So easy, who knew?

Green Chili is pretty much my favorite food in the world. EVERYTHING tastes better smothered in chili. People here in Tennessee have never heard of the stuff- you can't even buy chilies here in any of the stores. BBQ sauce, grits, fried chicken- that stuff they have, but chili is something these people have probably not even seen, let alone eaten. I have been craving chili since I moved here. It always works like that, as soon as there is something you can't have, that is when you want it the worst. I had Mexican food twice while I was in Colorado, but that wasn't enough- I wanted more! I called up Fred and asked him how to make it. If I can't buy it, then I guess I have to make my own. I was prepared to write down the whole list of ingredients and procedures required to make the perfect chili. He told me a few things- A little pork, some chilies, flour, water..."That's it?!" I said, "That's it" he said. With the whole day off and pot in hand, I went to making the chili fully expecting my first batch to turn out horribly. To my delight, it was super easy and surprisingly good! I had Patrick taste it and he agreed- good green chili! I can't believe I have been making such a big deal about this for so long and the answer was right there in my own refrigerator! I tell you, this information has changed our lives! Patrick had a slopper for dinner, and I had huevos rancheros. My plan is to now spread the green chili love to the people of Tennessee- I tell you, the stuff can change the world!

quick trip

As most of you know I went on a brief trip to Denver last week. I was only there less than 3 days, but I was able to spend time with Kristin, Ava, John, Dave, Sarah, Sadie, Jeremy, Doug, my parents, Jackie, and my grandparents! Wow! Kristin and baby Ava are doing so well. She has grown so fast in the short time since I saw her last. She really doesn't do much yet, but she sure is cute! Dave and I went to a couple of places in Lodo on Wednesday night. He and I saw a blues band at Herb's and then went to El Chapulchapec for some jazz. I spent Thursday shopping with Sarah, and then went out to their house on Thursday night. I had a great time playing with Sadie and spending time hanging out with Sarah and Jeremy. Friday I got a chance to visit with the family while we ate Mexcian food at Hacienda Colorado. Mom and Dad took me to Duffy's in downtown Denver on the way to the airport. By then it was time to get on a plane and come back home to Patrick. Thanks to everyone for showing me a great time! I'll see you soon!

More to come

I'm sure you are all wondering where I have been! Well I have spent the past few days in Colorado. I will give a more detailed post when I get home tonight. Check back and I'll let you know how my trip was!

Nashville Nites

http://www.

Patrick and I went out on Friday night after I got off of work. We went down to the area where all of the Vanderbuilt kids hang out and had a drink at a really nice Irish Pub. It was 80 degrees here on Friday, so it was nice enough to sit outside and watch the people walk by. Then we went downtown and snuck up to the top of one of the sky scrapers to look at the lights. It was one of those nice moments where I wish I had brought the camera, but I didn't, so this picture will have to do!

Do it yourself!

It has taken me over a month and a half to pick out the perfect color of draperies for the house- which is pretty bad considering I am only putting them in two rooms. I bought some, got them home, took them back, bought some more, brought them home, took them back....you get the picture. Anyway, I finally found the color combinations that I liked, and the only thing left to do was put up the rods. I have been planning on putting them up for a few weeks now, but it seems like things keep coming up on my days off and it doesn't get done. Well, I decided that today was the day. I was excited for Patrick to come home from work so he could help me (a.k.a. do all the work while I watched). When Patrick came home, all he wanted to do was go to bed because he still isn't feeling well. Boo! What was a girl to do? I decided I could just do it myself. I found the drill and figured out (sort of) how the thing worked and I put them up by myself! I was proud and I don't think I did too bad of a job! Here is the guest bedroom- I only got this one done because Patrick was sleeping in ours, but now that I know I can do it, I will probably do that room on Friday. Next I plan on learning how to use a chain saw- there's no stopping me now that I discovered the love of power tools!

Sad Pair

The Baird's are a sad pair tonight. I had a bad day at work and Patrick is sick. We are sitting on the couch now being whiney, and taking turns saying "Oh Poor Baby". The bright part of the day is that Brittney Spears finally is ditching her loser husband K-Fed. Good for you Brittney- it's about time! Go forth and find you another man who will sit and whine on the couch with you. That is true happiness.
By the way, I fixed the settings now so anyone can comment on our blog. I would love to know if anyone reads this other than Anna and Jackie, so leave me a note if you have a minute.

Paula Dean!

Finally here is my picture of Paula Dean that I got by sneaking into the book signing at Williams Sonoma. Her new cookbook is called "Celebration" and there are some pecan muffins in there to die for. I had a sample while I was in the store. Yummy!

Tennessee Fall

Fall in Tennessee is absolutely beautiful! I had heard before how beautiful the seasons could be here, but I had no idea of the beauty that was possible in nature. The trees change to colors that I have only seen before in crayons and paint samples. Colorado fall is beautiful, but it is nothing like this. Here are a few pictures Patrick and I got when we went to Chattanooga a few weeks ago.

Special operations for the Navy

Believe it or not, I was asked to do assist with a vital overnight mission for the Navy- The Old Navy that is! Since Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap are all Gap Inc- we help out our sister stores from time to time. The Old Navy in Murfreesboro needed some help last night for their inventory. It was supposed to be my day off but they were offering overtime, so I couldn't pass it up. We started at about 10pm last night and didn't finish until 5:00 this morning. I was up all day yesterday cleaning the house, so needless to say I was pretty tired when I left there this morning. The work was really easy- all I did was move shirts from one pile to another while someone else scanned them. I almost feel guilty for getting paid so much to do such mindless work- almost, but not really! My back was pretty sore this morning, but I suppose that is just a normal occupational hazard when you work for the Navy!

Halloween

Today was Halloween. I had to work at the Banana tonight, so it was up to Patrick to hand out the trick-or-treats. I left him the digital camera in hopes that he would take pictures of all the kiddos so I wouldn't miss anything. This picture of Mr. Buzz Light Year is all he got. He didn't want to be "that weird guy taking pictures of all the kids". Understandable. They did trick or treating at the mall too- I have never seen so many kids! I have worked in a few malls, and I have never seen a mall trick or treating turn out like this one! There were so many kids that I was actually a little overwhelmed a couple of times. All these kids would run up and hold out their bags just begging for the stickers that I was handing out. The funny thing that I observed is that kids don't have that sense of appropriate personal space that Adults have. Have you ever noticed that? Adults will generally give each other the standard 2-4 feet of space when speaking to each other. Kids on the other hand, will just jump up beside you and get right in your face. I guess this was the first time in a long time that I was totally surrounded by kids, so it was a lot more noticeable to me. Anyway, they were all super cute and it was a lot of fun. Happy Halloween everyone!

I have seen what heaven looks like...

www.piperlime.com

Best Pumpkin in the Patch!

The cute baby pictures just keep coming! Kristin sent me this one today of little Ava Grace. She is just over a month old and just as sweet as can be!

Cutest Kitty I know

This is Sadie or as I call her "The Joy of my Life" (apart from Patrick of course!) She is all dressed up in her little kitty costume. She loves Dora the Explorer and this is how Dora was dressed for Halloween, so this is what Sadie wanted to be too. I am so excited because I will get to see her in just two weeks when I come to Denver! She is getting so big so fast that I want to see her as much as possible, so I don't feel like I missed anything. I can't wait to see her, and well, I guess visiting with her parents Sarah and Jeremy will be nice too.... : )

Official Premier!

I would like to officially premier our blog. See, I had started out just testing the process and trying to figure it out before I told anyone about it. Somehow, Jackie got the address and posted a link on her blog like seconds after I created it, and unveiled my blog a little prematurely. Anyway- I finally figured out how to make the links work (with Jackie's help) and am ready to show it to the world! SO here it is! Next step is figuring out how to put pictures on....stay tuned.

Trying it out

You asked, I delivered. Since moving at the end of August, Patrick and I have gotten lots of requests for updates and information about how things are going here in Tennessee. I figured that a blog would be the easiest way to communicate to the masses about the happenings here in our little town of Pleasant View, TN. I am going to try my best to update it frequently with news and pictures of daily life here in the south. I hope you all will enjoiy it and visit regularly!