• Beef - Dinner - Recipes

    Cheesy Hamburger Potato One-Pot Dish

    August 22, 2015 - By 

    I recently had a week, where I decided I was not going to the grocery store. What we ate for dinner would come only from ingredients we had in the pantry/fridge/freezer. One of the nights, I looked in the fridge and saw a pound of ground beef, an onion, and about a half of red and green bell pepper that needed to be used. I looked in the pantry to find a few more things including some potatoes. I had recently found a recipe on a food website and I thought that I could make it into a one-pot dish,…

  • Travel

    Afternoon in South Beach

    August 21, 2015 - By 

    After leaving Marathon, Florida, we drove through Miami over to South Beach. We stopped in at University of Miami in Coral Gables. Such a pretty entrance into campus. We made a quick stop at Marlin’s Park too. I was so excited to drive near the cruise ships at Port Miami. This is one point of many during the trip when Rob and I were talking about the surrounding areas, “Kids, see the cruise ships out there?” Silence….all three of them staring at their phones or game devices. We drove around for a good 30 minutes looking for parking. There was…

  • Chicken - Dinner - Recipes

    Monterey Chicken {Chili’s Copycat Recipe}

    August 20, 2015 - By 

    I posted this on my old blog way back in 2009, but recently made it again and decided to post it here. This Monterey Chicken is similar to the one that Chili’s serves. It’s got bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce which creates lots of layers of flavor. You wouldn’t think something this good would be easy to make, but it is really simple. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 2 tbsp Olive Oil (I prefer EVOO) 4 boneless skinless chicken breast 8 teaspoons barbecue sauce 8 slices crispy bacon 1 cup shredded Monterey jack/cheddar cheese…

  • Travel

    DeSoto State Park Hike

    August 19, 2015 - By 

    During our time in North Georgia, we actually ventured back over to our home state of Alabama. We had spent the morning not to far from the Georgia-Alabama border at Cloudland Canyon State Park. We had planned to be out all day, so we had packed a picnic lunch. We ended up at DeSoto State Park, which is on Lookout Mountain near Fort Payne. It covers 3,000 acres of forests, rivers, waterfalls, and mountainous terrain. The picnic area overlooks the A.A. Miller Dam. We stuffed our faces with fresh cut cold cut sandwiches, chips, cookies, and Gatorades. Our lunch entertainment…

  • Travel

    Alabama Must-Sees for Families

    August 12, 2015 - By 

    This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Alabama Tourism. The opinions and text are all mine. When I moved to Alabama 19 years ago, I didn’t realize how lucky I was to be moving to a state with such rich history, beautiful terrain, and diverse culture. Whether you’re a mountain man or a beach bum, this state has the best of both worlds. There is also something for the science geeks, the History nerds, and even those who have been bitten by the adventure bug. Today I’m sharing with you a little bit of all of…

  • Travel

    Rome, Georgia

    August 11, 2015 - By 

    On our way up to LaFayette, Georgia for our 4th of July trip we stopped in Rome, Georgia for lunch. Downtown Rome is really a quaint little place with lots of cute stores and restaurants. A friend of Rob’s recommended a couple places to eat. We ended up at Schroeder’s Deli. We had Calzones and pizza and fried okra. We noticed a park when were walking to the restaurant from down the street where we had parked. After lunch, we got Daisy out of the car and brought over to Heritage Park to let her run around and use the…

  • Recipes - Sides

    Microwave Mac & Cheese

    August 10, 2015 - By 

    Recently when we were out of town, I was looking for a microwavable meal. I scrounged together these few ingredients and decided to attempt it in the microwave. Since I was taking this side dish and making it into a meal, I needed to add something to it. I had some thick cut ham, so I chopped it into cubes and threw it in to make it more filling. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 0 minutes Cooking Time: 6 minutes Ingredients: 8 oz. of macaroni noodles 1 cup water 1/2 cup half & half 1/2 cup of butter 1 cup of…

  • Life

    Back to School {2015}

    August 7, 2015 - By 

    To my dismay, school is back in session as of yesterday. With a Senior and the other one starting first year in middle school for 6th grade, it’s a big year for us. I have to confess that my stomach has been in knots the last couple weeks with the reality of this. I’ve honestly been in denial. In fact, I didn’t want to shop for school supplies or go school clothes shopping. I had hard enough time dragging myself to schedule a time to take Drew out for his Senior pictures. For Drew, I just can’t believe he’s entering…

  • Beef - Dinner - Mexican - Recipes

    One-Pot Tamale Pie

    August 6, 2015 - By 

    I am constantly on the lookout for new Mexican dishes. I found this recipe for Tamale Pie and knew I had to try it. I decided to adapt it a bit and make into a One-Pot Tamale Pie. This recipe brought me back to the days when my Granddad would crack open a can of tamales, throw them in a pan, and heat them up. Yes, that wasn’t the healthiest of meals, but regardless its a memory and a flavor that I cherish. I’ve never tried making tamales on my own, which would be better for you than from a…

  • Beef - Dinner - Recipes

    Italian Chili {Crockpot}

    August 5, 2015 - By 

    I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted a recipe. That doesn’t mean haven’t been cooking. In fact, I have such a long list of recipes that I’ve made that I wasn’t even sure where to start. Posting this Italian Chili seemed like a good choice, because with kids starting back to school tomorrow I’m frazzled and when I put dinner in the crockpot that’s once less thing to worry about after work! Who doesn’t love that? Servings: 6-8 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 6 hours Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. Italian sausage 1 can (28 oz.)…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {7.2015}

    August 4, 2015 - By 

    This month I was happy about: getting a new camera and lens!! Rating system for books & movies: ♥ ♥ = Love it! A must read/see! ♥ = Really good! Highly recommend. ✓ ✓ = Good, not great. ✓ = Not much to talk about. X = Awful. Total waste of time. Movies I watched were: Standing Up based on the book called The Goats by Brock Cole ♥ Step Dogs ♥ TV Shows I watched were: Chasing Life (Netflix – Season 1) ♥ ♥ The Bachelorette (belch) – X – glad it’s over! Friday Night Lights (watching again for…

  • Travel

    Bahia Honda State Park

    July 24, 2015 - By 

    One of the things on our to-do-list while in the keys was to go to Bahia Honda State Park. The afternoon after spending our morning at sea, we had a few hours to spare. We decided to go check out this highly regarded state park. After entering the park we turned and headed to the Eastern side of the park, which is where you’ll find a mile long beach called Sandspur Beach. It’s a very narrow beach covered with seaweed the day we were there. There’s restrooms and pavilions there. However, we decided to check out the Calusa Beach that’s…

  • Travel

    Burdines Waterfront Restaurant

    July 23, 2015 - By 

    Burdines Waterfront ChikiTiki Bar & Grill is located on Boot Key Harbor on Marathon Key. We actually passed by it earlier that day in the boat. This place was packed, but we managed to get a table inside. If you go there, I highly recommend eating outside. The inside is small and shares space with the kitchen. It was noisy, and hot. Rob and Drew got the Bacon Wrapped BBQ Shrimp, which looked amazing. I had the fish sandwich, which was also quite flavorful. Nothing was better than our dessert, which was the Deep Fried Key Lime Pie. O.M.G!!! I…

  • Drew_Eagle_Scout_Project_Day2SQ
    Life

    Drew’s Eagle Scout Project

    July 21, 2015 - By 

    Back in March, Drew wrote his plan for his Eagle Scout Project Proposal and it was approved with flying colors. He had to get through ACT prep class and the end of his junior year. Summer rolled around and he was finally able to get the plan written, materials purchased, and dates arranged. He had large contingent of guys from his troop come out to help. Day 1 pics: Here’s the Scoutmaster’s daughter along with Drew’s girlfriend. They were so sweet to give up half of their Saturday to sweat and help Drew with his project. Here’s the Scoutmaster working…

  • Spreading My Dad's Ashes
    Life

    Spreading My Dad’s Ashes

    July 16, 2015 - By 

    Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be spreading my Dad’s ashes before I even turned 40! You can read all about his journey with ALS, which was a quick one actually. On my last visit to see him, he expressed to Rob and me that he wanted to be “blowing in the wind.” Well on January 1st, 2015 that’s exactly what he was doing before his ashes finally met the salty ocean waters just off the coast of Marathon Key. You’ll see in the video, me just standing there after the ashes are poured out.…

  • Morning at Sea near Marathon Key
    Travel

    Morning at Sea off Marathon Key

    July 15, 2015 - By 

    On New Year’s Day, we woke up early and stopped in at McDonald’s for a quick breakfast before hopping on a charter boat for a half day on the open seas. Yes, that loose end of spreading Dad’s ashes had finally come and I’ll have to say I was a mess while eating breakfast. We arrived at the marina a little before 8 am and Captain Dave was busy rinsing off the deck of the boat. When he was done, we discussed plans for the morning. I made sure he was aware that the main purpose of the trip was…

  • Life

    Happy 40th!

    July 10, 2015 - By 

    My other half turns 40 today! I wanted to write a special post to wish Rob a very happy birthday. Dear Rob, I hope you have the best birthday today. After all, it is a milestone. 😉 The BIG 4-0! WOW! I know I can’t give you too hard of a time about it, because mine’s soon to follow. Anyway, I wanted you know that am so very glad to have you in my life. I can’t imagine sharing life with anyone other than you. I’m so proud of all the things you’ve accomplished in your 40 years and I…

  • Morning in Key West
    Travel

    Morning in Key West

    July 8, 2015 - By 

    Key West is such an interesting place with so much character, history, and uniqueness to experience. When we were in the Keys, we spent New Year’s Eve morning in Key West. This post is just to highlight the 4-5 hours we spent exploring this alluring city. I plan to come back and write a few more posts about some of the cool places we came across. We got up at the crack of dawn, before the sun had even begun to rise. We wanted to beat the crowds and didn’t want to have to wait in a long line at…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {6.2015}

    July 7, 2015 - By 

    This month I was happy about: it being summer and just being able to have some downtime. This year I’m going to rate the books & movies. Here’s my rating system: ♥ ♥ = Love it! A must read/see! ♥ = Really good! Highly recommend. ✓ ✓ = Good, not great ✓ = Not much to talk about X = Awful. Total waste of time Movies I watched were: The Best of Me – ♥ ♥♥ ♥ TV Shows I watched were: Grace & Frankie (Netflix) – watched the first episode and the first few minutes of the 2nd episode,…

  • Life

    Being Real

    July 6, 2015 - By 

    Hey y’all. I gotta get real with ya for a second. You may or may not have noticed I haven’t blogged the much the last month. I am a bit burnt out with blogging. Since re-branding and slowly moving old blog posts over while trying to crank out a daily blog post, I’m just kind of over it. I love blogging, don’t get me wrong but for the longest time (even before moving over to this new blog home) I feel like I’ve been trying to go in too many directions with this thing. All the while being miserable while…