AHS Homecoming '07

Last night, a group of us went to AHS' Homecoming game where Leslie had the privilege of being on the Homecoming Court. Wasn't she pretty? She seemed to glow all night, walking down the 50 yard line arm in arm with her boyfriend, #62 Cody, and later being the special feature with the band on the field during half time. If you would like to see the rest of the pictures, they are on our photo website.

I didn't pay that much attention to the opposing team's band playing during half time, but one thing did grab our attention. The band was playing Spanish music and all of the sudden the Color Guard, all of two girls, went to dancing around and waving their Spanish fans. Doug had to take a picture of the one that was dancing around a band member with a rose between her teeth. That was a sight!

Leslie got to play during half time with the band. It was a surprise to me because how could she march with her long dress. Needless to say, she stood on the edge of the field by the Drum Major and played her sweet heart out. It was a little unfair for the other band members because you could really hear her playing most of the time. That's alright because this was her night. It's all about Leslie!

Can you believe we took Katie with us to the ball game? Yes, this was her first football game. She was so excited to go to a "fooball game." At home, she was running wild telling us to "com'on, let's go to the fooball game." I was pleasantly surprised how well she did. She got a little wild with June. I packed everything I could think of for the game. She had her silly sack full of toys, backpack full of snacks and insulated bag full of juice drinks. We were a sight walking into the stadium with all our luggage, but she made it through the whole game. It was funny because when the crowd went crazy, she would holler out "Go Bama!" Too cute! Susan tried her best to get her to say "Go Dawgs." She kept saying "Go Bama" and that's alright. She even threw up the fist in the air hollering "Go Bama." That's our little Bama Girl. Around 9:00 she was going from person to person because I think she was getting tired and she didn't want to be still. She was however very still during the half time with the Marching Bands. I explained to her that they were like "The Little Einsteins." You couldn't distract her for anything while those bands played. I have to tell this story. When we first got to the stadium and settled in, Katie noticed one of Addison's Dance Team members. She was wearing a shiny gold dress with Go-Go boots and sprayed glitter all over her arms, legs and face. The first thing out of Katie's mouth was "there Tinkerbell." At first, we didn't know what she was saying. Finally, Susan and Maryann caught on to what she was saying. Every time Katie was one of the dancers with the gold dress, she would yell "Tinkerbell." So cute! She saw the dancers out on the field performing. She kept telling me, "there's Tinkerbell." Who would have thought! You can see the Tinkerbells pictures on our photo website.


Tomorrow starts the town's "Oktoberfest." There will be different things going on around town from now until the end of October. I would like to take Katie by the Catholic church for their "Germanfestival." Millard's company picnic is tomorrow as well. It's going to be a busy day! I've got to get serious about decorating for Fall. Katie and I made fall leaves, acorns, pumpkins & apples out of construction paper and displayed them on our windows around the house.

Have a great weekend and "Roll Tide!"

Maddie's First Hair Cut - Pictures

Parents Be In The Know - Recalls

Yes, I've received a few recall notices today from CPSC, so please bare with me because I feel it is important to make parents aware. There are too many recalls to display pictures, so I will only type in the description along with the link to the recall notice. Each recall notice supplies a picture of the product on the very bottom of the document. Please take a look at all of these recalls and make sure you or your child do not have these products in your home.

1. Kolcraft Recalls Play Yards After the Death of a 10-Month-Old Child. Check your portable play pen Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07315.html
2. RC2 Corp. Recalls Additional Thomas & Friends™ Wooden Railway Toys Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard. Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07308.html
3. Target Recalls Children’s Toy Gardening Tools and Chairs Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard. This past Spring/Summer, I nearly purchased these gardening tools because it was the "Sunny Patch Friends" toy line. The only reason why I didn't get them is because they looked too big (for older children) and not for Katie's age. Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07309.html
4. RC2 Recalls Knights of the Sword Toys Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard. Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07310.html
5. Children’s Toy Rakes Sold Exclusively at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores Recalled Due to Violation of Lead in Paint Standard. Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07311.html
6. Guidecraft Inc. Recalls Children’s Puppet Theaters Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard. Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07312.html
7. Children’s Spinning Wheel-Metal Necklaces Recalled By Rhode Island Novelty Due to Risk of Lead Exposure. Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07313.html
8. TOBY N.Y.C. Expands Children’s Metal Jewelry Recall Due to Risk of Lead Exposure. Link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07314.html

Princess Sheets

How do you like Katie's new toddler sheets? She loves her Princess sheets.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHITNEY!

I would like to take this time to wish my niece, Whitney, a very Happy Birthday yesterday. I didn't blog last night and this is why I'm wishing all the best today. I hope she went out with a few of her friends and had a great celebration.


Can you believe that game Saturday? It was so close and I really thought Alabama was going to pull it off. Like last week with Arkansas, it all boiled down to the decisions at the very last minute. Dag gum, Georgia had to make a touchdown during OT and score 4 points more than Bama. Ugh! I guess you've got to take the losses with the wins because that's how it goes. We had a pretty nice little football party with Mom and Dad, despite the fact we lost. I made Chicken Quesadillas served with salsa on top. Yes, believe it or not Dad ate Mexican food. Of course, I had to leave the salsa off, so I added extra chicken and cheese instead. Apparently, he had never seen a Quesadilla before because when he saw his plate, his eyes were huge. "What's this?" he asked. When I told him, he responded, "A what?" I had to tell him what was inside the floured shell before he would touch it. He said he liked it and he ate every bit after he asked me several times how I made it. I told him it Mexican food and he couldn't get over it. I had lots of munchies laid out for during the ball game. We had chips, peanuts, cookies, cheese and crackers. We were all too full from Supper that we didn't make it to the other food.

Don't you get mad when you wake up in the middle of the night or very early in the morning and can't go back to sleep? I do and that's exactly what happened to me yesterday morning. First, I have to back up. I use to sleep all night, this was before I had Katie. I never got up unless I was having problems, sick or stress. Ever since I had Katie, I have to get up every night around 3:00 a.m. to go to the bathroom and check on Katie to make sure she is covered up. Well last night, I got up at 3:00 a.m. to go to the bathroom and checked on Katiebug. I couldn't go back to sleep for nothing and I knew I needed my sleep because I was going to have a busy morning. I laid in bed until my clock went off at 6:30 a.m. Ugh!!! A lady at church needed me to step in for her with the one year olds because her and her husband contacted poison ivy. She said they were getting better, but she didn't want to run the risk of the children getting it. I didn't blame her and I didn't mind whatsoever. I enjoyed being with the babies once again. They were so sweet. I kind of miss that age where they begin to walk and babble. We had to separate the group of one year olds because the class is too large. Another lady and myself took five of the more problem children and took them into another room. Actually, the children were no problem at all. They were probably going through teething or didn't feel good. As long as I held this one little girl, Emma, she was happy. All she wanted to do was rock. I really think she was just tired because I got her right to sleep. Plus the way she was breathing, it sounded like she had a little cold. My friend, Stacey, said this little girl cries every Sunday morning and there have been many times where they had to send for her parents. Poor thing! I remember Katie use to be that way. Most of Katie's problem was she was very sensitive to other children crying. If there was one child crying, more than likely she was going to cry and not stop until I got there. I was so glad to get her out of the one year old class because she has never fused about going to class since. I guess she went into the two year old class when she was 20 months old. Speaking of Katie, she had a meltdown at the playground while she was with her Sunday School Class. Stacey told me she saw a little girl just having a fit and giving the workers a time. It sounded like the next class came to play on the playground, so Katie's class had to leave and let the other class play. Well, Katie didn't want to leave and she was expressing her disappointment. Stacey told the worker, if Katie continued giving her a problem that she would get her Mommy. No one came to get me, so I take it she straightened up. I told Stacey to whip her! She just laughed and told me she would leave the disciple up to me. tehe! I had to leave the one year old class early to go to my next job. Every time I went to leave something came up. I was caught in the hallway with a parent wanting to drop off his little boy, which was asleep. The baby boy had a cast on his arm, which told me this wasn't going to be easy to lay him down to sleep. Needless to say, I was late for my next job, which is greeting people coming in for the next service. Luckily, Ruthie, such a sweetheart, stepped in for me until I could get there. I had to make sure all the smeared Ritz crackers was wiped off my black dress pants before going out into the public. I wore a smock, it's just too bad it's not a full length smock. By the time we got home, I was exhausted. I did get to take a small nap. Ah, that felt so good. We bought a box of corn dogs and man were they good, especially since I didn't have to cook. After Supper, it was so nice outside that Katie and I went for a stroll through the neighborhood. Doug bought Katie a glow stick, so she held it while we walked. There is one street in our neighborhood, I would love to move to. The houses are beautiful and of nice size. Two of the houses have waterfalls in the back yard because you can hear them and most of them have privacy fencing in the back yard. So nice! Even Doug has mentioned how he would like to move on this particular street. Millard and Peggy stopped by on their way home from meeting some friends for Supper. Millard got over his pink eye, so he seemed excited to see Katiebug.

Today, I had to catch up with my laundry and wash floors. Katie and I played baby dolls this morning. I went through some of her infant clothes and pulled a couple of outfits for her to dress up her baby dolls. She loves pretend playing. She had to dress up today, so she asked to wear Mickey Mouse. This means, she wants to wear her old Halloween costume "Minnie Mouse" from last year. It's way too small and looks more like a shirt or tutu instead of a dress. Doug likes to pretend getting on to her about not leaving the house with a dress that short.

I would like to congratulate Leslie and Nicholas. As most of you know, they are Seniors this year and from what sounds like having a spectacular year thus far. Nicholas made Class President. Leslie made the Homecoming Court and recently was named Miss AHS, which is another high honor. We are so proud of them both and wish them many more successes to come.

Okay, I give up on "Bama Fever" stores. I've been trying to exchange Katie's new cheerleading outfit because believe it or not, it's too small and it's a size 2T. The neck hole is entirely too small. I've found out that all "Bama Fever" stores are owned individually and they will give you a hard time exchanging an outfit that came from another "Bama Fever." Yeah, I know - PRETTY STUPID! Anyway, after staying on the phone for a couple of hours this morning, I was able to convince one store manager to have me exchange it for other products for the same or more than the price paid. They did have some of the same cheerleading outfits in stock, but they didn't have a 3T. I probably would have even gotten a 4T, but it wasn't available either. Doug wanted to get Katie a jersey, but she told him that she didn't want it. FINE! We ended up getting Doug a T-shirt and I got a pair of pajama bottoms.

Doug was nice enough to take me to "The Children's Place" to get Katie a couple pairs of blue jeans. After I blogged yesterday about the Liz telling me about these jeans "Target" sells, Laura told me "Gap", "The Children's Place" & "Gymboree" sells them as well. I got online last night to find out who had the better deal. "Target" sold their jeans for $12.99 and "The Children's Place" sold theirs for $11.00, if you buy 2 pairs. I was planning on buying a couple pairs anyway, so they had the better price. Both pairs are flare, but one pair has a ruffle around the end of the legs. She is going to look so cute. We wanted Katie to try on the jeans before we bought them, but she was having such a meltdown today. As I was trying to put the jeans on, she went limp in the middle of the store and began to have a fit. The meltdown caused me to have a couple of meltdowns myself. Ugh!!! Since we didn't have her stroller with us, Daddy introduced playing on the escalators with Katiebug. Every time we passed one, she felt we needed to get on whether we wanted to or not. She decided to collapse in the middle of the mall because we wanted to go to "Belk" and she wanted to go up the escalator. Thanks Dad!

Before we headed back home, we stopped by "Target" to see if they had the shoes I wanted to get. I finally got her some dress shoes and yes, I was able to get the bumblebee shoes. I think they are so cute. I went ahead and got a size 7 because I will have her wearing socks with these shoes. She would have a little more room with a size 7 then a size 6. Katie found a pair of red paton leather ballet slippers. She had to try them on. I was afraid she would have a fit if I didn't get them, but she seemed alright with it. I didn't get the boots that I wanted and I know I'll probably regret it, but I thought two pairs of shoes will be good for right now.

New Photos of Maddie & Jake

Liz sent me these photos yesterday. She said Maddie had to try out her little brother's, Jake, new chair while wearing Mommy's socks. Sandy told me, Liz got Maddie the pink boots from Target and Maddie has to wear them all the time. Too cute! I spoke to Liz this afternoon and she said Jake weighs 8 lbs. 3 oz. now. Wow! She said she had to switch him over to formula because he eats so much. I was talking to her about our girls wearing jeans. She told me that she found some jeans at Target where you can adjust the elastic around the waist. Wow! I will have to check it out the next time I get to Target.

Last weekend, Doug bought Katie a Cinderella automatic toothbrush and it was the best thing we've ever bought her. Normally, she hates having her teeth brushed. Now, she doesn't give me any grief to brush her teeth. Thanks Doug!

Westland figurine

I told Laura I would post some "Westland" Disney Princess figurines. Like I said, they are acrylic and not ceramic. We got Snow White & Dopey pictured above for Christmas. Katie fell in love with these figurines. Millard & Peggy got Katie the Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz." It's a music box that plays "Over The Rainbow." Katie wanted Peggy to continue playing it.

Christmas Idea - Katie

I'm thinking about Santa Claus getting this Art Center easel for Katie. It's suppose to fold up for easy storage. Believe me, we need easy storage! I think she would like it, but this is the only idea I've come up with thus far. Toys R Us sells them. It comes with 2 chalkboards, 2 dry erase boards, 1 fold up chair, desktop, paper clips, 2 pieces of chalk and eraser.

Gorgeous Weekend!

It was such a gorgeous weekend here. Thursday and Friday, Katie and I had a little Mommy and Me time together. We did whatever Katie wanted to do. I washed out the swimming pool and let her play in it one more time. It won't be long before we'll have to put the pool up for the year. We have to use up those Elmo Swimmers before it gets too cold. Last year, I had a few Princess Swimmers left and I don't know what to do with them. I ended up putting them in Katie's pretend box with the rest of her baby doll clothes. I figured they would be small enough to put on her dolls. Katie loves getting out her playhut in the Living Room and roll around in it. She wanted me to roll around in it with her. What a sight? Let's just hope there were no hidden cameras around the Living Room at the time.

Saturday, it was around 60 something degrees that morning. I told Doug I wanted to air out the house. I love the smell of an aired out house. It always smells so crisp and clean throughout the house. It was a beautiful day for it as well. Doug and Millard installed his new satellite dish. I thought it would be fun to have a little football party. I grilled out hot dogs for lunch and got some nic nacs to snack during game time. We still had some time before the game started, so Peggy, Katie and myself went on a wild goose chase looking for this well hidden candy shop. I was beginning to think it didn't exist. We stopped at a gas station/bait shop and there were a few teenagers working the store. When I told them about this place, they all had this blank look on their face. I knew it would have be better for me, if I knew the name of the place but Peggy couldn't remember. The only information we could go on is it was down Trimble and it was something like a sister's candy shop. I went ahead and confirmed to the teenagers that since they look clueless, is there anyone else I could ask. "Sure," they all chimed in. The restaurant next door might help you. First of all, there were no indications there was a restaurant at the next door. I'm talking about no signs and no designated parking spots. I soon found out it was one of those "hole in the walls." I'm sure they had great food, but I wouldn't recommend it by looking at the characters in there. Shoo. After standing on the counter for a while, I finally got to talk to the only person running this place. The answer she gave me was that she wasn't from this area and she only works here. Okay. After driving a little further down the road, I asked another place. FINALLY! Someone knows where I'm talking about. He couldn't remember the name of the place, but he works on their lawn mower. Alright. After driving approximately 3 more miles, we finally get there. Of course, I'm driving below the speed limit and have traffic backed up a half a mile down the road. I'm sure everyone was glad to see me get off the road. This candy shop is located in some one's back yard, so you have to really know where you're going. Her peanut and pecan brittle is so good and thin. I wanted to get a couple of jars, but I ended up getting one big jar of pecan brittle and Peggy got one big jar of peanut brittle. As soon as we got home, we split the brittle so we can have a little of both. So good! The lady said she would be working long hours from now until after Christmas. She makes brittle, Cheese Whooies (like Cheese Straws), fudge, cakes, jams, salsas, homemade ketchup & mustard, etc. She also sells some home decor` like snowmen, Santa Claus, etc. I would like to try her "Hummingbird" cake. I like "Hummingbird" and "Italian Cream" cakes. Yummy! During the game, Peggy and I went out and picked up a Meaty Pizza from Pizza Hut. We were all too full to eat any of the cheese and crackers, roasted peanuts, cookies and chips I bought for during the game. We did however find a little time to eat Food World's delicious Walnut Fudge. Yum! What a game? Wow! We were winning when Peggy and I left to get the pizza. By the time we got back, we were losing be time. What was going on? Katie was wild, running around. I got the pom-poms down for us to do cheers. She thought that was so much fun. It ended up being such an exciting game. When we won by that last touchdown, we all jumped out of our seats hootn' and hollern'. Katie and I started jumping up and down yelling. She was so excited! Doug and I are planning on getting back on Weight Watchers as soon as the food I bought this past weekend is GONE. Sorry, but I'm not wasting all this food. He said he would support me in the Weight Watchers. I warned him, this includes eating boxed foods as well. I buy the Smart Ones (I think) that support Weight Watchers. I'm just gaining too much weight and need to shed some pounds. It's hard being on a diet with a baby that needs her fat. Katie seems to want to eat my diet food and not hers. This is one of the many reasons I quit WW last January. I felt so bad about Millard. Bless his heart, he said he was mowing the yard one day this past week and debris flew in his face. He took a paper towel and wiped the sweat away from his eye and he thought he scratched his eye with the paper towel because later his eye got real red and irritated. It did look bad. Peggy said if it got any worse, he would be going to the eye doctor. Well, Doug called me this morning with bad news. Millard went to the doctor and he has pink eye. Millard and Peggy felt so bad, but hey it happens. It wasn't his fault. I called Katie's nurse to get some advice. Sure enough, we have to wait 24-48 hours to make sure she is in the clear. She said meanwhile, wash her hands often.

Sunday, we picked up Millard and Peggy and went shopping. We both got a little Christmas shopping done and we got Katie some more clothes. Sam's Club had a few "Austin & Ashley" Children's Clothing in stock. This is the same company that sells "Picture Me." I love "Picture Me" Children's Clothing. They are a whimsical style and very durable clothing. Parisians began selling "Picture Me" last year and I was so excited. Now that they are Belk, I hope they will continue to carry this brand name. At Sam's, I found a cute little swing top & pants set with a little girl blowing her bubble gum. So cute. I had to get it. I think I paid $13 for the outfit, which isn't bad at all. Belk was having a good sale on their Toddler clothing, what they had in stock. I have to say, Belk is going to have to do better with the children's clothing then what they are doing right now. The toddler's clothing might be 5-6 racks full of clothes and that's it. I bought Katie a cute Bama cheerleader outfit with houndstooth on it in a size 2T. Would you believe the neck hole is too small. Ugh! I took the outfit with us to see if I could exchange it in the mall. Of course, they didn't have any outfits like this one in stock. I went ahead and asked if they could get one shipped there from B'ham or T-Town? The clerk went one to say, they couldn't do that because even though it's all the same franchise, they are all owned by different families; therefore, they don't know what they will get in stock & they can't ship back and forth. WHATEVER! I was so frustrated. I guess I'll have to go to B'ham and hope they have it in stock. I think I'll call first before we go. Who knew I would have trouble getting a 2T on Katiebug? Little bitty Katiebug. I guess the doctor was right when he said she had her Daddy's head. tehe! I didn't get to Gymboree to get Katie's pumpkin shirt for $10 because the mall was about to close. Shoot! I told Peggy it was okay because I could just order it online. Nope! I checked the site this morning and the shirt went back up to $15. Yuck! I guess I'll wait and hope it will come down again and maybe this time much less than $10. Do you think? tehe! I needed to get Katie some church dress shoes. We went to Target and would you believe, they didn't have her size in every shoe I liked. Ugh! This wasn't my day! I wanted to get her a pair of black patent leathers for church and I found a pair of nice brown leather with a bronze type bumblebee accent on it. So cute! I'm going to check online and see if I can get them ordered. They had some cute boots in stock. I would really like to get Katie a pair this year. I think she would look so cute with suede boots. I did find some movies to add to our family collection. I was told "Mulan" was in the vault, but Target had two in stock. Well, I grabbed one up. I also found "Pocahontas," which I didn't know was still out, "Ice Age" and "Miss Spider" Halloween movies. We are keeping the "Mulan" and "Pocahontas" for Christmas. I went ahead and gave her "Ice Age" and "Miss Spider." Millard and Peggy gave Katie "Ice Age The Meltdown" a while back and she loves that movie. She thinks it's so funny. I was glad to find the first "Ice Age" movie to go with the other one. She loves Sid! She thinks he is so funny, which he is a pretty funny looking character. I had never seen "Mulan" until just about a couple of months ago, when it was on the Disney channel. Oh, it is such a good movie. Katie's not in to it as much as I am, so I guess this movie is more for me.

Oh, I have a new laundry detergent and softener that I love. I bought some 2X Ultra Tide and Downy with baking powder in a white lilac scent. It makes our clothes smell so good and it's priced the same as the other Tide and Downy brands. I really like the Tide because you don't have to use as much detergent as the regular bottles, but it works the same.

Prayer List

• Millard - pink eye
• Nicholas got seriously hurt Friday night playing football. He was hit in the head and got messed up. He was rushed to UAB by ambulance with serious head trauma. He's doing somewhat better today. He's wearing a neck brace, he has headaches and a huge bruise on his forehead. The CT Scan was okay at the hospital, but his brain was swollen. They want him to come back Thursday for another scan and make sure there are no breaks or fractures.
• My Mom was referred to another Nerve Doctor for her leg/hip. Her regular physician still seems to believe her problem is a nerve problem in her leg. She will go to this specialist a week from tomorrow. It's gotten extremely difficult for her to walk at all. I know it's killing her to not be able to do things she use to do. My Dad has decided to wait until Mom gets better before he gets new dentures. Right now, she's taking muscle relaxers for the pain.

Take care and God Bless.

Cheeseburger Pie Recipe

Cheeseburger Pie

1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell

8 slices Process American Cheese

1 lb. ground chuck beef

1/2 cups tomato sauce

1 small chopped green bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped sweet onion (optional)

1 t. Beef-flavor Instant Bouillon or 1 Beef-flavor Bouillon Cube

3 eggs, beaten

2 T flour

Chopped tomato and shredded lettuce (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake pastry shell 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, cut 6 slices cheese into pieces.

In large skillet, brown meat and drain. Add tomato sauce, green pepper, onion and bouillon; cook and stir until bouillon dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in eggs, flour and cheese pieces. Pour into prepared pastry shell. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until hot. Arrange remaining 2 slices of cheese on top. Return to oven 3 minutes or until cheese begins to melt. Garnish with tomato and lettuce if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Tip: To avoid burning the exposed pie shell. Place a pie crust protector on it or you can use tin foil. Tear off thin strips of foil and gently wrap them around the edge of the pie shell, protecting the shell from burning.

Au Gratin Sausage Skillet Recipe

Au Gratin Sausage Skillet

1 lb. fully cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, halved & sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 T vegetable oil

1 package (5-1/4 oz.) au gratin potatoes*

2 - 1/2 cups water

1 package (8 oz.) frozen California blend vegetables

1 to 2 cups (4 to 8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, cook sausage in oil until lightly browned; drain. Add potatoes with contents of sauce mix and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 18-20 minutes or until the potatoes are almost tender, stirring occasionally.

Add vegetables; cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until potatoes and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.

*Editor's Note: The milk and butter listed on the potato package are not used in this recipe.

EBay Seller

Well I guess it's official, I'm a eBay seller. Doug and I talked about it and have decided not to go to the Florida State vs. Alabama game in Jacksonville, FL. We've been going so much here lately and I'm sure our bank account could use a well deserved rest. We were not expecting the tickets to be mailed to us because this rare football battle would mean the season ticket holders would have first dibs. Yesterday, I was surprised to receive our tickets for the game. We decided to sell the tickets on eBay. Not knowing what I'm doing, I slowly got it set up to sell. If your interested, check out eBay.

Today, I was about to loose my mind. As soon as I got up this morning, I didn't feel good (stomachache and headache). I wanted to go by UPS and get a shipping quote, replenish my church birthday cards, and pick up a few things from WalMart. I didn't need a bellyache today. I went ahead and got ready, but I had to stop every once in a while and take a break. Of course, Katie had to exercise her terrible twos during all of this and she has no patience. While out about in town, I had to stop and pray to continue with my errands. I just knew a time or two, I was going to head back home. I don't know what got a hold of me, but I refused to let it get to me. I did get all of my errands accomplished, but not in record time. When I got home, I put Katie to bed for a nap. I just got groceries put away, doing laundry and trying to set up my eBay selling account when Doug called. Here lately, he's gotten back into the habit of asking what I've done that day and then proceed to ask if I've done this and that and why haven't I done this and that. Ugh!!! It's infuriating and he knows it will put me in a mad mood quickly. Then, he thinks he's out of the skillet when he says "I was just joking." Whatever! He's wore out that card after twelve years of marriage. He needs to find new material! In the past and even yesterday, I gave him the warning that he's making me mad. For some reason, he hears more please more. I can't get enough! Ugh!!!!!! Whatever happen to a simple "I'm sorry," "I can be a jerk," and a flower or dozen. The only thing it would hurt is his manly ego. No, he has to be more insensitive by saying "That shouldn't have made you mad" or "I'm sorry, if that offended you" (while he's rolling his eyes). The preaching has ended. Wow, I needed that off of my shoulders. Thanks for listening. Yes, yesterday and today was a little stressful for me. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. Like my Grandma Annie always said, "Every dog has his day and every cat has his way." It's true!

I tried another good recipe tonight. It's called "Au Gratin Sausage Skillet." Doug and I really liked it. The next time I cook it, he wants me to substitute Sausage for Chicken. The other day I made "Cheeseburger Casserole" and Doug really liked it. I'll post the recipes separate from my regular logging's.

Katie Loves Sunday School

Have I ever told you how much Katie loves Sunday School at church? We've gotten to a stage in her little life, if she sees us dress up she thinks we're going to church. She'll start running around the house telling Daddy and me to "come on, let's go to church." She'll go as far as turning off the TV, grabbing her dolls and heading to the door. If we're not going to church, she seems a little disappointed. Yesterday morning while I was getting her dress out of the closet, I told her we were going to church and seeing her friends. Her eyes got so big and she asked me if she was going to the playground. It tickled me and I confirmed that she would be going to the playground. She was so excited. She couldn't get dressed fast enough and she was ready to go. When we got to church, I have to fill out a safety sticker and then take her to her class. She wanted to go straight to the playground, so I had to explain to her that she had to go to her class first. She has this one little friend that always greets her at the door. Her name is Sadie. Sadie only stays in the class for the first hour, so I don't know if they play real good together. I'm still volunteering to stay with the 2 year olds once a month, but I volunteer for the second hour. When I get to Katie's class, Sadie is already picked up. While I'm thinking about it, Katie's little friend Sophie's family need your prayers. A lady from my church emailed me last night. The email said Sophie's Mom, Sasheri, had a miscarriage the other day. The pregnancy was all a surprise because Sash was taking birth control pills and she was barely pregnant when she miscarried. Regardless, I'm sure it would be so hard to deal with the disappointment. Carrie added in the email that Sophie and her brother, Walker, already knew about the pregnancy. Now, Sasheri and Josh has to explain to them what happened.

Fashion Show

Well, lots have happened since I wrote last. I did get to go to the Fashion Show at church. I really didn't want to go by myself, so I thought I could at least give them to someone else who would like to attend. At first, I tried giving them both to Peggy and let her take another friend with her. Nope! She didn't want to do that. I spoke to Maryann and she told me Whitney was coming home. She said Whitney might be interested in attending. After Whitney got out of class on Thursday, I called her on her cell phone and she seemed excited to go. Doug told me he would have to work on Saturday, so Peggy offered to keep Katie while I went to show with someone else. Thinking everything was in order Thursday night, Doug tells me he doesn't have to work that day after all. I felt bad after that because I originally asked Peggy to go with me, but I couldn't find a babysitter. Poor Peggy didn't get to come, but I think she understood. I'll make it up to her some way. Whitney and I met each other at the church on Saturday morning. I don't know about Whitney, but I had a nice time. A couple of local retailers had displays out for women to look at their merchandise before and after the show. I have to back up and let you know why a church was having a fashion show. This past July a new organization opened their doors for the first time on the south end of town. The organization is called "Her Choice Women's Center of North Alabama". Its an organization designed for unwed mothers, who have chosen to accept the responsibility of giving birth to their babies. They also provide information and counselling. The community has really embraced this well deserved organization with open arms. Local churches, of all denominations, have come together to create a good way to raise money for them. In my opinion, they did an excellent job and I think it was a great success. They sold a little over 300 tickets at $20 a ticket. I'm sure there would have been more tickets sold, but our church will only seat 320 people in the atrium area. Plus, they had to think about walking room and a place to set the finger foods. All the tables were decorated with confetti, flowers and brochures. When you registered at the door, you receive a new George Washington Dollar coin in a keepsake case along with a few coupons from local retailers. My word the food! A local chef, which owned his own Italian Restaurant at one time, is now a chef for one of our private schools. I hated it when he had to close his restaurant because his food is so good. I don't remember the real reason why he and his family decided to close, but the school has appreciated him coming to cook for them. Anyway, he was the main chef for the event. He had puff pastries stuffed with chicken, shrimp & cheese spread, mixed fruit, cheese ball with crackers and a delicious shrimp dip with biscotti bread. Yummy! Oh my goodness, the pastries! Everything was scrumptious! Before the fashion show began, the leading ladies of "Her Choice" organization had a few words and a couple people sang. This one guy that sang "The Lord's Prayer" - WOW! He had the opera voice going for him. I usually don't care for a lot of opera singing, but it was so beautiful. I would have loved to hear more. The dresses and outfits were pretty. A local bridal shop, which also sells evening gowns had two breathtaking gowns. Whitney and I would ooh and aww when the gowns came down the walkway. For the grand finale, the group conducted gift drawings. I believe they said they had approximately 55 gifts to give away. I and two other women at our table got a gift. I won a gift certificate for a local clothing dry cleaners.

Doug watched Katie while Whitney and I went to the Fashion Show. I guess Doug had it pretty easy because he said Katie fell asleep soon after I left and woke up just before I came home. What luck! When I got home, we finished watching the ball game. ROLL TIDE! I sure hope Bama does this good all season. Doug told me that we play Arkansas next week and he said they are pretty good. So, I guess that game will be the real test for Alabama.

Soon after the game was over, we headed over to Maryann and Kevin's for Supper. Ryan came home for a few days from North Carolina. He seems to still really like his job and is meeting quite a few people. He hangs out with a few friends, he's made at work. He seems very satisified and ready to see what the future brings him. Katie found Natalie's clear plastic clothes hamper. She had so much fun playing with that thing. Ryan got to picking on her with the clothes hamper. I've got a few pictures with him and her playing with the hamper. So funny! She loves playing with her cousins! I felt kind of bad for Ryan because he got a heel in the gut from one of Katie's Princess shoes, while lying in the floor. I warned him that he was fair game to her if he laid in the floor. She thinks it is an open invitation to come and wrestle with you. I guess Ryan, Nicholas, and Jon liked it because she really got rough with them. As you know, Whitney got to come home this weekend as well. It's always good to see the kids and finding out how their life is treating them. Please keep her in your prayers. I don't think she would mind me asking for prayer for her. As you may know, she's in Nursing School and it can be very stressful.

I would also like to ask for continual prayer for my Mother. I don't think she's as well as she acts. She tells me she has good and bad days with her legs. She informed me last week, she quit Water Aerobics because she didn't feel it was helping her out. Ugh! She is still falling, which worries us all. As her daughters, we want to do something to help, but she makes her decisions. I also ask for additional prayer for our family that we might have patience and understanding with her. It has definitely been a challenge because most of us are afraid she'll fall and break a hip; therefore, ending up bound to a wheelchair or worse.

Back To Work Again!

So far I've made it today at church. A Soil Conservation Conference was held in the atrium all morning, which has been pretty interesting. The secretaries really wanted me to stay near by the front desk and make sure everything in going alright down stairs. I've been helping catch the phone, when needed. I've also been the welcome wagon, which is fun. I get to meet so many different people, especially today with everything going on. This Saturday, we're having a Fashion Show here. I was able to help set out tables and chairs for it. Whoo Hoo! Lots to do, right? tehe! I bought two tickets hoping someone would go with me, but there are so many road blocks that I don't know if I'm going to be able to go or not and I certainly don't want to go by myself. Oh well, it will all work out in the end. I don't think I would enjoy working a full time job right now, with Katie being so young. I've called Peggy twice this morning to check on her. Katie gets on the phone and tells me what all they are doing. At times, I wished I was there with her. I miss my baby! I guess this is why God has made it possible for me to stay home. THANK YOU GOD!

I went home for lunch and our next door neighbors are having a new roof put on. Of course, there are all ages of men standing around the yard between our houses, which I really don't care for. You never know what they maybe up to. When I drove up to the house, a couple of guys were in my yard by the dog's fence. Dexter and Montana were having a coronary fit. They don't like strangers in the yard without me with them. Of course, when I drove up in the driveway, the guys made their way back to my neighbor's yard. Lets just hope they stay there for the remainder of the day. I nearly hated leaving to come back to work, knowing that they were in our yard. Makes me wonder what they were up to? Were they just aggravating the dogs? Were they up to no good? Hmmmmm.

Maryann called and let us know Ryan was in town. She invited us to come over Saturday evening for Supper. I don't know if Doug will have to work Saturday or not, so I need to get with him and find out for sure. Knowing him, he'll let me know at the last minute if he'll be able to go to Maryann's or not. Katie and I may end up going by ourselves because I would like to see Ryan before he goes back home.

Happy Birthday - Pat!!!!

I want to wish my brother-in-law, Pat, a very Happy Birthday today! I have to type BIG because I've heard that your eyes are the first to go when you get old. tehe!!!! Just kiddin' Pat (not really). We hope you have a great day and many many more birthdays.

Yesterday, I opened up my new Bare Minerals makeup. At first it was a little intimidating because it comes with a DVD. I made sure Katie was taking a nap. I grabbed Katie's folding table and set it in the middle of the Living Room floor. I washed my face real good and put a hair band in my hair, in order to keep it off of my face. Opened the Bare Minerals foundation kit and popped in the DVD. I went step by step with the makeup and I have to say I was impressed. During the practice session, I tried the medium-beige foundation. Today, I put on the makeup and this time I tried the medium. I think the medium foundations are a little too dark with my complexion; however, I really like the makeup. Most of you know how I have terrible oily skin. With the other makeup brands, by mid-morning I'm already blotting the oil off of my t-zone. Anyway, it was humid outside and I was sweating like a pig. I blotted above my upper lip and forehead and I didn't see any signs of me wiping off my makeup. Also, my makeup wasn't down to my chin either. I'm impressed! I do wish I had bought the "rose" colored lipstick kit instead of "berry." The "berry" is okay, it's a little dark for my taste. I'm still going to wear the color, I'll just blot my lipstick before I put on the gloss. Oh before you put on your makeup, you apply this solution called Bare Vitamins all over your face. I love this stuff! It makes your face real soft even after you wash your makeup off for the day. NICE! According to the DVD the vitamins are flattening out your pores and thus minimizing them. I welcome my pores to be flattened any day. They also have this powder called Bare Veil that you put on after your makeup. I like it as well because it puts this finishing touch on your face, a nice soft polish to your face.

When Doug got home, we took Katiebug over to Millard and Peggy's to spend the night. Katie was so excited! She wanted to take everything but the kitchen sink with her to Grandma Peggy and Papa Millard's house. I'm suppose to help work at church tomorrow and I have no idea what I'm going to be doing. Doug's all excited that I'm going to work; needless to say, it's just for one day. Bless his heart.

F-P Toy Recalls - Barbie & Bongo Band

Fisher-Price recalls Bongo Band toys due to violation in lead paint standards. For further information: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07303.html .


Plus, Mattel recalls various Barbie accessory toys due to violation in lead paint standards. There were too many toys to show a picture, but if you think you might have a toy of this description: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07301.html .

F-P Recalls Geo Trax Locomotive Toys

Fisher-Price recalls Geo Trax Locomotive Toys due to violation in lead paint standards. For further information:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07302.html .

The Lord's Prayer - Psalm 23

A friend sent me the link of this video. I think it is so precious! Enjoy! For further information: http: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9e7c4b40cf5a13cea6ca .

James Gregory

Wayne and Laura had never heard of James Gregory "Funniest Man In America." James is originally from Georgia and he loves to pick on his "redneck" family members. What's so sad is you can relate to what he is saying. I've seen James Gregory several times and I'm waiting to go back when he has new material. Doug and I consider him our favorite comedian. I found a couple of short clips. I have to say this clip, "Animal Rights" and the other one, "Gym" isn't his funniest material. I wanted you to see him anyway.

Uh, What Did She Say?

This video has been on every National News Station as a major headliner for the past week. At the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant, Miss South Carolina was trying to answer a question. Bless her heart! I feel so bad for her.

Mothers On The Go Potty Training Solutions

Laura and I were talking about how it would be a pain once the girls began potty training full force, while we were on the go. I told her I was planning to purchase a travel seat for Katie. Here it is pictured on the left. It's called a "Cushie Traveler" from "One Step Ahead." It costs $12.95 and comes with it's own carry bag. Currently, it has a 4 star rating from "One Step Ahead." For further information: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=427760&parentCategoryId=85184&categoryId=85218&subCategoryId=86219 .

Roll Tide Roll!

We had a great time at the game Saturday, Alabama vs. W. Carolina (52-6). Wayne & Laura got to T-Town Friday night. We met them Saturday afternoon and did a little shopping at a local mall. I got Katie a cute "Bama" houndstooth cheerleading outfit from "Bama Fever." It wasn't a very big mall, so we covered it rather quickly. After all that hard shopping (tehe!), we headed to my new favorite pizza place, "Mellow Mushroom." If you like pizza and you have one in your area, you've got to try it (if you haven't already). Last time we went to "Mellow Mushroom," we had the Meaty Pizza. This time, we ordered a large Meaty and a small House Special. Oh my gosh!!!! The House Special is my favorite! It has sliced tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheese and meat. Yummy! I liked it so much that I had to have two slices. Of course, I ate too much. Luckily, we had a lot of walking to do and walked it off.

We were told to get to the stadium a little early, in order to avoid fighting off the crowd. Because where we parked, we were able to walk along the sidewalks by student dorms and frat houses. We got to walk through several block parties just to get to the stadium. Wow! It's bad when you can smell the beer, but they seemed to be having a good time. Wayne and Laura couldn't get over how everyone would yell out "Roll Tide" when they saw your Bama shirts. We walked past one student with a mega phone. He would stop the fans along the sidewalk and ask them to give a "Roll Tide" through the mega phone. Well, I could see way ahead what was going on, so I began to hide behind Laura in order to avoid the mega phone. Thankfully, he didn't pick on me or Laura. Shoooo! On the way to the stadium, we got to scan through the vendors and looked to see if there was anything we had to have after the game was over. We couldn't have planned getting to the stadium any more perfect. We began seeing a huge wall of people, in crimson and white, develop in the front stadium entrance. By the time we got closer to the wall, the crowd began to roar with excitement and enthusiasm. We were wondering what was going on and Doug announced the football players must have arrived. Sure enough, they were walking between the "spirit lines" towards the building. The players looked very nice and professional with their black suits on. I didn't get to Saban up close, but that's alright. When the gates opened, we had no trouble walking right through. No huge crowd formed around the gate. Because we were all hot and sweaty, I suggested to Doug that we needed to get up in the spiral walkway towards our seats. You can always get a good breeze in the spiral walkway. Sure enough, when we got up far enough, there was a very welcomed cool breeze. Oh by that time, the breeze felt so good. All of us were huffing and puffing and our clothes were soaking wet. We found a concession stand and go something to drink. As you can tell from the pictures, we were in the nose bleed section, but the breeze was great. The game wasn't all that exciting because we stomped West Carolina's little bottom. I couldn't help, but make fun of one of the W. Carolina's players. He had all of this hair poking out from underneath his helmet. It seemed as if every time a Bama player hit him, his helmet would come off onto the field. We don't know if he couldn't strap it on good because of all the hair or if there was some kind of defect with his helmet. Poor soul! tehe! Grant played a great game. As soon as he would get the ball, he was out of sight. Right off the bat, it took him two plays to get our first touchdown. Wow! Doug and Wayne feels the Bama defense could use some work. They seem to be weak. Wayne and Laura said Saban has a history of being a great defense coach, so hopefully he'll be able to shape up our defense team before the next big game. While we were there, we ran into quite a few people that we knew. After the game, our walk back to the car was just as entertaining. By this time, the block parties were at their peak. Students and fans were hooting and hollering back and forth. Walking back to car, we visited the vendor booths. I found me an Alabama purse that I liked. I told Doug it would be my souvenir of the game. The purse is black and crimson with a scripted white "A." I really like it.

We went to "Chili's" for supper and while we were in there, people were going around saying "Roll Tide." Of course, "Roll Tide" began to be an inside joke between the four of us. We all took a turn in saying "Roll Tide," whether it was between us or other people we encountered. Lots of laughs.

The next day, we slept in a little bit and then headed to the Galleria. Woo Hoo! The men went their way and we went ours. We walked all over that mall and when it was all over, my feet were barking. We got a lot of bargains and some Christmas shopping done. Laura has been telling me about this "Bare Minerals" makeup. The last time I went with her to get makeup, I really didn't pay that much attention because we had the girls with us. This time since we didn't have the kids with us, I began looking around. There were so many women in the "Sephora" shop, I couldn't get over it. I'm talking about huge crowds and a lot of the women were swarming over the "Bare Minerals" section. I asked Laura, "what am I missing?" She began talking to me about the makeup and she really sold me on it. I wasn't pleased with the price of the foundation $25, but she told me it will last me 6 months. What? After doing the math in my head (yes, it did take some time), I might actually save money with this makeup. She introduced me to a starter kit $60, which includes 3 brushes, 2 foundations, 1 mineral veil, 1 warmth (sun kissed glow), bare vitamins (kind of like a primer for your face) & DVD to tell you how to use this makeup. Laura said it was a good buy because the foundation and one of the brushes cost $25 each. If I take care of the brushes, they should last me a very long time. I started thinking. In the past, I've tried Clinique, Mary Kay and some Merill Norman. The makeup was either beginning to irritate my skin or it was too expensive. I was buying foundation once a month between $12-$18 a pop. Right now, I've been using Cover Girl Creme-to-Powder foundation and it doesn't last me very long either. With the past foundations, what would make me mad is how I would look awful by the middle of the day. My face would look so oily and my makeup would run down my face. Yuck! Who wants their eyeliner and mascara on their cheeks and chin? Not me! I decided to get out of my comfort zone and get the "Bare Minerals" foundation starter kit. Laura also showed me the new lipstick kits available. She went on and on about the lipstick and how it really last most of the day. The sales clerk said I could wash it off with water, but I might still see a slight shade on my lips. The lipstick kit was $30 and it included the lipstick, lip liner & gloss. The kits were available in the colors rose and berry. These two colors are my favorite lipstick colors to wear. I've always worn a berry or rose type lipsticks. So, I had a hard choice between the two colors and I knew Doug would freak enough without me getting two kinds of lipstick. Anyway, I ended up getting the berry color lipstick kit. I told Laura I would try it for 6 months and decide to stick with it or not. She told me, if I liked it I could get it cheaper through QVC. Of course, this was a helpful tip for me. We barely made it back to "Belk," which is where we parked the car. They were getting ready to lock their gate into the mall for the night. If we hadn't caught them in time, we would have had to walk a long way out in the parking lot to get to the car. Shoo! Too close! I don't know about Laura, but I forgot (at times) it was Sunday. Wayne and Laura made dinner reservations at "The Melting Pot." They asked us if we've ever ate at a "Melting Pot" restaurant before and if we would like to join them. We wanted to try something new, so we decided to intrude on their lovely, romantic evening. If you don't know about "The Melting Pot," it's a type of fondue restaurant where you cook your own food right there at your table. Every table is hooked up to a fondue stove and kettle. There were a few booths with two fondues and we were fortunate enough to get that table. Doug and I liked the bread and cheese dip as an appetizer; chicken & pork as the main course; and I loved the Raspberry Dark Chocolate for dessert. Yummy!! We left the restaurant around 10:00 p.m. and headed home to see our Katiebug. I missed her so much, but we knew she was in good hands with Millard and Peggy.

We had a great Labor Day weekend and hope you did too! Take care and . . .

Roll Tide!