National Championship in NOLA!

  
  
[Warning...this is a very picture-heavy post, but I'm cramming a wonderful weekend into just one post...plus I'm back-log blogging.]

So how y'all doing?  As I mentioned yesterday, I spent the month of January adjusting to a new (yet old familiar) lifestyle.  But too bad for me because the Morris clan had previously arranged plans to travel to Houma and New Orleans, LA for a little ol' football game.  Can anyone scream "Road Trip"?

PS: I'm not actually "showing" yet.  But with a combination of the windy day and the unflattering top...YUCKY!

Notice Lorie's black and gold attire above?  Well, on Saturday the N.O. Saints were in a playoff game.  As much as we all love the Crimson Tide (and we DO!) the Saints are like, well, saints in the area. So we spent Saturday hanging out and getting ready for some NFL.

By the way, it's nice having a best friend with a fresh seafood market in the family.  Anyone want some fresh raw oysters on the half-shell?  Thanks for that fine shuckin' Shane!!!

Well, finally Sunday arrived.  We got up super early and make the 1 hr drive northeast to New Orleans.  It was on, y'all.  Eight (8) of us piled into our Expedition and headed to the Crescent City, prepared to show them who was boss! 

In Jackson Square, this guy was playing "Sweet Home Alabama"!  Um, Awesome!!!

We ate lunch at this little cafe and I swear, I had the BEST muffaletta...ever!!!

There really is music on every corner!

Some sights and fun in the city!

Did you know that you can't just TAKE a shot in the bars?  Men have to "retrieve" the shots, and women have to go after them.  Oh well, it's alcohol, so it'll kill the germs, right?

I...uh...there are no words!

Rashad Johnson, Alabama c/o 2009 DB (top, center) and his buddies were in the city partying, too!

Finally, it was the day of the big game!  Some of us (not me) woke up feeling a little, well... But sweet, beautiful Whitney was all about her Bama Houndstooth pride! 

So, what do you do when you wake up with "your mind right" on game day but you realize you have almost 8 hours until kickoff?  Play cards, of course!

There was plenty of good ballgame food, but we were in southern Louisiana, so there was also a king cake, natch...

This poor tiger's tag says "Roll over the Tide!"  I don't think so!...

It's finally game-time!

Heck Yeah!

Look how happy he is! And check out that score...21-0 baby!

Trust me, they'll both be celebrating tomorrow!

And, that's a wrap for this fun-filled long weekend in Louisiana!  Thank you Shane and Lorie for opening your house to all us crazies.  We love you bunches!

P.S. ROLL TIDE!  NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, BABY!  #14!!!

C's 2nd Birthday Party and Some Appetizer Recipes

So, today we got the family and closest friends together for Caroline's birthday party.  Some were missing due to on-the-road working and/or stomach viruses, but most of C's family was represented.  In case you may have missed it, Caroline is totally smitten with Elmo.  He seems to have come out of nowhere!  So what's a mommy to do?  Throw a "Melmo" (Carolinese) party!  First, check out the invitations I created:

Now, no birthday party would be complete without cake.  FYI, Publix informed me that unless I had a signed copyright release from Sesame Street, they could not freehand create my vision of an Elmo cake.  So I promptly took my business to another popular, national chain who did a truly beautiful job!

Here are some snapshots from the day.  You can see genuine happiness and glee on her face in most of the pictures.  Somehow she just knew it was "her" day.

Caroline playing "Where's Waldo" in the foreground.  Smiling are C's Nona and Godmother/cousin Stephanie

"Look how big and strong I am!"

C's sweet "Khaki".  Kylee was missed today!

In typical Morris family photo tradition, everyone is looking a different way.  (Usually my direction of choice is at the camera!)

As a bonus to you, I am offering a couple of fantastic recipes that were such a hit!  First, I made a delicacy (using that word generously) called "White Trash".  I found it through the magic of Pinterest, but here is the actual link to Cooking With K's post.  Let me just tell you, people were asking me to move the White Trash because they couldn't keep their hands out of it!  It is that good!

Also, I made a dip that I used to make a lot, but for some reason it got almost forgotten.  It's a hot Swiss and bacon dip that was completely eaten in just a few hours.

Hot Swiss Cheese and Bacon Dip

1 cup Swiss cheese, grated

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayo

1 tbsp chopped green onions

Mix the above ingredients and spread into a Pyrex dish.  Top with the following:

1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

6-7 sliced cooked, crispy bacon bits

(Melt your butter and pour over Ritz before spreading onto dip.)

Once the dip is assembled, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.  Serve with assorted crackers.  You will want to double this recipe if it's for more than a few people.  I doubled it today and it still got gone.

Well, we had a great birthday party today, followed by the announcement that Alabama will play in the National Championship game -- an LSU rematch!  Whoop Whoop!  What a great day!

Later gators,

Remember Me? -- iPhone Photo Dump

Okay, I'm due to apologize to you all for my disappearing act. I promise, I truly love having my blog. When I'm in the mood to write, I want to write. When I want to capture some memories, I turn to my blog. But as I'm kinda just starting out, I haven't come up with a "groove" and a "schedule" yet.

In October I attempted to write everyday for 31 Days. My topic being how to strengthen your marriage really worked on my own household. The hubs and I were feeling so strong and secure, that we became extremely busy. Blogging did not happen. So here's a li'l recap of the last month to get you up-to-date. And then I'll try to get in touch with those of you who are about to file a missing persons report on me, I promise!

I became a brunette in October!

I traveled with my Dad and my Aunt to Austin, TX for a beautiful wedding.



 My mom's job a.k.a. my job has kept us quite busy this month with 5 conferences, 2 of which were out of town and the rest that required a good bit of back-and-forth traveling.

L-R Rob, Whitney and siblings Alex and Anna went to the zoo to see the new baby lion cubs.  Man, they were so cute and cuddly!

Whitney and Caroline, who's wearing a momma-made Halloween pinafore.  Go me!

Caroline -- who also suffered a chest cold and ear infection this month -- helped me do some fall baking.  We made this recipe found on Pinterest, another new obsession of mine.

Halloween 2011 came and went.  It was fun to trick-or-treat for the 2nd year in a row with our cousin / nephew Josh!  Rob was Iron Man and Caroline was a pink cowgirl.

All this candy is for me?  Just for being cute?

Mommy, should I be more scared of this killer (live) snake or my Uncle Jason's Auburn shirt?

Football season is in full swing. I mean big, make-or-break games that unfortunately, are trying to break us. I got the chance to meet and have a great conversation with AJ McCarron's dad--that'd be Bama's starting QB for all you non-Bammers.  This was taken before the LSU game, hence the smiles!

Our living room is undergoing a major renovation.  So big, that I'll save it, too, for another post, but just know that it's huge!  And last but hardly the least...

Rob is sick.  He started out with the crud and a pretty heavy ear infection.  Just when he was well, he got Strep throat!  Yucky.  Well now he's on a pretty strong antibiotic that is also making him feel yucky. The photo above is when he actually fell asleep in the Dr's office.  Bless his heart!

Here's hoping I can finally sleep restfully again and get back to a routine.  It's been so very crazy in the Morris home for the past few weeks! 

More updates will come!

Joe PA..PA...Party!

***Author's Note 8/31/2012  I am leaving this post in tact, changing no words about it.  But at the very mention of Joe Paterno, I must offer my prayers to all the victims in the Sandusky crimes, to all the innocent football players whose football careers will be marred by association with this program, and to all the residents of Happy Valley who simply love football and now question every truth they believed about Penn State University and its "respected" leaders.***

Joe Pa...as in Paterno...the Penn State Head Football coach.  Saturday 9/10/11 (cool date, huh?) saw Bama play and whoop up on Penn State.  The Morrises had our usual back-porch viewing party.  This one was pretty low key in terms of food and revelrie.  Here are some highlights:

Bobby hates...HATES my taking pictures of him.  And a family picture?  No way!

Well, that is until you throw in BFF and chief trouble-maker Matt.  Just look at those lovebirds!

Below is Matt's mom, Vicki and Matt's youngest, Maddox.  Caroline wanted to hold the baby.  Maddox doesn't look so sure about that prospect!

Speaking of Caroline, I just have to pat myself on the back when it comes to her apparel.  Yes, I totally made her dress all by myself!  I found the pattern idea here...

Check out these besties!  Aren't they cute?

I asked Bobby if he was getting that old familiar feeling while holding Maddox?  He said, "Um not so much!"

Whoa...who invited this clown? Kidding!  He's my brother-in-law and we love him!

Well, that's a wrap for this game.  Final score 27-11.  Roll Tide Roll!