Couldn't help but post this...

I was in the kitchen this week and I looked over at the back door and both of the cats were sitting side by side looking out the back door. They were just so cute. I got the camera and took some pictures. Here is one of them. I thought it turned out to be really good and I couldn't help but post this one.

Current Events

The last few weeks have been very busy. Scott is back in school taking information security classes at Gwinnett Tech. Soon he'll have a certificate in it. Then, he is planning to move onto Cisco training. We've both been reading the new Harry Potter book. I just finished it. I won't say anything so that I don't give anything away. Scott is still working on it.

This past Sunday, all the ladies from our small group plus Karen got together to do some scrapbooking. It was a lot of fun and Amy and Lauren know all sorts of tricks. I have only ever made one scrapbook, and that was for our wedding. I didn't really enjoy doing it as much as I had expected to. But, since I started blogging, I feel like my blog is kind of an online scrapbook, so I am inspired again. I did a few pages. I have never scapbooked all the stuff that I saved from the time Scott and I started dating to the time we got married. That is what I am working on now. It has been a lot of fun to get out all that stuff and look at it again. I only got three pages done at Lauren's and I haven't done any more since, but I am now motivated to do it. Shana had never done any scrapbooking and she is really good at it! Her first pages looked very professional!

Scott is about to start officiating for a flag football league and he was supposed to go and watch the game with the guy that runs the league and they got rained out. So, poor Scott had to sit at Lauren's and watch us scrapbook. Luckily, there was some good baseball on and Zach showed up to keep him entertained after a short period.

Here are some pictures from our scrapbooking party.

Sampson and Maxwell

Sampson and Maxwell are just so funny. They sometimes do the most bizarre things. Almost every night, they have what we call "cat happy hour". They just all of a sudden start racing around the house like their tails are on fire and acting totally crazy. Then, they will just stop. No catnip for these cats. Sometimes Sampson will all of a sudden jump up and attack the ground. When he moves, there will be like, this teensy piece of dirt that must have suddenly moved. They also love to wrestle like human brothers do. However, this just tends to send fur everywhere. For example, I vacuumed Saturday. We came home from seeing Harry Potter on Saturday night and there were large tufts of hair all over their favorite open spot in the living room right next to the hardwood foyer area. Usually, it is Sampson's hair. He seems to lose a lot of their battles.

They also know words. They know "treats". If you say "Do you want TREATS?" they will run over to their scratching post and start scratching it furiously and looking over at you expectantly. This habit was formed when they were little and we were training them. If they started scratching something they shouldn't, we would go over to them and say "bad kitty" and then take them to the scratching post and make them scratch it with their little paws and then we would say "good kitty" and give them treats.

Maxwell loves "ice" and knows that word. If you say "Maxwell, do you want ICE?" he will rush into the kitchen and wait next to the fridge. You have to throw it to him and no matter how high you throw it he almost always hits it! He leaps magnificently and gracefully into the air and usually does a half twist in mid-air and bats it across the room and then chases after it! Sampson just watches. Sometimes he tries to play with it after Maxwell has chased it, but usually they start fighting over it. Those boys!

They both know the word "brush". Sampson loves to be brushed the most. If you say "Sampson, do you want to be BRUSHED?" Sampson will meow at you and walk towards you or towards the drawer where he knows we keep his brush.

Tonight they were bad and I "punished" them. Their cat food feeder was empty, so I went to the garage to get the big rubbermaid container we keep it in and I called Lauren while I was refilling their feeder. Well, I got off the phone with Lauren, and the door out to the garage was open (the garage is off limits to the cats, because there could be things out there that are bad for them, like fertilizer). I looked out there and they were both just checking out the garage. From experience, I know that calling them to come in might work for one of them, but usually not for both. So, I said, okay you want to be out there, fine...and I closed the door! And I waited. It was less than a minute. When I opened that door, they shot through the door side-by-side, like a furry black rocket and did not stop running until they were all the way across the house away from the garage. Hehe.

So, that being said, I know you are just all so amazed at our cats' abilities. They are so smart and entertaining! And cute.

Chicken Salad

I am not one to follow recipes. I use them more as guidelines, really. I love to make chicken salad. I tried it many times until I got it "right" by my tastes and Scott's. I think that I have finally got it right. Most people say they like it when they have it, and I hope they really do like it. I thought that I would post my recipe for chicken salad tonight. I made it for myself since Scott is in class. I wrote down how much of what I put in so I could put the recipe in my hand-written recipe book. Maybe my recipe for chicken salad will make it into yours...

Marcy's Chicken Salad

1 13oz. can of chicken breast

3 Tbsp Mayonnaise

2 tsp minced garlic (the kind you can buy in the jar)

4 Tbsp dill relish

3 Tbsp pimiento

1 1/2 tsp minced onion

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 stick of celery, chopped finely

approximately 2.5 handfuls of sliced or slivered almonds

I usually mix the first 7 ingredients together and get the flavor right and then add the celery and almonds. Basically, I just add stuff until I get it the way I want it, but this is what I did this time.

Tonight I made a chicken salad melt with sourdough bread and colby-jack cheese. (See the picture above)

It was YUM-O!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Last night Scott and I went with a group of people to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I thought that it was a really good movie in and of itself. We saw it on the IMAX screen and I thought it was well worth the extra money. If you have read the book, just like with the 4th movie, you have to go in knowing that the movie will be very different. The acting was great and they did a great job of matching actors to the characters! I would definitely recommend it...but I really don't think these movies are really "kid" movies. I would say 12 and older maybe.

Great Burgers

Scott and I had a great dinner last night. We have made these burgers several times and they are great. I got the recipe out of my FREE Kraft Food & Family magazine that comes once a season. If you want to sign up for the magazine, just visit this website. The recipes are all on the website as well. Here is the recipe for Stuffed Fiesta Burgers. You don't have to include the avocado if you don't want to, but I would definitely suggest topping it with the salsa...just heat it up for about 20 seconds in the microwave first. We usually have chips or the Ore Ida Crispers french fries with it. Add sweet tea to the mix and you have a fantastic summer meal!!!

Cats Drinking Noisily

This is a video of our cats drinking from the faucet over our tub. I hope you enjoy it! Usually Sampson is down in the tub drinking from the drain, but I think he had already finished. Aren't they cute!

Shana's Birthday Celebration!

Last night Maggie, Lauren, and I took Shana out for her birthday. We went to this Mexican restaurant called Vallarta. It was really good. Then, we went back over to Maggie's house and just chatted and took a tour of Maggie's house. I really like her house and she has lots of yard! It was fun to hang out with them. I hope that we made Shana feel special.

Cannas in Bloom

I noticed today when I got home that my canna lily had bloomed. This is one of the plants I got from Teri last September when we got the hostas in our front gardens. I think I planted about 5 of them, and only two have come up and this one is the only one that bloomed. But, I am okay with that. Can you believe how tall this thing is? It is about 3.5 feet tall (I stood next to it and I am less than a foot and a half taller than it and I am 5'1.5"). Maybe the others will come up next year. I have never had good luck with planting bulbs. Usually if I plant a bulb that is already in bloom, it lives and will come back the next year, but starting from bulbs doesn't work for me very well. Anyway, I thought I would share!

We had a busy weekend. I really didn't want to go back to work this morning. But, I did it anyway.

Friday night we had a small group party at Andy's house, which was a lot of fun. We all made our own pizzas and talked and the guys played Wii while the ladies congregated in the kitchen and checked out all the gadgets that Judy had stocked Andy's kitchen with. :)

Saturday we went to see Meme. She has gotten over her pneumonia and her stomach seems to be doing much better, but apparently the pneumonia has left some lasting marks because they have her on oxygen all the time now. So, this limits her mobility. My great great aunt Annie Lou is also in the same nursing home now, so I visited with her as well. Annie Lou has dementia, which is what my great grandmother had, but not as bad as my great grandmother. I think Meme has it too, somewhat, but not like Annie Lou. But, Annie Lou can still answer questions and stuff like that. After we visited with Meme and Annie Lou, we stopped by my dad's house for a few minutes to visit. No pictures there.

After that, we met my friend Lisa and her husband Lee for dinner in Hiram. Lisa and I have been good friends since the 6th grade. We used to show up at school wearing the exact same outfit. We unknowingly purchased the exact same wedding dress. We both started dating the men that we ended up marrying within a few months of each other. Lisa and I are close friends. We do not see or talk to each other as much as I would like, but I know that she will always be there for me and I will definitely always be there for her. We enjoyed catching up with Lisa and Lee. Lisa is about to start her doctorate and Lee is going to school while working at Home Depot. Lee is going to be a History teacher. Lisa is a high school math teacher.

Scott has decided that he wants a Wii. Actually, he has wanted one for a LONG time and I have been pretty hesitant (well, I've refused) to have one in the house. I thought the idea would wear off, but it hasn't. So, we bought him a Wii. Everywhere we went this weekend, we looked for them and no one had them. Scott went to about 5 places at lunch today and I called a couple of places this morning close to my office. The last place Scott went at lunch had them. So, Scott's in the living room playing Wii (sounds like Wii Baseball) and I am in the office blogging. We are such a high tech family, let me tell you. This is a very early birthday present for Scott. His birthday is Nov. 25, but that's so close to Christmas...so we usually buy his birthday gift in the middle of the year. At least he is using his gift. I got a sewing machine and sewing table two years ago for my birthday and I have only sewed one thing on it...I need to get to work! (Now it looks like he's switched to Wii golf...) Yes, that second picture is of Scott playing his Wii while talking on the phone. Such a multi-tasker!

Oh! I wanted to do an update on my garden. Nothing I planted up the side of the house is doing all that great. It looks like maybe the lantana around the air conditioner aren't getting enough sun and the hostas up and down both sides of the house are getting too much sun. So sad. I didn't realize how sunny it got over there. But, everything up front is doing great, especially my calla lilies! I went out this evening and made a bouquet out of them and a few other flowers that I have growing. My canna lily is about to bloom too. We also have tomatoes ripening in the back yard. They are small, but pretty tasty!

Just a disclaimer on this post: I can't get a title into the title area, so maybe I will try tomorrow. Also, I don't know why some of my formatting is messed up...but I can't correct it...so sorry. I hope it isn't too distracting!

Transformers...More Than Meets the Eye!

Scott and I went to see the Transformers movie last night with a group of friends. It was a lot of fun. We enjoyed hanging out with everyone beforehand, as we got there super early to make sure we could get good seats and all sit together. The movie was great. There was an easy-to-follow plot, villains and heroes, a love story, friendship and loyalty, and humor; not to mention all the action, special effects, gun fire, and explosions! Scott and I both really enjoyed the movie and it seemed that everyone else with us did too! I probably wouldn't take a kid under age 10 to it though.