{jen}

wii got a deal...

e and i traveled to visit my family this past weekend. while we were in town, we thought it would also be a good time to shop for my wedding band. the night before we went shopping, we happened to see a news snippet about a local, well-renowned jeweler that was offering an incentive - spend over a certain amount of $$$ on any jewelry and get a FREE nintendo wii game console. we went to another jeweler in the morning and then decided to check this place out (also knowing their excellent reputation).

they spent a lot of time with us and then, gave us a terrific quote on a custom ring to match my e-ring band and we decided to order it.  so we checked out and...

...walked out with a Wii!!!!!

how great is that? the wii system was going to be our christmas gift to each other this year and instead, we got it for nothing (it's worth $250)!!! when we looked at the ads this morning, we saw a shop that had wii fit and the jillian michael's fitness game on sale so that's what we got ourselves for christmas (with an extra controller and docking station). WOO HOO...a huge check off the wedding list AND a game system that will help with diet and fitness for both of us.

grateful for...

• freedom
• sharing a great love
• having enough
• wonderful family
• clean water
• a home
• friendships that last and thrive
• faith
• creativity
• employment
• the essentials
• and the comforts
• good health
• being connected
• hugs
• laughter

what are you grateful for this year?

 

a spoonful of sugar...

for the last few years, i have made a sinfully sugary sweet-potato casserole for thanksgiving.  this year, i searched through a lot of new recipes to find one that would still satisfy a sweet tooth but also friendly to the waist-line.  i think this one will be a winner. 

Maple-Sweet Potato Casserole

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

1/3  cup  yellow cornmeal

     1 1/2  cups  skim milk

      2  tablespoons  margarine

      2  cups  mashed cooked sweet potato (about 1 1/4 pounds)

      1/3  cup  maple syrup

      1/2  teaspoon  salt

      1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

      1/4  teaspoon  ground allspice

      1/4  teaspoon  pepper

      2  eggs, lightly beaten

      Vegetable cooking spray

        

Preparation:

Place the cornmeal in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a wire whisk until blended. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Remove from heat; stir in margarine. Set aside.

Combine sweet potato and next 6 ingredients (sweet potato through eggs) in a large bowl; stir until well-blended. Gradually add cornmeal mixture, stirring constantly. Pour sweet potato mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information - Calories: 204, Fat: 4.7g, Protein: 5g, Carb: 35.8g, Fiber: 2.8g

Compliments of Cooking Light

breakfast or dessert?

i am heading upstate to have thanksgiving dinner with my family.  since e and i will be traveling together this year and can't drive out until thursday morning, i'll miss the usual wednesday night food prep with my mom (and i'm sorry i'll be missing it, mom!).  however, that doesn't mean i can't contribute to this year's table.  i'm making two of my favorites and one of e's family staples (green bean casserole). 

this recipe has become a favorite over the past two years and truly doubles as either dessert or breakfast...they sound too simple to be true but, trust me, they are both delicious and easy on the budget!  find a sale and a dozen muffins should come in well under $2.00.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

(1 Muffin, or 3 minis - 180 calories, 2.5g fat, 37 carbs, 2.5g, fiber, 2.5g protein)
 
1 box devil's food cake mix
1 can solid pack pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:
Mix the two ingredients together. Don't add anything else that may be mentioned on the box, such as eggs, oil, or water. The mixture will be very thick and you will be tempted to add in other things to make the batter smoother. DO NOT DO THIS AS IT WILL RUIN THE RESULTS!

Place batter into muffin tins (or mini muffin tins) lined with paper, or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins.

our engagement photos are in...

and i'm now even more excited to work with our photographers on our wedding day.  i have complete confidence that they won't miss a shot!  here are a couple of my favorites - with more to come soon:

              

i wasn't gonna do it...

really. 

i have heard the hype for months and didn't buy in.  weeks on the bestseller lists and i didn't do it. the movie trailers started and i didn't buy in. 

no way it could be another harry potter-eque phenomenon.  lightning only strikes once...right?

but, way too many of my friends posting about it on facebook had me curious.  none of us are kids.  many of us are well-read, mature adults.  still, all of the status updates and wall posts must mean something.  so i gave in and picked up a copy at target.  and there it sat on my nightstand for a week.

until last night.  which stretched into the wee hours of this morning.

it hooked me.

really.

things that make me go hmmm...

my blog has this nifty feature that allows me to see what people are typing into search engines to reach this domain.  the majority of searches are of, well, my name.  not too shocking.  but every once in a while there is an odd one.

apparently, if you go to ask.com (which i conveniently boycott due to their unbelieveably annoying commercials) and type in:

do jense

my blog pops up.  as #2. 

weird.

if you found your way here with this search, please comment and tell me - what is "do jense" anyway?

will i have to re-name my blog?

 

until i become a mrs.  100 days to:

• learn calligraphy again
• so that i can prettily address 78 wedding invitations
• assemble and mail said invitations
• attend a food tasting
• choose our menu
• book our mini-moon
• make the ring bearer pillow
• make the flower girl's pomander
• shop for remaining gifts
• decide on transportation arrangements and book
• print and send rehearsal dinner invitations
• first confirm where we will hold the rehearsal dinner
• find a hair stylist and schedule a dry-run
• order my wedding band
• order e's wedding band
• help my groom choose tuxes
• get my butt (and arms!) in better shape
• have my dress altered
• print and assemble 100 programs
• print and cut 140 menus
• figure out table arrangements (every bride's version of hell, no?)
• design and print placecards
• get the marriage license
• handpaint our cake table runer
• handpaint our sweetheart table runner

• handpaint our aisle runner

and...

• attempt to do all of this (among other things) without losing my sanity!

a little share...

my sweet baby nephew is definitely not a baby any more...he turned TWO  sunday.  unreal. 

he is big and beautiful and full of energy.  if only someone could figure out a way to bottle that stuff, i think we'd easily solve our national energy crisis!

i completed this layout for the last {sketch this!} sketch of this calendar year.  cole with his yia-yia and pop (otherwise known as grandma and grandpa) during their birthday visit.  he is SO over-the-top obsessed with his pop.  and, now that he has a name for his yia-yia, he's even more enamoured of her, too!

and balloons.

and the wiggles. 

yes, the wiggles.  over and over and over.  i've had quite the time getting the lyrics "fruit salad, yummy yummy!" out of my head.  oh crud, now they're back again!  worth it.  for him.

green, green, how i love green...

it is no great mystery that i love all things green. 

i love it in clothing, home decor, handbags and about every other place imaginable (though it does not extend to hair color, even for halloween, thank-you-very-much).  so, it follows that i would be incorporating green into our wedding colors, right?    we're using it sparingly and subtly (no girls in green - i think they are grateful). 

but, when i saw this michael miller fabric i knew i had to have it.  i needed to use it somewhere, someway in the wedding. 

green AND damask?  does it get any better? 

so e, if you are reading this, the print to the left will become our ring bearer pillow shortly!  see what happens when you go away?  lol...