• Life

    Memories of the Month {4.2016}

    April 30, 2016 - By 

    This month I was happy about: Alex’s confirmation. 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 TV Shows I watched were: NCIS NCIS LA NCIS NO CSI Cyber Hawaii 50 The Pioneer Woman (mostly reruns I think) Amazing Race Survivor Property Brothers (Netflix) Genevieve’s Renovation (Netflix) My favorite song this month was: Made New by Lincoln Brewster What I remember…

  • Travel

    St. Lucia

    April 29, 2016 - By 

    We woke up before the alarm again. We didn’t have to be on the pier as early for our excursion as the last couple of days. We watched from our cabin as another cruise ship came in which ended up being Celebrity Eclipse. There was another Thompson ship at port already. We got breakfast in the Mermaid Grill, gathered our stuff, and headed off the ship to the post office. We had to wait in a long line to get stamps. Then, we walked around the capital city of Castries. We stopped at a grocery store and looked around. That…

  • Life

    Alex’s Confirmation

    April 15, 2016 - By 

    For the last few months, Alex has been going through the confirmation at church. For those that are unfamiliar, in the Methodism, parents bring their babies usually in the first 6 months of life to be baptized. Then, in 6th grade the children go through a 6-8 week class that’s taught either during Sunday school or another allotted time. Alex had homework every night that was supposed to be completed along side parents. Confirmation classes teach the child Methodism and what we believe. Their was lots of scripture reading and thought provoking discussion questions we had to go through each…

  • Life

    My Happy Plates

    April 14, 2016 - By 

    One of the biggest things in my daily life I struggle with is knowing what to cook for dinner. I think for most busy folks we’re constantly on the go and meal planning is something that gets pushed aside. I’ve had a few stretches where I’ve done a good job with it, but I get burnt out with thinking through it and making a grocery list. I know have lot of friends in the same boat. They hate when the dinner bell is ringing and they are still trying to figure out what they can throw together based on the…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {3.2016}

    March 30, 2016 - By 

    This month I was happy about: getting to see Elton in concert so close to home in Columbus, GA. 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 TV Shows I watched were: NCIS ♥ NCIS LA ♥ NCIS NO ♥ CSI Cyber ♥ Hawaii 50 ♥ ♥ Amazing Race ♥ Survivor ✓ ✓ The Pioneer Woman (Food Network – mostly…

  • Travel

    Dominica Highlights

    March 29, 2016 - By 

    Dominica (doh-muh-NEE-ka) is known as the Nature Island. We eagerly woke up before the alarm…again. Did our normal routine of going to the dining room for breakfast. I had the same thing I had the day before, but Rob switched it up a bit and ordered French toast. We got off the ship and loaded the bus for our tour called Dominica’s Favorites. Our guide was amazing. Throughout the day he impressed upon us that Dominica is the nature island where they eat healthy and use all natural remedies for medicines when necessary. We saw this rainbow as we made…

  • Travel

    The Best of Antigua Highlight Tour and Dickenson Bay Beach

    March 20, 2016 - By 

    We woke up before the alarm went off and watched us dock at Antigua. We got dressed and went up for breakfast. We met some folks that cruise a lot. One of the guys has been on 75 cruises in 2 years. Oh the life of the retired…. It was interesting to listen to the 3 different couples talk about their cruising experiences and to hear what it’s like to be a Platinum or Diamond cruiser. Rob had Eggs Benedict wit OJ and I had pancakes, banana, bacon, and OJ. Rob isn’t used to eating breakfast, so he never eats…

  • Travel

    Day in St. Thomas

    March 19, 2016 - By 

    After leaving San Juan about 10 pm the night before and getting to bed after that I still managed to wake up before the alarm went off. I looked out the window and saw that we weren’t docked quite yet. Rob and I got up and got dressed and headed to main dining hall for breakfast. Rob enjoyed Eggs Benedict, OJ, and hash browns. While I scarfed down scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, peach yogurt, and OJ. We went back to our cabin to go to the bathroom and pack our backpack for our day in St. Thomas. We had…

  • Dessert - Recipes

    Cadbury Mini-Brownie Bites

    March 17, 2016 - By 

    Rob loves him some Cadbury eggs, so I decided to try to incorporate that into one of my favorite desserts; brownies! These, Cadbury Mini-Brownie Bites, are so easy and yummy. Perfect for the Spring and Easter season. Servings: 20-24 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking powder 2 packages of mini-Cadbury eggs (24 total) Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Prepare mini-muffin pan by spraying with non-stick spray.…

  • Travel

    Paradise Point – St. Thomas

    March 5, 2016 - By 

    One of the things on our St. Thomas bucket list was to take the Skyride up to Paradise Point. It takes you up 700 ft. for amazing views of Charlotte Amalie, the boat harbor, as well as islands in the distance. Our plan was to ride up, have a drink or 2, and enjoy the views before heading back to the ship. The Bushwacker is the drink that St. Thomas is known for. so it was a must try. Rob wasn’t super thrilled about it because it had Kahlua in it. He’s not a fan of coffee flavored items. For…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {2.2016}

    February 29, 2016 - By 

    Happy leap day! Can’t believe this month is over already!! This month I was happy about: starting off the month on vacation. 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: Ghostbusters (for the gazillionth time) TV Shows I watched were: NCIS NCIS LA NCIS NO CSI Cyber Hawaii 50 Amazing Race Survivor Orange Is the New…

  • Chicken - Recipes

    Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Orzo

    February 24, 2016 - By 

    The other night I was craving cheesy homemade macaroni, so I was anxious to not just have it as a side. Instead wanted to make it a meal. I looked in the fridge for some inspiration. I found some bacon that needed to be used soon. After some thought, I decided to do Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch mac & cheese. However, when I looked in the pantry there was NO macaroni! The orzo that I bought months ago and haven’t figured out how to use it was staring back at me. So there ya go. I decided to give it…

  • Travel

    Day in San Juan

    February 22, 2016 - By 

    On our full day in San Juan, Puerto Rico, we got up and went out on the balcony to see it in the daylight. Soon after that we hit the streets looking for somewhere open for breakfast. It was probably about 8:30 and not a lot was open yet. We ended up at a cafe inside the Restaurant Barrachina. They had a small menu with a wide variety. Rob had the French Toast Casserole and I had a Sausage, Egg, and Cheese sandwich. We left there full and walked around some more. Here’s a google map of many of the…

  • Beef - Recipes

    Italian Meatball Burger

    February 18, 2016 - By 

    This is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had/made! This meatball burger is to die for. The basil, cheese, and sauce gives this burger so much flavor. Servings: 4-5 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds ground beef 2 tbs. garlic powder 2 tbs. EVOO 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 cup of finely chopped bell pepper 2 heaping tbs. dried basil 2/3 cup of shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese 1/3 cup of powdered parmesan cheese 1 bottle of spaghetti sauce (I use Classico or homemade) 4 hamburger or ciabatta rolls Directions: 1. Preheat oven to…

  • Travel

    Atlanta to San Juan

    February 16, 2016 - By 

    The day we left for San Juan, we got up with the kids and saw them off to school before finishing up with our packing and running a few errands. We left around 11 and headed up to Rob’s Mom’s house where we would pick up Rob’s brother, Nick, who was driving us to the airport. Before going to the airport, we stopped at one of our favorite places to have Chinese, Fire Dragon. From there it was off the airport, where we were dropped off at Delta curbside check with no line! We got through a long line of…

  • Travel

    Pirilo Pizza Rustica – San Juan, Puerto Rico

    February 12, 2016 - By 

    The night we got into San Juan, it was just passed 11 pm after we got checked in to our hotel and everything. Pretty much all the restaurants near us in Old San Juan were closed. We were pretty hungry, so we were happy that Pirilo Pizza Rustica was still open. We weren’t super excited about having pizza in San Juan, but at that point we weren’t going to turn it down. Pirilo is a quaint little spot with a bar and a few tables. I think there was an upstairs to the restaurant, but we didn’t go up there.…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {1.2016}

    January 31, 2016 - By 

    This month I was happy about: –Drew turning 18! Read what we did on his birthday here.–Getting new carpet. (post coming soon) –Leaving on a cruise with Rob for 10 days. Here’s all the posts about our cruise. This month I was sad about: being so far behind on blogging. grrr 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…

  • Life

    An unexpected event

    January 23, 2016 - By 

    Last Monday, I was about to leave work and head home. I got a voicemail and some texts from Drew saying that his stomach was hurting. He had talked to several friends at school and googled it. He was sure he had appendicitis. I called his pediatrician. He called me back on my drive home, but based on the symptoms I told him, he didn’t think it was that. However, I left out some important details, because I had just forgotten about Saturday night and the fact that Drew was feeling feverish, nauseous, and hungry. I got home and told…

  • Dinner

    Taco Party for Game Day #GameDayFavorites #giveaway #ad

    January 22, 2016 - By 

    Winner of the $10 Paypal is… Michelle H!! Growing up when I would go visit my Dad one of our favorite Mexican places had something on the menu called a Taco Party. They would bring out a tray full of yummy topping for tacos along with taco shells and meat. I’ve been thinking about the super bowl game day and was trying to decide what party food to make. I decided I’m going to do the Taco Party because I can make several pounds of taco meat ahead of time and just heat it up that afternoon. Pull out all…