Snowy Stoneham

Well, I missed the blizzard and now I have missed another huge snowfall. This storm decided to come during the night and in one place dropped seven inches of snow in one hour! There was also Thundersnow! I think we ended up with about 10-12 inches here. I took some pictures of Alissa and Brek digging out this morning so she could go to work.

Enjoy!

Brrrrr....

So, I may have missed the amazing blizzard, but I am here in Boston for the coldest temps they have had in the past 6 years. Haven't heard the official low yet, but when Alissa left for work this morning, it was -3 degrees with a windchill of 21 below zero! And of course her train was late, so late that she finally came home after standing in the -3 temps and Brek drove her in to work. I am worried about her 20 minute walk from her office to the train station. I imagine she will be one chilly girl by the time she gets there!

Needless to say, I have not ventured out today. Brek has shoveled snow, moved firewood and is out now walking Norman. I on the other hand, am staying upstairs as much as possible (it's so much warmer up here)and have no desire to step out of the house. More snow in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday! Yep, getting to experience a real New England winter. Well, at least 2 weeks worth! : )

Stay warm everyone!

My 10 reasons for loving Whataburger

Ok, so, Pioneer Woman just posted her 10 reasons that she loves Sonic.

Now, having spent a great deal of my life in Oklahoma (age 9 to 27)and another big chunk in Texas (27-44) and now residing in Arkansas, I have consumed my fair share of Sonic food and drink. I am a Route 44 Diet Dr.Pepperahlic. There, I said it and I am not ashamed. Yes, I live for Happy Hour. I time my errands around it, can't pass a Sonic during Happy Hour without stopping and will be devastated if they ever do away with it. Okay, maybe not devastated, but for sure very, very sad...

But....

Having lived in Texas for those almost 17 years, I would not be able to live with myself if I did not brag on a little place everyone in Texas knows, that's right, Whataburger!

Now, we had one in Oklahoma and I actually ate there a few times before we moved to Texas. I have to say, I was not impressed at that time. Whether it was bad management or I just couldn't really appreciate it at that time, we will never know. What matters is that we soon moved to our adopted state of Texas and as they say, everything is bigger and better in Texas! And since Corpus Christi, Texas is the birthplace of Whataburger (there is one on just about every street corner, no lie), well they just know how to do it.

We quickly fell in love with just about everything on the menu. And for my girls it was a rite of passage to finally be old enough to go to Whataburger after whatever game they had just attended. It was where everyone went to see and be seen by everyone else! Of course, by then, we were only able to go thru the drive thru, they would have been mortified if we had actually come in while they were there with their friends!

And I don't know how many nights they counted down until 11pm so that they could go and get a taquito...What, you have never had a potato and egg taquito with salsa (or ketchup in Alissa's case) from WhataB? Oh, you poor thing, I am so sorry for you...


But back to my top ten...

1. The aformentioned taquito, you can get it with potato, bacon, sausage, cheese or any combination. That is the good thing about WhataB, the combinations are endless. And if you don't like taquitos, you can have a BOB, yes, that's right, a BOB, or as it is also known, a breakfast on a bun. Again, your choice on how you put it together. Me, I like just a plain old egg sandwich, a little egg, a little cheese and some salsa....yummmm, my mouth is watering!

2. Before they took them off the menu, the chicken fajitas were pretty darn good. I wish they would bring those back...hint hint...

3.Chocolate milkshakes, nuff said...

4.Chicken strips with Texas toast and plenty of white gravy to dip them in...So not good for you, but oh soooo good.

5.Whataburger ketchup...I do not know what they put in that stuff, but it is the best ketchup in the world...I usually try and eat a few french fries with the 4-5 containers I go thru. And yes, they are containers, no wimpy bags for WhataB, they give you something to dip your food in!!

6.Whatachick'n,it was immortalized in the movie 8 Seconds with Luke Perry as he portrayed the legendary Lane Frost. You have to try one!

7.Grilled Chicken Sandwich, for those times I am trying to eat healthy...but ususally it just means I can have more of the yummy french fries or onion rings!

8.The 36,864 ways you can make a Whataburger or if you are boring like me, you just let them make it the original way and love it every time!

9.The Hot Chocolate Brownie Pie!!! Oh my goodness, I know loving this is wrong, but I just don't want to be right!

10. All the wonderful memories our family has made and will make in the future at our local Whataburger in Waxahachie, Texas. Even tho none of us live there anymore and now there are three of them in our town( who would have thunk it), we have to eat there at least once every visit. Can't wait to take the grandbabies there for their first Whataburger Junior!

And no, I am not being paid to say any of this, but sure do hope someone would convince Corporate to bring Whataburger to Greenwood or Ft. Smith AR...Our closest one is in Tulsa and that is just too far for a late night taquito run...

I'm just sayin... : )

A brand new year...

Wow, so much has happened since I last wrote. In a nutshell, we had a wonderful week with our girls and our boys! Oliver is just the most adorable little man and we are all so very thankful to have him in our lives. His smiles and giggles just melt my heart. It was so hard to say goodbye to him this morning, but at least I know I will see him again on the 12th and we will have both quality and quantity time for a few weeks.

Ed and Kaci left yesterday for the Fiesta Bowl, which meant he and I spent our first NYE apart since we have been married. But we had a wonderful time with my brother Doug and his family. My new little nephew Cash is just precious and it really showed us how much Oliver has changed.

Today has been very relaxed, just hanging out at Kaci's until she and Ed return tomorrow night. It has been a much needed restful day.

Here are a few of our pics from the last few weeks. Happy New Year to everyone, I hope it is a healthy and prosperous one for us all.

Finished!!!

The kitchen is finished and I am so pleased with how everything turned out!! I baked my first thing in the new oven,ran the dishwasher,am loving the trash compactor and the touch faucet is great!! Christmas came early for me!! Pictures later...

Progress

A quick update, the granite is in, tile is almost finished, appliances are in, waiting on the new faucet to get here(long story, on our third one now) and then maybe I can clean a little...

I just wanted to remove the wallpaper....

Really, that is all I wanted to do back in October. So I did. Took it all down and vowed as I was doing it that I would never, ever have wallpaper again...And then we painted...And I was happy...but then...

Ed decided we should go ahead and get the new appliances before Christmas and the girls all coming home. It was October, so I agreed. Plenty of time, right? And it would have been if you weren't dealing with Mr. I have to compare and get the best deal Man!!! I swear he enjoys shopping more than I do. I always get to the point where I just say, I don't care, just buy something!! We finally came to an agreement, the appliances were purchased and a road trip to TN was in my future. My friend Cindy was going, then had back issues and couldn't, so I talked my cousin into going with me. She couldn't leave until Monday of this week, so of course TN got nearly a foot of snow on Sunday. Seriously??

Oh, but I forgot one other element. In the middle of all the appliance shopping, we decided we also needed to put new granite countertops and tile backsplash in. Yes, we are insane.

So, Ed left this morning to get the appliances, the granite guy comes tomorrow and I am left thinking, I just wanted to remove the wallpaper....

I will leave you with the current state of my kitchen...Pray for me...All of my girls will be here a week from today to celebrate Christmas with us for the first time in 8 years and I need my house back to normal.