Reef Christmas 2010

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Christmas card 2010

Day 7-Favorite movies

Hmmm.... Favorite movies.

• Here is some that I really like:
• Harry Potter: All
• The Twilight Series
• Date Night
• Halloweentown
• Chitty Chitty Bang bang
• Willa Wonka and The Chocolate factory
• Sex and The City

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

There is a lot of things that make me happy. The thing that makes me most happy definitely during the night when the hubby is at work.

These are my babies: Luke (Black) 6 months old and Madison (Buff) 4.5 years old

Day 5 - My siblings

I have a younger brother who is about 3 years and 9 months younger than me. His name is Aaron and he is 21 one years old. Being my only sibling we got along for the most part. Guess once we got older we got a long more than when we were younger.

Today he is working full time and living with his girlfriends family. He has had a hard time but he is getting better with things. I love him dearly and wish we could see more of each other. I see him less than I do my parents.

I love you bro!!

Day 4-Your parents

My parents....

Well they were married for a long time but then about 2 years ago they separated and now they are divorced.

My mother's name is Tina. She works in a factory and is dating a guy name Michael. They have been together for a little while now. My father's name is Michael or Mike. Most people know him has Mike. Both of my parents work full time at a factory.

I do not get to see my parents as often as I use to but we try to visit as much as we can.

Challenge behind schedule

I just never got to the computer over the weekend to do my post either day. The husband and I went out and about on Saturday and then Sunday we were around home hanging out. Think it is going to be hard to keep up on the weekends but I will try to get to them this weekend. Maybe I will write them the day before and post on the day it is suppose to done. That away I am still getting to them.

I am going to post Dec 4th, 5th and 6th tonight sometime so look forward to reading about them!

Day 3-Your first love

My first love was my husband Michael. He is my high school sweet heart...

Unless you count my cute pug Sugar. She was my best friend growing up. I loved her to death! She was my first real pet that I enjoyed having. She knew a mile away (she went blinded). I still miss her today!

My husband and I got together during the second half of my Junior year in high school. We have been together every since... He is still my first and only love!!

Love him to death!!

Hamburger Au Poivre

If you love mushrooms then you would LOVE this recipe!! It was wonderful!! Enjoy.
Ingredients:

3 cups instant potato mix such as Betty Crocker Potato Buds
3 cups boiling water
3 Tbs grated Parmesan
2 Tbs butter at room temperature
3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
3/4 tsp salt
2 10oz pkgs white mushrooms
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 env. onion soup mix
1/4 cup beef broth
4 tsp cracked pepper

• Preheat oven to 425F. Line jellyroll pan with foil. Combine potato mix, water, Parmesan, butter, 2 Tbs parsley and 1/2 tsp salt until thickened; reserve.
• Chop 2 cups mushrooms. Slice remaining mushrooms; reserve. Combine chopped mushrooms with beef 2 Tbs dry soup mix, 2 Tbs beef broth, 1 tsp pepper and remaining salt. Form into 6 patties, Press remaining pepper onto patties.
• Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Cook patties , turning once, until browned, 4 minutes per side. Transfer to pan; cover to keep warm.
• In same skillet over medium heat cook reserve mushrooms until softened, 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, remaining soup mix, beef broth and parsley. Cook until thickened, 2 minutes.
• Transfer potatoes to large pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Spoon half of mushrooms sauce over burgers; pipe potatoes over. Bake until potatoes are lightly browned and burgers are heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve with remaining mushroom sauce.
  

The recipe is from Woman's World mag. We truly enjoyed the recipe but we added more beef broth to the sauce and used mushroom onion soup mix. In addition we used 2 pounds meat because I was lazy and didnt want to weigh out the meat.

Hope you enjoy! Look forward to more recipes that we like!

Trying new recipes

Michael and I have been trying to get a swing of getting new foods/recipes in the mix of meals. This week we decide to do a new recipe almost everyday. So far we have done 4 different recipes and have really only liked one of them. The others were not to our likings.
Recipes:

1. Chicken & Cornmeal Dumpling - not enough flavor and the dumplings were not that great! Going to us the rest of the broth and veggies for chicken and noodles.

2. Cheddar Turkey Burger - didn't like the flavor but we like turkey burgers

3. Hamburger Au Poivre: Loved this recipe!! Basically a hamburger steak with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy!!

4. Hearty Chili Mac: To think and tasted like it was missing something. We added small can of tomato juice to it but didn't help it out.

5. 3 Cheese Chicken and noodle (Saturday)
6. Chicken Parmesan (different breading and style) (Sunday)

Next week we have some more to add to our list. Just getting tired of the same foods and need a mix up on things.

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

My blog title is Life of Michael and Melissa. Which is basically what it says..... it is about my husband Michael and me. It started out being a wedding blog but now since we are married for a year now it is about us. One day it will be about the family and might change to Reef family but right now it is just us and our 2 dogs. If you want to read just about me check out my other blog: Just a little of my life.

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

First off, I am Melissa the writer of this blog. I am married to a wonderful guy. We have two dogs Madison and Luke. Live in a small that I enjoy but sometimes miss living in the big city.

15 Facts:

1. I graduated college with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration.
2. Love to read books (Joined a book club at the library)
3. My favorite stores are Michael's, JCP, Target and Old Navy.
4. Favorite colors are Pink, Brown and Turquoise.
5. To relieve stress I like to bake.
6. Enjoy working out on my Wii!
7. Love doing crafts!
8. Like working with kids which is my job right now.
9. Can not wait to start a family!!
10. Love purses and shoes.
11. If I had money I would start my own business.
12. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
13. Fall is my favorite season.
14. Love photography and hope someday to own a way better camera.
15. Like playing all kinds of games.