Well here we are my friends, its almost time to say goodbye to 2010...

Mini Cheeseburgers and queen size beds..

Uncooked mini cheeseburgers..getting ready to be put in the oven.

Cheeseburgers with the tops on...

Mini Cheeseburgers
FInished product served with penne pasta and alfredo sauce..so good!!

prep time 15 min total time 50 min makes 12 servings,
2 mini-cheeseburgers (102 g) each Ingredients:
1 lb. (450 g) extra-lean ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
8 hot dog buns, cut into thirds
6 dill pickle slices, cut into quarters
6 Kraft Singles Process Cheese Product Slices, cut into quarters
MIX
meat, onions, ketchup and mustard just until blended. ARRANGE bottom halves of buns, cut-sides up, in 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spoon about 1 Tbsp. meat mixture onto each; flatten with spatula. Top with pickles, Singles and tops of buns. Cover tightly with foil.
BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until meat mixture is done. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

Tonight I made these little mini cheeseburgers for dinner. Unfortunately Paul and Braden could not enjoy them, but I will admit...Kailey and I thought they were pretty awesome!
This is a very easy recipe that actually I would probably serve in the summer with a nice salad at lunch time! Not really a dinner time meal...but one that we enjoyed after a couple hours spent in Ikea.
I was there today looking at a new bed for our spare bedroom. I bought new bedding for the new bed, its very very pretty and girlie. The spare room is actually labelled "Ethan's room" so I suppose I will have to take off my new girlie duvet complete with duvet cover when he visits and put back his old blue one! I will keep it in the closet, he will never know! So, I was debating whether to get a whole new bed, but after seeing what's out there I decided to stick with what we have and just get a new mattress. I came home empty handed with the mattress but will return with Paul to get a new queen size bed frame for the "Ethan's/Spare room". We will continue to search for a mattress to suit our bed, and we will stick with the queen size bed and NOT upgrade to the king. The thought of more room in the bed intrigues me, however I have been sleeping beside my husband for 20 years in a queen bed. I know his every move, I sence his dynamics. The feel of his body so close is comforting and we always manage to touch feet at some point during the night...its how I know he is still there. I couldn't imagine having him further away in our bed, not too sure if he feels the same way..but i must say, he didn't like ANY of the king size beds..that spoke volume's too me!
On a side note, the thought of two singles with a bedside table between them was hot on the topic..LOL!

With Thanks and Love....

Well here we are my friends...coming to the year end! There is only a couple more days that I NEED to be blogging and then its over!
My thoughts...First off....the most important thing on my mind is to thank every single one of you that read, commented, encouraged and supported my year goal of blogging. I appreciate the time each of you took to log in and come to Chrissy's life blog to read the silly ramblings that I entertained you with daily. I know that life is busy, everyone works and has families so with that said..the fact that YOU took time out of your life to read and support my goal means so much to me! I have learned ALOT this year about myself, my family and my friends. From this journey a part of me has changed, and I look forward to continuously growing and healing with the next chapter in my life.
So, with love I thank you for all you have done to push me through the tough blogs, the angry blogs and the personal blogs, I honestly could not have done it without each of you!
Candy~ Thanks so much for your commments and encouragment through this experience. Our friendship has been one of the longest relationships that I have, and i know your heart shares the same feelings as mine. I love and respect our friendship and I look forward to our future and what it brings. Your words of love and comfort were always admired and forever remembered!
Michelle~ Although you did not have the chance to comment, you need to know that our car rides, coffee's and phone calls were all that kept me going during the times that I wanted to give up. You always had the right words to further inspire me and you always made me feel right about my choices of topics and my feelings within them. Your friendship is and continues to be refreshing...and I need a friend like that! Thank you for your support, it means the world to me!
Shelley~ Even though you live so far away, I cherish the emails that we have shared over the course of this year! You have also been a huge part of my desire and determination to follow through with what I started last January. You have also given me strength through your support, especially when the blog posts have been that of "heartwrenching" to write. We have a bond of motherhood, and I am very much enjoying the friendship that we share while watching our boys grow up into adulthood. I couldn't ask for a better shoulder to lean on...even if its all the way in Calgary.
Spencer~ I am not sure if you are still reading this blog...but I still want you to know that for being a young man..you are a very wise one! You have also mangaed to show optimism and at times counselling when I haven't been at my best, and for that I thank you!
Ed~ It has been a pleasure having you share in my life through this blog. I have loved reading your comments, most of them had a comical tune to them which I of course have admired! You always brought a smile to my face! I am looking forward to the future and having you and Aunt Donna a part of it! Much love to you both...
Uncle Wayne~ I know that you read my blog and that you love my recipes and for that I am not going to delete this blog and I will continue to use it for my quick and easy recipes as well as the occassional "out burst" whether it be a good one or a bad one! Thank you uncle wayne for your support! I love you!!
Mom & dad~ as always thank you for your unconditional love, enlightment, and constant urging to fullfill my every dream. You both were wonderful with bringing to my attention all things in my life that I am blessed with. I am forever grateful and I love you both with my heart and soul.
Paul~ Thank you for first off...always giving me the space and time to blog. There were many nights when things needed to be done and I would ask if I could blog rather than do the chore at hand. He handled everything without ever complaining. You didn't always read my blog, and even though I was frustrated at that...I appreciate the time you did spend reading it and being the sounding board for topics that hurt my heart! You have always been my rock, and I love you for letting me scream, yell, cry and laugh with you some nights...when it hurt! My heart belongs to you...I love you!
I know that there are many many more who read this and I hate like hell to not mention everyone by name. The ones who I did mention however are the ones who continuously supported and commented through this experience. So for that I feel they deserve a mention, because they have taken the time to make this a most inspirational time in my life! I am encouraged and I will take on the dreaded task of re-living a time in my life that hurts my body to the core. It is going to be one of the hardest times in my life, trying to write this book and I only pray that physically I do not become ill. When a person sits to write about an experience that has ultimately changed their life, had hurt them like no one should ever feel hurt...it is painful and it will be exhausting. But...I am ready and thanks to all of you I am up for the work, for the challenge and up for the healing.
The picture above is a christmas ornament that Shelley (from Calgary) sent me through the christmas holidays to give me support and to tell me that I did a great job this year! It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me! The meaning behind this little snoopy is huge, from here I am taking this little ornament and turning it into a book mark. A reminder to work hard, never give and to believe anything is possible!
Just look at that little snoopy...he is working pretty hard on a project that is important to him! It means alot Shelley.....>strong>thank you
All in all my friends, its been a blast! This did become more of a battle near the end of this year, but I will keep it going...just not every day and only when I feel like it!!
I am off friends...good night and god bless~

Hahaha..

Tomorrow I promise to spend some quality time on this blog. I mean I don't want to end this year on a boring note, so with that said...I will have a story tomorrow! Today was a great day, lots of relaxing and then friends over for a movie night! Overall it was a success!
I am off to bed, good night and god bless my friends!

Some shots at Christmas...

Merry Christmas to your family from ours...

Christmas Eve 2010

Oh Holy night...

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

Christmas dinner with the MacPhee's....

Merry Christmas my friends...
It's almost here....christmas dinner with my family!
The excitment is brewing, Ethan is dancing...
Braden and Kailey are waiting patiently,
Paul is preparing another turkey..god love him!
I am making some stuffing...
Its almost time...
I cannot wait!

Good bye 2010...

Anyone else thinking..."where did this year go?"
I certainly am!! When I reflect on this past year I have all good memories, it has been a great year! Probably one of my best years yet! With the exception of not losing 20 pounds....however Paul has promised to go back to the gym with me over the holidays so that I can get back into a routine! Hopefully by the time I am 40 years old, I will be 20 pounds lighter!
We got alot accomplished this year! The house looks fantastic, I am thrilled with all we did do! Paul and I had a year together with many coffee's and tea's shared in our kitchen or out by the pool! I have been out of work for a year and just starting to feel good again! Kailey made the provincial AA ringette team which was a pretty big deal. Both kids have successfully made it into highshcool and managing really well. Paul went back to work this year...he has happily settled back behind his desk.
Sooo many things happened this year...overall its been wonderful!
I can only dream whats in store for next year...I will admit, I am starting my book this year! That is exciting for me!
One final thing that happened this year...I blogged for a full year and I am so proud of myself!!
Good night my friends and god bless!!

Monday's Menu on Tuesday.....

What You Need:1 Tbsp. oil
1 cup onion,sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms,
sliced 4 oz. cooked and sliced sirloin steak
1/3 cup Kraft Extra Rich Original BarBQ Sauce
2 Italian rolls
2/3 cup Kraft Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

Make ItHEAT oil in frypan. Add onions and cook over medium-high heat until golden brown. Add mushrooms and steak.

MIX in barbecue sauce; cook stirring, until hot.

PILE onto open Italian rolls and sprinkle with cheese.

BROIL on high until cheese melts.
Ok I have to be honest....I haven't tried this one yet! But I do believe tomorrow we will and I will post a review. You know, the reason that I choose these recipes is because each of them is fairly inexpensive and quick and easy. We have busy lives and who has the time to spend in the kitchen every night making high end meals. As long as they have nutritional value, then I am happy! This one would be served nice with a salad and some veggies...and a nice cold coke!

Its almost here..

Thats right folks I am almost finished this blog for a year! I am counting down the days...
I do however think that maybe once a week I will still keep something posted?! Although I won't commit to it!
Well good night my friends, and god bless...

Twas' the night before christmas...

Well its over for another year! I take 2 weeks to plan and co-ordinate the Martz's christmas dinner and within 7 hours...its over! Again this year was another successful, funfilled day. Unfortunatly there wasn't as many here this year due to other activities and prior events that people needed to be at. Even though there was alot missing , we still had a great time! Here's how it went this year....
At 3am Paul got up to put the turkey in the oven, the turkey cooked until 10:30ish. We then carved the turkey and started the potatoes, carrots and corn. Last night I made the turnip so that it was one last thing I didn't need to do. All I had to do was warm it up when dinner was ready. We had stuffing, cranberry sauce, ham and all the regular fixings it takes to make a fabulous christmas dinner. People arrived after 1pm and we started to organize our family picture. Michelle was wonderful with arranging people and planning the way people would be placed in the picture. My friend Heather kindly came over to take the picture, she was great! A big Thank you to Heather for taking the time to do this for our family. The picture was fun, everyone was happy to be involved, but like I said there was alot missing so we are going to attempt another big family photo in the summer time! Here are a few samples of what we got...

The picture below is with just the immediate family, we had the boyfriends and girlfriends stand out on this one, its important to get one with just family too!

Me and my family...I love the Santa Hats...

My beautiful neice Michelle and her boyfriend Syd.


Here are some picture's from the day..

The finished turkey...great job Paul! It was soooo good!!


Paul carving the turkey...check out who is at his feet! Ollie has the best spot in the house..in case daddy drops some turkey bits!



Here is Santa and his helper Elf handing out the christmas presents...

Grandpa and Suzanne sharing a "smooch", Merry Christmas to both of you! We love you!!

Overall it was a great day! Thanks to everyone who could make it out! Merry Christmas Martz Family and a Happy New Year!

Save the neck for me Clark...

As I sit here in the kitchen on my laptop at 11:30pm, Paul is busy preparing the turkey for a 3am oven time. Yep that's right, we have to get up at 3am to get the turkey in the oven so that it is ready for a lunch time party. I'm pretty excited to be having the Martz's christmas tomorrow. I love that it is here in my home, its so much easier for Braden. I woke up this morning to my parents at the front door ready and willing to clean my house. It was one of the nicest things they have ever done! They know how busy things have been lately and how stressed I was yesterday with hosting a christmas get together and with having our little Ollie neutered. So, to see them here this morning was honestly a huge relief. Paul was busy with Braden today and I took Kailey out to finish up some shopping and getting things prepared for tomorrow's christmas dinner. In order to be able to relax and have a "stress free" evening tonight my parents kindly took over the "house cleaning" duties so that Paul and I could actually sit down and finish up the smaller tasks that needed to be done!
I am so lucky to have my parents, they are always looking out for us. Our health and happiness has always been important to them and they have always stepped up to help out whenever they are needed. The best part of today...I didn't even have to ask them!! I love you guys...thanks for being so wonderful!!
We as a family had a very nice evening together, it was quiet, relaxing and stress free!!
Good night my friends and god bless!!

Ollie's home and Friends were here..

It was busy today but in the end it was perfect! Ollie lost his "nuts" today..he was neutered. Poor little guy! Thankfully things went wonderfully, he is home safe and sound and almost back to normal. We had a great evening amoungst friends, once again their was laughing, drinking, joking and even a bit of dancing...thanks for the "thumbs up, thumbs down dance" Blair! Braden will forever remember you shaking your ass in our kitchen! It was fun..."gobble gobble gobble". "Settle down Terry", its like riding a bike!!
Fun was had at the Martz's, however now I am tired and ready to rest my weary head! Two functions down, and three to go... almost half way through the holiday parties! I hope everyone is enjoying time spent with family and friends. Tis' the season to be jolly..fa la la la laaa la la la laaaa!

On this day....

December 16th is one of my most favourite days of my life! Number 1 reason...its my baby girls birthday, number 2 reason...its my mommy's birthday! Happy birthday to the two most important women in my life, you are both in my heart forever!








And here they are today...


Ok, so a little story...
Have you ever had a moment in life that has changed a part of who you are? Of course you have...everyone with a life has a moment.
Well my life altering moment was on March 9th 1995. This day was the worst day of my life, it changed everything about who I was and who I was going to be. I honestly can't say that it necessarily changed me for the worst...at the time I felt that way but as time goes by, i've grown into who I am today and I don't think i'd change too much.
Even though that day will forever be a memory stuck on replay in my mind, I don't let it get the best of me! I have overcome it, I am much stronger today and I DO love who we as a family have become.
My first day of healing after March 9th 1995, just happens to be December 16th 1996. The day my baby girl came into the world.
I have often said that Braden being my first born, and the child who I admire, protect and love unconditionally was literally my heart. He is the reason I wake up every morning, the reason why I don't let March 9th take over my life.
But what people don't understand is...Kailey is my Soul, Kailey was the blessing that gave me back everything I lost on March 9th. Having that little baby girl, once again altered my life and changed everything about me and who I thought I was.
There was a time when I lost my way as a mother...I no longer felt like a mommy but more like a care giver, nurse, physiotherapist, speech therapist, respiratory specialist...etc etc.
But, once Kailey entered our lives...I was once again "A Mommy"
Because of her...I got my life back, I found my way back to forgive myself, and live my life for both of my children. Life was once again put back into perspective.
I needed her with a feirceness that ached my existence, she was everything I was missing. She healed my soul....and my life from that day forward only got better!
For that I am greatful...I am the luckiest mom in the world, I have two beautiful teenagers!
Happy 14th Birthday My beautiful Daughter

Wednesdays Reflection..will have to wait for tomorrow..you"ll see why!

Today Kailey had a ringette game against Guelph and to be honest I felt they played really really well! The game was a good one, unfortunately they lost 3-1...keep in mind we only had 10 girls to play. There are still 4 away due to holidays, illness and injuries. Thankfully Kailey is back, she looked good.
So, with it being Kailey's birthday tomorrow I thought it would be nice to bring cupcakes to share with her ringette team, every year we do that...
Here are the cool ringette cupcakes that we had made once again from "The Cake Box". I use them alot, and actually I am becoming a huge fan of cupcakes...they are just easier to distribute at functions, especially for children. I would love to take a class and learn how to decorate cupcakes, I think that would be fun! I have to bake a cake for Kailey tomorrow, lol, god only know's what I'll come up with. Thank goodness tonights cupcakes were a huge hit, I am sure tomorrow's cake will be something of joke!

How cute are these?? They turned out so great! The girls loved them, the coaches loved them and they tasted fabulously!!

Hockey game tomorrow...looking forward to that! I love watching her play this sport, I am a huge fan of the Canadian Olympic Women's Hockey team...they are amazing athletes and extremely talented! I may even have a niece on that team someday! Lets hope for another win, as we so far are number 1!!

Its beginning to look alot like christmas...

Remember last week when I shared with you the white chocolate and coconut rimmer for my christmas festive drink? Well here is what it looks like with the white chocolate and candy cane rimmer. I will admit, I liked this much better...it was so delicious!

Kailey and I made rice krispie squares yesterday...they were really good as well. Nothing like christmas music and rice krispie squares on a Sunday afternoon.

Our main floor christmas tree...we have another one downstairs which we put all the kids christmas ornaments on.




Here are a few pictures from today's hockey game. Kailey finally played, after being away for a few weeks she didn't do too bad. She was a bit frustrated because it is a new sport to her and of course she wants to get it right. In time, it will come! I thought she did great, the best part is that Southwood won the game and took the title of first place from this other highschool. It was an awesome feeling! Way to go Saber's!!!

Monday's Menu...

Cheesy Beef Roll ups...
what you need1 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup Kraft Regular BarBQ Sauce
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups Kraft Tex Mex Shredded Cheese

make itBROWN ground beef with barbecue sauce, to taste.

PLACE meat mixture in centre of flour tortillas; top with 1 cup shredded cheese and roll up.

PLACE filled tortillas in a casserole dish, top with remaining cheese and bake until cheese melts.


These were amazing....oh my goodness they are the perfect dinner on a busy day! My whole family loved them and I especially did because they were so quick to make!

Another week ahead...

This week will be filled with finishing up christmas shopping and getting prepared for the Martz's Christmas. Once again my house will be filled with many people celebrating, eating, drinking and laughing. Although its alot of work, I still love every minute of it!
This year we are taking a big family picture of the Martz' family and everyone will be wearing something red. Unfortunately there will still be alot missing,I do believe they are going to attempt to photoshop some of the family members from the west into the picture. Hopefully it all turns out! Well I am outta here my friends, good night and god bless~

It was a crazy busy weekend...

Yep, that it was. I have nothing to say really except that Kailey made it out on the ice tonight and played wonderfully! She seemed to be on the ball...she picked up some great passes, had a couple shots on net and managed to back check like she knows how! Overall it was a great game, we are very proud of how hard she worked. It was a tied game, very exciting right down to the last second!

Here's the scoop...

So yesterday I cried tears of happiness! I honestly could cry everyday at some point from tears of happiness...I have ALOT to be happy about. Everyday I remind myself of that and I try to never take anything for granted.
You see 15 years ago I had no idea what my life would be like today. Really, none of us do...it can all change in the blink of an eye. I guess because I understand that in life, I really appreciate the happy moments that I am blessed with every day even if these moments only last for seconds.
Braden started his Youth City Council meetings yesterday, We were SO proud of him!
He had to be at the City Hall for 5:30, we were a little early but figured it would be better so that we could get him set up and make sure he was comfortable in his surroundings before I left.
It was a surreal moment for me! Leaving him was the same feeling you get as you leave your child all alone on the first day of kindergarten.
You know, he never ceases to amaze me...as many of you know he does a ton of public speaking and volunteer work so you would think this would be only a natural event for him. Even though he is use to this kind of work, this feeling for me was unbelieveable, there was a such a feeling of pride. There was a moment when I was leaving him, and I turned back to look at him and I mouthed to him "are you ok?" He looked at me with those big eyes, so nervous and excited..he shook his head and said "yes". I breathed a sigh of relief and gave him two thumbs up as I left the room. Immediately I was overwhelmed with joy, I had a flood of memories run through my mind, racing throughout my heart and soul. I filled with tears of happiness...I walked out of that city hall, looked to the sky and took a big deep breath and as I exhaled I was thankful. I was thankful for so many things at that moment. Mostly i was thankful for this time in my life, this time of complete....satisfaction.
How many times have I cried tears of pain and saddness...not knowing what the future would hold for my son. The unknown is the darkness of life.
I left thinking..."look at him", he is so successful, what wonderful young, dedicated, intelligent and handsome young man he has turned out to be! I was content...and I love that feeling.
This moment lasted maybe for a minute...and then life happened again, I got in my van, headed home to pick up Kailey and was on my way to St.Mary's for a 9pm ringette game.
Today I had the chance to sit with him and talk about his experience. He said he loved it! He felt listened too..he felt respected and he felt important. It was a pretty cool, he said they had a catered dinner of Swiss Chalet festive special, paid for by the city of Cambridge...which happened to make Paul and I chuckle because of course the City of Cambridge trustee's and political spokesperson's have nothing but the best at their meetings. All expenses paid for by....you and I. He will be attending meetings monthly, all with catered dinners. He said that he knew two other people in the room. The head of the board meeting who's name is Heather was wonderful with helping Braden get his dinner prepared, she assisted him with everything. I kinda thought we might need an attendant to go with Braden but he has proven otherwise. He will continue to be independant once again, ask for help when needed and make a difference for those living with disabilities!
Paul and I could not be any prouder!!