• Life

    August To Do List

    August 9, 2017 - By 

    July To Do Recap –Get more comfortable with my Fujifilm INSTAX Mini 8 Instant Camera. – I didn’t do as much as I would have liked. One day after work, I pulled it out and walked around outside and in the house trying different things. Honestly, I’m super frustrated with it. –Start exercising 3 times a week before the end of the month. Nothing like waiting till the last minute, but the last week in July we worked out at AU Rec & Wellness 4 times that week. This past week we made it twice, but that averages out to…

  • Lunch - Pork - Recipes

    Spicy Barbeque Sliders

    August 7, 2017 - By 

    This Spicy BBQ recipe is so amazing and easy. I love throwing a pork shoulder in the oven with just a few other ingredients. This time I made the BBQ and made them into Spicy Barbeque Sliders to switch it up a little. My guys love to put down some sliders and how can they help it when they are so good! Give them a try and see if you don’t agree. Servings: 18+ depending on size Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 6 hours depending on size Ingredients: 1 large onion 1 7-10 lbs. pork shoulder 1 can (11…

  • Travel

    Reasons to Love Downtown Boulder, CO

    August 4, 2017 - By 

    When Rob and I were in Colorado earlier this year we had planned to meet up with my brother and his girlfriend for dinner. We decided to meet up in Boulder, because Rob and I wanted to check it out and the place he recommended there was a brewery. We wanted to make sure we got beer from a brewery in Colorado. I mean, come on! So after enjoying a chili, windy afternoon at Coors field watching the Rockies lose to the Dodgers, we headed up to Boulder. We made a stop at the University of Colorado. Stopping at local…

  • Travel

    Rochester, NY | Trip Report Day 1

    September 4, 2016 - By 

    Back in August, Rob flew out to Rochester, NY on Sunday for some training. However, I didn’t have enough vacation days so I couldn’t fly out until Tuesday night. I left work a little early to head to the airport. I arrived in Rochester just before midnight. The next day I drove Rob to his training, so I could use the rental car. I had my day roughly planned out. First stop was the Charlotte–Genesee Lighthouse located on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Genesee River, which is about 7.5 miles North of Rochester. I wanted to see this…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {8.2016}

    August 31, 2016 - By 

    This month I was happy about: new beginnings. 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: Finding Dory The Secret Life of Pets TV Shows I watched were: Blue Bloods (Netflix) ✓ ✓ One Tree Hill (Netflix) ♥ ♥ The Bachelorette ✓ ✓ Bachelor in Paradise (Bleh!) X America’s Got Talent ✓ ✓ Things I read:…

  • Travel

    Girl’s Getaway to Alabama Beaches #StayALBeaches

    August 22, 2016 - By 

    Fall is often a great time for the women of the house to escape for the weekend. I don’t know about you but Saturday mornings hit and the TV goes to ESPN and the only channels it gets flipped to are other channels showing football! I love that I live in a state that has such gorgeous beaches, so when I’m ready to escape football or just escape life in general, I can hop in the car and be at white sand beaches and crystal blue waters in a matter of hours. Here’s some reasons why you should go to…

  • Life

    Back to School {2016}

    August 10, 2016 - By 

    First day of 7th Grade for Alex. It’s his last year in middle school! This is his first year in band so we got a couple pics with his trombone. Drew was gracious enough to jump in a couple pics as he headed to his fifth day of Auburn University Marching Band camp. He doesn’t start his Freshman classes until next week. Best first day of school ever! They were both in good moods and Alex even posed for me. 🙂 Here’s a comparison shot of Alex from the last open house to this year’s open house. Love seeing the…

  • Travel

    West Coast Trip:Day 1

    August 6, 2016 - By 

    The day we left for Cali we got up, did a few things around the house, and headed to Atlanta to pick up Rob’s brother who would then drive us to the airport. We made a stop for lunch at Fire Dragon. Once we got to the airport everything went smoothly. Curbside check in was closed, so we went inside to find a line, but it went fairly quickly. The line for security seemed crowded, but it also went pretty fast. The kids really enjoyed riding the moving sidewalks. Since we had lots of time to kill we went to…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {8.2015}

    August 31, 2015 - By 

    This month I was happy about: getting to go to 2 weddings. 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: Rudy ✓ ✓ Leap Year ♥ Take Me Home ♥ You’re Not You ♥ The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2 ✓ ✓ TV Shows I watched were: Parenthood (Re-watching with Rob – Season 1 Neftlix) The…

  • Life

    18 years, What?

    August 30, 2015 - By 

    Today is Rob and my 18th wedding anniversary! Every year I’m amazed at how quickly time is flying by and it is just incredible. No one realized how life and in turn marriage changes through the years. Rob and Me on New Year’s Eve Day 2014 in Key West FloridaWhen we first got married we enjoyed date nights with deep conversations, staying up late working on little projects around the house, jumping in the car for an impromptu jaunt to where ever our hearts desired, and lots and lots of studying because we were still in college. Then, with kids…

  • Travel

    Hike at Cloudland Canyon

    August 29, 2015 - By 

    Over our 4th of July trip, we decided to go to Cloudland Canyon State Park, which is located in the northwest corner of Georgia about 25 miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee. This Georgia state park covers 3,485 acres on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. Rugged landscaping and views of Sitton Gulch Creek, which splits the mountain. There is a paved, wheelchair accessible for about a quarter of a mile that overlooks the edge of the canyon. There are 4 more hiking trails that are range from moderate to strenuous. The Waterfalls Trail starts off paved and then moves into the…

  • Life

    Auburn Thunder 2.0

    August 28, 2015 - By 

    This past spring Alex decided he wanted to try out for Auburn Thunder travel soccer league again. He played back in 2014 for a half season, but didn’t make the team for 2014. We were surprised when he wanted to try out again. He made the team, but was asked if he would like to transition to the position of Goalie. We left the decision up to him and discussed with him about the amount of extra work he would need to put in to be respectable. He decided that he was up for the challenge. However, from the get-go,…

  • 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…