Family Christmas

We have had the best week visiting my parents, but of course I would say that. I really think Ryan has enjoyed himself too!

Here we are ice skating last night! We had so much fun! Please disregard my ugly warm clothes, we did not come prepared to go ice skating. Everyone joined us except my Dad he took all of the pictures. I again learned that my husband is a natural at ice skating, like he is with most activities. I am glad our kids will get his genes! {hopefully}

Here is a picture of my brother and sister ice skating as well. Again please disregard my brother facial hair. He is really into swimming and they do this {not shaving any body hair} every year during the regular season. Thankfully it will come off at the end of February. Megan's goofy face originates from her allergic to physical contact and since Logan is touching her you get that face, but that is really a whole other story. Tonight we went to church and then out to eat for a wonderful entirely too filling dinner.

This is Ryan and me at dinner tonight.

This photo is about the 14th try from my dad and as you can tell Megan and I lost our patience :) Now we are all home cuddled up on the couch enjoying this...

I hope you all get to enjoy some laughs with your family during this wonderful time of year. "I love to smile, smiling is my favorite"

P.S. Please do not hate me because I use my iphone to take pictures, I love all of your real photos I just lost my camera cable so I can't really upload photos :)

Running Days

I know I know I have been long gone from the blog world. I am so sorry the last week as been super busy. We had a bunch of holiday parties and drove to visit my parents, which I will tell in more detail later but let's just say this Crate and Barrel! Treat* Today I went to the YMCA with my mom and sister. This is really a daily activity for me and my family, but it is different over the holidays. There are tons of people at the gym! This really gets me going I run so much faster and further when someone is running next to me especially someone I don't know. I know that doesn't really make sense but I like to kinda race them in my head. For example see who stops first. Sometimes that is me but I still like the challenge. That being said I ran my little (or big) booty off today. Which is why my foot is currently like this...

The ball of my foot is killing me! I decided to ice it because one tip from Runners magazine is to take care of your body when you are training. I am not really training but I hope to start training in January (maybe) for Lexington's half marathon. But to get me there and keep me in shape while I try I need these!

This is a sensitive subject at my house because Ryan does not believe that you need new shoes until yours have holes in them. In my world my dad who is a major runner gets new shoes about every 6 months, so I am more accustom to that method of thinking. I have had these for over a year and I really would like a new pair. I do not think I am getting any for Christmas, because running shoes are one of those things you have to pick out yourself. But I know what I will do with my Christmas money if I get any! Happy Holiday Exercising to You and Yours!

Heart Pounding

I pretty much make my "heart pound" daily, usually at the gym. Today this happened twice once at the gym and once when I saw this in my rearview

I actually passed this pretty little black and white on New Circle going about 75 m.p.h. I saw it and thought oh man this is going to turn into a bad day quickly. I was following a brand spankin' new Mercedes so I thought maybe the cop has a grudge against rich people so he will go for the guy in the big shot car over me?... But no I was totally wrong in every way! A little bright red Jetta passed all of us, including the cop {stupid} going oh about 85 m.p.h. So the Jetta saved me and the Mercedes! Good Day! I was then able to get home in a timely manner to complete this little project...

Yep you got it! I finished my little shutter project :)

Here it is in my little entry way! Next I need to add a little mirror to complete the area and I'll be finished! Blog friends please be on the look out for cool mirrors especially cheap ones! And finally I got to spend some time with my favorite girl...

My sister! We watched My Sister's Keeper! I am so thankful we don't have to endure something like cancer together, but the honest truth is that we may have to one day. I am glad she is by my side for my whole life! Sisters are the best!

Surprise!

Just a few minutes ago I was working on my third and final ham dish for the week when I heard a knock at the door. I thought who the heck would be at my house this time of day? I walked to the front door thinking oh my gosh we REALLY need a peep hole! I could be getting ready to open the door to a serial killer! Please make note; this is now a STAT Saturday project. Anyway I looked through the front window as secretively as possible and I saw the UPS truck in the street. My initial thought was, "What did Ryan order from eBay?" But no! It was this beautiful package on my stoop!

I briefly thought maybe I should wait for Ryan to open this in case it is some sort of Christmas gift, but I simply could not wait! I tore into this box and I found a beautifully wrapped package with these super fun goodies inside!

A beautiful ruby red mixing bowl, Christmas cookie cutters, and sugar cookie mix! I was most curious about who gave us this gift. It was addressed to Carly and Ryan Brehm. I was pretty positive it was from Ryan's mom because she is fun and sending a spontaneous gift really seems like her personality. I was wrong, it was a late wedding gift! Treat! One of my dad's BFF's from college sent it {well actually his wife sent it}! Super fun! I can not wait to use these things!

P.S. I made creamy ham potato and cheese soup it is the bomb.com! The ham adventure was a complete success!

Ham Night 2

As you know from last night, I ventured out and made my first ham. Now I have tons of ham so I am trying to think of fun ways to eat it for the next few days. Tonight I thought of ham turn overs very easy when you have a bunch of ham on hand! First I started by cutting all of the nasty fat off the ham. I did lost some ham in the process but I feel like it is worth it for my arteries. I cut up all of the fat free ham into tiny pieces and mixed it with 2 oz. room temperature cream cheese. {You do not have to use room temperature cream cheese but if you choose to use the cold stuff plan on an arm workout!} I then added about 2 cups colby cheese mixture and mixed my heart out.

The cream cheese or some creamy cheese like brie is helpful so everything will kind of stick together. Next I got to work on the bread part of the turn over. You could really use any type of bread such as pizza dough, biscuits, or puff pastry. I chose crescent rolls because we had those and the fridge and Ryan really likes them. I rolled them out with my fancy new Martha Stewart rolling pin and some waxed paper. {which really is a must because if not then you will be picking dough off your rolling pin for days}

I placed the rolled out dough on a baking sheet and put it in the fridge to firm up for easy filling. Next comes the actual turn over part of my little creations

I filled the turn overs with the ham mixture {this is where is cream cheese helps hold everything together so it doesn't spill all over your pan}. Then I pushed the seams together so they would not loose all of the filling to the pan while in the oven. Bake for 13 minutes at 375. And there is no cooked picture because Ryan walked in the door when they were finished and I forgot before they were gone. I did bake some banana nut mini muffins for dessert. To add to our ham we also have about 5 bananas that are going bad and I don't want to throw them away.

These were perfect to satisfy my extra large sweet tooth. Ryan and I watched Julie and Julia which was perfect for my cooking night! Stay tuned for cheesy potato and ham soup tomorrow!

Busy Bee

This weekend was a busy one but I would not have had it any other way! Friday night we had a Christmas Party for Bryan Station High School kids. The boys played Halo and the girls decorated Christmas cookies! It was really fun but also very tiring, I slept will Friday night! Saturday my bible study went out to eat for our annual Christmas dinner! There is one place we always choose...

That's right P.F. Chang's! It was so great to hang out with everyone hear about their lives, talk, and eat really good food! I also want to take a minute to brag on my bible study leader. She is totally awesome every week I have never met someone more patient, loving, or caring toward a group of young women. She always has snacks for us to eat every Thursday and calmly redirects our conversation when we often get off topic during bible study. Her vast knowledge of the bible amazes me I really hope that I can be a mother and leader like she is one day. Also she is the bomb.com to us every year for Chirstmas! And yes she treats us to dinner and we usually get an awesome gift...

the front of the ornament

And the back!

I think this is the most precious gift I have gotten this year! It is from Peggy's Gifts and Accesorites. It is so fun that I got a gift from there because I was just there last week wishing I could afford something in the store! Finally, I made a ham today! Ryan has had this ham since last Christmas from work and he is getting another one this week so it was now or never to make it. I was feeling really scared about making a ham because I know how daunting the task of making a turkey is and I thought they would be similar, boy was I wrong! Our ham was pre-cooked, pre-sliced, and came with its own glaze! It was probably the easiest thing I have cooked in months! I put it in the oven for 2 hours at 250 degrees then took a nap while Ryan watch football. After 2 hours I increased the temp to 425 put the glaze on and cooked for 15 more minutes! It came out looking something like this...

It may have actually looked better but I forgot to take a picture of it before we devoured it! I don't even like ham and I thought it was pretty darn good! It was also nice having our friends Jenna, Holly, Marshall, Eden, and JB over to eat dinner with us! Hope you all had a good weekend too!

Stressful Days

Hi blog friends! I have been a terrible blogger these past couple of weeks. I have a few reasons for this...
I have been feeling really stressed and acting a little crazy like this woman. Ryan is all too aware of my increased stress level, but the good news is my test will be over soon and I can get back to enjoying this wonderful Christmas season. A few things I am looking forward to in the next few weeks are...


White Chocolate Mochas in all their calorie filled extra whip cream glory! I will actually probably be enjoying at least one of these while I study. Next on my list is a little bit more season appropriate...


Perfectly wrapped Christmas presents! Some of you know that I like to spend a fair amount of money at Hallmark and make my gifts look picture perfect. These don't really fit into the budget this year but I will find a way to make mine look great! Hope you all enjoy wrapping your gifts this season too!

Happy Morning

Today I came into work with a little extra pep in my step. While I am usually peppy in the morning today was extra special. As I drove to work I saw people in cars that looked like this...



Ewww! Frost! Please don't get me wrong. I love winter, snow, warm drinks, pretty ornaments, and little frost on my kitchen window, but I do NOT like scraping this stuff off my car in the morning! There is nothing worse than starting your day off with cold hands! Also this particular morning I was running late because Ryan and I shared breakfast together. So, had I needed to scrap my car off I would have been late for work and that certainly is not the way to start the day. But I didn't have to scrap because this weekend Ryan cleaned out our garage and now both cars fit in it together!

While I do not drive cars this nice, I still like to protect my little Accord from the weather. It is also such a treat to have your heat get warm before you get to work! And also to top this day off I found out my good friend Ang is in LABOR! Ryan and I are so exicted for her and Micah we have already been talking about it this morning! Please pray for Angie as she goes through labor and pray that Silas remains healthy during labor and on his birth - day!

New Stockings!

I did it! I just recently purchased these cute little gems about 30 minutes ago...

As many of you know Ryan and I decided to wait and buy new Christmas decorations this year until after Christmas. I think it is totally awesome that I will have an awesome Christmas 2010! BUT we really needed some stockings and today only, at Pottery Barn you can get free shipping and momograming! So these were a steal! Hopefully they will continue to have a pattern like this or something that goes with it so that as our family grows (in the very distant future) our stocking collection can expand too! We got the bigger stockings and they say "Carly" and "Ryan" in red. I can not wait until they come in the mail and I am super excited for December 26 when I can buy more decorations!

Thank-full Day

I know everyone is probably doing this today but I have so many things to be thankful for I feel like I must express them! Today I am thankful for my salvation with out my amazing savior nothing else in the world would matter! As always I am thankful for my family and that all my monetary needs are met every year. But most of all this year I am thankful for my sweet husband! Ryan and I often talk about how great it is that we never have to have awkward first dates again or experience heart-break. I am thankful for Ryan's spiritual guidance in my life and that he makes me laugh daily...

We have so many wedding pictures like this because we laugh so much together! I hope you can find something to be thankful for whether it is big or small. On a smaller note I really like this...

I think this is so fun! I get excited to see how google will portray the holiday we are celebrating! I wish you all happy shopping tomorrow! Hopefully I will find something great! For now Ryan and I are leaving Pinehurst and on our way to my Grandma's house is Charlotte!

on the road again...

We are back on the road traveling for the holiday. We have made it to our first destination

Pinehurst North Carolina to visit Ryan's family for the holiday. We got in around 4 yesterday afternoon and have pretty much been eating since then. There is always a feast at the Brehm's and I love it! Today we are going to the gym to earn all of the eating we will be doing. Until then I will enjoy my favorite breakfast

Grapefruit!!! It is great having a family that loves to cook for us and buy the things we like to eat. I hope you all get to enjoy the fun food this holiday offers!

Christmas is Coming

We had a wonderful but very busy two days at weekend camp! The program went well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves but it left Ryan and me very tired at the end of the weekend. I still managed to get some things done around the house. We had about 36 hours at home before leaving for Thanksgiving so I wanted to make them count! I finished Christmas for Ryan's family because we will not be seeing them in December. And I worked on a little project of my own...

Yep I decorated our house for Christmas! This is the first year I have ever done this, so I feel pretty proud of myself (Ryan did help me a little so I wouldn't kill myself falling off the roof). Sorry the picture is not great and my car is in it but I think you can get the general idea. I also added a few little things around the house from a box of decorations I found. Not to mention I did laundry and packed for our little holiday adventure. Tomorrow is a full day of work then we are off to North Carolina early Tuesday morning! I hope you were able to check some things off your to do list in this busy time of year. By the way, I am not as my blog sounds. I did not make it to the gym and I did not study for my CCRN today two things that really need to get done. Hopefully I can really hit the books this week!

CCRN

I just couldn't bring myself to blog yesterday. I was totally worn out and kinda moody after my long emotionally draining day at work. Does everyone have these emotionally draining days at work like me? Sometimes I feel like it is only me. People die, co-workers argue, doctors yell, families cry, and I run around playing catch up most of the day. Often I long for a job where I could just go sit at my computer and actually take a lunch break, but I know God has directed me on this path and I am excited to find out where it will lead me. So currently I am studying my booty off for this work test. Yes, I know I am graduated and I should not have tests anymore, but I actually I chose to take this test no one made me! The test I am studying for is the CCRN, Critical Care Registered Nurse Exam. I am already a registered nurse but now I am trying to get a cerification that says I'm really good at caring for critically ill patients. I think this is a good idea for my future because it looks really good on resumes. Which I hope will help as I apply for graduate school this winter. I think most of the stuff on the exam I have learned at some point, but now I have to compile it all into one. I really need focus to study during Thanksgiving break and all the holiday activities. I am not telling people when I am taking it, but it soon let me say that! As for now I will be spending a lot of time with my new favorite book...

Please pray I test to the best of my abilities and that work or life drama does not distract me from doing my best!

P.S. Also if I pass UK will reimburse me for the exam fee ($200) which would be nice with Christmas right around the corner!

Fun Birthday Suprise

Today I worked really hard at work and was pretty busy. I have discovered that this is basically my life now that I am working day shift. I really like it, while night shift is a great learning environment day shift A) Makes me feel like a normal person B) I am busy and not constantly watching the clock C) I get to share my bed with my husband every night! So all in all I would trade night shift for running my tail off any day. After work I hurried on over to the Young Life office for club. I gave my first YL talk of the year which was about "The Cross" I think it went really well and the kids seemed engaged the whole time. Then after club I got a fun little surprise from a YL parent! A little birthday card and these amazing creations...

These little treats are from the marvelous...

I hope that you have been there! In my little box I know there is a strawberry delight which is strawberry cake with butter cream frosting, the chocolate one with swirls on it is chocolate cake filled with butter cream icing, the one with fluffy white frosting is actually cream cheese icing on carrot cake, and the last one is a surprise! I am super pumped to share these with my honey! I hope you all can take a little trip over to Caramanda's off Southland Drive and get a little treat for yourself weather you need a pick me up or want to celebrate! They also have cookies and full sized cakes, but you can buy a cupcake or cookie for less than $2.50! Have a great night :)

Christmas Decorating

Today was overall a pretty great day. Besides being punked by my boss for some goofy not really valid reasons I loved this day! It was so pretty outside I wore my rainbows all day. I also got to hang out with Jenna and Baby Eden, probably the cutest and most happy baby of all time! She can cheer just about anybody up! Look at that super cute smile...

It was also really nice to hang out with Jenna and talk nurse stuff and marriage because she is both married and a nurse! Since I was so close to Hobby Lobby being at The Wilmhoff's I thought I should run out there really quick. I found some awesome things. I bought a little nick-nack for our entertainment center, some ornaments for decorating, and a large B which I am going to paint and use in our bedroom hopefully a project I complete soon. After this fun little adventure I wanted to get some pine cones of my own after reading Jen's blog yesterday. So, with Jenna's advice I went to a little park behind Merrick apartments and found a whole bag full! I used them to make decorations for my new bookshelf

Here is a close up of the tall vase...

This was probably the most simple decoration I have ever made. I thought about painting my pine cones and putting glitter on them, but that will have to wait for now. I just alternated pine cones and different ornaments in the vases. Luckily, I have a bunch of vases from my wedding so now having to buy those saved me a bunch of money. I also bought lights and wreaths to hang outside our house so hopefully I will accomplish that decorating before Thanksgiving! I'll keep you posted :)

New Bookshelf

These past few days have been absolutely delightful! I had my 24th birthday, got to spend lots of time with my hubby, went to visit my parents, and took a much needed trip to Ikea! I love all of my birthday gifts equally, but I have special feelings for our new bookshelf. It is going to help fill an empty space between our kitchen and living room. It also has some really practical uses which is probably why Ryan is such a fan! It gives us a place to put our keys and mail right when we walk in from the garage, it also has tons of storage so we can hide some of our crap in it when people come to visit. This piece is also awesome because it matches our entertainment center and coffee table because they are all from Ikea! Ryan and I are also now a professional Ikea assembly team, we have put together all of the pieces that we have. We were able to put this cute piece together in 45 minutes flat from box to placement! I am proud of our Sunday evening project. I also can not wait to decorate this new shelf! I can not wait to fill the bookshelf with baskets and decorate it with some pretty things for Christmas! I really like it because it has all different shaped spaces which gives me the opportunity to buy some fun different baskets!

My next goal is to hang a shutter over this shelf so we can hang cards, invitations, or important mail, like the one below. I think that I will also add a mirror to open and room up and give you a place to check yourself before you walk out the door in the morning, so fun! Too bad the Habitat Restore is closed tomorrow! I guess my shopping adventure will have to wait for Thursday when I am off work!

Thanksgiving on a weeknight.

Today was an amazing day for many reasons, but mostly because I acted like Rachel Ray for a bit and made Ryan and myself "Thanksgiving Dinner" in 30 min. Sunday the grocery turkey breast were on sale so I figured I could find someway to use them. I made this little meal in literally 30 min. Turkey breast I marinated in italian dressing over night then sprinkled with sage before grilling. I grilled for about 6 minutes on each side. Green beans were super easy, yes they are from a can. I put them on the stove with a chicken bullion cube and let them simmer away for about 25 minutes. Lastly mashed potatoes! I love mashed potatoes almost as much as I love homemade mac and cheese, but now I can make potatoes faster! I bought the steam and mash potatoes! There are amazing and super easy. I followed the directions then added 4 tbs unsalted butter and 1 cup skim milk and mashed away! Ryan liked this dinner and I felt pretty accomplished on a week night. Then to top off all of my cooking I went to a cooking class at Williams-Sonoma! I love that place and I love free cooking classes. We made some awesome scalloped potatoes which I am making this weekend when I go visit my parents! I love to cook and I love my family so I can't think of anyone else I would rather cook for and try new ideas with.

Christmas is Coming!

Hi!
I am really going to try to keep up with my blogging this month and post pictures. I am so excited that today is the start of Christmas at Starbucks. There are not many things that I enjoy more than a warm gingerbread latte! Today I went on a coffee adventure. I decided mid-morning that I needed a little pick-me-up here at work! Well I thought I can just run down to the cafeteria and grab some of their faux starbucks. They were closed to change over to lunch food. Then I walked to the small coffee shop in the front of UKMC waited patiently in line only to find out... CASH ONLY! Who carries cash anymore?!?! While I don't even think I really wanted coffee anymore it now became a mission. I walked accross Rose Street (burrr it is pretty cold today!) to Kentucky Clinic to Starbucks. I was pretty happy with my choice especially since I got this pretty new Starbucks cup...






I typically hate winter but I can put up with it from November until about January 1 when all of the holiday spirit is gone, so this cup makes me happy!



To follow up with me burning my husband before church on Sunday morning...



This is Ryan's arm so it turns out I really did do some damage, but I think he will survive. I told him love was a battlefield so now he as some scars to prove it! Happy Tuesday!

Daylight Savings

As most of you know and I hope that you do. We got an extra hour of sleep last night! I loved it because there isn't much that I like more than sleep. I am usually pretty good with my time management, but this morning my extra hour really threw me off. I for some reason felt like I could wake up 15 minutes before we needed to leave for church. This is where things went a bit south. I was running around the bathroom and closet trying to get ready and look somewhat decent for church. When Ryan my sweet husband came to talk to me while I was getting ready. Thing were going great me doing my business in the mirror and Ryan talking to me to help pass the time. Then oops! I accidentally hit Ryan's arm with my curling iron. Our sweet conversation went down hill pretty quickly at this point. I promise I would never burn my husband on purpose, but for some reason he did not see it that way. Luckily my husband and my curling iron survived my clumsiness. And I did not have to get rid of either one of them. Here is the culprit, I really like her for many reasons, but I have had her since college, my mom bought her for me at Wal-Mart, she heats up in 2 minutes, AND she turns off automatically in case I forget :) I don't know that I could get through my day without my trusty curling iron or my sweet husband. I am glad he is no longer mad at her or me over our little early morning mishap!

So... here I go out into the blogging world. I hope that I enjoy this as much as all of my friends seem to. Currently I have nothing on my mind except my bed...

I have always been a lover of sleep and suggling, but I love it even more now. For a few reasons, one I work nightshift (but not for much longer!!!) staying up all night makes you love sleep more than you ever thought possible when you were a "normal sleep at night person." I also love, love my new huge king size bed it is totally awesome and never makes my back hurt or gives me an achey neck. But most of all I love going home on a Saturday morning and having my bed all warm and comfy with my cute little husband in it wait for me! It is simply bliss. So I will bide my time for the next 5 hours, while all of you rest your pretty heads, with thoughts of my own personal paradise to get me through.