THE SHAQUILLE O'NEAL CURSE

That's right I said it. We are (or were) cursed by Shaquille O'Neal.

You see it goes all the way back to when Kenny was a wee lad boy. Kenny would sit in front of the television and watch all the great players of the NBA play basketball. He loved Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, but he especially loved Shaq. (cue angels singing here)

If anyone else keeps up, Shaquille O'Neal has been in the NBA for 16 years. So about four years ago I thought it would be nice to surprise Kenny with tickets to go and see him play in the LA Lakers vs. Memphis Grizzlies game. I bought some really good (expensive) box tickets from a friend and off we went to Memphis to see the game. Kenny was so excited about seeing all the players but he could not wait to get a look at the 7'1 star. So we get there and get settled in with our beer and our BBQ nachos and then......there was no Shaq. I can't remember what happened. He was hurt, he was sick, I don't know. But he was not there and he did not play. Kenny was really disappointed.

This would become a trend with us for the next four years. Shaq moved on to the Heat. We went to three or four of his games when he was with the Heat. It was the same thing every time. We get there, and Shaq never played. We did get to see him sit the bench in his suit one time. But for the most part we never even got a glimpse of ol Shaq. Poor Kenny.

WELL THAT ALL ENDED LAST NIGHT! BE GONE CURSE! ! Kenny and I went to see the Phoenix Suns play the Grizzlies. And it was a great game. Shaq played the entire game and we even saw him dunk the ball a few times. The Grizzlies were winning the entire time until the last two minutes. Kenny was so happy. The only thing that could of made it better if our camera had not died. The battery ran out as the Suns were warming up. Maybe the curse lives on.

We did get a couple pics on the blackberry. They are really terrible. But I just have to include them. He is number 32.

FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

So like I mentioned yesterday Kenny and I were very blessed this Christmas and received lots of fun gifts. Even though I loved all of them, I thought I would share just a few of my favorites.

Pardon my photography. Impromptu photo shoot at the desk this morning. How cute is this lunch box. Since Kenny and I moved I have not been able to go home for lunch so I have been carrying my lunch in a Mississippi State Alumni koozie cooler that we got at some event. Not cute....right! Well thanks to my sister she found me this adorable polka dotted number. I love polka dots. This lunch box is by Built and they have lots of cute stuff. I think we have a wine bottle carrier by them to.

I also love my cute coffee mug my mom got me. I am not a coffee drinker. I do occasionally drink decaf. But it is always fun to sip a warm beverage like cocoa out of a cute mug. I prefer it over the non-Eco-friendly Styrofoam cups at work.

Another polka dotted item! I am so not used to hardwood floors and ever since we moved my feet have been capital F freezing! So these slippers are fun and functional. My feet appreciate them very much!

Tom Tom GPS! Yes! This gift was a total surprise and I am so excited to finally have one so I don't have to borrow Kenny's anymore. I swear this is one of those inventions that after you have had it for a while you are like what the heck did I do before this? How did I find my way around? My in-laws are awesome for surprising me with this!

I got several cookbooks this year. One of my favorite gifts to receive any time. But I am really excited about the two Barefoot Contessa(Ina Garten) cookbooks I got.I love her show. It shoots in the Hampton's and filmed in her own kitchen. The two cookbooks that I was given were Family Style and At Home. Have any of you ever worked with her recipes? They focus on short ingredient lists, high quality ingredients, and being able to prepare ahead of time so you can entertain. I actually am going to try out one of her recipes for a vegetable side dish tomorrow night. I will let you know how it turns out.

These little flats are by Keen. They are an outdoorsy brand and I thought they would look cute with jeans during the winter. Let me tell you. I love these shoes. They are so comfortable. I got them in that orange color but my friend got them in a blue color and I think I want those too. They are the perfect shoe for running errands on a Saturday morning. You can get them at Zappos.  

Like I said I received so many wonderful and thoughtful gifts but just wanted to share a few of my favorites. What was your favorite gift this Christmas!

HOW CAN IT BE OVER?

Is anyone else a little shocked that Christmas has come and gone? I really can't believe it. Kenny and I got home yesterday and had a good amount of time to unpack, put away all of our Christmas presents and get ready to go back to work today.

We hit up Hattiesburg first and then it was on to Jackson. We had a really good Christmas. We both got everything we asked for and so much more. We are so thankful for our thoughtful families.

On Christmas Day my mom, my sister, Kenny and I went to see Marley and me. I had read(and bawled at)the book, so I knew what to expect. But the movie really exceeded my expectations. To me it was not as sad as the book and I really enjoyed the fact that the movie seemed to be about a family moving through life.

I would also like to note that Jennifer Anniston beat out Brad Pitt in the box office over the holiday weekend. I am so on Team Anniston. Cheaters always lose!

When we were in Jackson, we went to see Bedtime Stories. It was cute. We also had a chance to meet up with some friends one night in Jackson. It is always fun to show up at a bar and see everyone Kenny went to high school with and then everyone both of us went to college with.

All in all it was a great holiday and I really am in disbelief that it is time to start a new year. We have not nailed down our New Years Eve plans yet. What are yall doing? I really am not a fan of New Years Eve. Too much pressure for it to be the best night ever you know. Not to mention that I have to work all day on Wednesday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. 

Enjoy spending time with your family. Don't forget the reason for the season 

and hope Santa was good to you!

SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN TO TOWN

So last night Kenny and I had our Christmas. We like to open our gifts from each other with just the two of us since we are blessed with participating in so many Christmas celebrations.

I just have to say that I am so lucky to have a guy like Kenny. He really pays attention to things I like and always make such an effort to get me things that he knows I will enjoy.

I mean how many guys will venture into Sephora just because I needed a certain powder. He also got me a gorgeous swing coat that I can't seem to find a picture online but as soon as I take a picture wearing it I will post it. I also got some really cute flats. Along with SATC movie, Mama Mia, entire first Season of Big Love(see he knows the things I love) and some other things. And of course we always exchange an ornament.

Don't worry, he had a really good Christmas too. But I just wanted to thank him for making Christmas so special every year!

WEEKEND IN NASHVILLE

After recovering from some 12 hour stomach bug on Thursday night, don't know if it was what I ate for lunch or what but I was glad when it was over, Kenny and I headed to Nashville for the weekend for his company's Christmas celebration. We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and it was amazing and so much fun! I was so happy to get to see it all decorated for Christmas.

We got there late afternoon and checked in and then had to hurry and get ready to make it to dinner on time. Dinner was a lot of fun and afterwards Kenny and I decided we wanted to go out. You know...bright lights....big city! So first we went back to the bar that was at the hotel, FUSE. It was interesting. Good people watching. Around midnight we decided we wanted a different crowd and headed downtown. It was freezing so we literally went into the first bar we found that looked like it had a good crowd. We actually had a lot of fun at that bar whatever and where ever it was. Kenny and I were laughing the next day because it seemed the DJ at the bar took every single song you have ever heard of and put it to a techno beat. Even that Jason Mraz song. It was hilarious. We head back to the hotel at 3:30 AM!!!! I can't believe our stamina. We are too old for that sort of that thing. When we got back to the room Kenny ordered a room service pizza which I ate maybe half a piece before falling asleep! $30 dollar pizza he kept saying! We had a good time that night!

The next day we got up and decided to walk around the hotel. Can I just say that the hotel is ginormous! But so gorgeous!

WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD ( I just could not stop!)

Umm, we got lost several times trying to find our way around. 

Kenny studying the map.

Look at the pretty mansion and the pretty river and the pretty waterfall. 

They are all inside of a HOTEL! 

What a lovely place to have a small wedding ceremony.

I loved this tree of poinsettias. Kenny thought that maybe I could 

try and do one next year for our house.

We finally talked someone into taking a picture of the two of us. You know how that traveling alone stuff goes. You never get any pictures of the two of you together.

The decorations everywhere were gorgeous. They had gigantic ornaments 

hanging from the sky in one of the atriums.

Loved this nativity scene.

After we had walked around the hotel for a few hours and had some lunch I headed back to Memphis to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping and wrapping and Kenny stayed in town to entertain some clients. They went to the Titans vs. Steelers game on Sunday afternoon. It was freezing but I think they all had a great time. The Titans won the game and won home field advantage for the playoffs which is great for them. It will be interesting to see if they make it to the Superbowl.

Kenny did not get home until late on Sunday night so I had a cozy evening in by ordering in some Chinese food and watching a holiday staple for me. Little Women. Love that movie! Tonight Kenny and I are having our Christmas.

GREAT GIFT! PERFECT SCENTS

So as I mentioned a couple of days ago we had Christmas at my dad and step mom's on Saturday night.  It was a really fun time but I wanted to share this fantastic gift my step mom got for me.

You see I LOVE perfume.  I am definitely not a one scent type of girl.  I wear a different perfume depending on my mood, my outfit, or the occasion.  You can never have enough perfume!

I usually ask for a new scent each Christmas, but this year I just had not had time to do my research and pick the scent I wanted. So I had not asked for any. Enter perfect present here!

The Sephora Brand Scent Sampler Bestsellers For Her is the perfect gift of fragrance when you're not sure which one to choose. This set includes ten samples of our top-selling women's fragrances to try, a gift voucher of equal value that can be redeemed at any Sephora store for a full-size bottle of any one of the samples included, and a fragrance guide.

So in other words you get 10 samples of these great perfumes which can sometimes be up to two ounces. I mean that little bit still lasts me a little while and then you get to try them all out. Once you have given them all a whirl you bop on over to your local Sephora (which thank God Memphis now has two!) and you exchange your certificate for a full bottle of whichever perfume you liked the best!

I know! Isn't that amazing. So far I have worn three of the different scents in my samples. And the front runner is definitely Stella by Stella McCartney. I am wearing it today and I love it! But who knows what I may end up choosing. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

GO SHORTY! ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY

Christmas morning pictures! Had to include this one because my sister is actually kissing me.  A very rare thing in our household!

We were feeling silly one night so I threw on my wedding dress 

and we had a photo shoot with the pups!

So today is Baby Bird's birthday, aka my little sister, aka Annie. She turns a whopping age of 23 today. She's old. Just kidding. I am older. She got an exciting birthday present when she found out that she had earned a 4.0 this semester after missing the first three weeks of school for emergency surger. She is smart! So in honor of my little sis's birthday I thought I would tell you a few funny stories about growing up with ole Annie b' Dannie.

-She had an extremely strong attachment to a little stuffed dog named "Puppy Dog" It went everywhere with her. One time on a trip home from somewhere she starts screaming hysterically because she can't find Puppy Dog. I mean really using those lungs and screaming at her absolute loudest. My parents pulled the car over and searched every bit of that car, including every pocket of every suitcase and under all the clothes. They came to the conclusion that Puppy Dog had been left behind. So she cried the entire trip home. It was hours. We get home and she is devastated and still has not stopped crying and my mom goes to pull her out of the car seat.....there was Puppy Dog. She had been sitting on him the entire time.

-During one of the first few weeks of Annie's freshman year at Mississippi State Annie came into our sorority lunch room (she pledged the same sorority as me) and sat down at the table that I was at. There were also a few other girls sitting there. I asked Annie how her test went and being the studious student she is, she burst into tears. School is really important to her. She did not think she had done well on the test. As she is telling me this I start to cry too. This is no surprise to anyone who knows my mom, my sister, and I. If one cries, we all cry. It does not matter how silly it is. So here I start to bawl at the lunch table and my sister is bawling and all the other girls have no idea why the heck we are crying. And we are not too sure ourselves. It is just a chain reaction. We still laugh about that. Those girls were so confused.

-Annie's freshman year and my senior year of high school, we had the joy of playing on the varsity soccer team together. However, it was not a joy. You see Annie and I had an extremely strong case of sibling rivalry up until the day I went off to college. We get along great now but back then a different story. One day at soccer practice Annie and I were scrimmaging on different teams when she purposely tried to take me out by kicking the back of my knee. The knee I had surgery on. I was livid. So I turned around to retaliate and went to smack her head, but I missed...... almost. My fingernail caught her forehead and left a three inch scratch. Amazingly she still has a faint scar. The rest of the team just stood there in wonder as all this went down. Sisters.

Good times!

Happy Birthday Sis!

COOKIE EXCHANGE

So this Saturday my step mom and I hosted a cookie exchange at my house. I had to share the invitation because it was so cute. The blurriness is because I scratched out the personal info on it. But my friend Susan did these for me. I loved them! If y'all ever need her to design something for you, let me know! She would love to do it!

We made so much yummy food! We had pomegranate martini and some of the hors d'oeuvres we made were: a blue cheese and walnut spread on water crackers, crostinis with pesto, goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes, meatballs that were in a delicious homemade sauce, bacon wrapped dates, Parmesan wheels, stuffed mushrooms, bourbon pecan balls, quiche, spinach and goat cheese in filot dough. I told you we made alot! But little bite size foods are so fun to make so my step mom and I just made everything we wanted to. Kenny has enjoyed eating the leftovers!

Not to mention all the cookies that everyone brought. We had lots of different kinds and they all looked so good, A lot of my girlfriends had never been to a cookie exchange party and seemed to enjoy it.

It was also a lot of fun for me personally because all my different groups of friends got to meet each other. They all hear me talk about them all the time so they got to put a face to a name. Plus what is more fun than when all your friends are in the same room. Here is a picture with one of my best friends Susan and then my other friend Susan who we jokingly refer to as replacement Susan because she is my really good work friend. Kenny is constantly confused because I am always talking about one or the other.

Tracy and Susan, sorry this is a nearly identical picture.

After the party was over and my sister and I cleaned up we went over to my parents house for Christmas presents and dinner. Which BTW my sister helped me so much getting ready for the party! She should of been a host! Next year we decided she will be! I got some really cute things from my parents. More on one of them tomorrow. And the shrimp and grits were tasty. My step mom used the recipe from Oxford's City Grocery.

I was exhausted by the end of the night.

Friday night,(sorry I am going backwards) Kenny, my sister, my step mom and I went to see the Pajama Game at the Orpheum. I am extremely sad to say it was not very good. This is the first play that I have EVER seen that I down right did not like. The music just wasn't catchy, and the jokes fell flat. Oh well, I know the rest of the season is going to be stellar!

Today we are under a winter storm advisory and of course I have to run a jillion errands after work that includes some final Christmas shopping. Yuck!

LABOR OF LOVE

Okay. Baking is a labor of love! I love to cook but whooo. Baking is totally different. As I mentioned earlier this week I am hosting a Cookie Exchange party tomorrow at my house. So the other night I got to baking. I decided to make Peppermint Shortbread cookies. I love the buttery, flaky consistency of shortbread cookies.Isn't the dough pretty with all the peppermint flecks. I then rolled the dough into balls and flattened them to bake.

Then into the oven they went. They came out and all the candy bits had melted and these cookies were so good.

Don't worry I made them prettier by drizzling them with peppermint icing. Sorry I do not have a picture of those but I was so worn out from all the baking. I consider myself to be an extremely clean cook. I clean as I go. But you should of seen my kitchen when I was done. It was filthy.

In other holiday news we had our department Christmas party last night at a restaurant here in Memphis. It was a lot of fun. This was the first of our holiday parties to go to but there are many to look forward to ahead. I am also excited that tomorrow night we will get to enjoy our first of four Christmas's. Yes we are like that movie. Opening presents and giving presents...so much fun!

WHY? OH WHY?

I SUGGEST YOU ONLY READ THIS IF YOU LOVE 90210 THE WAY I HAVE LEARNED TO LOVE IT. SERIOUSLY, THIS POST WILL PROBABLY BORE MOST OF YOU BUT I JUST HAVE TO GET THIS OFF MY CHEST!

So I mentioned a WHILE back that I had taken on the task of watching Beverly Hills 90210 from start to finish because I had never ever seen a single episode up until a few months ago.

So everyday my tivo records two episodes from 4:00 - 6:00. I watch them when I get home as I am cooking dinner or doing things around the house. I am proud to say that the gang is in their junior year of college, Andrea has left. Sad. Brenda has left. Sad. I liked Brenda. Donna and David are not together anymore after he cheated on her with Ariel. All of these I embarrassingly admit that I might have teared up about a time or two.

BUT yesterday was the first time that I literally bawled. Why I ask you! Why!
WHY DID THEY HAVE TO KILL ANTONIA!

I liked Antonia the very first episode she made an appearance. Hey that is Rebecca Gayheart I said. She is married to McSteamy. But on top of that, her and Dylan were perfect together. Dylan was able to look past wanting to murder her father and they had a beautiful and private wedding where afterwards they were going to run away to Hawaii together.

But then she was murdered in a setup that was meant for Dylan. So dramatic. And I cried! Hard.

And now Dylan is gone. He is not handling the grief well and he is gone. The gang is dwindling. And these new people they keep adding to the cast just don't cut it like Brenda, Andrea and Dylan do. Antonia you will be missed.

HOLIDAY SEASON HAS BEGUN

Kenny and I had a really fun busy weekend. On Friday night one of my best friends Stefanie was in town to go wedding dress shopping with her sister on Saturday. Stefanie has just moved to North Carolina and I had not seen her in a while. So Kenny and I met up with her and the rest of her family at the Beauty Shop.

Beauty Shop is a popular restaurant in the Cooper Young area that is in an old beauty shop. So if you go with a date you might have the opportunity to sit under an old fashioned hair dryer. Its a fun place and the food is delish.

After dinner Stef and her whole family came over to see our new house. So of course we had to take a picture in front of the tree!This is a TERRIBLE picture of me. But we had so much fun that I had to include the pic!

Saturday morning, we got up and I made breakfast and then ran to the store to get the stuff to make Oreo balls for the party we were going to that afternoon. Have yall ever had these? They are so good! These were my first time to make them and they did not turn out perfect. Something with how I melted the chocolate, but they all got eaten so I will take that as a sign.

That afternoon we headed over to our friend Mollie and Wilson's house.  Who I just have to mention are having a baby tomorrow!!!  Can you believe they were entertaining. I will probably be a recluse the last month I am pregnant. Mollie was being such a good sport! We all came over to watch the SEC championship which was a great game and we ate so much food. Tracy had brought the new puppy. Here is a pic of little Millie with Joe(Tracy's husband). I love when manly men have little dogs. So cute!

Here is a picture of me and Tracy. I am not sure what was up with me and taking pictures this weekend. Oh well. Its is still cute of Tracy that is.

Sunday, I was on a mission. I am hosting a Cookie Exchange party at my house this coming up weekend, not to mention I have my department's Christmas party and a Orpheum play to go to so I am going to be super busy. So yesterday I did all my grocery shopping for the cookies that I am going to make for the party and all the yummy party food. (More on that later). My goal is to not have to go to the store the rest of the week. Wish me luck.

Last night Kenny and I watched Pride. It is about an inner city swim team. It was really good. The holiday season has officially begun. We are so busy in the next few weeks. But its all fun stuff. Kenny and I are having our first of four Christmases this weekend at my parent's house and I am so excited. Shrimp and Grits and presents! Perfect evening!

CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Christmas music is like crack. You have a little bit...and its good...and then you want more....and then some more...and its never enough. Because you can never have enough versions of O Holy Night sung by five dozen different artists. It makes you feel good and you forget all your troubles and cares. Christmas music is wonderful.

Here are some of my faves!
The entire Mariah Carey CD - Merry Christmas
O Holy Night - Celine Dion
I'm Dreaming of A White Christmas - The Drifters (version from Home Alone)
Carol of the Bells - Transiberian Orchestra
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Jackson 5
Mary Did You Know - Reba McEntire
The Friendly Beast - Garth Brooks (anyone else ever heard this song?)
Baby It's Cold Outside - Any version
The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
Last Christmas - George Michael ( so cheesy but so good)

Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy - The Nutcracker

Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

P.S. I am sorry for comparing Christmas music to crack.  It is not really like crack.  It is more like a food addiction. How about that?  Any better?

DECK THE HALLS

So like I mentioned yesterday, Kenny and I got our house decorated for Christmas this weekend. With Thanksgiving being so late this year there was no time to waste.

So I thought you might like to see a couple pictures. They really do not do it justice. It looks so pretty at night and makes the house feel so cozy.

Here is our pretty Christmas tree. We do a combination of red and gold balls and then fun ornaments. Kenny and I have a tradition of exchanging ornaments every year and my mom also gives us some every year. So we are gradually getting a larger collection.

If you look closer you might see a big white 2006. That was my first ornament that I ever gave Kenny after we were married. It was so cheesy but I just had to get it. It has a little bride and groom and our names on it and 2006 is the year we got married. It is one of our favorite ones even if it is incredibly corny.

And those presents I had wrapped for a few weeks now. Can you believe I am STILL not done with my Christmas shopping!

Here is the tree lit up and without any lights on. It is how we display it in the window. I think one night I will just go sit in that room with a glass of wine and enjoy looking at it. I love Christmas.

This is a picture of the lights we put outside. It was so hard to get a good picture of how pretty this really looks. But I love it! And you can see our tree in the window.

And finally a simple Christmas wreath on our front door. I am working on getting a more festive bow for it.

Christmas decorations make me so happy and I love driving by all the houses and seeing all the decorations come out as the days pass.

I'M STILL FULL

Well Thanksgiving was a success. Kenny and I hosted his parents along with my dad and step mom and we had a really good time. Kenny and I are still eating leftovers.

I really do love Thanksgiving. I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from start to finish this year. I absolutely love the parade even in all its cheesy lip syncing glory. But they always have the hot Broadway plays of the year perform and I like seeing them. This year In the Heights performed and they were wearing the skimpiest outfits because the play is set in the summer and it was 37 degrees in NYC. They had to be freezing. And did anyone hear when Meredith screamed because the float hit their little booth. It was really funny.

On Friday, Kenny and his parents went shopping and really scored a lot of good deals. I had to work until noon. Then I came home and watched a little of the slaughter that was the Egg Bowl this year before I turned on some tivo!

Farewell Coach Croom...I really liked you. Too bad you could not make our poor team any better. Thank you for doing the right thing and resigning so we could have the money to buy a good coach. That's a really admirable thing you did. And I won't forget how much fun I had at the Liberty Bowl last year. So thanks for that. Good luck to you.




On Saturday after Kenny's parents left Kenny and I ran some errands and he bought me a computer. Which I am so excited about! Thank you thank you thank you! Now I do not have to bug him to use his when we are at home. That night we decorated the tree and ate our second huge Thanksgiving meal and watched Christmas Vacation. We always watch that movie the night that we decorate the tree. So fun. Our house is really pretty and festive right now. Look forward to a post about it because I found my camera charger!

And on a side note. Did anyone else watch Britney Spears documentary on MTV last night. I found it to be really interesting and also a little bit sad. I really do feel sorry for her. She has had a rough time. But she does seem to be pulling out of it and her new CD comes out tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!