march madness

this is the view from last monday morning at sunrise. needless to say, i was north face'd out in fleece, down and boots.

today?

flip flops, t-shirt and shorts.

gotta love the south and gotta love this gorgeous day we're having!

as spring approaches, it's got me thinking about so many spring things that i want! kayaks, a new deck, a garden, landscaping...there's so much!
i get the spring bug every year and it usually doesn't start until the END of march. there's so many projects that i want to do and need to just make a list so that i attempt them in a somewhat organized fashion.

i can literally walk into any room in my house and there's SOMETHING i want to do--whether it's a fresh coat of paint, or new artwork, or new furniture. so i'll keep you all posted on the different mini projects going on here as i start them. first up is likely the kitchen. we just added a new faucet and are getting ready to change out the countertops, sink and appliances. just thinking about it makes me exhausted.

confessions

hopefully i don't dash anyone's expectations here, but i didn't enjoy confessions of a shopaholic (the movie) in the least. now keep in mind, this is only my opinion, so if you've been dying to go see it, please do. you may love it! i was just let down because 1) the book was GREAT (all of them in the series were) and 2) the previews made it look so fabulous and funny. boo on that. i think i only laughed out loud once.

what a let down! at least the wings i had before the movie were good!

and more rants...

can i just say that i despise valentine's day? it's my least favorite holiday. i think it is a marketing ploy to get helpless men out into the retail world to buy things that they don't think to buy the other 364 days out of the year. i would rather get a card on a random, out of the blue day than a fru fru one on valentine's day. thankfully, jeff knows this. granted, he may not give me a real card on random days, but he has been known to write notes on papertowels that he gets out of the bathrooms at work. :) either way, if they're from him, they are priceless to me.

so here's to yet another book being better than the movie and to celebrating how much we love people all 365 days of the year, not just one.

friday randomosity

• i am so tickled to have the afternoon today with NOTHING to do. is it sad that i am choosing to spend this free time cleaning (and am looking forward to it?) what has happened to me?!
  
  
• the majority of my morning has been spent researching online how to get the little dog from putting her butt up in the weenie dog's face. i have explained to her that to be beautiful, you must ACT beautiful, but apparently she doesn't get it. If she is how she acts, then she is a dirty, dirty slut.
  
  
• i just bought a driver on eBay. no, not a chauffeur, a golf driver.
  
  
• 2 things have made me happy already today and i've only been awake for an hour: ray lamontagne is coming to town and they have confirmed that they will be coming out with a sequel to sex and the city. the day's lookin' up!
  
  
• i am learning that one way i do NOT want to spend my hard-earned money is on lawyer fees. i also do not CHOOSE to have crappy neighbors, but of course, there's always one in the bunch.
  
  
• if i hear about deck sizes and horsepowers much more, i am going to have a mini-meltdown. jeff has been researching commercial lawn mowers for going on a month now and seems that is the only thing he can talk about.
  
  
• ireland is in the running for our next vacation.
  
  
• i went to get a manicure yesterday and the first color i was drawn to, i absolutely loved. i got it, took it over to the wee man who does my nails, and plopped it down. i always turn it over to see what the name of it is (nail polishes have the coolest names!) and i am choosing to believe that it was mere coincidence that this polish i love soooo much is called "the wicked witch."
  
  
• i am craving a trip to IKEA.
  
  
• i am already ready to paint my office a different color. "snowfall" just isn't gettin' it. it is only a harsh reminder that we STILL haven't gotten any snowfall round these parts.
  
  
• i was shocked to learn this week that kelly ripa only washes her hair every two days. i would look like someone dumped an oil vat on my head if i tried that!
  

happy friday to all!

martha moments: chicken 'n dumplins!

and not just chicken 'n dumplins, chicken 'n dumplins in the crockpot.

crockpot=easy.

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions:

1. Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

a page is turned

i'll be the first to admit i didn't vote for him, nor do i agree with all of his views, but it is exciting to see the pomp and circumstance going on today as obama gets inaugurated. i don't know that i've ever in my lifetime seen so many people so passionate about a new president. the footage so far has been very moving, just knowing that history is being made right before our eyes.

no matter what our beliefs, we must all join together and pray for our new leader and for our country. no matter what.

below is a link to the belief net blog with a prayer for our new president:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/01/a-prayer-for-our-new-president.html

ps--i'm diggin' michelle's yellow dress.

do you know what tomorrow is?

of course you do!

it's Elvis' birthday!!

and if you know me, you know i'm all about celebrating it. believe me, if i lived closer to memphis, i would so be at graceland tomorrow.

so, this post is devoted to all things Elvis. january 8th would have been his 73rd birthday.

some fun things i've come up with that you can do to celebrate his birthday:

• take a virtual tour of graceland via the live gracecam (or heck, if you don't have anything else to do, get in the car and drive up there...but beware, it is in the ghetto...pun intended.)
  

• walk around all day with the top corner of your lip curled up (if you are talented enough to do it, that is.)
  

• play elvis trivia here (have your volume turned on...it's fun)
  

• write "ELVIS LIVES" in a bathroom stall at Wal-Mart. (just kidding, let's all try to keep Wal-Mart's bathrooms spotless, as we all know they are....ha.)
  

• listen to sirius radio channel 13 all day or listen to it at your desk.
  

• call everyone you see "lil' darlin" and whenever someone does something for you say "thank you, thank you very much" in "elvis" style all day tomorrow. you'd be surprised at the reactions you'll get (or maybe you won't.)
  

• stay home in your elvis pj's and watch Turner Classic Movies all day, or watch E! True Hollywood story, which will be about Elvis, or download his '68 Comeback Special on your iPod. nothing's sexier than "black leather Elvis."
  
  

• eat a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (or 3 or 4, as he would have!....)
  
  

• or if that's not your fave, make one of his other favorite recipes below. zack and ashton gave me a great cookbook for Christmas this year called "Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis Presley's Favorite Recipes." So all of these recipes come to you courtesy of that cookbook.
  

Red Eye Gravy

for you yankees who've never had red eye gravy before, you must try it! i know that most of you who live north of the mason/dixon line won't eat grits at all, much less with red eye gravy poured into them, but you can pour it on some hot biscuits. it was one of Elvis' faves (and one of mine, too). but beware, lots of red eye gravy will make your white rhinestone jumpsuit real tight.


Cook up 1 lb. bacon.

Take the drippings and heat in a large skillet (preferably a cast iron one.) Add 1/3 cup strong black coffee. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour over hot grits or biscuits.

MMMMM!


Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

1 small ripe banana
2 slices white bread
3 T. peanut butter
2 T. butter

In a small bowl, mash the banana with a spoon. Slightly toast bread in a toaster oven (LIGHTLY). Spread peanut butter on one piece of toast and add mashed banana on the other side.

Fry the sandwich in the butter until each side is golden brown.

Elvis liked his sliced diagonally. :-)



Blueberry Pie

I'm not going to be very Martha Stewart on this one and tell you how to make your own pastry crust. just buy a 9" one and use this recipe for the filling. :) (besides, you're going to be too busy watching Viva Las Vegas and Jailhouse Rock all day to be stuck in the kitchen making homemade pie crusts, right?)

1 c. sugar
2 T. flour
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
5 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 T. powdered sugar
vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to top (optional)

Combine sugar with the flour and cinnamon. In a large saucepan, toss sugar mixture with 3 cups of the berries. Cook over medium heat until it thickens. Cool.

Spoon into the crust. Spread remaining 2 cups of blueberries over the top.

Serve dusted with powdered sugar and topped with ice cream or whipped cream.


ENJOY and, Happy Birthday to ELVIS!

every rose has its thorn

cool quote...

found this one engraved in one of the huge fireplaces at the grove park inn...and how true it is!

Christmas 2008

where did it go?

this year, Christmas seemed to just come and go so quickly. maybe it is because we are getting older or maybe it is because i have worked so ridiculously hard that it just passed me by. (NOT a good thing.) regardless, the celebrations were wonderful and the memories priceless.

this year, jeff had to work on Christmas day, so we took off to Asheville for a mini-vacation the weekend before. we found an AWESOME cabin on a little river and had ourselves a grand ole' time...we got our shopping done (shopping in Asheville is awesome), we baked cookies, we played Scrabble (which is a first...I don't think we've ever sat still long enough to play Scrabble together!). Oh, and we went to the Grove Park Inn.

bleh.

I am so glad we decided against staying at the grove park for the long weekend because based on our experience with the Sunday brunch there, we were less than impressed. It was overpriced, okay food, and HORRIBLE service. i would not go back. we ate quietly with empty tea glasses next to a dust covered window sill, went and checked out their Christmas trees and gingerbread houses and got the heck out of there. it was not on the top of my "good" list. and to think it is rated one of the nation's top 10 hotels...... ish! give me cracker barrel any day!

Christmas Eve was at our house with my family, complete with a big spaghetti dinner and too many presents.

I spent Christmas Day by myself since Jeff was working. It sounds lonely and all "woe-is-me," but it was actually quite nice. I slept in, enjoyed my coffee (multiple cups) and made myself a good breakfast. I got to sit still and that was the nicest part of it all.

Christmas night was spent at Jeff's aunt Becky's house, where we had a fabulous dinner (thanks again, Becky!!) and played some of Bryce's cool games. and of course, MORE presents!

we usually do the day after Christmas at my grandparents house in westminster, but Papa had bronchitis this year, so we postponed it till the weekend. The tradition is that Grandmama makes her wonderful vegetable soup and we have all kinds of other goodies--weenies in the crockpot, ham, sausage balls, dips, mmm mmm.

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas and we hope yours was, too!

enjoy just a few of our pics from Christmas '08!

our tree...take 2. (the 1st time we put it up we blew the fuses on all the lights!!)

at our house, Elvis is always in the building...

Christmas in the creek: our backyard @ the cabin in asheville

a cute coffeehouse gingerbread house at the grove park inn...it's all edible!

our general thoughts on the grove park inn:

maggie and wickett getting ready for Christmas eve at our house

somehow mama turned into a blur...but check out the massive amounts of gifts!

mama thinks it's funny to give me back gifts that i've given her over the years, including this penguin...

Christmas morning with my invisible husband. :-(Wickett got a new necklace for Christmas.


Melissa, Greg and Isaac getting ready for presents at Becky's

Isaac gave me this cool Wizard of Oz ornament that has lights and sound!

me, becky and mary jo...triple trouble!
my bro, Zack, learning about his ancestors from Grandmama


All the grandgirls got these apron "thingies" from Grandmama for Christmas this year...
Typical scene at Grandmama's for Christmas

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.