I've started a NEW BLOG

Hey Girlies (and you guys too-just in case),
I've decided to stop posting on this blog and have created a NEW BLOG... called JUST BECAUSE, so either go back to my profile and click on the JUST BECAUSE or just click here on JUST BECAUSE! HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

Keurig Brewer Giveaway!!!

Adventures of a Southern Newlywed is offering the chance for someone to win a free Keurig Platinum Brewing System. I'm sure you've seen their commerical and now you have the chance to win this awesome prize. So go now to Adventures of a Southern Newlywed and enter to win it. Thanks! AOASN- for this great giveaway!!!

Ready for the Weekend!!

Yeah, it's Friday! The outdoor ice rink opened this morning and I scored some new ice skates from ebay yesterday and hopefully they are on their way as I type. Can't wait to break them in, hopefully without breaking any of my body parts. Lastly, I totally want to go see the movie Role Models, the aired clips look heeeelarious and I need a good laugh. Wishing all a great weekend! Bored, here is a fun video for you to check out.

Christmas Swap!!!

Clemsongirl is hosting a Christmas swap, it will be my first and I can't wait. I'm sooo excited! Click on the picture to visit Clemsongirl and find out more of the details.

Trunk or Treat

Halloween was fun, I went to lunch with a friend then headed over to little bit's school party. After school we met sweet hubby at Jose Peppers (my absolute favorite mexican place) and then I took little bit to the church trunk or treat, we had a great time!

Happy Halloween

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Halloween today! Little Bit is going to be Wednesday Addams and we will be trick or treating tonight. I will post pictures tomorrow.

Yes, it's true another give away!

Angie over at Brock and Ava is hosting her first give away! Its a pink Vera Bradley purse and wallet in honor of breast cancer awareness month! So go now over to Brock and Ava and check out her great blog and enter to win her give away.

Fantastic Giveaway for all the cooks out there!

The wonderful chick over at Monogram Chick is hosting a fantastic giveaway. You can enter to win a great monogrammed recipe box! Go now to Monogram Chick and enter for your chance and please let her know Jesslee from Shindigs to Soirees sent you. Thanks!

Make Mine a Mojito 100th Post Giveaway!

Mojito Maven, is hosting an incredible giveaway in honor of her 100th post!
Go to her blog and enter this giveaway for a chance to win a wishing thread and charm from Stella and Dot.

2 Weeks Later

Wow, it's been 2 weeks. My Ky visit was wonderful. We got to my mom's house on Friday morning. My nephews were out for their fall break so we took my nephews and lil bit to Two Sister's Pumpkin Patch in Mt. Sterling, we had a great time! They did the corn maze, the petting zoo, played in the hay rolls and then picked out their pumpkins. Just driving around in Ky in the Fall made me miss it that much more. It was perfect weather, warm with a brisk breeze, and the leaves had changed, it was beautiful. I'm so glad I made the trip. After the pumpkin patch the kids went to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua, we had seen it already so I went to Wal-mart to develop some of the pictures from the pumpkin patch.

On Saturday, one of my nephews had his 5th birthday at the local pizza place, yummy I even got to eat birthday cake on my visit. I have a wonderful huge family, so anytime someone comes in to visit from out of town, the family has to get together. So my Aunt hosted a cookout and we got to eat and visit with the aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was great!

Sunday was dinner at my grannies, this is what I waited for; roast, potatoes, and cornbread. Then we sat on the porch while the kids picked up the walnuts out of the driveway. They picked up like 12 wal-mart bags so my dad gave them $6 each to get milkshakes from Dairy Queen, so of course that was are next stop. We went out for ice cream. After the ice cream, my mom took lil bit back to her house and I drove over to visit with one of my good friends. It was a good visit and she has the cutest daughter who is sooo country, I mean most people would say I have a bad accent but these people are way more country than me. She was like ... Honey this and Honey that, she is only 7 so you could just imagine, it's hilarious in a cute, sweet way.

Monday my friend I had visited called me at lunch and said she and her daughter had played hookie and wanted to eat lunch, sooo... we went to the local Chinese place (her choice), I'm not big on Chinese buffets but it was good company. This may sound redneck but it's the truth, after lunch we went to Wal-mart shopping. This might tell you theres really not that much to do in my hometown.

Tuesday through Thursday we just hung out and visited- I did make a trip to Lexington to get my butterscotch pie and it was worth the trip, so delish!!! Friday we were headed back to KC but stopped by Mt.Sterling court days and picked up a few items first, but I just didn't have the time to look, because by this time my husband wanted me back home, sooo we had to just skim by a few isles and hit the road.

We got back home on Saturday morning and it was super chilly in KC. I really missed my sweet hubby while we were away, we went out and ate then went to see Appaloosa -it was an ok movie about friendship (my husband had been wanting to watch it).

Sunday morning I was up and cooking breakfast for our tailgating for the Chiefs and Titans game. We ended up leaving the game at half-time because the Chiefs suck and were losing terribly.

I had felt sick since the day I got back from Ky so I have just been resting and trying to get over it. This is why it has taken me so long to post and also the fact I joined Facebook and have been on there more so. But I'm starting to feel better so hopefully I will be back to posting more regular.

Thankful Thursday!

Little Bit and I are leaving as soon as I pick her up from school today to head to KY! We are so excited, but I will also be missing my dear sweet hubby while I'm away, so I'm borrowing this Thankful Thursday idea from Kristy @ le petite blog

I truly am thankful for the wonderful life I have and here are some of the wonderful reasons:

1. I have the best husband to infinity and beyond. I LOVE YOU!

2. I have a happy, healthy daughter who means the whole world to me!

3. I have two wonderful labs, who give me extra special doggie hugs and kisses everyday!

4. Even though we still haven't sold our KY house, we are lucky enough not to suffer from the financial woes of this horrible economy.

5. Gas is below $3 (I filled up last night for $2.94/gal) here in KS.

6. I get to eat Sunday dinner at my grannies this Sunday.

7. I get to take pictures of lil'bit and my two nephews at Two Sisters Pumpkin Patch.

8. I get to make a few bets and hopefully win at Keeneland.

9. I get to visit many family and friends that I miss dearly.

10. I get to eat Butterscotch Pie from Ramsey's.

11. When I get back from Ky I get to start my new job working in photography.

12. Although I could go on and on, I must get up and finish packing, so lastly I'm thankful I stumbled onto the wonderful world of blogging and all the wonderful people who share their lives with me on a daily basis. Thank You, you've added something that I needed during this time in my life where I find myself living without that special connection of being close to family and friends.

Yummy Halloween Cookie Contest!

The awesome cookie diva over at A Dozen Eggs is giving away some of her delicious and too cute cookies... Click on A Dozen Eggs and go there now, contest ends Friday Oct. 10th. Hurry Hurry!

It's official: KY here we come!!!

Lil'bit and I will be going to Ky for 8 great days, I can't wait. While we're there we plan on going to Keeneland at least once, visiting Two sisters pumpkin patch and getting the perfect pumpkin, Court Days, and of course family and friends. We are sooo excited!!! I really miss Ky and all the things you take for granted that you don't realize how much you miss them until it's no longer there. I miss the Sunday dinners my 85 year old granny still cooks every week and lil'bit misses her Tuesday night soup bean night (me-yuck,her-yum), breaking beans and husking corn on the back porch and being lazy after dinner on the front porch, watching the kids play tag and chase in the yard (no video games there), oh yea and there's no cell service up the holler where my granny lives. Yes there are places like this that still do exist, where you can forget all the stresses of modern life and just enjoy those forgotten times of a life from the past. I love my granny and miss her so much.

Rough Day at the Track

Where is that 60 and 70 degree weather we had a few weeks ago, when I'm baking in the hot 80 degree sun watching cars go in circles??? The intense heat would have been the first bad sign, the second when Tony's car went sliding across the sponsor-painted grass. Oh well, so much for that race! We did have a great time though (except that minor incident with Tony).

Happen'in Halloween!!

Until we sell our KY house we are living in an apartment, so do I let that stop me from throwing great parties. Of course -Not! Yes, it does limit the number of people we can have over, but less is more (Right?).

We are currently planning our Halloween Party and I have already got some great ideas and party supplies. Sippycups is also having a Halloween Bash and has posted some frightfully delighting ideas on her blog, so check them out.



I love bargain shopping, especially for party decor. I love finding something for a $1 and buying 20. My favorite store for super cheap party supplies is the Dollartree! Search this store out if your lucky to have one in your area. So far we have bought styrofoam RIP headstones, spider web and spiders, bottle labels for wine or 2 litres, bar sign (what's your poison?), twinkle lights in orange-white & purple, and purple paper lanterns.



I have lots of ideas from magazines and books. A great mag/book that is out right now is Matthew Mead's book Halloween Tricks and Treats you can find it at Target.



Better Homes and Gardens also has great food ideas on their website. I think I'm going to make the bat wings and the mummy dogs (these will be with veggie dogs for my sweet hubby)!


Here is the recipe for the Bat Wings:
Ingredients
20 chicken wings (3-1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 recipe Swamp Dip
Directions 1. Place wings in a plastic bag set in a shallow dish. In a small bowl stir together soy sauce, ginger, crushed red pepper, five spice powder and garlic. Pour over wings. Close bag and toss to coat. Chill in refrigerator several hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally. Remove wings from bag, reserving marinade.
2. Place wings on a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade (discard remaining marinade). Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Serve with Swamp Dip. Makes 20 appetizers.
Swamp Dip: In a small bowl stir together a 8-ounce container of dairy sour cream and 3 tablespoons coarse ground mustard. Garnish with fresh whole chives. Serve with bat wings.

Birthday Bash!

Lil Bits party was Sunday from noon until 5:00 (yes -5 hours of full on pre-teeness). As promised there are plenty of pics and also pics of how we made her cupcake toppers -Chocolate transfer puppies -YUM! We started the party with pizza, then the girls went outside to make sand art necklaces, lil bit opened all of her great gifts (thanks!) and she handed out her gift bags (which included: $20 play card to Dave & Busters, theatre box of nerds, twirly rainbow sucker, 2 puppy pencils, puppy bracelet and puppy stickers, bag of hershey kissables, and fun dip), we sang happy b-day and had cupcakes, then the girls played rock band, and yes -then we took them all to Dave & Busters and let them use their $20 play cards. This has been her longest lasting party yet minus sleepover parties but it went off without a hitch, no lost cell phones, purses, or kids for that matter. Yeah! Everyone had a Super-Great time!

Did I come home and crash? I wish, but lil bit had a soccer game that we had to rush to-to get there on time. It was a long day, but worth every mili-second!!!

Another Trip Around the Sun for my Lil Bit!

My beautiful little girl is turning one year older and we are having her birthday celebration this weekend! She has picked puppies as her party theme this year and I will post pictures after the celebration, so check back. Aside from her on-field appearance at the MLS game she has requested and of course will be receiving these other gifts.

Preppy Monogrammed Gifts

This week they are giving away one of their Design your own Monogrammed Car Tags!

Enter to win by emailing them at info@preppymonogrammedgifts.com

Contest ends on September 24th at Noon!

They will announce the winner on Next Wednesday.

Please let them know Jesslee sent you. GOOD LUCK!!!

Trick or Treat

So back to the -me and lil bit went to checkout the costumes at Target and these are her two picks. That's right -goth Wednesday from the Addams family and a goth cheerless leader. Great!

Keep in mind my child is not goth in any way. Of course, she has never been into the super cute girly costumes, for instance last year she was a pirate with patch and all, but really goth cheerleader??? And her reasoning behind these choices, she wants to wear her hair in pigtails. I was like ... well you could be a cute scarecrow with pigtails... -she gave me that cocked head look like -uhh.NO!

Is there anyone else out there with a pre-teen- then I'm sure you know this look, I got!

But anyway being me... I was like OK, then which one and we'll have to get the black hairspray for your hair and what kind of tights and shoes and so on...

OMG, There are already Christmas Cards @ my Tarjay ???

After picking up lil bit from school yesterday we went by Target to check out the Halloween decor and I couldn't believe it but they already have Christmas stuff out (is this crazy or what). I mean I like to decorate and love looking at all the stuff for each season in the stores but how can you go from looking at skulls and fake bloody props to -in the very next aisle ornaments of baby jesus and angels. It was just too much! Is it just me or what, so I told my sweet hubby what I had ran into and he was like ... (no big deal) "Christmas is just 90 days away" so. so. OK, maybe it isn't so far off, but anyway I don't know it was just weird to me. Oh, and hubby since it is just 90 days or so away, I'll start now on my Christmas list. OK!

The SUN is BACK! YAAA!

The weekend was great, no pouring rain during any events! The KC Wizards beat the LA Galaxy 2-zip (David played the whole game with no successful "goals" -except making every woman in the stadium swoon)!

However, the Chiefs weren't so lucky and got beat by the Raiders.

My little "D" didn't get to hold Beckham's hand, but was within feet of him and said getting to walk out on the field with the team was -awesome and that she felt famous with everyone looking down at them. One of the goals scored by the Wizards was made possible with an assist from Hercules Gomez #21, who was the player that little bit got to walk out with. We had a great time and it only drizzled so not too bad for the game weather. Plus, we got some great shots of Beckham in action.