What a Difference a Door Makes!

1958

Old Door

2008

New Door

I love pulling up to our house with the new door! It makes such a big difference! WOW!

In Memory of a Friend - Bob Bisher

Welles and I met Bob through Meghan. Meghan met Bob at the airport--which isn't so strange when you realize that they were both pilots. I think that Meghan knew almost at once that Bob was going to be a very special part of her life, but may not have realized how he would touch the lives of others.

We first met Bob when Meghan brought him to a Christmas party--a "Re-gift Dirty Santa" party. It is amazing how quickly we all got along! Meghan and Bob were married in May of 2003, and had weekend of parties in Memphis over Labor Day weekend that same year. It was a fun time filled with parties--including a great reception with an Elvis Impersonator!

In January 2005, Bob was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow disease called Paroxsymal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH). It seemed like there were so many highs and lows as Meghan and Bob faced the reality of life. I have never seen such a loving, supportive wife, and I can only hope that I would be as strong as Meghan was during that time. Bob seemed to have a sense of humor regarding his disease, and always, always looked at the bright side of things--no matter the prognosis.

Sadly, Bob passed away after complications from his Bone Marrow Transplant in July 2006.

The love that Meghan and Bob had for each other was so amazing, and to this day, I am saddened at the loss of such an amazing person. Bob was kind, funny, supportive, and truly loved life. He could cheer you up with a phone call or a smile. Please see the following link to a powerpoint that I put together after his passing in July 2006. It includes pictures and quotes from friends who posted on his caring bridge website.

In Memory of our Friend Bob

Thank you Bob for your friendship, laughter, memories, and your love for Meghan! We miss you, Buddy!

Thanksgiving Recipes

The following are recipes that we cooked Thanksgiving day that were a big hit!

Turkey Roulade with Apple Cider Gravy

We were watching The Food Network one morning and got this turkey recipe-it was very good! I used sour dough bread and didn't use pecans. For some reason, this was un-intimidating and less stressful to me than cooking turkey the old fashioned way! It was delcious.

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (1-pound) loaf cinnamon-swirl bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
Cooking spray
2/3 cup fat-free caramel sundae syrup

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light-colored corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup bourbon

Preparation
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Divide bread mixture evenly among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
To prepare sauce, combine 1/2 cup sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup bourbon. Serve each bread pudding piece warm with about 1 tablespoon sauce.

Christmas comes early!

Over the weekend, Welles and I decided to shop for Christmas presents early. It hit me on Thanksgiving Day as I was cleaning the grungy old storm door that I NEEDED a new front door and storm door. I mentioned this to Welles, and he said, "I thought we NEEDED a new front door years ago!" OK! So we are on the same page!

Friday evening, we went to our favorite store--Lowe's--and picked out a new door and storm door. Goodbye 1958!

Later Friday, I surprised Welles by saying that I thought it was finally time to look at LCD HDTV's. After researching for several hours, trips to Best Buy, hhgregg, Sam's, Wal-Mart, and Circuit City, a Samsung was purchased. Although we got 4 channels in HDTV (CBS, NBC, ABC, and PBS), we didn't have access to all. After my own experiences with Charter and remembering a blog entry from a good friend, I couldn't bear the thought of dealing with them. SO--I told Welles that it was his responsibility to take care of the additional hassle with our cable company.

For all of you who hate your cable company, make your husband or father call them! He called me yesterday in the best mood because not only did he talk to the nicest customer service rep, we are now receiving several channels we didn't before at no extra charge. In fact, our cable bill will be $25 less! You have got to be kidding me??? Maybe Welles had better luck because he actually made a point to go to the service center in person. I am proud that he thanked the guy for having a great attitude, and that he appreciated his kindness. Charter--if you are listening, you need to hire more employees like the one Welles talked to.

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Silly Video

The following video cracks me up! It's been out a while, so I am sure many of you have seen it. Enjoy...

Charlie Bit my Finger - Again

Happy Birthday Missy Lou!

We love sweet Missy Lou, and today she is 6 years old. She makes every day a happy day--no matter if there is a bad day at work or even dissapointing news. She is always excited to see us when we walk in the door and that makes every day brighter.

Above is a picture of the day I got Missy. I had never intended on getting a dog--in fact, I was scared of dogs due to an incident at a friends house in the 3rd grade. My sister-in-law Ashley was "trying" Missy out for a few days, and realized that it wasn't going to work. She invited me to her apartment that day to meet a sweet puppy that was going to have to go back to the family that she got her from. The minute I saw her (Dixie was her original name), I fell in love. I once babysat for the family that owned Missy's mom, and I called them to ask if Missy could come home with me. I can't imagine life without Missy Lou-lou, and I hope we have many more years to come!

Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups

This is a recipe that I sort-of made up and sort-of borrowed from a chicken lasagna recipe. I love that the roll-ups are easy to serve and they make a great presentation on the plate. See below:

• 6 chicken breasts--cooked and cubed
• 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
• 1 8oz pkg ricotta cheese
• 1 cup Alfredo sauce
• 1 pkg frozen spinach--thaw and pat dry
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 pkg lasagna noodles--cooked according to pkg directions
• Your favorite pasta sauce (I use "Classico" 4 cheese tomato sauce, but have also used Alfredo sauce for those that cannot eat red sauce--it is very good!)

1. Mix the first 6 ingredients.
2. Place a thin layer of the mixture on a lasagna noodle and roll up.
3. Place the roll-ups in a greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
4. Pour some pasta sauce over each roll-up.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Top each roll-up with mozzarella cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes. ENJOY!!!

I will add pictures next time I cook this.