Saturday, 31 December 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I hope 2012 brings everyone joy and blessings.  2011 is behind us and 2012 is ahead. 

God Bless us all!

Wednesday, 28 December 2011

Is anyone out there addicted to the TV show Revenge as much as I am?  There has not been a new episode in a few weeks and I am having withdrawals.  I have DVR'd all of the episodes.  Maybe I can refresh my memory of previous episodes. I always watch each episode twice.  I watch it Wednesday night as it is being shown and then I watch my recording on Thursday night.  I don't want to miss anything.

Have a great Thursday.

Saturday, 24 December 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas!

Best of Tidings to All!!!

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Tonight BFF MAB and I went to eat at Highland's Bar and Grill. The food was absolutely delicious.  I always get the NY Strip, but tonight I decided to try the flat iron steak.  It did not disappoint.  And, a meal is not complete without the baked grits.  For dessert, I got the chocolate hazelnut mousse cake with praline ice cream.  I chose as my beverage Harney & Son's Paris tea. 

BFF MAB gave me a woody Christmas tree ornament, a canister of Williams Sonoma peppermint hot chocolate and a beautiful jewelry box.  I gave her a Fleur de lis key pendant from Lovell Designs. We just love the jewelry from there.  It is classic and affordable.

Tomorrow night, I will do my last minute grocery shopping and Thursday, I will clean house. 

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

Sunday, 18 December 2011

It's less than a week until Chirstmas.  I'm almost ready. I just have to wrap two gifts  I went to my mother's house this weekend.  We went nonstop.

A family friend passed away on Thursday, and the visitation and funeral were held on Saturday. My mother was asked by the church to make a dessert for the lunch held after the funeral.  My mother made a banana pudding.  My mother makes the best.  After we attended the visitation, we went home and made the banana pudding.  We wanted it to be warm when it was served to the family.  After we delivered the pudding, we came home and started cooking some holiday treats.  I made two Williamsburg Queen's cakes.  My mother took one to her across the street neighbors.  The couple across the street are so nice.  The man pushes my mother's garbage can in each week, plus they were just a phone call away on the days that I had to stay home alone while there recuperating from a broken foot and foot surgery.  Fortunately, I never needed them, but it was nice to know that they would be there in a few seconds if I needed them.  The other Queen's cake was for us to enjoy, which we did.  My mother and I attempted to make some divinity.  It had been so long since we made it that we were not sure how long to cook the syrup or how long to mix it after we added it to our egg whites.  It tasted okay, but did not look too pretty.

Today, after church, we took her car to be washed and vacuumed.  Tomorrow, she is driving my late father's 85 year old cousin and her husband to Huntsville to the funeral of another cousin.  These people are the nicest people that you can ever meet.  They are so afraid of inconveniencing people.  I told my mother that if they do, they don't need to worry about it.  Everyone owes these people a favor.  They go beyond the call of duty to be gracious.

Tuesday, there is another funeral at church.  The widow of another of my father's cousins passed away.  We really don't know her, but I am friends with her son and daughter-in-law. (I guess they are my cousins also)  She doesn't have to take food, but she's going in my place since I have to work.

It seems so much sadder when people die this time of year.

I am getting excited about next weekend. 

I hope everyone has a great Monday.  Try not to stress out too much preparing for the holidays.

Tuesday, 13 December 2011

I have two quick questions.

Number 1:  Does anyone have a good recipe for Blondies that they will be willing to share?  I love them but have never made them.

Number 2:  For some reason, I'm sort of worried about Preppy 50 and Loving Lilly.  Has anyone heard from her?  She hasn't had a blog post in over two weeks.  She also hasn't been on Twitter.  I hope everything is okay and she is just taking a blogging break.

Have a great day!

Friday, 9 December 2011

This has been a busy week.

Monday, I drove back to Birmingham...in the rain...for the second weekend in a row.  I hate driving back in the rain.  It used to not bother me, but now it does.

Wednesday, I went to a Christmas Party at Costa's.  The service was slow, but the food was outstanding.  I had the baked ziti.  I had enough left over for dinner tonight.

Last night, Queenie and I took our team leader to Bottega Cafe.  I had a gift certificate that I received about 4 1/2 years ago.  All of a sudden it was burning a hole in my pocket.  We had the holiday punch, side salads and shared a pizza.  It was yummy!

Today, our team leader was in our office all day.  She did our yearly reviews and took us to lunch.  We chose Silvertron Cafe.  We are lucky to have a great team leader.  I have heard horror stories about some of the team leaders. 

Tomorrow, I have errands in the morning and then to a party at BFF MAB's house.  She has the best parties.

Sunday, I think BFF MAB and I are going to the Alabama Theatre to see the 1951 version of Miracle on 34th Street.  I think Birmingham is lucky to have such a cool theatre.  During mid December, they show classic Christmas films, such as What a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, etc.

I hope everyone has a great Saturday.

Sunday, 4 December 2011

Today, we went to All Saints Chapel on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee to attend the Festival of Lessons and Carols.  It was fantastic.  We got there about 1:30.  We got a good parking place.  We got in line at about 1:40.  The church doors opened at 3:45 and the program started at 5:00.  Yes, we waited in line for over 2 hours to get in.  I could not believe some of the people. Some had chairs, some had picnic lunches on the ground.  One group of people even set up a table and chairs.  They even had a red and white checked tablecloth.  The wind was horrible while we were in line.  One time there was a gust so strong that I almost fell down.  I'm ready to go back.

I hope everyone has a great Monday.

Thursday, 1 December 2011

If you are like me, you are getting geared up for the holidays.  I'm almost finished with my shopping and can now get really into the spirit of the holidays.  I've been kind of holding back and have decided that starting tomorrow, I'm going to really try to get in the spirit of everything.  I don't know why I've set a date to do it, but I have.  I guess I don't want to get burned out on the holidays.  Last year, I got everything done early so that I could really do things.  I did so much, I almost burned out.  I guess last year I was so excited because I spent November and December of 2009 sitting in a chair with my broken, wired together foot propped up on an ottoman and pillow.  Thank goodness for online shopping.

I really want to do some baking, but I'm so obsessed with sticking to my diet and eating smart that I can't bring myself to bake shortbread and Queen's cake.  Maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll bake a few goodies to enjoy.  I want to bake something different this year.  I think that different thing will be blondies. I've never baked blondies before, so I am searching for a good recipe.

My supervisor is going to be in town next week.  I'm going to be spending the next few work days getting everything ready for that visit.  I hope it is a great visit.

I hope everyone has a great Friday.  Until next time....