top 8's

Top 8

I got tagged! So here goes!


8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. Intervention
2. Friends
3. Sex and the City
4. The Cosby Show (just can't be beat!)
5. Sweat Equity
6. American Idol
7. The King of Queens
8. The Soup


8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Paesano's
2. Pancake Pantry
3. Saskatoon's
4. Cracker Barrel
5. Olive Garden
6. PF Changs
7. Copper River
8. Triangle

8 things that happened today:
1. I overslept
2. I rushed to get myself ready (thank goodness for this stuff...go get you some!)
3. I made a cup of FABULOUS coffee
4. Filled up with gas (my car, not myself)
5. Gave a presentation at the library
6. Had another cup of coffee with a client and dreamed of taking a nap during the whole conversation
7. Went to dinner with my parents and Jeff at Joe's New York
8. I went to visit my MeMa in the nursing home

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Christmas! (especially Grandmama's soup)
2. the whole family getting together for the holidays
3. restringing the lights on the tree (long story)
4. sleeping in this weekend
5. going to see Twilight--whenever that happens!
6. finishing New Moon
7. a long weekend out of town with Jeff coming up soon
8. planning our next vacation

8 things on my wishlist:
1. to continue fitting in the skinny jeans (then progressing on to the "when was I that skinny?! jeans")
2. a new car, perhaps...
3. a Roomba
4. photography classes after my busy season is over
5. sanity to get me through this month and all it entails
6. for my friend, Justin, to find a job that he loves
7. Europe
8. an abundance of free time

I won't tag 8 people because we all know so many of the same people! Let's just say if you're reading this and you want to put it up on your blog, go for it!!!

halls decked? check.

we've decked the halls, the walls, the stairs... you name it, i've decked it! here's a peek.

elfed!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

i'm thankful for...

things i am thankful for this Thanksgiving:

1. good health. it is heartbreaking to work with older people everyday because there are very few of them who are in perfect health. it really makes one count their blessings to not have anything wrong with them.

2. fabric softener sheets. i'd like to hug whoever invented those. could you imagine if we didn't have them? my hair would be in five different counties.

3. family. 'nough said.

4. friends. more so than ever. over the last few years i have come to realize who my true friends are, as cliche as it may sound.

5. semi-permanent hair color. especially since i found a gray yesterday. oh.my.gosh.

6. good soul music--i'm thankful for people like otis redding and elvis and the temptations and the drifters. they make bad days better.

7. coke zero. i get the coke but without the caffeine, carbs or calories. what more could a girl want?!

8. the traditions that surround the holidays. i love getting all wrapped up in the "traditional" Thanksgiving meals and gatherings and then gearing up for Christmas and all the traditions that surround it.

9. a cozy home and a good job to keep the lights and heat on.

10. my sweet Jeff, who just gets sweeter.

11. time. seems the older i get the more precious it becomes.

happy thanksgiving to you all and may you have the gift of time to sit and think about what you are thankful for--the silly and the serious.

oh, and happy black friday shopping, too!
here's some links to the ads:

www.bfads.net



www.gottadeal.com

face of an angel, pretty eyes that shine...

so one of my favorite singer/songwriters is vince gill. i love his voice, his music, his personality...he is just fabulous to me. my mom called me a couple of months ago and asked if i wanted to go see him in concert---that he was going to be performing an all acoustic show in spartanburg. duh. of course i wanted to go!

so she got online that morning and got the tickets. well, would you believe they were front row seats?!

i must say that it was one of the best concerts i've ever been to. we've seen him before, but this time was completely different. he just sat on an empty stage with 3 band members and half a dozen of his favorite guitars surrounding him and talked to us like we'd been friends for years. he had no playlist, but rather let the audience request his next song. before he'd sing it, though, he would tell us why he wrote it and where his inspirations and stories behind the words came from. it was awesome. i left there feeling like me and ole vince were best pals.

we were close enough to get some great pics and video, but the video seems to be taking too long to upload...

martha moments: breakfast bake

rise and shine!

breakfast bake

6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg. crescent rolls
8 oz. deli ham, cut into pieces
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1 cup mozzarella, shredded

optional: 1/4 to 1/2 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent roll dough and press into bottom of 13x9 casserole dish, eliminating the creases. Sprinkle ham on dough.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, adding salt and pepper to your liking. Add salsa if you want.

Pour into casserole dish. Top with cheese and bake for 25 minutes at 350.

courtesy of Kraft

hurry! FREE photo book offer

If you saw Oprah, you know what the offer is. Free photo album that you create from snapfish.com. Worth $30!

You must click the offer below and log-in or create your account by midnight tonight BUT you have until 11/22 to complete the book and order it.

http://www2.snapfish.com/info18

martha moments: white chicken chili

This is best when paired with a great football game. :-)

ENJOY.

White Chicken Chili


You'll need:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1 onion, chopped finely
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 T. vegetable or canola oil
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
2 cans (15.5 oz size) of great northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. black pepper (more if you want)
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 (8 oz.) cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a saucepan, sautee the chicken, onion and garlic powder in your oil until the chicken is cooked. Add beans, broth and chilies. Stir well, then add in all seasonings. Bring to a slow boil.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about half an hour. Remove from heat and stir in the cup of sour cream and heavy cream. It's ready to serve immediately! Serve with crushed tortillas or fritos.

**If you want, you can transfer everything (minus the sour cream and heavy cream) into a crockpot on low until you're ready to serve. When you get ready to serve it, just add in the creams.

6th folder, 6th pic

I was tagged by Carrie Byce to play along!
This is Lucas, my cousin Lisa's little boy that she adopted from Vietnam last year. His cheeks are the best!

Now, I tag Carrie Bowers and my mama to participate.

Here's what you do:

1. Open your pictures

2. Go to the 6th folder, 6th picture

3. Post the picture and the story that goes with it

4. Tag 2 other people.

six mile sunrise

one of the best things about living out here in the "country" are the beautiful sunrises and sunsets over the mountains. this time of year, they are especially beautiful. i got up and looked out the window and saw the fog coming up off the lake and the colors starting to peak up over the blue mountains. it was so pretty. i have to remind myself to slow down every now and then and take a minute to soak things like this in.

just thought i'd share!

martha moments: polka dotted punkins

so maybe i won't be posting a martha moment once a week as planned, but maybe once in a while...
here's what i've done with our pumpkins on the front porch. i didn't want to do traditional jack-o-lanterns and i couldn't find a stencil to do one with justin timberlake's face on it, so here's what i came up with... i polka dotted them.

all you have to do is hollow out the pumpkin and take an apple corer and poke out the dots. put a candle inside and you're done!

happy haunting and carving!

look who's taken the wheel!

it's our cousin bryce, who just got his learner's permit yesterday. congratulations, bryce!

we're baaaack!

after 10 days of traveling, we are finally home. home sweet home. when we walked through the front door i literally collapsed on the couch.

we covered a LOT of ground and had a great time...it exceeded all of my expectations. i took hundreds (seriously, just under 700...) photos that i'm sure won't do justice to the amazing places we saw. i'll have to sift through them tomorrow and weed out the best ones to post on here, so stay tuned.

highlights for me were:
1. clam chowder at the country's oldest restaurant, the union oyster house
2. fresh maine lobsters
3. bah hah bah (bar harbor, maine)
4. the bay of fundy
5. mahone bay, nova scotia and the little towns all around halifax
6. the many, many lighthouses
7. being waited on hand and foot
8. losing track of time and what day of the week it was
9. not having to listen about the economy
10. being with my best boy, jeff
11. seeing WICKED for the 3rd time. gosh, i love it.

there are tons more but those are the ones fresh on my mind right now.

i promise to post pictures later. i'm pooped and have a cold, i guess from being in cold weather and wind then back to the balmy south and everything in between.

more to come.

there's no place like home.
there's no place like home.
there's no place like home.

e pluribus unum

e pluribus unum means "out of many, one." check out these pics i took today in my yard. there is a big tree and i saw one spot of red on it from the window. i went outside to look at it and low and behold, there is a huge tree with thousands of leaves and one of them has changed colors. one.

the whole scenario epitomizes myself. how great to be an individual with my own style, my own tastes, my own opinions...to stand out from a tree full of a thousand other leaves.

whoa...deep.

martha moments: fried apple pies

now and then i have these moments that i like to call "martha moments." you see as much as i despise martha stewart, i have these instances when i go completely domestic. a real life betty crocker in the flesh.

so i decided that once a week i'll post about my martha moments. today's comes as a result of visiting my MeMa in the nursing home the other night (that visit is a whole other post in itself...let's just say that she's a mess!). anyway, in sitting and talking to her, she told me that Tim Sheriff had come by to see her. Tim is our old preacher and is also the one who married us. she said that Tim was talking about me and said that i made the best fried pies he's ever had.

funny.

i've never made a fried pie before.

and i doubt that Tim Sheriff said that. see MeMa has these moments where she is completely "there" and then these brief instances when she has no idea what she's talking about. i think this was one of those times.

anyway, she asked me the next time i came if i would bring some of my good fried pies. well, seeing as how i can't let my 85 year old MeMa down, i've educated myself this morning on how to make some fried pies like my Grandmama Betty makes 'em.

let me just tell you that my Grandmama Betty knows cooking. better than anyone. she can bring HER fried pies to the apple festival and once word gets out that she has some, people are trying to offer her money for them. i know this because it happened a couple of weeks ago....

anyway, i found this great video on youtube of this little lady showing you how to make fried apple pies the southern way. (note: this is NOT my grandmama betty, but it did give me the idea that i should go video her showing me things like this...)

you're gonna love listening to how she talks!

so rather than posting a recipe today for my 1st martha moment, i'm gonna leave it to Miss Edith Bradley: ("get ye a lil flire and ye board...")

what i am....

1. I'm so disappointed in my gamecocks right now. C'mon now!
2. I'm very thankful that my mom had a successful gallbladder removal surgery this week. Poor thing has my crazy dad there to care for her.
3. I'm ready for our vacation to New England & Canada.
4. I'm loving the new fall fashions, especially the fact that leggings and flats will still be "in."
5. I'm realizing that sometimes we do more for others than we do for ourselves and we need to cut ourselves some slack and treat ourselves every now and then.
6. I'm wanting a new camera and cannot decide between two.
7. I'm deeply disturbed by the name of this cereal. Is that weird that it bothers me?
8. I'm learning that if I continue to clean a little bit every night, I won't have to "major" clean on Saturday. (thanks, fly lady...)
9. I'm getting more worried by the day about the economy and I hate being a grown up and having to worry about it in the first place.
10. I'm glad that Starbucks now has a protein plate for those of us who try not to eat pastries for breakfast. Smart move, marketing people!
11. I'm sick and tired of rude people who have chosen a career in customer service.
12. I'm officially addicted to Queen.
13. I'm slowly starting to read "Twilight" and am delightfully surprised at how much I like it.
14. I'm not embarrassed to tell you that I think the new New Kids cd is actually pretty decent.
15. I'm glad tomorrow's Friday. :-)

what would i have looked like in 1952?

when you have an hour of your life to waste, you must go to www.yearbookyourself.com and see what you would have looked like through the decades.

here's more below. totally useless, i know, but so, so amusing and entertaining to do when you have a million other things you SHOULD be doing...

things i love: the college football edition

things i love:

1. the sc chant at games that goes something like this:

(really ominous sounding) "dumm dumm dum dum.....U-S-C...gooooooooooooooo COCKS!"

2. the giddyness of waking up on saturdays (or in this week's case, thursday) and planning the entire day around the game.

3. the trash talking. love it.

4. jeff getting up at 4 a.m. and starting the smoker with something really good in it--and it being ready just in time for kickoff.

5. going to some of the games and doing the whole tailgating thing. even though it's a lot of work to get it all together, it sure is fun. even the rotten smell of the farmer's market makes me smile.

6. ryan succop--love this kid and i'm glad he's here one more year.

7. the making of new household names--even though i've already started missing cory boyd terribly, i'm looking forward to seeing how some of the newer names prove themselves--smelly, beecher, garcia, and taylor rank.

8. watching my hubby being lit up like a firecracker all week because it's game week. he is literally radiating excitement.

9. the fact that the espn commentators have plenty more to talk about now that it's football season. i mean, they covered a spelling bee this year.....is that really a sport??

10. this:

11. tim friggin' tebow. period.

time for the apple festival!

the sc apple festival is coming up--faster than i would like! it's a great little festival in my hometown of westminster and has become more of a homecoming to me than a festival in the last few years. it seems like a lot of people come back from wherever they've moved off to to come to the apple festival.

every year, i try to do a booth with my arts and crafts. seeing as how i sold off most of my goods in a yard sale last month, i have very little to take this year.

but i am still going and i have a plan for what i'm going to sell. if you want to know, you will just have to come see!

the festival runs the weekend of september 5-6 and there are all kinds of events that go on, not just the arts festival. there is also the big IPRA sanctioned rodeo and bakeoffs, road races, etc. etc. etc. i really wanted to do the road race but never can because i have to "man my booth" on friday, which is when the race always is.

so there's my shameless plug for the sc apple festival. come on down!

here's a sample of one of my wooden signs (these sell out every year!) interested in one? shoot me an email....lindsaystovall@bellsouth.net

they do make great gifts, if i do say so myself....

bring on the fall

i was so happy this morning to open the front door and be greeted by the cool morning air. cool being the key word. we here in sc have been hammered with a brutally hot summer with very little rain. we're in a severe drought and the grass is crunchy. (but to jeff's advantage, with the lack of rain, he didn't have to cut it very much this summer...)

in the past month, the humidity was so bad that i just let my flat iron take a sabbatical and i let the natural waves in my hair just enjoy themselves and hang loose. there's no use to straighten and style when the humidity is 100% because frizz takes over and you've wasted a half hour of your life each day with your CHI.

so it was literally a breath of fresh air this morning to feel a breeze and get a sneak preview to fall. fall is by far my favorite season. i love the colors, the smells, everything.

there's lots to look forward to this fall--

1. college football. need i say more? i seriously have ants in my pants waiting for the kickoff in a couple of weeks.

2. that wonderful, wonderful day that you realize you can drive without the A/C on, and so you roll your windows down, only to find you need to turn the heat on low. that moment is pure bliss. even the weird smell that comes with turning on heat for the first time in months.

3. gevalia's flavored coffees are always great in the fall. usually creme brulee and pecan torte. mmm.

4. the apple festival (which my next blog will be about, stay tuned.)

5. euphoria, the new wine/music festival started by edwin mccain in downtown greenville. the kickoff is the chris isaak concert, which we're going to!

6. our vacation to new england and canada in october. literally. cannot. wait.

7. WICKED IS COMING TO ATLANTA AND BUBLE'S COMING TO GREENVILLE. yeeah!

8. the colors around the upstate truly epitomize the term "this is God's country." when you look out and see the trees and the leaves, you can't help but wonder how anyone doesn't believe in God.

9. Thanksgiving dinner's just a few months away! I'm definitely doing a another turkey cake (see photo below of last year's)

AND......

10. ......CHRISTMAS is 134 days from today! Start your shopping lists!!

so, i say bring on the fall! i can't wait.

this is where it all happens...

....my work, that is! the office is finally finished (well, finished enough for me to take a picture of it...)

there's still a couple of things that need to be done, but all in all it is complete. i still have to add more books to the bookshelves and i need a rug and i'm planning to put a white sofa (for when i just MUST have a break) on the empty wall facing the desk. i have the whole thing visioned out, i just have to go back to atlanta for the missing items.

we just needed a good paddlin'

so we are back and at 'em after our long weekend with the welch's (minus jackson). what an awesome time to kick back, not have good cell phone service and just relax.

when we plan any trip to the mountains (especially if we are staying in a cabin), I always envision this wonderfully primitive trip, where we cook everything over a fire pit, there is no television or phone and i am forced to paint or draw or read multiple books in a rocking chair on a porch.

this never happens.

the first thing i do is find outlet malls. then we all figure out which restaurants to hit up. and then there's the wii and guitar hero. to say that it's addicting is quite the understatement.

nonetheless, playing "dream police" over and over and over again was fun. i finally have mastered the easy level and now medium is seriously kicking my butt!!

we did get back to nature a bit---we got in a good paddlin' with zaloo's canoes on the new river. we packed a panini lunch (yep, still obsessed with them) and had the best time canoeing with our canoes tied together. we also went fishing and lindsay w. caught her first fish EVER. baby got bass. too bad we didn't even have a camera to take a picture of this life changing event!!

all in all, it's trips like this that make you sit back and be particularly thankful for the friendships we have in our lives.

the two amigos

the strange forces of nature and gravity at mystery hill

river rats!

lindsay w. looking for the darn brown barn! (it was likely the spot that was missing on the map)

the 1st day of the last year of my 20's

....in other words, the start of my 29th year. wow. time flies.

birthdays were much more fun when we were all NINE and having parties at holland's rollerama. but the years creep on and here i sit one year before my 30th birthday. (i'm internally screaming right now).

this year's birthday was great. jeff's been off for a couple of weeks so we got to hang out together, which we never take for granted because some years he gets to celebrate on my birthday, some years we have to celebrate a few days before or after because of his work schedule. we really didn't do much of anything, which was nice! my parents treated the family to dinner at paesano's (my fave) which was impeccable from start to finish. our favorite waiter, billy, created a special dessert just for my birthday which was incredible.

then the next day jeff taught me a little more on the golf course. i've been trying to learn the game and am almost to the point of buying some hot pink clubs/irons/wedges. i seriously knocked the crap outta the ball yesterday and i think it even shocked jeff how far i can drive it. bring it, tiger. bring it.

hopefully the weather will hold out tomorrow for us to go canoeing. we are headed up to paris mountain for the day.

one last note--i am officially hereby boycotting the oconee county wal-mart in seneca. it is filthy and disgusting and to go there on a friday night is like going to the circus. they should charge admission. everytime we go in there, i get in a bad mood and tonight was no different. so there, i said it. i hate the seneca wal-mart. dollar general of six mile, here i come!!

Daggum, that felt good!

the yard sale was today and we worked so hard all day yesterday cleaning out the garage and the storage building. it definitely paid off, but we worked our butts off.

it felt so darn good to get rid of stuff. what we didn't sell went straight to goodwill. we made a grand total of $289! hooray! and a tax write off for the stuff we donated. so it was well worth the time and the sweat we put into it.

the profit goes toward a mini-vacation this week with some of our very besties, justin and linds! we can't wait. we need time away and it will be great to get away with them to the mountains of west jefferson, nc. i am taking 3 books with me and will hopefully finish at least one by the time i come home! so only a couple of work days this week and then we are heading up to the mountains.

jeff is still doing great with having his teeth pulled. he has not yet felt any pain or had any swelling, so he was quite blessed. he'll go in for a follow up on monday. we have been making sure to follow all of the instructions so he doesn't get a dry socket. but i think he's all in the clear now. he had it MUCH better than i did when i had wisdom teeth pulled, that's fo sho'.

that's about it for now--SO looking forward to a chill day tomorrow.


Flash Toys At WishAFriend.com

golfth?

jeff did beautifully today with having his teeth pulled. he went in around 10:45, they called him back right at 11 and i was helping him into the car at 11:50.

he was so precious. i went back and they still had the laughing gas on him. he was very concerned that i remember to get his cap and kept pointing to it. so i put it in my bag.

the nurse then started telling me how to care for him over the course of the next few days. she said, "no strenuous activity for a few days, at least." jeff's eyes got big and he looked at me incredulously. oh no, i thought, please don't ask her about sex. i will die.

and he didn't.

he looked back at her and said with the saddest look on his face, "GOLFTH?"

"huh?"

"GOLFTH? THRIDAY? THITH THRIDAY?"

"no, jeff, you can't play golf this Friday...that might be overdoing it."

"oh." then he just shut his eyes and pointed for his cap again.

precious.

he's now on the couch and eating his jello. his numbness has worn off but he has felt no pain and there's very little swelling. he's had bags of frozen veggies on his face.

wall-e? eeeeeeevvvvvaaaaa!

oh yeah! we went to see wall-e this weekend and i loved it!! it's a must see and a must buy when it comes out. it's amazing how little dialogue there is, yet there is no question about the ideas and points that the movie is conveying.

i won't spoil it--just go see it before it leaves the movie theater.

and i finally saw sex and the city--literally a month after it came out, which is crazy, seeing as how that is one of my favorite shows EVER. i was completely satisfied. it was perfectly concocted and developed. it met every expectation i had and then some. i must say that i despised carrie's choice of wedding dress....why didn't she go with the oscar de la renta one that she had on in the photo shoot? and the headpiece? hmmm, what exactly was that?

i did adore the movie though. and those wicked black dior heels she wore throughout the movie.

"the" poem gives me cold chills. i'd like to have the last few lines tattooed somewhere. i bought a book of love poems and this one in particular is the one that carrie was reading in bed. it was written by beethoven (go on with yo bad self, Ludwig!):

From "Letters to My Beloved" by Ludwig van Beethoven

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us -
I can live only wholly with you or not at all -
Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits -
Yes, unhappily it must be so -
You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never -
Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves.
And yet my life in V is now a wretched life -
Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men -
At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection?
My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once -
Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together -
Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell.
Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.
ever thine
ever mine
ever ours
--------------------------------
eeeeeek! cold chills!

taking some sick time...for jeff

i am going to be taking some sick time from work for the rest of the week. am i sick, you ask? no. am i going to the doctor? nope. but poor jeffy has to have teeth pulled tomorrow and i am going to be a good wife and take him since he will be going under anesthesia. and i'm taking sick time for it. i have already forewarned him that if he wants to confess anything now, he can, as i will be questioning him about various things while he's out of his mind temporarily. just kidding.

as badly as i hate it that he has to undergo dental work, i am looking forward to taking a few days to get some things done while he is recovering. we are having a yard sale on saturday and i need to get all my crap together for that. yard sales are great--you get to really purge yourself of all of those little nick nacks that just accumulate.

this year's yard sale bin consists of books that i don't care to keep, sheets that are less than 300 thread count (cause i'm spoiled like that), glasses that don't match any of my other glasses, tank tops that are size XS (when the hell did the girls ever fit into a size XS?!?) and some old cd's that someone in their eighties might like (such as michael mcdonald and spanish guitar serenade). i'll be sure to take pictures at this grand event and i'll even tell you how much money i make.

ooh-almost forgot...we had such a great 4th of july here. the weather was great--not too steamy hot and definitely not to cool. we enjoyed an afternoon at paul and mj's--paul made ribs, steaks, burgers, hotdogs and a boston butt. holy crap! can you say C-A-R-N-I-V-O-R-E-S?? everything was great. we all went out on the boat and watched the fireworks. they were literally all around us. it was gorgeous. bryce got to captain the boat and isaac had a hand in choosing what we listened to on the iPod (mostly Bob Marley and Frankie Vallie...he's got great taste!) with all of the great things going on, it was easy to lose focus of why we were out celebrating in the first place, but i was reminded of it when i saw a big american flag on our way home.


we are so lucky to be free and to live in america.

ps--i've now added a music player to the blog for your listening enjoyment.

fall vacation!

how you spend your dash

One of my dear friends sent me an e-mail this week with a link to a song that she said reminded her of me. It's such a powerful song and the meaning that is packed into it is awesome. I wanted to post it so that if any of you out there (yeah, all 3 of my readers...) hadn't heard it, you could.
Listen to the words. (and thanks, Janelle!)

POINT OF GRACE: "How You Live (Turn Up the Music)"

In listening to the song again, it brought to mind one of my favorite poems ever by Linda Ellis called "The Dash." Since I'm in such a sharing mood, I thought I would post it here as well. It has been made into a small movie. Here's the link and please watch it--it's so great and so well done. Make your today and your dash matter.

Go to www.dash-movie.com

Panini Mania

I'm obsessed with paninis. I bought a panini press the other day and I've been obsessed for a week now. I've made breakfast in it, lunch in it, dinner in it, snacks in it. It's awesome!

It takes very little to impress me sometimes.

char-lay....

it's bound to make you smile! these are the cutest little kids that some mom put on youtube.

the green room gets a makeover!

if you've ever stayed at our house, you've stayed in the green room! we decided to "adultify" it (so galinda of me...) and redecorate.

the old colors were loud and the hot pink lended itself to more of an 18 year old's room, so here's what we did to make it over to be a more grown up space. after all, we are fast approaching our 30's. oh wait, jeff's already there.... :)

it's been a while!

it's been a while....

jeff got a new "classic" car the other day...a 1988 ford bronco. it's 20 years old, but get this--it only has 35,000 actual miles on it! he really, really likes it and i must say, it is sharp. i'll post pics later.

we are are trying to be finished with the master bath...we started on it back in october, but my work kicked into high gear and it just hasn't gotten finished. we are having a guy come out to start tile work in there in two weeks. our big dilemma right now...should we put in a new tub or should we forgo the tub and put in a kick butt shower? i must say that i am pleased with what we were able to do. the paint looks great! i did some striping...

we are also so glad to have our cousin, bryce, back home! bryce underwent a major surgery in atlanta on his back to correct the curvature of his spine and came through it miraculously! he is such a hero to all of us. the surgery was in february and he is already back home and in his own bed. we were so fortunate to have a visit from uncle frank and aunt pam this week. they came all the way from texas to stop in and say hello and visit with bryce and the family. of course, any special occasion calls for dinner at paesano's...it's our favorite! it was bryce's first "night out" since his surgery and he wasted no time digging into the bread and dipping oils! and us stovalls wasted no time digging into a bottle of red wine!






we're really, really ready for springtime! we got a good taste of it last week when it was in the high 70's...we got grill fever and ate outside. it was wonderful! here's a pic of our yummy supper...cedar plank salmon with long grain brown rice, roasted asparagus and a small roasted tomato with prosciutto, basil and mozzarella. mmm mmm!



that's about it for now. hope all is well with everyone out there! :-)