You can trust that girl!

What girl? Tanya, that's who. You know, Sunday Baker. (see button to the right) I prepared her Bacon Cheese Chicken w/Garlic Cream Sauce. It. Was. Superb.

We loved everything about it. I added some bow tie pasta and salad and it was a great meal. It was worth the little bit of prep work. It would make a wonderful dish for guests.

I am thinking about making a variation that mixes chopped chilies with the cream cheese in place of the chives and making Jalapeno Cream Sauce instead of the Garlic Cream Sauce. Don't get me wrong-the original is delicious. I just like changing things sometimes to see what new tastes we can experience.

You can trust Tanya's recipes to please you and your family. Check it out.

Indulgence

When was the last time you totally indulged yourself? If you can't remember then it has been too long. Yesterday Katie and I went shopping . We hit several places before walking into Wal Mart. She immediately said, "Why don't we get pedicures?" I had already remarked that we were not on a schedule and I was enjoying taking our time looking at things and trying on clothes. I hesitated. I waffled. I caved. I thought, "Sure! We need it, don't we?" It had been a long time since my last pedicure. Fortunately, we had to wait for just a little bit so they sat us down in the massaging chairs, plunked our tootsies in the warm water and left us to relax. It was heaven. When we were done we wore the disposable foam flip flops while we shopped. I should have taken a picture. We didn't want to muss our toes!It was well worth the money and the time.

My question for you: When you get to treat yourself what is your indulgence of choice?

I'm trying but.........

Okay. I determined to read some "classic" books this year. You know, those books that everyone thinks you should have read by now and, sometimes, you even pretend you HAVE read! So, I started one last week-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I have always heard wonderful things about the book. Somehow, I have never read it, though. I haven't even seen the movie. I must admit that I am struggling to read it. I don't know what it is but I am just not getting into it. Do any fans of the book have any suggestions for me? Should I just keep plugging along? Is there a Pride and Prejudice for Dummies?

All of this brings me to two questions for my friends out there:

1. What book have YOU started to read but just couldn't make it all the way through?
2. What book(s) do you think are a must for the well-read woman?

Another thing-go on over to http://glamlifehousewife.blogspot.com/ and help her with her baby needs this contest. You just might win something!

Just a corner. That's what I want.

I love to read. And, I have been doing a lot of it lately. I have a stack of books, recently purchased, more than a foot tall that I cannot wait to tackle. Today I started thinking about designing a reading nook or corner for myself. I want a little place where I can sink down into a comfy chair, a table beside me for my cup of hot tea, and read uninterrupted. I have a few possibilities for location. We have a large master closet. Really large-it used to be a room. There is a window and just enough space for a chair if I choose that space. There's always the front porch, but it is a little chilly right now for that. Maybe that little corner in the kitchen. Or, the open space in our bedroom. The possibilities are there. It's just getting it all together and making sure everyone knows that is my corner.

Since I was thinking about corners and comfy and reading and such I thought I would post a few pictures.

Here is my husband, Dennis, with my sister's grandsons, at her house on Thanksgiving. A big chair and a lap and someone to read is all they needed!



A picture dear to my heart-this is my dad, Wade, in his famous "office". Oh, he had a little office just through that door over his shoulder. But, his chair and the TV trays on either side worked just fine for him. Mail was sorted, correspondence was answered, magazines read and sermons written from that chair. This is a classic picture for my sisters and I. We miss him.


An overstuffed leather couch at Aunt Rhonda's and cousin Holly's attention was all Katie needed a year ago on Thanksgiving. I think Nathaniel wanted to read this page.

There is no more peaceful place than my sister Nora's home. This is a little spot in her front yard. I have lazily enjoyed a few hours reading on her porch.

This is one of the many beautiful spots in our back yard,compliments of my husband. He is a self-taught, wonderfully talented landscaper. This is a good place to flip through a magazine or watch the sun come up reading my Bible.

So, now I have to decide on a spot in my house and start collecting all the elements for the best little reading corner you're ever seen. If you're nice I'll post pictures.

A Post for Tanya's Fun Giveaway

I dabble in a few things but excel in none so I had a hard time figuring out what to post. I decided on an apron I made for last year's sister get together - NG5. When we cleaned out my mom's things a couple of months after she died we came across many handwritten recipes. My sister Debe and I decided to keep them. I made transfers from some of them and applied them to plain white aprons and gave them to my sisters. They aren't fancy but they mean alot to me.

Enter the giveaway at http://comeandpeek.blogspot.com/

Hats Off to 2008

I have read some of the other blogs reviewing 2008 and thought I might give it a try.

February- I flew to Dallas to visit my sister Nora. Flying is a big deal for me-I do not like it. It was so worth it, though. We had such a wonderful time.

April- The month of the big flood. April 10th our house flooded. We had about eight inches of muddy water throughout our home. The next day was spent moving everything out in about 2 hours. So many people helped us that day and for many days after that. I could never name them all. However, I have to mention two of them who went above and beyond the call of friendship. Those two are Curt and Becky Gwartney. I cannot begin to express what they did for us during that time. They opened their home to us for two months! We could not have made it through that difficult time without them.

A short week after “The Flood” I travelled to Hot Springs for NG5, the annual getaway with my sisters. They were so sweet and kind and helped me forget for just a little bit all the trouble back at home. The time passed too quickly and it was time to say goodbye. I will never get used to telling them goodbye.

May- Our youngest sister, Vicki, was hospitalized and worsened very rapidly. She died peacefully on May 29th. She was only 49 years old.

June-Finally, some good news again. After many, many hours and thousands of dollars and we were able to move back into the house! New walls, new floors, new trim, new paint and lots of little details to finish. Are they finished? Ask me again later.

July – I was offered a promotion at my job of 14 years. I accepted and became the Compliance Officer at my bank. It has been challenging but rewarding and I love it. We also went to Branson, MO and had a wonderful time. We love Branson.

August – Time for a week vacation and a trip to Hot Springs to see my sister Debe and her husband David. It was only my second time there but it was Dennis’s first time and he loved the old part of Hot Springs. If you go there, tour the bathhouses.

Blair started working at a hospital as a Nurse Tech and loves it. She is waiting to get into LPN school.

School started this month for Katie-5th grade. She is growing up too fast. I want her to be 3 yrs old again.

I went away for a week to Compliance School. It was a hectic, fast paced week full of classes and studying and tests. I loved every minute of it.

October-Our son, Aaron and his wife found out that the company they work for is closing. They will both be looking for work.

November- We took our grandson, Izaac, with us to Branson. It was our first time to be there for the Christmas lights and all. It was great. We stayed at the Hilton at Branson Landing and we are now spoiled for all hotels forever!

We travelled again to Hot Springs for the Jernigan Family Thanksgiving. This is my favorite holiday of the year because these are my favorite people in the world. It was too short, but great.

December-Well, Christmas and all that goes along with this wonderful season took up the whole month. I love this time of year and do not wish it away as so many do. We enjoyed Christmas Eve with our family – Me, Dennis, Blair, Katie, Aaron, Jami, Ricky and Izaac. Then, a quiet Christmas day with just the four of us. We really do like it that way. So much so that we spent New Year’s Eve the same way-only just three of us. We didn’t even stay up to watch the New Year creep in. We just got up the next morning and said……………

“HELLO 2009!”