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Monday, December 29, 2008

Stuffed full of Christmas!

It's been a looonnnng and exhausting month this December. The older we get and the more married couples that have entered our lives, we see ourselves attending more and more couples activities. It doesn't get as event oriented as December.


Ladies of VT-35: Me, Hye Sung, Megan, Andrea


VT-35 Squadron had a mandatory Christmas Party. Mandatory and Christmas together seems uninviting but because all of our good friends would be there it seemed less daunting. It actually turned out to be super fun and Brandon even won two free meals at a Mexican Restaurant.
Christmas morning baby Leben got to sniff the presents and was the first to open a present. He sure loves Christmas but he is still getting the hang of opening up the presents.
This picture of Leben should belong in a movie of some sort, perhaps one about the Mafia. He actually stole my candy cane I had sitting on the table and was shocked when he got caught.



This year I decided to test my craft skills. I really didn't have any craft skills to be honest. I'm not the perfect homemaker and I don't sew nor own a sewing machine but I found the sewing kit my mom gave me like 3 years ago and after a trip to Joanns fabrics, the stockings above popped out after a month.
I also decorated the stems of the wine glasses with frosted cranberries and a tiny ribbon. I didn't know what else to do with the extra cranberries I had.
My other crafty thing that I attempted to do was make a Christmas centerpiece for our dining table. Considering that I've never done this before, it turned out ok even though it was hard to wrap everything around everything else. But with my arms of steel, I managed. :-)
Here is the dinner table with the ham, double baked potatoes with scallions, onions, green peppers and cheese, and green bean casserole. Cye brought over the mac and cheese and a beautifully presented salad.

I made a selection of breads. From left to right I made soy dinner rolls and mini challahs and on the right normal butter dinner rolls.

When all was quite in the Adams household and all their guests had finally left, a baby Rotti fell asleep on the couch, wrapped in his favorite blanket of all.









Tuesday, December 9, 2008

It is done!


There's not alot of beauty that can be found here in the Texas scenery. The palm trees are nice but knowing that roaches breed in them make them unappealing. The beach is beautiful if you can visually ignore the big oil barrels and trash washed up from Alabama. The one thing I have found that is amazingly beautiful is the rising and the setting of the sun. It's pretty breathtaking seeing the intensely different colors blending together. The day I took this picture was the day I finished my last final for my last class for my pastry degree! WHOOOHOOOO!!!!!! (dancing around in a circle)

So folks, I am officially done! As Neo from the Matrix would say "It is done." (DORK!) So what does all this new free time have instore for Val? Hmm...well I am working 5 days a week now but other than that I get to actually read "Persuasion." Though, you know how things go. You want to read and you want to do all these things when you have no time then when you finally have the time, you don't want to anymore. So is life.I've decided this year to make our own stockings and christmas cards. The first stocking that I conquered is for Leben our Rotti. I sewed those paws onto the material and I even handstitched them because unfortunately I am not a superhuman housewife and don't own a sewing machine nor do I want to own a sewing machine until maybe I am 70. Speaking of 70, I heard on the radio this morning that a couple in India who are in their 70's gave birth to their first child. It's amazing! I was amazed anyways but then amazement turned into 'uhhh.' I felt bad for the poor kid. I'm sure they'll be great parents but they can never run around with them and play soccer with them. By the time they're 10, whos to say their parents will be also? So how fair is it to the child?
Right now I am actually blogging in bed! Sweet! I also did a facial mask. That hasn't happened in like 2 years. Seriously folks. School, work, dog, and a family takes so much of your time. Now that school is over and I don't have to study anymore I can pay more attention to Brandon and Leben. I have felt like a terrible wife these past year and a half. Between school and work, it was hard to keep the house clean and make time for others. Brandon did so much to help around the house so now I am glad to say I can finally take care of him again. He's actually flying right now. He was suppose to get home around 3pm but it's 4:30pm and he's not back yet. It always scares me when he is flying. You just never know but I really don't have to worry because I know God listens to my prayers.
Okay really, I will talk about baking. I got my dirty little hands on a can of pumpkin. It's been sitting in my pantry for like 3 weeks. It's my own recipe and I really thought it was quite tasty! It's healthy too ;-)
Soy Flaxseed Pumpkin Bars
Recipe by Valerie Adams


1 C soyflexseed cereal
1 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts nutmeg, ground
1/2 ts cloves, ground
1 ts cinnamon, ground
1/4 ts salt
1 C sugar
3/4 C canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 ts vanilla extract

  1. Preheat oven 350 Degrees F and line a 10 in square pan with parchment paper and oil the sides of the pan.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients together
  3. Mix the liquid ingredients together and add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
  4. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle some chocolate chips over the top if you would like
  5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until done