Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Not Sure if He was Acting Out of Kindness or Frustration

This morning I woke up and realized there was a heavy blanket on top of me that wasn't there when I went to bed.

I was nice and warm and cozy. But I didn't know where it came from. And the blanket was only on me.

I got up and got ready for work. I went to say bye to Grant (he goes into work much later than I do, so he is still in our nice, warm, cozy bed. Lucky.) and I asked him, "When did you go get a blanket?"

"Um, around 1:30 in the morning"

"Why?"

"You looked cold"

"Awww, honey, that's sweet." (Long pause) "Wait, why were you up at 1:30 in the morning?"

"Cause you were cold"

"You were up at 1:30 cause I was cold?"

"Uh huh"

"Me being cold woke you up?"

"Uh huh"

"Why, what was I doing?"

"You wouldn't get off of me. You kept putting your cold feet on my legs. So I got you a blanket and then I pushed you over onto your side"

"Oh, honey, that's sweet."

"Uh huh"

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Please Don't Make Me Go Back to Work Tomorrow

Oh, I love weekends like this one.

Weekends where you have dinner with new friends.

And you hold a cute, blue-eyed baby boy.

And you eat chips and queso.

And you sleep in.

And you have lunch with your best friend.

And by "lunch" I mean CHICKEN AND DUMPLINS with some SWEET TEA.

And you spend some quality time at Target.

And by "quality time" I mean a fabulous bag on clearance for $12.98!!

And you do some leisurely grocery shopping.

And you bake brownies.

And you go to friends' cute trendy apartment and eat homemade chili and play a hilarious game and laugh till you cry.

And you wake up and go to Sunday school.

And you celebrate in church and sing new songs.

And you go out to lunch after church with precious friends and their precious baby girl.

And you lay on the couch and take a nap.

And you do laundry.

And you make dinner in a crock pot.

And you have a clothes-folding party with your husband.

And you write a blog.

And you go to bed :)

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Golden Globes 2011

For those of you who have been reading awhile, it has become a little tradition for us to recap the award shows together. And by "recap" I mean "post pictures of the red carpet photos and behave like fashion police".

This is my 3rd year doing a post on the Golden Globes, which happens to be my favorite award show. You can read my previous GG blogs by clicking here and here.

So, let's get right to it. As a general statement, I felt a bit of an 80's vibe as the ladies walked the carpet. There was alot of weird sleeves and shoulder pads and I REALLY DON'T WANT SHOULDER PADS TO COME BACK.

Here's Tina Fey who is wearing a great color and great fabric but it is a shame that they had to cut her sleeves from drapery.


Okay, y'all, this is Tilda Swinton and she is a great actress and everything but SHE NEEDS SOME RED CARPET HELP. Rachel Zoe, can she be your new project?!


She is happy and pink and funny and has a fantastic body. This is a GREAT dress for the Globes.



Okay, Scarlett Johansson is a beautiful girl but she is having a hair problem tonight.


WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I DO NOT LIKE THE HAIR.
She is all kinds of precious. Her necklace was BEAUTIFUL and I think she looked absolutely fantastic.



This is Sandra Bullock and her date for the evening, Bangs.


Oh, look, it's Noah. If I'm a bird, he's a bird.


This dress is GORGEOUS but I feel like it is a bit more Oscar-appropriate. But still, STUNNING.


Nicole Kidman is a brave, brave woman. For being as pale as she is (HOLLA, PALE PEOPLE!!) she is not afraid to wear a color that may wash her out.


Okay, confession: I am not normally a fan of putting pink and red together. If I saw this dress hanging on a hanger, I would be all "UM, HECK TO THE NO" but she is just so precious and pregnant that it's all kinds of adorable on her.


THIS GREEN IS BEAUTIFUL.


Oh, my. It's like a 6 year old found her way onto Project Runway and saw a nice dress and thought to herself "I LIKE DAISIES!!" and covered the dress with daisies and pretty much ruined it but then Michelle Williams came in and the little girl was like "Oh, Michelle, will you wear this on the red carpet?" and Michelle felt bad for the little girl and agreed to wear it. That is the only circumstance in which wearing this was okay.


MANDY! Beautiful, beautiful color on her. I wish the dress was strapless and that neck thing wasn't happening, but she looks great. Also, homechick behind her has somewhere to be and FAST. She is on the move and is ever so proud of her legs. Look at that arm-swing. That is impressive.


Ah, one of the 80's looks of the evening. Me-no-likey.


Lea Michele is usually one of my red-carpet-faves. I don't hate this dress but it is not my favorite. I would LOVE it in a different color. A plum, perhaps?


Kyra Sedgwick is another one that almost always makes my best dressed list. I am not a fan of dresses that are the color of mustard but she is still adorable.


Julie Bowen is BEAUTIFUL. She is in my Top 5 for the night.


This is Johnny Depp. Y'ALL, I DO NOT GET THE JOHNNY DEPP OBSESSION. Really, please, help me. What about this is attractive?!?! HELP ME. I find this to be YUCKY.


I'm not sure about the JLo dress. The sheer overlay is confusing.

Hello, I'm posing here on the red carpet, and you, Mr. Papparazzi man, are quite handsome, and I was wondering if you would marry me. It's either that, or I'm taking my senior picture. I'm not sure.


Jennifer Love Hewitt is adorable. And, she's smart. She remembered that the Golden Globe awards serve dinner and she came prepared with a little food catcher on top of her dress to catch some bread crumbs so she could save them for later.


This is a FANTASTIC color on her.


Um, that's a negative.


So, I had in my notes "Jane Krakowski = super cute and pregnant" (yes, I take notes during the red carpet specials to prepare for you people) but the angle I saw on television didn't show the slit. Too high, Jane. Too high.


Helena Bonham Carter is an amazing actress. She is wearing shoes that are two different colors. I really can't say anything else about this. I need to take a few Tums first to calm the nausea.


Halle Berry graced us with her presence. And her lingerie.


This is Eva Longoria. And her boobs.


Yep. There they are. Did no one tell you they were everywhere?


Okay, I think this was my favorite. Absolutely beautiful. Flawless.


Her hair is soooo pretty and she is sooooo skinny. Eat a grape, sweet pea.


In case she gets tired of holding her head up, her dress serves as a shelf.


Meh.


Our sweet, precious Carrie. LOVE. HER.


Again, with the eighties. WHY THE SHOULDER PADS!?


I should start off by saying that I am NOT a fan of Angelina Jolie. I AM a fan of green but I am NOT a fan of shoulder pads. She only scores one out of three in my book. You get a D+.


I want to look like her. That is all.


Okay people. Leave me comments and such below... who did you like? How do you feel about Scarlett Johansson's hair? And if you're a Johnny Depp fan, could you please explain the attraction?
Thanks for reading, and here's to a great start to the 2011 Awards Season!!


Monday, January 10, 2011

I Was Born a Ramblin' Woman

Your out-pouring of love and support regarding the Is-Macaroni-and-Cheese-a-Dinner-or-a-Side-Item issue has been so amazing. Whether you texted me, emailed me, left a comment, or communicated with me via Facebook or the Twitter, you've all made it very clear to me that:

#1. Macaroni and Cheese is a meal in itself.

#2. We like to eat this when our husbands aren't home.

It's situations like this that make me so so grateful to have a blog. I can rub all the proof in Grant's face and be like EVERYONE THINKS IT IS A DINNER!!!! and he can get over himself :) :) :)

On an unrelated topic, I've lost 5 lbs.

I think these "Just Eat Right and Exercise" people may be onto something. I think their little strategy may be working.

Tomorrow is an exciting day for many reasons:

1. I am taking a class at UofH... some additional training for work. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Back to college I go! But only for 3 hours. Yippee!!

2. I have my employee review tomorrow. I actually like getting a review because I'd rather people say something to my face than be irritated behind my back, but still, I GET ALL KINDS OF NERVOUS.

3. My kids' choir starts back up tomorrow night! I am so excited about this semester. I've really gotta be on my "A-Game" because my partner is very pregnant and will be leaving mid-way through the semester to have herself a darling baby boy so I have alot to manage on my own!

So I'm gonna head on in to bed! Love you, people :)

Friday, January 7, 2011

A Grand Re-Introduction

This is a story about Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

For any of you that knew my sister and I when we were children, you know that we ate the same 5 things on a consistent, rotational basis:

1. Grilled cheese sandwiches

2. Peanut Butter Sandwiches

3. Fettucine Alfredo

4. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

5. Rice

I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. Ask anyone that knew us. These were our 5 food groups. We were picky eaters and my mom figured that we needed to eat somehow and so this is what we ended up with.

Out of the 5 listed above, the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese ruled them all. It was our favorite and the most frequent of our meals. It was practically a member of the family. When Mom would make it, she sang a song to the tune of "Happy Birthday" that went a little something like this:

Maca-roo-roo to you
Maca-roo-roo to you
Maca-roo-roo to Jennfer....
Maca-roo-roo to you

I learned to make it for myself at an early age. (The trick is to not put in as much milk as the box instructs. Less milk = Cheesier).

I made Mac & Cheese for myself throughout highschool and college. I made it for lunch. I made it for dinner. I made it for a late night snack. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is as much a part of me as Diet Coke.

Due to this personal history, when I married Grant, the only thing I knew how to make was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. That was it. That was my one thing I could make on a stove.

Imagine my surprise when Grant informed me that, while he very much liked Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, he saw it more as a side item and not as an entire meal.

We then had a very long discussion about the fact that the box says "MACARONI AND CHEESE DINNER" and therefore by definition is indeed a DINNER but he disagreed.

Over time, I decided to be a big girl and I slowly phased the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese out of my rotation. I've longed for the day when I could have children and give it to them always.

Well, last night was steak night at our house. Grant was to make the steak, I was to make the sides. My intention was to make steamed broccoli and carrots and mashed red potatoes. Grant felt like the mashed potatoes would take too long and asked if there was another option.

I looked in the pantry. There it was. My Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. My old friend.

"There's Macaroni", I said to Grant.

"That's fine" he replied.

"REALLY?!?!?" I said with glee.

"Yeah, it's fine", he confirmed.

I DID THE HAPPY DANCE.

As I made the macaroni and cheese, I sang a song at the top of my lungs...

Maca-roo-roo to you
Maca-roo-roo to you
Maca-roo-roo Grant and Jennifer....
Maca-roo-roo to you!!

As we sat down to eat our meal, we both took a bite and I started bouncing on the couch.

"Grant this is SO GOOD. OH MY GOSH. This is SO GOOD. This is better than ANYTHING I have made in YEARS. OH MY GOSH. You have to admit, this is SOOOOOO goood RIGHT?!?!?"

Hi smiled at said "I'm not gonna lie, it's really good"

"RIGHT?!?!?!?!"

"But this is not an everyday thing now"

"I know... but it's been a really great night".

Best dinner ever.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Product Placements

So, I'm not sure if the makers of these products are going to pay me for advertising on my blog, but I think they should. I mean honestly, I am giving a testimonial on how much I love all of these things on a blog that is visited by 1 person per hour. YOU'RE WELCOME, MANUFACTURERS.

I can't remember if I've ever blogged about this, but a few months back by Grantley came home with a surprise. It was the Sprint HTC Evo 4G, also known as THE PRECIOUS.


I loooooove my phone and all its features and apps and internet convenience. It really is a great, great phone and I have zero complaints!!

This is my new best friend at work. We spend every morning together.



When I was in the grocery store and saw that International Delight had come up with a fat free "Skinny Vanilla Latte" creamer I said HECK TO THE YES. It is tasty tasty deliciousness and I am forever changed.

Okay, so these aren't my ultimate favorite... but really, y'all they aren't that bad.

I have an Eggo Nutri-grain Whole Wheat waffle every morning at work with a little bit of peanut butter on it. It really tastes just fine and I thoroughly enjoy a good waffle.

We finally caved. Everyone has told us for a year now that we just HAVE to start watching Modern Family because we would just LOVE it. So We got Season 1 on DVD for Christmas and oh my good gracious..... HILARITY.



We are already addicted to this show. It is SO FUNNY. It's one of those shows where I have to press pause to finish my laughing. Ohhhh so good.

I think I've blogged before about how much I love Lash Blast Fusion mascara by Covergirl. It makes your lashes very voluminous and fluffy.

But now I'm doing this thing where I'm putting a layer of Define-a-lash by Maybelline on top of the Lash Blast.


My lashes are now looking very defined. That's a clever name you came up with, Maybelline. A very clever name.
I don't know how I made it through 3.75 years of marriage without a vegetable steamer basket. But sometime in October I decided I needed one while at Target.

UM, I LOVE STEAMING VEGETABLES. We eat steamed broccoli and carrots all the time and I drizzle olive oil and butter over them while they are steaming to take out some of the healthy.

Okay, so, I got adventurous one day in the laundry aisle and decided to be rebellious and try a new dryer sheet. So I tried these Arm & Hammer Total dryer sheets (they are moist) and all of my clothes are soft and smell like a summer breeze.
Lastly, I just have to do a Product Placement for THIS BOOK!! Our pastor, Gregg Matte, just got his very first book published. This is a fantastic book for any person of any age who is looking for direction. So, if you know someone who has got it all together and has their life entirely figured out and needs no guidance in any area, than they do not need to read this book. But everybody else does.


There is so much meat, so much truth, so much Scripture..... I really am so proud of our pastor and highly highly highly recommend this book!

Alright, I'm expecting to get a check in the mail from one of these companies in the next two weeks or so. I mean, I have helped them advertise to TENS of people. It's only fair.