Changes

After going back and forth for awhile, I finally decided to make it official and resign from my job at school so I can go back to school full time. I really enjoyed the classes that I took this summer and I'm ready to dive in and get it done. It should only take me about 2 years, or maybe 2 1/2(I'm thinking about getting certified to teach special education) to finish. In the grand scheme of things, that doesn't really seem like a long time to me. I know it will fly by. Thank you for all of your encouragement. And please keep Clay in your prayers...I don't know if he can make it that long playing "Mr. Mom"!!! :)

Day One...

Today is day one of my new diet....oh excuse me...I mean my "new lifestyle". Yep, for the 163rd time in my life I am going on a diet {new lifestyle}. But, I am positive that it is going to be different this time. This time, I have a little help. I am going to a weight management clinic. I had to sit through a two & half hour seminar yesterday morning telling me what I could and could not eat, how much I could eat, when I could eat, how I should exercise....and so on and so forth. And did I mention that I can have absolutley NO DIET COKES!!! I think that alone is enough to drive a person insane, but I AM going to do it. Cold turkey. I actually gave my brother all of the diet cokes I had in the house last night so I couldn't "accidently" drink one. I know it's not going to be easy, but this is the time I'm going to do it. I am going to stick with it. That's why I'm telling you guys. I want you to hold me responsible when you see me in the drive-thru at Starbucks ordering a Grande Mocha Frappuccino....or at Sonic ordering a large Diet Coke....or at Dairy Queen ordering a Cookie Dough Blizzard....

My OCD is in overdrive

Those of you that know me, know that I am a neat FREAK. I'm totally OCD when it comes to cleaning and things being in order. I've been that way since the day I was born. Yes, even as a child, I hated messes. If you got a toy out to play with, you had better put it up before you get anything else out...and most of the time I would take it away from you before you were done with it because I couldn't stand anything being out of place. Everyone said that would change when I had kids. Well, it didn't. Actually, it probably got worse. My poor kids don't make messes. They know Momma will have a melt down and just pick it up. I've totally ruined them. Especially Hunter. He is now the same way. He hates it when he and Ty have friends over and they make a mess...he stresses out the whole time. I usually try to avoid the situation when I can and just make the kids play outside. Today of course, it was raining, so I let the kids play inside. This is the result:

I'm sure to most of you , this probably isn't that bad. But to me, Oh it makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it!!! I've got to get off here so I can go clean now!

Friends, Food, & Fleamarkets

We had another fabulous weekend this past week. We had dinner with some friends Friday night and played some cards. It was wild times, let me tell ya! Our sweet friend Shannon made Swiss Steak for us. I had never had it before and it was absolutley delish! For dessert, I made a brownie trifle. I meant to take a picture of it becuase it was so pretty!!! And let me tell you, it tasted just as good as it looked. I about made myself sick eating it!

It was such a beautiful day Saturday we decided to take a drive and do some flea marketing. We loaded up early Satruday morning and hit all kinds of flea markets and antique stores down Highway 65. We ended up driving all the way to Harrison, stopping in little towns along the way. We had the best time. Even the boys loved it. They love looking through the flea markets looking for unusual things.

We're trying to enjoy as many of these days we can before school starts. Can you believe it's only 4 weeks away!?!? It makes me so sad. I'm not ready for it to be over yet!

The boys in downtown Leslie

I thought this old Pepsi Machine was pretty cool...and the drinks were only .40...you can't beat that!

Me and my sweetie

I thought this was a really neat storefront

Can't you feel the brotherly love?

What's a road trip without some greasy food from Daisy Queen?

Clay trying to force feed me an onion ring. Yuck!!! I hate onions!

I'll take my ice cream, thank you!

...All I ended up with after a long day of shopping. But isn't it cute!?!

And the winner is....

Yes, I know I'm a loser. I ask you for your opinion, I ask my family for their opinion, and then I still do whatever I want to do. In my defense though, it's not near as dark as I had originally planned on going. It's really a light brown with a few highlights. I L.O.V.E. it. Clay on the other hand, does NOT. Tomorrow will be a week since I had it done and it's really lightened up alot since then. Since Clay didn't like it, I made another appointment for next week to put some more highlights in it. I don't know though...I think it's a nice change. I absolutely love the cut. It's just a little shorter than before...but it is so much easier to fix now and I think it looks more polished.

Nothing else very exciting going on here this week. We've been to the pool a few days and went to the library one day. They are having a really neat exhibit at the Faulkner County Library right now put on by The Museum of Discovery about the Mayans. It's really neat. The boys loved it. I'm not sure how long it's going to be there, so if you have kids, you should go check it out soon.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Table for Two Please

This past Friday, Clay told me he wanted to cook dinner for me. In the almost 10 years we have been married, he has NEVER made dinner for me. Sure, he's helped out, but never made a complete meal just for me. He even took care of getting my parents to watch the boys for the night. It was so nice!

He had got a recipe from one of his friends and wanted to try it out. I have to say it was one of the best meals I have ever had! It was delicious.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband that wants to take care of me.

I'll post the recipe below if any of you want to try it out. I'll warn you though, it is pretty expensive to make. We could have gone out to eat twice for what it cost to make. But, it's a great meal, and tastes just as good warmed up later! (I think I ate it 3 days in a row!)

Tortellini with Gorngonzola Cream Sauce

Topping:

1/2 C. dry white bread crumbs

1/4 C. freshly grated Romano cheese

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

Sauce:

32 oz. whipping cream

15 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

20 oz. cheese tortellini

6 oz. grilled chicken

For topping: Mix all ingredients in medium bowl and set aside.

For sauce: Simmer cream and Gorgonzola in heavy saucepan over medium heat until cheese melts. Cook until mixture is reduced to a thin sauce consistency, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add grilled chicken. Cook tortellini in boiling, salted water until just tender. Stir occassionally to prevent sticking. Drain thoroughly. Preheat broiler. Add tortellini to sauce and stir until heated through. Transfer to a large, shallow, heat-proof baking dish. Sprinkle enough crumb topping over pasta; cover lightly, Broil until top is lightly toasted.

Blonde or Brunette?

Ok...so everyone that knows me knows that I love change. Especially when it comes to my HAIR! My hair has probably been more colors and more styles than anyone else I know. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to get my hair cut shorter. Yes, I said shorter. I love my hair, but I think I would love it even more if it were a bit shorter. So, not to waste my appointment on just a haircut, I think I need a change of color. This is where I need your help. I can't decide wether I should go darker or a bit lighter. My hair is just too blah for me these days. I need to spruce it up a bit. Leave me a comment and let me know which you like better!

BLONDE???

BRUNETTE???