Have you ordered your HOLIDAY CARDS YET?!? TINY PRINTS TO THE RESCUE!

Every year our Christmas card is one of the most exciting things I look forward to during the holiday season!  I have created my own, used online card companies and I'm excited this year to use I've always been a huge fan of their holiday cards and love having SO MANY OPTIONS! 

While browsing their site for the perfect card, I thought I'd share some of my favorite

This so awesome -- I love the full picture and have done something like this before.  It's simple and pretty much PERFECT!  

I love the simplicity of as well!  Personalized folded cards are always one of my favorites to receive because you never know what's going to be on the inside!

  OH MY GOODNESS!  This is so perfect for me! I never can decide on one picture, so this is a great option to really show off my pictures of Princess and Wild Child!



So head on over to  and check out their AWESOME selection of Holiday cards!  You will not be disappointed!  I would love to tell you which one I chose, but that's a surprise! 

Happy Holidays, Y'all!

**I have been compensated with free cards for this revie

Banana Split Cupcakes

So....apparently I think I'm Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart and I decided to bust out some Banana Split Cupcakes for a company dessert contest. I had my first banana split cupcake a week ago and LEMME TELL YOU - divine! I knew I wouldn't be able to recreate that particular one because it had a ganache topping and yeah, well, no. So I googled banana split cupcakes and found this recipe at www.heatovento350.net ... And they are awesome!!

Ok - so here's the recipe:

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup banana - mashed
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
One tub vanilla frosting
One tub Fluff

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside 2 tbs cake mix. Mix remaining cake mix, eggs, banana and water until smooth. In separate bowl, drain and chop cherries. I laid mine out on a paper towel to absorb as much moisture as possible. Mix reserved cake mix into cherries. Add chocolate chips and slowly add to batter.

This truly makes 30 regular size cupcakes. Spoon batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove once fork/toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For frosting: mix one tub vanilla frosting and one tub Fluff. I put mine in a ziplock bag and snipped off the end and piped on to the cooled cupcake. Then I topped with a maraschino cherry - with a stem!

Enjoy!! These are fantastic!

Once a Month Cooking - Freezer Meals

So I've decided (and convinced my sister) to jump on the OAMC bandwagon....I cooked about 5 meals yesterday and they are packed away in the freezer for the rest of the week. My plan is to do an all day cooking and get about 20-25 meals prepared. I work so much and don't get home until 7:00 most days - so this will make my life easier! I will post recipes soon - want to test these that I made first. OH and you can even prepare crockpot meals for OAMC....just put all your ingredients in a freezer bag and thaw the night before. Throw it all I the crockpot the next day and VOILA!

Anyone do this or have any tips you can offer??

Menu Monday

Yeah -- I blew off the dust on my MAC and decided to get back at it.  We'll start off with Menu Monday....

Monday:
Beef Tips in crock pot

Beef tips
1 pack of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup of milk

Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 8hrs.  Can serve over rice or egg noodles (I prefer egg noodles)

Tuesday:
Polynesian Chicken

1 lb of chicken breast
Cream of Mushroom soup
1 block of cream cheese (added about 30 min before ready to serve)

Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hrs.  Best served over rice, topped with sour cream and crushed pineapple.  Trust me -- it's GOOD!

Wednesday:
Apricot-Glazed Pork Loin

1 can chicken broth
1 jar apricot preserves
1 lg chopped onion
2 tblsp dijon mustard
4 lb boneless pork loin roast

Mix broth, preserves, onion and mustard in a slow cooker.  Add pork and turn to coat.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hrs.  I will serve with mashed potatoes and peas.

Thursday:

PIZZA (Cheer night!!)

Friday:

Crock Pot Pork BBQ

I am cooking a recipe from one of my IRL besties, GRITS.  I can't WAIT to try this .... and I am purposely am making this on the Friday to have left overs for the weekend! 

Yes, I am using my crock pot 4 out of 5 days!  Whatever works!!  I work 8hrs a day and have a 45 min commute to/from work ... if I don't use my crock pot, we'd eat at 9:00!! 

Hope y'all can use any of these recipes!  Enjoy!

We Want to Know Wednesday

So yeah ... don't freak out ... but I'm joining in over on my bestie's blog and linking up to We Want to Know Wednesday. Here are the questions:

1.} What is the best, or worst, pick up line you have ever been given?
2.} What is your most and least favorite day of the week?
3.} How many hours of sleep do you require each night?
4.} Is there a song that takes you back in time? What is it and what memory is it attached to?
5.} What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

Best or Worst Pick up Line:

I must confess, I think the best pick up line was one that came out of my own mouth. On the very first day I met my husband, I heard him conversing with a friend about my behind - yes, my butt - and he was actually admiring it! I turned around and quickly said "Well, I AM wearing my space pants" and he looked at me, cocked his head to the side and said "Space pants?" and I smiled and said "Yeah, they make my a$$ look out of this world" ... spun around on my heel and walked to my office. (Clearly it worked)

Most Favorite Day of the Week:

Monday -- because in the words of my great friend, Clemson Jenn, it's a fresh, clean, slate. Monday could be the start of the BEST WEEK OF YOUR LIFE! Ever since I have changed my way of thinking to that ...well, it sure does change my Mondays!

Least Favorite Day of the Week:

I would say Wednesday - because in my industry, it is typically the SLOWEST day of the week - which means the day DRAGS (unless I am off work - like today!)

How many hours of sleep do I require in a night?

I can function off 4 - but I prefer at least 6.

Song that takes me back in time:

Love Shack by the B52's -- takes me back to the early 90's and one of the funnest summers I ever had w/my sister and my BFF Amber.

Guilty Pleasure:

I really have a bunch: peanut butter & apple jelly sandwiches on fresh WHITE bread, bubble baths, tortilla strips and mango salsa (from Costco), why is everything food related??

So that's it! This was fun - think I'll do it again next week!

Untie the Rope

Hi there -- me again! I really am wishing I could blog more, but darn it if life just keeps me busy-- BUT -- I was sent this email and after reading it several times and almost nearly brought to tears, realized I probably need to just put in on the blog. It's deep. It will make you think. This is an email Tyler Perry sends out and my friend is on the list. ANNNNNYWAY, here is the email - ENJOY!

So, I just finished filming a really good movie called GOOD DEEDS. It's me like you've never seen me before. It comes out in February, brace yourself. :-) There were a lot of long days on this shoot, so I wanted to take a break. I decided to do some traveling and since I still have 20 more pounds to lose before I start my next movie, ALEX CROSS, I thought I would go to the Grand Canyon and do some hiking, climbing and so on. At one point in the climbing, I was over a steep drop and was tied to a safety rope, while a buddy's safety rope was tied to me. It was my responsibility to help him up, since I was bigger and weighed more. I told him, "I'll hold on to you to help you up but if you start to pull me over with you, I'm going to untie this rope." We had a good laugh about it, but I was serious... :-)

I started thinking about that moment a few days ago. How many times are we tied to a person, people or things that are pulling us down and we won't untie the rope? For whatever reason, be it family, friends, society, or just the feeling of being obligated, trapped or that if you don't, no one else will. I have watched so many people go over a cliff with a person that they are trying to help up, it's sad. YOU MUST UNTIE THE ROPE!!! This is your life and you are wasting it being tied to someone who is destroying his or her opportunities and yours. If the person that you are trying to help does not know that they are worth being saved, how do you expect them to put any value on you saving them? You're not worth it to them. They can't get it! SO YOU NEED TO! Listen to me, untie the rope and don't lose yourself trying to hold on to someone who can't survive on your level. You hear me? Maybe they have gone as high as they can go. Just because you can survive on that level doesn't mean that everyone else can. Stop trying to help them, UNTIE THE ROPE! I know you may feel this is cruel, but what is more cruel is dying a death that's not your own. Letting your destiny go to hell because someone else pulled you there. Are you kidding me? That isn't God!

Here is what I have learned over the almost 20 years that I have been in this business. Let me tell you, I have seen and worked with some of the most talented people you can imagine and I used to wonder why they never got any higher than they are. You know, the kind of people who always seem to be at the door, but never can go in. It used to blow my mind until I got a revelation from God.For many years I was the same way, I would get close and things would fall apart. I couldn't get any traction, not in my career, not in my personal life and not in the pursuit of happiness. I just couldn't move forward. Through much prayer and self-discovery, I found out that I used to be, notice I said "USED TO BE," a self-saboteur. I would find a way to subconsciously destroy every good thing that was in my life and I didn't even know I was doing it. Most self-sabotaging people don't know that they are doing it. I don't think there is anyone sadder than a person who blames everyone else, but themselves for their situation.

The very revelation that I was causing my own problems was one of the greatest blessings God could have allowed me to see. Once I realized the behavior, I was able to change it. That is why my life is in such a great place right now. I realized that my very thoughts were keeping me from being successful at everything. "So, as a man thinketh, so is he."Many times a lot of us sabotage subconsciously because of what mamma or daddy said, traumatic childhoods or any number of things that happened growing up that made us feel that we shouldn't have or that we didn't deserve it. I'm here to tell you all, that misinformation was wrong. You do deserve it! You are worthy of it! For me, knowing that Jesus died and rose again makes me know we are all worthy. Why am I saying this? I'm just tired of people being upset with people who have realized their dreams. The only difference in someone who is living their dream and someone who can't get it to come to pass is they don't feel they deserve it. They don't feel they are worthy of it. So many of us have dreams, dreams that the world is waiting for, talents that will help heal and change nations, but we keep destroying our own successes. I know for a fact that if I had not figured this out, you wouldn't be reading this email right now. Nor would I be a happy soul.The world is waiting for your gift. Give it to yourself and you will give it to them, but first you have to UNTIE THE ROPE. Tyler

What I've learned ....

During the time after my father passed, I told my sister I could write a book on what NOT to say to someone who's parent has died. Thing is, I've been guilty of saying everything I heard, but when you hear it 1567 times, it just gets ... well, old.

- He's in a better place (yes, I know)
- He's not suffering anymore (yes, I know)
- Well, he's fought it for so long - you had so much time to prepare (yes ... but you are still NEVER prepared).

Our situation was so very different. Dad was given 8 weeks and he died 5 days later. Quite honestly, it was a very difficult death - the 2 days he was in hospice. His body was so used to fighting that it didn't know how NOT to fight. Seeing your Daddy, the man who would do anything for you, protect you, fight for you, encourage you, and love you -- seeing that man weighing 120something lbs (less than me and he was 6ft tall) and like clockwork, every 15 minutes, sit up and beg for help. It was heart wrenching and I honestly pray you never have to see your parent go through that and for those of you that have, I hate that we are part of that 'club'. I could go the REST of my life never seeing that again and I would give anything to erase that memory from my head, but that's life and it is what it is and it's changed me. I'm more tolerant, I guess.

I never really took things for granted, but now, if something is important to me, I make it a priority. For instance, I had a friend in town from Lousiana. The ONLY time we could get together was for breakfast on a day that I didn't have to be at work until 11:00. I got up at 5:30 in the morning and drove to meet her for breakfast because I love her and haven't seen her in 13 yrs. I don't know when I will see her again and it was important to me to see her, so it was WORTH it. We had a wonderful time and I was so thankful to be able to spend a few hours with her.

Another thing I learned is you will be SHOCKED who will be there for you and who will not be there for you. People that I would never have expected to do anything for me were doing more than I ever imagined .... and well, you know the rest. It's ok - people are busy. I get it.

I also learned that it's ok to LAUGH! OH MY GOODNESS, my brother, sister and I have bonded so incredibly more over this whole thing. When Dad was in the hospice, we made a pact "All for One, One for All" -- and if one went to Wendy's, we all went. The 3 of us didn't leave each other's side for nearly 4 days. It is something beautiful that has come out of something so devastating -- we were close before, but now we are just so. close. I can't explain it.

Now is the quiet. It's been a little over 8 weeks and last week was probably the worst so far. I miss my Dad. A lot. I was driving home Sat night and saw a shooting star and I said out loud "HEY DAD!" -- corny, I know, but I immediately thought of him.

Please don't think this post is sad -- it's really not. I'm not sad about my Dad's death. I'm sad he's gone, but I know he was in SO much pain, every day was difficult for him. I'm sad about the way he died and although I wish for just one more day with him, I wouldn't have him back for nothing -- to live another day in pain and suffering. On Easter Sunday, I celebrated knowing I would see my Dad again -- I know I have that promise.

You've made it this far and I appreciate you hanging in there! I promise not all my blog posts will be like this - actually I don't plan on blogging on my Dad's death again (for a while at least). I've got SO much to talk about, blog about, etc etc etc. Thanks for hanging in there with me!