It's snow fun in the cold!

Our weather has been really crazy the last few days. It was almost 60 degrees out and the snow melted. The next thing you knew the temperature dropped back down and there were snow flakes falling. We got a little bit of snow last night so we all went outside to play.

I was only out there for about 5 minutes. This Louisiana girl isn't built for snow...

I'm not sure how I ended up being the one getting hit with snowballs EVEN though I had the camera. Maybe that's why I only spent five minutes outside?

The magic of king cake

Okay friends. Grab some coffee, king cake if you have it, and sit down. Well you are probably already sitting down... If that's the case keep sitting down and get up to get your cake and beverage after you read this.

KING CAKE! Those two words are enough to make my mouth water. Growing up in Louisiana I have a fondness for this Mardi Gras staple. It is amazing. It is heaven to your taste buds.

After moving to Illinois I feared that it might be ages before I experienced the wonderment that is this cake. But fear not! I have an amazing sister. She ordered one and had it shipped to me. If you have never tried king cake then you can not understand my excitement when Mr. FedEx rang my door bell. I opened the door and there was that glorious box.
I could smell the cake as I carried the box to the kitchen. Then I couldn't get the box open! I guess they figure that they should give you some kind of exercise prior to eating this sugar and calorie filled treat.

It was packaged like this:

I thought hmmm. That doesn't look like a king cake. After opening it the rest of the way I found this:

Ah! Now I see. Very smart! If it came decorated and was jostled on the journey it would arrive messed up and ugly.

So I quickly decorated it. I had very little patience. I NEEDED to eat it right away!

It was amazing. Absolutely the best king cake I have ever eaten. Luckily they included a menu and the website information to order another one if I wanted. I want! It is definitely not cheap. You can certainly get them cheaper if you live in an area that sells them.

There is a tiny baby inside the cake. The tradition is that if you get the piece of cake with the baby in it you have to host the next king cake party!

They also had a flyer with an explanation of the history of Mardi Gras and king cakes.

If you are interested you can order one for yourself HERE.

Mardi Gras is such a fun time of the year. I'm sad that I'm missing out. Having this cake makes it a little better.

Last year we took Noah to his first Mardi Gras parade. Don't worry not all parades are crazy New Orleans naked people parades. He kept saying the whole time that he wanted a stuffed animal. Finally he caught one...and then another. Parade days are usually cold and rainy. You go down to the parade route EARLY in the morning and stake out a place. We always bring the camper. It helps to have a warm place to hide out. We barbecue all day and hang out with family and friends. The parade starts. You catch cups, beads, coins, and stuffed toys. You listen to the bands and admire the pretty floats. You pack up your loot and sit in traffic for hours trying to get home. It is crazy. It is fun. It is Mardi Gras.

 Mardi Gras is not Mardi Gras without king cake!

The Book Chat - Current Reads

I am currently reading:

Image via GoodReads

I actually haven't read very many non-fiction books. I definitely haven't read many autobiographies. I love Ellen. I was browsing the book selection on Amazon and I came across this book. I read a few sample pages, laughed a lot, and purchased it. It was also only $7.00 on my Kindle! Score!

I've never listened to an audio book but I can tell this would be one great book to listen to. Even just reading it I can hear Ellen's voice. She is so peppy and fun.  I am about 3/4 of the way through the book. It is very funny, uplifting, and really just a happy read.

If you want to smile and laugh out loud...sometimes in public...read this book!

Do you love books? Join the book chat!
Head on over to Sweet Green Tangerine and link up!

So What Wednesday

Linking up with Shannon for So What Wednesday.
So what if...
- I've been sending lots of photos of the new puppy to my family as if he was a new baby. Here is a picture of him on my lap, one of him by the fireplace, one of him outside, one of him    sleeping...Sorry family. =)
And since I'm talking (typing?) about him....

- I like watching the snow fall but dislike actually being out in it.
- I hardly ever eat breakfast. I'm just not hungry in the morning!
- I must watch Steve Harvey's talk show every day. He is funny. He is smart. He is so kind. How can you not love this man?

- I also have to watch Ellen!
- I always forget something at the grocery store EVEN if I have a list.
- We still haven't finished the master bedroom. It has been terribly neglected....
Link up with Life After I "Dew" and share what you're saying SO WHAT to.

Ticked off Tuesday

I'm joining Amanda from This IS My Real Hair for ticked off Tuesday.

At this moment I am most ticked off about this:

That is INSANE! I feel like I live in the Arctic. Well actually I'm sure it is much colder there. However I would like to live somewhere and not have my phone send me weather alerts stating that the wind chill is so low that frostbite can occur in 30 minutes. No thanks... My heater is set to 76 degrees and I am still cold.

I never thought I would pray for 40 degree weather...

Peak and Pit - Friday's Letters

I'm linking up today with Allie and Brin.

The pit of my week...

Definitely yesterday when my lady bits doctor told me that trying to have a baby for 6 months isn't actually a long time. Well it FEELS like a long time! She was really nice and I liked her a lot. It was just kind of a let down. I half expected her to say 6 months! Well let's get some tests done and figure out what's wrong! She also told me that many women don't get pregnant when they are stressed. I've definitely been stressed! She said the best thing to do is to relax and try to be patient. I'll try...

The peak of my week...

This four day weekend! Well it actually stretches in to next week but oh well. That is two extra days that I don't have to get up early. I don't have to venture out in the cold to to take Noah to school. That is fantastic!

I'm also linking up with Ashley =)

Dear sweet adorable puppy,

I hope all goes well and we get to keep you! This furry little guy is coming to our house on Saturday. He was saved from a high kill shelter in Kentucky. That is quite a journey for a little pup! He is being fostered right now in Chicago. Our application for him was approved! His foster mom will bring him over on Saturday and as long as we all get along we get to keep him and love him! 

 Dear Ice,

You haven't gotten me yet! Quite a few times you've almost made me fall flat on my butt... That is unkind.

Dear Noah,

You are crazy. You are funny. I'm sure you get it from your dad. 

At Ihop the other night we walk in and Noah walks up to the counter. There isn't anyone there. Noah shouts out, "Table for four please! Table for four!" Two times in a row....

Embarrassing and funny. 

Happy Friday Everyone!

The Book Chat-Pet Peeves

Linking up for The Book Chat with Jessica from Sweet Green Tangerine and her co-host Miss Brighton from Dear Brighton to share our book pet peeves.

1. Food on library book pages. Ew. Ew. Ew. There is nothing more disgusting than being really involved in a good book when you turn the page and... What is that? A dry giant booger? Maybe a bit of casserole? It's covering some of the words! try not to touch it while reading! Yuck I touched it! I've been contaminated!

Would the library mind if I used some Lysol spray on the page?

2. Being overly descriptive. It is really hard for me to stay interested in a book when the author goes on and on describing something. By the time I'm on the second page of you describing the cool morning air you've lost me. I'm probably just skimming the page by now and debating just putting the book down.

3. Please don't talk to me while I'm reading. I can't really listen to you and read at the same time. If it appears I'm listening to you I'm probably pretending. In a few minutes I will say, "Huh?" and you will have to start all over again. Just wait until I'm finished.

4. REALLY long chapters! I can not put a book down in the middle of a chapter. It's a minor illness I'm sure. When I read a book that has really long chapters I find myself speed reading and not really absorbing the information because it's way past my bedtime and I MUST finish the chapter before I can go to sleep. 

5. Misleading book covers. I know. I know. Don't judge a book by its cover. I don't, but when I'm reading a book I expect whatever is on the cover to be somehow related to the book. If I'm reading a book and there is say a horse on the cover and I get to the end of the book without reading anything about a horse...that is going to bother me.

6. Abrupt endings. I think the biggest letdown is when I see there are only a few pages left and nothing is really being resolved. I need closure! I need to know how everything ends up. Don't leave me hanging. Unless you are writing a sequel...that I will forgive.

Sorry if this contains many many typos. I'm in a hurry but had to link up! What a great topic!

And I'm off to a doctors appointment...Kindle in hand. Hopefully I don't run in to any of my pet peeves.

It all comes together...

I finally finished buying pieces for the mantle. I didn't want to just buy stuff to fill the space. I wanted to LOVE what was up there. So little by little it all came together.

NOW...

I made the two signs that are above the t.v. The rest of the stuff, except for the t.v. of course, came from either Ross or TJ Maxx. I am not into spending a ton of money on anything. If you're patient and willing to spend some time looking these stores have great deals!

The 2 birds are HEAVY, great quality, and so cute. They were only $4 each!

The box is actually a drawer organizer $4

The balls in the box $3 for 6...not sure what I'll do with the other 2.

Candle with base $4

Each of the glass vases were $6

The dried stuff that smells AMAZING in the vases were $5 each

The bowl the flowers are in $2!!! It was in the kitchen zone. I love it =)

I already had the fake flowers. I got them from Walmart a long time ago for about $6

That's 45 DOLLARS! 

It could have been so much more than that...

I like to walk in the room and just look at all of it. It's so colorful and happy. 

Love!

Still need to hide those t.v. cords...

Thank you winter.

It seems Illinois is easing us into the winter weather. I've been told that winter is not normally like this. Usually they have more snow by now. I am grateful. We did get some snow over the weekend. We spent a lot of time outside playing with Bella. She LOVES the snow! She just runs and runs. Occasionally she stops to eat the snow or just put some in her mouth and throw it in the air.

I finally bought snow boots. They are super warm and comfy. Noah loves his snow pants. He calls them farmer pants lol. He does look kind of like a farmer...

You know you're from the south when you head up north and have fun watching the snowplows go down the street. lol

I FINALLY finished buying pieces for our fireplace mantle. I love it so much! I'll share all of the super cute stuff with you tomorrow.

The best gift.

Home made gifts are my favorite. The person making the gift put real thought and heart in to the present. When I opened Noah's gift to me and Joey I expected something like a picture or frame he made at school. I was blown away by the gift. Noah's teacher is so creative. Inside the adorable bag was a calendar. A calendar full of cute poems and Noah's hand prints. I was sobbing. Christmas day sobbing. I had to tell Noah that I was crying because I loved it so much...not because I didn't like it. It is hanging on our wall. I bought a separate calendar to write on and cross off the days because I want to keep this one forever.

Here it is starting with January of course.

 It really was the best gift.

Christmas 2012 Recap #2

And then there was Christmas eve and Christmas day. Christmas back home is always a hectic but fun day. 

Noah sprinkled his reindeer food on the lawn.

He left the cookies out for Santa.

Santa left a mess when he came down the chimney!

We had Christmas #1 at my mom's house.

Noah's cousin Jacob gave him some home made money...My sister gave him a lesson in how forgery is wrong lol.

We had Christmas #2 at my dad's house. There were plans to shoot guns and all that redneck nonsense but it was pouring rain...

Christmas #3 was held at Joey's aunt's house. There are always so many people here the room is filled with gifts and wrapping paper. Opening all of those presents takes a very long time.

The night ended with a hilarious game of Hedbanz. If your kids do not have this game you need to go get it immediately. I really think me and Joey enjoy playing it more than Noah. It is impossible to play without laughing. They also make an adult version and a Disney version. Noah received the Disney version for Christmas but we have not played it yet.