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We watched American Gangster this week on DVD. Yes,about I know it's about a drug dealer and quite profane, but it was a great movie. I love any movie that is based on a true story. And strangely, I have some sort of twisted fascination with movies/shows about mobsters, crime, and spies. Jay got me hooked on The Sopranos. Maybe it's the Sicilian in me, but I find organized crime to be a fascinating subject. A lot of mobsters get caught on income tax issues (usually failing to declare income).

Jay and I are getting a Wii! I'm so excited; that is what we had planned to get each other for Christmas, but we couldn't find one :( Crystal told me that had some online at Toys-R-Us, so I got us one! It's going to be interesting...Jay and I are both very competitive.

Valentine's Day food pictures/recipes

These stuffed mushrooms were SO GOOD! I'm so going to make them again! They were really easy to make. I got the basic recipe from Allrecipes and changed it (as I usually do).

Stuffed Mushrooms

Yield: 8 mushrooms

3 T. "real" crumbled bacon bits

8 crimini/baby bella mushrooms

1 T. margarine

1 green onion, finely chopped

3/4 c. cheddar cheese, shredded (I used lowfat)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Remove mushroom stems and finely chop.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Slowly cook and stir the chopped stems and onion until the onion is soft. Remove from heat.

Stir together the mushroom stem mixture, bacon and Cheddar. Mix well and scoop the mixture into the mushroom caps.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.

The chicken cigars are a Rachael Ray recipe. I think she has good ideas, but sometimes she uses ingredients that are difficult to find. I completely rewrote that recipe. I'm not a big fan of ground chicken you buy in the store, so I sauted chicken breasts in the seasonings and shredded it in the food processor. I also added 2 oz of cream cheese because I was worried that they wouldn't stick together right. They were DELICIOUS!

The shrimp cocktail was also Rachael Ray's recipe. I followed it exactly. I couldn't find the jumbo shrimp but the ones marked "large" worked just as well, although they didn't turn out as pretty as hers did. The cocktail sauce had a good flavor and a better texture than what you usually buy from a bottle.

Valentine's Day and Memphis

Things have been soo busy lately! We had a great Valentine's Day! Everything turned out great! :)

Memphis was a lot of fun! We didn't do much Friday night because we didn't get there until almost 9, and we were both tired. Jay had never been to see the ducks at The Peabody, so we went and saw them Saturday morning. Then we rode the trolley (it was right behind our hotel on Main Street) to Sun Studio. I went with my parents a few years back, and I thought it was really cool. It is the recording studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and several other musicians got their start. We went shopping in the afternoon. We had a good time...until the ride home, when we had a flat tire. We were about 45 minutes from Madison when it happened, so it wasn't too bad.

Jay is working this morning and early afternoon. I have to work the next two Saturdays, so I'm not looking forward to that, even though it feels like I got off easy this year.

Rainy Day

I guess the gorgeous warm weather isn't going to stick around. It was pouring down rain this afternoon, and it was chilly when I went outside today. We definitely enjoyed it this weekend, though! My nose got a little sunburned from riding around with the top down.

My mom brought me my license information! (They sent it to my parents' house by mistake.)I have a number now, so I'm definitely official now! The ceremony is April 26 at the State Capital downtown.

I had to tell Jay what his Valentine surprise is. I made reservations for us this coming weekend in Memphis. He was telling me that he has a Finance test on Monday, so I wanted him to go ahead and know about it so he can get ready for his test (and not procrastinate until the weekend). Regardless, I am excited! It will be so nice to get away for a few days. We are staying downtown. Other than that, no plans...

Another Busy Saturday

I ended up going into work this morning. I didn't technically HAVE to (it's not one of the four Saturdays that we have to work during tax season) but I really needed to. I got so much done! It's amazing how no distractions make all of the difference!!!

The weather today is GORGEOUS. I wish it would stay like this. I took a long walk this afternoon, and I really want to go ride around with the top down.

I am so excited about Valentine's Day. We have a little tradition of having a picnic in the living room, with candles and snacky, appetizer type food. We go out to eat pretty frequently, and I hate crowds, so going out on Valentine's Day is not really something I look forward to. Last year, I was working so much that I didn't really get a chance to make anything too special. But this year, the menu is going to be really good (and relatively diet friendly). We are having:

• Stuffed mushrooms
• Chicken "cigars" (spicy chicken in phyllo)
• Shrimp Dean Martinis (shrimp cocktail)
• Strawberries with fluff dip

I'll post the recipes if everything turns out ok.

I'm not sure how we are going to handle Abby, since she is a new addition this year. I guess we'll put her in the backyard to play, although she hates being out there after dark. I'm sure she'll start barking and how romantic is that? Ugh! It's almost like she's a child and needs a babysitter. It's going to be a LONG time before that actually happens.

Work, blah, blah

Good news! New letterhead came in....and my name is on it! How exciting! Virginia M. Mooney, CPA! Unfortunately, I have yet to receive my board file number and other information. I will get my certificate at a completely optional ceremony in April. I'm definitely attending. My mom insisted I walk when I graduated from MC, and I did it half-heartedly, but I am super excited about this ceremony. I studied waaay harder for the CPA exam than I did for any class in college.

Jay and I are going to the HeARTS Against AIDS benefit Saturday night at Hal & Mal's.

Phone drama, and a yucky pot roast

So I dropped my phone in the bathtub last night. This is the second phone that has drowned. Jay was attempting to see if my SIM card still worked and it fell between the center console and the driver's seat in his car. And we can't find it....So no phone, no SIM card.

This morning we went to go get another one. Jay had been planning to get me a red Blackberry for Valentine's Day. So I got my present a little early :) I love it so far!

A couple of people I work with make pot roast on a regular basis in their Crock Pots. I decided it might be a good idea to try it. My mom made roast very regularly when I was growing up and it was definitely a treat. She was a stay-at-home-mom, so she never used a Crock Pot (except to heat up dip...and to make Martha Washington candy at Christmas). The roast did not turn out well AT ALL. It had a decent flavor but it was really dry. Ick! Jay didn't seem to mind it, but I think I'll put the Crock Pot away for a little while, or at least until I make some dip :)

The pot roast that I made called for herbs de provence. My MIL gave me a cool stainless steel spinning spice rack at one of my showers and it had some in it. I had no clue what it was, but I looked it up (Google has an answer for everything) and this is what I learned.

Abby's new 'do

Abby had a haircut last week. She had a cute little red bow, which has since fallen out. Now her hair looks crazy. Jay thinks she looks like a Don King. See the similarities?

Jay was sick today; I'm not 100 percent sure but I think it might have to do with last night :)

Jay and I went to Fratesi Saturday night. It is definitely one of my very favorite places to eat in Jackson.The atmosphere is so romantic; it's the perfect date place, even though it isn't fancy at all. Each table has its own red drippy candle stuck in a chianti bottle. Everything is delicous and has that homemade taste. Jay likes the Chicken Fetticuine Alfredo, but I always get a salad and the Spicy Cheese Fritters. The salad there is SO good. The house salad has olives chopped up on it, and the caesar dressing is also great. The Spicy Cheese Fritters are really really good, but extremely SPICY. Jay can't eat them, but I love them. Other good choices: pizza, bruschetta, seafood lasagna, and chicken artichoke lasagna. Pam, the owner, is always there. She is so friendly, and she always pitches in when needed. The food takes awhile to get to the table, but I think that's because it is so fresh.

Busy Saturday

Jay took the LSAT this morning. He said that he feels really good about it, so I hope he does well. He definitely more than deserves to do well on it, considering how much that he has been studying and how much time he spent in class.

I went shopping this morning (always a great way to spend a Saturday!) I got a new spring-ish dress at Pink Bombshell. It is one of the few places that carries Sweetees in Jackson. Sweetees is one of my favorite lines. Fetish carries it at well, but I tend to get in trouble everytime I go to Fetish :)

Sweetees is also at my secret sale place, which was having a GREAT sale today. I got another dress there; it was more than 75 percent off, AND I can wear it to work.

I got my hair trimmed too at Wavelengths. I really like the length of my hair right now, but I tend to put it up in a ponytail everyday for work if the ends are uneven.

I also found a gift certificate to Judy Martin that I had misplaced. I took it to the store, and the SWEETEST ladies were working today. On a side note: there is a scary old lady who works there who LAUGHED at me when I tol her I didn't any flowers on sterling silver pattern. Anyways, I got this 3 sectioned dip tray with fleur-de-lis handles, a fleur-de-lis cheese spreader, and a pineapple shaped Armetale tray for a cheeseball (it matches a really cute cheese spreader that I have).

Exciting Friday night...and pimento cheese

This week has been so busy! Work was really really busy. Nine hours just doesn't give you ANY downtime during tax season, especially not with the deadline yesterday.

Jay is taking the LSAT tomorrow, so we didn't do too much tonight. We went to El Potrillo, and then went to check out the new Kroger on the "other side" of the interstate (by the Home Depot & Bonefish). Isn't sad that we planned to do that on a Friday night??? It is so cool! They have a sushi bar (bleh!) and a cheese bar!!!! I picked up some gouda to try one night this week. And I finally found some gourmet (low-cal) crackers I have been dying to try since I read about them on the Internet. WASA crackers. They don't have them at the Kroger that is 2 minutes from us. Rumor has it (according to Jay) that Madison is getting a Whole Foods store! I went in one with Audrea when I went to visit her in Austin. The one here is suposed to be large....50,000 square feet. Crazy!

Speaking of food, I had been craving pimento cheese recently. It wasn't something I didn't start eating it until a few years ago. My parents ate it sometimes when I was growing up, out of the Mrs. Stratton tub, but I would never try it (which is really strange considering how much I like cheese). Anyways, I was looking for a lower fat alternative, so I adapted a recipe and came up with this:

Lowfat Pimento Cheese
8 servings

2 oz lowfat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup fat-free mayo
3/4 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper*
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 oz pimentos

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least an hour (to "ripen") before serving.
* can adjust cayenne pepper to taste. It has a good kick with 1/4 teaspoon.

Jay won't eat pimento cheese, so Leigh came over and had some with me Tuesday while Jay was in night class. I have enjoyed the leftovers in my lunch this week on white-wheat bread and stuffed into celery.

Oh, and Jay is watching the Bob Saget:That Ain't Right comedy special on HBO. This is the third time we've seen it. It upsets me greatly to hear Danny Tanner dropping f bombs all over the place. Somehow I don't know if Full House reruns will ever be the same again.