June Update

I am sad to see the last week of June.  It was a June of vacation time, lazy summer days, too many visits to the dentist, father's day, and the absence of an alarm clock! 

I am pleased!

I I' ve spent a little time learning new photo editing tools.  Don't forget to head over to picmonkey.  It's a lot of fun! I had the opportunity to add a few new teaching ideas to my lessons for the upcoming year. I've tried a new recipe found here.

Haven't tasted them yet, and I am most definitely not a cake decorator, but I do think they are adorable.  Have a great last week of June!

Wedding Food!

The bride and groom chose the menu.

I think it went well.

Mashed potatoes was #1 on the list.

Fresh fruit, yum!

The bride, so pretty!

The groom, enjoying his reception.

That beautiful wooden bowl has a story - it was a gift from my husband to me.  It was hand made and has a wonderful drawing on the base.  Solid maple.  I will show more photos later.

I wish I had left overs!

BBQ chicken. 

Thank God for slow cookers!

Yum! 

Bare with me as I share wonderful memories of a very special young couple.

XOXO

Theresa

Cabin Wedding!

We had a beautiful weekend! 

Family and Friends gathered in Pigeon Forge, TN to celebrate!

Well Wishes

The setting for the ceremony was the gorgeous mountains of Appalachia.

 The happy couple. 

 Food was a part of the festivities.

The bride and groom led the way.



One of the many diy projects prepared by the bride.

The cake made a 2 hour drive, in a cooler with dry ice, located in the back of a mini van.

More wedding projects and photos to come. 

How is your 4th?

Happy Birthday America!

Wishes and Blessings to the newly wed couple.

XOXO

Theresa

13 weekend guests

Being the supportive wife that I am, I volunteered our house to accommodate 13(originally the total was going to be 21, including us) young women for the weekend. What a blessing! :0)

After two hard days of cleaning house, I began to make my grocery list for the food I knew I would need to feed those special guests. Opening up my refrigerator door I realized Diet Coke was probably not going to provide the necessary nourishment they would need for a long weekend of Bible study, Worship and Mission project.

A trip to the grocery store was necessary. Of course no one was home when I pulled in the garage so.....

after 3 trips to unload the van and another 20 minutes to put it all away, then..

it only took me 15 minutes or so to prepare a few treats to have ready when they arrived.

I know, I see those store bought cookies too, honestly, after the two days of hard labor (house cleaning), it was the best I could do. It was 10:00 p.m. and I still had breakfast to prepare!

Fast forward to 6:30 a.m. and I am dragging myself out of bed. How quickly I had forgotten the pain of getting out of bed prior to 8:00 a.m. I did indeed look like a sorry, still sleepy, barely awake human. :0)
Thank goodness, the breakfast casserole I made takes an hour to bake,
yes,
you guessed it! I turned the timer on the oven and plopped myself on the couch, thinking I would hear the timer when it went off and I could catch another hour of much needed sleep.
Obviously, God has a sense of humor, instead of falling fast asleep, I dozed in and out every 10 minute or so. With being in a dozing state when the timer goes off and not hearing it!
Thank goodness, I did awaken before the breakfast was burned. :0)
What did I serve?

Breakfast Casserole
Blueberry muffins with real blueberries added
Chocolate Chip Muffins with pecans added - Yum!
Chocolate Donuts, yes they came from the bread aisle
Fruit Salad
Milk & Juice
I think they were pleased.


I am going to be honest, they left at 9:00 a.m. for the day's activities and I went back to bed. I needed a nap!
When I awoke from the nap I did manage to prepare a Barley Vegetable Soup. Easy and quiet delicious.



What do you serve with Barley Soup?
Cornbread! :0)
Not just any old cornbread, it must be made with whole Buttermilk, yellow cornmeal and flour. The skillet needs to be HOT when you pour in the batter. Love to hear that sizzle!



20 minutes later, you are ready for dinner. Enjoy! :0)

That's what I did this weekend. Cooked and cleaned.

Thank you God for the opportunity! :0)

XOXO

Theresa

3 John 1:15 Dear Friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. ... In providing meals and a bed we become their companions in spreading the truth. The Message

Snow Day # ? ? I really can't remember !

Truly, the snow days have blurred together. I remember being at school on Tuesday of last week (Feb. 9), and then the days just jumble. What did I do with all this time you ask? I ordered a new book from amazon.com that I have been eyeing for a few months. So much fun to read! The photography is breathtaking and the recipes are so well written. It isn't like any other cookbook I have in my collection.

So, in Pioneer Woman fashion and inspiration, I decided to document my valentine activities. When the children were younger I made sugar cookies for their classes each valentine's day. I haven't made those in years.

Step 1: Use the pretty pink bowl I found in Madisonville, KY last summer. When I saw this bowl, it had my name written ALL over it! :0)

Step 2: Gather the ingredients, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 extra large egg, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract and 2 3/4 cups of flour.


Step 3: Allow butter to reach room temperature



(at my house this isn't all that warm, so I helped it a little by beating with the beaters until it was super soft).


Step 4: Add 1 cup powdered sugar, cream.



Step 5: Once you have made the butter and sugar nice and creamy, add the egg and the vanilla.

Step 6: In a separate bowl (I only have the one pink bowl :( } measure the flour and salt. Take a whisk and stir the salt into the flour.

Step 7: Add the flour mixture to the sugar and egg. Beat well, it will look crumbly, this is ok, it is suppose to. :0) Wash your hands really well, and pat all those crumbs into a ball.

Step 8: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more. While you are waiting, go take a shower and get ready for a night out with your favorite significant other. :)

Step 9: Lightly flour the counter, look for the rolling pin and roll the cookie dough to 1/4 inch, anything less will be crispy and dry. Use your favorite cookie cutter shape and cut those cookies out of the dough!

Step 10: Place the cookies on a parchment paper covered stone, trust me on this, you don't want to cook without parchment paper - it helps to prevent the bottoms of the cookies from over browning.
Step 11: Once they are cool, make your favorite icing recipe, I'll share mine at a later date. Decorate to your heart's desire, wrap in a pretty box and take to someone special.

A very special valentine's day indeed!

I am blessed! :0)

Love you bunches!

XOXO

Theresa

P.S. Please say a prayer for all of those of us in the education field that are returning to school after a very long, break.
I also took the advice of the PW and turned the flash off my camera for the food photos. What do you think?

Teacher Luncheon #2

We had our second teacher luncheon this week.

Absolutely the best kids! They worked so hard!

They are learning so much about service, preparation, planning, organization, dovetailing and exhaustion!

The lunch went really well.

On the menu:

Loaded Potato Soup

Taco Soup

Southern Buttermilk Cornbread

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Pistachio Salad

I had one student to ask me if we could possibly have an easy day on Friday. I asked him what he meant by "easy". He said, maybe watch a cooking video. I thought that was a reasonable request. I was exhausted too. :0)
A student teacher joined my class this week. It has brought back so many memories of my student teaching. I think she has more confidence than I had. :0)
My niece has joined the blog world!

Go check out Totally Tuckered and tell her "hello"! Her life is full and I am excited to keep up with her through technology.

Welcome!

Time for bed.

XOXO

Theresa

Happy Birthday Dad Burton!

Happy Birthday!

77 Years young

We are CELEBRATING!

Proverbs 27:19 As water reflects a face,
so a man's heart reflects the man.

The heart of this man reflects a follower of Christ, God-fearing, faithful to the ages, in love with his wife, an example of patience and wonder to all those around him.

We love you!

XOXO

Theresa