Psych!

Love is the gift of one hour of escape from the real world.

Tonight, my favorite show returned from hiatus. Psych makes me laugh hysterically. It is one hour a week to escape from anything else in the world and is just plain funny for funny-sake. Corbin Bernsen cracks me up. He's always reminded me of my Uncle Chuckie. Your heart won't be touched and you won't learn the secret to a long life, but you will laugh... and possibly freshen up on all your best and most obscure 80's references. :0)

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Love is eating one more chocolate oatmeal cookie so I don't feel like a pig.
Tonight, I made the ONLY thing I'm really good at. The only recipe that I know by heart. And the only thing I can spit out the recipe without even looking at it. Tonight, after Tofu Monday, we had chocolate oatmeal cookies. These are the most delicious, delectable, melt-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hand, scrumptious cookies on the planet. EVERY TIME I cook them and smell the aroma of the cookies on the stove, it takes me back to the olden days. You know, way back when when you are 5 years old and don't have a care in the world. Yeah, those days. It seemed like we only had them once in a blue moon.. and it was normally in the summer.. but it was always a big treat and we always wanted to lick the bowl. Love was my mom teaching me to make them as delicously as she used to. Tonight, love was Sister eating just one more cookie so I didn't feel like a pig when I wanted a second. Good times! :0)

And if you are interested, the receipe is below:

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons Cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1/4 or 1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup peanut butter
2 plus cups of oats

Mix first five ingredients together and bring to a boil on medium high heat on the stove. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add in peanut butter and oats. Drop onto wax paper or aluminum foil. Eat like there's no tomorrow. *They will not set in the rain. Don't ask me why.

Biscuits and Pageants

Love is homemade biscuits, a day with some of my favorite peeps, driving to countless pageants and one BIG win!

My morning started off perfect. Woke up at Grandma's and she came out of retirement from cooking to make me the MOST DELICIOUS homemade biscuits!!! It was exciting, fun, and delectable. After leaving her, I saw my Aunt Flora. She was fresh from the beauty shop where she'd just gotten her hair fixed. Absolutley beautiful. The day continued as I went to the hospital to see Aunt Wilma and got to see the cousins I only ever see at hospitals and funerals. There was more love in that room than could be contained. Cousin Phil, Jill, Tammy, Mary, Timothy, Faye and I made the best of a bad situation while sitting around swapping stories. And then it was off to Auntie Pat's to check on my favorite lady from England. I even got to see her daughter Marie that I can't ever remember seeing. That was a fun little treat. Auntie Pat showed love to my Sunday School kids by sending me home with little trinkets from her boxes of tea from England. The kids will LOVE them! And finally, I'm wrapping up the night with a call from my Aunt Jo to tell me that my cousin, Kimberly just won the Miss South Land contest, ie the forerunner to the MISS MISSISSIPPI contest!!! Jodie's been to just about ever pageant that Kimberly's been in, and tonight, she came out on top! I'm SO excited for her and SO proud!!! Can't wait to see her in Tunica. Keep your fingers crossed that she'll soon be making it to the Miss America Pageant! :0)

Gizmo!

Love is not chewing on the cats.

Finally found the camera. As promised here are Sister's birthday pics. The delicious looking strawberry cake, I made. The furry ball of Chewbaca-ness is Gizmo. That was her gift from Me, Dad-o, and Cynthia. He's a St. Berdoodle. Half St. Bernard. Half Poodle. Goofy little thing. He doesn't have a whole lot of sense, but he is fun. His biggest trespasses to date have been that he thoroughly enjoys messing with Mary's cats. He loves to torture them. As long as he stays away from Ko-Ko, I'm good.

Coach and Evelyn

Love is making something that seems like a big deal, not so much of a big deal.

I'm not good for a whole lot, but I do tend to have the ability to make things that are supposed to be a big deal, not so much of a big deal. Case in point, the Superintendent election is about to blow up in Winston County. Sometime in March will decide the winner between Coach and Mr. Porter. Mr. Porter is the son-in-law of Coach Smith and Mrs. Smith (my 6th grade teacher). He's the husband of Brittney who's one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Coach is Coach. He's the reason I'm not in jail to this day. He gets partial credit for raising me. I spent more time with that guy than my own pops from the time I was 13 until the time I was 18. Now granted, I spent a lot more time with him in 7th and 8th grade on the basketball court. He pulled me up for varsity for which I will FOREVER be grateful. From 9th-12th grade... well... I spent more than ample amount of time in his office. He became the principal when I was in 9th grade. Well, long story short, Coach has been stressed over this election. So has Evelyn. She's the campaign manager/lunchroom lady at the school. There's a long story about lunch boxes that I won't go into now, but suffice it to say, Sister and I thought it'd be hilarious to make them so bejeweled lunchboxes... and we did. The tackier the better. AND EVELYN LOVED IT! Coach, of course, was totally embarrassed, but Evelyn loved it! And at least for a few minutes, I made them laugh and forget the stress of the campaign. Love those two! :0)

Dolphin Tale

Love is making that stupid fish swim.

Have you seen the movie? If you haven't, you won't get the reference. If you have, you'll totally get it. I just watched it for the first time tonight. It was AWESOME. I love Morgan Freeman. Harry Connick Jr. is amazing. I'm also a big Kris Kristofferson fan. These guys together, were fantastic. It's very inspirational. Very family friendly. Very good. Highly recommended by the 2 Tittles. :0)

Happy Birthweek, Sister!!

Love is all around when you're surrounded by friends and family.
It's been a busy week, so I'll catch you up in a few short sentences. Pics to come later when i relocate my camera that I have temporarily misplaced. Sister turned the big 29. The girls at work showed her love by baking a cake. I showed love by making lasagna (with meat in it) and a DELICIOUS (if I do say so myself) strawberry shortcake. We didn't have much time to party like it was 1999 as we were right smack in the middle of our True Church Conference. This was one of the best years yet. Thoroughly enjoyed it. 4 days at Grace Life had so much love I can't even begin to describe it. You had to be there. It was awesome. Today... went to Gran's. Haven't seen the aunts and uncles in almost a month. Don't think I've ever gone that long without seeing them. It was a great day. And it was even more fun to see the look on Gran's face when I surprised her. She wasn't expecting me to be there. Priceless. :0)

3 People in a Shower

Love is taking care of Grandma.

My Uncle Dennis is amazing. Yesterday, you know, the Devil's holiday known as Valentine's Day, he had a hot date. A hot date with Grandma that is. He came up, got her, and took her to the beauty parlor to get a curly put in her hair. Just last week, he came up, took her to Wal Mart, Piggy Wiggy as she calls it, and the graveyards. He has always been ambulance transport. He and I spent an entire summer of bonding changing bedpans together. On more than one occasion the both of us have ended up in the shower with Grandma (the two of us fully clothed of course). We have lotioned her, powdered her and cut her fingernails and toenails. We've dealt with just about every possibly liquid or solid that can come out of her. Not many sons would do that for their mothers, but my Uncle Dennis is just about the most dedicated of all of the Tittle kids. Sure the others are great, but my Uncle Dennis is just a cut above when it comes to caring for our favorite matriarch. Here's a pic of the two of them reading a birthday card he'd gotten her... I'm confident he'd written something about being the favorite inside. She never told us what it said, but it was obviously something that cracked them both up. In one phonecall, he can be on your doorstep for whatever drama you may have. He's the best. He's my Uncle Dennis. He is love. :0)

Red Velvet Cookies - Say What?!

Love is sharing your talents.

Today, I saw love from Lisha. You know how she shares her talents? By making us some DELICIOUS red velvet cake cookies, in the shapes of hearts. Friends, you have not lived until you've had one of these things. I ate my while it was still warm and the chocolate chips hidden inside were still melted. Chef dilly-dallied around and had to eat his cold. He's lucky I didn't eat his for him. Thankfully, Bowz is still on a health kick and major diet, so I had to take his away from him. If Cheffers is lucky, I may share with him tomorrow. Yum-Yum!

The Girls & The Valentines

Love is the family you create for yourself and sweet Valentine's from kids.

Last night was fun. I had a long overdue reunion with some old friends. We girls tend to keep in touch whether through a message or a phone call every now and then, but it's always most fun when we are all together, live and in person. Last night was that night. We went to Stix in Fultondale and ate Hibachi. Sure the boys came too and various other girls, but Mal and Jenn were like sisters growing up. It was so much fun... and it was if nothing had changed since we were 13... other than we had a moment where we were discussing county politics and we had the realization that we actually sounded like adults. That was both scary and hilarious.

Skipping ahead to today, Kenzie brought me a Valentine card, Mallie (one of mine from last year) brought Becky and me a Valentine BlowPop, and Dalton brought us Tootsie Rolls. Too cute. :0)

Gran's Day Out

Love is taking Grandma on a field trip.

Today, I started the day by calling Gran. She told me Uncle Dennis was coming up to take her to Wal Mart. AND SHE WAS GOING TO GO. I've been trying to get her out of the house for weeks. Uncle Dennis calls and she's out the door. I don't get it. But it doesn't matter. I'm just glad she's getting up and getting out. So I called Uncle Den to ask what kabooki magic he had that he could get her to go... and he told me that Uncle Earl and Mere were joining him to surprise her. I was so excited because I KNEW it would make her day. I also thought it would be fun to send Mere a message. Neither she nor Uncle Earl have ever taken Grandma out on the town. Our conversation went as follows:

"I hereby relinquish my title of Grandma's favorite for the span of one day, to you, dear Mere, for taking the old goat to town.Here are some things you should know.

1. If you see someone who looks fat, funny or otherwise is doing something Grandma doesn't deem "normal" she will talk about them with the inability to whisper. Just be prepared for the entire store to hear the conversation.

2. If Grandma gets to drive the buggy, she will run over whoever is in her way. It's ok. She's 87. She has earned that right. Just look away and keep walking.

3. If she asks you something random, such as "Do you know why that fire hydrant is there or do you know why this place is called TURD HILL?" Ask her why. The stories are hilarious!

4. She will buy something for Mason. Just agree with whatever she wants to get him like it's the best idea she's ever had. This makes her happy.

5. If she has her arms crossed riding in the car, don't worry. She isn't cold nor is she mad, it's just how she sits. I have slowly begun to turn into her because I do the same thing.

6. Have fun. Because it will probably be the absolute funniest date with an 87 year old that you have ever had! :)LOVE YOU!" -Kimbo

"Bahahaha that pretty much completely sums it up!! We def had an adventure!! I pretty much got a story on all the family trees in Lynn and sadly heard about all the people who had died on the road we were on which made me a little nervous!! But overall it was a very fun!! Can't wait to go again! This time we'll all have to go! Love you!" -Mere

Basketball and Banana Pudding

Love is a tub of banana pudding and watching little kid basketball (when it's not your kid).

Both my bosses were gone today. That makes for a VERY long day. Thankfully, my pal Josh Quick always manages to come through in Chef's absence. He is usually up for entertaining me. Today, however, he was at the Conference Center for the entire morning and most of the afternoon. He did bring me a big tub of banana pudding when he came back Hotel side. That was exciting. And it was really good banana pudding. I got a message from Leigh-Ann shortly before leaving work saying that they were in the playoffs in basketball. Of course we had to go watch. And yes, as always, we had to cheer the loudest. I may be bias, but Carson is without a doubt the best kid on the team. I have yet to see a kid any better than him on any other team in the league. Carson shows love while playing. He could probably shoot every time he goes down the court, and if he doesn't make it, he comes closer than any of the other kids would. BUT, he doesn't do it. If one of the other kids haven't scored a basket, Brent puts Carson on a mission to get them the ball. And he does. Without fail, he looks out for everybody else on the team before himself. Including Chloe... who looks as though she'd rather be chasing butterflies than a basketball. He's an amazing little kid. And he's still toothless, so he's absolutely adorable. :0)

Learn-Forgive-Forget-Do Better. Repeat.

Love is great compassion, quick forgiveness, and the ability not to overreact.

Today, was one of those days. You know. One of THOSE days. It started out promising... as promising as it gets at 5:30am when you have to go to work before the sun comes up. That's just not natural. The moon should be shining when I go to bed - not when I get up. However, I treated myself to a Jack's gravy biscuit which is one of my most favorite common graces. I just love a Jack's gravy biscuit. Anyway, today soon included events that would leave me the need to speak rash (as Grandma would say) and I still think I'd be pretty justified in doing so. Possibly ranting and raving with hair tossing. Chef would have agreed with me. However, Bowser, the epitome of Shoals love, led in a different direction. He is a man of great compassion, quick forgiveness, and has the amazing ability not to overreact. So that's how we ended our day... solving the worlds problems with a little bit of love. OH, and the pic is a promotion we did for a fundraise where we threw pies in the managers faces. Love that guy! :0)

Lovin' the USA

Love is Soverign Grace.

Today, I found love in the most unlovable situation. Today at lunch we were watching CNN and like most days, they had a wide range of stories to report. One in particular was most disturbing. Apparently Afghan women are now setting themselves on fire (claiming they've had a kitchen accident) just to get away from their abusive husbands. One was forced to marry her cousin and was constantly abused, so she burned herself. How bad does it have to be to set yourself on fire (where you skin continues burning as it kills each layer of the dermis)! These poor women are oppressed, abused, have no rights, and have to wear those hideous burkahs. It's INSANE! However, as I was sitting there listening to these horror stories, it made me feel loved. And thankful. Why did God choose to let me live in the US? Why me and not those women? I know He loves them every bit as much as He loves me, but I'm so thankful for the Soverign Grace of getting to live here and now. Much like I'd never survive in that environment, He also knew I'd never survive on the Prairie without electricity and running water and indoor plumbing. SO, today, I am thankful that my cousins and I will never have to walk 10 feet behind our husbands, unless we want to, we can look gorgeous when we feel like it, and we won't have to set ourselves on fire to get away. :0)

Back on Track.. Almost.

Love is all your peeps coming home.

We all know I like my routine. Matt Lauer, coffee with Chef, afternoon face time with Jim Edwards. That makes for a happy day. However, when Jim, Josh, and JMac go to Mobile for a Leadership Course and we are down one supervisor leaving Chef working nights and me working mornings, ALL of my routine goes out the window. Well, today, we solved half the problem. Josh, Jim and JMac returned. And BOY were we happy to see JimBob. The servers were especially happy. That will at least get Chef off a few night shifts a week. JimBob keeps them busy, but put Chef in charge and I don't think they ever stop. Couple that with the fact that he's Director of all of Food and Beverage, I can see their... less than excitement... of having him as their direct supervisor. I'm not any happier about it. I've missed my buddy. I don't know how people sit in an office all day by themselves. However, today was good. I ended it with my JimBob time... which I had to fight for. That's where I saw love today. There was lots of love going around due to the return of our favorite Restaurant Manager. Tomorrow, I show him love by baking a batch of his favorite cookies. :0)

Oh that internet...

Love is not reaching through the phone and choking Dad-o when he is trying to figure out the internet.

The world wide web, or the internets, is a foreign concept to many of the Tittles. This is why none of us text. Heaven forbid they try to figure that one out. We have long since stopped trying to get Dad to use the computer. He will never email. Ever. And we're all good with that. However, when he calls and tells me to look up something on the internets, I show him love by not throwing the phone through the wall. He just called needing directions to Flat Rock. I know someone from Flat Rock, but I've never been there. I gave him a few simple instructions from MapQuest and then he started asking questions of where what road merged into what. I have no sense of direction. Much like my Grandma, I move from place to place by building... not number or road name. If we're going to live in the 1800s, I say he pull out the road mad and highlight a route. That will make our phone conversations much more pleasant. Fun times. :0)

Simple Visits...

Love is making the other person feel like the most important person in the room.

I heard on Oprah once that a powerful concept in being a parent is to make your kid feel like the most important person in the world when they walk in the door. Your face should light up. Even though I don't have kids (except on Sunday mornings) I try to practice this concept with everyone else in my life. Today, I saw love when I was on the receiving end. I went to visit my Aunt Flora. I love this lady. She's always been my favorite of Gran's sisters and probably for this reason. No matter that she just got out of the hospital with pneumonia, she was genuinely delighted to see me, as I was to see her. She's 89 and is both sweet and sassy. Never fails, she always tells me at least 4 times in our visits, "I just love you, hun." We have a running joke that I am her favorite of Grandma's grandkids. I know.. you're shocked by that. She's amazing, she's Gran's best friend, and she is pure love. :0)

Oh that Hobby Lobby...

Love is small prayers answered.

I don't think it's any secret.. I have a love/hate relationship with our local Hobby Lobby. They love to make me hate them that is. If there were another one even remotely close, I'd drop these guys like a hot potato. Chef echoes that sentiment. Today, as I was driving over to get some more frames and mattes for our awards in 360, I decided to pray about it. "PLEASE," I pleaded with the good Lord. "Let it be Evan." The one competent guy in the whole place. And you know what? When I showed up, the useless guy was helping the lady in front of me and out of the back walks Evan. I chuckled to myself. Everybody else thought I was insane. I almost had a Hallelujah moment. Love, my friends, is when God gives you even the smallest gift, such as a friendly salesman named Evan.

It's all about the Portabellos!

Love is Not Killing Kim in the Kitchen.

This is how I saw love today... it all started with the Portabellos. Chef and I have been on completely opposite schedules this week. We're down a supervisor and Jim's out of town, so I've been working days, Chef's been working nights. Totally not cool. Since falling in love with mushrooms, I decided I needed to learn to cook some, so I got some huge Portabello Caps at Sam's the other night and got my good buddy to send me some instructions. Where's the love you ask? He has patience. The patience of Mother Teresa, to be exact, when teaching me the ways of the kitchen. And he always answers the phone and takes time to again explain whatever step I have screwed up in the process of prepping the meal. And since we're normally on the phone, yes, he's probably making this face. He makes it a lot when we get in a fight about salt, pepper, and season to taste.

I also saw love from Sister. She doesn't even like mushrooms, but she ate them.

SO, if you want to know the recipe for a 4-Diamond Portabello (Dumbed Down for Me), here it is, straight from my good buddy.

Fresh Portobello Mushrooms

Brush with a dry towel to get any dirt off
Cut off stems, but don’t discard
In a bowl, put olive oil, salt pepper, chopped fresh thyme and/or Rosemary, chopped garlic (maybe a teaspoon) and balsamic vinegar (vinegar –oil ratio of 1- 5…oil being 5)
Stir together
Heat a non-stick pan on the stove, or fire up the grill in the back yard
Dip the mushrooms in to the mixture and let sit for 2-5 minutes
Add a small amount of oil in the pan, then place the mushroom caps, top on the heat, into the oil and sear for 5 min on a medium heat – season a little with s+p
Turn mushroom over and cook for another 5 minutes (you know I’m just pulling these minutes out of my…you know what. You should know that by now).
Cook the mushrooms until they feel soft all the way trough (a little bouncy)
Serve warm with a nice salad, and a glass of Chianti
cheers

And so it begins...

Love is Caring About Those That Others Care About.

How fitting that my first blog has something to do with the heart... literally. My dear Auntie Pat had open heart surgery yesterday, an aorta replacement to be exact. When you can't be there, the next best thing is having an uncle who is. My dear Uncle Earl was Johnny-on-the-spot this morning, texting me before 7am that he had been by and checked with Dr. Jones and she was doing just fine. Everything looked really good. My reply, "Thank you. I love you. You are my hero!" Uncle Earl's way of showing his love, is to care about the people I care about. Doesn't matter who it is... if I tell him somebody I know is coming down to have anything heart related done (or is going to Princeton Hospital in general) he will track them down and make sure they are ok. He's awesome like that. In completely unrelated news, my cousin Melanie, also shown in the pic, got accepted to Auburn today! The Tittles, no matter how big of Alabama fans they are, will show the love by being SO proud of her... even if it kills them to be excited that yet another cousin has chosen to go to the big AU. Love to all! :0)