Hey Dude!!!

November 12-14, 2010:  Eric and I met up with family for a weekend of fun at the Westgate River Ranch Resort in River Ranch, Florida.  Everyone keeps asking me if it was like the show Hey Dude that used to be on Nickelodeon.  lol.  Maybe yes, maybe no (I can't quite remember much about the show except that I used to love it!).  My family got there Thursday (I think), so they got to do a couple more things that we didn't (like horse back riding) get to experience (since we had to wait until I got off work and Eric got out of class in Friday).  Here are some pictures/videos of our adventures!

Our cabin -- It was really nice...just like a hotel, but with a full kitchen and living room.

Family

 

 The "adults" enjoying the pontoon boat ride

Before dinner we went on a hay ride complete with a singing cowboy (Eric just LOVES country music...hahaha).

We saw a lot of COWS!

 

The hay ride brought us back and we were on to the BBQ for dinner!

I'm not sure this worked....nice try guys

 

Emily and MacKenna petting the horses behind our cabin

Saturday night we all headed out for the RODEO!

There was bull riding and barrel racing!

They also had a contest where kids had to try to grab a ribbon from calves tails

MacKenna and our friend

 

 Mom went skeet shooting on her birthday and actually hit a few!

 

Dad shooting a bow

 

 That was pretty much the extent of our activities.  I think we packed a lot into such a short trip. 

I want to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING  to all of ya'll!!  I am SO thankful for God, friends, family, and lots more things that I will not list for time's sake.  I hope everyone stays safe and eats TONS of good food!  I've already been to like 3 Thanksgiving dinners and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet!

*I'm going to do a giveaway for the book Eat,Pray,Love -- so stayed tuned for it!

Also-- A fellow blogger, Girl Gone Mom, is having an amazing giveaway for a Keurig Special Edition Brewing System!!!  My parents just got a Keurig and it's amazing!  It's really easy to work and your drink is ready in minutes!  CLICK HERE to find out more information and enter!

The Pioneer Woman's Soul Sweet 'Taters

There are two activities that I VERY much enjoy doing...browsing cookbooks (of course they have to have pictures!) and food blogs!  Food.  Yum.  What more can I say?

So you can fully understand why I have become obsessed with The Pioneer Woman's website.  It's amazing!  Not only does she post recipes, but she takes gorgeous pictures-- documenting the whole cooking process from start to finish!

This brings me to my first attempt at making a recipe from THE Pioneer Woman (Did I mention I saw her cookbook at Target this week and got really excited?!).  We had a Thanksgiving themed party at work today for Dana's Birthday and I decided to make sweet potatoes.  CLICK HERE for the recipe and pictures for these "Soul Sweet 'Taters" from the Pioneer Woman.

Preparing my ingredients for the topping

They were really easy to make, but I'm not sure my topping came out the way it was supposed to (hint, hint -- it didn't look like her pictures!).  I prepared the sweet potato mixture the night before and everything was going great.  The next morning I got up to make the topping and stick it in the oven.  I'm really not sure why, but my topping looked totally different than what it was supposed to look like.  I did use brown sugar instead of light brown sugar.  That's one difference.  The rest...I'm not sure.  Her's looks more appealing...a nice, crumby topping.  Mine looked more like poop, but all that matters is that is tasted good (I mean how can you go wrong when it is filled with sugar?!).  Everyone at work said they liked it, so I call it a success and would recommend making it has a Thanksgiving side dish (or dessert!).

Before putting the mixture in the oven -- it's brown sugar people!

 
I would have posted a picture of the final product, but I didn't bring my camera to work where it was consumed by my fellow hungry co-workers (and myself!).  :)

My Favorite Sister Stores - Bath & Body Works / Victoria's Secret

Hello all!

I'm getting really excited for the holiday season!  Eric and I went to Bath & Body Works last week and got a candle that smells just like a Christmas tree (Fresh Balsam) to burn next to our four foot fake Christmas tree.  Maybe it will seem like a real tree?!  lol.  I definitely want to start buying "real" Christmas trees once we get settled somewhere (not sure we could fit one anywhere in our current apartment).  So anyways, we bought this great candle and a holiday "sleeve" to go around it.  Here's a link to the sleeves on the Bath & Body Works website -- Candle Sleeves.  We got the "Village" sleeve which has a snowman, Christmas tree, and snowflake on it.  The only bad part is that they are easy to get fingerprints on...but that is going to happen with almost any silver like product.  The best part is that they are only $5!!!  A cheap, easy way to add some holiday cheer to your candle (and room!). 

 
Then--- It's November!!!---And that doesn't just mean my birthday has arrived-- It's Secret Reward Month at Victoria's Secret.  All you have to do is buy a minimum of $10 worth of merchandise (up until Nov. 30th) and you will receive a Secret Reward card that can be redeemed Dec. 1-19, 2010 for $10, $50, $100, or $500 dollars off your purchase!  You don't know how much it is worth until you redeem it, but every card is at least $10 off your purchase.  So...why am I so excited about this?!  Well...because I won the $500 off last year!  Yes...it really does happen to people!  (And I can hope with all my might that it will happen again!)  ;)  Being my cheap self, I was going to buy something that was a little over $10.  After the cashier rang up my reward card she said I had a balance of 400 and something dollars.  I was like, "Are you kidding?!".  COMPLETE shock ensued.  All I could say was thank you and slowing walk away while customers in line sent there congratualations my way.  Once I got home I was bouncing off the walls, running around my living room screaming!  I can't imagine I will get anything more than $10 off again, but a girl can dream right?! 

A Very Happy Birthday to Me

I've had a great birthday week!  Thanks to all my family and close friends who celebrated with me!  It's always a special treat getting to spend time with the people you love most, but don't always get to see frequently.

October 29-30, 2010:  My family (Mom, Dad, Steven) came to visit us Friday night and Saturday.  Friday night we went to the new Genghis Grill  that recently opened up in Gainesville.  If you click the link they have a little video that shows you what it looks like.  We all thought it was really good.  They give you a silver bowl that you take up and fill with a selection of meats, vegetables, spices, and sauces.  Then you take it over to the grill, choose your carbs, and sit back down while they prepare it.  When they are done they bring it back to your table for your eating pleasure.  I think it's cool because you can make your food exactly how you want it (vegetarians and vegans can actually pick stuff out to eat here).

After dinner, we celebrated with an assorted variety of cheesecakes and games.  I hassled people into playing Just Dance 2 for Wii (my parent's got me it as a birthday gift) with me.  I was getting mad because Eric kept beating me (and he shouldn't!), but don't worry I'm going to work on it and start beating him!  I move more than him...he just pays attention to the one hand you have the Wii remote in because that is how it scores you.  This is why I want the XBOX 360 Kinect...so no one can cheat!!!

On Saturday we met Josh and Kristina at the Micanopy Fall Harvest Festival.  The festival had lots of vendors selling food and crafts.  The place was packed!

After the festival, Kristina and Josh came over to watch the FL vs. GA game.  How exciting was that?!  It was definitely a nail biter...I had a headache the whole last part of the game (especially when they went into overtime).  I'm SO glad we won though!  And that win against Vandy yesterday wasn't too shabby either.  Let's hope next week's game against South Carolina ends in us going to the SEC Championship!

During halftime we played Just Dance 2.  It was a lot of fun.  While sadly there is no video evidence of Kristina and I's amazing dance skills...some how there is some of Eric and Josh!  ;)  They probably got higher scores anyway since the boys seem to be the masters at this game.  So please...enjoy the video below!



November 1-6, 2010:  The rest of the week I got to celebrate with other friends and family.  I got to see Jenna, Owen, Kristina, Josh, Mrs. Karen, and Mr. Reggy.  Thanks to everyone!!  I love you all!!