Southern Blondie: April 2011

Life As I Know It...Lately

1 comment
Ever think to yourself that life is slow and something exciting needs to happen?

Don't. Because as soon as you speak those words out loud the universe will hear you, laugh and hand you all the excitement you can handle.

What did the universe hand me? Oh just trying to fit into a bridesmaid dress by working out like crazy and dieting, helping host a bridal shower, taking the GRE for grad school, filling out all of the grad school paper work and then working my full time job.

Sometimes all of that extra work can make some people cranky...me, cranky? I said some people.

Though you know when you are thrilled to go to work in the morning rather than have to do all of the 'other' things, it's time for a nap. Or a vacation. Or a cheeseburger. 



It all started with this dress. This dress that should have been ordered a size up. However, I ordered it in my usual size. Apparently they decided to make the dress smaller than stated. I feel tricked.


The dress lead to this. Kickboxing and bootcamp. Working out four days a week to make sure that the dress pictured above, looked like a dress, not a sausage wrap.

In the middle of all of that, I decided to add this; studying for the GRE. So, I could possibly return to school part time in the fall to start working on my masters.

Which if I can get into grad school and graduate, I will request everyone call me master.

All of that lead to me having to drink one of these this week. I just couldn't hold out any longer. 

You'll have that.
SHARE:
1 comments

Dreaming of Food

Leave a Comment
Anyone in my life will tell you that for the past three weeks I have not been extremely pleasant. In 12 days I will be Maid of Honor in my best friends wedding. 

The dress for this wedding unforgiving. And by unforgiving I mean you might as well be nakkid. 

So, for three weeks, I have been waking up at 5 a.m. for workouts, resisting the urge to eat carbs and even skipping out on desserts.

I have 12 days. 12. 12 more days until I can eat again. 

Until then, I will dream about the foods that I have missed so dearly.




 


 



I guess you could say that I, uh, like comfort foods?

12 days...and counting.

SHARE:
0 comments

Hippity...Hoppity...Trippity...Black Eye.

Leave a Comment
Growing up every Easter seemed pretty picture perfect. My mom and I would dye eggs, bake a bunny cake and the Easter Bunny would ‘surprise’ me with a big basket of goodies.

There were only two Easters that were somewhat less than picture perfect.

My small town would hold an annual egg hunt at the local state park. Kids from all over the area would line up behind a line, get set and go when they fired the fake gun. Since my mom liked to drag me to every event as a kid, I also participated in this activity.

One year, however, I must have been too slow for the boy behind me. As I was running as swiftly as a 6-year-old girl could in her white Keds, I tripped.

Tripping is nothing new in my life. Watch me walk on a daily basis and you can make a game out of it. It happens a lot. Even flat footed. I’ve accepted it and I hope you will, too.

When I tripped, I fell down. That’s how that usually works. That little boy behind me wasn’t concerned with what had happened he was on a mission. He was going to get every egg he could. What did the little boy do? 

He stepped on my face. This caused a black eye.

The only black eye I have ever had in my life came from when a little boy stepped on my face to find Easter eggs.

A couple of years later, I believe I was 10-11 when we had come home from church one Easter Sunday and were outside with neighbors as we all took family pictures. My childhood dog, Lady, was outside for the family picture when she spotted a rabbit.

Lady was a dachshund. A weiner dog. One who believed that she needed to live up to her name by killing any animal she saw. Birds. Mice. And on Easter, rabbits.

Before we could turn around, Lady had run behind the tree and killed the poor rabbit on Easter.

While living in Atlanta, I never made it home for an Easter weekend. The trip was long and I always tried to make it home a month later for Mother’s Day. Last year, however, I was moved back to Arkansas for Easter and staying at my parents’ house. As an adult I no longer have a curfew, but there is a respect period that I am supposed to come home because my mother likes to say, “Maegan, until you have a daughter you will never understand what it’s like to stay awake all night while you are out.”

Last year I didn’t get home until pretty late, which apparently means that I no longer get an Easter basket anymore.

I’m going home to my parents’ house this weekend and I’m almost relieved that I don’t have to worry about black eyes or killed Easter bunnies. I’m still hoping for an Easter basket though…
SHARE:
0 comments

Be Kind

Leave a Comment


Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.
Mother Teresa

SHARE:
0 comments

Things I Know

Leave a Comment
1. I cannot make an omelet. I tried this morning. It was a disaster. They poor eggs ended up being burnt scrambeled eggs. 

Did I eat them? Yes. Hot sauce and salsa to cover it up. I will try again tomorrow. Maybe. 


2. Happy Meals make me happy. When I was little I once told my mom that I wanted to marry a guy who could buy me a happy meal every day, I've decided this is still true in my life. Some things never change.

3.  I work with some of the best people I know. It's easy to love your job, when you:
     a) love what you do. 
     b) love the people you work with.
     c) love the city you live in.

4. Two-stepping is easy, three-stepping is hard. 

(This piece is from Filomena Ristorante in DC. I still dream about this.)

5. On May 9 I am going to have a piece of pie.

And a burger. And fries. And a coke. 


6. Arkansas summer is coming and I'm ready. Except for the extreme heat and humidity, I'm ready. 

When the summer heat actually gets here, I will be ready for winter. 
Funny how that works.



7. The Stl. Cardinals are my favorite baseball team. Even though they aren't just doing that great this year and every player on the team seems to be getting hurt, I am still rooting for them.

8. When I was little I went on a Easter egg hunt at the local state park and ended up with a black eye. My one and only black eye in life. I won't go hunt Easter eggs anymore.

9. Halloween stresses me out. Even though it's months and months away, I always get nervous about it.Why is it always so much pressure?


10. Today is Wednesday. (Betcha didn't know that one...)

This means I have kickboxing tonight. I can now wrap my own hands.
SHARE:
0 comments

The Bells Are Almost Ringing...

Leave a Comment
This weekend I helped host a wedding shower for my best friend Kristen.

We have been best friends since we were six-years-old and I cannot imagine her not as my best friend.

Her wedding will be in three weeks. Three. There is so much to do from now until then. And I'm just the maid of honor.

Anyways... Yesterday all of the bridesmaids hosted a shower for her and her fiance whom I refer to as Sweet Charlie.

My job at the shower was to bring the cake and some food. As much as I like to announce to everyone my cooking skills, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to just go buy a cake. I knew I had to make this bad boy. And I knew it had to be pretty awesome.

When you're one of the bridesmaids at your best friends wedding, it's either go big or go home.

Saturday I ran around all day (lunch, movie, shopping with girlfriends) and then I remembered...I have to bake a cake before tomorrow!

After a long day of friends, I got home around 1:30 a.m. (Sorry, mom.)

Then what did I do? Started baking of course! I baked a vanilla cake and chocolate cake so the cake would have two different layers.

Then I made cupcakes with the left over batter. I said I would either go big or go home...

Now. I didn't take pictures of me decorating the cakes because I was in such panic, frenzy mode that I completely forgot.

BUT, I did take a picture to send to cousins/friends to gather their opinion.

The cake while I was at my apartnement.


Ever traveled with a cake? It's painful. It might make one paranoid. It might also make your hair poof go flat and curls start to fall.

Then again that could be the Arkansas weather.


The cake arrived safely and I made sure to cover it up as soon as possible so no one would get tempted to stick their finger in the side of it. Or maybe that was just me. 


Once the party started, I uncovered the cake. 


And set-up cupcakes that had been decorated.


Kristen and Sweet Charley cutting their cake getting ready for the 'big day.'


See. Told you it was half chocolate and vanilla. And look at that layer of icing.

The wedding shower was a lot of fun. We had the happy couple playing games, enjoying their families and friends.

In three weeks we will get together again to celebrate the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Christianson.

Now, to hit the treadmill so I fit into the bridesmaid dress...
SHARE:
0 comments

My HOT-lanta Friends

1 comment
I was pretty darn lucky when I moved to Atlanta. 

So lucky, that I met three of the best, most fun, funniest, prettiest girls in the entire world and now I can call them my friends.

The world is big you know - so that's a pretty strong statement. 



But just look at them?

They enjoy talking to strangers...

They know good food...

They are the life of the party!

And no matter what, they are always there for you. 

If I ever forget how lucky I am...I just remember my sweet Atlanta friends.
SHARE:
1 comments

Where the Green Grass Grows

1 comment
When I graduated college I didn’t waste a second leaving small town, USA and moving as fast and farthest I could away from everything I knew. I was 21 after all and knew that I was ready to be on my own living in the big city.

Two weeks after graduation, I was on my own in Atlanta. After crossing three states, driving 8 hours and 550 miles I had accomplished my dream. 

My parents had no sooner walked out of my shiny, new apartment to hit the interstate to head back to small town, USA when I called with hesitation and nervousness in my voice, “Dad, I think I’ve made a mistake. I don’t think I want to do this.” My dad answered, “Too bad. You’re here. Time to be an adult now.”

Gulp.

I was here. I was in Atlanta. I was a ‘big girl.’

That dream lasted a couple of years until one day I realized that what I wanted, wasn’t the big city anymore.  I missed my family. I missed my old friends. I missed the feeling of peace that I feel when I’m in the middle of nowhere.

The decision was hard. Was packing up everything that I had worked so hard for, leaving all of the great friends I had and going back to what I already knew or so I thought, what I was supposed to do?

I was about to find out.

After accepting  a job in the town I went to college, I packed up, left Atlanta and looked in the rear view mirror with hope that what I was doing was going to work out.

And you know what? It did.

Even though now I am back in a city, (the job I moved back for is a whole different story), I know that I’m right where I need to be.

If there is ever a moment of question, all I have to do is look at these pictures and everything becomes clear.
Between the gorgeous spring flowers...

Summer baseball games with my dad...

Gorgeous Arkansas views...

And days at the lake...

I realize that I love living where the green grass grows.
SHARE:
1 comments

Scalloped Cheese Potatoes

Leave a Comment
Some friends of mine were having a cookout Sunday night and asked if I wanted to go.

My answer was Yes!

Cookouts. Spring weather. Pretty day. Good people.

Of course I would say yes.

The next question was, what do I need to bring?

To which I got the answer, something with 'cheese and potatoes.'

Oh. Okay... Well.... Hum....

Sounds like Scalloped Cheese Potatoes to me. Fun fact, I have never made that dish until this weekend.

So here goes.

photo 1 (4)
You need potatoes. I'm captain obvious this morning.

Give them a good rinse...
photo 2 (4)
Then stick em in a big ol' pot and boil until they are knife tender.

photo 3 (3)
Now while those are boiling, you can get your other ingredients ready.

photo 4 (2)
Start shredding up your Velveeta cheese.
(Now, if you want, you can just buy shredded Velveeta. I thought about it. I thought long and hard about it. I just decided to do it myself. I considered it my arm workout for the day.)

photo 5 (3)
Potatoes are done. Let's drain and rinse with cold water.

photo 2
Side note, my cousin Shannon got me this for Christmas this year. Isn't she cute? She said it reminded her of me!

photo 3
This is a very important step. One to which I completely learned my lesson. You MUST let the potatoes cool before you start peeling and slicing them up.

Some potatoes were hurt in the process. This is why I cook A LOT from the beginning.

photo 4
Since I was going to a cookout - I used a disposable pan. I don't like keeping up with pans and this way I can just leave whatever behind.

photo 5
Butter it up all nice and pretty.

photo 2 (5)
Now it's time to get the good stuff going. Take a stick of butter (after you grease up the pan) cut it up into chunks, add some milk and let it become one.

photo 5 (4)
Once the milk and butter have married into one, add some cheese.

photo 3 (5)
Now it's time to assemble. See how my potatoes are broken on the bottom? It's because I didn't let them cool long enough. Trust me on that one.

photo 1 (5)
Salt and pepper. Then pour half the cheesy, buttery goodness all over the top.

photo 3 (6)
Add sour cream if you like.

photo 4 (5)
Some cheese.

And then do it again.

photo 1 (2)
One more layer of potatoes with some salt and pepper.

See how these potatoes are prettier? They cooled first.

photo 2 (2)
Add the rest of the mixture.

photo 3 (2)
Almost there. Almost.

Add more sour cream on top. More cheese. Cover. Place in the oven.

This is what happened...after I took the last picture. My phone died. So the other steps weren't captured. It happens to the best of us.

Anyways, after it's baked covered for about 40 min, I uncover it and let it back for about 20-25 more or until someone calls and says, "I'm outside your house, let's go."

Then you are done cooking.

Take your dish to the cookout, stick it in the oven to keep it warm and then let people eat.

I did however get a picture of the after...it's not pretty.
photo
However, delicious.

I guess you could call this success.

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup of whole milk
- 1 stick of salted butter
- 1 bag of potatoes (I buy the 5 lb bag but I only used around 3 lbs)
- 3 cups of shredded Velveeta
- 1 cup of sour cream
- Salt and Peppa

Directions:
1. Wash potatoes and boil until knife tender
2. While your poatoes are boiling, begin shredding up Velveeta cheese
3. After potatoes are knife tender, drain and rinse with cold water
4. Lay on paper towels to dry and cool
5. Butter your dish you will bake in
6. Add milk and butter to a sauce pan to merge the goodness
7. Add 2 cups of Velveeta cheese to the mixture
8. Peel and slice your cooled potatoes
9. Start your first layer buy laying out the potatoes
10. Salt and peppa
11. Add half of the milk/butter/cheese mixture on top
12. Add half a cup of sour cream on top
13. Half a cup of cheese for fun
14. Add another layer of potatoes
15. Salt and Peppa
16. Add the renaming half of the milk/butter/cheese mixture on top
17. Add the other half of sour cream
18. Add the rest of the cheese
19. Cover in a 350 degree oven for 40 min
20. Uncover for 20-25 min
21. Enjoy.
SHARE:
0 comments

White Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies

1 comment
I've made these a few times and every time they get better.

Today would be a good day for cookies.

Since I can't bake right now, I thought I'd share the recipe.


Ingredients:

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 2/3 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are set. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Mail me some.
SHARE:
1 comments
Next PostNewer Posts Previous PostOlder Posts Home
BLOG TEMPLATE CREATED BY pipdig