Mandy and Jace

I’m sitting here on this first day of 2010 trying to process the fact that 2009 is in the history books. Most people would ask me, “Are you thinking about politics?” or “What about 2009’s economy?” but I’m thinking about the greatness of my little family and how much I am in love with what we’ve made for ourselves. 2008 was packed full of newness and our first year of marriage. Yes, 2008 was wonderful but 2009 was so much better. We have fallen into our routines and now we just sit and enjoy each other’s company. We will easily tell you that we would rather have movie night on the couch with just the two of us than a house full of people and lots of commotion. I love our evenings together where we make dinner, eat on the couch and snuggle while watching “House” or “Big Bang Theory”. I love waking up in the mornings and making fun of my very spoiled cat who thinks she rules the house. Or sleeping in on Saturdays and then spending the day with the sounds of Jace’s xbox and the smell of something cooking in the kitchen. I get asked daily when we are going to have kids and right now I couldn’t imagine changing this greatness we have going on. It is all I have ever dreamed of and so much more. Jace, thank you for being truly my other half. Thank you for loving me and rooting me on even if my idea seems like the most stupid thing you have ever heard. Thank you for holding my hand when I fly off the deep end and decide to do something crazy like get a tatoo or when I run outside to sit in the mud and watch the fireworks that I’ve seen a million times before. I love you more than life and I always will.

(soundtrack is “Heart Skipped A Beat” by XX)

I was amazed at how easy this recipe was. I was kind of nervous to make this because I have never made any kind of dough or bread before but it was so easy that I’m ready to take on more. This recipe made enough dough to cut it in half and make one thin crust pizza and freeze the rest for later. Half of the dough was more than enough for the two of us but if you’re serving a family you will probably need to use the whole thing. I found this recipe on a website called cozy kitchen.

First, mix the warm water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl until the yeast is dissolved. Then, let it sit for 10 minutes to let the yeast activate. Add the olive oil, and honey and stir until the honey dissolves. Add the flour and salt.

Mix until a dough ball forms.

Pour the dough out onto a floured, flat surface and knead the dough into a smooth ball.

Place the kneaded dough into a GREASED bowl, (I forgot to grease mine and it was a pain to get out) cover with a damp towel, and put it in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

Turn the dough onto a floured flat surface and roll it out to your desired thickness and size.

Then put it on a sheet pan or pizza stone and top with whatever your heart desires.

Pizza dough
adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 packet dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the warm water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl until the yeast is dissolved. Then let it sit for 10 minutes to let the yeast activate. Add the olive oil, and honey and stir until the honey dissolves. Add the flour and salt. Mix until a dough ball forms.
Pour the dough out onto a floured, flat surface and knead the dough into a smooth ball. Place the kneaded dough into a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and put it in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.
Turn the dough onto a floured flat surface and roll it out to your desired thickness and size. Transfer the dough to a sheet pan or pizza stone and top with desired toppings.

We had a great Christmas this year! Jace and I take turns every year on who’s family we spend Christmas with and this year was my families turn. So we stayed here in Midland. This was our second Christmas as a married couple and we wanted to have a special day just for ourselves, so on Christmas eve we slept in and had a day to do what we wanted. We got up late and made breakfast burritos for brunch then watched movies and relaxed all day. You know it’s a good day when you don’t get out of your pajamas!
Christmas day we got up and made our tasty turkey. I love our turkey! It is the juiciest, tastiest turkey you have ever tasted.

After the turkey was ready we went to my parents house for lunch and gifts. Lunch was amazing and I ate more starch than I’ve eaten in about 6 months and I think I gained all twelve pounds that I’ve lost back but it was SO good. Next was gifts and there were a mountain of them to open.

My favorite gift was our new macbook pro, in which Jace promply whisked away, opened it up and worked his magic to make it a MEGA MACHINE.

After we opened gifts we all went to see Sherlock Holmes and then Jace and I went home. We had great plans to have a romantic steak dinner that evening but we were so stuffed from lunch and popcorn at the movies that we just had leftovers.

Now all the decorations are put up for the year and I am back on my diet, but I have wonderful memories of this Christmas that will last a lifetime. You can see the rest of our photos here.

I just wanted to let everyone know that the meal planning posts will probably be pretty light until after the first of the year. We have so much going on with parties and dinners that we probably won’t be eating at home very much this month. I don’t really mind though because that means we will be spending time with our wonderful friends and family. I will still post some photos and a few recipes though, so don’t stop checking in.

Last week Jace and I flew to Athens, Georgia to have Thanksgiving with his family. It was a great reunion because we hadn’t seen Jace’s brother and sister in law in about a year. We also got to meet our niece Mary Elise for the first time. She had me wrapped around her little finger the moment we walked through the door!

I have made a few observations about Georgia. The main one is everyone uses more butter in a meal than I would use in a month. I thought it was just Paula Deen that had the butter obsession, but no. Its everyone in Georgia! My other observation was that everything we ate was amazing! So Georgians, keep shoving butter in everything and I will visit and eat all that I can. However, my arteries can only handle once or twice a year so I’ll have to make it good while I’m there. Needless to say, we had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing and so much more.

Can you see the heavens shining down on our turkey? It was that good!

I also got to go to my first Christmas tree farm. I was so excited. We have always had fake trees and while they have been great the real ones were so pretty. There were rows and rows of trees in all sizes and shapes. You could even get a Charlie Brown Christmas tree if you wanted. We picked the most perfect one, chopped it down and took it home. You think Griswold’s Christmas Vacation was outrageous? You should see us trying to get the tree home. It was quite entertaining.

It was a great week. I am truly blessed to be a part of this amazing family. I always come home feeling so loved and I couldn’t ask for a better group to be loved by. You guys are amazing. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives. Justin and Margaret, thank you for opening up your homes and lives to us even if it was just for a week. We appreciate everything you did, from the wonderful meal to your gracious hospitality. We love you so much!

You can see more of my Thanksgiving photos here.