happy lover's day

christmas goodies flop

This weekend I attempted to bring out my domestic side and make a few Christmas treats....you know, so I could be a good neighbor and all. 

I learned that I suck at being domestic.

First I thought I'd make a tasty wassail.  Failed....funky taste.  Note to self: next time omit the pineapple juice.

Then I thought I'd make some fudge.  Failed....consistency of poo.

Then I made some lemon crinkle cookies.  Failed....overcooked, hard as rocks.

Finally, I said to myself, "okay, this is getting ridiculous...stick to something you know how to do Jen!"

So, I decided on white chocolate covered pretzels.  I've made these a million times, so surely I couldn't mess them up.

Failed....burned the chocolate.  Twice.

I give up.

No neighbor gifts this year.  Or maybe I'll just give out candy canes.

Will somebody PLEASE teach me how to cook?
Or bake.
Or whatever you call it.

Christmas Buffalo

I don't know what it is about the animals in this town, but they sure love Christmas! 

As do I.


Perhaps you are needing a little Christmas music to get you excited?  Click here to download Hey, It's Christmas (Vol 2) for FREE!

Click here for Vol. 1 (also FREE!).  It's good stuff.  You won't regret it.

Christmas Cocoa

Do you like hot chocolate?

Maybe you're looking for something to give your neighbor for Christmas?

Here is a delicious hot chocolate recipe that Martha Stewart shared with me.  We're pretty tight, her and I.

HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups cocoa

1/2 Tbsp salt

milk for serving

In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa and salt.  Whisk to mix well.

Store cocoa mix in an air tight container.

And that's it!  

Seriously.  

And it taste great to boot!

Serving Instructions:

Pour 1 cup of milk into a microwave-safe mug and microwave on high for 1-2 minutes

or until just hot.  Add 2 Tbsp of cocoa mix and stir until dissolved.  

Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.

Enjoy! 

Add some ribbon and a cute label and you are good to go!!

 

Makes 3 cups dry mix (24 servings). 

Easily double or triple recipe to make several batches at once.
 

to my valentine . . .

What do ya say we celebrate v-day by watching The Bachelor?

Then we'll make-out.

two.thousand.eleven

But before I get to 2011, lets back up a bit. 

I spent the last week of 2010 in Utah celebrating the holidays with family and friends.  It was wonderful. 

Curtis and I also celebrated our 8th anniversary on Dec. 27th.  EIGHT glorious years of marriage indeed!!

We partied on New Year's Eve by watching a lifetime movie with my grandparents and mom, and then falling asleep at 9:30.  So, basically, it was just like every other of our New Year's Eves. 

We scared my grandma with a fake mouse I bought at Ikea.  I put it on my head and she was NOT amused.  Not even a little.

We ate at Joy Luck twice and Cafe Rio twice.  I'm craving more pork salad and tangerine chicken.  You people that live closer than 6 hours from these restaurants don't know how lucky you are.


Our drive home from Utah was awful.  It took us a full 8 hours to get home, driving 35mph a lot of the way on icy snow-packed roads.  Oh the joys.

But now it's 2011, a new year.


I love the start of a new year.  I say that every year, but I do, I love it.

It's a time for fresh beginnings and new hope.

Hope for a better year.

Hope for a better being.

Hope for lots of things.

2011 is going to be a great year!!

a few of my Christmas must haves

A real Christmas tree - check 

This is the first year in the last 4 years that we were able to put up a Christmas tree... and I freaking LOVE it!  Sometimes I will just go sit on the couch in the living room and admire the tree (and the smell).  Can't beat the smell of fresh pine. 

Hot Chocolate - check

My personal favorite is Stephen's Roasted Hazelnut.  Yum! I love to top off my glass of hot cocoa with a dash of milk.  Delish!

Home Alone - check  

We were even lucky enough to see it's sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

"KEVIN!"

Chocolate Orange - check

Love these frozen too.

White Elephant Gift Exchange - check

I had so so much fun at a white elephant Christmas party last week.  Laughed til my stomach hurt.  The gift I received isn't appropriate to share on the blog, but I can guarantee that I will be re-gifting it at our next white elephant party.  Oh the joys!!

Christmas Decorations - check
Complete with the soft glow of electric sex leg lamp.

Christmas Music - check

Nothing gets me more excited for Christmas than some great Christmas tunes!

Eggnog - check

My favorite way (and actually the only way) I like to drink eggnog is to mix half eggnog with half milk.  And it has to be super cold!

Christmas Lights - not checked yet

My neighborhood isn't too big on decorating with Christmas lights (except for my neighbor who has the bright blue icicle lights and 2 big blowup snowmen in their front yard), but otherwise, the Christmas lights are pretty sparse.  One of my favorite things to do at Christmastime when we lived in Utah was to drive around town and admire all of the pretty lights.  Hopefully I can do this one night while in Utah next week.    

What are some of your Christmas must haves?

"you'll shoot your eye out kid!"

I decided to select 2 winners for the Scrabble Tiles...

#1. Melanie!  Favorite Christmas movie: Trapped in Paradise

#2. Jacque!  Favorite Christmas movie: A Christmas Story (also a favorite of mine!)


If you 2 lovely ladies would email (or facebook me) your mailing addresses, I will get these tiles in the mail!!

I had fun doing these giveaways, but I have to admit, they stress me out.  I actually lost sleep over it because I kept thinking how I wanted to give everyone a Christmas CD and give everyone a Scrabble Tile.  If I were rich (like Ellen), I would.  Maybe one day . . .

I loved hearing about your favorite Christmas movies.  How is it that I have never heard of or seen Love Actually?  After reading your comments, I quickly added it to my Netflix queue.  It sounds like just my cup of tea.  

Tonight I'm off to our first Christmas party this season.  Any white elephant gift ideas???

 

Christmas Giveaway (Part 2)

For Part 2 of my Christmas Giveaway, I present to you . . .

SCRABBLE NECKLACE TILES

You know you want one.  And I want to give you one.

So...

You know the drill.

• become a follower of my blog (if not already)
• tell me your favorite Christmas movie
• tell me which tile is your favorite

For the record, my favorite Christmas movie is Home Alone.

You only have until tomorrow (Friday) at noon to enter the giveaway, so hurry on and post your comment!!

Good luck!


The winner of Jen's Christmas Mix is...... commenter 11 - JEN S. (send me your address and I'll get it in the mail for you today!!)

Christmas Giveaway! (Part 1)

For Part 1 of my giveaway, I present to you . . .

Jen's Christmas Mix! - a collection of some of my favorite Christmas tunes.

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies
2. Christmas Day - Dido
3. Baby It's Cold Outside - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan
4. Christmastime (Oh Yeah) - Barenaked Ladies
5. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Carrie Underwood
6. Christmastime - Smashing Pumpkins
7. Song for a Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan
8. Green Christmas - Barenaked Ladies
9. Winter Wonderland - Jason Mraz
10. Christmas Lights - Coldplay
11. Christmas Song - Dave Matthews Band
12. Winter Song - Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson

Pretty good mix, eh.

If you would like a chance to have a copy of this totally awesome Christmas CD, please do the following . . .

• become a follower of my blog (if you are not already)
• leave me a comment stating one thing you asked Santa for Christmas this year

Because Christmas is just around the corner, you only have until noon on Thursday the 16th to enter.  I will announce the winner when I get back from lunch and hopefully get the CD in the mail before 5pm.  That way you can enjoy the fun music while getting everything ready for Christmas. 

It really is a goodie and I hope you will all enter!

See back tomorrow for another Christmas giveaway.

a Christmas visitor . . .

'tis the season

...to be jolly

........................ . . fa la la la la, la la la la

pondering the things I am most thankful for . . .

my dear husband - I am so thankful everyday that he is in my life.

my family - as I get older, I realize just how important family is.  We all have our battles and our differences, but where would we be without each other?  I love the family I was born into and I love the family I married into.  I'm a lucky girl to be surrounded by so much love.

good friends - as I get older, I also realize how important it is to have good friends in life.  With us moving so much the last few years, it's definitely been an adjustment keeping in touch with old friends and trying our darndest to make new ones.  If anything, it has only helped me love my dear friends all the more.

food to eat - I am so so thankful that I never have to go hungry.

a warm place to live - I am so so thankful that I have a warm house to live in and a soft bed to sleep in each night.

our jobs - this past year has been a whirlwind for us as far as our jobs go...but oh what a blessing it is to be employed.

music - I am so thankful for good music.  Music helps me get through the day...it makes me think, it makes me dance, it makes me sing, and most of all, it makes me happy.

I am thankful that in just a couple of days I will be sitting around a dinner table with those I love most.  'Tis the season, and I tell ya what...I can't wait!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm getting ready

Every year since I've been married to Curtis, we have "the talk" on the eve of Black Friday as to whether or not we are going to get up early and face the madness.  Every time, we decide against it and agree that we will sleep in the next morning and hit the sales later in the day.  Every Black Friday, Curtis wakes up at 3 in the morning (because he's too excited and can't sleep) and convinces me that we better get going if we are to get the best deals.

Now I just plan on it no matter what we discuss the night before.


What are your Black Friday plans?

happy hallow's eve

ghosts and goblins
witch’s brew
black cat crossing
into view

skeletons dangling
up ahead
mummies raising
from the dead

bats are flying
pumpkins glowing
spirits looming
leaves are blowing

kids in costumes
fill the street
shout in unison
trick or treat

the night is here
the fear foreseen
it’s scary, it’s spooky
it’s Halloween!

my funny Valentine

The Friday before Valentine's, Curtis and I went to a V-day [church] dinner. We sat across from a couple that we have only talked to a couple of times...and by talked to, I mean said hi to as we passed each other in the church hallway.

There were 2 boxes of candy hearts sitting in the middle of the table in front of us. After dinner, Curtis picks up one of the boxes of candy hearts, opens them, and eats one. He then proceeds to dump the entire box of hearts onto the table and touches each one as he reads "hug me" and "be mine" etc from each heart.

I lean over and whisper in his ear, "I think those are theirs," as I nod towards the couple across from us. Curtis looks down the table to see if others have candy hearts sitting in front of them. None...only the 2 boxes in front of us.

"Wait a minute," Curtis says. "Are these yours?"

"Yeah, but that's okay...you guys can have some."

We couldn't stop laughing. Curtis was SO embarrassed.

After apologizing several times, Curtis put all the candy hearts back in the box and sat them back on the table.

Oh my goodness...it was SO funny.


I love you, my funny Valentine. Thanks for always making me laugh. Always be mine.



[For those of you who want to participate in the recipe exchange, you need to email me your recipes by this Friday.]

I never did show you . . .

what my awesome husband got me for Christmas! Aren't they snazzy? I love 'em!!


It's official. I am now a true Wyomingite...and I've got these boots to prove it.


Here are some funny jokes about life in Wyoming.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE WYOMINGITE WHEN . . .

1. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.

2. "Vacation" means going up north past Worland for the weekend.

3. You measure distance in hours.

4. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

5. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.

6. Your whole family wears brown and gold to church on Sunday.

7. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.

8. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.

9. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

10. Your dogs go to town with you.

11. There are as many bars in town as churches.

12. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot of the store at any given time.

13. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

15. The rodeo is the social event of the year.

16. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.

17. You have no problem spelling Meeteetse.

18. You consider Cheyenne exotic.

19. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.

20. You think lingerie is tube socks and flannel pajamas.

21. Down South to you means Denver.

22. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new machine shed.

23. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

24. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

25. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."

26. You actually understand these jokes.

Kind of funny, huh.

Reminder: Email me your recipes to jennycheney[at]gmail[dot]com. Go HERE for details.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

to you from us.

my thankful list

I couldn't let November pass by and not make my "I'm thankful for" list. It just wouldn't be right.

So, without further ado, my 'I'm Thankful For' list:

I'm thankful for . . .
my family
my friends
the gospel
good health
a warm place to live
running water
good food to eat
the internet
my education
good music
cell phones
our jobs
Curtis passing the bar
the ability to laugh
good movies
good traveling weather (predicted) for a Thanksgiving celebration in Utah
our car
the ability to learn/grow/change

I'm so thankful for Curtis. I am reminded everyday how lucky I am to have him. He gets me...he gets my humor, my sensitivity, my crazy thinking... I love him so much and I'm thankful to be able to share this crazy journey called life with him.


I love this time of year. I love Thanksgiving and I am sure excited to celebrate this holiday season with my family.


If any of you are free Saturday night and are looking for a good way to bring in the Christmas spirit, come to Bountiful for the Cheney Family 18th Annual Christmas Celebration. I promise, it will not disappoint. It's an evening full of music and readings, including a brass quintet, handbell choir, instrumentalists, vocal ensembles and congregational singing. The chapel fills up quickly, so if you want a good seat, don't be late.

Saturday, November 28, 2009
6:45 PM
Bountiful 13th/53rd Ward LDS Chapel
1356 N. 650 E.
Bountiful, UT

Everyone is welcome to come. Bring your friends and families. I hope to see some of you there!

Happy November

I love November. In one word, I would describe November as 'cozy.'

I love all things cozy . . .

sweaters,
scarves,
flannel sheets,
cuddling with you-know-who,
the warmth of the oven filled with homemade pies,
and that lovely autumn smell that fills the air.

I love Thanksgiving.

I love spending time with family.

I love having a month where I am reminded to be thankful.


Here's to making the most of this November.


Happy November to all.