There's Something About Mary

I am just now able to return to the blogging world, as I have been away doing jury duty. I thought it would be fun and it was definitely...an interesting experience. I think after a week on a criminal court case, I am good for a long time with anything to do with court, the law, and juries. Or anything downtown for that matter.

Anyways, I digress. This week (other than bickering with strangers during deliberations) has been pretty good. Last weekend was relaxing and we went out Saturday night for our friend Mary's coming home/early birthday party.  Mary moved to Tulsa, OK and we miss her dearly. So when she came back in town for several days, we were very happy to see her! So we went to eat at Munoz, a Mexican restaurant in Trussville.

It's Mary! Is it just me or does every singe Mexican restaurant have a big sombrero they put on the birthday person?

Megan, Ang, and Phoenix

Me and Matt

Amanda and I

  Tuesday was all about another Mary, Mary Kay. My friend Regina from Grad School called me out of the blue to tell me she is a new Mary Kay representative and needed some volunteers to receive free facials. Of course my friends and I were more than down for that (yes, please!). 

We had some great food, good wine, and tried several great Mary Kay products. I haven't really used Mary Kay before but received a $100 credit for having more than 5 people at the party! I am excited to try their products, as I have heard great things about them!

Amanda being silly

Group shot of most of the girls, from left to right: Erica, Phoenix, me, Maria, Bethany, Grelier, Mere, and Amanda.  We all have half our face covered in products. Thank God this is not a close up!

So life will return to normal from here on out. The court case is over and I will be hopefully having a low-key weekend and back to work on Monday. We head for the beach next weekend for Labor Day so I most definitely can not wait for that!

The cutest ugliest wreath

Today is my mother-in-law Debbie's birthday! Happy Birthday Debbie!

For her present, I decided to attempt to make a wreath I found on Pinterest. If you haven't heard of Pinterest, you NEED to go check it out. There are tons and tons of cute ideas for the home, do it yourself projects, recipes, fashion, and more.  I found this super cute wreath as an Auburn one, but I decided to make it a Bama one for Debbie for her birthday since she is a Bama fan. I think it turned out pretty cute. Other than the fact that it was a Bama wreath.

Here's what I used:

-one wire coat hanger

-3-1 yard cutouts of fabric (3 different fabrics)-I honestly could have used half as much fabric as I had leftovers

-a wooden letter I got at Michaels

-red paint

Step 1: Curve coat hanger into circle. I used wire cutters to bend it well and to make the clasp to close it.

Step 2: Cut out strips of each fabric. I did 1 inch by 7 inches. 

 Step 4: Simply tie the fabric around the wire hanger. Vary the different fabric when you tie it. Put the knots as close together as you can. When you are finished fluff it out.  I tied another long strip of fabric as the holder.

 Step 5: I bought a white letter "C" from Michaels and painted red polka dots on it. I had Matt drill 2 small holes on the top and bottom and used the fabric to tie it to the top and bottom of the wreath. 

Done!
Now I am going to make an Auburn one for us!

Hope Debbie likes it (I think she did) and has a great birthday!

PGA Championship

Yesterday Matt and I were in Atlanta for part of his birthday present. That birthday present being tickets to the golf PGA Championship.  This is a big deal for golfers and golf lovers, as there are only 4 Major's in golf per year, and this is the last one for the year.  When Matt found out it was being held in Atlanta, he was stoked and talked about getting tickets. But as time went on and he spent all his money on his own golf trip, he didn't mention it as much. So my parents and I decided to surprise him with tickets for an early birthday present! Boy was he surprised, and boy was he excited!

I was all pumped about going and really thought I liked golf tournaments...I mean, it's fun to walk around and watch cute guys swing clubs, right? It wasn't until we had been there in the hot sun for 10is hours that I realized alcohol may have been a major contributor as to why I liked them so much (which I was not engaging in drinking of alcohol at the tournament this time....). Nevertheless, it was a fun time. But next time I think I may send his brothers with him to take my place....you know, since they understand and really care about the game.

We weren't supposed to have camera's but we could have phones, which meant they really didn't care that much if I took a few pics right??

Walking in

Still walking in...

A picture of Adam Scott (helllooo hottie!) I was afraid to zoom in-- it would take too much time and I may have gotten caught!--and his caddy, who used to be Tiger's caddy until about 2 weeks ago, and they have been fighting in public like an angry divorced couple since....



Another cutie, Rory McElroy. He is British, which means he gets more cute points because he has an accent.



What they are playing for- the trophy. Which Matt says is the biggest trophy you can win in golf. Apparently, size does matter to these guys.



Phil Mickelson



Phil Mickelson putting

Seriously though we had a good time and I think Matt enjoyed his birthday present. It was a fun way to spend the day together!

Visit with Dad

Yesterday we had a visitor: Dad! He came into town for business but it is always a pleasure for him to get to see us (get it, business and pleasure, ha, ha.)

Whenever he comes to Birmingham we always like to show him around and let him try some of our favorite restaurants.  We decided to go to Jackson's in Soho square which is one of my faves.  It was a great night, the food was great, as was the company. 

Beautiful Rainbow we saw

Me and Matt

Me and dad

 Tonight Dad came over and I made him one of his favorite meals that my mom makes.  The key phrase is that my mom makes it, which means it's been a good 20ish years since he's had it (I may have made it for him a time or two in between). So at his request I made it and it was great.  We had a great visit and it only makes me wish I had (my) family closer to me so we could just drop by on a weeknight and do dinner....thankfully, Matt's family is now my family also and I get to see them often, which is great! :)

For my dad's sake (and yours if you want), I am going to post the recipe with step-by-step instructions.

Sloppy Joe Pie

Here's what you need:

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 lb of ground beef

pack of shredded cheddar cheese

Sloppy joe mix (the packet kind)

small can of tomato paste

Step 1: Brown meat. Drain.

 Step 2: prepare sloppy joe mix as the instructions say.  The packet kind will require you to mix the tomato paste and some water and let it simmer. If you prefer the canned sloppy joe seasoning mix, just follow those directions.

Step 3: On a cookie sheet, lay 1 can of crescent rolls flat.

Step 4: Next, layer the whole sloppy joe meat mix

Step 5: Top with shredded cheese

 Step 6: Top with the last can of crescent rolls

Step 7: Bake on 375 for about 10-15 minutes until the crescent rolls are brown.

Step 8: Enjoy!!

This recipe is soo easy, and most men LOVE it. And you will too if you like sloppy joes.

We had a great visit with dad and I'm glad he got to come to 'Bama. Come back soon dad!

No one wants to hear your complainin'!

This week has not been a great week. I feel that I am usually a pretty positive person and rarely have "bad days" as they say. But this week it seems all the little things are adding up and I have just been plain grumpy...The thing is is that I struggle with being grumpy because I know no one wants to be around people who are negative and complain all the time yet I just don't feel like my usual positive and happy self. What is a girl to do?

In true therapeutic form (as the mental health therapist that I am) I am trying to remain positive and focus on the positive things going on in my life.  The more one focuses on negative thoughts, the more negative one will feel. It is truly mind over mood. For example, if I wake up late, have a flat tire, and get stuck in the rain, I may think what a terrible day it has been and in turn feel angry and frustrated.  Instead, though, I could re-phrase that into a more positive thought such as "yes, it has been a terrible morning, however, that doesn't mean the day can't get better" and feel more hopeful.  And how the heck is dwelling on the negative going to help me?? It's not. I feel that happiness is something we experience at times and at others must work for. Life isn't perfect, so why expect it to be? If we roll over and are passive to all of life's events, are we really living? We must be active in making our destiny, or making our life fulfilled and happy.

So I will not moan and groan about how terrible my week is, but instead think of all the blessings and great things which I do have going on in my life. I know this feeling will pass, as all feeling pass and constantly change.  And just as I begin to feel sorry for myself, I often hear or think of someone else who is going through something way worse than I. How can I be so selfish when there are others who have it way worse. No feeling sorry for myself, I am not going to be that kind of person. I am so blessed! Everything ALWAYS works out!

"Release the stronghold of negativity and believe that through HIM all things are possible"

 

Weekend Review

We have had a busy but great weekend. 

Friday night we went out with Bethany and Miller to eat at Cocina Superior and afterwards to a nearby bar called Oak Hill. It was a fun, relaxing evening.

At Oak Hill

Saturday was this guys birthday, and this is the face he made when I asked him how he felt about turning 27.

27? Ehhh....

 So how does one celebrate their 27th birthday with their buddies? By taking Saki Bombs. Yuck.

Please enjoy the after photo, it is for your viewing pleasure.

Getting set up...

Ohh soo smooth....

Or not. Ha!

 So again we reverted back to 6th grade and let the guys sit together and the girls sit together. I mean, the guys just don't have as much fun stuff to talk about as we girls do.

What the heck is Matt laughing about?!

The girls: Bethany, Mere, me, and Ang B. 

 After dinner we kept the party going by heading to the bowling alley.

Who let the Grandpa's out this late at night??

Sister Mary Katherine showing off her bowling style....And no we still aren't sure why the boys kept calling Mere Sister Mary Katherine

Ang has 2 bowling balls...on in her hand and one in her belly. 

Today we continued celebrating Matt's birthday by going to his and Ang's house for lunch with his family. Matt B. and Matt C.(my Matt) have been best friends since they were in cribs so we are cool enough to get invited to the family bday celebration. Or maybe I invited myself when I heard there was food and cake....either way, it was a lot of fun!

Along with Matt Burtons Bday being this weekend it was also Matt's (my Matt) cousin Jake's birthday. He turned the big 1-7. Ahhh, remember those days? Gah, I feel like it was just yesterday...Anways, I digress...So we stopped by their house to give him his present and visit with them also. Jake's mom Tina is an avid Jessexplainsitall reader so I'm gonna give her a shout out now!! :) She is hilarious and I highly recommend you check out her blog here.

Overall we had a great weekend and I must now go as my husband kicks me off the computer so he can do his fantasy football draft.  Apparently this is serious stuff. Hope ya'll had a great weekend!    

Baby Fever

A few years ago 2 of our friends got engaged and married. Then began a 2 year run of all of our friends getting married. We seriously had about 10-15 weddings each year and every weekend was spent at a shower, wedding, or tea.  It was crazy!

Now that everyone is married, it seems that baby fever has now hit our group of friends. It is bittersweet in a way because though I am super excited for my pregnant friends and new mothers, I am sad that the days of partying and traveling with friends may be winding down. I guess you can't be 21 forever.

After meeting baby Zander this weekend I have gotten more and more excited about my friends and the experiences that they soon will have once their children are born. I want to be a big part of their lives and hope that one day our children will be best friends as their parents (we) are.

I look forward to weekends meeting up and watching the children playing together while we all catch up.  I know that though this will be a new change in our lives, but it will be a wonderful one. Just because people have babies doesn't mean they still can't have fun and do things, it will just be a bit different. I guess this is just a part of growing up. 

Me and sweet baby Zander

So to my new mother friends, I just want you to know how happy I am for you and for my mother-to-be friends, how excited I feel for you!

And don't worry, we still have several friends who aren't pregnant or trying anytime soon, so I still have a few partners in crime. At least for now....