bullets

• I need to be cleaning, but Sylvester is asleep on my lap, and I don’t have the heart to move him.
• It has been a looooong week.  And it’s only Wednesday.
• We had a Valentine’s party at school today.  I came home with more chocolate than should be legal for one person.  Justin said something about not having to buy sweets for a few months.  Who is he trying to kid?  I’ll have this taken care of much sooner than that!
• I’ve been thinking alot about baby names lately.  Nope, still not trying to get pregnant.  But I still think about it all the time.  Justin and I have two boy names picked out already.  It’s the girl names that give us trouble.  I, of course, have a list compiled of all my favorite names for first and middle.  He does not like any of them.  Some of them are “okay”, but none are winners.  Boo on that!  I want my names! haha.  What are some of your fave girl names?  and boy names for that matter?
• Speaking of names, what is a good middle name for Kate?  Kate_______Perkins.  Hmmmm….
• I’ve been feeling sad the last couple of days.  Just kinda down.  I wonder if it’s the weather.  It’s been cloudy and rainy and cold.  Gloom city. 
• On a positive note, maybe it will snow tomorrow.  Then there would be no school.  Hoorayy!!!
• Justin and I are celebrating Valentine’s Day a little early this year.  As in tomorrow night.  He has to work all weekend long, so tomorrow it is.  I’ve got to find the courage to get out and face the cold.  I still have not purchased his gift or the ingredients to make his favorite pie. 
• His favorite pie is his momma’s Strawberry Pie.  I’ll have to try to remember to post the recipe.  It’s so yummy.
• I super duper want to read Beth Moore’s new book.  The problem lies in the fact that I don’t have money to spend on another book right now, and the fact that I already have probably 20 books waiting to be read.  I can’t help it.  I’m a book addict that has no time to read.  :( 
• On the menu for tonight: beef taco bake.  I’ve only made it once before.  I hope it’s as good as I remember.
• And just for good measure… a picture:

This is from way back before we were married. We were both working at Outback at the time.  See the lovely “Safari” shirts? Gotta love those!

WHO DAT?!

I have to say I’m very proud of the New Orleans Saints tonight!!!

I grew up with a family that loved football and loved the Saints.  Even through all of their bad years of being Aints and everything else.  We always watched the Saints games.  Being from Louisiana, I guess it’s almost a rule that we support them.  And now they finally, not only made it to the Superbowl, but WON the stinkin’ thing! 

Woohoooo!!!!  Go SAINTS!!!!

 

I have been sick all weekend, so Justin and I stayed home and watched the game from the comfort of the couch.  It was nice though.  Just us and our furry little guys.  I made spaghetti with icecream for dessert! It was a perfect night in my book.  Almost.  Perfect would mean that I could breathe through my nose! Ha!

Little Bit

This little munchkin model will be having her second birthday this month.  I’m trying to decide what to get her for her birthday.  I want it to be fun since I got her clothes for Christmas.  I’m thinking maybe a potato head?  Hmmm.. We shall see.

All I know is I’m happy I’ll be able to see her in person to give her whatever gift I choose.  They will be headed this way in a few short weeks.  And not just to visit! 

That’s right… my sister and Dom have decided to make their way back to DFW!!!  For good!!!  I know this is not great news for all the rest of my family that wants to keep them in LA, but it’s wonderful news for me :)

I’m really, really, really hoping they get a place close to us so we can visit ALL the time! 

King Cake

I’m not sure who all celebrates Mardi Gras.  I just know that growing up in Louisiana, I always knew about it.  We had parades and parties to celebrate.  We even had an extra break from school when I was in college in honor of Mardi Gras.  Purple, green, and gold where everywhere.  Beads and masks were staples.  It was just a part of the January-February season.  It never crossed my mind that maybe other people didn’t know about it or celebrate it as a holiday.

Then we moved to Texas.

Now, Justin and I don’t really celebrate it.  I really don’t care a thing about the holiday or the traditions.  I just want the cake!  I have had King Cake every single year for as long as I can remember.  It was always fun to find out whose piece had the little plastic baby in it, because that lucky person got to buy the next cake (so we could eat cake and play the “game” all over again!).

Here, in Texas, I have not seen a thing or heard a word that would let me know these people have ever even heard the words “mardi gras”.  Nothing.

But my good friends and family didn’t let me forget.  They all reminded me with status updates on facebook about how wonderful the King Cake was tasting this year.

So of course I got a craving for it.  And so did Justin.

We looked at Wal-Mart, but nothing was to be found.  Not even festive colored cupcakes…  In a desperate attempt, I posted on facebook asking for someone to please ship us a cake!

A few minutes later a wonderful lady from our church here responded with some wonderful news.  King Cakes are sold at the Kroger in Irving!!!  Wahooo!

Yes, Justin and I headed out to Irving and found our very own Texas King Cake.

In case you are wondering… no, it was not as good as the Louisiana version.  This was didn’t even have cream cheese filling.  But, it did the job!  :)

blog hopping again

Pixel Perfect is doing the before/after blog hop again!  Love it!

Here is my before:

And my after:

I used photoshop cs3 to edit.

Check out all the others here!

Cheesy Chicken Roll Ups

I don’t remember where I got this recipe.  I remember getting it from somewhere on the internet right after I got married and started trying to find simple meal ideas.

This is super duper simple and pretty yummy, too.  Justin actually requests this one!

 

Cheesy Chicken Crescents

8 oz. cream cheese

4 T melted butter

2-3 cups cooked chicken

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

2 cans crescent rolls

Mix first five ingredients together.  (I usually throw in a little extra seasoning)

Unroll crescent rolls and separate into squares.

Press seams together so they stay squares.

Put a spoonful of mix in the middle of each square and fold (like a hot pocket).

Seal the edges.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Here is a pic of the finished product..

It doesn’t look too appealing, really.  But trust me, the yumminess is on the inside!  And the flaky crescent roll crust doesn’t hurt one bit :)

goodwill love

Justin and I have been looking for good-sized (large) backpacks to use for carrying things out to the homeless on the weekends.  We have not had any luck yet, but tonight decided to try Goodwill in Irving.

No backpacks, but I was still super excited about some finds!

We got like 30-ish pocket sized Bibles to pass out for only $.59 each!

We got Ava some shoes.

Justin got a book.

And I got a Boppy and a Boppy Lounger for only $2 each!  I was thrilled!!!  They are anywhere from 25-40 dollars if you buy them new.  No, we don’t need them for any of our own babes yet, but maybe one day.  For now I will use them when I take pictures of newborns.  They make good props.  :)

           Above image from costco.com

              Above image from naturemoms.com

Yay for good finds :)