HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's Halloween weekend! 
We went on a date Friday night (looooved it). 
Saturday, we picked up a Jack O Lantern Pizza from Papa Murphy's for lunch and it had to be the cutest little pizza ever. 



Later, we watched AU WIN and cooked out - which I was very excited about because we hadn't cooked on the grill in a while (shame on us) and CJ made his uh-may-zing pesto burgers and roasted potatoes (that made the house smell delicious all night).  Yummo.  It was so nice watching the game with my honey bear and the boyz...and even nicer that Auburn won...again!
Perhaps it was a few adult beverages that influenced our decision...perhaps it was the overwhelming interest in the game - either way, Bill got to play outdoors while it was dark last night.  We heard him meowing and realized that he was trapped in a tree with a raccoon that was chasing him.  After grabbing a flashlight we saw that there were actually three, maybe four raccoons in the tree.  Poor, innocent, sheltered Bill had no idea they could have taken him out.  Needless to add, he's fine and that was the last time he'll be able to play outdoors after dark!
Today, CJ is paying playstation and I'm looking at recipes...and excited to dig in to my new Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  We're going to finish it off by ordering sushi...yes, I'm mentioning food AGAIN and yes, I'm already thinking about how awesome it will be.  I hope we'll watch plenty of scary movies and maybe we'll even see a few trick or treaters this year!  Maybe.
Here's a few pictures of the boyz in their Halloween costumes...

Dale in his bee costume.

Look at the wings!

Bill in his pumpkin hat.

Fighting a costume change:)

His little witch costume.

Don't they look thrilled in their costumes? 
Another week starts tomorrow and I'm already looking forward to another weekend.  I have to admit though, coming home to my sweetie every day and spending the nights relaxing with him are some of my favorite times.  I'll look forward to that every day this week until the weekend gets here. 
Life is good.

Monday, Monday...

Friday night my sweetie pie and I went on a date to Maria's.  It's a Mexican restaurant by the house.  I love getting all dressed up for him on date nights and having a few drinks while just enjoying each other's company.  It's also nice being able to sit at the table and admire my hot boyfriend on the other side.  It's a really great start to the weekend. 
Saturday we went to Adam and Meredith's house to watch some football.  Meredith and I got to catch up while the boys watched football.  I love her so much.  We had a lot of fun eating, talking, cooking, eating, watching football, eating and...eating! 
CJ was proud of Auburn.  They are still undefeated and are at #1 on the BCS poll, which little honey bear was quick to point out several times last night.  I really hope they keep this up because I sure am enjoying having a happy boyfriend after those games!   
Last night I watched a spooky movie on our lap top while CJ watched football.  I was so SCARED after it that I had to make sure there were enough night lights between our bed and bathroom just in case I had to get up in the middle of the night.  Also, it stormed last night (yay for rain finally!) which only added to my terror.  I'm pretty sure I held his finger most of the night! 
Note to self - never watch a scary movie before bed.
It's Monday now and as another week begins, I'm already looking forward to a great weekend with my love and the boys!  Until then, I'll just look forward to coming home to them every night:)

What's that smell?

 I got my very first YANKEE CANDLE!  My best friend, Meredith gave me one yesterday and I'm waiting for the most perfect, cold outside, cozy inside night to light it.  I loooooove candles or anything that makes my house smell good and feel homey.  Scents like pumpkin, cinnamon, harvest spice - mmmmmm!  As much as I enjoy candles, I couldn't bring myself to pay the $25 for a yankee candle.  I always thought I was too frugal for that.  However, if this candle lives up to it's name and price - I'm afraid I may fall victim to a new obsession.  I guess I should indulge every once in a while, right?  I've already visited the web site and the scents sound so warm and festive...I adore all things autumn.  I also am in love with the cute little jar toppers.  Sounds like I'm sold already.  Thank you, Meredith!

Meredith and her dad at her engagement party.

Update.

What's been going on?
I would say nothing, but apparently something has been keeping me busy enough to have just now finished with Thank You cards from my birthday...thirteen days ago. 
Last weekend CJ's sister and brother in law came over for the AL game. Bama lost/Auburn won and CJ was beyond happy!  We spent Sunday plastered to the couch.  Dale went on vacation to my parent's house.  Obviously my mom walked him a lot, he was really sore.  I think Bill enjoyed having all the attention while Dale was gone. 
I've been in and out of the dentist since last Wednesday and I'm still not done in that department, but I am pain free which feels nice.  Wait, is being sore considered being in pain?  Nah.  CJ has been really caring and sweet (of course) about it. 
We found out Monday that CJ's grandmother does have cancer, but not a terrible cancer.  As CJ's mom described it, "if you have to have cancer, it's the best one to have."  We're thankful for that.
Last night we went to New York Pizza (yummo!) to celebrate CJ's oldest sister's birthday.  Today we're looking forward to sitting outside at Margarita Grill and watching the Auburn game with our neighbors, Adam and Meredith.  The weather is supposed to be excellent - finally!  Sunday we'll relax.   

Monday I'm making a roast in the crock pot.  CJ's been requesting one and I'm more than happy to oblidge.  It's so nice coming in from work to a house filled with the smell of dinner.  I love cooking for CJ, especially when he loves the food:)  I have a new apron for the occasion!

My lack of things to post indicates that we haven't had too much going on which would make this an ideal time to put stamps on those thank you notes instead of type. 
Until next time...

Birthday Weekend!

28...late twenties...twenty something.  While all that sounds better than ALMOST THIRTY, it is in fact an indirect reminder of me becoming an elder.  I spend ten minutes every night applying eye wrinkle cream, skin replenishing cream, lip revive and age spot correctors.  I try to sleep on my back so that I don't get wrinkles from sleeping on the sides of my face.  I try to drink eight bottles of water before I leave work to keep my skin moisturized.  We'll see how much longer I can keep trying to look younger before I throw my hands up and scream, "I give up!"  As for now, at least I can say I'm putting up a good fight. 
Friday night we had dinner with CJ's amazing family.  Everyone was there...his mom, three sisters, brother in law, nephew and niece.  They got me some tennis shoes I've wanted forever and some really creative jewelery.  I really enjoy spending time with them.
Saturday night we went to my parents house and cooked out.  I had the best time talking to my mom in the kitchen.  I could have stayed all night just catching up and being around her.  I have the best mom in the whole world.  She loaded me up with goodies from Banana Republic, as well as household items that I needed.  I think we both had fun spending time over there.
Sunday morning..10.3.10...CJ let me open my gifts from him.  This year he had to have bought the sweetest card.  He wrote some very nice things inside.  They were words that I needed to hear.  He bought me some awesome boots and a bottle of SKINNYGIRL MARGARITA!  He had it shipped from New York!  That man is the best!

Moving on, this week the weather has made a turn towards cold.  I welcome it. 
With it, I welcome year number 28!  Bring it!


My sweet boys!



What a week...

It's only Wednesday afternoon as I'm writing this and we've had quite an interesting week. 
We found out Sunday that CJ's friend, Joel, passed away the Saturday night before.  We went to his funeral today.  I only met him once, but it was certainly memorable.  After being at the funeral today, I got the impression that he had that impact on a lot of people.  CJ worked with him for many years and would often come home with a funny story about him.  If I wanted a quick laugh, I knew I could ask CJ what's been going on with Joel and I'd get one.  I think it's safe to say that the world lost quite an attribute.  Right now I'm praying that his two children are ok, as well as the rest of the family. 
My dad has been in and out of the ER since Monday morning.  I was there with him this morning for almost three hours.  He will have more tests ran tomorrow and hopefully soon we'll have some clarity followed by some answers as to what the problem is. 
I think that it's times like these that we should treasure our own health and our own families.  Relish the sweet, simple things.  We should be so grateful that we can hug our loved ones or that we can call a friend.  I don't know why, but I've always been one to never take anything for granted.  I feel confident in my relationships.  I know for a fact that everyone in my life knows just how special they are so that if something happened five minutes from now I would have no regrets.  Still, times like these make you think not twice, but three times.
I'm done blogging for now...CJ is sitting beside me on the couch so I'm going to put this computer down and go snuggle up next to him with the fur babies.  Despite the hard times, life is good.

Fall Favorites!

Because Fall is my most favorite time of the year, I thought I would do a post about the reasons why...

October 3rd is my birthday!  Unlike most people, mine is a month long celebration that I encourage all of my family to take part in.  I recently asked my mom to start dropping reminders to family.  I love getting birthday cards in the mail and being able to say, "but it's my birthday!"  CJ and my mom always make it really special for me as well.  They spoil me - and I love it!

I love the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks.  It's the season in a cup.  Nonfat milk and no whip cream, of course! 

The colors of fall are so beautiful.  Our living room is a constant reminder of that and I really enjoy the space. We have a large window that allows us to feel like we're in a tree house and when the season changes, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Although I care nothing about football, I do enjoy the get togethers and food that this time of year produces.  I will spend hours on the internet looking for new ideas and recipes for game day!  Ahhh...CJ's chili is calling my name!



I also love Halloween and Thanksgiving. 

While CJ and I never do anything for Halloween, I really love watching scary movies and eating candy that will later prohibit me from fitting in my jeans. 

Thanksgiving is such a nice time of year.  We always spend the actual day with CJ's family (tons of food...and wine!) and go to visit my family in Mississippi the next day.  I really enjoy going back to MS, which happens twice a year.  I'm thankful that CJ always goes and makes the most of it. 

After eating an abnormal amount for those two days, the Iron Bowl is on the Saturday after - so just when you think that you can't eat any more, our friends along with us have made some delicious dips and appetizers to munch on for the game.  This is the point where you thank the person who created stretch in fabric. 

I guess that's it for now...I'm still running.  Hopefully I'll reap the benefits of that soon.  We had a relaxing weekend - spent all day last Saturday watching football with the animals.  We're excited about going to a friend's house this Saturday night to watch the Auburn game.  I'm also excited to finally make the beer bread that CJ's sweet sister bought me.  I hope everyone enjoys it as much as CJ and I do!  CJ is laughing now because I squeezed in another comment about food.  Ha! 

Happy Fall, ya'll!