the best parts

-snuggles. lots of them.
-sharing a ridiculous love for our dog
-praying together
-walking down memory lane (we have 5 years of memories!)
-making each other laugh at all times
-waking the other person up in the night if one of us has a nightmare
-being completely uninhibited, goofy, vulnerable and knowing you're still loved
-PDA. we're PDA-ers. Sorry, world. We're in love. and we're married. boo-yah.
- ;) ;)

I got the sweetest phone call from my husband yesterday. He called simply to compliment me and tell me how grateful and blessed he is to have me. That right there-- that is the very best part-- having love for someone and them joyfully receiving it.

this was taken shortly after Andy asked
me to date him with the intention of marriage.
Andy is 20 here, I'm 19.
Presh!!!

really, French couple? REALLY?

PARIS, Nov. 2, 2010

French Baby Survives 8-Floor Fall

Parents Left 18-Month-Old with 3-Year-Old Sister in Apt.; Baby Fell out Window, Bouncing off Awning into Arms of Passerby

(AP)  French police say an 18-month-old boy has survived a fall from an eighth-floor window of a Paris apartment by bouncing off an awning and into someone's arms, apparently uninjured. 

Police say they have detained the parents of the baby boy for questioning.

According to police, the parents had gone for a stroll on Monday, a French holiday, and left the 18-month-old with his three-year-old sister in the family apartment in eastern Paris.

Police said Tuesday the little boy somehow had access to an open window and fell out. He hit an awning of a ground-floor restaurant then bounced into the arms of a passer-by.

They said no injuries were uncovered by initial medical exams. 

hello free stuff

Peoples,
Check out this list (scroll down to find it) of freebies that CVS is offering starting Thanksgiving Day. I'm going to be grabbing Carmex, Excedrin, Eucerin lotion, Old Spice deods and some candy for my husband (haha, riiight).

I have never participated in the madness that is Black Friday, but it is really tempting. BlackFridayInfo.com is a great place to look if you're wondering what stores will be offering.

If I'm in town, I may just have to hit up a couple places.

in a rut

I'll be back to blogging soon. I'm too brain dead to blog.

base recipe for pumpkin muffins

If you're not a pumpkin lover (silly you) check out my honey and banana muffins here and my banana chocolate nut muffins here.

I tweaked this pumpkin muffin recipe from allrecipes.com and was very happy with the result. I added chocolate chips and walnuts, but you could also add dried fruit. Some reviewers used even less sugar and still liked the result.

Laura's Pumpkin Muffins
makes 3 dozen muffins


2 cups whole wheat flour
2.75 cups all purpose white flour
1.5 cups granulated white sugar
1.5 cups brown sugar
1.5 teaspoons each of baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ground cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 eggs
1 can (29 oz) pumpkin
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
add-ins are optional- I used 3/4 cup choc chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (note: I used less choc chips but the same amount of walnuts when halving this recipe, and I loved them!) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then mix together. Fold add-ins into batter. Pour into greased muffin tins or loaf pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
After they are baked, muffins can be frozen and then microwaved for 20-30 seconds.