Ohh the social media. It is everywhere, and I can barely keep track of what the new trend is. Here are my conclusions today:

1 - A lot of people have the Washington Post reader app on FB. I would never want this because I read ridiculous articles about Snooki losing 25 pounds and do not want everyone to know that!

2- Twitter? I tried it for one day and can't keep up.

3- Pinterest is still a little bit of a mystery to me. And also a little worse than FB in that you have all of the "boards" that make people think you are actually that crafty, ambitious, fit, etc. At least FB is pictures of things you actually made, or pictures of yourself instead of a model doing situps. Also I wish you could make boards private on Pinterest. I tried googling my name and my Pinterest account came up. No bueno.

4 - I will boycott the FB timeline for as long as possible. It makes it hard to see other people's pictures and I'm never sure where to look for the most recent posts.

5 - I'm thinking of getting a non-smart phone. Billy has a BB for work, and an iPad, I stare at a computer 7.5 hours a day( and then some more at home), we both have navigation systems in our cars, and a portable GPS. I'm beginning to think it is really too much, and an unnecessary expense. Thoughts? I know I'll be the un-cool girl without a smart phone, but who cares?

Lastly...I found this quite helpful:

I entered the weekend with high hopes of producing something of value from my sewing machine. I thought at first that I may try an "easy" 45x45 quilt . Once I arrived at Joann's, I thought...."Mehhh, let's start with something smaller. A potholder, perhaps." So I bought my materials and went home to get started. I thought that a homemade potholder would be a nice Valentine's gift for Grandma and Billy's Nana.

Several hours later, bloody hands, and crooked lines, here is the product and I will not be gifting it to anyone!

Not a total loss though. I learned some valuable lessons. One being that I have very little patience. Is that a new lesson? Not really. Two is that the proper tools should not be underestimated. Billy always yammers on about needing the proper tools and I have always ignored him. But seriously, the following items will be helpful if I ever want to even attempt a quilt:

Cutting mat

Rotary cutter

Ruler

After the potholder emotional explosions, I think Billy sensed that he could help out by vacuuming. There is no sweeter music to my ears than someone other than myself vacuuming. Two of our neighbors are coming over for the game and I suspect they will be wearing Steelers jerseys. I saw a lot of people wearing them today. I guess you're still a Steeler fan, no matter who is playing in the Super Bowl. Today, we will be cheering for the Giants though, because no one wants Tom Brady to win! Here is what Pittsburgh Dad thinks about that!

Patton loves treats, and he is hoping to win Moby's Giveaway. You should enter too! Lauren was a bridesmaid with me in my brother's wedding and she recently moved to Alaska. Be sure to read the rest of her blog about her Alaskan adventures!Patton's treats are usually carrots and tomatoes. Last night he had a mushroom, and he seemed to enjoy it. My friend at work jokes that the reason Patton eats my shoes is because we don't give him any real treats. He gets rawhide bones, but that is about it. So for those of you who call him fat, I really don't have an explanation. He's just big boned.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I don't think we do gifts. This will be our 6th V-Day together and I honestly don't remember a single one of them. But if we were to do gifts, I would ask for the following:
1 - Lilly Pulitzer Murfee scarf. I know it's a ridiculous amount to pay for a scarf, but they were on super sale in January and I missed out. Maybe they will go on sale again?
2 - VS Noir. I believe my SIL wears this, and I never smelled it until I got a teeny bottle in a sample pack. I've worn SJP Lovely for the past several years and I think it is time to switch it up.
3 - I want to lay in bed on a weekend, have Billy walk Patton(early, so I am not woken up with dog tongue to the face) and have coffee and the iPad delivered to me.

Overheard in the Hudgins House

I've been watching too much of Keeping up with the Kardashians and trying to analyze why Chris & Kim got a divorce. Well, I'm still not sure why. But it seems like he likes to tell her how it is, and that is not how she likes to hear it. And marriage is not all butterflies and flowers...did she not know that? Speaking as a almost 4 year old veteran and having already encountered some bumps in the road, I think I have a bit of a perspective. So then I asked Billy...

Me: Was our wedding day the best day of your life?

Billy: Is this a trick question?
Me: No. To me, it wasn't the best day, but it was the most important day.

Billy: Good, because I couldn't wait for it to be over. I was sunburned and hungover. My best day was bringing home Patton.

Is this the same Patton that now thinks deer poop is like candy? And same dog that barks at our labrador wall calendar? YES.

Hahaha...well, it's a good thing that I'm not too sensitive. And I'm glad that we can agree on that. Not that our wedding was not wonderful, fun and everything I could have asked for. My best day would probably be with most of the same people that we celebrated our wedding with, but in a much more relaxed, and less attention on me type of day.

It's time for Menu Monday again. I went to the grocery store yesterday armed with my list, and didn't come home with a bunch of random items that don't add up to one dinner. We just got a new grocery store called Bottom Dollar Food and I was impressed...you just can't buy things like deli meat, since they do not have a butcher. I left with almost everything I need for the week for under $50!

This week we have one repeat because the Spinach Chicken Casserole was such a huge hit. And Billy rarely raves about chicken. I am also excited about having it again!

More spinach with this quiche. I have never made quiche!

SW Chicken Wraps

White Bean & Kielbasa Stew

Salad with smoked halibut - I don't need a recipe for this, and I will put Billy to work on the smoker.

Jalepeno Popper Grilled Cheese - served with salad to add a little bit of health to it.

If anything is superb, I will be sure to report. You can count on the fact that none of the above meals will be difficult to make, or require many ingredients. I don't play those games!

I was chatting on the phone with a good friend last night, and while we both love our husbands dearly and wouldn't trade them for anything, I think we can agree....

Looking forward to seeing The Vow when it comes out. Love Rachel McAdams too. If I could only watch chick flicks for the rest of my life, I would die a happy woman.

Nothing new to report...which can be good. But don't try the Crunchy Asian Salad posted on Monday. It tasted like lettuce dipped in salt. Other than, the menu has gone over very well this week. The only thing left to make is the pizza rolls, which sound great for a Friday! Billy will be sleeping in his truck in West Virginia tonight, so I'm sure he'll be happy to have a good meal when he comes home tomorrow.

So instead of talking about myself, which is mostly what blogs are, right? I am going to post some links to videos that I enjoyed throughout the week. Billy always asks where I find videos because he never has anything good in his arsenal and my answer is: I have no idea. I think I'm just better at social media than he is.

Feel like crying? Surprise military homecomings get me every time: http://www.military.com/video/family-and-spouse/deployment/wife-gets-a-heartwarming-surprise/1244183550001/

Ok, so I found this a few weeks ago, but I showed my coworker during lunch today and I died again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgQNx_aRZgk

This describes the current generation of college students. They need a new position in high schools called The Dream Crusher to avoid garbage like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM73_-y41yE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Sh*t People Say videos are everywhere, but I think this is one of the best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47aS3uSCHLc

And today's newest discovery: Pittsburgh Dad. If you hate the Ravens, you'll love this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&src_vid=GbmijHLe_3E&annotation_id=annotation_109357&v=nvbyPIek-zw