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Testing out posting from my new iPhone! Here's a pic of our Christmas tree.


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Merry Christmas!

Hope your day is filled with friendship and love. This has been a wonderful year for me and it's hard not to get teary eyed this time of year when I reflect on how blessed I am with fabulous friends and loved ones. Thank you for being a part of my life!

Mele Kalikimaka...

The Hawaiian way to say Merry Christmas!
On this Christmas Eve morning, I'm here at work, thinking about how I'd like to have this year's holiday off and be spending it with my new husband. Alas, that is not the case this year, but maybe someday (she says hopefully)!!!

So I draw inspiration by listening to Bing Crosby's beautiful song called Mele Kalikimaka and remember the most amazing 2 weeks of my life that just occurred a few months ago when we spent that time together on our honeymoon in Hawaii.

If you stop by the blog today, I hope you're enjoying a wonderful Christmas Eve and that you have a very Merry Christmas this year!

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

This year's holiday baking started early when I decided to make a special treat for a friend's birthday. I wanted to try a new recipe, so I headed on over to one of my favorite websites called Bake or Break. The author of Bake or Break has great recipes and takes wonderful pictures that make you want to stop what your doing and head to the kitchen to try your hand at making their latest recipe.

Here's the Bake or Break recipe for Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes:
42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard muffin pans with liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner...

Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla...
Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies...
Divide batter among pans...
Bake for about 22 minutes or until filling is set...
Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Remove from pans just before serving..
As you can see, I used the mint oreos for the bottom cookie crust and it was a big hit with those who indulged in these delicious treats!

Turkey Noodle Soup

This year I was fortunate enough to celebrate Thanksgiving with JJ's family and also with my family, so there were some awesome left overs stocking our fridge! So, after we'd had the traditional dinners for a few days, my mind wondered and wanted to find another way to incorporated the left over turkey meat into a new dish.

I browsed a few websites and came up with a recipe for Turkey Noodle Soup, which turned out to be pretty good. It was a pretty simple recipe. In fact I didn't really even measure any of the ingredients.

First I chopped and sauteed carrots, celery, and onions...
After a few minutes, I added about 2 cups of chicken broth and a little bit of water. Once that started to heat up, I added a bag of egg noodles... I let the noodles cook for a few minutes, then added the left over turkey I had chopped into bit size pieces... I added salt, pepper, and parsley to the mix and let the soup come to a boil. Then I backed off the heat and let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes or so...
I toasted up some left over dinner rolls and served up the soup in our new dishes we received for a wedding gift... I think the soup actually got better as the days went by, and we certainly had some tasty left overs for lunches!

Ke'e Beach on Kauai

On our last day in Hawaii, we drove along the northern coast of Kauai. We cruised to the end of the road and stopped at the beautiful Ke'e Beach. This beach is said to be one of the most visited beaches on Kauai and is known for amazing snorkeling when the water is calm.

We decided to give one last toast to Hawaii, so as they say - Cheers!
Enjoy this short video of our trip to Ke'e Beach...

Waimea Canyon Hike

Located on the west side of Kauai, the Waimea Canyon is known as the largest canyon in the Pacific. It is often called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". It spans 10 miles long, 1 mile wide and over 3,000 feet deep.

Now knowing these stats, you'll understand why if you are a little afraid of heights, the thought of hiking in a place like this might make someone a little nervous. Lucky for me, I didn't know these stats *before* our hike and I managed to make it through our 5 mile hike along the Canyon Trail.

I used the word managed because it was quite challenging for me. The hike is 2.5 miles, all down hill to end up mid way down the canyon to see some of the most beautiful waterfalls and valley views of this amazing landmark. After you make the trek down and observe the wonder of the canyon, you turn around and hike the same 2.5 miles up to make it back out of the canyon. There were several points along the hike up that I wasn't sure if I could make it. I definitely stopped several times along the way and my face turned a rosy shade of red from being exhausted and super hot. But in the end, I finally finished the hike and felt a huge accomplishment.






Check out this video that JJ captured along our hike on the Canyon Trail. I made sure to stay as far away from the edge of the trail as I could and of course, JJ has no fear and practically stands at the very edge of the cliff as he recorded this clip!