Da Na Na Na Na...

GO GATORS! I said it's great... to be... a Florida Gator! WOOHOO! We had a wonderful day of tailgating in the frigid cold and an even better game against Alabama to win the SEC Championship! As always, I am so proud to be a Gator, but especially after the hard fought win. Timmy Tebow is such a heartthrob... swoon.

I just love him and the way he elevates the play of everyone around him. And, our entire team just played fantastically... from the amazing TD catches of Carl Moore, David Nelson and Riley Cooper to the defense holding Bama to a couple fieldgoals in the red zone to Joe Haden's interception to Jeffery Demps' speed and of course, to Tebow's heart, determination, leadership, and sheer ability... this is just a great football team. I look forward to seeing a healthy Percy Harvin in the BCS title game and to another Tim Tebow HE15MAN. :) He deserves it (along with a few other amazing players, so it will be interesting).

Here are some pictures from "The Tailgate of All Tailgates."

Yum, Bloody Mary... hers was a virgin cocktail, of course!

J, Dai & K - BFFs!

Aunt Dai, Mommy, Baby Madelyn, and Aunt K!

The Mr. and Mrs.

Cute purses!

Where's BD? :)Katie, the official hand warmer.
And, last, but certainly not least, what a cute koozie you have!

I'm sure it's not hard to see that we had a great time. We didn't end up getting tickets to the game, so we wandered in to the Hilton Garden Inn downtown. We sat in their lovely lobby and enjoyed the game in front of a fireplace and a 60" plasma with the Legal Seafood bar right next door. The best part besides the win was getting to catch up with my college friend and sorority sister, Katie. Perfect! Next up on the CHOMPING block... the Oklahoma Sooners! You know what they say... if you're not a Gator... you're GATOR BAIT!

C'mon Gators, Get Up and Go!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Thank God for the Limited's Christmas tree scented candles they sold last year. Our pathetic fake tree is made so much better by the smell. If they sell them this year, I insist you all go out and purchase one. They smell exactly like a real tree... so yummy. And, I burned mine nonstop last year and it barely looks like it's been used.

Matt and I got into the Christmas spirit and decorated our little place last night just in time for our guests arriving this weekend for the SEC Championship. I bought a fake tree and all the trimmings last year, so we used what I already had. The only additions for this year are our stockings from Pottery Barn with our names embroidered on them, and we need to get a "First Christmas Together" ornament. Oh, and I got a few more Gator ornaments (that makes 4 in only two years of having a tree... I think we may need to do a Gator tree in the future). :) Other than that, I am all about shopping the post Christmas sales. Last year, I got some vase fillers from Pottery Barn for something like $3 each on what was regularly $24. I think I might wait for the PB tree skirt that coordinates with our stockings to go on sale after Christmas, but if you're interested, Pottery Barn has all of their Christmas decor on sale now and much of it is shipped free!

And, now, what you've all been waiting for... I present our lovely tree!

Thanksgiving in Pictures (and captions...)

My favorite mom and my favorite aunt. I don't like to pick favorites, but I'm her favorite niece, so it's a fair trade. ;)
My favorite husband carving up the turkey. Gobble Gobble!
More proof that God is a Gator... an orange and blue sunset.
What a view.
My favorite Memere. I'm so sad that I don't have a picture with my favorite Gram from this trip. :(
What was left...
So staged, we're such dorks.
Fish tales told here.
Another great view.
Fishing the lights.
Matt's first snook! Woohoo!

Uncle John's nice trout.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Well, my Thanksgiving has started off wonderfully... got up and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while drinking coffee and making my squash casserole and now the Westminster Dog Show is on, and I'm in love with the golden retriever! We're enjoying the holiday from sunny St. Petersburg, FL and looking forward to a house full of family in a short while.

There are many things I am thankful for this year... my wonderful husband, family, friends, being gainfully employed, health, the ability to travel and spend the Holidays with our families, living in a free country, the men and women who risk their lives and have lost their lives to protect our way of life... just to name a few. Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on how truly blessed we are. I hope you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving and are able to appreciate the good things in your lives!

Saturday Evening Dinner Party

In celebration of my friend Kelly's 27th birthday, I threw a small dinner party (because 7 people was definitely enough to fill our little place) on Saturday evening. If you haven't paid a visit to the Good Things Catered blog, I insist you do so immediately. No, really, go now and then come back after you're done salivating. Katie is an amazing cook and posts all kinds of delicious recipes, including most of what I made for Kelly's dinner. I prepared roasted chicken with onions, garlic and herbs, garlic mashed red potatoes (my recipe), green beans with herb butter, homemade rustic white bread (from myrecipes.com), and chocolate cake. I had a few mishaps along the way (like putting one cup of milk into the frosting instead of 1/3 cup... oops), but everything turned out really well in the end.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, anyone?

Jenny, Jenn (and Madelyn), and the Birthday Girl!

That's a lot of candles!

And, that's a lot of smoke! Ha!

I can't believe it, but I didn't take any pictures of the food. Oh well. It was good! After dinner, Matt, Kelly and I went out with a few of her friends from work. My trainer was celebrating his birthday at a bar called The Warren, so we joined in on the festivities. Suffice it to say, we had a good time.

It's friggin' cold

So, forget a low of 26... how about a low of 20 with a windchill that makes it feel like 10!? Is that allowed to happen in the South (or at least this far south)? Apparently. Today's high is 44 with up to 40 mph wind gusts and the "it feels like" high is 36. Sweet Jesus, it's cold.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

But, at least it's sunny. Today isn't too bad... the high is a balmy 58 degrees! But, Saturday morning's low is 26 - brrrrrrrrr! This Florida girl has gotten much more used to the cold weather. It wasn't too much of a change, since it actually does get chilly in Jacksonville and Gainesville. However, it doesn't last as long. So, I've broken out my houndstooth coat that always gets compliments, my fake pashminas from the $10 store in the airport, and my unusally large collection of cheap gloves. Now, all I need is a car with an automatic starter and heated seats so it's not so cold when I get in and some of this...

Nutritious and Delicious Minestrone
This is a great, light and healthy soup that makes a quick and delicious weeknight (or any night) meal.

Extra virgin olive oil (1-2 tbsp)
2 small onions, diced
1-1/2 c. celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 bay leaf
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
7 c. low-sodium chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
4 oz. ditalini or other small pasta
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
salt to taste
parmesan for garnish
parsley for garnish

In a large stock pot, saute the onion, celery and carrots in olive oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add green bell pepper and continue to saute for another 4 minutes or until it all smells really good. Add the tomatoes, broth, garlic, basil and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer for 5 minutes uncovered. Add the beans and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Remove the pan from heat, add salt to your liking, and let sit covered for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parmesan and parsley! Mangia!

P.S. I've already eaten some of it... several bowls since I made it, in fact, and it's still delizioso!

Darn you, Whole Foods.

Darn you and your delicious little samples that you scatter throughout the store. Especially the delicious display of corn chips and five layer dip you laid so aptly by the salad bar, which caused me to then buy fiesta dip (aka: salsa and guac combo) and blue corn chips... along with my 1.25 lb salad bar plate. Sigh. At least I resisted the five layer dip, which consisted of sour cream (yum), black bean puree (yum), guacamole (double yum), shredded cheese (yum), and tomatoes/scallions (yum). Yay for me.

Gator Bait

Nice catch.


Mercy, Percy.


Touchdown scored after Demps turned on his afterburners.


Touchdown Tebow.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sec/0-2-120/Another-inspiring-performance-from-the-Gators.html
Hilarious quote from this article... "Meanwhile, his players were trying to get a grip on just who this Buffett fellow was.
"That was my first time ever hearing of him," Spikes said innocently. "Somebody told me he sang Margarita-something.""

I sure do love Gator football, especially when it's this dang good.