Back ... with new delicious recipes!

Hey, guys! Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. Some of the recipes I've tried in the past couple weeks have been misses, but some have been definite hits. The three recipes below are some of the best I've made, I think. And the great thing is they're all incredibly easy. 

First recipe: Toasted Italian Subs. I've recently become sort of obsessed with Italian subs, especially since I had the best Italian sub sandwich -- maybe the best sandwich I've ever had in my life -- at Johnny Brusco's in Auburn. I decided to try to recreate it at home, and according to Patrick and my friend Christine, I did a pretty good job! :)

Ingredients:

Sliced deli ham

Sliced deli salami

Sliced capicola or another cured Italian meat (you'll usually find these right next to the salami)

Italian dressing

Spicy mustard

Shredded lettuce

Thinly sliced tomatoes (I use Roma tomatoes)

Sliced onions

Sliced banana peppers

Salt and pepper

Deli sub rolls

Directions:

1. Preheat your broiler on high. Line a cookie sheet with non-stick aluminum foil. If your rolls aren't already sliced, slice them, leaving the rolls attached at one edge. 

2. Spread spicy mustard on both sides of the rolls. Put down your provolone cheese on both sides, then arrange the meats on top of the cheese on both sides. Go ahead and put the rolls under the broiler, probably for about 3 to 5 minutes or until meat and cheese are nicely browned. Check them a couple of times while they're under the broiler to make sure they're not burning. 

3. While the rolls are broiling, get your veggies ready. Slice your tomatoes in thin slices if you haven't already, and do the same with your onions. (I can never find shredded lettuce, so I usually just quickly slice the lettuce into thin strips.) 

4. Place the lettuce, onions and banana peppers into a small bowl, and mix it all up with about 2 tablespoons of Italian dressing (use more if you want).

5. Take the rolls out of the oven and finish up your veggies if need be. Arrange your tomatoes on the meat, then pour the lettuce mix on top. Shake on a little salt and pepper to finish off your subs, then dig in! 

This recipe, Crescent Chicken, pretty much tastes like a serving of chicken casserole wrapped up in a crescent roll. As far as I'm concerned, that's just doing an excellent job of eliminating the middle man. And it's one of the simplest chicken casseroles I've ever made, mostly because I use the ready-to-eat Tyson chicken instead of having to cook the chicken.

Ingredients:

3 6-oz bags ready-to-eat Tyson chicken strips

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons margarine

4 tablespoons milk

1 medium onion, chopped

Salt and pepper

Chili powder or paprika

2 8-oz cans crescent rolls

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Chop chicken into very small pieces (should be about 4 1/2 cups of meat). Set chicken aside. 

2. Place cream cheese and margarine into large microwaveable bowl; microwave for 15-20 seconds. Stir until smooth.

3. Add milk and onion to cream cheese mixture and stir well. Add chicken into cream cheese mixture and stir well. Add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste, stirring one last time.

4. Break out the cookie sheets (you'll probably need 2 for this recipe). Cover the cookie sheets with nonstick foil (or spray with Pam). Separate the crescent rolls into 8 rectangles (4 for each cookie sheet). Pinch the dough in the center of each rectangle together so they don't break apart when you fill them.

5. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Pull the corners of dough to the center; press together. Bake on cookie sheets for 20-25 minutes.

The third recipe, Baked Club Sandwich Rounds, is very simple to make but looks really nice. My sister-in-law used this recipe not long ago for a pot-luck luncheon and said it was a huge hit. This is another recipe that my friend Christine specifically asked me to blog so that she can make it too. I got this off the Pillsbury Web site, which is a great resource for easy-to-make recipes.

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon -- about 12 slices. (I usually buy the ready-to-serve bacon, the kind you just heat in the microwave for a few seconds. That really makes this a quick recipe.)

1 11-oz can Pillsbury refrigerated crusty French loaf

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 

2 oz thinly sliced deli turkey (probably about 6 slices)

2 oz thinly sliced deli ham (about 6 slices)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Either spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray or cover it with nonstick foil. Cook the bacon until crisp and drain on paper towel. Crumble the bacon. 

2. Unroll the dough. (This is the longest part of the recipe for me -- the dough can be very sticky. My advice is to leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to unroll it -- the colder it is, the easier to unroll. It's also smart to unroll it on top of the cookie sheet so that you don't have to deal with moving it later.) Sprinkle the cheese over the dough. Top with turkey, ham and bacon. Roll the dough back up and pinch the edge to seal. Make 3 or 4 slits in the top of the loaf. Place on the cookie sheet if you haven't done so already.

3. Bake for 23 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes, then slice. This is very good with honey mustard, ranch or blue cheese as a dipping sauce. 

Philly Cheesesteak ... and two more recipes

Here's my recipe for a (mostly) homemade Philly cheesesteak -- hope y'all enjoy!

Philly Cheesesteak

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 bags pre-cooked steak strips (the Tyson kind are good)

1 large green bell pepper

1 medium onion

3 tablespoons vegetable oil OR 3 tablespoons butter/margarine

Whatever kind of sliced cheese you like -- I used Muenster

Salt

Pepper

Garlic seasoning

Sub rolls

A cup of shredded cheddar cheese (Optional)

Directions:

1. Slice onion and bell peppers into strips. Heat oil OR butter/margarine in large skillet over medium heat. Throw in the onions and bell peppers, season with salt, pepper and garlic seasoning and cook until browned and tender. 

2. Pour steak strips  into skillet, season with a little more salt, pepper and garlic seasoning and heat through -- about five minutes or so. At this point, I mixed in a cup of shredded cheddar cheese and let it melt. Then place the sliced cheese on top and allow to melt. 

3. Arrange steak, onion and green pepper mixture on sub rolls and serve. Good with a salad or with chips. 

These next two recipes made for one very good meal. The tangy skillet chicken and roasted potatoes together is filling, especially with a salad or another side dish. I made up the roasted potatoes recipe myself! :)

Tangy skillet chicken

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

4 chicken breast halves 

1 can tomato soup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon honey

A dash of hot sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned on both sides. 

2. Add all other ingredients, mix, and heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Roasted potatoes

Ingredients:

10 red potatoes 

1 package dry ranch dressing mix

2 tablespoons melted margarine/butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Spray baking dish with Pam and preheat oven to 350. Cut up potatoes into chunks and dump into large bowl. 

2. Pour dressing mix, melted butter and oil into bowl with potatoes and stir together. Pour potato mix into baking dish and bake uncovered for an hour 10 minutes. (The best part of this dish is scraping up all the flavorful bits at the bottom of the baking dish!)

Hope y'all enjoy!!

An all-time favorite recipe and WAR DAMN EAGLE!

That up above is big Jake Ricks trying to take an interception to the house! He didn't make it, but he did get to around the 20 yard line (and carried Noel Devine, who weighs about 100 pounds less, for about six yards on his way there). It definitely wasn't a pretty game, but it showed some heart and confidence that we can come back even when an opponent comes out and punches us in the mouth. Props to West Virginia -- they are gonna beat some people this year, and I expect them to be right in the thick of the Big East race. 

Here's some links to what the bloggers/sportswriters have said about the game:

The Gold Mine: videos, Chris Todd praise, story about the defense (especially the LBs) coming up big, plus other stuff

The Auburn Beat: just a wrap-up of the game, plus a report card

HABOTN (Hottest Auburn Blog On The Net): Four stories about the game at the very top, including a notebook of facts about the game and commentary

War Eagle Extra: Top entry is about us not being ranked (IDIOTS) but getting closer; second entry has three links to stories and columns, as well as game notes

For me, the game balls go to Chris Todd, Darvin Adams and every defensive player who got a turnover. (Although we have got to frickin' tackle some people!) Also to the entire crowd (including my Dad, Mike and Jessa) who stayed through the pouring rain. WDE!

Now on game day, Patrick and I got to eat the yummy leftovers of our Poppyseed Chicken Casserole. Patrick made this recipe for me not long after we started dating, and it has become one of my favorite comfort foods. My family also loves it -- we make it almost every time we go home for the weekend!

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

3 or 4 large frozen chicken breasts (might need to use more if you have smaller ones)

A big bottle of lemon juice

One roll of Ritz crackers

One stick of butter or margarine

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

16 oz sour cream

Poppyseeds

Directions:

1. In large pot, pour in enough water to cover chicken by an inch or two. Bring water and chicken to boil and immediately pour in half bottle of lemon juice. (If you get a regular-size bottle, use whole bottle.) Wait to make sure chicken is boiling evenly (I usually watch it for about 10 minutes or so), then allow to boil for an hour. 

2. Preheat oven to 350. Take chicken out of pot and shred with two forks. 

3. In large greased oven dish, mix chicken with sour cream and the three cans of soup. Mix well and smooth so mixture is level. 

4. Crush Ritz crackers and spread evenly over chicken mixture. Melt butter in microwave and pour over crackers. Sprinkle poppyseeds over crackers. 

5. Bake 30-35 minutes until crackers are browned and mixture is bubbling. 

Best enjoyed with an Auburn win! :)

Glasses!

How do y'all like my new funky fresh glasses? :)

THREE new recipes today! Oh joy!

Sorry I haven't blogged since last week -- we've been all over the place lately! I took an extra day off after Labor Day so that I could have a four-day weekend, and it was a much-needed mini-vacation! Patrick and I even made an impromptu trip to Athens to see some of my family up there, including my too-adorable baby cousin Sophie.

She's not even 18 months and she's already almost three feet tall! Before she was born, Trey was the youngest of the cousins ... and he's 16 now. It's been a while since there's been a new kid to spoil, so she's pretty much the apple of everybody's eye. And she has the toys to prove it. It's been an awesome weekend. And, of course, Auburn won, which makes it even MORE awesome. We'll be at AU this weekend to hopefully see win #2.

OK, now to recipes. 

Last week, I made three different things for two meals, and they were all pretty easy to make. Two (baked rice and steak enchiladas) are ridiculously easy to make, while one (the steak stir-fry) takes a little more work. But they're all worth it. 

First meal: Steak Enchiladas. These take maybe 15 minutes, if that long, to put together and then 25 minutes to bake. 

Ingredients: 

1 10-oz can enchilada sauce

2 6-oz packages refrigerated fully-cooked steak strips (I used Tyson's)

4 8-inch flour tortillas

One bag shredded Mexican cheese blend (could also use Colby-Monterey Jack)

One package of your favorite cheese dip (I use Gordo's)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spread half of enchilada sauce in 9x13 baking dish. 

2. Place 3 oz steak down center of each tortilla. (Note: This will make four enchiladas.) Top with two tablespoons cheese dip (I heated it up first so I could drizzle it over the steak.) Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in baking dish.

3. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas, sprinkle with cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes. 

You could easily serve this with some salsa and chips for a quick but yummy meal. :)

Second meal: Steak stir-fry with baked rice. The baked rice is some of the best (and easiest) stuff I make -- I use it with almost any meal that requires rice as a bed or a side dish. You can have the baked rice in the oven while you're working on the stir-fry.

Baked rice ingredients:

1 stick butter or margarine

1 cup rice

1 can Campbell's beef consomme soup

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Melt butter or margarine. Add all ingredients in baking dish; stir. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour. 

Steak stir-fry ingredients:

1 boneless beef top sirloin steak (about 1 pound)

1/2 cup teriyaki marinade, divided into 2

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided into 3

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cups frozen green beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

1. Cut beef length-wise in half, then crosswise into small strips. Combine beef and half the marinade in medium bowl and set aside. 

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and stir-fry 4 minutes. Remove into another medium bowl. 

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and stir-fry beans 4 minutes. Drain off any excess water and add beans to onions. 

4. Heat remaining tablespoon oil and add half of the beef. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until almost completely cooked, then put into bowl with beans and onions. Repeat process with other half of beef. Return beef, onion and bean mixture to skillet and pour in the rest of the marinade. Cook for a couple minutes until heated through. Serve on top of the baked rice. 

Hope you guys enjoy those! I'll have another recipe or two for you in a few days, I'm sure. 

Two kinds of pizza

Ok, I'm not saying my homemade pizzas look quite as good as the one you guys are looking at right now, but mine do taste pretty awesome and are probably a little bit easier. 

The two types of pizza I considered making tonight are: Spicy Buffalo Marinara and Chicken Garlic Alfredo. (Fancy names I basically just made up.)

I ended up making the Spicy Buffalo Mariana, and it only took three people (and two episodes of Project Runway) to demolish that thing. 

If y'all are interested, here are the recipes:

Spicy Buffalo Marinara Pizza

Ingredients:

*Pre-made pizza crust (I just pick up the Mama Mary's kind at Wal-Mart ... two come in a pack, so you can make both these yummy pizzas)

*Some kind of pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce (use your favorite kind)

*Buffalo wing sauce (I use Moore's)

*A bag of mozzarella cheese

*Some parmesan cheese

*Whatever toppings you want (I use pepperoni, sliced Roma tomatoes and chicken)

*Dried basil or pizza seasoning (if desired)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Put pizza crust on your pizza pan. Pour some pizza sauce into a bowl, then add the buffalo sauce little by little, tasting along the way until it's to your preferred spiciness. Stir, then pour sauce mixture onto pizza crust and smooth out.

3. Hit that crust with a nice handful of mozzarella cheese, then some parmesan on top of that. Put on your toppings, then throw on another handful of mozzarella and parmesan. 

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is nicely browned. Immediately shake on some basil or pizza seasoning and let sit for a couple minutes. Enjoy!

Chicken Garlic Alfredo Pizza

Ingredients:

*Pre-made pizza crust (use the one left over from your Spicy Buffalo pizza)

*Jar of garlic alfredo sauce

*A bag of mozzarella cheese

*Some parmesan cheese

*Whatever toppings you want (I use pepperoni, sliced Roma tomatoes and chicken)

*Dried basil or pizza seasoning (if desired)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Put pizza crust on your pizza pan. Ladle out a good amount of alfredo sauce and smooth out.

3. Hit that crust with a nice handful of mozzarella cheese, then some parmesan on top of that. Put on your toppings, then throw on another handful of mozzarella and parmesan. 

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is nicely browned. Immediately shake on some basil or pizza seasoning and let sit for a couple minutes. 

That was easy, right? Too bad I don't have a Staples button. 

New blog focus -- food!

Ok, guys, you're going to be so excited. I think I've actually found a focus for my blog. I was telling Jessa the other night that I haven't been able to find anything to consistently blog about, and that's why I've done such a terrible job keeping up with it. Well, now I think I've figured it out! Cooking! It might seem weird, but it's something I do all the time. I consistently try new recipes while making our tried-and-true favorites (like Paula Deen's mac and cheese). Just about every week, I try to find a new recipe, and I usually plan my shopping list according to what recipes I want to make. I guess it's kind of my creative outlet. Anyhow, y'all can benefit from the extra pounds! :)

Tonight, I made both: a new recipe and a tried-and-true favorite. The new recipe is onion-baked pork chops -- amazing. The favorite is Paula Deen's mac-n-cheese -- heavenly. My jeans feel a little bit tighter after cooking (and eating!) that stuff, but man, was it good.

*Disclaimer: none of these photos are mine, but I tried to find photos that looked like what the food ends up looking like. 

First recipe: Onion-baked pork chops. This seriously might be my new favorite pork chop recipe. Soooooo good. And very, very simple! I bet this breading would be good with chicken as well.

Ingredients:

*1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

*1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs (I used Panko bread crumbs -- very good)

*4 pork chops 

*1 egg, well beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray baking dish with Pam. In small bowl, combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg, then in bread crumb mixture until evenly coated. 

2. Arrange chops in baking dish. 

3. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until done, turning once halfway through.

Second recipe: Paula Deen's Mac and Cheese! This is pretty much the perfect mac and cheese. 

Ingredients: 

*2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-oz box will do fine)

*2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (about a bag and a half)

*3 eggs, beaten

*1/2 cup sour cream (half an 8-oz container)

*1 10.75-oz can condensed Cheddar cheese soup

*4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces (1/2 stick)

*1/2 teaspoon salt

*1 cup whole milk (I'm sure you could use fat-free or whatever you have)

*1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

*1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with Pam.

2. Boil macaroni until tender. Drain. Return macaroni to saucepan and add 2 cups of cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Add sour cream, soup, butter, salt, milk, mustard, pepper and eggs, and stir well. (I add the eggs last so that the macaroni will have cooled and the eggs won't start cooking from the heat.)

3. Pour the macaroni mixture into the baking dish. Smooth the top and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake for 40 minutes until browned and bubbly.

New update -- aren't you excited?

Yes, I decided to blog again, mostly because I was afraid my fellow Core Groupies would get mad at me if I didn't. 

To give y'all an update on my cousin Lisa, she's doing OK. Not great, but OK. She still misses Noah terribly, but I think Ethan's been really wonderful for her during this time. And of course, her sweet husband, David. Here's a link to her blog if any of you want to see: http://houseofcollinsworth.blogspot.com/. 

In other news, a very good co-worker/friend of mine might be leaving soon -- and I'm pretty bummed out by that. We've gotten to be good friends in the time she's been there, and I'd hate to see her go. If she does decide to leave, though, it'll be for a great opportunity, so I guess I can't be mad at her. Just kind of sad. 

I guess it's kind of like a mass exodus from my life, actually -- one co-worker left about a month ago, another announced that he's gotten another job and will be leaving soon, and then the third one is the girl I just told y'all about. Plus Meg, my maid of honor, will be here for about another two weeks and then she's going back to Auburn for fall classes ... :( I'm going to miss her terribly! Her being here has been one of the best things about this summer. 

Patrick is about to start a week of vacation -- today was his last day of work and then tomorrow he's got to do something small for a co-worker, but then he's officially off! He'll be playing a lot of NCAA Football 2010 and the Sims 3 and probably watching a lot of "X-Files." I hope he really enjoys it -- I know work's been stressful for him. 

Oh, and my little brother is hopefully taking his driver's license test by the end of this week! He went to Gatlinburg with my parents and drove a lot of the way, so I bet he's ready to ace that test by now!

OK, I know, I suck.

OK, I know I totally suck. Sorry it's been, like, two months since I updated last. But maybe I'll have a lot to say, right? :)

First of all, I now have a Twitter account. If any of you have Twitter and want to follow me or just want to check it out, my handle is amyjones17. It's mostly just a micro-blog that I update a few times a day. I don't know, Tweeting is a lot easier than blogging ... especially since I can do it from my cell phone and can only write, maybe, two or three sentences. PERFECT!

We are so excited about Momma Goldberg's Deli opening soon!! Patrick and I plan on going out there whenever we can, especially to support Hal and Maghan! We're looking forward to quite a few Core Group gatherings!!

As I'm sure you all know, Patrick and I thoroughly enjoyed Jessa's surprise 30th birthday party/funeral. :) It was so great to meet all the other Core Groupies and more people from the church. The more Patrick and I get involved with Homewood Church of Christ, the more comfortable we feel there. We are so excited to have found what we believe will be a great church home for us and a group where we feel like family. 

This next weekend will be great, because my little (BIG) bro is staying with us for a night! He's coming Saturday for plenty of July 4 fun. We'll eat good and play video games, stay up late, etc. It should be great fun. And I am SO EXCITED for it to be a three-day weekend ... you just don't even know. 

On to more important things, such as Harry Potter ... two weeks until the movie!! Patrick and I are already planning to see it at least four times. Once right when it comes out, probably once again with friends, once in IMAX to see it in 3-D and once with my little bro at the closed-captioned theater in Trussville. It's going to be AWESOME. We've seen a couple of movies so far this summer -- "Star Trek," "Transformers 2" -- but I expect "Harry Potter" to be the best of the bunch. Although I have to say, "Star Trek" did blow my mind. It was a fantastic flick and one I really, really recommend to anybody. And I am NOT a Star Trek fan. All of my girlfriends that have seen the movie absolutely loved it. 

Meanwhile, I would recommend only seeing "Transformers 2" if you really, really liked the first one. The second one was a lot of fun, but there were definitely some jokes that were not really intended for girls. For example, the audience is treated to a big, swinging set of bronze cojones on one of the Decepticons (bad robots) ... and then the joke is "Hey, I'm under the robot scrotum!" -- Exactly. Hilarious.

Other than that, we've just been moving along. I've been learning a few new songs; of note are "Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon and "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston. Playing some Rock Band, watching "Boston Legal" and "The X-Files." You know how it is. 

OK, so update: officially over. I will try to update more often, especially, as things happen. But I do love you all, and I hope I find you again in good health and happy times!!

Frustrating day

RIP BEA ... WE HARDLY KNEW YE

Yeah, so it's been a really frustrating day. A few highlights (or lowlights):

1. Drove four hours, round-trip, to get me added on to some of Patrick's insurance. Why did we drive four hours? Because we had made two prior home appointments, but the insurance agents forgot to show up.

2. Patrick's computer had some major problems this morning and is pretty close to death, so we ended up buying an entire new desktop computer today. Which is fine, since we planned to buy it next month anyways, but still. Not expected.

3. Our house's A/C is out. This is probably the worst development of the day, especially since the rental company said they weren't sure if someone would make it out to the house tomorrow or not. Fun. We did go to Wal-Mart and buy a box fan, so we're protected against the heat somewhat. 

4. Since our house's A/C is out, we can't do anything tomorrow until they call and let us know if they're coming or not. Stuck in a sauna-like prison of a home all day? Sweet!

5. I burned the baby back ribs that I spent four hours cooking. While this wasn't a huge deal, this is what finally made me cry.

6. Bea Arthur (Dorothy from Golden Girls) died today. R.I.P. Bea, you will forever be remembered for being a friend.

However, some good things that happened today:

1. We got our new computer! :) It is pretty awesome. It's a Gateway "gaming supercomputer," whatever that means, and it looks all futuristic and such. It completes our new home office very well. 

2. We got to see my mother-in-law, Pam. She is awesome. 

3. We get to see Dad and Trey (my little bro) tomorrow!! And they're treating us to lunch at Baumhauer's! Double yay!

4. Sen'Derrick Marks, an Auburn defensive lineman, got drafted in the second round of the NFL draft today. Seeing as how I am a major nerd, I love the NFL draft, and I love it when Auburn players get drafted.

Prayer requests:

Please pray that someone will come out and fix our A/C ... no A/C in Alabama can be a bad situation. And please pray that Patrick and I will be able to enjoy tomorrow, 'cause we sure haven't enjoyed today that much. 

KT's wedding!

Well, this past weekend was an eventful one. I was in my friend Katie (which I sometimes spell KT)'s wedding in our hometown, Talladega ... she was one of my bridesmaids too, so I guess it was payback time! :) No, really, the wedding was awesome. It was such a packed weekend! Friday night, we had the dress rehearsal and dinner (which I managed to show up late for ... the invitation said dinner at 5:30, and I completely forgot there would be a rehearsal before dinner! DUH!). After the rehearsal, we had a big swanky party to go to hosted by about 40 people. I saw people there I have not seen in years and years. I was so tired that night! 

Next day, we had a BBQ luncheon (I know, crazy, right?) and then hanging out as a group until the wedding at 5, and then the reception went until 9 p.m.! (I didn't stay that late, though -- my feet were killing me!) I think it was exactly the wedding KT and Riley wanted, and I'm so honored to have been a part of it! 

Our dresses were so adorable ... they were that shimmery pink, the color of a sunset -- which was the inspiration for KT's wedding plans! I'll definitely be wearing this time and again -- expect to see it at every wedding I go to! :)

Obviously, this is the beautiful bride and two other bridesmaids. Rachael and Carly were both awesome -- I didn't know them before the wedding but it was so great to meet them! I may never see them again, but it was great to share this special moment in KT's life with them. 

This is me with KT before she got dressed ... you can see what she looked like better! It's crazy -- we've been really close friends since 6th grade, and here we are, both wives and just starting our new lives! KT means the world to me, though -- if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be the person I am today. She's one of the most fun, funniest people I know!

KT and Riley are on a mini-tour of Europe for the honeymoon -- they're visiting Paris, Amsterdam and Germany this week. After that, they'll move on to Roanoke, Va., and who knows what from there. I may not see KT much anymore, but I'm so glad we were part of each other's special days! Y'all please pray for her and Riley, that they might have a successful marriage and learn to live together in the light of the Lord. (That was a lot of alliteration, but it sounded good!) 

Just whatever

So we're watching "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for, like, the billionth time, and I just thought it might be a good time to blog. 

Interesting HP note: Apparently in the next movie (only three more months!!!) they're not going to include Dumbledore's funeral. I have no idea how they can get away with that. Anyhow, on with the blog!

Last night was a lot of fun -- we went and had dinner with our Core Groupies at Jim N Nick's, then played the Newlywed Game back at the church. Patrick and I kind of sucked -- we only got seven out of 20 questions right. I guess we're doing pretty well, though, considering we've only been married four months. I do have to say, though, that the worst answer of the night from him was when he said Philip Seymour Hoffman was my favorite actor. I mean, what?! But he totally saved face when he got the question, "At what age does a woman hit her physical peak?" He turned around, looked at me, and said, "What age are you? 23!!!" That's my baby.

Today has totally been a be lazy kind of day. We've watched one of my favorites, "Hellboy," and one of his favorites, "Cliffhanger." (Which just proved that Sylvester Stallone might have been the greatest actor of his generation.) I've cooked a couple of meals, taken a nap, and Patrick has played, like, five hours of Legend of Zelda. But it's been a really good day. 

Tomorrow should be awesome too, if busier. We're going to Easter service in the morning, then I think we're just going to come home and chill. We had hoped to go to my parents' house for Easter dinner, but we've got too much to do, and we want to relax too. I'm hoping to find recipes for next week, go grocery shopping and then just come home and stay here in a semi-comatose state. :)

Just an update

Hello, loyal readers --

I know, I've sucked at keeping up with the blog lately. I'm sorry. It's been a really busy couple of weeks. 

*I know some of you have heard about this, but I wanted to update everyone on Meg. Basically, for those of you who don't know, my maid of honor, Meg, went into the hospital almost two weeks ago with a bacterial infection in her stomach and a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in her lung). It was a scary time for me and Patrick, mostly because it was one of the first times we've ever had to deal with that kind of situation. Meg means the world to us, and last weekend, we went down to Auburn for a night just to spend some time with her in the hospital and to stay with our good friend, Cliff. She was doing very well then, and thank the good Lord, she's doing better now! She went home this past Tuesday and is now on blood thinners in pill form, which is much better than getting them in shot form. I'm pretty sure she's going to go back to school tomorrow, so she'll be getting back into the swing of things soon.

*Mine and Patrick's bracket got horribly busted, as our pick to win it all, Louisville, went out in the Elite 8. Blast it. Oh well, UNC was my back-up pick and, honestly, my favorite team in the field. So ... go Tar Heels!

*Happy news -- Patrick and I are going to Hot-lanta in October to see U2! For those of you who don't know, U2 is basically Patrick's favorite band of all time, and we're going for his birthday, so we're doubly excited. I think we're going to make a little vacation out of it and maybe stay at the Ritz-Carlton (ooh, classy!) Why not, right? Our seats for the concert are awesome, too -- they're thisclose to the stage!

OK, I think that's all for now.

Heartbreak

Well, it's a crap week for AU basketball. Yesterday the women lost badly to Rutgers, today the men lose a heartbreaker to Baylor. And I mean a heartbreaker. We had the chance to take the lead with just a few seconds left on free throws ... missed them both. Then missed the 3-pointer for the win — instead of taking it to the basket for the tie and overtime. It's a real bummer.

Actual serious post

So I've started reading this new book, "The Shack." It came recommended to me, first by one of my work friends, Meagan, and then through the Core Groupies. Before that, I actually hadn't known that it was a book that could be regarded as Christian fiction — that really just made me more interested in it, because I've seen people out and about reading it, and it was interesting that such a book could be so mainstream. 

Well, so far, it's a great book. The storyline is the last thing I expected, but I think it's just what I needed to read right now. I've really been working hard (and feeling like I'm mostly failing) lately at trying to figure out how to best build my personal relationship with God, and so far, this book has reminded me that it all starts with faith and with remembering that God loves me, in spite of my massive faults. The rest of it follows naturally. I can read the Bible all I want, but until I see God as a member of my family — as a part of me — then I can't have the relationship with Him that I was designed to. It's been really good for me to read and try to take in. 

When one of my best friends, Meg, goes through hard times, she tries to remember this phrase: "Let go and let God." I'm discovering, as I'm sure a lot of other people already know, that that can be the hardest part of growing up. Trust is a lot easier when you're a child. It's harder to come by when you're out in "the real world" and the success of every day hinges on a lot of intangibles. I worry a lot more than I used to, but that worry isn't helping me live a better life or be a better woman or a better wife. I've really got to hold to that simple phrase: Let go, and let God. I guess my prayer should be that God will find a way to make me do just that. 

Justin said we had to blog about it, so here you are!

Today I did my good deed for the day by cooking a nice meal (chicken pot pie, mac and cheese, rolls) and taking it over to Whitney and Justin's (along with a chocolate pie and Milo's tea). Lord knows when we have our kids, I hope people cook for us! Anyhow, I got to meet baby Hayes, who is just as adorable as you could imagine, and I got to spend a couple hours with Whitney, Justin and Hayes. We ended up talking about a whole range of things, and somehow Whitney and I discovered that we have basically the same shoe size (10 for her, 10 and a half for me) and pretty much exactly the same hands -- we held up our hands to each other and they're the same size, and our ring size is actually the exact same. It was definitely a girly-scream moment, and Justin obliged with an awesome girly-scream. And then he was like, "OMG, you totally have to blog about this!" But I think he was mocking us.

The weather outside is so gorgeous that it has just taken me right out of the funk I've been in for the past few days. I love Alabama so much when the weather's like this -- I go outside for a few minutes, and I believe I can do anything. In fact, it's inspired me to do some impromptu spring cleaning, so I'm going through the house trying to tidy up and get the house together to surprise Patrick. You won't tell him, will you? :)

March Madness has begun (as I'm sure you all know), but more importantly, our Auburn Tigers keep winning! The women's basketball team won earlier today to make it to the round of 32 in the women's tournament, and the men won last night to make it to the Sweet 16 of the NIT. I'm excited that both teams are continuing to play well, and I'd love to see us contend for a championship or two! 

OK, back to the Madness. Right now, the Jones team (that would be me and Patrick) are winning in our bracket challenge with the church group, but that might change today as a lot of our teams are in bad match-ups. The way we play March Madness, we all drafted teams to follow throughout the tournament, and the couple whose teams win the most will win it all. Yesterday, we had six out of seven teams with wins. Unfortunately, today, most of those teams aren't expected to win. For example, LSU (our team) is up against UNC ... you get the idea. Oh well. The games are still a heckuva lot of fun to watch. I love this time of year. 

Yay, Trey's here!

My little brother made a trip up here to hang with us for the night. So far it's going awesome ... we're watching Coming to America, which so far is pretty hilarious. Ah, I remember these days when Eddie Murphy was actually funny. That doesn't happen anymore, except for the Shrek movies.

Auburn won today! Of course, despite the fact that they're a No. 1 seed, they still weren't on TV. Boo. Hopefully they'll be on TV Friday night. Just two more wins and they're going to Madison Square Garden!

So, OMG, Twilight's coming out this weekend!! I couldn't be more excited. I mean, the movie wasn't a top 10 movie or anything, but I still loved it.

I'm at a week and a half of doing yoga every day! Patrick and I have been doing it together every day for about four days. We're pretty pumped about that.

OK, this was just a short post 'cause I was thinking I needed to do it. If y'all don't mind praying for a few things:

-My sister-in-law's job is about to drive her crazy, so she needs some love out D.C. way.
-Patrick and I both desperately need some time off to just spend some time together before we go crazy too.

Next post will be longer, I promise!

Ladies and gentlemen, your Auburn Lady Tigers!

OK, guys, I'm here right now, watching the Women's NCAA Tournament selection show. Our Auburn Tigers are battling for a possible No. 1 seed (likely a No. 2), and I'm here to record it for posterity. I'll also try to keep up with the other SEC seedings.

*Vandy's a No. 4 seed -- here's hoping we don't end up in their region since, as we all know, Vandy tends to beat us. After all, they were the only team to beat us twice this year (and we only lost to one other team)! If we get into the Final Four, hopefully they won't be there either. (Whew -- we're not in their region.)

*LSU's a No. 6 seed in the Raleigh region, and I think they're playing in Baton Rouge for their first game. That should be fair to the other team. 

*The commentator's talking about how tough Vandy played us. Once again, here's hoping we don't see them in the tourney. And here's hoping we don't see UConn until the Final Four. They are downright scary -- undefeated, and they have won every single game in double digits. Are y'all hearing what I'm saying? Every game. Double digits. 

*Still waiting to hear Auburn's name called. I'm hoping it's in this region ... Oklahoma City. Oh, no. It's not in this region so far ... if we're not in this region, then that means we've got a chance of being stuck in UConn's region, and Nell Fortner (Auburn's head coach) is going to cut somebody.

*Now they're announcing the bottom of the Oklahoma City region. Hopefully Auburn will be in this one. (UNC is the No. 3 seed here -- I love UNC's basketball program, and would love to see our girls play theirs!) 

*YES! Auburn's in here! We're playing No. 15 seed Lehigh in New Jersey. Ok, that kind of sucks that we're in New Jersey, but the point is that we wouldn't see UConn until at least the Final Four. Granted, we have a whole mess of teams to make it through to even get there, but we have the talent to play with anyone. 

*Oooh, they're commentating on Auburn now! I'm going to rewind my DVR in a minute so I can recap that. OK, here we go: Basically, they're saying that if we make it past our opening-round game, we'll have to play Rutgers on their home floor (also assuming they make it past their first-round game). That's rough for us, because Rutgers has got one of the best coaches in the game and a great home-town atmosphere, but I still believe we can play with anyone. They're also saying DeWanna Bonner would have to play big for us to advance past Rutgers, but that Nell Fortner knows how to use that as motivation for our girls. They also recap that Auburn, despite a lot of talent, has not won an NCAA tournament game since Nell's been there. 

*Now Pat Summitt, who is one of the best basketball coaches of all time -- men's or women's -- is talking about how this was a rough year for Tennessee. They won the national championship the last two years with one of my favorite players, Candace Parker, leading them. This year they were ranked most of the year, made the NCAA tournament, and it's still a down year. This is how dominant Tennessee is. Need any more convincing? Pat Summitt is the only coach in NCAA history to have 1,000 wins. She's been at Tennessee for 40 years. I love this lady. 

*Tennessee is a No. 5 seed in the Berkeley region, which puts the SEC with four teams in the tournament so far (I think). 

*Yay, we got another one! Mississippi State is a No. 11 seed in the Berkeley region, as well. 

*Another reason Tennessee is so dominant: They have the most consecutive bids to the tournament with 28. OMG. 28 straight years. And, they have never missed a Sweet 16 in all that time. Pat Summitt has eight national championships to her credit. And 18 Final Four appearances.

*No. 1 seeds: Oklahoma, Duke, Maryland and (surely) UConn. Yep, there it is: No. 1 in the Trenton region, UConn.

*Wow, Florida's in too, as a No. 8 seed in Trenton! That's six SEC teams so far! Looks like the girls are making up for the boys having such a down year ... and there's seven! Georgia's in as a No. 11 seed! I'm really proud of the SEC women!

*And the entire field has finally been revealed. Just to recap:

-Auburn is a No. 2 seed in the Oklahoma City region. They'll play No. 15 seed Lehigh this Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN2. Definitely gotta be there for that. 

-The SEC has seven teams in. That's gotta be the most or tied for the most out of any conference. And I think the lowest seed out of the SEC was a No. 11. That's pretty good. 

*SEC games:

No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Lehigh, Saturday at 11 a.m., ESPN2 -- Oklahoma City region

No. 4 Vandy vs. No. 13 Western Carolina, Saturday at 7 p.m., ESPN2 -- Raleigh region

No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Green Bay, Sunday at 6 p.m., ESPN2 -- Raleigh region

No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 12 Ball State, Sunday at 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 -- Berkeley region

No. 11 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Texas, Saturday at 11 a.m., ESPN2 (Hopefully we'll get the AU game) -- Berkeley region

No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Temple, Sunday at 1:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 -- Trenton region

No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 6 Arizona State, Saturday at noon, ESPN2 -- Trenton region

It's 7:20 a.m. in Alabama. I really need a camel.

That blog title will only make sense to you if you've seen "An Evening With Kevin Smith." 

Anyhow, I'm up this early because Patrick and I decided to get up at 6 a.m. to do some morning yoga. Of course, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to wake up at 6 a.m., and since I was worried about that, I ended up waking up at 4:12 a.m. Then I woke up every 15 or 20 minutes after that until 6 a.m. I guess that works. 

The yoga was good -- that's a week straight that I have done yoga every day. I think it's really helping -- I definitely feel more flexible, and I'm able to do the poses more easily than I did a week ago. Patrick's got his back problems, so I'm really happy he's doing the yoga with me now. It should help his back out a lot. It's not great that it's Monday, but I guess them's the breaks. Maybe I'll post some interesting stuff online later. Maybe I'll fall asleep at work. I guess it's a 50-50 chance. :)

First post ... amazing!

Ok, so I haven't had a blog in forever. Actually, I don't think I've ever had a blog. The closest thing I've had was that LiveJournal thing that you all may recall from, like, seven years ago. I didn't even do a good job keeping up with that, actually. You would think, being a journalist and writing for a living, I'd be better with this.

You would be wrong.

But now I've been forced into having a blog again by the girls in our Core Group (read: cult) who said, and I quote, "You're not a member of the group until you have a blog!" In fact, in the three times Sarah Hearn e-mailed me, every single time she managed to say some variation of, "START A BLOG AND TELL US SO WE CAN STALK YOU!" I definitely feel loved. And a lot of peer pressure. :)

Patrick and I did have fun coming up with a name for this, however. We have this favorite SNL skit with Garth Brooks and Will Ferrell, where Garth is willing to sell his soul to the devil for a hit song. Of course, the devil writes really crappy songs, which we love. So don't be surprised if one day you come to the blog and the name has changed from "Keeping Up With the Joneses" to "We've Been Bitten By the Love Bat ... And It's Driving Us Mad!" That's also why the blog's URL is myguitarwasoutoftune.blogspot.com. Sorry for the SNL nerdiness. 

Anyhow, I'm hopeful that this attempt at keeping up a blog will go better. It probably will if people will leave comments and at least let me know someone reads this. I'm going to try to update at least once a week, probably on Saturdays or Sundays. And for those who care about such things, I'll try and leave a list of prayer requests at the bottom -- that'll help me keep up with the blog, too. And I'll probably use this as an opportunity to pass on interesting or funny news articles (which I love to do on Facebook).

Prayer requests:

-That mine and Patrick's relationship with God will continue to grow

-That our relationship with each other will continue to deepen

-That my Mom won't be so stressed with work

-That my brother will be able to start thinking about college, basketball and his future with both of those