What We've Been Up To......

Looking out the window.....

Went to Knoxville to visit some very lovely ladies and had a blast catching up.....

Wen to the Kingsport Chamber dinner where Party on the Moon played...a REALLY fun band

had friends over for the super bowl, even Brody got to have a friend......

Went to CASA's red shoe gala....sorry about this picture, but I had to get the red shoe in.....

and soaking up some sun..........

Sunday Funday at Laural Run Park

We had planned a hike for today in Virginia that I read about in the newspaper, but as I was trying to find more information about it I came across this place that is only 20 minutes away.  There are supposed to be some spectacular waterfalls, and since it rained a lot yesterday I thought it would be perfect.  It turned out to be REALLY muddy and to get to the falls you have to cross the creek without a bridge.  We weren't able to get across, the water in the middle of it didn't look deep but it was about waist deep.  We will be going back soon to actually see the falls!  So here is our adventure in pictures.

                                                              testing the water

action shot

Family shot!

All dry and ready to go home!

Brody's New Boots

We had tried to get Brody to wear boots a few years ago, and he didn't like them.  Then we were at TJ Maxx and saw some for $6.99, so we decided to buy them to see if he changed his mind about how he felt about them.  As you will see, he hasn't.......

We are officially DIYers

Over Christmas break I got the great idea to remodel our laundry room.  It was a very old and ugly room, it is off our garage so no one actually ever sees it but me.  But when I was reading another blog I found out about peel and stick tiles.  So I did a little Internet research and found the tiles I wanted at Home Depot.  These tiles were easy to use, except I would say they are pretty hard to cut.  I have cuts all over my hands.  Here is what our laundry room looked like before we tackled the project.

 During

After

Still need to put the dryer back..........

This is a close up of the tile, the tiles look real, especially since you can use real grout. 

A few highlights from the week

I did a lot of crockin' this week.  I made the creamy chicken and wild rice soup that I found here Thrifty Chick blog.  It was pretty good, and very easy.  I really like recipes that have little to no prep because I'm usually preparing it in the morning, in a hurry.  I would make this again, but it is VERY thick like she says.  I would try to thin it out a bit. 

I also made the mac and cheese from the above thrifty chick link.  It was good too, I think next time instead of using all cheddar cheese I would use another kind to spice it up a bit! 


Alas, I have saved the best for last.  It may be a little odd to have this as a main course, but they were yummy!! Sausage and Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms from Allrecipes.

I'm not sure if they look that good in the picture, but they are delish!  The recipe said to sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, but I just mixed it into the mixture.

The wreath is finished!!

3 oh.....noooooo

Happy 30th Birthday to my hubby!  Luckily, I don't turn the big 3 oh for 6 more months, so I can have fun with this. Why is turning 30 so depressing???

Well here is a little uplifting quote I came across on the Internet:

• "The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits."

              -Hervey Allen

 I certainly hope this proves to be true.  

Now here are some fun facts about turning 30. 

You are older than 42% of Americans (I know, that isn't very fun)

You're 26 percent less likely to make a New Year's resolution in your 30s... but if you do make one, you're 26 percent more likely to stick to it. 

0.036 percent of people are in elementary school at age 30. 

The most common way to die at age 30 is by accident.

The odds you'll make it to your late 30s are 99,003 out of 100,000, or 99.003 percent.  

You are NEVER too old for a cookie cake!