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 :*