By now most everyone has received their Christmas card from us in the mail, if we had your address.  So, I thought I would share our 2010 Christmas card with y'all!

Click on the picture to view it full size.

May you and yours have a wonderful, joyous Christmas this year!!

From the Editor (Dec/Jan issue)

‘Tis the season to be jolly for the holidays are upon us and a new year is on its way.  It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone.  Didn't we just celebrate Christmas and break all of our New Year's resolutions?  I have to admit, I don't make a resolution anymore.  By the time we get near the end of January, it has already been broken.  Maybe if I don't make them, I can keep them.

Last year on New Year's Eve, Terry and I were under the weather so we didn't attend any parties or even stay up to watch the ball drop.  This year, I have high hopes that we can at least celebrate the countdown of the New Year, healthy.

If you ask any medical personnel, they will tell you that the flu season is here.  And it's not discriminating.  From the youngest to the oldest, I know a lot of people who have had it.  And it seems to be worse this year than others in the past.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays away from our home and office. 

The next year has many possibilities for a wonderful year.  Here at the magazine, we are working on not only bringing you the ever so loved 393, but we are also looking at what makes this town a place where you and I want to work and live.  The community has something for everyone and we hope to show you throughout 2011 what those things are.  We have also started getting invitations for many events already scheduled for 2011 and I hope to see all of you out there supporting our community and surrounding areas.  You can sit at home and say there is nothing to do, or get out there and see what this area has to offer. 

And if you do get out and about, you may just end up in the next issue of 393. Happy Holidays.

Thanksgiving Recap

To say we are blessed is an understatement.  And this Thanksgiving was just another reminder.  

Thursday, we went to my grandmother's house to celebrate with my side of the family.  We enjoyed the traditional smoked turkey and dressing (mom's secret recipe), peas, butter beans, corn, sweet potato casserole, chicken spaghetti (supplied by me), fried okra, and oh the list could go on and on.  We all gathered in the same room (for the first time in years) to enjoy our Thanksgiving day meal.  Yes, there was football on the tv and yes, we all didn't fit at the table but for the first time in years, we were all in the room eating, together!  After we cleaned up lunch, we rode with the guys to see if there was a new baby calf.  She looks like she is about to pop but she still hanging on.  The guys dropped us back off at grandmothers house and they went to hunt.  No luck because it was so hot.  But we got a lot accomplished inside cleaning out granny's house.  There is a lot more to do but we put a dent in it.  We all gathered back at the house before leaving for the evening to finally have dessert.  Carrot cake, homemade apple pie (made especially for Terry), sweet potato pie and pecan pie.  Oh boy oh boy, sugar highs all night long.

Friday was Thanksgiving at the Sowell's.  I was asked to bring my loaded mashed potatoes to go with all the wonderfully prepared food by Judy, Betty and Rita.  We ate until we couldn't eat anymore and enjoyed catching up with the family that we hadn't seen in eleven months.  Football and more football watching took place all afternoon.  And what a game the Iron Bowl had.  There was no upset since we all knew Auburn had it in them.  After all, they hadn't lost a game all season.  But you never know about these "local" bowl games.  Sometimes there are surprises during these games.  But this year there wasn't.

Saturday proved to be the laziest day of the week.  Pajamas til mid afternoon and then it was time for showers and to get ready for the Egg Bowl Party.  We had a wonderful time cheering on our bulldawgs to their victory.

Which leads to today... laying around watching movies on the couch with my love.  And there is also a nice big roast in the crockpot just slow cooking away.  What a wonderful day... what a GREAT week!!!

Only five more days of work and then it's off for the holidays for me!  I can't wait to enjoy this holiday season!  Happy Holidays! 

HAIL STATE

 Cowbells ring, are you listening??
Down the field, the dawgs are sprinting!!
A beautiful site, the carebears crying tonight!!
Walking with the trophy in our hands!! 

My voice is not as strong as it was yesterday at this time.  Why?  We were screaming and cheering for our dawgs all night!!  Our cowbells were ringing (which I'm sure scared every deer off for miles) and you still can't get the smile off our faces!  We had my brother and sister in law over to the house to watch the game.  Lit the grill for some burgers, fried some homemade french fries, baked some beans and enjoyed these for our dessert celebration!

MSU cupcakes from Gigi's in Flowood

And in addition to celebrate our win, we rolled the neighbor's yard.  Can't wait to see his Ole Miss face when he gets home from Oxford today!  And yes, we plan to help clean it up after he sees it.  We had so much fun rolling it, like we were teenagers again!

Hail dear 'ole State,
Fight for that victory today;
Hit that line and 'tote that ball;
Cross the goal before you fall,
And then we'll yell, yell, yell, yell!
For dear 'ole State we'll yell like hell!
Fight for Mis-sis-sip-pi State,
Win that game today.

GO STATE!!! 

GAME DAY

Tonight is the night.  Who will take home the trophy?

The EGG BOWL TROPHY!

Mississippi State or the school up north?

GO DAWGS!!!

Thankful during Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas just as much as the next person but, there is something about Thanksgiving week that makes me all giddy with excitement.  There is nothing better than having family gathered around the table laughing and talking about the holidays in the past.  And now that us kids are all grown, we contribute to the meal.  I'm always asked to bring my now famous, chicken spaghetti and a dessert, too.  Mom will always make the turkey and dressing because she is the only one who can make it like she does.  Trust me, I've tried.  Football will be blaring from the den because no one wants to miss a play.  And after lunch, we all find a bed, couch or recliner and enjoy our turkey induced coma. 

But, there is a lot more to like about Thanksgiving than family, food and the festivities.  For me, it's also a time to start looking back at the year and realizing how thankful I am for everything God has given me.  I can't list everything but, I will tell you a few...

• Over a year and a half ago, I was blessed by being introduced to my soul-mate, best friend and the love of my life.  I never knew that this kind of love existed or that I would ever be lucky enough to experience it.  But, I was and it changed my life forever.  The love we have for one another can not be explained in a small paragraph but if you see us together you know that this love is real and will last forever.  This is our second Thanksgiving to spend together and not only are we thankful to be celebrating again with both families but, also, thankful for our love that continues to grow everyday. 

• Family is a big part of both of our lives and we are blessed with two wonderful sets of parents.  They love us unconditionally and have set wonderful examples for our relationship and what it should be like.  His parents have been married for 47 years and mine 39 years.  They support us and our decisions and my family is happy to have another son and his family is happy to have another daughter.  We spend as much time as we can with them not because it's a have to, it's because it's a want to.

• We have four nieces between the two of us.  And the joy they bring to our lives makes us excited about our future children.  It's amazing the amount of love children have for their aunts and uncles and the love uncles and aunts have for their nieces.  And their energy, where does it come from?  But, it keeps us going strong and that we are thankful for.

• Friendships come and go but those that stand the tests of time are the ones that are really meant to be.  Isn't it funny how those people who aren't meant to be in your life are one day, finally gone?  I'm thankful for the ones who are in my life for they are the ones who are meant to be in it.  We share a friendship that is more like a sisterhood.  We share in the joys and sorrows of each others lives, we lend support and cheer on each other through the different tests of our lives and most importantly, we don't take advantage of each other.  Through the laughter and tears, good times and bad our friendship is the real deal.  And best of all, my better half loves them like sisters, too. 

• A brother and sister-in-law is shared by each of us.  My brother is someone I admire for all the hard work he does in his everyday job, for his dry, yet, hilarious humor and how he still to this day feels the need to protect me.  Growing up, I never figured we would be close but we are and somehow I have deemed to forgive him for all the bruises he gave me growing up.  His wife of five years has been someone I can talk to about life, work and the future.  I'm happy she is back in town and we are able to spend more time together.  She makes my brother happy and in return, that makes me happy and thankful.

• And to keep it short, I'm thankful for my religion, freedom and job.  I'm thankful to be able to worship and pray to the big man upstairs for all he has and continues to give me.  I'm thankful for having a saved soul and an eternal life waiting for me after my life on earth is no more.  I'm thankful for the freedom we have in this country and for all the men and women who have fought for us to have and keep it.  I know many who are still in the service and tell them often how proud I am of what they do for our country.  Last but not least, I'm thankful for my job.  A job that pays the house note and the rest of the bills that come with it, that pays for entertainment on the weekends and that pays for the Christmas gifts that I'm out buying.  =)  I love my job and the people I get to encounter while doing my job. 

Most importantly, I'm thankful to remember to be thankful.  Most people go about their daily business and forget that everything we have can be taken away from us in a second.  This Thanksgiving, I hope everyone remembers to be thankful.  But not just this time of year but every day and in every way.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Sausage Balls

Now that deer season is here, Saturday morning breakfast will not be the same.  This means no cheesy browns, bacon, eggs and biscuits.  I simply cannot wake up at 4 a.m. and cook.  I can just see me making homemade biscuits and forgetting an ingredient.  It definitely wouldn't taste the same.  =) 

So, I'm making things the night before for Terry to take to the woods with him.  This weekend, it was sausage balls.  YUM - YUM!!!  This is a holiday tradition to have these present throughout the season but I thought they would also work good to prepare for an early morning breakfast for my hunter, too!

SAUSAGE BALLS

10 oz. Extra sharp cheddar cheese

1cup self rising flour
2 cups of rice krispies
1 lb. Sausage (we like the hot sausage)

Melt cheese over low heat or microwave until melted.  Remove from heat. Add flour and cereal.  Break sausage into small pieces. Mix sausage and cheese mixture with hands. Roll into 1 inch balls.  Place on ungreased baking sheet. (I bake mine on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.) Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Balls ready to go in the oven...

Some of the first sausage balls out of the oven...

They are so yummy and the recipe makes 55 medium size balls!

Enjoy the recipe, y'all!

Temple Theater hosts the Nutcracker

As I mentioned in the last post, it was a very busy week.  Thursday night we went to see the Nutcracker.  Not only was Terry's niece, Hannah, in it but a lot of the kids from Clarkdale were in it, too.  This was the first time for either of us to see it in person and weren't sure what to expect.  Overall it was great but a little long.  I got to the temple ballroom at 3 to take pictures for the magazine and left at 6 to have a quick dinner with Terry before we had to be back for it to start at 7:30.  All of the "local" dancers did a great job with the professionals from the company.  And it set the tone for the holiday season.  

Most of the pictures I took were for the magazine but I got a few others to share with you. 

Enjoy!

Hannah as an angel

Emma Clark on the far right with more angels

Audrey Anderson on the right as a Chinese dancer

Savannah Pope on the right as an angel

Jodee Crane and Emma Winstead as Spanish Dancers

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

Today being the first day of deer season means that the Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department hosted their annual cookout today at lunch.  We always get together as a family and eat at my grandmothers after the men get out of the woods.   Today was no different.  My sister in law and I got to my grandmothers around 11 a.m. and waited for the men in our lives to come out of the fields.  They got lunch and we had a nice picnic outside to enjoy the beautiful day.  No one shot at anything today but they saw quite a few as they were scoping out everything for next week.  We can't wait to be off work Tuesday at noon to enjoy the long Thanksgiving holiday. 

I didn't take my camera with us but we have two new baby calves and one more on the way.  (Maybe I'll get pictures next week.)  We rode 4 wheelers and the mule and had fun playing together like we were kids again.  After the guys went back out to check on the fields Mary Martha and I went in to visit with my grandmother.  Since we are having Thanksgiving at her house due to her capabilities of getting around, we decided to get a head start on getting things ready for Thanksgiving.  I think we cleaned for 5 hours or more.  But at least the house is now spotless and is ready to host all 10 of us next Thursday.

As much as we both hated cleaning anything, it is great to still have my grandmother with us to celebrate the holidays.  So many people out there are losing their grandparents and I'm lucky enough to still have my mom's mom and my dad's dad with us.  And I do not take this for granted.  When we left, you could see the happiness on her face.  Not only was her house clean but she got to sit in her wheelchair and visit with us.  I think the visiting is what she loved the best!  

Thanksgiving Program at RCA

Let me just say how much I love this time of year.  And this week, I truly got in the holiday spirit.  Monday with all the "joys" of Christmas decorations and Thursday with the Nutcracker event.  (I'll be blogging on it, next.  Told you I had a lot to catch you up on.)

Friday, Terry's niece, Hannah, was in the school Thanksgiving Program called a "Thanksgiving Feast."  She was a narrator dressed as a pilgrim.  I love RCA's programs.  They make the kids enjoy what they are doing and the guests really get a good laugh out of it.  

Hannah singing one of the songs in the program.

Hannah doing her speaking part with some of the other students on the stage.

She makes a pretty cute pilgrim.

Hannah Mae and Uncle Terry

Me and the niece

Hannah and Judy (grandmother)

Hannah Mae and her daddy (Richie)

Hannah and her granny (Hazel, Cathy's mom)

Hannah with her Aunt Bren and cousin Zach

    If you can't tell by now, all of the nieces events are family events.  I don't understand families that don't function together.  Terry and I love both of our families and try to spend as much time with them as we can.  We had a wonderful time at the Thanksgiving Day Program... it put me in the spirit of Thanksgiving!  Can't wait for turkey day and some relaxing time away from work!

2010 Christmas Decor

Last Sunday, Terry and I put up the 9.5 ft pre-lit Christmas tree so Abby could come over on Monday and give it some sass.  And with the new additions of different color mesh and ribbon, this has to be my favorite Christmas tree ever.  December is already booked with dinners, a trunk show and family get togethers.  We can't wait to have everyone over to enjoy the season with the house decorated in holiday "joy."

Enjoy the photos!  

2010 Christmas Tree

Front entry

No mantle so the antique piano got decorated with garland, ribbon and lights.

Last year's Christmas tree.  I loved it but I'm in love with this year's tree!  =)

 If you ever need help with decorating anything whether it's Christmas trees, wreaths or just deciding how to decorate you room... Abby can do it.  Thanks again Abs for making the holidays merry and bright for us! 

Last weekend...

I have so much to catch y'all up on.  It was a busy weekend and this week hasn't proved to slow down any.  

Last weekend, one of our great friends, Jennifer Van Doren, came to stay with us while she was in town for Christmas at the Highlands.  She had a booth for her clothing line, PiperBrooke.  The clothes are so cute and are all handmade by Jennifer herself.  Terry and I helped her set up her booth last Friday night and I hosted a small trunk show at the house that evening for her.  Everyone loved her clothes and bought lots of them.  =)

After the set up was finished and everyone left from the trunk show, Terry Van Doren and Eli came over (her hubby and son) for dinner.  I cooked, italian chicken, loaded mashed potatoes, cajun green beans, peas, corn and can't forget the sister schubert rolls!  We enjoyed catching up but had to get to bed for our early morning the next time. 

The next day, she had a wonderful turn out at her booth.  Check out some of her clothes below.  And if you are interested in ordering something, email her at Jennifer@Piperbrooke.com and/or "like" her facebook page.  All clothes are made special for your little cuties.  And, coming Spring 2011 she will have her little boy line ready for everyone to view! 

 

Painting with a Twist/Girls Night

There is a new business in town and it's called Painting with a Twist.  Tonight was the grand opening and I got a special invite and could bring two guests with me.  I brought my sister from another mother, Abby and my sister-in-law, Mary Martha.  Angie got a special invitation, too.  So the four of us had a blast!  We were the firsts to paint in the new facility and make it look like an art studio.  If you could see my fingers now, you might get a taste of what the studio looks like, too!  =)

We painted "Moonlit Cherry Blossoms" and now I have a new masterpiece in my guest bathroom!  

Enjoy the photos.  Hope you can tell from the photos just how much fun we were having!  Thanks girls for a wonderful, fun night!!

We had so much fun painting together.  Nothing like great friends!

Our masterpieces.

Taking a break during painting to giggle some more!  =)

After arriving at the grand opening.

Sister-in-law, me, sister from another mother!

Fun times

Ready to paint!

Do we really look alike?

Work it, work it!

She was working hard until I interrupted.

Having a good time.

Double trouble!

Yay for one fun night!