I cook. Rarely. But when I do it's GOOD!

Last night some friends of ours went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Her mentioning it put a craving over me for buffalo Blasts like you wouldn't believe! I needed them. Zach was dragging me to the grocery store anyway so I just figured that I would google the recipe and try my hand at them. They turned out so much better than i could have imagined so I figured that I should share it with all of you too! If you know me, you know that I don't cook. Bake, sure. Cook, rarely. Point: THESE ARE SO EASY!

Pack of won ton wrappers (large squares)

One egg white

I used 3

1 chicken breast
Frank's Buffalo Style Hot Sauce (THIS IS THE EXACT SAME HOT SAUCE THEY USE!!!)

Grated cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar)

Bread crumbs (both Panko and plain bread crumbs)

Italian seasoning

Bake the chicken breast at 375 until done. Shred the breast into pretty small pieces.

This is about 4-5 breasts



Mix in Cheese...as much as you feel necessary.

Then moisten with buffalo sauce. Again, as much as you think...

Lay out the won ton wrapper and lay chicken breast mixture inside.

Moisten the edges of the won ton with water or egg white and fold it
diagonally, pressing the edges closed.

Use a pastry brush and brush egg white over the outside and cover with a mix of the Panko and plain bread crumbs.

Place them two at a time into a deep fryer at 375 until they're golden
brown. Make sure to turn them. Place on a napkin or paper towel to drain
excess oil off.

Serve with celery sticks, extra hot sauce for dipping, and some blue cheese
or ranch. DELICIOUS!

"It's like everything I do is a PARTY!"

This is what I caught myself saying to Zach while we were in Smith's today. Ha. It's so true though. I'm easily pleased. I'm just a happy person, what can I say? I look for the silver lining. Today at Smith's I found it at the little Barefoot setup! Ok, I loathe grocery shopping. Like, I hate it so much I will fake sick, work, broken limb - whatever it takes to get out of going.  Boy oh boy am I glad I went tonight! The vendor for Barefoot wine was there giving out samples of their two new champagnes for New Years. It was like a Barefootpalooza!

I was in Heaven. I was so excited about the new stuff that the woman asked if she could take my picture! HA. It's awful but funny.

They had a whole table of goodies! I filled out a survey and then she actually asked me if i needed a PT job! Haha. I passed but I will be featured in their Las Vegas "customer reviews". Awesome.

This is Tracy. She's gonna get me info on a shirt ;)



I scored all kids of cool stuff. A magnet, key chain and TWO wine corks. All in all, a great trip to the grocery store. Oh, we got some food too.

Holy cow! They were not only on time BUT EARLY!!!!

So today...my husband brought home THESE!

Yep, real orders! Now this means that we really need to focus and start house hunting and packing! We are planning to leave here about February 24.





"They say I'm crazy but I have a good time..."

As some of you may have read, Zach and I decided on a spur of the moment night out. We usually go out for date night a couple times a month anyway but with the holidays, visitors and preparing for our big move it's been hard to schedule something. I think that date nights are so important for married couples and we LOVE to take advantage of alone time together. It is reassuring to me that after all of these years, the ups and downs and everything in between, we can still have a blast together!


I was checking things out on hotels.com (my favorite vacation/hotel site of all time) and came across some ridiculously low prices at The Plaza on Fremont Street. The Plaza has just been renovated and reopened this month. When we were downtown last month I had mentioned wanting to check it out. For forty-five bucks a night for a room with a view of the strip, it was happening!

Some things about Las Vegas will be missed

Zach and I both love Fremont Street and prefer to go there over the strip. I just think that The Plaza looks so pretty and fancy from the strip so it sounded perfect. There is a new dueling piano bar, a sushi and Hawaiian food place, Hash House and mini golf course all inside there now. Firefly is gone and that was kind of a bummer but we were still prepared for a great time with virtually no agenda.

View of The Plaza from Fremont Street

I was so super lazy yesterday and Zach had worked the night before so we decided to just get ready when we got there.



We hardly ever take pictures together so...

...you know we had to have a PHOTO SHOOT!

Dinner was delicious! You just can't go wrong with sushi and a LocoMoco. We had a long conversation about how much we miss Hawaii and how we both desperately want to get back there. To stay.

 

After dinner we just walked the strip a few times, had some drinks and gambled. For hours.

<3 

The night ended with a fiasco as usual. We always have so much fun on Fremont street but it never ends without someone trying to sell us drugs or fight someone. Ha! I know I shouldn't laugh but they are always the most unbelievably hilarious and really non-threatening situations. They are laughable. Next time I will take some video. It's just too crazy to put into words. At least no one tried to shank us this time. Ahh, the classy crowd that hangs around the Glitter Gulch. I'm kinda going to miss this place.  

I love my best friend-husband and our super crazy date nights!

"Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
Everybody says I'm cool (he's cool)
I can't complain but sometimes I still do
Life's been good to me so far"

It's rude to go on and on about gifts at Christmas...

Maybe so. EVERYONE that knows me knows that I am incredibly thankful for all of the true gifts in life. My God, my husband, our family and all of my family and friends everywhere in this world. Our health and prosperity. My successful business and the ability to be a better mom because of it. Our Air Force life and the amazing places we have lived, traveled and the people that have come into our lives because of this career that Zach has chosen.  I feel like I do a pretty good job of expressing that regularly and of course this time of year I take some extra time to reflect and make it known.
BUT...let's talk about the loot TOO!

Well we have some winners! For Jr. the fly fishing gear from us and bird feeder form Santa (all of the scout stuff) was a very close second to the camera. Only because he has to wait to use it I'm sure. And for Wyatt the gun and the pirate chest! 

Along with expressing a HUGE desire to take up the sport of fly fishing and a serious need for a bird feeder to be able to attract birds to our yard for his birdwatching log, Zachary asked for a digital camera for Christmas this year. From Zach and I. After standing in line outside Old Navy from 10pm-12am, buying a bracelet from some teenage kid because I wasn't close enough to the front of the line to get one, spending the qualifying amount in item purchases and then waiting in the checkout line for another hour or more, we scored him a "FREE" Kodak Easyshare underwater digital camera! It really is very cool and perfect for a new photographer or in our case, just a super cool kid that wants to take random pictures for a while. He has already made 3 movies. Attack Of The Vampire Cockatoo and Secret Agent Cockatoo 1&2. Pretty funny. I'll attach some of his masterpieces sometime.

He fell asleep shortly after breaking down his pole for the 19th time today !&lt;3

Wyatt is obsessed with his pirate chest. He has been inside, behind, on top of and everywhere in between. It has been the treasure chest, the pirate ship, the jail, his table for lunch and dinner, a hideout and the headquarters for his Airhogs attack missions. He INSISTS that he will be sleeping in it every night that is not a school night. Who are we to argue with a pirate?! He was also gifted the most beautiful "pirate gun" from Santa. It's an old 1688 Flint Lock Blunderbuss replica pistol. He also insists, in his best pirate voice, that we stole this chest from him and just cleaned up and re gifted him his own stuff! All of the hours of restoration and the inhalation of the awful mold/mildew smell that took us forever to get rid of were so much more than worth it!

He was NOT kidding. Complete with two weapons in case a middle of the night dual is required! &lt;3

My kids have the greatest imaginations!  We've played all day!

Zach and I got some pretty awesome stuff but I think that we both agree that the best gift was this first Christmas of just The Frakes Four. Play, build, record, play some more...Dinner at 915pm, dessert around 10? This day has been so much more than I could have imagined. I love my guys so much.  

"...one of those 'hams'!"

I am fully aware that I may be a little eager but I am ready to have Christmas. Yesterday!
Last night after dinner I busted out all of my supplies to do some work. As I was sitting in the living room, sketching up some awesome Toy Story characters, I couldn't quit looking at the Christmas tree. After a whole 3 minutes I had, had enough. We were opening a present. I got the "thumbs down" from Zach. Naturally. I chose a gift for each of the boys to open anyway. Naturally. :)  I chose the gifts that were from my Grandpa Moore. For Zachary it was a book called "Jesus Calling". It's a 365 day devotional for kids. A really great book for kids his age. It encourages them to read the devotional and lists suggested scriptures to look up as well. For Wyatt it was "my First Read Aloud Bible". Both of the boys were SO excited about their gifts. I love that they are both at an age that they are so excited about learning about God. They are constantly asking us questions, wanting us to tell or read them stories and in turn encouraging us to learn more. We sat down and read a few stories form Wyatt's Bible together and then Zachary read his daily devotional to us. This provoked us reading the first stories of Jesus' birth. Mary having her dream, visiting Mary Elizabeth etc. After we had our mini family bible study we were cleaning up and Wyatt says, "Hey. where was Jesus born again?" Zachary quickly answers with complete confidence, "Nottingham!"

Eh, we set him straight but I just see it like this. Bethlehem, Nottingham. Tomato, tomahto. I still feel like we are doing something right. I mean, Jesus of Nottigham sounds just as cool. :)

I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams...

I know, I know. I am even shocking myself. Two blogs within twenty-four hours!  I vowed to be more consistent.

I am getting so excited for Christmas! Only 6 more sleeps. This year will be our first year to have Christmas without any extended family. Just us four. I'm embracing it and so far the season has been more than I could have hoped for.  That being said, it's still kind of strange to me. I'm not sure how I feel about it actually. I mean, I love the fact that we can spend the entire holiday break doing exactly what we want to rather than running frantically from house to house trying to see everyone. I love that we decided to have a roast on Christmas day which means almost zero cooking for me! And I super love that Zach doesn't have to work this year! 

We are always in our own home on actual Christmas morning regardless of taking a trip or not. I think that I am still a little more homesick this year than years past. I guess it is because we normally make a trip before or after Christmas. I'm not sure.  I am sure about the fact that I am just ready to be closer to home.  I'm done with missing birthdays and basketball games and weddings and babies being born and especially holidays! We will always wake up in our own home on Christmas morning (a traditions that we plan to keep no matter where in the world we are living) but I'm ready for the frantic running around all throughout the break again. 7 years is enough of living so far away. I am welcoming the next 4 years in Kansas! 

So, since we won't be home again until late Feb or early March, I actually exited my comfort zone and not only designed and printed but also addressed and stamped 50+ Christmas cards!  If we can't be there, at least photos of us will!  This is the first time in the history of the Butcher-Frakes family that I actually have every intention of taking this stack of cards and sending them on their way first thing tomorrow morning! 

This is a pic of the card on the computer screen.
Just in case they don't make it any farther than the shelf by the front door

Now you guys know me. I love every thing Christmas. The lights, the decorations, the movies, the music, the smells. Everything. Everything except sending out cards. I LOVE getting loads of cards in the mail. I love photos and recap letters. Love them. I have no idea what it is about sitting down, addressing and stuffing envelopes that seems so unappealing to me but I am pretty excited for these to make their destinations.  I feel like i just defeated my arch-nemesis. Silly, I know. I figured that since I was on a roll with trying harder to keep up with things that I really WANT to do but just never seem to do them (ie. this blog), card sending should be added to the list. Normally I get about this far and they never make it to the mail. Then I spend an hour in early January cutting used, unused stamps off of envelopes. We'll start small. If these actually make it out the door then I may try my hand at sending a birthday card or two this year!