A Little Update

Blogging is going to be a bit touch and go over the next two weeks. Today, when I returned to school, I was completely astounded to find that this is our last week of school! I have to get through this week and next week is finals. I have been working my boo-tay off trying to keep my head above water this semester! It has most definitely been a challenging semester, but I am almost there! I am about to be home free for a month! I am already getting a little intimidated about next semester because every semester until I graduate in May 2011 I will be taking at least one very difficult economics class that I need to graduate, as well as the upper level economics courses I choose and my freebie easy-A electives. I am so glad that I have a major that requires me to have a certain amount of liberal arts electives because they translate into one less class to really have to worry about when you are in over your head in 3000, 4000, and 5000 level classes! I am making a concerted effort not to think about next semester yet though! I am not going to worry about it until Spring 2010 starts! Not to mention, I am totally staying part-time at work for Christmas holiday. I usually work full-time during all my school breaks, but because of scheduling reasons with the school academic calendar and the office pay period calendar, it didn't work out. I am only slightly bummed about making less money in December because the fact that I am going to be done with my work day by 10:30 to 12:30 depending on the day is AWESOME! I am going to really enjoy this break!

So, I am not going to be blogging too much over the next two weeks because I have to keep my grades up and study hard! I will pop in every now and then, but I am not planning on regularly posting right now. When I get back on track, I promise more of "What's In Jennifer's Closet?", a super fun giveaway, and recaps of holiday fun happening in my life...coming up: my hometown's Annual Christmas Parade, Lucky's pictures with Santa at Pawparazzi, and pictures of my preppy Christmas tree in my room! To all my college girls, GOOD LUCK with finals! I will talk to all of y'all real soon!

Counting Blessings

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! It is such a special holiday and a good time to remember how blessed we are. Thomas and I always list what we are thankful for while we drive up to his grandparents house for lunch. That is our tradition every year since we have started spending Thanksgiving together. We are going to spend Thanksgiving at his grandparents house as usual. I am so lucky to be marrying into a family that already loves me like one of their own. They have always been so welcoming to me and my family. My mother and I always spend Thanksgiving with his family because my brothers are grown, have families, or far away. It is a really nice tradition to have both Thomas' and my families together for the holiday! In honor of Thanksgiving, here are a few things I am thankful for.

• Jesus Christ and that I grew up in a home that taught me about Jesus' love for me and the way to Heaven is through him
• my family
• my friends...my blog friends included!
• my future husband
• his wonderful family...my soon to be new family members
• my puppy Lucky and all the other animals I get to spend time with: Ashton's dog Chloe, my family's dog Chico, my family's cat Jake, and Thomas' family's dog Katie
• my country
• my school and that I have the opportunity to further my education
• my job
• my health
• and a few sillys! Lilly Pulitzer, Black Friday Shopping, Motrin which is making my toe feel tons better, and the macaroni & cheese I am going to eat tomorrow!
• and so many other important things I can't even think of now, but I am so so so blessed!

What A Day!!!

Well, today was quite the interesting day. Last week some time I got an ingrown toenail and decided to get it out. I have done that tons of times before without trouble because I get them a lot on my big toes. I guess I didn't get it all because my toe got very swollen and continued to get worse and worse until today when I decided that I had to get to a doctor. It was getting so painful that I couldn't wear normal shoes (UGGs were the only thing I could walk in) and I would scream with pain if anyone touched or bumped it. I got in to see the podiatrist today and it was indeed an ingrown toenail that had gotten infected. I had to have ingrown toenail removal surgery this afternoon. When I took my boot off and showed my doctor and nurse, they both were amazed that I was able to walk at all! They were like, "Well, no wonder you are in pain! That certainly wasn't going to heal on it's own!"
So, the edge of my toenail is gone now and I am praying I NEVER have to experience this surgery ever again! It was very painful getting the shots of Novocaine in my big toe! I think I had like 20 shots by the time it was over! I only felt the first 5 or so, but after that one section of my toe wasn't numb and the doctor had to keep giving me more! WARNING...do not google ingrown toenail surgery unless you want to be scared out of your mind and grossed out! I googled it beforehand and oh man, was I scared to get the procedure done! My hands were shaking while I was sitting there waiting for my toe to get numb! My doctor was great though and made sure that I couldn't feel a thing before he did the procedure and now I am on the road to recovery.
I am in the bed with my toe all wrapped up...I am terrified to look at it tomorrow!!!...and on medication. It doesn't really hurt...yet?...because I believe it is still a little numb. I have to take some antibiotics to heal the infection and basic wound care. Oh, and let's not forget pain pills! I am hoping I don't need too many of those...I really hate pain! Wish me luck that I get to feeling better soon and on a more vain note...I hope my toenail is pretty when it heals!!!!

P.S. 1 Year Blogging Anniversary Giveaway is postponed until I get better from this surgery. I just haven't had the time to get it all together and take pictures with this impromptu major doctor visit and all!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This week I just couldn't get a "What's In Jennifer's Closet?" together. I might do it tomorrow, or I might just wait until next week. We will all just have to wait until tomorrow to find out! I am just going to recap my weekend today because I am so exhausted that I really only have enough energy for a short post. Today, I give you a bulleted list...

• So the reason the "What's In Jennifer's Closet?" didn't work out is 2 fold: 1) I couldn't get my camera to take a decent picture of the necklace I wanted to talk about (ruined the surprise, huh?) and 2) I was going to try again this morning before school, but turned off the alarm this morning instead of hitting snooze and slept until 9:22...and had to leave the house at 9:30.
• Well, I got out the door at 9:40 and said good enough. What do y'all think? I proceeded to rush to school eating breakfast behind the wheel, walked into class about 8 minutes late (which is nothing for this class...professor is about 15 min. late everyday...so really I was early) and found the class empty. Yes, class was cancelled Friday, but I wasn't there to get the announcement.
• Why wasn't I there? Well, I was planning a party for a good friend and co-worker that was leaving our office for a promotion somewhere else. We had a great party at Mellow Mushroom. I had to skip classes on Friday to be there on time and to pick up her cake. It was so much more fun than school!
• Now that Thomas is working at my office...have I told y'all that great news? Thomas got the job at my office that I asked y'all to pray about this summer. Isn't that awesome!?!?! He is working one floor below me and on Fridays we ride home together...long story for the reason it is only Fridays, but his schedule is way different than mine. So, this past Friday, I was driving us home and Thomas said that it felt like a date night to him. He said it was Friday after work, and that we needed to go out. We ended up at Texas Roadhouse where we both had delicious happy hour margaritas and a delicious dinner...and thank goodness I was the one driving...that's all I have to say about that!
• Saturday morning, I had to go to the vet for Lucky's yearly check-up and shots. One of my favorite bloggers works at my vet's office and she popped her head in for us to actually meet in person. I know she had to be BUSY because Ashton used to work at that vet office and she says Saturdays are the worst! So, Perfectly Imperfect, it was great getting to meet each other in person and thanks for taking the time to pop your head in! You looked so pretty! I think we definitely do need to get together for lunch or dinner one day soon! It would be so fun!
• After the vet, I took Lucky home to relax and mom and I went to Pawparazzi to get some special new things for the pups. Lucky sure did end up with a lot of loot! He got a new Christmas red and green polka dot collar and leash, a Christmas party collar, a Christmas shirt, a new sweater, and some delicious homemade treats. Doesn't he look so cute!?!

• After that, we decided to go see New Moon. Well, the theater was packed, as I thought it would be, but the movie was great. I have to admit I scoffed at the books initially. Then I saw the first Twilight movie...and thought the story was okay, but seriously couldn't understand the attraction between Bella and Edward. HE. IS. A. VAMPIRE! Enough said, why are you into him girl? Plus, I thought the actress who played Bella wasn't very good. I have to say that I am now won over by this movie. I understood the relationship more, I thought the vampires looked better, the actress who plays Bella was a lot better, and I think I liked the story more in this one. The first one was just starting the story, now it is getting good. I am now going to read the books...gasp!
• Sunday, Thomas and I got to go to church together for the first time in like 2 years! With his new job, he can go to church and do fun things on the weekend. His old job was 11 PM - 7 AM all weekend! It was so nice having him there! We are going to start going together every Sunday!
• After church, we went to Moe's and Best Buy. Thomas needed a new laptop bag and I bought him one for an early Christmas present.
• Then we went to Wal-mart and got the stuff to make Breakfast Pizza. Thomas wanted me to make it for him at his house last night. He really liked it, but has decided that next time I make it I need to make the hashbrowns crispy in a pan first before baking it, and I need to smear breakfast gravy on top of the crescents for even more flavor. He said it would be Ultimate Breakfast Pizza then! I guess I will try that and see if it is any better that way. He is so funny! That boy likes to eat!
• One last thing...the LP dog collar is still available. If anyone is interested, please let me know ASAP. If I don't get any interest I am going to list it on Ebay.
• and one more thing: Wednesday I will be hosting a giveaway in honor of my blogging for 1 year! Be sure to drop on by!

Mascot for Lilly Pulitzer Dog Collar For Sale!

Alright, so I don't have any exciting plans happening this weekend to tell y'all about and I have been good and not gone shopping...well kinda...so I really don't have much to talk about today. I haven't gone shopping for me, per se, but I did pick up a collar and leash for Lucky the other day at our Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store, Palm Avenue. I was so excited to see that they had a small collar and leash left (well, not so small, we are getting to that) and I had been wanting the set and Lucky totally needs a collar, right?!?! We all know how much this pup is spoiled and seeing as he has an impending trip to the vet scheduled for this weekend, it could be his reward. Yes, after the vet he always gets a trip to Pawparazzi for a specialty treat and a little reward. My mom always did it with me and the doctor, and why not do it with my dog and the vet! I know I am a little bit ridiculous about my dog. Moving on...so I get home and the collar is WAY. TOO. BIG! and I am stuck with it. Yep, I can get store credit only...which I might do this weekend if none of y'all want the collar. I thought I would go ahead and open it up to my readers.

The sale is for the collar only! Please note that I am not selling the leash because I will be purchasing the size small collar for Lucky.

The collar is a size MEDIUM (13.5" to 16.5") in the Sunshine Yellow Lobster Pot print. The print is so cute and is appropriate for either a girl or boy dog. That is if you are the type that has a prissy boy dog like moi! It is the Mascot for Lilly Pultizer collar that was sold in specialty dog boutiques and Lilly Pulitzer Signature Stores. It is a very thick and durable canvas-type material with grosgrain ribbon on the back. It is all stainless steel for the leash clip, buckle (which also has pretty white enamal over the bone for extra cuteness!) and holes for the buckle to go in to. It is definitely made to last for years with normal wear and tear! It is currently being sold on the Lilly Pulitzer website for the original retail of $48. I am selling this collar for $30. This is lower than any price I have seen on the internet! Please email me at littleladybug706@aol.com if you are interested in buying this adorable collar!

Wedding Dress Wednesday...A Day Late

So this post is a day late because yesterday when I originally wrote this post, the photos wouldn't upload correctly. I am having the same problem again today. I am still going to post, despite the fact that you will have to click on the links to take you to the pictures. I just hate that! I'm sorry y'all!

Those of y'all that follow me on twitter saw that yesterday I was looking at some wedding gowns online. I am so excited to go try on wedding gowns this spring. My mom and I were talking about it this past weekend and we are going to go to a few different spots including a possible trip up to Atlanta so I can try on some Lazaro and Jim Hjelm gowns and my old prom dress/pageant gown boutique Frills and Fancies. Frills and Fancies is a store in Statesboro, GA and is 4 or 5 stories high and is filled to the brim with dresses of all types. There is a prom floor, pageant floor, wedding gown floors, bridesmaid floor, etc. It is such a neat place! I have been looking at some of the designers that they carry at the store and the one that pops out to me is Maggie Sottero. I adore her designs! I am not really sure what style I am going for, but I do know that I want lace on my gown. I do have a few styles I really like without lace, but it seems like I mostly drawn towards the lace. It seems very bridal to me! I also haven't decided what fit I want. My mom thinks that I should do a ball gown because how many days in your life can you get away with a ball gown?!?! I love ball gowns, but it seems like the dresses that really take my breath away are the A-line or straight lace gowns. Ashton says that is what she envisions me in! I can envision myself in both, so it will come down to which dress feels right! Here are some of the Maggie Sotteros that I really like and am planning to try on when we go sometime this spring.

Clarissa (without the bolero)
Kylie (I love how you can put the pretty train on the back for the ceremony! I also like how it is lace and beading, but different than traditional lace)
Anniston (the tulle bottom is gorgeous!)
Passion (I really like the way the straps look from the back!)
Karina Royale (This one might just be my favorite! I would want a white ribbon instead of the champagne color)
Mirabella (I love the tulle)

...and from the Sottero & Midgley line (their higher line which I would have to go to Atlanta to try on) I love this dress. I saw it in the first bridal magazine I bought after our engagement and have been comparing all other no lace gowns to it since. This picture doesn't do it justice! It is so much prettier in the magazine. ASM3265

So now y'all have an idea of what type of dresses I really like! I hope y'all have enjoyed looking as much I have! I might make this a themed post from time to time until the big day when I actually pick one. I really want to go through the Jim Hjelm and Lazaros that I like too!

P.S. Girls, I have a cute story for y'all! I asked Thomas last night if he wanted to see my new Lillys from the sale. He said yes and I proceeded to tell him that the dress I bought I was planning to wear to our Rehearsal Dinner. He then told me NO, don't show me it! I asked why not and he said that he wanted it to be a surprise! He would only look at my other Lillys after that! Isn't that just so sweet!

Just a Quick Update

Hello girls! There isn't too much for me to blog about on this Monday night. I am sitting here in my bed waiting on Ashton to come over to finish watching an episode of Big Brother Season 11. She loves this show, but I had never seen it. I must say I am hooked on it now! I will definitely be watching the new season when it comes out. I have been a studying machine the last few days! I had a Sociology test this morning (it went pretty well, we will see Wednesday what I got) and I have a dreaded Intermediate Microeconomics test tomorrow morning bright and early. I have worked the math problems over and over again and feel like I know how to do them. I am going to look over some more notes tonight before bed (or maybe just wake up early and cram some more before the test) and hopefully tomorrow I will do well on the test! I am crossing my fingers for a B! Wish me luck ladies! Come 9:45 tomorrow, all of this stress will be over for a couple weeks! Have a great Tuesday!

Just a taste of what my test is over if you were wondering...and I know y'all were right! Because we all are major nerds like myself and actually care about the profit maxing level of output for a monopoly is in short run. Yeah, I though so. Sooooo interesting (dripping with sarcasm)

via http://spot.colorado.edu/~kaplan/econ2010/section10/gifs/fig102.gif

ETA: I think I did pretty good. I knew how to do everything, so fingers crossed I got the math answers right and my teacher likes my answers to the the essays! Who knows when I will get it back, but that is major stress gone now!

What's In Jennifer's Closet?

I have decided to start a weekly post called "What's In Jennifer's Closet?" This is inspired by the lovely Mrs. Muffy Martini, who you may remember used to do this quite often. I adore getting a sneak peek into someone's closet and I assume most of y'all probably do too! I am thinking that I am going to make this a Monday post so that we can all have some fun on the first day of the work/school week! Without further ado..."What's In Jennifer's Closet?"

This week I am featuring my lovely Lilly Pulitzer Cleary Dress. I loved this dress as soon as it came out in the magazine last Fall and wanted it right away, but I talked myself out of buying it. As soon as I couldn't get it anymore, I had decided that I had to have it! I hunted it down on Ebay and grabbed it. This is such a great dress! I wore it to my Phi Kappa Phi induction and it is perfect for church. I think it is one of those dresses that I can wear forever! It is so classic!I wear this dress with these plaid shoes from Payless. They are very cute and comfortable. I hope y'all have enjoyed my first "What's In Jennifer's Closet?"

Thanks Sweet, Sassy, Southern, and Classy!

I received a blog award from Sweet, Sassy, Southern, and Classy. She is one of my favorite daily reads! She is so cute and super sweet! I am positive if we met IRL we would be the best of friends. It has been a little while since I participated from one of these, so I am very excited to do so! Thanks so much!
So here are the rules: I have to do is post 10 random facts about me and pass it on to 10 bloggers. Here we go:

1. I am addicted to shows that most girls would never watch. Stormchasers on Discovery is my favorite right now. I have watched all the episodes about 3 times each! I also love to watch Mythbusters, Survivorman, Man vs. Food, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, and just about any wildlife documentary, especially the snake ones. Yes, I know these are weird shows to watch and most girls leave the room when their guys turn it on. I just can't get enough of these shows. Don't worry too much though...I still get my girl tv in too!

2. I hate vegetables! Seriously HATE! Just thinking about vegetable soup makes my skin crawl. I have never liked them and the hatred has only gotten worse with age. The weird thing about it is that I can tolerate looking at them when they are raw, but if they are cooked I will feel sick. I despise when I go to Cracker Barrel and someone with me gets a veggie plate because I don't want to eat my food because looking at their plate makes my stomach turn. I seriously have to pretend it isn't there. I will eat the veggies that are used as seasoning like celery, peppers, and onions and I like salad as long as their isn't broccoli and stuff in it and I love potatoes and corn, but if you would cook it as a side dish, I probably wouldn't eat it.

3. I am probably the most organized person you have ever met. I actually really enjoy organizing. I have a secret dream of becoming a professional organizer for people who are cluttered like on Clean House. I think it would be really fun! I like seeing things go from messy to organized and beautiful!

4. Ever since I got engaged I have been having NIGHTMARES that something is going to go wrong on my wedding day. I am serious! I have at least one a week! They are always something like the flowers didn't get here, the cake fell out of the truck and was smashed, I walk down the aisle and my train gets ripped off my dress, I look down at my ring and all the diamonds are gone, or the mother of all dreams was the one I had last week when we decided to move the wedding date up and I had to plan the entire thing in 3 days! I was running around buying flowers and trying to find a dress and a wedding present for Thomas, but when I walked into the backyard of our house (um, don't know why it was going to be held there) it was all decorated in pink and looked so gorgeous. I am going to be a complete wreck on the wedding day about all the things that could go wrong. In daily life, I am not stressed at all about any of this, but I guess the stress is coming out in my dreams!

5. I drink Coca-Cola more than should be allowed. I hate Diet Coke! Full calories and sugar for me! I really have to make sure I don't buy it for our house or office because I will drink can after can. I bought some for work and I drank 3 yesterday!!! Terrible! I remembered why I don't bring it to work now!

6. I eat like a bird. I can make a meal from a restaurant last for 3 meals and be completely stuffed!

7. I love animal prints and plan to buy some zebra and cheetah print things for Thomas and my first home.

8. I am a total girly girl now, but when I was little I had a love/hate relationship with being a girly girl. I was obsessed with the color blue and got my mom to buy me a blue plaid comforter for my bed. We once had to evacuate for a hurricane and I took the comforter with me because I was scared it wouldn't be there when we got back! I wouldn't wear anything with a rosette on it, I would cut it off! I got in trouble for this once. I also hated dresses and wanted to wear jeans and smiley face t-shirts and stuff like that. I think I probably broke my momma's heart about that! BUT, I was so girly in other ways. I had a unicorn and princess themed room (with an ugly blue plaid comforter!) and played American Girl dolls and Barbies and house all the time. I hated going outside and would rather stay inside and play dress-up all day. I loved dance and cheerleading and never wanted to play soccer or anything. I think I was a confused little girl, don't you!

9. I have recently really started loving Christian music. Chris Tomlin is my favorite. I always loved singing it at church, but now I listen to it most of the time in the car. Truthfully, my whole life has really changed since I joined my church last November. I have become so much closer to God. I have been saved for years, but through high school I didn't really challenge myself to a closer relationship with God. I prayed, yes, but I didn't work on growing my relationship. I imagine that is pretty normal for teens. This church has made me realize that I desire to become a strong woman of God and that I want to be his hands and feet. My relationship has grown by leaps and bounds and I feel like I could burst with joy just thinking about it! God really is my joy and I would have nothing without him! I wish everyone on earth could experience the way I feel about God because it is so amazing! I am not the same person I was a year ago!

10. I am searching for a biblical life verse. There are quite a few I really like, but I don't feel like I have one specific one that is my life verse yet. Do any of y'all have a life verse? I think there might just be different verses that are good for different times in your life. I have this verse hanging up on my bulletin board in my office and I really like it. It is a really good verse for where I am in my life and walk with Christ.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

I will pass this on to all of my new followers. Thanks for following and welcome to my blog!

OMG! A Lilly Sale!

First off, I want to welcome all of my new followers I have gotten lately. I love when I see the number go up! I hope y'all enjoy reading about my life, recipes, wedding planning, and shopping addiction! I am almost up to 200 posts and my blogger birthday is coming up, so maybe I will host a giveaway or something. Welcome to Diary of a Southern Belle!

P.S. I promise to be a better blogger come next week, school is just kicking my booty right now and I have an Intermediate Micro test on Tuesday that needs to be a good grade!

So, all of my long time readers will know just how much I love a good sale. Y'all can imagine just how thrilled I was when I saw that Lilly Pulitzer was holding her first ever online sale!!! Okay, if you remember this post where I talked about wanting the Kassidy dress to wear to my rehearsal dinner. The moment I saw that dress, I loved it, but the price was a little high considering at the time it came out I didn't even have an inkling of where to wear it. Then when I got engaged and picked my wedding colors (that shade of pink and a baby pink...and maybe a bit of gold mixed in as an accent) I just about kicked myself for not getting it. It is exactly what my dream rehearsal dress is (yes, y'all I have a dream about everything relating to my wedding...shower dresses, rehearsal dress, honeymoon outfits, the way to formally ask my bridesmaids to be in the wedding, everything! I told y'all I have been planning since I was born!) I had pretty much thought the dress was not meant to be and that I would have to hunt for another perfect dress, until today when I woke up at 6:45 to get on my computer to see if the dress was there...and it was and now it is mine along with a few other little goodies! I am beyond excited! This is my You Have Had A Ridiculously Hard And Emotionally Draining Semester and You Deserve To Look Like A Million Bucks At All Your Wedding Events and Make Thomas' Eyes Bug Out Of Their Sockets Just Looking At You Present! Try saying that 3 times fast! I can't wait to see this little beauty on. Can y'all believe I bought my rehearsal dinner dress a year and a half away!!! It is going to kill me looking at it hanging there waiting to be worn! Here are the items I bought at the Lilly sale today!

Kassidy Dress! LOVE LOVE LOVE!Glaston Tunic - I have wanted this top ever since Hopsy showed it on her blog! I ran into my Lilly store and admired how pretty the beading was! Again, I could not think of one place to wear it besides wanting it so badly. Now, I think I will wear it to one of my bridal showers and/or on my honeymoon with a pair of white pants and a fun strappy pink heel!Paley Cardigan in Dill Green and Lilly's Pink - I have loved this cardigan for a while too and am trying to build my cardigan collection. I don't have very many colors and I don't know why! I adore them, but never seem to buy them when I am shopping! I have a little collection going now with my Land's End and now my Lillys! I am now really wanting the dresses they have these paired with! Ha! Shopaholic! I will have to browse Ebay come spring and see if I ever find them!

So girls, that is what I got! I can't believe those prices! I hope Lilly does this again with all the other collections at a later date. I would love to be able to grab some items for a price this good again! It was so much fun and it seems to have been a huge success based on the fact that almost everything is now SOLD OUT! Did you girls get anything?

Breakfast Pizza

This is a super easy recipe that I learned in my Nutrition and Wellness class in high school. I loved that class and have remembered a lot of cooking tips and recipes from it. This recipe is really great because you can tweak it to whatever it is that your family likes. You can add veggies or a different type of meat. Crumbled bacon would be great!!! If you like more or less cheese, hash browns, or sausage, it is perfectly fine to change based on your tastes. The only thing you do not want to change is the amount of eggs! Many recipes online call for 3 eggs or 5 eggs, but I have found that 4 eggs is perfect! Another great tip I have found and put in the directions is to bake the crust for about 3-4 minutes before adding the ingredients and baking it. This cuts the bake time from many online recipes in half. I hope y'all enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 pound bulk pork sausage (any type you like, I use Jimmy Dean Regular, but if you like spicy food Hot would be great!)
1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (or just buy the refrigerated Simply Potatoes hash browns if you are making it in a few days after your grocery store visit. You could even buy the flavored kinds, but I haven't tried them before)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees
2. Unroll crescent dough and place on a 12-in. pizza pan; press seams together and press up sides of pan to form a crust. Tip: make a lip on the side with your rolls to hold in the eggs when you pour them in later. The pan does not need to be greased as the crescent rolls have a lot of butter in them already and will not stick.

3. When the oven has pre-heated, put the crust in the oven for about 3 or 4 minutes. This will cut down on the cooking time when you add your ingredients

4. In a skillet, brown sausage over medium heat; drain.

5. Sprinkle sausage and hash browns over crust. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk and pepper; pour over pizza. Sprinkle cheese over crust.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

7. Enjoy!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was pretty busy! I had so much going on!
Friday, Thomas and I went to eat at a local Mexican place! It was so good! We had a nice time on our date. On the way home, this crazy person pulled out in front of me while I was going 70 MPH down the highway. The Lord really had his arms around us that night and kept us from harm's way. We were literally a foot from hitting the person head-on! It was so scary and I was bawling afterwards. All I could do was thank God for saving us. If we had been going any faster, we would have been in serious danger. I don't even really remember seeing the person pull out either. It was like God told me to slam on the brakes. It was terrifying and reminded me that God is always watching out for us. I probably prayed for a good 30 minutes after that to just thank God for keeping us safe. I don't think I have ever told y'all how scared I am of driving before, but it is one of my worst fears that I have to face daily. I didn't want my learner's permit, and didn't get it right away. After I got it, I didn't even start to learn to drive until a few months later. My mom and I were in a horrible wreck when I was little and thankfully we were not even hurt. It was so scary though. I can remember it vividly. Everyone on the road around us stopped and they told us they just knew we were injured or dead. God kept us from harm's way then also. Neither one of us even had a scratch, and my mom hit her head on the window and busted it! Needless to say, I am a scaredy cat driver. I like to be the driver though because I feel more in control. I just say a prayer everyday when I get in the car and I will continue that. God has saved me from a terrible wreck three times now! The third was another close call when I was 18, but I will spare you the details. It was just as scary!
On to happier things! Saturday, I got my hair trimmed and highlighted. Afterwards, my mom and I went out to eat at the Olive Garden and went shopping. We went to the jeweler and I got my ring inspected (thank goodness I went because my center stone was loose!) and it got cleaned, buffed, rodiumed, and tightened up! I haven't ever told y'all about the dreams I keep having about my ring. I have these recurring nightmares that I look down and ALL of my diamonds are gone! It is very scary! When we first got the ring sized, the stones kept getting loose and we had to go back three times for them to fix it. I guess that is when it started. I now check my ring no less than 2 or 3 times a day. OBSESSIVE! Anyway, the man gave me my ring back after tightening the center stone and one of the side diamonds was gone! I was freaking out and he assured me it was in the cleaner. It was and he tightened every single stone on the ring (there are 33!). Now my obsessive checking is at an all time high! After that we went to Homegoods and TJ Maxx. Wouldn't you know I walked in and the gorgeous LP Betsy Brocade party dress was hanging there in my size! I grabbed it and went to the dressing room. It fit like it was made for me and I bought it right there! I think I will wear it to my engagement party!After our girl's day out, I went to visit Thomas. Thomas' parents have been wanting a new dog ever since their miniature schnauzer Jessie passed away this summer. I have been telling them about different dogs I have seen online and adoption sites, but they hadn't found the right one. Well, they had an adoption at the park on Saturday and they came home with this little girl! Her name is Katie and she is a springer spaniel mix. The lady told her that she had been brought in 3 months ago by a family moving into an apartment and that today was going to be her last chance at getting adopted. Well, they couldn't let this sweet girl go! She is really the sweetest thing and was in heaven when they got her new bed and toys home to her that night. She is a great addition to their family!
Sunday, I got inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor fraternity at school. It was a very nice ceremony and my mom, Thomas, Thomas' mom and dad, and his grandparents all came to support me. I am so lucky to be marrying into a family that has welcomed me as one of their own. Grandma Betty told me that she had to keep Grandpa from yelling, "That's my girl" when I got my pin! Apparently Thomas' mother was going to yell as well but refrained. I am so glad they did! I would have been so embarrassed! That night I made a delicious breakfast pizza for my mom and I for dinner. It is so easy and I learned the recipe in Nutrition and Wellness in high school. I will post the recipe today, so please check back! It is awesome!

Aveeno Facewash

I have got to share a wonderful product with you today! Last week, I ran out of my MK facewash and went on the Internet to order some more. Then I saw that it cost $18 for a tiny tube that literally lasted like 2 months...and I wasn't impressed with it. I love MK, but this facewash didn't make my face feel clean and sometimes I would find makeup left on my face the next morning. I love the rest of the MK Timewise skincare collection, but not the facewash. Especially not $18 worth! So, I went up to the drugstore and picked up an Aveeno facewash. I love the Aveeno brand, so I thought it would be pretty good. I have very dry skin in the winter and Aveeno lotion is the ONLY thing that makes it soft! I have tried everything and Aveeno is the best! So, back to the facewash...I picked up the Positively Radiant Makeup Removing Cleanser and it is the BEST facewash I have ever used. I am not exaggerating at all girls! It took off all of my makeup including my eye makeup (didn't even use eye makeup remover beforehand) and left my skin soft, clean feeling, and not too dry. It smelled really nice also. I also liked that it came out in a pump and had a foam texture. It is a really great product and if you are looking for a new facewash, I would definitely suggest trying out this one.

I am solely promoting this product because I love it and am not doing it for the Aveeno company. However, if anyone from Aveeno is reading, I would gladly try out your products anytime! :)

DCC Workout DVDs

For Thomas and my 7 year anniversary, he took me out and bought me a few things I had been wanting. One of the things was the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Workout Videos. They currently have 3 dvds available at Amazon and Best Buy. One little thing did bother me though! A week after I got the videos and had taken them out of the packaging, my cable provider (Comcast) started advertising that the workouts were on On Demand. I guess I really didn't need to buy them, but I am glad to have them when Comcast takes it off of On Demand. I would say to try it on there if you have Comcast, and if you really like it, go buy it. There are some other things on the dvds like extra routines, faster speed dance, and step by step positioning for yoga poses. I have liked having the extras. They have a cardio dance video, a yoga video, and a boot camp video. I got the dance and the yoga ones. I have really enjoyed doing them and I plan to get the boot camp one in a couple weeks. My favorite one is the dance one because I love dancing and it takes me back to high school cheerleading. The dances are not as hard as the ones we did in cheerleading and I am sure they are easier than normal DCC dances, but it has been kicking my booty! I am so out of shape that after I did the dance video for the first time, I was super sweaty and out of breath and the next day I was so sore I could barely get out of bed! It is a really fun dance and I really enjoy doing it and feel like I get a pretty good workout. If you are not a good dancer or you haven't done cheerleading dancing before (or if it has been a long time for you), I think this dance would be perfect for you. It is not hard at all. I danced all of my life through dance and cheerleading and thought the dance was fun, but was something I personally might get bored with in a short period of time.

I also really like the yoga dvd. I feel so stretched out when I do it and it is very relaxing once you do it a few times and understand what the leader is saying. The first few times I pretty much was getting out of the positions every few seconds to try to figure out what he meant my body was supposed to do. This video breaks down the moves into beginner (me!), intermediate, and advanced and has two different length routines. I have only done the short one, but I plan to move to the longer 45 minute one when I get a little stronger. It is relaxing and really fun. I haven't ever done yoga before, but I really like it now!

Overall, I think these videos have been a good buy and they have gotten me off the couch. They are fun and keep me motivated. I would highly suggest them to anyone wanting to try them out.

all images via amazon.com

Halloween Photoshoot

This weekend was very low key. Friday, Thomas and I went out of a date to get Mexican at El Potro. Saturday, I handed out candy and took some pictures of Lucky and Chico (my mom's dog) all dressed up in their costumes. They also got a special trip to the dog boutique, Pawparrazzi, where the owner took pictures of them and they got special treats. Sunday, Thomas and I went to visit his grandparents and all of his family came over to have a barbecue. It was a nice relaxing weekend. Here are some of the pictures from Lucky and Chico's photo shoot.My favorite!

My little pumpkin!

Hiding because he was so embarrassed I put the hat on him. He wouldn't move from this spot until I took it off of him.

This was the best picture I got of Chico. He was a bumblebee! He just wanted to run and play, not take pictures!

I moved it inside since it was so hot! I had to throw treats in the basket to get Lucky to stay in it! It didn't work so well...

My cat Jake wanted to get in on the action too!

What a cutie!