Tuesday Tastes

My friend, Faith, posted a recipe on her blog last week that I just had to try.  Just look at the ingredients...

Brownie mix, cookie dough, Reese's cups

Yeah, you want it already, don't you?  

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Fill bottom of each cupcake tin with refrigerated cookie dough.  (I made it easy and used the break-apart kind.) 
• Place one Reese's cup upside down on top of cookie dough.
• Top with prepared brownie mix, filling 3/4 full.
• Bake for 18-21 minutes.  

Tips from experience: 

• Make sure you spray tin first or even use butter and flour.  They will be extremely difficult to remove if not.
• Maybe use cupcake liners?
• Serve with vanilla ice cream, especially if yours don't pop right out, as mine did not!

The hubby is still enjoying these, four days later.  :)

Life Lately

Every Monday night, Ray, Raleigh Kate and I play Team Trivia at Beef O'Brady's - a family sports restaurant and pub.  We have come in 3rd and even 2nd place a few times, but we've never won the 1st place $25 gift card...until last week!  We were shocked and everyone was happy for us. :)  To top it off, Raleigh was in a great mood and wide awake the whole time we were there.  She was making everyone smile!  People have enjoyed watching her grow each week.  

RK after our win!

The hubs has been managing two stores lately - his "home" store and one in Greenville, SC.  It's about a 45 minute drive, but I'm so glad he's commuting each day rather than staying in a hotel there.  I'd miss him too much!  Plus, I'm tutoring Monday and Tuesday nights, so he watches RK while I'm doing that.

On Thursday, Ray had a day off so we decided to be productive.  After hitting up the gym together, we went to the bank to see about getting his truck refinanced.  After looking into it with the bank lady, we realized we were pretty well off as far as how much he has already paid on it and how much it's still worth.  It was a good time to...get a truck that is more practical for a family of four!  In his old truck, I was cramped in the front seat because we had to pull it way up to make room for Raleigh to sit in her carseat behind me.  I would have been dead if we were ever in a wreck.  (His old truck was a crew cab.)   We went to the dealership and found the perfect deal on the perfect truck.  I love everything about it!  It's almost like having a suburban, but with a truck bed instead of an extra row of seats.  :)

Ahhh, we are all so comfortable (and much safer!) in riding in it now.

This weekend, my sister Amy and her husband wanted to make a little getaway to Asheville.  They stayed at our house and enjoyed the great food Hendersonville and Asheville have to offer, caught a movie at the Brew & View, and even rented a scenic view hot tub on Sunday afternoon.  We were glad to have them stay with us and visit for awhile!  They met up with us on Saturday to watch the State/Carolina game at our usual place, Pack's Tavern.  We were sad to see our Wolfpack lose.  

An unfocused pic of Amy and RK at Pack's.

Although the Wolfpack loss was pretty sad, Jimmie Johnson pulled through to win the Daytona 500 on Sunday!  I was happy about that! (Hubs not so much.)  Excited for the rest of the NASCAR season!

Cheers to #48!

Seven Month Photos

True Blessings

I'm babysitting for a friend today. When she dropped her daughter off, she also brought me a coffee and this sweet devotional. Thankful!

HAPPY Valentine's Day!

How fitting that I got to hear the most perfect heartbeat on Valentine's Day!  

So excited to share the news with everyone.

And this is how my family found out a few weeks ago:

  

Giving up Facebook for Lent

I thought about giving up Facebook for Lent this year, but I quickly shunned that idea and gave up soft drinks.  I can easily order water at a restaurant, not open a can when Ray has them at the house, or buy one at the grocery store as I'm checking out.  Well, after some more praying and thinking about it today, I decided I need to do something that's going to bring me closer to God and closer to others.  Does giving up a soft drink really do that?  Maybe in the sense of praying "God please give me the strength to not indulge in my favorite carbonated beverage."  Haha.  Facebook, on the other hand, is something in which I too often overindulge.  I could be doing so much more in the time that I spend reading my NewsFeed on the computer and then again when I get in bed with my iPhone.  This will definitely be of benefit to my relationship with God and to my husband and others!  Less time on Facebook means more time in the Word, prayer, and communicating with those near me.  

Oh, but I will also try to LIMIT my soft drinks.  And I'm giving up alcohol.  Read more on that tomorrow!

A Week Overdue

On January 31, 2009, I married the most thoughtful, loving, handsome best friend I've ever had.  Since then, four amazing years have flown by and there is nowhere else I'd rather be than with him.  We have shared so many experiences together in such a short amount of time and there are so many more that I look forward to sharing with him.  (You're going snow skiing with me one of these days, Ray!)  Together, we have grown so much as a couple, as parents and most importantly, as Christians.  We've both changed (I think he more than I!), but only for the better.  We've had plenty of arguments, but at the end of the day, we know we're madly in love and we don't need to waste time fighting.  He's much better than I am at letting things go.  I tend to stay mad and hold a grudge longer.  Our personalities are a lot different, but it works for us. I loved the shy guy (who always had a clean apartment) I met in Winston Hall at NC State in January 2007; but, I love the hilarious, outgoing, country music loving, NC State fanatic, NASCAR redneck lover, sports addict, father (who never puts anything where it's supposed to go) with whom I am going to grow old, even more!

First dance song :)

Last dance song <3

September 2007

January 31, 2009

January 31, 2009

January 31, 2009

July 18, 2012