sweet summertime

I am so thankful that my job allows for me to enjoy summers -- time to relax and enjoy the warm weather as I've recuperate from last year, while also preparing for the upcoming.

I began the summer with a quick trip to Birmingham to cheer on Stephen as he pitched in the oldest Stadium in the country and a Braves game.

Memorial Day Weekend

We were also able to spend some good days on and at the lake --  wakeboarding, relaxing and hanging out with family and friends.


The puppies sure love being at the lake.  Mook absolutely loves the water, while Bridget hasn't been as much of a water-dog.  [I think it's partially because she's not exactly shaped for swimming, so she always wears her life-jacket.]  The days at the lake were unbearably hot and the water abnormally high [because of the rain, duh!], which resulted in sweet Bridget voluntarily plopping herself in the water!

We love weekend with Cal and Ashley.

The lake has always been my favorite place.  I'm thankful I was able to spend  a few weekends there.  Although we didn't get to do as much wakeboarding as we would've liked, when we enjoyed the time we did get on the water.  Maybe the rain will hold off and allow for some more time at the lake for a few more months!  

Blueberry picking off the bush at the lake is one of my favorite things of summer.

After spending quite a few days at school, some days working and planning with my new grade level, others sorting through the items kindly given to me, I can finally think about school starting without hyperventilating!  [I do still have a good bit to accomplish, but at least it no appears that a tornado hit my room!]  In addition to being incredibly thankful for the sweet teacher-friends' generosity, my mom also spent a day with me organizing and sorting through the rummage of the teacher supply tornado that seems to have hit my room, and I honestly couldn't be more grateful!  I should have taken before and after photos -- maybe I'll take one before the first day of school!

With just short of a week left of my summer, I plan to enjoy the last days to the fullest.  Off to the beach we go!

wedding season

As the wedding crashers say, "It's wedding season!"  Over the past few months, I have celebrated 4 new marriages!  Last May Byron and I began summer with our own wedding and honeymoon, and after a year of marriage it’s been incredibly exciting to support such special people as they said their vows to begin their lives together.

In early June a group of teacher-friends celebrated Corey and Meredith in Fayetteville.  Meredith is one of the 4^th grade teachers at Knight.  She was an absolutely stunning bride.  Her dress was perfect for her and had such beautiful details.

Celebrating at Meredith's wedding with sweet teacher friends. 

One of my best friends growing up, Danielle, married her high school sweetheart in New York [unfortunately the same weekend as my cousin’s].  Since I wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, I was very thankful to be able to celebrate at her Bachelorette.  She is such a beautiful person and  I doubt I’ve ever wished so badly to be two places at once so I could’ve been there to see her become Mrs. Hunter Smiley.

Danielle was a beautiful bachelorette and an even more beautiful bride.

God didn’t give me a sister, but He did bless me with a cousin.  I remember us having our make-believe wedding ceremonies as kids, and I’m sure her beautiful wedding was everything she’s ever thought it’d be.  Katie and Andrew were married right outside of Athens, which couldn’t be more perfect for them, before the move to Oklahoma as the Taylor's.

I think it's safe to say Katie and Andrew are happy to be married!

After at least a year of Paige and I guessing when he'd pop the question, Will and Paige finally tied the knot this summer.  I am so thankful to have such an incredible friend to work with and couldn't have been happier to celebrate her marriage.  Paige's dress was incredible and the wedding was a blast!

I love it when weddings show the personalities of the bride and groom! :)

Welcome to married life, friends.  Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together!

Mocha Frap

I love a good cup o' joe.  My go-to morning cup of go-go juice is an unsweetened Cafe Au-Lait made with skim milk.  [p.s. that's a fancy way of saying I like black coffee with skim milk, no sugar or sweetener -- Sometimes I froth it to make it nice and foamy, sometimes I don't.]  It's simple and it's delicious.  I am not a Starbucks fan [Sayyy Whaaaattt?], but every now and again I want something blended and somewhat fancy.  Especially in the summer, it's nice to have an iced coffee to kick-start my mornings.  But I'm cheap and would rather spend $5 on anything but a drink, so here's what I've come up with:

Ingredients:
1 cup of black coffee, chilled [I french press coffee one morning, then refridgerate what I don't drink for the next morning, but any coffee should work!  The stronger the better!]
3/4 cup of skim milk
1 cup ice
light drizzle [or more!] of chocolate syrup
sugar/sweetener [if you like sugar in your coffee, you'll want it in this, too!]
whipped cream [to make it pretty, duh!]

Directions:
Combine the coffee, milk, ice, drizzle of chocolate, and sweetener into a blender.  Blend it until there are no more ice chunks.  Pour your coffee drink into a glass and top it with a mountain of a little whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.  Serve it with a straw and enjoy!  Mornings aren't so bad, right?

flowers, cupcakes, and an island

Another day in California brought another vineyard!  We went to the Bernardo Winery, which is the oldest continuously operating winery in Southern California.  We were able to try many different wines and have chocolates paired with them!  Byron loved the Sparkling Orange Muscat.  Bernardo was a different than the other wineries I've been too; it was like a little town, with cafes and shops surrounded by the rows of grapes.  It was a neat place!

The following day we headed to Balboa Park for the afternoon.  There are so many beautiful flowers and plants in this park.  [Look how big the roses were!!]  It was fun to walk around and people watch, as there were small bands playing on the sides of the walkways and groups filming projects.

I'm not a huge fan of roses, but how could I not love these?!  They are gorgeous!

such a pretty place!

Our final day in sunny California began with a trip to the Elizabethan Bakery for cupcakes and other delicious-goodness.  They sell mini cupcakes, so it was great to try multiple cupcakes -- I didn't take a time for a picture, whoops.  My favorite was their passionfruit cupcake; so different than anything I've had, and sooo yummy!

After getting hyped-up on icing, we drove to Coronado Island.   We spent the afternoon walking the beach, browsing the Hotel del Coronado, and window shopping.

Before departing from San Diego, we enjoyed our last meal with Travis and Leanne at Hash House a Go Go.  The restaurant is unlike any restaurant I've ever been.  The meals are large enough for two, or even three people and delicious.  The plates have some interesting food paired together, but it's very tasty!  Byron and I split ribs, served with some potatoes, asparagus, and chili, while Travis and Leanne shared crab cakes.  We stopped at Seaport Village after dinner to walk through the shops and let our food settle before boarding our plane back to Atlanta.

love this man!  [& traveling with him!]

Byron and I had a wonderful trip to San Diego.  We both loved how different it is than Atlanta and how beautiful it is there.  Travis and Leanne were wonderful hosts and it was great to spend time with them in their home.  Until next time, California....

{Here's a map of [most of the places] where we traveled, ate, and drank 

while we were on the West Coast}

View

Banana Pudding

My dad and me before walking down the aisle.

Of all the desserts out there, Banana Pudding is my dad's absolute favorite.  For his birthday, Father's Day, and any other day I want to show him some love, I make it specially for him.  Banana Pudding is great because you can pick up tasty bananas year-round at the grocery, so it's a perfect go-to dessert.  We're all born and raised in Georgia, so you better believe it has lots of bananas and vanilla wafers to accompany the homemade vanilla pudding!

[If you have bananas left over when you finish this sweet treat, since they're nice and ripe you'll want to use them in something immediately.  They'll be perfect in Banana Nut Muffins or Banana Blueberry Muffins!]

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups of 2% milk
5 egg yolks, beaten
4 tbs butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
7 ripe bananas
Nilla Wafers -- I use about 1 1/2 12 oz. boxes in the pudding & save a few for garnishing
Whipped Cream [for serving]

Directions:
For the Pudding:
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the sugar, flour, salt, and milk.  As it is heating, stir it until the mixture is completely blended and there are no lumps!  [Be patient -- it takes a little while!] *Keep the heat on medium-low!  Otherwise the pudding will burn and stick to the pan!*  Stir the mixture every couple of minutes until it begins to bubble.

While the pudding mixture is warming up, combine the 5 egg yolks a measuring cup with a spout and whisk the yolks.

Once the pudding mixture is bubbling, cook it for 2 more minutes, stirring continuously as it thickens.  After 2 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and scoop about a 1/2 cup of the pudding mixture to the beaten egg yolks.  Stir the egg/pudding mixture until the ingredients are combined.  Place the pudding mixture back on the stove over medium heat and pour the egg/pudding mixture back into the pan.  Continue to cook, stirring continuously for about 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, reduce the heat to Low and add the butter [Rather than adding the half-stick in one large chunk, it melts much better if you slice it!] and vanilla.  Stir it until all of the butter has melted and been blended with the pudding.  Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes before building the banana pudding.

Now it's time to slice those bananas!  Slice the bananas into about 1/4 inch medallions.  You have 10 minutes, GO!

Building the Banana Pudding:
You can build your Banana Pudding in a regular baking dish, a large trifle bowl, individual trifle bowls, or just a regular bowl -- however you wanna do it!  First, cover the bottom of your dish in a nice layer of Nilla Wafers.  Next, add a layer of bananas.  After that, pour over a nice layer of the pudding, using a spoon to spread the pudding evenly.  Repeat these steps until you've used all of your pudding.  You will want to finish with a pudding layer on top.  Cover your pudding and place it in the fridge to cool for about 2 hours.  When you're ready to serve it, add a top layer of whipped cream.  Eat it with a spoon and a glass of milk.  Mmmmmm!

Banana - Blueberry Muffins

I stood in the kitchen last night contemplating whether to use the bananas left over from the Banana Pudding I made on Father's Day for Banana Nut Muffins or to use the fresh blueberries in Blueberry Muffins.  I love them both so much, so I decided to combine my two recipes.  Andddd....I think I found my new favorite muffin.  They are delicious.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking soda OR 3 tsp baking powder
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
1 large egg
1 vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup fresh blueberries + some for garnish

(makes 12 muffins)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º and place muffin liners in muffin pan.

In a small bowl (cereal sized will do!), sift together the flour and baking soda/flour.  In another small bowl, whisk together the egg and the vanilla extract.  Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Once they are blended, pour in the egg mixture and continue mixing.  The batter will look lumpy and curdled -- that's okay!  Add the Greek yogurt.  Once the yogurt is blended into the batter, add the flour mixture in three parts, mixing along the way.  When all of the ingredients are mixed together, add the bananas.  After the bananas a even spread, turn the mixer off, and fold in the cup of blueberries.

Even pour the mixture amongst the 12 muffin cups.  Press the extra blueberries into the tops of the muffins and place in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until they've reach a nice, golden color.  Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes before serving.  Happy breakfast!

Variation: Add chopped pecans or almonds!

reaping a harvest

I look forward to and pray for middle school camp all year.  [I'm pretty sure I anticipate it as much as more than the campers.]  It's week away from home spent with middle schoolers and adult staff at Woodland Christian Camp, where we sweat through the hot temperatures of June in a variety of activities and delve into God's truth about how great He is, how much He loves us, and how to better serve Him.

Above all, love each other deeply, 

because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

During my quiet time on the first day of camp I read 1 Peter 4:8, which reminded me of Romans 12:9 -- Don't pretend to love others.  Really love them.  Those verses immediately became my prayer for myself and fellow staff for the week.  It's hard to fathom that some children arrive at camp unknowing what it means to be loved, and then there's other kids who can tell you exactly what it means to love and be loved.  Regardless of the students' understandings of love though, they're middle schoolers who we shared cabins with, sat at the breakfast, lunch, and dinner table with, brushed our teeth with, tossed frisbees with, worshiped and prayed with, followed everywhere, and were followed everywhere by for a week.  It'd be easy to pretend to love them as our patience grew thin, which is exactly why my prayer was for our love to be deep and genuine for these children.  After all, if the kids can't understand what it means to be loved by another human, how can they begin to grasp the love the Lord has for them?

Working with kids can be difficult, especially when they're stubborn and already know everything there is to be known. [haha] It'd be easy to wave your white towel in surrender, thinking that all the camp food, lack of sleep, and moody pre-teens are just too much to handle.  On Wednesday, Craig shared a verse he'd been praying over us:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time 

we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

God works in wonderful, miraculous ways, and sometimes the campers get worn down, too. They let their guards fall for just enough time for God to work in them.  He's able to get into their hearts and minds, and then through conversations and prayer, the students are able to make confident decisions about their lives.  Deciding to accept Christ as Lord.  Deciding to rededicate their lives to Christ.  Deciding make changes in the ways they're living and how they're loving others.

10 middle school students were baptized by the end of the week [and many, many more were interested and making plans for baptisms when they returned home] -- Talk about reaping a harvest!  Praise God!