A Little Sunshine on this Dreary Day

I'm not going to lie, I've been kinda grumpy today.  Work + Rain + chilly weather makes for a pissy Caroline.  I guess I need to brace myself because the Indian Summer we've had made me completely forget about the harsh reality surrounding Kentucky winters.
Anywho, I happened to run across this via Facebook, and it absolutely brightened my day & changed my mood for the better.  Be prepared, you might shed a tear or 2....but otherwise- Enjoy!

There's no skinniness in cooking!!!

*Foreword*-  Please don't kick me yall...I know I've been on a major domestic diva kick lately, and I promise to cool it for a bit after this post.  I swear.

I can't help it. I love to eat.  I love food in general.  Allllllll food.  My parents thought I was a phenomenal child when I was little because there wasn't any food I wouldn't try.  Granted, this reaction comes after they went through 20 kinds of hell trying to get my older brother to try anything, but still.  

*Side note*- how Kent eats NOTHING but pizza, chicken tenders, hamburgers, & Peanut butter, yet never gains any weight BLOWS MY MIND.  Seriously, talk about winning the metabolism lottery. Oh wait. Maybe its because he is 5'11, and I am 5'1.  Totally fair. Not.

Anywho, Jan (aka my momma) probably cooked 5 nights a week when we were growing up.  When I would ask her how she learned to cook sooooo many things, her response was "Well, if you love to eat, you have to know how to cook." Simple, yet so true. However, her statement didn't really hit home until I went to college.  After a semester in the dorm, I found myself literally craving a home-cooked meal (Ahem, this craving a home-cooked meal also came after I probably had polished off chicken fingers, pizza, waffles, etc. Oh college. And I wonder why I gained weight my freshman year. Tsk Tsk.)
Obviously, I couldn't really cook in the dorms, but it made me appreciate my Mommas cooking about 10 times more than I ever had in high school.
While we had a fantastic team of cooks at the Chi Omega house, I LOVED Sundays  because it meant that the kitchen was open, and we could have (some) free reign to cook what we wanted.  So, i would just take various left-overs & add stuff to them to make them more appealing to my taste buds.

Don't be jealous our sorority house resembles a Steam boat.  ha.

However, it wasn't until my senior year of college that I started to get more into cooking real food, and figured out that I actually did have some skills in the kitchen.  Now, I love my college besties, but none of them were really known for their cooking.

RIP Woodland Ave (Les, don't kill me- I don't know where you were that night)

Soooo, after I replicated a few of my Mom's easiest recipes, my girlfriends were all super encouraging about me learning more recipes and/or repeating favorite dishes that I had tried out of them previously.  At the time, I'm sure I really thought that my meals were gourmet master-pieces, when in reality, they were just the most basic type of recipes a person can follow.
Kevin & I also started dating around this same time, and I quickly figured out that there was no way this boy was gonna end up with someone who couldn't cook, especially given the fact that he had grown eating delicious dishes by his Mother.  So obviously, as time continued, I just kept on trying out new recipes & conquering things I'd never done before in the Kitchen.

So, as I said before, some of friends aren't exactly whiz's in the kitchen, so I'm never surprised when I get a call, email, or text asking about a recipe, requesting a recipe, or just a simple cooking question. **Side note**: One perfect example of this was when my friend Lindsay called to tell me she made dinner.  Oh maah Lord, she was proud of herself.  Of course, I first was super excited that she had actually finally located the kitchen in her home, but I was even more excited to hear what she had made.  So what was her culinary masterpiece? Don't worry, it was Hamburger Helper. There. Are. No. Words.  Needless to say, for her bday that year, I got her a gorgeous dish that was designed to hold her microwave dinners perfectly :) 

Meet Lindsay. Love her heart.

To be 110% transparent, I am far from being the next Rachel Ray, but I have definitely gotten better through the years, so I can usually handle whatever my friends throw my way.   I have to remember that my culinary improvement only occurred because there has always been a plethora of people on hand that I could call when I had a random cooking related question.  (Thank you Jan, Pat Gray, Michelle, Mary Jo, Hazel, and on the rare occasion, Big P.)  I'm mildly embarrassed to admit this, but I'd estimate that I've probably made (& will prob continue to make) HUNDREDS of frantic phone calls asking ridiculous questions, butttt... versus sounding like I stalk my family, I'm just gonna say that all calls were/are made to insure that Kevin gets top quality out of his dinners :) Bahahahahahaha.
Sooooo since my girlfriends always seem to enjoy when I tell them about a new a simple & delicious meal we've recently tried out, I thought it is only fair that I share a couple of my favorite fall soup recipes that are extremely simple, yet beyond yummy.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Who doesn't enjoy a nice soup in the fall?  This one is incredibly easy to prepare, but it tastes like it took you hours :)

INGREDIENTS

-2-3 Chicken breasts, cooked & diced

-2 cans of chicken broth

-1 can of cream of chicken soup

-1 can Rotel

-1 small can of yellow corn niblets

-1 can of black beans

-1 onion, chopped

-2 Tablespoons of taco seasoning

-1 Tablespoon chili powder or cumin (Depends on your preference for spicy things- Cumin has more of a kick.)

DIRECTIONS

(1.5 hours prior to eating)

-Sprinkle the chili powder (or cumin) on chicken

-Cook chicken at 450 in oven for 40-50 mins

-Sautee chopped onion for 5 minutes in Soup Pan

-Mix chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and taco seasoning all together until smooth

-Stir in cooked chicken

-Stir in rotel, corn, beans

-Put soup on simmer for 35-45 mins

-Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortillas

-Enjoy!

Jan's Chili

This is the chili that I grew up eating.  Maybe I am biased, but I have yet to find another red chili recipe that rivals this one.  The hubs even agrees that it is the best chili he's ever had. (PS- don't let the amount of ingredients fool you- it is beyond easy to make.)

INGREDIENTS

-1 onion, chopped

-2 cloves garlic

-2 lbs ground beef (I use lean)

-2 cans chopped tomato's (chili style)

-1 can tomato sauce

-3 cans chili beans (I use 2 hot, 1 mild)

-1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder

-1-2 Teaspoons Cumin 

-1 Teaspoon salt & pepper

-1/2 teaspoon sugar

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 teaspoon oregano

-1 teaspoon basil

-Elbow Macaroni

DIRECTIONS

-Brown onion, meat, & garlic in large pot

-Add beans, tomatoes, and all spices

-To prevent chili from getting thick, be sure to add 1 cup of water as needed (I usually end up having to add 1.5 cups by the end.)

-Let simmer for 2-3 hours & enjoy!

-**Continue to taste while chili is simmering, and feel free to add more/less of any of the spices to suit your taste buds**

Also I know not everybody likes noodles in their chili, but for those who do....

-Boil water, cook noodles as directed

-Add noodles 15 minutes before you are ready to eat (Adding the noodles anytime before then makes the chili waaaay too thick.)

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is about as basic as you can get, but believe me- it hits the spot on a cold, Fall day.

INGREDIENTS

-Cream of potato Soup

-Cream of Chicken Soup

-1/4 cup milk 

-2 chicken breasts, cooked & diced

-Frozen vegetables (Since my husband is beyond picky, I tend to just use frozen peas & carrots)

-2 Pie Crusts

-1 teaspoon pepper ( I always end up adding more)

-1 1/2 teaspoon of thyme

DIRECTIONS

-Cook Chicken for 40-45 mins in oven on 450

-Cook frozen veggies on stove--> Follow directions on package

-Mix Cream of chicken soup & cream of potato soups together

-Stir in cooked chicken & cooked veggies

-Add in pepper & Thyme

-Cover pie pan w/ 1 pie crust, fill with chicken/veggie mixture

-Top pie pan w/ 2nd pie crust

-Be sure to make a few holes w/ a fork in the top crust

-*Put in oven for 45 mins at 350 degrees

Like the title of the post says, there is NO skinniness in cooking.  I refuse to skimp on certain items in recipes because it inevitably takes away from the taste.  I don't use fat free ANYTHING.  I will, however, sometimes opt for the "light" version of ingredients.  IE: Lean ground beef, light sour cream, skim milk, etc.  I can promise you that if you opt to use all fat-free items, your food will suffer.  Just ask Kev about the chicken Alfredo pasta disaster of 09' :) Believe you me, my aversion to using fat free foods is also the reason why I work out 5-6 days a week... otherwise I'd definitely be the next contestant on The Biggest Loser :) 

Mmkay yall, thats it for now. And per usual, if you have ANY questions about the recipes, feel free to email me :)

New Found Obsession

Generally speaking, I honestly don't hate doing housework.  Call me insane, buttttt heres why:

A) I don't mind dusting, ie: I have 3 cats yall.  It goes with the territory.  Kevin might tell you I'm borderline obsessive about it, but I just truly hate the dust/cat hair combo.  Period.  Needless to say, the Swifter Duster 360 is my best friend.  Combine that w/ some pledge, & I'm a happy camper.

B) I also love my vacuum.  And no, I don't have the Dyson Ball, either.  After diving into some Consumer Reports (How nerdy can I be?), we actually found that people preferred the Electrolux brand when it came to Canister Vacuums.  Sooo happy we listened because it is AMAZING.  Kevin & I actually bicker over who gets to vacuum because our vacuum kinda glides itself along, making it SUPER easy for whomever has that chore.  (Yes, I'm completely aware the topics we bicker about are absolutely ridiculous, but hey- thats what keeps things interesting, right?  Righhtttt? )

C) I like to come home to a clean house.  My number one pet peeve is when people have a lot of clutter in the common areas of their home.  I promise it's nothing personal, it just kinda freaks me out & reminds me of an episode of Hoarders.

However, there is one aspect of housework that I absolutely despise....

CAROLINE + LAUNDRY = A BIG NO GO!

It's not so much that I hate doing the actual process of laundry- that part is no big thing.  It is the folding & putting up of the laundry that I cannot stand.  

To make matters worse, I have despised our laundry room for quite some time- mainly due to the fact that it is where the cats reside at night... IE: the CAT CONDO stays in there, which is disgustingly ugly to look at.  And I also hate hate hate the color.

Why couldn't have my laundry room looked like one of these when I bought it??

Sooo, immediately following me writing my blog last week about how I love painting, I got the insane idea that I would some HOW learn to like laundry if I re-did our laundry room... Sounds logical, right? So, once again, I mentioned it in passing to Kevin about "my vision" for what I wanted to do to the laundry room... He kinda grunted about it, so I took that as him saying "Honey- go for it!" Well, okay- don't mind if I do.  

So, let me show yall what our Laundry Room looked like to begin with....

In a word: ICK

And there is that HEINOUS yellow again- Banana Cream. Seriously?  Seriously???

The corner where the Cat Condo used to be... before I snuck it into the trash unbeknownst to Kev :)

So, truthfully, can yall really blame me for avoiding doing laundry at all costs?  It was TERRIBLE.  Anywho, our laundry room is off of our kitchen, so I thought it made sense to utilize the same blue paint that I used in the kitchen.  Why blue?  Because a) It is my favorite paint color in the house, b) It covers up that horrendous shade of yellow, and c) well... I had a ton of left over paint, so it didn't cost me a dime :)

So, lets look at how it turned out...

Blue & Yellow. Blue & Yellow. Blue & Yellow........

I apologize that I hadn't had a chance to steam the blue-checked fabric yet.  I'm aware I need to do that (thanks, Jan).
Clearly doesn't matter to Lucy :)  Of course she was the first one up there. Diiivvvvaaaa

Cute little DIY Laundry Sign :)

So, what do you all think?  I am borderline obsessed with it... Not because I think I'm the next Martha Stewart or anything, but I literally pulled this whole little roadshow together for about $70.  What's not to love about that?

Quick Breakdown

-Paint- $0- left over

-Paint Supplies-$5

-Shelf-liners: $0- I used some of our carpet remnant's, so it'd be more conducive for the cats to hop up there to their new cat living quarters.

-2 Tiered Cat Condo: $35

-Fabric: $12 (Hobby Lobby- 50%.. love it.)

-Yellow Rug- $8

-Baskets- $12

I know I said I used the carpet remnants to help make the shelves easier for the cats to get up & down, but before yall twist my words & think that was done out of pure concern for my cats, hear me out... 

Due to the fact I hate the process of doing laundry & I try to bribe Kevin to do mine on a regular basis, part of the laundry-room re-do was to make efficient use of that small space so I would have room to actually organize & fold my clothes.  So, as you can see, we now have the room we need- however, I still lack a piece of furniture or laundry room accessory to pull me out of this un-domestic habit of avoiding laundry.  Suggestions are welcome as to what you all use!  This girl needs all the help she can get!

So until I find the right thing to use in that room, I'll just stand back & admire the cute-ness of the room, while continuing to encourage Kevin to wash & fold my clothes while he does his own :)  MMkay yall- thats it for now!

My Future Career: The next Michaelangelo

I grew up with the mentality that I should never try to conquer something that I hadn't specifically been trained to know how to do properly.  Now don't think my parents were trying to crush my hopes and dreams or anything- they just had an realist's perspective on things.  For example: Jan (aka my momma) is an RN.  Got her BSN from UK, and has been in the medical field ever since she graduated.  My dad is super finicky about his hair (hrmm- wonder where I get that obsession from?? ), so he always paid top dollar to get his hair cut- even back in the 1970's.  Jan was utterly convinced that she could learn to cut his hair through trial & error.... and apparently that turned out to be an epic failure.  When my dad went to get his hair fixed by a real hair stylist, the stylist commented on my mom's failed hair cutting attempt by saying "You tell your wife she ought to stick to nursing, and I'll stick to cutting hair.  That way, no one gets hurt."

Pat & Jan. Note- his hair looks meticulous, right?

Anyway, I'd say that I still agree with that mentality about 90% of the time.  Hoooweeeever, that other 10% of the time, I have kinda blown that theory right out of the water.

When we bought our house, two of the upstairs bedrooms were this HORRENDOUS light blue color that is supposed to be considered "unisex," I guess?  I prefer to think of the color as more putrid than unisex, but thats just me.  Anyway, I was telling my mother in-law that I would need to hire a painter to fix those rooms, and she responded with "Why?  I'll help you paint those rooms in no time."

Ummmm??? Scuse?  What a NOVEL concept?  I, myself, could paint a room?  

**side note: How sheltered does that sound, honestly? Gooddd niiiiiggghttt.  But, lets be honest, even when i mentioned to Kevin that I was thinking about painting the upstairs bedrooms myself, he gave me a discerning look.  I was one of those kids who tried to color outside the lines in order to show my "creative side" so the thought of me painting a whole bedroom didn't sound exactly promising to those who know me well.  

Sooo, I painted our first guest bedroom w/ some major hesitancy & helpful supervision of my mother in-law.  Much to my surprise (and probably hers!), I LOVED the whole painting process.  Like, couldn't wait to find something else to paint.  AND- added bonus, the room turned out pretty cute.

The pic is kind of deceiving, but its a mint green color

So obviously, I had to immediately find another room to re-decorate so I could paint again.  So, a few months later, I decided to knock-out our family room w/ a fresh paint job.  I love to look at neutrals in other people's houses, but I crave color in my own.  In turn, I chose green for our family room, and then accented w/ TONS of color. This room makes me happy. 

Please note: 1) Kevin's normal position at night 2) how many cats can you see in this picture?

  That project was uber stressful because I decided I was gonna paint 48 hours before new carpet was to be installed.  Smart, right? Ummm no.  Probably ranks in one of my top 10 worst decisions I've made as an adult.  Seriously. That 48 hours involved a lot of tears, yelling at Kev for no reason, and a combination of chick fil-a milkshakes & pizza to get me through it.  So, after I attacked the family room, and completed it in under 48 hours, I took a short retirement in my painting career.

But alas, that retirement was short-lived.  After complaining about how NOT cheerful the yellow was in our kitchen, Kevin came home one day to find me knee deep into painting our whole kitchen.  Did I bother to consult with him on this? Uhhh. Umm. Oops. 

**Side note**: Better question would be: Did he care that I didn't ask him about painting the kitchen? Umm thats a big negative.  The ONLY comment he had about the ordeal was as follows: "Caroline- are you sure that Blue isn't a North Carolina Blue?  I can't have the TAR HEEL'S color on my WILDCAT walls." 

 And that is why Kevin is no longer allowed to make any decisions regarding his decor preferences in our house.

I can say with a high degree of certainty that "Languid Blue" is not the same color that UNC uses.  What do yall think?

Yes, again- I love lots of color in my house.

My kitchen project was fun because the blue paint literally transformed my kitchen.  Friends of ours were asking questions like "Did you all put in new wood floors?"  or "When did you all paint the woodwork? "  Or "Is that new crown molding?."  Ummmm no yall.  It was a $70 worth of paint. 

Anywho, I then took some time off from my new painting hobby.  

UNTIL I decided our bathroom needed a face-lift.  Weeeeelll- after finding out that what I wanted to do to our bathroom would cost upwards of $10K, I had to go to plan B, which was obviously me giving it a facelift via a new PAINT color & accessories.

So after obsessing over the right color & trying 5 different paint color samples out on the wall, I finally landed on Poised Taupe, which turned out spectacular! 

Yes, that is a flat screen over our jacuzzi tub. Everyone needs one. 

I will also say maintain that the master bedroom is the HARDEST room I have ever painted.  HOLY trim work.  The morning after I was finished, my body felt worse than it did when I had run a marathon.  A NORMAL person would be satisfied after completing one bathroom.  But, I am usually a girl on a mission.  Once I get something in my head that i THINK needs to be done, I won't quit until it is finished.  

As a result, this happened the same week as my master bathroom. Why hello half bath! 

Am I gonna be hired to re-paint the Sistine Chapel? Um, absolutely not.  But painting absolutely relaxes me, and is a huge stress reliever.  But seeing how I am a person who derives great satisfaction from instant gratification, I think I get a huge kick outta seeing the instant results of the new color splashed up on the wall.

Obviously, my friends have inquired about my love for painting and asked that I supply yall with some tips. So, here we go....

Wall Painting Tips

-ALWAYS use Sherwin Williams paint.  Their quality FAR exceeds any other type of paint.

-Don't make a knee-jerk reaction about a color solely based upon the fact you like it in a magazine.  Instead, utilize those handy little samples that Sherwin Williams will mix up for you.  They only cost about $5, and you can compare colors that way.  Plus, it allows you to see which color works best with the lighting in your room.  Example: You might end up choosing a lighter version of a color you originally like, especially if the room is small w/ low lighting.

- DO NOT spend all that cash money on the painting supplies they might try to sell you at Sherwin Williams.  One expensive trimming brush is all you need to buy from there.  Everything else else (A roller, roller pads, trimming brushes, etc), you can buy at Target or Walmart for waaaay less (& I think higher quality).  

-Taping is a waste of time.  Utilize the trimming/artist brushes from Target or Walmart.

-Don't be in a hurry, or else you will have a hot mess on your hands.  Hints why there are a few specks of blue paint scattered around my kitchen.

-Give yourself a day in between coats of paint.  See what it looks like in different modes of light (ie: morning sun vs 8pm at night) before you decide you need another coat

-Don't buy all your paint at one time. They always try to oversell you so they can make more of that cash money.  Yes, I realize it is a pain to go back to SW multiple times, but its better than wasting your hard-earned cash.  **Side note**- When I was picking my master bath color, I probably made about 6 trips to Sherwin Williams.  The consistent trips actually worked out in my favor because due to the fact the guys at Sherwin Williams got such a kick out of this little blonde girl being so paint obsessed, they gave me discounts & call me when I can get 50% :)**

-Finally, don't forget to throw down some old blankets or towels, so you don't ruin your floors. Paint is hell on wheels to get out of carpet, or will give you fits if you're trying to pick it off of wood floors (Not that I'd know or anything. Coughcoughcough.)

Per usual, feel free to email me if you need any further advice or more clarification on anything I talked about.  I'm aware I use some Kentucky-isms in my posts that not everyone understands.  This text convo w/ my guy BFF, Andy,  reminded me that not everyone can decode my verbage :) 

Bahaha. Love his Calabasas heart.  MMkay yall- thats it for now! Talk soon!

and YOUs gonna get on a booooat

So, its been a few years since I have been on a cruise.  My last one was when I was a junior in high school.  Wait, no correction- its actually been 10 years since I've been on a cruise (PS- why do I still think high school was just a few years ago. Damn you mid-twenties.)  But, from what I remember, cruising was a pretty classy experience.

PS- I took this picture by myself. Who's impressed? :)

Welll, apparently, cruising has changed something serious in the last 10 years.  How does it change you ask?  Weeeellllllll, the characters that now frequent this large ships are ehhhh... much more mirroring those in a girls gone wild or rap video than I had remembered. My case in point was exhibited the VERY first night we were on the ship.  Literally, we had been on there for 3 hours when we (the Grays & soon-to-be Wrights) decided to check out the Karaoke Bar.  Color me ridiculous because this is the first performance we walked into.... Helllloooo Drunk Monkey.

Let me take a quick poll:

Could ANYONE understand one word that Karoke Underwood was trying to sing?  No worries- us either. I still have no clue what song homegirl was even trying to sing. Bless her heart.  Now I'm not one to judge, seeing how I was the ONLY person on our cruise group (comprised of about 45 people) who brought their own wine. Don't get all Judge Judy on me now yall.  While other people were waiting in a ridiculous bar line once we boarded the ship, I was sipping on Pinot Grigio.  Some would call that borderline alcoholism, I prefer to call it resourceful.

Anywho, I stand FIRMLY by my decision that a website needs to dedicated to capturing the ridiculous acts and INSANE clothing choices that people make on cruises.  Kinda like People of Walmart, but it should be People of Cruises.com.  Seriously, it needs to be done.  Like yesterday.

Moving on, the first port we stopped at was the stunningly gorgeous TURKS & CAICOS!

So beautiful, right?  Wouldn't that be a perfect place to get engaged at?  Ohhhh wait, now that you mention it.
And THENNNNN......

JOSH AND JEN GOT ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Josh & Jen taking a quick walk down the beach 

HELLS YES!

The Soon-To-Be WRIGHTS!

Okay so, in the spirit of transparency, the 2nd & 3rd pictures are a re-enactment.  This pasty British couple began walking like 5 feet behind Josh & Jen, so not only did they stumble upon Josh popping the question, but also managed to ruin every picture. Booo. Hisss. Profane words.   Regardless, she said YES!

Me celebrating w/ the Bride to be!!!!!!

Oh don't worry, after 3 martinis, I obviously had to try all of our bling on together. Normal, yes?

Soo, what other interesting tid-bits occurred on this trip?

#1) I completely failed to remember that my husband is a complete picture Nazi on trips.  The kid wants a picture of damn near everything.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I have probably 20 pictures taken from our balcony of JUST the ocean.  No, dolphins aren't in them.  Or whales.  Just ocean. And clouds.

Exhibit A

Why hello clouds

#2) In my opinion, the turqoise water in the bahamas is by far the most beautiful ocean color in the world. Definitely my favorite.

Representing the CATS!!! 

Me pretending I just got engaged. Again :)

#3) Water Slides are FUN and a great time no matter how old you get. Nevermind the fact that I almost fought a 7 year old because he kept cutting in line in front of me.  

#5) As much as I love my husband, I have to admit that after a sharing a 10X10 space with him for 6 days straight, I was seriously ready to go back to work come Monday morning. I have no idea how his college dorm roommate managed to not seriously injure him solely based upon his sloppiness in a small confined space.  (Oh wait, yes I do.  It was his cousin.  Had it been anyone else, he surely would have faced a beat-down.)

We look so happy, right? Note- this was only the 3rd night :) Just kidding.

Before you want to throw rocks at me for how beautiful those pictures are, be consoled by the fact that every night we faced the most incessant & intense boat rocking that could make a whale sick. Due to the fact I know we are all adults now & live for our vacays, I promise to not post any more pics bc I know I would want to shoot me too :) So, I promise that now concludes our cruise experience, and thats about it for now.  Have a great Tuesday!!! 

Carol gets crafty- Round 1.

I have determined that I have a major ego problem.  And I am going to credit this ALL to Etsy & Pinterest. I now have this terrible habit of looking at cute things, and thinking to myself "Hmmphhh.  I'm sure I could probably just make that myself, and save some $$ in the process."
I'm warning you- it is a terrible personality trait to have.  The best part about me thinking those thoughts is that i am the LEAST artistic or creative person you will ever meet.

Prime Example: Young Authors. You all remember Young Authors, right?  You know, the books you had to write & illustrate by yourself in Elementary school?  Mine were a complete joke.

However, I was clearly over confident in my abilities, and thought my books were utterly amazing when I was writing them.  Unbeknownst to me, I was the only one who thought that.  In fact, they were so terrible that my parents were seriously embarrassed by them, & conveniently never let me show any of my literary masterpieces to any guest that came to our house. Unsure as to why, with such classics as "The Ant in Jail," where the main character (aka the Ant) went to Kroger & stole cornflakes, blue suckers, and ice cream because he didn't have enough money to feed his family, then got busted & went to jail.  However, because of his super strength he got out of jail & then the police hired him to deal with the real criminals (ie: spiders & flies).  Whats not to like?  I'm positive that most people would think "The Ant in Jail" had a really great message behind it.  Message being that people will go to great lengths to provide for their families, duh.  I'm sure that was exactly the heart-felt message I was going for when brainstorming this scholarly novel at age 7. 
  The irony behind my horrendous stories & hideous illustrations is that my brother won the Young Author's competitions damn near every year.  His stories all took place in exotic places, like the African rain forests, had fantastic characters, good plot lines, and the most amazing illustrations to go along with it.  In addition, my parents have held onto all of his Young Authors books all of these years, and can still be found in my parents basement.  Yet, mine are nowhere to be found.  Way to encourage freedom of Expression, Pat & Jan. Hrmph.  Okay Okay, I'll admit- Kent kinda robbed the gene pool in the artistic arena.  But hey, I've got skills too.  I won the math award every year.  No joke. Every year. How. Cool. Am. I?

**Side note: Lets now discuss my brother's limited math skills & how ridiculous he is. In our hometown, there is this math competition, called "Math-athon" that fourth graders get to participate in, but only 4 kids get selected out of every school.  Then, the kids on the Math-athon team competed against other elementary school's math-athon's teams, and each competition was on tv.  It always astounded me that he made the "Math-athon" team because even at 10 years old, we were all aware that Kent wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to crunching numbers.  A future as a graphic designer- yes, an accountant- hell no.  I did his college math homework for him, if that tells you anything.  Anywho, somehow the topic of the Math-athon came up on our last phone convo, where he proceeded to tell me that the whole reason he got on the team was because he cheated on his Math-athon test because his ruler had all of the multiplication tables on it.  So basically, he thought he was gonna get his 15 mins of fame via the Math-athon.  However, he failed to realize that you only get air-time if you answer the question first & get the answer correct.  Due to the fact he couldn't bring his trusty ruler on set, his quest for fame immediately went downhill when he didn't answer 1 question while he was being filmed.  I think they were onto him :) Bahahahaha.  Love his heart.

The champion Math-athoner, Kent

So let me reiterate, the fact that I THINK I can get crafty & creative is utterly hilarious.  I think both Kevin & my parents get a little scared & shudder a little bit when I tell them that I'm gonna make something.  However, so far- none of them can argue with the results.

Lets look at 2 little items I crafted for our humble abode.

So, I constructed this little to-do list after seeing a similar concept on Pinterest, except the one they showed was a Menu board.  See, sometimes I ask Kev to do a simple chore, but he fails to remember to do it, which drives me psychotic.  However, if I write down a list of stuff, he will always do it.  The problem lied in the fact that I never have anything to write down a to-do list on.  Paper gets thrown away.  Spread-sheets are way too anal, etc.  In addition, I could also never find anything that was cute to hang up in our kitchen.  Everything I saw was either plastic/grade school-esque or a plan white board (ick).  So, this little number not only keeps my house organized, but also encourages Kev to get his butt up from watching football to help out around the house a bit more.  Super super easy to make.  Its just a scrapbook shadow-box frame, a sheet of scrapbooking design paper, and then just random stickers I found that I liked at Hobby Lobby.  The glass is ideal for using the dry erase markers/eraser when you're making out your weekly to-do lists.  I adore lists, and I literally think in bullet points, so this just works for us.  

I know some of you all probably aren't overly impressed with my creations, but considering my artistic ability is on the same wave length as my 3 year old nieces craft skills, I'm super proud of my DIY projects :)  Its baby steps, right?  

Anyway, lets move on the creation #2.

How flippin adorable is that wreath???  Love love love.  Want to know what I love the most about it?  It only cost about $15 (give or take) to make.  All you need is a wreath ($4), little pumpkins from Hobby Lobby ($1.5/piece), 4 pieces of felt ($1 total), Monogram letter ($2), & about a 1/2 yard of burlap fabric ($2.50), and spray paint ($3).   All you do is cut the burlap into strips, hot glue them down on the felt, twist them into a flower, and hot glue those bad boys down.  Then, you just hot glue all of the burlap flowers down to the wreath, add the spray-painted pumpkins, and Waaa Laaah.  You have a fabulous new Fall wreath.  And yall, listen, if I can do this, ANYONE can do this.  

Mmmkay guys, thats about it for now.  Quick heads up- God knows I've been talking incessantly about how many changes we've made in our house recently, and FINALLY my next post is gonna be allll the pics from those decor changes.  Sooo excited to show you guys!!

I'm gonna leave you all with this because it will absolutely warm your heart. BEST PROPOSAL EVER. Enjoy!!  

So, lets discuss.....

How hysterical my mother is.  I'm not kidding when I say she makes me laugh on a daily basis.  About 90% of the time she doesn't mean to, and the other 10% is when she is trying to tell me a joke or something else funny, which she usually ends up telling incorrectly which makes it even funnier.

  Another reason Jan continually gives me mad kicks is because we are pretty much polar opposites.  Our minds work completely different.  My dad (who I am identical in personality to) & I talk daily, & we rarely go a day without some-sort of Jan-ism being told.
My all-time favorite Jan-ism came after Kevin & I were giving her hell about saving EVERYTHING.  When I say she saves things- I don't mean it in the pack-rat sense of the word, but more like it destroys her to see anything (and i mean ANYTHING) go to waste. In this particular instance, Kevin & I were telling her that it isn't necessary to put 2 peach slices (from a can, mind you) in a Glad tupperware box.  After getting distraught over our heckling, she finally threw her hands up & exclaimed,

"You two just DON'T get it.  I am a CHILD OF THE DEPRESSION, so I don't believe in wasting anything."

Great sentiment, right?  But, ummm... Jan?  I'm pretty sure you missed the Great Depression by about 22 years, seeing how you were born in 1954, and the Great Depression went from roughly 1929-1932.  

Bless her heart.  History is clearly not her strong suit.  (Ps- she now claims that what she MEANT was that she was a child of a child of the Depression. Uh, sure you did.)  Anyway, so remember what I said about her & I being opposites?  If you ever see my Momma out & about these days, chances are shes looking pretty stylish, but believe you me, that wasn't always the case.  She finally came to her senses about letting me pick out her clothes about circa 1999.  Thank. The. Lord. It was also around this time that Jan (along w/ my dad) started paying muuuuuch closer attention to pop culture (maybe because they were raising teenagers?  I still don't know the rationale behind them following popular trends.).  Anywho, their facsination w/ knowing the most current fads & adopting the most current "lingo" hasn't faded since we were teenagers.  Not one bit.  Please refer to the following texts I got from my mother after I was teasing her about her lack of fashion sense.  

Either Jan is getting more violent in her old age, or she definitely made a Bon Qui Qui Reference.  Truth be told, I wouldn't want to get into a tussle with Jan.  She probably would cut me.  Hahahahaha. No, but seriously. She might.  

Sooo, lets also discuss how bad Kentucky Football is this year.

Were currently on a 2 game losing streak, and I expect that to grow on a weekly basis over the upcoming weeks.  A few reasons why this upsets me.  

#1- Kevin takes it personally when they lose a game.  I'm not kidding.  It's like they deliberately ignored his play-calling from the stands, and he gets offended by that.  What nerve of those players- listening to their real coach.  

#2- Speaking of coaches- I loved Rich Brooks.  Adored him.  In fact, he is my #1 favorite person to follow on twitter.  He was a fantastic football coach.  Now... Joker P... Um. I can't say the same about you, buddy.  I've had issues with him inheiriting the Head Football Coaching position since the day they announced that decision.  I think a coach should have to prove himself, then interview for a DI, SEC coaching position.  You know, like other schools make other potential coaches do before hiring them? Crazy concept, right?  Maybe then we wouldn't have losses that end in a score of 48-10?  Blech

#3- WHAT ON EARTH IS MORGAN NEWTON SO FLIPPIN SCARED OF??????  The poor boy looks like he just stepped off a pee-wee football field & onto a pro-field when he tries to get a play off.  He seriously looks like the other players (including his team-mates) might try to eat him.  Just throw the damn ball

#4- Lastly- why can't they hold onto the ball?  Seriously, what on earth do the receivers do in their practices?  No, really, i'd like to know.  Their #1 job is to catch the ball, so I fail to understand why they can't do that.  Apparently we've had 10 turnovers in our first 4 games... only 4 other teams have had more than that.  For an SEC team, that is ridiculous.  

Okay okay, thats enough football talk.  I know you all who don't have football obsessed husbands like I do are probably yawning by now (coughpink-lou loucough), & probably need a translator for the last 4 paragraphs.  I just live with this EVERY day, so I am definitely projecting my frustrations on you poor readers!

Don't hate me because I'm not totally moving away from the sports talk, but I was seriously pumped that one GOOD thing game from Saturday's game.  I definitely did manage to get a photo-op with some other UK ball players this weekend.  You know, the infamous basketball ones?  AKA THE sport to watch in the Bluegrass if you're looking for a W?  

I look like an elf next to these boys.

Ohh heeeeyyy Doron Lamb & Anthony Davis.  Glad we could get a picture of us hanging out.  Like we do it all the time. hahahahaha.  Truth be told, Kevin & I might have stalked them down a long walk-way to get this picture.  How creepy is that?  Gotta love UK fans.  

Okay guys, I better end this because it is becoming painfully apparent that Kevin's UK obsession is starting to rub off on me, and its kinda weirding me out.  Sooo, thats it for now! xoxoxo