Ria's Rhetoric

Paleo Intro

2011-07-26T18:55:00.006-04:00

*Please note: I am not trying to convert anyone! I believe in this 100% but food is a sensitive subject and people are entitled to eat what they want.

Several people have asked me to share our new Paleo lifestyle, so I'm back to blogging with information about some big changes we've made since I talked to you all last. As most of you know, a little over a year ago, we gave up gluten in our house. That was definitely a big change for us, but the results were fantastic. We both noticed how much more energy we had and we didn't feel nearly as sluggish.

Around that same time, our dear friend Faith and her husband told us about their plans to go paleo. When she first told me about it, Mark was all about it. He wanted to dive right in, but my first thoughts were the same that I've heard many others say to me when I talk about going paleo: "There is no way I could go without grains/all forms of bread or pasta/dairy/cheese/corn/beans/sugar!" After listing those ingredients, I already know I have some people who have checked out. I honestly don't blame you, it's hard at times!

Faith shared the following video on her blog and it was a real eye opener for me. The creator of the video says they are frustrated with repeating themselves over and over again and I am not, but I think this video sums up most of my reasons for switching over.

Another conversion factor was when I started exploring the Everyday Paleo website (also suggested by Faith) and I started to see all of the things that you CAN have! We love to eat fresh or organic any chance we get so this lifestyle seemed to fit pretty well with us. I am also really happy to have the least picky husband ever! He will eat anything I set in front of him and he'll eat a ton!

Our dinners usually consist of some type of meat and LOTS and LOTS of veggies (3 or 4 a night). I would like to in the future give you a week long list of what we eat to give you a better idea of how it works for all meals of the day, but for now, you can check out the one that Sarah did on Everyday Paleo. Her "required reading" section gives her testimonial and lots of other good info (how to do paleo with kids).

Also by request, I am going to list all the things that are staples in our house and things that we have gotten rid of.

Staples:

Organic meat (beef, pork, chicken, seafood)

Every type of vegetable we can get our hands on (easiest being broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, green beans, spinach...we have a variation of these every week)

Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios)

Every type of fruit we can get our hands on (bananas, apples, pears, dates, plums, kiwis, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.)

Avocados (we eat at least 2 a week)

Eggs (lots! from our CSA)

Almond milk

Coconut milk

Coconut oil (you'll hear me talk more about this later. This and olive oil are all I cook with)

Honey

Vinegars

Lots of spices (be cautious of blends...sometimes there are hidden chemicals)

What we steer clear of:

Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream)

All grains (bread, pasta, rice)

Peanuts

Beans

Corn (Boo! You know how much I love it!)

Potatoes (Double BOO! I'm Irish! Although several articles I've read allow sweet potatoes)

Ketchup

Sugar

Biggest challenge: Eating out!

Greatest benefit: Probably the healthiest I've felt in my entire life. Not that weight should be a key factor at all, but I have lost 10 pounds in the last month since going paleo. I get very full from meals, but never feel gross.

Do what you will with this information, but I will be sharing recipes that fit within this lifestyle that I find delicious. You can take it or leave it!

If you have questions, lay 'em on me! I love answering questions about going paleo!

Quotes

2011-04-06T13:17:00.006-04:00

I'm currently swamped in grad school papers and working on completing my portfolio (so close to the end, but yet so far!) and I have to do several book reports (flashback to 4th grade). One of the books that I have to read is a book that my professor required us to purchase and read, nevermind the fact that it's a book that he is featured in...geez! However, despite all of that, I found a few quotes that really spoke to me today that I thought I'd share. The book is called "Leading the Way to Success" and while it is not written for the education field, there are several ideas that carry over well. Both of these quotes are from James Kouzes.

"The secret to succes is: Stay in love. Staying in love gives you the fire to really ignite other people, to see inside other people, to get more things done than other people. A person who is not in love doesn't really feel the kind of excitement that helps him to get ahead and to lead others to achieve. I don't know any other fire or anything in life that is more exhilarating and powerful a feeling than love is."

It's no secret that I want to be in an administrative role in the future in the schools whether that be a principal or curriculum coordinator or something else. All of my classes have dealt with leadership and I think staying passionate about teaching is a must in whatever position one is in.

"You find your great call where your great joy meets the world's great need. I think that comes as close to a formula for success as I can find. Watch your great joy. Watch the great need in the world that enables you to use your great joy and therein lies your calling."

I think of my brother when I read this, but I also think about how blessed I am to know my calling and am able to do something that I love. Regardless of what position I hold in the future, I have found success because I found a way to use my joy to meet the world's needs. Cheesy, I know. Just bare with me. I've had to do a lot of reading lately!

A Look Back at 2010

2011-01-12T13:20:00.004-05:00

As I look back on the year, I see some very significant (and not so significant) things that I got to experience this year that were unique to 2010. This really isn't for anybody else other my own self-reflection.

So many of my friends had major milestones this year (new marriage, new birth, new home) and I started to think how dim my year looked compared to theirs. But reflecting on my year made me realize that it really was a big year for me and there were so many things that I did this year that were milestones in their own way for me. I got to enjoy those milestones with my friends and family, but was able to create some new adventures for myself this year. There were some difficult spots throughout the year (goodbyes especially), but overall the past year was absolutely awesome! Here's a look at my 2010:

Cut the majority of gluten out of our diets
Went to see my very first NHL game in Nashville
Spent my spring break visiting Colorado Springs for the first time
Joined a CSA and had a blast with it!
Coordinated two weddings for couples in our small group
Celebrated the birth of many new babies in our lives....we have two BEAUTIFUL new neices and a handsome, first baby from our Smallies group
Experienced post-season baseball firsthand when the Reds played the Phillies in their first playoff appearance in 15 years!
Had to say goodbye to a dear friend for a year when he went to Iraq
Had to say goodbye to my brother for a year when he went to spread God's love all over the world
Celebrated turning 26 years old with good friends and family
Watched Mark crush his past record in the Firefighter's Combat Challenge
Made two trips down to Alabama to watch football games
Refinanced our house
Celebrated 6 wonderful years of marriage with my best friend
Went back to grad school while Mark went to school for both of his Firefighter Certifications
Visited the Football Hall of Fame....and loved it!
Suffered through the Bengals season
Watched the World Equestrian Games and all of the fanfare that came with it come and go
Skiied with some of my favorite women for several days

Baking the Holidays Jolly!

2010-12-18T09:50:00.004-05:00

I spent the better portion of yesterday carrying on a tradition that was started when I was just a little girl. My mom and I have decided this is where my love of all things in the kitchen most likely started. Every year, my family would make a variety of Christmas cookies together, we'd place them all in tins, and pass them out to family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.

A few years ago, in an effort to save some money but still make a meaningful gift, I continued this tradition with my only family. Not sure how much money it really saves because I like to get elaborate and those ingredients can add up. However, I still like to think that I'm saving some money.

Here are all of my ingredients laid out.

After 6 hours of baking, a slight sugar coma, and a very sore back (I sound old), this is what I got as a result:

These are probably my favorite. Turtle Pretzels!

It's a Rolo melted on a pretzel with a pecan on top. Yum! I could pop these all day!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms

(My only GF endeavor, although they are probably way too cross contaminated at that point to be considered GF)

Russian Tea Cakes

Candy Cane Cookies

These cookies were one of my favorites as a kid. They actually take a very delicate hand.

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

Filled up all of my tins so they will be ready to pass out. I got two sizes of tins. These are the smaller ones, but they still held quite a bit.

Finished product!

I don't know how my mom got a lot of her tins back, but I'd love to know the secret. My neighbors always give them back though!

I absolutely love our little family of 3 (counting Guinness), but during the holidays, I always look forward to the excitement that comes with having kids during the holidays. I cannot wait for the day when we grow our family so that they can help make cookies with me at Christmas time and hopefully enjoy this tradition of the holidays as much as I do.

What kinds of traditions are you carrying on with your own family?

Let's Say Thanks

2010-12-05T14:52:00.002-05:00

A wonderful way to say thank you to the troops and to let them know that you are thinking of them during the holidays.

Xerox prints them off for you and sends them to a soldier. You don't get to pick the soldier, but you can know that it's going to mean a lot to someone this year.

GF Peanut Butter & Nutella Cookies

2010-09-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

Oh. My. Gosh!

I can't even tell you how good these are! Mark made me these cookies for my birthday (all I wanted was a meal made just for me & he DEFINITELY delivered!)

I even had Molly try these cookies and she agreed that they do not taste GF at all and taste so much like the real thing. Plus, it's got Nutella. Anything better than that? I think not.

He got this recipe off of Tasty Kitchen.

You need:

1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy Peanut Butter (don't use homemade...don't think they'd stick together as well)
1 whole egg Beaten
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
9 teaspoons Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Into your stand mixer add sugar, peanut butter, egg, salt and baking soda. Mix until well combined.

3. Measure approximately 1 tablespoon of dough. Roll dough into a ball and place onto cookie sheet. Gently press dough ball down using the palm of your hand. Continue forming balls until dough is gone. Space approximately 1″ apart.

4. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. Using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, GENTLY make an indentation in the middle of each cookie. Fill each cookie with a "dollop" of Nutella. Return tray to oven and continue cooking for 2-4 minutes until golden. (I don't think Mark put them back in the oven, but they turned out just fine!)

5. Transfer cookie to a cooling rack and allow to cool.

So good! These are a repeat for sure in the Bennett household!

Steak with Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce (GF & Organic)

2010-09-01T15:00:00.002-04:00

Probably my favorite recipe! I've shared this recipe with several people because it's so darn tasty, but it is SO easy! And frankly, easy works best in my life right now. This is straight from my favorite lady, The Pioneer Woman.

Here's what ya need:
2 steaks (ribeye, sirloin, something somewhat thin)...got these from our CSA
6 Tbs organic butter, divided (I said it was easy...not healthy)
1 whole organic yellow onion

1 cup organic heavy cream

1/2 cup organic blue cheese, crumbled

Salt & pepper

Salt and pepper both sides of the steak and then grill it in 2 Tb of butter. The recipe calls for medium rare, but I lean closer to medium.

Saute onions in 4 tablespoons butter over high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until dark and caramelized.

Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.

Stir in blue cheese until melted.

Serve steaks on generous portion of sauce.

I added the Pesto Potatoes as a side. We also had corn on the cob with paprika & tomato slices with mozzarella cheese, balsalmic vinegar, and fresh basil. Yum!!!

Pesto Potatoes (GF)

2010-08-30T15:00:00.002-04:00

OK, easy, EASY recipe!

This is a recipe that a co-worker made for our back-to-school cookout. She just kinda rattled off what she did and I just took it back and made it without any real measurements. Aren't the recipes where you just throw stuff in the best recipes??? You can't go wrong with this one. These pesto potatoes make an incredibly yummy side dish!

You'll need:

-potatoes (cut up as many as you like)

-red wine vinegar

-olive oil

-pesto

See! Told you it was easy!

Boil your potatoes until they are fork tender. Remove the water, but return the pot with the potatoes to the stove top on low. Let the heat dry the potatoes out some and let the steam escape from them. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and a splash of olive oil (just enough to coat the potatoes). Keep them on low heat for just a little bit longer to let those flavors cook in a bit. Add the pesto (as little or as much as you like....I always like a lot!) and stir it all up. Voila! You're done!

Steak with Blue-Cheese Cream with Onions & Pesto Potatoes

(Look for steak recipe in the near future)

The Home Run King

2010-08-29T10:06:00.005-04:00

As many of you know, my brother is currently travelling the world and sharing God's love in 11 countries. He left in July and has been to the Dominican Republic and Haiti so far. Yesterday, he headed to Ireland for a week and his plane had a layover at JFK. Last night, Daniel called us and it was SO good to hear his voice! I miss him terribly these days and I know there's 9 more months until I'll be able to see him and wrap my arms around him in a big hug. I so selfishly want to keep him here to myself, but then I think about all of the people who are getting to meet him and I realize that I'm so blessed to have him all of the other months besides 11 and I no longer feel sad. I'm so happy that the rest of the world gets to meet a man that means the world to me!

If you haven't been following Daniel's blog at danieldurick.theworldrace.org, you really need to. You can read all about the things his team his doing (check out the other members on Team GreenLight to get more detailed blogs), his beer reviews of the world (love that he stays true to himself), his latest illness (most recently Malaria), and best of all his videos. I know I've mentioned before that he is absolutely brilliant when it comes to making videos. He has a gift from God and he's been using it to capture his travels. The most recent video is my favorite by far (I tend to say that each time) and I cried through most of it. I love thinking about the difference he's making and how many people he is able to show God's heart to.

This video takes place in the DR and I'll just include what he wrote about it below. Enjoy!

After spending some time in the Dominican Republic, the crew starts to engage with some of the daily activities with the people in the slums of Las Barres Connes. From weeding, plucking some beans, to picking up trash; the needs in this community are endless.

While spending time with the kids in the community, Daniel befriends one kid who is a little more "special" than the rest. Walkeen had one dream of being able to play with the normal kids on the baseball field. Never having played a day in his life or knowing which direction to run, he spent all week practicing for a moment in his life he will never forget.

(Not sure why it cuts it off on the right side. You may want to open in a new window)

Love.

2010-08-29T09:23:00.002-04:00

I'm getting this one framed. I love her.

My Sunshine

2010-08-13T05:51:00.004-04:00

I've been insanely busy since school started and I have not truly sat down more than about 30 minutes each night this week. The start of school is always a hectic time, but I know it will get better. My amazing husband has truly helped my survive this week. Him and the new pictures sent to me of my beautiful little ray of sunshine a.k.a my niece.

Oh my gosh, I just want to squeeze her cheeks!!!

I've kept this picture on my phone so I can see her everytime I turn on my phone. Is it possible to miss someone this much when you've never met them before??? It's killing me.

Alright, I've got just a few seconds to show you one more picture.

Yay! Noa's celebrating the fact that I made it through my first week!

I hope to post a couple recipes this weekend sometime between seeing Beth Moore and watching Mark in the firefighter combat challenge.

See you soon!

True Fan

2010-08-03T21:26:00.004-04:00

So, I ordered this yesterday....

In the next 3-5 days, I will be the owner of a new (and much more awesome) debit card.

I think that I was most impressed with was the fact that it was FREE!

You don't get much for free at all these days. I feel like this just takes my fan-dom to a whole new level!

While on the topic of the Bengals, you must check out this story that Emily sent me about one of my favorite coaches, Mike Zimmer. He's the defensive coordinator for the Bengals and really turned them around in just his first year (last season). But the article mainly focuses on the unexpected loss of his wife mid-season and how he has had to cope. Very great article and incredibly moving.

Is it obvious that I'm ready for the season? I will be especially ready in 3-5 business days!

Football Time

2010-07-29T12:05:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's that time of the year again!

The Bengals are in town and my world is happy.

There's always such immense feeling of hope at the beginning. Let the football season begin!

Family Photos by M Photography

2010-07-27T11:15:00.001-04:00

Back in July, we had our family pictures taken by our longtime friend, Melissa Cooper. We wanted to get some pictures before my brother left to travel the world for a year so we ventured out to the farm where my mom works to snap some photos. Melissa took some outstanding photos and there are so many great ones to choose from, but I am including some of my personal favorites from the day (there's too many for me to load all of them).

Enjoy!

The family

My fantastic parents that raised me into who I am today

My brother simply doesn't take a bad picture!

The three most important men in my life.

Now of course you have to a pic of the ladies!

Seriously, could I have married a more adorable man? I'm smitten by him...

This is one of his favorites so I figured I'd include it.

I am so proud and honored to have him as my "little" brother.

We always said we needed to get one of all of us in our Bengals gear. This is what we typically look like on Sundays in September to January. Sundays will be one of the times I will miss my brother the most.

I just love the sky on this one!

And my personal, absolute most favorite........

This sums up my intense and ever-growing love for this incredibly handsome man that made me his bride several years ago. Sure, everyday life gets in the way of our love and respect for one another at times, but this man is my rock and I am forever linked to him. He makes each day special and meaningful for me. I consider myself extremely blessed and I thank God often for such a beautiful, full life that is full of love and joy.

Melissa, you captured our family beautifully! I can't say thank you enough!

My Ode to Corn

2010-07-26T22:43:00.006-04:00

Oh my, I don't think I can tell you how much I love corn!

With our CSA, we've been getting at least 6 ears of corn a week. Some may get tired of all this corn, but not I. I usually run out before I get to try all the recipes I want and have to wait until the next week. There was actually a week where I bought 3 or 4 extra ears of corn at the Farmers Market just because I needed them for all of my ambitious goals for the week.

Corn is such a versatile plant and is truly an amazing thing in and of itself. So much of our world relies on corn since every part of corn is able to be used. I did learn an interesting fact this week. The minute that corn is picked, its kernels begin the process of turning to starch. Therefore, corn is best used (and sweetest) within the first couple days after it's been picked. Does that mean you can't use it later in the week? Of course not. But it sure does make you wonder how long it's been since it's been picked when you buy it at the grocery store. Just another reason to go local and support your friendly farmer neighbors!

I've used corn in at least 2-3 meals a week, but I thought I'd share my favorites that I've repeated a couple times already this summer.

The recipe for Corn with Bacon and Green Onions was definitely a hit on the 4th of July, so we ate it again for my dad's birthday alongside some Spinach-Walnut Chicken. I believe this dish is an excellent compliment to any meal...that is if it doesn't steal the show!

Another absolute favorite is Summer Stir-Fry! This is originally from Pioneer Woman and it is absolutely delicious! You could easily do it with chicken instead of shrimp, but oh boy, that shrimp is so yummy! My friend, Faith, saw this recipe the same time I did and we made it within a week of each other. Once she told me how truly delicious it was, I just had to make it right away. We've both had to limit how many times we make it...it's just that good! You can check out the recipe here on her blog or you can scope out the original over at Pioneer Woman.

Summer Salsa is an absolute must! Got this recipe from Faith last year and it is so refreshing! Please take note that it is not a spicy salsa, but a sweet one full of great CSA vegetables. I recommend it with some organic blue corn chips for an awesome snack!

Finally, I'm leaving you with Fire Roasted Corn Salad. This is a recipe from a little ole gourmet cooking store that I love and I just think this is such a tasty side dish! It's got everything I love in it!

You need:

Juice of 3 limes
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
3/4 cup olive oil
Coarse salt and pepper, to taste
6 ears of corn
3 cups cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 lb. feta cheese, diced

NOTE: I halved this recipe and still made plenty for just the two of us. The only thing I didn't halve was the feta cheese because, well, I think feta cheese is fantastic and should be used liberally.

In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, ground cumin, and chili powder. Pour in the 3/4 cup olive oil in a slow, steady stream while whisking to make a vinaigrette. Season with salf and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare your corn. You can either grill it by brushing some oil on them and turning them over a medium-hot fire until lightly charred for about 10 minutes.....OR if it's absolutely sweltering outside and you really don't feel like creating a fire and grilling, boil your corn until cooked. You don't have to do it for too long because you don't want to overcook your corn until it's mushy.

Using a knife (or a corn zipper) cut off all of your kernels and place in a large bowl. Add your tomatoes, onion, cilantro, feta, and the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly. I think it's great when you serve it immediately, but I also like it when it's cooled down. Makes a great side dish.

And yes, all of these recipes were made with organic ingredients and were all gluten-free...except for that Vanilla Porter in the above picture. That's just full of gluten!

I love corn!

Now go buy some and share some more yummy dishes with me!

Thai Green Beans (GF & Organic)

2010-07-26T22:43:00.000-04:00

OK, confession....last week, I was in a major cooking slump!

I started working on my classroom to get back into the school year which is all too quickly approaching and by the time I came home...I just didn't wanna cook.

I think this is totally human of me and it was honestly nice to have some days off where I was 100% lazy. We did go out and enjoy some Japanese food one night which was absolutely fabulous! But I'm back in the routine this week and had some pictures/recipes that I wanted to post up here that fell to the wayside also last week. Seriously, what am I going to do once school starts. It's like I have to completely reorient myself with that way of life again!

Made these green beans as a side dish a few weeks back. They were featured as the recipe of the week on Simply in Season's website. My friend, Faith, has this cookbook and I loved it, but I have yet to purchase it. I've been using their recipe of the week for a few months now and they always turn out great. They always feature what is in season at this time so it's very helpful with my CSA.

For this, you need:

5 cups fresh green beans
1/2 onion, chopped
2 Tb. ginger root, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. sesame oil
3 Tb. GF soy sauce
2 Tb. GF Thai sweet chili sauce
1 cup extra firm tofu, crumbled (optional)

All vegetables/ingredients were organic. As a side note, the tofu is completely optional and would be just fine without it. I understand being skeptical, but my hubs is always wanting to try new stuff so I went with it and it was very good. I would recommend not only because it tasted good, but because it is so good for you! Totally up to you though.

Steam your green beans 8-10 minutes until they are bright green and lightly crunchy.

Get your onions, ginger, and garlic all chopped, peeled, and minced.

In the sesame oil, saute onions, garlic, and ginger over medium heat until the onion is tender. Takes about 5 minutes.

Add your soy sauce and sweet chili sauce. You can measure it out or just add to taste.

Add your tofu (if you choose) and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add your green beans and stir to coat them with the sauce. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 more minutes.

You can eat these over rice if you want to make a whole meal out of it, but we served it on the side with some chicken and potatoes and saved all the leftovers for lunch over the next couple days.

Spicy Chicken with Tomatillo and Pine-Nut Salsa (GF)

2010-07-15T10:31:00.003-04:00

Mark really wanted to try tomatillos this week. Therefore, I obliged and found a recipe at Tasty Kitchen that I thought we'd both really enjoy. Tasty Kitchen is becoming my "go-to" on great recipes!

This recipe called for the grilled chicken to be marinaded and then you just make the salsa as an addition. I chose this because I already had some pine nuts left over from when I made pesto.

For the first part, you need:

4 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/3 c lime juice (I didn't have enough lime so I added lemon and it tasted just dandy!)
2 T. olive oil

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 dash of salt & pepper each

Mix all of those ingredients together and put in a plastic bag with the chicken. The recipe said to let it marinade for at least 30 minutes. I would let it marinade a couple hours to get the good flavor in there.

You (or your hubs!) will grill this chicken when you are ready to eat.

For the salsa, you need:

4 whole tomatillos
fresh cilantro
1 bell pepper (any color, I chose green)
1 fresh jalapeno
2 T. pine nuts
2 T. lime juice (or lemon)
1 tsp. sea salt

I was thrilled to use some fresh cilantro from my very own herb box! The smell was unbelievable and it was better than any cilantro I've bought in the store.

I am HORRIBLE at gardening, but my cilantro was the most productive in my attempt to grow something outside my kitchen window. I can't tell you how excited I was to use this!

Chop up your cilantro and add it to your diced tomatillos.

Dice up your green peppers and jalapeno and add them to the party.

Squeeze in your lime/lemon juice, add your pine nuts, and your sea salt.

Mix all of that together to make some deliciousness!

Serve the chicken and salsa on some seasoned rice and enjoy!

Mark and I absolutely cleaned our plates on this one. I just kept trying to get bites that included rice, chicken, and salsa together. The flavors went so well together!

When we finish eating, I always ask Mark, "Repeat?" He lets me know if it's worth keeping the recipe or not for another time.

This is definitely a "repeat" in our house.

Lemon-Basil Ice Cream (GF & Organic)

2010-07-13T16:41:00.003-04:00

So, while staying on this basil kick, I figured I'd add my recipe for Lemon-Basil ice cream.

Don't knock it until you try it!

It was the most refreshing ice cream I've had. So incredibly yummy! Mark and I gobbled it up (see my previous post about his love for basil pesto) before I could even get a finish product picture of it. Sorry!

I got the original idea from a recipe for Lemon-Basil yogurt in my Taste of Home magazine and decided to adapt it to what I wanted.

Here's what you need:

1 cup organic cream
3 cup organic milk
4 organic egg yolk
2/3 cup organic sugar, divided
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 organic lemon
1 T organic vanilla (Those observant eyes will see that I didn't have any organic vanilla that day...oops!)
salt
organic walnuts, optional

Put the milk, cream, zest from the lemon, salt, and 1/3 cup of sugar in a medium-large saucepan. Squeeze the juice from your lemon and tear up your basil leaves and place in the cream mixture. Bring almost to a boil, but remove from heat before it gets to a boil.

Cover the mixture with a lid and let it steep for at least 30 minutes. The longer it steeps, the better the flavor.

In a separate bowl, beat your egg yolks, the remaining sugar, and vanilla for about a minute or until pale.

This is where I removed the basil. You could leave the basil in during the next step and it'd be fine and I know some recipes leave the basil in, but I didn't want a gritty texture, so I removed the basil here.

Take about 2 Tb. of the cream mixture and place in the eggs. Whisk it in. Add another Tb or so and whisk in. It's important to temper your eggs so that they don't scramble when you add them to your warm mixture. Then you may transfer your egg mixture into your lemon mixture.

Cook this for 4-6 minutes on medium heat or until it coats the back of a spoon.

Let this cool completely either in the fridge for a few hours or in an ice bath for about 30 minutes.

Once cooled, put in your ice cream maker and let it do it's thing.

In the last 5 minutes, you may add the walnuts if you like. I thought this was a great addition!

Like I said, I don't have any final pictures because we ate it too quickly. It was the perfect after dinner dessert because it was so cool and refreshing!

Enjoy!

Basil Pesto (GF)

2010-07-13T15:56:00.005-04:00

My cute husband can't seem to get enough pesto in his life. He puts it on pizza, his eggs, his tofu, everything. He'll even eat it by the spoonful.

Last week at the Farmer's Market, I was buying the next to last batch of basil and the lady just threw the last one in for free! How kind!

So, I figured I'd make some of that pesto that my hubs loves so dearly.

Really easy and I will probably continue to make it from here on out rather than buying it. I made a small batch due to only having a tiny food processor (I would love a bigger one).

This was a culmination of looking at several different recipes and just putting in the amounts that I wanted.

It was so refreshing!

Here's what I used:

3-4 Tb. pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 cups of fresh basil leaves (I only had about 2 because I used a lot of my basil in my ice cream)
1/2 cup organic olive oil

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

**The only reason I didn't title this as organic as well is the fact that I didn't have any organic cheese and I'm honestly not sure if the pine nuts were organic or not. Could be easily made organic...just didn't have all the ingredients on hand.**

Place your pine nuts and garlic in your food processor and chop it coarsley.

Add half of your basil and chop coarsely again.

Add the remaining basil and your olive oil and process until you have a thick green sauce.

I thought I went too heavy on the olive oil here, but it still turned out well. But if it's too thin, add more basil and if it's too thick, add more olive oil.

Add your cheese and season with salt and pepper. Process it for a little bit longer.

Place in a jar or other container and place in your fridge.

Enjoy at your convenience!

For the record, the cute husband loved it!

A Gorgeous Gal

2010-07-09T23:39:00.005-04:00

I am proud to introduce to the world my beautiful baby niece, Noa Grace!

Isn't she just perfect in every way???

I am a glowing aunt!!!

Since she was born in CA, it will be some time before I'm able to meet her face to face, but I can't wait to see her and kiss those sweet little cheeks! I haven't been able to stop staring at the picture since I got it. What can I say, she's a Bennett!

You can be sure I'll add plenty more pictures as I get them!

Someone You Should Know..........Daniel Durick

2010-07-06T11:35:00.000-04:00

For my 3rd installment, I chose to feature Daniel Durick. This one is one that I've been in the process of writing for roughly 2 weeks. I have fumbled over my words and have had a hard time forming all of my thoughts and emotions into something that is legible.

I've known Daniel for 23 years. He is my little brother. His birth is actually my very first memory. I was a few months shy of being 3 years old when he was born, and while I don't remember a whole lot, I do recall knowing that this was a huge addition to my life.

There are stories of how I prayed to God for a little sister when my mom was pregnant with him, but God knows what's best and I sure am glad he gave me a brother. I don't know if I could have handled a sister.

But honestly, there were days where I could've done without him. Daniel had this inept ability to know exactly what my triggers were and he liked to push EVERY button. He absolutely tortured me when we were kids! We can laugh about it now, but I still shudder when I think of all the times he bit me, times he hit me, or times he just pushed me to the point of tears (which was often...I was a very sensitive child). I think he got me to cry several times a week.

As your typical siblings, we just kept our distance for a while. We always had a good time on vacations and such, but it wasn't until my senior year of high school that the sibling rivalry started to die down a bit.

At the end of my senior year, I started dating Mark and then I went off to college to live. I'm sure Daniel loved this. He didn't have me there all the time playing the big sister role and reminding him of what he was SUPPOSED to do all the time.

But I will say this, I have loved watching the relationship between Mark and my brother develop since we've been together. Mark truly considers Daniel to be his brother and I believe Daniel feels the same way. They went hiking on the Appalachian Trial together, play softball together, train like maniacs at the gym, and they of course bond over all of their amazing abilities in water sports when we go to the lake. I love watching them together because they get each other laughing all the time and watching the two of them laugh is one of my favorite things in the world!

While I was away, Daniel developed into an amazing musician. Music has always been a big part of both of our lives. I would say that was probably a result of our parents always singing us to sleep every night. I remember when Daniel decided to start playing the drums. He was terrible...as any new musician who'd never played before may be. However, drums are something Daniel really stuck to and he got good. And I mean, GOOD!

Daniel played in a band all throughout high school and played in several throughout college. I enjoyed going to his shows and I always welled up with pride as I watched how far my little brother had come. I knew he was good and I loved watching others experience it too. Daniel gave up playing in his bands a couple years ago for his own reasons that I completely understand and support, but he still enjoys jamming with some of his best friends from high school. I would love to see a reunion show.

Daniel is also an amazing athlete! He seriously blows me out of the water. He featured a video on his blog recently that was made by an organization and one quote they kept repeating stuck with me about a way to describe Daniel. It went something like, "There are those that say they can't, and there are those that say they can and they do." Daniel CAN!

Daniel is always coming up with these out-of-this-world goals for himself of something he'd just like to "try". It started out with running a marathon. You can see from the picture above that he completed it and he did really well.

After that, Daniel wanted to run a triathalon. We all went to watch him and he did outstanding. Finally, Daniel wanted to do the Half Iron Man Triathalon in Hawaii. This is swimming 1.3 miles, biking 56 miles, and running a half marathon. I can't even imagine it and he did it. Not only did he do it, but he came in 5th in his age division! He's truly an outstanding athlete and I wouldn't be surprised if this is just the beginning. We may see him in the full Iron Man before we know it!

Daniel is also about as genuine as it gets. What you see is what you get. He has a great sense of humor and like I said before, his laugh is one of my favorites. He tells a great story too which I've been able to enjoy a few over a beer or two. He gives the best hugs that someone can give and he has a wonderful ability to make everyone that he knows feel valued. Daniel is a wonderful listener and a joy to just be around. I feel privileged to have been able to go on countless vacations with him over the years and every one of these is so full of memories (good and bad) that we just love to rehash and laugh over together.

You really could not ask for a better brother!

Just last year, Daniel graduated from college at NKU. We were so proud to watch him graduate with honors in the communications department. He worked so hard in college and was incredibly successful. While in school, Daniel interned at a local Cincinnati TV station where he built some amazing friendships and Daniel would continue to work there after college while living in the Cincinnati area. He is superb at filming and editing video. I'm in awe of his artistic eye for making videos and I love every single one of them.

While in school, Daniel had to do an internship for school that did not involve his TV station. Our parents have friends that are missionaries down in Ecuador that own a Christian TV & radio station. Daniel decided to go down to Ecuador for a month and work there to get some experience. Our family was thrilled because we had all been to Ecuador before and while Daniel thought that he'd gain experience and insight into the communications world, God had much bigger plans for Daniel and his life.

During his trip, I think Daniel only got to work at TV station for one day. The rest of the time, he was carted along with all of the other missionaries. He worked with groups in the jungles to build churches, he played with the children, and altogether found a new path in life. I think this is where Daniel found what a true relationship with God looked like. You can read back through his blog during his travels and see the dramatic difference God was making in his life. Tears come to my eyes as I think about what a changed person Daniel was when he came back. Anyone who knows him can attest to it.

Not only was Daniel's relationship with God sparked, but so was his love for travel. We had tried to convince Daniel to try traveling earlier, but he just wasn't really that interested. That was fine, but I think we all knew how much Daniel would like it based on his personality. Since his Ecuador trip, Daniel seems to not be able to get enough travel.

I remember one weekend at my parents' house, Daniel just said, "Oh, did I tell you I'm going on a trip and I'm leaving Monday?" (typical statement) To which I replied, "No. Where are you going?" As nonchalant as he could be (and he truly is this way), he simply said, "Iceland".

When I asked him what made him decide Iceland, he just said, "I don't know, I looked it up and it looked pretty neat."

Oh, to be able to just pick up your stuff and go. Daniel has a very adventurous personality and traveling is just perfect for him. Which leads me to the next journey in Daniel's life.

Daniel applied and interviewed with an organization called The World Race with Adventures in Missions. He was accepted last summer and has been preparing for the last year to embark on a journey around the world. The World Race's purpose is to travel the world to share God's love and to help those in need.

Daniel has raised money for the last year to help fund his trip. Daniel was worried that the money would be an issue, but with the help of family and friends, Daniel got his trip funded with no problems. From there, Daniel went on to sell all of his possessions (this went toward his trip cost as well) and has just taken off to travel the world for the next 11 months. His newstation did a wonderful story on him about a month ago on his journey.

He is currently in Santo Domingo for just a few more days before heading to Haiti for the month. He will be then go on to Dominican Republic, Ireland (for just a few days), I believe the Turkey/Greece area, Africa (for about 4 months), and SE Asia (another 4 months). Things can always change...and they probably will, but they will continue to go where God leads them.

His team (only about 7 people) will live off roughly $25 a day for food. Daniel is responsible for everyone's money and budgeting, which means he will have quite a task at hand. He is also videotaping their adventures during the trip. You can follow him on his blog (link is also on the right) and feel free to support him or adopt his team (Team Green Light) in prayer.

Seeing my little brother off at the airport was incredibly difficult to say the least. There were many tears that were mainly selfish because of how much he will be missed. I love him more than words can express and I am truly the proudest big sister that there ever was or will be. I know that God is going to do amazing things through Daniel and I can't wait to watch and follow him as he experiences it all.

Daniel is genuine, trustworthy, respectful, fun, adventurous, caring, honest, a great friend, a fantastic brother, can strike up a conversation with ANYONE, cool under pressure, has a heart for God, and will undoubtedly do huge things through Christ during the next year!

So if you don't already know him.....

Daniel Durick is someone you should know!

Please continue to cover him in your prayers!

A Dessert Fit for Fourth of July (GF & Organic)

2010-07-04T23:33:00.001-04:00

After our delicious Fourth of July meal, I decided that I needed a dessert that would fit in with the magnitude of this wonderful holiday! I wanted something light and I wanted something summery. I decided to try a recipe from a certain gourmet kitchen store that I may or may not receive a paycheck from occasionally.

This is a recipe for Mango Pineapple Sorbet.

I have adapted it to be completely organic and it was already GF...yay!

For this mouthwatering dessert, you will require:

2 organic mangoes, peeled and pitted (easier said than done)
3 Tb. fresh squeezed organic lime juice
2/3 cup organic sugar
1 cup fresh organic pineapple, chopped fine

I also added 1 organic red banana.

This was not in the original recipe and it is certainly not needed, but it was just laying there and ended up adding some awesome flavor.

Put your mangoes and bananas in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Add the sugar and lime juice and blend together well.

Now for the pineapple.

Here's one nifty tool that I have put to great use all summer.

My pineapple corer and peeler.

We used to not purchase pineapple because it's impossible to cut it and not end up with the eyes or the hard core part.

In fact, when the hubs wanted to buy one once, I told him he could buy it if he'd cut it. After that night, he was done with pineapple.

....that is, until I brought home my corer...

Makes it SO simple to have fresh pineapple!

Anyway, I digress....

Put your mixture in a large bowl and stir in your 1 cup of pineapple.

I suppose this could be done without taking it out of the blender.

Add your mixture to an ice cream maker and let it do it's thing for the next half hour.

On a side note, my ice cream maker is one of my favorite purchases, hands down!

Look at how yummy that is!

And it was so easy (if you forget that whole pitting/peeling of the mango part). I will be partaking of this dessert for days.

In fact, I could go for some right now...

Happy holidays!

Happy 4th of July!!!

2010-07-04T21:54:00.006-04:00

Happy, happy, happy 4th of July to everyone!

I'm writing this as I listen to sporadic explosions going off in the distance all around my house. Gotta love this holiday!!!

I've got to say that I had a fantastic holiday even though it did not entail much at all. Yesterday, we sent my brother off to travel the world (more on that later), and today, we slept in (accidentally), made a HUGE lunch together, and watched a movie. Didn't do a whole lot, but it was a great break from the everday routine. Just sat around, cooked together, and all-around enjoyed each others' company.

Today, I tried out a couple different recipes with the help of my best girls overlooking the event. This is one of my favorite pictures of the 3 of us and will remain a staple in my kitchen!

First off, with all of my delicious corn from our CSA, I tried to find a new angle for corn other than on the cob. I'm getting at least 6 ears of corn a week and was looking for a way to spruce it up. What better way is there than to add BACON!!!

Here's the recipe for Corn with Bacon & Green Onions (real original title, right?) that I got from Tasty Kitchen. I adapted it to be organic and GF (the fresh cheese makes it GF).

You're gonna need:

4-5 ears of fresh corn (you could also do a 10 oz. bag of frozen organic)
2 bunches of green onion Got this from the FM
6 (or 7...or 8) slices of bacon (Once again this is from Hillside Heritage Farm. I will never cook with another again)
1/2 cup fresh shredded organic cheddar cheese
1/2 cup organic heavy cream

Go ahead and cut that bacon up into bite-sized pieces and fry those guys up in a large skillet. I'm telling you, this bacon cooking even SMELLS better when cooking. I'm in heaven!

While that's frying, go ahead and chop up your green onions to get them ready.

Also, you'll need to get your corn kernels off the cob if you're using fresh corn.

I bought this lovely corn zipper to help with my de-cobbing.

It worked like a dream!

Once that bacon is done, scoop it out of the pan and set aside, but leave the drippings in the skillet.

Add your green onions to the drippings and let those cook until they get soft.

Once those green onions are soft, turn your heat down to low and add your corn and fresh grated cheese. Stir these and let them cook for about 5 minutes.

Finally, add your bacon back in and add your cream. You can add a little salt & pepper here to taste if you like, but I forgot to and I found that it certainly didn't need it. Stir that and let it cook for another 5 minutes or so. Once you let all of those flavors meld together, you are ready to eat.

Let me just say here that I would like to officially change the title of this recipe to "Oh My Deliciousness!" This was SO unbelievably good and a perfect use of my corn!

Now, to pair it with something....

Decided to make Balsamic Glazed Grilled Salmon
(This recipe is GF, but not organic....but still tasty!)

You will obviously need some fresh salmon fillets. We got these beautiful looking specimens at Whole Foods. Yum!

For the glaze, you need:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tb. lemon juice

2 Tb. water

3 Tb. brown sugar

lemon juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp. Tabasco...I think I added a lot more than this

Pepper both sides of your fillets to get them ready for the grill. When grilling, oil some foil to set the fish on and perforate it a bit. The hubs is responsible for all grilling actions since he is truly the expert, so I have no pictures of the cooking process.

Mix all of the glaze ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Use this to spread on the salmon as you grill it. This makes a nice crunchy glaze on the fish.

When you're done, if you want to use more of it, just throw it in a saucepan on low heat until it's heated throughout and you can spread it on your salmon before you eat it.

I also paired these two recipes with some fresh green beans from the FM.

What a perfect Fourth of July meal!!!

Not your traditional burgers or brats, but I thought it was pretty fantastic.

Next, I'll share what we had for dessert. And no, it's not apple pie...

Happy holidays!!!

Best Dessert EVER!

2010-07-04T16:28:00.005-04:00

This is NOT a gluten free recipe. REPEAT: this is by no stretch of the imagination a GF recipe.

However, it is incredibly delicious.

Like, knock your socks off yummy!

A friend sent me the link to this recipe from this blog. I wanted to make it SO bad. One problem, we've cut gluten out of our diets (minus a special occasion or two). Hmmm...what could my special occasion be???

That same week was my brother's going away party. Since I needed a spectacular way to send him off while simultaneously needing to give him a final memory of his loving sister at home who will cook for him anytime he wants (this is my small attempt at making sure he'll actually come back to the States!), I decided this would be the PERFECT recipe for him!

You have your typical ingredients for cupcakes. But in this situation, I like to think of them as merely the supporting actors.

This production requires some major superstars. Therefore...

...I give you the lead characters!

Mmmmmm. Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Icing!

How could it even possibly go wrong?

For your cupcakes, you'll need:

1 bottle Extra Stout Guinness (warm)
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For your icing, you'll need:

1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
4″ish” cups powered sugar
5 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Creme

I doubled this recipe because I wanted to make sure I had plenty for my brother and his friends, but with the ingredients above, you'll get 24 regular size cupcakes.

I found these cupcake liners which I thought would be perfect so my cupcakes could look like they were wearing little Irish kilts!

Anyway, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut up your butter and place it in a large saucepan. Pour your beer into the saucepan as well and let the butter melt and blend with the beer over medium heat. This was so exciting for me!

While that's melting, use your mixer to whisk together your flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

When your butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and add your cocoa. Whisk together until smooth. Oh boy, it's REALLY getting good! Let this cool for a while.

While you're waiting for it to cool, go ahead and whisk in your eggs and sour cream. I'm a big fan of sour cream because I think it always adds to a recipe. This is why these cupcakes came out so moist and perfect.

Once your chocolate mixture has cooled (the hubs came in and got this shot), add it to your dry flour mixture and whisk it until it has just combined.

Check out all of those beer bubbles!

Once you've lined your cupcake pans, pour the awesome batter in until they are 3/4 full.

FYI: this batter is delicious and has a very stout, bitter dark chocolate taste to it. This will be a great compliment to the very sweet icing later.

Let those cupcakes bake for about 30 minutes or so. Let them cool on a rack. You may have to sample one here...if necessary.

Now for the icing.

This was everyone's favorite! It is incredibly sweet, but oh so good!

Whip your room temperature butter for about 2 minutes or until it's light.

Add in 3-4 cups of powdered sugar in with the butter making sure to add it gradually. I started out with just 3 cups and added more later to get the consistency that I was looking for.

Add 5 tablespoons of Bailey's to the icing.

You could add less, but if you really actually consider taking AWAY some Bailey's, this probably isn't the recipe for you.

Frost those cupcakes and devour!

Here's my final product!

I must say, I think they were a hit with everyone. Cupcakes can be considered dainty by some, but I saw plenty of the boys going back for seconds...and thirds...and even fourths (that's why I doubled the recipe!)

Thanks again to Caitlin Bolte for the recipe!

Enjoy!!!

Smoky Tomato Bacon Pasta (Gluten Free & Organic)

2010-06-30T12:15:00.002-04:00

Today it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside! Hardly any humidity, it hasn't hit 80 degrees yet, the sun is bright, and the sky is blue with hardly a cloud in the sky. Very uncharacterstic KY summer day....and I LOVE IT!!!

So, what better reason is there to post a new recipe. Now, this one is super easy and absolutely delicious. I originally got it from Paula Deen's Family Cookbook that I received (signed) when Jen and I went to see her. I love this recipe and I've made it several times. Seriously....it has bacon in the title. What's not to love??? It easily makes enough for 6 people, but it's just fine for a couple because the leftovers are just as yummy!

I adapted it to make it both GF and organic and served it when we had Molly & Eric over for lunch the day. There's not as many pictures of this since I was enjoying my time with our guests.

You'll need:

1/2 lb. bacon (~10 slices) I got mine from Hillside Heritage Farm at the Lexington Farmer's Market thanks to a recommendation from a friend. I will never look back!
1 large organic onion, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can of organic diced tomatoes, undrained
salt & pepper, to taste
4 oz. organic cream cheese (1/2 of a package)
1 lb. gluten-free pasta First time I used the Tinkyada brand & LOVED it! I used penne, but the original recipe calls for rigatoni. Hard to find GF rigatoni, go figure!

1. In a large bowl, begin to boil your water and cook your pasta according to the box/bag. Tinkyada gave energy saving instructions. Just had to boil water, boil pasta for 1-2 minutes, turn off heat, and cover for 20 minutes. Pasta came out perfect and it was very energy efficient!

2. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp & brown. Place bacon on a paper-lined plate. Pour off all but 1/4 c. of fat from skillet.

3. Add the onion & cook over medium heat, stirring occassionaly until soft (5-7 min).

4. Stir in diced tomatoes & crumbled bacon. Season with salt & pepper & simmer until thick & chunky (~10 min). Stir cream cheese in until melted.

5. Pour sauce over pasta & mix together. Serve immediately.

See, how easy is that! This picture was taken after we devoured it because I was too distracted and hungry to take one when it was ready. Better late than never, right?

I definitely recommend trying it. Eric is a picky eater and doesn't care for onions & tomatoes (great recipe for him, right?), but he ate around it and said he still really liked the taste.

I served this with fresh green beans (not pictured) that I just steamed. I placed them in a collander, put a tiny bit of organic olive oil on them, and grated some fresh Parmesan on them. They went together well.

Enjoy the recipe and enjoy this GORGEOUS day!!!

Vacation #1

2010-06-28T19:12:00.007-04:00

Right when school let out (actually a day after to be exact), the family headed down to Tampa for the wedding of one of my brother's longtime friends. We stayed in the hotel that they got married at so we were able to enjoy a walk on the beach in the morning followed by breakfast on the beach. After a quick change, we were able to go downstairs to the wedding. Can't beat the view!

All of the family together

As soon as we got done (except for Daniel, he had to stay longer since he was in the wedding), we headed out to the beach to soak in as much sun as possible on this unfortunately short trip.

Look how cute the hubs is!

Made a friend on the beach. I have a serious problem with birds and this one wasn't going away. He did remind me of the bird from the Pigeon book series although I clearly know he's a seagull.

After hours at the beach and by the pool, we had to find some local ice cream. It was delish!

The next morning was the day we had to go home (told ya it was quick!) and my parents offered to pay for Mark and I to go parasailing. Mark and I had gone years before separately, but we were so excited to go again and take it all in.

I didn't put any pictures in of us high in the sky because we were just tiny specks. That had us up between 500 & 600 ft. It was so beautiful and peaceful up there! We could see the entire bay area and it was the perfect way to end our trip to FL.

On the way out, we saw this while walking down the beach and I just had to get a picture! Doesn't it look like a postcard???

We had a great time. I'd love to go back again and stay much longer!

Simply Citrus Cream Cake (gluten-free)

2010-06-27T21:33:00.008-04:00

On Sunday, we had some great friends over for lunch. Eric and Molly are one of our favorite couples. I've known Eric since he was a wee lad, and he and Molly make a wonderful duo.

Molly is the first person I knew with Celiac disease and she's really one of the reasons I was so inspired into looking into gluten-free. I was excited to have her over, but also had to make sure everything was just right since there was no room for error here. I couldn't be responsible for her health. Yikes!

I made some Smoky Tomato Bacon Pasta for lunch (I'll share the recipe also), but one of the big things that would be/is tough to go without is obviously desserts. I mentioned making Simply Citrus Cream Cake in my post about going gluten-free, and I decided to make it for Molly & Eric.

I've had others ask for this recipe as well, so thought it'd be easiest to post it here.

You will need:

1 or 2 pkgs of gluten-free yellow cake mix (you need 2 layers & most GF packages only make one layer so you may need to buy a 2nd box. I HIGHLY recommend Betty Crocker's GF yellow cake mix, but Whole Foods did not carry it.)
1 pkg (3.4 oz) Jello lemon instant pudding mix (I know for sure that Kraft Jello mix is GF)
1 1/3 cups organic sour cream, divided
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs (look how colorful my farm fresh eggs are!)
2 T. orange zest (1 medium orange)
1/4 cup powder sugar
1 tub Cool Whip, thawed (I used a Whole Foods GF whipped cream, but I know Cool Whip is GF)
1 can organic mandarin oranges, drained

NOTES:

*I have found that most organic items are GF

*You can always use regular ingredients if GF is not your thing.

*Please take notice of my little measuring cup of powder sugar. I had 2 bags of powder sugar in my cabinet and went to look at the label just to double check and was shocked to find that it had a wheat starch in it to keep the sugar from sticking! I was blown away! So, I searched the web for what to do and it just said I could make my own. I'm quite embarrassed that I didn't know how to make my own powdered sugar. Maybe I missed Cooking 101. You just take your sugar and stick it in the blender and let it do it's thing for about a minute. So...how neat is that? I tried my food processor at first and the blades just weren't able to get down low enough for the small amount I was making. I also came to find out that my 2nd bag in my cupboard used corn starch, so it would've been OK to use, but I got a special learning moment.

As a side note, the 1st bag was from the "Evil Empire", so I have yet another reason to dislike them...they sell cheap food because they use cheaper ingredients. Sorry, I'll get off of my soapbox.

Anyway.............

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the cake mix, dry pudding mix, only 1 cup of the sour cream, the water, oil, eggs, and orange zest in a large bowl with a mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl. Beat on medium for 2 minutes.

Pour mix into 2 greased 9 inch pans (In the past, I've floured my pans but just greasing them worked fine).

The packages say to bake for 25-30 minutes, but since there are 2 cakes and I have found that GF baking takes a bit longer, I would say it'd be closer to 45-50 minutes. However, keep checking it and use the toothpick to test to figure out if it's done.

The smell in my house while these were baking was HEAVENLY! At one point, I stopped and thought about the smell almost reminded me of the way it smells when you first walk into Baskin-Robbins. Weird, right? You can definitely smell the citrus.

My kitchen helper, Guinness, waits patiently and hopes to get a bite.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Next, invert the cakes on a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

You can go ahead and get your cream icing ready now.

Whisk the remaining 1/3 sour cream & the powdered sugar together in a large bowl. Fold in the Cool Whip.

Now for the layers! Place one cooled cake on the bottom. Place a little less than half of the cream on the cake. Spread evenly. Add half of the mandarin oranges on top of the cream. Repeat the layers and be sure to ice around the outside of the cake. I've just done cream in between and on the top before, but I liked this better.

Keep this cake refrigerated until you are ready to eat.

This picture's a little dark, but you can see that we enjoyed it! It is such a yummy cake! Molly did say that one of the things that she's missed is the Starbucks lemon pound cake and that this was the closest to it since she's been without gluten. So...WIN! I love Sbux lemon pound cake and I love this cake, I'd just never thought of that before!

It does have a pound cake feel to it and Mark and I agree that it's always better the next day. He enjoys it most for breakfast!

This recipe is great for the summer time and it's even better because it's gluten-free!

Enjoy!!!

Summertime Beverages

2010-06-27T21:06:00.006-04:00

Seeing as it's summer, there is nothing I enjoy more than finding a good book to read and enjoying it with a nice, cold drink on these hot, summer days. Now, the hubs carries around his infamous gallon jug of water at all times. There's no way I can carry that around all day, but I do like to tote my little bottle of water and refill throughout the day to keep hydrated.

In the past week I've been drinking my daily intake of water, but I just can't get enough of those typical summer drinks. Last night, I made Mark's stepmom's recipe for lemonade and there's truly nothing better on a hot day.

It's the easiest thing ever. All you have to remember is 4-1-1.

Take 4 lemons and squeeze them into your container. I like to use a strainer so I don't end up picking out a bunch of seeds.

Add 1 cup of sugar.

Add 1 cup of water.

Stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.

Fill up the rest of the container with water.

How easy is that??? And trust me, it's so good! I always like to cut up an extra lemon, but it's not necessary.

If there's one thing that reminds me of childhood summers, it would be my mom's sun tea. I love iced tea, so I finally bought a container the other day so that the sun could do all the work for me.

(Mark says my green sun tea looked like pickle juice!)

Fill your clear gallon container with water.

Add 6-9 tea bags (I used 7 and I used organic green tea since it's so full of antioxidants).

Let the container sit in direct sunlight for several hours. The sun heats it up and the teas steeps.

Remove the tea bags.

If you want sweet tea....and I do LOVE sweet tea, this is where you add your sugar. I added about 1 1/2 cups of sugar, but since I'm a true southern girl and I live for the sweet tea that will make a northern's stomach sick, I'll probably make it 2 cups next time.

My parents never liked sweet tea (they are those northerners), so I always had unsweetened sun tea growing up. If you're not a sweet tea fan, might I suggest what I did all the time as a kid. Fill your glass up 3/4 of the way with tea and then finish it off with some of that lemonade.

Now I just need my book and the rocking chair on the front porch. Ahh, I love summer!

Shepherd's Pie

2010-06-24T11:50:00.009-04:00

OK, so I was asked to put up some recipes that are gluten-free and honestly, I've been wanting to put up recipes for a while now, so we'll just see how it goes. As you can see, and feel free to make fun of me, I got a little Pioneer Woman-esque and took pictures along the way. I did this for 2 reasons: my favorite recipe sites always use pictures and I just wanted an excuse to borrow Mark's camera.

This Shepherd's Pie recipe originally came from here, but I decided to make a few changes while also making it 100% gluten-free AND organic!

Here's what you need:

1 1/2 lb. organic russet potatoes
1/2 cup cream
3 T. butter, divided
3 T. organic olive oil
1 med-lg organic carrot
2 organic celery stalks
1 medium organic onion
1 bag frozen organic peas
1 lb organic beef
1/2 T. cornstarch
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup organic beef broth
salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
paprika, to taste
fresh grated parmesan cheese (optional)

I got almost all of my organic items at Kroger. I've been really pleased with their selection and I can tell they are making more of an effort to provide healthy, organic products. The only things I didn't get at the store was the onion (got that at the Farmer's Market last weekend) and the beef (got that from our CSA). Now, you could use the frozen bags of the organic vegetables (like I did with the peas) if you wanted to and I can't imagine there'd be any difference.

The first thing you'll want to do is peel and chop your potatoes into 1-in cubes. Put them in a large pot and fit with just enough water so that you cover them. Boil them for about 10-15 minutes or until they are tender (just like you would do for mashed potatoes). You can boil while you're working on the other veggies.

If you're not doing the frozen veggies, go ahead and dice up your carrots, celery, & onions. Apparently these three are none as mirepoix (I did not know that, but there's a little useless knowledge for ya!) Go ahead and put 3 Tbs. of olive oil in a large skillet or large pot and heat over medium heat.

Once heated, throw in your veggies and toss so that they are coated with the oil. Note: If you're using frozen peas like I did, throw this in about a minute before the other vegetables.

Let those vegetables cook for about 15 minutes or until they are tender. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees here so it has some time to heat up.

Back to those taters. Once they are tender, drain them of their water then mash them with 1 Tbs. of butter and 1/2 cup of cream (you could use milk here, but I love cream in my potatoes). Add some salt and white pepper here to taste. You can use regular pepper here instead also. Yum! I had to sample these as soon as they were mashed...that's the Irish in me!

Now, back to the veggies. Once those are tender, add your ground beef and cook until there is no longer any pink. This takes about 5 minutes. Once that is done, you want to tilt your pot and spoon out any extra fat, but this beef didn't really produce much fat so I skipped that step.

Now, the next part calls for 1 Tbs. of flour, but since we are gluten-free, I relied on my trusty friend: corn starch. Corn starch actually thickens better than flour so you only need to add 1/2 Tbs. of corn starch. Stir it in and let it cook for a minute or so to get rid of the starch taste.

Add the beef stock (you can see my preferred brand in the picture with the corn starch), thyme, rosemary, and nutmeg. Let those cook and keep stirring until the liquid thickens to almost a gravy. This takes about 5 minutes. You can add in salt and pepper at this time to get it to the right taste.

Pur your meat and veg mixture into a casserole or baking dish.

Cover your meat mixture with the mashed potatoes and fluff them just a bit with a fork. Cut up 2 Tbs. of butter into small pieces and put on top. Cover with paprika and then grate some parmesan cheese on top if you like. If you're gonna do it gluten-free, you'll need to grate it yourself.

Place the shepherd's pie in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool before serving (it's HOT!).

Normally, I would not pair shepherd's pie with anything because it's a meal in itself, but we have SO MUCH squash and zucchini right now that I just cooked some up for the side.

So, there it is! A 100% gluten-free and organic meal. I will say that this dish would be best in the winter or late fall, but I just really had a craving for it the other day and I had all of the ingredients so I figured "why not?" This is not the shepherd's pie that I make for Irish Thanksgiving (that one is very time consuming), but this was a good substitute to meet my craving.

Hope you enjoy!

On The Road Again

2010-06-24T11:35:00.004-04:00

After almost exactly 3 months to the day, my dad was finally cleared to go back to work today!

Back in March, Dad was diagnosed with pneumonia in both of his lungs. 17 of those days entailed my dad being in the hospital. While we knew it would be a bit of a recovery, I don't think any of us could have predicted it would take close to 90 days.

I didn't blog during this time and that's really OK since I don't think many of us in our family have really fond memories of a good portion of that time. It got pretty scary there for a little bit, but I'm incredibly happy to say Dad is doing well (I know he's happy too) and is now ready to head back to work!!! So, be on the lookout for him!

Happy June 23rd!!!

2010-06-23T11:03:00.004-04:00

Today, is indeed, a Bennett family holiday! Today is known in our household as "The Day That Mark Is Right About Everything!"

I'm surprised I haven't mentioned it before, but one of the things that Mark and I love best is our little celebrations of our own personal holidays. Many moons ago when Mark and I were just dating, there was a day (it was a Sunday...I remember it well) where Mark was just right about EVERYTHING!

I can think of at least 4 or 5 instances that day where he was just right about stuff and I was completely wrong. After each of these instances, his excitement continued to grow as I had to admit time and time again that he was right, I was wrong. We were both in shock and decided right then and there that this particular day needed to go down in history. We both agreed that each year we would celebrate that June 23rd was the day that Mark was right about everything!

We truly do celebrate this every year. We've done everything from special dinners, small gifts from me, and myself always conceding in any argument or dispute on this day. I got a text this morning that simply said, "Do you know what day it is?" This is without a doubt one of Mark's favorite days! So, babe, enjoy your day! Have a blast! You are truly the king of it all today and you are right about anything and everything today!

(Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow!)

Goodbye Gluten!

2010-06-21T11:40:00.008-04:00

Source

(Disclaimer: This is a LONG post. Read only if you're interested!)

I have not blogged in what seems like forever, but since school is out and I've got a little extra time on my hands, I'll share something that has become a big part of our family's life in the last 4 months or so. Mark and I have decided to say goodbye to gluten...for the most part, that is. Let me explain.

No, neither of us have celiac disease and neither of us are gluten-intolerant. However, we have become aware of several people in a short amount of time who are. Mark suggested doing a diet without gluten a while back and I could not bear to do life without my breads and pasta. These were a huge staple of my life! However, after seeing and hearing stories about the effects of gluten on so many people, it got me wondering if there really was something to this life without gluten.

Let me start at square one for anyone who is not familiar with what I mean by gluten. Gluten is defined by jerky.com as "An inherent starch that exists in most grain or wheat sources. Gluten is an important source of nutritional protein and as an additive to foods otherwise low in protein. Gluten is also used as a flavoring additive or a thickening agent." You find gluten in many of your obvious wheat sources: cereal, bread, pasta, pizza, cake, cookies, and pastries, but also can be found in many of your processed foods and even in things like shredded cheese. Gluten products can be added as an extra source of protein to many processed foods and can also be used as a non-caking agent. This website is one I use as a reference often to figure out what foods do contain gluten.

However, let me be VERY clear on something, I am by no means an expert on gluten at all. In fact, I enjoy learning more about it every day. I find it very interesting. Like I said before, I do not have an intolerance, so I will still have gluten products time and again. I find it interesting to see how my own body reacts to gluten. This article was written by a man in a similar situation to myself (no gluten intolerance, just trying it out) and his results are very similar to my own. Like I said, I still have gluten occassionally, and I have found that I can tell when I DO have it. No, unlike celiac disease, my intenstines do attack themselves when I have it, but I can feel a general sluggishness and change in demeanor. I know that many people think it's strange that we are going without gluten or I get funny looks, but I know how much it has helped us and I believe in the power of food, so we're sticking with it.

I've actually enjoyed the challenge of finding ways to enjoy many of my favorites, but in a gluten-free way. We are now in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with Triple J Farms here in Georgetown....which we LOVE!!! We get our weekly share of beef, vegetables, and eggs, which keep us from doing much processed foods and the vegetables are used in our meals rather than filling our meals with a bunch of grains (which I did a lot before). So, now I'm always trying to alter recipes a tad to fit our diet. I find it pretty fun! When I do use grains, I try to use gluten-free alternatives, which can be found at Kroger or Meijer (I find Wal-Mart doesn't have much, but that's not surprising). It does cost more, but we find it to be a good sacrifice.

Gluten-free Simply Citrus Cream Cake

(used Betty Crocker's gluten-free cake mix. Delish!)

Carmelized Onion and Prosciutto Pizza

(Pioneer Woman recipe...used gluten-free pizza crust)

Turkey Asian Lettuce Wraps

We've also learned some other tricks, such as to use a block of cheese and shred it ourselves instead of using bagged, shredded cheese, try to not eat out much, use cornstarch as a thickening agent rather than flour, and we try to shop the "perimeter" of the grocery store.

I've added some new links to my site that include some of my favorite recipes (since I'm truly a "foodie" at heart) and I included a great one for finding recipes on gluten-free stuff called Gluten-Free Girl. Another link that I use for educating myself on the flours I can use for cooking is here.

Saying goodbye to gluten is a challenge and definite undertaking. I'm not trying to encourage anyone to do it themselves, I'm just letting everyone know what's going on in our little ole home in Gtown. Happy cooking!

Overplayed

2010-02-17T10:00:00.004-05:00

Alright, if you ever been to any sporting event with me, you know my intense disdain for the song below (you have to get about 1:50 in before you'll recognize the song).

This is a song by Zombie Nation and the song is titled Kernkraft 400. Mark is a HUGE fan of techno and to say the least, I am not! It drives me crazy...but that doesn't keep him from trying to put techno on every chance he gets in the car. I'm getting beside the point...

Anyways, despite my disdain for techno, I still just do not understand what the obsession is with this song in the sports world. I don't know if it was on Jock Jams years ago and it just stuck or what. It is on the playlist of any and every team. Even my beloved Bengals overplay this song. In fact, that is where my hatred for the song began. You see, at Bengals games, they play this chant whenever the opposing team scores and they are kicking back to the Bengals. Ugh. I heard it way too much during losing seasons and it will forever have that negative feeling associated with it.

Well, the Bengals aren't the only ones to play it. I have heard this song at EVERY other sports event I have ever gone to since I recognized the song. And sometimes, they play it more than once. Take the classy Mississippi State team for example. Last night, during their game against UK, they played this chant five times. Yes, you read that correctly, FIVE TIMES!!!! I did count because I noticed every time I heard it. Also, my family recognizes my hatred for the song and now when they hear it, they send me a text to let me know.

Seriously, it's an epidemic! This post truly has no other purpose than for me to vent on how much I would like to disconnect this song with the sporting world and to have this chant get stuck in your head for the rest of the day. You're welcome!

Now that you know, you will hear this song EVERYWHERE!!!

My Handsome Boy

2010-01-05T22:21:00.007-05:00

OK, so alot of my friends put up pictures of their adorable kids. At this point, Mark and I are more than happy without any kids of the human persuasion, but I must say that we are quite in love with our dog. So, I decided that I wanted to put up some funny pictures I've taken of him recently.

He is literally the goofiest dog I've EVER seen and I tell him that on a regular basis. These pictures should give you a little glimpse into life at the Bennett home.

My favorite is the way that he sleeps (which is basically all that he ever does!) and he can literally fall asleep in any position. In fact, as I type, Guinness is snoring as he sleeps next to me. His favorite place to sleep is right next to the computer. On all of my days off, I would wake up in the morning to feed him and after he checked out things around the house for the day, he would curl up next to the computer until the afternoon.

I should say that he also tends to fall asleep sitting up. Once he rests his head on a table, you can be sure he'll doze off shortly after that. There have been a few times where he has not had a table to support him as he dozes off while watching tv and this usually results in his body eventually giving way as he falls to the floor with a less than graceful thud.

Guinness loves to go outside and lick the snow off the porch. I've never seen a dog more obsessed with snow. However, with as cold as it has been lately, everytime I let Guin outside, he comes racing back into the house (as fast as his little legs can carry him). Throughout the day, I have come around the corner to see this.

Guin finds any vent he can in the house and falls asleep on top of it. Again, with the sleeping.

Finally, over the holidays, I had to use Guinness sleeping spot in the computer room to wrap some presents. It became a bit of a disaster zone in there and he really didn't like that I was in his space, but he didn't let that stop him from his precious slumber. He just slept right on top of the wrapping paper. One night, I came upstairs and must have startled him. In his sleep, he must have been drooling and when he looked up at me, he had a piece of wrapping paper stuck to him bottom lip.

I could not stop laughing and I can't believe I was able to snap this picture in time. He was still a bit groggy.

I must say, I love my dog! Don't get me wrong, I look forward to having kids and I know there's absolutely no way to compare the two, but I'm pretty happy with the goober that I currently have. He makes us laugh every day and I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the little Bennett family that I have.

Bennett Christmas

2010-01-04T22:08:00.004-05:00

This is what our Christmas looked like this year. We tried out our tree in a new spot and I loved it! Right next to the stockings! I also learned how to make my own bows for presents this year thanks to Jen. I thought it was the perfect picture of what Christmas in the Bennett household looks like.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-24T13:04:00.002-05:00

My favorite video of the holiday season....obviously!

Click Here

Postsecret

2009-12-24T12:01:00.002-05:00

Loved this one from Postsecret this past week...

Postsecret

Interesting

2009-12-24T11:57:00.003-05:00

I'm borrowing this from Cameron's blog. I apologize in advance if the language offends. Just really resonated with me.

Christmas Gift

2009-12-21T13:26:00.003-05:00

Ummmm....can we say best Christmas gift ever???

Jordan got Mark and I two lower level tickets to the bowl game. As if that wasn't great enough, he also gave us a UK football signed by the ENTIRE team!

Pretty amazing!

Mark and I are often amazed at what wonderful friends we have. We thank God on a daily basis for such good people in our lives.

California: Day Seven

2009-12-21T12:55:00.005-05:00

This was our last full day in California. It was so hard to believe that we were at the end of our vacation because there were still countless things that we wanted to do, but didn't get a chance to do (i.e. San Diego, Joshua Tree, go out on the sailboat, etc). Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back and do anything differently....we just needed to be there for another month to do everything we wanted to! Guess that just means we'll have to go back (which we do plan on doing this summer).

That morning, we rode our bikes down to a restaurant called Flake for brunch. Mark was very excited about this place because they had a cereal bar! If you know how much Mark loves cereal and how he's always wanted to visit a cereal bar, you know that he was in heaven. I didn't partake in the cereal bar, but had an amazing bagel sandwich and a big cup of organic coffee. Joy!

Mark enjoying his cereal!

DELICIOUS bagel sandwich

Then, Mark and I went riding along the beach soaking in as much of the sunny weather as we could before we had to leave.

My favorite picture of the trip. This sums it up for me.

Still sportin' the UK gear on the beach. Go CATS!!!

That afternoon, Ticean and Amy took us over to Malibu for a day trip to do some hiking. We hiked several miles were able to watch the sun set over the ocean while we were hiking. There are no words to dexcribe how beautiful it all was. All I can say is that you can not see the things I saw and not believe in a God. So amazing!

We stopped and got Thai food on the way home and I have literally never had chicken fried rice as good as the rice that I had there last night! We went to Marina del Rey for a little bit after that then headed home for the evening.

We had a wonderful time on our vacation and we just cannot wait to go back!

California: Day Six (Our Anniversary!)

2009-12-21T12:18:00.007-05:00

On our sixth day, which also happened to be our anniversary, we decided to sleep in. When we finally got up and going, we agreed that we both really wanted to go to The Getty Center. The Getty Center is a state-of=the art building that features art throughout the ages. It was featured recently on Project Runway, which we both LOVE to watch, so it was a real treat to go together.

Mark and I are nerds and we both have the best time going to museums. In fact, Mark wants to be a curator after he retires. As a teacher, I could spend hours in museums and be content as ever. The Getty is free admission, but you have to pay parking. I've come to discover that parking is how all of L.A. makes their money. You HAVE to park, so they get you there. After the $15 (yeah, that's right) parking pass, you take a small train up the side of the mountain to actually get to the museum buildings.

The architecture and sculptures of The Getty

The fountains outside the buildings

View of the cactus garden and the city

Just some really cool trees

Besides having remarkable architecture, breathtaking views of the city, and amazing furnishings gathered from over the years, there was an outstanding amount of artwork. All of the artwork is on the second level of every building with skylights so that the art can be seen in natural light as it was meant to be seen. We saw paintings from Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Rousseau, and my favorite, Monet. It was a wonderful day and a fantastic way to spend our anniversary!

Vexed Man

French bed featured on Project Runway

(I loved all of the light blue and gold in all of the French furnishings)

Rousseau painting

Irises by Van Gogh

Monet

(I recreated this painting in art class in high school)

That evening, we went to Cha Cha Chicken, a caribbean restaurant (another favorite), in Santa Monica with Ticean and Amy. It was delicious like all of our other meals! Then we went to the Promenade (outdoor mall that takes up blocks) to see the different acts in the streets, window browse, and get some Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Yum!!!

California: Day Five

2009-12-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

OK, I think this day may have been my favorite!

Day started out normal...sleep in, hang out at the beach, read, good food, etc. But that evening, Mark and I went on our anniversary date. We decided to spend the night before our anniversary going to Cirque du Soleil's Kooza at the Santa Monica pier.

Mark and I agree that it was some of the best money we've ever spent. I felt like a kid while I watched all of the acts. My favorite act, by far, was the Wheel of Death.

My palms were sweating as I watched the whole thing. There were several times that I had to catch myself from screaming in either shock or excitement.

So much fun!!! It was the perfect date with my husband!

Then, as if the night wasn't good enough, I went with the girls again to see the midnight showing of New Moon.

Me and Amy at the theater

(She bought me the shirt. I swore I'd never wear one, but it was a gift...and I loved it)

Lindsay got us the amazing, reserved seats in a theater so there was no standing in line for us at all. We actually made pizzas and sipped wine until it was time to go see the movie. Keep in mind that it was a midnight showing so it was 3 AM KY time before the movie started and it was over after 5 AM KY time. I was sleepy, but it was worth it!

California: Day Three & Four

2009-12-19T01:20:00.001-05:00

The love of my life

As I said before, I spend most of my days on the beach reading....and I see nothing wrong with that! I read The Hunger Games and it's sequel Catching Fire thanks to Amy. I absolutely loved them. They were an easy read and were exactly what I was looking for in a good read for vacation. Plus, anything's easy to read when you're sitting next to this...

My view as I biked to the beach

One of the big events for us took place on Wednesday. Since Daniel works for WCPO in Cincinnati, he was able to get us VIP tickets to the Ellen show. It was either that or Jimmy Kimmel Live, but because they knew I'd rather see Ellen, Daniel and Mark graciously agreed to go with me!
It was so neat to see the taping of a show and I had a blast. She is so funny and so kind. We got to see Simon Baker from The Mentalist, Leona Lewis perform, and Andre Agassi (biggest highlight for me). We got a free Leona Lewis cd and Andre Agassi's new book. They also came up and gave us shirts from the show since we were VIP. Despite looking like a couple together, I think Daniel and Mark had a good time and even danced a bit. We were dead center and you could see both of them on tv several times, but I was too short to be seen.

California: Day Two

2009-12-19T00:21:00.007-05:00

Our second day was PACKED with things to do! We dropped Amy off at work that day so that we could have the car and cruise through town. We started off the day with a hike in the Hollywood Hills. We went to Runyan Canyon where many celebs bring their dogs to run/walk. While we didn't see any celebs, we saw plenty of beautiful views (well, after the morning smog cleared).

Next, we drove through town to see some of the "sights". We really just had a GPS and were looking for things we'd heard of before. We had no desire to actually get out and see many of the sights. Just simply wanted to drive by them to say we'd seen them. We went by the Chinese Theater, down Sunset Blvd., all throughout Hollywood, and even went over to Beverly Hills. Mark didn't know what the Beverly Hills Hotel was or why it was significant, but I took a picture anyway.

After we got back, Mark and I took the bikes to the beach. This later turned out to be my favorite thing to do each day. The ride is no more than 10 minutes and I would just load up the bike with my purse, a good book, and a towel to go read on the beach for hours.

But on this day, Mark and I rode a few miles on the beach past the Santa Monica pier and then came back to Erdinger to sit on the beach and have a beer and lunch. The service was horrible, but as can be imagined, the beer was delicious. The company wasn't too bad either.

I then had to hurry home because a year and a half ago, when I finished the Twilight series, I got Amy hooked on them. Well, the week we were at in CA happened to coincide with the premiere of New Moon. Amy's friend Lindsay is a HUGE fan and has her own website. In fact, US Weekly had named it in their favorite Twilight sites that week. If you are a Twilight fan, you can check it out here.

Lindsay, Me, Amy, and Jasmine

So, that night, we went to the red carpet premiere in Westwood. We didn't see the movie or anything, but got to see all the stars. Below are the pics (if you care). While this was an amazing treat for me, I have to say that going to a red carpet premiere PERIOD was pretty awesome!

My camera is not so great...

Robert Pattinson

Kristen Stewart

Taylor Lautner

California: Day One

2009-12-19T00:06:00.003-05:00

So, I decided that I wanted to add my pics from California because I literally had the time of my life and I just needed a way to catalog all of my memories. So, here goes...

We left EARLY Sunday morning from Cincinnati, which landed us in LA around 10:45 in the morning. That left us with plenty of day left to explore. Daniel and I went to LA years ago, but actually didn't spend a whole lot of time there. Mark had never been at all. It was great to experience it from a local's point of view. Ticean (Mark's brother) and his wife, Amy, let us unpack at their place and then we headed out to the weekly farmer's market to get lunch.

Under recommendation of Ticean and Amy, we got these GIGANTIC burritos. They had homemade sausage (ours was a chicken and shrimp sausage) and these burritos had everything imaginable in them (even french fries). Mark wouldn't share, so I had to get my own, which I put a tiny dent in. Daniel finished the rest for me. It was literally one of the yummiest things I've ever eaten though (and I'm sure it was because it was so good and not just that the airline pretzels let me starving)!

Next, we headed out to walk all along Venice Beach (just blocks from the house). We checked out an awesome skatepark where kindergarten children were just putting everyone to shame.

Then we just enjoyed the warm weather and breeze off of the ocean. Daniel checked out some awesome shades while on the beach (there were TONS of vendors), but decided on a more tasteful pair.

We were so tired from the flight and the day of walking between the Venice pier and Santa Monica pier that we had to go back and take a nap around 3, but finished off the night with dinner at the house.

5 Years....

2009-12-05T01:00:00.004-05:00

It is so hard to believe, but 2 weeks ago Mark and I celebrated our 5th anniversary.

We wanted to do something exciting and out of the ordinary to celebrate our 5th so we decided it was the perfect time to go visit his brother and his wife in California. We had an amazing time and while I will upload pictures, I wanted to include this link to view a video that my brother made of our trip.

California Video

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2009-09-13T10:58:00.003-04:00

Does anyone know what day it is???

THAT'S RIGHT! The start of the Bengals football season!

Quite possibly the most exciting day of the year for me. There's just that anxious hope that this year could be different. And regardless, I still get to watch some football!!!!

Words can't express my excitement!

Here's hoping that Mike Brown can't screw it up this year worse than years past...

Mimio

2009-09-13T10:40:00.004-04:00

I recently received a Mimio for my classroom and I gotta say that I absolutely LOVE it! It makes teaching so much fun! As you can see in the picture above (which is NOT me!), the kids get really involved and really enjoy using it as well. A Mimio is similar in concept to the SmartBoard, but it takes up a lot less space (It's also MUCH more affordable)! In the top left of the picture you can see a grey bar. This bar is the interactive tool that reads everything you do with your mouse pen and feeds it back to your computer. I have been trying to use more technology in the classroom (my goal is once a day), and not to use it solely to use technology for technology's sake, but to enhance learning.

We've already done quite a bit with our Mimio and I plan on doing many more lessons with it. It has great templates and even has great starter lessons on the website. I am absolutely amazed at the cool things they continue to create. If you're a teacher, I would definitely recommend learning how to use this and making efforts on getting one in your own classroom.

Date Night

2009-09-13T10:19:00.005-04:00

Now that I'm at Williams-Sonoma, I am constantly getting new ideas for dishes. I'm trying to step out of my routine box and try at least one or two new recipes a week. Last night was a spur of the moment date night for Mark and me. We went to church last night in Lexington, but on the way I mentioned that I would make some brownies for dessert.

I've been making these Double Chocolate Brownies that Ami made for Mark and I one day. I wanted to step outside of the box brownies and this recipe is just fabulous. I stole Ami's idea and I put grey sea salt on them right before putting them in the oven. I just LOVE the salty-sweet taste! I made them for Labor Day and for our small group dinner the other night (I paired them with some homemade pumpkin ice cream!), but that only left us with one each. I decided I'd make a whole batch just for us last night. I also decided to make some homemade vanilla ice cream to go with it.

At this point, we were ready for a good meal to go before it. We literally spent an hour and a half at Meijer just exploring all of our options for a great meal. Mark even had the great idea of going over to their book section to look up some new recipes!

We ended up buying some ciabatta bread that I paired with some fresh sliced mozzarella, roma tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar. Yum! We also sipped on some shiraz by Barefoot Wine. It's a very tasty wine that is very reasonably priced.

For the main course, I made ravioli with a creamy pesto. It was SO good! I can't find the recipe anywhere online, but I have it in my cookbook at home. It was so colorful because it had green beans, yellow peppers (I added some extra grilled peppers that Mark grilled up), and roma tomatoes. The creamy pesto sauce was just a mixture of pesto, sour cream, and lemon. It was such an easy recipe and just full of flavor (but they all paired together so well).

For dessert, we had our brownies along with our fresh ice cream. We also got some french vanilla coffee beans that we ground up in our chopper/grinder. Mark made us coffee for after dinner in his french press. I am just starting to love coffee, which could be very dangerous. I still like cream and sugar in mine so I took a small spoonful of the vanilla ice cream and plopped it into my coffee. Delicious!

By the end of the night, we were absolutely stuffed. We had a multi-course meal for a fraction of what it would have cost us to go out on a date and we have leftovers to boot! Great night!

Next time, I'll take pictures so I can actually display the dishes!

Emily's Goodbye

2009-08-29T12:34:00.003-04:00

Today was the day that Em and Chris left for VA. They'll be there for 3 months and then head to Colorado for 3 years. Then, they'll be in one more location for 2 more years. So...basically, Em left today for what will surely be a LONG 5 years.

Jen made this video that captures our friendship. I may or may not have cried a few times while watching. I'll let you be the judge.

Emily's Goodbye from Jennifer Cochran on Vimeo.

I was telling Jen, I have a very clear memory of when each of these pictures was taken. I can honestly say that some of the best moments of my life have been spend with these 2 lovely ladies.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2009-08-29T11:41:00.003-04:00

I am constantly hearing hilarious things from my students, and yesterday was no exception. Just thought I'd share.

Student: Mrs. Bennett! That girl tripped over that black thing and
she's crying to death!!!

Me: Crying to DEATH???

Student: Well, she's crying. I added in the drama.

I literally started laughing out loud. Then I naturally went to check on the student (who was fine). Just a great way to end the week.

Another School Year

2009-08-08T10:29:00.005-04:00

Ok, I know this video's a little long, but if you are a teacher or want to understand why I chose this career, you need to watch this video. The kid is hilarious, but he says some stuff that truly explains why I do what I do every day. We watched it at our Scott Co. Opening Day Program and it was a great reminder that the things I do can make a difference. I know I've complained about 30 kids (and I truly am not sure if I'll leave this year a sane women), but I have to look at it as being given the opportunity to make a difference in 30 lives this year!

My principal made us all give our personal motto for this year with the reasons we teach. She asked us to frame it and make it available to see everyday while we are teaching. I'm going to share mine.

"In order to meet students on their individual level and make a difference in each life that walks into my classroom, I will provide a SAFE environment that PROMOTES and STIMULATES learning."

Happy Anniversary!

2009-07-31T12:19:00.005-04:00

Happy anniversary to my parents who are celebrating 33 years of marriage today! I can truly say that my parents are a shining example of what love is and what a healthy, Godly marriage looks like. Thank you guys for loving each other through the good and bad times and for showing me what the institution of marriage is in a culture that forgets so easily! I love you both!!!

Heading to the Lake

2009-07-09T09:42:00.002-04:00

I'm heading to the lake today with my mom (the boys are following after tomorrow after their softball game tonight and work tomorrow)! I'm so excited! This is my favorite time of the year. I plan on catching up on lots of reading and spending plenty of time on the water!

See ya in a week!

Mr. and Mrs. Hurst- June 5, 2009

2009-07-07T13:39:00.007-04:00

Oh my gosh, the highlight of my summer was Em and Chris' wedding! As I've stated before, Chris is Mark's best friend and obviously E is mine. This wedding was a dream come true for Mark and I because we know how happy our friends are and as we joke, we always have a built-in double date.

I was a little too busy the day before and the day of to take pictures, but I am including some of the pictures from the rehearsal and wedding taken by the photographer, Mary Lashbrook. You can look at her other photos here.

The rehearsal was at Talon and the dinner was supposed to be at Jacobson Park where we'd eat Fazoli's and play wiffle ball. It poured that day, so we moved it all to church and it turned out great! Here's some pics of all of us playing ball.

Glen was the champ when he slid into home!

I was speechless!

The wedding was at Talon and it was the most beautiful day! The clouds looked like cotton candy and there was a cool breeze throughout the ceremony. At one point, this flock of geese flew in V formation over the ceremony and it was just breathtaking looking over the lake. The wedding was so personal and so unique and it's just so obvious how much they love one another! I just absolutely loved it and cried through the entire thing! It was so great to look over and see my amazing husband on the other side and it reminded me what a lucky woman I am to have married such a wonderful man 5 years ago.

I will say that it was unfortunate for Jen as she stood in an ant hill for the entire 40 min ceremony. At one point, I looked over and she had approximately 15 red ants crawling all over her legs and through her toes. Yikes!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Hurst

I'm also including a couple videos from the wedding that my brother filmed and edited as the videographer. I'm telling you, he has a gift! So great!

This first video is the beginning of the wedding.

This second video is during the song and the unity art done by Amy Cranfill. You can see the geese about 35 seconds into this video.

Women's Weekend Pt. 3- "I'm on a boat!"

2009-07-07T13:08:00.005-04:00

This year, we had to go see the S.S. Paradise before E got married so we loaded up all of our gear the weekend before the wedding and headed out to see our true love. This year, we had Erica join in as the 4th in our Trio (it works) as we took to the open waters!

We did however make a tiny pit stop at the original KFC's Sander's Cafe. We grabbed a full bucket of chicken with all the sides to take onto our vessel. It was delicious, the water was cold but great, and the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky (which means we all lathered on the sunscreen to prevent sunburns or tan lines right before the wedding!).

The Colonel and I spending some quality time together

Me and Erica at the historic landmark sign.

NOTE: Check out how sneaky that little step is that I'm on.

It may or may not have resulted in me falling into the sign.

My favorite girls

Graduation #2

2009-07-07T12:54:00.005-04:00

Towards the end of May, Mark and I also planned a trip to see Chris (Mark's best friend and E's now husband) graduate from West Point Academy as a 2nd Lieutenant. The thing is, he had no idea that we were coming to see him. The funny thing is that I can't imagine how we wouldn't know we were coming. We wouldn't have missed it for the world!

The other thing is that we couldn't leave until around 2 PM on Friday because Mark had to work. Keep in mind that the graduation was Saturday morning. If you're not aware of the location of West Point, it's in New York. It's over a 12 hour drive. We got into our hotel between 2 and 3 AM, slept for literally 4 hours, then woke up to drive to the graduation.

After the graduation, which went from about 9 AM-2 PM, we got right back on the road and followed behind Em and Chris all the way home. We got home Sunday morning at 5 AM. If you're keeping track, that's 52 hours with only 9 of which we weren't driving. I can honestly say that I have never been more tired in my entire life.

Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!

Would we do it again? IN A HEARTBEAT!

But let's just pray that we NEVER have to do that again!

E and I in the stands-we're such schemers!

(By the way, I cut all my hair off to donate it!)

Chris on the Jumbotron receiving his diploma
(He still doesn't know we're there!)

Mark and I on West Point's campus overlooking the Hudson River.

Absolutely beautiful campus!

Chris and Mark. Best buds!

Me and my 2nd husband

We are so proud of Chris! Congrats 2Lt. Hurst!

The Month of Daniel

2009-07-07T12:37:00.007-04:00

So, the month of May was packed with stuff to do and most of the things centered around my brother's accomplisments. This blog does not have the space to express how proud I am of Daniel and how much I love him! He won an award at his Communications banquet at NKU, ran the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati (unbelievable!), graduated college, and hiked through the state of Connecticut with Mark on the Appalachian Trail.

Truly incredible!

Daniel and I at his awards banquet.

Daniel and Ben at mile marker 14.

The family (minus Mark) with Daniel at the finish line.

Daniel and Mark at graduation

Grandma got to come see Daniel graduate.
I love this picture!

Daniel filmed and edited a trailer of the boys' time on the AT.

I'm not sure why, but my computer cuts part of it off and makes it hard to see all of the words. You can watch it here in full format.

April-Bachelorette Party

2009-07-07T12:09:00.004-04:00

No excuse for how lazy I've been, just haven't had time to blog. But I thought I'd highlight the last few months since SO MUCH has happened!

I'll start with E's bachelorette party. I planned a trip to Cincy because it's her favorite city and I centered our trip around a Reds game (because my girl loves her Redlegs). We enjoyed a Reds-Braves game (even though they lost) and a night at Hofbrauhaus and Jefferson Hall for some fine dancing. Here's just a few pics from the night.

Our bride-to-be.

I made the shirt and Erica made the hat.

Allie, Erica, and Em

Jen, Diva B, MJ, and me
taking the bus over to the game

All of us with Mr. Redlegs

Em brought us all gift bags and in them, we each got a gorgeous ring!

Here they are in all their glory. Note that E's shines the brightest!

Grammar PostSecret

2009-07-07T02:06:00.002-04:00

Source

I COMPLETELY understand this. Mark calls me a grammar nazi. I believe that I am.

2009-07-07T01:59:00.001-04:00

OK, if you know me, you know I have a thing for clocks. I LOVE this clock! You write your appointments down and it erases them throughout the day. Found here.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T01:19:00.000-04:00

Best Buds

2009-04-19T23:21:00.005-04:00

Jacob had Dozer in his crate Saturday while Guinness was out and roaming (I tend to keep the back door open on nice days). They tend to play too hard at times when unsupervised so I left Dozer in his crate while I was getting ready upstairs. This is what I saw when I came downstairs....

Too funny!

Wedding Coming Soon...

2009-04-19T23:11:00.004-04:00

This weekend, since Em was feeling on the up and up, we were able to work on some of the wedding stuff. The project of the day was to prepare the centerpieces for the tables as much as possible.

Em is using glass jars that she got off freecycle.org and filling them with all sorts of stuff. We had a little hot tub party for all the jars as we waited for most of the adhesive and labels to get soft. We transported, soaked, peeled, organized, and prepped 57 glass jars yesterday.

Here is a preview of what one may see at the wedding.

The bride-to-be hard at work!

On a side note, my dress is paid for in full and I am awaiting it's arrival in the next couple weeks. I can't wait to see how good they look!

47 days and counting...

Passover and Easter

2009-04-19T22:56:00.005-04:00

This year, we celebrated Passover at an annual dinner that Amy and Micah put together for all of their friends. We ate a really cute little diner in downtown Winchester and enjoyed good food and good company. I'm really glad Mark and I could make it this year.

The healthy members of the BLC at Passover

A few days later, Mark and I went with my parents up to Indiana for Easter weekend. We stopped in Indianapolis on Friday night and spent most of the day in Ft. Wayne on Saturday with both sides of the family.

Mark reading Twig to the Abba Dabba monkeys

Trinity playing with Easter eggs

We travelled back that night to have a LATE dinner with Daniel on the way through Cincy. On Sunday, after Mark and I went to church with my parents and Jordan, we went to have lunch at Mark's parents' house. Carmen pulled out all the stops as usual and it was great to see the family (although sad because Ticean and Amy weren't there).

The Easter holiday was better than usual for me this year. I'm not really sure what it was, but I really enjoyed the holiday and all of the time with family and friends.

A Night With Paula

2009-04-19T22:37:00.004-04:00

As an early birthday present (very early), Jen took me a few weeks ago to see Paula Deen at Xavier University in Cincinnati! We went up with some friends from Williams-Sonoma and we just all had a great time! Our early arrival time helped us get front row seats and yes, I did get a hug from Paula herself!!!!

What a wonderful gift from a wonderful friend!

Me with my signed copy of Paula's new cookbook.

Jen with Pam and Marsha

Paula herself.

Paula and her husband, Michael.

To read more about it, check out Jen's blog.

Spring Break Weekend

2009-04-07T17:54:00.007-04:00

The last weekend of my spring break was mainly spent with Mark, Matt, Jordan, and his sister Lindsey. We hung out Friday night and had a really great cookout Saturday night while watching the NCAA Final Four. My kinda night!

I absolutely love this picture! I especially love the fact that Jordan and I were the only ones who didn't get the memo to make stupid faces!

However, on Saturday during the day, Mark and I went on a tour of Woodford Reserve. You have to know at this point that Mark and I are huge dorks and absolutely love museums and tours of any kind. We are currently trying to complete the Bourbon Trail.

It was such a nice day Saturday and it was great to be outside doing something. For $5 a person, Mark and I were able to enjoy the history behind KY bourbon in Woodford County. They walked us through all of the steps including the copper triple distilling process (it's what make Woodford Reserve unique). Finally, at the end, we got to sample the bourbon as well as bourbon balls. YUM!!!

My cute husband taking in all of the knowledge when it comes to making bourbon.

Me standing next to 7,500 gallons of yeast feasting and creating what would later before bourbon.

Woodford Reserve is the ONLY distillery that uses strictly copper in its triple distillery

They transfere the barrels by tracks solely. No energy required!

Our favorite part of the tour. All the barrels are stored for approximately 7 years. When you walked into the storehouse there was the smell of bourbon sitting still for a LONG time. They call this "Angel Share" because of how heavenly it smells.

It's really hard to see the date on the barrels, but it says
FILL DATE: 11-20-01

November 20th is our anniversary. Although this barrel was filled 3 years BEFORE we got married. I was in high school when they filled this!

Kinda rough picture of me with no make-up but I'm showing off the glass they gave us our samples in. I'd already eaten my bourbon ball!

I had a wonderful weekend with my adorable hubby and we had really enjoyed our weekend with our friends!

World Autism Awareness Day

2009-04-02T13:39:00.003-04:00

Source

Today is also World Autism Awareness Day.

As a teacher, students with autism are near and dear to my heart. Over the last 6 years, I've worked with a few different children with autism and my heart definitely goes out to the families that struggle on a day to day basis.

If you work with kids or have kids or plan on having kids, you should make yourself aware of autism, its signs, and how it affects both the child and family.

I've included some sites below.

Learn the Signs. Act Early.

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services site on Autism

World Autism Awareness Day Official Website

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

2009-04-02T11:30:00.003-04:00

Today is my mom's birthday!

Here's a picture of us together at Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville recently. My mom is one of my best friends and I am so thankful for everything she is in my life.

I hope your day is extra special, Mom!

Happy Birthday!!!

A Cake to Celebrate the Wildcats

2009-04-01T16:22:00.003-04:00

OK, I have featured cakewrecks.com on here more than once. Within the last week they featured a cake made for our very own University of Kentucky.

Now, just as a reminder, these pictures are only of cakes professionally made. This one in particular is a CCC (cupcake cake) which I despise as a teacher just about as much as Jen, the creator of Cake Wrecks. Please note, I LOVE cupcakes. However, I do not love them when parents bring them in and they are slathered with icing (I don't care for much icing) that is hot pink and electric blue or really any other color for that matter.

OK, I digress, I figure that in celebration of the new coach for UK basketball, I should go out and buy a cake that shows the Kentucky wildcat. Here's what was on Cake Wrecks.

Ta-da.....

Oh my....

Nevermind

Kate in E-town

2009-04-01T16:15:00.002-04:00

Earlier this month, the BLC took a day trip to E-town to see Kate Gosselin from Jon and Kate + 8. We had a wonderful times with lots of laughs and we even got to meet Kate. For more on our trip, check out Jen's blog here.

2 out of 3

2009-04-01T16:07:00.003-04:00

OK, who has the two sickest friends in the world???

Oh, that's right. That'd be me!

My two best friends are currently out of commission. Jen had a tonsillectomy, which has been anything but routine. Every complication that could go wrong has. And to top that off, Em has mono. That's right, mono. These two ladies are bundles of problems!

I hate it for both of them because for there is a lengthy time of recovery for both of these two active ladies. To my two dames, feel better VERY soon! Being on spring break for a week kinda stinks when the two people you do things with are at home in bed.

Love you both!

Bridal Shower

2009-03-31T20:23:00.006-04:00

So, my mom and I had the honor of throwing Em her very first bridal shower. Many moons ago, Em and her mom threw a shower for me, my family, and all sorts of friends from church. This shower was a way for us to repay the favor!

I really enjoyed getting all of the food prepared as well as buying shower prizes for the occasion wth my mom. Because of Em's intense love of all things game related, I created a game based off Scattegories. I came up with 30 categories (10 questions for 3 rounds) that centered around weddings/married life/Emily and Chris.

We also played a game where people got points for each item they had in their purse. There were some regular items on the list and some not so regular. All of these things were things that I have seen one time or another in Em's purse. Some of the funny ones were a snack, a highlighter, a deck of cards, and nail polish.

Lastly, we played a game-or I should say Em played and we watched-where Emily had to answer questions about Chris. Chris had answered these questions previous to the shower. For each answer that Em got wrong, she had to chew a piece of bubble gum. She did pretty well, but still managed to accumulate quite a wad by the time we were done.

Overall, we had a great time with a great turnout. Em got some great gifts for around the clock (the gift theme) and was a beautiful bride-to-be despite enduring through what would later be revealed as a double ear infection and laryngitis. Such a trooper!

The super cute plates and napkins

My cupcakes matched the plates and napkins

The whole spread

She'll probablykill me for this one, but the bride-to-be with a ton of gum in her mouth. At least I got the kind she liked.

Opening gifts

Me, Em, and Erica

(2 out of the 3 bridesmaids)

Em and I

With our moms

The happy couple

House Guests

2009-03-31T17:09:00.006-04:00

If you talk with me on a regular basis, you know that our house is a little crowded right now!

I have to say that while I love having all of our guests (Jordan, Jacob, and Dozer..Jacob's dog) here, there has been a major outnumbering. The male to female ratio right now (including dogs) is 5:1.

I'm hanging in there and truly am having a fun time, but there are nights when I need to be a little girly. Therefore, I ordered Twilight on PPV the other night and DVR'd it so I can watch it as many times as I want. That is my girly fix for the time being.

Jacob and Dozer with Mark and Guinness
(note: Dozer is now much larger than Guinness)

Jordan and I

That's the whole Bennett House crew right now.

Just to fill you in (if you didn't know), Jordan is my best friend from college who is in the process of finding a new place to live since he moved back to Kentucky and Jacob is a co-worker who is getting married next summer therefore moving back to Northern Kentucky at the end of this school year and his apartment lease is up now. Everyone's getting along very nicely and sometimes the dogs get along too well...

Catching Up...

2009-03-31T17:06:00.002-04:00

OK...wow! I didn't realize it'd been that long since I'd posted a blog!

My mom brought it to my attention the other day that it has been far too long since I've posted a blog. It's bad when your own mom is bored with your blog.

I am officially on spring break (yay!), so I have a little time to update my blog on the latest that's been going on in my life. Some is exciting, some is not. I'm gonna post it anyway!

I may have to spread some of these posts out a bit since so much has been going on...

10 Things I Won't Miss About Winter

2009-03-10T20:29:00.004-04:00

I occasionally read the Ten on Tuesday blog and I loved the list this week, 10 Things I Won't Miss About Winter. This nice weather has inspired me to write a list of my own.

1. Wearing sweaters and heavy coats

2. Getting shocked everytime I get in and out of the car
3. Being snowed in with Hong Kongers
4. Not being able to wear flip-flops
5. Falling down our icy steps
6. Scraping the windows of our car
7. The heating bill
8. Car duty at school where I stand outside for 30 min. putting kids into cars
9. Taking Guinness outside...or retrieving him after he's fixated on eating snow
10. Indoor recess

6 Down, 4 To Go!

2009-03-03T19:21:00.006-05:00

As you may or may not know, I have been growing my hair out since late May. Mark was relentlessly trying to get me to grow my hair in a competition with him (I think he just wanted an excuse to grow his hair out with me completely on board). I resisted it for a long time for 2 reasons: I do not like my hair long and I'm not a fan of Mark's hair long.

Last year, my grandma beat cancer herself and it was a very difficult battle. This (& my grandpa's battle) were the 1st times cancer had really hit home with me. After my grandma's recovery, I decided that I would jump on board with Mark to grow my hair out to donate to cancer patients in need of a wig throughout their treatments. I figured that God blessed me with health now so it would be a great way to give back to others. Therefore, I resisted the urge to get my hair cut and have been solely trimming my hair since.

Well, for the fire department, Mark had to cut his hair short (which made me very happy!). However, I decided to keep going. I had already put a few months into it and I figured if nothing else that it would be long for me to do something fun with it at Em's wedding in June.

It is now driving me CRAZY!!! I so badly want to cut it all back to how it used to look. My hair is incredibly thick so it's really heavy and it's not much fun to straighten on a daily basis.

A few weeks ago I went to get my hair trimmed by the lovely Sara Drury. She infomed me that I'm at about 6 inches with about 4 or 5 more to go! Halfway there!!! I wanted to be able to cut it off this summer, but it doesn't look like that will happen.

Here's my progress thus far:

March 2008
(my last big haircut)

September 2008

January 2009
(A little hard to see and my hair's a little wavy,
but it's the only picture where all of my hair is in the picture)
***Note how long Em's hair is now too!***

Au Revoir, T.J.

2009-03-03T19:12:00.003-05:00

Source

For most of you, this blog will hold no interest to you. However, yesterday, my world was crushed when TJ Houshmandzadeh officially turned in his black and orange to don a uniform of green. TJ signed with the Seattle Seahawks yesterday leaving the Bengals line-up with a giant hole.

I cannot blame him at all. Seattle offered him more money, he'll be closer to home, and he doesn't have to play for a team managed by Mike Brown. All strong points to lure one away.

Nevertheless, I'm sad to see him and his ponytail go. I'll miss spelling his name. I'll miss making fun of people who cannot pronounce or spell his name. I'll miss all of his hamstring injuries. Most importantly, I'll miss always seeing the number 84 in the endzone.

Good luck in Seattle, T.J.!

Jimmy Rollins Commercial

2009-02-24T13:13:00.003-05:00

This video makes me laugh everytime! I don't know why I think it's so funny.

Source

DonorsChoose.org

2009-02-21T16:03:00.004-05:00

I think this is really fabulous!

If you are in the education field at all or have heard me talk about (big issue for me), you know that the education system in our country has some major issues, one of which is the education budget. I have serious grievances with the education cuts right now. I understand that we're going through an economical hardship, but I think that by cutting funds for our schools we are doing our students a huge disservice now and in the future.

If you are unaware, Kentucky cut the education funding 7% right before this year. Around Christmas time, we learned our budget had to cut another 4%. Now we have learned there will be an even greater cut after this year. We're talking 12% now. To see the numbers, click here. The county I teach in alone will have a shortfall of millions of dollars. This all results in loss of teachers, loss of extra services for students (extra math and reading instruction as well as summer school), fewer opportunities for Professional Development (now we only get one day), a mass conservation of energy (this is a good thing, but it's caused us to have to eat in the cafeteria with no lights on), and a $0 budget for new computers (I'm on the technology committee and we have the lovely task of purchasing new computers schoolwide with absolutely no money to do it with). These is not just projected results, these are things I have seen in the last year in my own school and county.

The schools are hurting. I think this DonorsChoose.org is a wonderful idea! You should definitely check it out. Every little bit helps.

Happy President's Day

2009-02-16T07:16:00.002-05:00

For whatever reason, here in Scott County, we always have MLK Jr. Day off, but we always have school in session on President's Day. I have never understood this, but I am going to say that this is a wonderful day to remember all of the wonderful Presidents of our past and to be proud to live in an amazing country. I know that I am the first to point out America's many flaws, but I truly am proud to be an American.

I am including a picture from a blog that I frequent daily called Cake Wrecks. Usually they feature cakes gone bad, but in this case, she features a mosaic found at the Smithsonian of our current President Barack Obama with our 16th President Abraham Lincoln made entirely out of cupcakes!!!

You don't believe me? See the assembly here.

Anyone else craving something sweet?

Valentine's Goodies

2009-02-14T19:27:00.004-05:00

OK, I don't get into the whole Valentine holiday AT ALL for my own reasons, which I won't go into here. However, I do really love this idea for a cake. Yes, the whole thing is a cake (including what looks like chocolates). I found it here, but you can check out the original blog and recipe here. I really think I could do it. Maybe one day I'll try to make it for my sweetie!

Why I Love My Husband

2009-02-05T14:02:00.005-05:00

A bunch of my married friends have done this and since I never get tired of talking about Mark I figured I would too!

1. Where we met - At Crossroads. We were going on the winter retreat and I saw him getting on the bus. I remember asking Emily, "Who is that guy?". She replied that she thought it was Eric's friend. I was infatuated with him from the beginning.
2. Our first date - I wasn't sure if it was a date so I actually tried to pay. We went to Common Grounds where he got coffee and I got tea. We just sat and talked for a long time. Next we went to Coldstone for ice cream. He knew the way to my heart from the beginning.
3. How long did we date before we were married? - 2 years and 8 months
4. How long have been hitched? - a little over 4 years
5. Favorite feature - His smile. He has a dimple when he smiles really big.
6. Favorite quality - How laid back he is. This is also something I hate at times, but he really does balance me out. I also love how artistic he is. He just blows me out of the water!
7. His nickname for me - He calls me babe or baby. It's actually very weird for him to say my name.
8. His favorite color - Green, yellow, and brown. He also likes orange. He likes nature colors.
9. His favorite sport - Hockey! That is by far his favorite. He's been begging me for the NHL channel for years.
10. Who said I love you first - I did. This is hard to believe, but Mark was EXTREMELY timid when we were dating. He was very old-fashioned and very patient. I finally couldn't take it anymore and said it to him. He said it right back.
11. Our first kiss, when and where - I kissed him on the cheek when we were at the coffee house one night. His face got bright red. We'd been dating for about a month at this point (I told you he was old-fashioned!). He kissed me later that week.
12. Favorite couple thing to do - Hiking, camping, or going to museums.
13. His hidden talent - He is very empathetic. He can relate to others on a level that I can't. He has an eye for fashion. He's also very good with kids even though he doesn't believe it.
14. His favorite music - Led Zeppelin, Deftones, Zao. Other than that, I'm not touching this subject. When you mention music with Mark, you are opening a whole can of worms.
15. What I admire most about him - What a wonderful artist he is. He can pick up any instrument and literally learn to play it in a day or less. He doesn't read music, but he can play back any song to you after he listens to it. He can create an entire song in a day. He can also draw really well. He thinks outside the box. He acts like a big kid. He has so much compassion for others and lends a helping hand whenever he can.

16. His favorite pastime - Playing music. He's in the other room doing it right now.
17. Will he read this - Probably. Eventually.

Alright, now all of my other married friends need to do this!

Guinness and Mark Play the Wii

2009-02-05T13:51:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when you have a hyperactive dog who things that everything revolves around him. We got a Wii and Guinness doesn't understand the concept.

Super Bowl XLIII: Disappointing

2009-02-05T13:47:00.005-05:00

As much as I utterly despised the dirty Steelers winning this year, I enjoyed all of the company during the game. Em and Mark definitely rocked the 3D glasses through pretty much the entire game and the annual cake that I make was a success with the help of Em's decorating skills again.

Snowed In With Hong Kongers

2009-02-05T13:25:00.005-05:00

I have not blogged in some time and that is mainly due to the fact that I lost freedom in my house for sometime. Every year, our school hosts some students from Hong Kong and their teachers. My principal had her hands full so I offered to take the teachers into my own home for a week to relieve her a bit. This sounded like a great deal because I would get some to experience a different culture.

There were 16 5th grade students (I could never send my kids around the world by themselves) who stayed with various "host families" and 2 teachers (Wing and Peggy) who stayed with us. The plan was that they would spend all day at school (and receive breakfast and lunch there) then there would be planned activities each day after school. There was only 2 days that I would need to make a meal for my teachers and only one of the days would I have to entertain them. Sounds great, right?

Cue the winter storm of the decade.

I will say that overall, Wing and Peggy were very independent. They kept to themselves mostly, but I will say that my week of snow days was not as easy to enjoy. I couldn't just lay around in my pajamas, I couldn't get on the computer (the computer is in our guest room), and we couldn't really go anywhere. I tried to fix foods that they would like. Emily even came up to visit one day to help me out with some entertaining.

Some things to note:
-They were amazed that we had more than 4 channels. They never really grasped DVR either
-In Hong Kong, they miss school due to typhoons
-Students in Hong Kong usually receive about 4-5 hours of homework a night
-All of the elite officials in Hong Kong send their kids overseas for schooling
-The school day is over at 3:00, but if you would like to have classes such as science or art you have to stay until 5:00.
-The building that these teachers taught in was 7 stories high
-Teachers are required to work every other Saturday
-School is so competitive there that one must apply to secondary school (middle & high school) and you can not get into a good school unless you've spent at least some time overseas...hence the students' trip here
-We received a Hong Kong meal which was DELICIOUS!
-Most living spaces in Hong Kong are 300-800 sq. feet
-Only the VERY wealthy have ovens in Hong Kong
-The record low temperature ever recorded in Hong Kong was 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Only 2 students had ever seen snow before
-The teachers had never heard of Wal-Mart or Kohls. We got to take them which was very neat.

Wing trying on some of Mark's firefighting gear

Mark and I with Peggy

Fun Night Out

2009-02-05T13:18:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to blog about a fun night out I had a couple weekends ago. Em, Jen, and I were dying to get out of our houses to go do something so we all met up at the Penguin downtown. I know it's been around for some time now, but it was mine and Em's first time there. We had a really good time. The dueling piano theme is so much fun to watch and it's just a neat place to hang out. Eric, Em's bro, joined us for a little while, and Jordan also joined us.

It can get very rowdy, but we had a great time enjoying the music! I recommend it for a fun night out with friends.

New Blogger

2009-01-19T19:36:00.006-05:00

My good friend, Brittany, has just started a new blog!

Brittany and I both went to Georgetown College, but didn't really get to know each other until we both worked as kindergarten teachers together at PCA. Brittany is an avid reader and includes summaries and insights on books she has read. She usually reads one or two books a week (I don't know how she does it) and we tend to have the same taste in books so go check out her blog at http://bluegrassbuckeyebeauty.blogspot.com!

New Additions

2009-01-19T03:07:00.004-05:00

On some of my snow days and cold days off I've been enjoying time with Mark and we've been fixing the house to the best of our ability. On one of the days, after enjoying a yummy Thai lunch, Mark and I browsed some of the local stores. I love Twisted Twigs, which just so happens to be just a couple blocks from our house, and I seem to always find something fun in the store. I was taking a couple watches there to have the batteries switched out when Mark spotted a sign for our house. We couldn't decide if we liked it best in our bedroom or kitchen (since both have a black and white theme), but we decided on the kitchen/dining area.

I love it and it's the perfect daily reminder for my life.

Mark and I also tried on a few pairs of glasses while in the store. So becoming on us!
Mark and I also ended up rearranging both the front living room and the back dining room that day which included not only moving a piano and couch (multiple times each), but also purchasing and assembling a new TV stand. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of these.

Finally, on Thursday Mark called me at work and told me he'd gotten me a small gift, but he wasn't sure if I'd like it. I assured him I would no matter how cheesy it was. I came home to this:

YAY!!!!!!!!!

I know that last year I blogged that I'd gotten a Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas. That wasn't entirely true. Mark gave me most of the money to buy one so I was all prepared to go pick out the one I wanted. Without getting into details, we needed the money for other things so my Kitchen Aid was not purchased. I never forgot it, but wasn't getting too hopeful for a new one.

Mark knows that if there's extra money I don't like to spend it on myself. Therefore, he purchased it with some money he'd been saving secretly for a while, and he had it waiting for me when we got home!!!!

I've already mixed everything in my house and looking for more! I'm happy as a clam thanks to my wonderfully thoughtful husband!

Christmas in Ft. Wayne

2009-01-19T02:43:00.006-05:00

After enjoying many Christmas festivities as well as a small New Years get-together at our house on New Years Eve with some of our favorite people, Mark and I traveled with the family up to Fort Wayne to celebrate one last Christmas.

This year was particularly fun for me because there were lots of babies around this year. The new addition this year was my cousin Andrea and husband Reid's new baby girl, Trinity. I've blogged about her before, but she has grown so much since then and she really is a doll baby. I got to spend plenty of time fulfilling my baby bug need by playing with quite possibly the sweetest baby. Trinity is so well-mannered! She'd just sit there on your lap chewing her fingers and giggling. She was so much fun to love on. I've included some pictures.

Mark with Trinity. This picture cracks me up!

Just chewing on those fingers!

Trinity with Grandma (her Great-Grandma)

All that partying caught up to her. Her head literally fell forward and stayed just as it is.

This year I made gifts for Taylor and Kayla. Since my camera was MIA until right before we left for Indiana I was not able to get any close up pictures of the gifts, but I do have a picture that I took of the girls holding their gifts. I got the idea from Jen. It's simply wooden letters from Michaels with scrapbook paper cut out with many layers of Modge Podge. Taylor has a striped letter and Kayla has flowers. They were a hit!
This was my first Christmas without Grandma Dorse. It felt very surreal for me that she wasn't there, but I made sure to bring chocolate covered cherries in her honor. Someone has to carry on the tradition!

That evening we went over to visit and celebrate with the Durick side of the family. Nick and Stacey brought over Jonny and he was tons of fun! He is getting so BIG! We'd love to see him become a linesman for the Bengals because they could definitely use him (probably as is), but I think his parents would prefer the Colts.

Hard to see but it's Nick, Matt, Stacey, Melissa, Jonny, and Londa

Jonny takes after me in the fact that he can't resist pushing buttons. We heard "Silent Night" played by this bear quite a bit.

Daniel and Grandpa who seems to have a headache from too many Duricks in a room at one time (we set the number over the top by being there)

Too goofy!

Finish the Year with the Bengals

2009-01-01T23:41:00.005-05:00

I have gone to a Bengals game at PBS since 2006 and despite the Bengals pitiful season 2008 was to be no exception. Plans fell through for us to go to the Bengals-Ravens game on November 30th, which worked in our favor since it was freezing and raining. My entire family went to the last game of the season (since there was no hope for a Bengals preseason after their 0-8 start) this past Sunday. We knew we were all going to go, but we had no idea how great the tickets would be! Mom and Dad got us tickets on the 5th row behind the endzone. They won which made this game the first time I've actually seen the Bengals win while at the game. Here's some pictures from the day!

Mark and I bundled up to stay warm.

It was 40 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather for football!

Daniel and Jen

Had to share our blanket to keep the warmth in

The whole family! Loyal fans!

As promised, I'm including a picture from one of the highlights of the game...the 2nd annual Mascot vs. Pee-Wee football game. Who Dey, the Bengals mascot, gathered all of his local friends such as the Xavier blob, the Cyclones mascot, the IKEA Moose (I was just as surprised as you), Max and Erma, and all of the Reds mascots (Mr. Redlegs, Rosie Red, and Gapper) to help play against some of the 4th grade kids from the local Pee-Wee league teams. Well, from the first play you could tell that Mr. Redlegs came to play. He obviously felt this was his chance to relive the old glory days because he seriously took it to those kids. As a kid was running for a touchdown, he slammed the kid into the crowd which invoked an uproar of boos from the crowd. I'm pretty sure this only fueled his fire because on his turn to run the ball, I swear he stiff-armed at least 6 kids. I can't make this stuff up! Here's the picture to prove it!

Yes, that is a drop of blood chasing after them. Fitting for this debacle.

This was all I could capture on film because I was in a state of shock and disbelief! Soon after, Erma's head fell off to reveal a man underneath which explained the muscular calves she had. The whole day was great fun!

7 Things

2009-01-01T23:22:00.003-05:00

I had every intention of completing my list of 7 things that people don't know about me when Cameron made her list, but due to my laziness around the holidays I didn't blog right away. Since then many other friends have also blogged their list of 7 things and tagged me as well. So, for everyone, here are 7 things that you may not know about me (but I'm sure many of you already know one or 2 of these items):

1. To my mother's horror, I actually do not like warm doughnuts. I know that many people would protest that it's the only way to eat them, all fresh and warm, but the idea of sticky, hot doughnuts makes my stomach turn. I like my doughnuts cool albeit still fresh. On the same note, 9 out of 10 times I do not care for icing on my baked goods. I'll take a little but I don't like a lot. This is strange because in actuality I really do have quite the sweet tooth!

2. As a child I was absolutely terrified that I had gorillas living in my closet. I thought the only way to keep them from coming out was to have my parents shut my closet door. In my defense, the closet really was big enough to hold a single gorilla...

3. I am constantly doing math in my head. My mind works around numbers and patterns. I can create any pattern from addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, etc. It's hard to explain, but just to give you an idea I'll tell you that to pass time while driving on the highway, I divide the tenth of the mile into the mile marker number (remainders and all). i.e. 98/1, 98/2, 98/3, 98/4, etc. That's about a math problem every 10 seconds or so. It drives Mark crazy!

4. I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to bees, wasps, yellow jackets, and really anything that flys and stings. Have been since I was 6. It's pretty embarrassing.

5. I can't swing on swings. I used to love it growing up, but now I can get nauseous...every time!

6. I think empty churches and empty post offices are incredibly creepy!

7. I have what Mark calls "foot claustrophobia" when I sleep. I can't stand to have anything restricting my foot or leg movement when I am sleeping. The first thing I do when I get in bed is untuck the sheets. I can't wear socks to bed and I don't like any heavy blankets or objects resting on my legs.

Now that I've read this, I'm beginning to wonder how I have friends and a husband that loves me. Most of my friends have already done their list so I don't know that I have many others to tag, but I do suggest it if you haven't already! Thanks Cameron, Jen, Ashley, and Em!

Happy Holidays from the Bennetts!

2008-12-30T00:57:00.001-05:00

Love, Mark, Maria, and Guinness

*Many of you will be receiving New Years cards from the Bennett clan this year*

Also, notice Guinness' Bengals jersey!

Tacky Christmas Sweater Competition 2008

2008-12-30T00:38:00.006-05:00

Some of you have already seen these, but for those who haven't I thought I would share my pictures from the Tacky Christmas Sweater Competition between myself and one of my dear co-workers, Jacob Brown. Last year Jacob wore some absolutely horrible sweaters for an entire week and I told him that I would join him this year in a friendly competition.

Now, since we work at a school where some teachers could unknowingly beat us, we had to refer to our competition as the "Spirited Holiday Outfits" competition. Jacob and I were both featured on the morning newscasts and each class voted. The students and teachers really got into it!

Day One

This one came with a little help from my mom. While I didn't win, the results were much closer than you might think.

Day Two

I channeled my inner 80s on this one with the help on one of my co-workers' old applique sweaters. Jacob won on this day after a late costume change when he saw how I came to play. All of the co-workers said I should have won on this day. You can't see in the picture very well that I have light up Santa earrings AND giant Christmas tree earrings. My ears still hurt!

Day Three

I won this day hands down!!! I had the jumper with the giant vest, the velvet purse and shoes, the elf hat, a light up necklace, and Christmas light earrings. This day helped my clinch the popular vote for the week while Jacob clinched the electoral vote.

I still considered the week successful and I honestly had about 10-15 sweaters that I didn't even wear (I have some generous co-workers!), but unfortunately we had 2 snow days that week so it cut our competition shorter by 2 days.

Hope you enjoy these priceless photos!!!

Thanksgiving List

2008-11-27T23:33:00.004-05:00

At my parents' house, we wrote down a list of 20 things we were thankful for. Then we cut them into strips, placed them in a basket, and passed it around the table taking turns to read what everyone was thankful for this year. There were a lot of repeats in there. I really enjoyed getting to hear what everyone is thankful for and I think that it's important that we take the time to really appreciate everything that God has given us. I'm including my list on here (in no particular order) to the best of my memory.

Mark- He is my best friend and the light of my life!
Mom- She is a constant support and is always there for me to talk to.
Dad- He was the 1st man in my life and he is such an encouragement to me.
Jen- I love that Daniel has met her. She fits in so well with our family.
Daniel- I am most thankful for how far Daniel has come in the last year. God is continually working on his heart and he is turning into the man we knew he could be...a man after God's heart.
Answered prayers.
A God that is ever-faithful and graceful. His unconditional love amazes me each day when I realize how unworthy I am to receive it.
That Grandma Osborn and Grandpa Durick are now cancer-free.
My job- I love my students, my co-workers, and the fact that everyday I know I'm getting to do something that I love.
Em and Jen- I would be so lost without them. They are my favorites!
Guinness- He's such a goof, but he is so loyal and loving. I couldn't ask for a better dog!
Crossroads in Georgetown- I love the smaller community and that's it's so close to home.
That Mark has a job that he enjoys and that he's been able to start working towards the career of his choice.
Freedom of religion
Education- As difficult as it is, I am grateful that I am able to go back for my Masters.
Bengals football- Without it, what would we do on Sundays???
Friends- I have some of the best friends that anyone could ever ask for.
That I am never in need- God is too good!
In-laws that I love and I know they love me back
The fact that I have been blessed with so much and that I have the ability to give back to others physicially and emotionally.

Some others mentioned that I can't claim were:

Heat and energy- People are working so hard to provide us the easy conveniences that we take for granted everyday such as heating, central air, refrigerators, microwaves, electricity, etc.
The fact that I was born fully healthy both physically and mentally. I think this hit me so hard since I work with so many students who were not.
Food. We ate and will continue to eat a ton this week. So many don't have that luxury.
Music.
All 5 senses. I can't imagine life without just one of them.
The simple pleasures in life such as doughnuts (that one was Mark's)
Not having to work on Black Friday

I have so much to be thankful for and I think so often we forget to say "thank you". We also forget that we are blessed on a daily basis. At church in Cincy last week they talked about how we live in a "culture of forgetfulness". Gas is down under $2.00, but you don't see that all over the news like you do when it reaches $4.00. Too often we focus on the bad rather than stopping to be grateful.

OK, that's as deep as I'll get for a while.

Irish Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T23:09:00.005-05:00

Irish Thanksgiving was so much fun! It was met with great success and has already been deemed a family tradition. Mark and I (and my brother) are very proud of our Irish heritage (you can make fun of us all you want) so we were so excited when my parents suggested an Irish feast rather than the normal Thanksgiving spread.

As promised, here are some of the pictures...

Mark and I started cooking pretty early. Mark took care of all of the bread. Plus, he was my wing man!

Me making the brandied yams. They were a hit!

Hanging out in the kitchen. Yes, I'm wearing an apron. It got pretty messy!
Irish Thanksgiving couldn't have happened without these sponsors.

Daniel with Guinness (our mascot). Guinness looks pretty evil in this picture!
Mark's Irish Flag Bread
The full spread...we couldn't eliminate anything from the menu
A plate full of goodness!

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce for dessert

Mark was STUFFED!

Daniel wasn't sure what to do after all of that food!

Another dessert, a Blarney Bulldog!

The Blarney Bulldog was great! I'm including the recipe if anyone wants it. It's delicious but dangerous!

Blarney Bulldog

You need:

Vanilla ice cream
Vodka
Kahlua
Heavy cream
Root beer

Put 3 scoops of ice cream in a pint glass.
In a separate bowl, mix 3 Tbs. Kahlua, 2 Tbs. Vodka, and 1/4 cup heavy cream.
Pour mixture over ice cream.
Fill the rest of the glass with root beer (about 1/4 cup)

This drink is very yummy!

Friend's Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T22:58:00.003-05:00

Our 2nd Friend's Thanksgiving at Jen's house was a success this year once again!

We had plenty of good friends all in one place...

Everyone brought something to eat...

The table was prepared beautifully...

...so it was time to get our grub on.

Mark wanted to be as close as possible to his food at all times!

The guys and gals:

Paul, Tim, Mark, Colin, and Seth

Me, Jen, Em, and Fink

(Diva B left early to catch a showing of Twilight)