Go Dawgs and Wreck Tech! (GameDay Recipes)

For anyone who is a college football fan, you know the importance of this week.

Some good ole fashion Hate Week.

If you're a Dawg fan, it's one of the best weeks of the season. Especially the past few years, it's been pure joy to watch this game take place either Between the Hedges or....wherever Tech plays.

Yep, this game decides who runs this state. 

We all know who REALLY runs this state, but we can at least make it official with this match-up. 

Normally, I'm in Commerce with my mom and sisters doing some Christmas shopping on this weekend. This year, though, I decided not to go. I'm not feeling super well, plus I haven't worked this week, which means I don't really have a ton of money to do the shopping I would like to. It would be way too dangerous for me to take our debit and credit cards to a place where the sales are crazy and they're all outlet stores. 

Just. Can't. Do it.

Since I decided to stay home, I thought I would try some new recipes for the game. While I was babysitting last night, I came up with a couple of new recipes on Pinterest and went shopping at 10:00pm to get all of my ingredients.

DISCLAIMER: I have not tried these recipes yet! I went to make one of them this morning, but I forgot to take the meat out of the fridge to finish thawing, so now we will be eating a Tombstone pizza and chips for lunch.

The first recipe I'm going to make is Game Day Sliders. It looks fairly simple, plus it'll make a bunch for us to snack on throughout the game. It'll just be the two of us at the house, but I thought this would be a nice change to either a casserole or getting fast food.

My husband is a little obsessed with spinach-artichoke dip, so I found this recipe that I thought might work well. We haven't been able to find a store-bought kind that tastes decent, so I'm going to venture out a little and give this a try. The recipe calls for jalapenos, but I think we may just leave those out. We're not a huge 'spicy' fan, so adding those will probably not go over really well. I'm also going to attempt to make some pita chips out of the pita bread that I bought (Buy 1, Get 1 Free at Kroger, by the way!).

I figured we needed something else to go along with the sliders, so I found a recipe for these potatoes that look simple yet yummy. It'll also cut down on the calorie intake a little, since the sliders are not exactly on the healthy side. I think I may use a ranch dressing packet with a little sea salt over the potatoes, but I feel like any kind of combination of spices will work great! Maybe even some garlic-parmesan ones...that sounds really good, too.

I think that's enough for one day, especially since it's only the two of us. But I still wanted to make a big deal about this game day, so I think these three recipes will do just fine. 

Plus, I didn't really eat dinner last night, so I will definitely be devouring as much as possible. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, a safe Black Friday, and have a blast cheering on their football team during this Rivalry Week. I know we will be watching our Dawgs (hopefully) dominate the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech, while enjoying some game day food.

Gooooo Dawgs! Sic 'Em!

Creating Our Christmas

I'm still in a little bit of shock that this Thursday is Thanksgiving. 

Where did 2013 go??

The awesome thing about this Thanksgiving is that I have the entire week off. With the exception of babysitting for a couple of hours Friday night, I have absolutely nothing on my agenda except eat and decorate for Christmas. 

And clean. I need to do that, too.

As I have mentioned before, Chris and I had absolutely no Christmas decorations at the beginning of the month. I feel one of the perks of being a wife is getting the opportunity to collect and plan how you want your house to look for holidays, so I really wanted to start from scratch and buy/make as many of our decorations for Christmas as possible. 

I've kind of gotten a little obsessed with it.

Hobby Lobby has become my favorite place recently. I've made the wreath that will go on our front door, plus a couple of canvases that I'm going to hang up somewhere, and I want to do so much more.

I love any opportunity I get to indulge in my creative side, but I really don't like how expensive my indulging gets.

Even with many of my purchases being 30%-50% off, it still adds up when you're purchasing 10-12 items each time. 

I just can't help it though, I enjoy being crafty so stinkin' much! 

Bad thing is, once I do all of this, I then change my mind and not like what I've created, so I drop it and buy something already made. Every single time.

I'm a fairly confident nanny, a pretty confident dance teacher, and I'm becoming a confident wife.

I am not a confident artist/crafter.

I'm determined to like what I do and decorate our house with my creations this year, though. It's too much time and money spent to let it sit in our junk room.

Once I get everything made, I'll post pictures of it all. Maybe even take a few orders if, by chance, anyone wants something? Or I can find out if I need to stick to my day job.

I'm hoping to go on another Hobby Lobby run today. I've been fighting the urge since Friday, but I'm not sure I can fight it anymore.

And I need to clean our house so we have somewhere to put all of these decorations. That probably needs to happen before I bring more stuff in.

But, then again, this bed is mighty comfy...maybe I'll just stay in it until Chris gets home.

Yep, that sounds like a good plan.

Enjoying Life Now

As I sit here in our little dining room, with a cup of maple vanilla cappuccino and cinnamon rolls in the oven, I am reminded of something:

Just how much I love my life at this very stage it is in.

I think some women, including myself at times, rush through this moment of life. We have the husband, now it's time for babies. 


Or at least a puppy.

I'm definitely guilty of this! As much as I enjoy being with my husband and it only being the two of us, I often wonder and think ahead to our lives in the future. Not always with a baby, but sometimes just with a puppy.

As simple as getting a puppy is, it's so complex once you bring him/her home. You can't just pack up and leave whenever you feel like it; you have to make some kind of arrangements for the dog, or you take it with you.

Our home has a small fenced-in back yard, but it desperately needs to be cleared of dead weeds. Having an outside dog just isn't an option yet, we would have to get something that can live in our house with us. And you can't leave an unattended dog inside your house with no way of getting out to use the potty, unless you have those little pee-pee pad things, but we don't want a small dog that would use those.

Could you imagine seeing a lab or a golden retriever using one of those? And I don't think one pad would do the trick.

Anyways...

Even getting a dog would alter our life greatly, but sometimes I don't care. I want a puppy and I want him now.

Until mornings like this.

I love the freedom Chris and I have, and I enjoy the fact that we are able to wake up when we want, eat when want to eat, and do whatever the heck we want to the rest of the day. 

You can't always do that when you have another member of the family living in your house. 

Don't get me wrong! I am looking so forward to Chris and I welcoming a little bundle of joy into our home (I'm talking about a baby, here). I cannot wait for the day when we find our we're expecting, the excitement of wondering if it's a boy or a girl, the anticipation of wondering when he/she will make their debut, and then tackling our first night home with our little one. I'm super pumped about that day.

But I'm okay with it not being today.

I love our Saturday mornings together, just the hubby and I. It makes me realize how blessed I am each and every day to be able to say, 'This is my life, and I absolutely love it.'

There are some cinnamon rolls calling my name, so I think I should wrap this up before they turn cold. Enjoy these little quotes about marriage before you leave, though:

 

I hope you have a fantastic Saturday! Oh yeah, and Go Dawgs!!

Women Are Like Onions...

I think I am FINALLY over the awful beginnings of a sinus infection. I still don't feel awesome, but I feel so much better than I did. Just in time for me to hang out with the little man today, sure have missed him on my days off!

After babysitting for so many families, and having dozens of little girls walk into my class at dance, it's safe to say that no two children are alike.

If you have more than one child, or if you have had a group of kids in the same room with you for longer than 5 minutes, you know what I mean.

Especially with the little girls. Every little girl I have encountered is different from the next. And that doesn't change as they get older. In fact, I think it becomes even more evident how different women can be from one another.

Some women are strong, independent, 'no man-no cry' attitude who are very much career driven.

Some women are timid, very shy, non-assertive in social situations who are more than okay with taking the back seat to others who want the spotlight.

Others are funny, the life of the party, hasn't met a stranger before and probably never will. And you can't forget those who are just down-right awkward, but embrace it and love themselves for it.

Not all are this cut-and-dry, though. Probably more women than not are a mixture of two or three of these, plus other characteristics I haven't even begun to talk about yet.

Women are like onions: we have many, many layers.

Now, I cannot sit here and break down every layer of a woman. We will be here for years. But I can talk about a few of my layers, since I know myself better than any other woman out there and can be a little more transparent than just summarizing.

Side note: I think this is why the first year or two of marriage are some of the hardest. Whoever said, 'the first year is the honeymoon year,' got lucky. I have enjoyed every second of being married to Chris, but it's tough! Most of our arguments and disagreements don't stem from Chris, but from me. And it almost always has something to do with a 'layer' of me that Chris either doesn't know well or hasn't discovered.

Anyways, back to our discussion of women being like onions.

Being a woman is so very complex. There's so much to a woman's heart and spirit, that I feel like I discover something new about my own self all of the time. With each new experience, I uncover either more layers about myself, or just how thick and deep some of those layers I already knew about are. Being a woman doesn't come with a handbook, although I (and my husband) wish it did.

Since I was very young, I've been more on the sensitive side. I would cry at the drop of a hat, especially if someone else was crying. Although I've gotten a little more control over it, I still cry all of the time. At least two or three times a day I am wiping tears off of my cheeks.

I've also been a nurturer and desire nurturing in return. I want to take care of everyone, while being taken care of as well. I enjoyed baby dolls growing up, and I think that's what has inspired me to be a nanny. Also, I spent a huge part of my life at home with my mom and sisters, so that nurturing/being nurtured characteristic has come very naturally and has been encouraged for as long as I can remember.

Once I become a teenager and realized boys did not have cooties, I noticed another side of me: the hopeless romantic.

I have never been a career-driven women. There was nothing offered in high school that inspired me to commit 4+ years in college to achieve my goal. I wasn't the little girl who knew she wanted to be a school teacher or a nurse when she grew up. If anything, I wanted to be an actress, but we see how far that dream has gotten me. There was just nothing out there in the world that I wanted to be.

Except a wife and mom.

Instead of pursuing a college degree, I was pursuing a marriage license. I wanted to find the love of my life, take his last name, then make some babies.

All within a year or two of meeting.

I was an unrealistic hopeless romantic.

Once I went through high school without a date, I then figured I'd better figure out what I should do with my life in the meantime. I decided to then enroll at Augusta Tech to pursue an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Care and Education.

That lasted all of three weeks.

I don't regret dropping out of Augusta Tech, not at all. But part of me does regret that I didn't then enroll at Augusta State University. Even if I didn't finish a degree, I would've at least had a foundation if I ever decided to go back. If I decided to go back in the future, I would have to start from scratch.

But that's okay, though! My life may be somewhere different now if I had.

Once I dropped out, I then had to find a job. That December, I got my first nannying job, watching little Miss Bella. I also became a dance teacher, a doctor's receptionist, a preschool worker at my childhood church, and babysat on the side.

All the while, still single and looking for love. But no luck.

I didn't keep a job for super long, because I wasn't happy. Nothing, with the exception of teaching dance and watching babies, satisfied what my soul desired. I desired love and to be loved. I desired to take care of and be taken care of. I desired a man to sweep me off my feet and carry me off into the sunset.

Many men came, and they all went. Some by their choice, some by mine. Most left on a bad note, a couple scarred me deeper than I ever thought imaginable. None were my Knight in Shining Armor.

At this moment, I realized just how much of a hopeless romantic I was. I always thought there was something wrong with me, though. Why didn't I desire to be a teacher or an accountant? Why were people insisting that I was wasting my intelligence by not attending college, that they were almost disappointed in me that I wasn't enrolled somewhere earning a degree? It just added fuel to the fire that was telling me I was wrong with the direction I allowed my life to go in, but why was I not driven to do and to be what they wanted me to be?

Why do I have this 'layer' of my life that makes up such a huge part of me, but I cannot shake it nor can I satisfy?

I then realized that I was not made a hopeless romantic by mistake.

I was made, with a Divine purpose, to be the way that I am. There's a reason I wanted to be swept off my feet. There's a reason that a part of me wanted so strongly to believe in love at first (or second) sight. There's a reason I desired to take care of my husband and our kids, and there's a reason I desired nothing else but that.

If I was made any other way, my life would be so very different.

If you've followed my blog any, you know that my Knight finally came, and boy, did he sweep me off my feet! I do believe it was love at second sight (this entry explains), and I fully believe he's the reason I was made to be a hopeless romantic.

I probably chased a rabbit with this entry, and hopefully I didn't lose too many people along the way, but I feel like there are others out there who have this desire and have felt this way as well, and I want to encourage those.

Nothing's wrong with you if college is not screaming your name, and you're not crazy if there's nothing you would rather do than to take care of your man and your kids. 

There's a reason, you just have to be patient to find out why.

Now that this 'layer' of mine has been met, it's, of course, altered a little bit. I'm still a hopeless romantic, but just in a different way. I'm very mushy-gushy and I absolutely love it. I am probably the girl you would see walking down the street, being a little too 'into' her man.

I don't really care, though. The rings on my left hand allows me be that way.

I also love the mushy-gushy gifts: the love notes (or texts now-a-days), the flowers, the silly little lovey-dovey things that make people gag. I probably bombard Chris with all of this a little too much (except I don't give him flowers, that would be weird...), but, once again, I don't care. It makes me happy, I know he knows that he's so deeply loved by me, and I haven't received any complaints yet.

Sounds like I need to keep 'em comin'!

Women are definitely like onions. You can't fully judge us by what we allow you to see, because there's so much more underneath that you haven't even begun to discover.

I think what made me love Chris even more was the fact that he wants to know all of the different 'layers' I have, even if some are pretty scary. His admittance to not knowing everything there is about me, but wanting and desiring to uncover as much as he can while it's just the two of us was probably one of the sweetest and most loving things I have ever heard. It's hard to choose to be vulnerable when you don't know what someone's reaction will be, but knowing that there is someone who asks you to be vulnerable so they can know you better than anyone else, and will love you unconditionally even after they discover it all, is an amazing and beautiful thing.

The baby and I met Chris for lunch today, and we had such a great time. I love moments where I can see him during the day. Even though we spend all of our free time together, I just can't get enough of my hot man!

Told ya I was a hopeless romantic :)

The Terrible World of Sinusitis

Sorry it's been a little while since I've posted last. I normally write on my blog while the little boy I nanny takes a nap, but I've had some days off, so I wanted to put the blog off for a little bit while I got caught up on everything. 

But I'm back!

In my last entry, I had mentioned that I had made our wreath we're going to use on our front door for Christmas. Here it is!

 

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of it! There's something about making my own creations that makes me so happy.

It's also super addictive. I'm thinking about making a wreath for each door in our house. Or at least make something to put on every door. There are just so many possibilities! 

For as long as I can remember, I have had sinus problems. I honestly don't remember a time when I didn't have a stuffy nose and constant hacking during the winter. It's been such a reoccurring ordeal that I'm running out of different combinations of antibiotics to try because my body has become immune to so many. 

It never fails, I will get a sinus infection once the weather turns cold, and I will keep it (antibiotics or not) until it turns warm. Most of the time I can tolerate it with Sudafed and Alka-Seltzer gel caps, but sometimes it finally gets to the point where I have to get a prescription. Normally, I don't mind it all too much, just because it's worse at night and nobody sees me while I sleep.

Until this year.

Chris said I was 'gettin' it' the other night with my snoring. That's so embarrassing. 

I've told him so many times that if he nudges me, I'll stop snoring and go right back to sleep. But, being the sweet man he is, said I was finally sleeping so good that he didn't want to bother me. 

Still doesn't ease the embarrassing fact that I was snoring loud enough to wake him up, especially since it takes a lot more than an air horn to wake him up when he's passed out. 

(I'm assuming it would take more than an air horn. I've never woke him up with anything more than a vigorous shake and poking him in his side until he opens his eyes. I feel like he would retaliate if I set off an air horn while he's fast asleep, and I'm not sure I want to know what his mind would come up with for payback, so I'll stick with the shaking-poking method.)  

I have also woken up in the morning with my mouth wide open and drool that has been dried around the edges of my lips. I know that is not an attractive face to turn over and stare at, and I feel like if he knew that was what he was going to get to wake up to during sinus-season, he may have thought twice before he asked me to marry him. 

My poor husband. 

It doesn't matter how hard I try to sleep 'attractively' each night, I wake up looking like death x5. And that's on a night when I can actually breathe through my nose! Thank goodness he loves me enough to kiss me every morning, even though I could be Bride of Frankenstein's twin sister.

I know we have only been married for three months, and I have a feeling there will be a lot more in our future that will test just how much he loves me, but I believe this has been the peak thus far. You have to be in love with me to allow me to keep sleeping beside you every night, even though you know the not-so-great sight you will see when you wake up.

Although I miss my little guy, I am thankful for a couple of days off to tackle this sinus junk. The Lord was gracious enough to me to hold the sickness off until I had some time to get a handle on it during a break. But it is definitely kicking my butt right now.

Unfortunately, laundry and the messy house didn't get the memo. So, off to do some chores, I go. 

But not before I watch What Not to Wear and eat me some amazing soup I whipped up over the weekend. I think both of those are necessary on my path to recovery :)  While I recover, enjoy this little meme that I feel perfectly explains my entry:

 

Christmas Time is Here, Happiness and Cheer!

So...I just want to clarify something from my last entry. 

I was not saying that I wasn't going to do my thank you notes for our wedding gifts. In fact, I have already finished about half of them since I started yesterday. I think thank you notes are a great thing to do and a very sweet suggestion. It definitely lets the gift-giver know that you appreciate their willingness to help jump-start your new life, whether it be a wedding or a new baby or whatever else it is. 

What I am saying is that I wish people didn't think you are rude or unappreciative of your gift if you don't send out thank you notes. I feel some put more esteem on the thank you note they receive instead of the gift that they gave. I completely understand people wanting to know that you received their gift and that you enjoy it, but I don't understand having your feelings hurt or feeling under-appreciated if you don't receive a written thank you. 

Also, I have gifts that had no name on them or the name tag was lost. There's no way for me to thank you if I don't know who it's from. 

For anyone who ever receives a gift from Chris and I, please do not worry about sending us a thank you note. Like I mentioned in my previous entry, I know you either appreciate it or you returned it to get something that you wanted/needed instead. You can cross us off your list of who to write to :)

Anyways, moving on.

As you are probably already aware of, this is Chris and I's first Christmas together in our new house. Well, this is our first Christmas together as husband and wife also, but I feel like that doesn't change too much from our Christmas as an engaged couple. 

Except the fact that we'll be waking up the same bed on Christmas morning.

We have absolutely no Christmas decorations. At all. Whatsoever. And when I say absolutely none, I mean absolutely none.

I know there's probably some people reading this that are going through their list of all of their decorations they don't use anymore and are wondering if they are willing to part with them for me to use.

It's okay, you don't have to contemplate it! I probably wouldn't take them.

Not to be rude! But just because I'm really looking forward to building up our own Christmas collection. I'm excited about starting from scratch!

Chris and I were bored last week, so we decided to go to Target to look at some Christmas trees. 

Because of my asthma and allergies, I would rather have a fake Christmas tree than getting a real one each year. I also plan on putting the tree up during Thanksgiving break, and I feel like that's a little too long for a real tree. 

Sorry for the side note, back to the main topic.

While we were there, we decided to go ahead and figure out how we wanted our tree to look. We haven't collected any ornaments yet, so we're able to pick out the colors and the 'theme' for our big tree this year.

Can you guess what colors we went with?

If you know us well, you probably guessed red, black, and white.

You're close! It's red, black, and silver.

And it makes me really happy.

So, we got one box of ornaments and a couple boxes of clear lights, but no tree. Target employees were not hanging around long enough for us to ask about getting one of the trees, so we didn't buy one this time. 

That's it, though. That's all we have. Just ornaments and some lights.

Oh! And wrapping paper with some gift tags. I have a small addiction to wrapping paper, so I purchased that the day after Christmas last year. It's a lot cheaper then!

This past week, I decided our door needs a Christmas wreath. Christmas wreaths are ridiculously expensive, so I made ours. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a Styrofoam circle, some yarn, a spool of wired Christmas ribbon, and small, wooden letters to spell out JOY. Everything was on sale except for the Styrofoam, but since I have the Hobby Lobby app, I was able to use a 40% coupon on the Styrofoam circle. I think I spent about $15 total on all of it.

I wrapped the yarn tightly around the Styrofoam until it was completely covered, I then pained the wooden letters and glued them on the side, and I finished it off with a bow that I tied onto the wreath. Voila! It was finished! 

The entire project took me around 2-3 hours once I finally finished it, and I think it looks really cute! It definitely beats buying one just like it for $50.

Unfortunately, I haven't taken a picture of it yet. I meant to yesterday! But then I forgot. I will take one tonight and post it on here tomorrow. It really makes me happy!

So that concludes our list of Christmas decorations. Not very long, but it's a start.

I haven't even hit on my list of Christmas gifts yet, but hopefully that's coming next week. And hopefully we'll actually buy the tree we picked out, too. 

I cannot believe Christmas is sneaking up this quickly! But I'm very excited about it. I absolutely love this time of the year, and I'm so ready to fully experience everything Thanksgiving and Christmas brings! From turkey to hot chocolate, pretty leaves to Christmas trees, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving to A Charlie Brown Christmas, I'm indulging in it all.

And loving every minute of it!

Another 'Just Being Honest' Entry...

I want to start off by saying Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. Freedom isn't free, and I am so thankful and grateful for those who answered the call to join our military. Thank you all so very much!!

As you can tell by the title of this entry, I'm going to say something that might start up some controversy.

But I don't really care.

It's nothing bad or serious! It's not even political. It's just my opinion.

I wish thank you notes would be a thing of the past.

Now, I'm sure some of you are relieved that I'm not taking on a greater task to discuss and cause a ruckus. Some of you are probably chuckling. But some are probably about to faint and/or wanting to give me a lecture one why thank you notes are important.

No need to lecture me on this one. I know you need to do them, I just wish they would disappear.

I have to be honest and say that I haven't written a single thank you note yet for all of our wedding gifts. My original plan of what I was going to buy as our cards didn't work out, which I didn't know until a month or so ago, so I went to my back-up plan.

I ordered postcards from VistaPrint.

Little side note - I know some people have been dissatisfied with their VistaPrint orders, but I absolutely love them. I got my save the dates, wedding invitations, thank you cards for shower gifts, return address stamp, return address labels, notepad, and my thank you postcards from there. They all have turned out awesome, and they give you so many options! Groupon also has groupons for them all the time. Great stuff for a great price - you just can't beat it!

Anyways, back to my rant.

So I have my postcards and my gift list, but just no motivation to do them. It's not like it's hard! I just don't know why it's completely necessary. After all, I could care less if I get a thank you note from someone.

Not trying to be rude! But I know you appreciate the gift, or at least the thought behind it, so there's no need to spend the time and money to tell me on a piece of paper, that I will probably throw away. Life is just too busy sometimes to write them! And when I have some spare time, I really would like to spend it with my family than I would with a pen and a notebook.

Same for those who are having a baby. You're having a baby, for crying out loud! You barely have time to sleep, let alone tell me you're thankful for the pack of diapers that you opened and finished off last night! Please, take that little moment of silence you have, and just rest. Watch some grown-up TV. Fix you a nice cup of coffee, and read a book. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT write me a thank you note. I am sure you really appreciated my gift of wipes as you were tending to a blow-out, up-the-back diaper. 

Same goes for a bride. You're trying to figure out how to be wife and how to live with a man. That's a tough enough job, you don't need to throw in the worry of writing a thank you note to us in the mix. I will know that you are really enjoying the towels as you search for one on the floor where your husband has tossed it that isn't too dirty for you to use. 

As I use each of my gifts, I honestly think of those who gave it to us, and I am so very grateful. I am very thankful that they took the time to get that for us, and I am thankful that Chris and I's house is busting at its seams from the outpouring of love through each gift. 

But I think people know that. At least, I know people appreciate our gift without them ever having to tell us. And even if they don't! Even if they take it back the next day, they appreciate the fact that they get to use the money that was spent on something they didn't need/want, and get to put it towards something they do. I know we did. We were able to almost finish off our registry (which is huge!) with the gift cards and the gifts we had multiples of and took back. We even have some 'money' left over to spend on future things we may need!

All in all, I understand why a thank you note should be sent out to everyone, I just wish it wasn't frowned upon if you didn't. I wish those who put a thank you note at such a high esteem didn't think badly of you if you don't send them one. I never look for one, because I understand times are different and life is hectic. And I'm very grateful when I do get one from someone! But I think they need to go away. 

Or if someone could invent  e-thank you notes, that would be great! Like, if it could send it out in mass, but still make them personal with your words, that would be awesome. 

Don't worry, everyone. I am still going to send the thank you notes out. I just needed to vent for a little bit. 

Thanks for listening.

Our Favorite Recipes!

I've really tried to limit our eating-out to two or three meals a week. Considering that we used to eat out eight or nine times a week, that's really good for us.

It took me a little while, but I finally have a small bunch of recipes that I use and rotate through. Some more than others, but all really good.

My criteria of whether or not I attempt to make the recipe is:

1.) Meat that I normally have on hand or easy to get,
2.) The list of ingredients that I usually have in my pantry/fridge/spice cabinet,
3.) Preparation/cook time, and
4.) How many pots and pans I'm going to dirty up.

With me working full-time and Chris's uncertainty of his skills in the kitchen, trying a complicated recipe during the week just isn't practical. I don't want to spend my time after work entirely in the kitchen then bed time; I want a little time with my husband somewhere in there!

I have to admit, I keep forgetting about our crock pot. We have two of them, too! I just don't always have the meat for a crock pot on hand. I need to get better about that, though. It's so easy, there's really no excuse for me not to.

I think I'll make that my New Year's Resolution: use my crock pot more.

I'm about to brag on myself for just a bit. Don't worry, I'll come down from my high-horse in a second.

I am definitely my worst critic, but I have made some killer recipes that have even impressed me. Some I knew would be good; others I were very skeptical of that, but they turned out to be some of my favorites. Honestly, there haven't been too many that I have made that I really didn't like.

I did say 'too many,' not any.

I've made a couple of duds. They just didn't work out, at all, whatsoever. I was so hopeful of them, too! Nothing that hasn't been un-edible, but it was definitely something I didn't want to eat if I didn't have to.

I think my head would've become too big if I didn't have a failure every now and then.

I decided that I would compile all of my favorite recipes and put the links in this entry. After all, I want to share the wealth! I have put some of these dishes on here before, but they're scattered all over the place. I like to have mine close-in-hand so I don't have to search everything to find what I'm looking for, so I wanted to do that for y'all! So much easier than digging through the archives.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did!

*DINNERS*

'Healthified' Mexican Pasta Skillet - I didn't do the 'healthified' version. I just used the normal ingredients. It's expensive to use the 'healthier' stuff!

Pioneer Woman Sour Cream Noodle Bake - Chris's favorite! I've used ground chuck and ground beef (1lb instead of 1 1/4lb), and we actually prefer the beef.

Doritos Taco Bake - super easy!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole - don't use too much garlic like I did!

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese - warning: it's definitely spicy!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole - I used Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs, it added more flavor!

Quick and Easy Shepherd's Pie - I use instant mashed potatoes, make sure you add plenty of salt and pepper!

Chicken Enchilada Skillet - it was okay, a little bland, but read the comments. They have great ideas to make it better!

Jolean's Cheese Potato and Smoked Sausage Casserole - love, love, LOVE!

Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken - this makes a TON! I think it's even better the next day.

*SIDES*

Corn Casserole - Chris didn't like it too much, but I did!

Weight Watchers Ranch-Roasted Red Potatoes - so very good!

*DESSERTS*

Simple Apple Cobbler - I used a can of Sprite instead of butter, and it was still delicious.

Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate - the pumpkin didn't dissolve at all, and I used it straight out of the can. Probably needed to be pureed a little more.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake - I didn't use the pecans since I don't really like nuts, but I think it would've really added a lot to the dessert.

*APPETIZERS*

Cheesy Potato Fries - I used potatoes that were waaayyyy too big, so the potatoes didn't cook all the way through. Still so good!

Hot Corn Dip - Amazing. One of the best dips I've ever had.

****

I really hope you enjoy these as much as we did! And please let me know what you think!

I think it's almost time to go back through my Pinterest pages and see what else I can try out. I've got some days off coming up, so maybe it's time for me to go all and cook up something extravagant then...

We'll see :)

BTW, buying Christmas decorations for a new home is hard. When you have absolutely nothing and you need to get absolutely EVERYTHING, it's very overwhelming.

We did decide that our tree will be decorated in red, black and silver this year.

That's as far as we've gotten.

But at least it's a start!

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

November 4th: The Day That Changed My Life

Halloween was so much fun! We had a great time with the family, and our costume was a hit! I definitely think this one will go down as one of the best, and I'm already excited about next year's! But we still have Thanksgiving and Christmas to go, so not too excited yet :)



Halloween 2013

November 4th is a very special day to me.

Up until a couple of years ago, November 4th was just another day. The only significance it had was that it was three weeks from Thanksgiving and 50 days from Christmas.

But that's pretty much it.

Honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal two years ago. It just happened to be the day that Chris asked me out on our first date.

It has meant so much since then.

If you haven't heard our story before, here it is:

Chris and I met in early October 2011. We were both going out with a group of mutual friends, and we were introduced to each other. I did notice that he was very hot (who wouldn't?), but I was interested in another guy hanging out with us, so I didn't think much of it. Chris actually tried to start up a conversation with me while we were out, and we talked for a little bit, but I kind of kept it short. Not on purpose! I just didn't live an interesting life to talk about and I didn't want to bore him.

At the end of the night, we all went our separate ways. The guy I was interested in didn't ask for my number, but Chris sent me a friend request on Facebook soon after, so I think that was the first sign of something stirring up.

A few weeks passed and the other guy and I diminished completely. He definitely wasn't interested and I wasn't going to pursue him. I happened to be talking to our friend Daniel at the dance studio and he mentioned something about Chris liking me. I immediately perked up and started blushing. That hot guy...likes ME?! I didn't believe it at first.

Until Florida-Georgia weekend.

I went over to Daniel's girlfriend Kati's house to watch the game, not knowing that Chris was there too. As soon as I walked in the door and saw him, my heart started skipping and I had butterflies. He was sitting on the smaller couch with another friend of ours, and I had my baby sister with me, so I sat on the opposite couch.

I couldn't focus on the game. The only thing I could focus on was the fact that I wasn't sitting beside Chris, and it felt so wrong.

I knew I was supposed to be beside him. Not because I wanted to (although I definitely did!), but because I knew that's where I belonged. Needless to say, and I was beyond jealous of our female friend sitting next to him.

Looking back on that day, it's quite comical...and quite awesome.

Chris, Daniel, Kati and I ended up going out that night to the Halloween party at a local dance hall. We looked like hot messes, but we didn't care. It was a lot of fun.

I spent the night with Kati afterwards, and Chris left kind of abruptly. We didn't get to say bye, which I was a little sad about. I thought that our time together was over, he would head back to Athens, and I would be left alone. Once again.

Thank goodness he left his sunglasses in Kati's car.

The next day, he came back to get them...and ended up staying all day. We watched a couple of movies, went a grabbed pizza, and FINALLY he put his arm around me. Towards the end of the night, he whispered in my ear, 'Hey...can I have your number?' I went to give it to him a normal voice, but he shhh-ed me and made me whisper it to him.

I knew at that moment our relationship was going to be the greatest ever.

He left that night to go back to college, we started texting immediately after he arrived in Athens, and he asked me out on a date for that Friday.

November 4th.

I tell people I knew I was going to marry him after our first date, but honestly, I knew the first time we sat beside each other.

You can say it's love at first (or second) sight.

Our first date was awkward, yet the best date ever.

He picked me up at my house around 5 or so and, unfortunately, no one was at my house to meet him.

I will say he did kiss me almost as soon as he walked in the house. Normally, I would find that a little soon. Not with him, though. It felt...right.

We drove almost the entire length of Washington Road, looking for which Mexican restaurant to stop at. We passed three or four until we finally ended up at Mi Ranchos, about thirty minutes after we left my house. It didn't bother me at all, I just felt bad that I could've gotten him there sooner without wasting so much gas. He seemed to just enjoy spending that time with me while looking, though, so that made me feel better.

We were sat outside during karaoke night after we had asked to sit inside.

Awkward moment #1.

We were then sat at a high top with two chairs that didn't match. I happened to get into the really tall chair that made me look like a giant, while Chris sat down in a normal chair that made him look pretty short.

Awkward moment #2.

I finally changed chairs so we could be at eye-level, which helped the awkward-ness, but then we realized our table was completely uneven and wobbled every time you touched it.

Awkward moment #3.

We just laughed about it. It was an interesting way to start off our first date, but knowing us now, that's so typical for our relationship.

Never a dull moment.

After dinner, we drove over to the theater to see what was playing. Nothing caught our eye, so what did we do next?

We went to The Christmas Tree Shoppe.

It. Was. Awesome.

We walked around the whole store, joking about how you can find almost anything you need at that random place.

Decorations? They got it. Detergent? You bet. An outdoor hammock? It's there. It's just the most random place ever. And we were having so much fun making fun of that fact.

Once we left there, we went back to his house to watch P.S. I Love You and Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part II. 

Both picked by him. Both made me super happy.

I don't think Chris drove me home until after 1:00am. Even then, I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to leave him. I knew that's where I needed to be, that's where I was meant to be.

With him.

Before 2011, November 4th didn't mean much. It was just another day, like the majority of the days I lived through. Nothing special.

Today, November 4th is the day that changed my life.

Twice.

Exactly a year after our first date, Chris drove us over to the Lady Antebellum Theater to exchange gifts.

I gave him a couple of shirts.

He gave me a ring.

 

 

My life was forever changed, once again, on November 4th.

To me, November 4th means just as much as August 17th. Of course, August 17th is my absolute favorite day of the year now since I became Mrs. Taryn Johns on that date. But August 17th would just be another day if it hadn't been for November 4th.

We have now been married 2 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days. This time two years ago, I was hoping this is where I would be: happily married to the man of my dreams and living the life I have desired for so long. I still catch myself looking at Chris in disbelief that this is my amazing life now. I get to wake up next to him every single morning and fall asleep next to him every single night, and I can't imagine my life any other way. 

That woman I was two years ago today was struggling to find her place in the world, but was hoping Chris could help her discover it. The woman I am today is everything I would hope to be, and so much more.

I still can't believe it's been two years since our first date. It feels like it was twenty years ago; I just can't remember life without my husband anymore.

I feel like my life has re-started twice: First, when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Second, when I knew Chris was my Knight in Shining Armor. It's just amazing to see The Lord's hand in absolutely everything, even the tiny details. If so many things had not fallen into place when it did, and if so many prayers I had prayed had been answered with a yes, I wouldn't be writing this blog about how much I love my Chris.

And November 4th would mean nothing.

So, to keep up with the giving thanks every day of November...

Day 4: I am thankful for first dates, for diamond rings, and for the man who gave me both, along with so very much more. I'm thankful for a God who knows exactly what He's doing and who graciously gave me a husband whom I get to fall even more in love with each and every day. I did nothing to deserve this life, but I am so thankful that The Lord is merciful and gave me Chris.

I could go on and on about how much I love my husband and how thankful I am for him, but I think this entry is long enough, and there's some General Tso's Chicken in the fridge that's calling my name.

Have I said before how much I love this time of year?! Yay for autumn and winter!