What does ZERO car debt look like at our house?

Like This!!!!

2004 Buick LeSabre (big dent, grandpa car with 97k miles). Paid $3,500.00 CASH!
2000 Ford Ranger (we've had this for almost a year with 165k miles). Paid $2,500.00 CASH!

The Buick is actually pretty cool for a Grandpa car. You'll probably be able to see the "little" fender-bender on the drivers side.

The motor appears to be pretty clean and runs good. I may need to have the transmission looked at.

This thing has leather, heated seats, dual automatic climate control (which you can control from the steering wheel), power driver and passenger seats, the auto-tint rear view mirror and both the driver and passengers windows roll down automatically with a touch of a button. Also, the people in the back seat have their own air conditioning vents.  We already put new tires on it and I spent the morning replacing the rear disc breaks that were squealing all the way home yesterday.

I was trying to figure out which position I should put the chair since this is technically an old grandpa car.  After analyzing how it felt to drive like a grandpa, gangster style, or regular, I chose to set the seat to a regular driving position.

How Many of You Have Ever....?

How many of you can say that you have been given tours of two football stadiums in one month?  I CAN!  Earlier this year I was in Cleveland for a safety conference and they gave us a tour of the Cleveland Brown's stadium. It was pretty cool, but not as cool as the DALLAS COWBOY'S DEATH STAR (also known as The Cowboy's Stadium).

This stadium is right on the lake and it was FREEZING COLD.

This was my second time to be in this stadium, but I have never gotten a tour like this before. It was focussed on showing us the stadium and all the built in safety features.  Some of you might be wondering where the star is, they had the field set up for a college football game coming up this weekend.  And the TV is so big it's not even funny.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE......

How Many of you have had THREE!!! SUPERBOWL RINGS ON YOUR HAND BEFORE?

My Guess is I am the only person you know that has had that priviledge!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas came early ...

Someone likes her early Christmas present :)

Awesome Awesome AWESOME

I just finished watching the Cranford series from the BBC drama series. It's based on the novels by Elizabeth Gaskell. She also wrote North & South. Now I want to read these books, the movies are breathtaking! I'm obsessed, these are Awesome Awesome AWESOME!!! Now I have something to add to my Christmas wish list. Ahhh, back to reality now.

Who Wants Some Jack O' Lantern Brains?

We celebrated Halloween with a delicious feast this year. 

• Jack O’ Lantern Brains (orange bell peppers carved like jack o' lanterns & filled with spaghetti)
• Graveyard Bones (bread sticks from scratch)
• Broiled Witch Fingers (parmesan & grain encrusted asparagus)
• Chopped Troll Toes (green beans)
• Gremlin Hearts (strawberry j-ello with gummy teeth)
• Braised Beetles (seedless black grapes)
• Rotten Garden (salad)
• Dragon's Blood (raspberry lemonade)
• Werewolf Droppings (rocky road fudge)
• Turkey Toes (candy corn)

We had fun with my insanity!

I named it "Log 4a Bummper"

Brant & I parked next to this beauty at Home Depot. It gives a whole new meaning to the word DIY don't you think!

Beware!

Last night Brant & I went to a Texas Rangers game. For those who know me & love me anyway, know I am not an avid sports lover. Heeeere's my game recap!
Brant parked in our parking spot. Why is this on my recap? We could throw a rock from the car & hit the stadium, it was THAT close :)
The guy two rows in front of us held a full spit cup for his sunflower seed shells. Interesting.
We had so much fun our waitress brought us 2 bags of peanuts, a lemon ice & a large drink all for free. That's gotta be $20+ worth of free food! Really it was because our order got lost in cyberspace but I like to believe it's because we are so fun :)
Remember the sunflower seed guy? I glanced back over to the man sitting in front of him. Guess what was on the back of this man's shirt? You guessed it, a sunflower seed shell! The cup was long gone & so were the sunflower seeds. Guess the sunflower seed guy decided to dispose of the evidence. Good thing I didn't have anything in my mouth. The poor guy infront of me would have suffered!
Hope ya'll enjoyed MY recap!

SNEAK PEAK!!!

If you haven't heard already I've begun working out and using a program called P90X. 90 days of extreme workouts to get a total body make-over. I haven't wanted to release any photo's until I finished because I really wanted to shock everyone.  However, after asking Chris to take a photo recently (which is part of the program) I begged Chris to let me make a post on her blog to shows the improvement so far (6 weeks of about 40 days into it). 

Day 1 - August 1, 2010

Day 40, September 9, 2010

A little less spare tire around the waist, and it bit more muscle starting to show up.

There's a Cure for Dry Crock Pot Meat!

I've always been intrigued by the crockpot concept.
Pros: They don't heat up the house while your cooking & you don't have to put your day on hold because there's meat in the oven.
Con: There is only 1 but it's a big one! All meat we've ever tasted out of one has been completely dry.
I've read recipes from what seems like a million different sources. Most pot roast recipes say to cut off the fat & brown the meat before putting it in. That's no "crock" ha haaa. So when I researched Texas brisket recipes they said the same thing; brown it all over for 4-5 minutes. I had the time this morning so I figured if it works for roast it just might for the brisket too. WOW, wow, wow that brisket was tender & delicious.
So yes, ladies & gentleman, there IS a cure for dry crock pot meat & I've found it!

Two Thumbs Up

Eclipse was great. Glad I went after all the hype decreased. I forgot how much I loved that book. It was my favorite out of the series. Everything was much improved: acting, directing, cinematography so ... Yes, I loved it. Thanks Laura for going with me :)

Is it Worth a Buck?

I'm finally breaking down to watch Eclipse with a friend of mine. It's playing at our dollar movie so hopefully it's worth the worn buck from the cushions. I think I'll save the crisp dollar bill for something a little more special like an ice cream treat.

Too bad it went viral. All that hype ruined my love for the Twilight series. Wish me luck

My Top Florida Favs

I'll start with the food

• Old Key Lime House (the oldest waterfront restaurant in Florida. Lyman family house built in 1889)

• T-Rex Cafe
Shopping, Shopping & More Shopping

• West Palm Beach CityPlace amazing stores & an elegant movie theater
• Downtown Disney

• Getting a pedicure

The Beach, Oh the Wonderful Beach

• watching fish from the pier

• driving by all the old money mansions on the beach

• listening to the waves crash

Flordia Adventures

Brant had a conference in Orlando so of course I HAD to go with him!

It rained most of the time we were in Orlando so I just enjoyed the amazing view from our balcony. Isn't it refreshing!

While we were in Orlando we adventured up the street to Downtown Disney. This little family is made of Lego's. I wish I knew how long it took to put these creations together & how many team members it took!

This lovely sculpture of bronze is alive!!!

This store was fun. It was like a Build-A-Bear for boys. They get to build custom RC cars & race them on the indoor track before taking them home.

But Wait There's More!!!! but you'll have to wait :)

The circle of facebook

After a wonderful afternoon at the the Temple I logged on facebook to read everyone's status updates. SNAP! A friend of mine posted a picture of delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies. Now I want cookies!
She lives in Nashvegas, too far to mooch off of. Consequently I HAD to make my own :(

My boring recipe sent me searching Allrecipes.com for this amazing one. Crispy on the outside & soft of the inside (ie: perfect).
The craving was now fulfilled leaving a million leftover cookies. Facebook got me into this mess & now it was going to get me out! I logged back on to post MY picture with the "come & get it" offer. Within minutes one of Brant's scouts rang our door bell! Success I tell ya.

Check Out Our Latest Visitor!

Check out this little guy. Not sure what it is but he decided to stop by & visit us for a while. Isn't he beautiful & unique!

Carlsbad

Carlsbad Caverns was the last stop of our 3,000 mile adventure. It was breathtaking :)

My mom took a picture of my dad, Karlee & me about to enter the bat cave into the caverns.

The cave enterance was steep & stinky!

The caverns were filled with stalactites & stalagmites. We felt like we were journeying to the center of the earth. It was beautiful!

Thanks Mom & Dad for allowing me to crass your road trip!!!

July Road Trip Part Duex

Over 34 million years ago an enormous vocanic eruption created this unique dwelling of rocks out in the middle of the desert.

Karlee had fun climbing up on this giant chair.
Just a couple of goof balls ... okay 1 goof ball :)

This one looked like a heart. Don't you just love that beautiful blue sky!

Better Late Than Never Right?

Okay here are some picks from the 1st part of my (Chris here) 3,000 mile roadtrip with my parents & oldest neice Karlee.

We wanted to stop in Toas on the way to our family reunion in Colorado. Google maps took us on the road less traveled. Robert Frost would be proud. Good thing we rented the Yukon!

We couldn't help but pull over when we witnessed this beautiful herd of buffalo. I LOVE their shedding coats ... ahhh

Karlee didn't want to leave her great grandparents grave in the family cemetary. She doddled long enough for this beautiful lady to spot us on her way to the store! I adore my great Aunt Lula, you have her to thank for my endearing personality :)

New Mexico red chili enchiladas are my favorite & Michael's Kitchen has the best on the planet.

Weekend at the Lake

This weekend Brant & I went to the lake with Brant's work buddies. We live less than 10 minutes from 2 different lakes & in the 2 1/2 years we lived here this is our 1st trip. Lake Lavon was perfect, no crowds! The picture below is Brant's 1st try at the sky ski!

Wedding Anticipation!

Brant & I get to host most of the family for Tommy & Lydia's wedding tomorrow. Here are some of the highlights from the past couple daysD-Rock's in the house!!!

Texas shaped waffles for breakfast! (Thanks Rachel & John. Your waffle irons were a hit)
Wade wanted to take a picture of the dog.
Apperently all 3 of them needed a laptop. Brant's is hidden by the laundry basket.
Ver holding Olivia.

Mom took a picture of Amy & I waxing our eyebrows!