bad news & good news

Bad News:

I don't have time tonight to post the winner for this giveaway.

Good News:

You can still enter this giveaway if you haven't already. And if you are eligible to add a comment each day, you may do so!!

**The winner of the Davis Family Cookbook will be announced on Friday afternoon.

meal planning monday

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Davis Family Cookbook. It ends today!!

Monday: King Ranch Casserole & Mexican Corn Casserole

Tuesday: Asian Chicken Pasta Bag & Egg Rolls

Wednesday: Girl's ABF Christmas Party @ My House

Thursday: Staff Christmas Dinner @ Taste of Italy

Friday: Dinner w/ The Hoopers

Saturday Breakfast: Muffins & Fruit

Saturday Lunch: Pizza

Saturday Dinner: Christmas Party @ Brittany's House

Sunday Lunch: Taco Soup

Sunday Dinner: Gloria's...YUMMY!!!

BUTT event

Saturday afternoon we headed out to Jerry's World to watch the Baylor Bears play Texas Tech.

I was super excited about seeing the stadium, but I was not too excited about watching 2 teams I don't care about.

I decided to be good sport about the whole game and I even wore a Baylor t-shirt. But don't worry Ags, I still wore my Aggie Ring.

Our seats were in the corner of the Baylor end zone, but they weren't bad at all. I don't think there is a bad seat in the whole stadium.

I'm pretty sure I spent the majority of the game just watching the big screen. It is huge.

Absolutely HUGE!

Even though the game didn't end quite like Matt would have preferred it to, it was a good game to watch. It was definitely an experience just seeing it.

After the game we stopped at Cheddar's for some dessert. I looked at my ticket and saw BUTT Event. I had to think for a second before I realized BU stood for Baylor University and TT stood for Texas Texas.

I thought I was pretty funny when I told Matt that the BUTT Event sure did stink this year.

Better luck next year Bears.

thanksgiving 2009

I did an awful job at taking pictures this Thanksgiving. I didn't get any pictures of me and Matt.

Oh well. There's always next year.

I love the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving. I love thinking about all that I have to be thankful for. As far as the food goes, Thanksgiving is just another meal to me. But, from what I hear, my grandma make the best Thanksgiving food around. I just don't care for turkey and dressing.

This Thanksgiving Matt's sister were both spending the day with their in-laws, so Matt's parents came over to my grandma's for lunch. We were so lucky this year to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with both of our parents at the same place!

Doesn't Nonnie and my Mom look great?? I hope I look as good as they do when I get older.

While I was picking around at my food, this little guy was eating everything his Mommy put in front of him. His favorite was the green beans.

After lunch, Carson found my purse and wouldn't put it down. He didn't try to dig through it once, he just carried it all over the place.

When he got done with my purse he moved onto his Mommy's blackberry.

Who needs toys when you can play with real things??

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

happy thanksgiving and a giveaway

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
-Psalm 107:1


We have so much to be thankful for this year!!


We just celebrated our one year anniversary in October. We have family close by. We are healthy. We have jobs. We have a home. And we have a wonderful church family.


But most importantly we have a Savior that died on a cross to save us from our sins.


We are most thankful for this.


Another silly thing I am thankful for is this cookbook.

About a year ago, my Mom and my Grandma (Nonnie) combined all of our favorite recipes into one cookbook. They made it as a fundraiser for the school named after my PaPaw.


I don't know what I would do without this cookbook. I literally cook from this cookbook almost every night. Most of the meals that are on my "Meal Planning Monday" come from here. They are all easy recipes that don't take any crazy ingredients and they are easy to read and understand.

There are no pictures in this cookbook, but just trust me, they are truly tried and true recipes. I don't think there is a bad recipe in the whole cookbook.


This cookbook gets the most use at The Link Home from Thanksgiving until Christmas. All of my favorite holiday recipes are in this cookbook.


So since this time of year is all about giving, I just thought I would give away one of these cookbooks.


There are LOTS of chances to enter this giveaway so please read the directions carefully to maximize your chances to win. Also, be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.


I will pick one winner at random on Monday, November 30th.


{You must be a follower of my blog to enter this giveaway. So if you aren't, just scroll down and look on the left for the tab that looks like this...

....and click on Follow. You'll have to follow a couple of steps to become a follower.}


For the first entry, Just let me know that you are a follower!!


For extra entries:
** Tell me your favorite holiday recipe.


**Write a post about this giveaway on your blog and link back to me.


**Write about this giveaway in your facebook status.


**Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter!


And as a special bonus, if you do 3 of the extra entries, you may come back and enter once per day!!


And don't forget--leave a separate comment for each entry! You have until Monday to enter. Good luck!


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

i love weddings

Sunday night one of the sweet girls that I work with got married. It was such a fun wedding. They had great food, an awesome DJ, a photo booth, delicious cake, and candy buffet!! The wedding was just absolutely beautiful.

I brought my camera but unfortunately didn't take too many pictures.

Here is our Kindergarten team. I sure do love these gals!!

And here's my hot date.

I just love going to weddings!!

Congrats Sarah & Matt!

**On a side note: I'm super jealous of Matt & Sarah. They are going to The Royal Hideaway in Playa del Carmen this week for their honeymoon. (It's where Matt and I went for our honeymoon.)

meal planning monday

Monday: Chicken Poppyseed Casserole. Broccoli, & Rolls

Tuesday: Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice, & Veggies

Wednesday: Spaghetti & Meatsauce, Salad, & Garlic Toast

Thursday: Thanksgiving

Friday: Thanksgiving Leftovers

Saturday Breakfast: Breakfast Casserole

Saturday Lunch: Sandwiches & Chips

Saturday Dinner: Baylor Game @ Cowboy Stadium

Sunday Lunch: Last Sunday Lunch w/ our ABF

Sunday Dinner: Crab Triangles & Soup

thanksgiving & christmas

Who says you can't celebrate both at the same time??

I was trying so hard to wait until after Thanksgiving to put up my tree and all of my Christmas decoration. I just couldn't do it. Matt got all our decorations out of the attic last night and I put up the tree!! I'll post pictures after Thanksgiving when it's "legal" to have all of your Christmas decorations out!!

kickboxing or a butt kicking

Turbo Kick is the greatest kickboxing class ever. I love it!! I used to go every Sunday and Thursday pretty consistently, but it's been a while since I've been.

I woke up early this morning, so I decided to go to Turbo Kick at the gym and get my lazy butt back into workout mode. I'm seriously either hot or cold when it comes to working out. I always workout 4-5 times a week for like a month, then I don't workout at all for month. I am determined that this month I make it one of those months where I work out 4-5 times a week. I refuse to pack on the dreaded holiday pounds.

It felt great to workout today. I always feel so refreshed after a good workout. The only problem about this workout was that there was definitely more butt kicking than kickboxing!! I'll be heading back to the gym tomorrow hoping it will be less of a butt kicking!!

stars game

We went to the Stars Game last night with another ABF at our church.

You can see by the score that it wasn't that great of a game.

But the score didn't matter to me, because there were 4 fights in the 1st period alone. That is definitely my favorite part of the game!!

My least favorite part though is how stinking cold it is at the game. At least this time I came prepared with my "eskimo coat."

is it really that great?

It's 30 minutes away from opening night of New Moon and I'm going to sleep. You couldn't pay me to go see a movie at midnight.

I know quite a few people who are at the theater seeing the movie right now. I just don't get it. Is it really that great? I read the first chapter of the first book, and just could not get into it. I saw the first movie and thought it was good, but going to see a midnight showing on a work night. Is it really worth it? I think I'll just wait until I can get it on Netflix.

I just don't really get the whole Twilight addiction.

string cheese

Matt and I have this new obsession with string cheese. I randomly bought it at the grocery store a while back, and now we just can't get enough of it.

And neither can our dog.

I have never been able to give Izzie doggie treats. Ever since she was a puppy she always got an upset tummy after I gave a treat. We have also never given her people food. I never wanted to get started with that bad habit. I have always just given her ice cubes as a treat and she loves it. The other day I decided to give her a teeny tiny bite of my string cheese just to see if she would eat it.

Not a good idea. She LOVES it!!

Now she begs us for a bite of string cheese every time we eat one. Sometimes I'll quietly go in another room to open my string cheese because she can hear and recognize the sound of us opening string cheese.

Atleast Izzie likes healthy snacks, right??

JEANS!!!

My school district has this dumb "No Denim Policy." The only days we can wear jeans are on our 3 party days. (Halloween, Christmas & Valentines) It is so annoying to not be able to wear jeans on Fridays like most other school districts.

Luckily every now and then our principal lets us buy jean days. I mean literally buy them. We pay to wear jeans, that is how much teachers like to wear jeans.

Last week when we were short for donations to the Christian Care Center our principal called over the announcements and said "Teachers pardon this interruption. Please check your e-mail for a "Blue Light Special" I checked my e-mail and he had told us that if we donated $8 in the next hour that we could wear jeans all week.

Of course I paid the $8, and so did the majority of our staff. Our principal told us today that we raised over $600 in less than an hour.

So this week our campus is full of lot of jean wearing happy teachers!!

meal planning monday

Monday: Grilled Chicken, Rice, Veggies, & Rolls

Tuesday: On the Go Dinner

Wednesday: Ravioli, Salad, & Garlic Toast

Thursday: Stars Game

Friday: Pizza

Saturday Breakfast: Pigs in a Blanket

Saturday Lunch: Chili Cheese Wraps

Saturday Dinner: Taco Soup

Sunday Lunch: Ham Rolls

Sunday Dinner: Sarah & Matt's Wedding

baking without actually baking

I was busy all day yesterday (and a little bit today) making these cute little jars of cookie mix.

I got this idea from a cook book called "Gifts in a Jar."

It tells you the order and amount of ingredients you put in the jar, then it has a tag that you tie around the jar with the rest of the recipe.

I thought that these would make great little gifts for friends this Christmas Season!!

Aren't they cute?

little project

You would think that will all of this stuff I would be busy in the kitchen baking.

But I'm not.

I'l post pictures tomorrow of this little project I'm working on!!

keepin' it fresh questions answered

I got a couple of questions about this post, so I thought I would answer you questions here.

I got these from a lady that sells Tupperware at school. You can order them online here if you don't know anyone that sells tupperware, or they also sell them at Canton.

Here is the link to the FridgeSmart Container line. It's a little pricey, but I think it's totally worth it. I would not normally pay $12 to $26 for a tupperware, but since these actually help you save money by keeping your produce longer, I think it's totally worth it.

And yes, they do still fit in my drawers. See.....

And I even have room for more!!

new student

I got a new student today!

He is precious.

I asked him where he moved from.

His response....

"Ummm America!"

I love it!!

keepin' it fresh

Fresh produce can be so expensive, and it can ruin so quickly. Here's how I have found how to keep my produce fresher for longer.

FridgeSmart Tupperware!!

This tupperware is amazing. I save so much money on my produce because of these. They keep my produce so fresh for so long, which means I don't have to buy it so often. Each container has a sticker on the side that says what fruits and vegetables can go in it. It also says whether the vents should be opened or closed.

I typically used the orange one for lettuce, the blue one for broccoli, carrots, or zucchini, and the teal one for cilantro. My produce usually last 2-3 weeks when kept in these containers.

I also have this little thing. I'm not sure what it's called, but it great!! When I only use a half of a tomato or onion I put the rest in here....

.....and then hang it in my refrigerator....

....and it all stays fresh!!

sweet cinnamon

I met my friend Cinnamon for dinner tonight at Raising Canes.

Mmmm mmmmmm good. You should definitely try it if you've never been.

But that's beside the point.

Cinnamon and I used to go to the same church and see each other all the time, but since Matt and I got married and moved churches I don't get to see her that often.

I'm so thankful for our dinner dates that we get to have every so often. Every time we meet up, I'm am reminded at how blessed I am to have a friend like her.

And because I know you read my blog, Cinnamon......Thank you for being such a sweet friend. I can't wait until our next dinner date!!

meal planning monday

Monday: Shrimp & Broccoli Fettucini Alfredo

Tuesday: Raising Cane's with Cinnamon

Wednesday: Meatball Subs

Thursday: BBQ Ribs, Veggies, & Baked Potatoes

Friday: On the Go Dinner

Saturday Breakfast: Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

Saturday Lunch: Chili Cheese Wraps

Saturday Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Rice, & Veggies

Sunday Lunch: Chicken Poppyseed Casserole, Veggies, & Rolls

Sunday Dinner: Tacos

happy 1 year blogiversary!!

Last November 8th was my first post on The Link Home!!

It's been a whole year since I've started this crazy habit. I'm so glad I started it, because it sure is neat to look back and see all the things that we have done in the past year. I can't wait to share many more memories on my blog in the years to come.

You can celebrate my one year blogiversary by following my blog!! (Just scroll down and click on the follow button.) I would love to know who all my readers are!!

super savings

I am so proud of myself. I have not been the best "couponer" since school started. It just takes so much time to match up all the deals with all the good coupons. I decided to get back on track and start saving.

My first stop was Kroger. I got $250 worth of groceries. After the Kroger sale savings and coupon savings, I only spend $89!! That is 65% savings!! I was so excited to stock up on some big items as well as get groceries for my meals this week. Some of my big items were 3 12pks of toilet paper, 6 boxes of tampons, and 4 bottles of All laundry detergent. That alone would have cost around $80, but I got tons of groceries in addition to my big items.

My second stop this week was CVS. I got $60 worth of toiletries and kitchen items. After coupons and Extra Bucks, I only spent $18. That is 70% savings!! At CVS I got 2 large things of Colgate toothpaste, 3 bottles of Listerine, a box of Cascade dish detergent, 4 bottles of Dawn dish soap, and 3 CoverGirl Lash Exact Mascara. The mascara alone would have cost me $24, if I would have paid full price, but I got lots more because of my coupons!!

Yay, for couponing!! It's so rewarding when you think that my grocery bill would have been $310, but since I cut coupons and took the time to find the sales, I only spent $107 dollars.

such a good sport

While we were in San Antonio for our one year anniversary, I found out that my camera can shoot 10 continuous shots with a timer. Of course I had to try it out, so I set the camera on the TV stand and let it shoot!!

Matt is such a good sport to put up with all my picture taking!!