• Family Date Night at the Columbus Cottonmouths
    Life

    Columbus Cottonmouth Fun

    December 8, 2016 - By 

    Back in January we got a killer deal for Cottonmouths Hockey game. They did the same deal earlier this month and its fun to take a quick drive to Columbus for some hockey and Waffle House. Our seats this time were even better, just behind the visiting team bench. Yeah, the Cottonmouth’s mascot, Boomer is really cool. It was also Super Mario Night, so the team wore special jerseys that they auctioned off after the game. It was Boy Scout Day. We sat right behind the Peoria Rivermen, the visiting team’s bench. We won in a sudden death overtime! Here’s…

  • Christmas Tree Shopping 2016
    Life

    Christmas Tree Shopping 2016

    December 6, 2016 - By 

    Rob got up early Saturday morning and went to help a scout with his Eagle Scout project. The boys and I got up and cleared the spot in front of our living room for the tree and pulled all the Christmas decorations down from the attic. Last year the tree had to get was a little too tall because they didn’t have any decent ones that were shorter. This year they opened up a new lot with a little bit shorter ones. With the drought I was happy that they had trees, but especially Virginia Pines. Are we sure this…

  • Banana Oatmeal Cookies - These cookies are a nice change to the everyday oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies.
    Cookies - Dessert - Recipes

    Banana Oatmeal Cookies

    December 3, 2016 - By 

    Servings: about 2 dozen Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 cups quick-cooking oats 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup butter, softened not melted 1 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1 large egg 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large overripe bananas) Optional: add your favorite cookie add-ins like chocolate chips, fruit, etc. Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350°. 2. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray. I like Bakers Joy Cake Pan Spray. 3. In…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {11.2016}

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    This month I was happy about: getting to see Drew sing in his first AU Cappella concert. 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: Storks (at the theater as a reward to Alex for making All A’s for the 1st 9 weeks) ♥ ♥ Zookeeper ♥ ♥ TV Shows I watched were: Prison Break (Netflix…

  • Life

    Thanksgiving 2016

    November 29, 2016 - By 

    Yesterday we had a lovely Thanksgiving with family up in Moreland with my sis-in-law and family and brother-in-law. Rob’s Mom and Step Dad were in Texas so they weren’t there. We got there around 10 and got to catch some of the parade. Alex enjoyed cuddling with Maria’s dog, Sweetie. Sundae, Rob’s Mom’s dog, got some lovin’ too. I played with the youngest lil’ one. It was a balmy day, which made it great for cooking our turkey in the infrared oil-less turkey fryer and visiting out on the back deck. After watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade and hanging inside…

  • Pecan Pie Bars - an easy dessert to throw together for a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even a potluck dinner.
    Dessert - Recipes

    Pecan Pie Bars

    November 27, 2016 - By 

    This is one of the first recipes I made after starting my sharing recipes on my blog. I haven’t made it in years, but finally decided to make it this year for Thanksgiving. Servings: 36 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk) 3 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons lemon juice from concentrate Cool Whip for topping (optional) Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium-sized bowl,…

  • AU Cappella Concert
    Life

    AU Cappella Concert 11.2016

    November 22, 2016 - By 

    As I mentioned before Drew is in AU Cappella which is Auburn University’s all male acapella singing group. They do a concert every semester for the community as as well as singing for special events like the Brave’s games and other cool events. So last week was their Fall concert and Drew sang a solo to Michael Buble’s Just Haven’t Met You Yet. He did a lovely job and I was just so frickin’ proud of him and how confident he was during the entire concert. Here’s the AU Cappella Video of Drew singing his solo: Rob videoed the entire…

  • Day in San Francisco
    Travel

    West Coast Trip:Day 4

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    The 4th day on our exciting and jam-packed West Coast trip started off with a ride on cable car down to Fisherman’s Wharf. We had a fairly early ticket reservation for the ferry over to Alcatraz, so we got up early enough to catch a cable car and get some breakfast and walk around down at the wharf. We ended up just grabbing McDonald’s. Although, the bread at Boudin’s looked and smelled amazing. They weren’t open yet. Mural down at the Wharf when we got off the cable car. Love the sunflare from the morning sun.

  • Life

    My Cancer Scare…

    November 4, 2016 - By 

    So it doesn’t matter how many times doctors and nurses tell you something. Anytime the C word [Cancer] is involved it scares the absolute life out of you. I went for my annual gynecologist appointment back in September. The doc and I discussed my upcoming mammogram which was scheduled for mid October. Since it was going to be my first one, he warned me that often times they will call you back in for more tests for varying reasons. One reason is pre-menopausal women have dense breast tissue which makes it hard to see clearly. Another reason is that they…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {10.2016}

    November 2, 2016 - By 

    This month I: had my first mammogram. Read more about the scariness of that here. 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: none TV Shows I watched were: Prison Break (Netflix Season 1 & 2) How to Get Away with Murder One Tree Hill (Netflix Season 8) Young & Hungry (Netflix Season 4) NCIS NCIS…

  • Middle School Pep Rally
    Life

    Middle School Pep Rally

    October 26, 2016 - By 

    Last week, Alex’s school cheered on the football team as well as all the teams that are active this fall. I took the afternoon off to attend and at first was glad that it was being held outside, but then the temps rose to over 80°. This did not make me to happy standing out there for over an hour with sun blaring in my face. However, I did manage to make it through the whole thing and got lots of pics and video to share with you. I was glad I got there early, so I could stand in…

  • List of Encouraging Words - Free Printable Included
    Life

    List of Encouraging Words

    October 25, 2016 - By 

    This post includes a list of encouraging words. It dawned on me the other day how many times I’m googling lists of words to help me come up with word alternatives. I decided instead of continuing to have to google or go to a thesaurus that I would start writing some posts with lists of words. I love lists, so this is totally up my ally. I’m actually surprised I didn’t think of this sooner! Aren’t we all searching for words to use beside good, nice, and great? I know even these days I hear the words awesome, amazing, super,…

  • West Coast Trip - Day 3 - Travel along as we leave Yosemite to Cupertino (Apple HQ), Stanford U, Painted Ladies, and more.
    Travel

    West Coast Trip:Day 3

    October 22, 2016 - By 

    If you missed my 1st couple of posts about our West Coast Trip, you should check those out first. – Day 1 – Day 2 – So on Day 3 of our West Coast Trip we woke up in our tent in Yosemite’s Half Dome Village. I woke up a little chili and actually quite sore from the hike the day before, but the brisk fresh air was welcoming. We got dressed and jumped in the car. We wanted to stop and check out Yosemite Falls on our way out of the park. We took a short hike to the…

  • Breaded Chicken & Garlic Butter Sauce
    Chicken - Dinner - Recipes

    Breaded Chicken & Garlic Butter Sauce

    October 19, 2016 - By 

    Looking for a little fancier chicken recipe? Maybe for a nice date night just you and your sweetie. Or you’re just tired of the same old chicken recipes. My family adores this Breaded Chicken & Garlic Butter Sauce recipe. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: Breaded Chicken: 4 chicken breasts flour 1 egg 1/2 cup of milk 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce 1 tbs. garlic powder 1 tsp. pepper 1/4 cup season all 2 cups of canola oil Sauce: 2 sticks of butter 2 tbs. garlic powder 2 tsp. cajun seasoning or season all 1/3 cup…

  • West Coast Trip - Day 2 - Yosemite Day
    Travel

    West Coast Trip:Yosemite Day

    October 5, 2016 - By 

    If you missed my post from Day 1 of our West Coast Trip you can find it here. Here’s our jam packed day #2! I woke up totally discombobulated from very little sleep, but we still managed to be out of the hotel by 6:30 am. We were eager to get to Yosemite and begin our Yosemite Day before the crowds since we were there during the summer; peak season. The week before we were there President Obama and his family were at Yosemite. We had read that he had donuts from Donuts a Go Go down the street from…

  • Visit 5 Rivers #StayAlBeaches
    Travel

    Visit 5 Rivers #StayAlBeaches

    October 4, 2016 - By 

    I love sharing my travels with you even though I am so far behind. Today I’m looking back at when my family was in Daphne for my younger son’s soccer tournament. The Saturday we were there we didn’t have a game until that afternoon, so we had a decent block of time that we could do something fun. Rob had hard about 5 Rivers Delta Safari so we decided to check it out. While we were there we… strolled along the paths while enjoying the peacefulness and watching birds and learning about the trees that grow in that area. We…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {9.2016}

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    This month I was happy about: getting to see Drew and Caitlyn march in the Auburn University Marching Band. I’ll probably wait till the end of the season to write a post and share pictures. In the meantime, you can follow pics on my Instagram. 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: Alice in Wonderland…

  • Dessert - Recipes

    Snickers Cake

    September 24, 2016 - By 

    It’s my birthday week, so today I decided to make my birthday cake. I made this Snickers Cake. It is moist, fluffy, and just so good. It’s hard describe how delicious it is. You will not be able to eat just one piece! Servings: 16 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix (you’ll need eggs, oil, and water for mix) 1 jar caramel ice cream topping 3 Snickers candy bars 1 large tub whipped topping, thawed Chocolate and Caramel syrup for drizzling Directions: 1. Prepare the cake using the directions on the…

  • Travel

    Take the Mobile Bay Ferry #StayAlBeaches

    September 20, 2016 - By 

    Earlier this year my family and I were in the Gulf Shores area for Alex’s soccer tournament. When they lost the semifinals game that left us with much of Sunday to find something to do. We ate lunch at Rafter’s, stopped at beach for a quick dip, and then headed over to the Mobile Bay Ferry. Mobile Bay Ferry FAQ’s (please check the Mobile Bay Ferry website to make sure this info hasn’t changed) Where do you get on? Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan Dauphin Island address 111 Bienville Blvd, Dauphin Island, AL 36528 Fort Morgan address 110 State Highway…

  • Celebrating 70 years of Marriage!
    Life

    Celebrating 70 years of Marriage!

    September 15, 2016 - By 

    Rob’s grandparents have been married 70 years! How amazing is that! Much of their family gathered at their house on Labor Day weekend to celebrate. We had a nice party that Sunday. Gramma and Granpa opened presents and cards. Rob and his 2 guy cousins on the McMahon side. Granpa facetiming with one of his other brother We ate a lovely meal that was catered in, which you see behind this cute couple We listened to tributes and toasts. Lots of sweet moments captured. We took lots of pictures with the special couple. So many sweet great grandchildren. They still…