Wordless Wednesday : Cookie Dough Is The New Hair Gel

If the server questions your confidence in your order, you may want to change it

Is it wrong that out of all the times I've eaten at The Cheesecake Factory, I've only gotten their cheesecake once? I love eating there, but really, it's not for the cheesecake. I'm usually too stuffed to think about dessert after eating the humongous portions they serve. Their large portion size is in fact one of the main reasons I love that place, right after reason #1 which is their perfectly cut stems of potato goodness fried to crispiness heaven, also known as french fries. I hate going to places that try to be so fancy and only serve you a couple of bites on a too-big plate covered with greenery and other types of inedible tree-like decor.


So last night I went to eat at The Cheesecake Factory with my friends Kerri, Rayna, and Tara. We've all eaten there before, except for Rayna. After telling her how delicious everything was, and how we've never eaten anything off the menu that wasn't downright yummy, Kerri and Rayna decide to try something none of us had ever ordered...Turkey Supreme something or another.

Clue #1 that it may not be the best choice: I don't think we ever correctly pronounced the type of bread it came on.

And Clue #2 (which should have been the dead giveaway): When they ordered it, the server promptly responded with, "Have you ever had it from here before?" And then went into an in depth description of it all the while making weird faces.

Despite the red flags, they went ahead and ordered it and needless to say, it turned out to be a flop. The so-called melted cheese it was supposed to be smothered in was more like Alfredo sauce and they both agreed it was a complete let down. So, just a heads up for the rest of ya: Steer clear of the turkey something or another on the hard to pronounce bread.

We still had a great time and of course, snagged a few pics:

Rayna and Tara

Kerri (K-Bo) and me

After dinner, Tara had to head back home, but the rest of us stuck around for some coffee and last minute shopping.

Tonight the fam and I are supposed to go to Sal Gal's to let the kids decorate holiday cookies to leave for Santa. I'm sure Sal Gal has been slaving away all day and is tired from all the baking. Breaking apart that refrigerated, pre-cut cookie dough can be quite exhausting.

If there's a limit, I've exceeded it

And if for some reason your computer decides to shut down on you, it very well could be due to the fact that I have totally exceeded the max amount of photos your allowed to post at one time.

I knew that getting a new camera would lead to this and that's why I've apologized ahead of time.

Now, on with a weekend wrap-up...

Friday night was our Sunday school's Christmas party, which was held at my cousin Ben and his wife Kristin's house. As always, we had a blast. The food was delicious. I ate until I was decidedly uncomfortable and played Catch Phrase until my facial muscles felt sore from laughing so hard.

Here's a few pics from the night:

Ben and Kristin

My cousin Marella and me

On Saturday, we went to my nephew's (J.P.) 5th birthday party. It was a beautiful, warm day and ended up reaching about 75 degrees! Welcome to December in the South!

Aunt Ali (also known as Big Al and J.P.'s mommy) stealing some sugar

Just a swingin'

Seriously Aunt Hollie, can a birthday boy get his swing on without having a camera put in his face every second?

Giving 'Great' some love

J.P. and his daddy, James

Papa and Kate

Gaga and Kate

Wonder why Kate is wearing only one shoe?
The other one is sitting on the table soaking wet, because 'somehow' it ended up in the fountain. Therefore, Kate was a one shoe wonder for the majority of the party.

And bear with me, here's a few more of Kate in her Christmas dress before church this morning.

If you stuck with me through that, you're a champ.

And oh yea, I was tagged by a few of my pals to post a pic of the 4th photo in the 4th folder on my computer, but I'll have to do that in another post. I don't need a reason to add any more photos to this one. I'll get to it ASAP girls.

Free

During last Sunday's message at church, the preacher said a couple of statements that really struck a chord with my heart and I've been thinking about them and realizing just how blessed I am to have the Lord as my Savior.


While I'm not one to pretend to have retained the entire message poured out on Sunday, the following two statements made me feel........well, free.
Free to live and love. But more than that, it made me feel so very thankful for God's grace.

• While God does not treat sin lightly, God is not paralyzed by my past sin.


• There is more grace in Jesus Christ than there is sin in my heart.

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14

Thank you Lord for your unfailing grace and forgiveness. For freeing up room in my heart, so that I don't miss little moments that you bless me with on a daily basis, like this

and this.

I'm All Santa'd Out

Tonight we took Kate to get pictures with Santa, and she did just what I thought she'd do. She refused to sit in his lap. I've got claw marks on my shoulders to prove it.

So there I was again, hugging it up with the big guy in red.

At least this time she smiled. Unlike the first attempt last weekend at Matt's work party, where she looked like a deer caught in the headlights, as seen in the photo below.

You can see the fear in her eyes, which actually makes me feel sorry for her a bit. But hey, we wanted the free gift. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

And because I was unfortunate enough to be the parent that got stuck in the Santa photo (both times) this year, when Kate gets older she will probably wonder, "What ever happened to my 2008 Santa photo Mom? I have all of my past Santa pics but for some reason I'm mysteriously missing the one from'08."

I have no idea sweetie.

Before leaving we decided to take advantage of the Christmas scene surrounding Santa and posed for a quick family shot.

Here's to hoping that next year she sits in his lap all by herself. If not, I hope Santa likes big rednecks in camo caps.

And then she won the award for the coolest Christmas tradition ever

Yesterday I visited Granny T and she shared with me the details of her special Christmas tradition.

Every Christmas while everyone is seated around the table and talking after dinner, she has everyone (children and adults) draw a small picture on the tablecloth right where they're sitting and sign their name with that year's date. It can be a Christmas drawing or a drawing of something significant that happened to you that year. This is such a great idea simply because it creates a personal, permanent memory that you get to revisit each year.

It's fun, easy, and involves no pre-planning or long list of materials. You could use a new tablecloth every year or just keep adding to the same one year after year.

Granny T takes it a step further and does what she calls a "simple stitch embroidery" over the drawing to make them stand out more. Being the domestic goddess that I am, I'm opting out of anything involving a needle and thread and am simply using permanent fabric markers. Granny T ensured me that this would work just as well. Although in the back of her mind she was probably questioning my womanhood.

I was able to take a few photos of her tablecloth to share with you.

This is the drawing M to the Izz-A drew when he was nine years old.

As you can see, most people have a lot of fun with it.

But for others it's always a competition.

Matt's cousin, Ashley, was only two years old when she drew this. Her mother then wrote her name and the year beside her masterpiece.

Granny T's not a big fan of having her picture taken but I assured her it was for the greater good. She's one of the sweetest ladies I know and I just love her.

Anyone can start this tradition in their family, even if you don't have children just yet...even newlyweds. Think how fun it will be to revisit your past drawings each year.

Now for those of you who just cannot imagine not being able to eat on your fancy, shmancy holiday tablecloth, take a breath and do a sigh of relief knowing that you could also have a separate table set up for this tradition. Guests could do it as they enter your home or maybe even make it part of your Christmas Eve ritual.

Just be sure to buy a thick (maybe even double-lined) tablecloth and permanent markers made specifically for fabric, like Sharpie® Rub-a-Dub® markers.

If all goes well, I'll try to post pics of our first tablecloth drawings. Although that puts a lot of pressure on me to learn how to draw something other than a candycane.