And just like that…

Christmas is over! This time of year always seems to fly by so quickly. This has been the best holiday I’ve had in a few years…I had genuine holiday spirit! The house was crazy decorated, I shopped early, I listened to Christmas songs, and drove around looking for lights. Everyone was spoiled with presents and we got to spend some great time with family.

Speaking of family…I am SO proud of my side this year! I have silently proclaimed myself as the new matriarch of this family and hosted dinner/presents at our house this year. We had a delicious meal, talked nicely, opened gifts, and ate brownies. ALL without the first smart ass comment or sarcasm from ANYone.  Those who know us…know this was truly a Christmas miracle. I hope this is a sign of more peace and understanding to come with all of us.

Then, of course, there’s Santa! Chase woke up to everything he wanted and then some. I heard him wake up (way too early) and walk into the living room and whisper “Haaaaaaah!”. Then promptly walk his bare feet back to his room. A few minutes later he was in our bedroom talking about how Santa left a basketball goal and he ate his cookies and drank his milk.  I soaked up the excitement in his voice and listened to the quiet voice in my head that told me this may be our last “Santa” Christmas we get to have with him. It made me sad to know that my little boy is getting so big and will soon face the realities of the world, but I saved that for another day and ran into the living room to scope out the loot! Santa spoiled us, and SB did too.  He followed my Amazon wish list closely and I was thrilled.

Christmas lunch started at SB’s parent’s house.  As soon as we walked in we were greeted with hugs, presents, and the most delicious smell of a home cooked meal. Gah…I really do love these people! So different from my family, and appreciated more than I’m sure they know.  SB’s mom surprised me with a sewing machine and all the necessities that go along with it! I had forgotten I even threw one of those on my Azon wish list, but was so excited to see it! She’s going to be my sewing mentor, and I can’t wait to get a sewing table set up in the bonus room. Hand made presents galore this year!! Just as the last gift was opened, we got another surprise: a white Christmas!! The huge snowflakes were beautiful and the fact that it was Christmas just made it all the more magical. We ate amazing food (I mean really…Sandy showed out) while the snow fell and demanded took leftovers for dinner. Chase went to his dad’s to play in the snow, and SB and I came home to hibernate and rest. Deliciously beautiful holiday.

Sounds perfect huh? Well…not even 24 hours after Christmas and we grinched this place up. Tree: gone. Decorations: gone. Level 5 cleaning job in the house and we’re almost back to normal! As awesome as it was….it’s nice to have it all packed up and ready for next year also.

It’s been an awesome and interesting few weeks. I have a blog in the works about commitment and love and how in the real world – sometimes shit sucks. But until then…let’s revel in the Christmas hangover and the warm fuzzies that came along with this year’s holiday. OH! And Santa had another (large) surprise up his sleeve. He brought us a new addition. Our ‘graceful’ great dane. She deserves a post all on her own. It’ll be coming soon!

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SJ

Not even sure where to begin

A lot has happened since the last post. Over a month has past and many, many, many things have taken place in the world of the Sniper’s. Rather than have a hum-drum long post going into great detail, I figured I’d give a quick recap. So here goes (in no particular order)…
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Road Trip – Philly

Pool time!

Despite a bit of construction traffic we arrived in Philly a little after lunch time on Wednesday. Everyone was awaiting our arrival and it felt so good to be there! I love the constant flow of visitors and family through the house and MAN did we eat! The first night my Grandmom made us the most delicious meal: Ham, beans, potatoes, rolls. It was so nice to take a break from eating out or grabbing fast food on the road. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and learning how to play pinochle. It’s a family tradition and SniperBen fell into place so perfectly. Everyone seemed to love him and he even got in some guy time with one of my uncles!
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Wrestle Bowl Fest 2010 (Chase turns 8)

First ever Candle vs. Chair match!
Wrestle Cake!

For Chase’s 8th birthday we decided to make him a Rasslin’ Cake. He’s pretty much the biggest wrestling fan on the planet right now and Jess and I are bound and determined to elevate or cooking/baking arsenal. So, after several failed attempts, scouring of the interwebs for the perfect recipe, several trips to hardware stores and/or cooking supply stores, and countless hours standing in front of the oven, we made the best cake we could. It may not have been the perfect cake, but to our 8 year old, it was magical.

The party itself was a ton of fun. We had it at the bowling alley in Griffin. Chase and several friends spent the day bowling, playing arcade game, eating pizza and cake, and generally having a great time. He got a ton of cool presents. Everyone had a great time! In addition to all the kids having fun, the adults did as well. Speaking of adults, this was the first time Jess’ mom and my parents got to meet. They seemed to get along really well! I have a feeling they’ll be seeing a lot more of each other at future functions!

This was my first birthday with Chase and I can’t tell you how great it felt. I really did feel like a dad. Getting to watch him interact with the other kids, watching the joy on his face when he opened all his presents. Cheering him on while he bowled. Helping him try to get that elusive strike. It all just felt right. I can’t wait until 9, 10, 21, 30, etc. He’s such a great kid who deserves the world, and I intend on being there to give him that.

The Pics:
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Date Night Duel!

Remember that awesome date night I planned for SB?? It was all thought out and planned ahead and unique?? Well…I’ve been one-upped…er like…10 upped!

SB had a date night planned for us, complete with Sniperhints throughout the week. He used words like ‘dark’ and ‘not too light’ and I thought he just needed words to rhymn with ‘park’. Turns out his hints lead us to Dialogue in the Dark at Atlantic Station Friday night! I was beyond stoked. I’d heard about the exhibit from friends and couldn’t wait to experience it!

Let me tell you…at first I was a step or two away from an anxiety attack. We got our walking canes and the lights went off and we were let go to bump into everything explore. I felt totally out of control and cramped. I was unsure and stumbling and just semi freaking out. I would NOT let go of SB’s hand, but eventually I had to. I would occasionally smell him or hear his voice close and that calmed me. About halfway through the tour I started to relax. I stopped trying to “see” (I know, silly) and really tuned into my other senses. I explored a little on my own and used my hands a lot. By the end of the tour I was navigating my way around like a pro not so crazy person! Our guide was totally blind and so awesome. It was an amazing experience to spend an hour in the shoes of someone with a disability. If you haven’t tried it you really should!

Our next stop was dinner. After the tour we were both starving so I was thrilled to see that our reservations were at Geisha House. We drank wine and ate the most delicious sushi! (Ok..not as good as our first date sushi…but damn good!) Me becoming the old prude I am was content with heading home after dinner, but Ben had one last surprise up his sleeve. Date Night @ 10:00 right down the road. I’ve been wanting to see it since it came out b/c let’s face it…is there ANYone funnier than Tina Fey or Steve Carrell? Exactly…

We stopped here for a delicious little dessert and went to the movie. It was hilarious and did NOT disappoint. It was just the perfect date night. The weather was awesome and there’s no where I’d rather be these days than hand in hand with my guy. 🙂 We finally made it home to crash and get ready for the rest of the weekend=Ben’s camping trip with the guys. He better blog about it soon…and I promise you’re gonna wanna stay tuned for these stories. (Don’t worry guys…I’m sure he won’t share ALL of them with blogland.)

A Very Turner Easter!

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Here are some pics from Easter! It was a very Turner Easter indeed. The SniperJess family still has some things to work out as far as ‘holidays sans domestic disbutes’…so we kept it the three of us. We also went to SniperBen’s family’s church cabin for food and egg hunts!

We started the holiday off by dying easter eggs. This is a childhood tradition for me (and most really) so it’s something I would love to pass down to Chase. We made striped eggs and pretty pastel eggs and the ever so crucial ‘everything’ egg which turned out much prettier than I remembered! We had a few mini hunts around the apartment for Chase then hit the kitchen…

Ahhh…our happy place. We are getting SO much better at planning and carrying out our big meals lately. This holiday called for cupcakes and muffins! I’ve been addicted to making cornbread muffins and putting creamed corn in the batter. They turned out delish! We also whipped up some stellar cupcakes. SB on the cake…SJ on the decor! They turned out so cute!

Lunch at the church cabin was traditional Easter lunch but very delicious..then the kids grabbed up what felt like 483290483 easter eggs from the field. We all had fun, got lots of great pics, and enjoyed the warm weather. In fact…after the egg hunt we stopped by for some swim suits and had our first swim of the year. The pool at the apartment is lots of fun and I anticipate some bloggin about the good times to come there.

So that’s it! Regular ol’ sniper fun on Easter. Hope yours was sniperrific as well!

Planting the seeds!

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We can haz green thumbz??

We’ve had some beaauutiful weather over the past few weeks! We’ve even dipped our toes (and heads) in the pool already! We also planted a few really awesome things to put out on the porch! SB and I love to cook, and you just can’t beat cooking with fresh veggies and herbs. The domestican in me wants to be in the fields…with a big straw hat and some overalls picking all my fresh goodies, but apartment living = porch growin’! It’ll definitely do for now. We’ve used the herbs in several dishes but we’re still anxiously awaiting the arrival of our peppers! We have 7 different kinds plus a tomato plant. Fresh salsa here we come!!

*editors note…i will begrudgingly leave the awful pic of myself extremely hungover, but let it be known that my spirits were much higher than they look!

**note to self…recovery from night(s) of drinking is now extended an additional 24 hours due to old age. *sigh*

That’s right…s’mores cupcakes!

S'mores cupcakes
S'mores cupcakes

A few weeks ago, Jess and I were tasked with preparing some food for our friend Kit’s birthday. She’s getting pretty old and was probably thinking something like ovaltine, tapioca, and melba toast, but we had something a bit cooler in mind. I mean, after all, us whipper snappers like our food with a bit more flair!

Since we pretty much rock the block when it comes to cupcakes we thought that we’d do it up right this time. What better way to kick start spring than with s’mores. I mean, nothing says spring and fun and awesome and money like graham crackers, dark chocolate, marshmallows, and fire. We scoured around for just the right recipes and set off to make the perfect cupcake.

At the base was a traditional graham cracker crust (crushed crackers, sugar, butter baked to a golden brown). We topped that off with a light yet rich dark chocolate cupcake. Then to really sell these as s’mores, we made our own marshmallow fluff. Now it is possible to buy this stuff, but why do that when you can make it, I mean… home made is always better any way. So we made our own fluff, then piped it on top of the cupcakes. One thing was missing…fire. The thing that makes a s’more a s’more is the melty chocolate and burned marshmallow dripping all over your hands and pants as you try to cram the whole thing in your mouth. So we got us a dandy kitchen torch and toasted them suckers right up.

The result was a perfect chocolaty, creamy, crunchy cupcake that captured the essence of all things s’mores. They looked as good as they tasted and they were a hit. In conjunction with the cupcakes we made some pinwheels (3 varieties: Greek, American, Italian), some candied sweet and spicy mixed nuts, ultimate guacamole, cheesy sausage dip, and a buffalo chicken dip. Everything turned out exactly as we anticipated.

The icing on the cake, if you will, was that during the process of all the cooking, Jess and I (mainly Jess), got the hankering to start up our very own catering business. We’ve not ironed out the details yet, but we have the idea and drive to really get it started. For now it’s just a notion that’s floating around in our heads. We’ve got a ton of prep to do and will need to get some research done before we really get started. In the mean time, we’ll do small events, parties for friends, etc.

So that’s that. A great weekend filled with s’mores cupcakes, friends, and amazing ideas of a catering business that I know will be a success.

S’mores cupcakes on Flickr

Recipe will be posted once we get a better handle on the catering thing.

Joining the Movement!

The coupon movement that is! For some reason couponing has become like a cult in the last few months with my friends! Coupon parties and entire phone conversations surrounding saving money by clipping. I still haven’t made it to a meeting/class…but my friend Heather gave me the cliffnotes on where to get started! Let me tell you…I was a complete skeptic! (Surprise, surprise) Not that it doesn’t work, but that it would work for me. I try to be a low maintenance person…but at the same time I do like organizing a good grocery list! So I tried it. I bought three AJC’s. I clipped coupons for an hour. I spent 2+ hours preparing the list and researching online. I spent over an hour at the store actually shopping to make sure I was getting what was on sale and the right amounts of each thing (and that was with SB helping!) Over 4 hours went into this trip, and it was a success! For me anyway. 🙂 I’m not sure I will ever be one of those $150 worth of food for $26 bucks kinda people, but I saved 70$ on $200 worth of groceries! PLUS…the awesome websites I’ve learned about helped me buy just what was on sale so we got a TON of food.

It really is true what they say about the rush you feel when saving all that money! I’m hopeful that the time spent on preparation will shorten, and I’ll get into a couponing groove! I’m already looking forward to this Sunday so I can go for another shot at it!

What a Winter Break!

I have had the last week off of work and it’s been B.L.I.S.S. With a sick day AND a snow day prefacing it…it feels like Christmas Break all over again. There is SO much to blog about! SB took care of our Vday weekend with his previous post. It really was a magical weekend for us. It was our first Vday that counts, but I truly hope we continue to have weekends like that for a long, long time. 🙂
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