My Lovely Valentine's Day Swap Partner........

I received my Valentine's Day Swap package and I was sooooooooooooooooooooooo EXCITED!!!! =)

I participated in An Island Life Valentine's Day Swap. My swap partner was Stacy from Vader's Mom and it was WONDERFUL getting to know her...I knew what I was doing for my swap partner before I knew who it was!!!

About getting to know her...I was asking her all kind of crazy questions through email to find out what she likes without giving away what I was going to do for her! She probably thought I was a little crazy but I bet she gets it now!!! =) I was asking her is she likes chocolate, wine, bath and body stuff, candles, brownies (with or without nuts), etc....I knew I was going to do the dessert wine and brownie mix with a heart shapped cookie cutter in a cute heart shapped basket...I just needed to know she was okay with getting wine!!! Some people like it and some don't!!! Thank goodness she likes it! She is still a little new to wine and drinks mosly white (I sent her red) but it's to cook with!!! If she likes it she can drink the rest with her "Wine Brownie Dessert" =) It's YUUMY!!!!!

She is a fellow Texan blogger that I will FOR SURE stay in touch with!!!! =) I think that is what makes these swaps so much fun...you get to meet new blog friends!!! You'll be on my Christmas card list....if I send Christmas cards out...lol =)

Okay now on to my gift!!! I can't hold back...here it is:

(SORRY THE PIC IS NOT SO GREAT)

First off the basket was soooooooooooo cute!!!! She bought me my favorite candy which is "SNICKERS", she bought me a candle which I love!!! I can never have to many candles...I burn them all the time!!!! Now on to the "WINE GLASSES" look they are from Crate and Barrel...I LOVE THEM!!!!!! Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo very much Stacy!!!!!!

YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!! I love my gift!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't stop now....keep reading (scroll down) and to see how our Valentine's Day turned out!!!! =)

My Personality On Canvas

I saw this on Erin's blog and wanted to try it out for myself!!!




Click here to create your own painting.



Well, what do you think? I t hink it was a lot of fun and I like when people post things like this on their blog!!! =)



Happy Friday!!!

Our Special Night......

Mr. "S" and I decided to stay at home rather than going out and fighting the crazy crowds!

I planned out this menu keeping in mind a few of our favorite dishes when we eat out:

I tried to create restaurant style shrimp cocktails...you think it worked?

I took some green leaf lettuce and laid it around a ice cream dish, I placed the shrimp around the rim of the dish and poured in a yummy zesty cocktail sauce!

This is one of Mr. "S" favorite appetizers when we go out to eat "Crab Cakes"
I bought this freshly made ( I just had to bake them)! I topped them off with a yummy honey mustard sauce!

Now for the Main Dish....
I pan-seared salmon and plated it with some garlic herb rice and steamed veggies!

Another picture of the Main Dish....

This was a last minute decorating idea (I didn't want to sit at the table and eat dinner like a normal person)...I was running around the house like a mad woman trying to find candles and pillows to decorate before Mr. "S" got home from work! I grabbed a red sheet, I laid it out on the floor in the living room in front of the TV, put our Valentine's Day table mats out, I placed about 12 candles around. So that is what you are seeing here....I wished I would have had more pillows to lay out!!!

This is our wine selection for dessert: Messina Hof Wine Port Barrel Reserve
I also used this wine to make the brownies...it's a DELICIOUS recipe!!!!

This is the fudge sauce I drizzled over the brownies...it's from Messina Hof Winery and it's made with the Port wine!

One brownie plated and decorated, one brownie to go!

I used a heart shape cookie cutter to cut the brownies out of the pan!
I drizzled it with the fudge sauce and topped it off with some powered sugar!

This is a picture of our yummy, sweet, chewy, fattening dessert and wine....Boy-O-Boy was it divine!!!!

So, if I had a restaurant would you come eat there? lol =) I'm just kidding! This was a fun and adventures night...something different!!!

Now for gift time...

I bought Mr. "S" some different types of cigars (that's what he is into these days)?!?!

Courvoisier Cognac
Mr. "S" has never tried this kind...I liked the packaging and the guy in the cigar shop said this is one of his favorite!

CAO Moontrance Cigars
Mr. "S" has tried these before and he likes them...I like the smell of them!

This picture shows a box...I only bought him (3) individual cigars!

CAO Moontrance Cigarillos
Moontrance is an intricate blend of natural exotic fruit and bourbon vanilla. Renowned for its caramel-like sweetness, bourbon vanilla is mixed with Georgia peaches and other organic fruits, then splashed with the tropical essence of white Hawaiian honey....See why I like the smell of these!!!! =)

Java by Drew Estate

The Java is made with a unique infusion of cocoa and espresso bean aromas into a well balanced mix of Nicaraguan tobaccos. The flavor is very subtle and well rounded.

This pictures shows a box I only bought him (1) individual cigar!

Vault SILVER colour Cigar Cutter

Sorry for the Cigar lesson!!! =) I just felt like adding that all in!!!!

I also bought Mr. "S" a Between Me and You Journals it's more for me than it is for him!!! He seemed like he liked it...I was shocked!!! I can't wait till he starts writing in it!!! =)

I bought him some candy...he loves cheesecake and Hershey came out with some new cheesecake kisses!!! YUM YUM...I'm sure I will help him eat them!!!

Now on to me...

Mr. "S" went to James Avery and bought me two charms for my bracelet!!!

The other charm he bought me was the letter "S" =)

He also bought me some candy and the movie "The Game Plan"!!! We just watched it a while back and it was as CUTE as could be!!!

That was our Valentine's Day and it was pretty SPECIAL!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

To all my WONDERFUL blog friends:

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

I hope you have a GREAT day!!!

I will post about our special day tomorrow!!!

(((HUGS)))

XOXO

J

Another Award =) Yep...I'm bragging!!! =)

I had to post about my newest, latest, greatest award!!!! =)

Alix from DC Day's gave me this CUTE, SUPER SWEET Award and I'm soooooooooooooo stoked about it!!! Does anyone use the word stoked anymore...lol...I don't know where that came from but I'm just going to roll with it!!!! =)

So here it is...my newest, cutest award:

Thank you such much Alix!!!

Now to the FUN part...I get to pass it on so here it goes...to all my cool wonderful blog friends that hangout at my page I couldn't pick just one so it goes out to you all!!!

(((HUGS))) from me to you!!!! =)

Frannie

Erin

CPA Mom

Steffi

Wendy

La Bellina Mammina

SJ

Terri

Mandy

Anglophile Football Fanatic

Rachel

Alix....yep....I'm giving it back to you!!! =) lol

Jessica

Pensieve

Lisa

Amy

I hope I didn't leave anyone out!!! I just want to say THANKS to you all for always stopping and commenting my blog!!! =)

Our weekend was GREAT!!!! =)

We had a great weekend! It was sooooooooooooooo nice to get-away from reality because that is what we did!!! Saturday we went out to Mr. "S" brother's house he is an "S" too =) We picked him up to go rent some bikes for the weekend!!!

This is Mr. "S" and brother "S" at Noah's Ark Bar & Grill in Bacliff, Texas

This is a GREAT biker hang out!!!

Me acting like my DORKY self!!!

This is what you look at when you are sitting outside of Noah's Ark...there were sooooooooooooooo many sail boats out!!!! It was such a NICE day out!!!

Mr. "S" old brother "S"...Mr. Stud Muffin

The boys getting ready to roll out from Noah's...we are heading down to Galveston!!!

This is a bike at "The Spot" in Galveston!!! Cool place to hang out!!!

Mr. "S" and I hanging out at Woody's in Galveston!!!

Mr. "S" standing on the deck at Woody's

This is "US" our riding group for the day...Mr. "S", Me, Red Dog & Brother "S"...We are hanging at Mother's Bar and Grill

Mr. "S" and I taking a load off...it was a long day!!!

This is a pic of Red Dog "Lonnie", the GM of Xtreme Texas Choppers and owner of Mother's Bar and Grill (very nice lady) & Brother "S"!!!

I thought this was a cool looking bike!!!

Mr. "S" on our "WEEKEND" bike

Me "acting" cool on the bike...there is NO way I could EVER drive this thing!!!!

This is a list of our Saturday stops:

Noah's Ark Bar & Grill - Bacliff, TX

The Spot - Galveston, TX

Woody's - Galveston, TX

Mother's Bar & Grill - Kemah, TX

Palapas Bar - Kemah, TX

As you can tell from the pictures...we had a blast! I was in bed by 9pm Saturday night!!! We had a long day but every minute of it was GREAT!!!! Mr. "S" and I got up Sunday morning road a little more before we took it back!!! I was so wore out from the weekend I came home and took a nap!!!!

How was your weekend???

I got another 1st =)

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited....

I just received my very FIRST award!!!! =)

Thanks to Lisa at Lisa's Chaos...she gave me this:

It makes me feel sooooooooooooooo good to know people enjoy reading what I have to say or what I do!!!! I think it is the coolest thing ever! I also LOVE the friendships I've made through this...yall know who you are!!!! Everyone that I've met has been sooooooooooooo nice!!!

This has been such a GREAT week of BLOG 1st for me!!!! =)

Thanks Yall!

Many (((HUGS)))!!!

Woooooo-Whoooooo...I got tagged for the 1st time!!!!

This is the first time I have been tagged for a Meme. (Don’t ask me what that word means.) But it looks like fun! I was tagged by my new blog friend Erin for the Five Faves Meme. Thanks Erin for thinking of me!!!! =)

Here are the rules:
Post about the meme, linking to the person who tagged you...which I did...above =)

Go back through your archives and post links to your five favorite blog posts that you have written.

***Link 1: must be about family
***Link 2: must be about friends
***Link 3: must be about yourself
***Link 4: must be about something you love
***Link 5: can be anything you choose

Tag five other people (at least two of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better).

Let the person you tagged know they have been tagged by posting on their blog; You’ve been tagged-check my blog for details….or something like that.

Readers..don’t forget to read these links/posts and leave comments. That’s how we get to know each other.

Well here it goes:

I'm thinking this is going to EASY!!! =)

#1. Family: This post is just pictures...I feel this is as close as I've evermbeen to having a family!!! Even though Lil Miss "H" is not mine...I will always treat her as she is!!! =)

#2. Friends: This post is a post to one of my very dear friends Frannie...if you don't know her...add it to your to-do list! She is a MUST have friend!!! She is why I blog today!!! She has been a true blessing in my life...a true gift from GOD!!! Love you Frannie!!! She lives in Atlanta and I live in Texas...we met at Braves Baseball Camp for Women...Baseball 101! It was friendship at first sight!!! We've laughed, we've cried, we've been such a part of each others lives!!! =)

#3. Me: I really like this post! It's 100 Things about me! It was my 2nd post! Frannie thought it would be a good way for people to get to know me...so enjoy!!! =)

#4. Love: This is a cool post too! After I did the 100 Things about me...I did 100 things about Mr. "S"...just wondering if I could do "100" things about him and I did!!! =)

#5. Anything: This post was about my first snow!!! Yall just don't know how GREAT this was to me!!!! I was like a kid in a candy store...when I woke up New Years morning and seen the snow coming down...it brought tears to my eyes!!! It was the BEST ever!!! I will NEVER forget that very moment!!!!

Woooooo-Whooooo...I did it! My VERY 1st!!!! =)

Okay....here goes the tagging part...who to pick??? It says to tag at least 2 new acquaintances so that you get to know each other better:

#1. Jessica: I just met her through the blog give-aways!!! She is tooooooo cool!!!! =)

#2. Amy: She is Jessica's frinend and she dropped by my page to say hi and I'm so glad she did!!! Thanks Amy!!!!

#3. Frannie: She is my BEST Friend!!! Enough said!!!!

#4. Alix: I met Alix through an ornament exchange I did before I was a blogger...Frannie posted about it an Alix joined...Thanks Alix!

#5. Rachel: She is just a cool person and I like reading her blog! She keeps it real!!! =)

Thanks again for tagging me Erin!!!! =) It was fun! The hard part was picking who to tag!!!!

Just Wednesday....

Nothing really exciting to talk about...
My life just seems so blah...
I don't want to bore yall!!! =)

Yesterday was a busy day in the office! I met up with a friend for lunch (Cassy)...which wasn't on the diet plan...lol!!! I left a little early for a haircut and color! I added some brown tones to my blonde and got a really good trim...I needed it...the color is a little dark for me but I will get use to it!!!!

The friend I met with at lunch yesterday (Cassy) is going to sell me her baby bed (really cheap) for my niece (she is due March 28th)...I'm soooooooooo excited...it's really, really nice! It's a baby bed that converts into a toddler bed and it had a pull out drawer under it...she is also giving me her mattress...her little boy never really slept in the baby bed and he never used the toddler bed...so it's just like new!!! I'm sure some of my NEW blog readers haven't read about my niece...you can click here and it will take you back to that post! She is my only niece...she is 19 years old...her and her husband are expecting their first baby (little girl) and this is sooooooooooooo special to our family!!!! I'm hosting her baby shower on March 2nd...I love hosting parties, I love the food, I love the decorations, the gifts, etc. Even if they aren't for me!!!! =) I just want to say THANKS to CPA Mom for caring so much and sending me something for my niece!!! CPA Mom is such a caring, giving, wonderful person...she is the BEST if you can haven't had the chance to meet her you should check out her blog!!! I think you will need a password to login?!? I don't really know what to do about that...lol!!! Maybe you can leave a comment and she can contact you?!?!? I didn't mean to go into all that!!! I just wanted her to know how much I appreciate her! =) (((HUGS))) CPA MOM

I just want everyone to know that I have met so many GREAT people in the whole blog world thing...it's GREAT!!! We all have something in common and that is BLOGGING! Thanks to Frannie for getting me here!!! =) She shared all her WONDERFUL blog friends with me!!! =)

Today is a busy day at work...
I'm trying to get collection letters out to our lovely NON-PAYING, DEAD BEAT CUSTOMERS...I don't know why people don't pay their darn bills?!?!?! I also have payroll to-do today (our company does weekly payroll)!!! We are also reorganizing things around the office which has made work very interesting!!!! lol...for real...you just have to be here to know what I'm talking about!!!

Moving on...

One thing that was REALLY bad news to me last week that I DID NOT talk about was the loan for our lake house!!! After dealing with this bank (I won't name names, but I will NEVER EVER use them...EVER again) for almost 3 months....I got a phone call on Monday and we were turned down!!! =( It was very disappointing news...really it was devastating news!!! We put all our eggs in one basket and here we are now having to start all over!!! =( It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it! What the deal is....Mr. "S" and I paid cash for the land (2 lake lots)...with some help from my mom and dad and my 401k!!! =) A guy in our neighborhood had the house on his land...he was wanting to sell it so he could build on his property...so he sold 'us' the house (we got a really, really good deal) with the understanding we would get a loan on our land and the house...we would pay him back and have extra money to build some nice decks, change out the kitchen counter tops, install hardwood flooring, knock out one wall etc...!!! We had the house moved on our land...now we owe for the house...so he we are trying to get a loan...it stinks knowing we owe someone!!!!! With the real-estate market like it is....it's killing us!!!! No one wants to approve any loans due to all the foreclosures! The man we are buying the house from (Mr. "R") is soooooooo wonderful and very understanding but we just don't like the fact we owe someone money!!! It makes us NOT want to do anything because the lake house is weighing down on our shoulders!! It is REALLY weighing us down...we were to the point last week where we just wanted to throw our hands up and say screw it!!!! So there you have it...a little bit about my last week...wow...that was hard getting it out of me but I think I was finally okay with talking about it!!! It might not seem so bad to some of you but it's wearing and tearing at Mr. "S" and I!

***SIGH***


GUESS WHAT...I just got TAGGED for the VERY 1st time...I will blog about it tonight!!! BUSY BUSY at work!!! =) My tag was from Erin...go check her out!!! She's one of my NEW friends!!!

I'm still here...lol =)

I'm still alive if any of you are wondering! =) Last week was a L-O-N-G week and I rather not talk about it! Let me just say I think I'm over it...hopefully this week will be a little better and as time goes by things will level out! Lets just say...when it rains it pours…Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was given BAD news!!! I'm trying to stay positive...as hard as that can sometimes be!

I do have a few EXCITING things to blog about so here they go…

#1. I won my very FIRST CONTEST!!! I entered Pensieve's Snackalicious Super Dishes recipe contest and I won…YES, YES, YES! I wasn’t one of the “13” winners but I was a back-up winner and that is all that matters!!! Someone backed out because they were out of the country so I took her spot! Woo-Who for me!!!! YES, YES, YES!!! Thanks Pensieve!!!! =) I had a BLAST and I will stay in touch for sure! I can’t wait till you do something like this again!

#2. I entered several of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival: Winter '08 Edition…I was informed I won one!!! Nerd Family Food was giving away a Pampered Chef package of goodies…I LOVE PAMPERED CHEF. It will include a mini-serving spatula, Quikut Paring Knife and a Season's Best cookbook. Thanks Nerd Family Food!!! =) I would also like to mention her site is REALLY cool…if you like food and cooking!!! She has some GREAT recipes and ideas so go say hi and check out her blog!!!!

I think the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival: Winter '08 Edition was soooooooooooo cool…it’s such a great way to see new blogs, meet new blog friends and get new ideas!!!! I met a few new blog buddies and I’m so glad I did!!! =)

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend! Mine was somewhat relaxing! Saturday I slept in then went for a pedicure….boy-o-boy do I love pedicures!!! Later that afternoon Mr. “S” and I went to dinner for some YUMMY SPICY hot wings and a few beers…my favorite! =) What a way to kick back and relax! Sunday I cooked breakfast (I love cooking breakfast on the weekends) we watched a little tv… I made a few different kinds of dips (one garlic and one spicy), we had Tastefully Simple Beer Bread, some YUMMY, YUMMY BOUDIN (pronounced BOO-danh) and waited for the Super Bowl to come on!!! YES, Frannie…I watched the game and YES, Frannie I rooted for the Giants…it made me sick to cheer for them but I did..I will admit it! I wanted to see the Patriots…GO DOWN, DOWN, DOWN and they did!!! The 4th Quarter was sit on the edge of your seat crazy, nail biting FUN!!! That is what football is all about!!! What an ending to the night! =)