Regular Awesome Peanut Butter Cookies & Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest"

I love having a Friday off. Fridays is such an awesome day. Even if there isn't anything planned, it still has that air of excitement about it. That glittery feeling that something could happen. It's also somewhat of a stress relief. That bill will finally get paid, you may get to eat out instead of in for dinner, and for me it means seeing my sweetheart after a whole week.

Today already feels like a good one. Last night I had a "need-to-bake-now" attack and made some regular-awesome-peanut butter cookies-which I had for breakfast, I got some quite time this morning to finish the chapter I started yesterday in The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest, and I looked into the newest Les Miserables adaption-that I am now insanely excited about.

First off, let me just say that there is nothing better than a chewy, peanut buttery, cookie with an ice cold glass of milk first thing in the morning. There just isn't.

Secondly, I would like to take the time to say "Why in the heck have I not read the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson before?! Was I living under that much of a rock?!" For the last month I have been glued to this story like flies to sandpaper, blowing through the first and second books in two days apiece.

Baby It's Cold Outside:Recipes To Warm Up To

photo credit: coverphotobox.com

It's 58 degrees outside today, which is cold in the south. I swear I'm wrapped up like the kid from a Christmas story ("I can't move my arms!") and I love it! Northern transplants may laugh at me, I hear it's 40 and below up the coast, but I simple don't care.

In this state we have six months of summer, and two months or more of fall. That leaves very little spring and almost no winter. So if the thermometer drops any where below 69, we get real excited.



Coats come out, heaters get cranked, and there is a bonfire going on somewhere almost every weekend. I especially love it when its really cold in the weeks leading up till Christmas, it gets me in the spirit and makes me want to wear hats, drink hot chocolate, and make soup. This year, with the advent of Pinterest in my world, my cold-loving-Christmas-excitement is in overdrive due to all the recipes that pour in every day.

I've found so many that I want to try that I thought I'd share some of them with you....

First up: A-Freaking-Mazing Artichoke Dip

Photo credit: Joyfulabode.com

I found this sigh inducing recipe one of my first Pinterest recipe recon missions and I have been chompin' at the bit to try it out.

Orginally posted by Emily at joyfulabode.com, it calls for:

8 oz. Cream Cheese, warmed in the microwave for 2 minutes
A dollop of sour cream – maybe 1/4 – 1/3 cup
A dollop of mayonnaise – about 1/4 cup
About a cup of chopped spinach
2 cans  non-marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
Garlic salt
Chili powder – be generous! The cream cheese and sour cream will act to “cool” the dip, so you can sprinkle away with the chili!
A handful of shredded mozzarella cheese





Emily says to Mix all ingredients in a baking dish, and then sprinkle on a more of the mozzarella. Then you broil the dish until the cheese is browned. You can serve this with whatever you like but she has some very interesting, No-carb! Cheese crisp recipe you might want to check out...

I Will Give Thanksgiving It's Due!

Ok, I am starting to feel the effects of a little bit too much fall season festivities right about now. September back to school, Halloween candy overload, and thanksgiving menu planning-been there,done it. I'm looking forward to the big day but I'm just saying, I'm a little over it.

Not so much the "Thanks giving" part. I have tons to be thankful for this year and its good to take the time and remind oneself of the blessings we have in our lives-even if sometimes all we can count in the blessing department is being able to breath.

I'm just kind of over the whole fall color scheme and the decorations. I've had enough of pumpkins and gourds and leaves. I want snow, and lights, and trees that smell good. I've already ordered most of my Christmas shopping so I am also anxiously awaiting the UPS and the FedEx men's arrival. I really can't believe that me, of all people, am feeling this way.

Busy, Busy,Busy Bee....

Life has been a whirl-wind lately. After the election it was like Thanksgiving snuck up like a ninja, I had to get the car fixed, the bills paid, nail down the sweetheart and get travels plans together for Christmas, go to church with mama, and start the Christmas shopping.

A midst all that, sweetheart's got gigs and shows, the best friend has a birthday, and the smallest cousins needed  fall pictures taken. I'm running on adrenaline now but I'm sure that a crash is gonna happen before December if I don't take a break. My body is bound to being saying, "Hey jack, take a darn nap why don't you?" in the near future.



Meanwhile some other big changes are coming with the New Year and I'm nervous and excited all the same time. That's really the feeling I've got about the whole end of this year. While I'm sure that I will probably need a few days of recouping, for the most part I'm ready, bring it on.

Liberty Ops: America’s Come-Back Team Washington Probably Doesn’t Want You To Know About

Preston Bates, John Ramsey and Doug Lusco, Roger Alford / AP Photo)
Photo credit: www.thedailybeast.com

Fed up with politics and fussy fancy candidates, America has a new A-team coming to her aid. Puppet in Chief Obama may have retained his seat-by the skin of his teeth- but in the half of the nation which voted against him and his bogus policies, there is a group who is putting into action plans to fight for all their worth-AND THEN SOME.

Even before the results of election night rolled into place, a group of determined Americans began to turn towards the new fight-saving America from the inside. 

This new generation of fighters is rising up after the ones that came before them, fought like school girls and lost. Legitimate renegades, these people are set to bring Liberty back from her captors and reinstate her in her rightful place.

Dubbed the Brat PAC by the media, a group of liberty minded people led by John Ramsey, are out to use their common sense for the good of their nation and they’ve already created quite a stir. Despite their age, their leader is just 21, the group has already effected The House by propelling at least one congressional candidate to victory. And they aren’t stopping there.

Apathy Is Tyranny: No One's To Blame For The Voice You Don'T Use

On Tuesday America will elect it's 45th President. We've come a long way since the position was established with General Washington in 1789. We been through some good, some bad, some weird, and some that didn't really do much.

America has seen her share of life and yet , when compared to countries like France and England, we're still relativity young. Despite our age we have always had something different about us, we're rebels  game changers  and innovators. We are the country that proudly declared "give me liberty, or give me death!"* We stood up in a world of kings and rulers and through sacrifices and blood of many generations we staked a place were freedom and grace are the foundations. 

And there's always been slackers. Naysayers. The ones that refuse to vote yet complain the loudest when things don't go their way. These people disgust me. And the most disgusting part is that most of them are born Americans. They take for granted all that they have, just because they were born in a free nation. It's absolutely shameful. 

Once, when I was 16, daddy volunteered my sister and I to help out with the campaign of a local candidate.  I couldn't stand the man myself. He was an awful fellow that snuck around and harbored illegal gambling in his family gas station-but he was an old family friend and daddy told me I was gonna do it-no argument- so I did. My job was  to call into homes, plug the candidate, and reminded them to vote.