Hearth and Home

Micah's Stegosaurus

2012-02-14T08:12:00.006-06:00

My friend Brigitte's son turns 3 years old today! He had a birthday party last Saturday, and since I know he's into dinosaurs I made him one.

Don't be deceived. He is actually quite large. From nose to tail he is about 18 to 20 inches long. This pattern comes from the book Knitted Dinosaurs by Tina Barrett.

Jacey's Owl

2012-01-20T08:17:00.005-06:00

Jaalla's daughter turned one year old this month. Her birthday party was last weekend and I just had to make her a stuffed animal. I finally decided on this owl.

I got the pattern on Ravelry. I just love that place. Anyway, here's another shot of my pal the owl.

Christmas Knitting

2012-01-13T15:00:00.005-06:00

I made three things this year for Christmas presents. Here are two of them that I actually got pictures of.

I made these fingerless mittens for my friend Brigitte. She had actually found a picture of some she liked and sent it to me (She already knew that I was making her something, so she just made a suggestion. I like that). I made them in an alpaca/wool blend, so they are softer and less scratchy than straight wool.

This is an infinity scarf that I made for my mother-in-law. This is how it looks wrapped around my neck three times. I think I went a little bit overboard on the length, but it is just so hard to tell how long it is when you are knitting it on 36 in. long circular needles. It’s also made out of alpaca and is a very fine yarn, so it is really soft. It's also a light ecru color, not yellow as the picture seems.

Soon I will post pics of a gift I made for a sweet little one year olds birthday.

Where's the craftiness?

2011-12-22T10:30:00.004-06:00

I know. Slacker, right? Well, I will have several things to show after Christmas. I can't just display Christmas gifts on the blog before they have been gifted, can I?

In the meantime, Brigitte, Anna, and myself had a cookie bake-a-thon/exchange on Sunday. Here is Anna's recipe for White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread.

Brigitte's recipe for Fleur de sel Chocolate Chip Blondie's. And my recipe pick for Chocolate Orange Biscotti with Almonds.

All delicious!!

This Thing of Ours: How Faith Saved My Mafia Marriage by Cammy Franzese

2011-12-20T11:27:00.002-06:00

Author Cammy Franzese was a young woman who grew up with a passion for dancing. This passion not only led her to a small part in a movie, but it also led her into the arms of the movie’s producer, Michael Franzese. Her story chronicles how she met her future mafia husband, their life while he was incarcerated, and how through it they came to serve the Lord.

If you are interested to know more of the story of Cammy’s husband and all that he was involved in regarding the mafia, you will not get it from this book. This book is from the perspective of his wife, and she does not go into much detail regarding those facts. I would have liked to know more about the husband’s change and desire to follow Christ, but this was not his story. I did enjoy reading about how her mother was such a godly woman and encourager through her life and that because of her mother she came back to the Lord and began serving Him. In all, this was a short read and an interesting story of how one family came out of difficult circumstances and has chosen to live their lives telling others how God changed them.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks: Confessions of April Grace by K.D. McCrite

2011-12-06T15:24:00.001-06:00

Categorized as a children’s book, this story truly belongs to middle school girls. It follows young April Grace Reilly through the many of adventures of being a pre-teen girl; from cliques at school and an annoying older sister, to worrying about her momma and trying to help a family friend put a Christmas pageant together.

Although I believe the first few chapters were difficult to get into, I very much enjoyed the rest of the book. This is probably due to the fact that this is book two of the series. Those who have read book one will probably have a much smoother time transitioning into book two. The character of April Grace was quite entertaining and engaging. She is more of a leader instead of a follower, and I often found her take on things quite amusing. The author shows a family that is very giving and loving, whose faith in God is ever present. The rural setting of the story also played a large part in my enjoyment as I can somewhat relate. All in all, I believe girls of middle school age would greatly enjoy this book and following the confessions of April Grace.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Baby Book

2011-11-30T09:34:00.015-06:00

A friend at church just recently had her first baby; a boy. Brigitte found this great idea in one of my sewing books. You make a baby book using felt and fabric with some embroidery and applique. It was a little time consuming, but very easy with minimal machine sewing. Thinking of the animals we wanted to use and sewing them in was the fun part. It truly was a lot of fun and a great idea for an easy hand made gift.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

2011-10-22T10:22:00.005-05:00

Heaven is for Real is a thought provoking book about a little boy who during the course of an emergency surgery, goes to heaven and comes back. The father is the author and tells of his family and their life before the miraculous event, their struggles during that time, and then after when the story of their son’s experiences begins to come out. You see a family struggle with loss and fear, and then see how God worked in their lives through those things.

You can choose to believe this families story or not to believe it. After reading it, I choose to believe it. This family was being bombarded with injury and illness and then their son’s gravely ill state, and God spoke to them through their son and showed them that He was there and that He had not left them or forsaken them through that time. Yes, it showed them a glimpse of heaven, but it also showed them Christ’s love for us. I loved that their son repeatedly told them how much Jesus really loves the children. I believe that this book can especially minister to someone who has gone through a miscarriage, as it greatly ministered to me. You don’t have to be a big reader to get through this book. It is not long and the message is simple. This is a must read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Pascal

2011-10-20T07:50:00.005-05:00

My friend Anna's daughter, Stella, turned three a couple of weeks ago. She loves the movie Tangled. I happened to have a pattern for a chameleon in one of my knitted toys book, so I made Stella a Pascal from the movie. I put a little note with him that said "Rapunzel wants you to take care of him for her". Anna said that she liked him and even had to take him to bed with her. Yeah!

My Evening with Amy Grant

2011-10-20T07:40:00.013-05:00

A couple of weeks before my birthday back in August, Tish emailed me and asked what I had going on the weekend of the 14th of October. Ummm, nothing that I know of considering that is two months away, I said. She couldn't wait until my birthday, so she proceeded to send me an email that explained her inquiry. Tish had bought us two FRONT ROW, CENTER STAGE seats to see AMY GRANT in concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas!!! For those who don't know, I LOVE Amy Grant! I have since middle school. It all started when my parents my parents started letting me listen to Contemporary Christian music. Every since I could remember, I was only allowed to listen to children's type music, "elevator" music, and Southern Gospel. Now, I am not bashing Southern Gospel because I love it to this day. Kevin can even testify to how I light up when they occasionally sing a good ol' timey, foot tappin' Southern Gospel tune at church. It's just good stuff. Anyway, I remember mom taking me to the Christian bookstore where I bought Amy Grant, The Collection. I loved it and I proceeded to buy most every older and new Amy Grant cassette tape over the years (until I finally got a CD player and started buying CD's). Who doesn't like El Shaddai, Sing Your Praise to the Lord, and Angels? In fact, this is my all time favorite album of hers and always will be. Not only is it just good music, it also takes me back to the church youth group during my middle and high school years and so many fond memories. I wasn't allowed to listen to New Kids on the Block and such like others my age. There weren't any bands or artists that I idolized back in my pre-teen/teen years. Just let me blast some Amy Grant out of the boom box.

So now you know why I was so excited. I'm not a big concert goer. I was able to attend quite a few Christian concerts while I was working for KVNE in Tyler. It was great, but I've really never had much of a desire to attend another concert, except for one of Amy's concerts. I have always said that I wanted to see Amy Grant in concert; if I could go to any concert, that would be the one. Tish loves Amy Grant also and she made my dream come true! A friend of mine at work said, " You have a great friend." I know, she's the best!!! Thank you dear friend for making my dream come true!

Here is the view from our FRONT ROW seats. Sorry, but I still cannot get over this. We were literally a few feet from her. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra accompanied about half of the songs she sang and it was quite beautiful. The Meyerson itself is gorgeous. I can see why Tish and Shane love to go often.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures once it had started. Bummer. Tish did manage to sneak one picture with her iPhone. When I get the picture from her I will post it.

It was an amazing concert and Amy sounds just the same in person and she does on her CD's. I've always loved her unique voice. She sang some of her older tunes such as Sing Your Praise to the Lord, El Shaddai, and Stay for a While, and she also sang quite a few of her newer songs. We all stood for an encore at the end. Everyone started to sit down when Amy came out to sing "I Will Remember You". She said we could stand and sway to the music if we wanted. There were only a few people well over to the left side of us who remained standing. Tish leaned over to say that she was standing too. After all, she paid good money for the tickets, and Amy said we could stand. So we did. We stood and swayed to the music and Amy looked us right in the eyes and smiled.

Weeding the Jackson Way

2011-10-06T19:30:00.004-05:00

This is what happens when you let a weed get completely out of control. You have to use a truck and chains to get it out. We don't mess around with weeds.

Mutant plants and storage boxes...

2011-09-30T10:44:00.007-05:00

I think our yellow summer squash got into some kind of mutant ectoplasm or something.

This is the only thing that has come off of that plant all summer. Kevin looked it up and it either was too close to another similar plant and cross-pollinated or something, or it stayed on the vine too long and got all bumpy. It said that it was still edible, but I think I'll pass.

On the crafty front... Brigitte and I got together recently and made these super cute storage cubes.

I got the pattern out of 1, 2, 3 Sew by Ellen Luckett Baker. The project was slightly frustrating. We got all of the pieces cut out and started sewing the interfacing when my sewing machine went bonkers. I believe it is a tension problem in the bobbin case. Grrrrr! We had to stop mid-project and pick it back up again a couple of weeks later at Brigitte's mother-in-law's house. She has a sweet sewing machine that makes beautiful, even stitches... sigh... Anyway, we were super proud of ourselves for reading and deciphering the pattern ourselves. I bought enough of the fabric to make two; very ambitious of me. We'll see if that happens. Right now I will be happy with my one and maybe find something else to do with the leftover super cute fabric.

Ascent from Darkness by Michael Leehan

2011-09-22T19:35:00.003-05:00

How does someone come out of a life of serving Satan, to then become a follower of Christ? This author knows from personal experience. In this book you will read how Leehan’s life spiraled downward, what led him to serve Satan, his life in the grip of darkness, and how he turned his life over to Jesus Christ.

This book made me squirm quite a bit. How could someone go to this extreme? To me it is hard to imagine. Leehan makes it a point to let you know he is not trying sensationalize anything or bring a shock factor; he is just stating the facts, sharing the depth of depravity his life had become. He also shows how God was continually pursuing him. I love how God placed so many people in his life to minister to him, and I love that they didn’t give up on him. This is definitely not a light read, but is a good reminder that Satan does exist; that he is the prince of darkness. Let us not forget to “walk in the light as He is in the light.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Restaurant Love

2011-09-11T17:36:00.006-05:00

I had the privilege of eating at two very good places this week. On Wednesday I had lunch at a Conocco gas station. Yes, you did hear me right. The ladies and myself finally made the trek over to Watauga, Texas just north of Fort Worth, so we have lunch at Chef Point Cafe.

They were featured on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives several years ago. I've heard great things about the place from numerous people, and they were not lying! I got the monte cristo sandwich, but the duck is supposed to be the best. We also shared a piece of their famous bread pudding... feeling faint... There was so much more that I wanted to try. It took us 15 minutes just to decide what we wanted. I will definitely, absolutely be going back!

Then on Saturday I finally was in the vicinity of In-N-Out Burger. They will be building one in Arlington and Irving in the near future, but I just had to have one to tide me over in the meantime. I hadn't had one since the last time I was in California in 2005. Way too long... There were about 20 people in the drive-thru line in front of me. No sweat. I could be patient. After all, I've waited 6 years.

Just like I remembered in all it's juicy goodness. Now, I was not at all impressed with the fries. Maybe it was because they were cold when I got them, but they definitely left something to be desired. I wasn't too upset though. My main goal was to eat that burger. I did, and it was delicious.

Austin

2011-08-31T20:25:00.013-05:00

Hmmm, where to go on a girl trip that is within driving distance, yet a fun and entertaining getaway from North and East Texas??? Austin of course! Actually, I have never spent any kind of time in Austin. I've only been there for a wedding and didn't even spend the night. Tish on the other hand had been there on several occasions and she agreed that it would be a good place for us to go (despite the scorching temps).

We had a great time! Lots of shopping on S. Congress, but mainly lots of eating. We ended up eating at two wonderful cafes for breakfast on various mornings. The Kerbey Lane Cafe and the Magnolia Cafe are both wonderful places to have a great breakfast (try the pancakes that are as big as your head).

Directly down the road from the Magnolia Cafe is Mozarts Coffee Roasters, a great coffee shop right on the lake with great coffee and yummy sweets.

And if you go to Austin, you must try Gourdough's (just take a look at that menu). It's a trailer that makes the most decadent doughnuts that you've ever tasted. I got "The Puddin'". Good heavens! A cream filled doughnut with cream cheese frosting, sliced bananas, and crushed vanilla wafers. It was so rich I could only eat half in one sitting.

But my all time favorite place we visited was Man Bites Dog. I realize that this does not make me sound like any kind of connoisseur of food, but I just love a good hot dog. LOVE them. Tish had the Abe Froman (did you catch the Ferris Bueller reference). This was a classic Chicago dog in all its pureness. Tish is excited about digging in.

I had the Al Pastor Dog. Get this... bacon wrapped pork sausage dog topped with pickled red onions, cilantro, pineapple, and chipotle ketchup! I can't even express how amazing all those flavors were together.

My mission is now to write the owners of that establishment and beg them to build one in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, preferably Arlington.

Sewing Class

2011-08-24T09:45:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Brigitte and I attended a sewing class lead by Anna Pham and her friend Britt. Anna makes the cutest stuff that she sells on her Etsy site! It was challenging, but so much fun! I had never used interfacing before nor had I ever made anything quite this technical. Check out our cute little zipper pouches that we made!

Mine is the second one from the left with the cute little reddish flowers. The sewing bug has bitten me again, so definitely more sewing projects in my future!

Love You More by Jennifer Grant

2011-08-13T08:56:00.004-05:00

Love You More is a touching look at the author’s story of adopting a child internationally, while at the same time being a wife and mother. Besides adoption, the author also discusses infertility, miscarriage, and parenting. Grant offers insight into the international adoption process and offers advice and tips throughout.

Having suffered a miscarriage myself and also being in the midst of the adoption process, this book was comforting to me in a sense. Grant is an excellent writer. She tells the story from the beginning of her married life and continues with the birth of her children, a miscarriage, how she and her husband came to the decision of adopting, the process, and life after adoption. She offers you insight into her deepest, and at times most honest thoughts and feelings. I appreciated that she included her personal relationship with Christ and how it factored into her decisions and thoughts. I laughed and I cried. I definitely recommend this book to those who have at any time considered adoption. It will give you the opportunity to look into one family’s life and see the dreams, struggles, and how it changed them and the life of the adopted child forever.

Pink Banana Squash

2011-07-27T15:20:00.005-05:00

Well, we finally picked our squash. The plant ended up only yielding two, but boy aren't they two fine looking squash!

They are supposed to keep just fine for several months in a cool dark place, so I am going to try keeping them in the pantry and just check to make sure they aren't rotting. If I need too, I can cut them in chunks and freeze them. I am hoping they will hold out till the fall and I can roast them. Yum!

And here's a pic from the 4th of July. Kevin got a little smoker happy.

A turkey AND a brisket! Goodness gracious!

The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley

2011-07-23T09:19:00.008-05:00

Wow! What an applicable book! The Blessing is about showing unconditional love to the people in our lives. Mainly it is written from the perspective of a parent to a child, but it can be applied with any relationship in our lives. There are five essential elements that the authors touch on: meaningful touch, a spoken message, attaching high value, picturing a special future, and an active commitment. Essentially, how do we give the blessing? What does that look like? They also speak on when the blessing doesn’t happen and how to reverse the curse.

Trent and Smalley show how giving the blessing is scriptural and back it up with plenty of references. They also give lots of personal examples on how people give and receive a blessing and how a blessing can be withheld. I believe that this is a must-read book for everyone; whether you have children or not. This can be applied to your relationship with your parents or your spouse. What did I learn from this book? To be more deliberate in my relationships in what I say and what I do. To let those I love know that they have value; not only through spoken words but through meaningful touch. I loved this book and recommend it to everyone I know! Two big thumbs up!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Ma and Pa

2011-07-21T08:38:00.003-05:00

I came across this pic the other day of myself and Kevin and just had to post it...

It makes me giggle every time I see it. What a pair. See the similarity...

Growin' Things

2011-06-23T07:55:00.005-05:00

As I have mentioned before, I am not much of a green thumb. Fortunately, my husband can get most things to grow. We tried some new fruits and vegetables this year along with some tried and true favorites.

This is a pink banana squash plant. Um, it has kind of taken over the deck and some of the furniture. Thi picture was taken a week and a half ago. It is actually quite a bit bigger now.

This is the beginnings of a pink banana squash. I'm not sure that either of us read the seed packet very carefully when these were planted. Evidently these can get to be over 4 feet long and over 30 pounds! As of yesterday, this squash is over a foot long. I have to admit that it has been kind of fun watching it grow. I only have one other squash on the entire plant that is growning, but I guess that's okay considering how much you get out of each one.

Our other new plants this year are yellow squash, habanero peppers, and watermelon. We have already harvested all of our onions and about half of our tomatoes.

The Story of the Bible by Larry Stone

2011-05-31T20:27:00.005-05:00

I must say that this is a great book! The Story of the Bible is an informative and page-turning history of the Bible. It starts with the beginning (quite literally) and ends in present day. Mr. Stone also covers the many translations that the Bible has come through.

This book is well written and to the point. The illustrations and pictures throughout the book are absolutely beautiful. I especially enjoyed that I could pull out life-sized reproductions of Bible pages and scrolls. Should I never have the opportunity to visit those beautiful Bibles in person, I can at least have an idea of what the originals look like. I greatly appreciate all the information that was put into this book. Sure, I could have pulled out some of my husband’s books from seminary that are 2,000 pages long and really, really in-depth, but this is a great condensed version of those that gives you tons of information in 96 pages. It is a great reference book to pull off the shelf at any time and a wonderful book to loan to a friend that wants to learn more about the Bible and its history through the ages.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Blanket for Tristan

2011-05-04T07:50:00.003-05:00

My friend Brigitte will be having another baby boy soon, so I wanted to make him a blanket. I decided to pick something a little different than just a regular knitted baby blanket pattern. Don't get me wrong, I love those kind of patterns but sometimes you just want something different. When I saw this pattern I knew that Brigitte would like it and the color even goes with Tristan's room.

I really like the way the trees and the cabled border came out. I love reading knitting charts and with this piece you definitely have to keep your eyes on the charts. This pattern actually can be knit quite larger. I made the smallest size out of three. I may make the largest size one day for myself and keep it in the living room.

Just in time for... er, summer?

2011-03-22T20:19:00.005-05:00

I love knitting socks. Yes indeed. The first pair I ever knitted was probably about 4 years ago. Since then I estimate that I have knitted about 25 pairs of socks, and of those I have given 1/3 away. But not these! (I know you are all thinking... Wow! Jenn has gone from pasty white legs to a nice tan. Nope. My lovely Puerto Rican friend is the owner of these legs and kindly agreed to model for me.)

It's not that they took a lot of time. In fact, these were a relatively quick knit due to the fact that I wasn't using a skinny sock weight yarn. They didn't even cost me anything. I used the leftover yarn from a sweater I made and posted about during the summer. The reason I love these socks is because they are like 2 socks in one! They are double thick because of using so many colors and carrying the strands of non-working yarn on the wrong side of the work. They are extra warm and toasty. Perfect for when the weather gets cold... in like 8 months or so. I got the pattern from this book:

Lots and lots of great sock patterns! Guess I better get started on another pair...

Spice is Nice

2011-03-18T14:02:00.006-05:00

Brigitte, Anna, and myself recently had an enjoyable evening cooking some new dishes. As an appetizer we made panko crusted portobello fries with a spicy horseradish remoulade dipping sauce. Yummy!

For the main dish, we made tikka masala. It was a wonderfully flavorful dish made with chicken and cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, spices, and cream. I am a huge fan of heat in my food, so the spiciness was most welcome. I would absolutely make this again; especially considering that we have an Indian food market just a couple of miles from the house, so the spicess are readily available.

We also made some potatoes and rice with saffron, but I can't remember the name of those sides. All in all, it was a great meal with great friends!

Cupcake Heaven

2011-02-22T20:48:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I had a very nice lunch in downtown Grapevine with my Administrative Assistant friends from work. I wasn't the one to schedule the lunch, so far be it for me to decide the restaurant. I mean, isn't that the responsibility of the scheduler? Well, no one wanted to make any suggestions, so I HAD to speak up. Afterall; someone had to take the reins! The ladies give me a hard time for being somewhat high-maintenance when it comes to going out to lunch. I'm kind of selective. I don't want to go somewhere that I'm not in the mood for. Anyway, we ended up at Tolbert's. They are known for their chili, which is pretty darn good by the way. I ended up eating a little on the lighter side with grilled chicken. I must confess that I had an alterior motive for going to downtown Grapevine. It was all a part of my plan. Mwah ha ha! I desperately wanted to stop by Legacy Cakes just up the street. This bakery was just opened recently by Megan Rountree from the TLC show Next Great Baker. Unfortunately, we do not have cable, so I was never able to see the show. What intrigued me was that Megan lived in my hometown of White Oak when she was recruited for the show. Afterall; I had to support this girl that lived in my hometown! Let me say, she is so sweet and nice and came out and met us as we had the painstaking challenge of picking what cupcake that we wanted. I chose chocolate peanut butter. Chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting... divine!

Torgo

2011-01-27T15:39:00.003-06:00

I knitted this giraffe for Macy for Christmas. She has named him Torgo.

I'm really happy with the way he turned out. And I have heard that Macy really likes him! That was the goal, so I am pleased!

The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister

2011-01-15T09:00:00.002-06:00

The Liturgical Year is meant to be an informative piece of non-fiction on the liturgical year in the Christian's spiritual life. The first several chapters are devoted to what the liturgical year means to a Christian and how it is played out in their everyday lives. The bulk of the book deals with feast days, such as Advent, Lent, and Holy Thursday.

First, I would like to say that I am writing this review from a Protestant perspective. This book uses a Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. I was looking forward to learning more about the feasts and Holy days that I know so little about. I did learn many new things from this book, but I must admit that I was left wanting a little more history and background behind the feasts and Holy days. I also found it to be a bit repetitive, but I know that was intended to drive the point home. I was challenged by this book in a way. I was challenged to remember that in our traditions and our celebrations, to always be aware of why we are celebrating and why we are remembering; to not let ourselves just go through the motions.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What a find!

2010-12-15T10:41:00.003-06:00

A couple of months ago, my good friend and co-worker, Veronica, treated myself and our other friend and co-worker, Ty, to a wonderful lunch. She took us to Ellerbe Fine Food's for lunch. This place has been cited in Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and Texas Monthly magazines, just to name a few. Well, we wanted to see what all the hullabub (you like my word) was about. First we started with the assorted artisanal cheese and charcuterie. Amazing! I had the lamb burger. Divine! Next we had the desert sampler which had three of their most popular deserts. Slap your momma good! I recommend going for lunch. The prices are reasonable for what you are getting. Dinner is a little on the pricey side. I promise you won't leave this place disappointed! I really wish that I could remember our waiter's name. He was wonderful. We checked the urbanspoon.com before we went and they did not have the best ratings for customer service. We had the opposite experience and were extremely pleased with the service we received. So give Ellerbe Fine Food's a try!

All this to say... Our artisanal cheese plate came with the most amazing peppers! These aren't just any peppers. They are these very mildly spicy yet sweet red peppers called peppadews. We went gagga over them. FYI, they are amazingly good with goat cheese.

They are extremely hard to come by in stores (they come from South Africa). In fact, I couldn't find them in Whole Foods or Central Market. I found them for sale on-line at several websites, but couldn't bring myself to pay to ship some peppers to my house. Anyway, I was browsing the aisles at World Market on Monday and there before was a jar of peppadew's!!! That made my day! I will be serving these bad boys up on Christmas Eve stuffed with goat cheese.

Lots of knitting going on...

2010-12-10T13:36:00.004-06:00

I have completed another project to wear for the cooler days ahead. I hate to call it a sweater vest, but I guess it is along the same lines. It is so warm and soft!

I also made something for my niece for Christmas, but I will not post it until she opens it on Christmas day. Can't wait!

Waiting...

2010-11-02T08:01:00.002-05:00

It seems like forever ago that we started the adoption process. It's actually been a little over two years now, and a little over a year since we became licensed. We were selected last December as one of three sets of potential parents for a sibling group of three adorable children. Unfortunately for us, we were their second choice. But fortunately for those kids, they got a family and a forever home! It was definitely bittersweet.

Now more waiting. We were selected last week as one of three sets of potential parents for a sibling group of four beautiful girls! Their ages are 4, 8, 9, and 12. I fell in love with these girls the moment I saw their pictures. Needless to say, Kevin and I want these girls desperately. The selection hearing to determine the parents was supposed to be last Friday, but I was just told yesterday that it did not happen on Friday but should happen sometime this week. More waiting. I have wanted children for 8 years now, so I guess I can wait a little longer, right? The thing is, it's not just about me or Kevin and our desires. It's about children who are stuck in the system waiting for a place to call home... forever. Children that need parents who will love on them and provide structure in their lives. November is National Adoption Month, and this is my plug. Consider adoption. There are so many different avenues, so I will not push one over the other. There are so many parentless children all over the world who need a home. All I am asking is that you consider it. Pray about opening your home to a child/children who need one.

"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'"
Galatians 4:4-6

Dreaming of Cooler Weather

2010-09-07T20:55:00.005-05:00

I finished this sweater just as the weather was getting warm. It is a very thickly knitted sweater, so I just couldn't bring myself to take any photos with it on. Finally, a day when it was only 90 degrees!

I love the way the color work turned out. The only complaint is that the pattern has 3/4 length sleeves. I like the way they look, but it really doesn't make sense to have a sweater this warm that isn't long sleeved. I guess I can wear a long sleeves shirt underneath and see how it looks. I still have many months to go before I can wear it anyway. Maybe I'll figure it out by then.

The Big 3-0...

2010-09-07T20:29:00.011-05:00

I turned 30 this year. Yep... I believe I handled it very well. The day itself wasn't too eventful, but the weekend after was. My amazing girlfriends planned a wonderful birthday celebration for me (sad that Tish wasn't able to be there).

We, along with the hubbies, went to Buttons! I was told that this place had great soul food and great live jazz/R&B music every night. We were not disappointed! The food was absolutely amazing! Each one of ordered a different dish. I got their most famous dish... chicken and waffles! Yuuuummmyyy!

And I just have to brag on the awesome birthday present I received from Brigitte, Anna, Tish, and Kevin...

A Le Creuset dutch oven!!! I had dreamed of owning one of these but never thought it possible considering how expensive they are. Do my friends know me or what? Sadly, Tish and Shane were not able to make it. I love that Brigitte was able to capture the moment though. I had been trying to think of a name for my Le Creuset and this is what I came up with: Julia. I feel it only appropriate. The Le Creuset is made in France. Julia Child loved France and cooked with Le Creuset's. Anyway, I'm a dork.

It was a GREAT birthday!!

Arkansas and Good Friends

2010-08-06T08:02:00.007-05:00

This post is long overdue, but over the 4th of July weekend we went to Arkansas to see our dear friends. Erin and the two kiddos were down from Scotland visiting family. Unfortunately, Jason had to work and was coming down later, so we weren't able to see him. Erin's parents were kind enough to let us stay with them and hang out for the weekend. It was so nice to spend time with Erin. It seemed like no time had passed and we just picked right up where we left off. The last time we saw Andrew he wasn't even walking yet. Here's a picture of him and Kevin when we were in Scotland in 2008.

And here is a picture of me and Andrew from our recent visit. Such a cutie!

And we finally got to meet Kate who was born in January. She is a doll!

We had such a great time!

New Orleans Trip

2010-07-12T10:47:00.009-05:00

Several weeks ago I took a trip with my friend Brigitte to go pick up her nieces in Louisiana and bring them back to Texas for a visit. Road trip! Let me just preface by saying that this trip wasn't ALL about the food, but pretty close. My taste buds were singing!

First off, Brigitte surprised me by stopping for lunch in Lafayette at Prejean's! In the past, she and I had cooked out of their cookbook, and it was delicious!

I had the Eggplant Pirogue Prejean. It was half an eggplant, peeled with the insides scraped out to make a boat. It was battered and deep fried and filled with crawfish, catfish, and eggplant in a dark roux. Oh my word people! I also bought their cookbook to add to my collection. Kevin has been to Prejean's in the past and was very distraught that I decided to eat eggplant at one of the best Cajun restaurants in the world.

I wish I would have photographed what her momma made for us for dinner that night... seafood gumbo, potato salad with shrimp (!!!), and a three layer yellow cake with praline filling and chocolate frosting! The BEST potato salad I have ever had in my life. I wonder if she'll give me the recipe. It was all so wonderful..... Oh, sorry. I started daydreaming about it.

We spent most of Saturday in New Orleans. We started off at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait.

I was just a tad bit excited.

This is Brigitte's happy face. Really, really happy!!!

We went into the Old Opera House to hear some great jazz!

Lunch at Breannan's...

By this point I was starting to look a little worse for wear. It was HOT and HUMID!

A New Orleans French Quarter classic... Bourbon Street.

All in all, I really like New Orleans. I don't think I would go to Mardi Gras... ever, but I really liked the city. Great food! Two thumbs up! Yeah for road trips with great girlfriends! Thank you Brigitte for taking me with you and showing me such a great time!

Random Goodness

2010-06-24T08:22:00.004-05:00

I am no green thumb. Not at all. Fortunately, Kevin can grow things pretty well. This year he planted a small garden of tomatoes, green onions, jalapenos, and corn. We have enjoyed quite a few tomatoes and green onions already. Can you say SALSA?!! And last week we finally picked the first ear of corn. Here it is in all it's glory...

And just for kicks, here is a picture of my pre-baked mountain high crunchy caramel apple pie...

Foodies

2010-06-02T08:07:00.009-05:00

I am thankful to have friends who appreciate gastronomy (the art of good eating) as much as I do. In fact, they are willing to spend hours upon hours creating a wonderfully tasty dish. The end result is of course the best part, but the learning and creating are also quite enjoyable.

Tish and I made beef bourguignon several months ago when I was in town visiting. The flavor is always so incredible!

And Brigitte and I made a chocolate Pavlova with whipped cream and raspberries a few weeks ago. Divine!

Last Saturday I chose a challenging recipe out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Brigitte and I to tackle together. It was actually two different recipes. First you had to roast a chicken - French style. We trussed the chicken, which was a new experience for both of us, and roasted it in the oven for several hours while basting it every 10 minutes. Of course it produces the most gorgeous bird you ever did see. Then we carved the chicken, poured cognac over it, and lit it on fire. Sorry for the blurry pic, but it is an action shot of Brigitte shaking the fiery pan of chicken.

The chicken is then steeped in a port wine sauce with mushrooms and cream. Melt in your mouth goodness!

Anniversary Weekend

2010-05-07T15:48:00.007-05:00

Kevin and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on May 6th! I can't believe it has really been that many years. So the Friday before our anniversary I flew into Houston where he was working, and he picked me up and we drove down to Galveston for the weekend. We stayed at the San Luis Resort, which was amazing! We had a very nice view of the Gulf and a balcony. Now, we would not normally stay at a expensive place like this, but I recently received a free 2-night stay that I won at a conference. What a blessing!

This was the view from our balcony. They were having a wedding on the lawn that Saturday afternoon.

The plaque beside Kevin's hand indicates the water line from Hurricane Ike back in 2008.

Here we are in the lobby of the resort. We had such a great time!

Babysitting

2010-05-04T08:53:00.004-05:00

I headed towards East Texas a few weeks ago to visit friends and family during a long weekend. And I had the opportunity to babysit my niece for a few hours while my brother and sister-in-law went out. We had a great time!

Sock Artist

2010-04-12T15:34:00.004-05:00

I am part of a knitting group at work. Yep, I have fellow knitters at my work in my department. We are a group of four knitters and a crocheter. We knit together every Wednesday on our lunch break and have for the past 3 years. Well, our dear knitting guru is retiring this summer. She's been knitting for around 45 years or so, and she is so knowledgeable. Since she's leaving, she decided to give us going away presents. Um, I think that's supposed to be the other way around. And she's not leaving until July. Anyway, she got me this awesome t-shirt!

I am almost always working on a pair of socks, so they have labeled me the "official sock knitter" of the group. I love my new shirt!

Family Book

2010-03-26T10:12:00.004-05:00

I have been working hard lately on our family book to give to our caseworker. A family book is a photo album/scrapbook of sorts that has pictures of us, our family, and pretty much any photo that tells more about us and what we like to do. Our caseworker will hold on to the book until we are selected for a sibling group. Then our caseworker will give it to the caseworker of the kiddos to look at and use during the selection hearing. When and if we are chosen, the kids will then get the book to have and look at before they come to our home, and then they will bring it with them. I really had a lot of fun making it. And I left some empty pages at the back so we can fill those up with photos of our kiddos when we get them. :)

On another note, summer is slowly coming upon us. The weather forecast is predicting the low 80's for next week. Yikes! I really am not fond of hot weather. I would be perfectly happy if the temperature never raised above 85 degrees. Anyway, I have been in need of a change for quite some time. My hair has been long for the past 4 years! Granted it has been several different colors in those 4 years, but it has been quite some time since I have had a drastic haircut and I am long overdue for one. So this is what I did yesterday:

That is 11 inches of hair I am holding! And actually she probably cut off another inch or two after that. I was going to donate the hair to Locks of Love because I thought I met all the requirements. Your hair has to be over 10 inches and it has to be healthy. Mine was both. The only issue is that I have had my hair highlighted. Locks of Love will accept hair that has been colored, but not bleached. It has something to do with the bleach chemicals and the process they use to make the hair into wigs. Bummer! But there is another non-profit that will accept highlighted hair... http://www.childrenwithhairloss.us/. They help all children who have medically-related hair loss. It's a great cause and the minimum is only 8 inches, so anyone else in?

Podcasts and Pumpernickel

2010-02-25T08:13:00.007-06:00

I don't know how many of you out there are podcast listeners, but I just can't get enough of them. In fact, I have quite a few in my queue. I just won't say how many. But I do have a few favorites that I never miss an "episode" of that get regular rotation on my iPod. Here are my five favorites in no random order:

Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase - Betty is a flight attendant for a major airline. She tells funny travel/airline stories and interviews airline crew members from all over to hear their funny stories. Most episodes have a theme. And you don't have to be in the travel industry to enjoy it. Funny stuff! She has around one episode a month, so it's not a big time commitment.

Desiring God Sermon Audio - I am a big John Piper fan. This is his weekly sermon broadcast from Bethlehem Baptist Church. It is great preaching every single week. And you will be blessed and challenged every single time you listen.

Amateur Traveler Podcast - If you love to travel or hear about the best places to travel, this is the podcast for you. Chris picks a different destination every week from somewhere in the world. He interviews experts from that region regarding the best places to eat and stay and the best attractions to visit. I find it entertaining and informative.

Gardenfork - This is a video blog about gardening, cooking, minor home repairs, and other stuff. Most episodes are under 10 minutes long and it a lot of fun to watch. Eric does more cooking than gardening. The cooking appeals to me more anyway, but the gardening episodes I have seen have been very interesting and helpful to me. This is definitely a keeper.

ThreadBanger - D.I.Y. Fashion and Style - This is a crafty rockin' video podcast! Some of the things are a little out there for me, but this podcast will definitely get your creative juices flowing. Lots of great ideas and amazing work from some really creative people out there. The episodes last anywhere from 3 minutes to 10. If you are crafty, this is the podcast for you.

So go to iTunes and give some of these a try.

A great book I received for Christmas was Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking. It sounded a little too good to be true, but boy was I wrong. You can actually have a great loaf of artisan bread without kneading and making a big mess. It's amazing! So far I've made a baguette and quite a few calzones with a basic bread dough. Last weekend though I thought I would try my hand at pumpernickel. I mean, who doesn't like a good pumpernickel? And what a fun word to say! Here is my first loaf of pumpernickel.

I am not very good at taking food pictures, but I was just so darn proud of my loaf that I had to post it for all to see. And it was tasty folks. Yes indeed. My friend Veronica can vouch for that.

The great thing about these recipes is that you mix everything up in the bowl you are going to store the dough in. Yep, just throw all the ingredients in and give it a good mix, let it rise on the counter for around 2 hours (enough to rise and fall), then put it in the fridge for up to two weeks. Whenever you need some, just tear off a chunk, let it rise for a little while and bake. I'm going to sprinkle dates and walnuts into the last of my pumpernickel dough for a desert like bread. I got three loaves out of that dough. Kneadless to say, I am very happy. Kneadless... Get it? :)

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-18T10:54:00.004-06:00

I was hoping for one more good snow before winter left us. Well, we got it, and it was record breaking. Man, it was so pretty!

The snow was not good to our poor trees though. We had a ton of down limbs. Kevin knocked snow off on Thursday till his poor arms were ready to give out, but it didn't help. This is the front of our house.

On the knitting front, I have been in slouchy hat mode.

I recently finished a baby blanket and shipped it off to our good friends in Scotland who just had a baby girl. Since they did not know the babies sex until the birth, I chose a light green color.

A New Year - A New Blog

2010-01-15T15:41:00.015-06:00

Sorry for the blog change, but I decided it was time for out with the old and in with the new. As most of you know, our lives will be changing dramatically this year. We want to keep our friends and family better updated regarding our adoption process. Also, it just can't be my blog without some cooking shenanigans and knitting accomplishments. Now I will give a short recap of the past couple of months:

Adoption:

We last submitted our home study in December for a sibling group of 4 kiddos - two boys, two girls, ages infant to nine. We are still waiting to hear back. There are so many factors they look at when deciding on potential parents. It's a tough wait for us, but they are looking at the best fit for everyone involved, so knowing that makes it a little easier. For instance, they may want to keep the kids in the area they are already in if they have siblings in another home that they need to stay in contact with. Or they may want to get them away from the area they are in because of their situation before they were placed in foster care.

My caseworker's email address sets off an automatic trigger of emotion in me. When her bolded email address pops up on my aol account, my heart starts racing.

Cooking:

I received Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas and I was beyond ecstatic! I made her famous beef bourguignon a couple of weeks ago for dinner. For those who have seen the movie Julie and Julia they will remember the familiar scene where Julie falls asleep and forgets about the beef bourguignon in the oven and burns it. Well, I did not burn it, but I did spend 3 1/2 hours of my life preparing and cooking it. It was worth it though! Delicious!

Knitting:

In these past 6 months I have knit a ton. I don't have a lot of pictures as proof, but I have knit. I really really have! Here are a few things:

I knit this sweater for my adorable niece Macy. I don't have a very good picture of her in it, so when I get a better one I will post it.

And here she is sleeping with the turtle I made her for Christmas. Thank you Kim for getting this great shot for me! I darn near teared up when I saw it.

I'm going to take some more pictures this weekend and post next week.

Legally Blonde

2009-08-20T15:19:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago my friend Veronica and I went to see Legally Blonde the musical at Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth. She bought us both tickets for my birthday/Christmas/Admin's Day. I was so psyched! I love the movie, so I knew that I would love the musical too. Great music and great dancing! We had a blast!

Here we are standing outside on the balcony waiting for it to begin. I wanted to wear pink, but I don't own a pink dress. Gasp! I really am a fan though. We did see quite a few girls/ladies wearing pink which is Elle's signature color. It really was a great girly evening!

Now That's What I Call Breakfast!

2009-08-07T13:43:00.000-05:00

My friend and co-worker subscribes to The FOOD Network magazine. Great magazine! It is loaded with tons and tons of recipes. Definitely not like some magazines that are mainly full of ads.

Well, I was skimming through her June/July 2009 issue and found an amazing recipe. I sometimes like bizarre recipes; things you would not normally think to pair together. One of my favorite sandwiches that I eat from time to time is PB, banana, honey, and bacon. Love it! People think I'm weird, but honestly, the salty bacon pairs so nicely with the sweetness of the PB and honey. So when I saw this recipe, I just had to make it.

I introduce to you the maple French toast and bacon cupcake:

Seriously people; this is the bomb! The creator of the recipe was trying to recreate her love of french toast and bacon smothered in maple syrup. I think she hit the nail on the head! You can't tell from the picture, but there is also bacon in the cupcake batter itself. And believe me, you will want it in there! These babies are RICH!!! The salty bacon really helps to even things out. I brought these into work and they were a hit. They completely finished the entire dozen off!

2009-07-21T15:12:00.000-05:00

I have been knitting, but my latest project was a sweater and that does take some time. So here it is:

This is my "I'm so glad it's 90+ degrees and I am taking photos in a 100% wool sweater" smile. I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this one as soon as winter hits.

Since I was already sweating, why not put on some wool socks too.

I finished these two months ago, but kept on putting off taking my picture out in the heat. So much for that.

(Photography by Kevin)

And since my niece is now almost 6 months old, she was due for another knitted item from her aunt.

I didn't realize at the time that the flower on her dress was going to come out that big. I debated sewing it to the top, but I really thought it needed some color. And the massive flower on her head was not my doing. Macy can thank Mimi for that one. She looks adorable in anything though. My dad was a little disturbed that she was wearing a halter. Baby's can wear halters and it's okay, right?

Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

2009-07-09T08:17:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

Most people who know me well know that one of my favorite movies of all time is The Sound of Music. Love Julie Andrews, love the music, love it! Well, I just have to share this video that my sister-in-law Lisa sent to me from YouTube. Even if you aren't fond of the movie or the song, watch it all the way through. You won't be dissapointed!

Here's a little info on it:

This video was made in the Antwerp , Belgium Central (Train) Station on the 23rd of March 2009.
With no warning to the passengers passing through the station,
at 08:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system.”
As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances. They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals!

Jaalla's Wedding Weekend

2009-06-24T15:14:00.000-05:00

The day of Jaalla and Jason's wedding finally arrived! It was an exciting weekend and somewhat nerve racking. As the Matron of Honor I was scheduled to make a toast at the reception, but all went well.

Here are Jaalla and Jason at the rehearsal on Friday night.

And here we are after an awesome meal at the rehearsal dinner.

This is the White Oak High School crew at the wedding reception.

And here is Kevin looking mighty fine in his suit and blowing bubbles while waiting for the bride and grooms departure.

Congratulations Jaalla and Jason!!!

Family and Friends

2009-06-08T08:57:00.000-05:00

We spent this past weekend in East Texas. First we went to Carthage for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party. There were so many people ther and some great food. It was great to see most of my family again and visit and east some "grocery's" as my Poppa calls it.

I love my grandparents. We lived next door to them for many years that I was growing up. My Poppa loves to talk about the bible and the Lord and work out in the yard. Nanni is an artist and paints the most beautiful oil paintings. We used to do all kinds of crafty stuff together when I was young. They are truly a blessing to me, and I am very blessed to have them in my life and so close to me through all these years.

My brother Joey came with us and my sweet niece Macy. I spent a lot of time hogging her and taking pictures. In fact I ran down my batteries before I could take pictures of anyone else. Here are a few of my favorites.

Here's Macy with Uncle Kevin.

Aunt Jenn and Macy. I think I might start going by Aunt JJ. J's are usually hard for children to pronounce anyway and I was trying to think of something cute.

And Macy loves her Papaw.

After the party we drove to Tyler to spend the rest of the weekend with Tish and Shane. We had a great time! We had dinner at Bruno's Pizza. A Tyler favorite. Sunday we went to church with them and afterwards to Jucy's Hamburgers! The best hamburger I've ever had, and yes, it is better than Kincaid's. It's close, but Juicy's is the clear winner. This is something I definitely miss from Tyler and Longview.

I know. I look crazy in this picture, but it was so stinkin' good!

The picture is kind of dark, but here's Tish and Shane enjoying their Jucy's burgers. Good times.

Party

2009-05-29T08:36:00.000-05:00

Jaalla is getting married June 20th, so we decided to give her a lingerie shower. It was a great way to get some of Jaa's closest friends together for food and fun.

First we went to The Cheesecake Factory. Yuummmmm!!!

Here's Kristin, Jaalla, and Lindsay.

Next we went back to my place for cake, punch, and presents!

The cake that Kristin brought was awesome! It looked and tasted fabulous. And no, there is no alcohol in my famous punch recipe. (Just wanted everyone to be aware of that before they see the next few pictures).

After Jaa opened her presents, we started taking pictures. This went on for quite some time, but we were having a blast.

This is my favorite picture! Kevin came home just in the nick of time to get some good group shots for us. Here we all are jumping off of the fireplace. Jaalla seemed to get a head start in every picture. She looks like she has had some major collagen injections in those lips!

It was a great evening! I hadn't seen Kristin since my wedding nine years ago and I hadn't seen Lindsay since I graduated high school! It's amazing how time flies.

Squirrelly Knitting

2009-04-01T14:44:00.000-05:00

Well I do have some recently completed projects. The moment I saw a pattern for these mittens, I fell in love with them. They are the Squirrelly Swedish Mittens by Elliphantom Knits. Here is my version.

I think they are super cute with the little trees and squirrels on them.

And here is yet another pair of socks. These are from the book Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.

I actually used the same pattern and made my mom a pair of these in brown for Christmas, but I of course forgot to take a picture before I gifted them.

Sweater Weather

2009-03-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

Well, not really anymore. Last week was definitely sweater weather though. I finished this sweater over a month ago, so I did get to enjoy it for a while. I LOVE this sweater! It was knit in 100% wool and is extremely warm. I got the free pattern from Knitty.com. I could have knit it one size smaller, but that's okay. I plan to make another one eventually. And Tish loved it so much that she is going to make one too!

Girly Weekend

2009-03-04T16:12:00.000-06:00

I went to see Tish a couple of weekends ago and spent several days. We had a great time, but unfortunately did not take a lot of pictures.

We went to her book club and it was so much fun! I even read the book, Summer at Tiffany. Really cute book and a quick read. Then we went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was a good clean movie which was very refreshing.

Friday we went to KVNE to see our former boss and morning announcer. We had a great time visiting and reminiscing.

Saturday we went to see my sweet niece Macy. Tish's sis came with us and we all took turns holding her and taking pics.

I hope to post some pictures of finished knitting projects next week so check back soon...

I love to ride my bicycle...

2009-02-11T15:16:00.000-06:00

I keep meaning to post pics of my awesome Christmas present. Check it out.

My in-laws got me this bike for Christmas and I love it. It just screams JENNIFER! I practiced riding it in the driveway the other day and I'm sure my neighbors were laughing at me. Let's just say that it has been many many years since I rode a bike. Many years. I looked wobbly and couldn't seem to stay on very well. Kevin adjusted the seat and that seemed to help some. I probably should buy a helmet in case I fall off.

Macy

2009-02-02T15:43:00.000-06:00

Well, my new niece made her arrival at 2:33 a.m. on February 1st. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 in. long. Gorgeous baby! She and her mom are both doing great. I am so excited for my brother and sister-in-law. Our family is so blessed to have this new addition.

This was about 20 min. after she was born. She was not happy.

This was taken around 1:00 p.m. that day. The hospital even put a cute pink bow on her head.

Here's Uncle Kevin holding his niece.

Knitting Update

2009-01-29T15:41:00.000-06:00

Let me tell you, I did some major Christmas knitting this year. I made four pairs of socks and two baby hats. I also finished a baby blanket for my brother and sister-in-laws shower that was a couple of weeks ago. I was a knitting fool! Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures of all of the gifts before I gifted them. I have no idea how I manage to do that so often, but it makes me very frustrated with myself. So here are a few of the things I did take pictures of before I gave them as gifts.

These socks I made for my mother-in-law. I loved all the colors in that were in the yarn.

And this is a newborn size hat that I made for my new niece.

And I totally forgot to take a picture of the blanket I made for the baby shower, so here is a picture of half the blanket at least. My friend Veronica took this picture and it cracks me up every time. My brother is on the left and my sister-in-law on the right. My head is sticking out in the middle. I embroidered the name "MACY" at the bottom of the blanket and that is what we are looking at.

So that is it. At least it is some proof that I am a knitting maniac.

Next week you will see pictures of me holding my new little niece...

What I'm Reading

2008-12-18T15:38:00.000-06:00

I love biographies, but this is not quite a true biography. I am reading Mary by Janis Cooke Newman. It is a novel about Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of Abraham Lincoln. There are real notes in the book that are taken from her time in the insane asylum. The rest is a novel written in first person about the whole of Mary Todd Lincoln's life. This is a real page turner.

Catching Up

2008-12-18T14:53:00.000-06:00

Well, it's the busy holiday season, so of course I am behind on my posting.

To start off, Jaalla and I went to see the Nutcracker back at the beginning of the month. It's our annual tradition, and we had a great time as usual.

Last weekend, we had a girl's night at my house. Sadly, Sheri is moving back to Mississippi and leaving us. We are going to miss her so much! Anyway, we had to have a girly and fun evening to remind her what she'll be missing.

We baked, decorated, and ate Christmas cookies. Then we did a Chinese gift exchange, or "Dirty Santa" as the Mississippi girls called. That just doesn't sound right to me. Then we played Linkity. Fun game! Then we spent lots of time taking pics in front of the tree.

We'll still keep the girl's nights going but it just won't be the same without Sheri.

Girl's Weekend

2008-11-20T16:12:00.000-06:00

My friend Tish came to spend the weekend with me two weekends ago (I know, sorry I am trying to catch up). We had a blast! We shopped, went out to eat, watched movies, and knitted. And look what she made me!

Matching "Knit Chick" shirts! We wore them on Saturday when we went out shopping.

Reading and Knitting

2008-11-06T11:40:00.000-06:00

I took Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen with me on the trip. I thought it appropriate for the area where we were traveling. Unfortunately, I didn't do a lot of reading while on the trip, but am finishing it up now. I have read it before and really don't mind reading it again since it is such a wonderful book.

I also finished quite a bit of knitting before we left. I made socks for Jason, Erin, and Andrew as a thank you for letting us stay with them while we were there.

Here's Andrew's socks because baby socks are just so gosh darn cute.

United Kingdom Vacation - Part 3

2008-11-06T08:18:00.000-06:00

While we were still in Scotland, we took a 3 hour bus trip down to Edinburgh from Aberdeen and spent two nights there in a B&B. Edinburgh was great! There was so much history and things to see.

We spent a large part of one of our days at Edinburgh Castle. It is home of the Scottish crown jewels. This is a picture of the outside at night.

There is a chapel inside that was built on the summit of the castle rock in the early 12th century for Queen Margaret. It is the oldest building in Edinburgh Castle. Kevin wanted to shoot the cannon really bad.

The second day we did a tour of Mary King's Close. It was a tour of abandoned houses and walkways underneath the city that have been abandoned, some since the plague hit in the 17th century. It was extremely interesting. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us take pictures, but if you want to know more about it, you can click on the link.

I absolutely had to have a picture in one of their red phone booths. In the background is St. Giles Cathedral. John Knox was the minister there in the 16th century.

In fact, he is buried under this very parking space.

This is the most awesome place we ate at in Edinburgh. They made Scottish hog roast rolls and they were so delicious! They pulled the meat off the pig that is sitting in the window of the shop.

Anyway, it was a great time and we thoroughly enjoyed our entire trip.

United Kingdom Vacation - Part 2

2008-11-04T13:42:00.000-06:00

We left London on a Saturday and flew to Aberdeen, Scotland. Our friend's Jason and Erin live there with their sweet little six month old son Andrew. We were so excited to see them and spend time with them.

Here's Kevin making Andrew laugh, or is it the other way around. He is such a cutey! Our friend's were great hosts and fed us very well with great Scottish food. Needless to say, we did not go hungry.

They took us to two castles while we were there. The first was Dunnottar Castle which was very near to Aberdeen. Dunnottar is the castle that William Wallace (Braveheart) famously took in 1297. The views were breathtaking!

The other castle they took us to was Crathes Castle. We actually went inside this castle and saw all the beautiful rooms. We weren't aloud to take pictures inside though.

And the foliage was just beautiful all around the castle. Erin spotted this tree, and we just had to take lots of pictures under it.

We had such a wonderful time in Scotland. The weather was wonderful the entire time we were there. it was quite a bit colder than we were used to, but it was great.

Next we travel to Edinburgh...

United Kingdom Vacation - Part 1

2008-10-24T14:14:00.000-05:00

Okay, things have finally settled enough for me to blog about the trip. I will be breaking this up into parts because this was an 11 day trip, so there is lots to share.

We started off with two full days in London. We hit the ground running at 8:30 a.m. when we got off the plane. The first sight we saw was the iconic Big Ben and Parliament. Then we went on to Westminster Abbey and spent several hours inside. There are 3,300 bodies buried inside.

That evening we enjoyed fish and chips at The Sherlock Holmes pub and afterwards went to see a play called The Woman in Black. Kevin had seen it in the same theatre his senior year in high school and remembered it being pretty scary. He was right. It was good and scary!

The next day we went for a walk in Hyde Park which is the equivalent of Central Park in New York City. It was beautiful! There were people riding their horses and the leaves were changing color. I probably broke the law or something, but I got to feed a squirrel out of the palm of my hand.

For lunch we ate at the Square Pie Company. It was delicious!! That afternoon we spent several hours at the British Museum. It was amazing. Kevin was devastated because the entire lower floor was closed and it housed ancient Greece and Rome. Regardless, we were totally wiped out when we left. We saw the Rosetta Stone, some amazingly preserved mummies, and gorgeous statues.

That evening we ate at The Jugged Hare pub and enjoyed a variety platter of interesting items. Our favorite was the devils on horseback. From what I could determine, it is a prune that has been reconstituted and wrapped in bacon and baked. I know it sounds disgusting, but it was actually quite good.

That pretty much ended our time in London. We regretfully did not have time to go to the Tower of London. I REALLY wanted to see the crown jewels. Hopefully there will be another trip in the future and we can go see more. We agreed that we both love London.

Next week I will begin Part 2 which takes us into Scotland...

Farewell

2008-10-07T08:35:00.000-05:00

Kevin and I leave tomorrow for a trip to London for a few days and on to Aberdeen and Edinburgh Scotland for a week. It will be the first vacation we have taken in a few years and I can't even tell you how much we are looking forward to it! I will post pics when we return.

What I'm Reading

2008-09-30T14:52:00.000-05:00

This is book number 7 in the series. Still enjoying them thouroughly.

I am also reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. I started this book in high school but never finished it. I am almost half way through it and it is a great and interesting read.

Auntie Jenn

2008-09-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

I am going to be an Aunt! I am so excited! My brother Joey and his wife Kim are due in February. And they just found out last week that it is going to be a girl! I absolutely cannot wait. I have already knitted two things for her, but I can't post pictures here until I have given them to her parents.

On another note, I had the best Wal-Mart shopping experience of my life last Saturday. I HATE going to Wal-Mart, but I feel I do not have a choice. I love the fact that you can get everything you need there, from pantyhose to shower curtains to food, they have it all. And no, I do not like to shop at Super Target because I do not feel they have the same variety of choices as Wal-Mart does. I go every other Saturday, meaning I plan for two weeks worth of meals. I do this so I do not have to go more than twice a month. Anyway, we tried another Wal-Mart on Saturday. It is approximately the same distance from our house as the Wal-Mart we had been shopping at; I just didn't realize it was there. I go to Wal-Mart early on Saturday morning. I usually go between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. I like to beat the crowds. I still have to deal with very long lines because they only have two checkers open in the entire store, and unfriendly checkers who have no idea how to sack groceries. Please do not put my raw chicken in with my grapes! Anyway, we went to the new Wal-Mart and the the layout was better than the other one, the lines were almost non-existent since they had several checkers open, and we had the friendliest checker who KNEW how to sack groceries correctly! It was fabulous. I left Wal-Mart smiling which is a rare occurrence.

On the knitting front, I have been busy. I have finished a Christmas present which I cannot post pictures of, and I have finished a few baby things as noted above. Here are some pictures of things I have finished for myself.

Here is a hat I finished about a month ago. The yarn is wool and alpaca and is so incredibly soft.

These are socks I also finished a month ago. They are so thick and warm! I can't wait for the weather to get cooler.

Craftiness

2008-09-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

I was productive last weekend and made curtains for our guest bedroom and connecting guest bathroom.

They are sheer to let the light in. The fixture on the new ceiling fan is pretty dark.

I hope to get some major knitting accomplished this weekend when Ike blows in. I do not intend to leave the house on Saturday.

Yikes!

2008-08-27T15:27:00.000-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Life has been busy. Let me fill you in.

Back at the beginning of the month my friends Sheri and Gwen and I gave our friend Mayeli a baby shower.

Sheri made an adorable diaper cake and we had fondue for desert. Good times!

Here's the little one. Mayeli had him less than two weeks after the shower.

A couple of weekends ago we went to San Antonio on a short mission trip. One of Kevin's co-workers used to work at a church in the inner-city of San Antonio. The full-time missionaries that are located there hand out free donated backpacks every year to the kids who need them. We went down to help. We also handed out many other things that were donated. Here's a pic of us setting up the donations before the kids and their families came through. Kevin is in the far back of the picture.

I think over 1,400 backpacks were given out. It was a lot of fun. Here's a pic of Kevin eating some really good Mexican food in San Antonio. That was one humongous breakfast burrito!

My birthday was last week and it was great! Here is a picture of my birthday cake that Kevin had his co-worker make for me. Don't be deceived by the size of the picture. It is actually a HUGE cupcake! It was very tasty.

Finished Knitting

2008-07-17T11:11:00.000-05:00

I actually have finished something. Actually a couple of somethings. I was just waiting on some photography help from Tish.

First, here are my newest pair of multi-color socks.

And this is my completed sweater. The pattern is actually from the book Stitch 'N #itch: The Knitter's Handbook and the pattern "Peppermint Twist" is by Becky Delgado. I didn't use any of the multi-color stripes like she did. I just loved the basic sweater pattern. It turned out to be a great fit! I am pleased.

Weekend Fun

2008-07-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

I drove to Tyler last weekend to see Tish and attend a wedding. I also got the opportunity to have dinner with my brother and his wife. It was a great weekend!

We dolled ourselves up all Saturday afternoon to attend the wedding.

We had to hop on to the getaway vehicle and have our picture taken.

I love weddings!

What I am reading...

2008-07-08T14:51:00.000-05:00

The Boys: The Story of 732 Young Concentration Camp Survivors by Martin Gilbert is the testimonies of youth who survived the holocaust. Each chapter moves through their lives starting with before the war, moving into the ghettos, the work camps, and all the way to where they are today.

The second book I am reading is My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prude'Homme. Excellent book if you love food, Julia Child, and dream of France. This book makes me smile a lot.

Scooter

2008-06-24T10:21:00.000-05:00

We welcomed home a new family member over the weekend. Say hi to Scooter.

Scooter is part Catahoula and we're not quite sure what the other part is. He's around 9 months old, so he is a BIG puppy. He's a sweetheart. He loves everybody. We had to leave him on Sunday for 3 1/2 hours to go to church and he did fine. Nothing was torn up in the house. Normally Kevin will be taking him to work everyday with him, but yesterday Kevin had training, so we had to leave him at the house for 9 hours. This is what I came home to.

Yes, that is my yarn. I keep that yarn basket over by the couch. It actually was latched closed, but he didn't care. I had two finished pairs of socks in there and two finished sleeves from a sweater I have been working on for several months (knit on size 2 needles so it is taking me forever). Thankfully he did not tear up any of my knitting! He tangled all the balls of yarn really good though. It took me two hours last night to get it all untangled. He ripped up my new bible study book on David by Beth Moore. It was a really nice hardback too. He tore the cover off my bible and shredded it, but he didn't tear a single page of the bible. Thank the Lord! We really did know better than to leave a puppy alone for that amount of time, but we really didn't have another alternative than to leave him outside and we don't know if he is a digger yet (we have some pretty big holes under our fence already). Anyway, lesson learned. I think we will be going shopping soon for some REALLY big bones for him to chew on if we have to be gone longer than a few hours.

Here's another cute picture of him trying to get a stick through the door.

2008-06-13T10:50:00.000-05:00

The other day I was pulling out of my driveway to leave for work and what did I see?

A duck in our front yard! There is a golf course with a pond up the road from our house. I guess he decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. The very next day I saw this little guy on our deck.

I am a fan of amphibians, and I really wanted to hold him. But the last several times I have picked up a toad he decided to wet my hand. I remember my dad used to tell me that I could get warts from them doing that. I learned pretty quickly that that wasn't true. I just never could resist picking them up.

The Big Move

2008-05-30T14:50:00.000-05:00

FINALLY, we have moved! This is what we were doing two weekends ago:

We, with the help of great friends, moved the entire rest of the house into the home we've been waiting to occupy since last October. I enjoy unpacking for the reason that I get to organize everything and put it where it needs to go. This is what we did last weekend:

We cleaned the other house to get it ready for our new tenant. Yes, we are now "Slum Lords" as Kevin would say. It truly was an answer to prayer after the house was not selling in this terrible market. We are very excited and feel really good about the whole thing.

Tish came by the other day and brought me a house warming gift.

Isn't it great!!! She did a great job! We hung it up in our foyer right before you enter the living room.

Right now we are trying to get accustomed to more space. Sometimes I lose Kevin in the house; whereas before we could each be at one end of the house and still talk to each other.

Another Pair

2008-05-16T08:01:00.000-05:00

These are socks I made from Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave. I love the camo colors of this yarn. It stinks though that I have many many months before I can actually wear them.

2008-05-05T08:01:00.000-05:00

We went to another Ranger's game last week. Free tickets and dollar hot dog night! Yeah! This is what I worked on during the game to keep my mind off how cold I was. It was pretty chilly after the sun went down.

Socks are great knitting for sporting events. Oh, and the Ranger's won.

This past weekend we went to The Dump in Dallas. Great resale furniture store! For the most part, it was really nice furniture. Of course we did not buy anything, but we did spend a while looking at their vast selection of rugs.

Here is Kevin modeling our favorite rug. It was a little over $2000, which really wasn't bad for the size and quality. It's a little big. Don't think we could fit it in our house, but it sure was beautiful.

What I'm Reading

2008-04-24T16:25:00.000-05:00

Right now I am reading a series by Brodie and Brock Thoene. It is historical Christian fiction. I actually read the series several years ago, but it was so great that I decided to buy all the books and read them again. The series is the Zion Covenant. I am on book six, Warsaw Requiem.

The books are set during World War II in Europe. I have 3 books in the series to go before I am done, and I just can't get enough of them. I have also ready the series the Zion Chronicles which is also by these authors and ties into the other series. Great authors!

Now We're Cookin'

2008-04-24T16:20:00.000-05:00

Kevin had a guy at work make us this smoker. I think he did a great job! I think Kevin's ready to cook some brisket and ribs.

Baby Blanket

2008-04-23T08:02:00.000-05:00

I can now post pics of a secret project that I was working on. Our friends in Scotland, Jason and Erin, finally had their baby several weeks ago. This is what I sent little Andrew.

It might be a little difficult to see because of the color of the blanket, but that is an "M" in the middle. They did not know if they were having a boy or a girl, so I did not have a first name initial to go by. The "M" is for the first letter of their last name.

2008-04-18T16:18:00.000-05:00

We were working at the new house last weekend. I was raking and Kevin was spraying pesticide around the house to keep the bugs out this spring. As he was spraying, he discovered this:

Strawberries! We can't eat these strawberries though. Kevin had already sprayed them with pesticide before he discovered them. I can live with that though. He surprised me the other day by growing some watermelon plants. This is especially nice because he does not eat watermelon. We also expect some tomatoes this summer.

Vacuum

2008-04-02T16:14:00.000-05:00

I was vacuuming the house the other day and my vacuum cleaner began to smoke. Not a good sign. The motor had burned up. I bought this vacuum almost 8 years ago at Service Merchandise on sale for $69. Needless to say, it had lived its life. The next day I read an endless amount of reviews of vacuum cleaners and discovered one that outshown most of the rest in its price range.

It's the Bissell 5770 Healthy Home Bagless. It's half the price of a Dyson and many reviews said that it worked just as well. Sears was having a sale, so we bought it. I love this vacuum!

My New Pet

2008-03-21T08:08:00.000-05:00

Just kidding. Kevin found him in the backyard. He finds them from time to time and catches them for me. I hold them for a little while, then let them go in the front yard. I love the feel of their skin. He had his tongue out quite a bit, but I couldn't manage to get a picture. He had quite a grip on my fingers. It's hard to believe they are that strong.

Catching Up

2008-03-18T07:37:00.000-05:00

Three weekends ago I took some time off work to do some visiting. I drove to East Texas to first visit Tish. We knitted in public and received quite a bit of feedback from the customers in Starbucks. Here is Tish knitting her first hat!

We ate great food, and had a wonderful time. Next I drove the almost 2 1/2 hours (still in E. Texas) to visit my parents. On the way through Mount Pleasant, I had to take a picture of the gigantic Bo Pilgrim bust.

We had a family get-together on Saturday at my grandparent's house. It is uncanny how much my grandfather and dad now look alike.

I had a restful time and accomplished quite a bit of knitting (super secret project to be revealed later). We also watched Dead Silence. Pretty good for a horror flick about dolls.

Veronica and I went that following week to a conference/meeting at the Dallas Arboretum. These are the pictures we sent to our bosses to thank them for letting us go to the conference.

They got a kick out of it! This was actually taken during a break that we had. It was such a beautiful day!

Long Overdue

2008-02-19T07:56:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay between posts. We've been busy. Here is proof.

This is the hall bathroom that had a very interesting giraffe wallpaper on it before we ripped it all down. It will now be painted a very light brown/coffee color. That was the last of the wallpaper ripping for now. My fingernails are practically screaming for a manicure which I will indulge in next week.

In knitting news, I finished these socks about a month ago but hadn't had time to take pictures. These are my favorite so far that I have worked. The pattern was called Tyrolean Socks. I definitely think I will make more of these but in different colors.

More Friends

2008-01-07T13:38:00.000-06:00

We finally were able to see our other friends and neighbors from seminary last week when they came through DFW on a layover back to Scotland. Jason and Erin were the other couple I spoke of a few posts back. They moved to Scotland over a year and a half ago so Jason could do his PhD work. Erin and I used to go walking together every week. She is now pregnant with their first child! She is such a cute pregnant lady.

I meant to get a picture with the two of them, but forgot.

Changing the subject, I have to say that ABC News is way off. They posted this picture today:

The caption reads: "Romo and Simpson's sunny getaway." That is not Tony Romo. Whoever posted that picture must not watch entertainment news. It looks absolutely nothing like him, and any Cowboys fan will see that.

Completed

2008-01-03T08:25:00.000-06:00

Actually, I completed this bag over a month ago, but I was lazy and did not take pictures until now. This is the Farmer's Market Bag from Weekend Knitting. This bag definitely took me longer than a weekend to knit! Here is the bag before felting:

Then came the hard part. I tossed my 100% wool bag that I had worked on for hours upon hours into a washing machine full of hot, hot water. The result:

The bag didn't shrink quite as much as I thougt it would, but I love it. It it now very sturdy since all the fibers meshed together. It will be a great bag to use on trips. It was my first fair isle and my first felting project and I am quite proud of the results.

The next completed object is a lap blanket made with 100% wool that I bought on clearance at Tuesday Morning (LOVE that store)! You can buy this particular yarn in yarn stores for $10, but I got it on clearance for $1.75 a skein! Yeah!!! Part of the pattern was taken from a book. It was originally a poncho pattern, but I converted it into a lap blanket. It holds in heat well and is very warm.

Kevin and I are still painting and scraping wallpaper in the new house. This particular wallpaper was discovered when we removed a large mirror from the wall in the bathroom. Definitely original wallpaper from the 70's.

Groovy!

Friends

2007-12-21T07:49:00.000-06:00

While Kevin was attending seminary several years ago, we lived in a triplex with two other couples. We all moved in within a week of each other. Three and a half years later we moved out and eventually the others moved out also. Over those years we established a great friendship with those neighbors that we hope to continue for many years to come. Mike and Michelle are one of those couples. They moved to Rhode Island when they left seminary and we haven't seen them in over a year. They came down for graduation last weekend and we were able to spend some time with them.

When we were in seminary, the guys made a ritual out of sitting in the backyard chatting it up after school/work. It was difficult getting them inside to eat dinner every night. Over the years we had lots of cookouts in the backyard and ate lots of homeade ice cream. Good memories.

Tradition

2007-12-07T14:59:00.000-06:00

Jaalla and I have the tradition of attending The Nutcracker ballet every year at Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth.

First we dined on some delicious Mexican food, then we attended the show. Here we are on the balcony at Bass Hall during intermission.

Afterwards, per tradition, we went to Marble Slab for ice cream. Yum!

New Hat

2007-11-28T07:56:00.000-06:00

I worked this up one afternoon recently. I had been wanting a winter hat with brown tones.

Fine Dining

2007-11-20T08:01:00.000-06:00

On Sunday night we had an incredible dining experience. Our friends had a gift card to The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. The service, setting, and food was all excellent. Well worth the money. It was actually not as expensive as we thought it would be. An average plate is around $40. Desert it $13. Here we are waiting to be seated:

I would have taken a picture of the beautiful presentation on our plates, but the former Mayor of Dallas, Laura Miller, was seated at the table beside us and I didn't want to cause a scene. I had the baby Turbot, a very mild white fish, with a mustard sauce over a bed of leeks, gnocchi, and fava beans. For desert I had the chocolate and peanut butter torte. Both were heavenly! I would highly recommend this place, and I do hope that we go back again sometime.

Time for a change...

2007-11-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

Back to brunette! My hair was actually starting to show the wear from several years of having the color stripped from it. It was looking unhealthy and I have been wanting a change. Anyways, this is a great color for the fall.

I plan on keeping it this way for quite a while. I love it!

Home

2007-10-22T13:42:00.000-05:00

One week from today, we close on our new home.

We are very excited! It is quite a bit bigger of a house than we planned on buying, but we knew that this was "THE" house.

My top 8 list of reasons why I love this house:

8. A deck outside for entertaining.
7. Fireplace - Can you say s'mores.
6. A double-oven in the kitchen. I can smell a turkey, pumpkin pie, and dressing baking all at the same time.
5. Dishwasher!!!!! Gone are the pruney hands!
4. A garage that will keep me and my groceries from getting wet when it rains.
3. Oodles and oodles of cabinet space. I will no longer have to turn away free wafflemakers and such.
2. Closer to work!
1. And finally.... more than one toilet!!! (Three to be precise.)

2007-10-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

On Sunday afternoon I prepaired myself for an exciting Cowboys game. I pulled on a sweater (Kevin had it unusually cold in the house), made a cup of hot tea with honey and milk, got out my knitting, and pulled on a pair of handknit wool socks. I was content... Then the Cowboys lost. I thought it couldn't get much worse until I looked down and discovered this...

The horror! My poor, poor sock. This was the first pair of socks that I ever made. They are only 2 years old. I will now attempt to darn a sock. Their fate is not the trash can. I could never bring myself to do something like that!

Full Weekend

2007-10-08T07:59:00.000-05:00

On Friday night I went out with the Gwen and Mayeli to an Egyptian restaurant for dinner. I had never been to an Egyptian restaurant before, but quite a bit of the food was familiar to me. This was a really kiche place in the hospital district of Fort Worth called King Tut's. The decor was what you would expect; gold covered pharohs and hieroglyphics painted onto the walls. The food was excellent. We started with hummus and pita. Yum!

I had the lamb kabobs with cucumber dip, rice, and pita. Delicious! Sorry for the blurry picture.

On Friday, Kevin started painting the bathroom. I joined him after I returned from my night with the girls. We stayed up till 1:00 a.m. to finish painting the taupe on the upper half of the bathroom walls. We repainted white on the lower half on Saturday. I know I never posted pictures of the before and after when we re-did the shower, so here you go:

Their was something off about the dark tiles and the white, white walls. Our realtor suggested a taupe on the top half and I think it turned out great. Yes, I did say realtor. We are selling our house and hope to put it up on the market in a few weeks. We have been very busy cleaning trying to get it ready.

Kevin's just not right if he hasn't had his coffee in the morning.

Everything is bigger in Texas! (Of course this is not a coffee cup but a planter we found at Walmart.)

Armed and Dangerous

2007-10-02T16:59:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday was firearms night at Citizen's Police Academy. Kevin loved it, but I was a little hesitant.
Here I am with a shotgun:

Here I am with a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun (kind of fuzzy picture):

And the most exciting of all was the H&K MP5. It is a 9mm Lugar sub-machine gun with semi-automatic and fully-automatic features. We shot 15 rounds on semi-automatic and we squeezed a short burst through it on the fully-automatic setting. It felt like I was in some kind of gangster movie.

I ended up having a really good time. Tonight we discuss crime scene investigation.

Instant Gratification

2007-09-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

I made this scarf about two weekends ago. I needed some instant gratification since my bag seems to be taking me so long to complete. This scarf only took a few hours, and now I have a new accessory for the fall.

The close-up of the scarf is pictured with a new plant that we purchased the other day. We bought a nice trellis/planter the other day for the side of the house to hide the unsightly air conditioner. I can't remember the name of the flower, but we both really liked it.

2007-09-10T11:26:00.000-05:00

We went to our friend's house on Friday night for dinner and games. Casey and Yardley have a Great Dane named Boon. He's only 9 months old. He and Kevin were wrestling. This picture shows his size pretty well.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

2007-09-07T08:08:00.000-05:00

Kevin and I are taking Citizen's Police Academy. We started two weeks ago. It is one evening a week for 3 hours. We love it! I am a complete zombie the next day, but I figure the experience is worth it. We toured the jail this week and they took our picture in the cell. Under any other circumstances, I don't think we would look this happy. I forgot to put on my scared/angry face.

2007-09-04T14:49:00.000-05:00

Last week we went to another Ranger's game. Kevin received free seats again from another company they do business with. Best seats ever!

This is how close we were to the players! There was also a sweet little old lady in front of us. She had season tickets and wore a Rangers shirt and earings. She also had a large bag filled with tupperware containers full of homeade cookies. She passed them out to everybody around her. I happily accepted a chocolate chip one. She was on a first name basis with the camera men beside us, and even brought ziploc baggies to put the cookies in and hand out to those on the go. Very cool.

I have to share about the place we went to dinner on Friday night. Babe's Chicken! It was a somewhat unusual dining experience, but fun. The place was dark, but our eyes soon adjusted. The music was very eclectic. There are no menus. You only get 6 choices of main dishes (at the Roanoke location you only get two, fried chicken and chicken fried steak). We opted for the fried chicken. You don't get a say on the sides you get. You don't like 'em, you don't eat 'em. Sides include salad, biscuits (YUM), mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and corn. Then you get your choice of desert. I had the chocolate meringue pie and Kevin had the banana pudding. It is all combined together with your drink for the low price of $9.99. I don't think that's too bad for dinner with desert. Not to mention, it was SOOO good! I highly recommend it, but definitely come hungry.