I won a pumpkin carving contest

Well actually me and a few others together were on a team. This is what our office did today - we had our annual Fall Fun Day. So our team carved our pumpkin out and it looked cute but just average really. So at the last minute, we were desperate to find some way to jazz it up and my boss decides to stick a knife in the top of our pumpkin...nice huh? We won! (note the fake blood coming out as well)

Don't let this happen to you!

I woke up this morning to someone banging on my door and ringing the doorbell repeatedly. The cats took off like rats jumping off the ship. I sat up and thought, JEEZ! Hold on already! So I ran to the door to peek out, and my heart dropped. It was a police officer. Now you know what my first thought was, right? I hate to be morbid, but I was thinking the worst. I took a deep breath, opened the door and braced myself.

Fortunately, it was just my car that had been broken into. Someone had busted the window out. They did not take anything valuable that I know of, thank goodness. Although several of my neighbors got hit also, and they stole a $700 radio out of one car. Ouch.

But the officer did give me some advice that I wanted to pass along.

Never leave your cell phone charger plugged in. He said that is the number one reason that people break into cars. They want to know what that charger is being plugged into - radio, nav system, cell phone, Ipod, etc. So when you get out of your car at night or even during the day, unplug and hide your cell phone charger (and obviously anything of value).

Like a good neighbor, Carolina Girl is there...passing along valuable lessons learned. (And I use State Farm as my insurance company, so they won't sue me for stealing their slogan.) ha!

Workin up a sweat

I've committed to participating in a weight loss challenge over at LWFM's blog. My girl Deb is joining us too. Anyone else interested, join in!


So far this past week I think I've been in la la land when it comes to doing what I needed to do. But tonight, I kicked it into high gear (cause I have my weigh in Monday and because I'm behind and haven't lost a stinking thing yet) and did a one mile jog (Leslie Sanson on Exercise TV) in my living room! Woo! Go me. So hope I can keep this up as well as my Billy Blanks DVDs. Those things are HARDCORE!! I've decided to cancel my Y membership just til Spring, because right now I'd have to drive there and park and walk 2 blocks by myself in the dark (when the time changes). Plus, the only classes I can make it to now don't start until 6:30 and I would have to kill 30 minutes and that's when I usually cruise home and don't make it back out the house. SO...


The game plan is on. I'm going to update my sidebar daily with my workouts weekly. The wintertime is brutal! Gotta get focused. I refuse to let me butt get any wider than it already is.

In memory

Football rivalries aside, a year ago, October 28th, 2007, we lost 6 Carolina students and one Clemson student in a tragic house fire at Ocean Isle Beach.



I just wanted to take a minute to remember them and say a prayer for their families as I'm sure this is a very hard day for them.






"When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not get burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Isaiah 43:2

A House Divided

There is only thing that splits my family up once a year and it's a biggie.

I'm talking about the annual orange versus garnet n black clash. No, I'm not talking about that yucky orange in that other conference league (Sorry J and S! It's not MY fault ya'll went out and got "Tommy Bowden is my homeboy" tattoos!?hee hee jk!)

I'm talking about a team that plays for the SEC! A team I actually pull for and respect. A team that has had consistently good coaching (whether ya'll want to admit it or not) and a great program throughout the years. A team that boasts the likes of Peyton Manning. A team whose band actually puts on an awesome halftime show...and a team that well...if you've ever been to Neyland Stadium, you'll never get forget the sound of 100 thousand loud as hell orange people passionate loyal fans screaming Rocky Top at the top of their lungs. (Yes, I CAN sing that entire song word for word...)

Yep, I'm talking about THAT orange...The Tennessee Vols.... dum, dum, dum!

It's my mom and dad versus my brother and I. My dad gets season tickets to all TN games, and we usually take turns on who goes to the away games. Last year my brother and I drove to Knoxville (yea that was a fun ride home), but since we live in Columbia, we usually all try to go to the home games.

This Saturday, we welcome the Vols to Williams Brice Stadium. I like having Tennessee come to town. For me it's kind've like having your family come to town. Except, it's that cousin that you love but is always always bigger than you and you are dying to beat the snot out of them. With love. Of course! And then afterwards you pat each other on the butt and share a bourbon together.

Having said all that...welcome to the jungle Columbia! If the stadium is a rockin...please, come on in! :)

Good news

My friend that had the accident was taken off the ventilator today. He is being kept in ICU for a few more days, and then should be moved to a regular room, where we'll be able to visit. Thanks SO much for all the prayers and good thoughts. He's a trooper.

Savannah pics

I'm soooo tired, so here's a recap (finally!) of our trip to Savannah in a quick nutshell:

View from the hotel room (wish that was my yacht! I heard it cost 13 mil)

View of Savannah at dusk















J and I getting ready to go out!




















Can we trash a bathroom or what?!?!?!















J's hot Kristin Davis shoes on the cobblestones...we almost took a spill several times.















The ferry boat that took us to River Street.















The restaurant we ate at - Huey's. I had fried green tomatoes - FABULOUS. This is the second time I've eaten at Huey's and I HIGHLY recommend it.















Our Firefly drinks - mmmm!















I saved the best for last...J doing the pee pee dance because the key wasn't working!!! HAHAHA Love it! Notice her "gas station feet" - we were carrying our shoes by the end of the night! Oh well :)




















We were so bummed because we forgot to get someone to take a pic of the 2 of us!

Anyways, that's it for now! :)

Wordless Wednesdsay

Paula Deen is my home girl

Unfortunately, we did not make it to visit The Lady & Sons this weekend in Savannah. However, I decided since it's my dad's birthday tomorrow that I would make him a Paula Deen chocolate cake. Oh my, it is sinful! Of course, I taste tested it...what kind of daughter would I be if I didn't??? And of course I wanted ya'll to be able to see the inside...see, the things I do for ya'll! hee hee This picture does not do it much justice though - it is ALL kinds of gooey chocolately goodness!

Chocolate Sybil Cake
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 16 to 20 servings

Cake: 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1 cup sugar 4 eggs 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup (recommended: Hershey's)

Frosting: 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup evaporated milk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

For the cake: Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in another bowl. Add to creamed mixture, continuing to beat. Add vanilla and chocolate syrup to batter and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Just before cake is done, prepare frosting.

For the frosting: Put butter, chocolate chips, sugar and evaporated milk in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stirring ingredients together, boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and nuts. Pour over warm cake.

Happy Birthday dad! :)

Mr P said it was him or the cat. Dang, I miss him!

I have a confession. One of my three (yea, yea) cats is batshit crazy. She's coo-coo for cocoa puffs crazy. She snorts, and sniffs, grunts and growls, and will bite if you rub her in the wrong way. I could go on and on but you smell what I'm steppin' in right?? I have NO idea how she ended up like this, because when she was a kitten she was totally normal. No, I did not abuse her in anyway - she's so spoiled rotten it's ridiculous.

But you see, Mr. P. has been determined to make friends with her. It's almost like it hurt his feelings when she growled at him. I tried to tell him that it was never going to work. I kept getting comments like this:

"but I don't understand...why doesn't she like me??"

"I'm gonna bring her treats everytime I come over and maybe then she 'll like me."

"If she sees me petting and holding the other cat, you think that'll help???"

"What if you brought her over to my house for a few days?? Maybe she'd get used to me."

Yesterday, she full on tried to attack him. I almost peed from laughing so hard. Ok, maybe I did just little bit.

Today, he emailed me a recipe for "cat stew." I think he's officially done trying to make friends.

Calling all prayer warriers

A good friend of mine had a moped accident (a truck hit him) a week ago today. He suffered a broken leg, 3 broken ribs and some internal damage. After surgery last week they were very optimistic about his recovery. Yesterday, I got word that he had taken a turn for the worse over the weekend and had another emergency surgery yesterday. It's very touch and go right now. I'm very close to him and his family - he's like a brother to me and his dad is like a 2nd father to me. Please say a prayer that he will pull through this.

Tuesday 3:00 PM Update: Prayers are working!! After apparently a very rough night (they almost lost him at 1:30 this morning) He is showing signs of improvement. His blood pressure is dropping and he is stable. Thank you so much for the prayers / words of encouragement!

Wed. AM update: No change. He is still listed as stable and they are waiting for the surgeon to determine whether they can operate again. Hang in there, my friend...we are all with you...

Wed. 1 PM: He's in surgery right now. I imagine he'll be in there for several hours. A few of my friends and I are taking care packages to the family tomorrow at the hospital of just some basic stuff that you need in the waiting room - snacks, magazines, puzzles, etc. That's really all we can do right now. If any of you have ever been through this (the waiting part of it) and have any good advice of something we can do for the family during this time, let me know. Thanks again SO much!

Thursday update: Today, I dropped off the goody bag items that my friends and I collected. I left them at my friend's office, so his dad could pick them up. We had a HUGE bag of items - thanks Rebecca Jo for those awesome suggestions!! I meant to take a pic of the bag, so I could show ya'll but I totally forgot. We had all kinds of stuff from hand sanitizer to a neck pillow and blanket. And more snacks than they'll probably ever need. But it felt good to do something for his family. So far, my friend is still listed in stable condition. His doctor said most likely he'll be having multiple surgeries over the next few weeks, and he'll remain in ICU during this entire time. As always, thanks for the kind words and prayers! It's definitely making a difference.

This is My Town

I came up with 9 random things I love about my "town" (city, whatever) Columbia, SC. When people think of South Carolina, they usually think of our beautiful beaches or the mountain areas, like Greenville. (Which is pretty cool that we have both) So I thought I'd share with everyone that Columbia really is a great place to live. It's halfway between the mountains an the beaches.

1. The Saluda River - There are many trails and walk ways along the Saluda River but also for those of you that love water adventures, you can't beat the kayaking and canoeing! The scenery is gorgeous. When I was a kid, we used to spend hours out on the river rocks behind the zoo. River Rats unite.
   
2. Gervais Street Bridge - I drive over this bridge almost daily, and I love it. I love the architecture and how beautiful it is at night when it's all lit up.
   
3. Adluh Flour - Not to bore you with a little history lesson, but....the Adluh Flour Plant was opened in 1900. Supposedly, the Adluh name came about because the owner wanted to name it after his daughter, Hulda. So he spelled her name backwwards - Adluh. When I was a little girl, we took a tour of the Adluh Flour plant. At the end of the tour, we were given samples of the best biscuits you've ever had in your life! To this day, Adluh is still standing right in the heart of the Columbia Vista, which holds all the bars, galleries and restaurants. It's a fixture of the skyline, and it wouldn't be the same without it. Many restaurants in the area use the Adluh Flour only.
   
4. Trinity Episcopal - This church in downtown Columbia was one of the only churches to survive the burning of Columbia during the war by Gen. Sherman in 1865. From what I've heard, he was Catholic, and though it was a Catholic church and therefore spared it. The architecture is amazing and I love walking the grounds of this church. Also, this church holds a spot in my heart, because several of us went here after 9/11 for a special prayer service.
   
5. Williams Brice Stadium - I can't mention my top favorites about Columbia, without mentioning good ole Billy Brice. What's great about Williams Brice is the parking - we have the state fair grounds next door to our stadium, which in turn makes for AWESOME TAILGATING. And the view from the top on a clear day is amazing.
   
6. Lake Murray - If you ever come to Columbia, and have the opportunity to check out Lake Murray, do it! If nothing else, drive across the dam - the view will take your breath away. They now have a walking path that is approximately 1.8 miles one way. I can't wait to try it.
   
7. Finlay Park - I say Finlay mainly because of the beautiful fountain and it overlooks the city. It's one of the most photographed parks in the city. Also, I had my 1st date at Finlay Park and my High School picture was taken there as well. :) (Also featured in the picture in my current header photo.)
   
8. Riverbanks Zoo - We have a great zoo here, and it is just as it is named, on the Saluda River. The giraffes are my favorite..they will come right up to you and eat out of your palm! I also highly recommend walking through the botanical gardens, and exploring the paths between the gardens and the zoo.
   
9. BBQ - You can't mention any town or city in South Carolina without mentioning barbeque. I'm talking about juicy, yummy falling off the bone barbeque that has been pulled and slapped on a sandwich ready for your favorite "fixins." My personal fave is mustard based bbq and you can find it at any backyard get-together anywhere in the south. However, SC has many different types of BBQ, depending on where you are located in the state. My 2nd favorite is vinegar and pepper bbq, found mostly in the Pee Dee areas, and also down around Beaufort.

Whew! That was fun. Now it's your turn....I want to hear all about your town! If you need help (like I did) I used http://www.picture2life.com/. It was fairly easy and fun.

Weekend update

This weekend was a big one for me. Not only did Mr. P meet a few of my best girlfriends, I also met some of his best friends as well as some of his family members. Saturday night, my friend G had a BBQ and I invited him to go with me. We had a good time (Alan Jackson anyone?) and he fit in great with my friends and their hubbies. He officially passed the BFT (Best Friend Test). Afterwards, I went with him to a high school reunion party and met some of his best friends from HS.

Sunday night he invited me to go with him to meet some of his cousins that he had not seen in years. They were SO nice to me and welcoming. One of his cousins was GORGEOUS and had a perfect figure. Come to find out she has SIX kids - the youngest was 4 and the oldest 19! And they were all there! She home schools all of them. They were very normal healthy looking kids. Sometimes I think homeschooling is not such a bad thing. These kids were very social, had tons of friends and extremely smart. But the point is, I was very happy to go with him to meet his family.

Today, I've committed myself to ONE WEEK of healthy eating and exercise. I'm not going to worry past next Sunday. Just this week. Tonight I will be working out at the Y, doing a Curves type workout. I plan on updating here daily my progress (more for my accountability than anything)

Happy Monday all!

Cutest little house ever

I found this picture on Southern Living's website today. Isn't it lovely?

I LOVE quaint little cottage homes.

It's GAMEDAY

Break out the Kentucky bourborn, it's Gameday! Kentucky takes on the Gamecocks today at Commonwealth Statium.

Speaking of Gameday, I'd live to give a shout out to Kenny Chesney, who predicted live on Gameday that the Gamecocks would beat Ole Miss last weekend! Everyone laughed at him, told him he was crazy! Thanks Kenny! Just for that, I'll be pulling for your precious Vols to beat the SNOT out of the Dawgs today. And your autographed Chris Smelley jersey is in the mail, baby. That's a collector's item for sure. Ha!

Time for some football...Go Cocks! Kickoff 12:30 PM EST.

Prank your husband day!

Today I have a guest blogger who is about to do something hilariously funny. Play a good ole fashion prank on her good ole (adorable yet yankee) hubby. I still think she should have named her blog GRITS & GRIN (girl raised in the south and Guy raised in the north).

Meet Just a Girl, my good friend and college roomie! If anyone knows my dirty laundry, and I mean that literally, it's this girl. We were living together at the College of Charleston when she met her now-husband and now they have a beautiful little girl Savannah. (Gotta love the name!)

Anyhooters, I'll let her give ya'll the goods...

"Alright ladies, I need your help. First of all, I want to give a shout out to CG for letting me guest post, because I am trying to be berry,berry sneaky (Mr. Deeds, anyone?).

Here's the deal - I've had a blog for about a year now, but I never let my husband, Steve see it. It's my place to rant and be myself and I don't want him giving me a hard time about anything I write. I'm not being inapporpriate, so I don't have anything to hide, I just don't want him nosing around. However, he has found my blog, as I suspected, and I want to bust him. How do I know? He's in Singapore for work and what-do-you-know?! I had a hit on Feedjit traffic map from SINGAPORE! So, here's what I'm thinking...

1. I write a post asking about the "lurkers" - you know who you are! I could ask about the people visiting my blog. "I see I have people from Oklahoma, Maine and Singapore. Oh, hi Steve."
2. I write a post pretending to be pregnant, but I don't know how to tell my husband. Then when he gets home I don't say a word. This one could be really fun but really a little cruel.
3. I write a post prentending that I went out on some wild night on the town. No one-night stand or anything, but something festive!
4. I write a post pretending that I spent a load of money and worry what my husband will think. If you knew my hubby, you'd know that this would really hit him where it hurts!

So, if you don't mind, leave a comment voting on option 1, 2, 3 or 4. Because afterall, what's revenge if it's not fun?!?
Shannon"

Me being devious me, I have a few other suggestions. Does he have any other prized possessions? You could mention that you accidently broke something of his and you are scared to tell him. Or you could say that you lost Savannah in Wal-Mart yesterday and that you haven't see her since - ok, a little far fetched on that one. Ooh! Ooh! An ex lover is in town and wants to meet up for dinner and drinks! Should you or shouldn't you...hmmm....

Oh and before ya'll go thinking we're being mean and picking on ole Steve, trust me. He can take it.

So many evil tricks, so little time...(now let's just hope he doesn't read MY blog...)

Recipe

Here is the recipe for that yummy cheesy grits casserole below:

(This made 2 9x12 dishes for our whole office so cut in half for one dish.)

Cook grits
Add:
2 lb of sausage
2 jars salsa {mild or Medium}
3 cups of cheese
3 eggs
Bake 425 for 30-45 min.

Warning: NOT diet friendly. But scrumptious!

I'm guilty

...of blog neglect! Lock me up and take away the key. I'm very sorry! It's just that I've been so busy at work lately. I mean, these people...they actually expect me to work! Geez. It's stressing me out. And the way my office is set up, people can just barge in at anytime and my monitor is like ten feet wide so they can pretty much see whatever is on the screen. I thought about blogging in word and transferring it over when I get home but I just haven't gotten around to it. My bad!

But overall, I still love my job and the people are great. I think I mentioned this, but my two favorite new perks are that I get to leave every Friday at 3:00 and we each take turns bringing in breakfast every Friday. Last Friday someone brought in a grits casserole. YUMMO! It doesn't get much more Southern than that. Paula Deen would have been SO proud.

Speaking of Paula, my friend J and I are going to visit Savannah in a few weekends. If you've never been, you are missing out! It is second only to Charleston of course. But it's so beautiful...we are staying at the Westin Resort (free - thanks to my old job and my reward points! WOOT). We are going to spend our days probably shopping, eating and site seeing, and our nights bar hopping on River Street, trying to maneuver the cobblestones with as much grace as possible! (Despite the danger, I WILL wear cute shoes, damnit!)





























I am also hoping that we will get the chance to eat at Lady & Sons! It's tough though. You have to make a reservation starting early in the morning, or wait outside on the street. The lines are LONG. I have a feeling it's worth it though.















Things with Mr. P are still going well! Last weekend, we spent a good bit of time together because he had the weekend off. We went to the zoo on Saturday, and it was the perfect day. The weather was beautiful and all of the animals were out and about! It was nice to stroll around, hand in hand, sharing a cherry Icee, feeding the birds, and giggling like teenagers. It was fun :) This weekend, he will be meeting my friends for the first time. I have no doubt he'll fit in great. I was a little worried that he might balk at meeting my friends (my last boyfriend was bad about that). But he really wants to! Which makes me feel even better about him.

Beach weekend with the girls was so fun. As much fun as I have with Mr. P, sometimes you just need your girls. There is no replacement for some good fun with the girls. Again, the weather was perfect, we drank vodka tonics on the beach all afternoon and got silly drunk. We had some fabulous seafood and had a blast. We even all checked our facebook's at least 4 or 5 times. Geez, LOL. We are in our 30's! Can you say addicted??? But it was so fun. I can't wait for next year's trip. We are thinking about a trip to Miami (only because my friend knows how to get us some awesome deals).

Another reason I haven't blogged much (and not to be all Debbie Downer) but I have gained quite a few pounds over the last few months, and just can't seem to get back in the right frame of mine. I can't blame it on anyone but me. It's just a mental game, because physically I know I can do this. I know what foods I should be eating (or NOT eating), and I know what I am capable of as far as working out. So why I have been so slack, I don't know. It's not Mr. P - we see each other usually only once during the week and once or twice on the weekends. The new job did throw me off kilter a little bit, since I am 20 minutes from my gym now and can't make it to the 5:30 classes anymore. But that's still no excuse. I've been pretty down about it lately. Hopefully I'll get back on track soon. (I have this talk with myself literally EVERY morning. Sigh. )

That's it for now! I'll try to do better and keep up the blogging more often. To totally rip off Paula, sending ya'll love and best wishes, from my blog to yours!

I likey your shoes, oh you betcha!

Did you catch Sarah Palin's shoes last night???

"There's no place like the White House..."

Future movers and shakers

Because I'm stalling doing a real post (updates and what not because I'm lazy busy) I thought I'd do a list of my favorite celebrity kids. Some of them just fascinate me for various reasons.

Heath Ledger's little girl, Matilda Rose. The resemblance is stunning isn't it? Love her. Future grungie / hippie and movie star. (Gee, wonder where I got that from???)




















Zahara Jolie-Pitt. Impishly cute. I mean, check out those tights.

Suri Cruise. Future fashionista and Princess Extraordinaire.

Future lady killer and rock star - Kingston Rossdale. Girls, someday you are gonna have to look out for this one...trouble, trouble. I mean, just look at his dad.




















Coco Cox Arquette. Free spirited, wild child. This one and Kingston will probably date someday. She reminds of Drew Barrymore. And with Monica as your mom, you're bound to have a little crazy in you! ;)