Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
Love,
John & Jackie
Love,
John & Jackie
December 26, 2010
December 23, 2010
What a Week!
This week turned out nothing like I had planned. For those that know me well, you're probably laughing since I really prefer things to go as planned. But God had other plans for me this week -- REST. Saturday night I worked the service at church, covered for another guy that couldn't make it. It was a pretty normal evening working the graphics and chatting on the headset. I went home to an empty house. John was out at the movies with his friends and I wasn't that interested in seeing Tron, so home I went. As I sat on the couch watching tv, I started getting really warm and achy. Uh oh, I thought. I just need some sleep and I'll be fine. I went to bed and awoke Sunday morning in misery.
I was sweating and I had a sore throat. Uh oh. This was not in the plan. I dragged myself out onto the couch and fell asleep for a few more hours. By then, John was on his way home from church and offering to stop by the store to get medicine and Ginger Ale. By noon I was filled with Day-quil and throat lozenges. The worst part was the fever - one minute I'm sweating and the next minute I'm shivering cold. Sunday night I wasn't feeling any better, so I loaded up on Ny-quil and advil and fell asleep, hoping to be well enough to go to work the next morning.
Monday morning came all too quick. I got up with my alarm and went in to take a shower. Just as I was about to get out, the room started spinning and I felt lightheaded. Then things started going black. I knew I didn't want to be in the shower if I passed out, so I quickly turned off the water, got out and fell onto the bed next to John. I was so scared and it was obvious I wasn't in any condition to drive. So I called work and told them the grim news. Monday went pretty similar to Sunday. I made my way to the couch and didn't move the entire day. Hot, cold, sweating, shivering, Day-quil, advil. Repeat & repeat.
Then came Tuesday. Tuesday morning I woke up even more miserable than the days before. My throat was on fire and I could barely swallow. The pain was unbearable. I woke up John and declared it was time to go see a doctor. This was more than Ny-quil and Advil could handle. We visited our nearest Urgent Care center and saw a very nice Dr. Lopez. He took one look in my mouth and said "It's Strep Throat." He didn't even order the test because it was so obvious. So this is what strep throat feels like. It's awful! It's also my first time. Dr. Lopez prescribed antibiotics and steroids (the good kind, not the illegal kind). The antibiotics to fight the infection and the steroids to reduce the swelling in my throat and reduce pain. Let's just say things started going a bit better after I got the "good stuff." By dinner I was able to get down a bowl of soup and some crackers - progress! And by Wednesday I was feeling much more like myself.
Now it's Thursday night, the night before Christmas Eve. All the cookies are made...
and all the presents are wrapped.
Things are good. And Christmas is almost here, just as planned. :)
I was sweating and I had a sore throat. Uh oh. This was not in the plan. I dragged myself out onto the couch and fell asleep for a few more hours. By then, John was on his way home from church and offering to stop by the store to get medicine and Ginger Ale. By noon I was filled with Day-quil and throat lozenges. The worst part was the fever - one minute I'm sweating and the next minute I'm shivering cold. Sunday night I wasn't feeling any better, so I loaded up on Ny-quil and advil and fell asleep, hoping to be well enough to go to work the next morning.
Monday morning came all too quick. I got up with my alarm and went in to take a shower. Just as I was about to get out, the room started spinning and I felt lightheaded. Then things started going black. I knew I didn't want to be in the shower if I passed out, so I quickly turned off the water, got out and fell onto the bed next to John. I was so scared and it was obvious I wasn't in any condition to drive. So I called work and told them the grim news. Monday went pretty similar to Sunday. I made my way to the couch and didn't move the entire day. Hot, cold, sweating, shivering, Day-quil, advil. Repeat & repeat.
Then came Tuesday. Tuesday morning I woke up even more miserable than the days before. My throat was on fire and I could barely swallow. The pain was unbearable. I woke up John and declared it was time to go see a doctor. This was more than Ny-quil and Advil could handle. We visited our nearest Urgent Care center and saw a very nice Dr. Lopez. He took one look in my mouth and said "It's Strep Throat." He didn't even order the test because it was so obvious. So this is what strep throat feels like. It's awful! It's also my first time. Dr. Lopez prescribed antibiotics and steroids (the good kind, not the illegal kind). The antibiotics to fight the infection and the steroids to reduce the swelling in my throat and reduce pain. Let's just say things started going a bit better after I got the "good stuff." By dinner I was able to get down a bowl of soup and some crackers - progress! And by Wednesday I was feeling much more like myself.
Now it's Thursday night, the night before Christmas Eve. All the cookies are made...
and all the presents are wrapped.
Things are good. And Christmas is almost here, just as planned. :)
November 27, 2010
Christmas DIY Wreath
John and I had a great Thanksgiving at John's parents house with lots of family and friends. There was so much wonderful food and of course I ate 'til my tummy was full. After the feast we had a ton of fun playing Kinect. That's that new game for Xbox where your body is the controller. We bowled, threw a javelin, and hit volleyballs with our head, feet and hands. Kinect is so fun and quite a workout. Some of the boys were really sore the next day. I'm tellin' you, it'll get your heart pumpin', that's for sure!
The day after Thanksgiving, I convinced John to help me get the Christmas decorations out of the attic. I just love putting up the tree and decorating the mantle. We had some garland in the box that I used last year on the tree. I wasn't feeling the gold on the tree this year, so instead I wrapped the garland around the clock that hangs above the mantle and created a do-it-yourself wreath. I really like the way it came out.
Have you started decorating yet?
The day after Thanksgiving, I convinced John to help me get the Christmas decorations out of the attic. I just love putting up the tree and decorating the mantle. We had some garland in the box that I used last year on the tree. I wasn't feeling the gold on the tree this year, so instead I wrapped the garland around the clock that hangs above the mantle and created a do-it-yourself wreath. I really like the way it came out.
Have you started decorating yet?
November 26, 2010
Dining Room Update
After giving away our dining set, I was super anxious to find a new table and chairs for our dining room. So I started scouring Craigslist and on Tuesday I found a great deal. The set came with 6 chairs! 6 chairs! The table even expands to seat 8. I am thrilled! And I think it looks great :)
November 15, 2010
Whole Wheat Bread / Rolls
Last weekend I found this recipe for whole wheat bread on allrecipes.com. What drew me to this particular recipe was that it substituted honey for sugar, something I had been wanting to try for a while. The original recipe yielded 3 loaves of bread. Well, that's just too much for John and I all at one time so I decided to cut the recipe in half. The great thing about using allrecipes.com is that the website will do the calculations for you! You can reduce the number of servings in the recipe and the website will recalculate the amounts. It's genious, I tell ya.
Since I cut the recipe in half, I essentially had enough dough for 1 and a half loaves. So I filled my bread pan with enough dough to make one loaf. Then I broke apart the rest of the dough into small balls to make rolls. I read about doing this in one of the reviews for this recipe and I thought it was a great idea. I baked the loaf of bread as the recipe said. But for the rolls, I reduced the bake time to 15 minutes.
THIS RECIPE MADE THE BEST ROLLS!!
I would have never thought I'd find a great roll recipe using bread dough. Absolutely incredible! I'm making a batch of these rolls for Thanksgiving and I'm so excited!!!
Whole Wheat Bread
Since I cut the recipe in half, I essentially had enough dough for 1 and a half loaves. So I filled my bread pan with enough dough to make one loaf. Then I broke apart the rest of the dough into small balls to make rolls. I read about doing this in one of the reviews for this recipe and I thought it was a great idea. I baked the loaf of bread as the recipe said. But for the rolls, I reduced the bake time to 15 minutes.
THIS RECIPE MADE THE BEST ROLLS!!
I would have never thought I'd find a great roll recipe using bread dough. Absolutely incredible! I'm making a batch of these rolls for Thanksgiving and I'm so excited!!!
Whole Wheat Bread
(yields 1 1/2 loaves)
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1 package (or 2 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons + 2 tsp honey
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 tsp butter, melted
2 tablespoons + 2 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
All-Purpose Flour, enough to flour surface
1 tablespoon butter, melted
In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast and 2 Tb + 2 tsp honey. (Let stand for 5 minutes.)
Add bread flour, stir to combine. (I use my kitchen aid mixer for this part.) Let stand for 30 minutes until big and bubbly.
Mix in 1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp melted butter, 2 Tbs + 2 tsp honey and salt. Stir in whole wheat flour. (Again, I use my kitchen aid mixer for this. Mix until dough is not sticking to sides of bowl. This took about 7-10 minutes on speed 2 using the dough hook.)
Turn dough out onto surface lightly sprinkled with all-purpose flour. Roll into a ball and place in a well greased bowl. Turn the dough once to coat the surface. (I use oilve oil or Pam to grease my bowl. Both work fine.)
Cover with a dish towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (I place my bowl on top of the stove and turn the oven on to 200 degrees. This heats the stove top just enough to help the dough rise. It takes about 1 and a half hours for my dough to rise.)
Punch down dough and divide. Place about 3/4 of the dough in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Break apart the remaining dough into 9-12 small sized balls and place in a greased 8 inch round cake pan. Allow the dough to rise again until the the dough has topped the pans by one inch. (It is ok if the rolls are touching after they have risen. This won't affect the baking process and they will be very easy to pull apart once they are done.)
Bake the bread loaf at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake. (The bread should be firm to the touch.)
Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. (The rolls should not be as firm as the bread.)
Lightly brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. This helps prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely on a wire rack. (Or eat the rolls right out of the pan while still warm. They are delicious!!!)
In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast and 2 Tb + 2 tsp honey. (Let stand for 5 minutes.)
Add bread flour, stir to combine. (I use my kitchen aid mixer for this part.) Let stand for 30 minutes until big and bubbly.
Mix in 1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp melted butter, 2 Tbs + 2 tsp honey and salt. Stir in whole wheat flour. (Again, I use my kitchen aid mixer for this. Mix until dough is not sticking to sides of bowl. This took about 7-10 minutes on speed 2 using the dough hook.)
Turn dough out onto surface lightly sprinkled with all-purpose flour. Roll into a ball and place in a well greased bowl. Turn the dough once to coat the surface. (I use oilve oil or Pam to grease my bowl. Both work fine.)
Cover with a dish towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (I place my bowl on top of the stove and turn the oven on to 200 degrees. This heats the stove top just enough to help the dough rise. It takes about 1 and a half hours for my dough to rise.)
Punch down dough and divide. Place about 3/4 of the dough in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Break apart the remaining dough into 9-12 small sized balls and place in a greased 8 inch round cake pan. Allow the dough to rise again until the the dough has topped the pans by one inch. (It is ok if the rolls are touching after they have risen. This won't affect the baking process and they will be very easy to pull apart once they are done.)
Bake the bread loaf at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake. (The bread should be firm to the touch.)
Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. (The rolls should not be as firm as the bread.)
Lightly brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. This helps prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely on a wire rack. (Or eat the rolls right out of the pan while still warm. They are delicious!!!)
**Note: The picture above was taken from the allrecipes.com website. I didn't snap a picture of my bread or rolls when I made them because my camera was out of battery. But I'll take a picture of the rolls when I make them for Thanksgiving. Also, I didn't sprinkle oats on top of my bread as shown in the picture above. I only brushed melted butter on top after baking.
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