What we've been up to

1. We hopped on the trendy wagon getting new iPhones. They are only the coolest thing E-VER, what haven't they thought of?? I have yet to find something it can't do. (That Blackberry was the dumbest phone ever! So glad to get rid of it)

2. I have planned and executed one of our largest meetings at work - our National Sales Meeting.

3. Mark was awarded an incentive trip to WaterColor in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. I'm so proud of him!

4. We've put our house on the market. We plan to build but aren't in any rush. When it sells, we'll be ready!

5. I tried a new recipe that was de-licious!

Pecan-Crusted Chicken

1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 t. paprika
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. pepper
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 T. canola oil

Place milk in shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine flou, pecans, sesame seeds, paprika, pepper and salt. Dip chicken in milk, then coat in flour mixture. In large nonstick skillet, brown chicken in oil on both sides. Transfer to a greased casserole dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or unil juices run clear.

6. I've started growing my bangs back out and they are driving me nuts.

Twenty Ten

We rang in the new year in the craziness of Times Square, New York City. I have wanted to do this at least once in my lifetime, it was an item on my bucket list. Mark had no desire whatsoever to do this but somehow I talked him into to. We traveled to NYC on New Year's Eve and met our friends at their apartment. We then bundled up and made our way into the city from Queens. It was cold and rainy, not ideal for standing outside. We were fortunate enough to have an inside hookup from our comedian friend, Nate Bargatze, for Caroline's Comedy Club located on Broadway just down from the ball dropping. We go there around 6pm and the streets were already packed. We had dinner and chatted with the bar tenders at Caroline's until about 10pm. We then ventured out to find our spot. We met this cop who so nicely offered to take us up about 5 blocks closer than we were. So we followed his footsteps. We ended up being in front of Olive Garden (if you're familiar with the area). People had been there since 4pm - WHOA!! There are no restrooms and if you leave your spot you are not guaranteed that you will get back in. Each block had strict security. We nestled up with the group and enjoyed the music and sights of Times Square on New Year's Eve. If you were watching on TV we were very close to the stage where J. Lo performed as well as where CNN (Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin) were staged. It rained practically the entire time but we did have our umbrella. It was all that cold, or not that I remember, there was plenty of body heat. :) It was a great experience, I definitely recommend doing it at least once. It was not a crazy mess it was very organized chaos. And Mark had a GREAT time! I knew he would.

The infamous ball

Anderson and Kathy

We made it!

My view...because I'm short. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

For those of you that know me know that I am NOT a night person. I am in bed at 9pm or earlier on school nights and could very well have that bedtime on weekends as well. But on New Year's Eve I was a different person. Laura had gone to Times Square with us while Nate had a show to do elsewhere. After the ball dropped, we rode the subway to meet Nate. We spent some time at the Comedy Cellar and it was there that Laura and I decided we might as well just stay up and catch the Today's Show. So we ended up taking the boys home and by that time it was about 3:30am. We had to get materials for our signs, get back to the city and find parking. We also wanted a good spot so we thought we better get there around 6:30am. So we freshened up and made our way to buy poster board. We drove around for about 30 minutes trying to find parking. We ended up parking in this garage for like $14 even though we probably only be there for about 2, at the most. We made our signs in the car and walked to Rockefeller Center. We get there and there aren't many people at all but that was OK. So we took some pictures of the Christmas Tree and finally went over to talk to a couple of cops. They immediately asked if were there for the Today's Show because they weren't having a show, it was pre-recorded. UGH! Are you kidding me!?!?!? I stayed up for NOTHING! So we laughed and took pictures anyway. We got to bed about 7:30am and obviously slept all day! HAPPY NEW YEAR! This was definitely an experience I will never forget! Thank you Mark for agreeing to go with me. Thank you Nate and Laura for the Caroline's tickets, a warm bed, your hospitality and good cookin'.

Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, so much more beautiful in person vs. on TV.

So sad, ever heard of the Internet? I bet it would have said there was not taping!

They thought my sign was funny - thanks Nate!

Roll Tide! Blah!

We were pooped

It's the most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Christmas was again keeping the Tennessee roads hot. We traveled southwest to visit Mark's family on Christmas Eve. We spent the day eating and playing games, just good ole family time. We then opened presents, we were completely shocked to get a Nintendo Wii. Our nephews opened their's and surprised that we had opened one too. Now Mark is all about games. He has asked to get one for some time now but I never gave in. I just feel that we wouldn't play it and it would be a waste of money. He is so excited about this and some of his friends are giving him games. He is a happy camper. Mark also got some tools and I got some kitchen things and a new iPod docking station (other one died). The boys had to hook up the Wii IMMEDIATELY so we were entertained by them trying to figure out the games.

Waiting for Santa

Being silly

The boys and their Wii (that doens't sound right) Our little princess - she changed clothes about 20 times.Molly got new toys and sweater

Christmas day we went to my Mamaw and Papaw's for lunch. I hadn't been there for Christmas dinner in 4 years so it was great to see the whole family. We had a great lunch with all the fixins and then went to mom and dad's for some relaxing, eating, and present opening. Drew was all over the place in rare form. He finally got the hang of opening presents and really helped Mark open his presents. Drew got his first remote control car, a big wheel and some clothes. Mom asked all of us to spend the night on Christmas night, otherwise we all would have probably driven back home. So she got her wish, me, Mark, Molly, Bradley, Casey, Drew, Comet and Scooter. She definitely had a house full. But it was none or all! :) We had a great time ending Christmas night with some games (me = WINNER). We woke up to mom cooking a huge breakfast on Saturday that was oh so good!

Thanks everyone for a great and memorable Christmas. We are so fortunate to be able to spend the holidays we both sets of families.

Drew got some new Car slippers

Daddy helping open presents

New remote control car that does flips

Drew crawled in and out of this tent a hundred times. Helping Uncle Mark open presents
Casey and I got new Coke pjs
We all got new jackets!

Drew trying on his new duds.

Going Private

We're going private to get away from all your creeps out there. Send me your email addresses to katie.stooksbury@gmail.com and I'll be sure to add your to the viewers list.

Thanks!

Ride to work will never be the same

Since I have such a commute to work I have actually enjoyed it because I get to share my time not only with my husband on most days but with the Gerry House Foundation on WSIX. I am one of the 8 listeners. In mid December I was so shocked to hear that the group is splitting up, something about "doing what's best for the listener." Ha! Clear Channel announced that Al Voeks and Duncan Stewart would leave the show on December 23rd. Since Gerry and Mike have been on vacay since Christmas Eve, it really hadn't hit me that they were gone. But sheesh, I sure noticed it on the ride in this morning. They were such a good group making fun of each other and bouncing jokes off of one another. It's a great show and I will continue to listen but I sure do miss Al and Duncan.

If you visit the website they have a clip of the news with Noels (No L's) that they did on the 23rd. It's pretty hilarious!

Costa Rica

Aside from the parties, cooking, eating, shopping, wrapping and singing I also traveled to Costa Rica for business. We are gearing up for our sales incentive trip in March so we HAD to go down and take a look at the place and all the surroundings to make sure it was the best fit for our group. And it was. :) It was of course just beautiful. We enjoyed all the food we could absolutely eat, we did the zipline tour and toured the town of Tamarindo. The property is just beautiful! I can't wait to be back in March.

Oh and there are monkeys just chillin on the side of the road - very weird!

Parties, Parties, Parties

As probably most of you, we've been busy this holiday season. We've had several parties for work and with friends. It's always fun to get together with everyone and most importantly it's always fun to eat!

Company Christmas Party, Downtown Nashville

Department Cookie Exchange and Dirty Santa

Welcome Home, Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas Get Together at the Stephens' House