Monte Cristo Sliders

Happy Friday friends!

I have exactly 6 more recipes that I put together with pictures from my old lens, so bear with me as I burn through my backlog.  I have to say (even with pictures that now make me tilt my head slightly and say "huh" perplexedly) that these little sliders still look yummy. If you are unfamiliar with the Monte Cristo, as the hubby was, this is what a Monte Cristo is:

A Monte Cristo is typically a fried ham-and-cheese sandwich, a variation of the French croque-monsieur. Typically in the United States, you'll find this also made with raspberry preserves and lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

6 Years

Warning- Picture heavy post.

The 4-Year Mark

I cannot believe it's been 4 years. 1461 days, give or take. I might be missing a leap year in that calculation, but I don't think so. Our wedding day is still so vivid in my memory, it feels like yesterday. Crazy.

I wouldn't change a moment of anything that has happened. We've gone through some tough times, but they've all got us to where we are today. I wouldn't trade where we are today for a second. I can't believe how much things have changed in just a year. Last year at this time, construction had barely begun on our home. We were semi-homeless, living between the hubby's aunt's house and his mother's. All of our things were in storage, and the memory of living in that rental house was still painfully fresh. Today? We are settled, happy, and satisfied in our new home. After everything we went through in the last year, things look so good from where we're at.

So, I wanted to post pictures of the hubby and me that I haven't previously posted. Which means I had to do some serious digging through i-Photo. It was worth it, because I found some classically classy pictures, as well as some classically goofy pictures.

Hubby and I's first Duck Game together.

Bloody Mary brunch in Oregon.

Hubby's 29th B-Day.

Another Duck's pre-game spent at the Mo Center.

The hubby had a little bit too much to drink at one of our Superbowl parties, and decided to perform for everyone using a speaker as a microphone.

Nothing says classy like Rock Band in a wife-beater :)

Oregon Coast

Haystack Rock

Hubby and I singing karoke together. We both make the greatest faces :)

New Year's after our engagement. I really liked that pizza, and the hubby's take on sign language.

Our first Christmas after we got married.

Hubby's 33rd Birthday.

Shortly after moving to Kentucky.

Happy Anniversary Hubby! Another year of marriage, under the belt :)

The Three-Year Mark

It's the hubby and I's 3rd anniversary!

On this day, 3 years ago, I married my best friend. Two crazy kids got married for better, or for worse, during one of the most challenging times our relationship had been through. Now, 3 years later, we are emerging from that difficult time even stronger than when we went into it. We've been through so much together- weight gain and weight loss, many different hair colors, my previous job working 60 hours a week, unemployment, and a cross country move. 3 years feels like forever, and I don't mean that in a bad way.

Pretty soon our house will be done, and we will be moving on to a new chapter in our lives. There will be many more adventures, and I guarantee it will be a crazy ride that's never boring. I think we're up to the challenge :)

Some of our adventures:

The first time we went to Hawaii.

At one of the dozens of Oregon Duck football games we went to. I'm guessing it was one of the first, due to our lack of Duck wear.

Tailgating 

And more tailgating! 

Celebrating with the fam when my brother graduated from college.

The first time we took Haloti to the beach.

Haloti's first trip to Multnomah Falls.

We do a lot of tailgating!

Our New Year's Eve, shortly after we got engaged.

Whistler, Canada

Our toast, 3 years ago today.

Jerame's 33rd birthday.

Mo's in Newport, OR.

My 29th birthday. Fried alligator and all.

4th of July.

Of course, toasting the newest chapter in our lives.

Happy Anniversary Hubby! I'm looking forward to the next 3 years we spend together :)

I Guess I'm Getting Old...

Well, it finally happened. My little brother got engaged. I love him to pieces, and I'm glad he found love, but I'm still a little in shock. He's my little brother, and he'll always be that crazy kid in my mind. Sigh. I guess this is growing up, to quote Blink 182 :)

It looks like it's going to be a fall wedding, so I've already picked out what I want to wear, how I want to wear my hair, what makeup colors I want to wear, and etc. Yep, I'm that girl. I've haven't had an excuse to dress up in awhile, so I think I'm excited for that. Here's what I'm thinking: (and knowing me, it could change tomorrow!)

I love this cute sweater dress. It's totally my style, which some may say is plain, but I say is classic.

I'm really into cowboy boots right now. I saw pictures on Pinterest of a wedding where the bridesmaids wore short dresses and cowboy boots. So cute! And hey, why not play up my new home? I'm soooo getting a pair. BTW, it's going to be a casual event so I think I can pull off cowboy boots :)

I love this casual, slightly messy, boho look on Nicole Ritchie. I think I'm going to go for this, or something similar. No stiff prom updo's for me!

Mostly, I'm excited I have an excuse to go home. Things are going to be crazy, as we will be nearing the end, or just finished with house construction, but ce la vie. We'll make it work :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday! My mom is one of the strongest women I know and a huge inspiration in my life. She has overcome so many obstacles in her life and throughout it all, she is one of the most positive people I know. She has fought (and beat!) cancer twice, something unbelievable in its self. After her second round of cancer, her hair has never really gotten back to what it once was. You will never hear her complain about this though. She cheerfully puts on her Oregon Ducks scarf on her head everyday. I must confess, she loves the Ducks so much though, I am not sure it bothers her to wear the Oregon scarf everyday. One of my favorite stories and one of the most recent: Last January (2011) the Oregon Ducks football team made it to the National Championship Game and my parents drove down to Arizona to watch them play. They stopped to visit her cousin in Las Vegas on the way. I am still not exactly sure what happened, but while my mom was visiting her cousin, her leg caught on fire at a bonfire event! She ended up sustaining 3rd degree burns to her leg. I am sure a lot of people would have thrown in the towel at this point, but there was nothing that would stop my mom from going to that National Championship game to cheer on her beloved Ducks and she attended the game just a couple of days after burning her leg. That takes some serious strength! In honor of her birthday, here are some of my favorite photos of her:

My parents and me at my high school graduation. Taken shortly after my mom finished treatment for cancer the first time.

September 2007. Taken right after my mom finished treatment for cancer the second time and one of the first times she was able to drink in months. We had a get together to watch Oregon pummel Michigan in football that day. My dad was actually at the game in Michigan watching them get pummeled. Needless to say, it was a memorable day!

September 2007. One of the many Oregon Ducks football games my mother and I attended together.

November 2007. The 2nd time 'College GameDay' visited Eugene in the '07 football season. This was taken at 6 in the morning!

December 2007. Taken at my brother's graduation from college. My mom was the only person able to hold her liquor out of this group that night :)

November 2008 at an Oregon Football tailgate with our family friends Sean and Scott. My mom is never happier than when tailgating, one of her favorite activities.

February 2009, Super Bowl Sunday. My mom and I cheering on the Steelers, who won that year!

July 2009, Jerame and I's wedding day. Also a day when I have never seen my mom happier! 

February 2010, Super Bowl Sunday. We had had Gizmo for a total of 3 days at this point and this was my mom's first meeting with the new puppy.

July 2011 on my first trip home to Oregon after moving to Kentucky. Taken at a little bar in downtown Albany that my mom introduced me to. We had some delicious drinks that night!

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you know that I think you are an extraordinary woman :)