The Bundt Bakery

As most of you know, I LOVE to bake. Cooking on the other hand...not so much. Mostly due to the fact that I'm not a huge fan of the feeling that comes along with touching raw meat. However, I do not mind it one little bit to touch some fresh dough or watch ingredients come to life.

On a whim, I came up with the wonderful idea of baking a bundt cake a month. Silly? I'm sure it may be a little, but there is something special about baking with family and friends.

Today is the day before Halloween. Honestly, I don't tend to get into this holiday. I'm not one to go spend a fortune to dress up like someone I'm not. Nor do I want to have a contest at the local parties of which girl can look the slushiest in a skimpy outfit when it is starting to get bitter cold outside. With this being said, our plans for this weekend involve a lot of family time (typical of every weekend). I am so truly blessed to have a family that I can consider some of my best friends.

Last night, Momma and Daddy invited us over for our own "shrimpfest". Every now and then, we get the crazy idea to get together and randomly cook whatever we can think of. After spending the afternoon shopping with my mom for the last of the groceries, we picked up my adorable niece from pre-k and headed back to the house. The menu for the evening consisted of fresh salad, asparagus tips with olive oil and sea salt, grilled shrimp, seasoned scallops, and my own fried rice.

After the kitchen was cleaned, I started my bundt caking adventure. To stay in the "pumpkin" theme, I decided on a delicious pumpkin spice bundt cake with my own twists. 65minutes in the oven and "How to Train a Dragon" later, the cake was fully baked and ready to cool. Unfortunately, I was ready to cool down in a comfy bed as well. Therefore, we covered the cake and decided to postpone the decorating until...today.

Mr. Wonderful and I made it over to the fam's house just a little after noon. With my fancy glass cake dish in hand, I was ready to dive back into cake mode. Being the forgetful gal I am, I forgot the final touch...the stem! My amazing fiance' (supporting my crazy ideas) hopped to the store. Moments later, he was back with the last of the decor and the cake was complete.

October's Pumpkin Bumpkin Bundt Cake

-pumpkin spice bundt cake with a creamy cream cheese glaze

Just call me...the bundt lady.

One month down, eleven more to go!

Fairytale

First of all, let me say this: my momma is the most amazing woman I have ever met. After years of total dependence on this woman, there is something to be said when you wake up and realize you're no longer a little girl. I am a woman...a strong, independent, loving, compassionate woman, AND I am who I am because of her.

Secondly, the day that you walk into that store, walk into that room, step in front of a mirror in a breathtakingly white dress, and she's there...that's a milestone. From birth to bandaids...she's been there for everything. She's watched me make mistakes and learn from them. She's picked me up when I didn't think I could get up. She's cried with me, laughed with me, and shared with me. 22years of learning how to love from her, she has welcomed someone into our family as if they have been there all along. She has shown me that love doesn't fade, it multiplies. As I slipped into the most beautiful gown, lace enveloping me to the ground and beyond, I could look to her. I am so blessed to have my momma in my life.

Lord, thank you so much for my fairytale.

Baby Krew

Future-hubby woke up me up with the news at approximately 7o'clock in the morning. His sister's water had broke at 4am, and she was at the hospital. I rushed out of bed, hopped in (and out) of the shower, and dressed as quickly as I could. Mr. It'sgoingtobeawhilebeforehe'sborn, however, did not rush around quite like I did. Poor guy, I wouldn't even let him stop for breakfast.

Never the less, the drive to the hospital was a beautiful one at 8:30am. Fall decided to stop in, and the sun was out with a chill in the air. Camera was in hand, and I couldn't wait to take pictures of the arrival. Minutes after we showed up in the waiting room, I stepped back into Jayme's room to take pictures of the moments before. She was amazing and calm. Contractions were close and she was dialating as planned.

We walked down to the cafeteria for some warm food before getting the news that she was fully dialated. Then...he stopped. Mr. Krew decided to sit and get comfy in the belly. It wasn't too much longer that they rushed Jayme over to surgery for a c-section. One LONG hour later, we were welcoming our precious baby nephew into the world. It was then that their sweet family of three grew love unimaginable. Honestly, you could feel how much that little boy was loved as a father bent to touch his soft skin, a mother held him with pride a mile wide, and a five year old sister crawled into her daddy's arms to see the tiny bundle of joy. God is so good.

Once they were settled into their room, the new daddy walked out to get his baby girl, no longer the baby of the family. I had the amazing honor of photographing every detail of that day. The sunshine behind the building, the elevator ride to a floor where parents waiting once again to became grand-parents, the silent prayers while sitting on benches, the room where a couple looked in each other's eyes holding hands, happy tears streaming down the faces of a family, and most importantly a daddy walking hand-in-hand with a little girl down a long hallway that led to a new journey.

Being the only other person in that room was such an amazing gift of watching love unfold. As Jayme handed Krew to her husband, he took him in his arms, smelled his skin, and kissed his forehead as he placed him into his daughter's arms.

Minutes later, people flooded the room as they began to hold Krew for the first time. Grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and then...there was us. We waited for everyone to get a chance to see him before we took him into our arms. There is something about a little boy that makes you melt. Someone so tiny, so vulnerable, that will one day grow stronger than you...there's just something about that. Then, there's something about watching the man you love more than you ever thought possible...holding that same baby. I fell in love with him all over again. I am getting such an amazing husband and future father of my children. I am so blessed.

Let's Play Catch-up

Okay, okay. I know it has been forever long since I wrote on here. Truth-be-told, I just haven't made time to write out my life (I've kind of been living it :D). HOWEVER, I will attempt to catch-up on lost blogs by starting to take the time now to back track on what all has been happening. The missing weeks will come to me with time, and as they do...I'll write them. With that being said, be very patient with me.

Until then, just know that things have been going great. Mid-terms are coming up very soon, and I'm getting ready for symposium (already). The house is coming along, and it may be put together by the time I get to move in on our big wedding day! Speaking of which, wedding planning is...well...coming along (SLOWLY but surely). My momma and I are going first thing tomorrow to pick out our event tent and colors for the reception site. Immediately following, we will be meeting at a bridal boutique to START TRYING ON DRESSES! I cannot believe it is already that time. Honestly, I'm learning that I am very behind on getting my gown ordered! Not to fret, I'm taking it at my own pace and working on the guest list (that seems to keep getting bigger and bigger every day). Engagement pictures are scheduled for October 21st, and I cannot wait to see all of the ideas come to life. Believe me, they WILL be GOOD. My photographers are working hand-in-hand with us to create something that I cannot seem to find anywhere in pictures before. Don't even try to ask...it's a secret. They will be posted as soon as they are completed!

I've been rummaging through some of my favorite, old tunes for the pre-ceremony music. You can hear a few of the songs from the compiled list on this very page! However, the ceremony will be TOTALLY different from this style. I cannot wait! BUT, you guessed it, that's a secret too. Not to mention our amazing reception that will be unlike anything you've ever been to. Oh, you should be excited...I am. Actually, WE are. That is saying A LOT when the groom is involved and excited for the big day as well.

As far as this guest list, it will soon be transformed into personalized invites for the people I love the most. When I say personal, I do mean personal. This fall/winter my beautiful and talented sister and I will be handcrafting each of the 200+invitations. As a matter-of-fact, I just mastered the art of embossing. Sincerely, one of the most beautiful ways to make a page come to life (but that's just my opinion).

With all of this wedding talk, I realized I should be working on it instead of blogging about it. Therefore, I promise to do my best to keep up with this nifty little blog of mine as well as plan the wedding of our dreams. I cannot wait to share such a huge day with all of you. You are what will make this day come to life, and I am so very blessed to have each of you in my life.

Until next time,
B.

One Fair Day

Today was a beautiful day (and hot). To begin the day, we decided to head out to good old state fair.

After driving over grassy hills, we managed to get a decent parking place fairly close to the side entrance. Then, we walked.

First stop: A&W Root Beer in a Jug
Isn't it funny how going to the fair turns into less of an event and more about eating the older you get?

Second stop: Double-sized Corn Dog (with extra mustard)
Approximately 4 bites in, I called it quits and handed the stick to Future-Hubby to finish off.

Third stop: Some random building with air conditioning and a million-and-one people
We literally did not look at a single thing in this building. We simply walked in one door and out.

Site seeing: Insanely unsafe carnival rides
As we watched the matching insane people hop onto each of the easy-to-tear-down rides, we continued to walk through the crowd without stopping.

Fourth stop: The giant fake horse in front of the arena
We picked up some random people with a really cute little girl to walk around the fair with (AKA my Aunt Tracie, big sis, and adorable 4yr. old niece.)

Fifth stop: Crowded building with people making a fortune selling things people really don't need
Yes indeed, we managed to make it through this building without purchasing a single thing.

Sixth stop: Made in Oklahoma building with farm animals
How odd that a person would put a wine-tasting in the same building as the children's area. Is this the message we're sending our children...oh wait, THAT's a thought.

Seventh stop: Tater twirls (A giant potato twirled on a machine that makes thin chip-like twirls and then deep-fried like a french fry)
All FIVE of us ate on this heap of a fancy-french-fry with ketchup...and STILL didn't finish it.

Eighth stop: Achy feet + fried food that isn't good for you= call it quits for the fair.

Therefore, we headed out the gate and back into the real world. What a way to spend a Saturday...I love my life.

I Absolutely Love You...

Today was absolutely gorgeous outside...by far the best weather of the summer. The school parking lot, however, was NOT so pretty. Since I had to purchase my textbook for my Monday/Wednesday class, I showed up to the University almost an hour early (predicting the parking situation). After driving through the east parking lot, the northeast parking lot, the north parking lot, back through the northeast parking lot, around to the southeast parking lot, and back into the east parking lot...I spotted someone walking straight to their car. I pulled down to the aisle and turned on my blinker.

*Blink, blink.
Blink, blink.

I waited for almost ten minutes before he decided to actually leave the parking place. I was NOT complaining though. Then, I walked to the U.C. Spotting my former co-worker from the "shoe room" days, I stopped to chit-chat for a few minutes before walking into the bookstore. Thank goodness there wasn't a line. I grabbed the best "used" book off the shelf (still $124 as a PAPERBACK) and checked out.

Still a little early for class, I walked to the nearest computer lab and printed off my syllabus and powerpoint for day's lecture. This came in VERY handy as I was able to write on the printed pages and follow along with the information. Before I knew it, class was over. I made my way back to a computer to check my mail and catch up on this lovely blog of mine. Since it's the first week of classes, we have the traditional "stampede week" where organizations set up booths to recruit newcomers. I even got to see my dear friend, Mandi (of Mandi-isms). Then, I found some fellow-FLEers and talked for a while before making my way to lunch.

Why yes, yes I DID enjoy Qdoba for the THIRD time this week (only a small portion)...AND I treated myself to a dollar's worth of yogurt, granola, and fruit at Pink Swirls. A filling and nutritious meal for less than $5...I think I did well.

Since I had a couple of hours to kill, I went back to my apartment and watched a little TV while cleaning up the place. Then, I drove back to campus for my final class of the day. Boy, oh boy, did I NOT want to go to class. When I said how gorgeous it was outside, I meant it. It was SO nice out that it made for the PERFECT picnic weather. I was so sad that the love-of-my-life was already off work for the day and I was stuck inside wasting daylight.

The class wasn't a total bust. My professor was great and really passionate about helping people (which makes me like her all the more). You can tell she wasn't one of the typical, "I'm here because I have to make some money and my education makes me know so much more than you". No, she definitely wanted us to learn the material to be on the same page as her when it comes to helping to prevent/educate people we serve in our field. However, the video she selected to inform us of this WAS a complete loss. I don't think I've ever had THAT much trouble being attentive in class. On top of the 80's hairstyles and monotonous voices, I did not see how in the world the material could have been retained at the rate they were talking. I was SO thankful that she released us minutes early.

As soon as we could see one another, we drove to pick up sandwiches and cruise around with the windows down. Let me tell you, evenings fly by when you actually want to enjoy them. Before I knew it, it was dark out and the warm air had officially retired.

After driving me home, I immediately got ready for bed. We talked for a while before I finally turned into bed. Jokingly, I asked before going to sleep, "Are you sure you love me?"

"I absolutely love you," he said.

And those words were the perfect ending to wrap up a beautiful day.

Meet...Endorsement

Bright and early Sunshine!

Morning came VERY early when all I could do was toss and turn last night. However, I had to refrain from hitting the very tempting "snooze" button and get ready for a long day. After scarfing down what little breakfast I could manage to eat at 6o'clock IN THE MORNING, I hurried around to finish getting ready.

Just a side note, I REALLY miss my puppies when I leave the house. Honestly, it makes the pit of my stomach ache to know that I cannot take them everywhere I go. I know that they really wouldn't be a bother. Laila LOVES to cuddle with me and she wouldn't dare leave my sight. And Bailey? Bailey is such a people-dog that she would make everyone instantly fall in love with her when they saw her bouncy self. But, the reality of this life is...I HAVE to leave them. With that being said, I typically stall as much as I can by rubbing their sweet little bellies and loving them before being the meanest person on the face of the planet and making them stay ALL BY THEMSELVES for the day.

Okay, back to my day. Today was a BEAUTIFUL, rainy day. I say "beautiful" not because I think that car wrecks on the highway, or not being able to see the person ahead of me through the blinding raindrops is beautiful, BUT because we NEEDED the rain. So, I didn't complain one bit when it took me over an hour and a half to drive 45miles to meet my supervisor. The great news is, I left early enough to allow plenty of driving time and managed to get there more than 15minutes before I was scheduled to arrive.

Once at her house, I helped load all of the meeting supplies into the car before driving for another hour to our final destination...Stroud.

For those of you that have not had the pleasure of driving through this lovely little town, you should. Please make sure that you do not blink while on the turnpike though. Otherwise, you'll miss it (and the true gem of this town...The Rock Cafe').

Unfortunately, we had a meeting to run before getting to take part in an amazing lunch at this little-known hole-in-the-wall. BUT the meeting went GREAT. The day before, I had the privelege of spending approximately 2hours using my creativity to make a "map" of the meeting. Literally, I created a HUGE room-sized map of roadblocks and villages that could be used to describe exactly where the membership has been and where we need to go. This map included things like school zones, storms, construction zones (with the well-known cop car placed behind a nearby tree), forks in the road, and speed bumps. All-in-all, this mapped out the entire day's topics on the agenda and turned into a wonderful visual for introducing the newest member of the Facilitation family...Endorsement.

You see, my supervisor had this BRILLIANT idea to turn our branch of work into something that everyone at the meeting could relate to. So, she put on her straw hat and broom skirt as she showed off our brand new baby girl, Endorsement. Thankfully, we work for a state agency that provides simulator babies to teenagers to teach the responsibilities of being a new parent. This means, we had a "real" baby to nurture throughout our meeting as we explained the role everyone shared of helping to "raise Endorsement". She was complete with a diaper, real cry, and emotions that could flip like a switch (just like the course our agency travels within this field).

Using "Endorsement" to gain a vision for the program, everyone was open to a fresh view on what it takes to make this as successful as possible.

After wrapping up the first half of our day, we called it a morning and headed over to enjoy our anticipated lunch at The Rock. Although this greasy cafe' is completely against the nutritionally balanced meals I have been trying to consume to be healthy...it was SO worth it. This once-in-a-long-while meal consisted of anything but the usual menu selections. I COULD have had anything from alligator to buffalo or german food...but I was good. I only ate small portions of a burger and okra and SHARED my fried apple slices cased in breaded pockets with gooey filling and sprinkled powder sugar with a delicious scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh man, it was SO GOOD.

Lunch may or may not have been a good idea. By this point, I was so full that I could have immediately fallen asleep if it weren't for the laughing that was going on in the meeting. I love my group. Honestly, we have such a diverse group of professionals that are passionate about people and families...it just works.

Oddly enough, we finished strong (and early). Note to my (small) audience, "finished", "early" and "meeting" NEVER are in the same sentence. However, it happened. We wrapped up the meeting and loaded into our cars with minutes to spare.

Driving back to town, I had the opportunity to reflect on the meeting and discuss concerns that I had. I felt so great about how things were ran that there really weren't any negative points of discussion. This made for a quick trip back. I picked up my car and headed back to meet the person that I am really beginning to miss in the midst of this new schedule.

We immediately hopped into the pickup and headed over to the future in-laws' house. My future hubby is such a handy man. He rented an aerator and ran it over his lawn, the neighbor's lawn, and his parents' lawn. His sweetness paid off and we were able to enjoy dinner with his dad at somewhere I have been craving for days and days, Cracker Barrell.

Wholesome breakfast
A cup of yogurt
Fresh strawberries and blueberries
Granola with almonds and dried cherries
Blueberry muffin
2 scrambled eggs
3 slices of bacon

Honestly, it is divine. I only ate the parfait and eggs really. It is so much food! I enjoyed ONE slice of bacon (which is hard for me considering it is one of my FAVORITE foods), and I took my muffin and extra bacon to have a hearty breakfast in the morning.

As soon as I got home, I hopped in the shower and was in bed before I could think about doing anything else.

Tomorrow? Schoolday.