Twas the Day after Christmas...

What do you do the day after Christmas when you live in an apartment? Take down the tree? Clean up the kitchen/living room? Ask your downstairs neighbors to turn up their heat? While all of that sounds productive, Brent and I decided that we would be as non-productive as possible and after a morning of recovering from our food coma, we went outside to throw a frisbee around. Our neighbor joined us, and soon we were having a blast. Until something caught our attention:
What is that, you ask? Let's see if this helps.
Still not sure? How about this?
Still nothing? Okay, here you go:
Yup, that's right, people. A car. On fire. In our apartment's parking lot. Please, pay no attention to the black smoke or burning rubber/paint smell. The response when we called 911 to report it 20 minutes before the fire department arrived? "Is this call in response to the car on fire? Yes, we know."
I can't make this stuff up, people.
Thank goodness for the "no-smoking in restaurants" law that just passed...

Merry Christmas!

As I've told you before, this is the first Christmas Brent and I will not be trekking home. While we're excited to be making our own family Christmas traditions (we're still not sure what those are yet...maybe doing nothing at all...or how about laundry or cleaning?) and hang out with friends while we eat ourselves into a coma (maybe that'll be our new tradition...oh wait, that's not new...), we're also sad about missing out on time with our family. It's been an understanding for years now that Brent and I don't get each other Christmas gifts. Anything we really need we usually buy during the year, so instead of another shirt or ornament, we just enjoy giving to others and being around them and each other. So, this year, we don't have any presents to buy. We were actually planning on getting something together for our families and mailing them, but we couldn't get all our ducks in a row in time (shocker, I know). So to make our tree look better, I wrapped a box in decorative paper and put it under the tree. Clearly, one present looks better than none under there, right?? Looking at it afterward I knew we needed help. That's where Mary & Joseph come in (thanks Mom!) And although it looked okay, a few visitors mentioned how much shopping we must still need to do and one of our good friends (who apparently feels very comfortable around us) laughed at our one little present under the tree (of course it was a loving laugh, not a deep evil laugh). So we were all set to have our one fake present under the tree on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Well, low and behold, my Aunt Sandra mailed us a package that came in today...in it was two wonderfully wrapped Christmas presents!! Thank you, Aunt Sandra!!! And just remember, no matter how many presents you have under the tree, the important reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Thank you Jesus, for becoming one of us and dying so that we may have life.

My Sweet Sweetie

Some of you are under the impression that I am the only one who cooks or bakes sweet concoctions in my kitchen. This is not so.

So you know how when it gets cold the only fresh fruit that actually has any taste anymore is citrus? Why is that? Anyway, we were in the grocery store on Saturday and I bought a bag of tangerines. Brent and I don't eat a lot of citrus fruits. Sure, we like them, but we're more likely to go for an apple or grapes. I think it's because of all the work you have do to before you get to enjoy the fruit. So why did I buy them? Probably mostly because I wanted some fresh fruit in the house, and they were the only things 1) on sale and 2) that looked halfway decent. So into the buggy they went. (If you don't know what a buggy is, then you didn't grow up in the South. That's okay, I still love you.) So when my sweetie came in on Sunday afternoon from church and announced he wanted to make something sweet (namely Orangettes (chocolate covered candied orange peels)) that very afternoon, I was so excited we didn't have to make a trip to the grocery store I was almost giddy.

Now, while I'm not the only one who uses the kitchen, I do somehow find myself in there while Brent's in there. I really do try to just watch, but somehow a few minutes later I always find myself "giving him tips" or just jumping in and "helping out". Confession time: Brent actually had to point out to me twice yesterday that I was in his way or doing what he was supposed to be doing. Oops! So to keep myself out of his way, I decided to occupy myself with the camera and show you that he really did do all the work.

This is peaking around the corner into our kitchen. That's my apron on the right side that my friend Holly gave to me a few years ago. Love it!

Look at the look on his face - that's pure concentration, baby!

Pretty, sweetened tangerine peels. My sweetie did it all himself!

Look at him go!

The final product. I finally convinced him to let me put a sprinkling of cinnamon on top. (You didn't really think I could resist doing something, did you??) De-lish-us!!

The Nutcracker

Last Saturday Brent and I went on a date to see The Nutcracker ballet that was being preformed by the local youth ballet.
I love The Nutcracker - it's my all-time favorite Christmas story, music, and ballet.

One of the things that made this performance extra special was one of our friends was in it!! M was absolutely AMAZING! Granted, I'm not trained in ballet and am definitely no expert, but she had a certain stage presence that was just truly stunning. She portrayed Columbine (one of Godfather Drosselmeyer's toys he shows off to the children before he brings out the Nutcracker) one of the snowflakes, and one of the flowers. Sorry some of the pictures are blurry - it's harder than I thought to get a picture of someone moving! :)
Great job, M! We're so proud of you!

Winter Wonderland

What's that? You thought I stopped decorating cakes? Au contraire! Here's my latest creation:
I didn't feel like the cake was Christmas-y enough, so I used some food coloring on each layer, making one green and one red.
I totally cheated and used a box mix. Don't tell!! But I did make the icing and filling (raspberry) from scratch, so I don't feel like I totally cheated my co-workers.

Last Saturday Shannon and I had our third annual Brinner (breakfast for dinner) while watching White Christmas. We actually ended up having an impromptu party at our place. Friends came over to help set up, put the lights on, and decorate our tree. Thankfully, Shannon and I made enough Brinner for everyone, including homemade cinnamon rolls! (Sorry, I forgot to get a pic of the cinnamon rolls, but trust me - they were good!)
Don't make fun of our tree - we like our Christmas trees short and fat! :) Plus, I can reach the top! Well, almost...

I'm Thankful For...

There's so much I could tell you about. I could tell you about what a wonderful, awesome Thanksgiving we had. Spending time with family in the kitchen, hiking, riding motorcycles, reading, watching movies, playing games, and wrestling with my nephews. I could tell you about how much fun we had making a mess of the kitchen while making homemade oatmeal creme pies, multiple batches of biscuit dough, crushing indestructible peppermints for the peppermint cookies, making meat pies, having my nephew in the kitchen with us, telling him to eat some of the raw dough (which he did!), going to the movies with my husband and mother-in-law, going to the movies with my sisters and two handsome cousins, and laughing the time away with family at my grandmother's table that I grew up eating at. I could tell you about how proud I was that I drove halfway and that my husband didn't murder me on the way to GA after I stayed up almost all night the night before just to watch a movie. I could tell you about how bittersweet this Christmas will be - the first Christmas we'll be spending by ourselves. I could tell you about how excited I am about going to see the Nutcracker next weekend with my awesome husband. Or I could tell you about how tired I get just by looking at our December calendar full of plans. I could tell you about how much I really can't stand being sick. Or being sick while trying to take care of the other sick person in the house. I could tell you about how thankful I am for my Lord, my family, my friends, how fortunate we are, and how much I want to spread the love of Jesus to others. Yeah, I think I'll go with that one.

Midnight Movie

Well, it's true. I did it. I went to the midnight showing of New Moon last night. I crowded into a packed movie theater of girls, young and old. Laughed with all the other girls at the 3 boys in the theater, and the 2 guys in the concessions line that kept pointing out other guys and mumbling something to the effect of "See, there's another guy...we're not the only ones here...we're going to make it though this stupid movie...my wife/girlfriend really owes me." I put up with the squels, sighs, swooning, whistles, and clapping when the actors came on the screen. And I didn't even glance twice at the many pjs, pillows, messy hair, pink fluffy bedroom slippers, and teddy bears in tow. (Okay, so maybe I did. And maybe I laughed. A lot.)

The last time I went to a midnight showing I was in high school. Actually, back then, the movie started at 1:15am. Yeah, not sure what I was thinking, either. And what came out of my repeated history? It made me realize how old I feel now. Funny I don't remember late movies being like a huge sorority sleepover before...or maybe it's just for this movie.

Earlier this month I had declined the invite from some friends to go to the midnight showing of New Moon. But when my friend Sarah called me at 10:19pm last night and I heard her say, "So what are you doing in an hour? One of the girls can't go to the movie...want to go see New Moon????", I just couldn't resist!!!! And I didn't even feel drowsy at all during the movie! (From my previous posts and my strict bedtime of 10:30pm, you should know what an accomplishment this really is.) And don't worry, my awesome sisters and I still have a date to see New Moon next week! :)

Please say a little prayer for my husband, though. He was very gracious and told me I could go to the movie, knowing full well that he'll be confined to a very small space for over 6 hours with a very tired wife tonight. Now that's an awesome husband!! What a champ!!!!

Speaking of, we'll be out of town for the next week, so no updates until we get back. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!!

My Uncle's on TV!!!!!!

Check it out!!!! Ron Thomas, my handsome uncle, was on TV!!!!! He's a fly-fishing guide at Unicoi Outfitters, and he took Phil Proctor from Georgia Traveler out fly fishing! Uncle Ron comes on the scene about 1/4 of the way into the show. I'm so proud and excited for him!!!! Way to go, Uncle Ron!!!!! :)

Who am I?

Recently, more than a few people have commented that the me they know isn't the same me they read on this blog. Now, if you don't know me in person (hey Brent's Cousin Carol!), I'm actually pretty shy and somewhat quiet. So don't let the brown eyes fool you - I may not say all these things to you in person, you can be darn-tootin' that I'm thinking them! :) And as the tag line says, yeah, have fun with that.

I Have a Date!

Me: Guess what?!?! I have great news, honey!! I spoke with my sister tonight and we made a date to go see New Moon together!! Turns out she really wants to see it too, but no one would go with her, either, so we're going to go together while we're in GA for Thanksgiving! I'm so excited!! She hasn't read any of the books, so we can't whisper about how far off the movie will be, though. But anyway, you're off the hook!! Isn't that great??

[slight pause]

Brent: And I was really starting to look forward to going. How much do I owe her?

I (Heart) Snacks

I love to eat snacks throughout the day. Really, I do. Don't believe me? Ask my coworkers. I almost always have some snack at my desk I'm eating on throughout the day. If I had my way I'd probably snack all day and not eat any meals. Or maybe I love snacks so much because when I do sit down to a meal, I'm not ready to eat the table, too. Either way, snacks are an important part of everyone's day. Not only do they give your metabolism a boost and give you energy, but they also help control your glucose levels, making you less susceptible to hypoglycemia. I love coming home from work and eating a snack, just like when I was in school. Now though, unlike when I was in high school, snacks are more healthful and I'm now more portion-conscience. So I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite snack substitutes:

When I want: salty, crunchy potato chips
I eat: light popcorn

When I want: something, anything that's sweet
I eat: apple with peanut butter

(A note about nuts and nut butters: nuts are high in fat (albeit good fats, but still fats nonetheless), so you really have to watch portion control. Clearly, I still struggle with this - I love nut butters and Brent & I can down the new large sized bottle of Nutella along with a pint of freshly ground honey roasted peanuts from Whole Foods in less than a day and a half. Yeah, we know that's ridiculous - we're working on it!)

When I want: a chocolate candy bar
I eat: a chocolate coated protein bar

When I want: a piece of chocolate
I eat: dark chocolate or cocoa almonds*

Other snacks I love:
-Hummus with carrot chips/sticks
-Trail mix (we make our own since the kind you buy ready-made has so much sodium)
-Any fruit
-Yogurt, fruit, and granola
-Jerky
-Dry cereal (mostly Cracklin' Oat Bran (when it's on sale) or Cherrios)
-Cheese (string cheese is easy to transport, and I also snack on sliced cheese)
-Fruit-flavored yogurt
-Protein-fruit shake that's been frozen - it's like a sorbet!


*Now since you've been a champ and read my post, I'll give you a quick and easy recipe for cocoa almonds:
6 oz whole, unsalted almonds (in case you don't have a food scale, 1 oz is about 22 almonds)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 single-serve packet (like the packets you put in coffee) Splenda/Equal
Put in a sandwich bag and shake everything together. That's it - enjoy! These remind me of what a Hershey's Bar with Almond should taste like (the commercial ones don't have enough almonds for me). They're a little on the messy side since some of the cocoa tends to stick to your fingers, so I'm not sure how well these would hold up if children got a hold of them. (I'm imagining cocoa hand/finger prints everywhere.) Perfect for that chocolate craving!

The Importance of Dating Your Spouse

Me: Guess what?!?! I have great news, honey!! The girls I was going to see New Moon (read: total chick flick) with are planning on going to the midnight showing the day it opens, and since we both have to work the next day, that means that you get to take me out on a movie date!! Isn't that great?? You get to plan the whole evening!! Well, where we go to dinner, anyway...and which showing of the movie we should go to...I'm so excited to see New Moon!!!!! But books are always so much better than the movies are...

Slight pause.

Brent: And the good news is...??

Corn Maze

So the corn maze wasn't all that great in my opinion. We went to Clayton to Fear Farm, but the corn maze wasn't haunted. I was thinking it was going to be more "Children of the Corn" and less candy corn-ish. (Ummm, yes, I realize that doesn't make sense, but just go with it). So I was sadly disappointed. The corn was less than 6 feet tall, and even I didn't get turned around in it, so clearly, there were things to be desired. The hour drive (one way) was not a complete, totally way too overpriced loss, though, as I found a fun surprise. The outside of the "maze" was surrounded by cotton plants, so I picked some! I've never picked cotton before so that was pretty cool. I couldn't get over how the cotton I picked gets turned into our clothes. So interesting! (Yes, I realize that's lame, but hey, I'm just being honest.) So after Brent asks how many future cotton balls I plan on picking, we head home after only about 30 minutes in the maze. When you get more excited about picking cotton than the actual maze you paid way too much to enter, you know something's not quite right.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures...I sent Brent back to the truck (parked a quarter mile away) to get the camera and a few other things, but he forgot to pick up the camera (but remembered the other things), so I only got a picture later, not while we're in the maze.

Love for all God's creatures

...except the spider. And roaches. But today I'm talking about spiders. Now, for those of you who've never been to my office desk, it's in the middle of the building. Smack dab in the middle. There's no door, window, or crack to the outside world within a 15 foot radius. Really. So how in the heck do spiders find their way onto my desk?? And more notably, onto my keyboard???? In the 2 years we've been at this office, I've had no fewer than six, yes six!, spiders who have wanted to join the working world of Lori Gail. Really spiders, get a new life...and not mine.

Now, maybe it's a part of my uncontrollable OCD, but seriously, I really don't like spiders. Maybe it's the way they move...some move so quickly for their size that it's a bit unnatural, or maybe when they slowly move one leg at a time it's even more creepy, like they're slowly moving just to show off how weird it is to move their creepy little legs. It gives me shivers down my spine! So today was another gift of the presence of the spider.

Setting: My desk.
Time: 5 minutes ago.

Something catches the eye of Lori Gail as she innocently works at her computer.

Lori Gail, to herself: "What was that? I thought I saw something little that was moving along the corner of my desk and disappeared around the front side. It kinda looked like...a spider!!!!"

Henceforth distracted from her work, she gets up to take a closer look at the possible intruder. ["Scary Music" begins to play.] Lori Gail moves to the front of her desk and intensely looks for spider, carefully looking over every inch, and finds... ["Scary Music" crescendo]...nothing. Lori Gail returns to her computer and continues to work. Then suddenly:

Lori Gail, out loud: "Aaaagggggghhhhhhh!!" while rolling across her workspace her in rolly chair.

Five guys in the office across the hall, tentatively: "Ummm...are you okay?"

Lori Gail, nodding head slowly: "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Ummm...there's a spider on my keyboard. Have I mentioned how much I can't stand spiders?"

Jonathan approaches Lori Gail's desk with his fingers cocked back in a flick position.

Lori Gail, hysterically: "DON'T FLICK IT AT ME!!!!!!!"

Jonathan, caught off guard: "Ummm, I wasn't." Jonathan then flicks the spider onto the side of the keyboard, thus killing it between his finger and the keyboard.

Lori Gail, relieved at last, but also feels awkward about her previous outburst: "Oh. Ummm, thanks Jonathan. Ummm...do you want a Clorox wipe to wipe that off your finger?"

Randomness

Since this here blog is all about yours truly, here are some random thoughts that keep running through my head this morning that I thought I'd share with you.

-I love Listerine mouthwash. If I don't use it after I brush, I feel like I haven't brushed at all.
-I haven't had a carbonated beverage in years.
-I secretly want to live on a farm in the mountains really, really badly. With cows, goats, and of course a horse or two (or four or five). And some fruits and veggies. You know, to live off the land. I'd need to learn how to farm. And how to take care of animals. And how to can foods for later use. And when to plant/harvest. Do I have any idea how to do any of that? Nope.
-Or, maybe becoming Amish would work.
-I'm not a big fan of corn. Or tomatoes. Or peppers (sweet or otherwise). Or grits. Or sweet tea.
-Yes, I still want to live and work on a farm and grow all of that stuff. Yes, I was born and raised in GA. Yes, I know it's not right.
-The soundtrack to Disney's Pocahontas is in my car CD player right now.
-Of all the many, many DVDs we have, Pocahontas is not one of them.
-I'm secretly excited to have kids just for the sheer fact that I'll then have a valid excuse to watch lots of Disney movies and loads of cartoons.
-The furthest West I've been is Texas...for four days. The next furthest West I've been is Tennessee. The next would be Georgia. I need to get out more.
-I love being outdoors. It's the best part of the day for me. Well, that and when I first lay down to go to sleep at night. There's just something about snuggling under the covers!
-My favorite season is summer. Brent keeps telling me my favorite season is fall.
-It's weird, but I love being sore following a workout.
-When I think about my future, I either want to be a farmer, professional baker/cook, or a personal trainer. I love how they're all on opposite ends of the (three-sided) spectrum.
-I'm way too excited about the corn maze we're going to tonight. I hope it's as good as I'm imagining.
-Brent has an awesome directional sense. He'll probably get us out of there in 30 minutes. If I lead us around, we'll be lucky to be home by dawn.
-I have the best husband in the world!! This morning he heard the sadness in my voice as I told him I was unable to ride my motorcycle today because it was 48 degrees when I left for work, but is supposed to be beautiful (72) this afternoon. So he surprised me by showing up during my lunch hour to bring my motorcycle to me and take my car home!! What a man!!
-Happy (a little early) Halloween!

Winston Salem

On the way back from hiking at Pilot Mountain on Saturday, we stopped in downtown Winston Salem. It pretty much looked like any other downtown area to me, with a few notable changes. And, thanks to my Encyclopedia husband, I found out the connection between Winston Salem and Winston cigarettes. Yeah, welcome to the tobacco state.
Every time I see this picture, I can't help but think "He did what in his cup?" Ha ha!We were looking for a local place to eat dinner. We ended up eating here:
Yeah, not really local, but still so good! Afterward, we walked to the other corner of the building and had dessert at Kernel Kustard.

Oh.my.goodness. It's kinda like a smaller, nicer The Varsity. It's actually a popcorn and custard shop. They sell hotdogs, hamburgers, and make their own custard and their own flavored popcorn. They played "Oldies but Goodies" songs in the background - clearly my kind of place! It really made me wish I had on a poodle skirt and saddle oxfords. Brent and I shared the Kernel Kustard Sundae - vanilla kustard, warm caramel topping, caramel popcorn, whipped cream, and a cherry. We were both kinda worried we wouldn't like it, but wanted to try something new, and we both LOVED it! So delicious!!
I really, really wish there was one closer to Durham! Then again, maybe it's good for my waistline that there isn't! :)

How to Hike with a Blister

*****WARNING: This post isn't for those with weak stomachs!*****

Step 1: Realize about 2 miles into the hike that you're starting to get blisters on the back of your heels from the socks you're wearing.

Step 2: Notice around mile 4 that it's starting to hurt worse, but try not to complain.

Step 3: Happy to eat lunch while freezing just so you can stop walking with blister.

Step 4: About 30 steps into hike after lunch realize you can't take it anymore.

Step 5: Realize that blister on back of right heel must have broken, as it feels like a sharp stick is being inserted into your heel with every.single.step.

Step 6: Finally tell your husband how bad it really hurts.

Step 7: Find a rock to sit on, take off boot and sock that made blister, find out blister really is broken. Silently congratulate yourself for knowing that it broke without having to look at it.

Step 8: Ask two groups of 5 people walking past if they brought a first aid kit.

Step 9: Mentally get mad at yourself because you didn't bring a first aid kit and apparently no one else did either. Absently wonder if you can make a Band Aid out of leaves.

Step 10: Suck it up and take the bandanna off your head and make a make-shift sling out of it for your broken blister. Think happy thoughts about the many uses of bandanna's ("They're so versatile!") and the fact that you have one with you.

Step 11: Make a mental note to burn socks when you get home. But in the meantime, decide it's best to put it back on. Put boot back on. Keep hiking.

Step 12: 4 miles later praise the Lord for the ranger's station. Realize that the ranger's not in. Want to throw a rock in the window.

Step 13: 1.5 miles later praise the Lord for the park office. Finally get some Band Aids. Hobble over to chairs.

Step 14: Your awesome hubby doesn't make a sound or face when you ask him to put Band Aids on your sweaty, smelly feet.
Step 15: Sigh with relief.

Step 16: Finish hike.

Pilot Mountain

On Saturday Brent and I went hiking at Pilot Mountain. It's about a 1.5 hour drive and is only 5 miles from Hanging Rock.
And while the trails were sometimes pretty,
some of them were really well marked or very clear on where to go, while others had no signage at all and we got lost for a while. There were plenty of places to go bouldering, but unfortunately it wasn't allowed (there were signs everywhere and we kept running into rangers or other people), so clearly, this wasn't one of my favorite places. We hiked around for somewhere between 10 and 12 miles. Their "strenuous" trails were no where near strenuous. There were only about 2 good views, and there wasn't access to the top of the mountain...you could only take the trail that went around the bottom of the rock section. So here we are at the "top" (I guess I should say "around the bottom of the top") of Pilot Mountain.
Okay, so we weren't angels all the time, so here's a really good picture of Brent on top of an illegally bouldered rock (unfortunately my picture didn't turn out nearly as well):

Surprise Visitor

What I'll miss when we move to an actual house: surprise visits from neighbors! Check out this little cutie that walked up to Brent in the parking lot and asked to see our apartment. We'd seen and met him and his dad, Ezekiel, around the apartments a few times before. As you can tell, he's pretty outgoing. This is Enoch:
Isn't he just too cute? :) He promptly spotted our our little "toy box", played with every single toy, asked if there were any more (this is when I realized how kid-friendly our apt really isn't), then asked if he could watch "The Small Pretty Mermaid" (aka: The Little Mermaid). He was too cute and played/watched the movie while I did laundry.
(By the way, I have no idea what pose he's doing in the above picture or where he learned it...I'm assuming it's not a gang symbol of any sort...)

Rosemary Thyme Chicken

The kitchen is my favorite room. It's where I spend the most of my time, making the food that fuels our bodies (or scrubbing it down). It's also where I de-stress, relax, and am able to clear my mind of the worries of the day. But when time is short and schedules are demanding, there are times when a non-fussy, healthy dinner is needed. So this is what I came up with. Brent loved it! It's really filling, too. We're usually all about 2nds but neither Brent nor I could go back for more. Or maybe it was just that our 1st plates were pretty full already.

Prep time: it took me 45 minutes, but I was also doing other things. If you are in a hurry and only doing this, you could probably cut it down to 30 minutes. All it is is cutting up veggies and seasoning everything.

Cook time: 1 hour

Cost: I purchased a whole, cut up, bone-in, skin-on chicken from Kroger for 1.49/lb. It was a 5 pound chicken, so it only cost $7.50. We had some of the veggies at home already, so including if I bought those with everything else I'm guessing all in all we probably spent $30 on this meal. And it could feed an army. Or my family of 2 for at least 3 days.

Servings: Brent loves, loves, loves leftovers, so I usually make huge quantities at one time and then we eat leftovers for a few days. Like with this recipe, we have a large (did I say large? I meant to say gigantic) container filled to the brim with leftovers. So for this, I'll tell you how much I put in there, but you can play with it all you'd like (i.e. different veggies and different amounts - pretty much whatever you have on hand).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up veggies in a casserole dish, keeping the pieces pretty big. (I used three whole carrots (we like carrots pretty good), 1.5 onions (I probably would have put more, but that's all we had), a whole 8 oz container of uncut mushrooms, 3 pounds of red potatoes, fresh green beans, and a red bell pepper.) Drizzle with EVOO, then season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Toss around so the veggies are coated in the oil and seasonings. Rub oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme all over chicken (make sure to get the back and sides). (I went a little crazy and added a little Parmesan cheese and garlic powder to the chicken, too.) Place chicken skin side up on top of veggies. Put in oven for 1 hour. That's it - you're done! And before you know it, it's dinner time!

I love bread, so I finished the meal off with a fresh baked rosemary bread I picked up from Kroger. So good!

Hair!

No, not the musical. :) I'll just show you the before and after & pics and let them speak for themselves.

Before:
After (now):

Quite a change, huh?? This is the 3rd time I've donated my hair to Locks of Love. I don't think I've ever had my hair this short in my life. This cut reminds me of a longer cut of my mom's. (Hey Mom!) Some people are telling me it makes me look younger, others are saying it makes me look older, while some say it really makes my eyes pop, and yet others say it makes me look thinner. Brent's been wanting me to get my hair cut short for a while now, and I've been wanting a change, so this is the result! I'm still getting used to it, but I'm pretty positive that I won't keep it this short...I just prefer longer hair. Maybe because I'm such a tomboy I feel like I need a feminine hairstyle. :) But for now I'm not too worried about it...just going with the ease and the almost no time that it takes to fix (love that part!). Besides, it'll always grow back.

Halloween Cake

Every month we have a Staff Meeting and a portion of that meeting is dedicated to the people in the office who have a birthday in that month. So for the October birthday cake, I decided to go along with the theme that is usually associated with the month:
The names on the "gravestones" are my co-workers who have their birthday in October. A big, huge shout-out goes to my wonderful hubby who took a plastic knife to the graham crackers to make them rounded at the top and carefully sawed each one and didn't break any! Pretty awesome!

This cake is a made-from-scratch butter chocolate cake with cookies and creme filling, iced in made-from-scratch chocolate buttercream:
This is a 12 inch cake. Yes, this cake has a diameter of one foot. And it all got gone. In less than an hour. It got rave reviews from people who usually don't like icing to people who love desserts, so I guess that means it was good! :)

Grandfather Mountain

Last Saturday Brent and I woke up at 4:30am to drive 3.5 hours for a day trip to the western part of NC to Grandfather Mountain to hike and visit the Mile High Swinging Bridge. Apparently it used to be privately owned property, and only in the last few years has it been open to the public. They're actually still transitioning it into state park.
The bridge didn't really swing, although we probably would have liked it more if it did. :) But it was still cool to visit...once.
After we visited the bridge, we went hiking on Grandfather Trail Extension and then hit the Grandfather Trail. We hiked 6 miles (round trip), but it took us about 5 hours to complete. The trail is marked "strenuous". We loved it!!!!!!!!! There were lots of ladders:
And lots of places to go bouldering:
Other than super fun, it was also pretty rewarding: