My So-Called Life: 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Why I am Thankful.

The holidays are almost behind us and they have been so much fun!! I have been crazy-busy with holiday parties and family time, among other things...I feel like I haven't even had a second to sit down!

I want to start by saying how thankful I am for all the blessings I have in my life. I try to remind myself of this each and every day. Often times, I know I get caught-up in minor mishaps or trivial things and then every once in a while something happens in which to reground me. A few months ago one of my former Southwest students was brutally murdered in a drive-by shooting. I was sick about it. He was a great kid (which one's aren't?) who had a plan for his future. He must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I spent a few days after losing Ricky at Southwest just to be with my kids and let them know I was there if they needed anything. Most of them would tell you this wasn't the first loss they'd endured this year. I was heart-broken for them. They spent the following week raising funds for Ricky's funeral and banding together as a school. We had a candle-lighting in his honor outside on the front steps of the school where several community members were present, including the pastor from then neighboring church who said some words on Ricky's behalf. It was amazingly powerful.

In happier news, I have been in the party spirit lately!! I've had people to the house and been to several at others' houses. Tom and I went to Kiewit's annual Christmas party (it was actually a two-night event!!) out at the Overland Park Convention Center. He has a really wonderful job, so it's always nice to get to meet more of the people he works with! This was our second year attending and it is always fabulous! We also made sure to go by my parents' annual Christmas party. Their friends are so much fun! My mom played the piano while we sang Christmas carols (after several glasses of wine, of course!) and I got to catch-up with some of my parents friends that I have known almost my whole life. In addition to these, I had my first Kauffman Christmas party, our annual girls white-elephant party, and my sister's annual Christmas party (this year was Mexican and Indian cuisine). We finished it all off by spending the night before Christmas Eve with my immediate family, having dinner and seeing the Descendants (it's SOOOOO good you must see it now!) and then left Christmas Eve morning to head to Omaha to be with Tom's family for a few days. This is the first time we have been able to stay in Omaha during both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so it was very special for us. It was also Tom's nephew, Easton's, first Christmas so that made it even more special!! We were able to all go to the Christmas Eve church service, then went to dinner at a place in Omaha called 7M, which is amazing by the way. Speaking of being thankful, I am most of all thankful for both of our wonderful families. We are very close with both of them and Tom and I always talk about how lucky we are to be surrounded by all these amazing people who support us through everything that goes on in our lives! Oh-and how could I forget? I had a cookie-decorating party with my girlfriends a few nights ago. SO FUN!! We decorated Christmas cookies which I bagged and am handing out to various people who I appreciate (the mail man and the trash guys for starters!!).

At my parents' Christmas party

Tom's sister and nephew

Tom's brother-in-law and nephew

Tom and Easton

How cute is this card idea? On the back, it gives a description of what each number is.

The French family is growing!!

Kate, Jacque, Katie, Natalie, Mandy, and Carly at the Cookie Party

Decorated Cookies!

In DIY news, I haven't had many projects lately that are super-creative. I have made a few things for the various parties I attended, which are posted below. I also painted my kitchen....buuuuut I have to spare you the photos because the color I picked out, that I thought was going to be totally different, ended up looking almost exactly the same as the original color! It was fine because the walls just needed a repaint, but there's no drastic difference to report on...sad. I also made a few sets of coasters for Tom's sister and mom for Christmas. They had photos of Easton on each of them. So now I know you are able to make the coasters not only with scrapbook paper, but photographs as well! I think for my next picture project, I will get a large tile (like 12x12 or something like that?), blow up a picture to that size and make wall art! I'll let you know if that ever ends up happening...

Tom and I had a few friends over to watch the season finale of Sons of Anarchy (best show on TV) and this is part of the menu I prepared:

goat cheese, apple and walnut spinach salad

My specialty pizza bites!! Oh Lord, what you can do with a wonton wrapper!! I put turkey pepperoni, reduced fat mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, oregano, and red paper flakes in these bad boys and bake on 350 for about 20 minutes. Super delicious and Tom-approved!!

This was our main course. Stuffed chicken rollatini. Recipe here.

Chocolate almond saltine toffee. Recipe here.

Photograph coasters

Goat cheese bruschetta

Caprisi Bites

Before oven cove

After oven cove

And just a few other events I have managed to pack into my vacation time off work...one being my first actual Chiefs game!! I was last-minute able to find a ticket to go with Tom and some of our friends when they played the undefeated Packers last week...and WON!! What an exciting game for my first go!! Plus it was an absolutely beautiful December day. Last night, I also went to see a showing of the Bolshoi Russian Ballet perform Sleeping Beaty with my mom, dad, and sister. It was awesome!!

Tom and I at the Chiefs v Packers game

Bolshoi Ballet performing Sleeping Beauty

Sunday, October 30, 2011

2 Top Interests: Turquoise and Wontons

Tom and I just returned from a weekend trip to Vegas. It's always nice to get away, just the two of us, for a few days. We were able to see a show, play some Texas Hold'em, shop, and eat at some great restaurants on the strip. We stayed at the Monte Carlo down by the MGM and New York, New York. We were able to check out some of the new buildings (Aria, Cosmopolitan, City Center) and we ended up getting some free meals and cash since we let someone try and sell us a time share (ugh...never again). We also caught the Nebraska game early Saturday morning and took a trip to see the old strip at Freemont Street, which I had never seen before.

Walking on the strip Golden Nugget at the old strip


At Beatles "LOVE" by Cirque du Soleil in the Mirage

Since we got home on Saturday, I had all of Sunday to try out some new things that have been on my to-do list. I have recently been obsessed with the color turquoise...I love everything ever made in that color, I swear. I really wanted to replace the old gross chair that I have in my guest room in front of the vanity where I do my hair and makeup in the mornings. I had a vision for what I was going for, and I knew turquoise had to be involved, so I went to a flea market around 30th and Gillham a few weeks ago and picked up this gem for $10:

I wanted to get one that had a padded seat so that I could replace the fabric with some of my own. I ordered some that was on sale from fabric.com.

I made sure to use good primer, or else I knew that the paint would wear off with time. I removed the pad from the base, took out the old staples and removed the old cloth. I used the old square of cloth to measure how much of the new fabric I needed to cut. Once it was cut, I used a staple gun to put it in place nice and tight (the trick is to do the corners last!).

And...voila!!

So on to my next top interest: wonton wrappers. Have you ever used these for anything?? They are the bomb.com!! There are so many filling ideas on the web that are way outside the Asian box. You can find them in the produce refrigerator by the tofu.

Tonight I tried Chicken Parmesan Wraps that I found on Pinterest and they were delish! Basically, you just mix up some grilled chicken pieces with marinara sauce, spoon the mixture into the middle of the wonton wrapper, and sprinkle on some fresh spinache, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. To press the wrappers together, you can wet the edges a bit with water. I sprayed some olive oil spray on them before I baked them at 400 degrees for 12 minutes just to ensure the wrappers came out crispy. I also decided to flip them halfway, but you wouldn't need to if you have a wire rack to bake them on.

Next I'm going to try buffalo chicken wraps!!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Fall Festivities Plus a Baby!

How awesome is Fall?

Tom got to welcome his first nephew, Easton Charles, into the world on September 23rd. We were able to go to Omaha to meet him a few weeks ago. He is absolutely adorable!! Tom and I are so sad we don't live closer to see him all the time and babysit, but we are just going to have to Skype and go to Omaha more often...we don't want to miss any of the little guy growing up!! Tom's sister and brother-in-law are doing great; parenthood definitely becomes them!

Easton (about a month old)

Meeting the little guy for the first time!

Husker fan from birth.

The Kalasek family :) Sam, Brian, and Easton getting ready to go home from the hospital.

I was also able to go to the NCTM (National Counsel of Teachers of Mathematics) conference this past week in Atlantic City. My job allows us to choose one conference a year to attend, and I really love the NCTM organization. It was my first time in Atlantic City, and though it was more exciting than St. Louis would've been (actually, I don't know now since there's a World Series going on!!), I don't see myself vacationing there soon. Maybe I'm just a Vegas snob, but there is no comparison between the two. The conference itself was awesome, so the trip was all-in-all worthwhile. I was able to do some shopping at their outlet stores and see the ocean for a few days if nothing else!!

Atlantic City Boardwalk

This weekend, I decided I wanted to spend the day indulging in my favorite season by ordering pizza, having a few seasonal micro-brews, carving pumpkins and making snacks. My sister and my best friend, Natalie, came over to join in!! We were able to sit outside on the back deck with the unseasonably warm weather (since when is it 80 degrees in late October??) while we carved...what a great day!