Trouble!

If you followed me before you have to follow me again due to the address change. There is no way around it! So, delete the old me, follow the new me.

www.Ihearthicks.blogspot.com

Olive You-Blog Challenge!

Get ready! I created a song lyric blog challenge leading up to Valentine's Day! Each song title has to do with love in some form or fashion-old and new! You don't have to be married to play along! Starting February 2nd I will blog about each song title. You can too! Awww...come on, it will be fun!

February 2nd- On the wings of Love/(Bachelor theme song)Jeffrey Osborne
- blog about a place you'd love to visit!
February 4- Amazed/Lonestar
-blog about a product you can't live without!
February 6- Kiss from a Rose/Seal
-blog about your favorite flower!
February 8- I'm not a player I just crush a lot/Big Pun
- blog about your celeb crush..or crushes!
February 10- One Sweet Day/Mariah Carey
- blog about your favorite sweet recipe!
February 12- I had the time of my life/(Dirty Dancing) Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
-blog about your favorite memory with your significant other!
February 14- blog about your wedding day/dance song!

XOXO
*** Let me know if you play along so I can read yours too! ***

Recipes we liked!

Last week I posted a few recipes I was going to try and here are 2 that we liked the best!

Chicken pot pie
3 chicken breasts
1 large can of VEG-Al (unless you want to make your own lima beans, corn, celery, etc.)
1 package of roll out dough (for the top/bottom)
1 egg
1 small can of Cream of Potato Soup
While your following the directions cooking your chicken breast roll out your 1st dough and press it into a sprayed 9 inch pie pan. Crack the egg and use the yolk to "glaze" the pie dough so the veggies don't make the bottom soggy and it helps keep the pie shape while serving.
In a bowl pour the Veg-Al, cream of potato and stir. Once your chicken is done you will either dice or shred your chicken and add it to the bowl mixture. Of course you can salt/pepper to taste at this point. When you like the consistency, pour ingredients into the pie pan.
Use the 2nd dough to place over the entire dish using a fork to press the top and bottom layers together. Slice 5 slits in the dough just like you would a pie.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes
We loved this meal and it is SO easy!

Crock pot BBQ honey pork
3 lb. boneless pork roast
1 bottle of barbecue sauce (your favorite kind)
3/4 cup honey
Salt/Pepper to taste
Rice of choice

Place pork roast in the crock pot. Pour the bottle of barbecue sauce and honey in. NOTE- you need to cover your roast. Then, salt and pepper to taste. I cooked ours on high for 4 hours due to time constraints. However, I bet you could cook yours on low for 8 hours while at work. We just don't trust the crock pot.

Then, serve over rice. It really made the rice taste good. While we liked this meal, we couldn't help but think what could we add to it? One of the websites said carrots, but I actually did that and we picked out all the carrots. So, if you have a suggestion let me know.

Got a 5 ingredient recipe or less that your family enjoys? Share!

TGIF

TGIF! Check out the blinged-out laptop!

I wish my weekend plans involved fist pumping of any sort. Sadly, it's a low key work weekend around here! Pizza and Redbox tonight! Enjoy your weekend!

Snow Day Funnies!!

5 Ingredients or Less Dinner Week!

I'm really excited about dinner this week! I really love cooking and working with meat. ( I am not a fan of baking for some reason) Each of these recipes involves 5 or less easy ingredients!
In no particular order this is our menu:
Crock pot Caribbean Honey BBQ Pork Tenderloin over rice
(this has been simmering all day)
Jumbo Shrimp and veggie kabobs with rice
(I try to use the same sides so things don't go to waste)
Home made chicken pot pie
(the kind that you make and roll your own crust-- I'm excited)
Jumbo stuffed Italian (Turkey) shells and garlic bread (this has more than 5 ingredients) -click link to take you directly my recipe
(we eat this all the time and everyone who tries it, loves it)
These foods will probably last 2 nights each or make for great lunch left overs! I will post the recipes later because I alter them to our liking.

Best Saturday...with my new girlfriend!

On Friday night my hubby said for me not to make plans because we were having a date. You know I am not a fan of surprises because that means I have no control. Same reason why I don't like opening gifts in front of people. Scares me. ANYWAYS, so he didn't give me any clues although I tried to ask a million questions. We drove out to one of my favorite places--Leiper's Fork! If you drive too fast, you'll miss this quaint little quarter of a mile town in the middle of the country. Love, love, love it! We went and got a late lunch at The Country Boy Restaurant!


We ate lunch/brunch at 2pm. You can eat breakfast all day!

Today's lunch special--1 fried chicken breast and 2 sides. YES PLEASE! Oink, Oink...I got mash potatoes and warm apples
Steven and his breakfast foods...the Country Boy breakfast (eggs, bacon, biscuits, coffee, hash brown casserole and Arnold's famous gravy)
I get giddy over old fashion places.....how can you not love the cafe' bar!
It's a tiny red cafe' that's been around since the 1960's!
drink station
After lunch, we ran some errands. Remember-this is a date planned by my hubby! We pull into the nail salon in Franklin. I'm thinking he is looking for the old ice cream store which is no longer there. SURPRISE! We are going for pedicures! Steven goes through more expensive work boots than anyone I've ever known. Side story: these $200 work boots had a one year warranty/guarantee and he busted them in about 4 months. He is hard on his feet and has been saying for awhile that he wanted a professional foot massage.

So, we went and got pedicures together!

He seriously has the nicest guy feet/legs ever...and now they shine! Ha! He liked it so much, he said we would do it every few months!

I had a great Saturday afternoon! Thanks babes!

There's Something About Mary!

Over at KellysKorner she is hosting a Show Us Your Singles, blog mania! She has a heart for helping other single men and women find the love they deserve! Speaking of someone deserving, meet one of my besties--Mary! I am the luckiest gal around because she is not only my cubby mate but one of my best friends! (we teach 1st grade together) Let's face it, it's hard to meet Mr. Right when you are working with 6 year olds all day.

Here's the inside scoop on Mary:
* 44 years old
*Nashville, Tennessee area
* amazing mother of two teenagers
*teacher
*loves to laugh and is very witty
*active in her church
*avid movie goer
* Marathon runner (more than I can count) and work out enthuse
* Vanderbilt grad and currently back in college studying to be a dietitian.

(Mary-far right)

* LOVES- traveling, peanut butter M&M's, shopping, cooking/baking, exercising, reality TV and spending time with with her friends and family.


Simply, you can see....there is something about Mary!

Do you know a fabulous, educated, fun-loving guy in his late 30's early 40's? Email me at Kristy.Hicks@hotmail.com and I will pass your information along!

Yum!

This is the easiest home made zesty vegetable soup ever! ( I added ground turkey so it would last longer)

Ingredients

Zesty or Spicy V-8 (1 large bottle)

1 can of corn (drained)

1 can of black beans (drained)

1 fresh onion chopped and diced

1 fresh tomoato diced

salt/pepper to taste

Stick it in the crockpot and wait a few hours....easy!

** if you use ground turkey like I do, cook it on top of the stove first and then add it to the crock pot.

** you can add whatever veggies you like, I only used these because I know S will eat them.

We also top ours with sharp cheddar cheese and I made cornbread. Yum!

random laughing...

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. ~Jean Houston

This is us...

“I revealed too much too soon. I was emotionally slutty.”---Carrie Bradshaw

* love my friends because we can talk about everything. Had a great lunch with you peeps!

Quote

MOST OF THE SHADOWS OF THIS LIFE ARE CAUSED BY OUR STANDING IN OUR OWN SUNSHINE.
*Ralph Waldo Emerson

sunsets from Mayan Riviera, Mexico 2009

1-10-11 and 1-11-11 SNOW!

Day 2 of snow!! Zane spent the days looking out the window.

We went out for a bit...

If you're a bird, I'm a bird

Recently, I went downtown Franklin and saw lots of bird paintings....for $300 or more on 12x18 canvas. I can easily paint the same images for about 10 bucks. So, I did just to prove it to myself. I wish I had an original picture but I don't. So, I painted this for fun. No idea where to hang it...


It's 24x18 and still wet/shiny in the picture. For now, it sits in the front guest room.

The family that paints together stays together!

Over Christmas break we painted the bonus room! It took awhile because 1. it's a large room and 2. it has lots of angles/corners/molding/ and skylights. At first Zane chilled on the junky couch.As soon as Uncle Justin came he was allllllllllllll for helping. He followed Justin and the ladder around the room.
The whole house is a soft white/yellow which is kinda an odd choice so we had to paint the ceilings too.

We're turning into a theater room and got another big flat screen and are working on surround sound. But, I'm having the HARDEST time ever finding a large, modern grey or charcoal colored L shaped sectional. I need help. We've been allllllllllllll over. Either they don't come in the color scheme family or they are too tiny.

Stay tuned for more pictures. I hung all my photographs up from Europe and our travels and the black frame/white mat images look great!

Reality TV

Take it in stride, it's only TV!

I'm already tired of people being so up in arms that Brad got a second chance on The Bachelor. I've seen the blogs and topics on being astounded, shocked or disappointed in him. He's had nothing but bad publicity about not selecting a girl on his first season and it looks like it may haunt him this time around. Well, I say GO BRAD, you didn't commit or pretend to love someone for reality TV only to break up on the front of People Magazine the next week. SOMEONE, who shall remain nameless, but still loved, already announced who he selects via her facebook. :o) If you want to know too, Google Reality Steve Bachelor and it will tell you. You know I hate surprises so I read it too just like every other year.Anyways, since I am on a roll, I'm excited to watch this season of Jersey Shore and fist pump solo from the comfort of my home. woo-hoo!