mint oreo yummies

i ate a christmas cookie the other day that was incredibly delicious! it was chocolaty, creamy and super yummy. i do this cookie exchange with a few girls at work and this recipe took the prize for best tasting cookie (i won for prettiest cookie... my aunt mary's russian apricot torte). anyway, here it is:

1 pkg. mint oreo cookies
1 pkg. cream cheese
mix these ingredients in the food processor. blend the heck out of them until they are super smooth. roll them into small balls (maybe the size of a quarter) and then dip them into melted chocolate. my friend denise then sprinkled crushed candy canes on top of the melted chocolate. you get approx 4 doz. cookies out of one bag of oreos.

these cookies super easy and delicious. merry christmas!

O Christmas Tree

The trees are up and I am happy.

Right after Thanksgiving we put up the trees. It's easily a 2-3 day process. Day 1 is lights. We put on lots! If you can't read a book by tree light, there isn't enough. Surprisingly, it's not the light wrapping that takes the whole afternoon, it's the bulb testing and cussing. This year we didn't have enough matching lights for the downstairs tree so we had to buy new. I like them... they're big and bright and slightly retro. They make me want a cocktail.

Day 2 is ornaments. I've been collecting them since I was born. We unwrap each one and choose our favorites to go on... there are so many. At some point in the 1980's I started recording who gave me which ornament and when. My family is patient with me as I tell the same stories about the same ornaments each year. I've started a notebook for Ross' ornaments, too. He doesn't understand why. I tell him his wife will thank me someday. And day 3 (if we don't have time on on day 2) is the tinsel. Does anyone else other than my mother and I still hang icicles on their tree!? I love how they sparkle in the 800 lights!

So bring on the shopping and stress of the holiday season. My happy place is ready!

happy thanksmas!

thanksgiving was awesome! on thursday john and i hosted 32 russells for dinner. we squeezed them into every nook and cranny of the house. family was everywhere and i was lovin it! the worst part was, of course, cleaning the house... every nook and cranny. this is a completely different level of clean that we're used to. ross, actually doesn't like the house all picked up. he claims he can't find his stuff if it's put away.
the next morning we packed up the car and traveled to connellsville to celebrate christmas with john's brother and sister. nathan and bri won't be home in december so we trimmed the tree and exchanged gifts on saturday. i love it when we're all together. it only happens a couple times a year, now.
so here sit in my clean house, very happy. this was the best thanksmas ever!

paste

that's what vicki calls hummus. her recipe is the best! we made a batch on thursday and it's already gone! gotta love the paste!

1 16 oz can chick peas or garbanzo beans
1/4 C liquid from can of chick peas
3-5 T lemon juice (i used 3)
1 1/2 T tahini (paste made from crushed sesame seeds)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 tsp salt
2 T olive oil
(i also added a small chunk of roasted red pepper...yummy)

drain chick peas and set aside liquid. combine all ingredients in food processor. blend for 3-5 minutes until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

not only is this recipe delicious, but vicki says that sesame seeds increase sex drive.

enjoy! bow-chicka-wow-wow!

happy halloween from john, linda and indy

we went trick or treating with friends last night. it was in one of those developments where the houses are super close together. up until this point ross has averaged 20-25 pieces of halloween candy per year from our small neighborhood and he's always been happy. holy cow! last night indy brought home a pillowcase full! 143 pieces... he counted! he's beside himself and has vowed to to remain friends with TJ for life so he can trick or treat with him every year.

disney... my favorite

Disney was amazing! We've been home for almost 2 weeks and I'm still smiling!
The weather was a little rainy, but we were able to spend every day in the park. I can't decide which park is my favorite. Magic Kingdom has the fireworks and parades (my #1 favorite thing to see), Epcot has Soarin (my favorite ride) and at Hollywood Studios I learned how to draw Mickey! For real... I did that! See my signature?

Ross and I really enjoy pin trading. We trade every year and bring home a bunch! They are awesome souvenirs! This year I collected villains. Also, we were lucky to hit the wine and food festival which is every October at Epcot. We walked around the lake and sampled beer, wine and plates of appetizers from cities from all over the world. Favorite food... empanadas from Chili. Ross loves Epcot. riding the 'Epcot ball' is his overall favorite thing to do. This year we enjoyed it 6 times! Lucky us.

And Nathan and Bri are the most amazing hosts... so generous. My favorite day (here I go again) was the day the 5 of us spent at Animal Kingdom. Afterwards, Nate and Bri took us to the rooftop of the Contemporary resort to watch the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Breathtaking. They drove us around, shared their favorite places and made us feel right at home. I may have favorite rides and favorite foods, but hands down, Nathan and Bri are my favorite part of Disney.

girls rule, boys drool

i just got back from the annual Russell women's retreat. what a blast! every year (i think this is year 7) Russell moms, daughters, cousins, and aunts spend the weekend camping at a pa state park. no spouses. no kids. we rent 2 modern cabins (electricity and showers are important) and celebrate the coolness that makes us family. we build campfires, play games, bike, hike and craft. my favorite tradition is the pumpkin carving contest. each of us arrives with a pumpkin which we gut and cut and display around the campfire at night. there is a prize for the best pumpkin. i didn't win this year... but congratulations to lisa and ashley anyway.

this year the leaves were beautiful and the weather perfect. a hike in the woods led us to several abandoned cabins... fun to explore until i was freaked out by bats. we saw lots of little creatures running about, fortunately no snakes and nothing bigger than a groundhog. trudy joined us from MD this year (a definite highlight) and there was plenty of firewood to last late into the night.

i so look forward to this event each year. this weekend reminds me that not only are we family, but we are friends; women who get together to share, laugh and love. i am blessed.

bad ass

crap. my baby loves paintball.

a few weeks ago a friend of the family introduced him to the sport. he's only had one lesson (in Dean's backyard) but that's all it took. was it the feel of the gun or the pop of the pellet that attracted him? maybe it was the super-cool duds. don't know, but he went through 3 canisters of paint balls that day. he shot at rocks and stumps, and watched as his mentor got off one perfect shot. poor chipmunk. wrong place, wrong time. i guess i should be happy that he's chosen an outdoor sport as his most recent interest. i just wish it was one that wouldn't leave welts.

gotta go... wal mart is having a sale on camouflage hoodies.

busy, busy, busy

I was looking forward to getting back into the routine of school and all that comes with it... up early, work, dinner at 6, an occasional evening of scheduled activity. But I must say, this routine is kicking my butt! I'm tired all the time, my house is a mess, I'm too busy to grocery shop so we're eating lots of pizza and last week there wasn't one evening that we spent at the house as a family.

But all is good.

John spent last weekend in VA with his parents and bother. It was a 2 day music fest; lots of guitars and fiddles. They were so busy listening to music they forgot to eat... i know... unbelievable! I spent the weekend with Mom and Lisa watching a bunch of girl-y movies that John has no desire to see (Mama Mia was my favorite). Ross has added a boys hip hop class to his crazy schedule. Very cool. And trombone, golf and video games take up the rest of his week.

Busy is fun.

to crap or not to crap

our new fridge came today. yippee!! i've been waiting for years for the old one to die, but now i have a problem... should i crap it up?

the front of the old fridge made me happy... pictures of family and friends, artwork, souvenir magnets. it was a mini history of our lives and a reminder of people who make me smile.

but look how pretty the new one is. it's so clean and white. actually, without a junked up front, it even makes the kitchen look bigger.

so now what do i do... to crap or not to crap. that is the question.

first day

yesterday was the first day of fifth grade!

so different from the first day of kindergarten.

summer brew

i have to give thanks to laura and drew for this one...

here's the recipe for my most favorite summer drink. every sunday evening we mix up a batch and take it to hartwood acres (location of the county summer concert series). we sit on the lawn, listen to music, look at the stars and drink from plastic cups that blink red, blue and green.

6 bottles of beer
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 can (use the empty lemonade can) vodka
mix and serve over ice.

a lemonade/beer beverage with a kick. yum!

5 days and counting...

yesterday we spent the day at idlewild park. i love that place! see, there are only 5 days of summer left (as far as ross is concerned, anyway) so we are crunching in as much fun as we can. between now and wednesday our plans include a carnival, a canoe trip, a camp out, a housewarming party, a concert, a trip to the zoo, a back to school haircut, and a movie (clone wars...ross' choice). life is good.

that's my name

linda, lin, aunt linny, mrs. ivey, dinna, bink. those are my names and i answer to them all! but my favorite name is the one i answer to most often...mom. the words 'hey mom' (pronounced mum) mean listen up... there is something i want to share with you; 'hey mom, guess what,' 'hey mom, i'm hungry,' 'hey mom, when is dad coming home,' 'hey mom, will you get me some toilet paper?' hey mom. i hear those words 500 times a day. i'm going to miss them when ross goes back to school next week.

and that brings me to why i'm blogging. lately i've been less than stellar about keeping up with family and friends (you know who you are. sorry) so inspired by some great family bloggers (that's them over there to the right) this is my attempt at sharing... my shout out, 'hey mom.'