MENU MONDAY

Kenny and I had another low key weekend. Kenny did some yard work and we went to see I Love You Man. It was really good. I have a small crush on Paul Rudd. He is so funny.

Our menu this weekend is pretty boring because we have a short week as far as dinners go because my mom and sister come in town on Thursday to see The Color Purple at the Orpheum. We usually grab a quick bite to eat before the play starts downtown.

MENU
Sunday- Slow cooker Cheesy Chicken served with brown rice and broccoli- this was on the menu last week but I ended up not making it because Kenny was traveling and then the next night we grilled out with some friends to watch the Memphis game.

I do have to say that I was not really that thrilled with this recipe. The chicken was good but did not taste cheesy at all. I probably will not make it again.

Monday- Spaghetti with Italian Sausage served with salad

Tuesday- Salmon served with mashed potatoes and green beans

Wednesday- Leftover Cheesy Chicken served with brown rice and vegetable

Thursday- The Color Purple, so eating out!

Friday- Most likely eat out again......or maybe my Mom will cook!

I promise I will have much more interesting meals next week because I have already pulled a couple recipes.

BIG TROUBLE

So Sex and The City Movie premiered on HBO last night. I have already watched it twice. Never mind that I own this movie. But now that it is coming on at least one of our HBO channels at all times I cannot STOP watching it.

And can someone please tell me why I have seen this movie at least a dozen times and I still cry every single time.

I am in BIG TROUBLE. No pun intended for you SATC fans. Ha!

RANDOMNESS

Well its Friday and my friend Tracy sent this to me.......I always like reading these on other peoples blogs so here ya go!

1. Do you like blue cheese? Love it! It is my most favoritest cheese ever! I love to put it on top of a nice rare fillet. Yum!

2. Have you ever wrecked a car? Sadly, yes. Apart from the normal fender benders (one that included slamming into the back of my husbands car) I totalled my car freshmen year of college. It was actually kind of scary. I rolled my car down an embankment, had to scream for help, and these insanely hot firemen had to cut me out of the car to rescue me. I had no injuries!

3. Do you own a gun? No! I am absolutely terrified of guns.

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Funny, we were talking about this last night. Grape.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No, I love any excuse to talk about what ails me. Ha!

6. What do you think of hot dogs? Hated them for the longest time and a few years ago rekindled the flame. Love them now. I especially like the ones with little cheese bits in them.

7. Favorite movie? Oooh, this one is hard. Too many to name but a few of my faves are: Fried Green Tomatos, The Goonies, The Family Stone

8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Water

9. Can you do push ups? Nope. But I should try.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding rings.

11. Favorite hobby? I love to cook.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? Doesn't everyone think they have ADD these days. I think it is over diagnosed and the meds are over prescribed. I do not think I have ADD I just think that I have things that I would rather be doing when my mind wanders off. Kenny says I have a perfect combination of ADD and OCD all at the same time. A whole other post in itself.

13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I want everything to be perfect all the time.

14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. My stomach is growling. I have a case of the blahs this morning. Oh look I see blue sky!

15. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink: Water, Sprite Zero, Caffeine Free Diet Coke (I don't drink caffeine ever)

16. Current worry: I try really hard not to focus on worrying. Worrying does nothing to help any situation.

17. Current hate right now: Gosh this is a negative questionnaire. I hate having to watch what I am eating all the time.

18. Current praise: I added this one myself. I am happy that it is Friday and that it is FINALLY SPRING

19. Favorite place to be? The beach with Kenny. I wish we were there now.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Kenny and I had a party at our house. It was low key and a lot of fun!

21. Where would you like to go: Too many places to name but a few: Greece, Paris, African Safari, back to St. Lucia, Grand Canyon

22. Name three people who might complete this: Anyone who wants to do this.....DO IT

23. Do you own slippers? Yes I had to get some after we bought the house. Our floors stay soooo cold.

24. What shirt are you wearing? A hot pink boyfriend cardigan.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never tried it but it seems to me they would be awfully slippery.

26. Can you whistle? Not at all.

27. Favorite color? Green

28. Would you be a pirate? If I could be a the captain or hang out with Jack Sparrow. Hey! Here is a pirate joke!
What brand of clothes do pirates wear?
Arrrrrrrrmani!

29. What songs do you sing in the AM? I sing songs to Lena. I am a dork. Her favorite is when I sing "We Love You Lena....oh yes we do!" to the tune of We Love You Conrad from Bye Bye Birdie.

30. Favorite Girl's Name: Not telling. It is what I am naming my daughter.

31. Favorite boy's name: Have no idea.

32. What's in your pocket right now? I do not have any pockets and what girl has things in her pockets?

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Laughing at my friend at work telling me her boyfriend is in a serious depression because the Memphis Tigers lost last night.

34. What vehicle do you drive? Kenny and I just switched cars. I drive a Explorer.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? I tore a ligament in my knee from playing soccer and had to have knee surgery. But that pain comes nowhere near the pain from having my tonsils removed.

36. Do you love where you live? Yes. I love our little house.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3. And I do not mind boasting that we have 2 DVRs. Heaven.

38. Who is your loudest friend? Susan takes this one hands down.

39. Do you have any pets? She is not a pet. She is a member of the family. Lena my love.

40. Does someone have a crush on you? I don't know if you would call it a crush, as much as he's madly in love with me (or he better be!!)

41. Your favorite book(s): The Giver

42. Do you collect anything? Not really, but I love serving dishes and fun platters.

43. Favorite Sports Team: MSU Bulldogs!!!!

44. What song(s) do you want played at your funeral? This is weird.....

Oh whew.....this questionnaire was LOOOONG!

EXCERCISE WISH LIST

So I have been working really hard at being good and working out 3-5 times a week. Right now my work outs consist of Running/Walking 2-3 miles in a 40 minute time period. I know I know that is not a whole lot. But I am trying to build up to more. I plan to start doing 4 miles next week.

But I have a wish list of some things I need to get that I feel would help me reach my goals faster.

I do not have a scale. Crazy right!Since we don't have one any weight that I lose I have to measure by how I feel, look or how my clothes fit. Which can be deceiving and discouraging at the same time. I have got to get one pronto.

So I really want a pair of wrist weights to wear when I am running/walking. They really help you tone and burn calories by wearing them. I got my sister a pair for Christmas and hers came in a cute pink color.

I also want some light weights for when I get home to do some exercises with my arms. They REALLY need to be more toned. Getting my arms to be more toned and stronger is one of my main goals.

For rainy days or days when it gets to hot I want to still be able to work out. I want a couple of exercise DVDs. I have heard really good things about Jillian's DVDs and would love to try them. Let me know if anyone has any other suggestions.

Oh yeah! And I forgot I want a jump rope. Jump roping is one of the quickest ways to burn calories and make you throw up. Ha. I do not want to throw up but the burning calories is all good!

WORD TO THE WISE

For anyone who might want to try the delicious Black Bean and Corn Quesadilla recipe that I talked about yesterday I have a couple of tips. I consider myself to be a pretty good cook but this cooking and flipping these big ol quesadillas on the stove was not working for me. So here is what I did.......

Once you have the black bean and corn mixture cooked and ready, lay a tortilla on a flat baking sheet that has is sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheese over tortilla and then put bean and corn mixture over cheese. Then, add the top tortilla. Turn your oven on broil and pop the quesadilla in. Keep a close eye on it and once it starts to turn brown and crispy and everything is melted take it out. Then what I did was I cut the quesadilla into four pieces with a pizza cutter and then used a spatula to flip each piece over and then put them back into the oven for no more than a minute. This way both sides got crispy and it actually looked like a quesadilla.

These were really really really good. And once I figured out how to cook them I felt much better about myself. Ha! Definitely give them a try!

MENU MONDAY

Kenny and I had an extremely low key weekend. We did a lot around the house and went to a small work function hosted by the advertising firm my company works with to see the Boston Celtics play the Grizzlies. It was fun but the most eventful thing we did. All in all a good weekend.

I have seen other people do this on their blogs so I thought I would give it a try, especially since I have been trying to do meal planning when it comes to our weeknight dinners. I have found that meal planning really really helps in the money you spend at the grocery store. Before I was just going to the grocery store and buying random things and then I would put random meals together. I have found that by if you actually plan out what you are going to make each night you spend substantially less because you are only buying the ingredients you need along with your standard staples. Not to mention leftovers are awesome because that means NO COOKING! And Kenny has been enjoying the meals more because it just not chicken or fish and vegetables.

I have also been watching my calories in/calories burned and I enjoy being able to eat what I want and just watching my portion control. So because of that I have been turning to the Internet, particularly AllRecipes because a lot of their recipes have the nutritional information per serving which really helps me plan out what I am going to eat every day. I know I sound psychotic.

Anyway, here is the menu: (It is definitely a crock pot week.)

Sunday: Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplins served with whole cut green beans ( This was so easy and such a good Sunday cozy dinner)

Monday: Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas served with salad (I got this recipe from Mrs. Newlywed last week on her Menu Monday)

Tuesday: Leftover Chicken and Dumplins served with steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken served with brown rice and Lima beans

Thursday: Leftovers!  Yea!

Friday: We normally eat out.

I don't normally cook this much in my crock pot but I do love the convenience of just turning it on before I go to work and not having to work about doing anything when I get home.  Plus it allows me more time to exercise.  For the quesadillas I went ahead and made the black bean and corn mix last night so all I have to do tonight is put the quesadillas together.  Yum!  

BUG IN THE BED

So last night Kenny and I are sleeping soundly. It is 1 in the morning. All of a sudden Kenny springs out of bed and starts having a total spaz attack. Somehow I sensed this commotion and also sprang out of bed. I thought someone was in the house, or maybe the axe murderer had slipped into bed with us. I had no idea why we were both out of bed.

"There was a bug on me. There was a bug on me. I felt it crawling on me." As he still is shuddering and moving around. So naturally we start hunting for the bug. We turn on the light, pull back each layer of the covers, move all the pillows, look around the bed. No bug. Since our search was unsuccessful we decide to just go back to sleep.

Kenny was out in less than a minute. But you see.......I have this phobia.....of roaches. And even though Kenny had not said what type of bug it was that we were searching for I was convinced that it was a roach. And I had to believe that it was still in our bedroom. So I was too scared to go back to sleep. I was also to scared to look for it.

This morning the first thing I say to Kenny is "Umm so can we talk about this bug fiasco we had last night?"

His reply....."oh yea, I think I must of been dreaming."

He had been SLEEPWALKING the whole time. At least we got a good laugh about it this morning.

On a side note: I definitely got a speeding ticket trying to get home from work yesterday to watch the Mississippi State basketball game. I was going 43 in a 40. Come on! I have to go to court and they will throw it out and it won't cost me a dime. But I still cried. I am such a baby.

EEEEW

Yesterday on my way home from work I pulled up next to a car at a stoplight. I look over at this car and see a woman. She is sitting in her car, one hand holding the cigarette she is smoking. The other........holding a pair of tweezers.

Going to town on her chin. That's right people, she was plucking her chin while waiting for the light to turn green. I mean she wasn't just pulling a stray hair....she was plucking like there was no tomorrow.

Ladies, I can understand having a stray hair that needs to be dealt with. But do it in the privacy of your home.

For the boys that read this blog....I am sorry you had to read this but I just felt the need to share this horrible image that is now permanently etched into my brain.

COSMIC BOWLING AND SEC CHAMPS!

This weekend was a mixture of fun and not so much fun. Friday night Kenny and I went for some Chinese and then a little fro yo and came home and started watching random movies on television. We ended up watching The Ruins. Has anyone else seen that movie? We had it in our Blockbuster queue because I had been curious to see it. It was short, which always helps and it was different than other horror movies that have come out lately. It was good. We kind of liked it.

Saturday morning Kenny and I woke up with hopes to get a lot accomplished. He was taking one of our cars in to get new brakes and I was doing a big grocery shopping trip. Well, that all went by the wayside when we found out that the car was going to need over $1000 dollars in repairs! Once we got over the shock we wrote the check and the car really is riding so much better. But I will admit that it kind of put a BIG damper on my mood for a little while. And I know this is kind of weird but the weather we are having here in Memphis is driving me crazy. Its cloudy, and foggy and gray and kind of cold. We have not seen the sun in a week and it definitely does not help things.


Saturday night, we decided to get in a better mood and met up with a group of people for dinner and then a little Cosmic Bowling.

And I have to say, my bowling skills have improved. I was on fire. (Not really, but it was really good for me) I even beat Kenny at one game. Proof is in the picture!


The boys putting on their best bowling faces. The guy on the right even brought his own ball and his own bowling shoes. Ha Ha. Just kidding.

On Sunday, I got up early to so that I could get finished with grocery shopping before the SEC championship game started. Mississippi State was playing Tennessee. It was a really close game that had a lot of intense moments. But of course the Bulldogs pulled it out! Kenny and I were really excited and we are happy that we are on the way to the tournament. I looooove March Madness! I can't wait to fill out my bracket. Plus it is always fun to not only watch State play but how excited everyone gets here for the Memphis Tigers team. Last year they were in the finals and the city was all abuzz. I truly hope both teams go far! Can't wait!

TGIF

So I was going to do a post about how happy I was it was Friday. Which I totally am. Daylight Savings Time has been kicking my butt this week. I love it being light when I get home from work but it is so hard to get out of bed in the morning when its pitch black outside. So I Google imaged TGIF and I just could not resist this picture.

What the hay! The only excuse I can come up with for this unfortunate picture is that maybe they are a wedding band?? And TGIF is the name of their band.

I sure hope they are not just four girlfriends who decided to have a little glamour shot done in the mall and thought this was would be a good idea.

My favorite part is that the hairstyle cordinates to the position you are in the picture. Down on one- knee coifed and frosted. Standing- 80's bangs and bouffant in the back.

TAKING CHANCE

Last night Kenny and I watched a movie on HBO called Taking Chance. This was one of the most powerful movies that I have seen in a really long time. It really made an impact on me, and I will admit I cried through a lot of it because it was so humbling.

The film recounts the true story of Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, a marine who volunteers to escort the remains of a 19-year-old killed in Iraq, back to his family in a small Wyoming town. This film is not political at all and shows the Lieutenant's(played by Kevin Bacon) journey and how he himself is affected along with the other people he comes into contact with.

This movie is only an hour and twenty minutes long and I felt like I learned so much and it really made me think. I just wanted to share because I think it is a movie that all Americans should watch. Whether you know someone who is fighting for our country or not. I'm not kidding. Watch this movie!

Sorry if this sounds preachy. It is not meant to be. This movie really just hit home with me. Has anyone else watched this movie?

SISTER BEATS HUSBAND IN A MARSHMALLOW TIE BREAKER

So my mom and my sister were in town for the weekend after seeing Legally Blonde. Friday I had to work but they shopped and ran errands. Friday night we went to dinner at Old Venice. It was delicious and Kenny and I got the same meal that we got every time we went there in college. Crawfish rolls for an appetizer and the Crawdaddy pizza. Yum!

On Saturday morning my mom was treating all of us to pedicures at the Nail Bar.This place is so cute and fun. They have a huge flat screen where they play movies while you are waiting or getting a manicure. And you can have a glass of wine or champagne if you want. It is such a fun thing to do with girls.

After our pedicures we went shopping. I bought a few things for Spring. I always end up shopping more for warm weather clothes. They are more fun. We also hit up the new Target that just opened this weekend in East Memphis. It was so nice and clean.

We were tired from shopping all day and so decided to grill steaks for dinner and have smores in our chiminia for dessert. While we enjoyed our yummy meal a small wager was made between Kenny and my sister as to which of them could eat more smores. They both love chocolate and have a major sweet tooth.

So we start roasting our marshmallows. My mom and I had 1 smore and a couple roasted marshmallows. Because the roasted marshmallow is my favorite part anyway. Kenny and Annie had 4 smores each!  

I wanted to be sick just watching them.  They decided neither of them could eat another smore and they did not want the competition to end in a tie so they moved into a marshmallow eating tiebreaker.  In the end my sister beat Kenny by two marshmallows after eating a total of four smores and 11 marshmallows.  Kenny was ashamed to have lost to a girl.  (And yes she is holding up a "L" in front of him for Loser.  She was gloating)

Sunday morning my sister, Kenny and I went over to my Dad's house to celebrate his birthday which was on Saturday. My step mom had made some delicious brunch food and we hung out over there for a while. It was a really fun weekend. Happy Birthday Dad!

PERSONALITY TEST

So One Fabulous Mom posted this personality test on her blog and I thought I would see what it said about me::

Your personality type:

Warm-hearted, popular and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. Value traditions and security. Interested in serving others. Need positive reinforcement to feel good about themselves. Well-developed sense of space and function.

Careers that could fit you include:

Home economics, nursing, teaching, administrators, child care, family practice physician, clergy, office managers, counselors, social workers, bookkeeping, accounting, secretaries, organization leaders, dental assistants, homemakers, radiological technologists, receptionists, religious educators, speech pathologists.

While I agree with my personality type some of the careers are a stretch and a tad random. I have bolded the ones that I have done in the past or that I would be interested in doing. But a lot of the others require liking school and going back for lots more school, and well......I much more enjoy working than going to school. And it does not mention my current professions so......

Take the test and let me know and I will come check your results out on your blog!

IT WAS ALL IT SHOULD BE

I looooooved it. I am sad that it is over. It really was so good. All the characters were great and the girl playing Elle was really cute and good. The actress playing Paulette had some pipes on her! I want to see it again!!


Oh! And Lauren was there! Remember her? She was second runner up on the MTV show the search for Elle Woods. She was a member of the swing cast and is also the understudy for Elle. So it was nice to see that she had some success after not making it to Broadway. And she was so skinny!

All in all it was such a fun night! If this show comes to your area, go see it! It will not disappoint!

TODAY IS THE DAY

Tonight I will FINALLY get to see one of my favorite plays. Legally Blonde. I love the music to this show and the production is upbeat and so adorable. I just know I am going to love it!

RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT TV

I actually voted last night after watching American Idol. I am a devoted fan to the show but I rarely vote. Last night I voted for Lil Rounds. Because she kicked booty and like I have said before her husband works for my company so I feel like I have a personal connection. (yea right!)

And I also voted for Felicia. Sista can sing! I will say that I watched the show all by my lonesome and I was laughing out loud at Nathaniel Marshall. Lena was looking at me like I was crazy.



Every Sunday Kenny and I watch the Amazing Race and then Big Love. Lately we have found ourselves in a discussion during every episode as to whether he and I would be able to run the race together. Anyone who watches this show knows that the race is extremely intense experiences that include lots of plane hopping and dare devil challenges. Many of those challenges deal with heights which is a weakness for both of us.

As wonderful of a couple Kenny and I are, I think that the only person I could do this race with would be my sister. Because we could yell and scream at each other and be over it in five minutes because that is how we are. With Kenny and I, his competitiveness and need to succeed would clash with my need to CONTROL EVERYTHING. So we enjoy watching these episodes every Sunday and talking about how we would handle each challenge. It is like free couples therapy. Right???? (not that we need it because I promise we don't)

Did anyone else get totally icked out by this guy getting a full body massage last night. It was making me nauseous. Did they really have to show us that!

And the things that Ramona says to anyone she is talking to are so inappropriate and make me feel so awkard. Does she not even think that voicing here opinion about everything might offend someone!

WEEKEND IN NUMBERS

3- inches of snow that fell on Memphis
1- silly husband that thought that it would be a good idea to go camping this weekend and then got himself stranded in Mississippi because the car he rode down in was stuck in the mud.
1 - Very immersed in water, stuck in mud jeep
220- Miles Driven from Memphis to Winona and back in said snow and icy roads to pick up said stranded husband.
6- Amount of times that my car fishtailed and I thought I was going to die
25- Cars seen off road in highway medians
4- tow trucks that made me happy that I somehow managed to stay on the road
3- prayers that were said while driving to please keep me safe
210- minutes that it took me to make what normally would be a 9o minute trip
1- Snowman built

So needless to say, our weekend was an eventful one. Friday afternoon Kenny headed off with one of his buddies to go camping with a bunch of guys from high school on some land in Mississippi. Despite the fact that it was raining when they left and it was supposed to rain all weekend they planned this little reunion weekend weeks ago and were excited about going. So Friday night I signed up to work a Junior League shift and then I came home and watched a movie.

I did check up on the boys and they informed me that the river they were camping next too seemed to be rising and they were pretty much covered in mud. Sounds like so much fun.

So Saturday morning I get a call. The Jeep is stuck and the water has gotten even higher. They need to get out of there and they will probably need me to come get them. It is just raining at this point. But this is what their camp site looked like.SO while I am at a hair appointment I get the call that I need to drive two hours and come pick up Kenny and Dan at some random exit off the highway. So I run home to get some towels and trash bags per their instructions and hit the road. In the half hour that I left the house and headed that way the weather went from rain, to freezing rain, to the most ginormous snowflakes I have ever seen in the South. I call Kenny and tell him that I am turning around. It is just too dangerous to drive. I mean it was really coming down.

So Dan and Kenny canoe out of their destroyed campsite and managed to get a ride to some motel where they stayed for the night. I am glad that I made the decision to turn around because it did not stop snowing until the very early morning.

Sunday morning, I decided I am so glad that I live in the South because snow is a HUGE pain in the rear. I woke up early to get on the road and had to literally dig my car out to get the doors open. They were covered in snow and frozen shut. So I finally get on the road around 7:30 am (yes I am a good wife) to go get these silly boys. And I soon discover the roads are soooo dangerous. Covered in ice and snow. My car was all over the road and it was scaring the crap out of me. At one point I was shaking I was so nervous. The farther I got into Mississippi the better the roads got which I was extremely appreciative of. When I finally reached those knucklehead boys we loaded up their very muddy gear and made the trek back. And yes we did stop at Cracker Barrel on the way home. I needed some comfort food. Poor Dan's wife was driving from Nashville to come pick him up since his Jeep was stuck and she got stuck in that horrible traffic Jam on I-40. The entire thing was such a mess. But everyone made it home safe and sound. Eventually.

And Kenny and I even had enough time to enjoy the snow. Meet Steve.
Steve the Snowman.


So I have a whole new respect for Snowmen. They are really hard to make. Which explains why ours just could not seem to get any height to him. We still love him. (Sorry these pictures are out of focus)