I wish...

...Smarties didn't make a crackling noise when you opened them so then my cube neighbors wouldn't be able to count how many I eat in one day. (I have a new addiction.) I may or may not have eaten over 250 calories in Smarties alone today. That's just an estimation b/c I have honestly lost track of how many little, itty bitty rolls I've had. It's odd how that happens. I also wish Shannon was alive to celebrate his birthday today. I can only imagine the party he's having in Heaven, but I know a lot of people miss him desperately here on earth.

Just two small wishes...

Chocolate Chunk Hot Cocoa Mix

I found this recipe in my Real Simple magazine and decided to make hot chocolate for my girlfriends this past weekend. If you're looking for a thoughtful, homemade gift, I would suggest giving these a try. Aside from being a bit messy to assemble, they're pretty easy and festive.

Chocolate Chunk Hot Cocoa Mix

You Need:

• 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¾ cup sugar
• 8 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips to simplify my life.)
• Airtight jars of your choice

What To Do: In a bowl, combine the cocoa, sugar, and chocolate. Hand write or download the following instructions on a gift tag or label to include with your gift: “In a small saucepan, whisk ¼ cup cocoa mix with ¾ cup milk. Bring to a bare simmer. Serves 1.”

Makes: 1 gift

Super cute!

Multitude Monday

#41...Sunshine on cold winter afternoons.

#42....A warm house.

#43...A refrigerator full of leftovers for lunches this week.

#44...Christmas cards arriving in the mail!

#45...A helpful husband who pitches in without being asked.

#46...Lazy Saturday afternoons with girlfriends.

#47....Healing for sick family members.

#48...Coworkers I actually enjoy spending time with.

#49...A car with AWD to get me through the snow this week.

#50...Wine.

Be joyful in hope, patient in afflication and faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Christmas Parties!

I love opportunities to thank my friends for being in my life, and one way to do that that has kind of become a tradition is having them over for a little Christmas brunch. There's food and music and fun and laughter and gifts and movies and it's always a special time. I look forward to all being together, if only for a few hours, and yesterdays get together was no exception.

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Wonder what is in those packages?!....

It's always tough deciding which gift to open....Kirsten had the difficult task of going first.There was some gift stealing...and stealing again...but with purses and earrings and puffer vests and nail polish and martini glasses and lotions being opened left and right, that is to be expected. Overall I think everyone walked away quite pleased. My Andes mint cookies are already gone. The cookie monster must have come over night. So odd.Then we all snuggled up on the couch to watch Four Christmases. It was cute!Saturday night was also my work holiday party at The Bank restaurant in the Westin hotel.

I work with a great group of people! We ended up staying later than I had expected - it was just that fun *smile.

Then today we hosted 14 people for lunch and small group. I love busy weekends filled with lots of fun, but I think I will go to bed a liiiiittle earlier tonight *smile. I hope you had a nice weekend as well.

Kate

A couple weeks ago, I did a photo shoot with my coworker's baby as part of our company's United Way campaign. I thought I would share a few of my favorites...




Kate was the perfect baby model! It was great to meet her - they are blessed with a beautiful little girl *smile.

Chicken-Artichoke Brie Soup

¼ cup butter or margarine

2 medium carrots, chopped (1 cup)

2 stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14-ounce cans chicken broth

½ tsp. ground white pepper

¼ tsp. salt

2 cups half-and-half, light cream or whole milk

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey

1 cup whipping cream

½ of a 8- or 9-ounce can of artichoke hearts, cut into bite-size pieces

½ of a 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained

1 4.5 –ounce round Brie or Camembert cheese, rind removed

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add chopped carrots, sliced celery, chopped onion and minced garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Add the broth, white pepper and salt. Bring soup mixture to boiling, reduce he heat. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

2. In a large screw-top jar, combine the half-and half and flour. Cover and shake well until smooth; stir into soup. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

3. Stir in chicken, whipping cream, artichoke hearts, spinach, and Brie. Cook and stir over medium low heat about 5 minutes more or until heated through and cheese is melted. Stir often to make sure the soup doesn’t scorch on bottom of the saucepan. Ladle warm soup into bowls and garnish with some croutons, if desired.

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Yes, I think I will garnish with croutons. Thanks for another fabulous recipe, Natalie! My sis-in-law is the BEST cook!

Family-Friends-Fun

I went to Des Moines this past week for some much needed sister/nephews/friends time. It was wonderful, per usual. I only wish I could have seen even more friends and stayed for longer.

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Do you all know how much I adore my sister, Becca? Well I do. For many reasons. One being her huge heart and nurturing personality. She is super fun, beautiful and so loving. Rarely does a day go by without us talking on the phone, emailing or texting. And now she's a mom - and a fabulous one at that. Who do you think is older? *smile. We get that question a lot and Becca always gets annoyed by it. (Answer: Becca by 3.5 years.)

One of my best friends, Celeste, drove a long distance (10 miles) to come hang out at the hotel! She's so kind *smile. Baby Weston warmed right up to her. My brother Brent and two of my other nephews, Noah and Hayden, drove from Ames for some pool, hot tub and pizza fun.

And then we met up with Aubrie and Leslie for a drink at Cabaret Friday night. It was fun to hear their "new mom" stories (well, kind of...I was tired just listening to them.)

And then it was off to Jordan Creek to shop, shop, shop on Saturday. My sweet friends Deana and Jill met us for lunch at Panera...and I got to see Miss Chloe Luelle and all of her cuteness. Can't believe she's coming up on her first birthday!Speaking of cute babies...Leslie was kind enough to have all of us over for dinner Saturday night. These three were best friends in high school and all gave birth within the last 5 months. Life sure changes! Aubrie's daughter, Aaliyah, was born in October and Leslie's son, Bennett, was born in November. Big sister Addi was so excited about all the babies at her house!

Tara and Laney also stopped by to see everyone. Laney is not shy and kept all of us laughing.

Even though we were busy seeing lots of great friends and finding great deals, I still got ample Weston snuggles in. He smiles at almost anything Robert does and loves it when his mommy sings to him. He also loves his toes and has the cutest grin!

Let's look at that baby again.

Oh, what the hay, how 'bout one more time...

I am so thankful the Twin Cities are a quick 4 hr drive to Des Moines. Omaha (my sis) is a tad further but still drivable. My life would be complete to have all of these people living on the same block! Sigh.....until then, I'll continue enjoying my random road trips down to good 'ol DSM.

My heart is full.

Multitude Monday

#31...Safe travels.

#32...Time with friends & family.

#33...Seeing my sister be a (fabulous) mom.

#34...Good health.

#35...Our growing church community.

#36...Encouraging music.

#37...Memories.

#38...Coming home to a clean house (my husband knows me well.)

#39...Babies, babies, babies.

#40...Weekends in Des Moines - more on that to come!

A friend loves at all times...Proverbs 17:17

Blessed

We had a brief but nice stay in Charles City Wednesday night. It was fun to eat pizza with mom and dad and catch up on life. My aunt had all of us out for Thanksgiving on Thursday and it was great to see my cousins and aunt and uncle, and of course eat really yummy Thanksgiving food. My pumpkin pies tasted better than I had expected and much to my delight, people actually ate them.

I was super excited to meet this guy - my cousin's 2nd baby and newest member of the Sonne family - Cole James! He has the biggest brown eyes and was a complete love.Cole's big brother, Zach, kept all of us laughing. I love his little 2 year old self in his Carhartt jacket - just like his daddy.It was fun to see Noah and Hayden and hear their funny stories.And the boys LOVED the tractor rides that cousin Randy gave them. I am pretty sure Hayden will be talking about that for awhile...*smile. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving as well. We most certainly are blessed.

Multitude Monday

#21...Extra sleep.

#22...Family home for the holidays.

#23...Extended weekend to spend with my husband.

#24...Black Friday sales.

#25...Thanksgiving leftovers. Twice.

#26...Lite eggnog.

#27...The random man who noticed the nail in my tire.

#28...Job provision for my siblings.

#29...Growing, healthy babies.

#30...Candles that fill the air with Christmas.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

Hebrews 12:28.