Howdy!

This blog was created to share my love of photography and baking, all the through being a Marine wife and a stay-at-home mother.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

It's a few days past.. Christmas

Christmas.
Such a great holiday to celebrate Christs' birth and time with family.
Last year, I held a lunch/dinner for Guards at Marine Barracks Washington.The guards, unlike so many people on Christmas day had to work. So we made a feast of yummy food for them,
Homemade with love. and whenever ANYTHING is made with love, it is good, for the most part.
This year, We decided to have another dinner for the Guards, even though a whole new batch had come through. The barracks is a very transit place, people come and go constantly as with any base/station. If you have no idea what I am talking about, go to google and type in Marine Barracks Washington.
Anywho.. back to Christmas.
Since my parents were helping so much with the dinner for the Marines, we decided to open presents on the evening of Christmas Eve.
Here's some pictures..
 There were so many presents at my mother's house..

<--Craig liked opening gifts until he opened a box with a Hummer..

Up close of my parents tree------>
 
 <--my mom got into a habit of putting an A or R on the back of the boxes. Ryan opened a box my mother said to and found "Dr.Suess Are you my mother? " book and dog..had to show this pic.

So... I did my hair on the way to my parents house..in the truck. and this was the end product.
I should have gone to the Cosmetology school.  I cut my own hair, color it and style it-even for special events. My hair is long and would get expensive to have it styled by a professional.
 This is the closest I could get Craig to the tree. he even managed to block the television behind him.
all the cans for the green bean casserole for the Marines dinner

 Early on Christmas Eve I made a Christmas cake.
what is a Christmas cake you might wonder?
its a white cake mix divided like so--->
 and then colored using gel food coloring.
I used the green and drew a tree.

swirled around with a spoon and it makes a Christmas tree green.


 and candy cane red:

We opened presents at our house on the Morning of Christmas Eve.

 Craig liked eating the rest of the cake batter.
He also liked unwrapping his gifts!

 the dogs stayed near by just in case we had any food.. hence the black tail in the photo below.
    AND now for the pictures of Christmas Day.
I stayed up until 3:37 am and woke up around 6 am, via my human alarm, my husband woke me up so I would have time to get the last few items ready. 
We finally got on the road and on the good note.. Craig was in a decent mood.

 Craig even enjoyed using his Microphone from Nana and Poppa.
I don't use photoshop on any of my pictures.

I wonder where Craig went to..
                                               I found him. There he is!
 This picture was taken after the first batch of Marines came through.

The Dessert table included:
Chocolate Pudding poke cake
Christmas cake
Tres Leches Cake
Red velvet cupcakes
sugar cookies
Apple pie
Fruit Salad fluff
Pumpkin Pie (I cheated on the crust but the rest was homemade)
 This apple pie was the main reason I stayed up so late..well the green bean casseroles also played a part.
I do my best baking at night. 
 My dad helped us out a lot when it came to cutting the ham..
 the ham.. 
our ham.. I put the glaze on early...
wayy too early,
it was still good..
why?
I made it with love.<3


 Ah, my green bean casseroles.. I made four pans. 
I sent one to the guard office.
and another to a cold weather shelter.
and one half pan went with us home.

 I made stuffing, but hardly anyone touched it.:( 
I sent that dish to the same shelter.
The preacher there was really grateful.
 My mom was cutting off the rest of the ham. We were at the end of the lunch here. 
I forgot to take pictures of the Marines!
There were so many that came through, they sat in the hallway and in the stairway. 


 And this is why Craig will not get a Ipad until he is old enough. When he plays with the Ipad, that's all he cares about.
Hot wheels and blocks he could care less about.
but since we were in a small area without baby gates.. I didn't care too much. As long as he was happy and behaving I was good.



<--this Marine said my Pumpkin Pie was as good as his Mom's.
want to know something?
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
seriously.
Ryan's office didn't ever call be Betty Crocker for no reason.
I baked a lot...that was before we became homeowners.

Anyways.. My mom made me this block.. its actually quite simple to diy too.

 This is a section of our tree. 
Its a real one.
A Douglas Fir..
smells so good!
                                              and of course..today.. Craig played with his blocks.
Well, I have showed most of the pictures that I wanted to. Christmas flew by. The New Year is around the corner. Some are planning for the summer already..Not us. I would if I knew where we would be next year.
I hope you enjoyed reading today.
I will try to post tomorrow, My husband has an doc appoint. he has another cyst on his hand, and the military doctors are avoiding surgery, as they are already operated on the same hand last year. Military Doctors.. that's for another day... a different post.
until next time..
this is Amanda Evans signing off!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

No snow yet...

The day started early today, around 6 am I woke up the the dogs telling me it was time to go outside.I got out of bed slowly and walked the boys downstairs, when I let them out I saw one of the most beautiful sights. Fog in the morning.

I grabbed my camera and took this picture

and later on in the morning around eight, I took the picture below.


After all that I got ready for the busy morning. 
I did my hair.
Mainly because it is REALLY long and putting it in a ponytail or bun gives me  a headache.
Recently I have fallen in love with bobby pins.. 

 I took this picture with the flash on..

 <---this one is better I think.
I just twisted strands of my hair, braided some here and there.
wrapped them around,
and pinned like crazy.













Even after going to bed so late I have been feeling pretty well. Yes I am tired. But there's not enough to do everything I need to do one day. So rather than taking a nap. Like Craig is doing right now, I am blogging. Because its addicting, and fun. I don't know who is reading this but I hope you enjoy it. Now back to today. Craig and I went to the Mall (I barely go-Malls can be expensive-and I am all about saving the most I can). We also stopped at the Goodwill on the way home. He threw a HUGE fit as we were checking out.He had climbed out of the small cart (it had no belt so I used my belt hold him in the cart safely.) and I had to hold him in the store as he arched his back attempting to get free. He didn't though...because he would have been running around the store like crazy. I'd rather have a screaming toddler.
A screaming toddler usually means a sleepy toddler, and when combined with traffic, and the toddler in the car, equals a sleeping toddler.
I got home to see my handsome husband in his flannel shirt and old blue jeans, getting ready to work on his truck. He even helped out, he shut off the truck when I carried Craig in the house. He was so tired the sun didn't even wake him up! it's almost three so I need to finish this post before he wakes up!
After I got done taking care of Craig, I let Lucas out. Lucas is a dog we adopted this year.
He's about a year old. So its like having another child in the house.


Lucas and I
 I SPY SOMETHING BLACK.
                                         It's Lucas!

 Down the hill there's an old barn/shed. I sometimes go to explore, I have been meaning to share these pics. I took them today, the pics are of the same sled. Its a red radio flexible flyer. I used to have one, they got to be one of the best sleds out there.Its sad that this one has been left to die.




 Okay..
I may or may have not have taken too many pictures of him.
He's such a sweetheart.



This is why I love where we live.
No leash.
No picking up the poop.
AND no HOA.
Thats the neighborhood down the road!
he can run, and so can I.


 Now he's a bit worn out.
he's tired, I have done my job.


 As I walked up the hill,I spotted this plant.I thought they were little ferns..
 But they don't look like them.
anyway they are pretty and have great color.
 Until later, this is Amanda Evans, Signing off!