• Life

    Christmas 2024

    January 10, 2025 - By 

    Just a quick little post to remember this Christmas 2024…the last one before our granddaughter is here! Breakfast Casserole (recipe) I made the weekend before Christmas since we had company. Christmas Eve Since Rob’s dad is seriously considering moving from Huntsville, TX to our area, so we hooked him up with one of our realtor friends. He was gracious enough to show us a couple houses on Christmas eve morning. Later that day, we attended church and then came home to have our traditional Christmas Eve meal (Ham, Hash brown Casserole, and Teriyaki Green beans). Always love having this guy…

  • Life

    Week 51-52:2023 (Christmas)

    January 3, 2024 - By 

    Finishing up my 2023 Weekly highlight posts. Here we are for Week 51 (Dec. 18-24) and Week 52 (Dec. 25-31)! On Dec. 15th we headed down to Florida to get on a cruise ship, so I’ll be writing separate posts about that week soon. Here’s a pic that makes me laugh. This was when were in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The kids acting like our popperazzi. We got back to Auburn on Dec. 23rd and quickly began to unpack and wash clothes. Rob’s Dad and Step Mom (Randy & Pam) got into town that day and were actually staying with…

  • Life

    Christmas Day 2022

    December 29, 2022 - By 

    Christmas Day we had a set time for the boys to come over. Alex had spent the night over and Drew’s on Christmas Eve. We started the morning as always with Apple Dumplins’, Sausage Balls, and store bought Cinnamon Rolls (for Alex). Then we took our family pics as always. So my big Christmas present was this. A piece of paper that said I have tickets for a Katy Perry concert in Vegas in April!! So excited!! This is from Alex. A Dainty Necklace duo that I will treasure forever. Drew and Caitlyn got me a really nice Dutch oven…

  • Life

    Leading up to Christmas 2022

    December 28, 2022 - By 

    This Christmas season was had many differences for us. I felt behind pretty much until Christmas Day. What got me behind is that I was in charge of a big party for our scout troop, which occurred on Dec. 15th. We did get our house decorated early December, which was good. However, usually the week before I get out of work, I get all my treat making/baking done and we do a good bit of our shopping, but that was the week of the party. So none of that happened then. So the week before Christmas, my anxiety took over…

  • Life

    Christmas Weekend 2021

    January 14, 2022 - By 

    Playing a little catch up as the last couple weeks have been busy. Here’s my post talk about our lovely Christmas weekend. Christmas Eve’s weather was beautiful. After a couple errands, Rob and I sat outside for a bit that afternoon while Christmas Eve dinner cooked. Kayleigh enjoyed it too. Christmas Eve dinner included Ham, Hash Brown Casserole, Green Beans, King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls , and salad with Romaine Lettuce, Slice apples, pecans, and raspberry vinaigrette. From there it was off to the Christmas Eve service, which is always so special. Rob was upstairs in the balcony doing media. Alex…

  • Dinner - Recipes

    Honey Baked Ham

    November 10, 2021 - By 

    Many years ago, I decided to start a new tradition. I’ve probably talked about this before, but I finally have a half way decent photo to share. Anyway, on Christmas Eve we always go to church that afternoon or evening and then the boys would come home and open their 1st gift which was always Christmas PJ’s. They did that till Drew told me he didn’t like that tradition anymore and didn’t want Christmas PJs. For a year or two after that I got Alex PJ’s and just got Drew a t-shirt of some kind. Then, when I felt like…

  • Recipes

    Pumpkin Bread

    January 29, 2021 - By 

    Growing up my Granny, my Mom’s mom, was the best cook in my family. She always had banana nut bread or pumpkin bread stocked up in the freezer and any time I was walking out the door, she’d tell me to stop by the freezer and grab some bread to bring home. Ugh! How I miss her and her cooking! I’ve been making her Banana Nut bread for years. It’s really my favorite, but this last fall I had made a Fall Food Bucket List and this Pumpkin Bread was on there! Servings: Depends on what type of pan you…

  • Life

    Christmas Day 2020

    December 31, 2020 - By 

    On Christmas Day, we got kind of a late start. Rob and I were up till pretty late. We did are normal preheating the oven, got dressed, and got ready. Drew and Caitlyn came over. We practically had to drag the teenager, Alex, out of the bed. We ate our traditional breakfast of Sausage Balls and Apple Dumplins, which was all amazing. We opened stockings before eating breakfast. Santa was generous this year with several gift cards and card games. The boys both got The Office Uno. The Grinch made an appearance again this year and he brought Max along.…

  • Life

    Christmas Decor 2020

    December 24, 2020 - By 

    Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! I really wanted to get this posted way before now, but man, I’ve just been busy. You would think having this week off that I would have so much ‘free’ time, but honestly, we have stayed busy with last minute shopping, wrapping gifts like Personalized Christmas Gifts, baking, and catching up on some everyday life stuff. Anyway, today I’m sharing my Christmas decor for this year. Honestly, I thought I’d dome more of these post through the years, but it doesn’t look I’ve really done any dedicated Christmas decor posts since 2008! Geez! Let’s start outside!…

  • Life

    November 2020 Monthly Musings-Christmas

    November 27, 2020 - By 

    I’m late getting this post up, but I always enjoy Monthly Musings of others. Link up 1. Favorite Holiday Tradition I love all the Christmas activities, from going to cut down a Christmas tree and decorating the house to watching Christmas movies. Baking and making other goodies withe family. Christmas tree shopping: 2016 / 2015 / 2012 / 2011 / 2009 2. Must Have Holiday Wardrobe Staples I wear more red at Christmas. I love my tacky Christmas sweaters when it gets cold enough for those. 3. Favorite Holiday Recipe/Dish? I started the tradition of ham and fixings on Christmas…

  • Cookies - Dessert - Recipes

    Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies

    November 20, 2020 - By 

    Lately I’ve been in a cookie making mood. I love these cookies that have chocolate chips, rice crispy cereal, and toffee bits. Such a yummy combination and a fun way to mix up your everyday chocolate chip cookie. The toffee bits add a flavor punch and crunch, along with the rice crispy cereal that adds a little more crunch. TIP: What I have found to be convenient is to make the cookies up. Go ahead and preheat the oven and make one pan full of cookies, which is maybe 8-12 cookies depending on the size of the pan. Then, I…

  • Life

    December 2019 Happenings

    January 10, 2020 - By 

    We started off the month with a win in the Auburn vs. Alabama Game. Here’s Drew and Caitlyn at the game before they rushed the field with everyone else. Here’s Daisy when she was still out of it because they had to sedate her so they could do x-rays. She started limping on the backside around Thanksgiving. You can read about all that here. The next weekend we headed to Gatlinburg for a soccer tournament. Daisy…just so darn cute! Dang how I miss that face and her companionship. My Honda Pilot hit a milestone. Alex has been watching every time…

  • December Wrap Up 2018
    Life

    Christmas Season Wrap Up 2018

    January 6, 2019 - By 

    Here’s a quick run down of what we did in December. December started off with getting a Christmas tree the first weekend of the month. Drew performed his last concert with AU Cappella as the president. Drew and Rob flew to Baltimore, did some site-seeing, then went to pick up his friend, Joseph, from the Naval Academy. From there they drove to Philly for the Army-Navy Game the next day. Although it was quite cold they had a good time. While they were away, I took Alex to the Auburn Christmas Parade, where he got to march in a parade…

  • Life

    TBB Asks Christmas Edition

    December 7, 2018 - By 

    Today I’m joining along with The Blended Blog (TBB) for some Christmas fun. I always enjoy writing posts like this so I can look back and see how my answers have changed through the years. 1. Candy Canes? Yes, while I’m not a huge candy cane fanatic, I enjoy one here and there. I like to decorate with them too. Santa usually puts some different flavors in our stockings. 2. Christmas Morning early riser or sleep in? You know when the kids were little we had to be early risers, because they were just too anxious to sleep in. The…

  • Christmas Day
    Life

    Christmas Day 2017

    January 5, 2018 - By 

    Now that we’re getting back to normal life, I’ve finally had time to sit and go through these pics. It helps that I didn’t take that many pics. Christmas this year was one of the best we’ve had in a long time. There were lots of surprises. I got the Instax Printer. The boys got a PS4 Pro Star Wars Limited Edition. We enjoyed the morning. This year Caitlyn came over to open presents with us which was nice. Daisy is so funny at Christmas. She wants to open everyone’s presents. As you can see she quickly figured out one…

  • December Little Things 2017
    Life

    December Little Things 2017

    January 2, 2018 - By 

    December is always a busy month full of Christmas parties, concerts, and traveling. Now that January is here, I wanted to a look back our busy month. Alex had his winter concert. Look at him! AU Cappella had their fall concert in December this year, so they featured some Christmas music. We made our annual trip out to Lanett for a Christmas tree. That same day was the Auburn Christmas parade, and while neither of our kids were in it, our 2 nieces were. As you can see they were there with their dance company. The top picture below is…

  • Chocolate Topped Peanut Butter Blondies
    Dessert - Recipes

    Chocolate Topped Peanut Butter Blondies

    December 23, 2017 - By 

    Blondie? No not that Blondie. More like this… You know I’ve heard of the food Blondie, but never really knew what it was. I always kind of thought it was a cookie of some sort. But, for many years I’ve wondered what the yummy peanut butter bars that I used to get at good old Glenview Elementary way back in the 80’s when I was a student there. They were always so yummy with a light chocolate topping. I recently started doing some research and started seeing some recipes that looked and sounded much like what I had looking for.…

  • Christmas Day 2016
    Life

    Christmas Day 2016 in Pics

    January 19, 2017 - By 

    Christmas was a little odd this year, since we got back from our cruise on Christmas Eve. Santa must have been hungry! Pics of our tree before opening presents We enjoyed the Christmas Day service at church Drew actually smiled for a photo with gift from Santa! Excited about my gifts! Family pic at church since none of us really in the mood beofre getting to church After church we headed up to Moreland to spend the day with Rob’s family. The calm before the cooking storm… This is Sweetie…she makes me laugh. My nephew staring in to space My…

  • 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…

  • 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,…