Thankful for Old Friends

When I was a senior in high school, one of my good guy friends started dating this girl from another school. This said girl happened to go to UK, which is where I went to college, and despite the fact that she and he broke up, she and me became great friends! This girl happens to be my friend, Traci.  Traci is one of those friends who is laid back and loves you no matter what.  She's one of those friends who you could go awhile without talking to (although I hate it), but as soon as you have a conversation with her, it's as if no time has passed.  Traci and I lived together for 3 years in college and then remained close friends after that. I had the privilege to be in her wedding back in 2005 and I was honored when she agreed to be a part of mine in 2009.

wowzers.  Here's a throw back to 2005...yikes.

Traci's wedding - March, 2005

My wedding, 2009

Needless to say, I was over the top excited last Spring/Summer when Traci told me that her and her husband were expecting a baby.  I immediately told her that I wanted to throw her a baby shower as well as make her baby bedding (if she were interested, I'm not into forcing people to take baby bedding ;-)!)  I couldn't wait to celebrate Traci as a mom and I wanted to do it in every way I could.  You can imagine my surprise when Traci told me a couple of weeks later that she wasn't expecting a baby, instead her and her husband were anticipating the birth of their BABIES in November/December.  Yup. Babies with an 's'.  All the more reason to celebrate! 

Here are some pictures from Traci's shower in October:

I picked these invites up at Target and then printed them off
at home.  Too bad I forgot to add my address and my mom
had to help me write it on the back of each envelope so her guests
would know where to go for the shower.  Oops!

Pregnant Traci and her "pumpkin"s as well as me and her Aunt Gail (the other hostess)

The desserts - cake, pumpkin spice balls and pumpkin spice mini cheesecakes

A close up of the cake - I used the same method as here and here.  

A few short weeks later, those 2 cutie pa-toots came into this world: Hudson and Kate are some adorable babies!

3 roomies together again, this time with 2 little babes :)

Here is their birth announcement picture - how cute are they?!

Here is a more recent picture - I can't handle how adorable they are!

And then this week I had the opportunity to catch up with Traci and the babes again.  I'll never turn down a good dinner with a great friend and baby snuggling time!

I love Traci and I love those two babies!  I can't wait to continue to be a part of their life and see how God uses them to share his Glory with others.  Here's to great friends!!!

Randomness In Numbers

It's been waaaaay too long since I came on here and promised you I'd be back...I wasn't lying - although I was very slow at my return.  Apologies.  I know your life has been on hold while you've been checking my blog feverishly on a daily basis (I kid, I kid!).  There's so much swarming around in my head - so many thoughts, projects, feelings, ideas, stories...today just seemed like an appropriate "random" day.  What better way to share with you what's been going on, than through a random post - with numbers?  Here we go!

5 - the number of school days left with students....I am so ready for this summer break.

1 - the number of new students that I got today....5 days left into the year.....that don't speak a word of English.

3 - the number of custom baby bedding orders I'm currently working on - are you pregnant, or know someone who is???  Change that number!

2 - the number of dead birds my dog has brought me over the span of 2 days.  He was incredibly excited and thrilled by his offering.  Too bad my anger and disgust really threw him off.

6 - the hour of the morning that Stephen and I awoke on Saturday to find ourselves still in our Friday clothes, on the couch, with the dog, and the t.v. on...ay yi yi!

4,567,921 - the number of projects I have on my mental list of things to do this summer.  Will they all even be possible???

2 - the number of students who called me a "snitch" on Friday - to my face.  Please refer to my first random number.

4 - the number of nieces and nephews I have that I've been able to see on a weekly basis now that Stephen and I live in Louisville.  There's nothing like seeing your baby nephew so often that he smiles when you come into the room!

582 - the number of recipes I have pinned on my Recipe Pinterest board...someone better get cooking!

4 - the number of recipes I have actually tried from my Recipe Pinterest board - at least I was pleased with every one of them!

1 - the number of baby pools Stephen and I have purchased in our lifetime.  This baby pool was not for our baby (considering we do not have one), but instead for our dog - in a last ditch effort to keep him out of our pool in the backyard.

20 - the day in June that I have to take time out of my summer break to drive to Bowling Green for a Conference for school.  PTL for family in Bowling Green - let's get some good family time out of the random work day during the break!

3 - the number of times that Stephen has converted into a 5 year old little boy while he's explaining to me what Bear Country is in South Dakota and how much he can't wait to visit (a trip we have planned this summer)!

4 - the week of Couch to 5K I'm getting ready to start this week...here's to hoping I'm more consistent with my runs this week than last.

6 - the number of pictures I have to share with you to make this post even more random, but less boring :)

Princeton - or P-ton, as we like to call him, enjoying his new pool!
Here's to hoping this keeps him out of ours!

Cakes I made for a friend's baby's first birthday.  That
homemade fondant is just so good!

P-ton sleeping on the couch...he's hard not to snuggle,
which then leads to waking up next to him at 6 am.

The lilies we have growing in our pond in the backyard -  they are gorgeous!  This was
not our doing, we're just reaping the benefits of the previous owner's plantings.

Exhibit A of why living in Louisville is nice. Randomly celebrating a
handsome man's pre-school graduation is always a good time!

Exhibit B.  This little guy is just too much fun!

I'm still here...promise!

Ah!  It's been over a month!!!  What's wrong with me?!?!  I'm going to whip my butt into shape - I promise!  I'm coming off Spring Break - depressed that I have to set my alarm for tomorrow.  Depressed that I have a bag full of school work that I didn't touch, which equates to a crazy week ahead of me. I got a lot of stuff accomplished over the break (non school related) and was even able to do stuff for fun and relaxation purposes!  Woo-Hoo! I'm going to come back later on this week and fill you in - for those of you who still come around, despite the fact that you've been hearing crickets in these parts.
Six. That's the number of weeks I have left in school.  Forty-Two. That's how many days there are until I start to feel somewhat normal again.  It's been a rough year - one that goes down in the books for symbolizing the old saying: "if it doesn't kill you, it'll only make you stronger"...my mom is reading this and smiling - that's a saying that frequents her lips.  Whelp friends, I'm not dead, so I must be stronger.
I'll share more thoughts, projects, ideas, inspirations, recipes, the whole-nine, soon...cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.  Ouch!  That'd hurt - see, I'm coming back so you don't have to do it!
Peace out.

Mmmmm! Minestrone

Sometime ago I told you that Stephen could eat his weight in soup.  He loves it. period. end of sentence.  It could be a 99 degree, muggy August day and Stephen would have no problem slurping down a big 'ol bowl of soup.  Needless to say, we're a bit different in that department, although I do love a good, warm soup to warm my bones on a cold, winter day.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we haven't had much of a winter here.  It's February 29th and the low today was 48 with a high of 72...seriously.  Good thing I made this soup on Sunday (when it was probably about 10 degrees colder) - oh well, I still loved it!

I found this recipe on Allrecipes, and you can find it here.  I made small alterations to it that I will explain below.

 Cast of Characters:

*3T Olive Oil

*3 cloves of garlic, chopped

*2 onions, chopped

*2C chopped celery

*5 carrots, sliced

*2C of chicken broth

*2C of water

*4C of tomato sauce

*1/2C red wine (optional)

*1 can 15oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed

*1 can 15oz green beans

*2C baby spinach, rinsed

*3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced

*1T chopped fresh oregano (I used 1/3T of dried)

*2T chopped fresh basil (I used 2/3T of dried)

*Salt and pepper to taste

*1 lb of pasta (I like the small tubular pasta - my favorite for this recipe: ditalini)

*Parmesan cheese for garnishing

*If you'd like to add meat, I made this recipe the first time by adding 1/4lb of pancetta (I got mine in the deli)

Before I get started, I like to chop up everything so it's ready (zucchini on the left, carrots and celery in the middle, onions on the right)

Chopped garlic cloves, ready to be used

Then I get going...

Stage Directions:

*In a large pot, over medium heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2-3 minutes.  Add onion and saute for 4-5 minutes (or until translucent).  If using pancetta, add it to your pot here.  Add celery and carrots, saute for 1-2 minutes.

*Add chicken broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently; add red wine.  Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes, the longer the better.

 (pre zucchini, spinach, and beans)

*Cook your pasta according to the package.  We like pasta in our house so we cook a lot!

*Put pasta in the bottom of your bowl and add the minestrone to the top.  Garnish with parmesan and/or Romano for an extra umph! :)

Who knows what happened when I uploaded my pictures onto the computer - they got a little bit cut up, but it did not effect the taste of this yummy soup! ;)

Pin It

I'm hanging out over with Mel at The Larson Lingo, checking out all the yummy soup recipes at her Soup's On Party!