Super Easy Recipes!

Here are a couple recipes that I make all of the time and they are SO easy and very tasty. I promised Anna I would post them so she can cook for Drew ;) Here they are:

Spinach Dip

• 1 pkg frozen chopped spinach- its in the freezer section at Wal-Mart and it's a little square pkg- sometimes tricky to find. (thaw for about 3 minutes and drain)
• 1 can of Rotel (drain)
• 1 block of cream cheese
• 1 bag of shredded chese- I like the "Mexican Blend" but anything will work, if you like spicy, try the Monterrey Jack blend
• 2 tablespoons of Half and Half
• Throw all of these ingredients into a bowl and microwave for about 5 minutes, until it is all melted. I usually check on it at about 2 mins and stir it all together. Serve with Wheat Thins. Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

• 1 rotiserie chicken
• 1 can cream of chicken
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 1/4 C water
• 1 can of 6 or 8 original biscuits- or butter biscuits, whatever you like
• Combine the two soups and the water in a tall pot and cook on low for about 20 mins. Keep stirring so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
• While that's going on the stove, shred the chicken off the rotisserie chicken (I usually only use the white meat off the breasts) into little pieces and set aside.
• Take the biscuit dough out of the can and split each biscuit in half. So, if you bought 6, you should have 12 thinner pieces of round dough. Take each one and flatten it down with your palm, you should have a round, thin piece of dough when finished.
• Take each piece of dough and put about a 1/4 cup chicken on it. You want to then crimp the dough around the chicken to make little balls (dumplings). Really, I just estimate on the amount of chicken, just make sure the dough completely covers around the chicken.
• Lastly, drop all the dumplings down into the pot and cover it for 20 minutes.
• The soups make an excellent gravy for mashed potatoes if you want to pour the remainder over the dumplings and the potatoes. Yummy!!

"These are a few of my Favorite Things"

I have seen people post their favorite things and I thought it would be fun to do. I am going to make an ongoing list of "my favorite things" for 2008 and then I will have a great list put together and can revamp it and make a Christmas version. I'll give Oprah a run for her money :)Hopefully they can be great gift ideas or just new things for people to try... they might not all be tangible items, but hopefully ones you will enjoy.
Here are just a few of mine.

The iPhone. I think this is the best thing since sliced bread and I am not normally totally satisfied with my purchases, but this is definitely one of the best things I have ever bought. I love it!! It is so easy to use and very handy. I am obsessed.

Self Magazine. I recently got a subscription to this magazine and I think it's great. I used to search all over Wal Mart each month looking for it and it was hard to find so I got a subscription. I never understood the benefit of getting a subscription vs buying it off the newsstand... $4 a piece compared to $12 a year, what a deal. It isn't one of those silly workout magazines with the weirdest stretches you've ever seen, it is very realistic and has so many good articles. Not just about exercise, but more about balancing your life. If you don't read it, you're missing out :)

Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Lattes- these are my weakness in life. I crave them badly! I go there most mornings and I am basically addicted. I was happy to see that they were labeled a "Good Snack" in a magazine (forget which one). But a neurologist I call on also told me that caffeine is good for the brain. This helps me justify the $3.28 latte ;) Great start to my day!

All the Lost Souls by James Blunt. I love this CD, it is one of the ones that every song on the whole thing is good. I think that most people these days have moved on from Cd's. But if you are behind like I am and don't have XM radio, this is a good one to listen to in the car!

That's all I can think of right now, I will keep adding as I go!

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Summer Sundays

Baby Charlie ready to go home
Steph and Jimbo
Mark, Jess and Charlie
Jared and I
Louie doing what he does best- being a guard dog

On Sunday we had people over for dinner and to hang out- I have really started to enjoy Sundays more this summer. It used to be my least favorite day of the week (aside from Monday) because it was always filled with errands, laundry, cleaning up the mess we made on Friday and Saturday, preparing for the work week etc, etc. But lately, I have starting doing laundry all week long to avoid the build up (Jared actually has started doing his own most of the time, which is a huge help- even though my mom and sister think I should do it :)) and I have put off my work stuff until Monday and just like that, I enjoy Sundays! I think it is a perfect time to have a low key dinner and see friends and family. Mom and dad had gone on a day long adventure to Branson with some friends or they would have come over as well.

Here are a few pics from the evening.

So, I know a while back I posted that I needed to come up with another hobby to fulfill my goal of two new hobbies and with blogging well under way to being a great first hobby, I have decided that tennis is going to be number two. My friend, Molly, and I are going to play in a tennis tournament in August so I have some practicing to do in the meantime. Also, I need to get one of those cute tennis outfits! :) Jared and I are going to play tomorrow night, should be interesting!! I'll let you know how it goes!

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Days of Summer

Monica, me and Kathy

Tyler, Charlie and Dylan

Charlie and I at US Pizza

We had such a fun weekend around here. Jess and I went to see my friend, Angela's twins on Friday and they had grown so much since Jared and I last saw them. Charlie is about 8 weeks older than them and they are not too much smaller. They are big boys, especially for being twins! Angela said they don't miss a feeding :) Not that Charlie does either, he loves his bottles and sometimes he screams when they are over. We laugh and say that he thinks its the last bottle on earth. Jess and Mark have had him on a great schedule lately, he slept 10 hours straight on Friday! We went to US Pizza Friday night while the boys went to Batman and we had a relaxing evening. Then Saturday, Jared and I went to Beaver with our good friends, Monica and Joseph. Monica and I have been best friends since we were five years old! It is so great to have her in my life, we have been through so much together- well, our whole lives! She and Joseph live about an hour away but we still see them all the time. Today is errand day and we have a million things to do! Better get started, hope everyone has a great week!
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Busy Week!

My friends Steph, Emily, Candice, Sarah and I

This week has been so busy! I decided that I have three projects that I want to do in our house. First, I wanted to redo the guest bedrooms, then the laundry room and lastly, the powder room. This week I completed number one, after a lot of work!!! I finished the two rooms this evening, what a relief. I had my family over tonight for dinner and I told them that something had got into me this week with all this, during the day I couldnt quit thinking about it and was so excited to get home and finish what I had started. I found myself at Hobby Lobby everyday after work??? This is not like me. Glad it's done. We may wait a few weeks before tackling project number two.

I got to keep Charlie for a couple hours two nights this week and he is getting so big! He is really funny and does the cutest things. Jess and I went and toured a preschool this week and there were so many cute kids there, we couldnt believe that Charlie will be that big one day. Jess, Mom and I are going tomorrow to see a friend's babies. She had twin boys in June and Charlie gets to meet them tomorrow. They are so sweet and cute, I can't wait to see what Charlie thinks of them.

Last Saturday we went to a bar-b-q at our friend Steph's house. She and her boyfriend, Jimbo, had grilled for us and it was so much fun. Here are a couple pics from the evening. We always have the best time with them! They are such great friends!

This weekend is hopefully going to be very relaxing with not too much going on. It has been so nice for Jared to be on a break from school. We can't wait until next year when he is totally done!!

Have a great weekend!

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Friends, Family, Food and Baseball!

Monday night we went to a Naturals Game, it was so much fun and the weather was perfect! I honestly couldn't tell you who we played or even if we won, but it was great to see everybody. We were with a lot of my parents friends and our family. Charlie was kissed on by a bunch of women all night and I think he loved it! The rest of this week has been pretty busy. I had bunko at our house Tuesday night then we went with Mark, Jess and Charlie last night to a new Greek restaurant. It was very tasty! I think I had been craving a gyro for three years now, I used to have them in the sorority house and I don't think I have had one since, until last night. We will be going back there for sure, much to Jared's dismay. One thing that makes Jared and I different is the food we like. There isn't a food out there that I don't like, I even eat olives now and before, that was the one thing I wouldn't eat, but he is pretty picky! He finds his favorites (guidos pizza, hunan manor and ricks bakery) and he doesn't like to venture out much. I try and get him to eat new things and he sometimes will. I think every time he tries something new he secretly likes it, although he won't admit it :)

On a sad note, we lost Jared's great-grandpa, Papaw, today. He passed away about 5am this morning. He was such a sweet, loving man and we will miss him very much. He had wanted to be with his bride since he lost her almost five years ago. I bet they are having a good time together today!

Here are a couple of pics from the baseball game! We are looking forward to the weekend! It's been a long week!

talk soon

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Best Friends!

Anna, me, Effie, Brita


Barrett, Anna and I

This weekend I got to go to Little Rock and visit my very best buddies. Jared had to stay in Fayetteville for class on Saturday so it was an all girls weekend. Unfortunately, most of my best friends from college are from Little Rock and Hot Springs and they moved back there after we graduated. I tried to make them stay here... didn't work! Brita, Anna and I lived together our last year of college (and years before in the Tri Delt house). But our last year of college we lived in a duplex just the three of us... well, we were the only ones who paid rent! It is so funny how when we get together years later, it is like a day has not passed by. The three of us slept in Brita's bed Friday night because we fell asleep talking. I hope that we will be 60 year old women and still do that... we will. I saw so many friends that I hadn't seen in so long. It was so good to see Barrett and Meredith, they are doing so well. We woke up Saturday and played around Little Rock. I got to see Effie's fabulous new house and she has decorated it so very cute!! (She was out of town Friday or would have been right there sleeping with us!) Then Saturday night we just hung out and caught up! We went to eat downtown and sat there and talked and talked. If the four of us were the cast of Sex and the City it would go as follows... Anna: Samantha (not the nasty Samantha, but the so much fun one that always puts her friends first) Brita: Miranda, (the driven career woman that no matter how busy she is, always has time for her girlfriends) Effie: Carrie (the fabulous, creative one that would do anything for others and will have a fairytale ending) and Me: Charlotte (the homemaker one that adores her friends and family). I'm not sure if they would agree, but that's how I see it :) It was so good to see all of them. I miss them everyday!

Anyway, I made it back this afternoon and was so glad to see Jared. After about a night away, I start to get homesick and miss him. We went over to see Mark, Jess and Charlie. I think Charlie doubled in size in just three days, he looked so cute and grown up tonight.

I have a big week this week with work so I am off to bed! Here are a couple of pics from the weekend!

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New Computer!

In order to fully take on my blogging hobby, I decided that I needed a new computer! Actually, I have been wanting one for quite some time for all of my pictures, music, etc etc. So, this afternoon Jared and I went and bought one at Best Buy. He really likes to research things like this so last night as I watched the THREE hour season finale of the Bachelorette, he carefully and thoroughly compared different ones to find me the best. He always says "nothing but the best for my baby.." This is partially a joke because I am high maintenance, but deep down he means it :) He is too good to me! Now that I have a fancy computer, you can expect many blogs in the future!

Tonight I had a dinner program for work at Ruth's Chris, it went really well but it makes for long days when I don't get home until 10:15. I can't complain though, I had a great steak and I am thankful for my job.

Off to bed!

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Finally Home After Two Weeks!

My good friend Ginny and I in the Palazzo
My team in front of the Vegas Sign!

Ginny and I in the limo that my boss got us to ride around Vegas in

We made it home from Florida late last night, after a 16 hour car ride! There were REALLY bad storms that slowed us down and we had to stop more than usual. Jared split off from us in Malvern and went to his parent's house. He has to stay there until Monday to get a tooth fixed at the dentist office his mom works at. So I am home alone! Although, those of you that know me well know that I do not stay the night by myself. Last night I was at my parents and I think my sister in law, Bethany, is staying here tonight. Before we went to Florida, I was in Las vegas for a week for work... so it's been a while since I have been home! I have been catching up on work stuff all morning, part of that was writing out my "career goals" for the second half of 2008. In the meantime, I wrote out all of MY goals for the remainder of the year and the list kept going on and on and on... one of them is to take up 2 new hobbies, I am thinking that blogging counts for one, now I just need one more...

Here are a couple pics from my Vegas trip!
bye for now

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Happy 4th of July

Jared and I with Mark, Jess and Charlie

View from our condo looking down the beach
Jared and I on the beach

Jared and I on the balcony of the condo before dinnerReady for the beach!

He looks like the dough boy in this one with my finger tickling his belly!

Baby Charlie and I on the balcony

Our family travels to Destin, FL every 4th of July. This was my 25th or 26th time to come down here and it is so fun to spend the week with our family. We pretty much eat, drink, sleep and lay out A LOT!! We ventured out this year a couple of times for dinner and shopping. There is a lot more shopping down here than there used to be, which is fun to take advantage of. Here are a few pics from our week at the beach. This year we have an addition with us, my 12 week old nephew, Charlie. It has been so fun to spend everyday with him since we have been down here. Charlie started smiling this week and I was able to catch it on camera! So, so cute! We are sure going to miss this place when we leave tomorrow, but we will be back next year!

bye for now
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First Post

Sweet Baby Lou Lou
My Fam before a Razorback Game!

My sister, Jessica and I
My brother in law, Mark, Dad and I tailgating

Mom and Dad at a friend's wedding this summer

Daddy and I dancing at my wedding

Today, on the 4th of July I decided to start a blog in order to record the events in our lives. All the years seem to be flying by and I thought this would be a great way to stop and put them into words. It seems that all of my friends and family that have children can find much more to write about then I probably will in the next year or so but I figure that by the time we have children of our own, I will be a pro at this. In the meantime, I will write about my life as a working wife and the adventures that come about.
Here are a couple pictures of my family, incuding our sweet angel, Louie, our 3 year old Yorkie!

bye for now
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