To get to the Gobble

This year I decided to spend Thanksgiving in Arizona with my mom's youngest brother, his wife and my two cousins.  Because they live in Phoenix, they do not get too many visitors from the family so they said they were happy to have me (and I honestly think that they were!).  I could have gone back to to the south for the Thanksgiving but it was 1) quicker for me to fly to PHX over home and 2)CHEAPER! 

So my Journey started on Wednesday... I jumped a flight to Salt Lake City!  When I landed I looked out the window and was greeted by this

I am wondering when I will get use to large amounts of snow.  Snow means bad roads, slow drivers and flight delays.  I am over the snow which sucks for me since Winter has not officially started.  Let's take a moment and pray that I make it thru this Snow Season (pause)! 

I finally made it to PHX and my aunt picked me up.  We chatted over lunch at Applebee's.  I enjoyed having lunch with her because it has been a while since I have seen her!  We eventually made it back to their house and she immediately started cooking dinner for the next day!  I cuddled up on the couch and took a nap!  When I woke up she teased me about my nap but I could not help it!  I had been up since 4:30AM!  My body was tired.  Soon after, my cousins and uncle came home and started harassing me!  Always great to be around family!  I will update you on the rest of my Holiday Break tomorrow!

Luv
~TC

Thanking and Giving

I sure hope that you had a GREAT Thanksgiving break!  I managed to slide out of town before more white stuff fell to the ground. 

My Thanksgiving was Fantastic (pictures and more details tomorrow- I promise)! 

On my flight to Phoenix, I sat next to a red head (I love red heads... I wish that I was a red head.  Probably why I love all of the Weasley's in the HP series).  This little girl couldn't have been over 10 but was completely a little adult.  Her mom sat in the row behind us and did not seem to care that she was separated from her child.  The little girl colored on those velvet boards with her markers, introduced me to her stuffed animals (shadow and slush) and listened to music on her iPod.  She was flying to AZ to spend the holiday with her Uncles and told me about the cat that she was leaving at home!  Cute Kid!!! Hope she had a fantastic holiday!

So instead of telling you about all of the things that I am Thankful for... I want to say thank you to YOU!  Yes you who are reading these words.  You are my blog reader but if you are reading this you are probably a loved one- So thanks for taking a few minutes out of your day to check up on me!  Means a lot to me!  I was reminded just yesterday that being a Negative Nancy gets you no where... Positivity People!  Good thoughts... Kind words.  Too bad not everyone gets that!  I am trying to find a way to Give- More of me... More of my time!  I will let you know how that goes.

~TC

Say it Ain't So

Yes the Time has COME!

The boots are on my feet and iPhone gloves are on my fingers.  This can only mean one thing...

SNOW

I am not too excited about the white wet stuff that has been falling from the sky for the last two days and is supposed to continue tonight and tomorrow.  I have a flight to catch on Wednesday and do not want any delays....  Just last week I was lounging by the pool in Cali- Working on a tan(yeah right) and now I am bundled up for blizzards.  OH MY!

Moving on~ 

Lately- I have been gearing up for the Christmas Holiday Break!  My plane ticket has been purchased and I am just waiting on the day to come to hop on a plane and be back in the south. 

I have been spending time at the movie theatre lately.  I saw For Colored Girls by Tyler Perry and I also saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:  Part 1.  For Colored Girls was an okay movie.  It was not my favorite but I understood everything that the movie was portraying.  My only problem was that it was being adapted from a play and I feel like they should have removed the play elements.  Harry- My dear wonderful Harry!  The movie delivered... it stayed pretty close to the book.  I gave it an A (no plus or minus).  I can't wait to see Part 2. 

While I was relaxing by the pool in Cali, I finished Eric Jerome Dickey's most recent book, Tempted by Trouble.  I love EJD.  His books are always page turners.  This book was different from the previous.  But I enjoyed it!  Pick it up if you want a murder/thriller. 

That is it for me... I need to relax and calm down before I get ahead of myself and find myself in Trouble.  Have a GREAT MONDAY!

~TC

Back to Reality

It is Monday and I am back to the real world... not the TV show but my life.  I spent the last few days in wonderful California... soaking up sun and relaxing.  I will tell you more about that later on but until that time please enjoy these three pictures!

~TC

My Favorite Veteran

Happy Veterans Day!  Please take some time out of your day and thank the men and women who have served our country!  My favorite Veteran is my Pappy, Daddy, number one man in my life, and all that other good stuff!

My Daddy served in the military for over 30 years!  I remember when I was in elementary school and he came and spoke to classes about serving in the military.  For the last week, my Daddy has been going around with his VFW (Veterans of Foreign War) group and speaking to schools, at ceremony's and parades!  He loves it and I am so proud of him!  The last time I heard him speak was a few years ago when I accompanied him to speak at a HBCU. 

Enjoy this beautiful day!
Luv
~TC

Chick Feel A

One of the best chicken places is Chic-fil-A!  I can remember when I was younger, my aunt, grammy and tootsie would go shopping on Saturday's.  You could always walk by Chic-fil-A on the mall and get a sample of their chicken nuggets!  Good times!  When I was in Junior high, my school did not have a cafeteria so we had outside vendors who would come and bring lunch everyday.  Chic-fil-A would come every Thursday!  I vividly remember Queen B and I eating a chicken sandwich.  So my love for this chicken place was started when I was young and has grown... When I was in Grad school a Chic-fil-A popped up on the corner across the street from my house.  I even won 52 free chicken sandwiches from there!!! So my love for Chic-fil-A runs deep.  When I moved up North I realized that Chic-fil-A was not up in these parts.  Can we say heart break city?  I did not know if I could make it without some lemonade and sweat tea.  Rumors started buzzing around my J-O-B that a Chic-fil-A was coming to campus.  I ignored the rumors...until one day this summer when I heard that it was the TRUTH!!!!  Sure enough I saw my confirmation with my own two eyes

They said that it was the first in the state! They were supposed to open in October but the date got pushed back to the first Thursday in November.  So last week the marketing team were on their A Game!!!  Handing out free sandwiches because let's face it... Not many of these people have ever had their chicken before let alone knew how to say the name.  Students stood in line to be one of the first one hundred to eat free once a week for a year.  And the lines the first few days have been out of this world long!!!  I won't complain... Just excited to have one closer to me again!!! 

YUMMY!

Luv

~TC

Terrible Me- Taco Edition

Could I be anymore terrible?  I don't blog when I say that I am going to?  I leave you without your fill of Tiny Chocolates and expect for things to just be okay?!?  You don't have time for my excuses so I will just jump into the good things!!!

Last week I cooked some Taco Soup!!!  The weather man has reassured me that the weather will not be warmer any longer! YIKES!!!  So I took advantage of this and made some soup!  The recipe is from my Mimi's daughter who is a friend of mine!  Her name is La La and she is the sweetest person (just like her mama)! 
Ingredients
~1 1/2 lbs of hamburger meat ( I use ground turkey)
~1 can of rotel (I used mild)
~1 can of diced tomatoes (optional)
~1 chopped onion (I used a sweet onion)
~1 can whole kernel corn
~2 can Ranch style beans
~1 can chopped green chilli's (optional)
~1 package ranch dressing mix
~1 package taco seasoning mix
~2 cups of water

Directions
Brown meat and drain.  Mix together all ingredients together in pan and boil.  (I did not drain any of the canned goods.  I dumped everything in a BIG pot). 

The soup  was very yummy and tasty!  It had a tad bit of spice to it but it was perfect!!! I would be great served with some Frito chips and cheese.  I substituted the Frito's for Tortilla chips (do you know that Frito's are kind of expensive these days!?!)  This recipe has been on my fridge for over 2 years!  So glad that I finally got a chance to use it!!! 

I begin traveling on Thursday... 1 trip for business and two for pleasure!!!  Can't wait to tell you more about that later!!!

~TC

I of Lately

This post will serve as an update on my life....

I updated the look of the website for FALL.... Does it make you think of FALL....?????

I took a three day weekend... Just because I needed some rest.  I decided to celebrate the occasion by getting a Hot stone massage.  Oh and it lasted an hour and a half.  Pure bliss and perfection.  I love getting massages but I feel like I don't do it often enough.  I doubt that I will change that but I need to! 

I shopped with a good friend that just accepted a job back in the south... I sure will miss her but I understand the need to be closer to friends and family.  We shopped for 4 hours.  That is a very long time for me.  But I did buy 2 new pair of boots and 2 new pair of jeans/leggings/jeggings. 

I treated her to a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  I love the Cheesecake Factory and I think that they should rename that place the Calorie Factory.  I assure you that my hips and Esther do not appreciate when I go there!

I cracked up at the episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta yesterday!!! Some of my favorite words from the show were:  pancake syrup, sugar, koolaid and beef curtains!!! 

I almost hit a girl on a bike yesterday morning.  It was an accident... she was not paying attention to the traffic signals and it was not her time to go!  Luckily, Jesus saved both of our lives and all was well! 

I will be traveling starting next week!  Yippiee!!!  I'm very excited! 

I will be chatting about Food tomorrow... Stop back by for a new recipe!!!!

~luv
TC