Dinner Invitation

Dinner party.  If you had the opportunity to host a dinner party and invite any ten people that you would like (living or not) to any kind of dinner party of your choosing; who would YOU invite?

This isn't a 'Last Supper' kind of request.  Just for fun.... We are going to go ahead and assume your spouse and selected family are all invited; they do not count as far as keeping tabs on numbers.

Mr. Tatum

#10.  Channing Tatum.  I'm not sure about his intellectual ability to hold his place in a conversation but let's face it, total eye candy.  You always need something pretty to look at, right?  He is an Alabama native and just so happens to be hot as fire.  I tell you what, I hope Jenna Dewan-Tatum knows what she has gotten herself into (literally)....she isn't invited to the party.  Sorry Jenna.

Stefanie

#9.  Stefanie Battle.  
Well.  You may not know her yet but she is my bff, for reals y'all; for 26 years now.  You can get to know her over at Kiss My Southern Sass, we totally have the 'sisters from another mister' going on.  I will warn you, she is the grammar police.  Why would I invite her?  Because I can talk to her without using words at this fabu dinner party.  We can exchange evil glares and talk behind peoples backs.......right in front of their faces.  We are just....that...good.  Holla back Sta-nay-nay....holla back.

BDB Series

#8.  JR Ward.  She is my favorite author.  I didn't start to read until I was 26 years old and actually started with the "Twilight" series.  Let me rephrase that, I read what my high school English teacher forced me to read, shout out to Mrs. Thompson.  I can still recite Romeo & Juliet till this day.  Anyway, JR Ward has the imagination that is so far-fetched and so incredibly unbelievable, yet she takes these thoughts, these ideas and has the most uncanny way of making you think that you are reading non-fiction.  Crazy.  If you are a fantasy genre fan then she is your woman....'Black Dagger Brotherhood' series, look it up.  My forever favorite vampires, sorry Edward.  Click HERE to visit her site.  You will not go wrong with any of her series! Three thumbs up! 

#7.  Julia Child.  Julia Child is my favorite chef, ever.  I love her classical French approach but most importantly I just adore her story.  I own several of her cookbooks and I can honestly say that her recipes are usually the only ones that I ever follow word for word because she knew what she was doing.  She lead an awesome life and I enjoy reading about it and watching her old shows.  She is awe inspiring.  Her thoughts on food and diet still linger with me! "“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.”~Julia Child.

Julia

#6.  Johnny Depp.  I have no valid reason for inviting him with the exception of he is Stefanie's imaginary boyfriend.  That is all.

Johnny D.

Rev Run

#5.  Rev Run.  I adore Rev Run.  I can only imagine how much fun he is at dinner parties.  I don't care to much for his brother, seems a little too retentive for my style.  One could only hope that he would bust out with a few oldies but goodies from Run DMC.  

#4.  Morgan Freeman.  He is my favorite actor and I could listen to him for days on end.  He is 'that' person that is a little bit of everything: smart, funny, kind....I really, really enjoy his work.  
#3.  Pink.  Alecia Beth Moore.  She is my favorite singer.  I love her voice, her fierceness.  Her badassness.

Pink

She is amazing.  I don't really have to much to elaborate on her here besides the fact that I want to be her when I grow up.  Totes.

Nigella Lawson

#2.  Nigella Lawson.  'The Domestic Goddess'.  I enjoy everything about this woman.  The way she looks, the way she dresses, her accent!  Her cookbooks.are.amazing!  She is on that new show 'The Taste' with Anthony Bourdain.  She isn't a trained chef yet she has great recipes, tons and tons of recipes.  It isn't as easy as opening up good ol' Betty Crocker but she has super yummy complex flavored recipes.  She rallies for the home cook, pulls for them to the end.  She is the epitome of a 'Domestic Goddess'. With all that said, she is going through some devastating personal  issues right now that I hope she figures all that out.  As a cook, she is amazing.  

AND.....my #1 is.........

Nene Leakes.  

Okay, so why Nene?  Well, we both use to be strippers.  HA! Only kidding.  Seriously.  I've never even seen the inside of a strip club.  Not to mention, I'm fat.  Anyway, Nene appears to be the life of the party.  She is a beautiful woman and oh so hilarious!  She seems to be that girlfriend that you can just call up at random and say 'hey, whatcha doin'?  I don't know, I just enjoy watching Nene.  I've always been a huge fan of The Real Housewives of Atlanta but during the wedding, wait, the second wedding to her husband Gregg, you can really see how she has evolved as a person.  The 'old' Nene would bite someones head off without even thinking twice - 'new' Nene has found her 'simmer down' button but is still as crazy as the day is long!  The gives the term 'Southern Woman' a whole new meaning! Rock on Nene, rock on.

This dinner party would rock!  Please don't judge my depth as a person based on this particular list.  I was going the fun route, not so much the intellectual stimulant route. Hehehehe.

                                                                                                 Much Love,                                                                                                            Traci


PS....Those that almost made the list include: Bruce Willis, Chris Rock, Bill Clinton, Anthony Bourdain, Ina Garten, Ellen Degeneres and Hugh Laurie.  


1/13/2014
:::::UPDATE::::: I left off a very important person.  I'm hanging my head low today because I just forgot!!!!  Jennifer Lawrence would be there, I'd just have to make an 11th plate.

"Stop whatcha doin' 'cause I'm about to ruin the image and the style that ya used to".

I look like a mommy

but yo I'm makin' blogs see

so yo world I hope you're ready for me.

Now gather round

I'm the new blogger in town

and my words laid down by this new knowledge I found!

Let me introduce myself my name is Traci, 

pronounced with a raci.  

So grab your glass of sweet tea and get comfy in your seat,

cause I'm telling you, you're in for a real treat!

Let's go.

Happy NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!!

I have revamped my blog, a complete overhaul.  I even attempted to leave 'Blogger' but to no avail, I'm back.  This is day one of a brand new year which means!!! Wait for it, wait for it.......ONLY 357 days until CHRISTMAS (you can think the Christmas Countdown Clock for that)!!!!  I think I'll just redneck it and leave my tree up year round.  How about you?

All about the family.

I have three amazing (and I use that term loosely) children.  Seriously, they are amazing: amazing at crying, amazing at whining, amazing at complaining and REALLY amazing at saying 'MOM, the toilet is stopped up.......'.  For example, Haleigh (aka: Hales, Bug and Sassy Pants), one of my seven year old twins came into my office saying 'MOM, what kind of chicken are we having for dinner'?  I said, 'chicken and gravy'.  She then dramatically throws her head back and flails to the floor, 'MOM WHHHHYYYYYYYYYYY, it may snow outside, when will you EVER go to PUBLIX, can I just have a sandwich, MOMMMMMM, we.don't.even.have.any.HAM, MOMMMMMMMMMMM do you hear me???????????'   I know that was a great example of a run-on sentence but sometimes you just have to emphasize exactly HOW whiny they are.  Tanner, my handsome six year old is sitting in his nasty gross boy smelling papasan chair saying 'mom, I just want to eat cereal, mom, i like your chicken but I don't like beef, I just want cereal'.  Payton, the other twin girl, is upstairs playing with her rainbow loom.  She is just like her mom, she doesn't care WHAT I am cooking because no matter, she will be eating it.  Sister likes to eat.  

Haleigh at Cheer Pictures 2013

A little about the kids.....


Haleigh.  Where do I start.  Haleigh loves to cheer.  She cheered for her 80 lb. Red Warrior team for the very first time this last football season.  She loved it!  She also has twirled but sadly, I think she will be sticking with cheerleading.  I'm okay with that of course but I so badly wanted her to twirl!  I think her sassiness will be more beneficial in cheerleading than so in twirling anyways!  Haleigh also loves art.  She loves to draw and paint and she is also a very good student!

Payton at her first match on December 21, 2013

Payton at Christmastime 2013

     Payton.  Beauty queen by day and wrestler by night.  No, I'm totally serious.  She also is an amazing soccer star!  She has played soccer for a few years but recently picked up wrestling in between seasons to help stay fit.  A seven year old 'stay fit' you may ask???  Yes, Payton is not built skinny, she is a thick child and in order to maintain her healthy weight she has to always be doing something.  With that said, she is amazingly talented, I know she will go far no matter what she decides to do!   

Soccer 2013

Tanner Jaxson's 'MEAN FACE'

Tanner Jaxson.  Oh sweet Tanner.  He is my squishy man.  I love to cuddle this child!  He is a mess!!! So very funny.  He also enjoys sports: football, baseball and wrestling.  He is a true boy's boy.  We were scared as he started kindergarten  this year because he seemed to be so behind!  He would not / could not even say his ABC's.  Well, four months later and he has blown us away!  He is not only writing, he is reading complete sentences.  We are simply AmAzEd!   

Tanner Jaxson Football 2013

Doug, my 37 year old husband and I have been married since October 5, 2002.  It was the best worst day of my life (I'll explain one day in detail but not today).  I love him to pieces, even when he farts on me and refuses to hang the hand towel up, I love him anyways.  Doug has Kugelberg-Welander Muscular Dystrophy and has been in a wheelchair since we began dating.  He is a great dad.  Due to the way our house is, he isn't able to leave at the moment and misses out on so much with the kids, its rough for the kids and for me but mostly for him.  Hopefully in 2014 we will get that worked out.  He worked for several companies in which he designed Sub-stations.  He now is home due to some health reasons, hopefully that too, in 2014 will be taken care of!  Philippians 4:13, 'All things are possible through CHRIST Jesus whom strengthens me'!  You have to believe it in order to receive it, AMEN!  

Me and Mommy

My mom also lives with us, 'Nonnie' is what she will be referred to from here on out, well, because that is what everyone calls her!  My mom, thank you JESUS for my momma!  I couldn't nor wouldn't want to do it without her.  I'd be a completely lost mess.  She lives upstairs in our mother-in-law suite (fancy name for upstairs with a kitchen).  I love it!  Mom is the aide on a handicap bus for Shelby County School System.  I have never seen a 70+ year old woman enjoy going to work every morning like she does!  She is amazing.  ANDDDD she is probably going to kill me for putting this picture on here but as I always say, it is often easier to ask for forgiveness than it is permission, so here goes.....

She'll be just fine!

Ginger 2013

I can't leave out Ginger, the dog.  She is six years old but has only been with us about four months!  She MAY be a little spoiled!  

All About Me.

A little about me.....I will be 33 in about 20 days.  No need to talk anymore about THAT!  I have a culinary degree from Culinard, so that piece of paper says I'm a chef.  I love it.  I love to cook, create, eat...everything about food...I LOVE!  Unfortunately food doesn't feel the same way about me as I do it.  In fact, it hates me.....I am so overweight that I feel like a greasy piece of grease.  I don't know why I chose that analogy.  What I should have said is that I feel like a never-ending fountain of mountain dew and Starbucks, THAT IS ACCURATE.   I hardly ever eat, once a day, maybe.  I also have a certification in nutrition so the truth is: I know better.  OH do I know better.  We told the kids that we are changing their lives, when we told them it was because we would no longer be dining at Zaxbys, well, they were less than thrilled.  One kid may have even fell down on the floor and asked 'why her'?  Needless to say, we are going in a whole new direction in 2014.  Lots of change and all for the better!  So anyway, back to the culinary degree, I cook for my family and friends but I don't have much time for any other cooking at the moment because I also own an eBay company.  It is rewarding not only financially but the freedom that comes with it is amazing.  This 'job' allows me to work from home and be able to still take care of all the household needs, kid stuff and the assistance that Doug requires as well.  I know that this is the route that God wants me on right now but it is up to me to make it work!  I am one blessed mama, fo sho!

Just A Bloggin'.

So I guess you really want to know what this blog is going to be about.  It is about a little bit of a lot of things: faith, family, friends, fitness, food and fun!  Total coincidence that the all start with a 'F'.   I want to share my life with y'all, share my recipes, my experiences, my everything!  I am room mom, cheer mom, soccer mom, wife, cook, master couponer.....there is something here for every 'kind' of mom!  Don't forget that everything will always be laced with a side of sarcasm, lets face it, sarcasm with me is more like the main entree!  I hope you will do me the honor of following me and keeping up with my family!  

Welcome to Mommy Mayhem.

                                                                                       Power to the People,
                                                                                                                        Traci L. Silloway