Mmm...Mmm...Good!

I made some mint filled brownie cupcakes last night. Yum, yum! I was in charge of a co-worker's birthday, and these were the delectable treat I chose! I made the brownie batter from scratch, but you could easily do this with a boxed mix. You scoop one spoonful into the cups, then place a York peppermint pattie on top and wiggle it down into the batter a bit. (I ate several York's at this point.)

Then you fill the rest of the cup to the top with more brownie batter and bake. This is what they looked like when they came out of the oven. They were SO perfect!The recipe didn't call for anything else to be done with the brownies, but I took one look at them and thought they would look pretty with a little sprinkling of powdered sugar. I went to town with that, and I thought they looked just so cute! They were so easy and super tasty - they vanished pretty stinkin' quick at work too, so I'm thinking that others liked them as well.

H1N1?

There has been at least one confirmed case of the swine flu at my work. I promptly broke into our "influenza outbreak kit". The mask lasted about 5 minutes - it gets hot under that thing, and I feared I would break out (in pimples, not swiney) or something!

Here We Go Again

I have a love/hate relationship with hockey season. There, I've finally said it. I love it because it's fun and I really get into it, but I hate it because it eats up SO much time and money. Pretty much every Friday and Saturday night from now until March is spent at the Spokane Arena.

Anyway, with that said, hockey season started on Saturday night. I was pretty excited to see the team again and see what new players we had. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Chiefs in Spokane, so there were lots of pre-game festivities. We played our arch rival the Tri City Americans, and that always makes for a good match. We won 5-2; a great way to start off the season.

Here's a photo of Shawn and I as we kill time waiting for the game to begin. We got there super early because the first 2000 fans through the doors got a commemorative 25th anniversary puck.

And here's a photo of Ellie and her cousin Sam who were also killing time taking photos of themselves.

High School Days

Shawn and I went to the Mead High School game with Ellie on Friday night. First, I was very surprised that she wanted us to go with her and second, I was super surprised that she sat by us the whole time! I wouldn't have done the same when I was her age. I was pretty bored throughout the game - it's amazing how when you're not in high school hanging out with your friends that the games are actually not that exciting. Oh well. They won, and it wasn't cold, so I survived just fine.

Yay for Free Stuff!

Shawn and I got a call the other day from the registry department at Macy's telling us that we had won their quarterly wedding registry prize! How stinkin exciting! I hate to admit that we were both pretty skeptical in the "prize"; we figured that it would be something everyone gets such as a coupon for 10% off your purchase of $200 or more.

We were definitely wrong! Saturday we were at the mall, so we went to claim our prize. It was a REAL present! It was even wrapped!!! It contained a little cookie spatula that I wanted really bad (it was even on our registry!), and a super cute set of Martha Stewart dessert plates. WOW!

Here's a photo of the super cute spatula. The photo totally doesn't do it justice, it's so cute in real life. And here's a photo of the dessert plates! Did I mention they are super cute! I was so excited to receive our first wedding present. This is so much fun!

Here's another shot of the plates. They are assorted colors with one red, teal, yellow, and green. Shawn loved them too; he even said he can't wait to use them in our married life. YAY! This is so much fun!!!

Sunrise

There's something about a sunrise that makes it seem so different than a sunset. They seem to symbolize newness and the quiet of a new day.
I can still remember each sunrise I've seen (there's only been a handful of them). The most memorable sunrise I remember was on a road trip with friends driving from Washington DC to Austin - we took shifts driving so that we wouldn't have to stop, and I was the lucky one who got the late-night/early morning shift. I remember driving through Kentucky when the sun came up against the Blue Mountains - it was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen and literally brought tears to my eyes. I was the only one awake in the car; it was so quiet and peaceful - there was no one else to be seen.
I had to work the early shift (6:30am) last week, and it was perfect timing that I got to see the sunrise each morning. Monday morning as I watched the sun come up, it reminded me of the others I'd seen and how special they seem to be. Here's a photo I snapped of the glorious morning sun.