Cat Video

This video is hilarious. We took several videos of our cats that night. I had taken a previous video where Maxwell was sniffing the camera and I thought that was the cutest. Maxwell is always so serious, so when he does something funny, I love it. Scott was playing with Mathilda and wanted me to see what was going on. I got kind of close with the camera and Mathilda decided it was a toy, too! I thought it was funny and I hope you do too.

Here is the video where Maxwell was sniffing the camera. I love his little expressions (or rather refusal to look interested). He is all cat for sure. Sampson is in here too. We had the windows open that night and he was more interested in looking outside than in playing or talking to us.

Marcy's Birthday

Since the last time I posted, I have had a birthday. Scott was so sweet to me the whole weekend around my birthday. He gave me a gift each day of the weekend starting on Friday, cooked me breakfast on Saturday morning, and even took me back on Sunday to exchange one of my gifts. What a sweet husband I have. He put so much time and effort to make my Birthday Weekend special, I really appreciated it. I just had to brag on him a little. :)

Grilled Vegetable Salad

A few weeks ago, Scott and I went to Longhorn after church. We do not usually splurge like that, but we wanted steak and left glad that we'd gone. So, it was worth the trip. I got this salad as my side salad (for a little extra); it came off of the "for a limited time only" menu. It was so good that I figured out how to make it at home.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Salad:

Romaine lettuce-chopped

Feta cheese - crumbled (optional)

Tomato - diced

Red onion - diced very small

Vegetables:

1 squash

1 zucchini

1 bunch asparagus

1/2 bell pepper (red or green)

1 c corn (I used frozen)

1 small white onion (optional)

Olive oil (maybe 1 Tbsp)

Salt

Pepper

Cut all vegetables into 1-inch pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on grill pan (flat side).

Dressing:

1/2 c olive oil

1/4 c organic canola oil

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1 clove minced garlic (just use the stuff you buy in the jar)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Whisk together all ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. I invested in one of those dressing shakers you buy to go along with the italian dressing packets. Worth it.

Prepare salad. Top with grilled vegetables. Drizzle with dressing.

Make it a meal by adding grilled chicken (pictured).

If you leave off the feta, this is a gluten and dairy free meal.

A Little Mathilda To Brighten Your Day

This is a picture we took of Mathilda the day we brought her home, January 6, 2010. She weighed 1 lb 3 oz.

This is a picture I just took of her today, March 21, 2010. As of last Saturday, she weighed exactly 4 lbs. She has quadrupled in size!

We are still trying to decide what color her eyes are. Maybe we should call them hazel. Our boys' eyes change between yellow and green. And sometimes hers look more yellow than anything, but usually they are this coppery/yellow/green color. I don't know how to describe it. They were grey when we got her.

She was sleeping all cuddled up with Sampson last Sunday night. Isn't that the cutest thing ever?

Maxwell was chilling out on the back of the couch.

Maxwell apparently got jealous and walked over and literally layed down on top of Sampson! I wasn't fast enough to get a picture before Sampson had had enough and bolted.

Having gotten what he wanted, Maxwell settled in with Mathilda at his side. I think they are getting used to having her around.

Later in the evening, we were sitting around watching a movie and Mathilda snuggled up with me. Look how sweet this kitty is!

She is really learning so fast! She has learned that if she comes running when she hears the icemaker, she will get to play with ice. She understands the word "NO!" She knows that if she scratches her scratching post she will get a treat or two or three depending on how we feel if she finishes her treat and then scratches again! We are still working on teaching her not to scratch and bite when she's not getting her way! She really is an accelerated learner! She has made our lives a little bit more chaotic, but we all love her!

Goings On

Well, it has been a few weeks since I have posted and a lot has been going on. First of all, our weather has been...bizarre! The last time I posted, we got several inches of snow on a Friday afternoon, which was all melted by the next evening. The very next weekend was our first warm weekend in a long time, where it got up to about 60 degrees. That weekend was the weekend of our nephew, Sam's, 4th birthday. His birthday was on the 19th, but we went to his party on that Saturday, the 20th. We had lunch at Scott's sister's house and didn't go to Sam's actual party at the indoor pool close to their house. The idea of swimming didn't really appeal to me when it was so cold outside, even though it was indoors. Sam was really excited about his birthday party, his birthday cake, and his gifts. He was all about showing us his dragon castle and his Thomas the Train cake. We got him clothes and a card that made a fire engine alarm sound. The card almost made up for the fact that we only got him clothes. ;)


Here's Sam opening his gifts.

Here's the paparazzi.

Here's Sam smiling while we sing to him. It was so sweet!

Here's a picture I took of SaraBeth and I.

Back to the weather. This past Wednesday, it snowed (hard) from about 8 in the morning until about 3 in the afternoon and was pretty much all melted because it never quite got below freezing during the day. Now, this weekend, it's been high's in the 60s. I went outside today and pruned our bushes out front. Like I said, Bizarre!

Scott and I went last weekend to the North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawsonville, GA and shopped all day. My main goal was to get a couple of pairs of jeans since I only own 3 pair that fit me and I wear jeans almost every day. I could not find one pair of jeans that I loved. Sad times. But, I got a long-sleeve blouse, two half-sleeve cotton tops, two short-sleeve tops, and two dresses. Scott got several shirts too. No jeans. I didn't even find any dressy slacks I liked. But, since I found two dresses at Ann Taylor Loft that would have cost me $69 and $79 at the regular store for about $70 for bother and I didn't own any dresses that fit me before that day, I still consider the trip a success. Yay us!

Snow Day 2010

This my 250th post! To celebrate, we had snow today! We were expecting it based on the weather man, but I never really put much stock in that. At some point this afternoon, probably between 1 and 1:30, I went to look out the window (again) and my boss laughed and said, "It still isn't snowing, Marcy." I looked anyway, and it WAS snowing, very lightly (HA!). The next time I looked (from a distance) it was snowing much harder. We are still pretty busy, but apparently some other people aren't because tons of people were just standing or sitting with their heads poking out of their cubes watching it snow. I headed home around 3:30 because my boss didn't want us sitting in traffic and risk someone running to us because they were watching the snow. I came home and filled all our bird feeders and took pictures. Then, Scott got home and he and I made a snowman, following the lead of our neighbors, Nan and John. I loaded a bunch of pics to an album on Facebook. Here's the link to my album. I also took some pictures on the way home, when I was stopped at lights and stuff like that. I will load some of those below. The kitties were watching it snow and watching the birds eat in the snow. They were all so cute! But, they always are. Scott stuck a ruler in the snow on top of our grill and it went in about 4 1/2 inches!

Personally, I am ready for spring. I mean, I think that getting one day where we get enough snow to make a small snowman and then a couple of other really cold days is all you need so say we've had winter. We've had years like that before. More often than we've had years like this. It has rained a ton and that's the only time it warms up enough to not have freezing weather. We've had two ice/snow storms now. Hello! This is GEORGIA! I think we're going to move south if the winters keep up like this. Seriously. But, our friends at seminary in Dallas, TX have had a lot more snow than we have this winter, so you can't win no matter where you live I guess! The good thing is that all the little bugs that everyone says don't die in the south because it doesn't get cold enough should be dead by now.

So, I hope that everyone enjoys this snowy weather and stays safe!

Officially Mathilda

We have officially adopted Mathila! She got a clean bill of health and the boys seem to get along well with her. She is doing much better now that we have let her out of the bathroom. I think she is already bossing poor Sampson around. She is really a sweet kitty. Yay for Mathilda!

Tupperware Party Online! Great Sale!

Hello everyone,
Tupperware is having a 40% off sale on their modular mates (for pantry organization) and I am planning to buy some. So, I figured I might as well open an online party! You can shop at your convenience and help me get free products!


Be sure to click on this shopping link to ensure that you're participating in my Tupperware Online Party. My Tupperware Online Party will last until Feb. 09, 2010 (EST). If you have any questions, please let me know. Or you may visit my Tupperware Consultant's Web site, Jennifer Lynn Jordan.

Mathilda Live

The video above is one of Mathilda chasing the feather wand. It's one of the boys' old ones. It seems that all of our cats love anything with feathers. They also love bells. This one has both.

The next video is one I took to show how excited she gets when you are just in there with her. We are still keeping her separated from the boys since she's not old enough to be tested yet, and so she doesn't get to sit in the living room with us when we are home. So, she's just so excited to see us. She sits there and looks at you and starts shaking. It's so cute. I think that you may get a few shots of my crazy after-work get up. Sorry. All my "normal" sweats are currently in the dirty clothes.

Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

I found this recipe in a book that a friend lent to me. I copied a bunch of the recipes I liked. I don't remember the name of the book. However, I have changed the recipe some because, well, it seems like I always change up the recipes. I just can't help myself. We have made this twice and I really like it. The instructions in the recipe actually call for microwaving everything, but that just seems...gross. So, I have re-written this to be cooked in the oven.

Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

3 large green bell peppers
1 lb ground chuck, browned and drained
2 c. cooked rice (I used white rice)
3/4 t ground thyme
1 clove minced garlic (I used the kind in the jar, it's easier)
1/8 t black pepper
1 t salt
1 egg
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, divided (I actually used two small cans - one plain, one flavored, like Italian or roasted garlic
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 while you brown your meat and cook your rice. Clean the peppers and cut in half lengthwise. Place them open side up in a 9x13 casserole dish and cook the empty peppers for about 12-15 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine beef, rice, seasonings, egg, diced tomatoes, and the small can of plain tomato sauce (or half of the big can). Mix well and fill pepper halves with the beef mixture. Place in baking dish and spoon the flavored tomato sauce (or second half of big can) over the stuffed peppers. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the peppers are to your preferred doneness. Serves 6.

This has a lot of vegetable already in it, as well as meat and a starch. But, I still think it is better it you have something with it like corn and a salad (yeah, I know that corn is a second starch, but it just GOES with this meal). I hope you enjoy! If you try this and you like it, let me know!