Heifer International and Clinton Library

Tyler and I joined a gym Tuesday. I've gone every day. I'm also on Day 2 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred. I think I'm dying.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way...

Mom, my little brother Matthew, his adorable girlfriend Danielle and I went to lunch at the Heifer International Global Village Cafe. I am sure there is a better name for that, but I don't know it, so that's what I'm going with. I LOVE Heifer International. I think it's a great organization and I love what they do around the world and in my city. We didn't do much touring today, but will go back and look around sometime. I did take this picture of my little brother and I love it. He's a really interesting kid (he's 21, yes he'll always be a kid to me) and he finds beauty in so many things. He really appreciates the world. He's been through a lot in his 21 years and I feel like he's overcome a lot of that.

And this is my mama, she's going to kill me for posting this. Please don't tell her. ;)

You don't get a picture of me, I'm not allowed to use hair products or wear make up until next week. I had an allergic reaction to something, not a clue what, and the doctor said I can't use anything! Boo. So I was looking hot today. ha! It really helped my self esteem that my brother's girlfriend is a make up artist and was dressed to the nines and even had false eyelashes on!

When we left lunch, I had to go to the Clinton Library for an assignment and Mom was gracious enough to tag along. I've been before, so was really only interested in the Dr. Seuss exhibit and the requirement for my assignment - photographic evidence, 2nd floor or higher. ha! I guess somebody has tried to cheat my teacher before and just took photos in the lobby. No good, folks. But the Seuss exhibit was great!

I'll be spending my weekend cleaning and trying to finish up the art room. It just has to get done! I've procrastinated enough! Have a great weekend.

By the way, aren't you proud of me blogging twice this week? It's a miracle.

Memphis Trip - Tyler's birthday.

I'm blogging out of order. Sorry y'all. I suppose I should actually do NOLA/Sugar Bowl first, but that was 2 months ago. And 3 days long. It's gonna take awhile. ha! Just be happy I'm here, dangit!

I was REALLY sick on T's actual birthday weekend. I had 102+ fever for 5 days. It was miserable. And I'm pretty sure Tyler was not too happy about it either. So to make up for me being on my death bed, I decided we should take a little day trip. We headed up to Memphis last Monday and had so much fun just hanging out together. We didn't really plan much, other than the Pottery Barn Outlet and the zoo.

The weather channel told us it was supposed to be in the 60s all day. They failed. I was in a flimsy short sleeve blouse and Tyler was in short sleeves and shorts! When we walked into Pottery Barn it was close to 60. When we walked out it was 48. No lie. And of course neither of us had jackets. Oops. But we were determined to enjoy our day anyway!

When we left PB (which, by the way, I spent under $20! I told T it was his birthday present. ha!) we headed around the corner to Huey's. Neither of us had been there and it definitely did not disappoint. I didn't take my camera in, so no photographic evidence, but trust me, it was GOOD! After we filled our bellies, we decided to brave the zoo. I'm not really sure if it was an intelligent decision (remember we're in the 40's now) but we still had a great time. Tyler desperately wanted to see the Panda bears, bless him. The Memphis Zoo is a great zoo and we love having it so close by. And here is where I invade your computer with Zoo pictures. Enjoy

Please ignore my flat hair. It had been a long day. :)

 

 

He's kind of special.

Entrance to the Panda Exhibit!

Check out the Panda smiling with Tyler. ha! I died when I saw this.

 

Please ignore the fact that I'm awkwardly pulling my shirt down. I am eternally worried that my shirt will come up and my belly will show. ha! 

I don't honestly know what this place was, but it it right in front of the bears, wolves and some birds. And it was heated. And had a fire. We may have spent a good bit of time warming up in here!

 

And this is where Tyler got a little snap happy... Although, this is better than the 17 pictures of my booty he apparently took instead of taking pictures of the animals. ha! Bless him.

 

  

This is a view of the outside of that wonderfully warm lodge. And of course my husband.

This bear was my favorite. He sits the same way our dog, Bear, sits. ha!

And onto another heated building! The amphibians. Yikes. 

How creepy is this? I may have

This guy's head looks just like a leaf. CREEPY!

On our way out we got to see the Cats. I am always so amazed at the creatures God put on this earth. They are so stinkin' beautiful. Scary. But, still beautiful

 After the zoo, I decided we had to visit Sun Studio. You see, my lovely husband had never been and I happen to love Sun. they have a great tour and I love the history. Sun is where Elvis was discovered, in case you didn't know. And here is where I invade your computer with Sun Studio pictures. Enjoy these, too.

Our Tour guide. He was a hoot and absolutely loved his job!

Tyler with a bunch of Elvis' things. 

Since Sun is still a working recording studio, all of the instruments in the room are used and you aren't supposed to touch them. Tyler doesn't listen well. But, interesting fact, this drum kit was used by U2 on their latest album when they came to record a few songs here.

 

However, this was allowed to be touched. This mic is original to the room. Which means famous folks back in the day probably recorded on it. So fun. And Tyler's quite the rock star, eh? ha!

When we were done with all the touristy stuff, we went downtown to grab a bite to eat before we headed home. I didn't take a single picture, but we ate at B.B. Kings on Beale. Can we talk about the fried pickles? Probably not, I should keep them a secret. But holy moly, they are tasty.

On another note... I have got some SERIOUS baby fever. I always have a hint of the fever, but this week it has been hardcore. Out. Of. Control. And quite honestly, posting these photos doesn't make it better. I cannot wait for the day we get to take our kids with us. Tyler is so joyous and I can't wait to see our kids' faces light up the way his does when they see new and exciting things. It makes my heart so very happy.

30 - Long time, no see...

I'm the Worlds Worst Blogger. Seriously, I need a trophy. I have no excuse except that life got busy and I chose to waste time doing other things. ha!

So, since I haven't touched this thing since December 16th, I suppose its time for some catch up.

Christmas was wonderful. We spent time with Tyler's dad's family and my family. I surprised him with an iPad and I was SO excited that I kept it a secret. That is for real a feat for me.

After the holidays were over, we got to go to New Orleans with Tyler's dad and stepmom for the Sugar Bowl! We were so excited that our Razorbacks got there and we had an absolute blast. Even if the Hogs lost. I kept telling people that the folks watching at home were way more upset about the loss than those of us there. We had Bourbon Street to go to afterward :)

As soon as we came back from New Orleans, we got right into moving. The renters had seriously destroyed our house in the 3 months prior to them moving out. But that is such a ridiculous story that it needs its own blog post. But the good news is, we are moved in and slowly but surely getting everything put away. Its really just my studio that is left, but it takes forever! ha! The month of January and early February really were all moving days. It took that long. Maybe that's why I didn't blog.

Tyler's birthday was last weekend. He took off the entire weekend, which is SO rare. Ya know what we did? Nothing. Nada. I was sick the ENTIRE time. From Friday until Tuesday I was in bed with the flu and bronchitis. Fun times. So to make up for being on my death bed the weekend of his actual birthday, we decided to take a day trip Monday to Memphis and just hang out. We had a really good time. It was supposed to be gorgeous weather all day in the 60s. And it was, until about 11:30. The Weather Channel failed us and we were so cold by the afternoon! We toughed it out anyway and went to the zoo. I am so glad we did because we were pretty much the only ones there and had so much fun! Zoo's have a magical power of turning adults into children. And its wonderful.

I suppose this is it for now. Hopefully I will not ignore my little blog anymore! I have a couple of great recipes I need to get posted! Motivation, folks!


Also, I'll add pictures this afternoon, but its time to go to work!

29 - Kelly Moore Bag

Ya know how I got a fancy schmancy new camera as an early Christmas present? And how much I love it? Well, I did and I do. It's awesome and I am so grateful for it. But... it needs a home. A permanent home in a pretty bag. I have LOVED Kelly Moore bags, ummm, well, forever. The first time I saw one, I honestly debated just getting it as a purse! But now that I have a valid reason to buy one, I've been looking again. Just look at this awesomeness.

Arent they all fabulous?! I would love any of them, but the one I've really had my eye on is this one...

Can you say lovely? This is just such a beautiful and understated bag! I adore the gray color and the hobo style is my absolute favorite. I also really like the mustard color in this style! 

You should totally hop on over to the Kelly Moore website and check them out for yourself! I will definitely be buying one just as soon as Christmas is over!

28 - Christmas Cards!

*** Updated with the back of the card!!***

Today, Faith is having a Christmas Card Carousel and I decided to join along! I have a small stationary business, so I make my own Christmas cards. This is the third year I've done them and I love them. I used pictures from different things we've done throughout the year and they are so fun! I always  want to include our dogs, but couldn't get them to sit still, so they aren't on the card this time around. But they still wish you a Merry Christmas! 

I desperately need to get these in the mail! They are all addressed and stamped, I just need to go to the post office. Which I will be doing tomorrow, because I have about 20 ornaments to mail!

I've kept you waiting long enough...here is our 2010 Christmas Card!

{click to enlarge}

And here's the back! Typical Tyler. It had to be included.

{click to enlarge, again}

Merry Christmas!

27 - Hot Pockets!

I am blogging backwards. But I don't care. Last Thursday we had homegroup game night with the folks at JC. The "theme" was finger foods. I have a cookbook called Any Blonde can Cook (I know, I know) and some of Tyler's favorite recipes come from there. I can cook up a storm and he will still wan the simple food from it. He's such a man. Anyway, something I hadn't made in a long time was homemade hot pockets. They are his favorite! Since it was finger foods, I thought those would be great. And lets talk about an excited man! He tends to make up names for the food I make, instead of calling them hot pockets, he refers to these as "yummy goodness." He's special. Anyway, I wanted to share the recipe because they are SO easy to make and make a whole bunch. I also made a veg option.

Chicken Hot Pockets 

1/2 cup sour cream

16 oz. mozzarella cheese

Rotisserie chicken

green onions - to taste, I used 2 stalks

splash of lemon juice

3 cans of crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350. Take the chicken off the bone (and if you are a vegetarian and can't stand to do this, you have to make your husband do it) and chop it up. For one batch you will only need 1/2 of this, but feel free to use more. Stir together the sour cream, cheese, chicken and green onions. Add a splash of lemon juice. 

Lay the crescents into triangles and put the mixture in bottom of the triangles, like so...

(these are the spinach ones, but I didn't take pics of the others in process)

Then roll them up and seal the ends well.

I bake mine on parchment so it is easy to remove. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack and you're done. 

Spinach and Feta Hot Pockets

(otherwise known as the one I made up and don't have measurements for)

a few handfuls of baby spinach

1 6 oz tub of feta

1/2 cup sour cream

green onions

some mozzarella - I probably used 8 or so ounces.

Follow the exact same directions as above, except the making your husband deal with the chicken. Just mix everything together and wrap it up!

Then you go work it all off with some dancing on the wii.

Funny story... I called my grandmother to see if they still had green onions in their garden, so that I could save a few bucks. She laughed at me and said of course. I got to their house and realized why she found my question funny...

ummmm, yea, I'd say she had just a few to spare. ha!

Tyler has now requested I make some breakfast ones... I think I am going to do ham and cheese first!