I can't believe I'm about to do this.

Look what I bought yesterday.....

Yes, it's a yoga/pilates mat. Why would I buy this?? Because apparently, I've lost my mind. My neighbors have started going to a yogalates class several times a week. They keep encouraging me to go with them. I don't really like to exercise. I'd much prefer to lay on the sofa & read a book or watch mindless TV. I'm guessing this could be why I've gained some weight. I've cut way back on Dr Pepper & lost a few pounds but only a few so  now I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth it to not drink the DP. Anywho, I don't like to exercise. I'm sore from doing yard work Sat. Dean likes to tell people "Traci doesn't sweat". A more accurate statement would be "Traci doesn't LIKE to sweat". However, I know I need to do something so I'm going to bite the bullet & try it out. I think I'll be more inclined to go since I'll have people to go with. We'll see. The good thing is there's no contract so I won't be locked into anything.  Well, except for the $13 yoga mat!!

We have a local grocery store in town, Calvin's Bocage, which has THE BEST chicken salad ever!! It's soooo good. They make it themselves & it's so good they make hundreds of pounds a DAY!!  I wanted to have it for lunch this week so I went yesterday to pick some up after I had my nails done. While I was in the area I went to Marshalls. I never go there just because it's out of the way for me & the traffic in this town is awful!! Anyway, that's where I found the yoga mat. Like I said, I paid $13 but I googled it & it sells for $30 so I thought that was a great deal. I didn't find anything else.

I got up at 6:45 yesterday morning. I know, ridiculous for a Sunday. I went to Mass Saturday but Dean stayed home so off he went at 6:30 yesterday morning & I couldn't go back to sleep. I went back to work on the closet I started on Saturday. I swear I don't know where the crap comes from. I wasn't able to finish because I need some storage containers, which I plan to go get at lunch today. Hopefully, I'll get it finished or close to it tonight & then I'll post pictures.

Happy Monday!

Toodles!

Is that the sun???

YES!! Not only has the sun been shining but the temp is like 70! It's great! Yesterday was the same & it was gorgeous. Such a shame that I had to work all day. We've been outside all morning. We pulled a few weeds, I swept the patio while Dean took care of the pool. After Mass this afternoon Dean is going to BBQ & I think we'll spend the evening on the patio. We have to take advantage of the weather because it's supposed to start raining tomorrow. Then I'm sure it will be cold again.

This week has been full of visiting & eating!! The other night I got to visit my friend Liz & her new baby, Michael. I hadn't seen her in awhile so it was fun to catch up. Michael is too cute. He's 7 weeks old & is just so tiny! Wednesday night Dean had a work function so I had dinner with my good friend Allison. We went to Brewbachers, which is a local restaurant/bar. "Back in the day" this was our hangout so it was lots of fun to hang out there again. And we did hang out. For like 3 hours! That's what so great about Brewbachers. You can sit there as long as you want & nobody cares. Last night we went with our friends the Gillio's & the Mitchell's to dinner at Reginelli's. This is a local pizza place on LSU's campus. We hadn't been before & it was really good. Did I mention that I had pizza for lunch as well?? Yeh, I did. There's another new pizza restaurant that's not far from work. They have a lunch buffet so me & "the boys" went for lunch. "The Boys" being our friends Stan & Aaron. They work with me. That pizza was good too but Reginelli's was better.

I've started cleaning another closet. I started this morning before we went outside. Technically, all I've done is taken stuff out of the closet but it's a start. I probably won't finish until tomorrow. I figure if it's raining then that will be the perfect project.  I'll take pics once it's all done.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Toodles!

My hubby is AWESOME!!!

Seriously, Dean is the most awesome husband EVER!!! Look what came today!!

My boots! Peeps, they're FABULOUS!!! I love them! They don't look cheap, they don't feel cheap, they're somewhat comfortable but they were CHEAP!!! $40. Maybe I should say inexpensive. That sounds better.  I love them so much I immediately got online to order them in the camel color. I was so sad when I saw that they're sold out of my size but at least I got the black ones. If you're in the market for a pair of casual boots these are great!!

Toodles!

A REALLY Long Day!

Why?? Because I've been awake since 3:45 a.m. I couldn't go back to sleep to save my life. So now I'm exhausted. On the bright side, I was ready for work early & I was able to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things & CVS. Thankfully, it's almost time for me to go home.

2 posts in a day doesn't happen often but I was able to get my pictures uploaded so I thought I'd share. Several months ago I asked my friends dad to build a corner cabinet for my formal dining room. I told him it was no rush & just whenever he got to it would be fine. Well, he finished right before we left for Disney. He came & installed it while we were gone. I was so excited to come home to this.

Merry Christmas to me!! It's exactly what I wanted! Keep in mind I just told him a corner cabinet & he did the rest. He matched up molding & built it the height of the entrance to my dining room & actually hooked it to the wall so it looks like it's always been there. You can't tell in this picture but it was just primed. The plan was to paint it the same color as the rest of the molding in the room. That's where Sherwin Williams came in. We bought our house when it was 2 yrs. old. The previous owner used all Behr paint colors but in Sherwin Williams paint. I learned the hard way that when you do that you can't go to Home Depot & buy the Behr paint in the proper color & expect it to match. Annoying. REALLY annoying. Have you bought Sherwin Williams paint lately? The stuff is expensive. Try twice as much as a gallon of Behr. Even with the 30% off it was still $40 for 1 gallon. We've painted the majority of our house since moving in 5 years ago & we've always used Behr & we like it. I haven't had any problems. So I paint the cabinet with the gold that apparently is Sherwin Williams & I CAN'T TELL A DIFFERENCE. I just don't understand why it's so much more expensive. Here's an after picture.

I know, you can't tell a  bit of difference but I wanted an after picture. Anyway, it's all painted & dry & now I just have to put the knobs on the cabinet doors & start filling up those shelves! I have 3/4 of a gallon of the fancy schmancy Sherwin Williams paint left. I will find something to use it on!!!

Toodles again!

Awards

Wow, 2 more awards! These were given to me by CAS at An Oasis in the Desert. Thanks CAS!

Rules for accepting this award are:

1. Link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass it along to 7 other stylishly and trendy bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award.

Here are my 7 things:
1. I have an affinity for rap music especially Snoop Dogg. I LOVE Gin & Juice!!

2. My husband's name is Dean Blanchard & my Boss's name is Dean Blanchard. No, they are not the same person, even though "my Dean" likes to say I answer to Dean Blanchard 24/7. When talking about the 2 Dean's I differentiate by calling them "My Dean" & "Boss Dean".

3. In 1995 or '96 my friends & I were at a Counting Crows concert in New Orleans & Courtney Cox was there. She was dating Adam Durwitz, the lead singer of Counting Crows, at the time. My friends fiance came with me to see her & I made him ask her for her autograph. I still have the signed ticket stub.

4. Friends is my all time favorite show EVER!

5. In 2000 Dean & I were at the College World Series watching LSU play Texas. Kevin Costner was sitting a few rows behind me. Yep, that's right, we had better seats than Costner!!! I did not get his autograph but I did take some pics from my seat.

6. In June when I see NKOTB it will be the 8th time I've seen them in concert.

7. In the entire 4 years I was in high school I never set foot in the cafeteria. I was extremely picky & I wasn't eating anything that came out of there!

Partly because I'm being lazy & partly because I have such a hard time picking only 7 people, whoever is reading consider yourself the recipient of these awards!

I was planning to post pictures of my painting project yesterday but I'm having problems loading the pictures. I'll try again later.

Toodles!

I ROCKED.....Well, not literally

I got a ton done this weekend! Our Friday night fun was a small birthday party for our friend Cliff. There was king cake, coffee & wine, along with Mardi Gras music. It was fun & relaxing to just hang out. Yesterday, I had a painting project which took most of the afternoon. I'll show you that tomorrow. I finished in time to get ready so we could go to Mass. We decided on Mexican for dinner & went to La Carreta. I had tortilla soup. There's is soooo good! This morning when I woke up I seemed to have a lot of energy. It could possibly have something to do with the fact that I had 10.5 hours of sleep Saturday night. HA! I decided to tackle some things on my to do list. First was cleaning out our closet. It stayed really clean for over a year but with everything going on the last month it had gotten out of hand. Soooo, this is me keeping it real...
This is by the door of the closet looking at my area.

This would be Dean's shelves. I just had to show how ridiculously neat he is!

I went through my clothes & found a few things to donate. I even made room for 4 new pair of shoes. When I told Dean that he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. I did donate 4 pair so there's room for 4 more right? Here's what it looked like when I was finished.

I keep all of my short sleeve stuff on the top & it's all organized by color. All of the long sleeve stuff is on the bottom also organized by color. This part of the closet stays pretty organized. On the left side are my pants, jeans & dresses. The cubby's on the shelf above the clothes is where I keep off season shoes. They don't all fit but it keeps some of them out of the floor. My purses are up there too. I want to get a couple of hooks to hang them on to make them easier to get to but I wasn't going to the store today.

Yes, those are footy pj's hanging on the hook. They're WONDERFUL with all the cold weather we've been having. All my t-shirts, shorts, sweatshirts & lounging around pants are organized on the shelves. I have tanks & tights in the tiger cubby's. Socks & slipper socks are in the little white plastic thingys.

The 3 drawer white thingy holds all my trouser socks & stockings. I have a drawer for brown, one for black & one for navy. Look how nice all those shoes look!

The other side of the closet with more shoes! It's really nice to walk in the closet & see all this neatness! Next up was our bathroom.  I just realized that I didn't take any before & after pics but it's a bathroom, not much to see. In the cabinets under my sink I found all sorts of stuff. I had self tanning stuff from years ago, about a zillion bottles of lotion that each had about a teaspoon left. All that stuff went in the trash. Nobody has to worry about Dean or I becoming addicted to pain pills. While cleaning out a drawer I found pain pills from when I had my wisdom teeth out (that was almost 8 yrs. ago) & pain pills from when Dean had shoulder surgery (that was before me, so that means over 12.5 years ago). Clearly, since all those pills were left we weren't abusing them. I also discovered that we have a ridiculous amount of band aids for a 2 person household. Especially, being that neither of us are kids which are generally the prime users of band aids. I consolidated them. I can't begin to tell you how many bottles of various over the counter meds we had that were expired. All were trashed. Now we have a lot of extra room. It's lovely!

Once that was done I finished Allison's Mardi Gras wreath. I'll have pics later. Once I had all of that done, I ate lunch & decided I could reward myself with some book time. I finished reading the last High Heels mystery, Mayhem in High Heels. It was really good but I'm sad I'm finished because the author had a little message at the end that it was the last book of the series. I HATE when author's do that. So, like I said, I ROCKED this weekend getting all this stuff done!

Toodles!

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone's having a great Friday! We don't have big plans this weekend. Tonight we're going next door for cake to celebrate our friend Cliff's birthday. Here's a glimpse of what I'll be doing tomorrow.

I'm hoping to get this project finished tomorrow & then I'll share what I did. Pam at diy Design Fanatic posted about a Sherwin Williams 30% off coupon the other day. Just sign up for their Preferred Customer Club & they'll email the coupon. Well, I did & I didn't get my coupon. Pam suggested I email them so I did.  I mean 30% off is a big discount. I hadn't heard a word from them so off I went to buy the paint. I didn't have time to wait around for them to respond. Well, as luck would have it, I didn't have to have the coupon. The guy just gave me the discount when I said I was in the preferred customer club. Yay! As I'm leaving the store my dings alerting me that I have an email. It was Sherwin Williams saying they'll check to see if the coupon can be mailed to me. Figures.

Our rolling garment bag came in.

This thing is really big. It's amazing that Dean ordered it Monday night & it was delivered last night. Shipping was free so that was really a great deal. Still waiting on those boots. I finally got an email from Old Navy saying that they were shipped & delivery is expected by January 27th. Good grief.

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!

Blah Blah Blah

It's been a blah week. Not a thing going on. The only thing I have to look forward to is the FedEx guy showing up at our door.  I told you about how we were shopping for a rolling garment bag. I'd found a couple at Overstock but after going shopping Saturday & looking at sizes in person we determined that they're too small. Dean found one at the Samsonite store that he really liked. Even at the outlet store this thing was more than we wanted to spend. I mean we're not world travelers. Well, maybe I'm rubbing off on Dean because he got online & found the exact same bag for like $80 cheaper so he ordered it. Supposedly, it will be delivered today. My boots just shipped yesterday so I don't know when they'll get here but I'm DYING to see them.

Dean & I are going to dinner tonight because I have a gift certificate that expires today. Have y'all heard of Living Social? You sign up & they email a deal everyday. Lots of time it's half off certificates for  restaurants. The one we're using tonight is for Bistro Byronz. It's a $30 certificate that I paid $15 for. Bargain Bee is another site like Living Social. One of the companies (I think it's Bargain Bee) emails you the deal & it may say 50 deals have to be sold. If it's a deal you want you purchase it. If the 50 deals aren't sold you're credit card isn't charged & the deal is dead. I've bought several of these over the last few months.

With the boring week I've had, I did manage to finish 2 books.

This is a book that my MIL loaned me. I've read several books by Sheryl Woods & have liked them all. If you've read any Debbie Macomber, these are similar. I've said before that I like series. Sheryl has several. What's different about these is that each book in a series focuses on a different character. Honeysuckle Summer is part of the "Sweet Magnolia" series.

I talked about this series here. This is book 4 in the High Heels series. It was so good. These books make me laugh. I started on the 5th book in the series today. I love that these don't take long to get going. By Chapter 2 Maddie had already found a body! I was checking the Barnes & Noble website today & I discovered that book 5 is the last in the series. Well, I don't know if it's the last but so far she's only written 5. I also discovered that she has another series called the "Hollywood Headlines" series. I'll definitely check it out!

Toodles!

A Confession

I believe I've mentioned before about how I don't like to read directions. Like, I really HATE to read directions. It's only gotten worse since manufacturers have started putting owners manuals online rather than printing them. When I bought my Nook & my new digital camera I vowed to read the manuals & figure out how to work everything. Well, here we are 5 months later & I know how to download books & read books & how to take a picture on auto. I'm really going to try & do better. So, what does this have to do with my confession??  I'm about to reveal something that is going to really make me look stupid but I'm just keeping it real. I discovered the other day while reading my Nook that I don't have to use the buttons on the side to turn the pages. The Nook has a touch screen for searching, downloading & all sorts of other things. One of those other things is turning the page. You just kind slide your finger over the screen & the page turns. Really really simple! I wish I would've known this when I was wearing the brace. It would've made things easier.

Sunday, Dean & I spent the afternoon at my parents house. They live across the street from my brother, sis-in-law & nephew so we got to visit with them too & play with Logan.

I love the expression on his face! He was hitting that ball all over the place. Logan will be 2 in May. He hasn't yet mastered the art of listening to his parents. This was his reaction when his daddy told him to get down out of the chair.

Too cute!! After awhile we went back across the street & let Logan play on his swing that he has at my parents.

He loves it!! He would cackle. It was hilarious!

So, I told you about the Steve Madden boots I wanted. Well, last night Dean was online & he asked me if I wanted him to find me some boots. Um, yeh, ok. I'd already googled & searched & googled some more looking for the same boots only in a different, less expensive brand with no luck. WELL, he found a pair!!! At Old Navy for $40. Yes, I know they won't be the same quality as the Steve Madden's but that's ok.  For $40 I'm willing to take a chance. So, they were ordered & I'm anxiously awaiting delivery!!!

Toodles!!

Woe is Me!!

Friday night Dean & I went to dinner with a bunch of our neighbors. Chimes is one of our favorite places & it's practically on LSU's campus. That means if you go anytime that school is in session you have to wait a long time for a table. Dean is not a wait for a table kind of guy. Especially, when it's an hour or more. School starts one day next week so we took full advantage. It was delicious as usual. I had crab cakes. Did I mention they have the best hush puppies ever???

I just want a pair of black boots with a wedge heel that I don't want to pay a fortune for. Is that to much to ask?? Dean & I went shopping today. We went to the Outlet mall first. The Coach store was having a big sale plus I had a coupon. I've been wanting one of those cross body bags. I wanted it for our trip to Disney because it's so convenient but I ran out of time beforehand. I found this one.



It was marked down & then 50% off the marked down price plus I had my 20% off coupon. I got money for Christmas from my parents & Dean's parents so I used some of it to buy the bag. We have plans to spend a day in New Orleans for Mardi Gras with friends & that will include a lot of walking. This bag will be perfect for carrying my camera, phone & lip gloss.

Back to the boots. After the outlet mall we went to the regular mall. The ONLY tall black wedge leather (I don't want suede) boots I could find were Steve Madden. I LOVED them but not $130 love. Well, actually I did love them that much but being that I have 2 other pair of black boots I didn't really think I could justify the price. I did learn something. If you want Steve Madden, don't buy them at the Steve Madden store. The boots were $199 there & on sale for $130 but at Dillard's the regular price for the same boots was $130. I've scoured the internet to no avail. I'm hoping Dillard's has a big sale soon!

Speaking of Dillard's, look what they have.




Have y'all seen these? I was DYING laughing. I can't imagine men buying Spanx. Too funny!

I was in a pizza mood so we decided to go to California Pizza Kitchen. We've never been there before & it was close by. Well, remember what I said about Dean not being a wait for a table type of guy? Yeh, well there was a 30 minute wait for a table. Needless to say we moved on. We went to a local pizza joint, Schlitz & Giggles. Well, it may be a franchise I don't know, but 2 former LSU basketball players own the 2 in Baton Rouge. It was really good. They have these things they call Knots. It's dough tied in knots & baked with garlic & all kinds of cheesy goodness. They accidentally brought us the dessert knots which are DIVINE!!! There's this buttery, creamy sauce stuff with powdered sugar that you dip them in. O. M. G. Sooooo good! Anyway, we just ate those. It was no big deal but the waitress came & told us that the kitchen made the mistake & she brought the appetizer ones to us. They were delish too!

After lunch we came home & I took a little nap before we went to Mass. It was a lovely day.

Toodles!

A Discount!

I'm excited! Y'all know how I love a discount! I received an email from Overstock.com & they've offered a 10% discount to all of my readers. This is great for me because I'm already an Overstock shopper. My favorite thing is the cheap shipping charges. I HATE to pay shipping. If you find a good deal on something & then have to pay $8 shipping usually it's not such a good deal anymore. Overstock has $2.95 shipping & sometimes they do specials & it's only $1.00! You can't beat that.  A few months ago I bought a new Digital Camera from them. They sell everything from Jewelry (which I've bought in the past) to Home & Garden Stuff. I was just looking at the website & I see that they even sell Christmas Decor. WOW! I had no idea. Based on how I felt after packing up all the Christmas stuff earlier this week it's probably best I didn't know. I DON'T need Christmas stuff. (I have to keep telling myself that). Anyway, if any of you need to buy anything or just want something, now's the time. Use code 121745 at checkout & receive 10% off of your purchase (excludes movies, books & electronics). If you want to buy electronics use code 202234 to receive free shipping on your order. The discount code doesn't expire but can only be used once. Recently, we've been discussing  the need for a nice rolling garment bag so I think I may use the discount code for that. I'll let you know what I decide & y'all let me know what you're buying!

All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code. (They told me I had to say this!!)

Toodles!

The Grass Eating Moo Cow

Is staying.... Yes, the daily Les Miles saga ended yesterday. The "Grass Eating Moo Cow" isn't going to Michigan. Those were my friend Wendy's exact words. I'm still laughing!  What's really funny is that Wendy really likes Les! Imagine what's being said by all the people that really don't like him. I personally don't have a problem with him except for the fact that when you listen to him talk you either want to yell at him to "spit it out" because he ums & ahs so much or you have no idea what he just said. Ever heard the term talking in circles? That would be Les. Some of you may be wondering why Wendy called him a grass eating Moo Cow. Well that would be because he eats grass. You think I'm kidding?

(I found this pic saturdaydownsouth.com)

During the Bama game they showed him pick a blade of grass & eat it. The game was on National  TV so everyone saw it & it was all over everywhere. When asked about it Les said this.... "I'll put my knee on the ground and look for a small blade now and then. You might try it. It's not a bad deal. I suspect it's better than chewing tobacco and some other things that people put in their mouths. I've always seemed to enjoy a blade or two now and then, not that this was a meal in any way but more of kind of being in touch with where I was at.". I'm so glad it wasn't a meal Les.... He's our coach & thanks to the contract extension he received yesterday, he will be for the next 7 years! 

Moving on. Right after Christmas I received an email from Nine West that they were having a sale. Of course I checked things out. I found a super cute pair of black closed toe heels. I don't have any of those. They were on sale & then there was an additional percentage off. My total price with tax & shipping was $25. Aren't they great?

I love them! I'm wearing them for the first time today. The original price for these was $70. I love a deal!

Toodles!

Check This Out

I got a blog award! It was given to me by Amy at Nine-Ninety-One. Thanks Amy!! I just recently found her blog. She has some cute kiddos!

The rules are to:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award
2. Answer 10 questions
3. Pass it along to 7 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy
4. Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award

Here are the ten questions:

1. Why did you create this blog?
Vicki told me to. HA! Really, my friend Vicki told me I should start a blog so I did.
2. What kind of blogs do you follow?
A lot of decorating blogs & some that are just regular blogs about people & their families

3. Favorite Make-Up Brand?
I guess I'd have to say Revlon since I've been using their base for years.

4. Favorite Clothing Brand?
I don't have one. I buy clothes everywhere from "nice" stores  to Penney's to Sam's. Wherever I find a deal on something I like!

5. Indispensable Make-Up Product?
Lip Stick/Gloss & Chapstick

6. Favorite Color?
Red! I like pink a lot too.

7. Favorite Perfume?
Victoria Secret Very Sexy & one of the Angel ones but I can't remember which one.

8. Favorite Film?
How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days - I don't know that this qualifies as a "film" but I LOVE this movie!! I watch at least a little of it EVERYTIME it's on TV which is really, really often.

9. What country would you like to visit and why?
Italy. The food & wine would be fabulous.

10. Would you rather forget to put on mascara on one eye or forget blush on one side of your face?
Mascara. I have dark eyelashes so I don't think it would be that noticeable.

These are 7 blogs that I enjoy.
Elements Interiors  Kara's blog is all about Interior Design & she's really funny!

Webbisodes I found Shannon when I became part of the Christmas Ornament Exchange. She was one of the hosts.

Excursions of the Spurgins - Aishlea is a southern girl & her blog is about their life & now she has a cute little baby boy.

Honey We're Home - Megan  has a great house. Her closet is to die for!! She's got a cute baby boy too.

Just Shy of a "Y" - Angie's is another blog about their lives. I seem to be drawn in by this. Does that make me incredibly nosy?? Her kids are adorable!

Karen at Home - I don't know how I found Karen's blog but she's got an adorable baby girl that I love reading about. She was the other host for the Ornament Exchange

Southern Comfort in a Northern Life - I love Melanie! We play Words With Friends all the time. Her blog is about her life & the decorating of all her houses from her many moves.

I have a lot more than 7 & blogs that I read & a couple that I really love but they don't post often enough. Yes, I'm talking to you Wendy & Mrs. Carolyn!!

On another note - Today is Day 4 of the Les Miles to Michigan saga. I swear it's like the Sportscasters have turned into the Paparazzi & Les is a rock star. I guess it just shows how big time college football really is.

All boxes of Christmas stuff & the trees & the wreaths are all stored away. YAY!!!! It's nice to have the house back to normal even though it's looking really bare.

Toodles!

The End of Christmas....Almost

I really can't believe it's Monday already. I know, I say that all the time. We had a great weekend. It started off with the Cotton Bowl party we went to Friday night. Lots of friends, great food & an LSU win made it a fab party. This could also be the last game that Les Miles coaches as a Tiger. Rumor has it he's going to Michigan. We should find out in the next couple of days.

Saturday, I had a hair appt. My roots were awful. I didn't understand why they looked so bad until I realized that it had been 12 weeks since my last highlight. I NEVER go that long. I guess that's what happens with the holidays & vacation. I went with low lights this time as to not become a total blond. Not that there's anything wrong with that but my natural color is about as dark a brown as you can get. So now my roots are all good, I got a trim & feel much better! Don't you always feel better after having your hair done?

Once I got home I managed to get a lot of ornaments off the tree before we left for Mass. The Saints game was on when we left & they were winning & all was good with the world. After Mass we went to Sammy's for dinner with our friends, the Smith's. We all love Sammy's & they have about a million TV's that we knew would all be tuned to the Saints. Well, they lost. Ugh! Now that LSU & Saints football is over we can't wear jeans to work on Fridays anymore. That's a real bummer. Do you know how easy it is to throw on a pair of jeans & grab a shirt on Friday morning? It's one of the things I love about football season!

Once we were home I got back to work on the Christmas decorations. This was stuff from the tree in the kitchen.

And the big tree.

That's why I call it the big tree. I think I got 4 boxes of ornaments boxed up before calling it a night. Sunday morning I was back at it. I am happy to say that all ornaments, garland, bows, nativities, EVERYTHING is boxed up.

Notice I didn't say anything about Christmas trees. That would be because they're still standing. Once I got all of this stuff boxed up I wanted a break. So I took one. For the rest of the day. It was really cold & started raining. Perfect napping weather. So I took one. Only a short one. Like an hour. We watched football & I read. It was a great day. So, today when I get home from work the trees will come down & all of the boxes will go in the attic.

Reading update: Remember I said I was going to read actual books at home & my Nook away from home so that I could get through the bag o'books I have?  Well, I finished "Secret To Happiness" by Sarah Dunn. It was interesting. I liked it & it was a very easy read but it was different. I came away thinking that Holly, the main character, was kinda weird. Still a good book. Sunday, on my break, I started reading "Family Ties" by Danielle Steele. I like a lot of her books & there are a lot that I wouldn't even attempt to read. This one is really good. I'm so curious to see what's going to happen. I'm hoping to finish it tonight. 

Toodles! 

Shrimp Dip

I told y'all about the shrimp dip I was making for the Cotton Bowl party we're going to tonight. I forgot that I posted a recipe for this shrimp dip awhile back. The one I made for tonight is entirely different. Y'all I know it's not often that I post a recipe but this is really good & even I can make it. This is what you do.

2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
2-4 Tablespoons of Hot Sauce - This depends on how spicy you like it. I use 3.
(2) 8 oz. packages of cream cheese.
Garlic - I used granulated garlic because it's what we had. You can use fresh or that stuff in a jar.

Layer 1 - Mix all of these ingredients together & spread it on the bottom of a platter. I always use a platter with a lip around it since it's a layered dip.

Layer 2 - A bottle of cocktail sauce. I use Louisiana because it's our fave. Spread it on top of the cream cheese.

Now everytime I make this I misread my recipe & end up layering things in a different order. I don't think it matters but the order I'm giving you is the order that the recipe calls for.

Layer 3 - Boiled Shrimp. The recipe says 1 -1 1/2 lbs. Peel them & layer on top of the cocktail sauce. I usually cut some of them up & leave some whole, depending on the size of the shrimp.

Layer 4 - An 8 oz. bag of shredded/grated mozzarella cheese

Layer 5 - Grated Parmesa Cheese. I forgot to buy it this time so I just used parmesan in the can. I've done this before & it's fine.

Layer 6 - 1 Chopped bell pepper

Layer 7 - Green onions. Just put as many as you'd like

Layer 8 - A Roma tomato cut up. I normally make the dip the day before I need it but I wait until the day I need it to put the tomato on. I don't want it to make the dip soggy.

I serve it with Wheat Thins or Sociables but any crackers will do.

This is what you end up with.



Looks good huh?

We're off to the Mitchell's to hopefully watch the Tigers beat the Aggies. Then things will get interesting with the coaching situation. Les is rumored to be one of the top candidates for the Michigan job. We shall see.



Geaux Tigers!! Isn't my shirt cute??

Toodles!!

An Update

So I got a lot of response from my last post about reading. I'd love if everyone would send me their favorite authors & books. Leave a comment or email me. I'm always looking for something new to read. The Nook has this great feature (I'm sure the Kindle does too) that lets you make a wish list. It can be done directly from the Nook or if you're on the computer on Barnes & Noble's website you can add stuff to it there & it will be on your Nook as well. I took some time the other day & made a list. That way when I'm ready to download a new book I'll have some to choose from. Like I said, I do better with a list. Last night I downloaded Emily Giffin's new book, Heart of the Matter. Well, it's not really new but her newest. It came out at the beginning of 2010. I love her books.

I've done really well on the Dr. Pepper intake. Granted it's only been 3 1/2 days but still. I haven't had one in 2 days. This wasn't really done on purpose, it kinda just happened. I made some sweet tea (sweetened with Splenda) & I've been drinking a lot of that.

Tomorrow is the Cotton Bowl. Seems like forever since LSU played a football game. Dean & I are going to our friends, The Mitchell's, to watch. It's going to be a Tapas party. I'm making Shrimp Dip. Yeh, I know. Not exactly Tapas but this is something I know how to make that is good. It's a favorite of mine. I'll share the recipe & a pic once I make it. The great thing about it is it taste better if you make it the day before you're going to eat it. I guess it gives the shrimp & all the other flavors time to blend together. I'm very proud of myself for getting up this morning, getting ready for work & leaving early enough to go to the grocery store & get the ingredients. Yay for me! One less thing to do after work.

Something I've noticed in the last couple of weeks is that I'm getting emails from Match.com on a regular basis. Like, every day. I don't know where they got my email address. I have a match. I don't need them.

Oh, I almost forgot - The washing machine is fixed!! WOOO HOOO!! Dean Rocks! The new timer came in yesterday & it took Dean all of 10 minutes to install it. Now, I'm really annoyed that we paid the service guy $70 to tell us it was the timer when that's what Dean thought it was to begin with. Still, $70 for the service call & $80 for the part is a whole lot better than buying a new one. To me washers are like tires. I hate spending money on that type of stuff.

Well, this was all really random. Oh well. GEAUX TIGERS!!

Toodles!

Want to read??

I know everyone is in the whole resolution mind frame but I'm not. Not that I don't have about a million and one things I NEED to do this year but I know me & I know saying I have a resolution doesn't mean a thing. I've had them in previous years & it's always been a colossal fail. Except maybe 2003 when we got married & I wanted to lose weight. Between having all 4 of my wisdom teeth out & stress I was the thinnest I've ever been & it wasn't difficult, but I digress. Anyway, no resolutions, just a "to do list". I do better with a list.  I have lots of house stuff on it & I'd like to read more books. My good friend Wendy started a book club a couple of years ago. This is Wendy & her oh so adorable baby, Miss Emily.

How cute is that flower?? I found that the day I went to Market. I also got her an adorable little hat. Can't wait to see a pic of her wearing it.

Too cute! Anyway, back to the book club. You may remember it, "The Worst Book Club Ever" as dubbed by Andrea after attending one of our get togethers. We don't talk a whole lot about books & we don't all read the same book.  Shockingly, the book club is still in existence. Probably because of the reasons we're the worst book club ever! Anyway, the first year the goal was for everyone to read 50 books. No problem. Well, for me anyway. I read  almost 100. In 2010 it was decided that everyone would set their own goal. Mine stayed at 50 since I'd far exceeded that the previous year. Well, due to lots of different factors, mainly Words With Friends & reading blogs, I did not meet my goal. I really enjoy reading & now I have a Nook which I completely & totally LOVE & I also have several bags o' books from Mrs. Joyce (my MIL). I've come up with a system to enjoy both. When I'm at home, I'll read the actual books & when I'm away from home (work, car, etc.) I'll read my Nook. At least until I can get through some of the stacks of books which will help me on another item on the to do list, de-clutter! The only time things will be different is when I have a book loaned to me from the Nook & that's because you have 14 days to read it. The Nook is so great for traveling or just to keep in your purse for anytime you find yourself waiting. So, why am I telling you all this you ask? Like I said, I know everyone is making resolutions & goals for the year & if one of those is to read more books I have a series that you might enjoy. The High Heel Series! Good friend Wendy turned me on to this series. Thanks Wendy! These books are too funny, even though they're mysteries & someone seems to always end up dead. They're a lot like the Stephanie Plum series written by Janet Evanovich except Maddie has much more fashion sense than Stephanie. She's a shoe designer! Gemma Halliday is the author. I've read some background on her & she was an actress before she became a writer. She didn't make it big time but she's been in a couple of movies that I've seen. Another plus is these books are only $3.99 on the Nook & they're lendable. This is working out great for Wendy & I. She buys a book & lends to me & I buy a book & lend to her. I finished the 3rd book yesterday. BTW, this weekend had to be the laziest weekend I've ever had. I didn't feel so great. This merry go round weather is killing my sinuses. Anyway, I laid around & read pretty much the whole weekend.  It was positively glorious!

What else is on my "to do list"? House stuff mainly. I'm also going to attempt to cut back on my Dr. Pepper intake. I say that as I sip on my 32 oz. D.P. from lunch. I was at Sam's & it was .87. I couldn't resist!

Toodles!

Happy New Year!

We're having a very low key New Years Day. Laying on the sofa watching football are all the plans that we have! I did clean up my closet this morning so I don't feel bad about doing nothing the rest of the day.

Yesterday started off shaky but ended up a good day. The repair man came to see about our washing machine. After spending $70 on the service call he told me it was the timer which would be $240 + another service call + it would take 2 weeks for it to come in. We decided to just buy a new one. We were going to do that today but Dean got online & determined that he can buy the part & possibly fix the washer himself so we're going to try that. The machine works, you just have to do everything manually. It's a pain but if it saves me $400 I'll deal with it for the time being.

After the repairman left I met my friend Vicki & Godchild Lane at Chick Fil A for lunch. It was soooo good as usual. I'm going to attempt to eat better this year so I had a chocolate shake. I brought Lane his Christmas gifts.

I thought this cup was so cute. The blue part on the bottom unscrews & is like a little bowl that you can put snacks in.

It's hard to believe Lane is old enough for Monopoly Junior but he'll be 5 in February.

After lunch I went & had my nails done & then went home & napped. We went down the street to a party at our friends. It's so nice to just be able to walk. We had tons of food & wine & had a great time.

Happy New Year from our family to yours!!!!

Toodles!