Feels Like Fall

For the past week, I have felt the comfort of FALL attempting to push Summer into a memory. Although I cringe at the thought of allowing Summer to pass through my grasp, I do love Fall in Kentucky. It is, perhaps, the most beautiful season and brings forth SEC football, Halloween, and southern comfort food. One of my husband's favorite fall recipes is Potato Soup. I have tried many different recipes and have finally combined several of my favorites into one perfect recipe.

MY POTATO SOUP

6-8 bacon strips

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

1 small carrot, grated

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 TBSP parsley flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 TBSP flour

3 cups milk

16 oz velveeta cheese, cubed

2 green onions, optional for garnish

Cook bacon until crisp, then drain and crumble. In a large cooker, mix chicken broth, potatoes, carrot, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add bacon and stir. Heat to a boil, then decrease heat to simmer. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. In a bowl, combine flour and milk until smooth. Add to soup. Bring soup to boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Garnish with green onions.

If you have a favorite Fall recipe, then please post a link.....

TOP 2 TUESDAY--INDULGENCES

BIGGEST INDULGENCES

Believe it or not, I am a very frugal person when considering most expenses, but there are a few splurges I can't resist....

1. WRINKLE CREAM

Robby tells me I believe anything, no matter how ridiculous! After I hit 30, I really began to stress over the ever-increasing abundance of wrinkles that seem to be overcoming my eyes. I have tried almost every facial system or wrinkle cream--no matter how expensive. I have decided my favorite skin care regimen is the Nu-Derm system by Obagi (mainly because it includes Retin-A in the regimen). The only downfalls with the system are the cost and the fact it has to be prescribed by a physician. You cannot order the complete system online, which makes purchasing the products a time-consuming inconvenience. I am also a supporter of The Eye Concentrate by La Mer. Robby says I am crazy to spend so much on an eye cream, but it lasts  4-5 months and really seems to work. I usually save all my loose change and I use that money to purchase my wrinkle cream every few months.......I don't feel as guilty about making the purchase when I use my left-over change.

                                                  

2. VACATION

My other indulgence is VACATION! I love the beach and we try to visit a different island in the Caribbean every year for our anniversary. We consider the annual trip as our anniversary present to each other.

                                     

                                                               Turks and Caicos

Grateful for Monday

First, let me apologize for neglecting my blog, but life has just been overwhelming for the past few weeks. I have worked at least an hour overtime almost every work day for the past few weeks. The really bad part is that I do not get paid for overtime and the worst part is that I feel exhausted! However, I am still just grateful to have a job.......life could be much worse.

I am also grateful for the wonderful baby shower I attended this weekend. The shower was for my sister-in-law Jennifer and my niece-to-be. I am getting so anxious! The shower was so cute and the food was amazing. I could have eaten three plates of food, but I was afraid people would talk so I just made one trip to the food table. I really regret that decision....

I am posting a few pictures of the shower, but I know Jennifer will have some better pictures posted soon on her blog at http://southern-blonde.blogspot.com/ .

The Candy Buffet

The Dessert Table

The Outdoor Area

Jennifer opening the baby's first fur coat. The gift was from her grandmother and it was so beautiful. I almost cried as she opened the gift. I can't wait to see my niece in all her new clothes.

I am also grateful to see drywall at Mom & Dad's new home. I am posting pics below to show an update of the progress.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday! I, personally, am praying for a much better Tuesday!

FITNESS GOALS

I have to admit...I've really struggled to keep weight off since turning thirty. I walk or do some form of exercise almost daily, but the weight keeps increasing. I have a goal to lose 15 pounds by my 32nd birthday in November, but I am finding it difficult to lose even 1 pound. Today, I read about a free weight loss website, http://www.sparkpeople.com/ . I quickly signed up and joined the website because I will try anything if it is free. One of the first tasks was to calculate caloric intake for one day. I almost passed out when today's calories added up to over 2800. How can I eat so much food? No wonder I can't lose weight, even with exercise. One of my first new goals is to try giving up pop/soda and to attempt consuming 8 glasses of water/day. Hopefully, I will see some progress soon. If anyone has any weight loss advice, then please share......

TOP 2 TUESDAY: TOP 2 TIPS

TOP 2 MONEY TIPS

1. PAY YOURSELF FIRST

The easiest way to save money is to not think about saving. Make a payment to yourself from each     paycheck before you make any purchases or pay any bills. After you adopt this practice for a few months, it becomes a habit and you begin to save without thinking.

2. KEEP YOUR MONEY SEPARATE FROM YOUR SPOUSE

Many people disagree with this advice, but I always make this suggestion to couples planning to marry. One of the greatest causes for disagreement between couples is MONEY. If you each have your own accounts, then you will never fight about money. Your spouse can never say anything about an expensive purchase if his money was not used! Evaluate your monthly household bills and divide them evenly or based on each person's income, then you can save or spend the remaining amount without having to depend on someone else. When one person in the marriage is expected to carry all the financial burden, it often becomes too much of a hardship to endure.

GRATEFUL FOR MONDAY

Today, I am grateful monday is almost over. This has been one of the worst work days I have ever experienced and I have encountered some of the meanest people known to exist on this planet. I keep telling myself how lucky I am just to have a job. For some reason, I have found the need to remind myself repeatedly today....maybe it will even become believable by tomorrow.

I am also grateful for the continued progress on Mom and Dad's new home. Hopefully, they will be able to move in before Halloween or at least Thanksgiving. After terrible work days like today, I am very blessed to have a home, where I can feel comfortable and relax. I pray that Mom and Dad will be able to feel that same comfort again...very soon!

I am also grateful for a very nice weekend. On Saturday, we enjoyed a wonderful 1st birthday for our friends' (Jason and Dasheka) son Cayden. He is so cute!

                                    

                                            Cayden                                           

We spent Saturday night at the boat with the family. We had a great time, but I hope we didn't keep our boating neighbors up all night with our beautiful singing!

On Sunday, Robby and I went to my Mom and Dad's pool to swim with my little cousins. The kids had a wonderful time, but we were exhausted!

                                     

                                                                            Emily

                                     

                                                                           Hunter

Later on Sunday, we helped Colt celebrate his 2nd birthday. Colt is my friend Cydni's (Cydni and Cavanaugh) little boy and he is just adorable. I wanted to take pictures at the party, but my camera battery died earlier on sunday. I was able to borrow one picture from my friend Brooke's facebook...Thanks Brooke!

                                     

  I love this pic of Colt! He had just devoured his cupcake, which was frosted with red icing. Too cute!

We are so grateful that our friends and family allow me and Robby to be a part of their childrens' lives. It makes not having kids of our own much easier to endure. We love them all--they are just precious!

TOP 2 TUESDAY: SIMPLE PLEASURES

TOP TWO SIMPLE PLEASURES

1.) One of my favorite simple pleasures is to sit on the front porch of our boat, while sipping a cocktail and listening to Jimmy Buffett. Life really doesn't get much better.

2.) Another one of my greatest pleasures is to experience a great laugh everyday. I absolutely love to laugh until I cry. I am so grateful to work with people who love to laugh as much as I do. In the words of Jimmy Buffett, "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane".