A GREAT Birthday!

Oh you guys, I had a great birthday yesterday! It was so, so nice. Much better than last year, that's for sure! Last year's was kinda depressing, but this year made up for it! It was a BEAUTIFUL day temperature-wise. It was cloudy but didn't rain at all until late afternoon and then it was just a sprinkle. That stopped and it didn't even really start to rain again until overnight! But besides the temperature, I felt so much love! Everyone was wishing me a happy birthday, I got to spend time with family and I just enjoyed the day! My aunt took my mom and I out to lunch (my mom's birthday is today!), I got to do some shopping at Ollie's after work and I found some goodies, I got to get adjusted at the chiropractor which always makes me feel better, then I got to have dinner at Cracker Barrel with my parents, Collin's parents and my sister, and to top the evening off I got to snuggle on the couch with Collin and catch up on some shows on Hulu. It was so delightful!

My special birthday message from Collin first thing.

The beautiful birthday sunrise!

A coworker gave me one of his cinnamon roll things he had brought in that morning!

My delicious loaded baked potato soup at Long Horn Steakhouse for my birthday lunch!

The temperature about mid-afternoon!

Lately this has been one of my favorite places.

So once we left the chiropractor and went to dinner I completely forgot about wanting to document my day and didn't take any more pictures. =( Sadness but it's okay. It was a GREAT day!!

Cindy

It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday! And it is a great day so far! It's so warm!! It's in the 70's! Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures from my childhood with you all here today, to celebrate! These are some of my favorite "pictures from the past".

Circa 2003-2004. Not sure exactly when this was taken but it was towards the end of high school for me. This is my sister and I being silly with our Nana.

This is my sister and I with a few of our pets (my parents still have the cat!). I'm probably about 6 and my sister would have been about 4.

My dad and I eating ice cream together. This was a common thing for the two of us. =) I'm probably around 7 here.


I do believe that I was 11 here. This was after my piano recital and with me were my sister, best friend Stephanie and Steph's younger sister, Brittany.

One year my sister and I were presents for Halloween! I was probably 7 in this picture.

Easter Sunday with Nana. Kaity and I always wore matching outfits with our cousin Leah. At this point we had already ditched the hats! We're probably 8, 6, and 2 here.

Hanging out in the hot tub with my friends at the Lake Gaston Campground/Resort. This was probably 2001.

Me with my Samoyed dog, Molly. I'm probably 4 or 5 here.

This was taken at a Superbowl party my parent's hosted in 1999. I don't think the Redskins were playing that evening but Mr. Potts was there representing!

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me! I'll be back tomorrow to recap my birthday!

Cindy

Life, Lately!

It's been a fun and busy past few days! We got more snow on Friday afternoon/evening which (along with my cold) kept us home, I had a lovely girl's day with some ladies Saturday, Sunday we had church, lunch with some friends, and some errand running. Then yesterday it was back to work and then play practice last night at 8pm. Whew! And the busy-ness isn't going to end until this weekend (or maybe after!) I don't necessarily mind being busy, but keep me going too long and I get annoyed and just want to be home!

The pretty snow on my lunch break last Thursday once the sun came out and it had stopped snowing.


The pretty sky on my way back in to work after lunch on Thursday.

Do they look mischievous? It's because they were. Collin put Seabass in the snow to freak him out, instead he runs around trying to climb trees and hiding in bushes. Needless to say, I freaked out a little!

After his excursion in the snow, he decided to make it up to me by snuggling in my lap for a long while that evening.

A pretty sunrise on Friday morning before the weather got bad again.

I'd been wearing my puffy down coat all last week because it keeps me warm. However, sometimes the feathers escape!

The snow on my windshield as I left work on Friday afternoon. It had only been snowing for about an hour and there was already significant accumulation and the roads were slippery!

Even though it was snowing outside I made myself a hot fudge sundae!

While watching Back to the Future Seabass slept on me.

I love when Collin tries to figure out songs. He is so great at hearing something and being able to play it. I love his musicality.

The frost on my car windows Sunday morning as we left for church.

Somebody hit my car door with their car door it looks like... I have no idea who it was and there's a little bit of scratching at the top mark. =/ My poor car was already dirty enough from the snow/salt. Now it's damaged. =(

I don't like the cold weather, but I sure do like that I can wear cute hats!

So that's a little bit of what's been going on lately! Today is so nice and warm! It's almost 60° and tomorrow is supposed to be in the mid 60's! Which is perfect because I can wear a dress AND... Tomorrow is my birthday!! I'm really excited! There's not really anything too big planned, we're just going to Cracker Barrel for dinner tomorrow evening with family. But I love that place and can't wait to enjoy a delicious meal! This birthday isn't anything too terribly monumental, I'm turning 27, but I still love celebrating. I love celebrating life! Plus, it gives me an excuse to spend time with family and get a good meal. =)

Cindy

A Snowy Morning

Hi friends! Did you miss me? I've been in a bit of a blog slump lately. I love my blog and all my friends I just haven't had any motivation to post. But today, today it snowed! And I had to show it to you. And it was gorgeous, friends! Or still is gorgeous. =) The sun has come out but the snow is still on the ground and I love it! The roads are finally clearing and for that I am grateful, because driving to work this morning, not so fun... The roads weren't plowed and there was a thin layer of ice underneath the snow that made it just a bit slippery... I drove 20-25mph the whole way in to work. Good thing my commute is less than 5 miles.

This was the sky yesterday afternoon before the snow began to fall that evening.

Leaving my apartment for work.

You can kind of see the sun trying to peek through for it's sunrise.


The main road in our apartment complex. Completely unplowed...

The snow still coming down outside my office window about an hour ago.

It's been such a pretty morning. I love the snow like this. It's light and very fluffy so it's easy to clean off and it's just pretty enough and there's not a lot of it to cause any issues. I do love when we get snowed in, but my wallet doesn't like that so much since it means Collin doesn't get paid if he doesn't work.

We're supposed to get some more snow tomorrow so we'll see what happens! But for now, I shall enjoy this beauty. Did you get any snow where you're at?

Cindy

A Glorious Morning

We have been seeing gorgeous sunrises the past week or so! I LOVE it. It is so nice and such a great start to my day to see such beauty in the morning sky.

*This one, I think, is my favorite!*


After getting to work yesterday, Collin texted me and asked if I'd seen the rainbow. I immediately went to the back of our building since I didn't see one out of front window and there was a double rainbow! So awesome!

Today we didn't have a beautiful sunrise, mainly because it's been raining since yesterday and will continue to rain through tomorrow. Ick. But oh well, the rain is needed, for sure!

I hope that wherever you may be you get to experience wonderful sunrises each and every day!

Cindy

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Last night I made this for dinner and it was oh so delicious! Collin got out of the shower and immediately commented on how good it smelled in the apartment. And then after his first bite he proclaimed, "Wow! This is REALLY good!" I think I picked a good recipe. =)

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Ingredients

No-Stick Cooking Spray
Tortilla Chip Strips
3 cups cooked chicken strips, pieces, or shredded (3 cups = about 12 oz)
1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
1 can (10 oz each) red enchilada sauce
1 can (8 oz each) Hunt's® Tomato Sauce
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend cheese, divided

Directions

1. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add tortilla pieces and chicken; mix well. Cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until hot, stirring frequently.
2. Pour undrained tomatoes and enchilada and tomato sauces over chicken mixture in skillet. Mix well.
3. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over chicken mixture. Cover skillet; cook 5 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally.
4. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Serve immediately.

I always enjoy cooking with Ro*Tel. I think it makes things a little bit better. It has just the right amount of spice to it! This meal was super easy to make so it is a definite winner in my book, too! If you make this, let me know what you think.

Cindy