Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Friday, May 27th, was my precious daddy's birthday!!!  I am a HUGE daddy's girl and it is always so special to be able to celebrate his birthday with him.  One of the best things about living in the same town as your family is that you never miss a holiday, birthday, anniversary, etc.  We get to spend every single one with both sides of our family and it is truly special.  Not only do we live in the same town as our families, but we live diagonally across the street from my family!  No...it's not like Everybody Loves Raymond!  In fact, it's completely the opposite.  I would honestly have to say that it's one of the best things to live across the street from my parents.  With Cody's job, he might have to live in another town for several months at a time, and he feels good knowing that when I'm home, my parents are just right there if I would ever need anything.  It's also nice because we get to see them and my little brother all the time.  During the summers we go over there pretty often and go for a swim in the pool...that is until all five dogs jump in and take it over!  It will also be amazing when we have kids because they will just be right there if we need help or babysitters :-)  Anyways, on Friday, we got to celebrate my daddy's birthday together as a family and it was nice to start the weekend off that way.  It was also the last day of school for me, so I was home that afternoon by 1:00...so I made him a birthday cake!  I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman...if you have never made anything from her blog or her cookbook...you must do so...NOW!  She cooks like Paula Deen...so you can imagine how good everything is!  The cake that I made for him is called Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake...she calls it the best chocolate sheet cake ever!  It was definitely delicious...and I even had one little sliver.  I also found a recipe on her site called a Milky Way Cake.  I was debating whether to make this or the other cake.  The Milky Way Cake has 11 Milky Way Bars in it!  Can you imagine that?!?!?  Oh dear Lord, I can just see the sugar comas that we would all be in with just one bite of this cake!  I will be making this over the summer though...it's just too tempting not to make it...at least once!

So, since it was my daddy's birthday, we all went out to eat together at Copper Creek.  It was amazing, as always.  The only problem with Copper Creek when it comes to our family is that my mom has a hard time finding something to eat.  She's a vegetarian, and Copper Creek doesn't really have very many things other than a salad, baked potato, or some veggies to eat.  Which are all very good, but when you go out to eat, you want to eat something special.  But, we all enjoyed every last bite of our meal together and then it was on to our house for some cake!  Everyone enjoyed the cake, I think next time I'll make it without the nuts on top because my brother didn't eat any because of that.  Or, I could do half and half.  We also took some of it to Kerrville with us that next day when we went to see my Grandma.  She loves sweets and she gave this cake a thumbs up too!  I'm so thankful for my precious family and so thankful and blessed to be able to spend another birthday with my daddy!  I love you so much!!!

A few pictures of my daddy, brother and me on his birthday!  Plus...a picture of the chocolate sheet cake...which is now almost gone!!!

Girls Night!!!

Sometimes, the only thing a girl really needs is to spend time with her besties!!!  So...that's exactly what I did last Saturday night with two of my bestest friends!  Because our boys were at Boot Camp, Bria, Britain, and I thought it would be the perfect time for us to have girl talk, wine tasting, and hors d'oeuvres at Bria's house.  Then we all went to see a movie with a few other precious girlies from our life group, Krystina and Jessica.  And Jessica's mom came too...she was so sweet and it was so good to meet her!  We saw Bridesmaids...HILARIOUS!!!  You must go see this with your girlfriends...I believe that we have taken some very good  one liners from that movie! 

So...about this wine tasting.  I do enjoy having a glass of wine on occasion.  Especially if I'm hanging out with friends or we go out to eat a nice restaurant or if we are on vacation.  I really don't have a glass of wine or any other type of cocktail when we just eat at home, just the two of us.  Although, sometimes it is such a wonderful way to relax or enjoy with a nice meal at home...or just because!  Anyways, when I buy wine for my self it's the cheap, super sweet kind!  I think it's because that my favorite kinds of cocktails are also super sweet.  Margaritas, Mojoito's, Apple Martini's, Cosmopolitan's (thank you Sex and the City!)...they are all surgery and oh so delicious!  I think I just like sweet stuff and so sweet wines are usually all I buy...I don't venture out into the unknown!  But thank goodness that one of my best friends is a wine connoisseur!  Whenever Brent and Bria lived in California, she found a job working at one of the hundreds of beautiful winery's.  She loves wine and the history behind it, so it was the perfect job for her while they were there!  While she was working at this winery, she learned even more about wine and that's how our wine tasting experience all came together at her house!  I have to say that it was so yummy!  She had a bottle of semi-sweet white wine and a bottle of deep and hearty red wine.  She paired each of them with foods that went along with the notes from the wine.  We had so much fun sitting around the table talking and spending some much needed girl time together.  I love my sweet friends so much!  I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with them...I don't know what I would do without them!!!  I think I see another girls night coming very soon for our futures!  I'm thinking Sangria...what a lovely summer drink with all the fresh fruits...I can't hardly wait!

Doesn't this just look divine?!?!?  Bria is so talented!

2 Bottles of Wine: $75
Hors d' Oeuvres: $50
Spending Time with the Girls: PRICELESS!!!

 

Beltway Boot Camp

Last weekend all of our hubbies were off on a men's retreat with our church.  It was called Boot Camp and it was amazing to hear about their experiences with God while they away for those few days in nature.  What has been even more amazing is to see the transformation that God has made in them.  Every one of our hubbies were strong men of faith and leaders of our households.  But, when they came back, they were different.  They have a renewed faith and are even stronger men of God.  The way that God spoke to them was incredible.  God showed them that not only did they need to be Christian leaders of our homes, but that they need to fight for us and fight to keep the enemy from giving everyone in our home false promises.  We had a journal to read while they were gone were we spent time in prayer for our husbands.  One of the things that I read that stuck out to me was that by Cody going on this retreat, he was fulfilling God's spiritual authority.  The excerpt that stuck out to me was, "Your husband, and spiritual authority, has an incredible opportunity to go away for the weekend and be filled by the Lord.  It is our prayer that he will take the time to "sit" before the Lord, be still, and be satisfied.  As he takes this time to "be filled," his family will be blessed in the process.  Think about it this way...the Lord will feed your husband spiritually for the week; he will return home and feed his family.  ALL will be blessed because of his obedience.  The truth is, we reap benefits when our spiritual authority obeys."  WOW!  Those are incredible words of wisdom that I know I will keep with me always.  I have thought about them often this week as I continue to realize more and more that having Cody be such a strong man of God has helped me grow closer in my relationship to God.  It has not only increased my faith and my love for the Lord, but it has helped our marriage grow.  God has blessed us in so many ways and I continue to love Him more and more each day!

Baked Donuts?!?!?

Um...YES PLEASE!!!  Ok, I love donuts.  But I can't remember the last time I actually ate one from an actual donut shop.  I think it was probably sometime in my high school years...and I graduated in 2003!  So, needless to say it's been too long.  When anyone around me gets donuts, I usually will tear off a little piece of one so that I can have a bite.  It's pure torture to not stuff the whole thing in my mouth though!  Most of you that know me (and know me well) know that I don't really eat anything that isn't healthy.  Meaning, I don't eat any fried foods, anything with gloppy dressing, I don't eat sweets too often, and I try to stay away from preservatives, etc.  But, sweets are definitely my weakness!  I love to bake them and I love the way they make my house smell.  When I make something sweet, I usually will nibble on it here and there.  But I usually wind up bringing the rest of whatever I've made up to school and setting it in the work room or give it to my students.  Cody's not much of a sweet eater, and I give a plate full to my parents to take home with them.  So, unless I decide to eat whatever is left by myself...I just bring with me to school.  Now, I had been craving donuts for awhile now.  I found a donut pan on Amazon awhile back.  One was for mini baked donuts and one was for regular sized donuts.  I put them on my wish list and kept going back and debating whether I should order them or not.  Mainly, I just didn't want to pay $5.00 for shipping on a $15.00 order.  So, I was in Dillard's one day buying a wedding gifts for one of my dear friends that's about to get married and happened to come across them in the store.  My mom was with me and so it was quite hilarious when I started jumping up and down in the middle of Dillard's because I saw these donut pans in a store.  I've been looking for some since last summer.  I remember going to Target, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Dillard's, and Michael's and no one had them!  But, I finally saw them, and don't doubt for one second that I didn't buy them!  I also saw them at Michael's this past weekend...so Abilene has two places now that carry these magical pans!  They are made by Wilton by the way...you should go get some too!

Anyways, last weekend I had been slaving away on making this Unit Lesson Plan for my course that I'm taking right now and when I finally finished, I needed a pick-me-up!  So, I grabbed those donut pans from our cabinet and went to town.  I couldn't decide what glaze or topping I wanted on them, so I made two different kinds.  I had tons to choose from though.  I could have done vanilla glaze, strawberry glaze, chocolate glaze, lemon glaze, maple, glaze, cinnamon-sugar, powdered sugar, the list really could go on forever!  So, the two that I decided to make were vanilla glaze and cinnamon-sugar topped.  They were honestly to die for!  I mean for a baked donut...I don't think you could get much better.  I did try one of each, and I couldn't decide which ones I like better.  Sometimes I worry that things that I bake like that won't taste good to other people because my palette is so different due to the fact that I don't eat normal things like most people!  But I know that they were good because my little brother liked them and ate several of them!  And this boy loves his donuts!  Now that I know that everyone enjoyed them, I'll definitely be making them a lot more!  And with lots more variety!  I want it to be like you just walked into a donut shop when you come into my house after I've made them!  Thank goodness summer is right around the corner...looks like I'll be one busy donut making girl!



Baked Donuts!!!  These were also the cutest little things!  They were bite-size, so you could have several of them and still feel guilt free!  Yummy!



A Tribute to Mothers

Mother's Day was a few weeks ago and I personally think it's wonderful that there is a day set aside to celebrate and appreciate all that our moms have done for us.  I think about all the things that my mom has done for me, taught me, and sacrificed for me.  But, she hasn't done this just for me, she's done it for my little brother too.  It amazes me each and every day how much love she has for me and my brother...and now Cody!  It is unconditional love that God blesses our parents with, and especially our mother's.  I know that there have been times where I have put my sweet momma through the ringer!  I was a sassy, stubborn, bull-headed, and argumentative child.  Let's just say that I've never been a push over...even in my younger years!  I remember being told that it was a good trait to have because I would never let anyone run over me.  But, I had to mature to really understand how to use those abilities in good ways, not disrespectful ways.  Even through my little brother and I growing up and being defiant every now and again, mom never held it against us.  In fact, I think it made her love us more because she would fight even harder for us.  She was, and still is, always on our side and continues to want the best for us.  I still turn to her for advice and I like having her around and asking her for her opinion on things when I need to make a decision on something.  One thing that I've always loved about my mom is that she doesn't force her opinion on you.  Now, if you ask her...she's definitely going to be honest!  Which I love even more because I know that she will always tell me the truth.  And in the end, it usually works out better in the end.  Even if I was just getting her opinion on if I should buy something or not.  My mom and I have always been so super close...she's my best friend and has taught me so much.  I hope that I can be half the mom to our kids that she has been to me.

So, because Mother's Day is a very special day, I had to make a very special dessert!  I was actually planning on cooking dinner for my mom and for Cody's mom.  But, we wound up going to Hamilton on Mother's Day to spend time with my Mimi.  We went to chuch with her and then went and had lunch together.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at her house helping her get some things done and enjoying the yummy cake that I made!  Oh...and Faith went with us to...of course!  She loves her Mimi!!!  This cake that I made, I found on one of the many food blogs that I follow.  (I love to cook...have you figured that out?!?!?)  The blog that I found this cake on is called Lick the Bowl Good, and she makes some delicious things!  I drool every time I read her new posts!  This cake was so good!  It was a  Lemon Blueberry Marble Cake and because of the flavors, it was so light and moist.  It was the perfect cake for Mother's Day and for the beginning heat that summer brings!  My mom helped me decorate it...I'm telling you...she's always there when I need her!  Even when she's helping me make a cake to celebrate her!  I bought this new frostin by Betty Crocker that is buttercream flavored and comes in a tube that you can change the tips to make designs.  We were trying to figure out how to write "Happy Mother's Day" on the top of the cake, but we didn't have a tip that was skinny enough to do it :-(  So, I just went online and found a cute "Happy Mother's Day" sign and made it small enough to put on top of the cake with a tootpick.  I just copied the picture into Word, printed off two of them so it would be double sided, glued the two sides together with the toothpick in between, and Voila!  I think mom and I are going to go to cake decorating classes over the summer so we can learn to "professionally" decorate cakes...SO FUN!!!  I hope that each and every mommy out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!!!  I love you momma!!!



So...here are some pictures of the cake before and after it was baked.  I had to swirl (marble) the blueberry batter into the regular batter...I think I should have swirled a little more than I did!  A little bit of the cake had to be trimmed, so I got to taste test before it got iced.  It was hard to contain myself!





Here are some pictures of the cake after I assembled it with the blueberry lemon sauce.  There was quite a bit of lemon buttercream frosting left...again it was hard to contain myself from eating all of it! 



The finished product!  It was so pretty.  This is the first time that I've ever decorated a cake like this.  Well...technically my mom did it...but it was the first time for either of us!  I've always just either made or bought frosting and then slapped it on the cake.  But, this was a special occasion, so it called for special decoration!




And we dug right in!  After lunch, we were all pretty excited to get back and cut into this cake.  It was just as pretty on the inside too with all that yummy blueberry lemon sauce between the layers!  I think I might have to make this one again!



Skeet Shootin'

Every once in awhile you just need to relieve some stress.  So...what better way to do it than to go and shoot some clay pigeons with a big 'ole shot gun?!?!?  I got an email last Friday morning at work from my daddy asking me if I wanted to go with him out to Abilene Clay Sports, the clay target shooting club in Abilene.  He just became a member earlier in the year and he and my little brother and even my mom have been going out there often to shoot some rounds and even do a little skeet shooting.  Daddy had asked me to go about a week ago, but I was busy doing some much needed stuff around the house so I told him I would go with him another time.  When he emailed me and asked me on Friday, I thought it would be a great way to end a stressful week and spend some quality time with just me and my daddy!  I'm a complete daddy's girl by the way and I love to go shooting...so this was right up my alley!  It's been awhile since I've shot a shot gun and clay pigeons, so needless to say I was a tad bit rusty!  Not to mention the shot gun that I shot was a pretty light 20 gauge that had a massive kick to it!  Nothing like a good 'ole war wound bruise on your shoulder after shooting a round!  I went over to their house straight from work...so I had on my five inch wedge heels!  I'm sure the people that work there thought I was nuts...but if you know me well...you know that that's just how I roll!  Hehe...I can do pretty anything in heels...even shoot a gun!  The course was set up for the Zach Robinson memorial tournament that was going to be held out there on Saturday.  So, daddy got a little glimpse of how the course was going to be when he was shooting at the tournament.

I took some pictures of him while he was shooting.  This was a little bit tricky because I was also the one pulling the clays out of the shoot!  He would yell "pull" and I would have to push the button to release the clay pigeon while trying to snap pictures all at the same time.  I had a few instances of almost dropping my camera and being a little late on pushing the "pull" button!  But I managed to get a few good pictures of him shooting on the course as well as on the skeet shooting field.  We had a lot of fun and I look forward to going back out there with him!

Stressed OUT!!!

Holy molly....this past week has been one huge ball of stress!!!  I'm not sure what exactly it is about the end of the school year that makes everyone go bonkers...but something is definitely in the air!  I feel like I have been going a mile a minute and I can't seem to find the time to just sit down and breathe.  There are only two weeks of school left and you would think that it would be relaxing and just tying up loose ends.  On the contrary!  I'm the technology coordinator for our district as well as a teacher and it is crazy!  There are banquets, meetings, observations, evaluations, graduation, etc. going on almost at the same time.  I also have to fix any internet, computer, or printer problem that needs attending to...and this is the time of the year that it all seems to need attention!  We have also been having some VERY frustrating Internet problems at home.  Which wouldn't really be all too bad except for the fact that I'm going back to school...ONLINE!  After about a month of trying to get a technician out to our house to fix the wiring, one finally came this past Monday.  He was supposed to be here between noon and four.  So, I took off of work so that I could make sure that someone was home whenever he came to fix everything.  Well...he came at 6!  So, basically, I took of work for nothing because I get home from Blackwell at 4:30 and then I go work out.  I would have had time to do all of this...but no...I took a personal day to sit and wait all day!  By the way...I'm not really a fan of having to wait on people!  Needless to say, this is probably what started off my week with being so stressful.  I also started my next class this past Monday.  It's always hard that first week trying to figure out the content of the course, how the teacher grades, how the people in your group do their work and respond to yours, etc.  I actually just turned in an assignment and it was one of those moments that I just thought to myself if I had even done a little bit of it right.  I always doubt myself during the first week of class, and I'm somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to things.  I got mad not too long ago because I had made a 92 on one of my assignments.  I guess I need to not be so hard on myself...apparently it only adds to my stress.  It's also been pretty challenging trying to get used to Cody working 14 hour days 7 days a week.  We are both so very thankful for the hail storm that happened on Easter Sunday.  It just takes a little while to get used to not seeing each other very much.  The thing that frustrates me is that when I get super stressed (like I am at the moment) I seem to have a major lack of patience for everything going on around me.  I know that this is a time for me to realize my faults and remember that God is trying to use times like these to help me grow.  So, when I opened up my Bible and found this verse, it really took my breathe away at how God was speaking to me in my very moment of doubt, frustration, stress, and really just letting the enemy get the best of me.  Here's my new favorite verse...I hope that it helps all of you as well!  XOXO

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble on it's own."  Matthew 6:34