Easy Peasy Banana Cake

Well my pharm test wasn't too painless, I knew most of it but there was still plenty that I guessed on. Some of these drug names are like a foreign language, there's just no rhyme or reason to memorize them. I know I got the Statin drugs which are used for high cholesterol correct though, because they all end in "statin"! I love the names that make sense, but they're few and far between. It's so nice to just be able to relax tonight, I'll probably even get to watch some Grey's, woohoo!

On Saturday, I'm taking my 4 yo nephew Levi to the circus. They're advertising all kinds of neat stuff including tigers, which I've never seen at the circus before. I'm such a kid inside! I haven't gotten to spend much time with him lately so it will be great to take him to do something special.

I was over at my sister's house a few weeks ago and playing with Levi in his room. Then he started telling me that he asks his momma "evwy single daaaayy" if he can come over to see my parents and I. He crawled up in my lap and hugged me and laid his head on my shoulder for about 5 minutes. I, of course, started crying like a baby. I've missed him so much and I really want to always be an important part of his life. I figured, him a being the busy 4 year old that he is, he wouldn't actually miss me that much so I was surprised that he was so emotional too.
It will be awesome to have some just me-and-him time Saturday and he's super excited about going to the circus.

Now, about the Banana Cake recipe I promised. It never fails that every time I buy a bunch of bananas at the store, we end up with one or two that have over-ripened and are brown and spotted. Since those bananas are sweeter, they're perfect for this recipe. I've been making this cake for about 10 years now (I learned how to make it in my 6th grade home-ec class) and it's always yummy and moist. Just be sure to use ones that are spotty, I think the purely black bananas are too far gone.

Easy Banana Cake
Courtesy of Mrs. Norma Wells, my home-ec teacher.

* 2 ripe bananas
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 4 Tbsp milk
* 1 cup flour
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. baking soda
* 1 Tbsp vanilla
* Cinnamon sugar for topping

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x9 pan
2. Mash the bananas with the sugar in a medium bowl
3. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg with the milk
4. Add the egg mixture to the banana mixture and stir well
5. In a separate medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and the baking soda
6. Gradually add the flour mixture to the bananas, stir well to combine
7. Stir in the vanilla and pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar
8. Bake 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

*It usually takes longer than the 30 minutes in my oven, just be sure to check it with a toothpick.

Hope you like it. The cinnamon sugar creates a crispy top and the cake is so moist.

-kcc

sleep deprivation induced grumpiness

I feel like I haven't posted in forever, and I haven't had too much time to read all the blogs that I love to keep up with. School has been crazy the past two weeks. It just seems like some big assignment or project has popped up in each of my six classes, and I'm having a hard time keeping up. I've been up until 2-3 a.m. the majority of the nights the past 2 weeks trying to finish homework. I have to fess up though, I usually don't start on my work until late, usually 7 or 8 in the evening, so that's the main reason why I'm up so late getting it all done.

I was up til 2:30 last night finishing up a study guide for my Pharmacology exam that's tomorrow. I woke up at 7:58 this morning. I'm supposed to be at work at 8.

So I scrubbed my face, brushed my teeth, and threw my hair up into a messy bun. I was out the door in 15 minutes! That's a huge record for me, I was impressed. Of course, once I got up to the school, the fatigue set in and I could barely keep my peepers open. It will probably be a repeat tonight; I've got to do an outline for a research project for my Art class, study for Pharm, finish up some Composition homework, and do some painting on my second project for Art Foundations.

Why am I on blogger right now???? This is probably the reason why I'm behind, Procrastination!

Now, on to some good news. (After spending five minutes telling you how super busy I am) I've signed up for a few swaps! I'm going to do two apron swaps that are due in March and April, so I'll be busy on my sewing machine during Spring Break come Mid-March. I have to incorporate vintage linens into one and the other is supposed to be a tea party themed apron. I'm excited to go rummaging through some antique shops to find the linens.

I also signed up for a Spring Stationary Swap that's being hosted by Lou Lou in Lilly. If you want to join, hurry on over because the deadline is this Friday. I love stationary and sending snail mail so this swap is perfect for me.

I also won my very first giveaway!!! It's a cookbook called Kissing and Cooking for Couples.


It's got some great date ideas and some yummy looking recipes. It was sponsored by Thrifty Jinxy's blog and I can't wait to crack it open and try out some of the recipes.

Speaking of recipes, I've got one of my favorites coming up tomorrow, it's called Easy Banana Cake.

Also, Whitney at Whitney Caroline Designs is giving away a super cute Monogrammed Note Board. Entries only accepted until tomorrow, so hurry on over. Also, check out her store, I'm quite smitten with her personalized travel cups.



Well, I'm out!
Talk to you ladies tomorrow. I've got to get my horrible to-do list done before I go insane from sleep-deprivation!

-kcc

The Letter Game

I thought this might be fun to do so I asked Steph to assign me a letter so that I could get in on all the fun! This took me alot longer than I expected it to, but here it finally is.

So, here are some of my favorite things that start with the letter "P"

1. PINK Boyfriend Sweatpants
I could live in these, they are sooo comfy!


2. Pediatrics
I want to specialize in pediatrics when I get out of nursing school.
Just pretend it's the future me in this photo, Kebi Cedawna, RN :)


3. Potato Casserole, specifically Mel's recipe. It's so so so yummy. I could seriously eat it with every single meal.


4. Pretty Woman
One of the classics, I love this movie so much. Besides, anything with Julia Roberts in it has to be good. Ooh, speaking of Julia, I love "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Something to Talk About". I can't even count how many times I've seen those three movies


5.Pregger Bellies
I know, it's kinda weird, but I love pregnant bellies! I touched Tarra's belly any chance I could when she was pregnant. Someday, some far, far away day, when I'm preggo, I'm sure I'll have my hand practically glued to my baby bump. This is my nephew giving Tarra's belly a kiss 4 days before she gave birth to little Bailey Ann. He was so excited for the baby to be born and he adores her so much now. He's such a great big cousin, Bailey runs to him now to hug him everytime she sees him and sometimes pushes him down in the process. They both giggle the whole time, sooo sweet.


6. Poodles
Especially these two sweethearts. Lacey is my dog, she's the one with the red bow and Tandy is my sister's.


7. Private Practice.
I wasn't too hot on this show at first, but now I'm hooked. I so want Charlotte and Cooper to just have a functional relationship, not too sure if that's going to actually happen though.


8. Perfume
I can't leave the house without a spritz and Chanel Chance, a gift from Matt, is definitely my favorite


9. Puma's
Every pair of Puma's I've ever owned were my favorite. I used to have a pink/black/gray pair that I loved so much but they're completely ruined now.



10. Promise Rings
This is my favorite 'P' thing. Matt gave me the smaller one the first year we dated and the other the Christmas before last. I'd say he's got pretty good taste, can't wait to see what the engagement ring will look like hehe.


I think most everyone has done this, but if you haven't and want to, just leave a comment and I'll get you a letter.

-kcc

Mucho Gracias!

School is a bummer this week, so much work piling up!
However everything else this week has been just fantastic.
I received my first ever blog award from Allison at The Displaced Texan which made me so happy. She's such a sweet gal and I love reading about her adventures as a military wife, and especially as a nurse. She's also a part of the other blog I'm a member of called Where Two or More Gather. She's always an inspiration, whether it be about nursing, life in Germany, or spiritual stuff.
Thanks Allison for thinking of me, you're so kind :)



So here's what the "Love Ya" award is all about:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award!"

I'll pass this fabulous award along to:
Lovely Yellow Ribbons She's so creative and always brightens my day
Honey and Quilts She's a wonderful girl and makes some of the most beautiful quilts I've ever seen
Dandelion Wishes I'm newbie to her blog, but she's so generous and entertaining
New Girl On Post The best friend a girl could have
French Kiss I so dream of being a runner like she is. Her blog is always so uplifting and she's such a nice gal
The Adventures of Jon and Steph Her photography and stories of traveling Europe are amazing
The Displaced Texan
Yep, I'm going to send it back to her too because she's just that awesome
Muffy Martini This girl has fabulous taste in fashion and her blog is always a good read.

Terrific Tuesday!

I know the title is pretty lame, what can I say, I suck at writing titles.



Today turned out to be pretty fabulous day.

Last night I was up til 3:30 a.m. trying to wrap up Project #2 for my Art Foundations class. I love this class, it's fun and non-stressful. I nice break from the more stressful classes I've had lately like Pharmacology, Microbiology, Anatomy & Physiology, and Intro to Logic. If anyone is interested I'll post some pics of my projects here for all to see. We're only doing black and white media right now so it's not too exciting but I do love the simplicity of the lack of color.

My alarm went off at 7:30 and with only 4 hours of sleep I did not want to get out of bed. The dark circles under my eyes are pretty obvious but I surprisingly had alot of energy anyway. Classes were fine and and during tutoring I was swamped. I had 3 students in all at once and helped people the whole 2 hours I was there, definitely a first because I really have only one girl who's a regular.

After doing tutoring work I headed to my third appointment for my Laser Hair Removal (LHR). It's pretty obvious that I've got dark hair thick hair and it's an evil of nature that I've been 'blessed' with the same dark facial hair and underarm hair. So instead of shaving daily and suffering from awful razor burn and waxing my face just about weekly, I saved up for LHR. I had a new technician doing it today that I've never had before and she informed me that my past 2 treatments were at too low of a level and she needed to up it to get the best results.

Usually it's not too painful because I have a numbing cream for my face and the pain on my underarms isn't too bad so I forgo the cream there. Let me tell you ladies, IT WAS PAINFUL! It stung a little on my face but not too bad. But when she got to my underarms, I was bawling. I kept clinching my fists, biting my tongue and trying to do deep breathing exercises but it really didn't help much. She gave me a stress ball to squeeze on but I thought I was going to rip in half. They tell you it feels like little rubber bands snapping on your skin when you sign up for the LHR. Big Fat Lie! More like electrocution each time the laser zaps your skin. Thankfully the pain subsides quickly and doesn't last too long. Forgive me, but I was so close to hollering out a few choice 4 letter words during the whole process.

After that ordeal was over, I headed to the city to meet my parents for some shopping and dinner. I had a reward certificate for Ulta and got a free container of Olay facial cloths and a tube of Bert's Bees chap stick for only 10 cents! On top of that my favorite mascara was buy one get one free. :)
We had dinner at Abuelos (my nana pronounces it "Ab-you-lows", an insider joke in our family. She also pronounces Colorado as "Cada-rada", and cappucino as "cop-ah-chino" haha. Thinking about it always makes me smile) I had their enchiladas which are now on my list as the best ever, which is pretty big, because Los Cabos' chicken enchiladas are to die for!

After the delicious dinner I headed over to Barnes & Noble to do an assignment for my Composition class which was finding 12 different books, each under a different genre and recording the title and author.
I had never been in a Barnes & Noble before, it's now officially my heaven on Earth! I will now be requesting B&N gift cards from the parents as gifts for every Birthday or Christmas from here on out. I could definitely do some damage to my wallet if I had the money to spend in that place. I've got a bit of problem and have a habit of buying books but never reading them. The bargain book piles at Waldenbooks in my hometown have definitely gotten the best of me a time or two. Hopefully, when nursing or biology texts don't rule my life, I'll be able to crack a few of these open, until then they sit in my bookcase collecting dust.

Since I was in the city I got to get some Starbucks, a couple of their enormous cookies, and some KrispyKreme donuts for breakfast tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm one happy girl.



When I got home I had a wonderful surprise in my mail box. A gift from Mamarazzi for being her 200th follower. It's a mini-pampering kit and includes nail polish, foot soak, adorable toe separators, a notepad, emery board, and some Pop Rocks candy along with a cute little card.
A Big thank you to her, that was so sweet and made my day!


I also got a great leather journal to start as my prayer journal for only $4.99 at Mardel's. If you can't already tell, I'm obsessed with getting a good deal any chance I can.

Fabulous Giveaway from Steph

The lovely Steph at The Adventures of Jon and Steph is hosting not only one great giveaway, but TWO fabulous, one-of-a-kind giveaways.
Go check out her blog and get in on the action!
She's offering either this really neat bottle art-bowl from Austria that can be used as a small bowl or a catch all for nick-knacks.



Or this great Mini scarf that she handmade and used authentic vintage buttons to accessorize.



I'd love to win either of these, as I'm sure you would too. So hop on over to her blog and enter!

My new love

Well,not really, but I am pretty smitten with my new handbag I got on sale at Dillard's last week. It was on sale for $26 and I had a $10 reward certificate my mom gave me to use, so the grand total was $16.
What a steal! I like how the print is bright and springy. And it's unique, what's not to love!

I've got a post about the letter game coming up soon, once I can get my creative juices flowing and finish it up.

I'm trying out 2 new recipes tonight for dinner, the infamous Marlboro Man Sandwich from Pioneer Woman and some creamy mashed potatoes that you cook in the crock pot. If it turns out great, I'll share the recipes with you all.

Oh, and since everyone's posting about V-day excitement, my Valentine's Day night was nice. Matt and I went over to his cousin Bryan's house and the men cooked steaks for us ladies. It was delicious and his cousin's wife Misty taught me how to make homemade tortillas, yummy and super easy. Just smear some butter or honey on em and I'm in heaven! I made a homemade Pineapple Upside Cake (Matt's favorite) for dessert which turned out heavenly as well.

Happy Monday everyone!

**Also, Allison's furbaby Addie recently had surgery and isn't doing too well. Please keep the two of them in your thoughts. I know I love my pets like they're my kids and it makes me just as sick when they're not feeling too well.

A delicious way to add an inch or two to your waist!

Today I had my dreaded Pharmacology exam and I'm pretty sure I bombed it. I'm not too worried about it because my professor will let us drop one exam, and judging by the fact that I was clueless for about 90% of the test, I'm predicting this will be the one to drop. There were probably 30 different drugs on this test so I'm going to have to spend ALOT more time studying for this class and filling out drug sheets with all the details on every single medication.

So...sadly, blogger will be getting less of my time these days. I'm sad that I've had to chisel away at my list of blogs I follow and cut it down to the only the ones that I really enjoy reading because I just don't have the time to catch up on all of them everyday.

Okay, I'm one of those people who has a hard time staying committed to a goal. I've decided to get in shape and lose some weight, all the while saying "and I mean it this time", oh about 15 times in the past six months. I've got a Wii Fit sitting in my living room that I haven't been on in 17 days and a Pilates DVD in my room that's only collecting dust. So now, I'm setting a goal to start running. I want to be running several miles, maybe 3 or 4 at least,a day by the end of the summer. I don't really care about losing weight, I just want to be fit and able to walk up the 3 flights of stairs at the college library without getting winded. So, any advice on how to get into a good routine while avoiding injury? I'd love any tips I can get.

Now, after revealing my goals to get in shape, I'm going to share a sinfully caloric,yet equally delicious,recipe for the best brownies ever. I don't remember where I got the recipe, I'm thinking on the Hershey's website. Anyway, a couple of batches of these beauties can definitely do some damage to a girl's waistline, so beware!

I don't have any pics of the one's I've made, but these look equally delicious!


Deep Dish Brownies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

2. Combine butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add eggs; beat will with a spoon or a spatula. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars, makes about 16 brownies.

Yumm!!!

Finding Perfection

One thing that I've always struggled with is striving for perfection. Whether it is school, work, or personal relationships, I feel like things should be ideal and I usually beat myself up when I screw up or they don't go as planned.
The worst part is my relationship with Matt. Up until this past year, I've struggled with things not going just perfectly. I imagined a fairy tale romance and was often disappointed when I was let down. It's taken much work and a great amount of praying, but I've finally realized that there is no such thing as perfect. Every couple argues and has disagreements. We certainly have our fair share of arguments but we've grown and can have a discussion instead of a knock-down drag-out fight. We can spend time explaining our feelings and trying to understand eachother instead of being angry and holding a grudge. Even when things don't end up my way, I always feel much better after we've discussed our disagreements.
I think that it's important to realize that everything won't always be pleasant, but as long as the good times outnumber the bad, it's all worth it. It's always refreshing to hear about other women's lives and to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't have a perfect fairy tale life.
I will always be a work in progress and still have my immature outbursts but I'm realizing that "life can be 'perfect' even though things don't go perfectly".
I know this post isn't too cheery but it's just something that's been on my mind
lately.

-kcc

Do this, pleeeeese

I received an email about this today from Allison and wanted to pass it on.
This is the email that she forwarded me:

Get a red envelope (Now is the time to get one from a valentine card.). On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington , D.C. 20500
On the back, write the following message.

"This envelope represents one child who died by abortion.
It is empty because that life was denied the chance to offer anything to the world.
Responsibility begins with conception".


On Thursday, the President said this at the National Prayer Breakfast:
"There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being."
This would be very appropriate to add to the message.

I didn't know that President Obama said this and I pray that he is sincere in his words. Now is the time to stand up for what you believe in. Afterall, it's our responsiblity to be the voice for the voiceless.

Also, I have received an email from a kind woman named Margaret who said that she has extra envelelopes and will place one in the mail in your name. If you don't have a red envelope, please email me your info and I will pass it on to her.

Thank you!!!
-kcc

It's a Beautiful Day!

I wanted to let everyone know that Becca at Lovely Yellow Ribbons has decided to start a devotional type blog and has had a good amount of response in favor of it. I've been wanting to start a devotional for myself but have had a hard time sticking to it. I think this will be just the thing to get me involved and accountable. If anyone is interested in joining in, go to this post to get the info.

This week will hopefully be pretty mellow. I have a Pharmacology test this Thursday and am already trying to get a study guide typed up today. I'm horrible at procrastinating and most always blow off studying until the night before the exam. I'm really trying to break that habit though. I guess I've gotten pretty lucky with my pharm teacher. She's an adjunct and is really laid back. Best of all, she gives a study guide for each exam which is pretty much verbatim what the test will be. Score!!!

The weather's been so nice this weekend that Matt went fishing Saturday and caught about 10 crappie. He brought it home last night and cooked it for dinner. I love it, it's flaky and has no fishy taste. It's by far my favorite fish! I'm starting to get used to him surprising me with dinner on Sunday nights, maybe he'll keep it up. Hopefully we'll have some time this week to go fishing if the weather stays nice. I've got a new pink rod and reel that I want to break out. Hey, a girl's gotta crappie fish in style!
This is the one I have from Bass Pro


It's pretty humorous when we go fishing because I'm pretty horrible at it. No one ever took me fishing before I met Matt so he's taught me everything I know. I still have trouble casting the line and more often than not get it tangled up in something. And I haven't quite mastered being able to detect if the fish bites, especially catfish because they're so darn sneaky. Last summer I overcame my fear of worms (I HATE worms, worse that spiders or bugs!) and learned how to bait my own hook for once. Thankfully, Matt's pretty patient though and just rehooks the line and usually casts it for me while I just reel it in if I get a fish.

All of the pictures from Bailey's birthday are on my sis' camera so I'll have to get them uploaded another time. Her cake turned out great but it was huge! I think we used 6 boxes of cake mix in all and had half of the cake leftover after the party. Not very good planning on our part.

Well, I'm off to get some studying done.
Hope you all have a blessed day!!!

-kcc

One Year Ago Today....

I finally got the call from my mom that I'd been waiting to receive for about 8 months. She said it was the real deal this time and that she and my dad were taking my sister Tarra to the hospital





I was driving like a mad woman to get back to my hometown.



I was bawling in the lobby of the Labor and Delivery floor at Jane Phillips Hospital because I was so extremely excited and so proud of my little sis. Seriously, I don't know know why I was crying hysterically, I couldn't even speak, I was just sobbing uncontrollably. My throat tightens and my eyes tear up just thinking about it now.



I got to meet the most precious little girl in the world, Bailey Ann!

Happy Birthday Sweet Little Girl!


Here she is with her favorite aunt dressed up in her little Bumble Bee Halloween costume.



We're having a ladybug birthday party this Saturday and Tarra and I are making the cake for it. I'll put some pictures up next week of all the fun stuff.

-kcc

WooHoo!

I'm so excited that I get to do a swap!

I wanted to get in on a Valentine's Flirty Apron swap but sadly missed the deadline. Needless to say, I was super excited when I found out about this Favorite Things swap.

If you'd like to join in, you can follow the button above for Dandelion Dreams blog. But hurry, the deadline to sign up is next Friday and space is filling up.

Does anyone else get as excited about swaps as I do? The kid in me just LOVES to get packages in the mail.

-kcc

How I Love the World of Blogging

Well ladies I just have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind comments you've left me. They truly make my day and I usually can't quit smiling for at least an hour after read them all.

Matt and I started dating when I was 16 and he was 18 and have been together for almost 6 years. I had friends in high school but by the time my junior year rolled around they were all interested in sneaking into the nightclubs, drinking and partying not just on the weekends but usually every weekday too. I've never been one to party or drink and neither is Matt. When we would go out to parties we just both said no to drinking, it's always easier to stand your ground when you have someone by your side.

Needless to say, my friends and I drifted apart because we just didn't value the same things anymore and lacked anything in common. I made Matt the priority in my life and since none of them were in a serious relationship, they just didn't get it. Since then I haven't had many friends, but, the few I did have were quality relationships. With me, it's all about quality, not quantity.

Melissa is my closest friend and I've missed her so much since she moved to Louisiana and now to Italy, but I'm also so excited for the adventures she'll get to experience. It's been hard to reach out to the people that I go to school with because I dont' live on campus and my time is pretty consumed with my family and Matt. The university I go to is small and 2/3 of the students don't live on campus so it's not really a tight-knit community among the students. I'm hoping that when I start the nursing program things will be different.

The friendships I've made in the past few months on blogger really mean alot to me. I'm continually surprised that anyone, especially someone I've never met in person before, would care to know about my life. I'm also overwhelmed at times at the kindness and support that is poured out through this network of people.


Anyway, just wanted to say thanks
I hope you all have a beautiful day!

-kcc

My Quilts

I love seeing the pictures of Honey's quilts and wanted to share mine with you.
This is the first quilt that I completed. The pattern is from Eleanor Burns' Quilt in a Day line and is called Delectable Mountains.


It's a queen-size monster of a quilt. I machine pieced it and got most of it done in 3 days at a quilting class. The teacher of my class is from my hometown and has a huge 20ft long-arm quilting machine and I paid her to do the machine quilting for me. She did a great job and I think I would have gone crazy if I would have quilted it. I hand stitched the binding on it and thought my fingers were going to fall off! I don't know how Honey hand quilts hers, it takes alot of patience and talent.

This is the backing for my quilt. I did the log cabin pattern but used the background fabric for one half so it would make a completely new design. I gave this quilt to my mom. She cried when she first saw it and I was so happy that she liked it so much. The sad thing is that it's folded up in her closet. She won't use it because she's too afraid that it will get stained or damaged.

This is the munchkin Bailey, my beautiful niece and the apple of my eye.

Notice that she's WALKING!! She just got the hang of it the past few weeks and is doing fantastic. She plops down on her little bottom alot but she's getting better at keeping her balance and getting right back up when she falls.

This is another quilt top that I've made but haven't put a border on it or quilted it yet :)
I made it at another Quilt in a Day workshop by Eleanor Burns. It's a sampler egg money quilt. The fabrics and patterns are based on the quilts that women made in the fifties. They would sell their eggs and use the money to buy flour, then they would use the flour sacks to make quilts.
This is my favorite quilt so far just because it's quirky and unusual. I can't wait til I can get it done, probably this summer when school is out. My favorite part is the Double Wedding Ring design on the bottom right corner of the pic. I want to make a whole queen size quilt with this pattern for myself and one for my older sister Maranda.
Someday, after school and before babies, I'll have the time.

-kcc

Passing the Time

I'm sitting up here at the school waiting for 5 o'clock to roll around so I can head home and trying to keep my eyes open. I'm soo bored. Mondays are always the hardest because I'm at the school from 12 to 5pm doing tutoring. The worst part is sitting at a desk so long. Even when I'm at home watching TV I'm up doing something; sorting, folding and putting away laundry, washing dishes, or cooking in the kitchen. I definitely like to be up and about.

Last night I was in the mood to cook. I made meatloaf, cheesy Gnocchi, and homemade deep dish brownies. Matt was busy yesterday afternoon smoking some meat at a friend's house for a Super Bowl party and surprised me by bringing home smoked bologna, polish sausages, and country style ribs for dinner. Smoked 100% beef bologna is one of my favorite foods and he always tries to throw some on the smoker for me.

It's pretty funny when all this manly cooking is going on. Apparently, smoking meat is a science, and (according to Matt), he's a master of it. It cracks me up how he'll get all bent out of shape when the temperature gets too low and how he can't step away from the smoker even for a second of the 6+ hour process. I do have to admit that what he cooks is pretty good though. Last summer we had a decent crop of corn in our garden and he made several batches of smoked corn on the cob. I'd never even heard of smoking corn before, but it was so yummy! I'm going to have to request it again this summer. Probably weekly.

So, it's meatloaf for dinner tonight. I'll have to share the recipe sometime because it's very delicious and super easy. We did enjoy some cheesy gnocchi with our BBQ though. It was pretty good, but I think it's been better in the past. I don't really measure the ingredients and think I may have skimped a little on the amount of cheese I used.

Here is a pic of the gnocci and oil that I used

Cheesy Gnocchi

1 pkg Potato Gnocchi

1 cup shredded cheese, I use a combo of cheddar and colby jack

3 Tbs butter, melted

3 Tbs olive oil, I like using Garlic & Onion flavored oil. If you can't find it, regular olive oil with a sprinking of garlic powder would be fine

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F


• Boil the gnocchi as the package directs, about 3-4 minutes and drain


• Place the potato gnocchi in an 8"x8" baking dish and drizzle the melted butter, oil, salt and pepper over the top. Toss to coat and add 3/4 cup cheese, tossing to combine


• Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and bake about 15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted

*I find the gnocchi and the flavored olive oil at Target under the brand Archer Farms.

Yummy!

The Mojito Maven is having an awesome Valentine's Day Giveaway over at her blog.
She's giving away a sampler box of brownies from Fat Witch Bakery and boy do they look scrumptious!
Head on over to her blog and enter to win.

I'm planning on making my sweetheart his favorite Shrimp Scampi, mashed potatoes, and cheesy garlic bread for dinner and homemade Pineapple Upside Down cake for dessert.
What do you have planned for Valentine's Day?