Weekend Get-Away

This past weekend the Burton's and the Hobson's went on a weekend get-away with the Giles'!
We packed up the cars and headed to Crackle Barrel for breakfast and then made our way up to Cincinnati for the weekend.
We drove straight to the Outlets and shopped till we dropped. All the boys were big troopers during this ~ especially Colby! After that we checked into the hotel, ate dinner at Rockbottom Cafe and walked around downtown for a bit.
On Sunday was the big event...we went to a Reds game! And not just any Reds game, we were in the Club Seats and had a HUGE floor filled with all you can eat anything and everything and free drinks the entire game! Plus it was over 95 degrees so heading inside to the AC and private bathrooms were great too!
{The Giles'. Thanks Mom and Dad!}
{The Burton's}
{Downtown Cincy}
{Roomies}
{Colby's favorite thing to do - ride up and down the escalator}

{The Giles' and their Hubby's}
{Food Everywhere! Nachos, Cheeseburgers, Hot Dogs, Pulled Pork, Pizza, Ice Cream...You name it!}
{So close!}
{The Hobson's ~ Kelli, Eric, Colby, and Cameron on the way}
{Their seats were in the sun but they soon moved to ours in the shade!}

Hope you had a good weekend!

GiGi's

The other night I surprised Brian with GiGi's Cupcakes! If you are from around Lexington, you know that GiGi's cupcakes are all the rave right now. And they should be because they are delicious! I personally have only had them one time, but B's office gets treats oftentimes from them so I knew he'd be excited!

B passed his first final for his certification program he's working on ~ CFP. I'm pretty proud of B for going back to 'school' as I know all too well how hard it is to work and go to school all at the same time {lucky duck doesn't have to endure night classes!!!!!!!}. So I told him we'd celebrate by grilling out steak. Little did he know he got a treat! :)

We had some super yummy steak just from Kroger's but put a Jack Daniel's marinade over it. Then we grilled corn in the husk and I made jalapeno butter to brush on it. We didn't want to eat too much more so we'd be hungry for the cupcakes!

MMMMMMM :) Mint Chocolate Chip & Hot Fudge Sundae

Money is so Taboo

It is. It's so not appropriate to talk about.
If you talk about it too much you're annoying because you either whine about not having enough or brag about having lots.

Well money is one of those big topics they have you spend a lot of time on during pre-marital counseling. B and I did great on that. We really did. Scored like the best overall on the financial part.

Anyways, today I did something awkward. I went shopping (not the awkward part) at Target. I needed to get some cards and I found a $5 off coupon in my Redbook magazine (this is SO not your mother's magazine. it's like a cosmo for married ladies. it's sooo interesting; and Mom, no, we cannot talk about the contents of this magazine together. too weird~but thanks for giving it to me each month). So, I decided to check out some of the clothes there. YESSSS they had their fall stuff out and I love good conservative school clothes for the Fall.

So, I picked out 4 items that I felt I needed to continue my style of a J.Crew-esque look without the $100+ price tag. I love doing that. I love finding clothes I love from somewhere expensive and then putting it together from cheaper stores like Target, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's. I'm a good Marshall's shopper.

Ok, back to the point.
I started feeling bad about dropping some money on myself. I haven't shopped for myself that much this summer because I've been too consumed with buying things to decorate our home with. So I called B.
YES, I really did.
I called him and asked him if I could buy some school clothes.
He said no....
HA, just kidding. He did what any self-respecting good husband would do and said, "Sure honey."
That was that.
Why did I feel like I needed to ask him if it was ok? I used to buy clothes about once a week when I was single. Why did I feel the need to check with my husband? That's not the kind of marriage we have. I don't ask permission to do things.
But today I did.
I was on the other line with my sister and I asked her about it. She said to NEVER call him again and ask that; that it was silly and unnecessary.

I guess it's just one of those many things that I'm adjusting to. :)
He knows and I know I'm not an over-shopper who spends, spends, spends on myself.
So why did I make it awkward? Who knows!

I can see the light

This past Saturday started out pretty bad. The hubby and I had planned all week to lay by the pool Saturday sipping cocktails {ok, beer for him I'm sure} and reading silly magazines all day.

We woke up to rain and gray skies.
So sad.

We decided to get up and go to Cracker Barrel to eat to jump start the day. We are both the same and could lay around all day, but knew we didn't want to waste a rare Saturday we had with nothing planned. So after we enjoyed a yummy vacation-ish breakfast {who really goes to eat there unless you're on vacation?!?} we went over to Hobby Lobby {YES I got him to go saying I knew exactly what I wanted to get and he could time me ~ too bad it was only items to make some more UK wreaths} and then went over to Lowe's. We walked around Lowe's for forever it seemed like thinking about things to do to our home.

We are very lucky to have gotten to build our first home. We've basically picked out everything we wanted in our price range and I think did a good job upgrading items where we knew it would really make a dramatic difference. It was also so good for us to make all the decisions together and it was pretty intense. Going from which wall color will match the stone to the woodwork to the crown molding the carpet, the counter tops, the tile, the floor, etc. SH000 WEE!!!
However; with that said, there are some things we knew we wanted but were told it would be a lot cheaper to just do ourselves instead of paying Ball Homes at the time of contract{mainly lighting}.

As I've expressed to you before, B is not your typical handy-man. He didn't grow up helping his Dad on big projects, and he doesn't spend his free time building things, but he HAS become quite the little handy-man of our home. He's learned to put up 2 ceiling fans in practically the dark, paint a large room and bathroom, and so on. This weekend, he learned to install a light and caulk/cover the remnants from the old light. I'm so proud!

Like I said, we assessed what we wanted to change, and it was basically the lighting in the kitchen as the number one choice. By the time the lighting meeting was happening last fall, we were so tired/consumed/overwhelmed/over-it with all the decisions we were making, we decided to skip the lighting meeting and just said we'd take all the standard lighting for everything. Probably a mistake, but overall the lighting we have is great and we didn't need to upgrade on anything else!
EXCEPT the kitchen light. It's a large fluorescent light. Riiiight. You know what I'm talking about. It's about the length of the kitchen, has not one but 2 long tube lights, and is overall non-attractive! It does give off a lot of light ~ I'll give it that.

SO, we took the rest of the 'house money' we had from the wedding, and bought ourselves a very nice looking light. It's AWESOME! After a few under-the-breath cuss words and 2 different times putting it in he ceiling {hey, it might as well be right, right?!} my handy-man hubs put this awesome looking light in. See for yourself! Hope you like. And yes, it give off just as much if not more light.:)




I think I'll stick to the decorating thing ~ it's much more fun than doing big changes!

Wish I had real before and after pics, but in true Burton fashion, we got an idea in our heads and made it happen fast!

Alison's Wedding

I've spoken about the 3 other girls in my life that are in my life group {too bad they don't blog, too!}. We've had other people come and go in the group, but the 4 of us have stayed constant for about 5 years now. That's a long time.

I remember when we started our study we were all in different places with many things in life, including relationships. And as I've stated in past posts, we've been through lots of relationships, guys, and just plain dumb boys together ~ but within one year all 4 of us got engaged and are all slowly getting married. It is so neat to share one of the main desires of all our hearts with one another and know how good, fun, and pure Marriage can be.

This past weekend was Alison's turn. Her wedding was so pretty! Here are a few snapshots from the night. Unfortunately the only picture of the 4 of us is on the photographer's camera...so that will be coming!
{me and Amanda}
{me and the bride, Alison!}
{my high school buddies who also went to high school with Nick. R-L:me,Allison, Whitney}
{Jordan and I~she was the maid of honor}
{my cute hubby of 4 months and I}

Brian and I have really been wanting to change my life group into a couple's life group and we are learning how important it is to have good Godly marriages around you to help your relationship. We are hoping to really make this happen with this group, it's just been hard with the different work schedules of everyone when not everyone has a regular 9-5 job. Hopefully that will change soon!
{here are some of the men, the groom was a bit busy that night! R-L: B, my hubby; Nick, Jordan's fiance; Philip, Amanda's husband}

Delicious Dessert

After I made Brian's favorite meal, we decided to go get a blizzard from Dairy Queen. I had cried almost every night this week because I've been feeling so worn out from getting to work early and staying late {I know, I'm pathetic}, and I can't help but feel like I'm back to being a boring wife falling asleep before 9:30.

So anyways, we went to get ice cream because that always makes you feel better!

Did you know Dairy Queen had Mini Blizzards? I thought they were new. Today when I tried to talk about it to my students they told me it's been around for a while.
Well it's new to me! Yummmm-O! AND they are only $1.99 and the.perfect.size.


And yes, it made me much happier. :) I even stayed up to hang out with my husband until 10:15. Then I freaked out and had to go to sleep.
..So looking forward to the weekend!

But, all-in-all I think I've been very blessed with a great class. Obviously this is a sign considering all things I've been wondering about what my role in life is. I'm nowhere ready to say I'm back on the bandwagon of teaching for the rest of my life, but actually liking to go to work to see the KIDS is helpful. And again, it wasn't the kids last year, it was the DRAMA-RAMA that surrounded every day that caused me to just feel so.worn.out. I wish I could post a picture of them ~ every year I forget how small they are coming in the class in August. But I'm NOT crazy nor trying to get sued, so of course, I'd never think to do that.
So, thank you Lord for giving me sweet, thoughtful, well-mannered students with a few crazies but nothing I haven't had before. I appreciate it. :)

Not-Your-Average Coleslaw Wrap

I think I just made the easiest plus yummiest meal ever.
Of course, I know the meal is approved if my husband states, "put this on the rotation, baby".

He did.

So here you go.

Not-Your-Average Coleslaw Wrap
{I would have a pic, but forgot. SORRY! I know pics are always better than the recipe!}
What you need:
1 package of Tortilla wraps
about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
small Tyson bag of pre-cooked Southwestern style chicken strips (you know, the kind you only need to cook for 3 minutes)
Mayo
Salt & Pepper
Hot Sauce
Broccoli and Raisin Salad (from the deli~it's already pre-packaged)
How to make:
Cook the chicken strips in a skillet on Med-Hi for about 5 minutes. Add Salt & Pepper and hot sauce over the chicken.
Meanwhile, heat 4 wraps (for 2 people) in the microwave for 40 seconds.
Take one knife spread of Mayo in the middle of the wrap
Place chicken strips over Mayo
Layer with Broccoli & Raisin coleslaw and top with cheese
Then wrap and secure with a toothpick

Yes, it's that easy.
And oh-so-delish! I don't really like raisins but I swear I couldn't taste it. The sweet and cold paired with hot and spicy was so yummy!

I paired it with 90 second garden rice from Uncle Ben's Rice and fried some green tomatoes courtesy of my Dad's farm. MMMMMmmmm.

Disclaimer~I'm sure this has been made before, but I didn't find this in a recipe book so I couldn't give credit where credit was due. I just had wraps and chicken in the fridge and was craving coleslaw but found this new kind. Who craves coleslaw? Apparently this girl does.

Let me know if you try it! :)

Date Night

We were pitiful Friday night. B's meds have still not kicked in and he wasn't feeling too good, so we decided to rent a movie and get Fazoli's.

We watched Date Night. It was HILARIOUS! We don't get around to watching too many movies, but this one was definitely worth the time. Within the first 3 minutes we were cracking up thinking the couple was just like us - they went to dinner and started making up stories about couples around them, and then the wife got into bed putting in her retainers! HAHA

On Saturday we both just layed around the house. I wasn't really in the mood to go lay by the pool in the heat and B is still not feeling great, so we just hung out all day. Our friends Alison and Nick are getting married tonight! I hope B feels like going with me!

Have a good weekend!

PS- Here are what my flowers ended up looking like from my first day of school~

My New Obsession

Ok, so I have a lot...but...right now it's these plates.

LA Plates
Aren't they oh-so-cute?? AND the best part is you can monogram, initial, or personalize each one a different way but they all go together to make a set!

I saw these while I was searching all the cute websites for BM gifts. I kept thinking they were cute, but who would really need plastic plates after getting nice dishes for wedding gifts? ...Little did I know I'd soon want to go back to my apartment days of using plastic plates!

Over the course of about a month, I realized sometimes I want to use a light-weight, easy to rinse off plate to eat on without using my nice dishes.
WELL THESE ARE PERFECT!
Yes, you could make a matchy-matchy set of plates; but what's the fun in that? I want all different colors, all different designs, and all different fonts and personalization. Oh the possibilities!!! :) The only drawback is they are $22.00 per plate{plus shipping, and I've checked other sites...this one is the cheapest} which isn't that bad, but when you're wanting a set of 8 and you're a newlywed you can't just buy anything. Eh, it'd take a while to get each one, but how cute would you be serving little Southern Living sandwiches on these plates! {too bad I wouldn't have them in time to show off to my college friends by Book Club!}

The funniest part is, the day I was showing B these plates my Mom emailed me saying she liked and wanted them too! Must be where I get my taste from.

Visit this site to try out your own possibilities!

*Tomorrow is Friday, and I'm so happy! This girl needs to ease back into working. Too bad my hubby has double pneumonia. :( He's had a temp of 102 for a while...hoping he gets to feeling better soon!

First Day Update

Today I started my 6th year of teaching.

I woke up at 5:15 am {of course with a night of no sleeping}, arrived at school at 6:15am, and left at 4:45pm.

I hope this is not a trend.

Then I came home to my mom and Granny waiting on me to show Granny my house, cooked a PF Changs dinner (SO EASY) for dinner, emptied the dishwasher, ironed my clothes, and wrote a few thank-you notes to some sweet kiddos who brought me desserts today. They must not be aware I'm trying to take off the extra weight I've gained since the wedding, not add on to it!

The day all in all was pretty good! I've got some good kids I think. They all listened pretty well, and of course the ones I had been warned about didn't seem like anything I hadn't seen before or couldn't handle.
I hope this IS a trend. :)

I also got this sweet little diddy from ProFlowers from my hubby. I can't wait to see what they will look like once they are bloomed!
and of course when my assistant saw these, she quickly reminded me of how much I used to HATE getting flowers sent to work in the past years...and she was right...but now, I don't get them all the time, and when they come from my hubby, and not a poor innocent guy I wouldn't give the time of day to, I know it means a lot!

Where I'm At

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had a lot going on last week. I'm very proud to say that my hubby and I made quite a big decision last week/weekend for our future. I feel really good about the discussions we had all week about the topic and what we chose. Although I'm not ready to share it with all of you; I feel so good that 1.) B recognized the fact that is was our decision, not just his or mine, 2.) we made it together without input/opinions of others, and 3.) we both weighed the pros and cons, listened to one another, and prayed together.

In other news, I've been here...






{photos really taken for my classroom blog}
and will be here until May!! My posts may get less and less, but keep checking back with us!

**Although this post says it's Monday, I didn't finish it until Tuesday.
We had our Open House last night. It brought with it the usual ~ timid kids and outrageous parents! {In a great way and uneasy way}
I just have one question for you...
Would you ever go up to someone and say "My how old, wrinkled, and weathered you look?"
Well I hope not.
And that's basically the opposite that always happens to me. Whenever there is a new student at my school {who doesn't know my name/reputation/abilities/etc}, I get this comment "How many years have you been teaching. How old are you?"
I MEAN REALLY? So rude. Older teachers say how I'll like it in a few years. Right now, I find it rude and appalling! SHEESH. Oh well. Hopefully that was a one-time-deal.{Too bad I got an email asking the same question AGAIN this morning from the same person.}

Well I start tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Girls Night and Bacon Pasta!

On Saturday night, the girls I'm in a life group with, got together for a little girls night and to help Alison with last minute wedding details. She's getting married next Saturday!
Although Alison didn't bring too much for us to work on over {she's on top of things!} we had a fun night cooking together and hanging out. It happened that all our husbands/fiance's were busy as well so it was perfect!
I had the girls over and made Bacon Pasta {recipe to follow}. It was SO GOOD! My MIL made this while we were in HHI, so I decided to try it out! Amanda brought over bread and wine and we made a little oil dipping sauce to go with the bread {just pour olive oil and rosemary into a bowl}. Alison brought over wine and brownies, and Jordan brought over a yummy Caesar salad and more wine! You'd think we were wine-o's but only 1 bottle was drank between the 4 of us! ha!

Here are a few pictures from the night~
{My oh my how far the 4 of us have come in our boy life! R-L: Amanda, Jordan, Alison, Me}
{Amanda and her yummy bread!}
{I got to use a new kitchen item!}
{the woman of the night, Alison, & her brownies!}
{We helped Alison wrap up all her lingerie for her Honeymoon}

And here's the oh-so-yummy recipe!
Penne Bacon Pasta
Prep Time: 20 min., Bake time: 25 min.
16 oz. pkg. Penne or Ziti Pasta
24 oz. Low Fat Cottage Cheese
½ C. Butter
½ C. All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. White Pepper***
¼ tsp. Garlic Salt
3 C. Half and Half Cream (Low-Fat)
1 C. Milk (1% or 2%)
16 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 C. Crumbled Bacon*
1/3 C. Bread Crumbs
Cook pasta according to package.

Meanwhile, place cottage cheese in food processor or blender and process until smooth.

In a large saucepan, melt ½ c. butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and garlic salt until smooth. Gradually add cream and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2minutes or until thickened.

Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, white sauce and ¾ c. bacon. Toss to coat.

Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Melt 1 tbsp. Butter and toss with bread crumbs.** Sprinkle over casserole.

Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining bacon. Bake 5 minutes longer or until bubbly.

My little changes-
*I bought the pre-packaged ready-to-eat bacon bits that were Great Value brand and they worked great and didn't involve prep time
**I accidentally used ALL the butter in the first step {whoops!} and just tore off small piece of bread and put over the pasta
***I am horrible at finding spices. If they are not in my spice rack or spice bucket, I seem to not be able to find them in the store. So I didn't add this, I just added a little bit of regular pepper and it still tasted the same!
Either way I think it turned out great!

Hope you make it and enjoy this recipe, too! I am excited for B to get home from his golf trip and try out the left-overs tonight!

{I wanted to share my new lamp we got at the Keeneland Marketplace sale. It was 80% off and although still a bit pricey, we couldn't pass up how cute it fits in our decor!}