HELP!!

hey guys! i'm trying to put a new template on my blogger and i'm confused!! i put it on and now theres an old background still on there and i can't figure out how to get it off! can anyone help??

THANKS!!

Mere

play-doh!

When is the last time yall played with this stuff? For me, it had been forever but my little nephew Jason LOVES it so this morning when I got up, he wanted to play with it! First he asked me to make a snake..

then he wanted me to make him a man! So heres my attempt at a play-doh man!

so i asked what he wanted next and he says "CHOO CHOO!!" and i said I ACCEPT that challenge! and here it is.. best darn play-doh choo choo i've ever seen! ;)

And finally for an update on my niece.. it will be next week before she gets to come home but my sister can come home TODAY! =) Brookelynn is doing better but she still needs some time in the NICU! thank you for your prayers! keep praying!

Baby Brookelynn

Hey Yall! My new niece was born yesterday at 11:58 am and she is 7 lbs 7 oz and 19 1/2 inches long! She is absolutely beautiful! I need everyone to pray for her though because she is stuck in NICU! =( Bailey had to have an emergency C-Section and poor baby Brookelynn swallowed a lot of fluid on the way out! =( Please pray for her speedy recovery so her and my sister can come home! here are some pictures!

Picture Perfect!

I got a new camera for christmas!! =)) so i've been picture crazy! i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas! here's pictures of my wonderful weekend!

old camera pics:
Christmas Eve

New Camera Pics:

Rockin out with the paper jams!!

SNOW!!!!!!!

Messing around with the close up setting on my camera =)) and yes.. that was our DELICIOUS cinnamon roll breakfast! we eat cinnamon rolls EVERY Christmas morning!

Pecan Pies

If you need a last minute holiday treat.. you need to make this little pies! they are so cute and soooo good.. and most importantly.. SO EASY!

You need:
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
and mini pie shells (i buy pre-made ones from the grocery)

Directions:
mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a wisk until all mixed together. then mix in the pecans and poor into the mini pie shells! Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. If you want to make one normal sized pie, the directions are the same except you bake it at 375 for 30-45 minutes =)

(i should be a professional direction writer... ;))

Every year my family have a buffet-style dinner on Christmas Eve with tons of finger foods including my pies, christmas cookies, little wieners, cheese straws, shrimp tray (yuck!), and dips! =) it is my favorite part of Christmas! What are you guys doing tonight? Whatever it is, I hope it is a wonderful, blessed Christmas for everyone!

Merry Christmas!

The Park and Pep Talks

Yesterday Wes and I went out to lunch then went to the park after wards! It was the perfect temperature for the park! and sooo much fun! Wes is my best friend so its always fun when we get to walk around and talk about whatever comes to our minds at the time! We even found a cute little tree someone decorated! =)

....and a goose.

we took some pictures but I look aweful and Wes needs to shave ;) haha so i'll post some later!

Anywho, I was reading Ally's blog today and I saw that Leslie has been sending her daily pep talks and the one she sent was so funny! so i googled peptalks and i think i came across the same site she found and i found this:

Gratitude lifts you.
Pep Talk: Sometimes everything seems shitty. It’s not, but it can feel that way. Everything sucks and all you want to do is complain, but even the person you normally complain to is annoying you. Boo. No matter how bad things are, there is a bright side. It might not be blindingly bright, but there’s a glimmer somewhere. Stop thinking. Look around you. Find something that isn’t obnoxious and be grateful for it. Yeah, that thing is awesome. Now find something else. Man, that thing is good too. Dude, you’re surrounded by goodness. When you stop dwelling on the ugh/blurg of it all and focus on your gratitude, life isn’t so bad after all.
Today remind yourself: Gratitude lifts me.

and i found:

you sparkle like this.

anywho. i just the peptalk was funny.. and really true! and the picture was quite clever! ;) if you havent checked out Leslie or Ally's blogs... do it now! =))

psssssssst.
1 day till christmas eve!!

Welcome Christmas Bring Your Cheer!

I'm having an awesome week before Christmas! Yesterday I got up and went to the mall to finish up christmas shopping! Maybe I'm the only one, but i love the mall at Christmas time! Theres so many people rushing around trying to find gifts...I don't know the chaos is exciting I guess!

So here's my list of my wonderful yesterday:

1. i found a really adorable dress that i am in LOVE with:




















2. I painted my nails this awesome sparkly purple!













3. My mom surprised me with a new christmas tree for my room! Its white with colored lights! just what i've always wanted! So i went straight to Target and got some cute sparkly ornaments for it!







































































4. I watched my favorite christmas movie: The Grinch!




















5. "The Help" is amazing! I'm almost half done. Thanks to Leslie!

















I hope your week before Christmas is as Jolly as mine!

Next Stop: Memory Lane

One of my favorite things to do is take trips down memory lane. Its just amazing to see how much has changed since you last took the trip. You get to remember both the good AND the bad. The journey to memory lane can be so intriguing because sometimes it can answer your questions and sometimes it just poses more. There is just so much wisdom in the past! The other day I was going through old pictures.. WHAT a blast! Its so fun to see all the pictures you forgot about, reminding you of all the fun times you were having. i went through high school dances, birthdays, pictures of wes and I, my best friend and I being completely insane, and reliving my nephew grow from a tiny baby to the smartest 3 year old i've EVER seen! ;)
Tonight though, I was thinking about how I used to write ALL the time! I would post things on myspace notes whenever I got ideas in my head that I liked to ponder on. I remembered that before I deleted my myspace, I printed out my notes.. and I found them tonight in a box in the back of my closet! This one in particular really caught me because its something I wish I could remind myself of all the time. So here it goes.

New Years Resolution 2007:
"So Cassie and I were discussing the new year and how time goes by so quickly the older you get. Sometimes I get so caught up in how I think my life should be and I waste time I could just be enjoying it as it is. I think this is the case for a lot of people. The reason society is the way that it is: materialistic and self-centered. Because people are so caught up in being an actor in their own life, they don't stop to realize what is best for them; They let society be their director. Happiness is achieved when we've obtained the latest fashions, technology, or trendy items, but even the most perfect of appearance are blemished when you get close enough to see them clearly. Our lives can never be as perfectly polished as we'd like, and that's the beauty of it. I've found that if you change your outlook on yourself, you will find a happiness that no one can take. So that's my new year's resolution: to just be happy with what I have here and now in 2007."

Anyway, it just amazes me that the words I wrote at 17 are still teaching me lessons today at 21! =) So I challenge you to take your own trip down memory lane and see what you discover!

Christmas Survey!

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate for sure!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa puts my presents unwrapped under the tree ;)

3. Colored lights or white lights on the tree/house?
colored on the tree, white on the house

4. Do you have mistletoe?
no =/

5. When do you start putting your decorations up?
Thanksgiving night all the decorations and christmas music come out! i lOVE christmas!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
man! excluding dessert? what kind of question is this?? well i really love the ham my mom makes! its a honey ham with pineapples!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
One christmas my sister and I got our first real bicycles! We spent the whole day riding them!

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We used to open one gift on christmas eve. Through the years its changed to one gift but its always the same: our matching christmas pj's!

9. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
What are you trying to say...

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We have two, one downstairs (my favorite) has all of our homemade ornaments and COLORED lights! and the main tree upstairs has white lights with gold and red decorations! Its very pretty but I just love the colored homemade decorations!

11. Snow! Love it or hate it?
LOVE LOVE LOVE snow!

12. Can you ice skate?
uhm.. i'm pretty much winning a gold medal in the Olympics next winter. ;)

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I've had so many wonderful gifts! My parents have always graciously put my sister and I first to make sure we always had a wonderful, blessed christmas! 2 years ago my parents got my a ring to replace my class ring from highschool! i wasn't expecting it at all! and its beautiful!

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you?
EATING! haha no seriously, I love sitting in the living room at night watching christmas movies with my family or Wes and being able to spend a lot of time with my wonderful nephew!

15. What tops your tree?
An angel

16. What's your favorite holiday tradition?
Every Christmas eve instead of having a big meal, we have a big buffet style snack meal with little wienies, chocolate covered pretzels, cookies, chips and dips, etc. and watch a christmas movie. For the past 3 years I've got to spend Christmas eve with my family and Wes's family! They open presents on christmas eve and then Santa comes in the morning! Its fun!

17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
I love giving gifts! I get so excited for them to open it I feel like I am getting the gift! and I really love shopping for the gifts! Its so fun when you have that "THIS IS PERFECT!!" moment!

18. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
My best friend's mom makes the DELICIOUS pecan tarts! YUM-O.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
White Christmas and The Christmas Song have always held a special place in my heart! and of course Lea Michele belting out O Holy Night has been on repeat on my iPod this year!

20. Candy canes! Yuck or yum?
Very yum!

21. What is your favorite Christmas special/movie?
Without a question, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Cartoon is my all time favorite, but i do love the Jim Carey version too!


And to finish.. here's a picture of my adorable nephew! =))



Merry Christmas!

Let it Snow!

Last night I was looking at Leslie's blog and i was looking at her adorable Christmas ornaments when I was inspired to find a Christmas craft of my own! So naturally I went straight to the craft queen herself, Martha Stewart! If you havent been to her website, you need to! Anywho, I came across paper snowflakes and thought wow, that would be so easy! WRONG!

I felt like such a dork because I sat in the living room while my dad was watching Conan cursing Martha for her "terrible snowflake instructions" after several embarrassing attempts, I gave up and went to bed VOWING that in the morning, I'd figure it out for sure!

Well this morning, I woke up and I mastered the ancient art of the paper snowflake. And I am very proud of myself for mastering SUCH a difficult, time consuming craft. ;) anywho, here were my favorite ones!

Gingerbread Cookies

The other night i finished Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.. if you havent read it.. you need to.. PRONTO!
I loved it soo much! and the ending was sooooo good! =) he always finds a way to put in a twist you never saw coming!! =) love it!
i've always said True Believer and At First Sight were my favorites, but this one may have stolen the title!
Yesterday I went to lunch with Leslie and we had so much fun catching up on crazy stuff! I love coming home and seeing friends I haven't seen in a while!
My bestie is in Mississippi visiting her boyfriend and my boyfriend was busy with friends SO today i decided I wanted to try to make some gingerbread cookies! Theyre soo yummy but they were kind of an all-afternoon task! But definitely worth it! heres some pics and the recipe!





1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup mild molasses
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt






Combine butter, sugar, and molasses together in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in increments, and continue to beat until thoroughly mixed together.

Pour the dough out onto the countertop and divide into 4 pieces. Press each piece into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 1 to 2 hours, or up to 3 days.

Adjust the racks to the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line sheet trays with parchment paper.

Spread 2 large pieces of parchment paper out and very lightly flour them. Place a disk of dough between the parchment sheets and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with the remaining disks of dough. Rework all scraps into balls and re-chill before reusing. Repeat with all the dough.

Cut out cookies and place on the parchment-lined sheet trays with an offset spatula, leaving 1-inch between each cookie. Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes. Cool on the sheet tray for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling to room temperature before decorating the cookies with Royal Icing.








* 2 egg whites
* 3 cups confectioners' sugar, whisked to remove lumps
* 1/2 lemon, juiced
Add ingredients to a large bowl. Beat, using a hand mixer, until glossy and stiff, about 5 to 6 minutes.
***I substituted ground ginger for the lemon juice. I just put a couple of shakes into the icing, maybe 1/4 teaspoon. It also made a lot more icing than i needed so you could probably half the recipe. =))