Easter Morn

I almost cried the other day when I was babysitting Matthew- I suddenly couldn't remember when Drew was that age and it was just a year ago! I just can't remember him rolling around 'a little'. Then I realized that Drew was born moving and hasn't stopped! So I pulled out this photo of Easter last year to compare to this year...
Easter 2007





Easter 2008

Easter Egg Fun

Check out the slideshow from Drew's Easter Egg Hunt at School

Inchworm Easter Egg Fun Slideshow- SEE IT HERE!!!

A Hunting Drew Will Go...

And here's Matthew (seated rear shot gun)rolling on Egg Hunt day with fellow Ladybuggers.. check out the boppy'd out kid in the middle. This kid is rather famous with his very own blogspot. Check it out here

Mom Song

Blaine and I heard this on the radio yesterday and loved, loved, loved it.

Now and Then

Today, Joe, Blaine, Chayton, Walker


2006, Joe, Blaine, Chayton, Walker

HOW DID OUR FLOWER GIRL GROW UP SO FAST?!

Emily all grown up and reluctantly photographed between Aunt Janey & Aunt Lisa (her 'crazy aunts').

Emily and Aunt Janey in 1996.

Janey, Emily, Lisa, Rachel, Rob 1998.

Goodnight Moon

A little spring break video that we put together yesterday...

Lucky Taters

Here are some St. Patrick's Day potatoes from Blaine's class... super cute!

Lucky Tater Slideshow

Neighborhood Snow Day in the South

I AM HAVING A BIT OF TROUBLE GETTING THE VIDEO UP, TIL THEN, HERE'S A LINK TO THE PICTURES....

Snow Day Slideshow

THE VIDEO IS HERE!
Hot off the presses! Or should I say cold? The snow has already melted, but the neighborhood was out early to celebrate our one snow of the season. The video has a few white spots in it, but keep watching 'til it fuzzes out at the end when Drew throws a snowball at the camera (I am still new at this, and I don't know why there is no sound....).

Boo Cat Goes Green!! Nashville Habitat- Energy Star Excellence!!

Pictured, Boo Kitty, relaxed and comfortable with his carbon footprint

Coming home from my lunchtime workout at the Y, I was thrilled to find that Boo Kitty has FINALLY gone green! I am sure he misses those crinkley bags from the grocer, but those are scarce in this house. The Warmbrods went green earlier this year- we use environmentally friendly shopping bags, we renewed our commitment to recycling, and we even take our extra hangers back to the dry cleaner!

Just minutes after I snapped this picture of Boo Kitty, I got an email that Nashville Habitat won a national Energy Star Award this year:

"EPA AND HUD NAME NASHVILLE AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AS A RECIPIENT OF
THE 2008 ENERGY STAR® AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENERGY-EFFICIENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING"

Three cheers to Boo Kitty and Nashville Habitat for making the world a greener place!

Investing the Templeton Way

Friend Lauren Templeton and husband Scott Phillips recently wrote a book on investment strategies. You can find it here.



Lauren is the grand niece of Sir John Templeton, “the greatest stock picker of the century” according to Money Magazine (he's also responsible for the 'Templeton' in Franklin Templeton Investments). Applying principles learned from Sir John, Lauren made a name for herself in the investment world in her twenties when she launched a successful capital management company and two hedge funds. She's an amazing young woman, and you can meet her at Davis Kidd Books later this month. Here are the details:

LAUREN TEMPLETON and SCOTT PHILLIPS
discuss and sign
Investing the Templeton Way
Saturday, March 29th at 2:00 p.m.
In the pantheon of value investing giants, including Graham, Dodd, and Buffet- John Templeton stands above them all. As a pioneer whose career spanned eight decades, Templeton was instrumental in creating the world in which value investing has flourished. Investing the Templeton Way provides a never-before-seen glimpse into Sir John's timeless principles and methods-revealed by his great niece and successful hedge fund manager Lauren Templeton.

Lauren Templeton shows you how to “invest the Templeton way” by describing the methods behind Sir John's investment selection process, providing historical examples of his most successful trades, and explaining how to apply the same approaches to your own portfolio. Featuring extensive interviews with Sir John himself, Investing the Templeton Way is destined to be a classic resource.

Soldier and Wife

Friends Andy and Julie have been married just over a year now, and this video was made back in June 2007 at the celebration of their January 2007 marriage. Andy made the video that you see while in Iraq fighting for our country and he proposed when he returned home- he kept Julie's engagement ring in his grenade pocket, close to his heart, the whole time.

Pastor Rob Collins

Big Brother's ordination ceremony was Sunday at Maxwell Baptist Church- sis and I drove down to attend and it was a wonderful event in so many ways. Rob is the pastor at Crossroads Baptist Church in Estill Springs. We are so proud of Pastor Rob and his spiritual leadership in the community. Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths."

The Big Cheese = Warmbrod Health Crisis

Here we are at Chuck e Cheeses on Thursday night for Blaine's basketball trophy party. It's a great shot of Drew's elbow. If you look closely, you can see the germs swarming. I planned to get these pictures up on my blog ASAP and predict that someone would end up sick -It's my policy to NEVER visit these places during cold and flu season. Let's just say that there's give and take in every good relationship, and while Drew was (probably) sharing his afternoon pink eye outbreak at the Big Cheese's, Blaine and I were attracting our very own strep throat and bad cold germs. The surgeon general should put a warning on the door of that place.

We laugh in the face of danger! Drew and Mommy in the throws of germ warfare.


Doesn't every kid have this picture from their first trip to the Cheese's?! It's mandatory in 7 states.

Blue Ribbon Winner

Mom says that Granny got her recipe from a magazine, and the internet lists the recipe here as a state fair winner.

Your Driver Awaits

Dear Daddy, Welcome back from New York! Your driver is waiting at Baggage Carousel A.

I heard this song while I was out today and it reminded me of my Tommy and how much I am looking forward to having him back from NYC (and the Rogaine part made me smile big)- Love you honey, and nevermind the clowns..... Play 'You Take Me the Way I Am' .

To Blog or Not to Blog- Ingredients of a Secret Family Recipe

(Pictured Granny, Momma, Me, each of us at age 17- hairstyle commentary on future blog)

So there has been some concern voiced over Granny Ruth’s Red Velvet Cake (GRRVC) recipe being blabbed all over the internet. Flattered that someone thought my blog was that popular, I immediately checked to see whether the Drudge Report had picked up a news story related to Granny Ruth. Shockingly enough, no mention of red velvet cake there, but I learned that Obama has now taken Hillary to the mat (Hillary, you should have passed out GRRVC at the polls, girly girl).

Still a wee bit concerned that I might have over-exposed the family, I ventured out to Joey’s House of Pizza for my favorite lunch. Joey Macca’s chicken parmesan is responsible for at least 10 lbs of my previous ‘baby weight’ and Joey and his wife Chris are behind the counter and asking me how’s the baby doing, yadda, yadda, yadda. I told Chris how I have Granny Ruth’s picture beside her cake recipe on my blog and asked her ‘How do you know a recipe is a family secret?’ Okay, so they aren’t southern and don’t know much about red velvet cake, but they are Italian restaurant owners with lovely Brooklyn accents- they KNOW secret family recipe etiquette, know what I’m sayin? So I thought about what Chris said while I devoured my delicious chicken parm and here’s my press release on the subject:

Okay, so Granny freely shared the recipe with anyone that asked for it. My mother verified this fact for me. And Granddaddy was married to her for over 35 years and never knew it was a secret. In all her days, Granny never once withheld a recipe from anyone claiming it was ‘classified’. The woman was proud of her cookin’ skills and would have shouted it from the mountain tops. And, finally, no one in the family makes a living off this secret recipe. So it ‘s fair bloggin’ material.

And I know that Granny Ruth would be ‘tickled’ that her sweet little picture and her superb recipe were featured on my website, almost two decades after her passing.

Where do you think I get it all from, anyway- the cooking, the craftiness, the call to any stage that’s willing to hear me speak? She’s actually the one that put me on stage the first time, backing me up on piano with a ‘Do Lord’ and ‘Nothin but the Blood’ solo performance at Hickory Grove Baptist Church. Hesitant to share her talents, she was not. And her spirit lives on here, with me. I won’t ever apologize for that.

Let’s all be sensitive to anyone concerned about this recipe leaking to the masses via this blog (and I hope it does because I signed this website up for google adds – cha’ ching baby!). So, if you decide to print out the recipe and pass it on, give due props to Granny Ruth.

And further expanding my bloggin skills, check out the new survey I added on the subject in the top right margin…

Korby Lenker and Dickson Brothers Photo Shoot

I happened upon Korby Lenker- who is playing in Nashville at the Exit/In on Wed, Feb 27 and I am lovin' his vibe. He's opening for Robinella and we all love her! Who knows? You may just see lil me there!!! Yes, I may venture out after dark on a school night!!!

Listen to his music by clicking here korbylenker.com

And new pictures of the Dickson brothers, who clean up quite nicely:





Just to show off to sis how fast her boys can be blog super stars....she just emaield me these pics from Saturday....What super cuties!

Girls Scout Cookie Day

For this look, you need: hand-me-down oversized T-shirt, big brother's shoes (wrong feet), and Daddy's baseball cap.


Parmesan cheese shreds were on sale at the market, so I tried out an edible salad bowl (which I have wanted to do since I saw it in a Southern Living cookbook). Spray a skillet w/ nonstick spray, throw in a thin layer of the shredded parmesan, remove with spatula, shape over a glass tumbler just before the cheese is stiff and totally crunchy, and Voila! You, too can glam up dinner!


In the age old debate- 'Tag-a-longs vs. Thin Mints?', our house goes 2 votes for Tag-a-longs, 1 vote Thin Mints, and Andrew abstains, responding only with baby sign language for 'more' and says 'Mo tookies, peese.'

Saturday

Here's Tommy - looking really cute & back from a workout- sporting his Valentine's present- his iPod armband thingy.


And the Dickson brothers are spending the night tonight- Matthew is in the house napping while non-sleepers were banished to the back yard.

Blaine's 2007 Pass Completions

This is my first iMovie project- Blaine's pass completion highlights. If you don't see me in public for say, two years, and my children are wearing rags, no shoes, and have dirt under their fingernails, it's probably because I am sitting in front of my Mac creating iMovies from all of our home video footage- please plan an intervention. But seriously, if anyone knows how to make the videos show up clearer on youtube please comment! Newby needs some advise.

Pink Velvet Cake

So my first go at Granny Ruth's red velvet cake was a success, but Tommy and I both felt it was heavy on the oils- especially considering the low- fat restrictions in this house of late- our taste buds just aren't the same. So I revised the recipe to get the fat down a little (and because the $2.99 bottle of popcorn oil had 2/3 cup of oil left and I can't bear to waste!) Sooo, to limit the fats, I reduced the popcorn oil from 1 cup to 2/3 cup, and reduced the 1/2 cup vegetable oil to 1/4 cup olive oil. At the same time, I increased the 1 teaspoon cocoa to 1 tablespoon to make up for the flavor loss from the reduced amount of oil (and I added 1 tsp baking powder). I considered using 4 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs, but, come on people, this is red velvet cake, after all- and there's 8 oz. cream cheese and 1 stick of butter in the icing anyway! But the truth is that I was short on eggs. Next time, I will use the 4 egg whites and a lowfat cream cheese and see how it goes. Surely I will rue the day I tinkered with Granny Ruth's recipe, but then again Granny Ruth never watched Dr. Oz on Oprah.

Speaking of Dr. Oz, take his real age test at www.realage.com.