Thankful

What a thankful girl I am! Artie and I had a great Thanksgiving this year. It started out with us delivering the food we made for our community outreach Thanksgiving. Our community feeds over 1600 people on Thanksgiving each year and unfortunately the numbers keep growing. Next up church...which is a message I will never forget. Thanks Pastor Rick! It was about "bugs" in our life and came from the book of Joel (you know, the one with the locusts). Sometimes bad things happen and it is a reminder of our covenant with God. God will not let the bugs destroy us! What a great message and I felt it spoke right to me....

Next lunch at the General Morgan. It was great to be there because this is where Artie and I were married! We had a nice lunch with our church family and the food was so delicious. Here is a photo in the lobby of this beautiful historic hotel.

Artie and I decided to have a nice quiet Thanksgiving dinner at home this year. What a wonderful choice! Here is Artie injecting the turkey with something good. We smoke our turkey every year and it is so good...which is amazing for me to say because I am not a fan of turkey.

OK....this next photo be stills my heart. It is Artie's great aunt Alice's sweet potato casserole. Oh my heavens it is so good. We actually ate this for dessert. Here it is before the oven. It is sweet potatoes with a topping of brown sugar, white sugar, pecans, coconut and butter. LOTS OF BUTTER!

Here is the finished product...it has a crunchy crust on the top and I could eat it by the gallon. Like I said...Artie and I ate it for dessert instead of making a pie.

Here is my table set with the "centerpiece"- I say that loosely....

Close up on the centerpiece

Place setting...kinda haha!

The best part about Thanksgiving at home was eating it in our pajamas!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful day and a fun weekend!!

Daytime TriCities

On Monday Suzan and I took a trip to the big city (Johnson City) to be on a local talk show Daytime Tri-Cities. We did a little segment on what we carry at the store. I loved it...it was a lot fun. Here is a link to video...check it out!

A photo of Suzan and I with the hosts Amy and Morgan

Baby Shower!

This past Sunday I threw my friend Rebecca a baby shower. She will be having a little girl in January and so she needed some cute little girl things! Rebecca was such a big help the day of the shower...helping me keep my head attached. Once everything was complete I could breath. It was really fun seeing everyone and we all had a great time. The room turned out so pretty! I was very proud and she loved it. I am

Here are the centerpieces...they turned out great!

I tied ribbons on the back of each chair to add some color.

Oh the chocolate fountain...FAIL!

The mommy to be snacking on some yummy goodies!

Some of the guests enjoying the games.

Some of the girls and current UT Majorettes

MTSU Majorettes together again...sad we missed alumni band weekend!

Me and the mommy to be!

After her shower I went and helped her decorate her tree! (What I do best!) Since she is pregnant it is hard to climb up and down a chair, so I took care of the basics. It turned out really great! Here is a picture of it after she put on her ornaments.

Hello!

I know it has been a while but I am still alive. Life has been so crazy lately but I have a lot to update. So later today I will have a few posts. Keep checking back! Have a great day everyone!

Go VOLS!

After a crazy, crazy week Artie and I left Saturday afternoon for the UT football game. We have season tickets but I am never able to go. It was so fun getting to go, especially knowing my husband loves it so much. It turned out to be very cold and we left a little before the end. My sweet husband reserved a hotel room within walking distance from the stadium since the game ended so late. We got up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel and a special treat...Starbucks! Since we live in the boonies, we do not have one. It was a great game and they WON! Wahoo!

In the stands

My favorite part: pre-game!

Show Us Your Pet

Man is this the post for me! Kelly is hosting a blog carnival called Show Us Your Life and this week it is all about pets. I am an animal lover, I just have so much compassion for them. I use to work at Petsmart and when those (fur) babies would come it it would just melt my heart. Here is a look at my full house!

Kasey 8 years old boxer....yes she is sassy!

She is quite small at only 42 pounds.

Mishka: 5 year old Toy Poodle

He is my wild man...VERY good at agility! Don't let the looks fool you...he LOVES to be dirty and roll on bugs.

Jackson 3 year old Boxer

He is a BIG baby and at my side all the time. He loves to carry a toy (or sock) in his mouth at all times!

Lily 4 year old Siamese...she loves Jackson will sleep on him at night. She also likes to drink from a cup. Don't sit your drink down near her or her head will be in it. Lollipop 4 year old DSH She is my puppy kitty. She will follow me around the house and wants to sit in my lap if I ever sit down. She is a fat cat because she loves kitty cookies.
Pearl 9 year old Gecko She loves to eat crickets from my hand and likes to watch the dogs run around. She also sheds her skin and then eats it (eww).

Well I suppose that is it for my many animals. Head on over to Kelly's Korner and see everyones pets!

Looky Looky Looky

After quit an unfortunate incident with my laptop last week, I was in need of a new computer. I have been looking into a Mac for a while. I know you die hard PC fans out there are cringing....but it is a choice that every person has to make for themselves. It is why we live in this great land of ours!!! I must say that I love it. Granted we are in the honeymoon phase of our relationship, but I really do love it. I have taken right to it.

My schedule this week is crazy. I completely hit a wall today and broke down. I think the stress of trying to do everything just caught up with me. Seriously...This week I have a commercial shoot, teaching a mantle class to the Kingsport New Comers, work, hosting a merchant's meeting, decorating 3 trees and a mantle in a ladies home, church, a hair cut, teaching a bow class to the junior league, prepping for the shower on Sunday, teaching a holiday wreath class, work, football game, and the shower. Ahhhh! And I wonder why I am stressed sometimes. The next week will be a bit quieter I think. (I hope!)

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week? Not me! I hope everyone has a great week! Say a prayer that I will get through it in one piece. Also so a prayer for Amber...she has a VERY important meeting with a doctor tomorrow. I know she is probably going crazy with anticipation tonight. OK...that's it. Blessings!