I'm 30!

This picture is of my mother exhausted from childbirth 30 years ago.

Well, I guess it was inevitable. But it has been great so far. Sleeping in until 7:30, getting all ready for the day before even leaving my bedroom ~all alone. And then having french toast made for me and cleaned up for me! Unfortunately it will have to end, Aaron is off to work. Happy Birthday Carolyn, you gorgeous thing you!









Did you wonder how long I was going to go with these pictures? Let's stop there at the 5th grade, shall we? It only keeps getting worse!

I've Died...

...and gone to Chocolate Heaven! My friends know me oh so well.

Marlena was fortunate enough to be in Vegas (home sweet home) for a wedding this past weekend. Look what she surprised me with. See's are the best chocolates in the universe. They not only are the best chocolates in the universe (like I just said), but they make the two most greatest kinds of chocolate in the galaxy!

You can't beat a Milk Bordeaux! Oh, so creamy and gorgeous; complete with chocolate sprinkles!

The only thing that might top that would be a Butterscotch Square. I don't know why it is called this because it doesn't taste like butterscotch to me. But really who cares about the name! Let me bite into one of these decadents that just tastes like good ol' brown sugary sweetness. Mmmmmmm...

You don't notice one missing do you? I have a problem with mice around here. Maybe I'll save them to indulge in while watching The Office on Thursday! Or maybe I'll just have to take a bubble bath and indulge tonight! Okay, you talked me into it.

Can't Wait!

So who all out there is as excited as I am for The Office to start up this Thursday? Yes!

To keep me going during the summer I was having to read Creed's thoughts. And then sometimes check up on Pam.

But now the day is finally coming! And a full one hour episode at that!

A Cookbook To Share

My blogging friend, Natalie, is quite creative and organized... and we get to reap the benefits! She's collaborating another cookbook to share with all. This one's for the healthy nuts, so if you have some wonderful recipes that fall in the category of "healthy", then hop on over to her site, get the details, and contribute to the fun!

Thanks Natalie for doing all that work!

Awh Struck

The scenery out in the Great Smokey Mountains is wonderful. The fall colors were just barely maybe kind of sort of thinking to start up.

This is our view. Quite lovely. This will be the view in only a couple of weeks.

Don't worry, people... we have lots of scenery pictures yet to come!

The Living Quarters

The vacation was a success and good times. Here is the cabin we stayed in over the weekend. I had to come to terms with it not being a cabin as I have known all my years {tucked up deep in the forest, surrounded by trees} This one was on a hill surrounded by a cluster of other cabins. None the less it was very nice. This is as close as we come to camping folks!

We had a stream outside our door. It was fully stocked with fish, frogs, and even turtles. Oh,yeah... and lots and lots of mud!


Eden loved playing outside and "collecting rocks". She would gather the whole family. "Momma", "Daddy", "Grandma", "baby".
She also carried around her purse everywhere we went. By the way, those rocks she was collecting don't go in the purse... they go in the car, all over the floor, where ever they may land when she throws them.

Miss Ava was limited to the porch, but don't feel bad for her. It was fully stocked with dirt too. She also conjured up a cold while we were there.

She's mussing over those shiny snotty boogers. Eeeww, but oh so cute.

Want'a Go For a Ride?

This is a little clip of our early morning drive from the cabin we stayed in. Keep your eyes peeled for the lovely pink cadillac. {Someone's been selling their Mary Kay!}

We're Off

We are off on an adventure to the Great Smokey Mountains! Because Memphis is the very most west of Tennessee and Gatlinburg is in east Tennessee, we will get to enjoy the drive through this skinny long state. I'm looking forward to it. See ya after the weekend!

Mom My Ride

Marcia's Protein Bars

One thing I sure love about the church I belong to (besides the truth of the gospel in my life) is the fact that I have access to such sincere, talented, wonderful women. And they are willing to share these talents with me! Tonight one of these southern bells held a class at her house to teach me {and who ever wanted to come and learn} about grains. She is one healthy woman and I truthfully started to feel overwhelmed by all the information out there. I wanted to retain and know it all, but baby steps I'm reminding myself. We sat down to a feast of yummy healthy fiber filled foods. I was feeling very guilty enjoying my healthy-eating-self as I left Aaron with the kids eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches for dinner! All the food was delicious. One of our foods was Marcia's Protein Bars. Now this has some ingredients that I have never heard of, BUT I do plan on finding them at the health food store and actually making an effort to make this. These bars are something I can make, cut up, and store for grab and go's. Eden would be much better off eating this than her usual mini rice cakes!

Marcia's Protein Bars

Mix together in the order given:

• 3/4 C. Peanut Butter (I'm sure she isn't using Jiffy)
• 6 T. Butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 C. Molasses
• 1/4 C. Maple Syrup
• 1/2 C. Sucanat (this is a sugar you buy at the health food store)
• 1/4 C. Ground Flax Seed (she uses a little coffee grinder just for this)
• 2 C. Oats
• 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour (she grinds her own of course!)
• 1/2 C. Milk Powder
• 1/2 C Sunflower Seeds
• 1/4-1/2 C. Sesame Seeds
• 1 Scoop Spiru-tein Protein Powder (huh? I guess I'll get it at the health food store)
• 1/2 C. Chocolate Chips (I know where to find these)
• 1/2 C. Craisins

Mix first 5 ingredients together until smooth then add the rest and mix well with cookie paddles. Pour evenly in a 9x13 pan and pat down firmly with the back of a large spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely and cut into rectangles. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge They just taste better cold.

She Looks Innocent...

But she is killing me. Okay all you seasoned mother's; How do I get this 9 month old to sleep her pretty little eyes through the night? I've read the books, but maybe I just need a real good pep talk. I can't hardly stand her cries in the night, but that's probably what it takes. Once she does finally sleep soundly, then I feel she can finally share a room with her big sister instead of her lodgings of late. Help?

Mail Me a Letter

More often than not Eden is coloring someone a picture and then saying, "This is for so-and-so. We need to mail it." Unfortunately more often than not... I don't follow through with her instructions.

But not this time!

She had been working on a picture for Uncle Mark for days. Every time I put it away, I thought she would just forget about it, but the next day Eden would say she needed to color her "Uncle Mark" picture.

She helped put it in the envelope and stick the stamp. Dad assisted in the mailing and it was on it's way. Flag's up, Mark.

You can actually check out what arrived at Uncle Mark's house in the mail here:

Boo!

I Le-ove autumn and so of course, I le-ove Halloween! I don't mind one bit that all those decorations (and candy) are all ready out in stores. Maybe it is a little too early though to bring out my Halloween decorations at home. If I could, I would buy these spooky items. I think they are quite cute.


However, in the back of my head, I'm stressed about what to dress my kids up in. Ava's option is to be Yoda (Eden's old costume) but I personally would love her to be something actually female. Eden, I hope, will like what ever we pick out and hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg. Maybe if I get her a princess outfit from the Disney Store, then she can just use it for dress-up afterwards.


P.S. I found these kooky spooky funny items here

Sisters Laughing

This has been a long time coming! Video was taken in July 2007.

A Chair Redo

My parents left for the Philippines to serve a mission... I got the old wing back chairs. Well, a week before we were moving out to the south I decided it would be perfect timing to learn something new. I signed up for a reupholstering class. It was no small undertaking and very bad timing! Needless to say, I didn't quiet finish before the big move. But last night the last staple went in! I'm done or... at least with the first one. Never under estimate a staple gun! The middle pic shows the fabric color best.

Before:

In Between:

TaDa! After: (please don't look closely)

Hopefully someday in the near future, I'll be blogging about new hardwood floors and the paint color finally going on the walls. We'll be moved in someday!

Figs Are Yummy

I've forgotten how much I really enjoy the taste of figs. My superb mother-in-law introduced me to this yummy fruit the fresh way. She is lucky enough to have her very own fig tree right in her backyard. I wonder what wonderful things she is making this season out of those purple bulbish fruits. I picked up a few from our produce market, Easyway. I love this place! I thought I would be adventurous and bake with 'em. Do you all know about allrecipes.com? I love that place too! You can find any recipe about any item you would ever want. I'm baking me up some Fig Cookies right now. I haven't tried one yet... hold on, I'll take a bite... Eh, it's all right. I think I might have over baked them. I do like, however, the ground clove taste which was an ingredient. Next time I think I'll try my figs with goat cheese. I love me some goat cheese!

Cotton Head

Apparently Aaron has always wanted to see and touch a real live cotton plant. So today on our way out to an estate sale (more blogging to come about that) he had to stop and live out his dream when we saw a cotton field along the drive.

Aaron will you please stop goofing around and let me take a real picture.

Now much better, here is the serious husband I know and love.

The cotton was very soft and Eden loved brushing up against her cheeks as we drove away.

Merry Go Round Dreamin

Finally, a Saturday together as a family!

So what do we do? Merry Go Round at the Mall of course!
Eden was very excited to ride "with Dad" this time.

She eagerly anticipated... choosing which horse would be her lucky ride.

Ava just hung out in the stroller with Mom. Want to see her new teeth? Can you see them? There are two of them. Maybe if you squint.

And here are her boogers.

Hello Miss Eden!
She was good to wave to EVERYBODY. Eden didn't want to leave anyone out, you know.