Favorite Things of 2009: #3

Where do I begin? Let me start by saying that I am not a huge fan of comedy television shows. In fact, everything I like tends to be a drama or other type of hour long show. When I saw the previews for Modern Family I wasn't that impressed, but after watching the first episode after seeing it on my brother's TV recording list I was HOOKED! I can't remember a show where I have laughed out loud more!!! There is truly nothing like it on television. The cast they have assembled is fantastic in every way. The story lines the writers have come up with are fresh and truly hilarious. Eric Stonestreet has become one of my new favorite actors and the boy who plays "Manny", Rico Rodriguez, is the most talented child actor I've seen in years. Coming in at #3 on my Favorite Things of 2009 is the hit comedy, Modern Family.

Favorite Things of 2009: #4

You’d have to blind to not notice the HUGE vampire craze going on right now. I’ll admit…I’ve been bitten! Over the summer the CW channel was really pushing their upcoming vampire show and I knew that I would at least give it a try. Let’s just say that after the first episode I was hooked and now look forward to Thursday nights at 8pm each week! Coming in at #4 on my Favorite Things of 2009 is the hit show, The Vampire Diaries.

Winner FAIL

Well I had one of those moments that my family will NEVER EVER let me forget. I was opening up my stocking from Santa and inside was a scratch off lottery ticket. As I was scratching it off I noticed that I seemed to be matching up the items needed to win. In my haste and excitement I started shaking, my eyes were about to pop out of my head and I could hardly get out a word except to say that I had won $2000!!!! My family was just as surprised as I was. To verify that I had indeed won $2000 I handed the ticket to my husband who proudly proclaimed that I had indeed won…$2. EVERYONE burst out into laughter and I just wanted to curl up under the couch and die of embarrassment. All day my family kept shaking their bodies and trying to tease me. So yeah the jokes on me, but at least I did win something! ; )

Christmas Eve 2009

Thought I'd do a special post and let you guys see the tablescape I created for our Christmas Eve celebration. We always do appetizers! I'll post some recipes next week!

Merry Christmas

Santa comes tonight and our household is super excited...I know yours is too! Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. See you on the 26th!

Favorite Things of 2009: #5

Cooking During Stolen Moments…don’t you just like the sound of that? Something about it gives me the warm fuzzies. Try some of Kate’s recipes and you’ll get the warm fuzzies too! I stumbled across her blog earlier in the year and fell in love with the concept of using those spare pockets of time in each of our lives to create wonderful recipes for our family. She states in her bio that sometimes she has dinner ready for her family of 6 by one o’clock in the afternoon. If you’re looking for practical, delicious and fun recipes you need to check out #5 on my Favorite Things of 2009 list, Cooking During Stolen Moments.

Tara's Tips

Want to get over that cold quicker? Rub Vicks on the bottom of your feet and cover your feet with heavy socks overnight.

Stressed out about brushing your dog’s teeth? Stick a tennis ball in their mouth the next time you need the brush their teeth. They won’t be able to remove it and you’ll be able to brush their teeth more effectively. (For small dogs, they make smaller balls that you can find at your local PetSmart store)

Tired of relining your trash can every time you take the trash out? After you take out the garbage, reline the can using 10 or so garbage bags rather than just one. It will eliminate the need to reline the can every time you take out the garbage.

Here’s great tip when frying ground beef: Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

Got leftover margarine or butter containers? Wash them thoroughly and then use them as dog bowls when traveling with your pet(s).