love to cook. hate to clean.

i love cooking. i used to love watching my mom cook, but now i love cooking in my own kitchen. since the wedding, i’ve done a lot more experimenting with recipes and ingredients. i have more time. because of many of you, we got a lot of great cooking tools from showers and our actual wedding, which makes cooking a lot more fun too.

as of late, i’ve enjoyed using my standing mixer, cast iron pans, and an awesome wooden cheese block. i think i’ve used everything from our registry at least once, but these items have been used a lot lately.

this is one of my favorite, recent recipes.

strawberry cheesecake bites – ingredients

• 1 package of strawberries (1 pound)
• 8 ounce container of cream cheese
• 3-4 Tablespoons of Powdered Sugar*
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• Crushed Graham Crackers (1-2 whole crackers)

*Use 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar if you want it to be a sweeter filling.

Step 1 - Wash the strawberries. Use a paring knife to hollow out the strawberries. Set aside when you’re finished.

washed strawberries with a hollow center

Step 2 - In a mixer, blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Do this until the ingredients are well blended and creamy. It should look like this (it’s delicious!).

cheesecake filling

Step 3 - Fill a ziploc bag with the cream cheese mixture. Snip the corner of the bag. Use the bag to fill each strawberry.

Step 4 - Smash 1-2 large graham crackers in a zip loc bag. Pour the crumbs on a cutting board or flat dish and dip each filled strawberry in the graham crackers.

the finished product - delicious!

Step 5 - Chill in the refrigerator. The colder, the better!

What’s your favorite recipe? I’m always looking to pick up new ones, so please share!

*pinterest is also a great spot to find awesome recipes, though the website might consume you. i don’t let myself get on during the week when i’m teaching. i don’t let myself on during the week for more than 5 minutes. it’s become the new facebook in my life. anyone else?!

diehard football fan

i love football. i have since i was a kid. i remember watching football with my dad growing up. i think it started around the end of elementary school. i was probably 10 or 11. the miami dolphins were my team. my dad liked them, so that was good enough for me. dan marino was quarterback. ricky williams was still running the ball. man, they were good. or, better than they are now.

i remember watching one game with my dad (not sure who the opponent was), but the dolphins lost in the last few minutes of the game. i shed tears over that game. i was devastated. from that day on, i have been a passionate football fan. it doesn’t matter who’s playing. i’ll find a team to cheer for. and i’ll cheer loudly. i’ll scream for them. i’ll throw things at the tv. i’ll get upset when my husband doesn’t agree with me over a call in the game. it doesn’t even have to be the dolphins.

today i realized just how much i love football. the dolphins haven’t made it to the playoffs in years. but i found myself cheering loudly for the ravens. and here i am cheering even louder for the giants. i also got in an argument with patrick over how the ravens’ game ended. who am i? tonight, i also sent out two emails to my home group, one with prayer requests and the other relating to mission stuff we have coming up. how did i start both of those emails? with football related statements.

i love the regular season. i love the playoffs. i love college football too. i’m secretly depressed that football season is about to end. this is the last big weekend of football until the superbowl. tear.

this is a blog post for all of those other diehard football fans. enjoy the rest of the playoffs. enjoy the superbowl. and until next year, enjoy replays and espn classic games. that’s all we’ve got until august.

sporting the ricky williams jersey while cheering on the giants

 

the tale of the wedding dress

every girl dreams of her wedding dress. she thinks about the style. the cut. will it have glitter? will it have bows? will it have rhinestones? it’s amazing how those dreams change as the girl gets older. and i fit the mold of “that girl.” i had ideas about what i wanted my wedding dress to look like. i even changed my mind and dreams as i was wedding dress shopping. it’s amazing how your ideas change as you try things on. the wedding dress that i wanted had lace, flowers, sleeves, and a full open back. however, the dress i bought was strapless, lacy, and had a real vintage look to it. there were definitely some similarities between the one i had in my notebook and the one i ended up getting.

it’s interesting how a girl preparing for marriage puts her wedding dress on this pedestal. it’s perfect!

before the wedding

but after the wedding, what happens to the dress? where’s your dress? some of you would probably be shocked to know that my dress is hanging over the door to our bathroom. i haven’t decided what to do with it yet. i know i really need to take it to the cleaners, but there’s no time table now. there’s no date telling me when i need to have that done. so it’s just waiting. i’m just waiting.

after the wedding

my question for you is, what did you do with your wedding dress? is it appropriate to think about selling it? or is it kind of like a huge souvenir that i just need to hold onto for a while. will i want it in 50 years? or will i just box it up and stick it under the bed or in storage somewhere?

help! where is your wedding dress?

i love the mountains

standing on top of grandfather mountain

 

standing in the middle of the swinging bridge

i love our shadows in this picture

sitting on top of grandfather mountain. this was amazing!

doesn't even capture how amazing the view was!

i looked down. it wasn't so bad.

patrick conquering the mountain like daniel boone once did (:

and then we saw two fat bears.

patrick and i are spending our last day in the mountains today. in a few minutes we’ll be headed to the parkway to check out some overlooks, going to an apple orchard to hopefully (fingers crossed) get some apples, and then later this afternoon we’re going to blowing rock for supper.

while staying in the mountains, i’ve discovered how incredibly spoiled i am. the only coffee shop with internet access closes at 3pm. this is the first time i’ve touched my computer keys since last friday morning. that is an amazingly freeing thing. i’ve enjoyed a break from reality. and from life. patrick and i have enjoyed spending time with each other, taking in some amazing views of mountains, and we’ve also read a ton! i’m thankful for this break in my schedule and i’m hopeful i’m rejuvenated to make it to the end of 2011 with my students.

here we go…

i love working with kids (:

i reminisced over my blog posts yesterday, which was fun, but it was also very informative. i started writing on this blog several years ago. partly because i was bored. but i also started this blog because i love to write. that’s why i originally thought i wanted to work in the news. i wanted to write and tell people’s stories. but then i realized news demands so much of a person – it demands time. i wasn’t a huge fan of the hours, but there are times that i absolutely miss that job. i miss the adrenaline rush of gathering information for a new story. i miss talking to lots of different people every day. and oddly enough, i miss people hanging up on me. strange, but it comes with the territory.

anyway, i went back to school in 2009 to get my teaching degree. i felt a huge void in my life. i was working with kids at church and in other areas of my life, but i wasn’t really WORKING with kids. i did a lot of research and decided that a master’s degree in teaching was the best way to go. the program i got into took a year and a half to complete, which was awesome. i needed a job and really wanted to pursue my true passion of working with kids. well, as many of you know, it all worked out. i graduated from my program in december of 2010 and received my master of art’s in teaching degree. i’m now working on a daily basis in a 5th grade classroom. i love my fifth graders. (:

but now that i’m working with kids on a daily basis, i can’t help but listen to my heart. i work with kids in a variety of areas of my life and absolutely love it. not to say that kids don’t get on my nerves sometimes, but i do truly love the kids that are in my life. lately, i’ve felt this tug on my heart to do something more. to get more involved in some type of kid’s ministry. i have a student in my class this year that has a really hard time reading. i can’t help but feel that it’s my job to bring him all the way to grade level. that’s a lofty goal because he’s about 3 grade levels off the pace. and that’s when it hit me. i would love to do something in my community or neighborhood to help children learn to read. i want to connect with them. some kids only need 15 minutes with an adult. they need to hear an adult read. and read well. then they can pick up the words and figure out the whole reading thing on their own. but they just need an adult’s time. i don’t have a ton of time to give, but since i’m working in an area that i love, i really do feel like i have more time to offer than is probably actually the case. sounds strange, i know.

i’m hopeful that this idea will be fruitful in the future. maybe it starts as a small, home group activity and grows into something bigger. if you have ideas or if you’re interested in helping this idea come to life, let me know. at this point, i can’t think beyond the actual idea. but i don’t want to let it go. i would love the help with this and know many children in this community would feel the true benefits of a program like this. fingers crossed it comes to life…

i love october

things i love about october:

1. cooler temperatures and clear, sunny days
2. i’m tracked out of school for the second time this school year. what an amazing time of year!
3. the leaves are changing and falling
4. i’ve almost been married for 3 months. we’re still newlyweds (:
5. pansies and mums
6. pumpkins
7. halloween candy
8. halloween
9. mountains
10. flowers from my husband
11. my birthday!
12. wedding pictures are back and they are awesome!

here are some of my favorite pictures. and some fall pictures. i hope you enjoy the rest of your october (:

we are so happy (cade bowman photography)

one of my favorites (cade bowman photography)

october flowers on the deck (:

the pumpkin will be carved, soon.

trackout flowers from my husband (:

Asheville, NC

patrick and i got married last sunday, august 7. i can’t believe it’s already been almost a week. it was a whirlwind of a weekend. everything was absolutely amazing. our friends and family are great. we were so honored to have everyone there celebrating with us. we love each other very much. but we definitely felt the love from all of you! thanks for taking part in our day with us. i’ll share wedding pictures once we get them. but, enjoy these pictures from our honeymoon. they tell a pretty fun story (:

the umstead (monday morning)

i'm excited about being married (:

the grove park inn - our home away from home (for five days)

headed to dinner monday night

one thing patrick learned about me on our honeymoon - i'm really bad at directions. one thing i learned about him - he is too!

dinner at barley's. foosball afterwards. p downing - 2. j downing - 0. ready for a rematch.

day 2 - awesome view from the terrace (getting ready to head into town)

i do love turtles.

i'm a pretty good windmill.

lunch at mamacitas - YUM!

awesome view we found. i think the road was called sunset summit or something like that. very cool.

dinner tuesday night

patrick pretends to be serious a lot. he was excited (:

who wouldn't be excited about honey, homemade jam, and biscuits?!

hanging out at jack of the wood.

amazing sunset tuesday night.

that's right. room service!

headed to the biltmore house. we were excited.

short hike up to the house. the sign said 8 minutes. i'd say like 5.

beautiful picture patrick took of the house.

being goofy in the italian garden.

in front of our new house (:

beautiful view to the left side of the house

the flower was almost the same size as my head. impressive.

over patrick's shoulder. walking around the biltmore gardens.

the waterfall near bass lake. biltmore.

patrick in front of the waterfall. look at that ring (:

in front of bass lake. this was a gorgeous spot!

this is how pears grow at the biltmore house. awesome.

we're both nerds. we did the audio tour of the biltmore house. it was amazing!

patrick being artsy on the front lawn of the biltmore house.

love this.

dinner on the sunset terrace.

the view during dinner.my sweet husband.

the garden at sunny point cafe

sunny point cafe

in the garden at sunny point cafe

then we threw the aerobie in the park. and of course, i threw one in a tree.

then patrick taught me how to play chess. this was the beginning of the game. by the end, i was ticked. my brain has a hard time with games like chess.

after a relaxing morning, we headed back to the room. i got ready to go to the spa. i was so excited to get an appointment. i called monday night and they told me they were booked up. but tuesday morning we decided to go downstairs to the spa just to see what it was all about. there were several appointments, so i booked one. since i had a thursday appointment, i got to hang out at the spa all day. i spent some time by the pool outside, hung out in the steam room (it’s hard to breathe in there), and sat by the pools inside too. patrick came down around 5. they had special passes he could get for a few hours in the evening. i was hidden in a little cave area, so he couldn’t find me. i didn’t end up spotting him until about 6. we spent some time together before my massage and then had a little more time in the hot tubs and pools after my massage. since i had a late massage, i missed the sunset. but patrick drew me an awesome picture! the spa was great. i would definitely recommend it to anyone going to the grove park inn. you pay for what you get, but it’s definitely worth it.

last night at the grove park. dinner at the great hall bar.

i’m so happy about being married. we had such a great time on our honeymoon and i can’t wait for many more fun trips together. this was a great start to our marriage.

wedding sneak peek

the wedding is sunday. i don’t think i’ve ever been this excited about any day in my life. we’ve been planning since january (we took a few days to actually enjoy being engaged and to celebrate christmas before we really started planning). i can’t believe it’s already 9 months later. the wedding venue is set. we just have to wait for one other couple to use it before us. the flowers are a go. i cannot wait to see what lyn graves from fresh affairs is going to do to the sutherland with his creativity. the caterer is set and ready to go with total guest numbers and a finalized menu. one of the most exciting parts of the night will be the fried mac n’ cheese balls from thrills from the grill.

our family is ready. our friends are ready. and most importantly, patrick and i are ready to get married! i hate to say this about my own wedding, but i’m tired of planning. i’m tired of waiting. i just want to see everything come together. and i especially want to feel everything that i’m supposed to feel on my wedding day. the stress and pressure that has built up in me over the last couple of weeks is ridiculous. i have woken up a few times this week with a serious stress headache. i’d like to say i’m not really stressed because i’m not. i’m ready. i couldn’t be more happy about marrying my best friend. my stuff is moved in (for the most part). we’ve settled in. unpacked gifts from showers. we’re ready to be married. we’re just waiting to make it official. and to actually LIVE together. that’s the most exciting part. 4 more days…

here’s a sneak peek of what you will see on our wedding day. your guess is as good as mine about how everything will look together. we’ll see you at 4:30 on sunday. and we’re praying for no rain (:

The wedding program (thanks Shelly Moore - it turned out great!)

the signs amaree davis helped me make for the wedding

and we officially signed up to be on the same cell phone plan today. that’s a big deal! (:

the infamous wedding program

for the last week, i have worked hard to create the wedding program. this task has been more difficult than picking my wedding gown. or anything else pertaining to the wedding. it’s hard. i’m a creative person, but not when it comes to the little piece of paper that tells everyone what’s happening during the ceremony. here’s why this is a difficult decision for me.

1. patrick and i sat down and mapped out the wedding ceremony about a month ago. yet, i can’t get that information onto a one-page program. why?!
2. i have a specific idea in mind, but can’t seem to get that to translate onto my microsoft word blank document.
3. how is it that people diy their wedding program and create something amazing and cute?
4. i need help!
5. oh but, the budget is tight, so i need inexpensive (if not FREE) help with this.

the below pictures are what i have in mind. i already have the information i want to include down on paper. i just need some kind of designy “thing” to put at the top of the program. then i’ll be ready to print and store.

love these

would love your input. thanks!

i am outdoorsy! (is that a word?)

i have been looking forward to spring break for a few months now. probably since the beginning of february. the weeks of school seemed to get longer. and snow kept trying to take days of sb 2011 away. but i finally made it. about a month before spring break, us (me and patrick) and the franceses discussed going backpacking. i’ve never been camping, so i wasn’t sure what backpacking included. and to be honest, i was a bit nervous about it. but i was desperate to get out of town.

patrick and i went out last friday afternoon. he bought me a pack. and i bought some chacos. i was so excited. but wow, camping stuff is expensive! once i got my pack, i couldn’t wait to pack. i spent the day on saturday getting everything together. i laid out clothes and bagged them up. i put everything in zip lock bags because there was a 30-40% chance of rain. and i was certain, it being my first trip, that it would rain on us. i also packed extra trash bags and shopping bags, just in case.

we have great friends, so we didn’t have to buy loads of other stuff. we borrowed thermarests from the fishes, and i also borrowed a sleeping bag. listen, i’ve never been camping, i didn’t have anything. i went to target on saturday night to get food. i know backpacking is all about being light, but i didn’t want to be hungry! i bought granola, oatmeal, beef jerky, tuna (in the pouch), dried fruit, fruit roll ups, trail mix, and bagels. i ended up leaving the bagels behind because i wasn’t sure how to pack them. needless to say, we didn’t eat of the food that i brought on the trip. but we didn’t go hungry either. jessie purchased some “backpacking” meals which you just add hot water to. i was thankful for that because by the end of the day, i was ready for a hot meal. and both meals patrick and i had were pretty awesome. we had chicken and rice on the first night and lasagna on the second night.

we left on tuesday and got to grayson highlands, virginia around 4:30 or 5. we started the hike and i was immediately nervous. the trail was rocky, my shoes sucked, and i was winded. i felt how out of shape i am. i wasn’t sure what i had gotten myself into. but my decision was quickly gratified.  the scenery was gorgeous. the mountains were beautiful. we could see for miles. and the weather was awesome. i was so excited to get set up. the first day, we only hiked for about an hour and a half. we stopped to take a few pictures along the way.

view from tuesday afternoon

awesome views!

me and tahoe (my pack was huge)

a quick picture break

we set up camp on the top of a mountain (it felt like). we were surrounded by large rocks. on the first day we ran into a few other backpackers, which was pretty cool. in my mind, i figured we were going to be out in the middle of nowhere with no one else in sight. that was not the case. jess and i set up the tents while the boys were out collecting firewood (sounds so 1800s doesn’t it?). jess and i should’ve been more thoughtful with our tent location. more on that later. we unpacked our sleeping stuff and got our tents in order. then we put on warm clothes and hunkered down for the night. we saw some wild ponies down in a valley, which was cool. i didn’t know wild ponies were in the mountains too.

we went to bed pretty early because we were tired and we had a lot of hiking to do the next day. however, i did not sleep well on my first night. like i said before, jessie and i were not very thoughtful with our tent placement. it was super windy the first night, so i was pretty much pinned under the tent for the majority of the night. the wind was blowing so hard that at some points, my side of the tent was on top of me, like an extra cover. jessie and i didn’t get much sleep. i was up around 6:15 because i had had enough. tahoe and denali enjoyed having someone awake with them. they ran all over the place, following me around. there was a gorgeous sunrise, so i didn’t mind being up. but the wind was still pretty wicked. and the sky was filled with dark clouds. i was sure we were in for some kind of storm. and boy was it cold. i was thankful i had taken sweatpants with me. not super light for the pack, but they paid off.

jessie was up about 15 minutes after me. once we were both out of the tent, it was pretty comical to watch it blowing over. we were inside that thing while it was doing that. that’s what was so ridiculous about it. the boys were up shortly after us. jess and i packed up our tent because we were so over our night. and then the bottom fell out. the rain started. and it was cold. we all crammed into the boy’s tent and ate breakfast. once the rain was over, we started our hike. the sky was still pretty ominous…

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i tried to write this post right when we got back, but school was in, so i failed to get it done. here i am trying to write it 3.5 months later. i think i’ll just post the videos and pictures and spare you the stories. just know that i had a blast.

_______________

brent and jessie (with denali) setting up camp the first night

(day 2) cleaning up camp - notice me and jessie's tent (blown over)

rainy second day. yep, we were twins.

hiking the trail

camp - day 2. it was awesome!

soon to be married to this man.

our view on the hike out - gorgeous!

it really was an awesome trip. i’m looking forward to more backpacking in my future! living out of a bag for a few days isn’t as bad as i thought (: