Super Bowl Sunday

Last Sunday was the Super Bowl. The Giants played the Patriots. As most of you know, I have very few opinions on sports, unless you are giving me a choice to watch them or not. However, Scott was rooting for the Patriots because he wanted them to have a perfect season. We go to our friends' Rob and Cheryl's house each year for their annual Super Bowl party. Cheryl and some of the other ladies wanted the Giants to win because 1) they were tired of hearing all about the Patriots and how great they were and 2) they are the underdog champions. So, I couldn't really hear a lot of the commercials because it was kind of loud, so I plan to watch them on the internet some time soon. But, mainly I like going to be social and to have an excuse to eat lots of different foods. Every year so far, I have made my mint brownies and last year I started also making spinach rollups as well. I am about to post the recipes to both of those. Mmmm.

I've Been Tagged At Least 4 Times

Okay, so you all know about this game that is going around on people's blogs and on myspace where you write random things about yourself (sometimes 7, sometimes 10, and, according to Jennifer, sometimes 100!), then you have to "tag" other people to do this but you can't tag someone that has already been tagged. Well, I feel that I should tell you who has tagged me. First, my friend Arlene, who I have known since elementary school tagged me back in December, or before. (Sorry I am such a slacker Arlene). Then, my sister tagged me and my dad tagged me (which I think it illegal in this game, but whatever). Then, Jennifer tagged me. I say "at least 4 times" because Callie did it and said that Jennifer picked everyone that she would have picked, so I think that she counts as 5. SO, I am going with 10 random things about me because that's the most I have been asked for. By the way, my sister tagged me because she said that she knew I was be "exasperated" but that I would put it on my blog anyway. She's right. But, at least it gives me something to blog about and it's not a list of 1,000 senseless questions that I have to answer and email to everyone I know or something like that (which I rarely do).

Here goes:

1. I have the lids to paper boxes under my desk at work - one on each side of the "L" - so that I can put my feet up on them since my legs are so short that they dangle unless I let my chair down so far that I am afraid I'll get carpal tunnel syndrome if I continue because my keyboard is too high. I have a rubbermaid container under my desk at home for this same reason. Sad, I know. It's okay if you make fun of me for being short, everyone else does.

2. I like to wear my hair up in a pony tail but I always regret it when I look in the mirror. I think my face looks weird.

3. I do not like the dark at all. I am okay with walking from my bed to the bathroom and from the door to our room to the bed, because I know that path, but besides that, I don't like it. At all. I am just so afraid I'll step on something or run into something. The worst part is that I never realized I had this issue until my mom died because she was afraid of the dark and therefore our house was never dark. (Hmmmm...I know that Stephanie is analyzing this right now...check one for some sort of mental issue, I am sure.)

4. I like to drive fast when it is daylight and not raining. I know what you are thinking, I am SUCH a rebel! (Go ahead, Stephanie, check number two for mental issues...)

5. One of my favorite things to eat is Luigi's Italian Ices, lemon flavor. I haven't had them in forever and then the other day I was craving them and got some. Super Yum-O!

6. I always crave chocolate and then a lot of times when I eat it, it isn't as good as I wanted it to be. Then, I am bummed because not only was it not as good as I wanted it to be, I wasted calories on it.

7. I like to doodle. I have always wished I was a talented artist. I am not.

8. I do not like to play sports. I have bad aim and I don't like things flying at my face. I am sure this is part of the reason I hate the dark...I wouldn't know is I was about to get smacked in the face by some strange thing dangling around 5 feet above the ground.

9. I have the MOST adorable cats alive. Ever.

10. I think that I have really sensitive senses. I am very sensitive to loud noises - especially in my left ear, I smell everything and can almost always identify what I am smelling, I think that I am such a picky eater because I taste things so well (or maybe I am just picky, I don't know). I guess the only sense I have that isn't great is my vision...and it is pretty dang perfect now that I have had lasik.

Okay! I am done. Mine are much longer than Jennifer's and Callie's, but I am never as concise as they are. Now I must tag 8 people and why I picked them according to the one my sister sent me on myspace. Which is getting difficult, by the way...but here goes:

1. Lauren Watson - I know you don't have a blog, but you aren't getting out of this. You can post it in a comment. I am super interested to see what you have to say.

2. Sarah Dickinson - I really want to make sure you are still alive.

3. Bethany Freeman - I think yours will be really cute, because you are so cute!

4. Allison Stroud - because you seem to like doing these things!

5. Robyn Denson - I can't remember if Arlene tagged you, but you are really good at this kind of thing. Plus, it is tax season and maybe this will be good therapy for you.

6. Tommie Richardson - Because I haven't talked to you in forever so it will be a good way to see what you are up to.

7. Lindsay Samples - I am interested to see if you do it since you are a busy new mom and what your 10 things are now that you are a mom!

Drum roll please...

8. Mandy Moltz - Because I can and I think you will actually do it!

Maggie's Shower

In January, Lauren, Shana, Maggie's mom Vena, Maggie's friend Adrienne, and I threw Maggie and Eli a baby shower at Vena's house. We had a full nacho bar and of course my margarita punch (nonalcoholic, in case you were wondering). I really enjoyed it. I know you will all be surprised, but I took a ton of pictures. Maggie was a very gracious gift receiver and it was so much fun to watch her open all her gifts. Andrew was there and behaved really well, as always. It was a lot of fun to finally meet some of the people that Maggie is the closest to that we didn't already know. I am including some of my favorite pictures from the night.






Andrew spent a lot of the night upstairs watching a movie. The movie sounded very exciting. Andrew is always ready to smile for the camera though!









Here is Maggie showing off the cool burp cloths Shana gave her. I just thought that this was a really good picture of Maggie!

This was my most sought-after picture all night. Jennifer was trying to avoid me so that I would not take her picture. She would "suddenly" need to refill her drink or something every time I would try to take a picture of the group she was standing around. I had visions of tackling her, but luckily, Lauren held her still for me. Look at those beautiful smiles!

Here's the star of the show! Isn't Eli so cute!

I think that these pictures speak for themselves. They are just really good pictures of some beautiful ladies that I love a lot! (And Eli, too.)

Lauren had to take several pictures before this one turned out like it did. I kept blinking every time my camera flashed! Also, I thought I was holding Eli up so that you could see him better, but most of the pictures turned out looking like I was letting him hang like a rag doll. I promise that he was securely in my arms, Maggie!

This picture was of the "big" gift and Maggie's reaction to it - do you see her clapping? Her mom and dad (and I think Aunt Nellie was in on this, too) gave her this super cool high chair.

This is a disclaimer that I have no idea why this post looks like it does. I tried to fit more pictures into a smaller space, but I don't think it worked out for me. I'll try to do better some other time.

Gwinnett Gladiators

A couple of weekends ago, Scott and I went to a Gwinnett Gladiators game with Callie, Amy, and Josh. It was the annual "Teddy Bear Toss" for the Gladiators. This means that when the Gladiators scored their first goal, everyone who brought a stuffed animal got to throw it out onto the ice. The stuffed animals were given to a local charity. It was a lot of fun. The Gladiators lost, but it was still a good game. It was amazing to see how many stuffed animals were thrown onto the ice. I got to throw the little bear we brought, but I am not a very good throw...it hit some guy on the front row and he threw it over for me. Thanks, Callie, for inviting us!

Here is a little snippit of what it looked like during the "Teddy Bear Toss".

Blogger's Choice Awards

So, as you will see there are a few new things over to the left. Jennifer nominated my blog for "Best Photography Blog"! Thanks Jennifer! Scott has nominated our blog for all the others. Other blogs that I know have been nominated for things are Jordan Family Happenings, Another Day...Another Opportunity, Callie Michelle, and Shadburns-R-Us. It's fun to go and see all the other blogs that have been nominated. If you sign up with a user name, you have to wait for them to send you an email, which may end up in your trash folder, before you can vote. Happy Voting!

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Source: Kraft Food and Family Winter, 2006

2 cups Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken in the multi-serving container (4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

4 slices Oscar Mayer Thin Sliced Smoked Ham

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 Tbsp. Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

1 cup Kraft shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package; set aside. Place chicken in a 13x9 inch baking dish, cover with ham. Mix soup and mustard; spoon over chicken. Top with prepared stuffing. Bake 25 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake and additional 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings.

Serving suggestions: Round out the meal by serving this dish with hot steamed broccoli.

Recipe notes> I looked online and this recipe is not still available, but it is really good. If you buy the box of Stove Top Stuffing instead of the can, you won't have directions for 2 cups of stuffing and the box makes 6 cups, I think. Of course, I usually use recipes as more like guidelines, so I make the following changes: I usually use 2 chicken breast and pound them out then cut them in half; I do not like Swiss cheese, so I use slices of Provolone cheese, which I almost always have around for sandwiches; we made this the first time and decided that 1 Tbsp. of Grey Poupon was too much for our tastes, so I only do 1/2 Tbsp. Everything else I leave the same. My picture really does not do it justice!

I really like this recipe and so does Scott. I hope you try it and I hope you LOVE it!

Encounter With A Cardinal

Snow Today!

Cole Family Gathering

We got together with my extended family from my dad's side last Saturday. We tried to make it a pretty easy get-together, so we met at the Golden Corral in Austell. Yum. Here are the pictures.

Snow In Atlanta

We have had snow today. A lot of snow. It snowed for over an hour (of course during rush hour) and now it's raining and below freezing. That means that over night when there are no cars on the road, it will a freeze and the roads will be covered in black ice. Dangerous. However, I am thankful for the precipitation that we are getting. We had Bible Study tonight and Lauren got a really good picture of it actually snowing. I have some "after" shots. It was quite pretty though. All the houses are "snow capped".