This post brought to you by the letter D

Wednesday was a rough day for me.  Let me just start by stating that fact.  I think it plays a lot into this post…

Tuesday night at the shack they decided next weeks food theme was going to be food that “started with the letter D.”  Have you ever tried to find food that starts with the letter D?  It’s kind of impossible.

That night we were all yelling things we knew/could think of – Dill Weed, Dip, Dill Pickles, Dill Pickle Dips, Dicky Doo (not sure on this one… I guess it just started with a D), etc.

So when I got home Wednesday night I sat down with the new Paula Deen cookbook even though its my Christmas present and started flipping through it.  I decided to flip to the index for the letter D and started using Siri to send my Sister in law texts of all the things in the cookbook that started with D.  

(I’m the green bubbles, she’s the white bubbles)

In the meantime Siri got hung up and my friend Earl sent me a text. 

When Siri got hung up I had to close out of the text messages and reopen (and actually type them out… the nerve… lol).  Well if you know iPhones, they open to the text messages that haven’t been read if there is just one, if there are multiple it opens to the screen where it shows everyone’s name.  What did it do?  It opened to Earl’s and she asked if we wanted to “Come over for Desserts”.

So I wasn’t paying attention and I started typing Earl all the words in the PD cookbook ques that began with the letter D. 

And she responds back, Or just desserts??!!

I noticed it said Messages (1) but I really thought that was Earl’s message waiting for me.

Then I noticed I sent all those D’s to Earl.  I laughed so hard I cried.

In the mean time I got a few through to Liss before all of this and she was confused so she started sending me back random things. (The first picture above)

So when I realized what I had done, I quickly hit edit and forwarded 16 items to Liss.

And then Liss and I continued our conversation.

I even told her I dropped the biscuits.  I wasn’t making biscuits.  But it was funny….

When I realized that I had sent all those to Earl though, I was laughing so hard I couldn’t even talk and tell hubby why I was laughing so hard.  I’d start to tell him and I’d get choked up laughing again.  I laughed so hard I cried.  I’m not sure he found it as hilarious as I did.  I’m still laughing about it.

Not going to lie, I think that was a pretty good end to the day I was having, but oh the excitement there for a little while.

We did wind up going to Earl’s house where I proceeded to eat a piece two pieces of pecan pie.  In my defense, they were small pieces that made out to the size of a regular piece because I didn’t know if I liked Pecan pie or not.

But when I walked in to Earl’s house to explain the random texts I was still dying laughing.  She told me she thought it was because she said Desserts which starts with a D; I was just sending her random things that began with D… which not going to lie, is something I would probably do :).  I get text happy from time to time… although never just picked a letter… new game to try 😉

Happy Friday y’all and remember, laughing burns 5 calories!

Santa's Little Helper

One tradition I’ve tried to keep in our house is decorating the tree on a weekend Tbug is at our house (2011, 2010, 2009).  It’s kind of a family thing.  Our tree decorations are living – as in we gather/collect new ones each year that represent us or things we have done that year.  Our tree tells a story.

Saturday night we decided to go ahead and put the tree up, you know since hubby’s wanted it up since August and Tbug wouldn’t be to our house again until the second weekend in December….

Last year we got a pre-lit tree.  I’m sad to say the top half already doesn’t work so while hubby was working on a solution, I decided to go ahead and start wrapping presents.

Tbug jumped right in the middle of what I was doing, asked me how to do it and immediately started helping wrap presents.  I’m  here to tell you, she did a decent job of it!  She’d do one side, I’d do the other and it was usually a team effort to start the whole wrapping process.

Then she was totally cracking me up in her placement of presents under the tree.  They had to be just right.
And she kept rearranging them until she got them the way she wanted them :).  Don’t mess with the girl on a Christmas present mission! 🙂

Yurkey Turkey Day

I bet we’re all tired of Thanksgiving now, especially with the Christmas season upon us.  All the hustling and bustling trying to get presents bought and friends/family visited, etc.  But you know what, I still have a Thanksgiving post to share with you.

I Greeted a lot of my friends and family with this message:

And I could do your typical this was my Thanksgiving but I thought I’d spice it up a bit…. So I’m going to present you with:

The 10 tips on how to celebrate Thanksgiving correctly!

1.  Do Play with your food!  It’s the right thing to do!

2.  Bacon makes everything better!  So does bacon butter!  And why not throw in some herbs for good measure!

3.  Take time for a photo montage!  Everyone needs a good photo montage!

4.  The pooches know what it’s all about!  The afternoon nap!  I’m kind of jealous of this one!

5.  Bring the egg whisk out, it’s the right thing to do!

6.  This is probably one of the only times my table will be set correctly, I’m cool with that though.

7.  Hello Yum!  That’s all 🙂

8.  And if the kids want to cook… by all means, let them!

9.  Just a random note, the Corn Casserole HAS to be made in the Corn Casserole Dish.  It just tastes better!

10.  And once all the food is there and the people have arrived, it’s definitely time to eat.  I want some of that and some of that and some of that and some of that and some of that… and well you get the point!

Green Bean Casserole, Bacon Wrapped Turkey, Gravy, Andouille Pudding, Potato Casserole, Corn Casserole, Homemade bread & Red Velvet Cheesecake for dessert!

Hmmm… You know it was a good meal when everyone walked away so stuffed they had to crawl :).  Bring on Christmas 🙂

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and nope, this isn’t the first Thanksgiving of the year, it was the second and by far not the last!  Yup we’re that Thankful for Good Family & Great Friends… or is it Great Family and Good Friends.  How about Great Family & Great Friends!

Ah! The College Years

I remember the first time I signed up to take classes back in Fall of 2001.  Boy that seems like forever and ages ago, but I still remember paying out the ying-yang for books.  I think in high school we’re so used to just “borrowing” from the school and returning that you never really realize how expensive books are until you go to college.

Too bad back in the day we didn’t have places like Campus Book Rentals to step in and aid in the cost of expensive university books!

Now my major in college was Agriculture Education and so when they contacted me and said to find a book in my major I was quite a bit skeptical, but you’d be surprised on how many books they have related to Agriculture!  Woohooo!  In fact, there were 10 or so pages worth of books.  Wow, I was just blown away!  That right there tells you right there they have a nice selection.

Look, Ag Econ – Rental – $45.40.  The Ag Econ book I bought, I had to buy brand spankin’ new and it was close to $200 10 years ago.  Can you just imagine what it would cost now?

And then, what you either have to try and sell the books back to the school but they could just up and decide not to use that book next semester so you’re stuck with something taking up room in your bookshelf.  Trust me, I have bunches of those now days :(.

So if you’re in school, I’d definitely give this a check out!

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Thanksgiving at The Shack

When I first started coming around my husband and his family, his sister was always referring to hanging out at “The Shack.”  Not gonna lie, I had no clue what on earth she was talking about.  I guess shame on me I never asked either so most people assumed I knew.

Jump forward about 3 years and hubby and I were finally invited to dinner at the Shack.  Finally I asked, “What is The Shack?”  (Yup, took me that long to finally ask…)

My Sister in law’s in-laws have this little cabin on their place that they refer to as The Shack.  I guess it has been there long before my SIL was married and she’s been married almost 10 years.  She told me the other night that one portion of the shack was all that existed before they were married, and soon after they began working on the second part.

pardon the photo, it was dark as it is now days at an early hour!

Dick & Pat (Liss’s inlaws) I’m fairly certain know no strangers.  I was told once, if the shack is “open” and Dick is there, anyone is welcome :).

The Shack is also a large eclectic array of memorabilia from all over the country and the world.  You’d truthfully be surprised at some of the things people have sent and or left for the Shack.  There’s truly a bunch of history in all this stuff.  And I’m not going to lie, there is so much, you can’t see it all in your first gander.  I’ve been there twice now and I’m still finding new things, although that may be partially due to the fact new things are constantly being added :).

And you’ll notice all the writing on the walls… That is one of the traditions, your first time to the shack, you sign the wall!

Above the cups you’ll notice some beer bottles.  They are from all over and some seemed pretty old.

A nice Wild Turkey Span

Money from all over that people have left for Dick.

Truthfully, there is so much information here, I wish I could remember everything Dick was telling me.  Sadly I just can’t 🙁  Guess that means I’ll have to go check it out and pick his brain again :).

Sometimes being the photographer and blogger that I am, I have to remind people that I was in fact there also :).  My MIL is sitting next to me 🙂

And now you can’t have a good get together without food!  Sorry it just doesn’t happen that way.  And being Thanksgiving week, why not have a Thanksgiving meal among friends!

We had ham, green bean casserole, potato casserole, gravy, deviled eggs, pickled green beans and so much more I can’t even remember it all!

When hubby heard about the deviled eggs he jumped all over it before anyone even ate.  He was afraid he wouldn’t get any otherwise.

And then finally, it was time to chow down.

And after taking this photo was about the time I fell off the chair I was standing on.  See what I do for you guys and my photos! 🙂

After dinner was over we were treated to a nice array of desserts.  No pictures of those apparently… I’m not finding any anyway.  My Mother in law made this wonderful pumpkin cake thing with this new stuff called cool whip frosting.  Never had it before but it sure was yummy!

Then Dick convinced hubby to strum a bit on the guitar.  My SIL joined in with singing.

Do you remember Wilson Wilson (for some reason I even want to say his name was Wilson Wilson the III or something like that) from Home Improvement?  This so could have been a way for him to be “seen” :).  My MIL was basking in the warmth of the heat!

Later everyone migrated inside and Dick had pulled out an old record player and some 45’s and we were getting down to some fabulous music! :).  There might have even been a little bit of dancing by my MIL 🙂

And that ladies and gentlemen is, The Shack!

2012 Review Extravaganza – The Rules/Info

We are so excited for this year’s Review Extravaganza!  This is the third year EmmyMom has hosted this and every year it is getting even better and bigger.


What is the Review Extravaganza

  -It is your way to look back over the year and each week recap three months at a time of what happened in your life, your favorite blog posts, favorite pictures- whatever you would like to share. (Here is an example of one of EmmyMom’s recaps from last year)

EmmyMom is happy to have 5 wonderful bloggers who she loves, to assist her this year.  Introducing the hosts.

Emmy Mom

Lourie- CA Girl
cagirl
MiMi- Living in France
Living in France
Nicole- Life’s a Beach

Mrs. Match- Date Girl Diaries
http://www.dategirldiaries.com

Janette-Johanson Journey

  How to Play– Each Friday** in December link with your recap of 3 months at a time    December 7th: Recap January, Feb, and March    December 14th: Recap April, May and June    December 21st: Recap July, August and September    December 29th: Recap October, November and December and 5 goals for upcoming year** Posts do not have to be posted on Friday but MUST be posted by the following Wednesday to count.  So, the first week you can post Dec 7th through Dec 12th, etc. The Rules– Must link up a recap, not just a general blog post- please link to your actual post- Must include the Review Extravaganza button in your post for your entry to count towards the prizes- Must link up at least one week in to be eligible to enter- You will receive TONS of bonus points (literally) for linking up all four weeks- Anyone can recap with us-but you must live in the Continental US to be eligible to win the prizes- We will be using Rafflecopter to keep track of entries and must use that form to get your bonus points
Last year after the Extravaganza was done they added up the points and one lucky person won a little prize from each of the hosts.  This year- we have several awesome sponsors who have generously donated a gift for the winner.  
The PrizesSur Le Feu- Vintage Inspired Hand Bag

Sur Le Feu offers simple, stylish, and functional clutch purses, shoulder bags, handbags, and more for the vintage-loving girl. Each item is unique and never duplicated – perfect for anyone looking to stand out!Winner will receive a clutch or purse of their choice placed $35 or less.   I (Emmy mom) have one of these- they are so awesome and well made! 
The Cursing Crafter- Handmade Scarf

This incredibly soft 48″ handmade scarf by our very own MiMiPerfect for the upcoming cold or a beautiful fashion statement.A $15 Value
Enviro-Cakes A Slice of Life

Not picture of actual prize

This Enviro-Cake kit comes with everything you need to turn your cake plate into a terrarium. Step-by-step instructions are included to help you build your “Slice of Life”. Each kit comes with your choice of three plants.  A $47.99 value
Shadow Rogue Original

This new up and coming Etsy shopped features beautiful handmade jewelry.The winner will receive this beautiful bracelet a $30 value. This bracelet is made of stainless steel wire, using 20 gage wire at a 4mm ring size. The bracelet is 7 1/2 inches long but I can make it longer or shorter, depending on the winner’s wrist size.


Thirty-One Tote  

From totes or purses you can wear while you’re out and about, thermals to help you transport food and drinks to a party, organizational items to help keep your house neat and tidy, Thirty-One has a solution!Jessica McCoy a Thirty-One Consultant has generously offered a beautiful Medium Red Damask Tote.A $30 Value

Beautiful Black Scarf

Our very own Nicole’s mother, who may soon be opening her own etsy shop, has generously offered this beautiful handmade scarf for the lucky winner.  A $25 value. 

$25 Pick Your Plum Gift Card

PYP offers new daily discounts on amazing crafts and accessories.Our own Janette is offering this gift cardPYP is not sponsoring this prize.
Sew Charlene Women’s Apron 

Charlene is new to Etsy and sells beautiful handmade aprons and draw-string bags. She makes adult and kid size aprons and is willing to make custom orders. The winner will receive this adorable chocolate cupcake apron. My (Emmymom’s) daughter has one of her aprons and she insists on wearing it every time she helps me cook. A $22  Value
Power of Moms-MOM Organizational SystemThe Power of Moms Mind Organization Program

Mind Organization for Moms (M.O.M.) is a mom-specific online program, we’ll show you how to clear your counter of “the pile,” organize projects without the stress, set up an effective Weekly Review system, and keep up with the never-ending stream of emails, phone calls, and papers (yes, it’s possible!). 
 A $75 value.

That is over $304 in prizes!!  I am actually quite disappointed that I am ineligible to win being the host and all. Please feel free to visit all of our great sponsors by clicking the name above the pictures.  
So one lucky participant will be the winner of all of these amazing prizes.   The more you participate (hint recap all four weeks) the more chances you will receive to be the lucky winner.  But even if you don’t win it is so much fun looking back and remembering the year, meeting new bloggers and reading other bloggers recaps.  Totally looking forward to reading them all!  
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment and ask.  

AQ Chicken House and 34 Years

So today just so happens to be my parents 34th wedding anniversary.  Happy Anniversary mom and dad!!

Yesterday my parents, hubby and I went to Rogers, AR to go shopping at the Pinnacle Hills Promenade.  When we made our plans the day before, I asked if while we were down in the area if we could go eat at A&Q Chicken.  My mom said, “Well, I’m sure we might be able to arrange that.”

The cool thing about going to eat at A&Q Chicken House this particular time was the fact that my parent’s ate their first meal as a married couple on the eve of their wedding day as they were headed out on their honeymoon.  And it just so happened to be this A&Q Chicken House in Springdale, AR.

What’s even better about that story, the lights went out and they ate in the dark.  That didn’t happen this time though.

So anyway, A&Q Chicken House has been around since 1947.  I believe that shows the test of time.  Shows they truly have awesome food.

They start you off with yummy rolls that you can add butter and honey to.  Of course I did that!  I know how to roll :).

I went with the Chicken Parmigiana.

Chicken Parmigiana
A fried Chicken breast smothered with homemade spaghetti, topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese.

This was a very good Chicken Parmigiana!  The noodles were good and I’m not a huge fan of spaghetti plain, but I ate quite a bit (not all because it was a huge portion!).  The chicken was nicely fried and was juicy and tender.  The sauce on top topped with the cheeses were a perfect blend.  I walked away STUFFED!

Mom & dad both got the Original Pan Fried Chicken

Original AQ Pan Fried Chicken
Three pieces of moist and tender pan fried chicken with the taste and texture from grandmother’s cast iron skillet.  Served with choice of two side items.

Mom went with Green Beans and Mashed potatoes.  Dad went with Smoked BBQ Beans and Cole Slaw.

One time hubby and I ate at the one in Fayetteville and he wound up getting a combo platter with 3 types of chicken.  His favorite (and I agree) was the Over the Coals Chicken, so that’s what he ordered this time.

Chicken over the Coals
Three pieces of pan fried chicken with that “grilled in the backyard” charcoal flavor.  Seasoned with our famous lemon pepper seasoning.  Served with choice of two side items.

Hubby went with the Smoked BBQ Beans & Batter Dipped fries.  Now I tried the beans because I’m always telling Tbug to try new things.  I don’t like beans, I’m sorry, but they did have a good bbq flavor to them, still not a fan of beans though.  The chicken was moist, the charcoal flavor on top of the lemon pepper was perfection!  The fries were very interesting.  A nice batter on top of the fries.  I only tried one though and mine was really hot when I tried it, although definitely not bad.

I loved the fact that they had a map with visitors from all over the US, and the world even.  The papers listed countries that weren’t listed on the map and parts of Canada not seen on this particular map.  They also had a guest registry book that was multiple pages thick.

All the posters on the wall caught my attention showing different things about A&Q through the years.

And if you think about it, it is Arkansas so… Former President Bill Clinton has even visited there and they even documented it.  There were multiple photos of him eating there, co-mingling with the other patrons.

And how cool is this truck.  If anyone knows what it is, please by all means share!

They have two locations, one here in Springdale and one in Fayetteville.  I have eaten at both and I say, heck if you’re in the area, you like good fried chicken, you should so check them out :).

Happy Anniversary to my Momma & Daddy!  Here’s to 34 more brilliant years (I’ve been watching too many British movies I think).  And I guess maybe we should have taken them here today instead of yesterday… oh well maybe next year.

Get Your Christmas Decor on!

So do you remember a while back when Lauren introduced herself to all you wonderful bloggy peps?  Well, it’s officially time to be jealous of her….

Because this lovely gal and her hubby (so stole the photo from her…) are in the mountains enjoying a vacation as we speak.  Lucky duck!

But while she’s away, I’ve so taken over her blog!! Take that… lol 🙂  Seriously though, go check out my post on how I would love for my house to look for the holidays!  I dare you! :).

And then once you’ve read it, I double dog dare you to come actually make my house look that way… just saying! 🙂

Happy Saturday!

Lauren’s Guest Post

When I was younger I couldn’t wait to grow up.  Why?  Because I could decorate my own house.  I remember looking at all those magazines – Southern Living, Women’s Day, etc – and they had all those BEAUTIFUL houses decorated for the holidays like so:

And I had wonderful ideas that I would be able to do these crafts.

My stockings would be placed on the mantel and would either be rustic chic or very cowboy country.

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WHH Ranch Company

If there’s one thing you may know about my husband, he’s the spice king.  I swear, there aren’t many seasonings we don’t have, ok maybe that’s a bit of a stretch but we sure love our seasonings.

While we were down at the AQHA World Show in OKC we were walking around the trade show and Hubby and I got a bit separated.  Once I finally caught up to him he was here at this booth, WHH Ranch Company trying sauces.  I walked up and he had already picked out a few but told me to choose some also.

I wasn’t sure what to choose so the guy asked if I liked hot or mild.  My first response was mild.  He suggested I try this one.  He gave me a Tortilla chip with some cream cheese and this Cow Town Candy.  I can tell you it was yummy!  So then I was on a mission to try other ones.

So then he suggested trying this one.  I was a bit skeptical because I’m not a spicy person but he said I’d be surprised.  I figured I’d take a gamble.  Holy Yum.  We wound up with this one on my request.  It wasn’t very spicy at all.  Just enough of a kick to know it was in your mouth but not even enough to make you say, “Wowza.”

Now like I said, hubby and I got separated for a bit and by the time I caught up with him, he’d already picked out a few.  This was one of the sauces he chose, but I didn’t get to try this one

Now this one was more of a steak sauce, you know to be used on steaks and such :).  I didn’t try this one either, but it must have been good for hubs to choose it!  Especially because we don’t generally eat steak sauce on our steaks.

Then hubby bought one called Hot Dog Mustard.  Another one I didn’t try but he said it tasted just like a hot dog but it was mustard.  How cool is that!?!?  He wasn’t sure how they did it but it’s one he’s sure talked about since.

So I found their website, so now I know we can order this stuff when we run out!  Just thought I should share and tell you to take a gamble, so worth it 🙂  And like any cool place, they have a facebook site too so you should definitely check them out.

**Not a sponsored post, just saw something I liked and wanted to share**