Macie will Trick or Treat from room to room today at school and have a little party. My parents will be down some time this afternoon so we're going to go to a few houses(people we know) and then to the church for trunk or treat.

Macie before school last year!


This is my favorite picture from last halloween!

Go check it out.

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

WOW!! Saw these guys for the first time on Oprah today.


Il Divo - Amazing Grace



As Oprah said...Let's all take a deep breath and know that it is all going to be okay.

AMEN!!!

You can of course search for them on YouTube or take a look at their website here

Who knew I'd have to buy Macie one of these.

or this one

She does very well about sitting

in time out but she sits in this

so it isn't really punishment for her since she

#1 likes this chair a lot

#2 treats it like a rocking chair

#3 it's super soft and comfy

I think the time out rug is cute and will keep her from actually enjoying her time outs.

I'm going to order it this week so I should be able to test it out next week.

I have to share this photo.

One of Nick's friends from high school posted this on Facebook.

Hilarious and so like my husband to be so silly!!

How true is this?

I've been doing some thinking about this lately. There's a lot of things I will never forget but I know in my heart that I need to forgive. Not always the easiest thing to do but I'm working on it even though for me it is a slow process.

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Check this out-- Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

She is absolutely amazing and I can't believe she is giving it away for FREE!!!

I think Macie would be super cute in it next Halloween...whatcha think?

Price Gouging

I can't believe they are actually going to do something about it or at least they are acting like they are.

~This the article in the Valdosta Daily Times today~

Five Lowndes County gas stations were named among 166 in the state that have been asked to turn over sales records to determine whether they inflated gas prices following hurricane damage to Gulf Coast oil refineries.

According to the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (GOCA), the state has subpoenaed records from stores as a result of more than 1,500 complaints from customers who reported gas gouging after Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency Sept. 12. GOCA spokesperson Kathy Mendelson said that the reported gas prices around the state were as high as $8.39 per gallon.
Other area service stations under investigation include three in Lanier County, one in Brooks County and one in Berrien County.
“The results of the investigations will be based on the documents that are returned,” Mendelson said. “The stations are being asked for the prices they charged on given dates and what they were charged by their supplier. If there is sufficient evidence of gouging, they are potentially subject to fines of $2,000 to $25,000 per violation, as well as restitution to customers who were victims of price gouging.”
The names of the 166 gas stations will not be released until the investigation is complete. The investigation is expected to take several months.
According to the declared state of emergency, “businesses may not sell any goods or services necessary to protect the health, safety or property of citizens at prices higher than the prices at which those same goods or services were offered before the declaration of a state of emergency. The only exception allowed is if the business can document that the price was increased only in an amount which accurately reflects an increase in the cost of the goods or services to the person selling the goods or services or an increase in the cost of transporting the goods or service into the area. Price increases are not allowed on stock that was on hand before the emergency was declared.”
The declaration added that proof of the reason for any price increase must be readily available when the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs requests it.
Perdue renewed the state of emergency Friday, Oct. 10. It will stay in effect for another 30 days, if necessary.

I've been wanting to try these since seeing Bobby Flay's show Throwdown about a month or so ago when he went up against a lady that is the queen of dumplings(and not our good ole' southern dumplins either)

Anyway, I thought they'd be hard b/c on the show they made their on dough and I'm just not up for that kind of challenge right now since I have a 20 month old always attached to my leg while I'm in the kitchen.
We gave them a try on Sunday and they are so good and actually pretty easy to make. Definitely a recipe I'm keeping on hand.

I wish I would have taken a picture of my own but this will have to do

Perfect Potstickers
1/2 pound ground pork

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons ketchup

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper(I cut this in half)

35 to 40 small wonton wrappers

Water, for sealing wontons

3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying

1 1/3 cups chicken stock, divided

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl (pork through cayenne). Set aside.
To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush 2 of the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over, seal edges, and shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone. Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching. Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add 1/3 cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Clean the pan in between batches by pouring in water and allowing the pan to deglaze. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.

I'm going to have several blog entries today so get ready.

I'm in a kind of hyper mood for some reason...okay so maybe I do know the reason. After getting so sick last week I kind of lost motivation to lose weight so guess what I pigged out this weekend and said I'll get back to it on Tuesday (I was off Monday) YAY for me I stuck to my word and got back on the band wagon yesterday. I hadn't weighed myself since I got sick and was certainly fearing the dreaded scales. This morning I was like just do it and face the fact that I need to work a little harder. Welllll, lucky me I've actually lost another pound(I don't know how but I'm not complaining) and I feel great about it. I was so worried for no reason at all. 12 pounds down and 9 more to go to reach my first goal.

I don't think I've mentioned that once I reach my first goal I get a prize of sorts. I've been wanting a screen for my fireplace that is about $50.00...I know that isn't really--in the grand scheme of things--that much money but it was a good prize for my first goal and it has helped me stay motivated a little more than I probably would without that prize at the end of the tunnel.

This is the screen I want and I can't wait to make that trip to Target to pick it up...

Stacee's 24 days of running

Stop over and see my friend Stacee for a chance to win a handmade item of choice. She is super talented and her things are so cute! Stacee is going to try to run everyday between now and Nov. 5th. All you have to do is guess how many days out of 24 she'll actually run and you could win.
Good Luck!

I'm behind in posting and reading so hopefully I can play catch up this week some time.

I'm going to be setting my blog to private in a few days for personal reasons that I'd rather not discuss here. I can add you to my readers so you can continue to read/follow you'll just have to send me your email address and let me know that you are reading and would like to continue.

Please email me the address you'd like me to use at kdw0607@gmail.com

Thanks!

~Kristie

The BIG game is tonight

Lowndes Vikings vs. Valdosta Wildcats

This is huge deal for most of my home town since it is the county school vs. the city school.

The game will be aired on ESPNU tonight @ 8pm so if you like football and are able to watch check it out. We'll be watching from our living room as well b/c tickets were beyond hard to get this year.

GO VIKINGS!!!!!

Where have I been?

Well, since Monday I've been sick, sick, sick and did I mention sick. I've missed work which I really don't like doing b/c I literally couldn't get myself up and dressed much less in the car and to work. I'm feeling better today but still weak and tired. I'm alert enough to function but I'm very fortunate that I have my own office space away from the craziness of a doctors office.

Other than that we have just been in our day to day routine stuff for the most part.

Macie has become excited about dogs these past few weeks. If she sees one any where even on tv she starts making these really funny scruffy barking like noises kind of under her breathe. She doesn't like dogs if they get close to her but for some reason if they are at a distance she is okay. Nick has been Mom and Dad for the last few days...Tues. when he picked her up from school she spotted a small dog tied by a house near the daycare and started her little noise. The next day when they rode by that house again on the way to school Macie started with her little noises but this time the dog wasn't there. Smart little britches. Kids are amazing!!

It makes me miss my two doggies. We had to give them to a very loving family after we had Macie b/c Lucas jumped on us way to much so we were afraid of being in our backyard with Macie and well Leroy is a Great Dane and could have eaten us out of a house and home. I love them both still and miss them very much. I always wonder how those two squirts are doing. They became such good friends and we were very blessed to have one family take them both.

How we ended up with both of the boys......

Lucas---he was just 3 weeks old when we got him from a friend of mine b/c his mommy just didn't want to take care of him. We had to bottle feed him for a little while but as you can see in the picture he was a healthy boy after we got him and full of energy.

Leroy---we were kind of thinking we wanted another dog for Lucas to have a playmate so I started looking around and after awhile we just kind of forgot about the idea. I guess maybe a few weeks or so later Nick's co-worker told him about this Great Dane that had just come up to his house and had stayed around for weeks so they knew then that someone had just dropped him off. He was so skinny and so pitiful...he'd just whine and really all he wanted was some attention and love. Nick and I decided we'd take him...boy we were not thinking of how big he was going to be but we loved him just the same. After we got him home and fed him good and show him that he would have love and attention he turned out to be the sweetest Great Dane you'll ever meet. So laid back and easy going. Not a care in the world since he knew he was being taken care of.

I'll post some pictures of "the boys" later.

Oh how I miss them both.