National Peanut Festival

Mom called earlier this week and wanted to take Tristen to the National Peanut Festival fair, so he and I left Saturday afternoon to meet them. Rodney's daughter and son-in-law and their precious children were there also, as well as his parents, so we had a house full! Tristen LOVES to visit there. He can go fishing, ride the four-wheeler, and just talk to Mr. Rodney.

We left around 4 for the fair and had a blast. It was COLD!!! Forty-five degrees! My favorite part was the petting zoo and the pig races. Tristen had fun with all of us! We really missed Troy, who had to work :( boo. Tristen shot the bb-machine gun and won a gigantic dragon. We ate roasted corn, boiled peanuts, pizza, and of course, funnel cakes! We had a good time.

Sunday afternoon we went to Grandmama's to celebrate her 91st birthday! Her birthday is November 3rd. She is doing great and getting along reasonably well for a 91-year old. Everyone was there, including Susan's family. Bo and Blake are too cute!

Riding the Himilaya

Tristen riding the mechanical bull...

Shooting the BB/Machine Gun to blow the star out..

The gigantic dragon prize

Post-op meal

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Sharp Shooter

We decided to practice shooting the guns this afternoon! When I was in college, Daddy got me two pistols to keep at my trailer and in my car (I had a pistol permit at the time). We practiced shooting them and then I put them in the drawer and didn't take them out until today! (Well, except that one time at the beach, Jill & Drew will remember....;) ).

I was scared to death and started acting crazy, but Troy made me calm down and we loaded the little pistols and shot a target! I actually did pretty good! I hit the target everytime and got in the black near the bullseye the last few times. It was fun shooting!

This does NOT mean, however, that I will be shooting animals, i.e., deer, dove, turkeys, or whatever else. I still can't stand the thought of that!

And this is when I said, "Freeze Sucka!"

Troy actually hit the bullseye, but those others are mine!

Getting our house together!

I'm so happy to have a wonderful husband! We are actually doing things together that "real" married couples do, and are loving it! We're having the best time getting our house together. We've been saving for new furniture and some of it arrived! We got a new leather couch and loveseat and our chair has been ordered. I took a personal day Friday and Troy and I went rug/table shopping in Montgomery. We found a beautiful rug at the Rug Depot (?) on Wetumpka Highway. I love it! The owner asked if we were newlyweds and gave us each a book, The Power of a Praying Wife and The Power of a Praying Husband. He told us to read ours and then swap. So far I've read the first chapter and I'm really into it! I thought that was so sweet of him to give them to us.

We haven't had any luck finding coffee/end/sofa tables yet and went to almost every furniture store in Montgomery. But Troy saw some in the Rooms-To-Go catalog so I'm going to check it out today.

When our new chair and ottoman arrive, I'll post pictures! We ordered it in a fabric with lots of red/gold/brown. I think this is it...

Here are some pictures of our new furniture! (please don't think I'm bragging! Just excited about my new home)

Troy loves grilling on the new deck (that he slaved over)! It's so relaxing to sit outside in the evenings and have a glass of wine or coffee in the early morning!

Good Things to Eat...

Thought I'd share some of the good and easy things I've cooked this week:

Fiesta Chicken
(almost like Marcia's El Palacio Chicken in Pass the Plate)

4-5 chicken breasts
bag of Doritoes
1 can Cream of Chicken
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 cups cheddar cheese (I bet Velveeta would be tasty too)
onion/bell pepper chopped

Layer the bottom with Doritoes (crush up a little). Put chicken breasts on top. In a separate bowl (or I think I just dumped it all on top), mix Rotel and cream of mushroom & chicken, onions adn bell peppers. Spread over chicken. Top with cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or a little longer. Serve with Mexican rice. YUMMM!!!!

Tomato Pie
1 deep dish pie shell crust (bake according to directions)
4-5 large tomatoes (slice and place on paper towels to soak up juice--otherwise your crust will be soggy)
1 Vidalia onion, sliced and sauteed a bit to tenderize
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 c. Parmesan or Cheddar cheese (I mix the two)
1 c. Mayo
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumpled

Bake the pie crust. Cool. Cut up the tomatoes into 1/8 inch slices. Drain them on paper towel or you'll end up with a soggy crust. Then mix together tomatoes, onion, basil, salt, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper. Let it sit in the fridge for about an hour to marinate. Mix together grated cheese and mayo. Then using a slotted spoon, put tomato mixture into pie crust and spread mayo/cheese mix on top of it. Sprinkle bacon crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes. GOODNESS!

And from my Four Ingredient Cookbook:

Chicken Rice
2-3 cups cooked chicken (I boil mine)
1 box Uncle Ben's Wile Rice mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of milk.

Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased (yumm melted butter) 2-quart dish. Cover and bake on 350 degrees for around 30 minutes. Super easy and good!

Sour Cream Muffins (from Mrs. Margaret Phillips whom I teach with)
2 cups self-rising flour
1 stick butter, melted
8 oz. sour cream

Melt butter in a large mixing bowl. Add flour and sour cream and mix. (the mixture will not be smooth). Drop into greased mini-muffin tins (1/2 full) and bake on 375 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Bon Appetit!

Mr. and Mrs. Troy Curtis Stinson

We did it! Troy and I were married June 8 at sunset at the Valley of Fire, Nevada. That's about an hour north of Las Vegas. It was so beautiful there. Very calm and peaceful. I was nervous at the hotel getting ready, but completely calm and relaxed when the actual time came! Troy looked so handsome in his new suit and tie (please note how well it matches our surroundings).

Our driver picked us up around 5:00 and of course I forgot the marriage license. But we were still in L.V. so he turned around (not easy in all that construction) and we ran back up to the room to get it. The driver, Dave, talked NONSTOP all the way there, which was about an hour's drive. Once we arrived, it was very laid back! We signed everything and then made a few pictures and began the ceremony!

The Valley of Fire is a Nevada state park. It is so beautiful. We were the only ones out there, so it was a very private ceremony. Reverend Ralph performed the ceremony. He talked a lot about love and even about his mama! As we said our vows and were looking at each other, we both teared up. It was so sweet! And now I have the most wonderful husband and we are very happy!

Wedding Dress

I just bought a wedding dress on eBay! Can you believe it? I wanted something really sleek and simple and found this one and just took a chance bidding. I didn't really check up on it a lot and just put in one maximum bid and actually won. eBay is fun, I want to win more!

Anyway, the dress is by Dessy and the front is simple. But the back is beautiful. When it arrives, I'm going to get it altered (assumimg I can even squeeze into it) and see if she can turn the square neckline into a sweetheart neckline and add some beading or a diamond brooch (broach?).