2009 New Year Resolution Review...

It's that time!!! Have you thought of what your New Year's Resolution(s) will be?? I actually have SEVERAL.

• attend Church every single Sunday...no matter WHAT!
• be a better wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend...by spending more time with my husband, parents, nephew, and friends.
• relax and let God lead me to His plan for motherhood.
• get more exercise...whether it's getting on the eliptical, walking the dog, or jogging around the block.

What are your 2009 New Year's Resolution(s)? Post about them on your blog and link to Mr. Linky below. I'm looking forward to reading about how you plan to better your life in 2009!!

Family Fondue...

When the DH and I were dating, he took me to the Melting Pot in Houston. We adored the place...WAY too much food, but so much fun. We tried other fondue restaurants, but nothing seemed to compare to the Melting Pot. About a year ago, they built a Melting Pot here in Jacksonville. We were so thrilled! Because the Melting Pot is so expensive, we have only visited the restaurant once. We have been wanting to take our entire family, so while they were here for Christmas, we decided to have our own Family Fondue night.

The day after Christmas we shopped for all the necessities for a cheese fondue and a meat/seafood fondue. I found the recipes on-line from none other than the Melting Pot Restaurant!! Here is a pic of my dad and I preparing all the veggies--cauliflower, celery, carrots, and broccoli.

We also cut up apples and bread for the Cheddar/Swiss Fondue.

For meats, we decided to have beef, chicken, and shrimp. We also prepared two different types of sauces to dip the meat in...Green Goddess and a Horseradish dip. DELICIOUS!

Everyone was given two colored skewers to use to cook their meat of choice. Doesn't this look fun?

The Cheddar/Swiss Fondue was a hit...we seriously almost ate the ENTIRE pot!


Overall our First Family Fondue night was a success!! And we are looking forward to the next one :)

Family, Friends and FOOD...Take 2

This is the second edition of Family, Friends and FOOD!!! We left off on Christmas Eve night, so I thought I would start this edition with Christmas morning pictures. Of course I took a TON of pics, but here are the highlights of our Christmas morning...

The first thing we did was let Kodi open his stocking. This is a pic of my HAPPY dog....Kodi was so excited to see the treats Santa left for him in his stocking.

This is a pic of Kodi praying over his treat...too cute!



Santa left the three girls KINDLES!!! We were so thrilled and stayed up till 2:00 a.m. trying to figure out how they worked!!!

Mom trying on the monogramed slippers we gave her...

I found the cutest lunchboxes for my sister and Tedra...aren't they the cutest things EVER???

This is a pic of the DH opening his gift from me...Billy Joel and Elton John concert tickets!!! Actually it was a gift for BOTH of us. That is going to be a FUN night...can't wait!

Christmas Night we headed over to David's uncle's house...we had snacks, drinks, and enjoyed everyone's company...

My mother-in-love, mom, and I hanging out...

I got so tickled at Mikey...he figured out that if he turned his bottle upside-down, the bottle would make these COOL drops on the driveway...HILARIOUS!

You know you've seen the infomercial...don't lie!!!My brother-in-love gave these water globes to my mom and she LOVED them. Can't you tell???

The day after Christmas we had my mother-in-love and my husband's baby brother over to exchange gifts.

This is a pic of my mom with the pineapple I grew...she was so excited when I told her she could have it and take it with her to Texas. We have only had TWO pineapples grow so far but they are so fresh and so so cute!


This is a pic of my mother-in-love with the Uppercase Living block I made for her...it has her first initial on one side and a cute decoration on the other side.

My little sister and my #1VBF stealing the camera for a quick photo shoot...

Cathy and Lisha with their personalized wine glasses I made for them...

The adorable silver and gold wine glass my mother-in-love gave me...so so cute!

We ended this night with a SPECIAL dinner. I'll post those pics tomorrow...stay tuned, you won't want to miss the Fondue with Family :)

Family, Friends, and FOOD...Take 1

The holidays are such a special time of year and we have been spoiled rotten over the past few days. My family drove from Houston to spend the holidays with us and we have had a PACKED agenda every single day!! Here is a little recap of the past week...

My parents arrived last Monday night and we spent the evening by the camp fire, talking and catching up.

The DH, my dad, and Tootsie...pretty handsome fellows huh?

My dad made my FAVORITE meal that first night...shrimp gumbo. No matter how many times I try to make it, it never turns out quite like his recipe. YUM!!

The next day was spent doing some last minute Christmas shopping and of course we had to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants...La Napolera. The DH does not really care for Mexican food, so when my parents come into town, I try to take advantage of eating as much Mexican food as possible :) We had a great time and although Mexican food is extremely FATTENING, I think I laughed all those calories away. The boys were in a competition over who could eat the most habanero sauce...let's just say after poking himself in the eye with a spicy finger, a couple of glasses of iced cold water, and a burnt upper lip later...the DH lost that competition. HILARIOUS!

On Wednesday morning my #1VBF and my sister arrived. After getting a little rest, we headed to the mall to run some errands and then came back home to get ready for the Christmas Eve church service.

The girls at Southpoint Church...

After a great Christmas Eve service, we headed to our cousin's house for a family Eve Celebration. My sister-in-love's parents were also in town and it gave us a chance to have ALL of our family together for appetizers, drinks, and fellowship.

My mother-in-love and my mom...

The DH and our little nephew, Mikey...

That evening the three of us girls wrapped gifts, played on our computers, and took pictures in our Christmas PJ's before Santa's arrival.

Yes, we are all in our 30's, but we are still little girls at heart.

Christmas morning brought TONS of surprises....stay tuned for Family, Friends, and Food...Take 2.

The 2009 New Year Resolution Review...

Okay...we all make them, but do we stick to them??? What is your New Year's Resolution? I have been contemplating mine (ALL of mine). But because I'm nosey, I am curious about what you plan to promise to do for 2009.

Look for my 2009 New Year Resolution Review on December 30, 2008 and let us ALL know what you promise to change, quit, or do better for the new year. If things go as planned, I'll have a Mr. Linky running so we can all visit your 2009 New Year Resolution Review post.

Kodi Got TAGGED!!

I thought this was MY blog!!! Ha ha...just kidding, I don't mind sharing with my sweet little Kodi :) Amy (or really Tucker) at Chapters, tagged Kodi.


Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.



Kodi has already completed #'s 1 and 2...so here he goes with the six non-important random things about him....


Kodi is always happy, but you just can't get this grin off of his face when you say any of his three FAVORITE words...TREAT, RIDE, or BEACH!!! He'll howl with excitement until you either give him a treat or get the leash out for his ride to the beach :)

Although he's pretty disappointed with the Jags' 2008 football season...Kodi likes to support the home team with his TEAL bandana.

One of his favorite hobbies...besides treats, going on a ride, or going to the beach...is sleeping. And not necessarily on his OWN two beds (yes, TWO beds), but on OUR bed. For some reason Kodi finds it particularly comfortable on MY side of the bed. Go figure...

Kodi is also known as the nosey neighbor. He LOVES to stare out of the office window....at the neighbors, the cars that drive by, the squirrels in the yard. We feel so guilty sometimes when we leave him at home because he gives us that please-don't-leave-me look as we pull out of the driveaway.

Kodi is definititely a momma's boy. I can always count on him to hang out with me, here on the couch in the office, while I'm typing away on the computer and blog-stalking.

And last, Kodi LOVES to run...and sometimes that's not a good thing, especially when he's running AWAY from us. This is a pic of Kodi taking a breather after running around at my grandparents' farm. He had a lot of acreage to cover and he didn't stop until he made a few hundred laps.

Okay..it looks as if Kodi is last in line for this tag...so he could only find four other pooches to tag. He's going to include his four step-sisters, but he's not quite sure they'll participate.

Spanky from Stuart and Sarah Creamer

Peyton from Indefinitely Definite


Spencer from Our Temporary Home...the Ledfords

Gynger from Pryncess Lisha

Tootsie, Lexi, Maci, and Presley from Pondering My Life



Have fun...Kodi sure did :)

Disney is Celebrating ME???

We had a great weekend in Orlando. We visited some friends, Alex and Brenda, and enjoyed playing with their sweet little kids, Ben and Kenzie.

We brought the kids a little treat... here is a pic of Kenzie playing with the sparklers...

This is a pic of Ben....he was afraid the sparklers were like fireworks and he didn't want to be anywhere near the sparkler if it exploded!

On Sunday we headed to Downtown Disney for a little fun with Mickey before we headed back to Jacksonville. We had lunch at Downtown Disney's newest restaurant, T-Rex. It is very similar to the Rainforest Cafe, but instead, this restaurant is filled with prehistoric, enormous dinosaurs that come to life while you are enjoying your food. Here are a few pics of the restaurant...

Before we left, I was approached by a Disney rep who so kindly informed me that The Magic Kingdom would like to celebrate the new year in MY HONOR!!! Check out the promotional video...





WOW!!! Can you believe that????

I hope not because I created the video....cute huh??

A Winner...

Congratulations!!!

Your Amazon Kindle will be sent overnight just in time for CHRISTMAS!

Kindle List and Numbers....

I didn't want to write too much on this post because the list with your names and numbers is LONG!!! The DH and I pondered (my maiden name, I just had to throw that in) over how to do this and make it fair and it nearly stressed us out trying to figure it all out. In a nutshell, we input all the donors into a spreadsheet. We used a random number generator for your numbers. On Sunday, we will use the random number generator again to choose the winner.

Good luck...Sunday night ONE lucky person will be the winner!

Allison B
26
Allison B
80
Allison B
102
Allison B
120
Allison B
366
Allison B
385
Allison B
23
Allison B
54
Allison B
101
Allison B
181
Allison B
268
Alyson S
83
Alyson S
43
Alyson S
196
Alyson S
311
Alyson S
353
Anna
4
Anna
195
Anna
240
Anna
267
Anna
281
Anna
319
Anna
328
Anna
350
Anna
364
Anna
14
Anna
47
Anna
96
Anna
134
Anna
146
Anna
172
Anna
182
Anna
224
Anna
280
Anna
322
Anna
377
Annalee
90
Annalee
161
Annalee
174
Annalee
205
Annalee
352
Annalee
389
Annalee
126
AnnaLee
248
Annalee
297
Annalee
398
Ashley C
149
Ashley C
171
Ashley C
180
Ashley C
222
Ashley C
327
Brittney D
37
Brittney D
156
Brittney D
246
Brittney D
260
Brittney D
289
Brittney D
108
Brittney D
118
Brittney D
232
Brittney D
254
Brittney D
259
Cathy
7
Cathy
81
Cathy
110
Cathy
114
Cathy
177
Cathy
187
Cathy
270
Cathy
309
Cathy
343
Cathy
380
Cathy
391
Cathy
8
Cathy
16
Cathy
153
Cathy
206
Cathy
318
Cathy
340
Cathy
341
Cathy
351
Cathy
356
Christian
157
Christian
193
Christian
349
Christian
53
Christian
218
Dale
6
Dale
12
Dale
39
Dale
59
Dale
65
Dale
73
Dale
111
Dale
124
Dale
127
Dale
143
Dale
151
Dale
255
Dale
375
Dale
128
Dale
150
Dale
192
Dale
220
Dale
277
Dale
390
Dale
396
Darla
32
Darla
49
Darla
142
Darla
203
Darla
241
Debe
1
Debe
2
Debe
20
Debe
74
Debe
95
Debe
123
Debe
137
Debe
145
Debe
190
Debe
301
Debe
357
Debe
15
Debe
21
Debe
214
Debe
215
Debe
235
Debe
242
Debe
282
Debe
365
Debe
368
Elise
77
Elise
106
Elise
164
Elise
298
Elise
329
Elise
354
Elise
132
Elise
155
Elise
178
Elise
291
Elizabeth
175
Elizabeth
312
Elizabeth
71
Elizabeth
331
Elizabeth
362
Hollye Cross
28
Hollye Cross
51
Hollye Cross
94
Hollye Cross
87
Hollye Cross
89
Hollye Cross
154
Hollye Cross
166
Hollye Cross
253
Hollye Cross
288
Hollye Cross
339
Jan B
258
Jan B
295
Jenna Tyson
109
Jenna Tyson
200
Jennifer K
19
Jennifer K
40
Jennifer K
117
Jennifer K
208
Jennifer K
342
Jennifer W
75
Jennifer W
84
Jennifer W
325
Jennifer W
346
Jennifer W
383
Jessica Y
186
Jessica Y
299
Jessica Y
374
Jessica Y
217
Jessica Y
387
Jill
60
Jill
82
Jill
99
Jill
323
Jill
10
Jill
27
Jill
29
Jill
62
Jill
70
Jill
100
Jill
125
Jill
191
Jill
247
Jill
278
Jill
314
Jill
326
Jill
345
Jill
370
Jill
376
Jill
393
Jill Gross
69
Jill Gross
85
Jill Gross
93
Jill Gross
160
Jill Gross
221
Jill Gross
287
Jill Gross
13
Jill Gross
244
Jill Gross
272
Jill Gross
292
Julie N
35
Julie N
38
Julie N
197
Julie N
262
Julie N
294
Julie N
320
Julie N
34
Julie N
42
Julie N
44
Julie N
57
Julie N
76
Julie N
213
Julie N
219
Julie N
229
Julie N
233
Julie N
256
Julie N
269
Julie N
313
Julie N
378
Julie N
388
Juliet
55
Juliet
293
Krysta
61
Krysta
104
Krysta
189
Krysta
238
Krysta
347
Kindall
67
Kindall
78
Kindall
86
Kindall
140
Kindall
265
Krysta
64
Krysta
88
Krysta
129
Krysta
264
Krysta
285
Larry
381
Larry
321
Mabel
112
Mabel
116
Marcel
22
Marcel
79
Marcel
173
Marcel
52
Marcel
72
Marcel
103
Marcel
105
Marcel
135
Marcel
257
Marcel
274
Marcel
372
Mary R
41
Mary R
66
Mary R
170
Mary R
363
Mary R
48
Mary R
119
Mary R
136
Mary R
167
Mary R
216
Mary R
234
Michelle Green
50
Michelle Green
245
Michelle Green
386
Michelle Green
228
Michelle Green
382
Miss Anne
30
Miss Anne
31
Miss Anne
130
Miss Anne
202
Miss Anne
212
Miss Anne
223
Miss Anne
225
Miss Anne
243
Miss Anne
252
Miss Anne
271
Miss Anne
279
Miss Anne
355
Miss Anne
369
Miss Anne
379
Miss Anne
58
Miss Anne
98
Miss Anne
107
Miss Anne
133
Miss Anne
144
Miss Anne
360
Mother
3
Mother
24
Mother
68
Mother
115
Mother
158
Mother
159
Mother
207
Mother
239
Mother
275
Mother
286
Mother
290
Mother
348
Mother
359
Mother
9
Mother
33
Mother
56
Mother
122
Mother
141
Mother
184
Mother
263
Patricia
17
Patricia
46
Patricia
152
patricia
179
Patricia
204
patricia
283
Patricia
168
Patricia
211
Patricia
249
Patricia
392
Rebecca Jo
63
Rebecca Jo
251
Rebecca Jo
367
Rebecca Jo
11
Rebecca Jo
121
Sandy
5
Sandy
131
Sandy
237
Sandy
266
Sandy
310
Sandy
316
Sandy
333
Sandy
358
Sandy
18
Sandy
25
Sandy
92
Sandy
113
Sandy
139
Sandy
148
Sandy
183
Sandy
210
Sandy
300
Sandy
317
Sandy
332
Sandy
334
Shelly
36
Shelly
45
Shelly
201
Shelly
231
Shelly
162
Sherry T
397
Sherry T
91
Susan Z
188
Susan Z
97
Susan Z
185
Susan Z
315
Susan Z
344

FYI...if you see any mistakes, please let me know. I wasn't kidding when I said the DH and I stressed over this...we checked and double checked the list to make sure we didn't have any duplicated numbers and that everyone had the correct number of entries...but we all make mistakes.

GOOD LUCK!!!

If you SNOOZE...

You LOSE :( And we wouldn't want that!!!!

So make sure you enter my Amazon Kindle Chip-In/Giveaway. The giveaway will close on Saturday, December 20, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. You can enter the giveaway for as little as $5 and the ALL the proceeds go towards helping my DH and I with our third IVF attempt. For more details, please visit my Chip-In to the right on the sidebar.

I plan to post all the names and numbers of all entries on Saturday and the winner will be announced on Sunday. The Amazon Kindle will be sent overnight on Monday. Just in time for Christmas!!!

Good luck to all and thanks so much for entering!!

Christmas Jars...

I have been busy making a few of our Christmas Gifts this year. Saving money is ALWAYS a good thing and I really believe that a gift should be something that you KNOW someone will appreciate and enjoy. So last night the DH and I made some Christmas Jars for our neighbors and friends.

I bought this book several years ago....

...and decided that I would put it to good use this year. We bought a dozen quart size jars from our local grocery store and chose the Chocolate Snickerdoodle recipe from the book. The book gives you the instructions on how to fill the jars in layers...for presentation of course :) It also gives you ideas on how to decorate the jars, but instead of putting fabric on the top of the jars as they recommend, I decided to make them Lianna-style.

Here are a few pics of the finished jars...

Can you tell how busy we were last night???

Here is a pic of the green one...

The blue and brown ones are my favorite...


This is the top of each jar...

I decided to print the recipe out on card stock and use some of my greeting card paper for decoration. Then I adorned the rim with a cute decorative bow. The little tag hanging from the bow is a list of the additional ingredients for the snickerdoodles. We topped of the jars with a little note wishing each recipient a Merry Christmas.

We hope everyone will enjoy this little token of Christmas wishes as much as the DH and I did creating them!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Card Carousel and the Last Few Days of the Giveaway...

Faith is hosting a Christmas Card Carousel!!!

Here are the Christmas Cards we chose to share with family and friends this year...

Simple and sweet!!!

Please join Faith by sharing a picture of your cards by visiting her site and taking a ride on the Christmas Card Carousel :)

________________________________

I extended the Amazon Kindle Chip-In/Giveaway to December 20th. If you haven't entered yet, the minimum amount to enter is $5. All you have to do is click on my Chip-In to the right on my sidebar. I also want to add that this giveaway has been OUTSTANDING!! I've raised over $700 this time. If you would like to see the details of the Amazon Kindle Chip-In and how you can help us raise funds for our next IVF attempt, please read this post.

The outpouring of love and generosity is pretty overwhelming. I have two other gifts/prizes waiting in the wings....one involves Vera Bradley (thank you Hollye) and the other is a handpainted canvas (thank you Miss Anne). You ladies are the BEST!!!

And until we have our next cycle, I'll keep praying for that miracle...

Christmas Tour of Homes...

Boomama is hosting a Christmas Tour of Homes!!!

And so is Kimba....

Here are some pics of our Christmas decorations around the house....

Our front door...

In our entry way...


Our Christmas Tree room...also known as our dining room :)


Our festive wine tray...


The centerpiece on our breakfast table...




Our Christmas ornament plates...already set up for my Dad's Christmas morning breakfast!



Our outdoor furniture and patio...

I love these adorable outdoor presents...my mom brought them to me over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Kodi's stocking...

I tried to take a pic of Kodi with his stocking, but he was NOT about the camera today...

Our mini bedroom Christmas Tree...

A piece of my Uppercase Living collection...I am SO addictedto this stuff...

Let it Snow door hanger...

Our guest bathroom...

A closeup pic of our fireplace and stockings...

Our entire fireplace and mantel...

I am SO looking forward to seeing everyone else's home tour for Christmas. Please visit Boomama's blog and join in on the fun!

Happy Holidays!