Back on track....

Somewhat. I gained a few pounds over the last few weeks since I wasn't able to exercise because of my hip. Last week I was seriously contemplating a visit to the Doctor. My neighbor/athletic trainer didn't think it was necessary unless I wanted a cortisone shot. Um, no. I don't take cortisone shots when I'm sick because they keep me awake for days & I don't do good without sleep. Not to mention, they HURT! Apparently, my hip heard this conversation because within days it was feeling MUCH better. I didn't go to Yoglates last week because I knew I'd be doing a lot of ladder climbing when I was decorating for Christmas & I thought the combination of it all may be too much. I climbed & climbed & all was well. I'm still icing it at night just to be safe but I'm about ready to stop because it's cold here & laying around with a frozen bottle on my leg isn't fun. To all my northern friends - YES, IT'S COLD!! The other day it didn't get out of the 40's all day! I went back to Yoglates Monday & was able to do everything without pain. I'm a little sore but I think that has more to do with no exercise for weeks than the hip. I'm going back today.

My house is all decorated for Christmas. I need to take pictures. I've done a ton of Christmas shopping online. More than I've ever done. I don't like to pay shipping but this year pretty much everything has been free shipping & if there was a charge it wasn't much. I still have a few things to pick up.  I plan to get started wrapping this week & get my Christmas cards taken care of.

Of course, as with every year, when I'm Christmas shopping I end up picking up some things for me. I mean who can pass up the sales??? Yesterday, Reebok extended their Cyber Monday sale. Tons of stuff was on sale plus there was a code for 40% off your total order & there was free shipping. My kind of sale.  I got a couple of pair of their running shorts that I love & some tanks. I think I'm about to order a yoga bag that I saw too but I can't find a coupon code for the shipping. We'll see. Do y'all shop for yourselves at Christmas?

One thing I've managed to refrain from this year is buying Christmas decor. I swore that this would be the year I didn't buy anything. I have so much stuff. I really don't need anything else. Over the weekend I made a wreath with supplies from previous years. The only thing I didn't have was a wreath hanger, I know it's not necessary but it's easy & a couple of little sticky up (don't y'all love my descriptions?) things for the top of the wreath. I also needed 2 new candles because for whatever reason candles on my dining room table melt without being lit & then the shape gets all wonky. I went to Hobby Lobby after work yesterday & got only the things I needed! That never happens! YAY ME!!

Toodles!

I DID NOT disable my blog!!

I didn't blog the entire time I was off. I meant to but things were busy. Then lo & behold last night I was all ready & google tells me that my blog has been disabled. I emailed them & this morning had a response saying that everything had been corrected. Of course they gave no reason as to why this happened but I'm back up & running. Moving on.....I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We did! It was so great having a 4 day weekend. Here's our long weekend in pictures.

Two turkey's in the oil less turkey fryer. They were sooo good!!

Italian Cream Cake from Sam's. Y'all! This was AMAZING!!!

My sis-in-law Beth brought these. Aren't they adorable?

Football!

Our niece Camille! 

Logan, the future quarterback!

Tackling Dean

Tackling Drew. I think he's got that down. Maybe he'll play defense??

My brother was the biggest kid out there!

Yes, he's in the trunk. He just climbed right in.

Venti Chai Tea Latte!! YUM! Need my energy to decorate!

cbssports.com

LSU is 12-0!!! Geaux Honey Badger!!

Christmas decorating!!

This means I'm finished Christmas decorating! OPI's Vodka & Caviar

Toodles!!

Taco Cheesecake

 A lot of people wanted this recipe. I served it as an appetizer but it could actually be a main course & you could cook rice or something to go with it. I served it with chips but that's not even necessary.

Ingredients
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 lb. ground meat
1 (1 1/4 oz.) envelope of taco seasoning mix, divided
2 tbsp water
2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
2 lg eggs
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
2 tbsp all purpose flour
Toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, chopped green bell pepper. This is entirely up to you. I used salsa as my topping & didn't put lettuce. Next time I also plan to put guacamole.

STIR together crushed tortilla chips & butter; press into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

BAKE at 325 for 10 mins. Cool on wire rack

COOK beef. Drain & pat dry with paper towels. Return beef to skillet. Reserve 1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix. Stir remaining taco seasoning & 2 tbsp water into beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 mins. or until liquid evaporates.

BEAT cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; add eggs & reserved 1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix, beating until blended. Add cheddar cheese; beat until blended.

SPREAD cream cheese mixture evenly over crust & 1 inch up sides of pan. Spoon in beef mixture. Spread cream cheese mixture from around sides of pan over beef mixture, forming a 1 inch border. Combine sour cream & flour; spread over cheesecake.

BAKE at 325 for 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges; release sides. Serve warm with toppings.

It sounds pretty involved but it really isn't bad. Y'all know if I'm saying that it must be true!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Toodles!

Another Weekend Gone!

Thank goodness for short weeks. Dean & I will be off Thursday & Friday so we'll have a nice long weekend to get all of my Christmas decorating done.

Saturday, we went to our neighbors to watch the LSU/Ole Miss game. I made a taco cheesecake for the first time. It was really good. I forgot to take a picture of it when I finished making it but here's part of it.

I guess everyone liked it. Yes I left it in the pan because this was my first attempt at cooking in a spring form pan & I was scared to open it for fear of the cheesecake falling into a million pieces.

The game was boring. LSU won 52-3. It was a real snooze fest. Friday we play Arkansas. That should be a good game but hopefully not too good.

Yesterday, I went & played with Logan for awhile. His mom & dad went to Mass & grocery shopping so that means Logan was in charge. He's not stupid & knows who the sucker is in our family.

I thought this was hilarious the way he had his leg crossed. He's eating a fudgesicle in his playroom. I told him he needed to sit at the table to eat it. His response while walking away from the table was "I not do it". Um ok, I guess.  It was before lunch but he'd already had half of a peanut butter sandwich so I figured this was dessert.  After this he went to the fridge & pulled out sausage. Well, I might be a sucker but this sucker wasn't going to feed him sausage after he'd had peanut butter & a fudgesicle. I'd already cleaned up after the dog threw up, I didn't need the kid throwing up too. Oh & when he pulled the sausage out? That knocked the mayo out of the fridge which landed just perfectly on the bottom shelf in the door of the fridge, which in turn knocked the entire shelf & it's contents to the floor. Thankfully, nothing broke. Logan looked at me like "what did you do that for?". Then he stepped over the bottle of wine that was laying in the floor & grabbed the milk & chocolate syrup & handed it to me.

I had just asked if he wanted to take a nap. I was tired.

He wanted to play with my phone & I told him he had to smile for a picture first. I took the pic & he took my phone & somehow managed to post something on someone's Facebook page. HA!  We had a good time.

Sunday afternoon was Book Club. Joni hosted this time. In keeping with our reputation as "The worse book club ever" we basically had a Scentsy party. Joni just recently started selling it & I needed some new scents so out came the box & everyone ended up smelling & buying. I think Wendy's the only person that truly wants it to be a book club. The rest of us are fine with just hanging out & eating. Speaking of food. Vicki brought this AHHMAZING dip!! It has cheeses & all sorts of stuff & then a thin layer of raspberry something that looks like jelly over the top of it. She bought it at a local AG store in town. So, so, so good!

After we stuffed ourselves like it was our last meal we had to do a Starbucks run. After all it was the last day of buy one get one free with the holiday drinks. 4 of us went so it worked out perfectly. We all decided that the Caramel Brulee Latte is better than the Gingerbread Mocha. Well, I guess we didn't all decide because Allison & I have never had the gingerbread but anyway.

After Starbuck's I went by my cousins to bring birthday gifts. We visited for a bit & Brooke opened her gifts & then I finally made it home. I was & still am really tired!!! Like I said, thank goodness for short weeks.

Toodles!

Friday

Dean & I were both off today so we did some shopping. Have y'all seen the Muppets OPI collection? It's so cute! There are colors like Rainbow Connection & Divine Swine. Some are all glittery & there's even a green color. I went to Ulta today & got this

Not the greatest pic but the colors are Animalistic & Gettin' Miss Piggy With It. Cute huh? Gettin' Miss Piggy is a very glittery red. They're both pretty colors. The silver glittery things are the toe separators. I bought this for my little cousin's birthday. I also got her a movie gift card to go with it because I know they're going to see the new Muppet movie.

During the holidays when we go to parties I always bring a bottle of wine as a hostess gift. I ordered these cute labels this week.

I ordered these from Bottle Your Brand. There are lots of different designs, not just Christmas & you can customize the message. It's hard to tell in the picture but the damask pattern is green. They can be used on anything & have an adhesive back. They're cheap too at only .99 each. I ordered them Tuesday I believe & they arrived today.

We also picked up a couple of Christmas gifts & had lunch at Pluckers.

In case you don't know, Starbuck's has a promotion going on. Buy a holiday drink & get one free. It's only Nov. 17-20 btwn. 2-5. Well, we were leaving the mall about 2:30 & were going to be driving right by Starbuck's. My friend Wendy is always nice enough to bring me something from SB when she stops before work so I returned the favor. Our office is just down the street from SB.

I had the Caramel Creme Brulee Latte. It was really good! I liked it a lot better than the Mocha I had the other day. Wendy had the Gingerbread Latte & she really liked it. I need to put SB gift cards on my Christmas list!! 

Toodles!

Obsessed? Spoiled?

That would be a resounding YES to both!!! My big obsession right now?

Y'all know all summer I was loving the Iced Green Tea Unsweetened. Well, I may love the Chai Tea Latte even more! The only problem is it isn't zero calories like green tea but thanks to my ignorance & a very nice, non judgemental Starbucks worker I figured out how to get one with not many calories. When I first ordered it I was clueless. I just knew I wanted hot tea. I asked if I could get it unsweetened.  I was very scared to ask. How ridiculous is that? That Starbucks ordering is intimidating! Anyway, the girl said it's already "mixed up" but that they could make it with a tea bag instead so I said to do that & I add splenda, truvia or stevia. The only calories are from the milk. I get non fat. I had one this morning. It was 49 degrees. Yes, I got a Venti. I wanted a big one! In hindsight that may not have been the greatest idea. Caffeine doesn't usually have an effect on me but I'm a little jittery now! I feel like I could go run a bunch of miles. Well, if my hip wasn't still hurting that is.

I'm loving my planner too. If I would've had it a month earlier I wouldn't be in the ornament making predicament I'm in now but that's another story.

Dean had to go to Texas for a couple of days for work. We decided he would take my truck because it gets better gas mileage so more mileage money. Ha! Also, it's only a few months old whereas his truck is 7 years old. I drove his truck for 2 days & I came to the realization that I am so FREAKIN SPOILED!!! I do not like that truck. Not that it's not nice but it's not nearly as nice as my Explorer or as nice as my Expedition was. No Sirius radio, you actually have to use a key to start it, the steering is awful so it's very difficult to park. Nothing turns like a Ford! I'm VERY THANKFUL that I have my Explorer back today.

Has anyone tried these?

I didn't know they had such a thing as Candy Corn Hershey Kisses. We have a candy bowl at work & my co-worker got Halloween candy on sale. I tried one & was surprised at how good they were. I didn't think it really tasted like a candy corn, more like white chocolate. Really good but I'm not obsessed. I just needed a little something sweet the other day.

Today is my very best friend in the whole worlds birthday - DEAN!! He reads my blog. I love you & hope you have a wonderful day!!! Happy Birthday!!

Wow this post is all over the place. Must be the caffeine. When I said I was a little jittery, I mean A LOT jittery!!

Toodles!!

Brunch

I have a close group of friends that all get together for dinner for each of our birthdays. We went out for mine a few weeks ago. Allison couldn't come with us because she was in a car wreck. Since she missed dinner she wanted to take me somewhere. We decided on brunch at Portobello's. That's where my birthday dinner was. I've been wanting to try their brunch & I knew Allison liked it too. I had a veggie omelet &  little potatoes that tasted just like French fries

and a side of grits!

What's brunch without Bottomless Mimosa's?? We only had 2 but they were really good.

Everything was delicious! I'm craving it now after looking at these pictures.

Toodles!

The Weekend

Dean & I had the day off Friday. We had a couple of errands to run so we got off to an early start. Our first stop?

I'm well aware of my addiction. I made a mistake. It was just an iced green tea addiction but then I tried a chai tea latte. Um, OMG, sooooo good!!!! The problem with it is it's not calorie free like the green tea. I get it with non fat milk but still. Definitely, something I'll need to keep in check. Thursday, I tried the white chocolate mocha. I liked it better than coffee but it still taste like coffee so I wasn't a big fan. No chance of an addiction there.

We ran our errands & I was able to pick up a couple more Christmas gifts. I went from having no gifts to having a lot of gifts in a matter of days. Dean's parents were in town so we met them at Sammy's for lunch. I had a chef salad that was really good. Then it was off to the grocery store to pick up the stuff we needed for our party. Our former neighbors who live in Indiana now are in town & we were having a small party so we could hang out & they could get good Louisiana food that they've been missing. Dean fried fish & shrimp & Cliff brought his chicken & sausage gumbo. Everything was so good.

I was planning to make a taco cheesecake & some cookies. I've never made the cheesecake or the cookies. Thankfully, Dean knows my limits (I apparently do not) & convinced me that making both was probably a little too ambitious of me. I decide on the cookies. 1 egg, butter, cream cheese, a yellow cake mix & sprinkles. How could I possibly screw that up? Yeh, this is me we're talking about. I'm not quite sure where I made my mistake but it took forever to get everything mixed together & I used about 4 spoons because the stuff get sticking in the mixing thingys & then it would get stuck on the spoon & I'd have to use another one to get it off & it just went on & on. I think I should've let the cream cheese soften up a little more & melt the butter. The recipe had adding the sprinkles as the last thing to do. That doesn't work. The sprinkles don't stay on the cookie. When is the proper time to put sprinkles on? Before you put them in the oven? This was the finished product.

 I know they're not pretty but the good news is they were really good! I wonder if it might be better to roll the dough out with a rolling pin & use cookie cutters?? I might try that next time. Here are all the girls.

We've had so many good times with these girls. I can't believe how they're growing up.

Dean's brother & our nephew came to town for the LSU game. This morning we all just hung out watching Gameday. It was nice to visit with them. The rest of my Saturday was spent reading, watching football & napping. We went to Mass this evening & now we're watching LSU & Dean is grilling steaks.

Toodles! It's wine time!!

Thankful Thursday

I'm skipping the weigh in post until my hip is better because I'm not able to exercise at all. I was planning to go to Yoglates but decided against it since I was told to do "light stretching". There's nothing light about Yoglates. My hip is getting better. I had no idea how bummed out I would get about not being able to exercise. Hopefully, all will be good soon.

Everyone on FB & all over blog land is doing the whole Thankful thing this month. I decided to join in but mine is going to be a little different. Of course I'm grateful for my family & friends, Church, job, etc. I guess that's not a given in all cases but in mine it is so this list is all the completely trivial things that I'm thankful for.

• Vacation days so that I can work 4 day weeks. LOVE the 4 day week!! (yes this is one)
• Twitter, Facebook & TMZ- I've said before that everything you need to know you can find out through one of those outlets.
• I seem to be addicted to exercise - So happy that finally happened!
• LSU beat Bama
• ESPN - Yes, I'm a girl but it keeps me entertained
• Erin Condren  - LOVE LOVE LOVE my planner
• The Internet - I got lots of Christmas shopping done this week & I never had to leave my chair
• No sugar added Nestles Quik - LOVE chocolate milk!
• Starbucks - Wish I had time this morning.
• I was able to finish the 5K Saturday with a good time
• My Nook
• My iPhone

Told ya it was trivial. What are y'all thankful for?

Toodles!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Saturday was an exciting day. Aside from the 5K it was what a lot of people were calling the "Best Game Ever". LSU vs. Alabama, #1 vs. #2. We went to our neighbors for a party. Dean made crab cakes & I bought a king cake with a football instead of a baby & cake squares & petit fors. Aren't they cute?

I love the little paw prints! I don't think we had enough food.

There were stuffed mushrooms, dips, turkey, pork loin, broccoli rice casserole, crab cakes, gumbo & 2 types of salad. Everything was really good!! The dessert table.

Then there was the game. WOW! It was a really great game. I think it definitely lived up to the hype. No scoring the first half, then it was tied 6-6 & went to overtime where LSU managed another field goal & won 9-6. I don't think anyone thought it was going to be that low scoring with no touchdowns scored. Cliff is always prepared & once the game was over he pulled out the champagne.

And we toasted.

So LSU stays #1 & all is right with the world!

Toodles!!!

31:45

Anyone wondering about the title of this post??? Not only did I run my first 5K, I had a decent time. Way better than I hoped for. 

Dean took this picture after I'd crossed the finish line.  I was towards the back of the pack when we started & the finish line was also the starting line & the clock was at 57 seconds when I got there so to me my time was 31:45. Regardless, it doesn't matter. I had such a good time.The 5K was the first ever for St. Joseph Academy which is the only Catholic all girl high school in Baton Rouge. My friend Sheri is an Asst. Principal there & is who convinced me to run. It was fun running a route that I wasn't familiar with. Periodically throughout the route the St. Josephs cheerleaders were cheering us on, the city police had traffic stopped all along the route which was also great.  The only downside is my hip injury that I dealt with last week is back with a vengeance! After talking to our friend that was the Atlanta Falcons trainer many years ago, I've been diagnosed with a deep hip flexor strain. Stretching & resting is the prescribed course of treatment. So I can go to Yoglates but no running. I didn't even ask how long I can't run. I really don't want to know. As happy as I am that I finished yesterday, I bummed that I can't run.  The Reindeer Run is the beginning of December & I really want to run in it. We'll see I guess.

My brother Scott & sis in law Lydia also ran yesterday. They've both done 5K's before. Scott came in 2nd place overall. We'll never hear the end of it I promise you.

Scott's the tall one.  Lydia had her best time too. It was such a pretty day. A little chilly but it was nice. Dean was in charge of keeping Logan occupied while we ran. They were at the finish line as we each crossed it. Here we are after the race.

No, that's not the peace sign, that's the #2 sign. NEVER. HEAR. THE. END. OF. IT. After the race there was tons of food & smoothies. I know I don't have anything to compare it to but I think it was a great race environment. Logan certainly enjoyed himself.

Yes, that's a donut he's eating & jambalaya in his lap. He'd take a bit of the donut & then a bite of the jambalaya. Then he threw in a couple of sips of my smoothie.GROSS! Apparently, while Dean was in control, he ate a little bit of a banana, a little bit of an orange & some goldfish!  The kid loves to eat.

Toodles for now!!

FINALLY!!!

Not only is it Friday but it's almost game day!! For those of you living under a rock  not interested in college football tomorrow is the biggest game of the year. Some people are saying one of the biggest games ever but I don't know about all that. LSU vs. Alabama. Ranked #1 & #2 in the polls. LSU being #1! WHOOP WHOOP!! Aside from it being 1 vs 2  there are a lot of background stories. Bama's dictator coach, Nick Saban aka "Little Nicky" was LSU's coach. Some LSU peeps never got over him leaving. Then there are all the people that worship Little Nicky & loathe Miles (LSU's coach). It's been said, by people other than me, that Miles is a moron. It's been proven a few times too. Nobody would ever say such things about Little Nicky. He's been called a lot of things, mostly things that I can't say here but suffice it to say "jerk" is the nicest of them all. None of those things have been said about Miles. Both teams had a bye week last week so the hoopla  has been going on for 2 weeks. It's pretty much all anyone is talking about around town. It's all over ESPN naturally, but it's also made it's way to the TMZ TV show & Regis & Kelly this morning. Even Lil Wayne is going to be there. Tickets are going for ridiculous prices. The game is in Alabama. We will be at our neighbors watching & eating crab cakes & gumbo. I bought this for the occasion.

Yep, it's a King Cake but no it's not Mardi Gras. These were specially made for the game & they have a little football inside instead of a baby. Too cute! Of course it's decorated in purple & gold. I'm contemplating football petit fors but I don't know if I'll be able to contain myself if I do that. I love those things!! We'll see!!

Toodles!

Weigh In Wednesday....on Thursday

I'm late again. I was busy at work yesterday & then I went to Yoglates after work & when I got home I was tired. I gained a pound this week. It could be worse since it was my birthday weekend & Halloween. Hopefully, I'll be back on the losing bandwagon soon.

I've gone to Yoglates twice this week & I ran twice. Monday I did 3.1 miles & afterwards I had a sore leg. It hurt when I got up after sitting but once I walked around a little it felt ok. It got better everyday & I ran yesterday. I only ran 2 miles because it was starting to bother me.  I'm not happy about this development AT ALL. My first 5K is Saturday. I've been working so hard for 12 weeks. This HAS to be better by Saturday. It seems better today. I'm just hoping to be able to finish Saturday. I'm not worried about my time now.

A couple of weeks ago I jumped on the Erin Condren bandwagon.  Everyone in the blog world has been going crazy over her "life planners".  I saw some tweets about Zulily having a $50 gift certificate for $25 so I bought one. No way was I paying full price for the planner. There was also a code for $10 off which paid for almost all of the shipping.  I had a hard time deciding which one I wanted. They're all so cute.  I've tried  using the calendar on my iPhone & I just don't like it. I've always been a list maker so I think this will just work better for me. Judging by all the people buying these things I'm not alone. I was very excited Friday to get an email saying that my planner had shipped. I tracked it & it was to be delivered on Halloween. It wasn't. I didn't get it the next day either. The tracking info had suddenly not been updated after saying it was "out for delivery". Lovely. I called the  USPS yesterday. What a joke. Have I ever mentioned my extreme dislike for the USPS??  I had to call an 800 number & explain the situation & the guy said he would then contact the post office where my mail comes from & they would contact me. Surprisingly, the guy called me within a couple of hours. After explaining the situation to him & giving him my address 4 different times & telling him no it's not an apt. he said he'd have to talk to the carrier & call me back. Yeh, you guessed it. Never heard another word from him. Luckily when I got home it was there.

I love it! It's bigger than I thought (and a little heavy) but it will fit in my purse. It's thick & has a heavy duty cover & tabs for each month. There's room inside to make notes or lists in addition to the monthly calendars. If I can't stay organized with this it's a lost cause!

There was also a pack of these cute labels included. What a fun surprise! I think these would be really cute on a bottle of wine or any gift. There is also some great stationery on her website. I'm waiting for another gift certificate promotion to get some of that!!

Toodles!

Trick or Treat

How was everyone's Halloween? Ours was good. When I got home from work yesterday one of the local news channels was a couple of houses down in the cul de sac. We turned on the news & they were live talking about sex offenders. WHAT??? Do we have them in our neighborhood? Dean assured me that no we do not. Apparently, he checks the website regularly. Who knew?? The story was actually about all the precautions you should take with your kids trick or treating & how sex offenders aren't allowed to dress up, give out candy, etc.

We went to a neighbors for hot dogs, chili & all the fixings along with brownies & of course lots of candy. A couple of us just brought our candy to her house & we had an "assembly line of candy" as one kid called it.

Halloween always gets me thinking about what parents are teaching their kids. There are some really rude kids out there! Not to mention the inappropriate costumes. I mean should a 10 yr old really dress up as a homeless person & carry around a sign that says "Will work for candy or beer"?? Then there are the give ups.  If you're 15 & want to trick or treat can you at least come up with a costume? Saying you're an "LSU fan" is NOT a costume. OH & to the mom that came up with her kid & had a bag & says "this is for the one in the stroller" & when you look at the street you see a kid that's less than a year old. Really mom??? You're not fooling anyone!!

Oh & I how could I forget the kids wearing the white trash bags with the words "White Trash" written on them?? Can you say give up?? These kids took it to another level. Dean was across the street & they started to walk up our driveway. No lights are on because I'm 2 houses down with our candy. Dean hollers that there's nobody home. The kids continue to the front door & one of them opens my front door! WTH kid?? Yes, I know it's my fault for leaving the door unlocked but we're in & out & Dean was across the street. Well, Dean yelled at him & off they went.

I know I sound like a Halloween scrooge which I'm really not. The majority of the kids were cute & polite & said thank you but the ones that weren't really made an impression.

Toodles!