Happy New Year

For New Year's Eve J and I are spending the day unpacking our stuff from England. Hubby has been looking forward to this like it's Christmas and his birthday wrapped into one. He has been dying to have all his things so that we can finish putting our home together the way we like it. We don't even have a working t.v. For the past couple of weeks we have been watching movies on my laptop. We do plan on taking a break this evening to go out for dinner and "maybe" find somewhere to be for midnight celebration.

 As for resolutions I honestly haven't been making one for a long time and this year is no different. If anything I just want to work on keeping myself healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually.


Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Surprises

For those of you who didn't know, I have lied about going to Nashville for Christmas. Instead, my baby brother and I surprised my mother by showing up at her place for Christmas. The only person in on it was my dad. She was utterly shocked and cried like a baby. Unfortunately no one took a video of this occasion.

This meant a lot to her because this was the first Christmas in three years that she has both her kids in one spot. This Christmas is one of the best I had in a long time and it was so nice to see my little brother (who is in the Army and stationed in Korea), all my grandparents and cousins I haven't spoken to in God knows how long. Plus, this was an opportunity for my husband to get to know my side of the family more since he only met the majority of them on our wedding day.

Now, I'm looking forward to getting all of our things tomorrow along with celebrating my first New Years with my husband.

Happy New Year everybody!

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas J and I are going to be visiting family in Nashville. It's about ten hours away so we are going to be taking off today. That means I will not be able to blog for the rest of the week so I will just say merry Christmas and hope you have a wonderful week!

My First Food Truck Experience

I think from now on I'm going to change future Friday posts to be about food and call it Foodie Friday instead of doing it Thursdays. What do you think? For this week's "Foodie Friday" I am sharing with you my first food truck experience.

 I searched around last week for any food trucks that are usually parked up in the area so that I don't have to drive all the way down to Dallas; that's a forty-five minute drive from home. I discovered Fort Worth's Food Park. It's a small picnic area where a couple of trucks park there every Thursday-Sunday. You can go to their website and you can check the calendar to see which trucks are parking on what days. For example if you're looking for a truck in particular you can find out what day they'll pop in.

 

The best part is that it's a ten minute drive from my house. At the same time it's tucked away in an area that hides it a bit but it's not too terribly hard to look for. Just look for the sign above and/or the delicious smells.

 

 

 

When I saw this bull skull I knew I had to get something from the Smoke Wagon. These guys have been mentioned by the Food Network and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I didn't get their infamous bbq; I was in the mood for their burgers instead. 



 

I ordered a 'Truck' burger with cheddar cheese and bacon with sweet potato fries on the side. 

Then I saw the Good Karma Kitchen and got a strawberry basil lemonade from them.

 

I paid a little extra for the sweet potato fries but it was worth it. They were crispy and sweet but also got that tang from the balsamic reduction drizzled all over it. The lemonade was outstanding and I love that I can taste the basil. If you are in the area I urge you to find these truck or drop by the food park. In fact, I am heading there today for lunch so I will be talking about today's experience next week.

 

Have a blessed weekend everyone!



I Really Love My Husband

Every time I see him interact with kids, our nieces and nephews in particular, my heart swells up and I'm reminded why I love my husband.

One of the last days when J and I were visiting my folks my niece stayed the night to spend time with us. Of course we had to do smores by fire.

Hubby started the fire.

Look at that man! He sure lights up my fire.

Taylar waits anxiously for her marshmallow to burn. She likes it super crispy like her grandpa does.

This photo gets me every time

 

The little one is baby Rayven. She has a special place in our hearts and I enjoyed every moment (even the bad days) I had with her.

Book Worm Wednesday

Every December I read The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn. I have read this book three years in a row and I still enjoy it. If you are one of those people that really get into the Christmas spirit this is the book for you. This novel talks about how Santa Claus came to be what everyone knows him now. The story starts off talking about his parents who were too old to have a child when they had Nicholas. His parents left him a large fortune when they died and since he was still quite young he was left in the care of the town monks. As time passes by he began to realize that some people were not as fortunate as he was. So with a help of a friend he started the idea of leaving gifts to those who are in need. The story goes on and Nicholas meets his future wife, Layla, and some historical characters like Attila the Hun and Teddy Roosevelt.


What I love about this novel is that it has twenty-four chapters. The idea is to read one chapter a day, starting December 1st, until it is Christmas Eve when you are at the peak of the holiday spirit. It's a great story for the whole family and I recommend it next year. Here is an excerpt for today's chapter.

"...'What did you call my husband?' Layla asked, tilting her head to the side as she sometimes did when she heard something that surprised her. 'Santa', Felix answered. 'We've told you in our letters about the Sinta Klass mispronunciation, and how some children around New York expect Santa Claus to bring their presents. It's a good nickname for Nicholas, don't you think?' 'Santa,' Layla repeated thoughtfully. 'Yes, it really suits him. I suppose we all ought to call him that from now on.'..."

Hashtag

Last night I finally caught up with the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show of 2013 and one of the themes were Pink Network. They talked about how the girls use social media like Twitter and Instagram to promote VS and to stay connected with fans.

I realized how much I missed instagraming with my sorority sisters and I always enjoyed scrolling through the beautiful and creative photos. So I decided to get back on it.

If you want to follow me or you want me to follow you my username is katcampbell09. I only ask that you be polite and no rude remarks. There's no reason for negative comments. In return I will do the same.

#haveaniceday

I Have Terrible Anxieties

 I will have to apologize ahead of time if this post gets you down. This is something I wanted to talk about that I hope people can relate and share. I would love to hear advice and words of wisdom.

I was talking to my mom yesterday about my wedding photos when suddenly I wanted to talk to her about something I heard in the news about a week ago. It was something so horrible I don't want to tell you what it was about and ruin your day (or the next three days of your life). As I was telling my mother about it I starting to sob and saying, "Who would do that to an infant?!" Her and I talked some more about it and I've realized that I'm becoming more sensitive on things, in particularly about children.

My mother, who is an amazing and wise woman, said, "Honey, you are getting to that stage in your life where you are thinking about kids and babies and because of that you'll start to feel emotions like you've never felt before."

She's right. I am thinking about children-but I don't want to have one right away but the feelings are still there- and I start to think and brood. Now when I sit and brood to myself, I start to play the "what if" game. I start to come up with scenarios that just makes my mood worse. Sometimes I talk to J about these feelings but generally I just keep to myself so I don't scare him off.

We've talked about a scenario that my child is, well, to put it delicately, special. Please don't get me wrong; I have made friends with one or two kids with disabilities as a teenager. I remember during my sophomore year in high school I skipped half of the day to attend the Special Olympics in Oklahoma with a sweet girl to cheer for her. I know in my heart I will love that baby. I think a lot of parents with special children would understand when I say that I would grieve for my baby because they will never get to experience things that normal children would. It kills me the thought that my child would be made fun of because other kids don't understand. I mean we live in a cruel, mean world where anyone who is different ends up being isolated from the rest.

Does anyone get these anxieties too? Is this something that new mommies face as well?

Weekend Fun

Early Friday morning we drove out to Nashville to surprise J's family. I always get excited about Nashville because there is so much to do. There's the usual karaoke bars and line dancing clubs but there's much more than country part of Nashville that is familiar to everyone.

Friday evening we surprised the family, almost made my mother-in-law cry. That evening the Campbell clan (my in-laws and my brother-in-law) visited the Gaylord to see the Christmas lights and walked in the Atrium. It was decorated in Christmas lights, poinsettias, and more lights. It was truly a magical evening.

 

The two photos above are in the lobby of the Gaylord. I'm in LOVE with the poinsettia tree!

Sorry for the terrible quality of the photos. This was taken on my phone as I was walking around.

I think this was a camel.

zebra

and the kingly lion

 

 Saturday morning we participated in an Ugly Sweater 5K run. It was super cold and barely snowing but it was so much fun to be a part of something big like that, when hundreds of people are involved. We took a photo together as a "Christmas card".

From the left: Kyle's sweetheart Callie, Kyle, J, Me, and the in-laws

Saturday afternoon, still in our ugly sweater garb, we went to Opry Mills to shop around and be silly together. My husband and I got separated for a bit and when we met up he told me that at least five people wanted to take a photo with him (his outfit is quite tacky). Then Saturday evening we had a belated Thanksgiving dinner. It was a wonderful evening of eating, drinking, and being merry.

Sunday was our final day with the family. My brother-in-law had a concert that night and we all attended to support him. It was an amazing experience to see him doing the thing he loves most. Kyle is a wizard when it comes to creating lyrics. Please don't think I'm biased because he's family; I'm telling the truth when I say he is just simply amazing. My favorite songs were Diamond Ring and Two Kinds of People. Look him up people!

 

Sorry again for the poor quality of the photos

Monday morning we were packed up and ready to head out. Until someone brought out the remote controlled helicopters.

 A half hour later J and I headed home. We had to pass through snow and ice to get home but we made it safely.

 

Snowed-In Essentials

Depending on where you're living some of you are probably already expecting snow. Where I'm at, we are expecting a big snow storm. It got me thinking of my essentials to get me through being snowed-in (if such a thing were to happen).


1. Burt's Bees Lip Balm


2. my starbucks mug


3.afghan throw (or homemade fleece blanket)


4.Aveeno Moisturizer  hand lotion


5. a good movie or a marathon of my favorite t.v. show


6. lit fireplace or heater

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

After settling in J and I decided to put up our little Christmas tree. My mother has five trees and since we didn't have a single one she offered to give us one of her baby trees.



 

 

 

Yesterday we got ornaments and a star topper and decked it out. Unfortunately we didn't have eggnog (it's a tradition).

 

See...tiny tree!

 

 

In other news, the second day we moved into Fort Worth we had to turn in the U-Haul. On the way my husband took me to In-n-Out Burger for a Double-Double.

 

 

I'm converted. So yummy! In-n-Out Burger is the master of few! Forget McDonalds and Burger King!!!

Have a lovely weekend!

New Nest

Houston, we have internet!

We finally moved into our apartment. It was stressful and we were grumpy with each other but all of my things are in their "spots" and we have all the essentials we need until J's stuff comes in (which will be about a month...maybe).


I'm not going to be working yet; I'm planning on waiting until after the holidays to find a job. For now I'm going to try to weave my way around Fort Worth and get my bearings. Explore my surroundings.

I'll try to get back in schedule here but please be patient with me.  

Update on the Home Front

To update ya'll on the DFW home front, we have opted out on the house and focused on finding an apartment. We figured that it would be easier to find and move into an apartment. The next day J found two choices and we discussed it together and picked a one bedroom apartment that is close by to the base.

So now I'm constantly looking around on Pinterest for decorating ideas. Our floorplan shows that we will have a large open living space and I immediately thought of a rustic theme for it.

Here are a few ideas I have in mind.

I am loving the idea of a coffee bar for guests and myself. I have so many mugs and doing something like this would save space in the kitchen.

 

I have an old blue suitcase like this that I used for my wedding and it would be wonderful to incorporate it into my home in some way. Look out for a DIY post for this!

 

The apartment is supposed to have a fireplace. Stacking firewood like in the photo above will definitely give it a rustic feel to it.

 

To add a little country flair a whiskey bottle lamp will be another fun DIY project.


What do you guys think? Any other ideas/suggestions to make a living space rustic but cozy too?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Today is the day to stop and take a moment to be thankful for all our blessings. Back in the day it was the day to be thankful for a good harvest and the feast was a symbol for it. Now we feast with family and friends.


Here is my thankful list:


1) God

2) Family

3) Love and Compassion

4) My Husband

5) My New Home in Fort Worth

There's many more that I'm thankful for but the list will take all day so I'll just leave it here.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Trials and...Oh, Snow!

Well, we're not any closer in finding a home in Fort Worth. We DID find a house we both like but yesterday we realized that we will be struggling to afford it so we agreed that an apartment would be our best bet.

We found an apartment complex close to the base that we love so hubby will be talking to them today.



In other news, it's snowing here in New Mexico!!! Woke up Sunday morning to powdered snow all over the place.

 

My cat went straight outside when I was taking photos and two seconds later she ran right back inside. So we are now taking the opportunity to relax and enjoy the snow. 

Getting Real

After about a week and a half of looking J and I think we've found a house that's up for rent that we love. It has a lovely kitchen, lots of space, and a good location.

It's dawning on me lately that we will be living in a house and I will be working again. This point in my life is the official moment when I join the real world as an adult. Sure I've lived on my own before but I was in college and living close by to my parents. It didn't have that "adult in the real world" feel to it. Now that I'm done with college and married, it feels more real, more daunting than I've ever felt.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Any 'real world' moments?

Things Don't Always Go As Planned

The other day my hubby checked in with his superviser and found out that we were possibly being diverted to Seymore in North Carolina. J and I flipped out because we, as individuals, are planners. We like to check out the place ahead of time to see what's all there and we have already looked at houses in Dallas online. So we felt that we had the rug pulled from under us. Totally unexpected.

Thankfully J's commander stepped in and they decided to keep him in Dallas. All day yesterday we were pins and needles. It was a lesson learned that things will not always go according to plan, especially when it comes to the military. Orders pop up saying you're going to such and such but the next day you could be on the opposite side of the world. I've learned that a lot of times in the military world you just have to live it day by day. It's difficult to plan ahead because the government can mess it up in a heartbeat.

In a way, I also felt that God was saying, "Hey, just to remind you, I am in complete control. I can put you wherever I see fit."

You're right, Lord. You are in control and I'm grateful for it.

Sisters For Life

This past weekend I had the chance to visit my sorority sisters and got to catch up with a few girls. I cannot stress enough how amazing it is to be a part of something that is consistantly bigger than yourself. It feels so good to be in a group that gives so much to its community. I've learned so many life lessons in my sorority as well and I would not have grown to be the woman that I am now if it weren't for my sorority. It has given me confidence, my voice, and my strength.

Visiting these girls again made me remeber all the good times and the bad. I know that I would relive it all over again if given the chance. It is my home away from home and these amazing girls are my sisters for life. Call me corny but that's the truth. I would not trade them for the world. I've even grew to love a few new members as well.

As an alumn I feel it is my privelage to watch over our 'home away from home' from afar, to make sure it is still thriving and that our traditions are passed down.

I am proud to be a Chi Omega.

My Love For Bulldogs

I found this video (link below) via Facebook and I knew I had to share this. This cheered me up because it reminded me why I loved bulldogs. They have so much character and such loving personalities. You can't go wrong with them.

http://youtu.be/FGJxDlYHC-s

I grew up with one when I was very little (try 2 or 3 years old) and Charlie was my best buddy. I fondly remember one fall my brother and I raked leaves in one big pile in our back yard. After that we would have Charlie chase us into the pile and we would laugh how crazy he would get crashing into the leaves. Unfortunately bulldogs don't live as long as most other breeds but that just makes you appreciate these guys so much more.

It is on my bucket list to own a bulldog again someday. I've already come up with names: C.J (Charlie Jr.) for a boy, and Betsy for a girl.

Baby Training Day 1

Yesterday was basically the beginnng of baby training and it didn't start that well. Let me explain first of the situation. My mother's cousin has a baby girl but circumstances (that I don't want to explain) has arisen and the mother has given her daughter to my parents for temporary guardianship. It's been four months now since baby Ray has been in our lives and she's a wonderful blessing, boogers and all.

Back to yesterday, I took up to watching Ray while my mom had to run an errand real quick. Just about ten minutes later Ray had a very poopy diaper. This is my first diaper change...EVER. I've seen my mother and loads of other moms change diapers so I thought I was going to be fine. Nope.

When my mom got back and I told her I did my first #2 diaper she congratulated me, until around dinner she noticed something wrong with Ray. She turns to me and said, "You put it on backwards." Insert palm to forehead. My first mistake at being a temp mommy.

Another moment happened with Ray. She's been having a stuffy nose and mom and I were trying to clean out a particularly large booger out of her nose. It doesn't help that Ray fought us. Eventually I got the booger out and I gaged at the sight of it. So. Freaking. Gross.

Yep, I'm totally not ready to be a mommy. First order of business is to make my stomach out of steel.

I'm Home

I was never more happy to see the lizard carpet at the El Paso Airport Tuesday night. I am finally back in American soil! It's weird to start driving again and I've been feeling nervous behind the wheel but I need to drive so that I'll be comfortable when we leave for Fort Worth.

I'm borrowing the folk's computer right now since I've left the laptop with the hubby so I won't be posting much for the next week or so but I'll try to say hey or something.

23

I am 23.

It's such a weird age, 23.

It's past the point of legal drinking age but it's not considered "too old" either. It's just...simply 23.

As I have mentioned before my husband was thoughtful to buy tickets to Switzerland but I turned it down for a little more quiet birthday. This morning he made me cinnamon rolls and turned on my favorite movie for me, Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was a perfect start on my day of birth. I'm inviting a few friends over tonight for one last hurrah before we take off. We'll say our farewells and well wishes and toasts.

23, what a weird age.

No Recipe For You

No recipe today. To be honest I haven't been cooking a lot since J and I are close to leaving. We've stocked up on ramen, hot pockets, frozen dinners and pizza; just enough food to keep us until I leave.

Five days from today I'll be heading back home and I've been on an emotional roller coaster. I'm thrilled, excited, nervous, scared, and sad. As much as I love the friends I have made here in the UK and I'm going to miss them dearly but I'm in need of family. I am ready to hold my niece in my arms again and nap with my cat, chatting with my mom, and catching up with my dad on the latest episode of Big Bang Theory (we're Sheldon fans).

Birthday Surprise, Change of Plans

All weekend J has been giving me hints, via Facebook, what he's doing for my birthday. Hints included snow, mountains, frank, and cheese. The moment I was given cheese I knew it had to be Switzerland. I guessed right. He was going to take me to Zurich, Switzerland. It was amazingly thoughtful of him since he knew I've been wanting to go back to Switzerland.

But the plane tickets were for four days, the 8th-11th. My issue is that I'm leaving back for the States on the 12th and I started to sweat at the thought that I'm on a plane on the 11th and the next day I'm on a plane all day. I really didn't want to go through that.

As much as I wanted to visit Zurich, I know that it's expensive there. I've looked at hotels and rentals for cheap but it became difficult. Right now, it's probably not the best plan to go since we're in the middle of moving out of the country and looking for our future home in Fort Worth. The last thing I want to do is spend money on a four-day weekend when we can save up.

I was nervous about telling J that I didn't want to go. I always hated confrontations but I know that he would rather have me tell him. So I did. I was afraid he would be upset but I found out that the plane tickets didn't cost much. "So what do you want to do for your birthday then?" he asked me. "I am very happy to go to dinner or have friends come over and we can do a birthday/going away party." The later sounds more fun.

Thank you J for the sweet and thoughtful gift. It meant a lot to me that you wanted to take me back to Switzerland. You always aim to please me and I am blessed to have a wonderful husband like you. I love you Superman!

Have you ever changed plans on your birthday?

Conveniences

Not that England is a bad country to live in. I love their farmers markets and greenery. As a child of the south(and I mean a hop away from the border south) I'm not used to seeing so many trees and green stuff. but I have to admit I miss a few...conveniences that America possesses.

I miss...

Taco Bell being open at 3 AM

$6 movie tickets

TARGET!!!

shopping at stores in the US dollar currency (and not at the BX)

driving (we can only afford one car and honestly I'm scared of driving these roads)

living in a city

calling my friends

REAL Mexican food

McAlister's sweet tea (YUM!!!)

my niece sleeping over

my cat snuggling in the space between me and my laptop


Yeah, I think I'm ready to head home.

Crunch Time

I have about two weeks until I return home and its getting down to the wire for the hubby and I. I've been packing a few things away that I don't need, we're looking up a future home, and hubby has been working on getting us set up (on the military side of things) before we depart. It's a little stressful but keeping in mind that we're going back to the US helps us keep trucking on.

Please keep us in your prayers or thoughts and that things will smooth out.

Happy Halloween

I'm usually helping my family set up the decorations for the house right before trick-or-treaters come around and our many pumpkins are set out and carved. Candy is all bagged up and I would be putting my costume around four in the afternoon.

But this year I'm just not up for it. This year is going to be more low key. For now I'm snuggling up on the couch with a blanket and catching up on American Horror Story and Sleepy Hollow. Later I'm making some potato and leek soup for friends of mine who just had a baby two weeks ago and bringing it over to them. Then when hubby gets home I'm making some alfredo pizza and watch Hocus Pocus (a traditional favorite of mine).

Happy Halloween Everyone! Be cautious but have fun!

Book Worm Wednesday

Since this is the day before Halloween I thought I would share my favorite Edgar Allan Poe story. Hope you enjoy!

 The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe

The "RED Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal-the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress, and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.
    But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys...The prince has provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the "RED Death."
    It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.
    It was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade. But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held. There were seven-an imperial suite...The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect. The right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor...These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. That of the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue-and vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple...The third was green...The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange-the fifth with white-the sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet-a deep blood color....the blood-tinted panes was ghastly in the extremes, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all.
    It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company...it was observed that the giddiest grew pale...But when the echoes had fully ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly, and made whispering vows, each to the other, that the next chiming of the clock should produce in them no similar emotion; and them, after a lapse of sixty minutes...there came yet another chiming of the clock, and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before.
    To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams. And these-the dreams-writhed in and about, taking hue from the rooms, and causing wild music of the orchestra to seem as the echo of their steps. And, anon, there strikes the ebony clock which stands in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock. The dreams are stiff-frozen as they stand. But he echoes of the chimes die away-and a light, half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart.
    But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who reveled. And thus too, it happened; perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive of disapprobation and surprise-then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust.
    ...The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revelers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood-and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.
    When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon this spectral image...he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder of either of terror or distaste, but, in the next, his brow reddened with rage. "Who dares"-he demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him-"who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery?"...It was in the eastern or blue chambers in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly, for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.
    It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who, at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker. But from a certain nameless awe with which the mad assumptions of the mummer had inspired the whole party, there were found non who put forth hand to seize him...he made his way uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured step, which had distinguished him from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple-through the purple to the green-through the green to the orange- through this again to the white- and even thence to the violet, ere a decided movement had been made to arrest him. It was then, however, that the Prince Prospero, maddened with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. He bore a drawn dagger, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was a sharp cry- and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterward, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero...

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripod expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

Meh...

I apologize for not posting on Friday or yesterday. J-man and I have been planning to visit Nice, France for his birthday and took the opportunity this weekend to go. We came back home Sunday but we got busy with cleaning the house, unpacking, doing laundry and grocery shopping yesterday.

Then yesterday evening we visited one of J's friends and I ended up getting food poisoning. Thankfully, I had a sweet husband to take care of me and he did not falter after witnessing the gross stuff. I feel much better now but I still feel weak so today I'm taking it easy by snuggling in the couch while watching Supernatural.

Alfredo Sauce

My husband and I LOVE chicken alfredo pizza. The way I do it is easy and fast. I buy the pizza crust and the alfredo sauce (in a can). All I have to do is cook up some chicken breast and add some herbs in the mix. Every once in a while we'll get crazy and add sun-dried tomatoes.

This week, though, I've decided to try to make alfredo sauce by scratch and see which tastes better. I'm betting on the made-by-scratch. I found a recipe that's supposedly the same one used by Olive Garden. I'm hoping so because they have the best alfredo sauce in my opinion. It's especially good with some fresh garlic bread to dip in too.

 

You will need:

 

1 pint of heavy cream                             2 Tbsp. cream cheese

 

1 stick of butter                                      1/2-3/4 C parmesan cheese

 

2 tsp. garlic (I forgot to add it to photo above)

First, you melt the butter in low heat and add the heavy cream and cream cheese. Mix the ingredients well.

Once it starts to bubble add the parmesan and mix it well into the sauce until it melts. I recommend getting real parmesan or Sargento Artisan's parmesan. I should add that you don't want too much parm in the sauce or it will get clumpy. You want the result to be smooth and creamy.

After tasting it I knew I was never going back to canned alfredo sauce again. It tastes just ALMOST like Olive Garden's sauce. The first thing I used this sauce for was my white cheese pizza. Any leftovers I had I saved it for the next night and I dipped toast in it. If you are a white sauce person then I urge you to use this recipe.

Book Worm Wednesday-Witch's Spell

Act IV, Scene 1 from Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

The Witch's Spell

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three Witches.

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

As Of Today

I have three whole weeks left in England. After that I'm flying back to my hometown in New Mexico to stay with the folks until Jared is able to leave and fly into Dallas.

I can't believe time has flown by so quickly. Five months have past with the blink of an eye. In three weeks a new chapter of my life will begin. It's pretty exciting. Hubby and I are trying to plan one more trip before we leave. His birthday is tomorrow, in fact, and he's been wanting to go to France for some time, more specifically the French Rivera. We plan to leave this weekend so I will keep you posted for the time being.

Game Night and After Party

My husband and I love to play board games. We can be super competitive too, especially when it comes to Monopoly. Last Saturday we invited a few friends, other couples, to hang out and dress up for Halloween. We all had a blast snacking on finger foods, drinking my husband's jungle juice, and enjoying each other's company.

We, Campbells, decided to dress up as Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler from the BBC version. I was very pleased with my costume.

That hair style was difficult to do when I first tried it but after finding a tutorial through Youtube I was able to simplify it.

My lovely ladies: Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Keith

The gents: Mr. Keith and Mr. Bell

 

After playing Cluedo, Battle of the Sexes, and Trivial Pursuit it was midnight and we were done for the night, or so we thought. My darling friend, Mrs. Bell, suggested going to New Market to go dancing. How can I refuse her? So we Campbells and the Bells changed clothes and hit De Niro's in New Market. Even though we did not get back home until four in the morning (my new record for staying out late) I had a blast.

 

 

I realized, also, that it was the first time my husband and I went out clubbing together. I actually had a lot more fun with him because I know I had someone looking out for me compared to a night with some girlfriends. I was able to relax and dance with Mrs. Bell while our husbands watches over us from upstairs. It was certainly a great night.