Friday, May 27, 2011

Hooray Friday! + Give-a-way

Whew!  Am I glad that this week is winding down or what...  We have been in serious go, go, go mode around the house this week.  See, we are getting the entire house re-carpeted which means everything on the floor up to 4 feet has to vamoose.  It's been quite an emotional week... Tuesday was my day to be out of sorts and Wednesday was Benjamin's day.  
I am happy to report that I am currently sitting on our couch in the middle of a very empty living room waiting for the installers to show up.  Our spare bedroom is void of anything that is ours except for the bed.  Everything has been packed.  Benjamin's study has been completely dismantled.  His desk is now in our very full of boxes garage and the futon will soon be finding a new home.  Our lime green bathroom is now the same beige as the entry and hallways and you would never know that a Nintendo controller graced the wall in the study.
Benjamin kept reminding me as the lime green-ness of our bathroom was being covered up by blah-iege that we were simply taking our personality with us.  

We are both looking forward to a long weekend of doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying down time with friends!  

And to leave on a happy note - a fun, fun give-a-way!

I like Cambria Cove.  No, really.  I like them on facebook and I like them in real life.  They are a great company and good people.  And they sell cute things!  One of the cute things that I think is super nifty is their Ultimate Boxed Card Set.  You may know that I love note cards as well, so how perfect is this fabulous embossed box full of cards for every occasion?!
The top opens up to reveal 8 labeled tabs: Baby, Birthday, Congratulations, Get Well, Friendship, Sympathy, Thank You, Wedding/Anniversary.  In each tab there are 4 decadently decorated cards with envelopes.  There is also a small drawer that contains gift tags and is large enough to hold pens.  
I love mine and think you should have one too!
Here's how you can enter... 
You will have three chances to win, so be sure to enter 3 separate comments

1. Follow my blog and leave a comment saying that you do!
You have to be a follower of our blog through Google Friend Connect or "like" us on facebook by clicking here.  You must be a follower of one of those two places in order to win!  Tell me where you follow!
2. Leave a comment telling me if you could go anywhere this summer, where would you go? 
3. Tell others about this give-a-way either on your facebook or through your blog.
Once you have told others, let me know where by leaving a comment!

The give-a-way will end Friday, June 3rd and the winner will be announced Saturday, June 4th!

Please Note:  I do love Cambria Cove and have had the honor of calling them friends.  This give-a-way is sponsored by me because I think that they are awesome and wanted to show to support and love!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Remember When...

It's less than a month before Noah and Salem get hitched!  Just another reminder as to how fast time has flown... sigh.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been scanning in photos of both Noah and Salem for a project.  Here are a few of my favorites that I hope they don't kill me for sharing with you, world.  

 Mom always dressed Noahy up in suspenders, ties, cute little hats... I think I scanned at least 23 pictures of baby Noah in hats.

Such a little man!  How much he has grown up... brings a little tear to my eye.  I am so proud of who he has blossomed into.  
And how about the cutie he's going to marry?
 a.dor.a.ble.

One thing that Salem and I have in common while growing up: a love for dressing up and crazy bows!

And how cute are they together now?
photos of Little Noah and Little Salem: Their moms and their trusty cameras.  
photo of Noah and Salem: Hoffland Studios

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Lilac is the color of Dentistry

I could bore you with what the ceremony speaker said or how we got lost in the parking garage trying to find our car.  Or how I had cried within 2 minutes of leaving our house heading to the Meyerson.  Or how I had shook my fist angrily at the car in front of us at the red light that was out because he wouldn't just go already.  Or how the professional photographer didn't show and so I tried to get photos of every name I knew from the second balcony.
Instead, I will tell you that I am super proud of my husband and all of his accomplishments over the past four years.
Proud of how he was accepted into OKU, ODONT, Dean's Honor List all 4 years, successfully managed patient care and had great relationships with his classmates and professors.  So much so that he won the Centennial Award at graduation and was giving a standing ovation by his classmates.
Proud of how he found time to do things he loved outside of school.  Like building furniture, doing projects and keeping up on technology.
Thankful that he kept God at the center of everything that he pursued professionally.  For our family.  Thankful that he passionately served our church and our class.
Amazed that he was able to do all of the above and endure, love all of the craziness that living with me brings.  Amazed that he supported me in my adventures making all of them enjoyable and memorable.
I will tell you that I am so blown away by God's goodness and provision.  God has truly blessed our 4 years of dental school.
And it's because of Him we are still smiling!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Rock of Ages

I love music.  I love the 80s.  I love 80s music.
I love music.  I love dancing.  I love dancing to music.
I love music.  I love singing.  I love singing to music.
I love dancing and singing to 80s music.

My husband also loves two out of the three things above.  He loves singing to 80s music.

Together, these are the top reasons that we fell in love with the musical Rock of Ages last week.  I knew this musical was going to be out of the ordinary and straight up awesometown when I was handed a small flashlight that was designed to look like a lighter.  
As the chords of the first song were strummed, my heart jumped a beat!  My toes began to tap and my shoulders started to bounce!  The story that unfolded was one that we are all familiar with: boy trying to make it big as a rocker meets small town girl come to the big city to break into a big acting role.  This story, however, was peppered with classic songs from Starship, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Journey, Foreigner and REO Speedwagon.  I unashamedly sang along out loud to We Built This City, Oh Sherrie, The Final Countdown, Cum on Feel the Noize, and I Want To Know What Love Is.

The script is witty, crass, and hilarious!  The characters include our small town lovers, a bar owner, a quirky narrator, strippers and Germans.  The two elderly ladies sitting in front of Benjamin and I must've not have been as amused or entertained as I was because they never returned after intermission...

I love seeing musicals at the AT&T Center for a couple of reasons.  One of them being that it's a small enough venue that the actors engage with the audience.  And this cast did exactly that.  The entire cast had great chemistry and having Constantine Maroulis singing lead enhanced the experience!
Please excuse the fuzziness of the photo.  The AT&T Center does not allow photographs to be taken.  This one was shot on the downlow without a flash.  Of me holding my flashlight lighter.

The entire experience was fantastic!  In fact, if you live in Dallas or near Dallas or in a city where this musical is going to play you need to by tickets right now.  Right now.  Last thing I have to say is... ending number: Don't Stop Believing!  You will leave a little deafer and a little horse from all the singing you will do.  I guarantee it!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Since I am underemployed, as Aunt Cathy says, I have this urge to want to make new things when we have folks over.  We were having a Mexican themed dinner and I wanted something sweet to serve as well.  I came across the recipe below, read the reviews and thought to myself, "Wow!  If it's as easy to make and as scrumptious as folks are raving, I have to make this!"

And so I did.

Ingredients

2 (8 oz) packages of softened cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of Mexican vanilla extract
2 cans of crescent rolls
another 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of butter
honey


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the cream cheese with 3/4 cup of sugar and vanilla extract.  I love vanilla.  I know that the recipe calls for only 1 teaspoon of vanilla but I input probably about 3...  Like I said, I just love vanilla!  You want to beat the ingredients until it's smooth.
Unroll the first can of crescent rolls.  You can either use a rolling pin to flatten and press together, or you can use your fingers.  Like I did.  As you can see my finger prints in the dough.  Make sure your fingers are clean and press the seams of the rolls together to make a rectangle to fit into the bottom of your 9x13 pan.  
Spread the decadent cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough.
Then place the other flattened crescent roll 9x13 dough piece over the cream cheese.  
Mix the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  I love cinnamon on soapapillas so I think I just poured into the sugar until I felt like it was enough!
Melt the butter.  Brush the butter on top of dough with a basting brush.  This will help coat the dough evenly and reduce butter ponds on top of your dough.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the butter.  Go wild with it!  
Bake in the oven until the crescent rolls are puffed and golden brown.  I would check after 25 minutes of baking and then determine if you need longer.  I baked mine for about 35 minutes.
Cut into squares and you are good to serve!
I served mine with the option of vanilla ice cream or mango sorbet with the honey bottle on the table if any one wanted to indulge.
These were super delicious and quick to make!

For the printable version of the recipe, click here.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Project 52: Week 20

This week I was blessed to be able to spend the day at the Arboretum with my favorite littles and their mom, see Rock of Ages, eat dinner with fabulous friends, see my husband receive awards and most importantly graduate from dental school!!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Project 52: Week 19

Last week kicked off the graduation celebrations.  Benjamin and I at the OKU inductions.  He took home a certificate and medallion while I got flowers!  We went to Splittsville for an ODONT event.  First time there and had a great experience.  Salem graduated from UT Tyler!  I made sopapilla cheesecake bars.  I scanned in over 100 pictures of little Noah and had to share one of my favorites here!

Week 20 coming soon!

Now and Then

The first year Benjamin was a student at Baylor Dental we took a picture of him standing on a bench outside of the sign on the building.  That was 2007.  
This week while we both back on campus for an awards ceremony, Benjamin popped back up on the bench for a photo.  


...can't say that he's changed too much.  He is my constant.

Congratulation Lunch Bunch!

One of our fun graduation activities was a dinner at Maggiano's with the Lunch Bunch.  Benjamin took the lead and booked a private room for our group since with spouses there could potentially be 16 of us!  It was fantastic to have our own space to mingle and enjoy each other's company.
Brian and Benjamin picked the menu for the evening.  Everything was absolutely fantastic!  I just love Maggiano's.  I normally eat very light so that I can gorge myself on their fabulous Italian goodness.  And yes, it's the perfect opportunity to eat something of everything!
 After dinner we went out into the sitting lounge to take some photos.  You know me: have camera, will take photos.
Brian, Brian, Benjamin, Stephen, Todd and Jeremy
 Matt's son, Ryder, had a baseball game the night of the dinner so they were unable to make it.  Nathaniel's wife, Erin, delivered their first son Jude the day before so that was their excuse for not making it out!  They were both missed so the guy's wanted to show them that they left a spot for them!
When we started out four years ago, there was only three kids between the 8 couples.  Today there are 10 kids and two more on the way!  Out of our group we have four folks going directly into private practice, two attending AEGD programs at Baylor and Temple, one specializing in pedodontics at Baylor and one specializing in orthodontics in Houston.  Everyone in staying in Texas, but spreading way out.  We will be in Amarillo, Omaha, Temple, Dallas and Houston.  Can you say road trip?  I am overwhelmed by how God has blessed all of us in the ways that were the best for each family.

The guys have already started planning the yearly reunion for next June!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Nurse!

Early Friday morning, Benjamin and I hopped into Blue Berry for the drive to Tyler so that we could be in attendance for Salem's Nursing Pinning Ceremony.  Each new graduate is pinned with their school's emblem by someone who has been instrumental in their life.  Salem chose to be pinned by her nursing mentor at UT Tyler.

After the ceremony, with the sun shining and the cool breeze blowing, we took time for a photo op outside of the Cowan Center.
 Noah and Salem
 Mick, Noah, Salem and Gail
 Mom and Dad with Salem
Salem has accepted a position at Methodist Hospital in Houston!  She has the next few weeks to take her licensing exam, finish up loose ends for the wedding and get married to one of the coolest guys I know.  But then again, I might be a little biased!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

OKU values Teeth

This week we celebrated as Benjamin achieved one of his goals for dental school.
He was inducted into Omicron Kappa Upsilon.

For those who are not in the dental community this may sound like he was inducted into a fraternity.  
And yes. That is correct.
A fraternity of really smart people.
Smart people who love teeth.

In fact, they love teeth so much that it is one of the three pillars of OKU.
Conservation. Teeth. Health.

Yup.  Exactly what I would expect out of a national honor society for dentists!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Project 52: Week 17 and 18

Headed to Tyler for Salem's shower on Saturday.  Robin, Salem, Brandi, Sonja and I.  Can't wait for the big day!
Our church, The Heights, has a service day each year called Engage Sunday.  Last week, our class participated in Engage Sunday by painting a class in a Richardson elementary school.

Until next week,

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Derby 4 Life.

It's been decided.
If I can ever convince my husband to let me, I will try out for a roller derby team.

A few weeks ago, I googled roller derby Dallas and up pops all of the information for the Dallas Derby Devils.  To my delight, the season opener was only weeks away and $13 a person.  I squealed with glee, talked it over with Benjamin and then promptly sent an email to friends who I knew would not be able to resist the draw of roller derby!  Plans are made to meet that Saturday afternoon, drive to Rosa's for an early dinner and be at the Sportsplex when the doors open.  Bring camping chairs.

Fast forward to Saturday.  Our gang piles into two cars and sets our course to North Richland Hills where a missed exit proves to be advantageous due to the need of camping chairs and a new pair of shoes.  Once back on the road we arrive safely Rosa's, chow down and continue on our way to the Sportsplex.  

I don't think any of us were prepared for the abundance of cars that were overflowing from the parking lots into the streets and empty fields.  As we made our way up to will call, it was obvious that we were newcomers to world of roller derby as evidence in our clothing choices for the evening.  Within less than a minute of being inside, Andrew had already began shooting incognito photos of the folks around us.  Glances from within our group solidified that this was going to be fantastic night of people watching!

We traipsed to the far end of the gym, which smelled a mix of sweat, beer and mildew, set up our camping chairs and settled in for a night of brutal entertainment.  We were not disappointed!  The first bout was close with our motley crew being split in cheering for either the Assassination City Special Ops or the Dallas Derby Devils.  

With each jam, I grew more and more confident that I could did this roller derby thing.  I could be a jammer.  I'm quick.  I'm little.  I could bob and weave through the pack!  My determination to be a roller derby doll was shaken after hearing that one of the girls broke her leg in two places that night...  But hey, what's life without a little adventure, right?  
Thankful that these folks love an adventure as much as I do!
 Warm-Ups
 Starting a Jam.
 Lapping the Pack
 Thems some scary women!
 Lady J, Jeff and Benjamin discussing strategy.
Sweet Val intense on the action!

 The place was packed out!

 Blairsy, Benjamin and I.

 Danny totally got into roller derby.  I think he will be a lifer...
 Andrew is gangsta...although I'm not sure I've ever known red-heads to be gangstas...
Sweet Echol Love!
Another successful outing with people I would take to Houston with me in my suitcases.  They give us reasons to come back to visit.  Them and Dallas Derby Devils, of course.  

Back to Top