not Julia Child. . .not Rachel Ray. . .but. . .

Lemon Basil Chicken

Pioneer Woman!!!!!

Have you heard of Pioneer Woman? I came across her blog from another crafty blog whose author had just visited "The Lodge" for vacation. I was intrigued by her description of their vacation so checked out "The Lodge" for myself and was instantly a Pioneer Woman fan! First I was captured by the posts describing Pioneer Woman's romance and wooing by the Marlboro Man. Then I became a faithful follower of all her blog postings: cooking, photography, homeschooling, and home & garden.

The Pioneer Woman is really Ree Drummond and she is feisty, fun, and so talented. Even my husband has come to love her blog and enjoys finding recipes for me to try. Any time he hears that we are having a Pioneer Woman recipe for dinner he comes home drooling!

Oh. . .almost forgot why I'm writing this post! I just got a copy of Pioneer Woman Cooks from the library!!!!!!! I didn't even realize our library had a copy until one day I was picking up our books on hold and saw that my sister-in-law had a copy of the book sitting there waiting for her. I came home and immediately put in my reservation. When I picked up my copy the next week, I saw my sister-in-law's book still sitting there on the shelf--What?!?!?!?!?

Anyway, the book is sitting here beside me on the piano and is an absolute feast for the eyes! The pictures are beautiful! With the pictures she has little tidbits and stories of her family and ranch. The are also recipes in the book--imagine that! The recipes have little stories that go with them and step-by-step instructions. I can't wait to pick out recipes, make a shopping list, and get cooking!

What are you waiting for? Check out The Pioneer Woman!!!!!!!

. . .a gamer. . .

Well, I've had lots of ideas of things to blog about but it seems that the only times I'm sitting are when nursing a baby and only one hand is available to type or late at night after everyone has finally gone to bed and the only thing I want to do is sit and stare at the wall for a few minutes or frantically catch up from the day. . .you know how it goes!

In looking around for some Thanksgiving decorating ideas I came across some great websites and one had this amazing giveaway contest going on!!!!!!!!! I cannot tell you how happy my family would be with any ONE of these prizes let alone the grand prize of ALL! So pop on over to Today's Mama blog and check out her site yourself!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

From Sheri. . .
1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

My holiday wish for our family is that we would be content and happy to be together as a family.
2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?

Christmas morning we wake up, eat some yummy kind of baked goodies, {patiently} wait for Grandma to arrive, then open presents. . .usually still in our jammies, of course!
3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?

a decadent wish for myself? hmmmmm. . .a trip to a spa/health resort in some faraway beautiful spot where I would be pampered and trained to exercise & eat properly and come home totally refreshed with those last 20 lbs. or so finally gone!
4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

sleeping in, staying up late, watching movies together, playing games, trips to the park, cooking & baking together--just being together.
5. What games did you play with your family growing up?

We played lots of games: Uno, Spades, Careers, Clue, Rook, Boggle, Scrabble, Take Two, Dutch Blitz, Hand and Foot, double Solitare, Connect Four, Yahtzee, to name just a few. . .
6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?

Growing up we always went to cut our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and then left it up as long as absolutely possible. We usually use a fake {ugh!} tree but it goes up the day after Thanksgiving and stays up well into January.
7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip?

Christmas away from home I would go to Florida where my in-laws are. One of my husband's sister's family also comes there and I would love to spend time with them all. Of course a trip to Disney World would be snuck in there somewhere too;-)
8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1. Xbox 360 4 GB Console with Kinect

2. Nintendo Wii Red Bundle

3. Nintendo DSi XL Red Bundle

dreamin'. . .dreamin'. . .dreamin'

Not quite sure why I picked orange to highlight my words for a Christmas dreamin' wishlist except for the fact that Thanksgiving is tomorrow!!!!! My absolute hands down favorite holiday!!!!!!!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!