back by popular demand...

so, now to catch up on Christmas and the start of 2012!
Zach and I went on quite the roadtrip for Christmas this year! We drove 1,500 miles from Gainesville to Pensacola to Starkville to Nashville and back to Gainesville. This was Norwoods first roadtrip and exposure to the big dogs!

She did great with her four-legged relatives, and spent most of the car ride snuggling.
It was so nice to take a week off of school and work to see family and friends. We spent a few days before Christmas in Florida with Zach's family. Zach finally got to meet his new niece, Korbyn! She was as precious as ever! We then spent some time with my parents and Sierra in Mississippi before we all headed to the Music City Bowl in Nashville to celebrate another bowl win for the Bulldogs! 
Zach and I stayed in Nashville to ring in the new year with our wonderful friends in Music City! 
2012 has brought many joyful moments already, and Zach and I are looking forward to going back to Nicaragua for a medical mission trip next month. Zach is on his "easy semester" now, and he is currently doing a rotation in family medicine. It's been a stark contrast from 40-hour work shifts to only working 2 days a week sometimes. He really deserves this break! We have also started a new small group at our church with newly married couples. It's so nice to be in community with other couples our age and in the same phase of life.
As for my projects... I haven't touched my sewing machine yet this year! I picked up my crochet hook and have been working on some baby blankets since everyone has caught the preggers bug! 
The most recent one I've made is for Turner English. So excited for our friends, Jesse and AC! I've gotten into the groove, and now I'm a baby afghan making machine!!

tis the season!

hello! so sorry for the absence- the greene household has been adjusting to a big change. i started a new job last month! i am loving it! i'm working at a pediatric dental office as a dental assistant. can you believe it? the overwhelming health care community in gainesville has finally sucked me in! zach and i had been praying about my job for several months because i was feeling called to something else. i applied to countless jobs in fields similar to engineering but nothing seemed to pan out. i talked about my job search with a friend who is in my small group, and one thing led to another... and here i am! i love working with children everyday, and i really enjoy the women i work with, too! being happy in the workplace is something i will never ever take for granted! can you believe that i'm even thinking about going to dental school one day?!?! that would make two doctors in the family!

oh- and here is the best thing... i get to wear maroon MSU scrubs every Thursday!!! Go Dawgs!! Represent!!

 zach and i went to starkville for thanksgiving! it was so nice to see my parents, ty, rachel, zach's parents, alex, robyn and baby korbyn! the hartsogs also spent the holiday with us!

we had the most delicious spread! yummmm

baby korbyn and mommy!

our 2nd thanksgiving! so thankful for my wonderful hubby!

the amazing women who made it all happen!

aunt stacey and korbyn! decked out in maroon for the egg bowl!

an egg bowl victory! 3-peat!

soaking wet... but loving the VICTORY!!!!

now it's christmas time again! i love this season! unfortunately, all of our decorations are in pensacola, and i didn't realize it in enough time to get them down to gainesville. grrrrrr but i couldn't go a whole month without having some christmas cheer in the home, so we bought a tree! a real one this year! and zach was so happy =) bought all new ornaments and lights for the tree, and i'm very pleased with our happy tree! norwood loves it, too! and of course we decorated norwood! check out her christmas collar with red jingle bell and her shirt! the shirt says "santa's little yelper"-- how cute??? she loves wearing it!

 

 

christmas family photo 2011

hope you are having a blessed advent and finding joy in this season of preparation and expectant waiting! Merry Christmas! 

FALL projects!

so glad i caught the sewing bug again just in time for fall and Halloween! in all the years we have been together, zach and i have never been to a costume party. we'll be making our couples costume debut at the end of the month, and i've been brainstorming for weeks now!! we have a great idea, and the best is that we're dressing up Nora, too! Stay tuned for pics!
but until then, here are some other projects i've been working on (with tutorial inspiration links)enjoy!
burlap wreath

menu planner dry erase board
(got the free graphic here)

game day crochet cowl
(maybe making an appearance at the Egg Bowl next month?)

cute anthro knockoff bobby pins
(well, my hair was super long until i cut off 10" for locks of love. now it's short again! let the cylce begin again...)

Egg Bowl dress
mom got me this cute long-sleeved maroon shirt, but i already have a couple. so i chopped it off and made a dress! i had intended for the skirt to have pockets, but i ended up cutting those off when i made the skirt slimmer. i'm still working with proportions, but i'm honing my sewing techniques!

**i know i keep referencing the Egg Bowl a whole lot, but I'm missing MSU football terribly! aso every project i do turns out to be maroon because i have my bulldogs on the brain

Freezer Burritos

i cannot say enough good things about this idea! i have a husband who likes to snack, and we are often on the go. the solution? freezer burritos!! set aside a couple hours, and you can make several, quick, single-serving burritos.
First, gather your ingredients. I used flour tortillas, black beans, corn salsa, cheese, and "Chipotle" rice (LOVE Chipotle burritos and the rice they use. Have you ever eaten at Chipotle before? Worlds better than Moes! Trust me! And if you're already a chiplotle-rice-lover, check on the recipe linked... it's the recipe for Chipotle's rice.) I was excited to use the rest of my homemade salsa and beans that I had soaked and cooked. You can also splash on some sour cream or hot sauce. It's also a good idea to pre-tear your foil.
The first step is to take your tortillas out of their package, wrap them in a damp kitchen towel, and microwave for 1 minute. This makes them very pliable! I'm pretty sure the next step is a no-brainer, but you fill your burrito and roll!

They should keep in the freezer for 3 months. But let me put it this way, I made these last month, and they have been long gone...

When ready to eat: remove foil, wrap in damp paper towel, microwave on high 3 minutes, wait to cool, then eat!

So easy! So delicious!

The Cone of Silence

Last month, Nora had a few operations. We had her "fixed" and had her front claws removed (let me stop you right here if you think that is inhumane... Nora has a wonderful vet and does not miss them! Nor do we! Those things were sharp! She will always be an indoor cat and won't ever need to protect herself in the wild.) Well, anyhoo- the vet suggeted that she wear those cone to keep her from irritating her stitches on her belly and paws. I was out of town when Zach picked her up from her surgeries, so when I came home this greeted me at the door...

hahahaaaaa... adorable, right?
For some reason, she was super affectionate when she was wearing the cone. We didn't make her wear it all day, every day- she only wore it when she was left alone during the day. But we did observe her wearing the cone and found that she ran into walls. a lot.

The cone prevented her from grooming. See her pittiful attempt here. She would raise her paws to her face, but then end up just licking the inside of the cone.

Wwe affectionately named it the "cone of silence." Nora was so calm when it was on, so sometimes we still put it on her if she's getting a little crazy. Is that mean? I don't think so....

Last week it was time for Nora's belly stiches to come out. The vet asked us to bring her back, and he would remove the stitches. Zach took one look at them and said he could handle it. And he did. One careful snip, and the stitches were gone. I can only imagine Zach one day stitching up all of the neighborhood children.

Ratatouille

This dish is any veggie lover's dream... and it makes me yearn for my very own garden even more!

These ingredients are more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule. Play around with proportions and ingredients, if you like.

2 large eggplants, peeled, cubed
6-8 zucchini, coined
3 bell peppers, chopped
5 garlic cloves, whole
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 bay leaf
3-4 sprigs of thyme
4 large tomatoes or 1 can whole tomatoes
1 TBS EVOO

In a large pot, sauté the onions in EVOO until brown. Then add peppers and allow to soften. Stir in whole garlic cloves, tomatoes, bay leaf. Turn down heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add zucchini, eggplant, thyme, S&P. Simmer another 20 minutes or until everything is cooked through. Fish out bay leaf and whole garlic cloves before serving.

At this point, either top each bowl with minced garlic and serve with bread or rice OR cool and put in freezer bags.

Please note that if you choose to freeze in individual portions (like I did), allow to cool on stove, then pour into labeled ziplock bags. I also allow the bags to cool on the counter before putting them in my freezer. It’s also a good idea to lay the bags flat on a baking sheet before you freeze and then take them off the baking sheet once frozen. This makes them into a nice flat frozen bag of goodness that stacks easily in the freezer. It will keep for up to 3 months.
**I actually made this recipe about a month ago and have already defrosted half of my supply! It still tastes great once thawed and reheated!

24th birthday!

hey! i had a birthday last week! the big 2-4! my sweet co-workers got me a cake with 6 candles. they asked what the multipier was (i know, we are nerds), and i told them 4. i think i made them all feel old. but i wasn't trying to rub it in. since zach had been working nights, i came home to spend the afternoon with him before he went into work that night. i thought we could do a laid back bday thing. i ended up cooking and cleaning, and it felt more like zach's bday than mine! we decided a re-do would be in order once things settled down.

like i said, i cooked. check out our yummy linner (lunch/dinner)- thai chicken and pineapple stirfry YUM!

and a breakfast banana split for dessert!

and nora and i did some yoga. she likes to do yoga in her sleep.