Mama Kat's: Blogging Challenges

I'm participating in Mama Kat's this week. Here are the prompts. Pick one, then go back to Mama Kat's site and link up your blog.

The Prompts:
1.) Describe a memorable first date.
2.) Write about a child you find inspiring.
3.) What do you find most challenging about blogging?
4.) Name a pet peeve you have about how other parents raise their kids. Go on…stir the pot.
5.) We often spend time and energy talking about people in our lives we don’t see enough of. Describe a person in your life you are in contact with often. What does he/she mean to you?
6.) If you could thank your mom for anything, what would it be? Create a video thanking her for something.

I chose #3. I have struggled with blogging the past couple of months. From taking my blog down for privacy reasons and then having it totally deleted, I almost gave up. I used to post a ton of pics of my son and our family. I found out that some people were stealing pics of my blog and posting them to their own Facebook as if they were the owners of my photos. This just really struck a nerve with me. People who have nothing to do with James do not get to steal my pics and pretend like they are part of his life.

So, when I started my new blog, I decided that I needed some safeguards in place. I love having my blog public, so I started using watermarks for pictures of James and I disabled the right click function. If anyone wants to know how to do this, then contact me :)

I still ponder if I have made the right choices, but the fact is that I really like to blog. I'm not the best by any means, but I like being able to go back and see what we were doing in life at any given time. There are always going to be people out there who are mean and destructive. I can't protect my family from everything, but I can choose what I put out there for people to see.

On a better note, I am so ready for this big 3 day weekend coming up. I promise to bring my camera along and post some fabulous new pics!

New Puppy?

Can you believe this dog...

looked like this dog just a few hours before?

We finally got Macey groomed today. It's a little shorter than I would have preferred, but she had some matting and nastiness going on. She's usually on my heels, but I think she's downstairs pouting right now.



Catch UP!!

I have been so busy lately, I haven't had time to breathe let alone blog. Here's a list of what we've been up too. Simple. To the point. No explanation needed.

• Baseball finished up last week. James' team lost in single elimination. I think they may have come in 3rd or 4th for the season. Now that it's over, I kind of miss it.
• James spent a week and half with his aunt in Oklahoma. They went to OK City for a few days to the zoo and James came home with this big 6 foot stuffed alligator. NICE. He had so much fun swimming, I don't think he wanted to come home. I can't compete with a pool. 
• Gene and I are taking a huge step for our family. I can't explain all the details yet, but I can say that we aren't pregnant. :)
• I had a 4 day weekend this past weekend and I spent all 4 days on the truck with Gene. We went to Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and back to Arkansas. Let's just say, I was so glad to be home and I don't think a truck driver is my ideal profession. I did take some pics, but I'm too lazy to hook up my camera at this point.
• 4th of July weekend is in 2 weeks and I'm ready! The fireworks stands are up and James can barely contain his excitement.
• Macey severely needs to be groomed. I can't even tell which end is up anymore. Hopefully we can keep our appt for her this weekend.
• A state trooper moved in next door. We haven't seen much of them yet, but I feel much safer at just the thought of his car parked out front.
• I recently made a PW recipe for iced coffee. I'm in LOVE. I've drank almost a gallon in 2 days. This could be bad....very bad. Go HERE for the recipe.
• We are having problems again with a certain mother type person. She can't get her $H!T together long enough to bother calling her son. Her loss...
• I hope to be a better blogger...

That is all.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

I am linking up to Kelly's Korner-Show Us Your Life and it's appetizer week!

I made these little gems for our Super Bowl party this year. I should have made twice as many as I did. They were super good. The perfect combination of spicy and smoky.

You will need:
30 Jalapenos (depending on how many ppl you're serving)
2 blocks of cream cheese
1 package bacon (don't use thick cut)
toothpicks

Wash your jalapenos, cut your stems off and cut them in half. I keep some of the seeds in for added hotness, but you can take them all out if you want. Once you have your halved jalapenos, use a spoon and fill them with cream cheese. Take your package of bacon and cut the entire slab into thirds. Your bacon strips should just fit around the peppers. I only used 1 piece of bacon per pepper, but you can double up if you want. Wrap each cream cheese filled pepper with bacon and secure with a toothpick. Bake these at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Keep an eye on them because there is a fine line between perfect bacon crispness and burnt cheese. The key is to take them out when your bacon is done. Now, let them cool a bit and ENOY!