Casual Fridays

Y'all. I ate a salad as a whole meal this week. For those of you who have never met me in real life: this is major. I've been a salad hater all my life and if offered a salad on any given day my quick response is something along the lines of, "Salad is what real food eats" or "Bring me that chicken and gnocchi soup instead" or even just a basic, "Ew, yuck." But my husband is a huge fan of Zaxby's Cobb salads and every time he gets one, I always think it actually looks good. And this week, I got one for myself. Granted, I dumped salsa all over it because I have yet to find a salad dressing (outside of The Melting Pot's secret house dressing) that doesn't make me gag (which, come to think of it, is probably why I've never been a huge salad fan—who wants to eat dry lettuce??), but I actually really enjoyed it and would eat one again. It was super yummy. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.

I discovered this song by Florida Georgia Line this week, and it's been playing on repeat ever since. Don't ignore the fact that I put the actual video in this post: hit that play button. You need this feel good jam in your life. Also, if you can write lyrics that make me think of my husband, you will get my money every time. Insert some hearts and other appropriate emojis here.

Cody and I started a new puzzle, and it might actually be the death of us. We may never finish it. If you want to come over and take a stab at it, be my guest. I've been tempted to just put it back in the box, but after all the agony we went through to get even this far, I can't bring myself to do it. 

So after my last post mentioning my home pedi struggles, my best sisterfriend Lyndsey (who is my personal hair/makeup/fashion guru) texted me that I needed to get this brand for a smudge free experience, and, as always, she was so right. Loving this brand and loving this color. (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Re-teal Therapy)

Speaking of feminine hygienic practices, I have two more things to relate. 1) I bought another Chapstick. Because I will never have enough and this Peaches-n-Cream one is my current obsession (along with that Florida Georgia Line song—have you listened to it yet?!). And 2) I gave up on the Native deodorant, y'all. It irritated my skin too much, and I finally realized there was no special way to apply it to avoid the irritation. If you don't have sensitive skin, I'd still recommend it. Their Coconut & Vanilla scent is the bomb.

Changing the subject, let's talk about something this blog is actually about: BOOKS. First of all, look at those pretty, pretty Penguin clothbound Jane Austen beauties. Personally, I would always rather buy 10 books secondhand than 1 quality new one, but I was telling my husband a few weeks ago that I'd eventually like to invest in a good set of Jane Austen's complete works, because currently my Jane Austen novels are all bound together in one paperback volume which is a little cumbersome to travel with (not that that's ever stopped me), and a few days after our conversation, this box set showed up at our door. Am I spoiled or what? I love that man for keeping me in pretty books. 

But since I just confessed that I'm a used book junkie, here's what I've found at The Book Shelter lately. And alert the media: last Saturday when I went, I walked out with just one book. My husband was so proud of me. Have you read any of these? I highly recommend Unbroken. It's one of the best biographies I've ever read. 

Let's catch up on some Link Love and call it a day.

100 Books to Read Before You Die : I love reading other people's book lists and lists of the greatest books of all time and just bookish stuff in general so I found this guy's process of creating this ultimate book list interesting, and I loved all the included links to the lists he used to help him create his own. 

Why? : This is heartbreaking. Every child should get a family. Politics are the worst, and the State Department sucks.

The Greatest Showman Medley : This is insanely good, and I can forgive him for not including my favorite song from the movie (Tightrope) because undertaking this at all is ambitious and he did it with impressive results. Mad props to this guy. 

Don't Be Yourself : The trend he addresses in this post has been bothering me for some time now, and I had been thinking about writing a post on this very topic myself, especially after reading Mere Christianity. But then I read this and thought, "He did it better. We'll just share this one." 

What have you been up to lately? What are you reading right now? 

And are you hooked on that S-I-M-P-L-E song yet??

Casual Fridays

First of all, can anyone else believe it's June already? Because I can't. This year is flying by so fast. If I want to complete my 20-book goal this year, I'll need to complete 4 books by the end of this month to be (technically) on track. But no big deal because I'll have a 20-hour flight this month on MY WAY TO JAPAN! That's right, people. I booked my ticket this week for a two week trip to visit my brother and sister-in-law/kindred spirit. I am beyond excited to see them. And not only do I get to visit some of my favorite people in the world, I get to check a big-ticket item off my Bucket List: a trip to Asia. It's a personal goal of mine to visit all of the continents. (Except for Antarctica because why? although if the opportunity arose, I wouldn't be totally opposed to going there too, I guess.) After this trip, I will only be lacking a trip to Australia to complete that goal. I've been to North and South America, Europe and Africa. I'll also finally get some stamps in my new passport. #goals 

Major's Mischief

So I think it's about time Major got his own little section around here and, believe me, it's aptly named because this puppy is all mischief, all the time. I got a first-hand experience recently of exactly how strong this guy actually is. We were on one of our 3-mile walks around Lake Hollingsworth the other day, and we came upon a section of the sidewalk that is currently under construction. They had re-routed the sidewalk using gravel and orange construction fencing so that you really had no other choice than to walk through it. Major apparently did not like that orange fence and as soon as we entered, he panicked and decided he needed to get out at all costs resulting with me on the ground before I even knew what was happening and being dragged through the gravel. I got some nasty battle wounds from the experience, and that last mile was a pretty slow one. Ouch. Suffice it to say, Major is one strong puppy.

As you may know, my husband and I recently had our 4th anniversary, and look what he gave me! What a guy. We were actually at Wal*Mart together one day a couple days before our actual anniversary and while I was grabbing something, he started checking out. When I got back to the checkout line, he handed me these two brand new ChapSticks with a smile and a "Happy Anniversary, babe." I tell ya. He's a keeper. These ChapSticks are the bomb, and I've been using both of them non-stop. They are summer-licious and for whatever reason, that Watermelon Splash one takes me right back to my childhood. #bliss #olfactorysensesforthewin (Don't judge me for getting all fancy with my little ChapStick photo shoot. A lei seemed like an appropriate backdrop for these Tropical Paradise ChapSticks, okay? And speaking of the Tropical Paradise Collection, I think I have all of them now what with my Aloha Coconut one and my Mango Sunrise one. Am I missing any? I know, I know. I have a problem. I blog about ChapStick. Somebody stop me.)

Lest you think that all my husband did for our anniversary was pick up a couple of tubes of ChapStick in the Wal*Mart check-out line, look what else I got: four new books for four years of marriage. He so gets me. We finally got to do our big anniversary date this week, and if you'll remember from last year, we like to go to the Melting Pot and Barnes & Noble. This is our 3rd year doing this, and I'd say it's become our anniversary tradition. I chose more classics to add to our library: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain, Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte, and The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas. I have not read any of these, and I'm pretty psyched about all of them. It's going to be hard to stick to my original book list for 2016 with these sitting on my shelves tempting me. Also, my hubs challenged me to read all four of these before we celebrate our next anniversary. Of the three books he gave me last year, the only one I've read is The Last of the Mohicans which is definitely one of my new favorites. #challengeaccepted

Colonel's Corner

So this guy started favoring his right front paw on Saturday night, and we could not for the life of us figure out why. Cody finally found that one of his nails had started to tear down to the quick and was causing him some pretty bad pain. We finally had to put a sock on him to keep him from licking it to death, and let me tell you, he has been one pathetic little figure lying (laying?) around, not eating like usual, and hopping and hobbling around to avoid putting any weight on it. So naturally, I've been babying him to almost a ridiculous extreme and letting him in the bed with me. Cody held out for over a year not letting him in the bed, but he finally caved. You totally would too if you could see how pitiful he is. Poor little guy. He seems to be on the mend, but he still wants to just sit and lick that paw so the sock is staying on for a couple more days until he gets rid of that compulsion. 

Are you so over me blogging about our dogs and ChapStick? What has this blog even become?! I have one more topic for our Casual Friday, and it's a bit of a confession:

I've been watching old school DCOMs all week, and I couldn't be happier about it. We figured out how to get the Disney Channel app on Cody's xbox and since then, I've revisited such gems as Brink!, Double-Teamed, Motocrossed, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, and the list goes on, but I'll refrain from embarrassing myself further by admitting how many I've actually watched. I love Disney and I love all these cheesy, tween movies. #noshame #disneykidforlife

Did you watch DCOMs growing up? What are some of your favorites? Does anyone want to come over and watch some with me? Do you have an anniversary tradition or do you like to change it up each year? Do you know of a ChapStick support group I could join? Have you ever been to Japan? What's something big on your Bucket List that you might get to check off soon? Don't be scared of that combox, y'all, and have a great weekend!

Casual Fridays

Another Friday, another casual post. And how about making this one a Photo-Prompted Post since it's been a couple weeks and lots of stuff has been going on, ok? Good. 

First up: the Major. I feel like I haven't put up as many pictures of him as I have of the Colonel because he always just looks like a big black shadow whenever I try to snap a photo. But he's just the sweetest most lovable puppy in the world. He's every bit as big as Colonel now, and I think he's still got some growing left to do yet. He'd eat everything (including my ChapStick--remember when Colonel did that? what is it with puppies and ChapStick?!) and then keep going if we'd let him. He's the best. You should meet him.

This was back from St. Patrick's Day a.k.a (and more importantly) Danette's birthday! We surprised her with a little party at Manny's, and y'all, you've never seen true joy if you haven't seen this chick being surprised by her two nieces coming all the way from Tallahassee a day early and showing up at her school. I only saw a video of it myself, but it was too. good. Think green mullet and two cute blondes. Anyway, I love these ladies and I love this picture. iPhones for the win, amiright?!

Thought you were going to make it out of here without a photo collage or two? Think again. Collages are a game changer for our Photo-Prompted Posts in a fabulous way. Instead of posting 11 individual pictures for a specific event: voila! Collage it and now maybe you'll actually make it to the end of this post without quitting or hating me. Anyway, this is Gatorland! We took our Guard girls there on March 19th, and yes, those are real gators, you guys. And they were everywhere. This was actually my very first visit to Gatorland, and I can't believe I've never been before. Even though we got rained on, the girls had a fabulous time, and I have to admit, I want to go back and try out their (apparently) world-famous zipline. Cody thinks I'm totally crazy 'cause ain't no way brother's gonna' be suspended by a string over a multitude of hungry gators. But I'm down to try it. As long as I'm not suspended over any snakes which, as you can see if you look to the bottom right of our collage, ain't got nothin' on Miss Mary. Those same guys tried to put two gigantic, hairy, disgusting tarantulas on me (and no, I'm not kidding), but they picked the wrong girl for that trick. I was back to my seat in about 6 seconds flat and they got some willing sucker to hold those nasty things. #notthiswhitegirl  #notever

Y'all. Apparently, Colonel is just as big of an Austen fan as I am. I had been lying (laying?) on the floor reading with Colonel nearby (like he always is), and I got up to get a tissue because allergies, and when I turn around, this is what I see. I can't even. How sweet is he?!

Speaking of allergies, it rained a whole bunch last week, and I haven't been suffering very much at all anymore. All the praise hands! And the weather this week has been perfect. Cool in the mornings and evenings and sunny with a breeze during the day. It's what I like to call Be Out In It Weather and believe me, I have. I've pretty much just been coming in to sleep. #floridagirlforeverrrr

Umm...the most recent bag of carrots I bought has been a little funky. As in: every handful I've grabbed has included 2 or 3 of these mutant, siamese carrots. Should I be concerned? 

So I've instituted a monthly Girls Movie Night at my house, and I can always count on these two to stay till they have to wake me up and tell me they're leaving. It's been so fun, and I hope we can keep it up because every girl needs girl time, and really, how am I ever supposed to break in to the twenty-first century without girlfriends to teach me how to snapchat?

Am I doing it right?

This past weekend was Living Proof Live in Miami. I've been looking forward to this since they posted the schedule for this year, and I bought my early-bird ticket about as soon as they went on sale. Up till just a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd be going all by my lonesome, but I finally convinced this girl that she needed to come with me, and I'm so glad she did. I can honestly echo the same words I used last year when I told you about Living Proof Live in Tampa: it was a powerful, Spirit-filled weekend of edification and worship. This time around, Ms. Beth brought us some lessons from the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 and challenged us to pray for GIANT DEFIANT faith. I'm so thankful for special pockets of focused time geared specifically toward worshipping our Mighty God, and I'm also thankful for sweet sisters in Christ, especially Amy. The recap video for this particular event can be found here, and did you notice our little secret Siesta photo? There were only 6 of us this year! We each got to hug Ms. Beth's sweet neck and chat with her for a couple minutes. How fun! #becausecheese #insidejoke #1samuel17:18

Because can you get enough of my dogs? I can't. This is a new favorite picture of them. Since our new house is almost completely carpeted, they love to lie (lay?) on the little square of tiles at the front door or in one of the bathrooms to keep cool while we're all just relaxing inside, but I caught them like this on the linoleum in the kitchen the other night. I think this picture might give me diabetes it's just so stinkin' sweet. 

Have you had just about enough yet? We're almost done, I promise.

Speaking of precious sisters in Christ, one of mine just handed my husband and me an envelope on Sunday completely out of the blue, and inside was my new favorite thing. An American flag ChapStick keychain. Which I can only assume she made. And it even had a brand new tube of lip balm in it. Y'all. Remember how excited I was when I found this one? It doesn't even compare to this new one, mostly because it wasn't made especially for me by such a thoughtful, praying lady. Thank you, Miss Rhonda! I absolutely love it!

I started a new Bible study this week, and I'm really excited about the study and the group of women I'll be studying alongside of. This is the first Bible study I've ever done by Jennifer Rothschild, and she is just as sweet as sugar. I can tell I'm going to love it. The very first day of homework already had me crying some tender tears. What a blessing to have God's Word in my own two hands and to see His unfailing love for His own on every page! Hallelujah!

Alright. Last one. Just me and my boys soaking up that gorgeous Florida sunshine this week. Lookin' a hot mess per usual. If you made it all the way down to this, I congratulate you. Tell me what's going on with you! And if you can figure out how to leave your own photo in the comments, all the better. Have a fantastic weekend!

Casual Fridays

Well hello there! It's been a while, and frankly, I don't have the slightest idea where to begin so I've decided to grace you with another Photo-Prompted Post. But first, an update on the Pumpkin Predicament of 2015: I am happy to report that last Thursday, Cody took me to Coldstone (the one in Lakeside for any likeminded people who are distressed by the deplorable lack of pumpkin-y goodness), and they had pumpkin ice cream. And y'all. It was to die for. I got graham cracker cookie crust mixed in, and I'm pretty sure I heard angels singing. Loved it. Also, I bought a pumpkin pie from Publix. Because I can always count on Publix, hallelujah. And on Tuesday night, my parents took Cody and me to LongHorn for my birthday, and LongHorn is currently serving a pumpkin spice lava cake which, although I didn't actually order it, looked amazing. I'm feeling a lot more optimistic about life.

Anyway, on to our Photo-Prompted Post. 

First up: my Gracie girl is in college. And we got to visit her a few weeks ago. I can't talk about how much I love her and how proud I am of her without crying, so instead, let me just tell you that she took us to this place called Steel City Pops. They sell gourmet popsicles made from all-natural and local ingredients. And I had a pumpkin popsicle. (Are you so sick of hearing the word pumpkin yet?) It was amazing, and I wanted to try every popsicle on the menu (except for the smoked fig with cheese....too weird even for me). We had a blast visiting with Grace, and her new school and town are beautiful. We will definitely be going back soon. If not for Grace, then for those Steel City Pops. Holy moly.

Our quick visit with Grace was actually a pit-stop on our way to North Carolina for family vacation. Fun story: I was driving when we crossed into North Carolina, and as soon as I saw that beautiful welcome sign, I pulled off the highway. There was this steep--and I do emphasize the word steep--road leading up to a gated community right before you passed the sign. So I crawled up this hill, did a little U-turn, pulled off, and was quizzed by my husband on the proper direction to turn the wheels when we're parking on such a steep incline. (I passed the test, by the way.) We almost broke our necks running down this slippery hill, snapped a couple pictures, then we huffed our way back up to the car, during which I almost lost my flip-flops several times. We jumped back in the car, pulled back onto the highway....and almost immediately passed an entire parking area for what I can only assume is a place for crazy people like me who want to take a picture in front of the state welcome sign. My poor husband was just shaking his head. Bless. Welcome to North Carolina.

My family is the best and we know how to vacation. Here we are playing Golf late into the night. This photo really represents an entire week of fun games, the most memorable of this trip being Family Feud. (Good answer!) Even though we're extremely competitive people, we love each other and have a blast playing together, although to the casual observer it might seem more like one death match after another. And speaking of death matches, my biggest triumph in the realm of family games this year was definitely sustained during a game of Rack-O in which I completely annihilated my mom and two of my sisters. Fun times.

The leaves were all turning and the fall colors were gorgeous. We don't get any of that down here in Florida (what we do get is 70 degree weather in November--praise Him!) so we took all the opportunities to take pictures with that beautiful backdrop.

A sweet lady from our church sent all these cozy, handmade, stocking caps up with my dad for all of us to enjoy throughout the week. And let me tell you, we were grateful for any warm thing considering we're pretty much all tried-and-true Floridians and those temps were dipping down into the 40s all week. Also, have I mentioned my family is the best?

Personally, one of my favorite things about vacation (and probably the only thing in this post relevant to the actual purpose of this blog) is having time to read. I did some major damage to Theodore, but still wasn't able to finish it. I was seriously hoping to knock it out completely but apparently that was wishful thinking. As far as my reading goals for the rest of 2015 go, my only one is to finish this dang book. Vacation also affords my loving family members numerous opportunities to make fun of my hermit-like tendencies. While everyone else was out shopping or hiking or doing who knows what, I was holed up by the fire, reading a biography of a dead president. And loving every second of it. 

While I was snuggled up inside reading to my heart's content (#introvertsunite), my boys were out exploring and adventuring. I really don't have much else to say about this photo except I love those two with all my heart (the one in the hat especially). 

Last week, I got to take my BFF Erin and her firstborn to Busch Gardens. Since Cody and I have annual passes, I got a free day-pass for a friend during the month of November because of my birthday and I'm so glad I got to take Erin and her daughter. And there's a brand-new baby rhino! The first time Cody and I had BG passes, we got to watch a baby rhino grow up throughout the year. Now that we got passes again, another new rhino was born. Coincidence? I think not. Busch Gardens should just give us free annual passes for the rest of our lives, amiright? Anyway, call me a nerd if you must but I'm excited to watch this little rhinoceros grow. It's amazing how big they get so quickly.

And in case you missed the multiple times I mentioned it, I got older this week. But it was fairly painless thanks to this amazing guy. He had the six days leading up to my birthday off, and he really spoiled me. Those six days included dinner and a movie and Coldstone, new ChapSticks galore, a date night to Old Town, the new Cinderella movie on DVD, a full-body massage, more presents than any one girl should get, and all his love and affection (just to name a few). I couldn't be more blessed.

And I think that's about it for this post. Good catching up with you. Let's do this again soon. What have you been up to the past month?

Hi There!

So, we have entered my favorite time of year: Holiday Time. And it seems that blogging has been seriously relegated to the back burner. And I won't apologize for that because hello! HOLIDAY TIME!

The weather is cooling off. Everything is pumpkin flavored. Family vacation, Halloween, my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year are all rapidly approaching. 

And I love it.

Because of all this, it's evident that blog posts will be sporadic. I thought it only fair to warn you. If I finish a book, I'll try to get a recap up. I may pop in for a Casual Friday post here and there. If something particularly fun happened, I will probably document it here. I've realized since starting this whole blogging endeavor that it's become more of a virtual scrapbook for me than anything else. A way to chronicle my memories, my reading progress, and post photos that would otherwise be filed away somewhere digitally rarely to be enjoyed. 

In light of all that, I've decided that this week will be Pumpkin Carving week. My hubs and I carve pumpkins every October, so each day this week, leading up to Halloween (which is this Saturday!) I'm going to post our previous Pumpkin Carving ventures. Pumpkin Carving is one of my favorite little traditions that we've begun, and even though I'm probably the least creative, least imaginative pumpkin carver on the planet, it makes me happy. The next four days on the blog will pretty much just be pictures. So if that's your thing, enjoy! If not, who are you?!

But first, let me catch you up on some of the fun around here lately:

First of all, my first giveaway was super-fun! In case you missed it, Jon D. ended up winning our Happy Harvest basket. Congrats, Jon! Thanks to everyone who participated! 

Big news: I've got two new ChapSticks (thanks to my enabler) and check out my little ChapStick keychain! Another one of our happy traditions is to go to Polk's Fall Fest each year, and this year, I struck gold. One of the vendors was selling these and I've had my eye peeled for one ever since my sister flaunted her Florida Gators one (ewwww, GO NOLES!) months ago. So obviously, finding this made my day. And my life really because now: ChapStick on my keys. #lifewin

We've had a lot of quality niece time lately which is the best.

Cody brought me sunflowers the other day just because. 

Dairy Queen date which involved a Pumpkin Pie blizzard. I'm pretty much a pumpkin pie fanatic. I will try all the pumpkin flavored things. Cody's not with me on this but you know what I say about that? More for me.

So anyway, there's a snippet of our life lately. Let the Pumpkin Carving posts commence.

What have you been up to lately?

Casual Fridays

First of all, hi. This is what I'm dealing with over here pretty much anytime I'm trying to blog. So you'll forgive me when my posts don't make sense because, I mean, come on.

Second of all, HAPPY FALL! For my comrades down here in the Deep DEEP South--or Northern Cuba as some of us like to call it--Wednesday was the first day of Autumn according to Google. At my house, that means busting out my meager but happy decorations, cranking Michael Bublé, and burning all the apple/pumpkin/cinnamon spiced candles I can get my hands on.

Wait, have we not talked about my candle fixation yet? I can't. That's another post for another day. But it's real, y'all. It blows my ChapStick problem out of the water. 

And speaking of ChapStick, my BFF Lynds got me another one. She is so my enabler, you guys, and she has definitely got the eye for it. I've pretty much been forbidden to go near the ChapStick when I'm shopping because groceries, but Lynds, thanks for having my back, girl!

Ok, in unrelated news, I watched Jurassic Park for the first time ever in my life last week. I know, I know. Hold the snarky remarks, por favor. I'll let the following conversation I had with my brother give you an idea of how I felt about it. Also, I have learned to screenshot. Be so proud of me. I feel like I've finally arrived in the 21st century.

It's one of my brother's favorite movies. And I like to torment him sometimes. It's how we do life. We love each other a lot. 

Circa September 2011

Ok, moving on before I get emotional, and actually, speaking of emotions, let's talk about why I could never ever be a coach on The Voice. Besides, you know, the obvious fact that I'm not a famous celebrity rockstar. 

I could never be a coach because I'm one big mass of feelings all the time. People are just beautiful--GORGEOUS--and I love them all.

I would press the button before they even started singing. 

I'm not kidding. I cry during their intro stories. I beat my button at home to death (which oddly resembles the arm of my couch). I cheer them on--out loud--to the very last note. I clap when they get a chair to turn, and I cry when no one turns around for them. 

Seriously. 

I can't watch it when Cody's around because he looks at me like I'm fresh off the funny farm. 

And if I was a coach and we got to the Battle Rounds, I'd have a nervous breakdown. 

***

Is this post getting out of control? Let's wrap it up with some Link Love and call it a day.

- Greatest Dad Wins EVER : You guys. When she takes her dad the jar to open. Best one.

- A Powerful Practice for Prayer : This was super-helpful to me. What kind of practical things keep you praying without ceasing?

- Princess Cut : Hey locals, get your ticket NOW.

- How To Leave Me A Comment : Because DO IT.

I'm Back!

Hi! Hello! How've ya been? Did you miss me? Did you even notice I was gone? Now, I realize it's Monday, and we're supposed to be talking literature around here, but let's pretend it's Friday and do a little catching up. I feel like we need to get reacquainted. 

First of all, lest you think I'm like, the laziest, most neglectful blogger alive, we have been in the process of switching internet service providers and my laptop didn't take to the switch too well. So I was pretty much internet-less all last week except for on my phone, and, let's get real: ain't nobody got time for trying to blog from my phone. I don't know how anyone does it, but those people are amazing and unendingly patient. (I'm lookin' at you, Lynds.) And speaking of Smart Phones, I'm getting used to mine except I miss having actual buttons to press. I've decided touch screens are for the birds and texting takes forever now. I'm not even being dramatic about it at all. Anyway, our new internet is way faster and my laptop finally got on board so we're good now.

Now that you know the technical reasons behind my radio silence last week, I'll be straight with you and tell you why I really dropped off the grid. My hubby turned 25! And he requested homemade apple pie and brownies. Brownies I can whip up fairly quickly but my apple pie is a pretty big endeavor which involves making a mess of the entire house. Totally worth it though when you get this:

I mean, amiright? It's totally fine if you're drooling at the screen right now. 

He also requested steak-green-pepper-and-onion-kabobs from Publix (which he actually grilled himself because this white girl does not operate that kinda heavy machinery) and macaroni-n-cheese (totally in my wheelhouse) which led me to try out a new recipe which I've decided to share with you now because Holy Wow, it was that good. Do yourself a favor, throw your diets to the wind, and go make yourself a pan of this cheesy goodness.

To start off, this is The Best Ever cookbook and my go-to for any and all delicious recipes. Thus, I give you Macaroni and Cheese, page 398.

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (7 oz)

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook macaroni as directed on package.

3. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.

4. Drain macaroni. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

I followed the directions 100% except right before I popped it in the oven, I dumped sprinkled more cheddar on top. Y'all. Make it and get ready for a party in your mouth. It's definitely the best mac-n-cheese I've ever made, and I've tried my fair share of recipes. You're welcome.

Colonel's Corner

Check this guy out. I've taught him how to pose for the camera perfectly. He's a genius.

Ok fine. 

The truth is: Cody was standing right there making him stay so I could take a picture to send to my sister for her birthday. He fears Cody's wrath so he listens to him. (Can't you see that abject submission in his eyes?)

But isn't he just the sweetest thing you ever did see?

The fun new thing with this guy is that he follows Diddy and Dixie across the TV while I'm playing Donkey Kong. (Yes, Donkey Kong Country 2 on my old-school SuperNintendo.) He's seriously riveted to the screen anytime I'm playing and it's hilarious.

If you've been here long enough, you are acquainted with my ChapStick addiction and yesterday, my sister-in-love gave me this new one. It's the best. 

She loves me. She gets me. 

Either that or she's angling for some future babysitting favors. As if she needed to.

In fact, she will be dropping my favorite youngest niece off here in a couple hours and I can't wait.

There we are circa May 2011. I love us. Thanks for my new favorite, Lyndsey!! It's totally sitting less than two feet away from me as I type this because you know, I need to reapply every 9 seconds or so.

Anyway, I think we're about caught up on all the exciting stuff in my life (oh quit judging me because I think ChapStick and new recipes are exciting), except I didn't tell you that we got a humongous new TV because my husband says I shouldn't put stuff like that on the interwebs because strangers will try to rob us or something. I promise someday we'll talk books again. In fact, Christy should totally be arriving THIS WEEKEND, y'all! Which will either mean a super-giddy recap next Monday or more blog silence because I'm still poring over every single word or pacing down by my mailbox if for some horrifying reason it hasn't come yet.  

What's going on in your life lately? Oh and P.S. I've totally been jamming to Cheerleader by OMI lately. Yes. Yes I have.