Makes me hoarse just hearing it...

              This is Baby P's new thing. Can't figure out where he got it. The other people in this household are a little more concerned about vocal health and this certainly doesn't sound like any singing I've ever heard.

This is a real catfish...

Over the Christmas holiday, Baby P and W and I went to the lake. It was great and so relaxing! I read tons of books in front of the fire, played with P, drank coffee, ate scones, ate cookies, ate cheese grits...you get the idea. W went fishing everyday and caught some monsters when he started fishing with chicken livers. I know...gross, but effective.

You can't really see how huge they were in the pictures, but you get the idea. Frightening.

Here's what P and I were doing while W fished in the frigid and piercingly cold wind.

Christmas Recovery Period

I'm so sad that Christmas is over this year. It seemed to fly by and I don't think I got in the requisite amounts of Christmas music, movies and fresh pine scent. I'm also feeling nostalgic about the holidays since we'll be moving next summer.

I did, however, experience more than my fair share of a few other things...

9 Batches of Secret Family Recipe Sugar Cookies

Sweet/Salty and delicious. While I did not eat all of these myself, I sampled copiously.

36 Pioneer Woman Truffles

Almond filled, sea salt sprinkled, dark chocolate covered and raspberry filled. Don't get me started, I had to put the rest in a box and send them to a neighbor just to stop the chocolatey madness. 

5 Entire Batches of Pioneer Woman Tiny Vanilla Scones

Apparently I'm all about PW this Christmas. I did share these scones with others, but did not shy away from making sure they were fit to eat. These things are totally addicting and perfect, I mean PERfect, with several cups of morning coffee/half 'n' half.

Many, Many Helpings of Spicy Cheese Grits

Mom and I ate these at a local restaurant and practiced til we got them right. Make them ASAP or you'll regret it forever...after you've tasted them one day and realized what you've been missing out on for so long.

Bring to a boil 5 cups of chicken stock and 2-3 Tablespoons of garlic powder.

Add 1 1/4 cups of uncooked grits. (cook according to package directions)

Stir in 1 cup of shredded Cheddar/Jack or Habanero Cheddar

and 1 cup of shredded Velveeta

Add ground red pepper to taste (start with a dash and go from there).

Pour grits into a 9 x 13 casserole dish, top with diced fresh tomatoes and sprinkle with shredded cheddar. Bake for about 30 min. at 350. 

10 Books: Some Worthless and Some Worthwhile

3 Blue Blood Teen lit books (Absolutely Worthless)

3 books: The Airhead Series by Meg Cabot (Worthwhile and fun)

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell (Worthwhile and loved it)
Pride and Prejudice (Worthwhile and always love a refresher!)
Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller (Definately worthwhile and I reccommend it!)
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (Not finished with this yet, but it's worthwhile!)


1 Season of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Don't judge. It was a childhood favorite and my Mom gave it to me for Christmas as sort of a joke but W and I watched them, laughed a lot and were completely entertained.

52 Pounds of holiday padding on various parts of my body

I blame all the yummy things that my family and friends (and, ok, myself) baked, fried, bought and smeared with icing. I've got a lot of walking to do...too bad it's too cold out to do that now...actually I need the padding to stay warm, what was I thinking?