Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy NYE

Pictures taken by Matt M.


When:  Wednesday, December 28, 2011

What:  Cowl neck sweater - Daisy Fuentes; Jeans - Sonoma; Booties - Nine West; Earrings - Old so I don't remember...

Where:  Work and then home to clean.  Matt and I scrubbed the house down.  I probably should have changed my clothes to be a bit more comfortable but I didn't.


Cowl necks are some of my favorite looks.  I own two cowl neck sweaters (one lone sleeve, the other short sleeve) and they usually get plenty of wear.  Did you notice?  I'm also wearing one of my new pairs of glasses!  Did you notice the other thing?  I'm in our basement.  We have a drum set!  That's Matt's drum set.  He is quite the musician lover and quite the drummer too! 


Hey!  Look at that!  I'm wearing the Target hounds tooth coat that was on my Christmas wish list!  Matt really did spoil me this year.  He gave me many things from my wish list, Indian cooking classes (I am so excited!) and an awesome photo editor program that I still have no idea how to use.


The coat has this great stitching of grey, black, and brown.  Perfect to go with just about any look!  My face looks kind of patchy in these pictures.  I'm pretty sure it's because I took them after we were finished cleaning.  I don't know why I waited till after I was a hot mess and no longer fresh.  I think it was just because I came home from work and wanted to get the cleaning done ASAP!

So today is the last day of 2011.  2011 was quite the year for me!  I graduated college (finally), turned 30, got married, and became a licensed RN!  Oh - and I started this little blog that I have enjoyed very much!  Speaking of little blog...  I won the "Tell Me About Yourself Award" from style blog oomph.  If you have never been to her blog, GO THERE NOW!  She is a sexy mom that knows how to rock an awesome look!  I especially lust over her ability to accessorize, something I lack the ability to do most days.  So over the next few days I am going to be putting together a list of things that people may not know about me to celebrate my award!  Heehee - that sure made my day!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe night tonight!  I appreciate all the comments and feedback from you!  I look forward to even more in 2012! 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

New Glasses

YAY!  They came in yesterday!  My new glasses!  I am so stoked!  Can't you tell with all my exclamation points!!!????!!!!  (HA!)

I went out on a limb and ordered glasses online.  After reading so many good reviews from different sources, I decided to try glassesusa.com.  Oh man am I glad I did!  I love them so much.  Not only was the website super easy to use (they have a virtual "mirror" to try glasses on), but their customer service was awesome!  (I have a weird prescription as one eye is near sighted and the other is far sighted and they worked with me right away to get it all straightened out because the website wouldn't except my crazy prescription.)  

I definitely suggest following them on facebook, as I ended up with a buy one get one free code.  Heck yeah TWO new pairs of glasses!

First pair - iSee 724 in brown.


Second pair - iSee 026 in black.


Excuse the photo quality.  They were taken with my iPhone. 

Can't wait to pick outfits to wear with them! 

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Festivus for the Rest of Us

Pictures taken by my tripod

When:  Friday, December 23, 2011

What:  Banded Top - Fashion Bug; Tiered Skirt - Lane Bryant; Tights - Fashion Bug; Boots - Trusol; Necklace - gift from friend; Bracelets - old.  


Where:  Work for our day 2 of holiday festivities, out to the grocery store for foods for the holiday weekend, and Cincinnati Zoo's Festival Lights (minus the skirt - I changed into jeans).  OH!  And of course Festivus!!!


I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Mine was awesome - but I am tired today...  It all started Friday night when Matt and I took the little one to the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights!  This has been a tradition of ours since the year we met.  We even became zoo members this year so we could go as often as we want throughout the summer, fall, and for the festival!  Of course I changed into jeans we before we left the house that night (actually about 2 minutes after I took these pictures).  It's been unseasonably warm in Cincinnati this year, but it was definitely too cold for a skirt and fishnets to go starring at Christmas lights, the polar bears, and other fun zoo things!


Wearing my boots....  Again....  Go figure....  These are becoming a part of my winter uniform!  I'm only afraid that since they are not real leather, they won't be that warm once the temperature starts to really drop!  In that case, I think for next winter I'll have to spill the money for a pair of real leather boots!  I also really like this tiered skirt.  The only problem though...  It's a really light fabric, completely made for the summer months.  So when walking to and from my car while doing the last minute grocery shopping on a windy day, my bum was definitely freezing!  This necklace is a Christmas gift from a close friend of mine last Christmas.  I feel like I always forget about it for some reason, then it catches my eye again and I am delighted every time!  I thought the colors were perfect with this skirt too!


Not only did my work celebrate the holidays on Thursday, we did it again on Friday too!  We originally planned it for Friday only, but found that many people had taken the day off.  So we decided to do it both days!  Free lunch Thursday and Friday?!?  I'll take it!  This all followed by the Festival of Lights, and then a ton of eating, laughing, and drinking with my family all weekend!  It was truly an awesome holiday! 

Also....  Matt and my mother-in-law gave me quite a few things off my Christmas wish list from this blog!  How cool is that?!?!  I can't wait to show them all to you in future posts!  But for now I am sitting in a t-shirt and jeans, as the long, fun weekend made for a lazy day of clothes my first day back to work.

Have you heard of Festivus?  December 23rd's special day filled with the Airing of Grievances, the Festivus Pole, and finished by the Feats of Strength?  We are big fans of Seinfeld (the TV show) in this house, and every year we always remember December 23's special meaning!  Check out this website for everything you need to know!  Including videos of the original Festivus celebrated on Seinfeld!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

WW's Red Beans, Sausage, & Rice Soup with Greens & Warm Turkey Bacon Dressing

So though I haven't posted many OOTD posts I have been cooking a lot more which means another recipe post for you!  And since I am trying to stay mostly on the healthy wagon and maybe even lose a few pounds, I bring you another Weight Watcher's recipe. 

The soup recipe is posted on WW's site as a slow cooker recipe, but after reading reviews I found that many people simply cooked it over the stove top so I thought I would give it a try.  I paired the soup with a healthified restaurant favorite - a salad with warm bacon dressing.

Red Beans, Sausage, & Rice Soup
The following recipe includes changes/additions I made to the original Weight Watcher's post.

Ingredients
1 clove garlic minced
1 medium onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 can red kidney beans rinsed and drained
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilis undrained
9 oz andouille sausage cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked rice

Pictures Taken by Luckey
I first add only the onions, pepper, and garlic to the pot.  I cook till the veggies become tender.  I then add everything else (minus the rice and broth) with the cooked veggies.  After everything is together, I pour in the broth.



A little note - while all this is going on, the rice is cooking on the back burner.  I didn't add the rice till the very end because I didn't want it to expand too much and become mushy.  Everything cooked together for about 45 minutes (minus the rice of course). 


As the soup and rice cook, I start on the salad...

Greens with Warm Turkey Bacon Dressing
The following recipe includes changes/additions I made to the original Weight Watcher's post.

Ingredients
1 cup frozen peas thawed
4 cups salad greens
1/2 cup green onions chopped
6 slices turkey bacon
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
black pepper to taste


My son mixed the peas and green onions for me...  Heehee - those are his little fingers in the corner.  He loves helping in the kitchen, and he tends to be a bit more open to new foods if he helped cook it!  So - this salad was really easy.  Basically I top the greens with the peas and green onions.


I cook the turkey bacon and remove it from the pan when it is done.  I chop the bacon and put it back into the pan where I then also add the water, vinegar, lemon juice, and black pepper.  I let it simmer for about 2 - 3 minutes and then immediately spoon the dressing over the greens.


Like I said earlier, I didn't add the rice to the soup till we were ready to eat.  We had a dinner served in multiple bowls that evening.  These were tasty good.  The soup actually had a ton of heat from the combination of the tomatoes with chilis and the sausage.  My son actually would eat about two spoonfuls of the soup and then take a drink of water immediately!  Poor guy.  He seemed to like it though.  The salad was pretty good.  It's not like a restaurant's and I'm guessing that has something to do with the turkey bacon.  But I thought it was still satisfying.

Hope everyone is getting their holiday preparations finished without too much stress!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

1 Month Blog Anniversary!

Today marks 1 month since I have started Luckey's Goods!  YAY!  How exciting!  I have really enjoyed every minute of it!  (A quick note, I apologize for being away so long...  The holidays have totally kicked my butt.  I have been frantically running around trying to finish all my holiday prep.  And this past weekend was my friend's wedding which kept me busy almost all weekend as Matt was in the wedding.  I know...  Excuses, excuses...)
To commemorate my first month, I am doing a double post - An outfit of the day and a recipe!  First, lets start with the recipe.  Tomorrow is my company's holiday party.  I am bringing in a new recipe that a friend just gave me - Buffalo Chicken Cheese Ball.  With minimal ingredients and minimal time you can make this for one of your holiday parties too!

Buffalo Chicken Cheese Ball
Ingredients
2 blocks of cream cheese
1 large chicken breast (I used 1-1/2 because I only had small ones)
1/4 cup plus some extra squirts of Franks Red Hot
2 cups pepper jack cheese
 
 
Pictures Taken by Luckey

I softened the cream cheese in the microwave for about 1 minute.  Then I combined the cream cheese, hot sauce, and half of the pepper jack cheese.  It's not pictured, but after I combined it all, I felt it didn't pack enough heat for my taste, so I added in a few shakes of dried cayenne pepper.


At the same time I was also cooking up the chicken breasts.  The picture shows three because I made a second cheese ball for Matt to take to his work holiday party too!


When the chicken is finished I shredded it and added it to the cream cheese mix.


Finally after everything is mixed well, I form the mixture into a ball and roll it over the other cup of the pepper jack cheese. 


There you have it!  Easy-peasy!  And quite tasty too!  I'm excited to see if everyone likes it as much as I do tomorrow at the party! 

And now...  The clothes...

 Pictures by Matt M.

When: Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What: Dress - Sonsi.com; Cardigan - Lane Bryant; Boots - Trusol; Tights - Fashion Bug; Belt - Lane Bryant; Necklace - Target

Where: Work, and a marathon of stores to finish my Christmas shopping, and then home to make the cheese balls and catch my brother-in-law up on Showtime's "Shameless" so he can watch the new season with us in January.


Heh.  I had Matt take a picture of me with some of my shopping bags.  As you can see in these pictures I am surrounded by gifts that still need to be wrapped!  Ugh, something else to do...  Any-who...  I wanted to look festive today.  What is more festive than red and green I thought?  This is actually the dress I wore to my own rehearsal dinner.  If I wasn't wearing the cardigan, you could see it was sleeveless (we were married in July).  I love this dress, it's so light and airy.  Adding a cardigan and tights is a great way to winterize it!


Wore my calf boots again.  Love these things.  The necklace is also what I wore at my rehearsal dinner.  It was an absolute awesome find as I love it and I always get compliments on it!  I originally put on my black skinny belt this morning, but I started thinking that the animal print one might be more fun!  I'm glad I switched!


Is anyone else as excited about the season premier of "Shameless" as I am?!?!  Oh my!  It became one of my favorite shows when it first came on early this year.  It's about a family of misfits in Chicago.  If you have Showtime, it's on demand right now so you have time to catch up!  (Note - this is NOT a family friendly show.  No kiddies around, okay?) 

Others ways I have rocked my animal print belt:


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

fatale fashion inspiration

Pictures Taken by My Tripod

When:  Tuesday, December 13, 2011

What:  Dress - Sealed With A Kiss Designs; Cardigan - Sonama; Havana Belt - Sealed With A Kiss Designs; Tights - Merona; Booties - Sonama; Charm Necklace - Things Remembered; Long Beaded Necklace - ??; Bracelet - ??

Where:  Work, home to help with my son's homework and then I was going to help my soon-to-be-bride friend with her centerpieces this evening, but she canceled.  So I ended up working on my blog and chillin'.



Today's post is special because it is my very first inspirational-look post!  I follow Ariana from fatale fashion.  I always enjoy her outfits.  She posted this outfit on Monday and I thought - Oh my gosh!  Not only is this super cute, but I can actually do it, almost exactly!!  And the rest is history.  This was actually a super easy way to get dressed this morning, as Ariana did most of the work for me!  All I had to do was grab my things and go!  So, what do you think?  Doesn't she look great?  How did I do?


I did do things slightly different.  I wanted to wear my brown havana belt (she did a black belt, black textured tights, and black boots).  I thought this would be a good opportunity to wear my new maroon tights from Target too.  Note about the Target tights...  I don't really like them.  I feel like I am entirely too tall for these tights (though I do fit in the sizing spectrum).  Looks like I really do need to break down and just go ahead and put an order into welovecolors.  But, the Target ones will do for now.  Since I was wearing my brown havana belt, I went with brown boots too!


I put on my brown and teal bracelet my mom bought me a while ago.  I love the color combination of brown and teal!  The necklace was a gift from my parents.  They gave it to me this past Friday when we went out to dinner to celebrate my passing of the Ohio RN NCLEX exam.  I LOVE IT so much!  It has the nursing symbol on one side and the other has "2011" with a little graduation cap on the numbers.  It also has two little charms, a "J" and an "M" for Justine Meyer (me - heehee) with a little pearl detail.  This is definitely something I'll be wearing a lot!  Ariana's look even inspired me to break out my old glasses!  I cannot lie - I pretty much copied her entire look I loved it so much!


And what a fun dress this is!  I love the fullness of the skirt!  And the material is so soft...  I could feel myself all day (HA)! 

A little note about the name of my blog, Luckey's Goods.  Yes, I know how to spell lucky correctly...  Luckey is my maiden name!  And I thought Luckey's Goods sounded better than Meyer's Goods.  Now you know!

Other ways I have rocked my havana belt:






Monday, December 12, 2011

Monday, Monday.

Photos Taken by My Tripod

What:  Tee - Apt. 9; Jacket - Lane Bryant; Boot Cut Jeans - Lane Bryant; Pumps - Lane Bryant; Necklace - The Express; Bracelet - Lane Bryant

When:  Monday, December 20, 2011

Where:  Work, then home to help my son with his homework, cook breakfast for dinner (I love breakfast food), and put up the Christmas lights outside (along with massive amounts of laundry - ugh).


Just another casual outfit for Monday.  I usually try to plan out my outfit for the day the night before.  But I spent Sunday being lazy, watching football, and catching up on Dexter.  So as I was blow drying my hair this morning, this outfit, that I have worn before but never blogged about, popped in my head.  Since it's Monday, I was totally cool with going with an easy look.


This necklace was a birthday gift one of my nursing school classmates gave me this summer.  I LOVE the color (it's green - yo!)  You can also see my cool crackled nails peaking in the corner.  I worked on those Sunday night and I am quite happy with how they turned out!  The bracelet is an oldie of mine.  I seriously have owned this longer than my son has been alive!  But it never seems to go out of style.  The nude shoes are kind of recent purchase for me.  I liked this pair because A. They're wide widths, making them very comfortable, and B.  I really dug the patent "leather" look of them.  I've worn them in previous outfit posts.  They are one of my favorite purchases this year. 


Man, maybe it's because I slept in late Sunday, but I could not get to sleep Sunday night.  This made for a very tired Monday...  Don't you just hate that?  I made it through the day though.  Somehow.  Onward to the weekend!  A friend of ours is getting married this Saturday and Matt is in the wedding (along with my son being an usher).  I'm excited about the fun weekend ahead.  Now...  Just gotta figure out what I'm going to wear!

Other ways I have rocked the navy jacket:

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Weekly Recap in Photos

What an exciting, fun-filled week!  YAY!  For those who don't know...  I passed my RN state boards on Monday!  Coolest thing ever!!  We pretty much spent the week celebrating in little ways here and there. 



1. Sunday, December 4 - I did my nails on Sunday.  That's when I usually do my nails.  They may not always look the best by the time Saturday rolls around, but I have found Sally Henson's Double Duty bottom/top coat does a great job.  I realized that my nail color choice this week is very similar to the color on my bathroom wall!  OPI Wyatt Earple Purple // 2. Monday, December 5 - Monday was the big day: The day I took the state board exam for my RN license!  This is a picture I took of myself right before I entered the facility and had to turn my phone off.  I had studied long and hard for this moment, so I was feeling pretty confident.  //  3. Tuesday, December 6 - St. Nick doesn't come to our house.  He stops at Matt's parents house to drop off our stuff!  This year we got an ornament each (mine was a Irish Santa with a beer...  haha - nice) and lots of candy!  Everything was chocolate including chocolate mints, chocolate covered cherries, chocolate coins, dark chocolate kisses, caramel covered chocolate, and Dove snowflakes!  Yum!  Just when the Halloween candy was gone...  We get a refill!  //  4. Wednesday, December 7 - Matt picked up dinner from one of our favorite local sandwich shops - Melt.  I almost always order their seitan cheesesteak sandwich.  It's an awesome vegetarian version of a meaty sandwich.  They also have a great selection of soups!  On this day I had the vegetarian chili. 


1. Friday, December 9 - I attended a bachelorette party on Saturday, but this picture is me remembering to grab the flasks we wanted to take along for the evening...  Wanted to try and save a few bucks during the evening entertainment.  Funny thing - we brought them, but I totally didn't even break mine out!!  Fail.  //  2.  Friday, December 9 - My parents took us out to dinner Friday night to celebrate me passing my test.  We met them there and my mom had this balloon for me.  Pretty cool huh!?  My parents also gave me a really neat necklace with my initials and the nursing symbol.  That will be on an OOTD post soon for sure!  //  3. Saturday, December 10 - Who has colored tights now????  ME!  I'm so stoked!  Matt and I did some Christmas shopping on Saturday and I picked these up for myself!  I wore the blue pair Saturday night at the bachelorette party and received a ton of compliments!    


Friday, December 9, 2011

Yeah... It's Wintertime

Pictures Taken by My Tripod

When: Thursday, December 8, 2011

What:  Poncho - Love Your Size, Love your Style; Long-sleeve Tee - Merona; Jeggings - Lane Bryant; Sweater Boots - Sketchers; Ring - Premier Design; Watch Cuff - Lane Bryant

Where:  Work, home and doing homework with my son, working on my blog, and dinner out to our favorite Chinese spot.


Oh man!  Is it getting cold here or what?!  I know it will only get colder (ugh) but I am already over it!  My bed felt so warm this morning...  Getting out from under the covers was the last thing I wanted to do!  So to stay comfy and warm as much as possible today, I opted for a casual look of a sweater poncho, jeggings, and my sweater boots.



The watch is a gift I received from a friend quite a few years ago.  We're talking before my son was even thought of old...  But I have always liked it and thought it would be a nice minimal accessory to go with my casual look.  (Psst - the batteries were dead!  I didn't realize this till around lunch time.  I looked at my watch and though huh, that secondhand isn't ticking...)  The ring is another Premier Design piece from the party I had a few years back.  I especially like this ring right now because it reminds me of the Aztec designs that are really in style right now.  Another outfit with my sweater boots - how could I not?  These are perfect to wear on a chilly day!



I ended up putting my hair in pigtails right before I stepped out of the house this morning.  I tried to wear it down, but I couldn't get it to work right.  Wait - what's that you say?  Didn't I just get it trimmed the day before and I thought you loved it?  YES!  That hasn't changed!  She washed it that evening when I had it cut, and I avoid washing my hair on consecutive days almost religiously.  But this morning I was realizing I must have slept on it weird cause I didn't like it so I put it up. 

So I'm 30...  Is 30 too old for pigtails?  (Obviously I don't think so.  Especially when I'm doing a comfy-casual outfit day!)

Other ways I have rocked out my sweater boots:



Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Gift

Pictures Taken by My Tripod

When: Wednesday, December 7, 2011

What:  Dress - Blu Sage; Tights - Fashion Bug; Booties - Nine West; Belt - taken from a shirt; Necklace - Lane Bryant; Cuff - Fashion Bug; Earrings - Lane Bryant

Where: Work, got my hairs trimmed, Cub Scouts with my son, and a little online shopping.


This dress was a gift to me from my mother-in-law.  When I first received it I didn't wear it much as I thought it didn't do much for my figure because it didn't have a structured shape.  But I always liked the pattern, length, and neckline.  Since I discovered the wonderful world of using a belt, I knew that was exactly what needed to happen for this dress!  And the rest is history.  I really like wearing this dress now!


The simple hoop earrings were a purchase from LB many years ago.  You can't go wrong with a simple set of earrings sometimes.  The necklace was also purchased from LB too.  (Probably not at the same time, but I've had this necklace for a while now too.)  It's made from a shell, at least I think so.  And if not, they did an excellent job making it look like one.  Again I'm wearing my trusty cuff!  I love this silver cuff!  Such a great buy!  Also wore my Nine West booties again.  They are just too easy to slip on and never make my feet hurt. 
So you can kind of tell from the pic that these tights are actually footless tights.  When I purchased them I didn't even realize.  But I have come to like the versatility they can bring me.  (Also - I am in love with the colored tights at the moment...  Sadly, all I have is black, brown, and these grey ones....  Hmmm...  gotta go shopping soon it sounds like!)


I had my hair trimmed yesterday.  I needed it badly!  I can't believe how fast it grows.  I know it looked alright getting longer, I just like it a bit shorter and more defined layers. 
I also got a little online shopping done for Christmas.  It was a customized order and I am hoping I didn't wait too long to order it!!!  Someone might have to wait till after Christmas to get their gift.  But hey - maybe spreading out the gift opened just a bit longer is a good thing right?

How much online shopping do you do for Christmas?  Honestly, I would say 85% of the gifts our family gives come from online.  It's just too convenient!

Other ways I have rocked my Nine West booties:



Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I'm A Nurse!!!!!!!

Photos Taken by Matt M.


When: Tuesday, December 6, 2011

What: Faux Wrap Dress - Lane Bryant; Pumps - Lane Bryant; Fishnet Tights - Torrid; Necklace and Bracelet Set - Gift from Mom

Where:  Dinner to Boi Na Braza with Matt to celebrate my PASSING THE RN NCLEX!!!!!  The above picture is me holding my degree in it's fancy cover they gave us...  Figured it was a good enough replacement till my license comes in! 



I passed my test!  I past my test!  I passed my test!  THANK GOODNESS I passed my test!  I am officially an RN!!!  After 4 years of extremely hard work - I am finally at the end!  I cannot believe it!  I took my test yesterday and left the facility a wreck!  I cried most of the way home and drank quite a few rum and cokes last night...  But it was all worth it because I passed my test!

The necklace and bracelet was a Christmas gift my mom gave to me a couple of years ago (it also came with earrings that I totally forgot to put on).  I love this set.  The colors of turquoise, green and brown are a great combo.  I thought it would add a nice touch of color to this outfit.  The shoes I purchased in the early fall of this year.  I love these nude shoes and they are super comfortable too!  (Gotta love shoes from the big chick's store - they are wide enough for my big 'ole dogs!)  I purchased this dress at the same time.  It had a very high rating on the website and there is a totally legitimate reason why.  The faux wrap does my curves wonders!  Plus - the animal print is super cute!


I had been stressing all last night and this morning/early afternoon about my NCLEX results.  Every hour, starting at 7:00 am, I would check the Ohio State Nursing State Board website, waiting to see if my status would change from "pending" to "approved".  It finally happened around 2:30 this afternoon.  It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulder!  I've been hard work.  Studying almost everyday, for the past 4 years.  Living and breathing nursing school!  I don't know what I'm going to do with all my free time now!  (Maybe vacuum my living room floor since it's covered in pine needles from the Christmas tree we put up yesterday!!  LOL!)


When I texted Matt to tell him I had passed, I sent him "So...  I'm a nurse.."  to which he replied with "Well that was a very understated way of saying THE MOST AWESOME NEWS EVER!"  HAHA!  He then proceeded to tell me that I needed to go home and get dressed up because he had a babysitter and reservations!  (Nice!)  Unfortunately, I looked like a hot mess at work today...  Didn't wash my hair this morning (haven't washed it since Saturday evening), didn't put on any makeup (I seriously was just in the most down mood EVER this morning).  So I came home, helped my son finish up his homework and got in the shower to clean up and look hot! 

Matt took me to a Brazilian steakhouse, Boi Na Braza.  We have never been there, but had a Cincy Saver coupon for a $25 credit.  It was amazing!  If you are not familiar with the Brazilian steakhouse deal...  There is no menu.  There is a huge salad bar with cold and hot side offerings.  They give you a card, one side is red, the other is green.  If you have your card on the green side up, many different servers come to your table with various cuts of meat to give you.  Tonight they were offering 11 different cuts!  Fillet, pork ribs, garlic steak, bacon wrapped chicken breast, chicken legs, lamb....  Oh man - I can't remember them all, and my stomach definitely could not handle them all, but it was delicious and it was quite the experience!

Matt has done so much for me while I have been in school.  He's been pretty much a single parent - cooking most meals, doing all the cleaning and laundry, doing all of Ronnie's homework till this past spring when I finally graduated and could be home in the late afternoon/early evening (I worked full time and then went to night school.)  If anything, I am just so thankful I have passed my test so I can be more involved in my son's life and be a better, more productive partner to my husband.