New Puppy!

Gary and I, but mostly Gary has been looking around in hopes of finding the perfect puppy for us in our new home. We both wanted a dog that would be small and wouldn't lose its fur since both Gary and I have bad allergies. Gary came across a breed called a Yorkiepoo (a mix between a Yorkie and a Poodle). We had our eyes on these 2 puppies that were brown and looked more like a poodle and we were going to drive down and see them, but the owner called us Saturday morning and said that someone else had reserved them so she said that they were not available so we were highly disappointed. We had called earlier in the week saying that we were interested in them and had made an appointment for Saturday to see them so they must of forgot or didn't take us seriously i'm not sure, but it was very frustrating. Gary was not going to give up though so he continue searching and found one that was the same breed, but looked more like a Yorkie. She was cute so we decided to drive all the way to Pennsylvania to see her. We instantly fell in love with her and took her home with us. We decided to name her Zoe.

Zoe!

Trying to learn how to climb the stairs. Still have some work to do.

Sort of playing with her ball?

10 for Tuesday

1) We had a little snow storm of 2 inches this past week, but it didn't stay long.

2)Gary and I went to a Dr. Horrible party on Friday that was hosted by our good friend Jerry. Everyone had to dress so Gary decided to go as Professor Normal and I went as Fury Leika which are part of the Evil league of evil. If you have no idea what i'm talking about here is a synosis of what it is all about. Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog is a 43-minute tragicomic musical in three acts, each released separately. It tells the story of Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillain, Captain Hammer, his nemesis, and Penny, their mutual love interest. If you are interested in watching it you can watch it here. This is only part 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apEZpYnN_1g

3) Gary and I found a really nice international grocery store close to our house so we decided to check it out. We were happy to find that a lot of their fruits and vegetables were really cheap and really everything in the store was a good price so Gary and I pick up a couple of items there and decided to make a home cooked meal together. For Christmas my sister Lara made me this beautiful apron and my husband also gave me a George the Dragon (from his comic) apron as well so I wanted to use them so I had Gary put on the one he gave me and I put on the one that my sister gave me. Here is a picture of us wearing the aprons and cooking together.

You can't read Gary's apron, but it says "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the Kitchen...

(Also, avoid any dragons)"

We made a spanish dish called Pipian which is a traditional mexican dish.

4) Our Guinea pigs have been living in a temporary house ever since we have moved into our house and we had a little bit of trouble trying to find the same material we have been using, but Gary found a place where they sell sign board so a couple of weeks ago he bought a couple of sheets so he could make a new one. They have been living in a small box this whole time so Gary made a huge cage for them. I think its to big, but it will be nice for the pigs to have some more room. Here is a picture of the new cage.

Mindy

Ginger

5) Monday night we went to Ikea and purchased two new bookcases. We only had a bookcase and a half so lots of our books were on the floor and a mess. We have been wanting to get new bookcases for awhile so we broke down and got some. The boxes were really long and heavy so it was a little challenging to get them down the stairs, but we managed alright. We just had to slide them down the stairs, because there was no place to hold on to the box.

6) Gary had a fundraiser at work the next day so he had to go to the store afterwards and get a couple of ingredients to make some curry. He did a crockpot recipe so it didn't take to long to put everything together. We woke up to that wonderful curry smell which made me very hungry. :)

7) Yesterday, when we got home from work we recieved a phone call from the missionaries saying that they had us scheduled for dinner which we were not prepared for at all. Gary called them and said that we were not prepared, but that we could order a pizza for them. We actually got a flyer in the mail for a new pizza place in New Carrollton that Gary was thinking about trying so he ordered a couple of pizzas from them. They had free delivery which was awesome and the pizza was actually really good. The missionaries came and we all had a nice time.

8) After the missionaries left and Gary was busy putting bookcases together my visiting teacher came over. After she left I helped Gary move the bookcases around to the way we wanted them and then put the books away. By the end it was pretty late and we were exhausted.

We will eventually put a nice comfy chair there, but for now we have our patio set there.

9) I had a couple of Institute reports due which I always have a hard time getting in on time, but this time I got them all done on time and I didn't have to make any changes which made me very happy.

10) Can't think of anything else that we did so I guess i'll stop typing...

Recipe!

Chicken and Tortellini Stew

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 cup frozen sliced carrots
1 cup frozen cut green beans
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 cups Swanson chicken broth
1 cup dried cheese-filled tortellini
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions
1) Stir the cornstarch and water in a small cup until smooth. Set the mixture aside.
2) Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 6-quart saucepan over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned, stirring often. Remove the chicken.
3) Add the remaining oil to the saucepot. Add the carrots, beans and onions. Cook over medium heat until the vegetable are tender-crisp.
4) Stir in the broth. Heat to a boil. Add the tortellini and parsley, if desired. Cook for 10 minutes or until the tortellini is tender. Return the chicken to the saucepot and heat through.
5) Stir the cornstarch mixture and stir it into the saucepot. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens slightly.

10 for Tuesday

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Beautiful DC Temple!

Ready, Set, Paint!

The ever cheerful Husband

Finished product

Yay!

1) Gary and I both had a week off for Christmas which was nice to enjoy a quiet holiday together.

2) I was busy trying to get gifts and everything packaged up and sent out to family before Christmas, but I couldn't get everything sent out on time. Christmas seemed to creep on me this year.

3) We went to our ward Christmas party which was a great success this year. Tons of people, great food and entertainment. It was Christmas around the world so there were many different dishes that were delicious.

4) Since our Writers group meets every Thursday we decided to have a Christmas Eve breakfast at IHOP. We didn't talk much about writing, but it was fun to get together.

5) Gary's parent's came over and I served chicken tortellini soup which everyone loved. Afterwards we had a little program where Gary read the Christmas story and everyone sang songs while I played the piano.

6) On Christmas Gary and I opened up presents together at our house and then we went over to the inlaws house to open more presents. We played games all day and enjoyed each other's company.

7) On New Years eve we went over to the inlaws house to celebrate. I wanted to get together with a bunch of our friends, but didn't have time to arrange it. While we snacked on food we played games and watched a movie before we watch the ball drop.

8) We are continuing to make improvements to our house like paint our kitchen and improving our bathroom a little bit. Our next project will be to paint the dining room.

9) Hope everyone has a healthly and happy new year!

10) That's all for this week.

Till' next time!