finger food ideas?

There are so many things I could blog about because we have had several fun adventures lately and just been really busy with life in general. Natalie's arrival is right around the corner. I can tell the reality of it hasn't set in yet for me because I haven't felt that urgency to get everything wrapped up as quickly as possible (much to my (always organized and completing things early) mother's unspoken dismay). But she will be here in a month or less, so time is slipping away. She is doing great and growing fast. We love her so much right now, and I know that love will only increase ten-fold when they place her in my arms.

So instead of blogging about Natalie projects or the fun stuff we've been up to lately, I wanted to post about one of my favorite topics -- FOOD! I know this is everyone else's favorite subject too, so hopefully I will get some helpful feedback from you all.

Friday night, we are going to a Halloween party that a married couple Matt works with is having at their home. We are supposed to bring finger foods, and I am dying to make something (even if it is something I can't eat!) and have been running through various ideas in my mind.

I have searched online for ideas, but I just can't really decide on anything, so I need your help. Here is what I am looking for: 

it needs to be... 

1) a finger food (obviously)

2) rather inexpensive to make (hey, we are cheapos!) 

3) not too much preparation time involved (bonus points if it is something that can be made the night before!)

4) tastetastic!!!

So far, here are some ideas:

Cream cheese wontons

Wonton wrappers stuffed with cream cheese and then fried. 

 

 

Pigs in a blanket

Cocktail sausages in crescent rolls. 

Tortilla rolls

Tortilla strips rolled up with a layer of cream cheese, green onions, pimentos, black olives, and maybe a couple of other things that I can't recall. -- not cheap and time consuming but sooo good!

 

Sausage balls
Sausage and cheese formed into balls.

Vegetable tray

Assorted veggies and dip -- this something I could actually eat there.

 

Sandwich tray

Assorted sandwiches, including ham/cheese, turkey/cheese, peanut butter/jelly, egg salad (eggs are really cheap!), and pimento cheese.

 

Deviled eggs
Again, eggs are cheap.

So as you can see, my ideas are mostly uncreative. Any suggestions? Anyone already know what they are taking to an upcoming Halloween party?

I have tried all of these except for the cream cheese wontons, but I have had something similar to them on a Chinese buffet before and loved them.

Help me out!

a year as husband and wife

In my last post, I said I would tell you what happened five years after that special October day at the state fair. But first, I wanted to tell what happened in the five years between.

Matt and I in December 2005 after a day of student
teaching for me. He was visiting me in Knoxville.

Matt and I both knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, but we didn't know how to logistically make that happen with us living eight hours apart at the time. I immediately started graduate school for teacher education the summer after earning my degree, and that was followed by a teaching internship. I thought I could easily get a teaching job in North Carolina after I finished up graduate school and could support myself through those means and be near Matt. Problem solved, right? 15 credit hours shy of completing my graduate degree, I decided I no longer wanted to be a teacher. It was a difficult decision, but more so for the fact that quitting the program also meant saying good-bye to the job option that would pave the way for us to not have a long distance relationship.
 

Here we were in early 2006, making our first homemade
pizza together. I remember my dad complaining about it
taking too long. He was hungry!

Matt stood by me the entire way and reassured me that we would find a way to make it work. I wanted to try out dog grooming school, but it came with a price tag of a few thousand dollars, and after sinking thousands of dollars into my college education, I didn't want to go into deeper debt for another career option until I knew for sure I wanted to stick with it. So I planned to work anywhere I could long enough to save up money. That led to a job in state government that I got comfortable in, and a temporary thing became a three year thing, and I stayed there right up until two days before our wedding.

This was taken on October 16, 2007 before we
headed to dinner for our 3rd anniversary.

In the mean time, Matt was applying for jobs that would put us closer together and was even nearly hired on at the newspaper in Knoxville on two different occasions. He ended up in Gastonia four years ago, cutting the distance between us in half to four hours. I started applying for jobs in Gastonia but had no luck.

Earlier on in our relationship, Matt really wanted us to live in the same location and date like "normal" couples, instead of having to travel just to see each other, before we got engaged. He thought it seemed silly to be engaged when you were in separate states and had no idea when you could be in the same one. As a woman, I would have been totally fine with having a pretty ring on my finger. ;-) But I understood.

We were at the corn maze in Corryton,
Tenn. in October 2008 for this photo.

As time wore on, I think the misery of being apart took a toll on us both. We never doubted we would stick together, but we were very unhappy with day to day life that didn't include us being together. Thank God for free long distance calling! Living together before marriage was an option neither of us supported or would consider, so we kept waiting for the right job opportunity where we could live in the same town. Matt also began realizing it was no longer important to him for us to live in the same location first. He just wanted me as his wife.

Moments after Matt proposed to me on February 12, 2009
at the World's Fair Park in Knoxville.

Finally, in the fall of 2008, we got tired of waiting on the perfect scenario, crunched the numbers financially, and decided to take a leap of faith. We started shopping for engagement rings at that time, and he proposed to me while in Knoxville on February 12, 2009. Soon after, we set a wedding date of October 18, 2009 -- five years and two days after we first revealed our love to each other.

Exchanging vows on our wedding day one year ago.

I just bored you with all the five-year history to help you better understand what brought us to where we are today and how much more meaningful this year has been to us because of the journey. Looking back, as miserable as I was to not be with Matt on a daily basis, it truly was the best thing for our relationship to blossom into the beautiful love we share today. That first year or two we were a couple, I thought I knew him so well and loved him so deeply. After five years together before we were married, that love and devotion grew in ways that a couple of years would not have allowed for. We had already been through so much together -- even simply to spend time together -- we knew we could last forever.

Laughing after we share our first kiss.

When we exchanged vows on this date a year ago, I was the happiest woman alive because I knew (and still know) beyond any doubt that my heart is with him and that no other possible place exists for me separate from him. Every detail of our wedding was done in a way to reflect us as a couple and our journey to the day we vowed to always be husband and wife. It truly was the best day of my life up until that point. I could not have asked for a more perfect wedding day. Since then, every day I have with Matt is a new best day.

Our first dance to "Allelujah" (see previous blog post
for back story about this song selection.)

I always heard how much of a challenge marriage is, especially during the first year when there are so many adjustments to be made. But honestly, it was the easiest adjustment ever for us. We always talk about how natural it feels to be united as husband and wife. Every day, I wake up happy. Every night, when I close my eyes for sleep, I am happy. There is no other way to describe life with Matt except to say it is complete contentment with him, with our love, and with our life. We have spent the past 365 days together -- and it has been the best 365 days of my life, and I can't wait to do it all over again for a life time.

Newlyweds!

I am so thankful and blessed to have my best friend and to have our simple, everyday life together that we dreamed of for so long. I wouldn't change it one bit for a moment. Happy anniversary, Matt! Can't wait to get started on year number two!

Finally husband and wife.

All wedding photos by Hope Photography.

my fairground attraction

 

This song will be used throughout this post. "Allelujah" by Fairground Attraction. 

Six years ago today, my life changed completely in one single day and was never the same again. 

A 21-year-old college senior, I was in love with a guy but too shy to tell him so. I would later find out that his shyness and fear of rejection kept him from speaking his heart as well. 

I see you every day 
I watch as you walk down this way 
We pass on the stairs of this council block 
Too shy to find words to say 

He and I enjoyed each other's company at the state fair, laughing together, playing fair games, and looking at exhibits. I longed so badly to tell him how I loved him but had never used those words in a romantic way before and was unsure what he would say. I never got up the courage to tell him in the few hours we spent at the fair.

As he walked me to my car in the parking lot across the street from the fairgrounds, I knew I couldn't let this day pass by without telling him how I felt. 

But your smile is a prayer that prays for love 
And your heart is a kite that longs to fly 
Allelujah, here I am 
Let’s cut the strings tonight 

As he hugged me to tell me goodbye, I said "Matt?" with my head pressed against his shoulder. He said, "yes?" And in a quiet whisper, I said, "I love you." He immediately squeezed me up tighter and said, "I want you to know that you are loved too!"  He then told me that he wanted to kiss me. And thus began the first kiss with a lifetime of kisses to follow.

So meet me on the corner at eight 
Let’s get out of this place  
We’ll kiss the first of a million kisses 
And let the past fall away 

It may seem silly to anyone other than to Matt and me, but those three words changed us both in a way I never thought possible. We started the day as two shy, insecure individuals. We emerged from the tough shells of protection we had built up around ourselves and revealed our hearts -- we no longer possessed the fears of rejection and felt we could truly be ourselves and comfortable in our own skin.  

Here we were about five years ago outside of Calhoun's. We only have
a couple of pictures of us from the fair, but that was before either of
us had digital cameras, so this is the best I can do. :-)

Here we are now -- with a little extra cargo about to join us.

"Allelujah" by Fairground Attraction (convenient band name, eh?) has been our song ever since that day because it describes the beginnings of our relationship perfectly. Two people who are too shy to say how they really feel, despite longing to be set free by expressing those feelings. They realize it is time to no longer let the past hold you back and to cut the strings of the kite and soar. That was us. After that day, we realized how important it was for us to have gone through that experience -- to be vulnerable enough to face potential rejection in order to speak our hearts.

It is amazing how such a simple experience can be monumental in your life and pivotal to the progression of events. From that moment on, the shells were completely gone, and we never looked back. Our love grew and grew from that first little seed and blossomed into the bond we are united in today. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I think back to the sweet smile on his face and the genuine love I saw in his eyes after he kissed me. That was truly the beginnings of the foundation for our unification, and I knew then I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

Five years later ... well, I will tell you more about that in two days. :)