Twelve in 2014 - December

 
'O December... What great relief you bring. The closing of a year and the ringing in of a new one. I've been thoroughly impressed with 2014, and just can't wait to see what 2015 brings. The pictures I will take, the memories the kids will make.

"Dry Brining" vs Brining - A Thanksgiving Turkey

I recently saw an article on Yahoo! that referenced to try Dry Brining rather than actual brining your turkey for Thanksgiving, citing that it would be less messy and just as juicy.

My husband and I were somewhat baffled by this, because their version of dry brining meant packing the turkey, inside and out, with salt. They say by doing so still created the moist, delicious turkey you are used to.

Picture from Yahoo! news feed

Twelve in 2014 - November

 

November, November, November... I have a lot of pictures so far.. but of nature! This month is hard to post, but I need to.

So, here's to November... and having only 1 more 'Twelve in 2014' to post!

Fall is in the air... That means photos

I love fall. I love the colors, the smells, just everything about the season. But now, I have a new love... photographing fall.  These are beautiful and the colors are just so vibrant. Enjoy.

Curry Chicken with Rice Noodles

Curry Chicken w/Rice Noodles

1 lb boneless Chicken Thigh chunked
1 medium sized Green Pepper sliced
1 medium sized Onion sliced
1/2 cup Scallion (green Onion) finely sliced
1/2 cup Cilantro chopped
3 Tbs Fish oil
Salt/Pepper to taste
Hot Madras Curry Powder (yellow Curry) to desired spiciness
1 package of preferred Rice Noodles

1. Submerge rice noodles in water for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat your pan with oil (of preference) and add your chicken. Stir fry until chicken is almost     cooked, put chicken in bowl (off to the side).
3. Add your veggies (onion and green pepper) to your pan and stir fry until onions are transparent (careful to not burn) and add 1/2 of scallions and cilantro.
4. Add you Curry Powder taste. Usually about 3-5 tsp.
5. Return the chicken to the stir fry to continue cooking
6. Drain noodles and add to stir fry
7. Add Fish oil and continue to fold the noodles into stir fry
8. Salt/pepper to taste

Plate your dish and sprinkle rest of scallions and cilantro atop and serve. Add your favorite Spring Roll if desired. Try this recipe, Baby Shrimp Spring Roll

Baby Shrimp Spring Roll

1 - 3.5oz salad shrimp

2 cups - green cabbage shredded
2 cups - carrots shredded
1/2 tsp - minced garlic
1 tsp - ground ginger
salt & pepper to taste
8 - rice paper wraps

Filling:
1. Heat and oil pan; add cabbage and carrots. Sauteé until cabbage is tender.
2. Add spices and garlic, continue to sauteé on medium heat.
3. Add shrimp and sauteé until heated thru; add S&P to taste.
4. Remove from heat.

Take your rice paper (1 at a time) and place in plate of water until soft and silky. Be careful as you take it out of the water, the rice paper will try to stick to itself.
Lay the rice paper on a damp towel and add your filling to desired thickness.
Pull each side towards the center and roll from other ends until semi tight (roll like a little burrito).
Please be gentle as they could tear easily.
Lay on a floured surface.
Continue these steps until all spring rolls have been wrapped.

Heat Deep fryer or pan of oil to 375°.
roll the spring roll in flour (this helps the rice paper to not boil and explode in oil), and gently place into hot oil. Deep fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown (as inside is already fully cooked).
Place on wire rack or paper towel to drain excess oil.

Let cool and serve as an appetizer or with your favorite Asian noodle dish, try this Curry Chicken w/Rice Noodles

Twelve in 2014 - October

The fall colors are out - and even some turkeys (which I have yet to get a picture of but I will), so I thought it would be nice to get some pictures of the kids _and the parents. 

K.I.S.S. Cheesecake

It's unbelievably simple, hence the name.... K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) Cheesecake. 

Although, when you take a bite... you can't help but feel that you've been kissed by the cheesecake gods.

 

Life.Is.Good.

We've moved in! We've settled in... mostly. There are many wonderful things about our new home.

Twelve in 2014 - September

September... what a freaking crazy month! We've moved into our new home, we've unpacked, Joey started his new school (unfortunately, there's a wait list for Madison), we celebrated 3 years of marriage, and then Tim's 31st Birthday. We've also started demo/rehab on the house & yard. Like, I said... a crazy month.

3 Years and going strong.. Happy Anniversary

It's been 7.5 years that I've been with my true love. The laughs, the fights, the ups and downs... It's all been worth it. Today, however, is even more special to me.

 

Bye Bye, Myrtle Beach

The time has come (and gone).  We closed, the sale, on our Myrtle Beach house. It was a stressful experience. One in which I don't think we'll ever do again!

 

Bye-Bye, Good Riddance!

We were lucky enough to move into our new house before we closed on it. So, we're unpacked and situated. We'll close next week, and once we do that... Let the Fixer-Uppin' begin!

 

 

Twelve in 2014 - August

I'm actually on time and willing to share this month. After a LONG absence of the little man, Joey, in our house... the day (today) I get him back and the camera is out in force. ;)

These will not be the best pictures I take this month of him and her, but they are the very first day he is home after 37 days!

*And yes... he is already sick of the camera in his face! Little does he know, HA!

 

Twelve in 2014 - July

I am super late with my July photos.  July has been a chaotic and bittersweet month. We're coming into the last turn of the house hunt race, which has been unbelievably stressful. There was a family medical issue that gave us quite a scare. Then to top it off, Joey (aka Buddy, Bud) has been in Georgia visiting his father and other family for the summer.

All good things, come to an end...

I say that because last week started my 6 day staycation. We celebrated the 4th the way it should be... sunny weather, with family, water fights, burgers on the grill, fireworks, drinks, and cards. Although it took us (the parents) most of July 5th to recover, it was a blast!

4th of July

 

This was the best 4th of July we've had in a long time! We spent it at my parents house with water gun fights, to burgers for dinner, and making milkshakes for dessert. Then on to the main event of Fireworks!! Followed by a game of rummy, drinks and then bedtime (which was really, really early... the next morning!).

Twelve in 2014 - June

So far June's been a busy picture month. I truly couldn't decide on just 1, then again... Can I EVER just not choose one?!?! I don't think I have! HA!

Showcasing the Creations

I've posted a couple pictures on FB recently, displaying the gorgeous entrees that Tim makes for us. Quite a few people like the photos and that inspires him to make even better entrees (like that's even possible, BUT... he manages to do it more times than not), LUCKY ME!

T Minus 84 days....

84 Days. That’s how many days we have left in our first house. Our journey to "Going Country by the Beach" is soaring into 3rd gear now, with trying to find our "country" home, but the process so far has been less than favorable. 

**Throughout the blog, you'll see some houses we are considering, in no order of favorites**

Twelve in 2014 - May

I pretty much forgot about May, until a friend reminded me about it. I've taken so many pictures this month, it is really hard to choose photos this time. So, I will add a few!

Black & White Photos

My obsession is B&W photos. I've come to realize that not everything can look good in B&W, but the ones that do.... Are beautiful!

Here are a few of my favorites..

TBT - Highschool

"I wish I knew then, what I know now"!  In high school, I was a cheerleader. Loved it! Miss it! But that (and my friends) was about the only thing I enjoyed from high school. Here's why...

Twelve in 2014 - April

 

April has been the month where things are coming alive. Flowers, trees, baby ducks, and even illness! I was overcome by a serious bacterial sinus infection and the kids were sick too. It's towards the end of the month that I can finally snap a picture of the kids...
It's Spring Break from school and neither one can stand to be apart from each other... and neither one can stand to be with each other... Enjoy!

Let the Journey Begin...

Going Country by the Beach was originally supposed to be about our journey of finding the right house, with the right land and making a go of 'county living'. Well... This journey has begun.

Getting Our Green Thumbs On

Before we had grass.... Before the fence was installed... Tim got to work on his garden when we moved into this house in 2012...

A Trigger for Bullying

I don't usually like to post things like this because I don't like controversy and/or I don't want to piss anyone off, but I really feel this school took it too far.  I am completely disgusted by it. Anyone who agrees with banning this boy from having a MLP backpack, can surely delete me as a friend.

Happy Birthday to My Princess

      The Year? 2010. The day? St. Patty's Day. I was 2 weeks from my due date (April 2), had already been having contractions (every 1-2 hours), and dilated to 3 for the 2 weeks prior. My doctor had ran every test possible to see if I can be induced early, and in "test terms"... I failed. ~ LOL ~
      All day on March 17th, I was in labor. Contractions every 15 minutes. Tim was at school and I couldn't wait for him to get home, cause I didn't want him to miss anything (should anything happen). So, I was so glad and relieved to pick him up from the train station that evening. But I'll tell you what.... my contractions STOPPED the second he got in the car at 5 pm. I couldn't believe it.

"Have your cake, and eat it too!"

My little girl LOVES Disney Princesses and Fairies. Her favorite is Ariel. So, when her Birthday was approaching, I just knew her cake had to be Princess-y.

Twelve in 2014 - March

I've been taking so many pictures, I can never pick just one anymore. I do love taking pics of my kids, but sometimes I can't ever get them to sit still. 

Duck and Run

So, yesterday I was driving to the gas station. A duck (oh, yes... I said DUCK)...

First week of March.... So Much Going On

To start, We (or should I say Tim) have been getting the house in 'tip-top' shape, preparing it for when it's time to get a realtor involved. We spent last weekend deep cleaning it. This involved 2-3 hours of cleaning both bathrooms and Tim 'Easy-Off'ed the oven. Tim also painted the living room, dining room, and kitchen area. It looks SOOOOOOO much better!! We still have a bit to get done, but I think it'll be easier from here on out.

I've Weighted Long Enough.... January/February update

Well... I lost a little bit of focus. I'm not giving up. I just have not been keeping up...

My Sony NEX-3N... I've Never Loved a Camera More!

I have been super excited to pick up my camera, turn it on, focus on a subject and press the shutter.  I think it's safe to assume....I am "in love" with my camera.

House Hunting in Feb... What a pain!

So, my husband and I have been looking for a new house...
One of the very first we found (online) and was PERFECT (but had an offer later that day)! Of course it would... It was a huge house on 2 acres, a lake, had a mechanic shop/garage/shed with hydraulic lift and under 95k... I knew it wouldn't last long!

We were originally looking in a specific area of South Carolina. After discussions, we decided that we had the whole damn state to work with... why not see what it has to offer!

We spent one Saturday driving to and looking at houses in a certain area. We drove to 8 of them... 1 was beautiful on the outside (to me) and another had HUGE potential to make it into what we wanted. But, the location just wasn't what we wanted.

I know it sounds stupid (to some), but when we were driving on one of the country roads I took a picture of a backyard, that had sheets blowing in the wind on their clothes line. About a mile further, there was a large amount of land and cows were just herding together. I LOVED it. I love animals, so for us to find a lot of land that Tim can eventually build me a barn (one can dream)... I'd love to have all the animals. More dogs, a horse, some goats... I'd love to have this....

Feb 20 - My Day in Pictures

For the first time, EVER, I'm attempting 'my day in pictures'!

Twelve in 2014 - February

Long Story, Told Short... About me

So, I’d like to start out by saying… I’m not very good at writing or with grammar. I definitely don’t use certain words properly and I have my own ‘Kelli-isms’. I sware. I can be funny. I’m extremely passionate about things and I don’t have a large circle of friends that I talk to on a daily basis. I’m okay with that, but being surrounded by 2 kids (and Spongebob) and my husband (a chef, car enthusiast and other ruggedly, manly things), I lack the girly/womanly aspect of conversation. I don’t think I ever really cared about that until now.

Twelve in 2014 - January

Better late than never...