There's No Time Like Christmas To Show People That You're Crazy!

And I'm going to let the following pictures and movie speak for the title! :) I told you Christmas was my favorite time of year, and I love to be crazy and fun around the holidays!

Take this, for example. When else can you dress like an elf and people not think you're crazy?



You know the holidays are upon you when you wear an elf hat around your guy friends and they still pose in a picture without minding!



You also know that the holidays are drawing near when you are actually requested to wear your elf hat at the company Christmas party! :) Holiday cheer, anyone? Presents, anyone?




Lemme guess...you totally didn't think it could get any better, right? Well, HA! Now, there are two elves. BOOM! :) Meet TayTay, the second Christmas elf! (He also happens to be my boss's son!) He did a great job helping the Boss Elf (yours truly) pass out gifts to the employees! I must admit that I was happy to have the help...all that elfing sure makes ya tired!

And finally, I leave you with this. A family full of elves dancing in a hip-hop style. Does it honestly get better than this?!?!?! Yeah, I agree with you this time - PROBABLY NOT! I hope you enjoy my family in this Elf Yourself video!

Without further ado, I present to you Miss Chicken Wing, Mr. Chicken Wing, Momma Chicken Wing, Little Sister Chicken Wing, and Little Brother Chicken Wing - the hip-hop dancing elves!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Love this? Want to make your own? Click here!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

A Post About Grass

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Yes, Peeps...you read that correctly - this is a post about grass. (Now, you didn't honestly think I'd make you read continuous posts that were only about Christmas, did you? While I love Christmas to pieces, even I know that we would be traveling down a monotonous road if that's all I posted about this month).

Now, you already know that I've got the attention span of a gnat, but you might say that this is a major jump, even for me. Really, Chicken Wing? You go from Christmas to grass????

Hang with me! I heard a quote the other day that resonated with me, and inspired me, to say the least. As you know, when I find these so-called gems, I like to share them with you, because they might affect you in the same way!

So, here goes...

"The grass isn't greener on the other side, but where you choose to water it." - Author Unknown

Wow. I'd never heard this quote before, but how profound it is. In a nutshell, your grass is the greenest where you decide to nurture it.

If you're unhappy in your life, job, or relationship, the easy way out is too look elsewhere and dream of that "greener" grass. The fulfilling way to go about it, though, is to...

Water the grass you have. Mow the grass you have. If you're not doing your part, and putting in the work to make your own grass greener, there will always be temptation elsewhere. But, when you put in the effort and the elbow-grease, and you nurture your "grass," it's that much more worthwhile to you. You can't take ownership of grass you don't have, but you can make your grass the best in the neighborhood and that is something to be proud of.

So, there you have it, Peeps. A quote for the ages. Here's to all of us, and to making our "grass" the greenest that we can!

Until next time,

Miss Chicken Wing

Christmas Is Coming: Better Prepare Yourselves!

"Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane..."

Can you hear the Christmas music? Can you feel the spirit of the season coming on? No? Well, get on board, Peeps, because Christmas is coming...and with that comes my favorite holiday of the year!

(Basically, you should read the passage above as follows: Prepare yourselves, because Christmastime is going to take over this blog for a little while!)

I love this holiday for the obvious reasons - there is a magical air about the world where meanness goes down and happiness and love go up. I love that I get to see family that I don't see all the time. I love the food that we are blessed enough to have together. I love watching my loved ones opening up the presents that they didn't know about (surprises are the best!). I love soaking in the memories, because our family members won't be around forever, and you have to be present as discussed in the post just before this one. I love the Christmas music!!!! I love hoping for snow, and getting snow! I love that we celebrate Jesus, and He is truly the reason for the season! His sacrifices allow us to enjoy all we have in life, and for that, you must be thankful!

One other thing that I absolutely LOVE about Christmas is the decorations! My goal is to make it look like Christmas exploded inside my house! :) I am currently in the stages of decorating now, so stay tuned to see Casa de Chicken Wing all Christmas-fied!

With decorations comes Christmas ornaments, and decorating the tree (another reason why I love Christmas!). This past weekend after Thanksgiving, we decorated Grandma and Papa Chicken Wing's tree, and Momma Chicken Wing's tree. I will be sure to post some pictures of those in my tree post (along with our tree).

I know that my family has a tradition of giving Christmas ornaments to each other, and I love it! When I left the "nest," I already had a great start to my own tree, which was great because I had some old and was then able to purchase some on my own! It's a tradition I hope to pass on when I have little Chicks!

So, I decided to share some with you that I found to be completely awesome this year! I hope you find one you like, or at least become inspired! It's time to get excited for Christmas!!!


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This could be the most perfect option for 1) the resident golfer in your life or 2) the person who loves the movie "Caddyshack." I know that it was one of my Daddy's favorite movies, and I'm sure that anyone would love to hang this adorable "Teed-Off Gopher" on their tree!!!

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"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas....only a hippopotamus will do...." I know you've heard this familiar Christmas classic, and if you're like me, it gets COMPLETELY stuck in your head for hours after first hearing it. I actually have a coworker who loves this song, and he was gifted with this ornament last year. He still gets so excited and happy every time he presses the button (yes, it's musical!)!


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This is an ornament that I really want to add to my collection! As a child, Disney movies were my film existence for the most part, and I always loved "The Little Mermaid." I also was given multiple gifts of "Precious Moments," which this ornament also embodies.

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"You'll shoot your eye out!" This ornament, appropriately titled "Ralphie's Pink Nightmare," immediately put a smile upon my face. It really makes you remember Ralphie's embarassment during the holidays, and while it's not my personal favorite Christmas movie, I'm sure it is for others! Who knows? Maybe someone in your family loves this film, and would love a little Ralphie to adorn their tree!

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"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is my FAVORITE Christmas movie of all time, and that is why I had to show you this ornament! I have several Rudolph ornaments that are from the movie but none that included Santa himself! When I saw this ornament, my first reaction was "Eat, Papa, eat!" LOL! If you've seen the movie, this was likely your first reaction, too!

So, these are the ornaments that have inspired me this season, and I hope that each and every one of my Peeps is getting in the holiday spirit! Stay tuned for more Christmas-themed posts, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Thanksgiving 2009: So Much To Be Thankful For!

In case I've never said it before, this time of year is my favorite. Why, you ask? Because Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite holidays. They always offer the most fun for me. With Thanksgiving comes sitting down with family to eat a huge meal (one that we are so blessed to be able to have), toss the football around, watch the parade in the morning, take turkey naps, eat the leftovers (and boy, are there leftovers?!?!), then take another turkey nap. I mean, really, could there be a more perfect day?

Then, you have the opportunity to go shopping on Black Friday (which is a holiday that gets piggybacked onto Thanksgiving, for me) and score some great deals for Christmas gifts if you dare to go out in the madness. This year, Grandma Chicken Wing, Little Sister Chicken Wing, and I did brave the masses, and we made out like bandits for the most part. For Little Sister Chicken Wing, it was too much madness. For Grandma Chicken Wing and I, it was like a sport. We operated like a well-oiled machine. We knew what we wanted, we'd already priced it to know where to get it, and we went in, picked out our stuff, paid for it (most of the time with coupons!!! EXTRA SAVINGS.....YESSSS!!!), and went on to the next store.

Grandma Chicken Wing literally almost got all of her Christmas shopping done in a matter of a few hours! Go us! Toss in lunch at Sbarro and dinner at Cracker Barrel, and you've got yourself an awesome day!

Super slice of cheese pizza and a country ham dinner plate with mac & cheese and string beans, anyone?

I'm sorry for the drooling that probably just occurred all over your keyboard.

Either way, Thanksgiving this year was just as awesome for me as it always is. I have so much to be thankful for, and for some reason, if you slap a title on a day and call it Thanksgiving, it really resonates with me. I'm instantly grateful for all that I have in my life, and I genuinely thank God for all He has blessed me with. I know that there are many out in the world who would kill to be in my shoes, and I take some time out of my day to pray for them - I wish nothing but good things for them, and I ask God to look out for them even more.

I think the one thing that's different for me this year is that I really wanted to be present. What I mean is that sometimes you get so busy around the holidays (as previously mentioned in the post directly before this one) that you forget to be present and that is incredibly important. You can't go through the holidays in a fog...you'll miss out on some of the best memories. So, I decided that no matter how busy I get, I am going to make a huge effort to stay present in all that's going on around me. I want to pay attention to my family, my friends, and the memories we are making. I think that's a fair goal.

In closing, I wanted to share a few pictures from Thanksgiving, Chicken Wing style.

As evidenced by her face in the pic above, Grandma Chicken Wing had NO idea I was taking this. She was not too happy when she realized I was taking pictures of her putting food away. I believe her exact words were, "Why are you taking pictures of this messy kitchen? Stop that!" Haha!

Another gratuitous food shot. We are most definitely blessed - 1) for the food and 2) for Grandma Chicken Wing who makes the food.

Then the turkey naps set in. Oh, you sneaky carbs, you....you always win. (You know it's bad when your dogs see a photo opportunity and you are completely oblivious until you see mysterious photos on your camera...)

Here we have Mr. Chicken Wing and Little Brother Chicken Wing being taken over by the turkey.

Final Score:

Turkey-3, Chicken Wing Family-0

So, there's my Thanksgiving 2009 recap! I hope you enjoyed it! I also hope your Thanksgiving holiday was as fabulous as mine was! Here's to many more!

Who's ready for Christmas???

CiCi, obviously.

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

A Website To Be Thankful For!

Wow, Peeps....can we say "fifteen-day-blogging-break?" I am so sorry for that...I've been so busy that I haven't had the energy to write. This time of year rolls around, and it seems that everyone is so busy - working before being off for the holidays, decorating the house, deciding what to get everyone for Christmas, strategizing the plan of attack for Black Friday shopping expeditions, planning and preparing food for Thanksgiving, etc., etc., etc. Honestly, the list goes on and on, and I know that every one of you goes through some of that "Holiday Busy-ness" just like I do.

I wanted to take a 5-Minute Mental Health break and dedicate it to the men and women of our armed forces...the ones who might not get to spend the holidays with their families because they're protecting all of ours. I know that I whole-heartedly appreciate all that they do and all that they sacrifice for the rest of us. Sometimes, it's easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of the season, and when that happens, we lose sight of all that we have to be thankful for.

I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want it to happen to anyone this year. Let's make a resolution to remain thankful, no matter what kind of stressful situations come about. Let's also make sure that we slow down and actually thank God for all that we are thankful for. This year, I am making more of an effort to include the military in my prayers and messages of thanks. And luckily for me, for you, and for everyone, there is a website that makes it 1,000 times easier to thank the men and women who need it the most!

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You heard right. Click --> here. Pick out your design, customize your message, and hit submit.

That's it. Three simple steps, and someone in service gets a holiday card thanking him or her for their service. Could it be any easier?

I want as many Peeps as we can get to go to this website and send our troops a message! Let's thank them for allowing us to be thankful for so many things - they've given us our freedom, and that's the best present we could receive!

Thanks for reading this post, and I will be better in the coming days about posting even more! I apreciate each and every one of you...thank you for following this blog. Thank you for your love and support! It truly means the world to me, and this blog is as much for each of you as it is for me. I hope that I can bring a smile to your face every now and again. I hope that I can alert you to something you've never run across before. I hope I can offer each and every one of you something - that is my goal.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING, PEEPS!!!

With all my love and devotion,

Miss Chicken Wing

It's All Good

Well, Peeps, I hadn't acknowledged this on the blog yet, but it's officially November. You heard me. NOVEMBER. I know, I can't believe it either. It's hard to believe but Thanksgiving is upon us and Christmas is juuuuuust around the corner! The shops and stores are out in full force, trying to get you to pull your wallet out for them - they've got just what you need! You're trying to round up everyone that you want to buy for and get them to at least hint to you what would bring them joy around the holidays. Then you want to price check, make the purchase, come home and wrap it up, and you're set!

I have to admit that Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite holidays! I love all holidays, but these two take the cake for me. It's the family, friends, love, FOOD, and good times that make these most important to me. They give us reason to get together, and the memories I have of these two holidays are among the best of my life.

The other reason why I love this time of year is because something especially moves me - moves me to want to do good for others. I've come to realize that it doesn't matter how much or how little you do for others - what matters is that you're doing for others. That's what counts, especially during what's supposed to be such a joyous time of year. And this year, I'm trying to incorporate some smaller ways to help others out.

For example, did you know that for $1.30, you can feed a family of four at a soup kitchen? I didn't literally until tonight. I have been wanting to stop using plastic bags for my groceries for a long time now. I, in all honesty, have two LARGE gatherings of plastic bags - one for Walmart and one for Kroger. I know that I can recycle them, but for some reason, I can never remember to take them with me! :( Tonight, I decided that I needed to make myself take the first step, and I decided to start off small. That's why I purchased two of these for $1.99 apiece:

When I purchased these at $1.99 apiece, Kroger donated $1.30 of each bag's purchase to a local soup kitchen, and now two families can be fed there! :) That's something good for two families I may never meet and something good for me and the planet! (No plastic bags!)

I'm definitely not as green as I need to be, but I'm a work in progress. And, in case you want to go green, here are some really cool reusable bags! You honestly don't have to sacrifice style when saving our world!

Even though these may be a little pricey to me for what they are, I still may end up investing in a set of these Baggu bags. You can choose pretty much any color, and you can buy a set of 5. They seem to be really sturdy, and they're machine washable - can't beat that!

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They're really cool, and if you do a quick and easy Google search, you can find some awesome reusable bags that suit your personal style. The experts say to buy several and keep them in your car so you don't ever forget them at home. So, multiple cars = multiple sets of bags. But, all in all, I think it's worth it. Tonight's groceries would have been packed into five plastic bags, but I fit them into my two bags with room to spare! That's a pretty considerable difference!

So, as I stated before, it doesn't matter how much good you set out to do, just that you do it. Whether it's contributing to the planet, animals, or people in need makes absolutely no difference. There was never a better time to do something better than you've ever done it before - it's not too late. With the holidays fast approaching, embrace the reason for the season and just make a change...make a difference in some small way. You'll be amazed at how it makes you feel!

Until next time,
A Semi-Green Chicken Wing

I Want To Be a Wino, Too!

As I've said on multiple occasions, there are many things that I aspire to do in life (traveling has been thrown in there more times than I'd like to count!). One of the things I haven't ever talked about is food.

I'm not sure why this is, to be honest, but I think it just didn't cross my mind. Food has always been a funny little monster to me. It all started when I was a child - I was the pickiest eater! Some would say that I "ate like a bird." Some would actually believe that I was underfed (I've always had the blessing and curse of high metabolism, which is a kinder way of saying that I've always been skinny). Trust me, skinny folks get picked on plenty, too. It's a tough road if you don't have the absolute perfect body, it seems!

One of my attitudes about food and drinks and other things was that "I just didn't like them." This would be a fine statement to make, but the truth is that I had never tried many of the things I didn't like. I'd never allowed myself to be exposed to them!

Prime Example: Seriously, who can say that they'd never had Chinese food until they were 19? Pumpkin pie? Sweet potatoes? Stuffing at Thanksgiving? (Yes, all of those things were tried after the age of 19.)

Many of the things I tried have been brought about by Mr. Chicken Wing. He loves food, and I would consider him to be a "foodie." He loves to cook, and is definitely not afraid to experiment in the kitchen. He's also much more open to trying things than I am, but I am working on it! :)

Now, one thing that has been brought about more by my friends than by Mr. Chicken Wing is wine. I always thought that I didn't like wine. I'd tried red wine before, and it gave me that painful feeling behind my jawline - you know what I'm talking about! (It hurts!) I've also had wines that I determined were much too bitter for my enjoyment. I recall thinking to myself, "I can't believe people actually enjoy this stuff!" It seemed there would be no hope for me to become a wino! :(

Since then, I've discovered two types of wine that I really, really, really enjoy! I was so excited! I'm not big for drinking excessively, but I like to enjoy a glass with dinner (especially when I'm at a restaurant). So, I have to give a HUGE THANK YOU to my favorite chain restuarant:

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It was sitting at that table each time that I was introduced to the first wines I've ever really enjoyed! The first came when the nice waitress had just brought out our salad (filled to the max with freshly grated cheese, which everyone knows is the ONLY way to eat an OG salad)! I was just excited about the salad and could hardly wait to dive into the bowl when she asked if we'd like to sample their wine of the day, which she explained was a sparkling wine. We said, "Okay." That was it. I was done. I was in love for the first time with a wine.

Meet Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante:

He's a looker, ehh? Source

It was again at Olive Garden that we were met with the following dialogue from our waitress. "Would you like to try our brand new wine? We haven't even added it to the menu yet, and we're in the testing phases to see if people like it. So far, it's been a huge hit!" Again, we said we would give it a shot, and I couldn't believe it. It's either tied with or beating the Asti from before! What? I now have TWO wines that I enjoy and can now look for on restaurant menus?!?!

Meet my other love, Castello del Poggio Moscato d'Asti:

Ahh, she's a beauty! Soooo good! Source

So, what has this little journey told me about myself? I like Asti, obviously! Asti is the common link! And what is that, you ask?

"Asti or Asti Spumante is a white sparkling wine produced in an area to the south of the town of Asti in Piedmont, Italy. Made from the Moscato Bianco grape, it is sweet and low in alcohol, and often drunk with dessert. It retains its sweetness through a complex filtration process. Another wine called Moscato d'Asti is made in the same region from the same grape, but produced by another technique which differentiates it from Asti." Source

So, there you have it, Peeps! If you like wine or want to like wine, get out there and try these two! I believe it will be worth it! If you're like me, you'll never know until you try. I already knew that I loved Italy, and this is just another thing from that area that I really enjoy. I hope with all my heart that I will be able to afford to travel there someday and look around!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Chicken Wing Quote of the Day

Once again, REAL SIMPLE magazine pulls through with a great quote to start this Friday. As my mental health break this morning, I decided that I'd love to share it with you.

“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” - Thomas Edison

This quote applies to me especially because I am what is known as a planner. Most of the time, I'm at my absolute happiest when I have a plan of action - an itinerary for trips/outings, for example. I don't like going on a trip and then idly sitting around. I like to do things - I live for the experience! (I will admit to being an anomaly, though...sometimes, I do like to be spontaneous. A great instance of this is window shopping - I LOVE window shopping, which never has an itinerary or schedule. That is one of my times to wander along aimlessly, just enjoying the views.)

Sometimes, though, my plans just don't work out - it's that simple. It's then that one has to improvise and adapt, and I think that is the essence of what Mr. Edison is saying. Just because you didn't get your way doesn't mean that all is lost. And that is a lesson that we can all put to use in our everyday lives.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing