Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Recipe Wednesday...it's something new!

Recipe Wednesday

Have you ever had a cannoli?  I hadn't had one until Jason and I went to New York last year in December to visit his cousin Michelle and her boyfriend Jack.  They took us to a pastry shop in Little Italy and we had one there...they.are.so.gooooood!
Seriously...get your hands on one of these...

Now, back to Recipe Wednesday...this is a recipe I found that I am for sure going to try maybe Sunday morning.  It is called Cannoli French Toast, and it looks yummmy!!


Cannoli French Toast
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar plus more for dusting
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
12 slices sandwich bread, crusts removed
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Sift confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, then stir in ricotta cheese. In a medium bowl, beat together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup milk.

Trim the crusts off 12 slices of sandwich bread and using a rolling pin, roll out the bread to flatten. Add 1 Tablespoon of the sweetened ricotta cheese to each slice, fold over and pinch the edges together. (The edges will seal during cooking.)

In a large skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive over medium heat. Working in 3 batches, dip the stuffed bread slices in the egg mixture and transfer to the skillet. Cook, turning once, until puffed and golden, about 3 minutes. Dust with more confectioners' sugar before serving. Syrup is good too.

So, as for Recipe Wednesday, be prepared to see some food I have either made or plan on making in the near future.  Hope you enjoy! 



Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Gotta say...I'm a little nervous...:S

Why you ask??  Well, my lovely husband Jason just signed him and I up for the Living History Farms race.  It's held down in Des Moines, the weekend before Thanksgiving.  If you have never heard of this before it is a 7 mile  foot race over hills, up steep slopes, through creeks, and over round bales...Jason and I have done it once before, a few months after we met, and it was hard...really hard.  I hadn't really trained for it back then, but this time around I have been running and working up my endurance.  I have been in the gym getting miles in and building up my endurance.  I feel sooo much more prepared for this race, but 7 miles still freaks me out!

This year Jason's brother Adam, and his fiancee Bridget are running it with us, so we are in for a good time! :)  Also, there are usually 7,500 people running this beside you...that's not an exaggerartion either, they cap it at that amount.  CRAZZZYYYY!!!!

People dress up in crazy costumes, I don't think we will be partaking in this part of it, but you never know!



I remember this creek...it's the one my husband pushed me into the first time I ran this race!! 

Oh man...what have I gotten myself into??

Things with faces

Monday, October 11, 2010

For the love of FALL!

 This is what Jason and I get to enjoy out of our front bay window...it's literally picture perfect. 

 
I saw this monarch land on a leaf from inside the house, so I zoooooomed in and got this shot.  It's the little things like this that make me smile :)

 
Here is a street by the high school...


Here's the tree outside of our house that I am talking about...I had a picture up last week of it where it was only green on the bottom, it has really changed fast...

Love the colors of fall...




Other happenings over the weekend... 
Jason's brother, Justin, competed in a Triathlon he qualified for over the summer.  He swam, biked, and ran in Kona, Hawaii...here he is finishing.

Way to go JUSTIN!!  We are proud of you!! 
Also, special thanks to Bridget for getting these pics, not sure how she got them, but they are GREAT!!!! Thanks Bridget!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Just a little inspiration for your Friday!




Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
-Buddha


Thursday, October 7, 2010

Slug Bug---No returns!!

So, I totally get a kick out of driving down the street and seeing two people who are either young or old, nailing each other in the arm when they see my car!  You see, I drive a sporty little Cyber Green VW Beetle a.k.a. The Bug (according to Jason).  This happened to me yesterday as I was going to take the mail to the post office box, two younger boys were riding there bikes and one stopped, waited for the other kid to catch up, and slugged him!  Now, I am NOT promoting violence, but I just think it's very amusing!



Seriously, I don't even realize what they are doing though, until I am AT LEAST a block past them.  Yes, I am sort of slow when it comes to random things like that, but don't hate!  Ha ha!! 

So I did a bit of reasearching, and come to find out people on the East coast supposedly call it the "Punch Buggy".....bahahahahaha!! This one tops them ALL!!

But their is MORE!  Here's some other cars that have names to be aware of, and be ready to fend off jabs, pokes, hits, SLUGS! 
PT Cruiser Bruiser
Jetta Jabs
Toyota Camry Compliments...ummm... ok?

Here are the "rules" for Slug Bugging, and the other variations mentioned above...umm..that's kinda funny, Slug bugging...

Punch Buggy rules

--When you spot a Bug or a Beetle, yell Punch Buggy and the color of the car. For example, if you see a blue Bug, you yell "Punch Buggy blue."**

**If you don't want to get hit back, you have to say "No punch back," as you sock the other player.


Variations of the game
--Beetle Bop: A family-friendly, G-rated version of the original
game. If you see a Beetle or Bug, just holler "Beetle Bop." You don't hit the other player. It's all about who spots it first.


--Love Bug: For the hippies or touchy-feely types, if you see a Bugor Beetle say "Love Bug" and give a hug or kiss to the other player.


--Cruiser Bruiser: The PT Cruiser, another uniquely shaped and
easily recognized car, has its own version of Slug Bug. You see a PT Cruiser, call "Cruiser Bruiser" and punch the other player.

--Camry Compliments: A game for ego-boosting. If you see a
Toyota Camry, you have to compliment the other player.
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Here's just a few funny pictures that hopefully make you !!

Pretty sure this is the COOLEST bug I have EVER seen!!

Umm...is there something for creepy bug?? Eww!!

YES!  The Barbie Bug DOES count!! 



Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Latest obsessions...and random updates!

I told you a few weeks back that my brother-in-law, Justin, made it to Kona, Hawaii to compete in a very prestigious Triathlon that he qualified for after getting 2nd at a Louisville, KY Ironman, and he is in Hawaii RIGHT NOW! Kathy, Dick, and Danna, are all there to cheer him on!

He races this weekend, Saturday I believe, wish we were there too!!  But we can still cheer from Iowa!!

Do you have any TV shows you just can't hardly bear to miss?  I DO!

I have become OBSESSED with two shows.  Unfortunately, I only get one of the channels that one of them comes in on.  I absolutely LOVE Parenthood on NBC.  It is on Tuesday nights at 9pm Central time.  Best. Show. EVER! 

Here's the awesome cast!
It's about life, and that's what I love about it.  Life is hard sometimes, really hard other times, and really great other times...you get the picture.  This show has so many different issues going on at once, but it's like I have known them the whole time!  Some of the issues are:  Getting a job, deciding to have another baby, dealing with a special needs child, finding you have a son that you never knew about, and working to save a strained marriage.  REAL. TRUE. LIFE.  Can't get much better than that!  This is the channel that I actually get, so I am tuned in every single week!  Check it out if you haven't already! 

Next up is one I found randomly on Hulu.com.  Hulu is a great website if you ever miss an episode for one of your favorite shows, it has tons of TV sitcoms, cops shows, anything! Anyway, the show is called Glee! 

This show is AMAZING!  I know this show is on Tuesdays as well, but I only get to watch online, so not sure on a time for this one.  I can't get enough of them!  It's a show about a bunch of kids in "show choir" called Glee Club.  They have to try and hold their own and work together to do well in competitions, and in life/school.  This is a show where they sing, a lot, so if you're not into that kind of stuff you might not like it...
They sing all kinds of music, from rap, pop, county, gospel, and everything in between.  Also really cool about this show is the actors/actresses sing all their own songs.  Yes, they pre-record and then choreograph to the scene, but I think it is so awesome that those are their REAL voices!  This show I watch on Hulu, since alas I do not get in the Fox network on my 4 channels...check this one out too! 


On a side note, I'm teaching my 3rd and 4th grade Religious Ed. students about Creation tonight...God is truly amazing, bringing light into the world, grass, plants, animals, and us.  All from.....nothing.  Nada. Zilch.  I am so thankful for getting to teach these young children how wonderful our God is and all that he has done for us.  God is good, life is good...peace out Girl Scout!