The Last Month or So....

Here's a quick recap of what's been happening with the Hunt's in the last month or so......

We went to the Ole Miss-Auburn game in Oxford and actually tailgated (the only time this season).

My former roomie (who FINALLY got engaged at Thanksgiving--sooo excited for Scottie and Daniel!!)

Hanging out in the grove with friends

The next weekend we made a trip to Tunica to Paula Dean's Buffet for Kerry's birthday. We went on a Friday night so they had seafood too. Needless to say, we ate waaaay too much.

We ate alot!

The girls

He's my favorite :)

My forever roomies

The next morning we got up early to head to Jackson to see Anna-Blair run in the state cross country meet. Then we came straight home and got ready to go to a wedding. Of course, I do not have a picture of us at/or before the wedding. The following photo is courtesy of Mrs. Connie.

The next weekend Bailey and I drove to Knoxville to watch the Ole Miss-Tennesse game. The game was awful, to say the least, but it was a fun trip.

Neyland Stadium

The stadium is right next to the river. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. (As opposed to the other two away games we've been to when it was raining the whole time). 

 And then of course there was Thanksgiving break, which was thoroughly enjoyable. I didn't do too much of anything. I did, however, get a much needed haircut and I got carpet in my room. And, of course, I spent Black Friday shopping til I dropped.

A few Thanksgiving pics.....

And I'll leave you with a picture of our sweet dogs enjoying the warm weather while it lasted.

50 Free Holiday Cards from Shutterfly

Thanksgiving is next week and that means Christmas is right around the corner (yay!!!) So, that also means time for Christmas cards.

Last year our Christmas card was planned the year before--we had written "Merry Christmas" in the beach on our honeymoon and it was our primary picture. However, this year, not so planned out...not even sure what it will be yet.

I am planning on ordering from Shutterfly this year, as they are giving away 50 free cards to bloggers. Go here to check it out.

Here are a few I like....Faith, Hope, Love, Peppermint Bliss, Berry Merry Christmas...that's only a few of the great choices. Who knows what I'll end up picking??

Trip to Fayetteville

A couple weekends ago Bailey, his dad, Katie (Bedford's girlfriend), and I all made a trip to Fayetteville for the Ole Miss game. Although the outcome of the game wasn't what we hoped for, the trip was enjoyable.

We left Friday and drove to Dardanelle (with a quick stop in Conway--my grad-school stomping ground) to stay with Grandma and Papa Dean (Bailey's grandparents). We sat around and visited for most of the evening but got out for a quick tour around town and to see the Dardanelle Sand Lizards game. As Bailey and his dad finished the tour, we came upon this sign.....

They are clearly excited about this new ice--that's small town life for you. I wish I would have been as camera-ready as I was last year on our trip to Auburn.

We got up early Saturday morning to make the two hour drive to Fayetteville. 

Once we got to Fayetteville, we tailgated a little bit and walked around campus before heading to the game.

Before heading to the stadium.

Tusk III's ride

Meet Tusk III, the ugly Arkansas mascot.

Can you tell they like the Razorbacks?

On a side note: Arkansas may be my least favorite SEC team, or any team, period. Why? EVERYONE in Arkansas is a Razorback fan....or so it appears. Arkansas is their primary state university, as opposed to Mississippi, we have Ole Miss, State, and Southern.....So, everyone is a Hog fan and as a result that ugly thing is everywhere. I truly grew to dislike looking at this thing while living in Conway.

Here are a few pictures from the game.....

Bedford working really hard

The crowd evacuating the stadium for the first weather delay which lasted almost an hour.

Our section evacuating the stadium.

The rain/hail that was coming down

Everyone had to evacuate to the "concourse" or had the option to leave the stadium completely. It was a bit crowded.

The nasty water coming down from the bleachers.

And we're back in action, but only temporarily before we have to evacuate for another delay which was only about 30 minutes.

Unfortunately the game did not turn out in our favor, but we enjoyed spending time with family and the trip in general. 

Catching Up....

For those of you that have noticed, I've taken another, unexpected, break from blogging. But recent events (and prompting by a few friends) have inspired to get back into this thing (or at least write this one). I apologize in advance for the randomness of what I'm about to write.

Not a whole lot has occurred since my last blog. It's football season so that means either heading to Oxford or spending Saturdays in front of the TV. There have been a few exceptions--a party/shower for a friend of Bailey's and a wedding reception for the same friend. Both of which Bailey was able to catch up with a lot of college friends (especially his friend Bud, who told me he better be mentioned in the next blog--so, here's to you, Bud).

This past weekend I attended a shower for my best friends from high school's brother & fiance. (Was that clear?) It was great seeing and catching up with Kara, Julia, and Sarah.

And now for the randomness.....
     I'm considering keeping a book for all the things Bailey says/does that are moments when I think (or I say), "Did he really just say/do that?" "What was he thinking?" "Is that really my husband?"
     For example, about a week ago I learned something new about Bailey--he has a small sensory issue with cotton balls. For some odd reason, he doesn't like to touch them because of the way they feel.
     I have two more examples that I experienced today while we were out shopping (and it was actually his idea to go shopping today, not mine). The first occurred while at Kohl's. I was looking at some clothes and Bailey asks, "Is that Lauren from the Hills/Laguna Beach?" That's when the thought occurred to start writing these things down.
     The next one occurred when we were at the mall. Since we've been married, Bailey has begun watching several of "my" shows. One being Desperate Housewives. We really like all the characters on the show but Gabby's daughter, Juanita, is probably one of our favorites. While walking through the mall, we saw a young couple in front of us with a toddler. Bailey pulled me aside and said, "Is it just me, or did that girl remind you of Juanita?" I was thinking it the whole time but he actually said it.
     That's enough of my embarrassing Bailey stories.....for now.

For the past few weeks Wrigley and I have been going to "school." Northwest's continuing ed program offered a basic dog obedience class for six weeks. I thought it would be a good idea to take Wrigley. She has done really well and she graduates next week.

That's what's been happening with the Hunt's. What we're looking forward to in the coming weeks/month: I will be catching up with my grad school girls, we'll be travelling to the Ole Miss/Arkansas game with Bailey's dad and brother's girlfriend, a wedding, and more Ole Miss games. Hopefully my next blog will be before Christmas break.

Summer's End & Easy Stuffed Shells

Summer has come and gone all too quickly. I cannot believe how fast my time off went, but I must say that I believe I'm actually ready to get back--for the sake of a routine. I go tomorrow and Friday for our summer inservice (which allows us Fall Break and a full week at Thanksgiving--love it) and then Monday it begins. We have about 3 days of inservice, or whatever you'd like to call it, and then the kids start Thursday. I'm lucky that I don't immediately get back into the full swing of things. We do kindergarten and preschool screening for at least the first month and then start back with therapy the first of September.

One thing I've really enjoyed this summer is having the chance to sit down with a good book, or a few good books. Throughout elementary/middle school, my siblings and I always participated in the summer reading program at the local library. I really loved reading until I got to Jr/Sr High and we had to read for AR and read from particular lists. I will admit that my reading this summer has been strictly for pleasure. There are several sacred (for the lack of a better word--Christian/inspirational, etc.) books that I want to read but I find it difficult for myself to read those. I'm going to try to read one sacred book for every secular one I read.

Now for a simple and wonderful recipe. I adapted this recipe from one I saw in a Taste of Home magazine.

Easy Stuffed Shells
jumbo pasta shells (I use approximately half the box at a time)
1-24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
frozen cooked Italian meatballs (1-2 for each pasta shell)
shredded mozzarella cheese (and any others, if you'd like)

Place meatballs in crockpot and cover with just enough sauce (I use about 3/4 of the jar). Cook on high for about 2-3 hours or cook on low for twice as long. Uncover and let cool some while pasta cooks.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Place 1-2 meatballs in each shell. (I like one per shell but Bailey prefers 2). Place in a 13x9-in baking dish. Top with sauce (I start with the sauce leftover in the crockpot; also, use as little or as much as you like--Bailey likes just enough and I like alot.) Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Two Recipes to Try

Two posts in one day. Unbelievable, I know. But I've promised to share a few recipes, so I'm going to do just that. I'm not exactly sure where I found these (I'm horrible at writing down where I got recipes from--trying to improve on that). I believe they both came from here, but I could be mistaken. Both are crockpot recipes and super easy--my faves! And, once again,  I apologize in advance for not having pictures of either of these dishes.


BBQ Beef Sandwiches
1 chuck roast
rootbeer
a couple of spoonfuls of brown sugar

BBQ sauce ingredients:
1/2 cup ketchup                        
2 T. chopped onion
4 T. chili sauce                          
4 T. mustard
2 T. brown sugar                       
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. butter

Put roast in crock pot and pour enough rootbeer on top to cover the entire roast. Spoon a couple of spoonfuls of brown sugar on top.

Cook on low heat all day, for at least 10 hours. (I cooked it on high for about 3 hours and low for about 7)

When finished, drain & shred with a fork.

Boil all the sauce ingredients together & pour over meat. Serve with french rolls for a sandwich or all by itself for a yummy meal.


Zesty Crockpot Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts                         
1 c. water
1 can cream of chicken soup                      
1 t. parsley
1 pkg Good Seasons Zesty Italian Salad Dressing mix
1 pkg cream cheese

Place chicken in crock pot. Blend soup, dressing mix, water ans parsley, add to crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

One hour before serving, add the package of cream cheese. (I would do this at least 1 1/2-2 hours before. I added mine one hour prior to serving and it hadn't melted completely. Also, might want to soften it some.)

Serve over rice or noodles. ( I served it over noodles---sooo good! And was even better for leftovers.)


Bailey doesn't always love when I try new recipes but he really liked both of these. Enjoy!

Congrats Bailey & Poor Wrigley

Congratulations to my sweet hard-working husband! He's worked very hard the last two years taking classes and getting many, many hours of experience in order to take two big tests. He took the first test earlier this summer, took the other this week, and I'm proud to say he is now a licensed appraiser. Now he'll start on the next round of classes and experience hours in order to reach the next "level" (which I believe is a general appraiser but I may have the terminology wrong.)

Wrigley has taken over what used to be Bailey's chair.

You may recall the post I did earlier this summer about Wrigley and her bite. Since then she's had a small knot where they cut it open. I was told she'd probably have some scar tissue there so it wasn't really anything...until two days ago when Bailey noticed it and thought it was a bit bigger. I looked at it and agreed. It also looked different--it was begining to look like a bubble, the skin was thinner there, and looked like there might have been some blood underneath the surface. So I took her to the vet yesterday morning. He decided to keep her there for the day so he could remove whatever it was. I went to pick her up and he said it was a mass of some sort and some of the area was infected so he removed all that mess and we have more meds to take for the next week. I'll take her back late next week to have the stitches removed.

All of this happened after we went to the vet last Friday. We'd noticed Wrigley has had some trouble controlling her bladder so I took her in just to be safe. Apparently, many females, after being spayed develop incontinence. However, it usually happens much later down the road, not to 9 month old puppies. So, Wrigley will be taking DES (dog estrogen) for a little while. 

I had a recipe or two to post but I'll save those for my next one since I've been talking about all this gross dog stuff.

Summer....

It appears I took another extended break from blogging--always unintentional, but I'm back, at least for the time being. So what's been going on with the Hunt's...let's see if I can recall.....

Bailey's been working and studying alot. He's had two different tests to take to get his appraiser's license. We've made day trips to Jackson for each one. He's also been working in the yard alot getting it nice and green and filling in the spots where there was previously no grass. (I'll try to get some pictures sometime...)

I have mostly just been lazy, enjoying my summer and pretty much staying indoors where it's cool. The only work I've done is on our entryway. As I've probably mentioned before, we bought a home that had been forclosed on and the people that previously owned it were apparently morons. I could go on and on about that alone, but I'll get back to the entryway. Well, it had one good layer of wallpaper on that we took down right when we moved in. Apparently the people that put that wallpaper up didn't remove the glue from the previous wallpaper or prep it the right way inorder to re-wallpaper (if that makes sense). Needless to say, the walls were covered in wallpaper glue and small pieces of wallpaper along with areas where it was down to the drywall. So....I got to work (well, a little here, a little there). I found some fabulous blue spray gel stuff that removed the glue. That was quite a task. Then I put on a couple coats of KILZ, puttied where needed and re-KILZed those spots. Then this week I finally painted it to match the living room and today I painted the trim. I'll touch up a few spots tomorrow but I'm proud to say it is pretty much done. I'm afraid I don't have any before pictures and have yet to take any after's.

We had a good 4th weekend. We spent that Saturday in Oxford with his parents visiting/shopping with his sister who is over there for the remainder of the summer. After lunch and a little shopping we went to YaYa's, a frozen yogurt place. It was soooo good. You go in, get your bowl, pick your flavor of frozen yogurt (I chose strawberry and birthday cake), get as much or as little as you like and then go over to the toppings bar. It had everything--fresh fruit cut up, nuts, cereal, candy, and of course, several different syrups. I topped mine with pecans and strawberries. Then you "check out." You place it on a scale and you pay based on how many ounces it weighs. When we left Oxford, we went to a friend's for a cookout that evening and watched fireworks. Sunday we cooked out with his parents and then went to my brother's to watch my niece and nephew shoot some fireworks. And on Monday we cooked out again with some friends at their place.

This past Saturday we went to a Redbirds game with Bailey's parents. They got some tickets from the rehab place that works with the school. We had all you can eat BBQ (sandwiches or nachoes), along with watermelon, and ice cream. Then we got to watch fireworks again, but this time with 3-D glasses. It was pretty cool, I must say. I have a couple pictures on my phone but need to upload them on here--maybe next time.

I have a few recipes to post that I've tried out but I'll get to those another time since I've rambled on and on.

What's in a Bag

I was tagged by Jill to share with you what's in my bag. I tend to refer to it as my suitcase. So take a look....

The bag/suitcase

The contents of the side pockets: hand sanitizer, keys, gum, two tubes of chapstick, one of my sister's student ID's (I used it to get into football and baseball games and still haven't taken it out), and a few various gift cards.

Pens, pencils, rubber bands, jump drive, nail file

Wallet, checkbook, and some change that was floating around in the bottom

Bag with lipstick, gloss, more chapstick, eyedrops, rubber bands (for hair), bobby pins

Umbrella and two note pads

\

Various receipts, ticket stubs, a few business cards, mostly trash

I'm missing the picture of the two lotion bottles, a couple bottles of tylenol/aspirin, some bandaids, a few (more) bottles of eyedrops, and my phone.

Thank you Jill for encouraging me to clean it out, although I really only picked out the trash.

Over the Weekend

Quick update on Wrigley: she is doing much better. I ended up taking her back to the vet on Friday because the opening of where they lanced closed over night. He said it looked ok and her temperature was back to normal so just watch it and finish off the antibiotics.

Friday night I went to dinner with some friends to celebrate a few birthdays. We ate at Pei Wei and it was very good. Bailey went to his parent's to listen to the baseball game while I was out with the girls.

Saturday was a very lazy day. We didn't do a single thing but relax until that evening when Bailey went to play softball.

I've had this recipe for Chili's Salsa for quite a while but hadn't got around to making it. I made it this weekend and it is so good. I'm not sure that it tastes just like Chili's does but it is yummy!

Chili's Salsa

14 1/2 oz can Rotel

14 1/2 oz can whole canned tomatoes (with juice--I used diced)

4 teaspoons jalapenos (canned, diced, not pickled)

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced

1/2-3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Combine all in food processor. Run for a few moments until tomatoes have been nearly pureed, yet still chunky. Be careful not to over-process. (I had to do a little at a time because my food processor isn't very big).

Pour mix into bowl. Cover and store overnight for flavors to properly develop.

Serve with your favorite chips.

Lately

Things have been pretty calm around here lately (except for a small incident yesterday, but I'll get to that in a minute.) I got out for the summer about a week ago and I can't say I've done a whole lot. I've made a list of things I've liked to get done while I'm out but I've just barely started on it.

This past Friday night we went to a Redbirds game with our Sunday School class. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and we got to enjoy a fireworks show afterward. Bailey's cousin, Jonathan, and his wife, Tiffany, were in town over the weekend. We cooked out at Bailey's parents Saturday night and then Sunday night there was a special service at church to ordain Jonathan. Bailey worked part of Memorial day but came home early. Then Tuesday he worked a half day and we went to Southaven to eat at Chick-fil-A. CFA is about to start selling a spicy chicken sandwich and they're doing a promo where you had to go online and reserve your free spicy chicken sandwich. It was pretty good. It has a good bit of heat. I'll have to say I prefer the original, but this one was good too.

Now on to our small incident/emergency. We don't have children but our dogs are pretty much like our children. Yesterday I had been out running errands, came home, let Lula out and I went out to see Wrigley and to make sure the water bowl was full. I was petting Wrigley and notice a HUGE hard knot/lump/something on her neck. Needless to say, I freaked out a bit. I called Bailey immediately and told him I was on my way to the vet. I wasn't sure if she'd swallowed something or a growth of some sort had suddenly appeared. (On a side note: not sure if I've mentioned it before but our backyard was basically a dumpster for whoever was here before. You name it, we've probably found it out there--tools, lighters, coins, suntan lotion bottles, permanent markers, just to name a few. So, I thought there was a chance she found something else, even though we'd just cleaned up, again, back there). I called my mom for her to ride with me and she called the vet on the way.

We got there and he said it looked like she'd been bit by something. He shaved two spots on her neck and you could see where she'd been bitten--not by a snake but by something. He gave her two shots and we came on home. I tried to take some pictures but between Wrigley not sitting still and the camera on my phone, they aren't great.

We went back this morning for them to lance it (or in other words, cut it open and get the junk out). We were also given some antibiotics to take twice a day. And lucky me, I'm going to get to squeeze it a few times a day so it doesn't close up too quickly and get big again. If that happens, we'll have to go back and have it lanced again. Thankfully, through all of this Wrigley was just fine. It wasn't bothering her at all. Hopefully it will heal like it should and, also, that whatever it was, won't bite her again.

Grilling

I had a "first" yesterday. I, yes me, grilled for the first time yesterday. As in outside on the real grill, not inside on the indoor one. I have watched and helped many times before but this was the first time I actually did it myself. I will gladly say that Bailey started the fire, but once the fire was ready, it was all mine! I grilled the following two recipes from this fabulous book. And I must say that both were pretty delicious!

This is the first time I've used any of this book's recipes but plan to use many, many more in the coming months.

Jalepeno Chicken Wraps

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breats

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 talbespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon pepper

2 teaspoons seasoned salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 small onion, cut into strips (I didn't use these)

15 jalapeno pepers, halved and seeded

1 pound sliced bacon, halved widthwise

Blue cheese salad dressing (didn't use this either)

Cut chicken into 2-in x 1-1/2 in strips. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, seasoned salt, and paprika; add chicken and shake to coat. Place a chicken and onion  strip in each jalapeno half. Wrap each with a piece of bacon and secure with toothpicks.

Grill, uncovered, over indirect mediom heat for 18-20 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and bacon is crisp, turning once. (Mine took a little bit longer to get the bacon crisp). Serve with blue cheese dressing.

**This editor's note was included with the recipe: when cutting or seeding hot peppers, use rubber or plastic gloves to protect your hands. Avoid touching your face. (I used gloves because I'm prone to rubbing/scratching my eyes/face).

Grilled Potato Skins

2 large baking potatoes

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

2 green onions, chopped (I skipped these)

sour cream

Cut each potato lengthwise into four wedges. (I cut them into six because my potatoes were pretty large). Cut away the white portion, leaving 1/4 in. on the potato skins. Place skins on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Combine the butter, rosemary, salt and pepper; brush over both sides of potato skins.

Grill potatoes, skin side up, uncovered, over direct medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn potatoes and postition over indirect heat; grill 2 minutes longer. Top with cheese. Cover and grill 2-3 mintues longer. Top with cheese. Cover and grill 2-3 mintues longer or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with bacon and onions. Serve with sour cream.

I'm planning on trying a grilled pork chop and asparagus recipe soon so I'll be sure to post how that goes.

Back...Again.

Well, I'm noticing a bit of a pattern. Blog a time or two. Wait for 4-6 weeks to pass. Blog again. Repeat. I've had a few people tell me I need to get back in action so maybe this time I'll do a bit better. Summer is near so I sure hope so.

Bailey and I haven't had too much going on. Work, work, work. He's had a class or two to attend and getting ready to go to another one. I was lucky enough to finish therapy for the school year last week. Now I'm just finishing IEPs and holding meetings. I'm also helping to get everything ready for our state testing next week.

A few weekends ago we got ambitious and landscaped a bit in the front yard. We've only planted some flowering shrubs--no true flowerbeds yet. We have to wait until we get gutters before we do that.

We love Ole Miss baseball so that has consumed a good bit of our time too--going to games and then watching/listening to them. This weekend we'll be headed to Oxford to watch them play Arkansas.

Here's a recipe for Coca Cola BBQ. I got this from one of the cookbooks from NWCC. I've made it several times and really enjoy it. My sister has some of it not long ago and liked it so I'd thought I'd share it.

COCA COLA BBQ
1 chicken, cut up (I use several chicken breasts instead, cut into smaller pieces)
1 to 1 1/2 large onions (I don't use these)
10-12 oz. Coca Cola
10-12 oz. ketchup

Lay chicken in baking dish. Slice onion onto chicken. Mix Coke and ketchup and pour over chicken. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Back to Work

Spring break has come and gone, always so quickly. I will say that I was fairly productive all week long, except for this last weekend--I did pretty much nothing to reward myself for all my hard work.

I had two goals over the break: first, to clean house and second, to paint my room (not the master bedroom but a spare room that we're making into a closet/craft room.)

I got most of the cleaning done, only lacking just a few things. I got my room painted--I just need to go back and touch up a few places. Bailey took off Thursday and Friday and we decided to tackle painting our bedroom. I was supposed to paint it over the MLK holiday but, obviously, never did. I only lack painting the trip in the bedroom. I know there were other things we worked on around the house, but I honestly can't remember what they were.

Thursday night we got the grill going and grilled some kabobs as well as some hamburgers since we had the grill going. Here's our recipe for kabobs (we got this one from my MIL). We usually eat these along some white rice. I'll also give you our hamburger recipe we got from a friend.

Chicken and Steak Kabobs

steak and chicken (this time I used about 1 lb. of steak  and 1 1/2 of chicken)

Italian dressing

medium onion

two bell peppers

Cut steak and chicken into cubes. Put into dish and cover with Italian dressing (as much or as little as you like). I usually let it marinate for at least an hour, sometimes longer.

Cut up your onion and bell pepper into about one inch pieces. 

Place all on skewers, alternating ingredients. (We make all chicken ones, then all steak ones because the chicken sometimes takes a little longer.)

Then grill them and enjoy. ( I really don't know how hot the grill should be or how long to grill them--that's Bailey's job!)

Italian dressing is a great marinade. I use it in our hamburgers, too, along with a few other things. Another really easy thing is to marinate some chicken in Italian dressing and then bake it. Super easy and yummy! I try to buy chicken in bulk and then separate it into the portions I'll use for cooking. I sometimes pour some Italian dressing into one of the freezer bags--that way the chicken soaks up the dressing as it freezes and thaws. After it thaws, put it in a casserole dish, a little fresh dressing and pop it in the oven.

As I said before, I hardly did anything this past weekend, unless you count watching America's Next Top Model for a few hours and giving myself a manicure and pedicure. Well, and we went to dinner on Saturday night with some friends of ours, but that's about it.

I'll end with picture of Lula and Wrigley. Both of them really enjoyed the nice weather last week. They got to stay outside all day long.

Not a great picture since it was taken from my phone and through the blinds. (Try to ignore the nasty sunken backyard in the background--it's a work in progress).