Happy 2011!

First off, it's super weird to type 2011.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest. :) I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and is having a great start to 2011. I have big hopes for this year.

Here are my Resolutions for 2011:

Run another 5K and run the whole entire thing.

Run a half-marathon

Clean more often and keep the house organized. I'm sort of a stacker, so I want to get in the habit of cleaning and picking up on a daily basis.

And the cop-out, lose weight. :)

Actually keep up with my My 365 Blog

And to leave you with a picture from last night...our nephew, James, passed out from too much partying.



(Don't worry, he did not consume any alcohol!)

New Blog Challenge for 2011

Woohoo for new blog challenges! This one starts January 1, so here's a sneak peek of the topics:

Day 1: New Year Resolutions
Day 2: Favorite Work-Out Tip
Day 3: Favorite Work-Out Tips
Day 4: Best Leftover Recipe
Day 5: Places You Hope to go this Year
Day 6: Best Organization Tricks
Day 7: Favorite Memory of 2010
Day 8: Favorite Healthy Snacks
Day 9: Favorite Things to Do on a Cold Winter Day
Day 10: Favorite Girls Night Out Events
Day 11: What are you Looking Forward to in 2011


I hope everyone had a happy and blessed Christmas!

Day 14: Oprah's Wishlist

I'm so sad this blog challenge is over!

If I would have ever have been lucky enough to sit through an Oprah's Favorite Things show, I would have loved to walk away with:

Christian Louboutin pumps


A French Door Refrigerator

via here

A private plane plus enough money to fund the rest of Brian's pilot training. (He's already a private pilot, just has to finish the rest so he can be rated for the airlines.) Plus, Oprah's in cahoots with John Travolta, who I'm sure has an extra plane laying around somewhere. :)

Day 13: Chocolate Chip Cookies

It may seem like I took the easy road for my Favorite Christmas Cookie and chose Chocolate Chip Cookies, but these are absolutely the best chocolate chip cookies you will ever make. For real. My mom makes TONS of cookies every Christmas and last year was the first time she made these. I ate these for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

They have a special ingredient of instant vanilla pudding and it adds something amazing to the cookie dough. They're super easy and the original recipe makes 72 cookies, so they're perfect if you want to send some to family and still get to keep some for yourself. :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: My cousin, Suzy. (Not sure of the original source)

4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups softened butter (4 sticks)
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 (3.4 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding - You can use whatever flavor you like
4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional - I leave them out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour and baking soda. Set aside. In large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the pudding mix until blended. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts (if using). Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until edges are golden brown.

Yields: 72 cookies, but can easily be halved

Day 12: Christmas Decorations

I LOVE Christmas decorations. I would totally be the person to leave it up all year. My mom is a PRO at decorating for Christmas so I got it honest. Brian is big on outside lighting, but I won't post any of those for safety reasons. (Plus we're not finished. :)) Although we were told by some kids up the street that our lights look "Tight, yo!" So I guess they look great. haha

My Mantle:




Our stockings that I cross-stitched years ago:


I didn't make Jack's but that's ok. :)


Representing my college days on the tree:



There's tons more decorations around my house I could show you, and I still might, but I'm not totally done with decorations. I had to show the mantle because I'm in love with it.