I'm Out...

...well peeps, I'm done for 2010. It's been a really awful, horrible year. Yeah there's been some perks but when I look back at it, it was no bueno. I know this totally isn't me but it's what I feel right now so I'm rolling with it.

I do hope everyone has a great Christmas and happy 2011. 2011 has GOT to be better than 2010 that's for sure. I won't be around commenting or blogging for awhile but I hope to return soon. Thanks for being such great and awesome people.

Feeding the Wildlife...

...it started innocently enough, Matt brought "me" home a bird feeder he bought at Wal-Mart. I say "me" because it was really for him but he tried to pass it off as for me. It was just one bird feeder, then corn for the squirrels, then this year he's built a "cross" for lack of a better word and put it in concrete in our garden. He now has two bird feeders and puts out four ears of corn. Sunday afternoon it was "feeding time" and I had to go help him.

Here he's switching out the corn:
Yummy fresh corn!

This is for the "big" birds and the other bird feeder is for the "little" birds. However, they all seem to like this stuff best.

Now I don't mind that my husband likes to "feed the wildlife" in his words. I enjoy watching the birds and squirrels from the kitchen so I don't really mind BUT I DO mind that my dogs want to go outside 4-5 times a night so they can gobble up all the stuff the birds and squirrels drop on the ground and then Shadow has REALLY stinky farts all night. Sigh...that's what I get for marrying an outdoorsy man, huh?

OH! And one last pic of me and my hubby, please don't mind either of our hair, we'll definitely blame it on a bad hair day for both of us!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Christmas is right around the corner. If it's not too much to ask, say a prayer for Mattie and I today. We're going to be getting news today and we're really hoping and praying and wishing it's good!

Chicken Enchilada Dip...

...can you tell I didn't have a very exciting weekend since you're getting two recipe posts in a row? Everybody goes crazy over that Buffalo Chicken Dip but I love my recipe for Chicken Enchilada Dip which I think is pretty similiar. This is my go to recipe for Trivia Nights, whenever we go to Trivia Nights I try to bring a sweet and a dip, so this is always the dip I make. Ready?

Chicken Enchilada Dip by Jenni (Jenni is my friend that gave me this recipe)

8 oz mayo

8 oz shredded cheddar

8 oz cream cheese

1 can Rotel

1 can cooked chicken drained

Mix all ingredients together. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, stir, then bake for another 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

See? Easy peasy!

Busy Night Turkey Taco Soup Recipe...

...Okay, so Angie and Cece had asked me for this recipe and I never got around to sharing it with them so I thought I'd share it with you all. I'm not sure about you guys but I love chili but sometimes it can be a bit overkill with how often we make it. So taco soup is a good, warm, filling alternative to some nights with mainly the same ingredients just a few extras. Of course, I found this recipe from Allrecipes, my go to recipe place.

Busy Night Turkey Taco Soup with Avocado Cream

Ingredients:

1 (11 ounce) can Mexican-style corn

1 (16 ounce) can chili beans

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa

2.5 cups cooked, chopped turkey meat

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

2 tablespoons guacamole


Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine corn, chili beans, broth and salsa. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and stir in cooked turkey. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and cook 5-10 minutes more until heated through. Stir in cilantro.

2. In a bowl, stir together sour cream and guacamole until smooth.

3. Ladle soup into bowls and top with guacole mixture.

Okay, now for Alyssa's side notes:

1. It makes a TON!!! For us, that is a good thing because then both Matt and I can have it for lunch the next day.

2. I don't use the cilantro (because I just don't keep fresh cilantro in stock in my kitchen) or the guacamole. Instead we just top with sour cream and shredded cheese.

3. I have trouble finding the Mexican corn, I've only found the Southwestern-style corn (which is whole kernal corn, black beans, onions and red bell peppers) and Green Giant is the only one I've found that makes this. Of course, Aldi's doesn't carry Green Giant so whenever I go to Schnucks, I pick up a couple to have on hand.

4. It doesn't have to be ground turkey. We've used turkey, beef and deer burger-all are yummy.

This is one of our favorite but we always forget about it recipes. Hope you enjoy it on a cold winter evening!

Our Christmas Card...

...Thank you Shutterfly for our 50 free Christmas cards. Here's how they turned out:
Matt hated the picture from Christmas last year, said his hair was too short. I agreed and reminded him that I told him that LAST year. The second pic is the only picture I had of both doggies!!! And the last pic is a great one (in my opinion) of Mattie and I at a friend's wedding. I was pretty impressed by myself with the captions I wrote under each picture. In case you're like me and squinting to see what they say, I'll help you out.

"Wishing you the best of holidays with your family and friends"
"Hoping that 2011 brings you a year of good health & love for all" (I could NOT get all on the line with something or something on the line with it and it drove me NUTS)
"Awaiting to hear all your successes of the new year"

I thought 50 would be WAY too many but actually it was probably just about right! So happy holidays to you all. I can't believe Christmas is just a week away. I swear, the older I get, the faster time goes!

Leftovers & Apple Juice...

...I love my husband, I really do but if eats my leftovers one more time I'm going to SCREAM!!! This is a rant. You would think my poor husband isn't fed but I mean look at him, does he LOOK like he's starving???

After we lived together for awhile, I realized that if I wanted something and didn't want to eat/drink it right away then I was going to have to hide it. So I found a great hiding spot and then he found it. So then I started telling him, "Hey, I'm planning on having those leftovers for lunch tomorrow." That worked...for awhile. The other night I came home with leftovers and told him, don't eat the leftovers in the fridge, I'm going to eat them for dinner tomorrow. I come home and pull over my leftovers, hmm...I thought there was two pieces of chicken. I call Matt at work, make some small talk and then ask him about the leftovers. His response, "I might have had a bite or two." UGH!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ATE HALF OF THE SANDWICH!!! Sigh...moral, if I don't eat it right away, I don't get it for later.

I won those Lucky Charms last week, remember? I was so pumped because I was taking it easy around the house last week so cereal was an easy snack, lunch, dinner, breakfast. I get up Friday morning and go to make some cereal. No Lucky Charms, hmm...okay, well, there's Trix. Wait-check the fridge, no milk! Really???

I rarely EVER drink anything other than water, mainly because I don't want the calories and partly because it would never last long in the fridge. I've been drinking two-three 32 ounce cups of water the past couple weeks (doctor's order) and people that's A LOT of water and I can only stand so much water. The doc had told me I could drink juice too. I asked Matt to pick up some apple juice for me. He forgot. I got some the next day. Friday night I went to bed knowing I had just enough for a cup left. I get up Saturday morning, go to get my cup of juice-GONE! Grrr...he bought me more later Saturday, I drank one glass on Sunday and there was maybe 1/4 of it left on Tuesday. Seriously?

I'm at my wits end. I just want ONE little thing that I know will be there when I want to eat/drink it. Come on Mattie!!! Just give leave me my apple juice, you get your Powerades and I don't steal them from you??? I love you pretty but keep your paws off my leftovers and apple juice!

Dishpan Cookies...

...another cookie recipe! This time it's Dishpan Cookies. I got this recipe from the cookbook my dad's bank sells. Talk about a vague recipe! Here's a pic of the massive amounts of dough!!!


And the finished products!!! I think we made at least 4 dozen cookies!!!

Dishpan Cookies

4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Sift together. Then combine:

2 c. sugar

2 c. brown sugar

2 c. oil

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Blend well. Stir in 1 1/2 cups quick oats and 4 cups cornflakes. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.

As a last minute decision, we added in chocolate chips. Good call or else they would be BLAND!!! We left a whole bag for my stepsis, froze a whole tin for us and I had plenty to share with the blogger girls. The bad thing about these cookies is that they are crumbly. They are okay but nothing too spectacular. If you need an easy recipe that makes A LOT, then go for this. Happy baking!!! What's your favorite Christmas cookie?

Snickers (or Reese's) Cookies!!!

...so Sunday, Jen invited a few of us STL Bloggers over for a cookie party! I was so pumped, we were all going to make different cookies then head home with a big variety. Well, the snow came and the party got cancelled. My mom had come up and helped me cook them and she even made fudge for the girls! Mmm!!! So this week, expect a few cookie posts, ok?

So when we decided to do this cookie party, the first place I went was to the church cookbooks! The first recipe I picked was from the cookbook put out by my church in Cape and it just so happens that the recipe I picked was from my high school chemistry teacher! Here's a picture of the finished products which were Snickers and Reese's Cookies:
Let's discuss before I get to the recipe, shall we? The recipe is basically peanut butter cookie dough wrapped around a Snickers. My lovely hub who knows me so well went to pick up some more apple juice for me and brought home some minature Reese's with the suggestion to put those in the middle on a few. He's so smart (and knows the way to my heart-peanut butter!) because the Reese's ones were fabulous!!! It may have also been because I burnt the Snickers one if you can't tell (Snickers on the left, Reese's on the right). I think I burnt them because they were on the bottom rack. I even know they'd cook faster but I ALWAYS burn them. Note to self-just always cook on the top rack even if it takes longer. OH! Did I mention that my Mattie made up the dough for me? Yep, he sure did and then I just sat at the table and wrapped them up and popped them in the oven. Okay, enough commentary (plus I have to make more so Mattie has some when he gets home because his sis, my mom and I ate all the Reese's ones-oops!), on to the recipe!

Snickers Cookies by Bonnie Strack

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. firmly-pakced brown sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened, firmly packed

1/2 c. peanut butter (YUM!)

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

10 Snickers (or Reese's) brand fun-size candy bars

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing well. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar, brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, egg and vanilla, beating well. Stir in flour mixture until mixed. Shape about 1/3 cup dough smoothly around each candy bar, making sure bar is completely covered. Place 4 inchesapart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool about 10 minutes and transfer from baking sheets to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 10 large cookies.

NOTE: For smaller cookies, cut bars in half (or buy minature) and reduce baking time accordingly.

Be sure to let me know if you make these!!! Happy Monday everyone!!!

Snow Day!!!

...yesterday is snowed in the STL! I never believe it when weather man calls for it because it usually doesn't but it did! First off, my mom came up on Saturday and pampered me. It was great!!! However, we had lots of things planned to do on Sunday but Matthew called and said, "You girls aren't going out anywhere!" My mom was pretty bummed and kept wanting to venture out, I told her that my Matthew said no so we were staying in!

Next, Matt had to go in to push snow. He gets sooo excited over that! So does his brother who calls all day before it snows then at the first drop of snow, he calls to see if Matt's company needs help pushing snow. Last night the phone call came at 2am! So not only did he wake us up but my mom too. I told Matt that his brother and I were going to have a little heart to heart because we know you want to push snow, you don't need to call us at the first site of snow and if you wake me up again...it'll be on like donkey kong!

Now moving on to how we entertain ourselves at the G house when it snows...

Shadow tries to eat sheets...
Emma likes to frolic in the snow...

Then she gets scared and barks at the snow truck driving by...

Shad and I sit by the door while Emma begs to be let in and tastes the snow falling...

And here's my pups, Shad on the warm inside with me and Emma outside in the snow. Shad can't go play in the front yard because he won't come in when I call him!

We spent the rest of the day organizing, baking and just chilling out. Snow days are great!

Winner, Winner!!!

I won a giveaway from Alaina over at Three Ladies and a Dad. For the longest time, I thought the three ladies was her, her two sisters and THEIR dad....it's not-oops! Anyways, on to the goods:
A box of Lucky Charms and Trix AND four free movie tickets!!! I'm super excited, now I just have to look to see what movies I want to go see. I'll be honest, I've eaten most of the Lucky Charms while I've laid around in bed all week...for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. They came at the perfect time! Alaina has lots of giveways all the time so be sure to check out her blog. Happy Friday everyone!!!

Book Exchange???

...last spring, Chelsea over at Roots and Wings did a book exchange. It was fabulous! Basically, everyone mailed her a book with a note inside and a couple dollars to mail a book back to you. Once she got them all, she mailed the books out to everyone and when you finished the book, you put a post on your blog about it.

I have a stack of probably 8 books sitting by my bed and no desire whatsoever to read any of them. I thought I'd try the book exchange so I could get a good new book to read. You, my fellow bloggers, always pick the best books!

The book I'm going to throw in the exchange is "Love is. A Four-Legged Word." I did a book review here about it and the author found the review and left me a comment!

So here's the deal if you want to participate. Pick your favorite book off your shelf, leave me a comment with your email and I'll send you an address where to send it. Be sure to write a note in the book including your name and blog and send a couple bucks so I can mail you a book back. Also, let me know the name of the book if you have an idea so we don't get all the same books.

I know with the holidays being all crazy, it'll be tough to do, so we'll make the deadline January 5 to have your book to me. When you're finished, type up a book review with a link to the person who sent you the book and let me know. I'll figure out a McLinky or something so everyone can read all the book reviews.

I should be a good time and give us all lots of book reviews to choose from. I hope you all participate!!!

Grandma's Cookies & Cupcakes...

...last Friday at work, I think I was trying to see how high I could get my blood sugar. I'd brought some cookie dough for dessert with my lunch, Holl brought back some DQ ice cream cupcakes and Jesse brought in cookies from Grandma's Cookies & Cupcakes. Decisions, decisions!!! I went with the cookie dough (I'd already eaten it before I knew about all the other yummy stuff!) and the cookies...the cupcakes can wait until Monday!
Look at these things! They are chocolate chip cookies but don't they kind of look like a pastry mix? Apparently, they use an ice cream scoop to put the cookies out with.

These things were SOOO good! They were crunchy on the outside then so soft on the inside. I think I could have eaten the whole box myself! So what are you...crunchy or soft kind of cookie gal (or guy-Slam!)?

Downtown Cape and My Family...

...last week was the end of the month and I was going through and deleting pics from my camera. I found these that I forgot to post from our weekend in Cape.

First up, the old courthouse. Minus the wires, I think this paints a good picture of the holiday time. It just feels like "home" to me.
We got to lunch early so we walked along the river (one of my favorite things to do). Here's a picture of the Emerson Bridge. Whenever I'm in Cape with one of my parents with nothing to do, I always suggest driving across the bridge...not that there's anything fun and exciting on the other side except Illinois!

Matt, me and the Mighty Mississippi

Shadie trying to get every last drop of PB...don't know WHERE he gets that from!?!

My pretty pretty princess Emma, I got lots of snuggles and cuddles with her that weekend.

And now THAT really concludes our trip to Cape!

Santa & Ms. Claus...

...look I met Santa and Ms. Claus!!! Hopefully I'm a good girl so they bring me what's on my wish list!!! Ms. Claus requested this picture by saying, "Got any film left in that camera to take a picture of the four of us?" OH! Ms. Claus-I love her!
Tell me...what are you asking Santa for this year???

Baby Aubrey is Here!!!

...my co-worker, and really more friend, Paula and her hub welcomed their daughter this past Monday. Aubrey Marie arrived at 9:16pm on Monday evening after 24 HOURS of labor. Okay, mom got induced at 8pm on Sunday night, broke her water on Monday morning and still nothing at 8pm on Monday night so they decided to do a C-section. Here's the beautiful little girl:
The proud momma and her daughter:

I was at work on Tuesday morning and the phone rang about 7:15am. I grumble and put on my Angry Alyssa voice, "THIS is Alyssa." I figured it was someone calling in sick so I was pleasantly surprised when it was Paula calling to tell me everyone was happy and healthy. I headed to the hospital after work on Wednesday and got to visit with the family. Good luck Paula and Nathan and Aubrey! Hopefully, I'll see you before you come back to work in three months!

The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares...

...Hilary did a book review of "The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares awhile ago on her blog. I put it on my to-read list but never followed through. Then she had a sale and I snatched the book up and I loved it!

The general overview from the back of the book, "Riley and Alice, two sisters now in their twenties, and as fiercely different as they are loyal, have spent every summer at their parents' modest beach house. And every summer growing up, there is also Paul, a close friend to both girls. Now, after three years away from the island, he's come back. But his return marks a season of change, of unspoken attractions, tragedy, and deep secrets that will launch three friends into an unfamiliar adult world, from which their summer haven can no longer protect them."

Okay, so the book started a little slow then got hot and heavy then slow again and I found myself skimming to find out what was going to happen with Paul and Alice! I hate how books have two characters that are interested in each other but afraid to go after it then they do then they get ripped apart only to wind up together in the end but I guess if it didn't have the conflict and drama then it really wouldn't be a book now would it? Sorry I just kind of gave it away. Brashares did a great job of getting the reader interested in the characters. I found myself wanting to yell at them-quit being so stubborn!!! Or, for the love, just tell him! I would definitely recommend this book but remember, it goes a little slow at times.

I'm debating what book to start next so let me know what you're reading and if you'd recommend it. I have a lot of time off in December so I'm hoping to knock out a few books on my book stand.

Whipt Cream...

...last Wednesday, Aimee and I were in Chesterfield. I was supposed to be dropping off fliers for Hospital Hill Run at Fleet Feet (they weren't open yet) and Ghisallo (apparently they'd closed). We were about to head back to St. Charles when we saw Whipt Cream. Aimee had been to a wedding who had these cupcakes. They weren't quite open yet so we sat in the car chatting for a few minutes waiting for them to open.
I wanted to get a picture of the storefront. This was the first attempt. It was raining, can you tell?

Attempt #2, turned off the flash. Now you can see the storefront...kinda.

Look at that spread!!! I wanted to try them all. I had the second from the end on the right. Any guesses what flavor I got? Yep, you guessed it PB!!! Apparently the PB was in the PB Banana spot and vice versa so there was all sorts of confusion for a second. I don't know who was more confused, Aimee and I or the lady that worked there.

They had all sorts of other cute displays. Totally reminded me of all the cake shows on TV. I definitely looked like a tourist snapping all these pics.

When I got home, Matt was off work early because of the rain. I was busted and had to share with him. He's a good hubby though and let me enjoy both of them. The cupcake was good, moist but not PB enough for me. I've had a PB cupcake before with a Reese's cup inside-oh, be still my heart! I would definitely go back if I was in the area but I don't think I'd make a special trip to go there.

I'm thinking I should take a tour of STL and try every PB cupcake I can find. Who wants to join me???

PS
Rabbit, rabbit!

Mini Vacation...

...ahh, yes, I feel like I just returned from a mini vacation! We spent 3 days in Cape and I got to catch up on sleep, friends and family and do a whole lot of nothing-it was fabulous!!! I posted yesterday about our Thanksgiving. Friday we got up early and went to visit my aunt and cousin in really Small Town USA. Here's a pic of my cousin Jona, although I call her Joan and her labradoodle Ava. Ava reminded me of a famous movie star but for the life of me I couldn't figure out who. My best guess was Harrison Ford from the beginning of "The Fugitive." What do you all think?
Friday afternoon I met up with my sis and H. They were getting their haircut so H and I were on a mission to find shoes. I got a cute pair of gray and brown flats which were exactly what I needed for the upcoming season so I don't have to wear tennis shoes every day to work. Then Friday night, a bunch of the "step" fam came over after golfing all day and had a bonfire. Shadow was loving it because he cleaned up all the dropped marshmallows and when I saw him come in the house, he had mallow on his neck and leg! Oye! He was a mess!!!

Saturday morning we woke and Santa had stopped! My mom is in Florida over Christmas so we do it at Thanksgiving. It's actually really nice for Matt and I because we only have to split our time between two places instead of one. Santa left us our annual apple & orange for good health and $1 for wealth. I also got a couple cookbooks, a duffle bag and money to "blow on myself!" Matthew got some lottery tickets from Santa and won a free ticket! He cashed it in later that day and didn't win anything.

Around lunch time, I met my friend Laura and her son T.J. at My Daddy's Cheesecake. They have a location in Clayton so you should stop by and visit them. I had the, surprise!, Peanut Butter Swirl cheesecake. It wasn't quite peanut buttery enough for me but it was still delicious!

We headed back to the house for our "feast" of shrimp, salmon, chicken quesadillas and baked potatoes. Yum, yum and lots of peeling shrimp for everyone else. Then we headed to church where I got to visit with an old friend's parents which was nice. Then Matt and I headed down to Jess & Matt's in Sikeston for some "Buzz Word." It was really a lot of fun! We played Girls vs. Boys (Girls won-of course!) and then we played Couples, Matt & Jess beat us. I told my Matt (yes, when the hs girls get together we have to refer to our husbands at my Matt because 3/6 of us are married to Matts!)that I loved him but we really suck at games! Why? Well maybe because he told me the buzz word was "spine" when it was really "spin" Either way, if we suck or not, it was still a lot of fun!

After the games, Jess decided it was time for a little blackmail and pulled out the photo albums from high school. As you can see here, everyone is very serious as we look through the photos.

We got back to Cape around 11ish and wanted to go through the Christmas lights but the park was closed. I always look for the Darla Pannier Memorial when I go through the lights. Funny the things we remember about our hometowns, huh? When we got home, Jo and my mom had majorly messed up a quilt so they were unstitching everything. Yikes! Matt and I escaped so we didn't get sucked into the unstitching too!

Sunday we had lunch with my dad, his wife, her daughter and her fiance at Port Cape. My dad kept telling me that we would meet at 12:15 at Port Cape Girardeau...okay, dad, got it-I don't plan on going to any other port!?! We'll spend more time with that side of the family at Christmas.

After dinner, we headed back to the STL. Now it's Tuesday and it's going to be a LONG week because this is the first and last full week of work I've had since the beginning of October-December. So thanks for letting us take a mini-vacay to your house mom!

Thanksgiving Day Recap...

...whew! What a great Thanksgiving! At the end of the day, my stuffed belly was a reminder of how thankful I was for the great cooks in both our families, yummy food and good laughs. Here's just a few pics to commemorate the day.

We started off the day at Grandma G's. Here are the women of the family finalizing the meal before we sat down to eat, L to R: Aunt Jan, SIL EB, MIL Star
Before we left I snapped a picture of the G Fam. Funny story, I was trying to herd everyone into the room for the picture. Grandma G walked into the foyer and then suddenly let it rip. I looked at my SIL and said, "Did she just fart?" EB looked at me and said, "Yes, yes she did." We broke into hysterical laughter and my MIL kept asking, "What? What's so funny?" The G Fam from L to R: Grandma G, Matt, MIL Star, SIL EB, FIL John and BIL Daniel
Then we headed down to Cape for the weekend. We walked into my mom and stepsis Jo working on their new toy...a longarm AKA quilting machine. They were addicted to it all weekend!!! If you ever need anything quilted, just let me know!
After dinner, Jo and my mom went back to their addiction while my mom's husband David, Matthew and I cleaned up the kitchen. David loaded the dishwasher, Matthew carved the rest of the turkey and I put all the leftovers in containers. David accidentally put Dawn in the dishwasher, yeah we definitely had suds coming out of it! After we cleaned up, Matthew and I pulled the wishbone and I got the big half! WOOHOO!!! Let's hope my wish comes true!!!

After dinner and clean up, Matthew got assigned a project to put together a bookshelf, the girls quilted and I tried to stretch out my stomach to make more room for my momma's delicious chocolate pie!

OH! I kept a secret! My good friend Stevie got engaged last Monday night and she stopped by my work to show off the bling. I snapped this pic of her but promised not to put it on FB because she wasn't telling her extended family until Thanksgiving. I'm so excited for her. She's planning a fall wedding, my favorite!!! Congrats Stevie and Brett!

So there you have it, my Thanksgiving Day recap. Oye! I think I still have turkey hangover!

Elvis Has Left the Building...

...yes my dear friends, it's that time of year that Silky's wipes off the counters and shuts up shop for the year. They will be closing this coming Sunday. Last weekend, Matt was out at the farm trying to get deer #2 so I decided I'd say good-bye and enjoy one last Elvis Pretzely of the year...as my dinner for Saturday evening! So long Elvis, I'll see you in the spring when you return until then I'll have our sweet (and salty!) memories to get me through.
Hope everyone is having a good Black Friday and had a great Thanksgiving! I don't know about you but I'm stuffed to the gills, good thing I enjoyed my Elvis last weekend because there's no way I have room for it this weekend!

A Day to Be Thankful...

...Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I'm going to share a story with you all to let you know what I'm thankful for...

Last week, an emotional me posted on the wrong blog about "Non Stop Tears." As soon as I realized it, I quickly deleted it but some of you were still able to read the post in Google Reader. If you read it, you were probably confused to all get out-what in the world is she talking about?!?! So now it's time that I come clean...Matt and I have been trying for "only" a year to have a baby but at "only" six months, we were titled with infertility. Please click on that link for a wonderful video that will help to explain just a little bit of what we've felt, been through and what's ahead of us. I've cried, I've been angry, I've questioned why more times than I can count and I've screamed many times that "It's not fair!" but it hasn't helped or changed the situation. I've seen many babies enter the world and watched the proud new mommas only to have my heart break a little each time knowing that I might never have that feeling. I've heard every single ridiculous comment out there that could be made, some coming from our family and close friends.

Matt and I have pushed each other away only to pull each other back because more than ever we need each other now. He's held my hand during doctors appointments where tears just streamed down my face, he's listened to my crazy rants and raves, he's injected me with shots and told me he's proud of me and how brave I am. He's gotten his hopes up with me, only to have them crushed but through it all he's loved me. In our anniversary card, I wrote something along the lines of this journey really sucks but "I wouldn't want to go through it with anyone else." Today I am thankful for having him experience this with me, I'm thankful for his patience, I'm thankful for the way he knows how to hold me and take care of me. In my eyes, he's an awesome husband-I love you Pretty!

I'm also thankful for all of my amazing real-life and blog friends. When I accidentally posted, I had at least 4 emails in my inbox asking what was going on and if I was okay. If I replied and was snippy, I apologize because I was in a really bad place last week in this journey. I had friends calling to check on me, inviting me over, sending me cards, praying for me, and I even had a friend stand in a bathroom stall with me holding all my meds while I shot myself in the stomach. Girl-thank you and I hope I didn't traumatize you for life!

So even though we're going through this crazy journey called infertility, I still have so many things and people to be thankful for and in the long run, that's what ultimately matters. Thank you for being such awesome, rock star people! I have a separate blog that documents our infertility journey if you'd like to read it. It's not a happy one but it's written for me and to help other women out there going through this same thing know that they aren't alone and if I can help one woman or couple then it's worth it to put my story out there. I've met some really amazing women through that blog who have offered me support, guidance and knowledge through our journey. I don't plan to discuss our journey or treatments on this blog but please feel free to leave me any questions you might have and I'll do my best to answer them or point you in the right direction. My only words of wisdom are that everyone's infertility journey is different, we all have different diagnoses, different treatments, different doctors and we're ulimately all different people so how I feel, think and react to things may be different than someone else going through this.

Thank you for being who you are, you are the best! I hope you have a safe and thankful Thanksgiving!

What We Do On Our Day Off...

...yep, this is the pups and I do when I have a day off. Lounch around in our pjs, chillin' out together snugglin' and catch up on blogs. As you can tell Shadow is very interested and reading over my shoulder. Emma can't believe what she just read and wants to know more. Sometimes they try to type and I have to tell them I'll comment for them.

And when I'm not there to translate for them, then they just take a nap.

FYI-I broke down and joined Twitter. I don't get it-LOL! I feel so not hip and with it because I don't understand. I probably won't have too many exciting Tweets since I don't have a cool, fancy phone. Guess I'll spend my Thanksgiving break (feel like college again!) trying to figure out the Twitter!

I hope everyone has a safe and thankful Thanksgiving-gobble, gobble!

Thanksgiving Meals: How Do You Do It?

...How do you all do Thanksgiving? Does one person cook everything? Does each person bring a dish?

At my family, my dad or mom makes the entire meal but the non-cookers have to clean up the kitchen. My mom also typically doesn't have the typical holiday meal because she always figures that Matt and I are "turkeyed-out" by the time we make it to her house. We're having the official Thanksgiving/Christmas meal on Saturday which will be boiled shrimp and chicken enchiladas for me. I am not a fan of shrimp but I always help peel and in return my momma always makes one of my favorite dishes for me although I usually end up eating after everyone else since I'm busy peeling away.

With Matt's family, the person hosting usually provides the meat and then "everyone" is supposed to bring a dish. Maybe it's because we never did that with my family but sometimes it drives me bonkers! They try to coordinate but it doesn't always work out that way so we'll end up with like 4 different desserts, turkey and 2 side dishes plus not everyone has to bring something. Last year it really stressed me out because we drove to Cape for lunch with my dad then back to STL for dinner with his fam and had to bring mashed potatoes...I stressed for a couple of days about when I was going to make these potatoes, how I was going to keep them warm and what if we didn't get there in time!?! I ended up making them at like 7am, dropping them off at his aunt's driving to Cape where my stepmom made an extra pot of potatoes for me to take and then we headed back. Needless to say, we had plenty of potatoes.

This year, I volunteered macaroni-corn casserole because it's easy...you just throw everything in a pan and bake. Matt and I's actual Turkey Day plans are still up in the air so Matt might have to make this on his own, I have faith in him.

I would love to host a holiday at our house but it's WAY too small. His family is ginormous so no way and with my parents being divorced, we can't have one and not the other so until we get a bigger house (HA!), there will be no holidays at our house. The only ones we've hosted before has been Fourth of July and Father's Day where we could have people inside and out so it was okay then. I'm thinking about having a 31 Purse Party but I'm really concerned about where everyone will sit plus put the food and the purses-ah! Okay, I'm off on a different tangent-sorry!

So, tell me...how does your families do holiday meals???

St. Jude 5k Walk of Thanks...

...this past Saturday, Jen, Aimee, Maggie, her husband Steve and my running husband Trent all headed down to the Mills Mall for the St. Jude 5k Walk of Thanks. Here is Mandy Murphy from Fox 2 News thanking the sponsors. I had no idea who she was-oops! I'm a channel 4 gal.
Here's the team in action! Sorry so blurring, I was walking backwards and taking this picture.

Did you know they sold Proactiv from vending machines???

The whole team of Runners 4 Luke (L to R): Jen, Aimee, Trent, Me, Maggie and Steve


Thanks for supporting Luke! I love getting awareness out there about his story and drunk driving. The race was a little...chaotic? It started late and they said three times around was a 5k when it was actually 4. Trent pushed me, he just doesn't get it that his legs are twice as long as mine!!! It was a fun morning with friends and then I went home and took a nap. Being a mall walker, really wore me out!!!

Christmas Cards!!!

...okay, I know I posted last week that I'm WAY behind on Christmas shopping but I'm at least trying to get a headstart on Christmas cards. I absolutely LOVE photo Christmas cards. It's like impossible to get one good photo of Matt, me and the dogs so I always end up having to pick a card that has 2-3 photos so we can all be included. There are a LOT of different companies out there that make photo cards but this year I'm checking out Shutterfly. I would love do a Christmas card with just one photo like this (insert Matt, me, Emma and Shadow though):

However, I will probably be doing something like this with multiple photos (again insert my family instead of these sisters). I do love the chocolate color too:
Know what else is awesome? There are 8 different cards to pick from that were designed by the American Lung Association. What's that mean? Well, "Shutterfly will donate 10% of net sales from each American Lung Association card purchase back to the organization." I will definately be picking one of those cards. Remember Master the Met that I do where we climb 42 flights of stairs? Well, that event supports the American Lung Association. Right now our team is in first place for fundraising and we're holding a Trivia Night in January to raise even more funds for them.
Shutterfly also has address labels, gift tags and a ton of other super cool items! Oh yeah, and if you're a blogger, which I know all of you out there reading are, they are giving away 50 free Christmas cards to all bloggers! Click here and go check it out. Happy Friday everyone!

Chicken Broccoli Roli-YUM!!!

...have I mentioned before how much I love All Recipes? I get an email daily from them. Last week, I received an email for Chicken Broccoli Roli. I checked it out and it didn't look too tough so I decided I'd give it a try. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
2 cups fresh chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions
1.In a large bowl, combine the chicken, broccoli, onions, bell pepper, cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Mix all together.
2.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3.Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place a glass upside down in the center of the cookie sheet. Roll out crescent rolls around the base of the glass, with pointy ends away from the glass; when you're finished, the arrangement will look like the sun. Spoon some of the chicken mixture onto the thick part of each crescent roll. Fold the pointy end of each roll over the top of the mixture and tuck in the middle. Remove glass from cookie sheet. Arrangement of rolls will now look like a fluted tube cake.
4.Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown.

I actually followed this recipe to a T minus the whole make it look like a sun thing. I tried it and was so confused. So I just took two crescent rolls (like in a rectangle) and stuffed them then folded them in. My final products:

The only bummer thing about this is that it took a little longer than a quick dinner because I baked two chicken breasts first then baked everything all together. Luckily, I was off work so I just baked the chicken at lunch time and then mixed all the stuff together and stuffed it at dinner time. Oh and I'd read the reviews that said there was a TON of mix left over so when I was at the store, I'd picked up two packages of crescent rolls which made 8 "packets" of chicken broccoli. This was enough for Matt and I because we each had two for dinner and then we had enough for lunch the next day. But I still had some mixture left over but Matt snacked on it throughout the night (and he wonders why he can't lose weight!). Anyways, it was very yummy and we'll definitely be making it again!