A Dying Breed: The Mullet

With his mullet in tow and wearing his Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt - the little man was taken to get his first haircut! At nearly 1 year old, you've never seen the cutest, most soft, sweet smelling hair! After I left the salon that day, I shed a tear for the almighty mullet. It's remains are now in a ziploc bag.... sealed away for the baby book. They're a dying breed.

My sweet little nephew ... he's growing up too fast! I can't wait until he's 17 and we're showing him these pictures of such precious years. I'd give my life for this little guy.

Wear Peace

I saw these unique bracelets on the Today Show yesterday morning. The bracelets are made by Afghan women. They use authentic materials used by our soldiers in the field. The bracelets are parachute cords woven tightly together. This organization is empowering the Afghan women by giving them jobs to help bring their families out of poverty.

Check out the website. For $10 I think it is a great way to show peace and support for our troops who are rebuilding other nations.

https://www.peacecord.org/index.cfm

Peace Cord Mission:

To empower Afghan women to lift their
families out of poverty and to support
efforts by our troops to help the Afghan
people rebuild their country.

Allergic to Teaching?

For several weeks now I have wondered if I am allergic to kids and teaching. I've always had sinus problems, but ever since I began teaching 6 weeks ago - I have stayed sick!

Well the verdict is in - I am HIGHLY allergic to dust mites and grass and have cysts in my sinus cavity. I should be a science experiment for someone.

Lovely... I am also a candidate for allergy shots.

A shot per week, for a year? No way, I don't want to deal with that!

For now the doctor gave me 2 different nasal sprays, of which the doctor wants me to use religiously each day. I'll see how that helps my sinus issues and go back to see her in a month.

Dust mites? Ugh, what are those? I am so disgusted right now at the thought of tiny mites lingering around in the dust around our house. I can dust in the morning and new dust appears within hours - how is one to keep a house free of dust mites? I wash our sheets every Saturday, dust, and vacuum. I swear I'm a clean person. Having this new diagnosis really creeps me out. I won't even google what a dust mite is, afraid I'll go into anaphylactic shock.

As for being allergic to grass - sorry Greg, no longer can I help you with mowing the yard and raking... doctor's orders.

FYI - if you are allergic to dust mites DO NOT use a humidifier. Humidity actually causes the production of more dust mites - ack!!!

Here are some nice pictures of my allergy test that was done on my poor arm!

Pretty hardcore, eh?

Run, Lass, Run!

Today I will participate in the Run For the Irish 5k, here in Memphis. Along my side will be my sister, Amy, my Aunt Becky, and my nephew Aidan. Hoping to post more pictures later! They'll be having bagpipers along with Irish dancers! I wonder if they'll be serving any boxties post-race? May the Irish luck be with us!

So, I am home now - I finished the race in about 47 minutes! I was real excited, seeing that I haven't ran a 5k in a LONG time and I walked most of this one.

P.S. My and Aunt Becky found the cutest leprechaun!

My Heart Melts

Have y'all met my nephew? Because I'm not sure if I've ever posted about him (HA!). Went shopping at Target today with my sis and Aidan. He now sits up in the cart and is just such a joy. Lately he is into this nose-scrunching phase. The nose-scrunch mixed in with his new teeth are just hilarious. He loves me. I love him. I'm obsessed, yes, I have come to terms with it.

Ree Fever

Forget "Beiber Fever"... me, my sisters and several of my friends are suffering with a bad case of "Ree Fever!" Ree Drummond, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, is an amazing gal who has a website that is entertaining and full of helpful hints. I can spend hours on her website. She came to the Davis-Kidd Bookstore here in Memphis. My friend Cameron and I took our PW cookbooks and the PW love story with us to get signed. She was beautiful and so sweet.

Thanks for visiting Memphis Ree, come back

now, ya hear?

Black Honey

No... I am not blogging about the latest porn star... but about my latest favorite beauty treat! I am a chapstick junkie,but sometimes I do want to spruce up my look. However, I do not like dry lipsticks or sticky glosses. I have found something that puts the best of both of these into one sleek tube!

Amy introduced me to the Clinique Almost Lipstick shade, Black Honey. It has a lipstick look with a glossy, moist touch. It looks almost black in the tube, but once on your lips it takes on a new color according to your skin tone. It is known to be universally flattering. Plus, it is intriguing because it looks different on each person. How it looks on me is completely different than how it looks on my sister. I can pop it on if I'm running out to do some errands or wear it for a night out on the town!

This product retails for $14 and can be found at the Clinique counter.

Sweet & Spicy Chicken

It's likely you have these 3 ingredients in your fridge! I'm so excited about this easy recipe because it only takes a few ingredients and is super easy. I served with some mashed potatoes and they were a great pair!
You'll need:

12 oz jar of apricot preserves
16 oz bottle Italian dressing
2 lbs Chicken Breasts, cut into tenders



Place the chicken breast tenders in dish and drizzle 16 oz. of Italian dressing over the top, Turn pieces, to coat evenly with the dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate 8 hours or overnight (I marinated for a few hours and it was fine). When ready to fix your chicken breasts, remove them from the dish and place them in the baking dish. Reserve 1 cup of the Italian dressing that was used for the marinade. (You may use all of the leftover marinade, but, unless you have a very deep baking dish, the sauce may bubble up and run over in the oven.) Mix the 1 cup reserved Italian dressing with 12 oz. apricot preserves in a small mixing bowl. Use a spoon (or a mixer, if you like). When the two ingredients are well-blended, pour them over the chicken breast tenders that you have placed in your baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 325 degrees for 1 hour. Then, remove the aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes longer. The chicken breast meat will be very tender and juicy. Remove from the oven, and place the chicken breast tenders on a platter. If desired, top the chicken tenders with the gravy that has formed in the baking dish. This is a magnificent dish! It will fill your house with sweet and spicy aroma, and your guests will love it!

Courtesy of www.bigoven.com

Kris Krinkle

Who knew that when my dearest friend, Cameron, gave me some homemade Christmas treats that it would turn into my latest addiction. They are called Molasses Crinkles, a heart-warming cookie that is good for the soul. I decided to give it a go and try making them and am sure glad I did! As I smell them baking now, my thighs are plumping and my bum is widening. Ah! The joys of Christmas!


You will need:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg (room temperature)
granulated sugar for coating

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Set aside.

Combine the brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg in a mixing bowl and mix until blended.

Mix in the flour mixture.



Cover and chill in the refrigerator (you can chill for a few hours or overnight)






When ready to bake:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and dip the tops in granulated sugar.


Arrange the balls with the sugar side up on your greased baking sheet.


Sprinkle each with 2-3 drops of water.


Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown.
(I bake right at 10 minutes and then take them out and set on the stovetop for a few minutes to warm!)



(by the way, my pan looks super nasty, but I swear it is clean...) I like to call this look, "distressed."

I like to take them out earlier, while they're still soft, and put them on top of the hot stove to warm there. I also give them a tap with the spatula to flatten them.



ENJOY

and

Merry Christmas!





I'm off to run these crinkles off.......

**Recipe courtesy of Cameron Scott Stimson, via the Junior Auxiliary of Jonesboro, AR; Rendezvous on the Ridge cookbook.