4 day weekend

what a wonderful weekend we had here. i have been off the past 4 days from work, finally taking my Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday. originally the plan was to visit my friends in Fayetteville. well, that all went down the drain when some wintry weather moved in. it really put a damper on my spirits, because i was so looking forward to this trip for several reasons... i was going to get to spend time with my 3 best friends all at once. i was going to get to go to Fayetteville (where University of Arkansas is, and where I went to college for those that may not know). i have only been to visit Fay. one time since i've graduated. that is SO sad! so, its been over 2 years since i've been. lastly, i was looking forward to seeing my name on the sidewalk. everyone that graduates gets their name on the sidewalk on campus, and i have not seen mine yet! HUGE bummer. i wasn't about to risk my life on the roads though, and the weatherman didn't disappoint this time. basically all of arkansas got it bad. snow and ice. on to plan B.

So, i just stayed in Dallas and got to spend some quality time with the husband. we had a good weekend. Friday night we had our usual tradition of Fat Clothes Friday over at my dads. we enjoyed a big pancake breakfast and watched the 20/20 story on John Edwards. i know this sounds super boring, but actually it wasn't. i had no idea this man was such a whore! excuse my language. but really. did anyone else watch this? crazy! if you didn't see the story, or if you have no idea what i'm talking about, i recommend you do yourself a favor and brush up on your politics. praise the lord he didn't become the leader of our country! i digress...

SATURDAY! my first saturday off since august! woo hoo! i slept in, of course, then bill and i decided we didn't want to just sit around all day, even though it was super cold outside. there was a place i had been wanting to try so we got dressed and headed out for an adventure.

the place we went to is called Bread Winners Bakery. there are actually 4 different locations across the metroplex. we went to the one in Inwood Village, a cute little shopping center at Lover's Lane and Inwood Road. one word for this place... aaahhh-mazing! we did have to wait a little bit, for the obvious reason that we were not the 1st to realize its greatness. bill had chicken fried steak and eggs, and i had Monterrey enchiladas. i really wanted to splurge and get a mimosa, because you got your own little bottle of champagne, but it was $10 and i just didn't see any good in a $10 mimosa. but, it was sooo cute! i was really tempted by the bakery too. lots of goodlooking cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. this is definitely a place i will frequent.

next, bill decided he wanted to use up a few gift cards he had. so we went to Jos.A.Banks and he got a new pair of dress shoes. Then, we headed over to The Shops at Willow Bend so check out the Brooks Brothers store. There he got a new belt to match the new shoes. Willow Bend mall is also where Anthropologie is, so of course, we had to stop by there. I couldn't hold bills attention very long in there, so i just breezed through and we were outta there. soooo many cute things though. i'll be going back.

after a little rest at home, and a quick workout for bill, we decided it would be a good night to catch a movie. i had been wanting to see Up In The Air, so we decided to go to Studio Movie Grill. we love this place because you can get dinner there too. we split a pizza, had a couple beers, and shared some popcorn. they have the best popcorn, and its only $3! you get way more than at a regular movie theater, and you get a cup of warm butter to pour on it! yummm!

this morning, bill was still not feeling well. he's got a cold, and it just wont go away. so i decided to make some breakfast. i saw a recipe on a friends blog for this blueberry bread thingy, and thought it looked pretty tasty. http://kendallandkeith.blogspot.com/2010/01/blueberry-breakfast.html. there is the link to the recipe. mine did not turn out at pretty as hers, but definitely (i'm assuming) just as tasty. Bill at about half of it! we've really just been pretty lazy. i worked on my photo albums, picked up the house, did some laundry, and now i'm working on planning our anniversary trip. we are taking a trip through the Texas Hill Country. I'm working on all our little stops and where to stay, shop, and eat! hopefully we'll be bringing home lots of pictures like this one, of pretty bluebonnets. they are the native wildflower to texas, and very predominant in the hill country.

ok, well this post got sorta long... its back to work for me tomorrow. boo! hope everyone has a wonderful week, and a happy grammy/pro bowl watching night!

signature

i just wanted to try this out. its my new signature for the blog...

happy birthday cowboys

50 years ago today, the Dallas Cowboys joined the NFL family. i have been so lucky to be a part of this team and this company. who wouldn't want to work for "America's team?" i don't care how many people say they hate the Cowboys, i am not buying it. you, my friend, are just jealous that you aren't one! everyone loves the Cowboys. everyone wants to be a Cowboy. even when they're loosing. that's right, you heard me. if you're truly a fan, you love 'em even when they're loosing.

i have been especially lucky to be a part of the team during the last 2 years. lots of special, history making events have happened during my time here. Farewell to Texas Stadium. For 37 years, Texas Stadium is where the Dallas Cowboys called home. Built in 1971, this stadium was state-of-the-art! The stadium with the whole in the roof, ya know, so God can watch His team play. While it was well overdue for a new stadium, because this one had seen its day, lots of great memories happened there. To read more about this legendary stadium check out this site:
http://www.farewelltotexasstadium.com/home.cfm

Inaugural Season at Cowboys Stadium. Let me just tell you, this place is no stadium. It is a work of art. It's like nothing you've ever seen. Often referred to as "Jerryworld," and "The Jerry Dome." It is the largest domed structure in the world. It is the largest column free interior building. It has the largest high definition video board in the world, stretching from 20 yard line to 20 yard line. It has the largest sliding glass doors in the world. A retractable roof modeled after Texas Stadium, again, so God can watch His team play. It seats 80,000 people, with availability to seat 100,000. At a cost of $1.2 billion, it is one of the most expensive sports venues ever built. In 2011 it will host Super Bowl XLV. Which, of course, the Cowboys will be playing in. Duh! Check out more on Cowboys Stadium at: http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/.

Now today. Dallas Cowboys 50th Birthday. It was this day back in 1960 that the league voted to expand, and as they say, the rest is history. Read this article from the Dallas Cowboys website, to see the whole story of how the team was formed. http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=7608C500-E2F5-D429-44C274C9BE99675C.

So, as you can see I've gotten to experience some history since I began working for the Cowboys. I am excited to see what happens next. Super Bowl win in our own home town next season? I'm just sayin'...

Code 58

bill and i have decided that to make a little extra money we would like to pick up some of the special cleaning jobs through his company. so, last week bill got a call from a tv production company based out of dallas. they are shooting a new tv show for fox right here in dallas! they needed someone to come out asap to clean their floors and lay a coat of wax. TEAM BILL & AL TO THE RESCUE!

the set is at the fairgrounds. its actually really cool. i've never been on a tv set before. its set up like a police station. here are some pics i took...

there were jail cells and everything!

so we got started at 8pm. the place was pretty dirty. they built this entire set in 2 weeks. there were cameras, tons of cable, lights, and any type of film equipment you could think of. we were there by ourselves, other than larry the security guy. so we got to sweepin', moppin', vacuuming, scrubbing, buffing, waxing. it was some hard work, let me tell ya. i was worn out! we both were. we left at 3am!!! shew! bill and i were both pooped. it didn't take us long to fall asleep at all.

all the tiredness aside, we had a fun time (well i can't speak for bill). but it was something we did together, and we worked as a team. i enjoyed it, but i wouldn't/couldn't do it everyday.

so, everybody be looking for a new show on fox this fall (i think) called Code 58!

while we're on the tv subject... there is another show being taped here right now called The Deep End. Its a new show on ABC, comes on before Greys Anatomy. Its set in LA, but filmed in Las Colinas (Irving). On the first episode they were at the bar in the W hotel. so exciting and fun that these things go on in your own home town. i'm setting out to be an extra, anyone want to join me?

lucy

lucy got this crazy idea that she is allowed to sit on the couch with us now. her momma may or may not have let her do this when you know who wasn't around...

she likes to cuddle. i like to cuddle. we're a match made in heaven.

how can you resist those sweet puppy dog eyes? i love my lucy dog.

little bill

check out this picture i found of bill and his cousins.

if my kids end up half as cute as he was as a little tyke, then i'm a lucky girl.

one-and-done

the Dallas Cowboys 2009 season is officially over. an unfortunate loss today to the Minnesota Vikings pushed us out of the playoff run. i'm super bummed about this, because we had really good chances of making it to the superbowl. but, its like they say, "any given sunday." today was our sunday to lose. so, we're done. it was a good season though, and i'm proud of the boys for getting us this far. i am NOT looking forward to those fair-weather fans that are gonna knock the cowboys this week. if you're a fan, you're ALWAYS a fan! anyways, the good news is, i get to take some vacation now. :)

well, thats kinda all i have to say right now, i'm sorta in a bad mood. hope everyone has a good week. peace.

Playoffs

you only thought football season was over. well, not for the Dallas Cowboys! Last Sunday the 'Boys shutout the Philadelphia Eagles to clench the NFC East Division Championship! Not to mention a home wildcard game for the 1st round of the playoffs. Bill and I were lucky enough to be at the game. This was the only pic I took...

We received NFC East Championship merchandise in the store Monday morning! They started printing t-shirts and hats as soon as the game ended and printed throughout the night. They began delivering at 4am! I had people calling me before the store was open, wanting the new hat! The 1st playoff game was set for the following Saturday, once again, against the Eagles. Now, many people believe that it is impossible to beat the same team 3 times in one season. We beat them at home early in the season, and then again for the last game. Huge game on the line, i tell ya! If we lose we're 1-and-done. If we win, we end a 12 season playoff drought, and move on to play the Vikings in round 2.

I had to work all day Saturday. So, when I got off work i rushed home, changed, and we raced to the stadium. Once we parked, we literally ran to get inside. One, because it was freezing. Two, because we didn't want to miss one second of the game! We made it right before the National Anthem! :)

We were in such a hurry to leave that Bill forgot to put his jersey on over his tshirt! Oops!

PLAYOFFS!


Felix Jones had an amazing game. He had his 1st 100+ yard rushing game. He was also the MVP!



Guess what? We won! It was an amazing game. Some would call it a 3-peat! We dominated the Eagles this season. Our defense was lights out amazing. So now we're headed to Minnesota to play Brett Favre and the Vikings. It will be tough, but I have no doubt that we can win. Nothing is gonna stop this team! If superstisions have anything to do with it... The Cowboys won their 1st superbowl when they mvoed to their new stadium, Texas Stadium. Now its the 1st year at our new stadium, Cowboys stadium. SUPERBOWL HERE WE COME! I can just feel it!

In other news... Mom and Mark were here this weekend. We finally got to celebrate Christmas! Bill and I both got some good things. Bill got a Arkansas Razorback grill cover. I got a cookbook and this really cool Razorback silicone baking dish! It was fun to have family here again.

Today we spent the day cleaning up, taking down Christmas decorations (finally), and just getting rest before a big week. I'm sure we'll be really busy at the store!

taste of the mediterranean

i have to share a meal i made this evening with all of you. i happen to love Greek and Mediterranean flavors. salty and full of flavor. i also happen to love Italian food, so tonight i made a recipe from myrecipes.com. You can sign up to get daily recipes in your email. I highly recommend it, especially if you're in a cooking slump.

Antipasto-Style Penne

Click here for the recipe!

Looks tasty right? I substituted chicken for the prosciutto. One, because I can never find the stuff, and two, I have a husband who doesn't eat "strange" food, or wants to try new things... He did enjoy the meal though, after picking thru anything red for fear it was a tomato. :)

This is a super easy recipe to make, and pretty quick. I just served some bread with it, but those broccoli spears look pretty tasty, or even a side salad would be nice with it.

Fact: This was my 1st time to make my own roasted red peppers. Very simple, and very delish! Might just start doing that from now on. Plus its kinda fun to peel off the "roasted" part.

Enjoy!