OME! Madeleines, Sourdough bread, a great friend, and Peter Facinelli...

So Saturday for Valentine's, Marcus & I went to see a movie & had a nice lunch. BTW you should always choose Valentine's LUNCH. Still busy, but not as bad as trying to go to dinner somewhere! We hit a few stores for some simple things then after that we basically just were lazy. We watched a little television but mostly we talked. You know those long discussions about everything in your life....if you don't know, well I won't say you are or aren't missing out. It depends on the depth & the emotions that are riding the discussion. This one was pretty in depth so we hashed out a few ideas, theories, dreams and mistakes. The night ended well. It has been quite a while since we have had one of those talks and there were a good many new changes & expectations in our lives that we needed to share.
During all this I was up and down in the kitchen making Madeleines. Madeleines are these wonderful little temperamental French cookies. They are delicate and OH SO YUMMY! My favorite thing about Madeleines is that they don't really store well - you can put them in an airtight container overnight but that is basically it. One night or day. SOOOOO that means you get to eat them all!!! MUAHHAHAHAHAAHA :0) Well thankfully they are tiny little cookies and the recipe only makes like 40 total. I mean tiny cookies. You can dust them with powdered sugar or dip them in chocolate! So good. Marcus & Peanut both were in heaven.
Sunday we slipped down to Camden to see our parents. We had not been there in a while & I wanted to see for myself how mom was after surgery. She looks like she got walloped on both sides by a vicious bat! But I am told that it is SO much better than it was four days prior. We had not told Marcus' mom that we were coming to Camden - we wanted to surprise her. Boy did we! I dropped Marcus off at 10:45 a.m. at her church. They said she almost fainted when he came up behind her then gave her a hug! She was floored & so glad we surprised her.
I spent the afternoon just chilling out at mom & dads. Due to when we come home mom usually cooks or does something special, well since she cannot really chew she figured major cooking was just silly. She did however surprise us with a loaf of the softest, sweetest, mouth watering SOURDOUGH BREAD loaf! She baked 3 and gave me & Eric each a loaf... OMEOMEOMEOMEOME! It was heavenly. We took it home & had chicken salad on that bread... I could have slapped somebody it was so good!
Monday night I got a wonderful gift in the form of visiting with my best friend Stacie. She was spending a week in Camden & took her brother David to the airport in Bham. Well BHAM is too close to not have dinner & shop a little!!! So we met up and enjoyed some Mexican and a little shopping. It was so much fun. We talked and talked. I never tire of being able to visit with my friends and Stacie is no exception. I am reminded each time how lucky I am to have her as a 'sister'. On the drive home last night I thought about 28 years. I have known her sincerely for 28 years. She has been a constant in my life, someone who knows my secrets and still loves me! lol. I am so glad we get to have these sporadic visits & it is about time that I pop up to NC to visit her....
Also, I stumbled upon this clip of Jennie Garth & Peter Facinelli on Chelsea Lately - I think they are like my new FAVORITE celebrity couple so cute! Have a watch!
just click on this link: http://www.eonline.com/videos/v38856_Chelsea_Lately_Garth_and_Facinelli.html
Anyway, I know this post was more of a rambling update, but right now my life is rambling! So bear with me for a little while.

Working for the weekend... oooo....Everybody's work'n for the weekend... :)

So we have made it to Thursday! Woohoo! This week has been quite the eccentric week. My brother in law, Keith, traveled through on business Tuesday night. It was great to see him, have some dinner & catch up. He spent the night with us then was out yesterday morning. I also had an early morning & headed over to Mississippi to work on a new flavor I am developing for a customer. It is a good thing I am a Foodie. I taste some weird stuff for my job sometimes!
Oh yeah - got a speeding ticket while returning from Mississippi. Don't these troopers know that I was ready to get out of clothes that smell of a chicken plant/lab! Geez, I was speeding with the windows down to cover the scent... just kidding. I did get a ticket though - Sumter county. Yuck! But oh well.
Once I got home - my dog & a new yoga pose awaited! The Chair pose - um, hello, do I really need to feel every centimeter of my butt & hamstrings???? Seriously, just knowing they are there is enough. It is challenging, but worth it.
Okay... so I am going to cop to watching a Pop Culture phenom = American Idol. Granted we are not addicted & watch every show, but we do kind of scan the episodes. We really only like to watch it once they wheedle them down to 12 singers total. Then it gets interesting. Anyway - um that girl Tatiana??? I did not know that certain octaves could be reached - in a bad way - until she was on the show. It is not even her singing voice - this is just her...laugh, voice, crying - existence. Marcus has to mute the TV.
oh on a totally different message - keep my mom in your thoughts. She had some extensive surgery done on Monday when they removed her wisdom teeth. Hers was not one of those easy extractions due to her gums were having problems and the roots grew all weird. It is a painful recovery. She is doing well, just it will take awhile & I hear she is pretty bruised from the experience. So readers, please just keep her in your thoughts.
As I head to dinner this evening I pose the question: Any big Valentine's Day plans???? I am always intrigued by the various celebrations/non-celebrations this time of year.

Adapting my vision...

What a week. Nothing of major note occurred but I can feel this shift in my life. I promised myself at the beginning of January to be an 'eyes open' person. You know the ones, those people that seem to truly see & appreciate their lives. I mean who doesn't appreciate being alive, but sometimes it is hard to see the greatness in the chaos of our own every day.
I felt the shift probably the most on Tuesday night. Nothing major, we were just watching Privileged on the CW (great show by the way), and a background song came on. I have been following Priscilla Ahn for awhile; waiting for her to hit mainstream music. As Megan (character on show) sits in a restaurant/bar waiting for her best friend the song Dream began to play. This song is a snapshot of me. It is very simple in its lyrics, but the melody will sweep you through childhood flashbacks, current excursions and a contentment you may hope for in the future. Marcus looked over and said "Hey! That's your song." Yes it is. I found myself humming the lyrics for two days after that. I also found myself smiling at the oddest times & even just laughing out loud when I was driving with no one else in the car. Those little spurts of positive energy make the whole 'eyes open' thing like breathing.
As for my physical attention to being eyes open & am taking a practical but really fun approach. On Friday, after an EXTREMELY stressful workday, I came home and did 30 minutes of yoga & 30 minutes of aerobics. I know - aerobics??? But the yoga. I have found a real love for this. Yoga makes me breathe. I calmed down and was a much nicer person than I was when I had first arrived home. As I got ready for dinner I told Marcus how much those 30 minutes of Sun Salutation, Half Moons, Palm Trees & Warrior movements made me feel good. He grinned for a minute, then puffed up his chest and said: "yes my flower child wife - it seems all the new agey stuff makes you nicer." He quickly kissed my cheek ready for a smart return or smack :) Instead I asked: "Can you tell a difference?" The smile stayed as the answer of "Actually yes. The last few weeks have been really different." He could not explain how but I was pleased that he informed me it was a pleasant different.
You see, I am actively trying to see myself, my surroundings and my actions with more clarity. For the first time ever, I am actually doing something about my vision. I don't mind if the aerobics makes me healthy, if the yoga makes me more flexible, I am honestly doing it because I am enjoying it. I found a way to not make it a chore. Nothing spectacular, no miracle movements, no major jewelry at a certain point - I just decided to open my eyes and give something a whirl. If I stop enjoying it, I just have to not get defeated, maybe I will try something else. No matter what - I matter & my view of my life matters. To be honest the view from here is pretty good......(sore, but good :) )

Super-Puppy-Bowl Sunday!

Well it is here - Super Bowl Sunday!!

Though I am sad that the football season is really closing it is a shortlived sadness. Signing day for college football is February 4th and before you know it April will be here along with "A" day on campus.

Those of you may not know that while the Super Bowl is going on, Animal Planet also puts on the Puppy Bowl. This is an adorable "bowl game" with some of the cutest puppies. At halftime rather than some concert they have kittens romping around and a parrot sings the opening National Anthem. It is hilariously cute. It runs all day long.

Yesterday I went up to Birmingham with mom, Tabitha and Stephenie for a Twilight Luncheon. It was so much fun. This was just a simple lunch with the four of us & Lucy at California Pizza Kitchen. Mom, Tab, Stephanie, and I had went to the Venetian Spa for pedicures before lunch & some shopping at the Summit. After lunch we headed to Brookwood mall to HOT TOPIC for some Twilight memorabilia. It was a fun girls day out. Poor Marcus is sick with a bad case of Bronchitis and spent the day at home. Today has been pretty lazy. Mostly a little cooking for the game and some Wii time. :)

Well Marcus & I decided to flip the channel for just a few moments to see the cute puppies of Puppy Bowl V and we discovered their number one fan....