POM-a-Gram!

Several weeks ago I found out about a promotion by POM Wonderful (the company that produces pomegranates and the now popular POM juice) called Pom-a-Gram.  All you had to do was fill out a page on their website and they'd send a pomegranate to the person of your choice.  Mike laughed at me and told me it would never come but he was wrong! 

I was very excited when our Pom-a-Gram arrived and wanted hubs to take a picture with it.  This was all I got...

The box was adorable and what was inside was even better!

HUGE pom

Cutting it up was messy but luckily it came with directions so it wasn't quite as disastrous as my past experiences have been.  So delicious!

lots of arils- yum!

CMA Country Christmas

Thursday night we dressed up in red and green and went downtown to be a part of the live audience for the taping of CMA's Country Christmas.  Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland was host for a night when various country stars got together to sing Christmas songs and film the holiday special.  Tickets were only available from CMA members so we were lucky enough to be invited by friends with connections.  It was a very unique experience to get a behind-the-scenes look at a TV filming and, of course, awesome to see some of our favorite singers performing carols.  There were quite a few "re-takes" so we got to see many of the performances twice.  The atmosphere was much more laid back than your typical concert and many of the stars would casually address the audience when not filming.  It was a really neat experience and I can't wait to watch the show when it airs to see how it all comes together!  If you like Christmas songs as much as I do, you should check it out too!

Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Reba, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts

Awesome set with lots of fake snow!

 The special will air Monday, November 29, 9:30-11:00 pm ET on ABC.

white chicken and broccoli pizza

When things get a little crazy with school, the mister happily takes over the chore of planning meals, grocery shopping, and preparing dinners.  I'm incredibly grateful to him for doing this task (thanks, hon!). Last week I picked up a Publix Apron's Simple Meals card (these things are so great for quick and easy dinners!) for White Chicken and Broccoli Pizza.  Mike made it this week and it was a simple meal that turned out very delicious!

First, cook chicken on stove and cut into bite sized pieces. 

Chop broccoli into small pieces. 

Mix alfredo sauce, broccoli, and chicken in bowl. 

Spread over pizza crust.

Cover the whole thing with cheese and sprinkle spices on top.

Spray top lightly with cooking spray.  Bake 15 minutes at 425.  Eat!

(Our Modified) Ingredient List:
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1.5 cups broccoli florets, chopped small
1.5 cups shredded reduced-fat Italian blend cheese
1 cup Alfredo sauce
1 pizza crust
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic salt
Olive oil cooking spray

My only complaint suggestion: I didn't love the jar Alfredo sauce.  They sell a small envelope near the jar sauces that you can make very simply that I think would make a huge flavor improvement!

"Blame it all on my roots..."

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been obsessed with Garth Brooks.  I still haven't let my family live it down that way-back-when they all got to see his show and left me at home (yes, I was probably far too young... but still!).  Hubs and I have had a deal for as long as I can remember that if he ever came back on tour, we'd be there.  Lucky for me, last week I heard the most exciting announcement ever... Garth would be performing in Nashville!!!  The days following the announcement were pretty stressful for me as I knew I HAD to be there and yet the chances of actually obtaining the much-coveted tickets were so slim.

Following a crazy wrist band acquiring line on Thursday and a second random number drawing line on Saturday, I ended up about 10 people back in line at the Ticketmaster outlet Saturday morning.  Thinking this was a somewhat decent spot to be, you can imagine my horror when THREE people made it through the line in the approximately 1 minute the tickets were on sale before selling out.  Before I could cry, the manager announced that they were going to be opening more show dates based on the number of people in lines at the various locations around Middle Tennessee.  Luckily, when the next show date was released, I happily claimed the final four tickets sold at my location!!  I literally screamed in excitement, wished good luck to my newly acquired line-friends and danced out the door.

I am officially going to see Garth Brooks!!! I still cannot believe it.  Plus, two of my best friends (one of whom also has this concert on her Bucket List) will be flying in from Philly for the show.

Overall they ended up selling 140,000 tickets to nine shows and raising $3.5 million for flood relief.

Now let's just hope he sings that third verse...

Sorry 'Dores!

One of the pros when deciding to attend Vanderbilt for grad school was that I was guaranteed to get to see the Gators play every other year when the rivalry was brought to Vanderbilt stadium.  We convinced Alex and T to make the drive over to Nashville for the weekend to join us in cheering for Florida.  I'll have to admit a teeny part of me felt bad for Vanderbilt but it was pretty exciting to see the Gators kick some tail in person.  The game day atmosphere was awesome: cold and sunny and about 80% orange and blue. 

lots of orange and blue!

good thing I've got long arms!

Red Bull and Cookie Dough

When I arrived home from school today with a shopping bag containing these two items, Hubs said "I guess you have a test tomorrow?"  Too funny... Unfortunately, I have a three big tests coming up in the next few days so things will be a bit stressful around here!  Luckily, I have these jokers to keep me company...

Speaking of my crazies... thought I'd share a few of the million pictures we take of them doing funny things. 

Cuddlebugs...

my favorite

 They're the weirdest sleepers...

Back to the books!

Halloween Costumes

I forgot completely about the most important part of Halloween... costumes! Hubs and I decided to reuse a costume from a couple years ago since no one up here had seen it and it was one of our faves. 

Mario and Princess Peach