Merry Christmas

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.


Luke 2:8-11

Check it Out

Check out The Girl in the Blue Glasses for a chance to win an awesome giveaway.  Oh yeah, her crafts are pretty great too!!

As an entry for the giveaway, Kelly asked us to tell about out favorite holiday tradition.  I just had to tell about Charlie Brown.  I watch this every Christmas.  I just love the simplicity and sincerity of the movie.

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

Jessica

Roll Tide

My Latest Creation

Hello!!  I'm back with my latest wreath creation.  This one is a fall wreath.

Supplies:
Vine Wreath
Wooden letter
Paint
Assorted flowers
Ribbon

1)  Paint your letter
2)  Stick flowers and ribbon (bows) in your wreath.
3)  Attach letter with hot glue.

Easy peasy!!  And all for about $30 at Hobby Lobby.  Love that place!!


Here is the wreath...before any decorations



And after.  Confession:  I'm not the best bow tie-er :(

And a new front door!!

I just love fall and decorating for it. 

What are some of your favorite fall decorations??

Jessica

Friday Night Date

Friday, TC and I went on a date.  It had been a long time since we'd been out on a date.  We ate at Chili's...not very romantic, but we like it.  And you can get an appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert for $20.  Then, we walked around East Chase and did a little shopping.  I got three pairs of earrings from Claire's.  One pair looks like peacock feathers.  I'll have to see if I have the courage to wear them.  Then we went to see a play at AUM about 9/11.  It was written, directed, and acted by all AUM people.  It was very good.

Saturday, we got up early and went to a few yard sales.  I got two games (Connect 4 and Would You Rather?).  I hope they are fun!!  We also watched Alabama's win over Penn State!!

Sunday, we went to church and did a little bit of work around the house and back to church Sunday night.  Back to work for us both on Monday.

Did you have a good weekend?

Jessica

We Will Never Forget

God Bless America

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children."

-George W. Bush

Hello, Anybody Still Out There??

Wow!!  It has been over a month since I last posted.  Life is busy!!  That's good, though! We went on a mini-vacation to Gulf Shores (and I didn't take the first picture).  We ate, shopped, ate, laid on the beach, and - did I mention-ate!!  It was fun, except that I didn't sleep that well in the hotel.  I don't know what was up with that.

AUM officially revealed the new mascot...The Warhawks!!

We welcomed football season this past weekend with win over Kent State (48-7)!!  We also welcomed some cooler weather...hope it lasts!!  Are ya'll as ready for fall as I am??

Jessica

Weekend Wrap Up

Saturday, TC, my SIL, BIL, niece (K), and I headed up to Birmingham to the McWane Center.  We saw tons of cool stuff like an exhibit on Alabama dinosaurs, an exhibit on the Challenges spaceship, lots of fishes, and an IMAX movies about tornadoes.  K got to ride on a zip line, lay on a bed of nails, be an archaeologist, play in the weather lab, and lots other cool stuff.  We ate lunch at a little hot dog place near the McWane Center.  I had a Greek chicken salad and it was delicious.  After we finished at the McWane Center, we headed to the Summit to do a little shopping.  We browsed in Pottery Barn and Anthropologie. We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and brought home a slice of cherry cheesecake.  Yummy!!  Enjoy the pictures!!



Outside the McWane Center

The Challenger exhibit

In the weather center



Digging for fossils

Bed of Nails

Distortion Room

A magic trick

Getting her height measured

How long can he hold a squat?

Birthday Prank

Hello guys!!  Last Friday was great!!  It was a coworker's birthday.  Her initials are PJ, so we decorated her office like a bedroom and all wore our PJs to work.  Enjoy the pictures!!

This is actually her desk and hutch!!

X Files on TV

Birthday lady petting the kitty :)

All of us in our PJs!!

We left this up for a couple of hours and invited all of campus to come see!!  We picked up Jim and Nick's for lunch and enjoyed birthday cake!!  Happy Birthday PJ!!

That Girl

I totally have a reason for not posting (even though I said I would).  Every time I try to upload pictures from my memory card, my computer freezes up.  And who like a post without pictures?  But, we did have a great Fourth of July.  We swam a lot and ate even more!!

I'm writing this more for my memory, although I'm sure my reader (hi mom!) will get a kick out of it. 

Our niece, K (6 years old) has learned the art of the prank call.  We were all over at TC's parent's house to eat dinner.  They have their house on the market.  So, she gets the idea to prank call and ask questions about the house. "How much is it for sale for?  Can I buy it?"  Her mom, on the other end of the phone, asks which house is she talking about.  From where I am in the living room, you can hear her say from her room "This one!"

That girl!! Where does she come up with this stuff??

Always an adventure!!  Did anything funny happen to you this weekend?

Jessica

This weekend

This weekend I plan on relaxing here:

And eating some of this deliciousness:

Have a great Fourth of July weekend!!!

Jessica

Fourth of July Craft

So, it's been a long time since I posted, huh?  Sorry about that.  I kinda started feeling like I wasn't doing anything blog-worthy.  But, I'm going to try to do better :)

How about a Fourth of July craft?

Materials:
4 bandanas (I used 2 red and 2 blue)
1 wire coat hanger

Bend your coat hanger so that it is a circle.  Lay your bandanas flat and cut in half.  Cut the halves in about one-inch strips.  They do not have to be perfect.  Probably better if they're not.  Tie the strips onto the hanger until you've gone all the way around.  I alternated between red and blue. 



What are your favorite red, white, and blue decorations?

Jessica

Favorite Dessert Recipes

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner again this week for favorite dessert recipes.  I'm looking forward to getting new yummy dessert recipes.     Creamy Lemon Squares20 Reduced Fat NILLA Wafers, finely crushed (about 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup  flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup  cold margarine

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened

1 cup  granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp.  flour

3 Tbsp. lemon zest, divided

1/4 cup  fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder

2 tsp.  powdered sugar

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

LINE 8-inch square pan with foil. Mix wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in margarine with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

BEAT Neufchatel and granulated sugar with mixer until well blended. Add eggs and 2 Tbsp. flour; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. zest, juice and baking powder; pour over crust.

BAKE 25 to 28 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 2 hours. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining zest before serving.

Weekend Review

This weekend was great!!  Friday, TC grilled steaks and we shopped for a new TV.  We might have treated ourselves to a Sonic blast as well.  We both worked hard Saturday morning.  I worked inside, sweeping and vacuuming and doing about 7,362 loads of laundry.  TC worked outside mowing grass and raking leaves.  After a bite of lunch, we headed back outside to wash our cars.  Then, we got ready and headed to A and K's dance recital.  Both girls were so cute and the recital was great.  We ate Mexican for dinner.  I am picky about my Mexican and this one was nasty.  I won't be going back.  We went to church Sunday morning and worked more in the yard Sunday afternoon.  We added pine straw to our flowerbeds and under some trees where grass will not grow.  I cooked a roast for dinner and we had some friends over and I got to play with my most favorite baby girl!!  Monday was K's kindergarten awards ceremony and back to work for me.

Here are some pictures from the recital and the awards ceremony.

Jessica

Chicken Lasagna

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life - Main Dish Recipes.

Chicken Lasagna
6 lasagna noodles
chicken tenderloins, plus seasonings
1 jar Alfredo sauce
half a bag of frozen spinach
roasted red peppers
shredded Parmesan cheese

Bring water to cook noodles to a boil.  Heat about 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan.  Cook chicken; add seasonings.  You can use whatever you would like.  I always use salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and garlic.  Thaw out half the bag of frozen spinach in the microwave.  Make sure to squeeze out as much of the water as you can.  Cut up the roasted red peppers.  Once water is boiling, salt and add noodles.  Cook according to directions on the package.  Once chicken is fully cooked, chop or shred.
In a bowl, combine the Alfredo sauce, chicken, peppers, spinach, and a handful of the cheese.  In a greased baking dish, layer half the noodles, then half the sauce.  Repeat the layer.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  About 5 minutes before pulling the lasagna out of the oven, top with the rest of the cheese and finish baking until the cheese is just melted.

Sorry for not having step by step pictures.  And for not measuring anything!!  I like to serve this with a side salad and garlic bread.  We think this is delicious and the perfect summertime meal!!

Jessica

Finales

First, is How I Met Your Mother. I began watching this show when it was coming on in syndication on Lifetime. That lasted approximately 3 weeks (just long enough for me to get really into it) and then they stopped showing it. So, I did what any other person would do...I added every season to my Netflix queue. I have watched the past 2 seasons every Monday on CBS at 7:00 Central since.

Season 6 finale: Ted and Zoey break up. Ted and Barney fight over who will implode the Arcadian. Lily thinks she has food poisoning and that Marshall will get sick soon. This goes on for a while. Ted wants to get back together with Zoey, and Robin and Barney bond through trying to stop Ted, until they run into Nora (Barney's old flame). Marshall doesn't get sick and Lily reveals she is pregnant. Barney lets Ted push the button to implode the hotel. Finally, we see the wedding scene that has been shown all season. Ted is the best man at Barney's wedding.

If anybody else out there watches this show, who else squealed and clapped when Lily said she was pregnant? No one, just me?? Ok. I have read some opinions on whose wedding it is and who the mother is. I don't really care to hypothesize because I really want to be surprised in the end. I have my own theory, but I hope I'm wrong!



Second, is Grey's Anatomy. I will admit, I was not a fan at first. Probably because everyone else was. But I got into it as well.

I kinda thought this finale was a bit disappointing.  We were warned that it would be different, and it was.  There was no major medical catastrophe, but everyone's relationships seem to be falling apart.  Yay for Kepner getting Chief Resident!!  That was not a huge surprise to me after last episode when Stark recommended her to Owen.  MerDer gets the baby, but Mer might no longer have Der.  Christina revealed she is pregnant, but does not want to be a mother, and Owen is NOT happy about that.  Karev told off Lucy for taking his job in Africa.  Sidenote: Karev has a soft spot in my heart and it just seems like the guy can't catch a break in the love department.  He comes off as a jerk, but I think we've all seen how great he has been with the kids this season.  I'm a bit worried for next season, especially if MerDer doesn't return, which is rumored.

What are your favorite TV shows??

Jessica

Checking In

I'm still alive, dear readers.  Just not much to report.  The normal stuff.  We had a partay for my sister, who is going to nursing school.  I also did some work in my flower beds this weekend.  Then, the cat promptly dug up all the flowers I planted.  We also had to install a new toilet (glamorous, I know).  Here are a few pictures!!

I got flowers for my office

Mi familia

I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of all my favorite TV show's season finalies.  What are your favorite TV shows?

Jessica

Overwhelmed

Where to start??  With all that's going on, I have felt too overwhelmed to even think about blogging.  (Warning: this is a long post, bear with me)

First, was the tornadoes that devastated my state.  I have no words to describe what has been going on during the time since the storms.  People have rallied and proven their resiliency. 

On a more positive note, I got up at 3:00 last Friday morning to watch all the Royal Wedding coverage.  I know that I could have just recorded it and watched it at a more reasonable hour, but I wanted to see it in real time.


The Royal Wedding party

 Last week was filled with celebrations for all the people I know graduating.  I had lunch with a friend Wednesday who is graduating and Thursday was a pinning ceremony.

Wednesday afternoon as I was leaving work, my car would not start.  So, I had to get TC's sister to come get me and I used his truck for the rest of the week.

I had an orientation session at work Friday and when I got back from that, my coworkers surprised me with cake and ice cream for my birthday! We had fun eating cake and ice cream and chatting with each other.

My delicious cake

Balloons!!

Sunday was my birthday and Mother's Day, so I spent Saturday with my family fixing the car, Home Depot, and lunch.  We had a great time, even though one of us was working on the car.

I went to church Sunday morning and then headed out to pick up TC in Atlanta because HE GOT A NEW JOB AT HOME.  The entire time we've known each other, he has worked out of town.  Now, he will be home every night!!  I hope we don't kill each other :)  His first day is today and I am anxious to hear how it went.

Congratulations for making it to the end of this long post!!

essica