The Weekend I Became a Ninja Turtle

Oh Monday, you came waaaay to fast for me this time around, especially since I could not bring myself to turn off the Broncos/Patriots game last night and FINALLY went to bed when it ended around 11:30pm.  I just keep reminding myself that this is only a 2 day week and then it will be nothing but family, fun, football, food, and Black Friday shopping for 5 days!  I cannot wait!

This was one of those weeks that just seemed to keep going.  After not being home before 8pm a single night this week, it finally wound down Saturday evening.  Friday we had a basketball game and picked up our first WIN of the season 41-26!  It was awesome. I was so proud of the girls!  They played so hard, and I am completely convinced that if we'd made 1/2 of the shots that we missed, we could have won the game by 40.  There was no rest for the weary because we had to turn around and play again Saturday afternoon.  The team we played Saturday is really quick and physical, but we hung with them in the first half.  We we down 19-13 going in to halftime, but we ran out of steam in the second half and ended up losing by 15. Once again I was so excited about how we played and I know we can build off that loss.  We have so much potential this year it's crazy.  This freshman class we have came to play and they are so exciting to watch.  I am convinced that with a little refining this group is going to do great things.

Saturday night we went to the neighbors for a few hours.  We ate grilled things and I played ninja turtles with my favorite 4 year old.  Sometimes you just need to act like a kid, and that's exactly what I did. =)  We called it a night early and went home to crash.

Just hanging out Ninja Turtle style. 

 I decided I didn't' want to be stuck cooking in the kitchen all day Wednesday and Thursday, so I got a jump on my desserts Sunday afternoon and I have White Chocolate Snickerdoodles, English Toffee Cookies, a Buttermilk Pie, and a Pecan Pie done.  However a big little mouse decided he couldn't just let a pecan pie sit on the counter staring at him so it's now 1/4 gone.  Luckily Mom is bringing one, too. I was on a cooking roll last night and even made some HOMEMADE Chicken and Dumplings for the first time in my life.  They were delicious!  Wham Bam Thank you, Ma'am. It was a chilly night and Eric was hunting, so it was the perfect comfort food to warm us up.

1. It doesn't look like much but those homemade chicken and dumplings were delicious!
2. You can't beat fresh homemade pecan pie!

To say I am excited for Thanksgiving is an understatements.  It's probably my favorite holiday because of all of the wonderful food, fun times with family, not to mention it's when we got engaged in 2009 (so that helps it's case)!  I am so ready for it to get here!!!

1 is Done

Game days are always great and fun and exciting, but I forgot how awful getting up the next morning and having to go into work at my normal time is.  I got home around 9:45, but my brain was wired and going in 1,000 different directions.  Between recapping the game and thinking about all of the things we haev to improve on for Friday and trying to get myself together for work in the AM, plus wanting to spend some time with Eric and the puppies who were so hyper because they didn't get a walk yesterday, it took me a while to setting down.

Game #1 is in the books and it was a doozy.  Long store short we got beat, pretty bad according to the score.  The team we played was twice our size and the coach did some things I really don't agree with.  Last time I checked it's pretty crappy to press with your starters in the second half when your team is up by 50. Oh well.  It will make us better in the long run.  Our young girls got some really good experience, and *hopefully* we won't play any more teams that are that huge until we play them again.  please please please  To be honest I was really pleased with the way we played.  We are SO MUCH BETTER than we've been in the past.  I think we really have a chance to be good this year.  Luckily the girls weren't too discouraged and are really looking forward to our next game that should be a really good one. Now if I can just put a game plan together and figure out exactly what we're going to do before practice at 6pm tonight I will feel a little better about things.  =)

Weekend Recap: Basketball, Gelato, and Snoozing Pups

Don't worry you're in the right place!  I've been thinking about re-doing this little site-o-mine for a little while now, but I was not sure what I wanted to do with it. I finally made up my mind this week and viola!  I love it!  I've been wanting to add the phrase "A Little Bit Yankee. A Little Bit Y'all." for a while now, ever since spring break when I found my koozie that says that. I feel like it totally explains me, and it explains us and which is what this little blog is all about.

So it's Monday, again.  But it's game week!  Whoop Whoop!  We have 3 this week and I am so excited about them!

1. Went back for more Chicken Salad Chick on Friday for lunch....Nutty Nana on a Croissant.....delicious!
2. What time is it?  Game time!
3. This is what life with burrowing puppies...my clean laundry pile turns into a burrow tower.
4. The entire contents of those 2 empty cabinets.  I am wondering how the cabinets didn't fall off the wall with all that stuff in there!
5. Chicago-Style Pizza....it's what's for dinner (and lunch and dinner again) when your husband is out of town for the weekend.
6. It's baaaaaack!  My grocery store put their Talenti Gelato on sale again this week and they have a new flavor....Peppermint Bark!  

I got myself in the mood for basketball on Friday.  Two of my old college teammates were coaching in a tip-off tournament, and since Eric was on a fishing get-a-way this weekend I decided to go watch their team play and do a little scouting because a team that played the game before them is a team we play in a few weeks.  Watching games really got me excited about games!

Saturday I spent the morning on the couch watching tv and performing a bloggy facelift. I finally decided to get out of my pajamas around 12ish. I took the puppies on a walk, watched a little football [can you believe the end of the Auburn game?!], and went to Saturday night church. I finished off my night with a deep dish pizza, a glass of wine, and some Peppermint Bark Gelato.

Since I was on the ball and went to church on Saturday, I got to sleep in on Sunday-that is until the pups decided it was time for me to get up, which was approximately 7am.  Since I didn't clean on Saturday I had that to take care of, I even got a little wild and cleaned out our spice cabinets.  I'm not saying we have a lot of spices and seasonings, but I threw away an entire garbage bag full of out dated stuff and still have a ton left over.  At least I don't have to set things on the edge of the cabinet and hope it doesn't pop open anymore. =)  Eric got home and we vegged all afternoon and evening.  It was the first lazy Sunday we've had in forever and I loved every minute of it.

And now it's Monday and I really really wish I were at home snoozing with these knuckleheads instead!

High Five for Friday

Oooooh Friday.  There you are.  Why is it that 4 day weeks always seem to take twice as long as 5 day weeks?  I just don't understand it.  The good news is it's here and there's no take backs....so there.

#1

There was something in the air or perhaps the water yesterday...to the point that I actually looked up when the next full moon was to see if it was happening yesterday.  It didn't but it's coming up in a couple of days, so I am chalking the days events up to that.  After a relatively normal day at work I headed to basketball practice.  In the middle of practice one of our girls blacked out and fell over.  Luckily there were some cheer mats out and she didn't fall hard, but it was crazy scary.  Her mom came to get her and she ended up being fine.  Unfortunately the craziness didn't end there because on the next drill a girl got hit in the eye (on accident), but it broke her glasses and got everyone worked up again. We were almost scared to do any kind of contact drills from the rest of practice because we didn't want anything else to happen.  Apparently the crazy leaked over the the dance studio because there was more waiting on me when I got there.  While we were running their 2 of the girls started flicking each other IN THE EYE.  I had not idea until I turned back around (we don't have mirrors in the rooms so I have my back to them most of the time when they're dancing), and saw them crying.  When I asked one of them what happened, she said that the other girl flicked her in the eye and when I asked why she did it she said because she had flicked her in the eye. You would think that 5th graders would should KNOW better.  The afternoon's events reaffirmed to me why I am not a teacher.  There's no way I could deal with that kind of stuff all day every day. I do well to make it through the day with some of the adults I encounter all day.

#2

The dance studio I danced at when we lived in TN is having it's 50th anniversary this year and they asked for old pictures for an alumni event they're having and reached out to alumni for old pictures.  I asked Mom to look through our old pictures to see what she could find and she found some gems...

L to R:

1. My 2nd year of dance and the number was "Animal Crackers. "  I am pretty sure I could still do this routine if I were asked to.  My favorite part was acting out pushing the big bad wolf under to drown, or possibly walking around like Noah's Ark.  Come to think of it those were pretty gruesome lyrics for 6 year olds to dance to.  
2.  This adorable bowl cut occurred the year I danced to "Skip to my Loo."   I remember being mad because they ended up splitting my class in 2, and the other half got to dance to "5 Foot 2, Eyes are Blue," you know the song (and it it's going to be stuck in your hear the rest of the day).  
3. The last one was my first year in Tennessee, and I believe the song was Chattahoochee Choo Choo.  I am not sure why my head looks so unusually large in this picture.  I have always had a pea head and for some reason this picture looks completely dis-proportioned to me.  Maybe I need to use that pose more often, it was working for me 20 years ago, why not now?  And yes those are fish nets I am wearing, because that's what all the cool 4th graders were doing. 

#3

Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away and I am starting to feel like I am getting a hold on things. My plan is to see how much of my necessities I can get together this weekend because we have 3 games next week/weekend, so it won't be happening then.  If I can have my recipes picked out (for the most part) by the end of the weekend and have most of my non-perishable ingredients purchased I think I will be ok.

This will be happening again this year, per Eric's request.  My grandma's recipe.  It was a hit last time so I hope it is again!  This will be one of at least 3 stuffings/dressings we're going to have.

#4

With Thanksgiving comes the inevitable Black Friday Shopping, which I love.  I am not a midnighter, but I do enjoy waking up around 5ish and heading out with my mom to see if there's anything that we just can't live without.  My favorite part is listening to Christmas music on the way in to town and our traditional first stop at Chik-fil-a to fuel up.  I am shocked at the number stores this year that are opening on Thanksgiving Day.  Do they not realize that in addition to taking employees away from their families, they are also encouraging shoppers to not spend time with their families on a day that has traditionally been about devoting an entire day to being with family and being Thankful for what you already HAVE?  I just don't get it.

#5

Yes you read that right in the above paragraph.  Basketball games start next week.  We have exactly ONE practice between now and then.  I am excited and nervous all at the same time (pretty much par for the course really).  I can't believe it's almost here!!!

Happy Friday!

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

It's a balmy 38 outside right now....at 9am, November, in Alabama.  Can I tell you how many people I saw bundled up from head to toe for the walk from the parking deck to the office this morning?  It was HI-Larious.  I made sure to layer up the morning with long sleeves and a sweater, plus my warmest jacket, but I didn't break out the boots.  It's too early for that.  We actually turned out heat on last night which is a feat in itself for us.  We usually just heat the house with our gas and electric fireplaces and leave the heat off, but my BIL was in town and we weren't prepared for this early cold snap which meant that the gas tank is still empty from the end of last year.  I must say that I didn't hate having the house warm and toasty when I got up, although I DID turn both the electric fireplace and my space heater in the bathroom on this morning. I know all you northerners are making fun of my pathetic self right now (because I used to be one and still laugh at southerners when it comes to cold, and especially when it comes to snow), but when you live in a place that rarely has consecutive sub-freezing temperatures 2 nights in a row, you need a little extra heat to get you started in the morning.

Today I have a little recipe to share with you.  I promised yesterday I would be sharing my pizza dip from this weekend.  For whatever reason I had not made a pizza dip in years. I am still wondering why that is, just to be honest.  I LOVE pizza, and pizza dip, yes sir I would like a triple helping.  This one was super easy and it was a hit with our football crowd.

adapted from this recipe

What you need:

8oz (one package) Cream Cheese, softened - use the real stuff, not neufchatel or fat free...they won't be as creamy

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 

8oz pizza sauce

1/3 cup mini pepperonis

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 loaf of French Bread

1/4 cup butter, melted

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, pizza sauce, pepperonis, and spices in a bowl until combined, and pour into a greased shallow baking dish (mine was 1.3 quarts and it fit perfectly). Top with a few more pepperonis.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden and bubbly around the edges.

While the dip is baking, slice french loaf and brush bread slices with melted butter.  Bake with dip for the last 5-7 minutes.  When the dip is done, take it out of the oven and change oven setting the broil.  Move bread to top rack and broil for 1-2 minutes or until tops start to crisp up. Be sure to keep an eye on the bread when the broiler is on because it will go from not quite toasted enough to charred VERY QUICKLY.

Note: you can add what ever pizza toppings you want to this dish; sausage, mushrooms, and bacon  will probably be added to mine the next time I make this, which will most likely be pretty soon.

Weekend Recap: Football, Basketball, and Veterans

Happy Tuesday!  I am refreshed after my three day weekend.  That extra day off really did me a favor and I was able to get caught up on everything that didn't get done over the weekend.

1. Friday's lunch from the Chicken Salad Chick.  I had never eaten there before but I WILL be back.  I had Nutty Nana with cashews and pecans, Sassy Scotty with Ranch, bacon, cheddar cheese.  They have 15 different kinds of chicken salad and they all sound heavenly!
2. Dip #1 from this weekend: Pizza Dip...this recipe will be coming to you this week, I promise.
3. This pretty much sums up Monday morning at our house.
4. Dip #2 from this weekend was Tequila Jalapeno Crab Dip.  It was a lit spicier than I was expecting but it was really good.  If you are a fan of seafood dips, it's worth a try. I added artichokes to mine, because we love artichokes and it was delicious!
5. I decided I needed not one but 2 red holiday cups on Friday evening.  The short one was my Skinny Peppermint Mocha, and the tall one was my peppermint hot chocolate for the football game that went in the thermos immediately after this picture.
6. I made my Butterfinger Cookies this weekend and was disappointed.  I hadn't made them since Eric was in the desert 4 years ago and we both remembered them being a lot softer than they were.  I am thinking I must have wrote the recipe down wrong?  Don't get me wrong, they were delicious, but they were missing something.
7. Small town pride or bored grocery store employees?  You tell me.

To say it was a busy weekend was an understatement.  We started off the weekend with a football playoff game.  We played about and hour and a half from where we live, which was only about an hour from where I work, so I decided to stay in town and get a little shopping in on the way to the game.  =)  Unfortunately the game did not turn out the way we had hoped.  Our offense had a rough day and we ended up losing 21-10.  I hate to see the season end, but it will be nice having Eric around again. I may not get to see him much during the week with my game/practice schedule, but it will be nice to have him home on Sunday afternoons (if he's not in the woods hunting).

Saturday was spent gearing up for the Alabama-LSU game.  I made several goodies and we had a crowd on the porch for the game.  Bama pulled off another impressive win.  It left our Auburn-fan friends chomping at the bit for the Iron Bowl in a few weeks.  Saturday night took so much out of us that we didn't wake up until 10:30 on Sunday morning.  I honestly cannot remember the last time I slept that late.  I guess we really needed our beauty sleep.

In case you are wondering, yes I am the oldest alumni in the picture.  Every class since 2007 (my class) is represented here, too!

It was probably a good thing that I got a good night's sleep because Sunday was the 5th Annual (not 4th like I said on Friday) Lady Hawks Alumni Game.  It was quite a game.  We had 9 alumni this year, and we gave those youngins a run for their money in the first half.  We were only down 35-40 at halftime.  In the second half, a combination of fatigue and refs who decided to call the game in the favor of the current team lead to a final score of 86-64 (or something along those lines).  The real victory was the fact that the alumni made it through the game and no one got hurt.  =)  I am sure we're all feeling it a lot worse than the current team this week, but then again they are college athletes and they SHOULD be in shape.  After the game the Alumni decided we needed Mexican and Margaritas, because that's what you do when you're old and you don't have to worry about practice the next day.

Left: Some of my girls.  Love them,
Right: Our sweet t-shirts.

Monday was my recovery day.  I think I was up by 8, maybe, and managed to lay around the house for a good 2 hours before I decided I needed to be at least a little bit productive.  I ended up doing laundry, grocery shopping, made tonight's dinner, walked the dogs, and even started putting my Thanksgiving menu together before I headed to basketball practice and dance.  We finished off our 3 day weekend with a delicious Boston Butt at Eric's head coach's house, which meant I didn't have to cook or mess with dishes when I got home. =)

I feel like I failed as a veteran's wife by not posting a thank you to all of the servicemen and women yesterday, so I am going to make up for it today. Thank you to all of the servicemen and women and their families for all they do for our country, especially to both of my grandfathers, my uncle, my great-aunt, and of course my wonderful hubby.  They truly are some of the most amazing and bravest people I know.  I have never really talked much about when Eric was overseas because to be honest I try to forget it.  It was such a hard time for me, and I don't like to dwell on the hard times.  Thank goodness he was only gone for 5 months.  I can't imagine how loved ones back home handle having their soldiers overseas for a year or more at a time.

I have never shared this picture before because it brings back so many memories. This was the morning he flew out to the desert.  His aunt wanted to take a picture of us.  I was trying to hold it together, but failing miserably.  It was one of the hardest good-byes I have ever had to say.  Lucky for us it was just a temporary see-you-later and he came home a few months later.  So thank you again to all of the wonderful people who have served in the armed forces, and to those who risk their lives to protect our freedom on a daily basis, and thank you to their families back home who make daily sacrifices while their loved ones are away.

High 5 for Friday

#1

Oh my frost on the ground, it's cold outside.  I am soooo excited about these chillier temperatures we've been having lately.  They make me happy happy happy!

This happened this morning....and it came with a frost warning!

This cold is going to make tonight's playoff game a little tricky.  Since it's away and I will be leaving straight from work, which meant I had to dress normal for work but bring several under-layers to add before I head out to the game.  I asked Eric last night if he thought anyone would make fun of me for wearing my fuzzy boots...he said no but he would have to pretend not to know me.  Gotta love that boy.  I agree they might seem like a bit much for low 40 degree temps, but I won't be up moving around.  I will be sitting in the stands for several hours, so I think I am just going to go for it.  My car is also loaded down with a big blanket, scarf, and my thermos for hot chocolate.  I've decided to run by Starbucks and get some to take with me in my thermos.  It's all about preparation, people.

#2

Tonight is the first round of the playoffs.  It's go big or go home.  Last year we were left with a sour taste in our mouths after the TD that according to the referees was somehow not a touchdown.  Last time I checked a TD means breaking the plane of the end zone, therefore the ball carrier landing 2 feet in the end zone is CLEARLY a TD, except if you're playing at the school we were playing with.  But I am not bitter or anything..... Hopefully the boys can take care of business tonight.  Go Tigers!!!

#3

This week has been craziness and the time change has really reeked havoc on my sleeping patterns.  Of course it didn't help that The Voice (best show ever!) started their live shows and the Stanford/Oregon game turned into a barn burner last night. All of those things combined meant my head didn't hit the pillow until after 11 more days than not this week.  Not good news for me, my friends.  Thank goodness I have a 3 day weekend this weekend so I can recover, sort of.

#4

This Sunday will be the 4th Annual Lady Hawks Alumni Basketball game and I am stoked!  Nevermind that I am not in any kind of shape to play an entire basketball game, but I will have my happy butt out there.  I may basketball coach and spend lots of time at the gym, but since we have so many kids this year I don't have to get in on the scrimmages (which is a blessing, trust me). I am so proud to be a part of the Lady Hawks program.  I still can't believe how much it has grown  since I first walked into that gym 10 years ago.

#5

Lastly I will leave you with this.  I heard it on the radio this morning and it cracked.me.up.  If you are an SEC fan you will LOVE this, and if you aren't you should consider being one because it's a lot of fun.

You're welcome.  

Happy Friday and GOOOOOOOOOO TIGERS!

Hot Jalapeno Corn-Artichoke Dip

It's no secret that we like to entertain.  One of our favorite things about our house is the fact that is lends itself so well to entertaining....big living room, open floor plan, and now we have our outdoor entertaining area that is just as big as our indoor entertaining area.  Have I mentioned how much I love it yet?!?  Ok maybe once or twice.  Entertaining a lot means that I am cooking nearly every weekend.  It also means that I am always on the lookout for a new gameday recipe because you can only eat so much Buffalo Chicken Dip before you get tired of it (except for Eric because I honestly thing he would live off of that stuff if I let him).

Saturday morning I realized that we had nothing but several kinds of meat and cookies on the menu.  I went to Pinterest and once again the day was saved when I settled on Hot Jalapeno Corn Dip.  I'd pinned the recipe earlier that week just because I thought it looked pretty good.  After reading some of the comments on the recipe (something I have learned can be extremely beneficial because people will offer tips and suggestions to improve the recipe), I decided we would give it a try using a few of the tweaks suggested. It also helped that I had almost everything I needed for it already.

original recipe

What you need:

2 cans sweet corn, drained (you can also use frozen corn)

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

2 green onions

1- 4oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese *Kraft makes a bag of shredded cheddar jack cheese that I used instead of buying 2 different blocks*

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

dash of hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp Penzey's Pay it Forward Spice (this stuff is amazing!)

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, spices and hot sauce.

Stir in corn, jalapeno peppers, onions, artichokes and 3/4 cup shredded cheese.

Place in a greased 2 qt baking dish and top with remaining cheese. I used my Pampered Chef Stoneware Pie Plate, it's perfect for dips.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Serve with Tortilla chips...Scoops are perfect for this one!

Notes:

+ I added the artichokes after reading some of the reviews and I am thinking next time I make it I might add some mushrooms, too! The possibilities are endless with this one!
+ This dish is far from spicy (Mom).  I promise the jalapenos and dash of hot sauce do not make this dish spicy at all.  =)

Enjoy!

Weekend Recap

I know, I know, I 'm a whole day late with this weekend recap, but yesterday was crazy.  I somehow ended up walking out the door without my basketball bag, among other things, and I felt like I was playing catch up all day.  You would think that an extra hour of sleep would be advantageous to me, but it's apparently had the opposite effect.   So let's get to it, shall we?

1. Pre-Game
2. Coach Cagle (and his long lost twin the the hat) imparting some of their football wisdom on his players.
3. I saw some Apple and Caramel Wine from Gallo Family at the store Friday and decided I wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately it reminded me of cough syrup.  I tried really hard to make it through a glass but couldn't.  However, it might just be me because I pulled the bottle out on Saturday night and several people liked it.  I should have bought the Duck Dynasty wine instead.
4. Hot Jalapeno Corn Dip....this stuff is amazing.
5. This week's cookie creation: Chocolate Chip Pecan...delish!
6. We even did some hot dog grilling.  There's nothing better than a hotdog that has been wrapped up in foil for a little while after it's been taken off the grill.  That smokey flavor of the dog and warm bun are an amazing combination!
7. The heaters were going strong again on Saturday night.  They are seriously one of the best additions we've made to the porch.
8. Sweet puppy dogs.  Don't let their sweet faces fool you, they'd been aggravating each other all day, and when I got onto them they cuddled up like this.
9. Kudos to the Walmart employee who made this happen.  Ping Pong balls right next to the beer...give that person employee of the month!

I started out the weekend with a football game, what else? We were playing our next-town-over rival, so it was an exciting game, to say the least.  Don't worry though, after a shaky first half the boys took care of business and ended up winning 36-14.  Play-offs start this week and we're playing about an hour and a half away from home on Friday.  It shouldn't be too bad of a drive, though.  It amazes me how well this school travels (for football). I am pretty sure we outnumber the fans in the home stands at away games about 3/4 of the time.

Saturday was pretty typical as well, working/cleaning in the AM and football all afternoon/evening.  Of course I put together another fabulous batch of cookies.  I told Eric I was going back to the basics after a few weeks of not-so-typical cookie recipes, and threw together some plain ole chocolate chip with pecans (a requested addition from Eric) cookies for the occasion.  They were delicious.  Eric said he had the rest of the meal taken care of which meant he had a bunch of meat to throw on the grill, so I ended up throwing together a hot corn dip that was absolutely delicious (recipe coming later this week)!  It will be making it's way into my game-day recipe rotation for future Saturdays.

Sunday was your average church/lunch at Eric's grandma's/him off to film/me left to my own devices kind of day.  It was a good thing, too, because despite the extra hour of sleep that I got the night before I was absolutely exhausted.  I think I spent 2 straight hours laying on the couch dozing which is NOT normal for me.  I finally decided to get my lazy butt up to take the puppies on a walk because it was such a beautiful day.  Since it's playoff week Eric was at film a lot later than usual, so by the time he got home it was dark and we were sleepy so we were lame and went to bed because apparently that's what you do when you're in your late 20s.  I'm not going to lie, I didn't mind at all. =)

Friday's Letters

One of their favorite sniff spots!

Dear November, Welcome back!  Haven't seen you in a year!  I must admit you are one of my favorite months.  You have sooooo much to offer a girl:  Thanksgiving (probably my favorite holiday), the beginning of the Christmas season (which starts AFTER Thanksgiving of course), Black Friday shopping, the beginning of basketball season, sweater and boot weather (some days), etc....  They all make me Happy Happy Happy!

Dear Eric, I am so so so happy that our back porch is 99% complete.  We can really sit back and enjoy it now!  (It's not like we weren't already, but now we aren't focusing on what we still need to do).

Dear Puppy Dogs, Our semi-light outside walks look like they will be ending this weekend with Daylight Savings, and I am super sad about it.  We will still walk but you won't get to go sniff the furthest corners of the neighborhood because it will be too dark.  =(

Dear Basketball Girls, Y'all need to get yourselves together.  I would really just like to have one day that I don't get a call from our head coach with some new non-basketball-related issue we have to deal with.  It's seriously sucking the fun out of a sport I really love and it's starting to stress me out.  I don't like stress and try as hard as I can to delete it from my life.

Dear Halloween, Sorry (but not really) that you were pretty much non-existent this year at our house.  I am sad we took a year off from our yearly pumpkin carving contest, but overlapping coaching seasons means that we have exactly 2 nights where we're both home by 7 and pumpkin carving was the last thing on our minds this week.

Dear Parents who Drop their Kids off  to Trick-or Treat in Neighborhoods you aren't Familiar With (and drive them from house to house in the neighborhood), I am NOT a fan of you or your kids (esp when they aren't wearing costumes and don't say thank you).  I especially do not appreciate you speeding through my neighborhood looking for places to drop your kids off, and nearly hitting one of my dogs while we are walking.  I had some candy, but after that incident last night I was not turning the lights on our porch on to encourage more people like to you come to my neighborhood.  P.S. There were NO houses in my neighborhood with lights on last night....sad day.

Dear Weekend, I am so glad you made it this week!  I am ready for some football, relaxation, and fun!