New favorite recipe...especially since I don't have to cook it

Texas Brisket Chili from Bon Appetit

Here is our lastest favorite recipe! Thanks mom for the introduction. Its a chili recipe that doesn't use ground beef (one for you, AD!!). Note: we (and by we I mean Shane) used stew meat instead of brisket. Don't let this picture scary you either. This is so yummy!!! Garnish with jack cheese and avacodo...perfect for the 15 degree weather we woke up to today!!!

Happy 10th Birthday Nick!!!

(6 am - sleeping soundly)

Nick: Mom!! 

Me:  What?! (open one eye to see Nick standing by the bed dressed for the day...I must be dreaming)

Nick: Mom, it's my birthday!!!

Me:  Happy birthday Nick. Come back in 30 minutes...(close open eye)

(30 minutes later)

Nick: Mom! I made you guys breakfast!

Me: I don't do breakfast.

Nick: I know. That's why I just made you a glass of orange juice.  I made me and Dad waffles! (Don't panic - they were Eggos)

Me: (open one eye again)

Nick: Can I open my present now?!?!?!

Me: Dad, give him his present and take pictures. (close open eye again).

Don't feel too bad for him.  He spent the rest of the morning on a Japanese island surrounded by heavy gun fire... his personal paradise.

Tonight G'ma is taking him out for Sushi,

tomorrow night the family is going out for pizza and Bolt 3-D,

and apparently Saturday night he has invited some friends to go to Lasertron and then sleep-over.  One of the mothers of the friends asked me about it tonight at open house at school... Talk about stretching a birthDAY into an entire weekend!!! 

Happy Birthday Nick!!!

What's for dinner??? Golden Winter Soup!!!

I found another great recipe on cooking light.  

Golden Winter Soup

This was easy and delicious with the added bonus of being only 7 WW points per serving, including two pieces of toast!!!  Enjoy!

Halloween 2008

Here is the kids with the explanation of their Halloween costumes...Rock Band!!!

We had a great Halloween!!! Sheriece's family and Lexie and Noah came over to Trick or Treat with us.  Mom and Lee came and tended the campfire and brought Halloween punch...I didn't know you could drink stuff with dry ice floating in it...  We had "Scared Silly Chili"(aka AD's White Chili) and tons of treats including Carma's sugar cookies (a family FAVORITE!!) and Lexie's Bug Cupcakes!!! We also stuffed in roasted hot dogs and marshmellows.  Ugh...  Nick hit the streets of our neighborhood with his crew(too big to go with the family this year).  We finished off the night with the Goonies.  Great night!!!

P.S. I almost posted my first photo bucket link all by myself...I only had to Sheriece once!!! Go me!!!

BFF

Gillie and Addison are so cute.  They have been together since day one.  They are so close, they even think alike.  They had a play date together today and each picked out their own outfit...as they do everyday, usually multiple times a day in Gillie's case.  They were matching!!!!

Soul searching...

With everything going on in the world currently, it has made me stop and examine my life and start asking myself the tough questions.  I got to tell you, I am stuck on this one.  Am I, or am I not a bumper sticker person?  I have spent way more time than I would like to admit to searching the internet for the right bumper sticker to express my take on things.  The searching left me even more disheartened by the state of things...  I finally gave up on finding the perfect smart and funny sloan and went down to our local political party headquarters, made my $2 donation, and walked away with the generic party sticker.  I can't make myself stick it to my bumper.  I entertain myself while driving by making fun of bumper sticker people.  I like to retort all their sayings with my own in your face comebacks from the privacy of my own car.  In general, they tend to fall into two categories, one bumper sticker people (note to those people:  Kerry/Edwards are no longer in the running) and plaster the whole back-side of their car with bumper stickers people.  Getting behind the right person (usually a left person) can bring a whole commutes worth of laughs.  So, I don't know if I can set myself up to be the subject of other drivers private jokes.  Even worse, just think what could happen if I ended up in front of one of those plastered people... So until I can answer this question, I guess my bumper sticker make a statement from my glove box.

What's for dinner??? Shrimp and Grits!!!

We tried this new recipe from cooking light this weekend.  It is a southern favorite and only 8 points per serving.  We also tried the tomato salad that is part of the menu for this dish.  That was very tasty!!! Added bonus, this was ready to eat in less than 45 minutes (25 minutes of bake time) including the sides!!!

Photo session proofs

Here is the link to the proofs from our photo session.... I was mainly looking for a nice protrait of Gillian whose time in front of the lens has been limited, partly her own doing, and needs some representation on the walls of our home. I was also hoping to squeeze a Christmas card out of the deal... While there are some great shots, I don't know that I really got either of these things accomplished. Maybe I will feel differently when I see them in her office.

http://www.kiralisa.com/Glasscock/

Gillian's Birthday

My Blue-eyed baby is turning 3!!! Despite the fact she can't decide if she wants to turn 3 and give up her softy (and hopefully sucking her fingers that she only does with the softy in the other hand) or if she wants to stay 2.  She had a great birthday party.  We made pizza, one of her faves, and pink cupcakes (Magnolia's recipe of course) and then we all went for a swim!!!  Very fun day.  

Nick's Baptism

Nick was baptized three weeks ago.  It was very special.   The missionaries baptized and confirmed him.  By missionaries I mean all the missionaries in a 500 mile radius.  There must have been more than a dozen hands on his head during the confirmation!!! Also making the day even more special was the participation by his cousins, the Colemans ... the ones that weren't galavanting around Europe.  Jessica recited an article of faith, Clay gave a take about baptism and Maddie performed a song she wrote with her guitar, twice.  The Missionaries demanded an encore!!! It was also great to have so many other loved ones present, the Morris's, Taylor and Sabra and Grandma and Lee.  Thanks everyone!!!

Family photos

Friday we had a photographer come and take pictures of us.  She blogged a portion of the photo session on her website.  Check them out!!! I am so excited to see the rest.

Girls' Night out, the fall out

Story time with Gillian: Goldilocks and The Three Bears

I just happened to point the camera at her at just the right moment.  She would never have done this on que...

Nick-isms

(phone rings at work)
Nikki: "Hello, this is Nikki."
Nick: "Mom, I need my phone back."(Nick is currently without a phone because I sold mine in anticipation of the iPhone 3G, so I am temporarily using his and he has none)
Nikki: "Why, you only have a few more hours to go"
Nick: "I need to call Parker."(Parker is Nick's fair weather friend that lives behind us)
Nikki: "Just call him from the house phone, don't you know his number?"(Can't really hold that against him, I don't know anyones phone number either...my whole life is on my SIM card, or SEND card as my mother-in-law says)
Nick: "No, I don't know his number, it's saved in my phone. What am I suppose to do then, MANUALLY go and ask him to play?"

I have cute kids!!!

Here are a couple of pics of the kids from the last few days.  Nick loves to have his pictures taken...Gillian does not!!!  I have very few of Gillie looking at the camera.  She can't be bothered by such things.  I have tons of the back of her head!!! Nick on the other hand has never taken a bad photo. I have been seeing lots of photos these days where the subjects aren't square in the photos...I love them as you can see.  But since they are both angled the same way here, it's a bit dizzy-making (Uglies, anyone?)

Who decides these things????

Okay, so I am a little into Vampires right now.  Well, I have always been a fan.  I loved Buffy before it got all weird and Angel even though it never came on when I could watch it with any regularity.  Twilight made me revisit this genre and now I can't get enough.  My latest CD purchase was Vampire Weekend.  So Moonlight was prefect timing for me.  Big strong very hot male vampire with a health dose of morals meets vulnerable human girl with a knack for getting into trouble and voila!!! Instant hit!!!  But after only 1 season, some stupid big wig is pulling the plug.  How does a show voted best new TV show get cancelled???   With the Twilight movement gaining momentum, I can't help but think someone is making a HUGE mistake.  Where are all the devoted vampire groupies suppose to go???  This is all too upsetting.  I guess I will just have to make do with the adult vampire romance book series Shane found for me after enjoying the effects the teenage vampire book series had...  

Utah trip souvenirs

So I spent a great deal of time of my trip to Utah last week worrying about what to bring back for my kids...I brought back See's candy and t-shirts all around.  But the kids both flipped over my Maverick mug...I wonder if I can get someone to ship me some more????

Check out our website to see all my pictures from the trip.

It was fun to see everyone.  I will try not to wait another dozen years before I go back.

Proud to be a Tiger!!!

Since I am not a huge sport buff, the fact that you couldn't buy a T-shirt with my school's mascot on it at many stores didn't bother me...but that was then and this is now. Go Memphis Tigers!!!!

Nick is RED, but he wanted to be BLACK...

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Red

Your color is red, the color of racy sportscars, blushing cheeks, and luscious roses. Red symbolizes passion, romance, and love. So, since you're ruled by red, you probably trust your feelings more than your brain and tend to act spontaneously. If you see something you want, you go for it without thinking twice — impulsive is your middle name. You don't wait around for people to make decisions, either; you dive right in. Quite the romantic, you pay close attention to your emotions. In fact, if your heart isn't in what you're doing, you won't be satisfied. Of course, even when you do pour all your energy into the projects you tackle, your impetuous nature means your passions can shift as frequently as the wind. That's why some reds have trouble with commitment. Our advice? Next time you're feeling fickle, think before you act, if possible. You might be surprised at the results. Overall, though, it's great to be red. No one lives life more completely than you do.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Tax Season

All my fellow Pearson CPAs know why I haven't blogged lately.  I have exactly 4 weeks and 6 days left of Tax Season 2007 (I know it is 2008, but I don't change years until at least mid October).  This is the point during tax season when it just isn't fun anymore.  Yes, there is a time when the momentum is building that I find this whole process exciting.  Another opportunity to "Step up and help out"(one of my partners favorite slogans), to prove myself.  But after 8 weeks and 3 days, enough is enough.  Spring is in the air, which has the exact opposite affect me and all the other accountants in my office.  It makes us even crankier.  Why? Because we are stuck behind an L shaped desk and multiple computer monitors while the rest of the country is out spending their refunds on flip flops and tank tops. It was 75 degrees outside today, the grass is waking up and the spring flowers are starting to bloom. I want download the third installment of the Twilight series to my iPod, get a big glass of ice tea, find a nice chaise lounge out in the warm sun and not move for several days.  But with two kids and a husband vying for attention and sorely neglected house chores, it will be July and too hot to lounge before that happens...ugh

Here are some of my tax season rants(you should probably stop reading at this point if you don't own a red or blue lead pencil):

1) I hate CG Times font!!!!

2) No, I don't want your check stubs...add them up yourself.

3) I am your CPA, not your shrink

4) I just want to do your tax return, not roll your retained earnings

5) We are paperless, why do I need a red or blue lead pencil!!!

6) Who still sends faxes... Mom and Lee(sorry mom)...

7) Dot matrix printers...I couldn't read it, even if you hadn't faxed it to me

Brown? Really...

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Brown

You're brown, a credible, stable color that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral color, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Happy Birthday to me!!!

I turned 31 this month, Yikes!!!  I still feel like a 15 year old playing pretend, despite the fact that I look nothing like my 15 year old self.  Why can't our outsides match our insides? Anyway...I got  a new digital camera for my birthday.  Here is one of my first pictures with the camera.  I had a captive subject...it was naptime.