New Year, New....

... place to call home. Brian officially accepted the the promotion, so we're off to Fort Wayne, Indiana come Spring or early Summer.

I was really torn with the idea for a long time but finally come to terms with everything. I found comfort in the following;

"Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there...to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be but you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would never realize your potential, strength, will power or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of your soul.

Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you experience can create who you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. Make every day count. Appreciate everything that you possibly can, for you may never experience it again.

Talk to people whom you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold you head up because you have every right to.

Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go out and live it."

the Holiday's are here

It's hard to believe it's Christmas eve eve. Silly, I know, but when I was little I would get so excited and say "Tonight is Christmas eve, eve!" As an adult, Christmas is still my favorite Holiday. Lately I've been trying to focus on enjoying the Holiday season as much as possible while getting things done, without getting too stressed out. I've always wondered why Christmas has become so stressful and this year I've realized why. Most everyone has high expectations of the holiday that only comes once a year. With those high expectations comes the need to make things perfect "it's only once a year!" I've tried to keep the stress to a minimum this year by sticking to my year long slogan 'keep it simple' you can add an extra S, to make: 'keep it simple stupid' but I prefer to not verbally bash myself.

I probably won't have time for another post until after Christmas. I still have another 5 batches of cookies to bake. I've already baked 5, and a batch of cupcakes (with a couple ice cream cone cupcakes in there, per Owen's request!)

Until then, everyone have a wonderful Christmas!!!

Buffalo Chicken Enchilladas with Creamy Ranch Sauce

This is a favorite of Brian's. I think I made this for the first time about 5 years ago, and it's been a favorite ever since!

prep time: 25 minutes
(ready in 1 hour 10 minutes)
Servings: 6
(2 enchilladas each)

Ingredients:
1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup purchased sour cream ranch dip (I used ranch dip w/ a spoonful of sour cream)
2/3 cup chopped green onions (about 10 medium)
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
3/4 cup purchased buffalo wing sauce
1 package (10.5 oz) flour tortillas for soft tacos and fajitas (twelve 6 inch tortillas)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (12 oz)
~ ~ I also used a bit of cayenne pepper, some chili powder, and garlic powder because we like a little bit of a kick.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 inch (3quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl mix soup, dip and 1/3 cup of the onions. In large bowl mix chicken and buffalo wing sauce until coated.

2. Spoon 2 tablespoons soup mixture down center of each tortilla; set remaining mixture aside. Reserve 1/2 cup cheese for garnish. Top each tortilla with about 1/4 cup chicken mixture and scant 1/4 cup cheese. Fold sides of tortillas over filing; place seam side down in baking dish. Spoon remaining soup mixture over filled tortillas. Cover tightly with foil.

3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly

4. Remove from oven. Uncover; sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup cheese and remaining 1/3 cup onions. Return to oven; bake uncovered about 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!! We're having leftovers from last nights dinner, for lunch today!!

every which way

Last month Brian, Owen and I made a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana. A 'no strings attached' trip provided by Brian's company. It's pretty overwhelming because even though we loved so much about the area, there are still things we have here that we won't be able to have there. You have to give up some things, to get others, and that's what we're having a hard time with. We haven't made any definite plans or decisions. We have pretty much made plans for if we stay here, and plans for if we go there. We have definitely grown out of our house here in NY, so if we stayed, we would build a house. If we moved to Indiana we would most likely build there too. We did see a bunch of houses we really liked while we were there that make it tempting to not have to deal with the stress of building a house. There was a 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath, 3,140 square foot house that I'm in love with.... with a heated pool in the backyard and full sunlight basement (which is on our list of musts) and it's only about 10 minutes from where Brian would work in Fort Wayne.

Other than that, we've just been enjoying how Owen hasn't had any nasty school illnesses lately (because he only went to 1 day of school in November- because he was sick for a little over a week, we were in Indiana for a week, and he had a week off for Thanksgiving) He went to school today though, so keep your fingers crossed that he didn't pink anything gross up today!

I have all of my Christmas presents wrapped but unfortunately that isn't as good as it sounds because I'm not done shopping. Yuck. I will be doing 99.9% of my Christmas shopping online to take advantage of no lines, shop when I want, and free shipping if I can.

All of you stay warm and have a cup of hot chocolate and stir with a candy cane!!! This is my favorite time of the year, for sure! =)

Opportunity, and escape while you can

Someone once said something about acting when opportunity strikes. Well, our family has been offered a great opportunity. One that we had been wanting last year. It's tough because now I'm in a position where I am in love with our house, community, neighborhood, and basically everything about living here. We've just gotten to the point where we have done a lot with our house and met a lot of great families in the area, and now we're probably going to move.

Let me back up. About a year ago, we were REALLY frustrated with NY taxes (not that we aren't anymore) and we were looking for a way out. We pay almost 7k a year in taxes for our house. Brian said to me "Essex (the company he works for, Superior Essex) has a headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And the cost of living is pretty low there" So, I started looking into it. We then discovered that we could buy our dream house for around $200,000, which is what our current house is worth here in NY. If we bought our dream house here in NY it would cost well over $450,000. And this is what started it all. Brian started finding out ways to move there and in the tight job market he knew that he would have to keep his eyes open for a position with his company, but at their Fort Wayne site.

Six months went by, and nothing was really coming together with finding a position that was available in Indiana. We kind of gave up on the idea, and continued settling into our house here. People started getting laid off gradually at Essex, Clifton Park NY where Brian works. About a month ago everyone at Brian's work was told that the plant was closing in January. It was clear that they wanted to keep Brian and...... guess what? They want him to work for them in Fort Wayne. Just what we had wanted! Then why does it feel so sad? I know it is a wonderful opportunity for all of us. There are so many reasons to love Fort Wayne (I've done SO much research)

With getting promoted, and living in an area where the cost of living is low, we would really be able to save a lot for retirement and that would be awesome. Buying our dream house in our mid twenties- also great. Moving away from friends and family is what makes it bittersweet. We'll probably be going out there soon to check out the area, so maybe this won't feel so wrong.

When my mom told my grandfather about Fort Wayne, he said, "They should.... escape [from NY] while they can"

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

The Magic of.... a cookie cutter.

Anyone with a toddler knows how picky they can be when it comes to eating (the can is italicized because those of you with toddlers also know how they can be VERY adventurous when it comes to eating)

With that said, Owen has been going through a stage where there are only a few things that he likes. Apparently he hasn't been getting bored with his same meal every other day, but I am.

The solution to that is pretty cheap and simple, and all it takes is a cookie cutter. Turkey sandwich? YUCK! Turkey sandwiches made into little trees? YUM! Tuna sandwich? YUCK! Tuna sandwiches made into fishies? YUM!

Owen's Autumn Mix

Tomorrow is Owen's turn to bring in snack for school.

We decided to make fall trail mix!
It looks yummy, and Owen is SO excited to bring it in....

Ingredients:
pretzels, candy corn, chex cereal, cranberries, goldfish crackers

Nut free school = no peanuts or peanut butter chips, like I was going to put with apple chips. That would have been delicious.