HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving. Today, let us remember what we are thankful for. 

Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

LET THE COOKING BEGIN

So last night I started cooking for Thanksgiving. My goal is to wake up Thursday morning, put everything in the oven and snuggle down on the couch and watch the parade.

I am hosting Thanksgiving at my house. I know! I feel like such an adult! I am excited but my house is no where near ready to be entertaining. We are talking we still need some furniture in some rooms but everything will be fine and my family has graciously offered to split up the menu with me so I do not have to do all the cooking. Here is what we are having!

Turkey ( of course!)
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole (Kenny's favorite)
Warm Rolls
Corn Casserole
Sweet Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce ( I prefer it out of the can)
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
and who knows what else!

Last night I made the mashed potatoes and whooo those are a lot of work. Here is the recipe I am using. It is from Pioneer Woman Cooks. I love her stuff! I made these last year and they were so so good. And they better be after all the peeling and mashing. I hand mash them and my arm was tired.

Tonight I will put together the green bean casserole and I am also trying out a new recipe. It is a corn casserole that sounds delicious. Here is the recipe.  Doesn't it sound good!  I will let you know how it turns out.

I have to admit that I chickened( or turkeyed) out and ordered out on the turkey. I was just too nervous that my oven would not cooperate and we would not have enough oven room to cook everything else. So I ordered a slow smoked turkey from a local restaurant. Hopefully it will be good. I still have to reheat it tomorrow. That counts as cooking right?

I am antsy today. Because yes I am at work. But I am looking forward to our feast tomorrow and watching the Macy's Parade. I love Thanksgiving.

MAMA MIA AND TWILIGHT

So Thursday night my mom and sister came in town for our second show of the season, Mama Mia! I had seen the movie a few months ago and loved it. Thanks Susan, who I drug to that movie. (She hated it) And I have the soundtrack to the Broadway show so I was really looking forward to seeing the play.

It did not disappoint. It was really good. The music is so fun and upbeat. And we were surrounded by menopausal women who loved ABBA in their prime. I saw more middle aged women bopping their heads and singing along. So cute!

Friday, my mom and sister went Christmas shopping and, well, I went to work of course. I did not mind going to work though because we were celebrating one of my coworkers getting her Masters and we had all made stuff for a huge breakfast. We are talking tons of delicious breakfast food. I made a casserole, and other people brought cheese grits, muffins, ham and biscuits, fruit salad, coffee and juice and more. That afternoon my mom and sister met me at a doctors appointment that left me not feeling so well so Friday night we all stayed in and my mom cooked Kenny's favorite dish that she makes. It was yummy and I fell asleep on the couch. Exciting times people.

Saturday, Kenny and I got up and got ready so that we could take a Christmas card picture. No fancy photographers or anything, but it still takes time. We managed to get one I think. At least we thought it was cute. I am sure I will put it on here at some point. And then we all went shopping. I bought some material to recover my dining room chairs, and do some other things in our front room so I was really excited. I managed to get a little Christmas shopping done and my mom and sister helped me get everything wrapped that need to get wrapped. Very productive!

Saturday night we crammed ourselves in the movie theatre with our pre-ordered tickets, yes pre-ordered with all the other high school girls and crazy Twilight fans. This was opening weekend for the movie. Did anyone else see it? Poor Kenny went with us and had no idea what was going on in this movie. It is hard for me to even begin looking at the movie objectively because I was enjoying seeing the book in real life so much that I have no clue whether the movie was any good or not. So I had a great time, but I still love the books way more. The good news is the movie did so well in its first weekend that they have already green lighted New Moon to be made into a movie.

Sunday, my fam left and I did some things around the house. Then Tracy and Mollie (a devoted blog reader right!) came over to visit. And I got to meet the newest member of the Shearin family. Here she is, isn't she cute! Her name is Millie. Mollie and Tracy stayed all afternoon because their boys were off hunting and we had a good time hanging out.


Sunday night, Kenny and I hung out and I taped the AMA awards so that I could just fast forward to all the peformances. Did anyone else think Taylor Swift's (who I happen to love) performance was so boring. I certainly did. And I also thought Alicia Keys looked so pretty apart from that thing on her head.


Get excited for a short week and some Turkey! Yay! Its Thanksgiving week!

ICE COLD MILK AND AN OREO COOKIE

Last night Kenny and I had what I like to call a fend for yourself night. In other words, I don't feel like cooking. Anyone else feel me? This usually means we eat kind of random meals. Kenny defrosted some of that yummy chili I made the other night and I had some teriyaki noodles.

Then Kenny preceded to pass out in the chair because he has been staying up late working and I snuggled down on the couch to watch America's Next Top Model, Stylista(this show is great) and Top Chef (love love love that show!).

Sorry, I am getting to the point......Kenny woke up and I fixed each of us a glass of icy cold milk and some double stuffed Oreo cookies. Because double stuffed is the only way to go. There is something about this that is so simplistic and comforting. I caught myself watching Kenny's dunking method...of course we dunk. We both have the same dunking habits. We put the cookie in the milk and let it stay there for a little bit. It lets the cookie soak up the milk and makes it all soggy. But so good. However, I could understand that this sogginess my bother some people. Maybe other people just do a quick dunk....or maybe they take a bite of cookie and then a swig of milk.

My point....ice cold milk and Oreo cookies=heaven=bedtime.

We went to bed right after our bedtime snack.

How do you dunk your oreos, or you more of a chocolate chip cookie girl/guy?

RANDOM POST. I KNOW.

MOTIVATION NEEDED

I am having motivation woes. First of all I cannot think of anything to blog about. I think its because Kenny and I lost the charger to our camera so we can't take pictures so I can't post pictures. Get my drift. It will get better soon. And I am still posting more often than some people I know.

The other thing that I just cannot get motivated to work on is Christmas cards. I am doing really well with my Christmas shopping and have wrapped a lot of my gifts but for some reason I just can't seem to get excited about mailing out cards. I have a really cute idea of what I want to do but it involves taking a Christmas-card worthy picture ( a feat in itself) getting them printed, finding a cute card to go with the picture, addressing envelopes, stamps, you know the drill.

TANGENT: I am not happy with the Christmas stamps this year. We have a very stoic Mary with Jesus and yes he is the reason for the season but not exactly the brightest stamp to put on your envelope,and then we have Nutcrackers. I usually choose the fun one for my Christmas mailings but overall was not happy with the selection this year.


Does anyone have any good ideas of where to order moderately priced Christmas cards. I do not want to spend a fortune this year. We are in a recession after all. That is if I ever get up the MOTIVATION to start. The clock is ticking. We are a week from Thanksgiving.

CHRISTMAS IS UPON US

This weekend was a good one. Friday night Kenny and I entertained ourselves by splitting a pitcher of margaritas and a couple of cheese dips. It was delish. From what we remember. Just kidding.

Saturday morning I woke up early to run a lot of Christmas related errands. I went to Hobby Lobby to get some ribbon and tissue paper. I bought some Christmas presents. I am doing pretty well as far as my Christmas shopping goes but I still need to buy quite a few things. I also went to Yankee Candle to get my Christmas candle that I get every year. Kenny and I are allergic to real trees so I always get the Sparkling Pine candle and it smells like a real tree. Plus this candle lasts forever. Love it!

After I managed to get all of my errands and shopping completed before noon Kenny and I met up for lunch at Central BBQ. Their barbecue nachos are to die for. After we ate we just went back to the house and I napped a little and we watched football. Saturday night we met up with Joe and Tracy and our friends Kristen and Drew who were in town. They had all been at a wedding and then we watched Mississippi State's depressing game against Alabama.

Sunday my mom came through town to spend the night on her way to St. Louis for the week. It was so cold outside that I decided to make this chili recipe one of my friends from work gave me. It turned out really good. Instead of cooking the chicken myself I actually ordered a couple pounds of pulled roasted chicken from Central Barbecue when we were there for lunch. I doubled the recipe and it made a lot so I had plenty to freeze for an easy dinner on a cold night. Here is the recipe!

White Bean and Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapeno from a jar
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 15-oz cans Great Northern Beans, drained
1 pound cooked and chopped chicken breast
1/2 cup half and half


Directions:
Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno; saute until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, and cumin; saute about 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until veggies are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add beans, chicken and half and half. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm!

I also wrapped what Christmas presents I had already bought last night. It definitely got me excited for Christmas! And finally we watched Al Pacino's movie 88 minutes. It was silly. Can yall believe we are so close to Thanksgiving. I have to start working on the menu!

RAINY DAY

How come no matter how big your umbrella is you still end up soaked?

A girl that works in my building for the same company flipped me the bird on the way to work this morning. She suddenly tried to pull out in my lane and I had to slam on my brakes. Yet she was the one that threw me the finger. I am embarrassed. For her. She probably did not know it was someone who would recognize her. Lesson learned: be careful who you flip off.

FALL WEEKEND

This weekend was gorgeous. I cannot get over all the colors falling from the trees right now. Kenny and I were driving the other day and I kept pointing out pretty trees to him. Not to mention that this Saturday and Sunday were our first really cold days of the season.

Friday night, Kenny and I went to Pacific Rim for sushi and absolutely stuffed ourselves. We can eat a lot of sushi anyway but we really out did ourselves this time. We took some home for a late night snack. After dinner we stopped at blockbuster and got a couple of movies. We decided on The Strangers and Made of Honor. I watched The Strangers on Halloween night during my little Halloween get together but I wanted Kenny to see it too. I was still just as scared if not more. That movie is SCARY! It is not too gory and is very suspenseful. I recommend it for any horror movie fans.

Saturday morning I woke up very early to volunteer at a 5k race. It was one of my community shifts that I have to complete for my provisional year of Junior League. It went well and was pretty easy. Kenny and I then met up with my step mom for lunch at the Brushmark and a personal tour of the Botero Exhibit they have at the Brooks Museum right now. My step mom is a docent at the Brooks. I had seen some of the art in this collection and I was excited to get to see more. I loved this exhibit. There are 100 pieces from his personal collection and his style was very appealing to me. I will go see this exhibit again before it leaves. I liked it that much!

After the museum, Kenny met up with some boys to watch football and I went Christmas shopping! Can you believe it. I did manage to get some things checked off my list and I bought a lot of wrapping supplies. Maybe if I start all of this early, it won't be so stressful! Saturday night Kenny and I grabbed some dinner and then went to see Zach and Miri Make a Porno. This movie was very vulgar. It had its funny moments but I have liked other movies from that group of guys better.

Sunday, Kenny and I just did chores around the house and I made a pot roast. We sound old. Last night we watched Made of Honor. I did not really like this movie either. I thought it was kind of silly. On a side note I cannot believe we are only a couple of weeks away from Thanksgiving. I am hosting at my house this year since my parents are doing an addition on their house right now. I have got to devote some time to the menu. I have to work all that week so I am going to have to do a lot of my cooking before hand! Holiday Season is upon us!

FIRST DOGS

So if you keep up with the news you probably heard that Obama promised his two little girls a puppy once the election was over(no matter the outcome).  You can read about it here.  

It is unknown what kind of pup the Obama family will choose but most Presidents have had a furry friend residing in the White House with them.Time Magazine has a slide show dedicated to the the first dogs that you can see here. But I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

Pretty dog, pretty clothes, great picture!

I love this picture for some reason. It is so endearing.

Oooooooouuuuuuuu!

Does that dog look happy or what! 

Okay I have to stop. I would show you all of the pictures because I love them all. But go look at the slide show and enjoy all the anecdotes about the presidential dogs. There is just something about them that tugs at your heart strings no matter what political views you have.

I FINISHED AND I AM SAD

So I finished the last book of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, last night while we listened to election night in the background. This book was so good. I know I have said that about the other three but this one gave me actual goosebumps constantly and towards the end I had a knot in my stomach I was so nervous as to what was going to happen.

Now I am desperate for Stephanie Meyers to write another one. I do have the first 250 pages of Midnight Sun which got leaked on the Internet but I am afraid it is not going to suffice. Please write another book!

I am still eagerly anticipating the movie!

ELECTION DAY IS HERE

Is anyone else a little nervous?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

So Happy Halloween everyone!

Isn't it kind of fun that it falls on a Friday this year! I have a low key night planned with some friends and my sister that will include, dips, pizza, candy,trick or treaters, witches brew(alcoholic drink) and best of all scary movies! I am really excited about it. I was never much for dressing up for Halloween, however I did bring my devil horns to work today.

So in honor of this spoooky day I have to tell you about my ongoing obsession with the vampire books. Yes I am still reading these books in the Twilight series and they are soooo good. I have managed to get several of my friends at work, my sister, and soon my mother to read these books! You cannot put them down once you start reading. These are the second and third books in the series.I am now on the fourth book and I am kind of sad that it is going to be over soon. BUT, I do have the movie to look forward to. It will premiere in theatres on November 21st and I cannot wait. I will be there with all the teenagers and maybe even be sporting a Team Jacob t-shirt. And yes for those of you who have red the books TEAM JACOB! I love him!

Everyone have a safe and fun Halloween!

P.S. I just realized that I sound like a huge nerd on this post!

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

So last week when I was sick two of my fellow bloggers; No Worries Wynn In Love and Miss Monogram awarded me with the Kreativ Blogger award and asked me to list things 6 things that make me happy. So here goes!

Let's assume that everyone knows that my husband, friends, and family all make me extremely happy and go with some of the more superficial things.

1. Food. I know this is not deep. But I can't deny the fact that it is the first thing that comes to mind. I L-O-V-E food. I love to cook food for people and see people enjoy my hard work. I like to go out to eat. I like to eat simple mindless things like Lipton Teriyaki noodles. I love it all. Here are some things I enjoy: Lipton Teriyaki noodles, my mom's chicken enchiladas, my step mom's shrimp and grits (they are to die for!) re-stuffed potatoes, Queso dip, Chinese food, the list goes on and on and on!

2. Movies that make you cry. Yes this sounds like it would make you sad. But I think there is something to be said for having a good cry over something that is not real and that you will be get over once the movie is finished, Does anyone know what I mean. Like the Notebook for instance. It is so sad and it definitely induces tears, or maybe a bawl or two. But when it is over, you feel kind of refreshed.

3. New makeup. For the first week after you get new makeup you are always excited about getting up and doing your makeup in the morning. After that, it goes back to just being a chore.

4. Watching movies on a rainy day, especially if it is cold AND rainy. I love when it happens to be cold and rainy on a Sunday. Throw a load of laundry in the machine and snuggle down to watch Pretty Woman for the 1001 time. Yea!

5. Lena. I. love.my.dog. She cheers me up if I had a bad day. She snuggles on my chest, all seventy pounds of her if I am crying at anything. She barks when she sleeps, which makes me smile. She guards the house when we are home alone. She makes me happy.

6. Going back to Starkville. What is it about going back to your college town that evokes so many strong positive memories. I feel like Starkville is in its own bubble and everything about that place feels cozy and inviting. I love all the restaurants. I love all the bars. I love how pretty the campus is. I love my old sorority house. Maybe it is because the majority of Kenny and I's relationship took place there. I don't know but Starkville is awesome.

I just realized I said "I love" a lot in this post. But well.....I do.

DID ANYONE NOTICE & CARRIE UNDERWOOD CONCERT!

Okay so everyone knows I am huge fan of Gossip Girl. I love seeing the clothes and how provocative these supposed high school kids act. ( I would never let my children watch this show) But the show is awesome. But last night I was having a hard time getting past little Jenny Humphrey's new look.

DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK THAT THIS IS A MULLET! And not to mention her smoky eye was over the top. This girl is 14 for goodness sakes, playing a fifteen year old! Her story line is one of my favorites but I like sweet Jenny instead of this edgy smoky eye Jenny!

Okay....moving on! Sunday night we went to see Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood with Joe and Tracy. We had so much fun! Here are some pics!

And on a side note does anyone else have problems with their camera taking pictures in low light settings. They either come out really blurry, or totally dark. To get these which are not very good at all I had to turn my flash off and set it on blur reduction. So frustrating!Little Big Town

I have to thank Kenny for getting us fantastic seats. Carrie and a couple guys in her band came out and did a couple of acoustic songs and we were probably less than 30 feet away from them. It was neat. Carrie Underwood is TINY! And when she was sitting on the stool with her legs crossed she did not have a bit of cellulite. Just saying.



It was a great night and she put on a great show. It is so weird that American Idol brought her to the place she is now. I remember loving her on that season!

BIRTHDAY BOY

So today is a special somebody's birthday. Kenny turns another year old today. We are celebrating by having a low key weekend with his parents that will include shopping, dining, and relaxing. Lots of fun!

So excuse me while I get all mushy gushy!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Who would of thought more than six years ago at that fantastic Fireman's ball in Memphis that we went together just as friends that we would be where we are today.

Every day I learn something new about him and he never ceases to surprise me. He is so giving, and caring, and driven and he is laid back which balances out my need to control everything. He is funny, sensitive, considerate,(like worries about other people almost too much) and he makes me smile. And the best thing is I know he is going to be a amazing father one day. What more could a girl want?

Happy birthday to you, And many to be, With friends that are true, As you are to me

Happy Birthday Kenny! I love you!

P.S. Lena wishes you a happy birthday too!

SWEETS I LIKE TO EAT

So I am on the mend, just have a bit of a cough today. Much better! Here is a mindless post. I have had more of a sweet tooth lately so I was thinking about the different sweets I like to eat.

Creme Brulee, preferably vanilla is my absolute favorite desert. I love the crunchy top and the smooth cool center. 

An extremely close second would be Bread Pudding. I can't get enough of this stuff!

This is my after dinner sweet treat. My mother introduced me to Caramel Cone ice cream. It is her absolute favorite ice cream. It is very very delicious.

 (Yet another sign I am turning into my mother.)

My favorite movie candy. I get really peeved when movie theatres 

do not have this glorious candy.

This is the sweet I have been eating lately, only with orange icing and Halloween sprinkles! Everyone knows these cookies. They are a cookie but they taste like birthday cake. So good! 

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SWEET TREATS?


P.S. Two of my lovely blog friends Miss Monogram and No Worries Wynn In Love awarded me with a Kreativ Blog Award. More on that next week. Don't worry girls, I haven't forgotten!

UUUGH

The cold has taken over me. I am home. Sick. In bed.

WEEKEND UPDATE

So after a two phone calls from my mother worried that I was depressed, (I wasn't btw, just in a very blah mood) I am going to try and write a more upbeat post. Please keep in mind I am suffering from a really bad head cold so bear with me if this post makes no sense.

This weekend was fairly low key. Friday night Kenny and I met up with Joe and Tracy for dinner and a movie. We had not seen them in FOREVER. With the move, and vacations we had all been so busy. So it was really good to finally hang out with them. We went to a low key dinner at Belmont Grill and then went to see Eagle Eye, the new Shia LaBeouf movie. I really like Shia LaBeouf, he gets a lot of flack in the media but I really enjoy all of his movies. This particular movie was a little far fetched but action packed. We liked it.

Saturday morning, I got up early to do my second volunteer shift at the Repeat Boutique. It was hard work and I was glad when it was over because I could already feel my cold coming on by then. After Repeat Boutique I went to the grocery store and did a huge grocery trip. Exciting right?

That night Lauren, and Lowe fresh off their honeymoon in Jamaica came over to grill fish from the deep sea fishing excursion in Destin and watch the Red Sox game. The Red Sox pulled out another win which was exciting, however I am sad to say that I lost a couple of cookie bets (yes cookies) at work due to my poor Bulldogs losing to UT. It is hard to be a State fan. By the end of the night I went to bed early because I was not feeling good at all.

Sunday, pretty much stayed in bed all day. I caught up on my tivo and watched some really random movies like I Know Who Killed Me with Lindsey Lohan. It was so terrible it was comical.

So now its Monday, and I forced myself to go to work. I am hoping this cold does not last more than a couple days. Trying to save up my sick days. Mom was this post better?

OBSERVATIONS

Drama follows me everywhere.

I am old. How did I use to go out all night and make it to a full day of classes and work the next day.

The weather is gross.

I want to go home.

BLAH

I am in a very blah mood this past week. I guess maybe because things have calmed down a little bit. I don't know.

You know those mornings where you look in your closet and you think blah.....or in the mirror.....blah...

I get home from work and I don't feel like cooking anything, blah.

I have a hair appointment tomorrow which I am in desperate need of. Maybe that will help.

Sorry if this post is depressing. Reading back I think it is. Sorry. I am just very blah.