In Review…

Well – as I write this it is Monday evening. The “worst” day of the week has come and is almost gone; I can see the sun sinking through the trees outside my back window and I’m seriously contemplating a bubble bath once I finish this post. And then sleep…so much sleep. I haven’t slept well the past two nights in a row, I’m hoping tonight is different.

The past week was good – it went by much too quickly, as seems to be the case when it comes to most anything good. There are quite a few pictures this week and maybe more little stories than usual; this will all depend on how fiercely this headache I seem to be getting wants to fight me as I type. If it stays a dull throb in the center of my forehead, maybe I’ll write a lot. If it ratchets up to something more substantial then it will be a quick play by play. So…the past week in review. Off we go!

Monday morning stretching….

Just randomly took a selfie on Monday on my lunch break…not sure why…but I thought it turned out pretty good.

The royal baby was born on Monday, July 22nd! As much as I was hoping it might be a princess, it was instead a little prince. A little prince named George Alexander Louis! What a mouthful for someone so small. Granted, his life is already destined for majestic things although he won’t have any clue just what a fuss his birth elicited for quite some time yet. It seems from all I’ve seen and read about the Duke and Duchess (really, aren’t they a Prince and Princess? I mean…whatever…Lindsey could probably set me straight on all things royal) that little Georgie is in good hands and will probably grow up quite well. I think Kate is very much like the late, great Princess Diana – and the United Kingdom and the British Monarchy are all the better for it in my humble opinion. So – congratulations to Baby Cambridge! And maybe read this article in your spare time…ha-ha!

Watching the Royal Baby Edition of the ABC News at the gym….

Easily my favorite tweet about the new little prince – completely cracked me up.

So – after 9 weeks of walking here at the house and spending the last two-three weeks feeling like I was fighting the treadmill, I finally had to admit defeat when the thing wouldn’t let me get but a couple steps without locking up completely. Boo! I admitted defeat in the form of joining a gym. I am not the biggest fan of gyms for many reasons: I can’t sing loudly and off key to my music because Lordy, people would stare. They also have gigantic mirrors that you can see yourself in and I really don’t like my reflection some days. I suppose that is the main reason I’m in the gym in the first place, but still. Happily, within just 24 hours of joining I discovered that a dear friend goes to the Zumba class (second discovery!) every Tuesday and Thursday night. Time passes really quickly walking on the treadmill when you are yapping with someone and Zumba is actually really fun! So now I’m a week in and I think I’m actually going to enjoy it. Who knew?

Exactly – I thought I was fat in 12th grade & I might have worn a size 8. Can I please be that “fat” again…

Joined the gym – and even though it doesn’t look like it; I hate the mirrors.

Wednesday night supper – so delicious. Recipe in one of my precious posts.

Let me just say – for someone who is “scared” of flying, I’ve really become quite the jet-setter in the past year. I’m bound for Colorado Springs in just thirty days and I realized as I was traveling to Virginia at the beginning of this month that by the end of August I will have flown seven times in the past twelve months! Which is more than both my parents or my younger sister have flown this year. Not bad for a chick who just a few years ago wasn’t sure how I’d ever manage to get anywhere on an airplane; let alone on an airplane on my own. It’s all kind of old hat at this point…but man, I’m already praying that this time around I don’t have any of the issues that came with my most recent flights. Maybe the fact that I’m flying American instead of Delta this time will help? Here’s hoping…

Another trip…I’m becoming so jet set!

Thursday morning blues…mostly because it was raining.

I’m kind of obsessed with my navy blue pedicure (still) and I thought it looked great with my peach dress.

Sunset on the way home from the gym on Thursday…

Friday night frog friend!

Oh my – on Friday night I was just sitting at home, minding my own business and watching a little TV when my phone rang. It was my friend Hope, inviting me to come visit her and her precious grandson Micah. When a baby is involved, you don’t have to ask me twice – especially when the baby in question is as wonderful as dear little Micah! Micah had been to the doctor on Friday but he’s an awfully tough little guy because in spite of three shots, he was in the sweetest mood and we had some pretty good conversations, if I do say so myself. We talked about pulling his cat’s tail when he’s a little older and about his silly uncles. The time I spent with Micah and Hope on Friday night was easily the best part of my Friday!

Hanging out with Micah on Friday night – he’s the best.

My Micah collage – so many cute pictures; had to compile them!

It was dreary on Saturday morning and this one had no interest in doing anything more than taking naps all over the house…

A very cool moth on the house – and he’s “wearing” USM colors. Nice!

See – just napping in another spot.

Watson literally napped all day Saturday. I kid you not – he basically moved from spot to spot throughout the house and slept. Every once in a while he would get up to nibble a bite of food or run a few circles around the yard but then he would always find somewhere else to nap and be out like a light in no time. He slept in his bed, on the guest bed, on the couch (more than once) on the front porch, in the grass, in the chair, on my bed and even on his rug in the kitchen. Geez…I don’t know how he sleeps so much sometimes, but he is certainly dedicated to it.

I cleaned all day Saturday – therefore I had to take a picture of my extremely clean glass front door. Ha-ha!

Oh – you just vacuumed this rug? Well let me rub fur all over it then…

Finishing our Game of Thrones marathon on Saturday evening – at least, kind of finishing it. I stopped after Episode 8; I can’t watch the Red Wedding again.

Nap no. 4,593.384 of Saturday….he loses interest in Game of Thrones when there are no dragons…

This face is just too precious. Love this little furball to death!

I re-arranged the living room on Tuesday night (I had lots of Zumba energy) and finally took pictures of it on Saturday night…

I had no clue what I was going to eat on Sunday when I got home from church but as I was walking through my kitchen headed for the bedroom on Saturday night, I was struck with the thought that I had chicken tenders and barbecue sauce; both of which would go into a crock pot and cook up quite nicely. I threw it all in there, turned in to low and after a not so good night’s sleep and a jaunt to church, I had quite the delicious Sunday dinner. Which made for really good Monday lunch leftovers. Delicious!

Delicious Sunday lunch – if I do say so myself…

Someone stole my seat when I went to get more tea….

True Blood continues to amaze me this season – it’s like the writers realized how absolutely insane last season got and so they are slowly trimming away at the characters that caused the crazy. The show is focusing in on the core cast, weeding out the weirdos and really streamlining the writing. This season has been excellent; maybe one of the best seasons since the show started (which is saying something because I loved season 4 – it was very Eric-centric) and I’m glad to know it’s been renewed for a seventh season. This time last season I was seriously concerned as to where they were going to take it in season six – season six is proving to be pretty great and my confidence in the show has been renewed. Plus – while they are; for the most part, paring down the weird characters they did add a (weird) character that I love. Can we say hello to…is it Warlow? Ben? Benlow? I don’t know…he has too many names. He looks good though. Ha-ha!

I leave you with a picture of me watching True Blood last night in my truly fierce penguin pajama pants. Nothing says supernatural thriller quite like fuzzy penguin pants – but hey, it is what it is. My headache has stayed at bay and it is now time for a lovely bubble bath. Hope you’ve had a good Monday and I hope your Tuesday is good – I certainly hope my Tuesday is better than my Monday!

Wearing my fierce penguin pajamas to watch True Blood on Sunday night – nothing screams hardcore like penguin pajamas, am I right?

Passing the Time….

It should be noted that I’m suffering from an acute case of boredom. So – if you too are suffering from an acute case of boredom, you might be interested in reading this post. If you aren’t then it will probably hold little interest. Either way – here it is – a little something to pass the time.

1.      What was your favorite food when you were a child?

-Macaroni & Cheese, hands down. I still love that stuff!

2.      What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod?

-I have no clue. I’m sure if I had my iTunes handy, I could tell you but my iPhone playlist doesn’t have that feature where you can see what is most played. I’d warrant it is something by Hunter Hayes or from one of the three Game of Thrones soundtracks that I have.

3.      What is one of your favorite quotes?

-“Be who you are and say what you mean. Because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

4.      What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity?

-Indoor activity…hmm..can sleeping count as an activity? If not, then I like reading a good book or going to the movies. Outdoor activity…I like looking at flowers; I enjoy going to botanical gardens and such.

5.      What chore do you absolutely hate doing?

-Cleaning the bathroom. Ugh. HATE. IT.

6.      What is your favorite form of exercise?

-Until recently I would have said walking (although truly I don’t like exercise at all) but I started taking a Zumba class this week and I am really into it. Even though at times I feel completely crazy.

7.      What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?

-Time of the day – 5 o’clock on the week days and really just the mornings on the weekend; because when I wake up I have the luxury of just being lazy. Day of the week – Saturday, of course. Especially since I’ve become a member of the work force. Month of the year – December, hands down. I absolutely love anything and everything to do with Christmas.

8.      What’s your least favorite mode of transportation?

-Hmmm…flying? I don’t know. I used to hate to fly but now it’s not so bad. I’ve never traveled by train, so I can’t really put that up as comparison. I don’t like traveling that involves heights..so yeah, I guess flying. It’s a love/hate relationship.

9.      What is your favorite body part?

-On myself, I like my eyes. On other people…well it all depends.

10.  What sound do you love?

-The voices of my family and friends. Also music of most any genre.

11.      If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for?

-Any kind of party? I don’t know; I’m not a huge party planner. I think I’ll enjoy throwing birthday parties for my babies one day…so I’ll say that. I’ll enjoy throwing parties for my babies!

12.      If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint?

-I would paint mountains. The mountains of Tennessee, the mountains of Virginia, the mountains of Colorado. I love the mountains.

13.      If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?

-I don’t know, so far I’ve only made it to 28 and 3/4…so I don’t think I’ve lived enough to choose one age and stay there forever. Check back in about ten years and maybe then I’ll have something for you.

14.      If you knew the world was ending in 2012, what would you do differently?

-The world didn’t end in 2012, so I guess I’m safe from answering this question, huh? 😉

15.      If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

-Ooooh, anyone? I don’t know! I feel like the answer to this should be someone very wise or very smart but I’m drawing a blank. Apparently boredom does not help me ilicit good answers. I’ll just leave this for another day, when my mind feels sharper.

16.      If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

-I think it would be pretty cool to be in the field where the shepherds were and get to hear the heavenly chorus that announced the arrival of Jesus.

17.      If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

-I think it would be really cool to learn gymnastics at an Olympic level. It would be amazing to swing and flip around those bars and fly through the air the way they do.

18.      If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be?

-Writing a children’s book; either about my dog or about the little donkey that lives in a field near my house.

19.      If you were immortal for a day, what would you do?

-What is the point of being immortal for a day? I guess I’d try some extreme sports since there would be no way I could be killed. Heliskiing anyone??

20.  If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

-Something that was both different and old fashioned; something inspired by books I read. Maybe to a name from Game of Thrones? Cersei? Sansa? Arya? Oh – maybe Catelyn. It’s different, old fashioned and from Game of Thrones. Catelyn for the win!

21.  If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?

-This question..always this question. I should have a really deep answer like Abraham Lincoln or Einstein but the only thing I can really think of is the cast of Game of Thrones or Tom Hiddleston…or Alexander Skarsgard… I really need to go to Comin Con.

22.  If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

-Travel, travel…see all the world.

23.  If you were reincarnated as an animal/drink/ice cream flavor, what would it be?

-Animal, I think I’d like to be a large cat; a panther maybe. Drink, I think I’d just be water. It’s a pretty abundant resource, so you could be most anywhere. Ice Cream Flavor, probably my new favorite from Blue Bell – Krazy Kookie Dough. Which kind of drives me nuts because hello – spelling!

24.  If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be?

-When will I find my Prince Charming?

25.  If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

-Too many choices, too many choices! It would be awesome to be Hermione from Harry Potter, it would be awesome to be any number of female characters from Game of Thrones. I even think it would be cool to be Sookie Stackhouse from the Southern Vampire Series. Any of the above. All of the above and more.

Fun with Farfalle

So – I started going to the gym this week. The schedule for me now that I’ve started going to the gym is heading straight to the gym from work on Monday and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday I head home for about an hour before going to walk/do Zumba at the gym. Wednesday is going to be my “off” day; at least for now. That all being said – I decided that I’d cook something that didn’t require just one step last night, because hey…real food is pretty delicious.

I get a daily email from Kraft that has a recipe and some of them immediately go into the delete file on my email – I’m sorry guys, but I’m not making salmon fishsticks. Just not my thing. What is my thing though is this dish – Chicken Florentine Casserole. I was all over this one as soon as I saw it, so I added the ingredients to my grocery list and decided last night was the perfect time to whip this us. And I’m really glad I did because it was delicious! Check out the pictures and the recipe will be at the bottom! Also, the irony of posting a pasta dish and talking about joining the gym all in the same post – yeah, I get that. I also get that I like to eat good food, so I’m going to keep on exercising and I’m going to keep on cooking good food!

Cooking my chicken with some garlic…made the kitchen smell good!

There is spinach in this – do I get just a couple healthy points for that? Probably not…

Noodles…noodles…noodles…

Oh yeah – there is also bacon. Maybe that cancels out the spinach? Oh well…

Got to get my leafy greens in there!

Bacon makes everything better. Always.

Ready to go in the oven…only 25 minutes till yum time!

My oven looks a little dirty there on the bottom. Oh well…

Turning my little owl’s head around backward…25 minutes till he can see again…

I had to take the foil off after the first 10 minutes – a couple noodles stuck to it. And I ate them. Because they were delicious.

Finished product out of the oven – smelled so good!

Please excuse me while I nom…nom…nom…on this deliciousness.

Chicken Florentine Casserole

-1 can chicken, drained
-garlic
-2 cups cooked farfalle
-3/4 cup milk
-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-3/4 cup spinach leaves
-4 slices of bacon, cooked and shredded
-1 container Philadelphia Cooking Creme; Italian Herb flavor

-Cook chicken and garlic together in a skillet; set aside.
-Cook pasta and drain water
-Mix together pasta, chicken, milk, mozzarella cheese, spinach, bacon and cooking creme – combine well
-Put pasta mixture in a lightly greased baking dish and cover with tinfoil
-Cook at 375 for 25 minutes; take the tinfoil off after the first 10 minutes.
-Let cool and dig in!

I should note – although I don’t have a picture of it, Watson sat in the kitchen floor while I cooked chicken and mixed up the pasta. He also sat right in front of me, still as a statue and focused on my food while I ate. He may or may not have been given a bite of chicken covered in sauce. Ha-ha! Hope y’all have a good Thursday!

Titles…They’re Hard…

I just have real trouble thinking up titles sometimes. What is up with that? I don’t know – maybe because I write these posts on Monday mornings (typically) and my brain on Monday morning is akin to that of a zombie – I have only one thought. No, it’s not brains. It’s coffee! Granted, that is kind of the same line of thought for me almost every morning but on Monday it’s much stronger. I’m not sure what it is about Mondays but they pretty much are the worst for everyone, right? I’m sure that it isn’t just me…right?

Moving on – the past week, in pictures and possibly short stories. Although as I look at the pictures, it might just be mostly pictures. Ha-ha. Enjoy!

Maybe one of my new favorite pictures – noticed these little guys when I headed out for lunch on Monday and managed to get a pretty good picture!

Thank goodness I have a dog – at least the pickle chicken didn’t totally go to waste.

Drinking from my Nationals cup…

He was asleep. Sound asleep. And then I got out a popsicle. Amazing.

Reading…on the tablet. I didn’t think I’d enjoy reading books on the tablet but I actually really do. Crazy. I do miss the smell that books have though. Ha-ha.

The Start Journal – I need to be better about writing in mine.

The boss lady brought lunch on Wednesday – it was some good Boston Butt. I may or may not have eaten two sandwiches. I’ll never tell…

So – this is delicious. Not sure where it’s been all this time, but it tastes amazing.

Wednesday afternoon – package from my lovely parents. I’m a blessed girl. Also – owl kitchen timer? Awesome!

Great minds – they think alike.

At this point – I have to interject and tell y’all about a show I discovered on Wednesday night. I can assure you I never thought I’d watch the show but when I stumbled upon it in boredom on Wednesday night I became fascinated. I even recorded two episodes of it last night so I can watch it later in the week when I have nothing to do. The show is called Naked and Afraid and y’all – it is no joke. They drop two people in the wild – I mean, the wild as in like…the wilds of the African Serengetti or the jungles of Costa Rica – totally naked and with only one survival tool apiece. For 21 days. And that is it. There is no prize for surviving the 21 days except that knowledge that you did it. No million dollar prize or a new car. It gets really intense, really quickly. There are hyenas, poisonous snakes, rivers at flood stage, bugs…and the two people are completely naked. I think that is what makes the show work. Just when things get all too intense and the guy on the team has lost 30 pounds in 19 days and now he has an infected foot and may not make it to the rescue point on time…boom – a naked butt. And it’s funny. Because no matter how old we get, there is just something funny about a naked butt. Anyway – if you’re bored, try to check it out. It’s funny. It comes on the Discovery channel and it’s a hoot.

There was a thunderstorm on Thursday morning – someone doesn’t handle storms well.

A turtle in the yard after the rain…

Raindrops on…not roses. Just a plant outside the office.

Oh – I have recently discovered pimento and cheese and let me tell you – I have been missing out. I’m not sure what kept me from trying something that is mainly cheese but I have spent 28 years not eating pimento and cheese and that phase is over. The stuff is delicious on crackers, toasted bread, in a grilled cheese. If you have some crazy good recipe with the stuff that you want to share – please do. Because I am loving the stuff.

Nom…Nom…Nom…so delicious.

I spent my Thursday lunch break getting a pedicure. It was lovely. Navy just seemed like a good color choice…

I had some good old fashioned comfort food for supper Thursday night – mac & cheese. Watson was willing to do whatever it took to insure he got a taste…

To the victor go the spoils…

I’ve found my new favorite coffee. Delicous!

Pedicured toes in the sunshine on Friday…

Lunch on Friday, courtesy of my Momma. Thanks for the gift card Mom! And Dad too…I’m sure.

I should have never downloaded this game…it takes up too much of my time. And I still have no clue what the fish even do…

Watson with his treat from Pet Meds – this is the only thing he likes about getting a box from Pet Meds.

Saturday morning slump – someone wanted to just stay in the bed.

I was far mor active on Saturday than I intended to be when I woke up. I knew that my grass desperately needed to be cut but that wasn’t first on my agenda. I told Watson I would take him on an adventure – which to him means he gets to ride in the car somewhere. We went to the lake and walked below the dam, up the stairs and across the dam back to the car. Ya’ll – it is hot outside. Even at 10:15 in the morning, it is already pretty toasty.

I had planned to use a riding mower to cut my grass and it was only going to take about fifteen minutes but once I found out that the riding mower had a dead battery, I grabbed the push mower and just got on with it. My grass was up to my knees and whether I wanted to or not, it had to be cut – so I buckled down and did it. I was pretty proud of myself when I was done but I was also worn slap out! It took longer than I’d planned on it taking (almost an hour) and dragging/pushing a mower is much harder than riding around on one. I’ve never been so happy to see a bath because I was covered with dust, dirt and stray blades of grass. Gross.

I am just not cut out for all this yard work. I like the great outdoors just fine but I’d rather let someone else keep them at bay for me. I got a nice little sunburn on my shoulders and two days later, the palms of my hands still feel bruised from having to hold down that stupid bar on the handle of the mower. I’m not complaining though – there is a certain sort of pride in looking out my front window and knowing that I mowed the yard and it looks pretty darn good. Now – if it can just not rain for a few weeks so that I don’t have to cut the grass again too soon, that would be just fine. Ha-ha. Yeah right.

Taking a walk…

Watson tries to beat the heat by hiding out under my Grandma’s porch…little goose.

Look at that fine grass cutting job! And yes, I know – you don’t cut grass in flip flops. My Dad told me all about it!

Taking a Saturday afternoon nap – and he didn’t even have to cut grass!! What a bum.

They were supposed to go to the church…but I got distracted and forgot them. Oh well, people in my office will eat them.

Changes…one of the only things that is constant in life.

Well – I guess that’s about all for now. Hope you had a good weekend and hopefully your week ahead will be good. I also hope my week ahead will be good!

The Start Experiment

So – yesterday I posted a picture on my Instagram (and also on my Facebook) of a journal that said “Start” on it. Almost immediately one of my friends asked me what it was and instead of giving some offhand answer, I figured this would be the easiest way to explain it. Plus – the day one assignment (which was on July 15th – oops) was to do something small in relation to whatever your own personal Start Experiment was going to be. I’m getting ahead of myself though.

Jon Acuff – if I say that name, do you know who I’m talking about? Jon Acuff is a Christian writer and motivational speaker of sorts. He wrote a book a few years back called Stuff Christians Like and has a blog by the same name – check it out here. I’ve read several of the blog posts that he has put up because most of them are pretty much deadly accurate when it comes to the stuff Christians like. I’m pretty sure two of my favorites are about Christian singles and all the things they hear from people at their church (check it out) and it should be noted I scored 40+ on the quiz at the end. I don’t think that is a good thing though. There was also a post about being the person that headed up the nursery – but I can’t seem to find that one. Anyway – everything is so dead-on and just cracks me up. I think we get this idea that as Christians we have to be serious all the time but I’m quite certain that nowhere in the Bible does it say that once you decide to follow Jesus, you can’t laugh about things every now and then. Jon is funny at times and also leaves space to be serious about what being a Christian means.

Earlier this year, Jon put out his second book – a book about making the decisions in life to leave behind his dead-end job(s) that weren’t fulfilling him and pursue the dream job he’d always had in mind – being a writer. I’ve actually not read the book but from what I’ve seen about it on his blog it encourages and guides people in making the changes they need to stop living a life they don’t like and “start” on their dreams.

About a month ago, Jon posted on his website and made the announcement that if people wanted to take a chance, a risk and see what life could be like if you made steps to start working toward their dreams, to email him. He would only pick a select number of people and the post extending the opportunity would only be up for 16 days. I thought “why not” and emailed him. I wasn’t sure I’d be picked but I got an email back the next day instructing me to join a Facebook group. To be honest – at first I thought nothing was going to happen, even though I answered the short survey that was sent out. Sunday, I found myself sorted into a group with 24 other wanna-be writers and found that I’d been partnered with a girl named Melissa – who lives in New York.

So far – it’s day three. On day one I had to do something small: tweet about the Start Experiment, or something like that. I decided to blog and I’m a little behind. On day two, Jon told us to buy a journal and write a few sentences each day. He asked that this not be an electronic version but something “old-fashioned”. I tweeted a picture of mine because he also said he’d love for people to tweet or Instagram a pic of their journal with the tag #startexp – so I did! Today is day three and I was supposed to look into other people who have done what I’d like to do.

My Start Journal…wonder what it will look like on Day Twenty-Four?

So here’s the thing – what do I want to do? The answer to that is write. You see – truly my dream is to be a wife and mother, but that ball is totally in the Lord’s court at this moment. Beyond that, I’ve always loved to read books and blogging has really become something I enjoy and look forward to doing. I’ve had several people tell me that I should be writing but one way or another I always talk myself out of it. I’ve come up with a couple ideas for children’s books before and while a lot of people encouraged me, someone close to me discouraged me (not anyone in my family – don’t be alarmed family!) – maybe they didn’t see it as that, but I did. So…now I’m on day three of the Start Experiment. What will this mean? I don’t know!

Jon warned us that some of the assignments each day might be a challenge and take us outside our comfort zone. So far, that hasn’t happened but I’m pretty concerned about those challenges. Maybe those of you that read this, along with my partner Melissa; you can keep me honest and make sure I’m completing the challenges. Especially today’s – I have no clue who to research. I know several people who have blogged their way to a book deal but often what I blog about and what I’d like to write about are two different things. That being said – there is the explanation of what the journal with the word Start emblazoned across it means. Tomorrow is Day Four of Twenty-Four days – so we’ll see what unfolds.

Pickle Chicken…yep…

So – I’m pretty sure if you read the title of this this post, you are thinking that I’m about nuts. And I am. I will totally agree with you on that one. I read an article last week on Yahoo.com called “17 Uses for Pickle Juice”, which you can read here to prove I’m not making this up. One of the things on the list says that you should marinate chicken in pickle juice and it will taste like fried chicken when cooked. So I thought, well hey…why not?

Guess what – I’m nuts. I did it even though it sounds absolutely crazy and well…yeah… I should have known that this one was a big ol no. But I’m always game to try cooking new things. I’ll move forward with caution from now on – especially when the marinade is made from crazed cucumber juices…

The chicken and the marinade…

Supper or a science expermient gone wrong?

It looked like normal chicken…nothing too weird here…

Can you tell that the tender on the right has a greenish tinge? It does – trust me. It is pickle juice colored….

The finished product – it looks alright.

Let me say this – it wasn’t bad. It also wasn’t good. The only thing I could think of comparing it to is when you buy chicken on a stick at the fair and you eat a piece of the chicken next to the pickle – it tasted like that. It tasted about like you would expect chicken soaked in pickle juice to taste. Not awful but it certainly did not taste like fried chicken. Not like any fried chicken I’ve ever tasted that is…

Will I make it again? Nope! Do you want to make it? Probably not. But if so, then there really is much of a recipe. Soak the chicken in pickle juice and then cook it. And then pucker up…

Thank goodness I had peas and mashed potatoes…

I didn’t eat all the chicken – but I guess thats okay because I have my very own little clean-up crew. He quickly handled the peices I didn’t eat and seemed quite pleased to do so. Thank goodness or I would have felt like I wasted chicken…

Watson says “I think it tastes fine Momma – gimme some more!”

Recovering….

I’m going back a little bit here at the start of this one – Lord knows the end of the week previous and the start of last week all kind of lumped together in a colossal heap of nerves, flight delays and much needed extra sleep. Oh, and I’m writing this with frustration today because I should be on my treadmill but after only being on it mere minutes today and having the thing lock up almost continuously, I’ve finally accepted the fact that the treadmill is obviously dead. It is dead, done and over with and since I can’t stop my fitness regime now, I’m forced to start walking outside in the treacherous MS July heat. And I’m not pleased about that at all.

Anyway – that is a problem for this week and I’m supposed to be re-capping last week. Onward!

Sunday night skies in Virginia…

My sweet Daddy trying to explain flight patterns and why my flight got delayed…

Y’all – I have just got the best Daddy ever. You may think your Dad is the best, but you would undoubtedly be wrong because I’ve got the best Dad and there can’t be more than one. God broke the mold when he made my Daddy! Through all my flight drama last week, he was such a good, supportive Dad – whether he was drawing on a Cracker Barrel napkin to explain flight patterns on Sunday night or standing right outside the security line at Reagan, moving every time I moved in the line and finally giving one last wave and smile as I disappeared from view. He’s the best – no doubt about it!

My sweet Daddy waving good-bye at the airport on Monday morning…

He’s not real sure what is in this bag…but he might be interested…

All the refuse from a day of horribly botched travel plans. *sigh*

Have I mentioned that I don’t want to see a plane emblazoned with Delta on it for a long, long time? The irony of that is now that the travel debacle is over and done with, Delta has so kindly given me a $100 travel voucher and 2,500 miles on my Sky Miles account. Who wants to bet how long it will be before I’m on yet another Delta plane? As stated above… *sigh*

Can you see the fuzzy caterpillar on the frog’s nose?

These aren’t cookies – they’re dog treats. Seriously.

This one – he just kills me. So stern on Wednesday morning.

I’m pretty sure when the Lord decided to send Watson to me (because that’s how he got here – the Lord lowered him, in his harness down from Heaven on a giant fishing pole. He told him it would be a long journey and he might get little sores in his arms from being lowered, but it would be worth it in the end, because he’d find a loving family. That’s how it happened – won’t believe anything else.) he knew that I was not a fan of bad weather and so he sent me a little dog that was also terrified of storms. Thunder send this one booking for my side and he makes every step I make…even into the bathroom. Bless him. He is not a fan of all these afternoon summer storms…

Following me to the bathroom on Wednesday night during the thunderstorm…

I try to keep him off my “new” bed…but it obviously isn’t working.

Very angry clouds on Thursday morning…

This dog is a Popsicle eating fool. I think he’d eat the whole thing if I’d let him…

I’ve also never seen a dog get so excited about a Popsicle. You’d have thought I was eating a leg of lamb or something, not a vanilla flavored ice treat. This little goofy went absolutely nuts, begging so hard that his whole body was shaking. Pretty funny if you asked me. Since he was so thrilled with the idea of a Popsicle on Thursday night, I decided on Friday to break out his Frosty Paws ice cream. He’d not been a fan the first time, but he licked that cup dry on Friday night. I guess there is something to be said for Peanut Butter flavored ice cream…

The joy of puppy ice cream on Friday night!

People ice cream on Saturday afternoon…

I cleaned out under my bathroom sink – I know, I lead a glamorous life. Be jealous.

Red Beans & Rice on Saturday night – as always, delicious!

Snow Cream Popsicles are the best thing I’ve ever discovered.

Saturday evening I went to visit my friend Hope because her precious new grand baby was over at her house and I can’t resist a little bit of time spent with Micah! He is without a doubt one of the sweetest, most handsome little guys I’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with and that hair is just too much – I love rubbing his soft, fuzzy head. I’m just a sucker for babies y’all…that’s all there is to it!

Absolutely precious Micah – the best Saturday night companion a girl could ask for!

My only “souvenirs” from my trip to VA.

That’s right – I only brought back three things from the land of Virginia. Three! My Mom found that cross for me at Hobby Lobby one day and so I’ve added it to my collection on the wall; I think it really completes it. I found that blue glass bottle at an antique store and I’ve decided that I could really be into the whole antique thing – kind of. Maybe once I get moved, we can spend a Saturday exploring antique stores? We’ll see. Of course, I had to get myself a Washington Nationals cap – because I’ve already decided that they will be my team from now on. I’m pretty sure I could name half the team if I wanted to…(Harper, Strasburg, Zimmerman, Rendon, Gonzalez, Stammen, LaRoche…I’ll stop there…) and one of the tag lines is that you have to have “Natitude” when  you’re cheering for the Nats. Hello – I’m a Nat! It’s like, a given that I cheer for this team. Plus, who doesn’t love the colors red, white & blue?

Yoga dog! Got that back leg stretched out to meet his nose…

Things…they are a changing…

I have my own little dishwasher…hahaha

Sunday night dessert courtesy of Mrs. Hope…nom, nom, nom…

Oh – y’all, True Blood is just surprising me this season! Last season was so completely insane, but somehow they’ve pulled it together and this season is really great! I was apprehensive at the beginning of the season but the writers must have done some serious thinking about all of it and whipped the crazy train around and back onto the tracks; because it isn’t absolutely nuts! Is it still a little odd? Well of course, it’s a show about supernatural beings living among humans – it’s bound to be a little weird. Is it absolutely insane? Not this season! And for that reason I cheer and look forward to my Sunday night TV session. At least for five more weeks. Five more weeks of Eric…I think. He better not be the fan favorite that gets killed off this season. I will riot. Ha-ha. No really…I will. 🙂

Eric, Eric…you’re my number 1 too! Although I don’t think that is what the number on your shirt denotes…

Whoever Coined the Phrase "Flying the Friendly Skies" I Owe You a Punchin the Gut!

Seriously – can we talk to whoever thought that flying large groups of people in what is basically a big tin can on steroids would be a good idea? Who thought that scenario wouldn’t be rife with confusion and trouble? Granted, I’ve never really had trouble with flying until last week but my touch of trouble with flying was enough to last me a life time. You see, after the disastrous flying of Wednesday night and trying to get to Virginia, coupled with the troubles at the airport Sunday night, I was just about ready to hang up my hat on Monday morning…but I should backtrack because some stuff went down before Monday morning rolled around.

I’ve already written about the delay(s) and re-booking on Sunday night – you can read that here. What I didn’t write in that blog was that once we got back to the house on Sunday night and tried to find my reservation for the next day; we kept coming up with nothing. Once Delta called us back at 12:35 because of the hour and half + wait time, we found out the reason there were no reservations: the desk agent said she’d re-booked me, but no such thing had happened and then finding a flight for me began to look almost non-existent. There were no flights out of Dulles, Reagan, Baltimore or Roanoke…and it was after 1 AM. Things weren’t looking good. The woman on the phone finally found a flight leaving Reagan at 11 and that was that.

I went to sleep after 1 AM and was up again by 7. To say that I woke up anxious and stressed would be an understatement. I mean – I already don’t really like to fly and the anxiety from the two earlier days of flight stresses combined with a lack of sleep – not good. I’ll be honest, I cried for the duration of my shower and then later when my Dad was helping me get everything in my suitcase, I retreated to the corner of the room and sobbed some more. Finally we got on our way and things went so smoothly getting into downtown DC that it seemed like something of a good omen.

Saying good-bye to my Virginia home one more time…

Leaving Reagan….before things all went crazy. Again.

Like I said in the above picture – everything went fine leaving DC. I got to Atlanta at about 12:45 and my flight to Jackson was supposed to leave at 1:30. The first thing I learned once I landed was that my flight to Jackson had been delayed until 3:22. At first, that wasn’t a big deal – I could get something to eat for lunch, take my time and not be too rushed. I’d still be back to Jackson by about 3:30 and then home by about 5. I found a little corner at my gate to sit in, pulled all my stuff to me and was going to take a short little nap. Until I get another buzz on my phone around 2 telling me that my flight had been delayed again…till 4 this time.

I was SO tired…I needed a nap. But that wasn’t going to happen.

Over the course of the next 8 hours, my flight got pushed back from the original time of 1:30 to 3:22, 4, 4:40, 5, 5:56, 6:20 and then 7:20 before it was finally cancelled. I couldn’t take a nap or rest because every time the time of the flight changed, so did the gate that the flight was leaving from. I started out at D24 and by the time I finally left at 8:30, I’d been to 11 gates. Eleven. You see – while my flight was bouncing from gate to gate and getting later and later, I was riding the train from one terminal to the next to try and get on other planes going to Jackson. I was #9 on the stand-by list on a flight leaving at 2:51 and then I was #2 on the list on a flight leaving at 4:38. I didn’t make either of those and tried to get on a flight leaving at 5:51 – but it was overbooked and so not only did they not have a stand-by list, but I found out later that the flight never even showed up!

Minutes before I found out my flight was cancelled, I got a call from my Mom telling me that she’d randomly posted on the Air Force Academy parent’s page of Facebook about what was going on with me. A woman who lives in Texas and has a child at the Academy saw the posting; she works at Delta and is apparently someone with some power because she contacted my Mom to tell her that she’d booked me on a flight that was leaving at 8:30; I had a guaranteed seat and she was certain that the flight would be leaving. I could still get on my original flight if it left any earlier than 8:30 but if not, then I should just get on that flight. What’s more, I got a $100 flight voucher in my email and she also made sure I’d have a $25 food voucher. I’m glad I knew all that before what happened next – because at 7:20, they announced that my flight had been cancelled completely. I watched the people around me go into a sort of panic and I knew if I’d not just talked to my Mom, I would have done the exact same thing.

I used my food voucher to buy a $10 smoothie – seriously. It cost $10. And I’ve since discovered that I didn’t get anything back. So I guess $15 of that food voucher was wasted, but with only 30 minutes before I boarded the flight, I didn’t really have that much time to find or consume $25 worth of airport food. I guess I could have bought lots of Pop Tarts from a store and had breakfast for the whole rest of the week…but those aren’t things I was thinking about. To be honest, I wasn’t thinking much at all. I know that when I got on that plane, I’d never been so happy to see a seat on a plane in my life. Heck – I’d have sat in the bathroom for the whole flight if they’d let me.

I got back to Jackson at 8:40, drove home half awake; thank goodness for my little sister hanging on the phone with me all the way home. I should mention, by the time I got to my house, it was pouring rain. I was so tired I couldn’t wait for it to stop so I grabbed my things and ran for the door. I finally got into my house at 10:45, soaked to the bone and just completely done with all of it. I crawled into the bed with wet hair and damp skin and didn’t even care.

A really expensive smoothie. It was good but I don’t know about $10 good…

So glad to have a seat on a plane – finally. I don’t want to see a plane for a while…

Virginia Adventures: Part Four…Yep, You Read That Right

That’s right….somehow was was supposed to be just three days turned into four. I have a whole post dedicated to the debacle of getting home, so I’ll just touch on day four in this post and leave the post about traveling troubles for another day – at least, some of the troubles.

Sunday morning I had the breakfast of champions yet again, a strawberry lemonade cupcake on the porch. I went to church with my family and was pretty amazed by the people at my parent’s church. I’ve only met a few of them once before; some of them I’ve never met and yet so many people hugged me, told me they were glad to see me or meet me and they also told me they were all praying and looking forward to when I could make the move to Virginia! Talk about feeling the love. They also told me they’d be praying for me to have safe, expedient travels home. I guess the Lord answered those prayers with a no, but again – another story for another time.

Yum…nothing like a sugar rush to get you going.

Lunch at Red Robin – I had the Berserker Burger and Cherry Limeade.

Once church was over, we went home to pack things up and grabbed some lunch at Red Robin (yum!) before we got to the airport. We visited and chatted until it was time to go through security and then we said our good-byes.

Admiring my sunburn in the airport…I was bored waiting to board the plane.

The trouble began not long after I boarded my first flight. I’d gotten all settled into my seat and was ready to fly the friendly skies when they made an announcement that the flight had been delayed because of weather in Montevallo, Virginia. Apparently the only flight path we could take took us directly into that weather and so we’d all have to disembark the plane and wait until we got an update at six. Well, since I’d already had dramatic travels just getting to Virginia, I crawled off the plane, plugged in my phone and may or may not have called my parents crying. I had a cushion this time though – I had a two hour layover in Atlanta, so I just began playing the waiting game.

So sick of delays…and while we waited for the weather to move out of Montevallo; it came to us. Nice.

Really tired of seeing these dumb notifications on my phone…boarding? Yeah right. WRONG!

Well, six rolled around and we were told no update until six-thirty. Six-thirty came and we were told that we’d probably be delayed until at least eight or later leaving. That meant I’d miss my connecting flight from Atlanta to Jackson, so I had no choice but to join the long line of people waiting to change tickets. I was going to try to get onto a flight leaving Atlanta at eleven-fifteen in hopes that I could at least get home, even if it was late. After talking with a desk agent who left me very concerned that I’d end up stranded in Atlanta overnight – in the Atlanta airport no less, since Delta won’t provide a hotel in the event of weather delays – I decided to re-book my flight for the next day. The desk agent punched some buttons, printed out a boarding pass for Monday and sent me on my way. I called my parents to come pick me up and about forty-five minutes later, I was headed back for Front Royal with my family.

Lines, lines, lines…I was tired of lines.

It was only 7:20 but I was the only person on the train…weird.

I have to say, I was really surprised by how deserted the airport seemed even though it was only seven twenty at night. I guess I was going in the wrong direction? I don’t know but it seemed like at times on the way back to the main terminal, I had the whole airport to myself. Very strange.

Goofing around on the lit floor tiles…I had time to kill waiting for my parents.

Hey security checkpoint….I was just at you mere hours ago…

The parents and I had some supper at Cracker Barrel and then headed home to what should have been a calm evening. It wasn’t…but again, that’s for another post. So I’ll leave you with the picture of my happy home in Virginia.

Home Sweet Home….again.

Virginia Adventures: Part Tres

Day Three – What was supposed to be my last “full” day in Virginia…but that’s a post for another day, right? This is becoming pretty routine, but obviously the first thing I did when I woke up was sit on the back deck and drink coffee! I feel like I would do this every Saturday and Sunday morning if I lived in Virginia. Hopefully I would be able to find somewhere that I could live that also had a mountain view – but if not, Mom and Dad’s would only be a short drive away!

We were very lazy on Saturday morning and just kind of sat around on the porch drinking coffee before we went in and got ready for our day three adventures. While Dad dug out Lindsey and I’s old wagon (old…as in, almost as old as me) and the “tent” to take with us to Antietam, Mom and I made cupcakes and decorated them. Once we had packed the car, we headed over to Maryland to spend the day at Antietam Battlefield – they have a big fireworks show set to music by the Maryland Symphony Orchestra.

The view – always the view. *sigh*

The breakfast of champions – a lemon cupcake from Crumbs. Delicious!

The cupcakes we made to take to Antietam for our dessert later in the day!

Armed and dangerous…that’s a icing do-hickey, ha-ha!

Antietam – from the Visitors Center. And I didn’t realize until after the fact that the blue line along the back of the picture was a line of Porto Potties. Hahahahaha.

Bloody Lane from the top of the Observation Tower

Once more time….

Burnside Bridge, also at Antietam Battlefield.

Kayaks on the muddy creek; we learned you could tube this & it was hot enough outside that it was an appealing thought.

Another look at the bridge.

Selfie! Cheese!

We made a couple stops along the way to see an old Civil War era house and get some lunch at a really good Mexican place that I found on Yelp! I can’t remember the name for the life of me, but I know it was really good food! After exploring the park for a little bit, we were in charge of staking out a spot on the lawn to hold things down and wait on my parent’s friends, Doug and Jen and their daughter Emily. Of course, once they arrived, Emily was a perfect source of entertainment and had us rolling with laughter!

Hanging out in the field with all the other people who came to watch fireworks & listen to the orchestra.

There were too few clouds…it was HOT.

Despite the heat, Dad & I wandered the battlefield – cannons, cannons everywhere!

Emily munching her Salt & Vinegar chips.

The top of a monument…

Working on some corn, even though she is missing her two front teeth – she’s a mess!

My chips of choice…delicious!

The heat melted the cupcakes just a little bit…

Hello gigantic flag….

Dad standing when they played the Air Force song!

Boom! Bang! Pow!

We ate a supper of burgers, hot dogs, chips, corn and assorted desserts – there were cupcakes and cookies. The music was really nice although I have to say, they had some folk singer that performed a few of her own songs and I’m not certain she could sing that well. She kind of made Mom and I cringe…but oh well; at least the orchestra sounded great. We headed home through the traffic and I crawled into bed – once I’d taken a shower. I had to get the sweaty off!

We saw this on a car leaving the battlefield & it completely cracked me up…

Rocking a sandal tan…