A Baby Story...

Who doesn't love pictures and stories of new life? I know I do! Today, for whatever reason, I started looking through some older photographs. Many of you know that I LOVE pictures... I like taking pictures, I like looking at pictures, and I don't mind being in pictures either. So I was digging through some old pictures and came across all the pictures of my niece's birthday... and I do mean birth-day! So I thought I would share some with you because I think they are simply beautiful. The pictures speak for themselves, but I will add my two cents in along the way... I'll try to keep it brief (although I am not very good at that).

My brother and sister-in-law got pregnant with their first and only (at this point) child and it was a healthy and happy pregnancy. The doctor informed them it was a boy - this was a doctor well known for interpreting the sex of babies correctly and even told my brother and sister-in-law that if it was a girl he would "buy it back!" Little did we all know. EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING was blue and boy and sports. His name was to be "Kenneth Allen Stiner, III" and he would be called "Trey!" They had a pottery-barn sports themed nursery, monogrammed everything, all kinds of boy things... but when delivery day came, Bentlee Marie revealed to us that she was no boy - she was ALL girly girl! Obviously we made a mad rush for all things pink, and wouldn't you know that to this very day pink is her most-very-favorite color! Here is my precious niece's first day with us...

(All photographs featured here were taken by my wonderful mother)

Bentlee's first moment with her mommy.

Ken and Sarah study their new precious baby GIRL!!!

They memorize every curve of their sweet baby's beautiful face!

Bentlee and her Daddy - Love at first sight!

After the shock wore off Ken said, "I guess God just wanted me to have a little girl!"

The day after Bentlee was born was spent trying to come up with the perfect name for their new baby girl! The final choice "Bentlee Marie"

She had a head full of dark hair and looked just like her Daddy!

The day after she was born I rocked Bentlee and she stole a little piece of my heart!

I will post more recent pictures of Bentlee in the coming days - now I am all about digging through these wonderful pictures of the only real princess I know!

Bloggin' blabber...

Well, I haven't posted since Monday, so I figured I better get back on here or everyone's going to assume I gave up blogging! NO WAY! I have just been super-duper busy! Most of you already know that I coach the dance team at my school (although hopefully I will be able to give that duty up next year) and assistant coach the cheerleaders (hopefully I will take that on full time soon)... and although dance is over for the year - cheer is wrapping up and getting started all at the same time I guess you could say! Wednesday after work I had the "end of the cheer year" bash but today and tomorrow are cheer tryouts for next year! And today I also hosted an in-service after school. So, basically every day this week I have been busy doing something after work and pooped when I get home!

Inspired by my own "3 about me" post and a blog I love to read... Kelly's Korner... I will continue sharing some brief things about myself for your reading pleasure. :-)

My favorite holiday: Christmas (but I love ALL holidays - a little crazy - and I am all about celebrating some birthdays, seriously!)

Pets - none and no plan for any either. I like dogs, but the older I get I think I am just not a pet person. By the way, I don't like cats at all!

Favorite colors - pink and green (and favorite color to wear - black and pink)

That's it for today folks... more to come I am sure, but for now I am going to go take it easy for a few and unwind after a busy busy day at work!

3 About Me!

I thought I would write a post about myself today… So here are three VERY random things about me!

1. Although I am an extremely social person with a busy calendar and always open to guests in my home and to going out… I also enjoy spending time with myself. I go out to eat by myself on occasion. I like spending time at home alone. I absolutely LOVE going to movies by myself – a lot of times even prefer it. There is something special and comforting about snuggling down in a dark theater with a big sprite and a buttery oh-so-bad-for-me popcorn! I value so much that I know myself and know myself well. There is something to be said for not only being in touch with who you are, but embracing yourself! I think many people go through life too fast or settle into an existence too quickly and fail to reach the point where they truly develop themselves and a relationship with themselves independent of any other factor, save God.

2. This one is less profound than the first one, but something most of you probably don’t know. I love looking in catalogues at all kinds of things, but it is extremely rare that I actually purchase anything from a catalogue. I have a hard time buying something that I can’t see in person. You would think that would diminish the fun of looking through catalogues… but strangely it doesn’t. Some of my favorites: Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Hammacher Schlemmer, and Uncommon Goods.

3. I love recipes. I love to look at cookbooks and magazines and watch food network and collect recipes. I love, love, love to cook! I like creating my own recipes and even when I use a recipe that I have picked up somewhere from a book or a show, I rarely follow it exactly. (This is why I am not such a great baker!) Some of my favorite recipe sources: Church Cookbooks (they always seem to be the best), allrecipes.com (if you have never been there and like to cook, you should go!), Food Network (of course), and my personal favorite… friends and family! A fun source you might also look into is “Food and Family” magazine by Kraft. You can get it free (sign up on the website I think), they send one out each season, and it is filled with fun, easy, and usually seasonal recipes.

Well, there you have it. Three very random facts about me! I would love to learn three random and insightful things about you too! So if you are having a slow blog day, or want to email or comment, share some things about yourself!

P.S. My Mama’s Doggie (Tuffy) and My sister (Sarah) have both started blogs… you can link to them from this page! Check them out!

Pass the connoli...

To quote my best friend Lauren, "Buca di Best-O!" My famous crew and I loaded up this past Saturday night and headed to Franklin, TN... destination: Buca di Beppo! This most fabulous Italian restaurant serves up big food and big fun and a fabulous atmosphere! It was a treasured moment being able to see my nearest and dearest in one location. I will let the pictures (and captions) speak for themselves:

Sir plans-a-lot (pictured on the right) and her team!

My two best girls (Lauren and Megan) and myself outside of Buca!

I don't know what I would do without these amazing women in my life! They inspire me every single day.

"The Couple"

Chris (right) and Web (left) with Vance outside Buca!

These two would be the perfect couple if it weren't

for the fact that they are both straight! :-)

They are pictured with Vance who was all about pointing to the statue outside and her various facial features and other body parts!

Lauren and David and their sweet baby Dawson having a big time inside Buca! Dawson is an eater and I just KNOW that he was dying to get his little mouth around some connoli!

Megan, Web, and Vance. What a beautiful family!

If I turn out to be half as great as these people are,

I'll consider my self lucky and blessed!

"Little Man"

What a little stud! He is SO adorable, SO smart,

and SUCH a good little boy!!!

And last, but not least, "Mini-Word"

What a little angel - all smiles these days and holding that head up proud!

This is one proud Aunt! I can't wait to hear him let go

and belly laugh - he is so close!!! What a joy!

Not pictured: Julie and Rob. Don't know how they escaped the camera, but they managed to do it. Donnie was, unfortunately, unable to attend.

See if you have a Buca in your area - well worth the visit! And if you do, I hope you are as blessed as I am in having so many wonderful people to share the experience with!

http://www.bucadibeppo.com/

A Ray of Sunshine...

...that's right people! We might actually SEE a ray of sunshine today! WOO-WOO! The clouds are finally parting and there is some warmer temperatures and sunshine in the forecast and I am excited about it!

My weekend started as it usually does, with a cold brew and some unwinding at a local Mexican establishment after work Friday! This is a weekly tradition with a few of my close colleagues. The group changes from time to time, but just about any Friday you can find a group of fabulous middle school teachers unwinding over a glass of sweet tea or a cold beverage of choice that washes the weeks stress away. Here are a few of us this Friday winding down...


Last night my cousin and his wife drove down from Knoxville to check out MTSU and the surrounding area. My cousin will begin working on his masters this coming fall and they wanted to come down to look around and start getting ideas for apartments, etc. They joined me and a couple of friends at Demos' for dinner and then we headed back to my place to hang out. This morning we ate at City Cafe (my favorite breakfast spot in town) and then they went off on their own to explore our great town!

That's it for the post today - short and sweet - because I have lazy Saturday to get to and tonight is Bucca de Beppo with my most favorite group of friends in the whole wide world! I am sure I will be posting tomorrow to catch everyone up on the fun times!

Until then - enjoy the weekend and watch for the sunshine!!!!

April Showers...

...I just have to say that all these April showers better bring some May flowers!
Rain, Rain, and even MORE Rain! I know that we desperately needed some rain, but I am ready for a break! It seems like it has rained every day (or at least part of every day) for a week and more rain to come! What's worse is that with the rain has come wind and thunder and lightning. All these lovely elements are fine and dandy during the day, but at 3:00 AM when I am in the middle of a REM cycle it's a little tough to appreciate! I am just crossing my fingers and hoping that some back roads in the county will flood just enough to make travel difficult and they'll call off school tomorrow! I believe that during my teaching career I have had more rain/storm days total than I have snow days! I might appreciate all this rain a little more if it got me out of work for a day! :-) Is that terrible to say the very first week back from spring break?

All this rain makes me think of one of my favorite paintings. It is Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877 by Gustave Caillebotte. I actually bought a print of it when I visited the Art Institute in Chicago where the original is housed and it now hangs in my living room. It is probably familiar to many of you... here is what is look like:
It makes the rain look a wee more glamorous that my rain experiences actually are! I do love a rainy day, but I despise being out in it... I don't look quite this sophisticated when I have to walk through the rain!

Stay dry!

Turkey? But it's not Thanksgiving...

As some of you already know, recently I am trying to be a little more health conscious. Don't panic - I'll never give up my steak and potatoes or my macaroni and cheese... I am just cutting back a little. It's not that I just want to drop a pound or two (although that's a nice perk)... it is just that I am aware that I need to form some healthy habits that will make life down the road even sweeter! So I drink a little more water and not as much sweet tea (I'll never give up my wine!!!!) and I try to eat a little more salad and a few more vegis and not quite as many fried chicken fingers and fries!

Many of you also know that I love-love-love to cook! So, on my new quest for healthy living, I decided to experiment a little. Generally speaking I am no fan of Turkey except the giant kind that you get on Thanksgiving (be it baked, smoked, or deep fried) served with dressing (my grandmother's cornbread dressing, that is) and gravy. I don't care for turkey sandwiches (lunch meat) and really don't eat turkey any other time of the year. This is why tonight is surprising to me.

Last night I went to the new Publix down the road (super nice, but a shade more expensive than my little K-rogers that I LOVE) to find some spinach pasta. That is, perhaps, the only thing I have ever not been able to find at Kroger. Anyhow, I decided to go ahead and get all my shopping done while I was there. In the meat department while lusting after beautiful steaks, but buying chicken to grill (yum yum - and healthy) I spied some ground turkey. I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a try... it's supposed to be a little more good to you than the beef I do so love! So here is my experience with my ground turkey...

I got home today and decided pasta was calling my name (7 grain pasta, of course, and it's REALLY good by the way). I thought, what goes better with 7 grain pasta than marinara sauce and meatballs! YUM! So out came the ground turkey and away we went. I had no recipe, but I put what I figured you might put in any meatball: one egg, (wheat) bread crumbs, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, a little soy sauce, and a package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix - don't ask me about this one... it goes in meatloaf, so I figured why not in meatballs! I put my happy little turkey balls (okay, that sounds kind of gross) my "meat" balls into a pan to saute in a little bit of vegi-oil here they are browning up:

After they were cooked through I drained them and gave them a marinara hot tub to bathe in while I cooked up the pasta... here they are getting a little saucy!

Finally I plated my turkey meatballs on a bed of 7 grain fusilli and topped with a little parmesan cheese:

And the news is..... drum roll please.... I LOVED IT!!!!!!! It was very filling, very good, and it didn't taste like turkey at all! Yay! I can't wait until lunch tomorrow... I am not a leftover person either, but tomorrow I will make an exception for my turkey meatball marinara and fusilli!

Just wanted to share my turkey-lurkey experience! You might try it sometime... you could be surprised - I sure was!