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.