Winter Monday

Today was one of those days that 20 years ago I would have  just written in my diary: “nothing today!”

It feels like winter.  It wasn’t really cold, it just rained this morning and stayed gray and dreary outside for the rest of the day.  When it gets like this, I just want to hibernate, seriously! It would have been so nice to stay home baking and decorating and napping all day, but I worked from 7 – 3:30 and it was super busy.  I didn’t get a lunch break and even had to stay over a little bit. Tonight I have been busy with some more work-related things, but it is finally finished, so yay. 

Great news: Brent had a follow-up with his hematologist today and he had a good report – it looks like every thing is back to normal!  I suppose this means he can cycle to his heart’s content.

Tonight I cooked supper for us, but it wasn’t very good. My heart just wasn’t in it.  I made a spaghetti-ish meal with Barilla Plus penne pasta + lean beef + Newman’s organic marinara + sautéed mushrooms (on mine).  Sounds like a basic recipe, so I’m not sure what went wrong, but it was just bland.  At least the asparagus was good.

Also, tonight I planted amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs from an indoor kit.  We will see how this goes.  I hear they are hard to kill, so let’s hope.

Soooo sleepy!!!!  I’m headed to bed!  Good night!

SPECTACULAR Sunday Anyway

Usually our Sundays are very lazy and relaxing, but not today! This morning I decided that it was the day to decorate for Christmas, so I started early and worked allllll day long. I still have so much to do, like the door and the mailbox and the little miscellaneous Christmas picture frames and things like that. I also bought some flower kits that need planting and I bought the supplies to make some more wreaths, maybe as gifts. Plus I have to finish all of the shopping and wrapping. It really is a lot of work, actually, and I’m getting tired just thinking about it. Ha! I’m glad I got the bulk of it finished today so I have at least a month to enjoy it.

This year I decided to do a garland framing the dining room entryway. It was much more work than I imagined. I strung the lights and attached the ornaments myself, because it was just so much cheaper than a pre-lit/made garland (probably at least half the price). But we think it looks pretty good, and it makes the entire house look more Christmas-y.

The tree-topper is new and I’m not exactly sure Brent likes it. He just keeps looking at it but will not comment. I saw the fleur de lis crown at Barton’s on one of their trees and loved it. I bought the flowers at Michael’s.

Here you can see the garland and one of my favorite ornaments from Mammaw’s tree. I have about 5 of these wooden ornaments from her tree and I see entire sets of them in the stores for so cheap but I would not take any anything for mine! Today I noticed that one one of them (a little snowman) was missing the gold string and there was a piece of white thread tied around it to hang it from the tree. I can’t believe I have never noticed this before. It is such a little insignificant thing, but this makes the ornament all the more precious to me. I miss her so much and cannot believe it has been 5 years. Christmas is just not the same without her.

Sleepy pug….

Stink-eye pug……

Silly pug….Milly loves her toys.

Tonight…..booooooooooo!!!!!! We had tickets ($$$) to the Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular in Birmingham and got stuck in traffic for over an hour on the way there. We even left so early and ended up missing it. I’m not sure what happened. We just had to turn around and come back after they were diverting everyone off the interstate. It really makes me sick to have wasted the money on the tickets, but really it is just one of those things. I also actually took today off of work in order to go. :(

Traffic:

And disappointment/general goofiness:

We were all dressed up too….waaah waaah.

Maybe next year!

Brent’s Biscuits

 

Today I had to work from 12:30 – 9:00 pm. I hate getting off at 9, but I love having the morning free.  It started with Brent making his famous biscuits, plus gravy and veggie sausage.  I meant to take a picture of it, but I inhaled the thing before I thought about it.  It was so good – the best breakfast I have had in so long.

Seriously. 

It is not just because he is my husband.  I do not usually like biscuits and NEVER eat them.  But these are the best biscuits I have EVER had in my life. Even better than his mother’s, better than Mammaw’s.  They have the texture of a muffin or cake.

After the breakfast, I went on a morning walk around the neighborhood.  I am picking up pinecones and various things to use for Christmas decorations.  I cannot believe that some people buy pinecones at the store!!!  They are laying all over the ground!  Anyway, I ran up this hill (steeper than it looks):

And actually I was only halfway up when I took the picture.  My goal by the end of the winter is to make it to the top.

I saw this house when we were first looking at houses and fell in love with it.  It is for sale now.

When I came back, I looked out the window and saw this:

 

Hopefully it will be a good night at work!  Excited that I am off tomorrow and can’t wait to see the Rockettes!

Halfway Thanksgiving

Today we met Daddy, Mama, and Kourtney in Gadsden for a Thanksgiving meal. The place we had planned to eat didn’t open until 5, so we ended up at the Fish Market.  The food, to me, was just okay, which was a little disappointing because I have heard rave reviews about this place.  But the company?  Fantastic, obviously.

 

Our waiter loved Kourtney and drew a picture of Nessie on her to-go box of fried pickles.

We had fun…the fam tends to get a little loud around the dinner table, especially when discussing scenes from The Office or Seinfeld. 

After the meal, we went to the mall but didn’t really do much shopping.  It was pretty crowded.  We finally headed back home around 2 pm, but had to stop for dessert in Birmingham…..

Bruster’s…..the best ice cream in the world.

Tonight I did hit some sales at Michael’s and Wal-Mart for Christmas decorations….I am now covered in glitter and ready to get started decorating!

Pictures from my walk/jog this morning:

And Milly -

 

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Work was very, very slow in the ICUs today. Brent came at 11 and ate lunch with me at the hospital’s free Thanksgiving dinner. It was the first time I had ever tasted sweet potato casserole and it was so good!!! Like a dessert! I can’t believe I have been missing out on it all these years.

When I came home from work, Brent had been cooking up a storm. He prepared our entire Thanksgiving meal, which consisted of Heavenly Ham, Heavenly Ham’s cornbread dressing, green beans, squash, okra, mashed potatoes, and cheddar biscuits. We saved our pecan pie from lunch for dessert.

However, the star of the show was not the ham or even the veggies from Thelma’s garden, but…………

Brent’s very own biscuits made from scratch (not the cheddar biscuits mentioned above)!! Honestly, the were the best biscuits I have ever tasted – they were crunchy on the outside and had the consistency of cake on the inside. I’m not sure how he did it, but Brent-1, Christen-0. Last time I tried biscuits we ended up going to Cracker Barrel.

After our meal, I crashed on the couch for about 3 hours while Brent watched football. Sometimes it seems like the less I do, the more exhausted I am. Slow days at work just make me really, really sleepy for some reason. We had talked about going to see a movie or even going for a walk, but Brent was legitimately tired after all of the cooking and we just decided to stay in. When I woke up, he had even cleaned the entire kitchen, which I said I would do……what a man!

Tomorrow is Halfway Thanksgiving! Can’t wait!

Thanksgiving Eve

Today I took the day off and Brent only worked 1/2 day. I spent the morning reading, cleaning, and looking at Thanksgiving recipes and the afternoon planning our trip to Tampa next weekend and getting a few final things for Thanksgiving. Although we are not going to be able to go home, we still have some fun things planned that I am looking forward to.

Tomorrow we have a free Thanksgiving meal at work and Brent is going to take a break from his busy day of internet surfing + sports to join me. Ha! We have a Thanksgiving meal planned at home for us tomorrow that includes Heavenly Ham, roasted asparagus and mushrooms, Alexia rolls, and okra, squash, and green beans from Thelma’s garden. After that, we are thinking of going to see The Blind Side, because we have heard such great reviews about it.

Friday is the inaugural Anderson Family Halfway Thanksgiving. We are meeting Mama, Daddy, and Kourtney in Gadsden, AL, for Thanksgiving lunch (almost halfway) at Top O’the River. After lunch I’m not sure what is on the agenda, as none of us have ever been to Gadsden. I guess we will just see what is there!

Saturday a.m. I am going to start with the Christmas decorating, using the tips and ideas I learned at Barton’s – maybe work on the mailbox before I go in to work at 12:30. I’m off on Sunday and planning on more Christmas decorating + going to see the Rockettes in Birmingham!

More fall pictures taken this afternoon – the light was perfect!

Mama Mia!

Yesterday was girls’ day out in Huntsville. Initially, Rita and I planned to go to Huntsville to see Mama Mia!, and the outing grew from there to include the Space and Rocket Center, Melissa, barbeque, chocolate cake, Cajun food, and tons of pictures (although I do not have copies yet, as I was not the photographer).

Of course, my mishap-of-the-day was that I did not bring my debit card or checkbook and of course I did not (do not ever) have any cash. Also, as a student of Financial Peace University, I do not have any credit cards. So….no money. I was a total mooch all day. Thanks, Dave.

It was an all day thing. We left my house at 7 a.m. and got to Huntsville around 9:30, including stopping in B’ham to pick Rita up. The Space and Rocket Center was the first stop and it was pretty fun. Honestly, I wasn’t in “learning mode” yesterday, but still found it interesting. I remember so clearly the day the the Challenger exploded – I’m not sure if it was because Christa McAuliffe was on board and she was a teacher and Mama is a teacher, or what. Anyway, space science/travel/exploration has just never really interested me that much, but the museum is actually really nice and educational. And of course, we rode the rides. (I will NEVER get back on the “Space Shot” or anything that looks like a remotely similar experience. It is NOT a kiddie ride.)

We couldn’t really find anywhere to eat lunch, so we stopped at this barbeque place named Little Paul’s we passed on the way, near Huntsville hospital. It was great! Very Alabama with the vinegar based sauce and the white sauce.

After lunch, we headed to the Von Braun Center for the show. Mama Mia! was WONDERFUL!!! This was the first time I had seen it and knew nothing about the story line or characters. All day long I have been singing Dancing Queen. Wicked is probably my all-time favorite show, but Mama Mia! ties with Phantom of the Opera for second place . I even bought the movie at Target today because Rita and Melissa both said that it was great. The theater was almost entirely full and we sat in the second-to-last row (didn’t get tickets until Thursday afternoon). I will definitely see this one again, the next time I get the chance!

We stopped at Cajun Steamer on our way back through Birmingham. I had never been, and it was good. Very, very spicy. For an appetizer we shared the fried dill pickle chips (my first time – great!) and I had the Tilapia and Shrimp Rockefeller dish. It was good, but very spicy and very heavy. I could only finish half. We shared a slice of chocolate cake for dessert.

And the day can be summed up with Melissa’s Facebook status update:

Mama Mia! and chocolate cake….a perfect day.

My wreath

This year I have gone to some of the Christmas decorating classes at Barton's nursery. During the last class, we made a wreath. It is conceptually easy (just arrange picks and wire with floral wire) but a LOT of work. Here is the finished product:


I'm actually pretty proud of it. Ha! I may try to do some more. Note that I did NOT tie the bow; the instructors did the bows for us. I think I will probably go back to the classes next year!

Fall in Alabama, 2009

It is so beautiful around here! I love all of the many different colors! I say this at the beginning of every season, but I really mean it now: this is my favorite time of year. Absolutely perfect temperatures and beautiful colors!

This morning I made my very first batch of guacamole! And it was fantastic!

I looked at several different recipes and I didn’t have all of the ingredients for any one of them, nor do I have a food processor, so I just used the various ingredients I did have. I knew what I wanted it to taste like, anyway. :)

Easy Guacamole

Ingredients:

1. 1 avocado
2. 1/2 tsp minced garlic
3. 1 tbsp salsa (Thelma’s homemade salsa)
4. chopped green onions – about 1.5 tbsp
5. sprinkle of cilantro
6. 1/4 tsp sea salt
7. 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Cut the avocado lengthwise, separating the halves.
2. Remove the pit.
3. Scoop the flesh out with the spoon into a small mixing bowl; mash with a fork to desired chunkiness.
4. Mix in all of the other ingredients, stirring well.

The finished product had a very mild taste. It could definitely be kicked up a bit by using spicier salsa, or chilies, or more onions. Next time I might try adding a bit more salsa, but the consistency of the batch today was perfect. I was actually surprised by how much flesh is in an avocado. This made a good-sized bowl of dip – I would say at least 4 servings.

And so, of course, with a nice yummy bowl of guacamole, I had the greatest lunch. I was really craving black beans, but we don’t have any. :( Instead, I made:

meatless nachos! Starring a Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger!

Black Bean Burger Nachos

I began by heating one black bean burger in the oven @ 375F x 16 minutes, flipping halfway through. Beginning with corn chips, I layered the black bean burger + shredded Mexican-style cheese + guacamole + salsa + hummus dip (hummus+salsa). I’m not sure of the exact amounts, usually 1 – 2 spoonfuls.

This was one of the best lunches ever! I forgot how much I love black bean burgers.