Summer Lovin'

Well, well.... Looky here! It seems as though I have forgotten about my blog!

I've been so busy lately! Plus, this weather just drains me.  Over the past few weeks I have focused A LOT on my two summer classes.  They are wrapping up in the next week and I am more than thrilled.  I spent some time at beautiful Lake Ouachita, read a great book, and spent the weekend in Hot Springs for the Miss Arkansas Pageant.  I even squeezed in a family dinner at Weiderkher's in Altus! (YUM)

Chloe LOVED our day at the lake. She's so excited we're going back this weekend!

Some of the Delta Gammas that were at Miss Arkansas!

Kaci & I with Miss Arkansas River, Rebecca, backstage at Miss Arkansas!

This picture was taken of Matthew and I while we visited St. Mary's Chapel in Altus. What a view!!

During my last week that I have free, I will be preparing myself mentally for starting back to school and beginning to pack for my move back to school.

Oh, and I'm currently reading "Everyone Worth Knowing" by Lauren Weisberger.  She is the author of "The Devil Wears Prada".  It is a cute, fun, easy summer read! I can't put it down!

Thanks for stopping by!!

XOXO

-E

Home of the Brave

I had a very relaxing weekend.... I decided to show you (by photos) instead of writing all about it.

First, I spent some time with Kaci.  (This is an old photo of us.)

Then, I went with my family and younger cousins to Cars 2 and Chuck E. Cheese.....

SUNDAY, we spent the day at our family's cabin.  We laid in Big Mulberry Creek & took in plenty of Vitamin D.  Then we decided on a whim to go watch Alma's fireworks.  So we raced there and even had time to eat at La Fiesta! It was a great show & the younger ones especially enjoyed it!

Finally, Monday the Fourth! Nana fried catfish & french fries.  We had baked beans, bacon wrapped-cheese stuffed jalapenos, baked squash, and yummy red, white, and blue CAKE!  My diet resumes TOMORROW! :) We were all in the American spirit as we ate, visited, and rambunctiously shot flames into the air.  Braeden especially loved the "Roman Camels". 

May you have a safe week & always be a proud American!
XOXOX
-E

&

Never mind searching for who you are.  Search for the person you aspire to be.  ~Robert Brault

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.  ~George Moore

Love doesn't sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all of the time, made new.  ~Ursula K. Le Guin

He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began.  ~Leo Tolstoy

Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination.  ~Voltaire

True love stories never have endings.  ~Richard Bach

Love me and the world is mine.  ~David Reed

Summer is not for school.

Education is my degree.  And I fully believe that you should try to learn something every single day.  However, I do not believe that one should be forced to open text books, take notes, write research papers, and attend mandatory chats weekly during SUMMER. 

Ohh, the things we do to graduate a semester early...... :)

Those of you in summer classes like me- Keep your head up.  Study outside in the sun.  Stay up late and sleep in when you can.  You can do it! Just a few more weeks, right? (Unless it's a ten week course, like mine.)

XOXO*

Detox Day

I decided that in order to jump start my dieting and healthy habits I would do a 24 hour detox.  I had received a recipe for this "detox juice" after getting a body wrap at the Orchid Medspa.  The body wrap was WONDERFUL but I never had time to follow through with the detox.  So Tuesday was the big day.....

I woke up early and made my detox juice which consisted of non-sweetened orange, cranberry, and pomegranate juices and other various spices.  I was to drink the juice after I warmed it every hour throughout the day.  Sounds easy, right?

Well making the juice was fine.  The taste of the juice was fine.  After three hours, I was shocked to find that I wasn't starving.  The thought of eating consumed me.  I continued to think of all the foods I was missing out on throughout the day.  Eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken salad for lunch, ranch dressing on my salad, endless possibilities for dinner.  Then the thought of my favorite-- Rolando's-- snuck into my head and I couldn't help but have a watering mouth.  But, I didn't give in....until 9:30 at night when I ate some cottage cheese and turkey and cheese for "dinner".  I wasn't supposed to eat at all but I was shaking and weak and had NO energy. 

The results were not drastic at all.  I didn't lose mega weight-- just 3 pounds which is easily water weight.  So, I wondered if my day of torture was truly worth it. 

Today, however, I went to the gym first thing this morning after eating egg whites.  Usually, I begin my workout with about 20 minutes on the elliptical.  I couldn't last hardly 7 minutes.  The older lady beside me was listening to an iPod, reading a magazine, talking to a neighbor on the elliptical, and had been at for 22 minutes! I felt like a weakling.  My gym time resulted in a workout from an awesome application on my iPhone that required no weights and much stretching.  This was more my speed! Then I was outta there to find lunch because I NEEDED to eat something.  (Too bad my mother made me wait 30 minutes for our planned lunch date.....) Haha!

Bottom Line of the Detox: It was torture. It made me weak.  It made me appreciate every morsel of food that I placed into my mouth today.  It made me realize that typically I overeat.  And 24 hours after the detox, I'm down SIX pounds.  You be the judge of it's worth.  =)

Have a great day from this weakling!
XOXO

Domestic Disaster

So, it appears I have forgotten my blog.  However, my blog was not forgotten on Memorial Day.  For a cookout I was invited to attend, I decided I would take a dessert.  I am constantly looking at desserts made by the ever talented Carman Young.  If you ever need cake balls, cake pops (which I attempted here), or AMAZING cupcakes look her up!! Check out her Facebook page-- Blue Eyed Baker! :)   Anyway, I asked Carman for a recipe and I began baking.  AND since I'm a new blogger, I had to document the entire afternoon with pictures to post on my blog!

Step ONE: Bake a box cake just like the directions say.  This is my cake halfway through baking......

Step TWO: Let the cake cool completely.  If not, you may burn your hands a little.  Don't ask me how I know.  ;)

Step THREE: Crumble the cake up into a large mixing bowl.  Then you will scoop an entire can of frosting into the bowl and mix the cake and icing all together.  This was a tricky step for me.  It was messy and sticky and took quite a while to do. 

Step FOUR: Next I rolled the cake and frosting mixture into small balls. Looking back on baking this recipe, I think I should've made my cake balls a bit smaller.  They would've stuck together better.  I placed the balls into the freezer to harden for about 30 minutes before I dipped them into chocolate!

Step FIVE: Then, I dipped the cake balls into melted white chocolate.  I wanted to make them more 'festive' so I added the red, white, and blue sprinkles.  These cake balls are NOTHING like Carman's.  Honestly, I was very disappointed in my first attempt at these little babies. 

Step SIX: Finally, I placed the cooled, decorated cake balls onto the center piece I made for this dessert.  Everyone seemed to like them and there weren't many left.  Now I just need to perfect my cake ball decorating skills!

Memorial Day weekend this year was very relaxing.  We spent time at a BBQ, an afternoon at the lake- although not out on the water, and ended with a steak dinner at my parents.  That was as far as the relaxing went though because my summer classes started the next day. 

I'll try to do better at posting now that I've got the swing of BOTH of my classes this summer. 

XOXO*

Dang Ole Country Songs

Today was a very productive day.  After purchasing a new painting for Matt's house, we ran other errands and ended up at dinner with my parents.  I'm not sure which is more random- my parents OR the fact that we ran in to them in Fort Smith unexpectedly.  (Love ya, Mom!)  =)

Much of today was spent in the car-- driving to Fort Smith, to Tenkiller, cruising around Fort Smith, and back home.  I listened to a lot of music today, country particularly.  There is one song out right now that gets me every time.  I can't keep dry eyes when I hear it.  Thanks, Colt Fort and Craig Morgan for rapping about being 'daddy's little girl', which I know I always will be.  =)

Here's the tear-jerker.....

She Likes to Ride in Trucks
Colt Ford & Craig Morgan

It seems like yesterday we were bringing you home
I was so scared to hold you, now I'm scared to let go
Know that growin' up was just a part of your life
From baby to young lady, from woman to wife
Not everything I do seems to be wrong
Dear God, will you please let her hear my song
This road life leads could be so long
Lord I pray that she will always know her way home

She likes to ride in trucks
She don't need me around, near as much
I wish I could slow her down
But my baby's growin' up
And she likes to ride in trucks

Man it's funny how time flies when I look in her eyes
I used to see me, now I see him
As life didn't know he'd became a man
And I realized that I used to be him
She used to run to me, now she's runnin' for the door
Chasin' my own dreams and doing my own thing
It's time for you to make your own mark in the world
But to me you'll always be daddy's little girl

Yes, she likes to ride in trucks
She don't need me around, near as much
I wish I could slow her down
But my baby's growin' up
She likes to ride in trucks

When he shook my hand and looked me in the eyes
He promised me that she'd be home on time
(Yeah he's a pretty good kid) Oh yeah
(But I was sixteen once)

She likes to ride in trucks
She don't need me around, near as much
I wish I could slow her down
But my baby's growin' up
She likes to ride in trucks
I wish I could slow her down
But my baby's growin' up
She likes to ride in trucks

*Trucks, Corvettes, ATVs, Boats..... I'll pretty much ride in anything with him-- or my daddy. :)