Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays! Can you believe its that time of year already? It seems like this past year has FLOWN by for us. I hope whatever your plans are you have a great holiday season and gets to spend tons of quality time with you loved ones. :) We're taking it easy here at home, just the hubby and I... and the crazy animals (of course) But, we DID go to Mexico for our little Christmas present to ourselves so that has been plenty for me. We had a fantastic time, I tried tons of new foods, activities and did a million more things that I wont even try to list. My favorite? Scuba diving! Jeff and I are addicted already. After the holidays we are buying our own suits, fins, goggles ect and getting certified. :) Ill try to post more about the boat and things later but for now I just want to keep this post Christmas oriented.

What are your holiday traditions? We spend most of the day in our PJs getting things ready for dinner, listening to Elvis Presley Christmas carols, drinking mimosas, and rummaging though the stockings. I can never resist a good recipe around this time of the year either. I love trying new things, baking new kinds of cookies and thinking of ways to make the season special for our little family by stuffing our bellies. Have a favorite seasonal recipe? Id love for you to share it with me! One of mine is rather simple but I cant hold back from eating a ton of them- Spritz cookies!

Here are the links to a couple different recipes for them: 
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Holiday-Spritz-Cookies
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spritz_cookies/
http://www.joyofbaking.com/SpritzCookies.html

I don't have a favorite recipe yet, as I don't make them often, but once I do Ill update! :) I love that these are simple and yet you can be super creative with them! You can add different tops to your cookies press, add food coloring, sprinkles... On and on. So much fun to customize your Spritz! Oh and yes, you WILL need a cookie press for these. Sorry. :P

I'm back. :)

Hello, hello, hello. My poor blog, I've been neglecting you so. :( I know, its been FOREVER. I don't know how I seem to be so busy and yet... nothing big has happened recently. I also just really haven't had it in me either I guess. Well, the important part is that I'm back, So I figure Ill just jump right into this.

Some new things since I last blogged... I have taken my placement test for my new college and I've signed up for classes! yippee! And although I'm on the phone nearly everyday trying to figure out how Im going to come up with the money to pay for my classes, I'm still excited about being a student yet again. Its been long enough, I NEED my career. Im going to fight tooth and nail until I get to where I need to be. Not to mention I cant find a job down here to save my life... Its truly depressing. I apply for anywhere between 10-30 jobs a week and... notta. I DID manage to snag a rather good job working in a bakery and that fell through. That's a whole other story though.. Long story short, the background check company is giving me a hard time about my social having "two names" (My maiden name and my married... Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.) But it was enough to make me lose the job I was so proud to finally have. :( *Sigh* I just keep telling myself it must not have been meant to be. God has a plan and Im going to keep faith that he will send something good to me. :)

In other news..... We are going on a CRUISE in a little less then two weeks! This is the first one I or my hubby have ever been on and we are super excited. I really still am having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole idea. I guess it just doesn't seem real yet. We're going on a giant, fun ship to Mexico? Really?? lol I bet when I see the boat its all going to hit me. I think I'm more happy that my hubby get this time to relax then myself haha He works super hard and I think he deserves a break from all the work stress. But of course, I myself plan to thoroughly enjoy myself as well. ;) I have no idea what to expect but these things are made for people to have the time of their life on, so i think it would be quite the feat to not have even a little fun. lol First two items on my list for the cruise? Sun hat and sun screen! Im determined NOT to get sunburned! lol We'll see how well that goes...

And its that time of the year again. The halls are decked and the stockings are hung. ;) I love, love, LOVE our house being festive, it really gets me in the holiday mood to burn some candles, watch some Christmas movies, bake some cookies, and (of course) pull the Elvis CDs back out and listen to them over and over. This is our first Christmas in Florida, its kind of exciting to see how different the weather is compared to what we're used to: Michigan: FEET of snow and Germany: Very chilly and Rain, rain, and more rain. I kind of thought I would be disappointed in the fact that there isnt going to be much snow or cold but really... I think I could get used to this. :) Florida is growing on me everyday. <3

That's all I really have time for now, we're old and its about past our bedtime. haha Ill try to update this more often for everyone back home that likes to read it and know how we're doing. Night all!

Some of my favorite things...

I know I posted this on Facebook but now that I'm able to access my blog I'm going to post it here, like I originally had wanted to. :) I love to share in my excitement about the things I'm crazy about so I'm here to let you in on a couple for my favs!

First of all I LOVE Bath and Body Works foaming hand soap! (Christmas is only around the corner... *wink wink*) I recently tried one that I would fight someone over. If someone has broke into my house and robbed me I would run to the bathroom first to make sure they didn't take my soap. haha No, not really, but honestly its pretty awesome! Its called Cinnamon Raisin Cookie and it smells sooooo good. This soap smells mouthwatering good, every time I use it I end up smelling my hands for a long while after. I don't even really like Oatmeal/Cinnamon raisin cookies but BOY do they smell amazing! I wish I could buy this for every one of my friends so they could fall in love with it too. The first time I used it I went running to find my husband and make him smell my hands. lol Also, foaming soaps last a very long time- this coming from an avid hand washer. Even when the bottle appears empty it keeps going and going. Oh, one down side, this is a seasonal product and will only last a couple of months before it gets phased out. They also have a lot of other great fall scents as well, which Im sure smell equally as delicious, i just haven't tried them yet. Here is a list of some others that are on my radar. ;)

Marshmallow
Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin
CranApple Crisp
Pumpkin Caramel Latte
Creamy Pumpkin
Orchard Leaves

Right now is the time to buy too, they have them on sale 5/$15 or 7/$20. That's around $3 (or less) each, the same price you would pay for something similar at Walmart ect. and its way better. :)

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4191863&cp=4090259.4090258.4090283.4431587&cm_sp=IM-_-Anti-Bacterial+%26+Soaps-_-Foaming+Soaps

Oh also, before I end this I suggest ALWAYS going to www.retailmenot.com before you place any online order ANYWHERE. They almost always have free shipping coupons (Im a HUGE stickler for paying shipping, I absolutely HATE paying shipping. lol) as well as $10 off 30 or sometimes $40 for BBW regularly as well as some other great ones AND they also have TONS of other stores coupons listed. Seriously, check it out, it will save you money. 

Mini Candles As Tarts = <3


BBW sells Mini Candles as a preview to their new editions. They are a great way to find out how you like the scent before deciding to buy the 3-Wick 14 oz candles. (Around $20 each. Although sales are run that make them 2/$20) These mini candles are PRONOMINAL, I love them, I know you cant tell. ;) Anyway they are 3/$5 right now which seems really reasonable to me. They have many new Fall scents that are so great. I cant even pick a favorite to tell you about because I love them all. I will list them below and try to eplain a little more what they are, how I like them ect.

Slatkin candles are Super Duper nice but I find the minis don't have a very good throw since the pool is so small. I tried them in my living room, which has a very high ceiling and so its hard to really get a scent going in there, and it only smelled right by where the candle was burning... I ended up using it in my bedroom, it smelled great but I really want scent in my main living area! So here is what I did.....

This is the Apple Crumble mini candle as it comes, in a regular plastic container. (It smells fantastic by the way!) I took this and threw it in the freezer for at least 20 minutes, although I leave mine in for way longer since I usually forget about it. Once you take it out of the freezer it will (Usually) have split and you can squeeze it while turning it in your hands to help loosen it up. Sometimes you have to turn it upside down and bang on it a couple times but it will come out. YOU CANNOT BURN THIS ON YOUR WARMER WHILE IT IS INSIDE THE CONTAINER. Have to add this little disclaimer for people who are.... silly. :) Next take it to your warmer and use it just like a tart or oil. Mine just a regular tea light warmer which is nice because once the tea light is melted it goes out on its own and your house is usually all scented up by then! :)

This really works SUPER well, I think you will be impressed if you try this! When I burned this the first time it couldn't scent my living room, when I used the warmer is scented almost my whole house!!

I burned mine yesterday so it has already hardened back up again. Note that the wick really doesn't matter. You can take it out but I didn't for this one.  I got my warmer from Walmart for $3, the tea light for around $2 for a box of them and the Apple Crumble was $1.66. (With purchase of two others).

I  also purchased 3 oils from Walmart for my warmer as well in case I didn't feel like using one of my minis that day. They were $2 each. I love simple apple fragrances in my home so I use that one the most. The cookie one is really good too! Very yummy smelling. :) I haven't tried the cinnamon roll one yet or else I would comment on it.

Here are the scents I LIKE that they have in Mini Candles.
Frosted Cupcake
Salty Caramel
Apple Crumble (I already told you this one rocks. ;))
Caramel Apple (Love! <3)
Autumn
Mint Chocolate
Hot Chocolate
Cinnamon Sugar Donut (SO good!)
Pumpkin Caramel Latte
S'Mores
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

There are A LOT more but I haven't tried them and I cant say I really wanted to, but if you are interested check out the website @ http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=11128744&cp=4090259.4090324.4090329.4432046&cm_sp=IM-_-Candles-_-1.6+oz+Candles

Water and other things.

Yesterday a plumber was able to come out and fix our water on the spot, it took a whole 20 minutes! Woo whoo! It feels so good to have running water again. Let me tell you, we are not a very pleasant bunch without it, lol. Makes me think of how people lived before a water system was developed... Wasn't it the Romans who created the first running water system with aqueducts? (Google it, and go learn something new.) Imagine cleaning up in a nearby lake or stream (BRR!!), probably once a week at the most. Having to travel just to reach water... Now all we have to do is walk into the bathroom and vua lah! Water! It's amazing how society grows and changes with time. 

Moving on, I guess I can take this opportunity to talk about what the Denisons are like on a normal day. :) I'm going to assume some people really don't know much about me and start from the most basic things... My husband is in the United States Air Force and we are currently living in Florida. We PCS'd from Germany only a few months ago and are starting to get a feel for what living stateside in the Military is like... We miss Germany terribly. Lol Ok, it's not all bad, we get loads of sunny days here which were a rare commodity in Good Ol' Deutschland. We are much closer to family which is nice, even thigh we really haven't had the chance to go home since the big move in February, but again, Military lifestyle = not seeing your family for months to years at a time.

I'm... well.... A homemaker for now I guess. I haven't been able to find work anywhere. (with one exception that I might explain later but don't feel like getting into at the moment.) I've applied and applied again, given out resumes, talked to managers, and scoured Internet job searches and still come up empty handed. A recent job interview at Game Stop turned out to be me walking in to find a line across the store and nearly out the door with people hoping to get the single job that was open. I waited for hours to get my chance at a 5 minute interview. It seems that there are just too many job seekers and not enough jobs for this area. It totally sucks when you can't even get a part time job at a place like Micky Ds, BK or any other place that doesn't even require a High school education. I've decided that it's time to go back to school earn a degree, and stop wasting my time waiting in lines without the slightest chance of getting a phone call back. Hopefully within the next few months I am a student yet again and on my way to a career I love! :)

Ugh.

The water pipe to our house broke so we haven't had running water since the day before yesterday. Our landlord won't fix it either, we were told its going to have to come out of our pocket... Great. Another bill. I'm praying someone can come by today and fix it. I just want a shower. :( Also among the list of crazy happenings this week- I had to change my phone number because of crazy people, I was informed I have a peeping Tom, and several emotionally stressful personal matters that I cant mention. (Just yet. No, I don't think I'm pregnant. Lol) On the bright side, it looks like it's going to be a sunny day! If nothing else, at least we can take the dogs for a long walk and forget about our troubles for a little while. Hopefully tomorrow I'm in a better mood and I actually post something up beat and possibly useful. ;)

Virgin Blogger

Yep, that's right. With the exception of the occasional Facebook vent this is my first time blogging.  Everyone else has one and I enjoy reading theirs so what the heck. Might be good to throw my opinions out there once in a whole and see what happens. I apologize if I'm absolutely terrible at it, or lose interest... Theresa convinced me to make my own blog so its her fault. lol jk ;) And if my grammar is horrible it's probably because my glasses were recently eaten by our lovely puppies so I can't see anything I'm typing. O_O lol Oh, and no making fun of my blog name, I was trying to be creative. lol April showers... you know the rest and I was born in February. =P So until I think of something better it's staying. Enough said, lets get this party started!