Cleaning House...

...Etsy style.

Etsy jakintheb0x

As the end of the year approaches, I would really like to make room in my shop for new things. Not that I don't absolutely love everything that's in there now, but......
That stuff needs a good home.

So my blogger friends are getting a 20% discount until January 3rd on ANYTHING in my store using the code THISISME10

See things you like, but want different colors? Or, want a bow instead of a flower?
No problem. All CUSTOM orders will receive 25% off with the code CUSTOM2010 until January 3rd. To use this coupon, be sure to email me OR convo me first so I can make a listing for your item.

Not to be all Bah Humbug, but...

I'm glad Christmas is over this year.
I love my family, food, and all the presents that I got.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound ungrateful, but it's such a stressful time.

Thursday, they were so slow at work, that they told me to not even come in. So Aaron and I battled last minute Christmas shoppers [not to buy stuff that we forgot, but to buy stuff that my Aunt needed]. It was kind of annoying having to circle parking lots 20 minutes just to find a spot, and waiting in line for 30 minutes just to buy one thing, but we had fun spending time just enjoying each other company.

Friday, I had to work for a few hours. After that we spent Christmas Eve at Nanny's eating lots of good food and opening a ton of presents.

Saturday, we headed to Aaron's Mom's house. Instead of doing a big lunch like we usually do, we decided just to do appetizers. It was a great success. I made hot spinach and artichoke dip, chicken salad sandwiches, and a chocolate cream cheese ball [that is to DIE for!]. After we ate, we opened presents watched The Christmas Story, and then headed back to our house.

It was nice getting to spend time with everyone, but I'm glad we're back to our every day life. No more stressing about presents and food, and what if so-n-so shows up.

And no, I have no pictures to share with you. I forgot my camera [go me] so I have no pictures of my own.
Hope ya'll all had a semi-stress free/drama free holiday!

Stolen

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I love them both, but this year, I'm sticking with hot chocolate :)

2. Does Santa wrap the presents or just set them under the tree? I wrap them AND set them under the tree. We don't do the whole santa thing, but I guess we'll start again...next year?

3. Colored or white lights on the tree/house? I like white lights, but we have a small tree that is prelit, and it is colored. It's kind of cute.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No.

5. When do you put up your decorations? We had so much going on this year, we weren't going to decorate. But Aaron finally put up our little tree about a week ago. Definitely makes it feel more like Christmas.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Eh, my Nanny's creamed corn is the best. Other than that, just desserts!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I remember my mom bought my sister and I a minnie mouse tent one year. And I remember being so excited that she let us sleep in it in the living room that night.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I'm very nosey by nature. One year, I stayed up and watched through the crack in the door as Nanny took ALL the presents from her bedroom into the living room where the tree was.

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? We open all our presents on Christmas Eve from the family, and then "santa's gifts" on Christmas day.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Ours is prelit. But I'm looking forward to when we get a house so we can get a real tree so I can decorate it.

11. Snow! Love or Dread it? We rarely get snow here. I wouldn't say I love it. It's fun for a day or so, but I definitely don't want it around all of the winter.

12. Can you ice skate? No, I suck at it.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not at the moment....

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Having all my family here to celebrate with me. Which is why this year is going to be so awesome, we're all going to be together.

15. Favorite holiday dessert? uhhh! so many to choose from.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

17. What tops your tree? This year, it's a star. Usually it's an angel that Nanny used to tell us was our Mom looking down over us for Christmas.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Both, but particularly love giving. I like to put a lot of thought into the things I get/make for people. And I love to see their reactions.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Baby It's cold outside [okay, I don't know if that's the name of it, but that's how it goes...]

20. Candy Canes? I like the soft sugar peppermints as opposed to regular candy canes, but I guess those are okay, too.

Frugal Christmas and a Stolen Credit Card

I had originally planned to take a picture of all the baked goods I made last night and how I packaged them, BUT I was in such a rush this morning to get everything done before I headed to work, that I totally forgot, and I won't be home again until Friday night. Sorry guys.

Anyways, here is a list of the things I made:
Peppermint bark
Turtle bark
Milk Chocolate AND White Chocolate covered pretzel sticks
Orange Amaretto Pound Cake
Gingerbread cookies
Hot Chocolate spoons

I put them in clear goody bags, and then put a few of each in these baker's boxes that I got from Michael's. Added a few candy canes and ribbon on the outside and VIOLA! A simple yet meaningful gift for my family. If you want any of the recipes I used, just leave your email address in a comment, tell me which one you want, and I will send it to you.

So, the reason that I was in such a rush to get everything done [even though I woke up TWO and a half hours before I needed to leave] is because this morning when I got online, I had an email from Capital One asking me to call them asap.
So I did.
And apparently someone stole not my credit card, but the number. HOW? I have no idea. I only use my c/c for emergencies AND I haven't used it online. We always shred our important documents.
When they told me they thought someone had stolen my card, I was kind of shocked, because, umm, hello? It's still in my wallet. But apparently it's true because the past few days SOMEONE has been spending a lot of money in ARIZONA.
Not only have I never been to Arizona, I haven't even been out of the state since August. I haven't even used my c/c since October.
Other than the fact that I'm really pissed off/confused about it, everything is okay. They canceled my account and I don't have to pay for any of the charges. They opened me up a new account and luckily I was able to keep all the same interest rates, etc.

I just don't understand how people can be so cruel.

Would you like fries with that?

Today Aaron and I decided to get out of Troy for a bit. We headed up to Montgomery, ate at Five Guys (so amazing), did a little last minute Christmas shopping, and then met up with Matt to see Black Swan.

I had heard GREAT things about it, and since I love Mila Kunis, I went into it thinking it was going to be amazing. Don't get me wrong, the acting was great, but the story line was just down right disturbing. Not my cup of tea, at all. I won't go into details, but basically, I wish I would have at least waited to see this until it came out on dvd. Oh well.

On our way home, I started reading I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn.
I'll let you know how that turns out when I finish.

When I got home, I baked. A lot. Like...for 4 straight hours.
More on that tomorrow....

Grocery Store Etiquette

I hear a lot about how much people hate going grocery shopping. And while there are certain things I hate about it, I just LOVE doing it. [I know this probably makes me weird, but I'm okay with that]

I think the biggest problem is that in general, people have no common courtesy.
For example, if you're going down an aisle, don't 'park' your cart right in the middle where people can't pass you. And, if you do it, don't give people dirty looks when they say excuse me as they're trying to get by. If you hit someone with your cart or ALMOST hit someone, say sorry...don't just keep walking like nothing happened. I will hate you 10 times more if you ignore it. Don't block the entrance to an aisle with your cart and/or body and then pretend to be deaf when someone asks you kindly if you can move. Do not have your cellphone on speaker phone, because no one really cares what you or your friend on the other line has to say. If you have young children, you should not let them run around all over the store screaming because they can't find you because you suck at being a parent. One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing people get a bag of chips off the shelf, and then open them and start eating them WHILE they are shopping. I do not think this is okay, at all. Oh, and pushing a cart? Is kind of like driving a car. One side of the aisle is for coming, and one side for going.

So, the next time you go grocery shopping, remember the manners that your parents [may or may not] have taught you, and make this weekly chore a little more enjoyable for us all.

Feels like forever

Happy 1 year anniversary to my sweet, loving husband!


A year ago today, I walked down the aisle, we said our vows, and kissed to make it official.
There have been many ups and downs through this year, but we made it through--still holding hands and smiling.

The secret's out

About a month ago, I wrote a post mentioning big life changes.
A few people commented and emailed asking me to be more specific, but I knew that I couldn't or else everyone would find out. I just wasn't quite ready for people to know yet.
It's so exciting though, I didn't really WANT to keep it a secret.
But now, I don't have to anymore.



This is Baby A :)
We were VERY surprised, as we were not trying to get pregnant. We are so happy/ecstatic/overwhelmed.
I had always heard that you never know a love like a mother's love for her child, and it's SO true. I am beside myself over this kid.

I found out I was pregnant [by home pregnancy test] on October 31st, and had it confirmed November 1st. Needless to say, I have had to keep my mouth shut for a LONG time. It was such a hard thing to do! But now I feel free. Because today I saw my baby for the first time, and the nurse told me that everything is progressing wonderfully. All the nervousness/paranoia went away. Please keep me in your thoughts and/or prayers during this pregnancy, and if you have any tips for parenthood, feel free to email me at jaksart [at] rocketmail [dot] com

& now I'm exhausted.

Is anyone else annoyed with these stupid status 'games' on facebook?
First it was the message me and I'll spill my guts and talk about totally inappropriate things on my status. And now it's message me a number and I'll tell you how madly in love I am with you, since I never had the confidence to tell you before.
Seriously annoying, and therefore I am boycotting until it's over.
OR at least until I can't stand to stay away from it anymore.

Today was so simple, yet so fulfilling. Woke up to Little Miss Sunshine on t.v. and watched the entire thing in bed. While watching it, my hubby brought me breakfast [just cereal, but still, I didn't even have to ASK!] And once the movie was over, I went back asleep :)
Oh, and the reason I was woken up so early? Because the freakin PECAN man was in my yard AGAIN this morning. This time though, Aaron took care of it.

The rest of the day was spent cooking/baking. I always feel bad that I am away from Aaron 3-4 days out of the week, so I try to cook something he can eat for a few days while I'm gone. Today I made lasagna and snickerdoodles. SO good.
One of my favorite friends here at school is graduating. I'm so proud of her, so I decided to let her know by making her a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. And my aunt's birthday is this weekend so I got all the stuff to make her double chocolate gooey butter cake.
I'm so excited about the holidays and other things that are happening right now, I just can't stand it!

For those of you who usually sign up for BMS, I am not going to host it this month. There is too much going on, I hope ya'll understand.

Mmmm

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Lumberjack potatoes.
They're my favorite breakfast food, ever.
The problem is the only place I can get them is an hour away...So I probably only get to eat them like twice a year.
Anyways, I decided it was time for me to make them myself.
It can't be too hard, right?

So here are the ingredients:
1 lb frozen hash browns
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup to 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
cubed ham
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter


In a large skillet, add hash browns. Use a spatula to flatten. Cook according to package.

In a different skillet on medium heat, add butter. Once melted, add onions and bell pepper. Add garlic after vegetables have softened. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the already cooked ham just long enough to be heated through.

When the hash browns have almost finished cooking, add the ham and vegetables. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat & add the cheese.

This stuff is so amazing, that we ate it up before I realized I forgot to take a picture [sorry!].

Dear Friends....

I'm sorry in advance.



I'm not looking forward to all the hate remarks that I'm SURE are going to be said after this show airs. Why am I so embarrassed? Because this is being taped 30 minutes away from my home town. I SWEAR all women from Alabama do not have super thick accents, wear camo, enjoy racing lawn mowers or kissing cows.

Please don't hold this against me :)