Happy Fall Y'all~

I cannot believe it is already October 1st!!  The time is flying by.  Anyone else feeling like Christmas is just around the corner? CRAZY!

The temps have cooled off here, it's been a bit rainy, and the leaves are also starting to turn gorgeous colors.

Kylee was so excited to see her "Auntie" as she calls her.  She  proceeded to lick her to death!!

We had a fantastic weekend celebrating baby girl's birthday.  We had a great time hanging out Friday night catching up on all she is involved in at the university.  Saturday, she slept in a bit (she had been a bit under the weather prior to coming, and let's face it...it is always good to sleep in your own bed).  After, we watched a bit of her university's football game on TV and then headed to the mall to do a bit of birthday shopping.  Later we met up with her sister and her boyfriend for a nice family dinner.  It was fun having the girls together again.  And we girls got to tease the guys a bit...seems they both got the memo...yellow button down polo shirts.  They looked quite cute sitting next to eat other. LOL We spent Sunday at church, then had a quick lunch prior to taking baby girl back to the airport.  She made it safely back, and is busy with classes this morning.

Last week, hubby made a delicious roasted chicken with veggies that I didn't get a chance to share with you.

We finally broke down and bought a chicken roaster, and couldn't be more pleased with the purchase.  The chicken roasts all the way around, and the veggies turn out fantastic.  We love that you can add whatever liquid to the reservoir and it literally steams the inside and infuses the chicken with flavor.

The chicken just slides over the arm.  Super easy!

Hope everyone is enjoying this first day of October.

We Made It!

Baby Girl is coming home for her first visit today!!!

We have all managed to get through the past 6 weeks since dropping her off at college.  Actually, the time went by faster than I expected.

She loves the university she is attending, and has gotten plugged in to a lot of different activities as well as a new church away from home.

Hard to believe we will be celebrating her 19th birthday on Sunday.  I think the hardest thing for me is realizing that this is officially the last year I can say I have a teenager!!!  I know, most would be thrilled with either A)not having been there yet or B)having gotten through them without a major disaster! LOL    Personally, I loved my girls' teen years.  We had a lot of fun!!  However, I am looking forward to the adult years as well.

Happy Birthday Kiddo! You continue to make us proud.

What's for Dinner?

First, I would like to apologize for my absence and lack of posts since dropping off the "baby" at Baylor.  We dropped her off on August 16th, came home, left the following Saturday for MI to celebrate my mil's 94 birthday, and then returned home to a nightmare.

While I do not feel comfortable going into the details, I can sum it up into two words...Identity Theft.

We are fine now, rattled, a bit irate, but okay!  I keep telling myself there are worse things that could happen. We are healthy, have a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs.

On a lighter note..."Big Girl" started grad school...is doing amazingly well. Was thrilled to get a 100 on her first accounting "problem" (she is not a math child...we keep telling her it isn't the same as Algebra, LOL).  And, attended her first Paint concert...loud music, paint shot at audience to said music, you guessed it...you go home COVERED!  They (she and the "keeper") had a blast and the pictures were hysterical.

"Baby Girl" has adjusted to life far away from home, however...we think she's a wee bit homesick this week.  The weather went from 105 to the low 70s (little cooler at times) and rain!  Not a good combo for a child who suffers from weather related migraines!  She has gotten herself involved in many groups, is loving college football (front row and on tv for both games thus far), and attended an awesome mission conference this weekend.  She is coming home for her first visit in two weeks to celebrate her birthday and we can't wait!!!

Hubby and I have adjusted quite well.  We do still have one little one at home, okay...she has four legs, but she is still the princess! (sorry Elie!)

I recently hosted book club at our home, and had prepared an antipasto platter for everyone to munch on.  It was such a success that hubby and I decided to use the leftovers and create our own tray for dinner tonight along with "to die for" garlic rolls.

Antipasto Platter:

Pepper Crusted Salami, Salami, Pepperoni, Prosciutto

Provolone and Pecorino Cheese

Mixed Olives (green, black, kalamata)
Pepperocinis
Artichoke hearts
Roasted Red Peppers with olive oil and garlic
Crackers and Breadsticks

This is such an easy platter to put together, and easy to adjust the quantity according to the number of people you will be serving.

We also had some rolls leftover (we had served Pastrami with Horseradish Sauce as well)...so we heated them and melted some butter, minced garlic and added some fresh grated parmesan cheese.  YUM!!!  A billion NO calories at all!!

It was a fun change of pace, and perfect for Game Day!!