In other news...

I know it's been awhile, but we've had a busy summer!

I had a blast in The Actor's Charitable Theatre's production of The Wiz!

Me with the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, Alisha, our director, a munchkin, Dorothy, and the Tin Man

With the Scarecrow

Mary Lane and I in our Poppy outfits

Chris and I celebrated our first anniversary!  We had dinner at Kozy's, and then came home for year-old wedding cake and presents.  The staff at Kozy's did such a wonderful job of helping us celebrate!  Our waitress brought us a glass of champagne and dessert on the house.  I highly recommend Kozy's for any special occasion.  I followed all the rules for proper wedding cake preservation, so our cake tasted pretty good, even though it wasn't very fluffy anymore.  The traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper, and the modern gift is clocks, so I gave Chris a watch and a Prince Charming card.  Chris gave me a gift card for a massage, which I still have to use!

One of the best meals I've ever had!

My sweet mama gave us flowers and a card
Front view of our top layer of cake

Surprisingly still tasty!

Paper and clocks

Chris went on a golf trip with Ben and several of their friends to La Quinta, California.

Ira, Ben, Gregg, and Chris

And in unphotographed news: Chris bought a new white Toyota Tacoma.  I tried to potty train Atticus, but that didn't work out the way I hoped.  Russ recently started med school at UAB. Alex started the athletic training program at UA and is working with the football team. My favorite JAG officer, Jamie, is in Alabama training, so I've gotten to visit with her a couple times. Victoria came home from Vienna for a visit a few weeks ago, and she's coming home for good (well, until her next adventure) very soon.  

All is well at the White House!

Love,
Jillerina : *

Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

Last month, Chris and I went on a trip with his family to the Happiest Place on Earth!  Disneyworld is one of my absolute favorite places, so you can imagine how excited I was to go.  I made out an elaborate itinerary with options for different days, restaurants, rides for the kids, anything you could think of!  And then I left home without any of it.  We still managed to squeeze in pretty much everything we wanted to do--ESPECIALLY the PINEAPPLE FLOATS!  We went to the Magic Kingdom on Sunday, Epcot and Hollywood studios on Monday, SeaWorld on Tuesday, and Animal Kingdom on Wednesday.  Here are a few photos from our trip:

Headed to Downtown Disney for dinner

Ben, Lu and Chris golfing

Rocking our Minnie Mouse ears in the Magic Kingdom

Don't you just want to pinch them? Alayna's cheeks, not mine. At Turtle Talk in the Seas at Epcot.

My favorite princess!  So glad we ran into her in France in Epcot!

We had a glass slipper proposal in Epcot! The newly engaged couple, Michael and Sissy.

With Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater in Hollywood Studios

Me feeding the stingrays at SeaWorld

Tired after a long day at SeaWorld

Roll Tide! Early morning safari at the Animal Kingdom

Baby gorilla and his mama at Animal Kingdom.  He was my favorite!

With Minnie Mouse at Animal Kingdom

The Finding Nemo show at Animal Kingdom.  Just keep swimming!

Completely worn out in front of Cinderella's castle in the Magic Kingdom

Next time, I'm making Chris take me to Harry Potter World!!  Imperio! (that's for the Harry Potter nerds)

So you wanted to meet the Wizard

The Wiz is this weekend, June 1-3!  We have been working hard and rehearsing long hours to make this a spectacular production.  The talent in this cast is incredible.  I don't know why these people aren't auditioning for American Idol and signing recording contracts.

My friend and fellow lawyer and dance teacher, Mary Lane, asked her brother to come and video our rehearsals, so he put together a couple of highlight videos to build some hype for the show!  Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/43118825

http://vimeo.com/42851773

For tickets, go to www.theactonline.com.

The strawberries taste like strawberries!

Chris and I went up to Murfreesboro to visit with Ben, Daeon, Kaelyn and Alayna last weekend.  We had a great time!  Kaelyn graciously allowed Chris and I to sleep in her bed, although at first she said only I could sleep in it.   We got there in time for pizza Friday night, and then Daeon, Kaelyn and I went to the store to get ingredients for a peaches and cream pie (Yes, it was as good as it sounds.  recipe here: http://www.lemonademakinmama.com/2012/04/there-is-no-finished-product-because-my.html) and then picked up The Iron Lady at the redbox.  It's no wonder Meryl Streep won the Oscar for Best Actress; she was incredible!

On Saturday, we all went to Valley Home Farm to pick our own strawberries.  Daeon and I did most of the picking (Kaelyn did a lot of eating), and the boys looked after Alayna and watched.  There was no way they were getting down those narrow rows with Alayna's stroller without mashing a few strawberries along the way.

Working hard!

Our bounty

After we were done filling up our baskets, we went into the store for some sweet treats!  Chris had strawberry ice cream and I had a frozen strawberry-honey pop.  It was one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth--it was cold, sweet and tart with lots of fruit--and it was perfect after picking strawberries in the warm sunshine.

Kaelyn had strawberry ice cream too!

I also bought a couple loaves of strawberry bread.  They were still warm from the oven!  We opened one up and gave it a try, and it was delicious by itself, but I can't wait to have some with a little bit of cream cheese on top.

Loving on these sweet girls

After we finished our treats, we drove to an old town called Bell Buckle, and we had a late lunch at a meat-and-three called the Bell Buckle Cafe.  

These girls love Uncle Twis

Sitting outside the cafe, plucking the petunias

After lunch, we were all so tired from strawberry picking we went home and took a nap.  Later on that evening, we went to church with them (they have 4 services--2 Saturday night and 2 Sunday morning).  Their church is doing a very interesting series right now--the pastor is preaching through the Bible, starting in Genesis.  I don't think anybody would argue with me when I say that the Old Testament is hard to read and understand, especially with all the begat-s and thou-s.  The pastor made it easy to understand the chronological events.  I thought the sermon was great because it went sort of like a history lesson, with the pastor emphasizing certain themes and lessons.  For example, when he spoke about the Israelites asking God for a king so that they would be like other countries, the pastor talked about adult peer pressure and being content with what God has given us.

On Sunday, Chris and Ben went golfing, and Daeon and the girls and I spent some time together at the house.  Daeon and I finished our movie while the girls napped, and then Daeon made a delicious lunch of pasta carbonara with thick-cut bacon and lots of fresh black pepper.  With our bellies full, Chris and I headed home to see our babies.  

Sweet Catticus snuggled up in the crook of my arm

Family Time with the Whites

This past weekend, Ben, Daeon, Kaelyn, and Alayna came down to Alabama to visit.  Chris and I (and Mother!) spent the entire week before scouring every surface in our house to get rid of all the cat hair because Ben is allergic, but I guess that's good because our house is cleaner than it has ever been. Poor Atticus was banished to our bedroom for the weekend, but he thinks that's where he belongs anyway, so I don't think he was too traumatized.  I was very proud; Ben didn't even get sick (the Benadryl might have helped a little).  Ben and Daeon and the girls got in late Friday night, so we got to visit with them for a few minutes before bed.  Daeon brought me a really cool gift--one of our wedding photos printed on posterboard--and I gave her a really homemade gift--an art project made out of Kaelyn's scribble drawings (post to follow!).  On Saturday morning we went down to Centreville to spend time with Mike, Sissy, Makenzie, Payton and Bailey.  Chris's parents, Dave and Lu Ann came down too!  Sissy has a trampoline, so I think everybody took a turn, even Dave! Chris and Ben played crack the egg with the girls while I held my breath, afraid that somebody's skull was going to get cracked.  I have always been just a little bit afraid of trampolines, and Chris should be, considering that the scar across his chin was the result of a trampoline accident!

Chris, Kaelyn, Ben, Lu Ann, and Me

Mike, Kaelyn and Ben

Makenzie, Payton, Bailey, Kaelyn and Alayna

Kaelyn and her Pawpaw

I picked up my favorite strawberry cupcakes at Celebrations Bakery in Northport, so everybody had a cupcake.  They are absolutely amazing cupcakes--not too sweet, a fresh strawberry taste, and a little tangy flavor from the strawberry cream cheese frosting.  Daeon and I are going to try to figure it out, so when we do, I'll post the recipe!

This girl loves pink cupcakes

Mike bought a big piece of land in Centreville a while back, so the boys went out to ride around and do some work on it, and then they played golf together.  All the girls went fishing near Sissy's parents' house.  It should be noted that this fishing expedition required Daeon to drive the minivan up steep muddy dirt roads for about an hour on 1/8 of a tank of gas.  We thought we were going to have to turn back a couple times, but we eventually made it to the creek.  Kaelyn was the most successful fisherman; she caught 4 fish!  

Sissy gave her the secret to catching fish--you have to spit on the worm!

Payton impressed everybody by taking the fish off the hooks and tossing them back.  I hung out with Alayna in the back of Sissy's car and we watched all the girls fish.  

Me and Alayna

After a while, Kaelyn was hot and tired and in a foul mood, and Alayna was so hungry she was all but gnawing on my hand, so we decided it was time to go back to the house.  When we got there, Mike was busy whipping up dinner.  He cooked a chicken pasta dish for an appetizer that was delicious, and then he smoked chicken breasts.  We also had mashed potatoes, baked beans, and barbecue bread toasted on the grill.  After dinner, everybody watched the final four basketball games and caught up with each other while the little girls took baths and put on their pajamas.  

Me, Daeon, and Sissy

Dave brought me, Daeon, and Sissy some blackberry preserves (which are my favorite!) from a shop in Georgia, so I'm going to have to learn how to make biscuits so we can try them out.  All in all, we had a good time catching up with everybody, and I loved having some time to pinch on Alayna's sweet cheeks and play with Kaelyn since we don't get to see them very often.  Kaelyn invited me to come up to Murfreesboro to go shopping, so maybe I'll get to see them again soon!


Love,
Jillerina :*

The Adventures of Atticus the Cat: Atticus and the Wily Water Glass

If I could just... get my head... a liiiitttle farther down.  Mama, I'm thirsty!


Have you ever heard of the Bad Kitty books?  Check out their website: www.badkittybooks.com.  Atticus IS Bad Kitty.  I'm a little disappointed that somebody has already staked a claim on my corner of the children's book market.  On the other hand, my books would be nonfiction, so maybe that gives me a leg up.

Ease on down the road

I'm going to be a dancer in The Wiz! The Actor's Charitable Theatre is performing the Wiz in June, and I auditioned for a dancing role last Friday night.  I found out on Sunday when they posted the cast list that I am going to be a Tornado Ballet dancer, a Yellow Brick Road dancer, a Winkie, and a Poppy.  I'm very excited and a little nervous about learning all these dances.  If you want to order discounted tickets through me, let me know in the next few days because I have a form I have to turn in.  You can also buy an ad for the program if you're interested. The show is going to run June 1-3 at the Bama Theatre.  If you don't buy tickets through me, they will be available online in about two weeks at https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?e=268aa8dd648c7de7d6137303bf5d9621&t=tix.  It is a high energy, very fun show, so you don't want to miss it!   

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

Chris said that this is one of his favorite recipes that I have ever made.  It was pretty delicious, and not a lot of work, so I highly recommend it the next time you are trying to think of something different to try with chicken.  I baked the chicken, and it was great, but you could also grill it!  Do not be afraid of using the spices and brown sugar; I applied them pretty heavily and even sprinkled some extra brown sugar on top.  Enjoy!


Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken
4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)
Bacon slices
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
chili powder
brown sugar

Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish....make sure you have some olive oil in the dish too, like 2 or 3 tablespoons is fine (I used cooking spray instead) .
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy.  Delicious served with mashed potatoes with some of the gravy from the chicken drizzled on top.

**Also great on the grill!  No juices to drizzle on anything, but still delicious!

Recipe courtesy of Diary of a Recipe Addict

Sweet Babies

I thought I would share this video of Atticus bathing Macy.  Almost every night, Macy walks up to Atticus and puts her head down in front of him to get a bath.  Atticus usually obliges, although he alternates licking her face with biting her face.  You take the good with the bad, I guess.

TCD Spring Repertory 2012

Next weekend is TCD's spring repertory show!  The show will include Twyla Tharp's "Baker's Dozen" presented by the Alabama Ballet, and "Les Sylphides" presented by the UA Department of Theatre and Dance.  TCD will perform Snow White to close the show.  If you have a child who is only interested in seeing Snow White, you should come to the Saturday matinee performance of Snow White only, where we will have a special party with children's activities and photo opportunities with the Snow White characters.  An opening night gala and silent auction will follow Friday night's performance.  The silent auction will include pointe shoes decorated by a local artist to represent some of the Snow White characters, and there will also be refreshments available.  You do not want to miss this show!  

Call the TCD box office for tickets at (205) 752-4220.  For ticket prices and more information, check out the website at www.TuscaloosaCommunityDancers.com.  

It's Been Awhile

I apologize for not posting anything recently, but our lives just haven't been all that exciting until very recently!  I FINALLY found a job!  I am working as an associate at Newell & Holden in Tuscaloosa.  If you need any legal help, I encourage you to give us a call.  I started work officially yesterday, and I hit the ground running.  They loaded me up with several projects immediately, but I'm glad; lots of work=job security.  Thank you for your prayers while I was job hunting; we persevered, and God answered in his time.  Mr. Newell told me that if this works out, it's got to be a God thing, because they were not even looking for an associate when they received my resume.  I can't say that Atticus and Macy are too thrilled about the change, as they have become accustomed to me being at home with them all day.  They let me know loud and clear--Atticus follows me around yowling and Macy stands at the door with the saddest, most disappointed face she can muster.

In other news, Chris is currently in Reno, Nevada on an audit trip.  I made him promise not to gamble all our money away, but they have slot machines in the airport there, so I'm keeping my expectations low.

On Valentine's Day, Chris and I went to the Alabama basketball game.  He gave me some cute pink elephant sweatpants, and I gave him some funny socks that look like a shark is eating your leg.  I also made him some red velvet cupcakes from scratch!  They surprisingly turned out really tasty, so I might continue to test out my baking skills.  As my grandmother says, "They'll make you swallow (or swaller, if you pronounce it correctly) your tongue."

It's a lovebug!

Victoria is in the States for a little while!  She, Drew, Colin, Riley, and I went to La Paz in Mountainbrook for dinner last week.  I haven't seen them in a while, so it was really nice to spend some time together.

We're having a Crimson Cabaret reunion on Saturday, so I'm really looking forward to that.  We're getting together to eat and socialize, and then we're going over to the basketball game.  It's hard for people who live out of state to make it, so we will have a small group, but I'm looking forward to seeing some girls I haven't seen in a long time.

That's all the updating I can think of for now!

Love,
Jillerina :*

They Got a Name for the Winners in the World. . . .

They call Alabama the Crimson Tide. . . .
Chris and I went down to New Orleans to participate in the National Championship revelry.  We did not have game tickets, but because we have several friends that live there (and a few others that were also going down for the game), we decided to go and spend some time with them and enjoy the celebration.  We left Friday afternoon headed for our friend Randy's house, and our friend Tyler, who lives in Huntsville, came to Tuscaloosa to ride with us.  We got there in time for dinner with a few of Randy and Stephanie's friends at Drago's, a seafood restaurant famous for its charbroiled oysters (I tried one, but I just cannot get past the booger texture).  I had red beans and rice (I don't know if it was better than 5's!) and Chris had blackened redfish.  Afterward, we went to The District, and then we went to Harrah's casino, where Chris won about $350 playing blackjack and roulette!  Also, I ran into my friends Tiffany and Gigi, former Cabaret girls who now live in Texas and California, respectively.  On Saturday morning, the boys went and played basketball, and then we all went out and ate a late lunch at Cafe Maspero in the French Quarter, where we had sandwiches and $1 strawberry daiquiris.  Later, we went to Jax to watch the Saints game and munch on appetizers.

Taking the Streetcar (or trolley, some might say)

On Sunday, we ate some delicious gumbo that Randy's dad made for lunch.  Then we went down to Jackson Square where I met my friend Gigi for beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde and everybody else walked around to see the artists, St. Louis Cathedral, and other attractions.

Me and Gigi

Chris enjoyed his beignets a little TOO much

Cafe Du Monde

We walked down to the French Market, and most of the shops had closed down for the evening, but I managed to buy matted sketch prints of Cafe Du Monde and St. Louis Cathedral.  I cannot go anywhere without buying a souvenir.  We sauntered down to the Market Cafe where a jazz band was playing.  Then we decided to go down to Bourbon Street to take in the atmosphere, and my what a show!  Strippers in various stages of undress standing in the doorways, men and women hanging over the balconies yelling "Roll Tide" and "Go Tigers" at passersby, police on enormous horses breaking up fights, vomit and liquor in the gutters, and crowds of people pushing and shoving to stumble from bar to bar.  We went to the Krazy Korner to meet up with Chris's brother, Mike, and his girlfriend, Sissy.  There was a fun cover band there, so we stayed a little while and danced.

Bourbon Street (excuse Chris the ghost)

When we left there, we had some traditional cajun cuisine at a little restaurant you may not have heard of--Popeye's.  The boys had to get some more casino time in, but Harrah's was a nightmare, so we went to the Treasure Chest, a casino on a boat.  Chris won another $120 there playing blackjack, lost it all playing craps, and then put $100 on red playing roulette to win it back.  I was so exhausted at that point I almost fell asleep on a cold metal bench in the lobby.  On Monday, we went to the medical school to tailgate with some of Randy and Zack's classmates.

The girls at the tailgate--Brandy, Me, and Stephanie

 Then we walked down toward the Superdome.  We walked through Champions Square, and the boys asked all the scalpers how much they were asking for tickets, though we only found one who was actually selling; all the others were looking!

Champions Square

The boys at Champions Square--Tyler, Chris, Randy and Josh

We went back to Randy's to watch the game and invited several of their friends over for dinner.  Randy grilled some chicken and some gator sausage.

Gator Sausage

The game was tons of fun, and every time we gained more than a couple yards or stopped the LSU offense, the boys jumped up and down and acted like fools.

Number 1! Brian, Chris, Zack, Josh, Tyler and Randy in front

Pileup in the living room after Trent's touchdown

After the game, we were all so excited over number 14 we wanted to go out and be a part of the celebration.  Unfortunately, we happened up on the angry LSU fans' nest, and although we all acted with class and kept our mouths shut, we had a rag and a water bottle thrown at us, and then I had an entire drink dumped on my head.  We wished that we had gone to Bourbon Street instead because that was apparently where all the Bama fans were.  Live and learn.

All in all, it was a fun trip, and it was really nice to spend time with some friends that we do not get to see often.  I want to go back and do some more eating!

Roll Tide!
Jillerina :*

Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah