Let the Season Begin!

Well, I spent the weekend getting ready for the Holidays...

This is the start of the craziness....the Fall decor must come down so the Christmas can go up. What a mess!

Brian enjoyed watching Alabama beat Auburn 36 to 0!

So, here's some pictures of the holiday decorating blitz. I was in charge of the inside and Brian was in charge of the outside.

We're ready to celebrate the holidays. After all of our hard work, we decided to treat ourselves to a matinee movie to see "Four Christmases". It was really funny and gave us a chance to have some much needed laughs! Now, we're off to fix ourselves an eggnog and brandy an enjoy our handy work! Merry Christmas and to all, a good night!

Thankful

This year let's set aside a few minutes of the holiday to sit alone and think of the many thingsfor which we should be thankful - then this great holiday will have true meaning for us.

I tried to come up with some profound words to share, but I could create anything that could top this poem:

It's the time of year when we're reminded to give thanks.

Instead of waiting until next year to be reminded,

Let's make every day one of thanksgiving;

After all, each day is a unique gift.

So, give a hug for no reason;

Say I love you, just because;

Share a smile with a stranger;

Take the time to count your blessings;

Don't take anything or anyone for granted;

And end each day with no regrets.

Thank you, my friends and family,

For sharing, caring, laughing and crying with me.

I'm truly blessed to have each and every one of you in my life

And I am thankful you have allowed me

To be a part of yours.

May you and yours have a safe and memorable Thanksgiving.
~Author Unknown.

So, this Thanksgiving set a place for gratitude, serve up smiles, and share memories with the people you love! Brian and I love you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

Perfect Fall Weekend

Brian and I were really lazy this weekend. Date Night Friday was dinner at Chipolte. We were surrounded by teenager girls getting ready to see Twilight...we felt really old! After leaving, we decided to hit up the BevMo 5 cent sale. We were able to stock up for the holidays and even found the champagne served at our wedding! We went home and started mixing White Russians. The White Russian has, perhaps, edged out Eggnog and Brandy as my fav Fall Adult beverage!

What is a White Russian you ask? A white russian is made up of three ingredients:
1 part Vodka
1 part Kahlau
1 part Cream

For Sunday night dinner, I made a big pot of "Faux Gumbo" and cornbread. Faux Gumbo (recipe below) is a Weight Watchers recipe I found a while back. It was really good and EASY. We enjoyed steaming hot bowls of gumbo in front of our fireplace...we made our first fire of the year. I don't know...there's something about a fire in the fireplace that I just L-O-V-E!

Now, I'm off to get organized for the upcoming Thanksgiving work week. Have a great week!
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Faux Gumbo
A healthier version of gumbo, taken from the "Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook" - but it sure doesn't taste healthy!

Ingredients:
4 Tsp margarine
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
6 scallions, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 14 1/2 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup okra, trimmed and sliced (I used the frozen)
1/2 Tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8-1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
1/2 C regular long-grain rice
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2" pieces
One piece kielbasa, sliced (I used some Cihcken Andouille sausage)

Directions: In a large skillet or stock pot, melt the margarine. Saute the bell pepper, celery, scallions, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, okra, thyme, bay leaf, and cayenne; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, 15 minutes. Stir in the rice and simmer, covered, for 15 more minutes. Add the shrimp, chicken, and kielbasa; simmer, covered, until the shrimp and chicken are cooked thoroughly. Remove the bay leaf.

Belle's Birthday Party

We celebrated Belle's 1st year with us this weekend. Our house was taken over by 12 adults, 6 children under 4, and 5 dogs. Yes, it was crazy...but so much fun. Brian and I feel very lucky to have such great friends and family that will indulge with us in our crazy love for our fury baby.

No birthday celebration is complete without party favors, so each dog family got to take home a box of "pupcakes" and dog bones.

Belle had so much fun she spent most of the day sleeping on her bed with her new favorite toy.

America has spoken...

and it's voice was filled with hope! November 4th was a day that I will remember, a day that will forever be remembered as a day that changed America forever.

To his critics, I must remind you that he deserves the respect that the office commands. The fact that Obama has won an office that only 43 people before him have ever held is an achievement that we must recognize. I know many people of us feel very strongly about the worthiness of this choice of President. I urge each of you to please set aside those feelings and support our next President. He deserves our daily prayers just as Bush did.

Brian's Handywork In the Garage

Our garage has been a work in progress for quite sometime. We seem to get it organized only to watch it turn into chaos in no time flat! So, since Brian has been off, he decided to get it organized once and for all. His first project was to install more lighting. He installed several new florescent fixtures, which turn on with the flip of 1 switch! Yes, this really is something to get excited about as we battled with having a climb a ladder to plug in the lights up until now!

Brian had been wanting to install a pegboard over his workbench for a while now. He went to it with great results...

In Progress....ugly panelling and all!

The Finished Product!

The best benefit of an organized garage....we're able to park both cars into the garage!