Thankful Thursday [4]

I haven't participated in Candra's Thankful Thursdays in a while, but today I am stressed/flustered/magoo, and need to sit for a moment and reflect on what I am thankful for....my life is not a bad one!  The fact that there is a giveaway associated with today's post doesn't hurt either ;)  

So here they are: my Top Ten List Of Thankfulness 

1. my rock, my best friend, my partner....BL

2. friends celebrating together at our pie day party

3. coffee ....makes my morning better, and warmer!

4. new bible study on "The Excellent Wife"

5. new printer = awesome!

6. Bota Box Wine.  Yes, I know, box wine?!  Don't knock it til you try it - it's yummy and inexpensive.  Boxed to be eco-friendly, this is still a quality wine, in a box!

7. a dryer ... you know that saying "you don't know what you've got til it's gone"?  It applies to dryers too.  Ours died = not fun. I shutter at the amount of laundry waiting to be done. BL found one that we should be getting this weekend.  Thank. You. Lord!

8. Fresh Grounded Faith conference at church this weekend.  Anxiously awaiting the knowledge I will receive.

9. online radio - I listen to the radio (various stations) all day long on my computer while I work.  I think it helps me feel like I am around people.  HaHa :)

10. chap-stick - I can never have enough, nor can I have too much variety.  I love it!!

Now it's your turn to hop on over to Candra's site and link up!

Express Lane and Pie Day

Don't you love when people use the express lane for their 'everyday' shopping?  I am pretty sure this number: 10 is less than this number: 26.  Yes, I am neurotic.  Yes, there are WAY more important things in life than the express lane at Publix.  BUT...seriously....26 items in the '10 item or less' line?!  That is just rude.  So I took a picture...that'll teach him ;)

....doesn't this drive anyone else crazy too?!

Anyhow, let's move on to more fun things.....like PIE, and lots of it :)

I am not quite sure how many people know that January 23 is International Pie Day (I didn't until recently), but BL & I used it as a great reason to gather the friends, gather the forks, and eat a lot of pie!  We had a competition at our pie party, too.  It was a great time and I am so happy so many friends and family could make it! My friend Becky won with her yumm-o Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pie...I wonder if she'd share the recipe on her blog (ahem, hint, hint...)??  Here I am with the winner and my cutie nephew Jakson:

We had so much fun with everyone over here and can't wait to do it again next Pie Day!   

I totally swiped these pictures from my sweet sister, who has a much better camera than I do! If you want to see more pics head on over to Elizabeth's blog :)

long week...welcome to my busy season!

The annual NCAA Summit was this week in Atlanta, which meant that I only had to travel by car! It was a brief summit, compared to past years but it was insightful and great time spent with colleagues and clients.  Did I mention that I met Charles Barkley?  He was hilarious and gave us quite a show before dinner.  My boss had him sharing all sorts of stories after all of the other 180 attendees had gone into dinner, which meant it was pretty much like a Charles Barkley comedy hour for just 8 of us...

I heart my job :) 

Can you believe it's already January 21?!  Where has the time flown off to?  This is my busiest time of the year, so I have no doubt that April (and the Final Four) will be here before we even know it....YIIIIKES!  I can relate to all of the accountants out there who are just chomping at the bit for May to be here so they can take a day off.  

***sigh*** 

...a girl can dream ;)

At least it's Friday & I have the weekend ahead.  Boy, do I have something fun lined up for Sunday!  It's Pie Day (pie the food, not pi the math term)....that's all I'm saying!

Before I sign off I'd like to ask a special request for you to say a prayer for my sweet cousins and aunt and uncle, who lost their grandfather/father this week.  I know they are hurting right now, and my heart is broken for their loss.  They can find joy in knowing they will see him again one day, but it doesn't take away the sting of losing someone you love. 

Life is short folks....hug the people you love and TELL THEM how much they mean to you.

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!  Make it a great one :)

Brown Sugar Cake....yes, please, I'll take a BIG piece!

Before I begin, I would like to apologize for the photos...apparently I have forgotten how to use my camera & just go straight for the BlackBerry.  I am lazy.

Do you have a go-to recipe?  One that is always a crowd pleaser, and (even better!!) easy to make?  This is my go-to.  I am sharing it with you now because is it just too darn easy and too darn yummy NOT to share!  I originally came across this gem when browsing through a Kraft Food & Family magazine, but have changed it only slightly to make it more yummy, and less calories.  So what they call "Gram's Best Brown Sugar Cake" I call "Chrissi's Best Brown Sugar Cake"! Haha :) OK, so I don't call it that, but I should. 

Here is what you need:

1 - box yellow cake mix (moist deluxe is my choice)

1 - 3.5 oz package french vanilla instant pudding

1 - 6 oz cup of non-fat plain greek yogurt

4 - large eggs

1/2 C - oil (I use veggie, but use whatever you prefer)

2/3 C - water

1 C - packed brown sugar 

1 C- chopped pecans

step 1 - Preheat oven to 350, spray your bundt pan with cooking spray and then sprinkle with a generous coating of sugar (yummm!)

step 2 - Blend the first 6 ingredients together for two min or so, until smooth

step 3 - Add the nuts and sugar, mix on low until well-blended

step 4 - Pour this delicious mixture into your pan and place in the oven to bake for an hour (I like to say an hour-ish because ovens vary), or until a toothpick (or like object) comes out clean

step 5 - Enjoy!!!

Some additional tips:

*You can also drizzle caramel topping over the cake before serving which creates a nice glaze

*Serve with vanilla bean icecream or freshly made whipped cream

*This pairs oh-so nicely with a cup of coffee :)

PS, special thanks to my sister Elizabeth who showed me how to add pics via FLICKR.  Thanks Ster....now go vote for her on Top Mom Blogs (she is at #3 now) :)

HELP...no more photos!

Blogger has told me that I have maxed out my photo storage, and I have to purchase more space to add any more pictures on here.  Although it seems like an easy task, I can't figure out how to delete pictures from the Blogger/Picasa album, therefore leaving me no clue how to rectify the situation without having to purchase more space!

....has anyone ever had this problem, and if so how did you solve it?  If purchasing more space is needed, then I guess that's my answer but I thought I would ask before shelling out the ca$h. 

I am sure this has nothing everything to do with the fact that I have huge wedding pictures up here [by huge I mean file-size ;) ]

Thanks blog-world!

Brr, it's cold in here!

   I have seen snow in my life, but not this much this fast!  

It came down Sunday night and has yet to leave.  Did I mention that snow shuts down our city?!  As in, snow fell three days ago and schools are still out and businesses are still closed.  I know, people who live in the North are laughing at us!  To say we have cabin fever would be an understatement, so we've had to get out some, even if it means walking. In the cold. BRR.  

Monday we made time for sledding and car cleaning (snow on the car was a good 5 inches thick)....

 (we did not make this, but he was oh-so cute!)

 

little man sat at the door and watched us clean off the cars...he wanted to play!!

  

and then yesterday - our date night - we walked up to QuikTrip to get coffee and a hot dog.  Along the way we stopped for some photos, and a flip video or two :)
(please, please forgive me for looking like a fool and not put together)

When-oh-when will this icy stuff melt?  I need to get out of the house & walk around Target or something!!

Stay warm & make it a great day!

life...as per my BlackBerry

 I have been the worst picture taker these days!  I seemed to have missed our Thanksgiving trip, Christmas with both families (two or three pictures do not count as capturing a holiday), and NYE.  I guess for now I will have to live with the BlackBerry pictures to show what I am up to...

 new running shoes and 4 miles clocked yesterday...finally!

 my newest niece, Tinsley Mae, is growing so fast!  

 much needed manicure in SanFran with my sweet friend Molly...love my 'Jessica Rabbit' red nails ;)

I (illegally) turned on my BlackBerry to catch this shot of the beautiful sunrise as my flight took off from SFO.

Have a great weekend!

new blog idea

While on my flight out to San Fran I was brainstorming some new blog ideas to add some variety to my life blog and here is what came to mind.....

I was challenged by a friend after walking down the aisle to never stop dating my husband.  I am embarrassed to admit, but we had been home from the honeymoon for over a month and had yet to go on a date.  Not one.  This had to change, but we were are on a tight budget and I had no clue how we could make a fun, non fast—food, weekly date possible.  Like many of you, I am quite cheap frugal, but I like to get nice things and go fun places; I just try to do it all on pennies (when possibleJ).   BL & I picked Tuesday nights as date night because a lot of restaurants have their best deals on Tuesday around our house (all you can eat tacos at Don Pablos, two-for-Tuesdays at Wild Wings, beer specials at our favorite Mexican hole-in-the-wall, $1 sushi at Fuki Hana….the list goes on).

So my new idea is to share my cheap ideas with you (not limited to just date ideas) and for you to share your money-saving tips with me, and other readers too!  My thought is that Thursday’s blogs will be “Thrifty Thursday”.

So what is today about, you ask?  I will start with sharing one of my favorite sites – scoutmob[dot]com.  This website is FREE and gives you half off at various restaurants in your area.  Currently they are in three major cities across the country—Atlanta, New York, San Francisco—and they are expanding quickly to more cities—LA, Nashville, Seattle, to name a few.  When you sign up they will send you a daily email with their ‘deal’.  If you like the deal you head to the site and simply enter your cell number and wait for the text to receive a coupon code.  Redeeming the ‘coupon’ is super easy—just tell the server you have the code on text and show them your phone—it is really that easy.  There is a maximum discount amount with each deal, but it is usually high enough to still take half off of a date-night bill.  

Is this awesome or what?!

Go check out their site out and see if there are deals in your city.  

I am not getting any kickback from Scout Mob, I am just an honestly happy customer and want to spread the word! 

One final thought—if you are married and not dating like we were, make dating your spouse a priority.  I am not very experienced but I do know it’s been helpful for us, and I hear it’s helpful in the long run as well!  You may not be able to swing weekly dates, but do what you can, and it will greatly pay off.  

Happy [cheap] Thursday folks—make it a great one! 

my location until Friday...

i'm in our 'home office' until Friday...any guesses?

i love this city! 

New Year, New You...or me?

Happy New Year to my friends and family in the blog world :)

I found this article while browsing the web and thought it was interesting...how many of these have you made?  More importantly, how many have you made AND followed through with? 

The below list are the top ten resolutions listed in the survey of over 300,000 folks at 10millionresolutions.com, with my notes

1. Lose Weight and Get in Better Physical Shape

yes, this would be nice ... hopefully signing up for another half marathon will encourage this. i want to be my best ME in 2011, spiritually, physically, mentally.

 

2. Stick to a Budget

we need to get ours together first. UGH.

 

3. Debt Reduction

I think I have made myself very clear, BL & I want to be debt free!!! 

 

4. Enjoy More Quality Time with Family & Friends

I am bias, but I do have the best family and friends - why wouldn't I want to spend more time with them?  I would also like to make new blog friends this year.  People who don't blog may think this is silly, those of us that do just understand. 

 

5. Find My Soul Mate

Done. Now my goal is to be the best wife I can be - the wife I am called to be.

6. Quit Smoking

Not an issue for me, but if it is for you, I wish you much strength and perseverance in this!!

 

7. Find a Better Job

Luckily, I do love my job :)

 

8. Learn Something New

Learn new sewing techniques,  learn to knit, learn more scripture, the list goes on....

 

9. Volunteer and Help Others

This is definitely on my list for 2011 - give more time to others and stop thinking my problems are so big!

 

10. Get Organized

Our house is nuts right now (ahem, two grown adults sharing the space of one = cramped); we need the organization!! 

Make it a great year!!