.

We were supposed to head to Chattanooga to visit my grandparents on Saturday, but I woke with a sore throat and some aches. I don't have a fever, but I figured it would be best to stay away from the old folks. It could just be that I'm worn out from the week, and I'm hoping that is all it is.

On another note, I'm currently in my two week wait before AF is supposed to show up. Every month I hope she misses her monthly visit and stays away for nine months, and every month she rears her ugly head. This month there have been some changes. Ever since the Hubs and I met with our RE and he told us the news, we've been taking some pills. They are mostly vitamins, and they are supposed to help our molecules. At least that's what the doc said. I take four pills a day plus one and a half baby Tylenol, and the Hubs takes four pills a day. We're hopeful that the drugs help our molecules so much that we get pregnant on our own. The Hubs is excited about this prospect because it is a lot cheaper this way.

So during this two week wait, I keep thinking that maybe, just maybe, our molecules and cells are going to cooperate with us. I'm looking out for symptoms and counting down the days.

One thing I've noticed is slight cramping. It's not super painful like my AF cramps, but they are a bit uncomfortable. I posted about it on Twitter, and someone mentioned that maybe it's implantation cramping. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but I can't get that thought out of my head. Stay calm, Becc. Don't get too excited. I could have just eaten some bad Mexican food or something. The thing is that they've lasted a few days off and on. There haven't been any other signs other than tiredness, but I don't count that. It has been a long week.

So here's hoping but not getting my hopes up. That's really hard to do, you know?

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Another famous person sighting

On Friday, we were eating at a little Italian restaurant that offers a pretty darn good buffett for lunch. Sitting there at a table in the middle of the restaurant, we look outside to see a commotion. There happened to be a music video being filmed outside with the one and only Carrie Underwood.

As we left the restaurant, I snapped some pictures of the scene.

She's the tiny little blonde. Sorry, I only had my phone to take pictures. I normally carry my camera with me, but I happened to leave my purse back at the office.

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French Toast - Slow Cooker Style

Every year we have a "12 Days of Gluttony" at work. Today was my day, and I decided to go with a breakfast dish. The problem was that I didn't have a lot of time last night to make something extravagant, and I didn't want to get up super early to make something to take warm to work. So I looked to my handy slow cooker, otherwise known as a crock pot. But what breakfast dish can be made in a slow cooker? French toast of course!

I had to do some searching online for a recipe, and I came across the blog A Year of Slow Cooking. There was a post for a slow cooker french toast, and it looked perfect to take to work. I was a little leary about bread and liquid cooking all night, but it turned out really well. The best part is that it was super easy, and I didn't have to slave over a hot stove.

French Toast in a Slow Cooker
Ingredients:
1.5 loaves of french bread
1 dozen eggs
2 t vanilla
4 cups of milk (I used 1 cup of heavy cream and 3 cups of regular 1% milk)
1/4 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup walnuts, or other desired nuts (optional)
Syrup

I must warn you that I don't actually measure things very well, so those measurements are what the recipe says. Unless, I'm doing actual baking like cookies or cake, I tend to just add however much I think works. So the cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla were just dumped in.

Back to the recipe...I greased the sides of the crock pot with Pam, but you could use butter or Crisco. Then, I sliced the bread and layered it all in the crock pot. It actually was a lot of bread and barely fit in there. Next I whisked the remainder of the ingredients, except the syrup, together and poured it on top. I didn't use the walnuts because there are some co-workers with nut allergies. I turned the crockpot on low for 6 hours and went to bed.

When I woke up the entire house smelled like french toast. I packed up the crock pot and the syrup and headed to work. The bread was almost overflowing the crock pot last night, but it shrank down to about half the size and was a lovely golden brown color. The edges that had sat up against the side were a little crunchy and the middle was soft. After helping me get everything up to the office, I had one of the carpoolers be my taste tester. After pouring some syrup, he dug in. I think it passed.

Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the final product.

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Fun-filled weekend of surprises

Hubs is turning 40, and what do you do when your Hubs turns 40? You celebrate! Rather than just throw any party, I decided to throw him a whole weekend of fun surprises. I started planning a couple months ago, and the first step was getting some of his buddies to come into town. On Friday they arrived, and the plan was a go. My sneaky helpers, Lindsey and Jason, agreed to meet us for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Our out-of-town friends met us there and sat at the bar. The Hubs walked right past them with not even a second glance.

After a few minutes, a green beer arrived, which the Hubs had not ordered. I guess green beverages are some fraternity inside joke. Finally, after I pointed them out, the Hubs had one of those, "No shit!" moments. He was so excited to see his buddies.

This is his surprised face!

The night continued with some really good food and really good friends hanging out. If you are ever in Nashville, you should check out South Street. It has really good food and a great atmosphere for hanging out.

A massive plate of ribs.

My sneaky help, Lindsey. She's getting married.

Opening his first present - Guitar Hero Metallica

There were four out-of-towners at dinner, but then we headed to another bar closer to home. On the way, I made a little side trip. We showed up at the second bar, and Hubs got his second surprise - the arrival of Doug. Since we're all getting a little old there were just a few drinks and one shot downed and then we headed home. It wasn't a super late night, but I knew that the following day was going to be packed with things to do.

Let's hear it for the boys.

The next morning, I woke up and met up with friends to walk/jog a 5K. I'll post about that later. When I got back to the house, the guys were there ready to jam to a little Metallica.

Rocking out!

After getting cleaned up, I prepared some grub to keep the bellies full. The table was full of treats.

Yummy cookies

Sausage pigs in a blanket

Then came Saturday night. This was the big party night that I'd been planning  awhile. I invited all of our friends from all different groups - work, church, family, my work, long-time friends. They were all there for the Hubs. We totally got him again. He had no clue that there was something else planned. As we walked up to the bar he saw some of our friends inside hanging out. Right before opening the door, he said, "Oh, I see people I know in there." He only thought there were a few, and little did he know that there were about 40 people in there. As soon as he walked through the door and heard "Surprise," he got the full impact, and he was so happy to see so many people there.

The Birthday Boy

Yummy chocolate cake

Scout, Rob, Mandy and Chris

Going through the food line

Nate and Tiff

Brent and Rob playing some Wii

What a pretty purse, Zegley

At one point, everyone at the party got sucked into the Texas vs. Nebraska game. I just had to snap some pictures of the moment. And this was when the final field goal went through for the Texas win.

I think the Hubs was truly surprised and felt truly blessed to be surrounded by such good friends. He told me that this was the best birthday he ever had in his whole life. A couple weeks ago, he wasn't too happy about turning 40 and was slightly bummed at the prospect. I think this weekend has made his outlook a little better.

Me and the Hubs. Love you!

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Wordless Wednesday to bring in December

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My first blog award

I've been reading blogs for awhile now, and I've seen people receive awards from each other. Oftentimes, I wondered, "does no one like me?" Well, now I know someone does, and that someone is Kaitlin overat Ah...My Married Life. She bestowed on me the Kreative Blogger award, which you see below.

Isn't it lovely? I'd like to thank my mom and dad, my Hubs, my fur child Taiders and of course, Kaitlin! So now what?

The Rules:

Share 7 things that you don't already know about me.

Name 7 other blogs to receive this award.

Leave a comment on each of the blogs I nominated.

Thank the person who gave you the award.

So seven things you probably don't know about me...here goes.

1. I have a love of soundtracks. Quite a bit of my music collection is soundtracks, and they are random. From Broadway musicals to the soundtrack to South Park, I have a plethora of musical choices from movies and plays.

3. I didn't lose my virginity until I was 23 and that was with the Hubs.

2. I wrote a sex advice column for my college newspaper. My friends that knew that I was the Lovely Lollita from "Sex on the Beach" found the fact from #2 and that I gave out advice on sexual matters quite funny

4. In high school I broke my hand but still won the typing award for fastest typer my sophomore year. I had to walk up on stage during awards day, and I had a cast on my hand.

5. I have a bachelors degree in marine science and biology, a masters in journalism, and I currently work in marketing. Hmmm...makes no sense, right?

6. Sometimes I text people because then I don't actually have to talk to them.

7. I showed sheep when I was in middle school. I even won the Sheep Showmanship Award one year.

Okay, now for the naming of 7 blogs to bestow this award on. It's gonna be hard to choose, but I'm going to go with the following, in no particular order:

1. Tiff over at I Love My Little Guys
2. Becca at the Liberal Granola Girl's Blog
3. Mrs. Carolyn over at I'm a cookoo/cuckoo
4. Bumpblogger at She's Going Belly Up
5. Amy over at Will Work for IVF
6. Vanessa at TTC Now
7. Jenicini over at Trying to Get Knocked Up by Another Man

Thanks again Kaitlin!

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