Christmas Time Is Here

Its that time of year! My FAVORITE. Like honestly... its better than my birthday and national Star Wars Day.

My mom would always make this season the very best. She'd decorate the whole house; inside and out (Even if it was snowing my dad would be crawling on the roof to tie the wreaths up).
Our house would constantly have that Christmas smell... Momma would spend hours baking cookies and candies, so so so many goodies.
There would be a consistence sound of vintage Christmas music playing... Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis. And occasionally a few family members singing and dancing with it.
We would try our best to create the most artistic gingerbread house... and I think we did fantastic. Every year we'd try something new. I know we made an igloo, a log cabin, a castle, and one year we made the Clinic from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman- and it was SPOT ON! Epic.
Then about a week before Christmas... or two weeks..? Can't remember... but we'd go out into the coal strippins and cut ourselves a tree. We'd walk around trying to pick... It wouldn't be perfect like the ones you buy at Walmart... but it was perfect to us. Sometimes. Like that year the tree was a bit to tall for our basement. So what did my dad do? Well you would've thought he'd cut off the bottom just a bit...
No... he chopped off the top.
Then when Mom freaked out, he screwed it back onto the tree. Then there was those years the tree wouldn't stay straight in the stand; so he screwed the whole entire tree to the wall. "There that oughtta do it..." Oh yeah, it was great.
And of course if there was snow, the whole family would head to the Jumps (a place that is exactly how it sounds- steep hills for dirt bikers back in the woods) for some sled riding.
We'd have crazy fun till our noses would fall off from cold. Not literally... but yes. Dad would hook up a sled on the back of the three wheeler and pull us around.. Then Josh C. would take over and see who he could tip off; mainly Dan.
We'd all trudge back home to have something warm to drink and eat those delicious cookies Momma made.
Then Christmas Eve... my dad would dress up as Santa Claus. That was the best. He used to do it for me when I was a little girl.. I remember it very vividly. He didn't even have a costume.. he had a red jump suit and a paper plate with cotton balls glued to it. But it was wonderful. One year he even was on the roof and came to the window and gave me a present.... then tried to come through the window.... But my mom stopped him cause she thought it'd give me nightmares.
But now, he dresses up for Reagan and Landis. They love it. He can't get too close to them though... cause Reagan is a genius and almost has it figured out.
Just fun for everyone.

Oh yeah.. Christmas was the best.

Now it's our turn to make new traditions. Which I mean we're going on a cruise Christmas week so I can't really make traditions.. but oh well. It'll be a blast. Seeing all my in-laws will be wonderful. I'm so excited for it! And then I get to go home to my familia... so great.
Our tree has been up since before Thanksgiving.. and it probably wont come down till after Valentines day. It just makes me so so happy. I made most of the decorations; they're alot homier and you dont have to spend mega money for decor.  And we just started on a gingerbread house..... yeah it's kind of caving in- BUT we're trying.

I love it. This feeling. I love spending it with my husband...and dog. He wore a jingle bell for awhile. I thought it was so festive... but then it got annoying. So we switched to a sweater. Mucho better.
I'm also taking the song "I'll be home for Christmas" quite literally.. although I wont be there on the day I'll still be there for the season. So it's going to be especially sweet this year. And I'll get to hold my newborn nephew Ocean J. for the very first time.... I'm beyond ready.

Until then... I'm wrapping up my Christmas presents, playing festive music as much as possible, and counting down the days till Christmas vacation. But still soaking up that Christmas feeling everyday...

Merry Christmas everyone.

Cooking Not with a Pro

Bonjour.
So.. I couldn't think of anything to blog about. I have like 8 draft blogs where I started and then failed to finish. Maybe eventually they'll get posted. But unlikely.
Anyways.. I had this idea to blog about making something. Like a step by step tutorial. Cause don't you love it when you find a tutorial that's super easy to understand AND they have awesome pictures?? I know I do.
So I tried. But then the first two things I tried demonstrating... well they kind of flopped. Don't ask questions- they just completely bombed.

Then as I was starting to make dinner this evening.. I just brought out my camera and took pictures at each step. It worked out pretty well! It looked a little EH at the end.. but it tasted good. So don't let looks deceive you. It was delish.

For this food blog post, I will be showing you how to make supah good Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders. YUM.
It's pretty easy to make. So don't fret.
One thing I will say...actually 2 things. Two things to change about this... which I'm learning from experience SO work with me!
Marinate the chicken for as long as you can. AND BAKE IT. We fried it.. and it was good. But I know it'll be so much better baked. Ok now onto it.
PS)- I will post the recipe at the end of this... just in case you can't help but follow in my footsteps and try this!
Here we go:

Ingredients:

- chicken breasts ( Up to you how many- depending how many you are feeding!)
- 1 cup  mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4  mustard
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups bread crumbs

Here are step by step instructions ( but I'll sum it up in the end!)

These are your ingredients for your sweet goodness sauce. Believe me, it tastes better than regular honey mustard AND its better for you. Besides mayo.. gah. who likes mayo? Gross. But I used it reluctantly.

Throw all your ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Or large.. depending on how you're feeling. 

And don't actually throw them; that would be called food fighting and in some countries is highly frowned upon. 

So yeah, next part, pretty much self explanatory. MIX EM UP. Mix mix mix. Mix till your arms fall off. 

But then (which is not pictured. I didn't think to picture every step. Come on people...)

half the sauce into another smaller bowl; put dat in the fridge. Then put the other bowl aside- we shall use that soon to marinate your chicken.

Now for the chicken. I used one chicken breast, just because there's only two of us. 

But clean that sucker off good. No fattiness allowed. Cut cut cut. 

Then from there... cut your chicken into strips. They should be about 1/2 inches thick. We had about 6 strips.  

Then coat your strips in your bowl of sauce that you set aside. This gets a little messy but I have confidence in you. You can do this! I coated them and then flung them into a ziplock bag. Then I scooped what sauce I had leftover and spooned it in the bag as well. 

Make sure they're coated real good. 

From there stick them in the fridge to marinate. This is one part where I messed up a little.

I put them in for about 40 minutes. I say if you have the time.. prepare this earlier.. or even the night before, so your chicken has a good time to suck up that honey sweetness. 

So yeah anywhere from an hour to over night would be grand. 

While you're waiting, do something productive. I played with the pup. And called my Momma. 

Life's too short to do nothing. So do something! 

And with that, we'll continue on. Your chicken calls you.

Take your bread crumbs and pour them into a bowl. Strip by strip, cover your chicken in them. 

Try not to scrape off any of the sauce... that's where all the yumminess is. Don't want to lose any of that. 

Now into the frying pan. This is what I did, but I'll also tell you later another way to cook them... heat up a little veggie oil in a pan on medium/high heat. Lay your breaded strips in and be careful- it can get a little painful when the oil gets crazy. Don't lose an eye or anything. I don't want to be sued for you losing an eyeball. 

Wait until they become deliciously golden, then flip. Cause both sides have to be equal- DUH. 

I realized using tongs are the best way to flip. My husband said to use a spatula.... but that is why wives do not listen to their husbands while cooking. 

When both sides are equally gorgeous (which mine didn't turn out gorgeous. Like at all. .... but as  I said- work with me!) place them on a plate with paper towels. Let them cool a little bit. Don't get impatient... you're almost there. 

Then set the table! Of course... I now realize this is the ONE night we used paper plates. The one night I decided to photograph our food. 

It was my husband. I distinctly remember him saying "We can just use paper plates for this meal."

Way to go Jonathan. 

So it could've looked a ton prettier. 

You can now take out your extra sauce you put in the fridge; that's to dip! And believe me... you'll use every inch of it. And then you'll probably lick the bowl. It's acceptable for this meal. 

As you can see, french fries are the perfect side for this meal. Who doesn't have french fries with their chicken tenders?? 

And there you have it. 

It's a rough blog... but its my first food one. I'll get better! I'm by far not a pro.. maybe not even an amateur?  

Only being married 2 months I guess makes me a beginner.. but my husband says I haven't made a bad meal yet. In other words, I'm awesome. Yeah, I think that's what he meant. 

Maybe next time I'll make a delightful dessert. That'll look more appetizing.. 

And I won't use paper plates. 

Here are more detailed instructions... pay close attention to the baking part. Cause that's where the magic is. Not really.. But I feel it'll help your cooking experience mucho more. 

Happy cooking, and I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthly blog. 

Until next time... enjoy life. 

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, garlic powder, and paprika. Stir until everything is evenly combined then taste and season with salt to your liking. Divide the sauce into two portions. Half will be the marinade and half will be the dipping sauce – it MUST stay separate. Keep the sauce refrigerated until ready to use.
2. Trim the chicken breasts of excess fat and slice diagonally into ½ inch thick strips. You should get about 14-16 strips total. Place the sliced chicken in a bag or bowl with half of the honey mustard sauce and stir to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or over night.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a dredging station by lining a large baking sheet with foil and then placing two wire cooling racks on top. The wire racks keep the strips lifted as they bake so that the bottoms will crisp too. Coat the wire racks with non-stick spray. Pour the bread crumbs into a wide, shallow bowl.
4. One by one, coat the chicken strips with bread crumbs. Do not wipe off excess honey mustard sauce before coating with crumbs, the sauce helps it adhere. Place the strips on the wire rack as you bread them. Continue until all of the strips are coated with bread crumbs. Discard the leftover honey mustard sauce that the chicken was marinating in.
5. Bake the chicken strips in the oven until the crumbs have turned golden brown (about 30 minutes). To Fry: Alternatively, heat about ½ inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the surface of the oil looks wavy. Fry a few strips at a time on each side until they are golden brown and crispy. Drain on a plate covered with paper towels.
6. Serve warm with the reserved half of the honey mustard sauce.

Go on.. you know you want to try it. Just give in to the honey sweetness. 

Adios.  

Obie the Dutchman

Introducing Obie! - Our new addition to the Cherry familia. Isn't he just the cutest?
We've only had him for 5 days but we already love him like crazy. He's a mix of unknown and Dutch Shepherd; so he's gonna be such a handsome guy. And he has such a hilarious personality. He's extremely clumsy; even for a puppy. He's always falling off the couch or running into a wall or slipping on the floor. He's super smart already... sorta. Whenever he drinks all his water, he picks up his bowl and brings it to me. Except Jonathan just told me he picked up a full water bowl and brought it to him. So not entirely bright.
I'm so excited to watch this little guy grow up in our home. He's pretty much our baby.
It adds to our "homey" feeling.  Except when he pees or poops inside. Then its not so enjoyable. Not too much.
He is tons of love though. He'll love you even when you don't want love. He's the best.

I'm sitting in Mcdonalds, chilling while our car is in the shop. Jonathan is at home with da pup cause he has a separation anxiety. The dog, not Jonathan. Although sometimes I question it..
So yeah I'm being a weirdo and watching all the lovely people of Walmart/Mcdonalds. Its a joy.
5 out of the 8 people sitting around me are on their mobile devices. And legit the folks that aren't, are elderly. What is our society coming to. I don't even think the younger generation can hold a strong conversation. Or keep eye contact. It's terrible. Our elders need to knock some sense into them.

And somebody just walked in looking exactly like Jase Robertson. I honestly can barely see his face under that beard/hair. POOF.
The lady sitting directly across the restaurant has a huge bag of popcorn. Seriously its bigger than her head. Like twice the size.
That dude is all business up front.. but a party in the back. If you know what I mean.

Sorry but that amused me. People are amusing. If there wasn't crazy people in the world, life would so extremely boring. So be grateful for the crazies; you're one of em.

I'm gonna let ya'll get back to your Friday. Just a couple more hours and it's the WEEKEND! Enjoy and don't over weekend yourself; Monday comes faster than you know it.
Today is not only Friday, but  National Pasta Day... so do yourself a favor and make a pasta and devour it. You owe yourself that.

Adios.

Nocturnal

YO Earthlings.

Life is starting to get into a groove, besides the fact that we're living a nocturnal life style as of right now. but hey, that's why coffee is my best friend. 

Its 3:45.. Jonathan is at work and I decided it's time to blog again.
Nothing really new... Jonathan and I haven't killed each other yet so that's good. I haven't poisoned him with my cooking either... so WE'RE DOING GREAT.

I pretty much have him talked into getting a hedgehog... yes you read it right. Hedge. Hog.
The thing is- where does one buy a hedgehog? Once we figure that out, we'll most likely be adding it to our family.

Other than that, not much happening here; but I'll be sure to let you know when something does.
I'll leave you with this (and a picture of mine with a summary): Half of all bank robberies take place on a Friday.
So if you were planning on robbing a bank, try something new and rob it on a Tuesday. It makes much more sense.

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                                                             "Boy, I Need Patience"

This picture looks pretty simple huh? Lemme 'splain. There was like 4 door ways in between me and this kid. And about every second someone would walk through a door way blocking my shot. It was extremely frustrating. Patience is the key to photography; something I must work on. Bursts of anger are not acceptable in the photography world.

But eventually I managed to snap this really quickly before the punk ran away for good. But he didn't really matter; yes he is the subject but I was in love with that light. The glare on the wood. Anywho, it worked.

And that's a wrap. Enjoy your day and save the penguins. 

Married Life

12 days ago, I become Mrs. Jonathan Cherry. It's crazy. The day was beautiful, though moments are blurred in my head. I remember clinging to my Poppa's hand while walking down the aisle. I remember a raindrop hitting my husband right on top of the head and trying to conceal my laughter. I remember our first kiss as one. 
But after that... it's foggy. People everywhere wanting to wish us blessings. Cake cutting, bouquet tossing, picture taking, sparkler lighting. I remember hugging my dad, my mom, and my very best friend; crying harder with each goodbye. You see, after leaving the wedding, I won't see my family/friends until Christmas. My husband is in the Air Force, stationed in New Mexico. So that is where our lives begin. 
But back to the wedding. Well... I described it. It was gorgeous. My mom was in charge of the whole thing... and it was perfect down to the tiniest little detail. 
After the wedding, we set out on a cruise ship to the Bahamas. YES. It was so exciting! My very first cruise, and Jonathan's third. The boat was gigantic and so beautiful; inside and out. But the water... mmmm that's what I loved. It was so blue and clear and mesmerizing. I would just sit and watch it. And the stars at night- breath taking. I love stars.. and out in the middle of the ocean is the best place to view them. 
SO yess. We enjoyed a 5 day cruise without social media.. just spending time with each other. It was pretty great. 
THEN. We came home. To Holloman AFB, New Mexico. I'm not gonna lie; our house is better than anyone else's. It's so cozy and perfect. It's got a little bit of everything... from Star Wars posters to the rustic coffee table. Even Captain America salt and pepper shakers. Yeah... I'm a bit of a nerd. But he's a geek. So it works. 

 Our crazy life together in New Mexico.  So now... the stories begin...

Here's one for you lovely people. I hope you enjoy. 

Moving day: Chaotic as crap. We're moving boxes and tables and beds and couches and tons of stuff I forgot we even had! One item... was this old china hutch. I had no idea where it came from or why we even needed it; we didn't have any china! So, Jonathan and I told one of the movers "Sure yeah we don't need this you can just take it!" And that's what happened. 
10 minutes later we start unpacking boxes and find china plates....? What? Jonathan called his mom cause we seriously had no clue what this was or why. She said it was for our china cupboard! ....."Mom we gave that away. We didn't need it."
........"You gave away your great grandmother's china cupboard......"

MHMMMMMM. It was terrible. Absolutely the most miserable feeling. After an hour of phone calling we eventually got the guy to bring it back... but still. 
I found a note later inside the cupboard explaining the history of it... I'll have to add this onto the story and pass it on! 
                                                                     ~~~~~

There's been other crazy stories, but I'll tell them one at a time to keep you occupied for a long while. 
Hope you stay tuned...the world is at our finger tips; so the stories are gonna be great! 

Have a super day. 

"Life is a roller coaster. So it's ok if you scream every once in awhile. Go ahead. Just do it!" 

Adventures Are Beginning

Yo.

It's been so long since Ive blogged...for real you have my apologies. 

Let me just give you a summary of whats been happening in my life. Here we go.

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For starters, I've plunged into a photography college. Its called the Institute of Photographic Studies. It's pretty darn awesome; go check it out! As of right now, with the timing in my life, online classes seemed best so I'm still living in sweet Pennsylvania. So classes are going well; progressing everyday which is exactly what I wanted. It's definitely making me strive for that next best photograph. 

Another majorly fanflippintastic adventure has arose, which I mentioned earlier in my posts. I've met the most awesome man ever. His name is Jonathan Michael Cherry. A1C, which means Airman 1st Class. Yupp, he's in the Air Force. We officially met 4 years ago, just kids hanging out. We had kept in contact but hadn't thought that anything would come of it. But then last summer, I heard he was getting shipped out to basic training. So I took a spur of the moment trip (he had lived in Virginia) and went to say au revoir. WELL long story short... the unbelievable happened; we felt that crazy weird thing called love. Keep in mind that we had only spent 2 days together before he was shipped out! Yes, God has some ridiculous timing.. but in its imperfectness it was perfect. 

After about 3 months of nothing but letters and 2 phone calls, we saw each other again at his basic training graduation. It was amazing. Nuff said.

From then on out we've grown so close and have many plans together for the future. He's currently stationed in New Mexico, so very far away. It has its moments of pure agony, but thats rare. We're doing just fine with the whole distance thing and psyching each other out for the next reunion!  He's seriously the craziest guy ever, but I know I'm always going to be able to count on him. He makes me laugh even when I seriously DO NOT feel like I can. He's pretty good at that, along with a bucketload of other things! He's so much more than I ever dreamed. Our story so far is better than I had ever planned for my life. And it just keeps getting better.

God is really amazing. I have to give him all the credit for everything. Without him, things would not be the pure joy that they are now. WOOO GOD. You're the ultimate. Keep up the good work.

So yepp. That would be a sum up. And I've wrote more than I think I ever have.... weird. BUT I hope you enjoyed it. You should stay tuned... the adventures are just beginning.

ADIOS. 

And this would be..... a crappy picture. WOO the results of college. Haha.. just kidding. Sort of. I just wasnt trying... 
Soon I'll let you see something thats acceptable! So....... come back later.