Disney on Ice

This year, Laekyn and I got to experience Disney on Ice for the first time. Kasey was so excited to purchase tickets and take us. We kept it a secret from Laekyn until we literally sat down in front of the ice. She was so excited and surprised! We sat rink-side and was amazed at the entire show. Such a fun experience and we're definitely making it a tradition to attend each year. I recorded clips from the show on my phone and posted them on my You Tube channel. You can view the clips by clicking here. Laekyn also got a snow cone that was in a fairy cup, she slurped it down!

If you haven't been, I highly recommend going!

Me as a mentor

I was incredibly honored that a high school senior asked me to be their mentor for their senior project. Being a mentor included being interviewed, providing hands-on type "training", being available for questions and spending 8 hours with the senior. It was a lot of fun working with her and I wanted to share some photos taken of Kasey, Laekyn and myself during our session together.

These photos were taken by, Halie  - enjoy!

Back at it... hopefully!

It's been awhile since I've sat down and had the opportunity to write. For some reason, my schedule seems to stay on go and yet I continue to add more to it. Sometimes I think I just need to learn to say, no! Ha. It's alright though, I enjoy my life and everyone in it so there definitely aren't any complaints.

Kasey wrote the most sweetest blog to me for our 10 month anniversary. Here we are now a month later, celebrating our 11 month anniversay. Where has this time gone? It seems just like yesterday when I pulled in his mom's driveway for the first time and saw his handsome face in person for the first time since we were kids. Our relationship has grown stronger each and ever minute since. I am so incredibly thankful to have him in mine and Laekyn's life. This is only the beginning :)

So I know you'd probably rather hear everything we've been up to instead of all that mushy stuff about our relationship so I'll get right on it. In October, we joined a small group at Church and have really enjoyed it when we've been able to attend. This time of year is horrible for us, we're always battling some kinda sickness. I've had a number of photo sessions (a charity golf tournament, wedding, two birthday parties, Halloween community event and a portrait session). It's been a busy time behind the lens and on my editing screen. Laekyn's cheerleading season came to an end, a couple games and her first ever cheer exhibition.

 I cannot describe enough how proud I was of her and the way she went out there and did amazing. She flew in a stunt and was all smiles! The clip of her stunting is here, just click on the link and it'll take you to my You Tube channel. In the pyramid, she's the flyer in the right group. Proud mommy moment! In October, I also began my listening of Christmas music. Some people think I'm crazy for how early I start but I just love it. Kasey surprised me with a new Christmas CD, too. We also visited pumpkin patches and I got to experience parent/teacher conferences for the first time. In Kindergarten they didn't do them at her school but I was super proud of the things her teacher had to say about my little mini. Towards the end of October we attended fall festivals and went Trunk or Treating! Laekyn dressed up as a 3D Nemo this year, Kasey was a crayon box and I was a pink crayon. Kasey and I also went to a Halloween party at the home of our small group leaders. We had a ball! In the picture, the little dalmation is my neice Riley. Precious!

As you can tell, we've been our typical on-the-go-selves. My goal is to get back to writing blogs more often, we'll see how that goes. Thanks for always being faithful in reading our posts, happy Friday!

Happy 10 Months to my beautiful baby

This is a blog gift and shout out to my much better half, my beautiful Hollie Bennett. Happy 10 month Anniversary gorgeous, I love you so very much. It seems like only yesterday when your beautiful eyes, smile, and face greeted me in my Mom's driveway for the first time in a long time, and man oh man was I hooked. My life instantly changed for the much better when those beautiful eyes entered my world. I knew from that very day, that if you would have me Hollie, I would love you forever and ever. Just think of what we have already accompolished together, we began our journey together as a long distance couple. Us starting that way didn't exactly tip the cards in our favor as far as having a long and lasting relationship, as the stress and strain of a long distance relationship, no one should have to go through. But we not only lasted, we grew closer the whole time. The minute I finally got to see your beautiful face, I knew that wherever you were at, that is where I wanted to be. I will never ever forget how hard it was to have to leave you and to see you cry everytime I had to hop on a plane back to Missouri, I can still see your eyes full of tears and your face getting red from trying not to cry and show emotions. I still tear up thinking about the sadness in my stomach and heart having to let you go and out of my arms. I vow to never let that happen again. To this day, I can't stand the Kansas City Airport and those stupid glass walls that seperates the lobby from the gates,as it always reminds me of  us watching each other tear up and cry waiting for you to leave and talking on the phone. But I also want to thank you for loving me and sticking with me through all the long distance hardships and sadness, because the good times greatly outweight the bad times. I am so glad you believed me and trusted in me, when I told you. "Baby, I am moving back to NC, it is only a matter of time". You are my world baby, and now look at us, we spend each and every day together. Those beautiful eyes that I use to lay down and dream about are now also there when I open my eyes each day. That beautiful smile that I use to see only on my computer screen, or phone, I get to see every single day. Your beautiful and sweet voice, and your amazing southern accent still makes me smile and melts my heart. Hearing you tell me you love me, and when you call me baby, still gives me chills and makes me fall in love with you all over again. We have no doubt had our share of ups and downs as most couples have, but through thick and thin, there has never been any doubt in my mind that you are my soul mate and together we can conquer the world. We have experienced some growing pains and made some adjustments with us living together and going from not seeing each other very much, to seeing each other every single day. But each day, my love for you grows even stronger, and our relationship continues to flourish and we grow closer. I don't know where I would be without you. So I want to say thanks to you Hollie Bennett. Thanks for loving me, thanks for making me a better person, thanks for pretending to like the Huskers just because you know how important they are to me. Thanks for giving me your heart, and finally lowering your walls for me to climb ;). Thank you Ms. Hollie, for being my baby, the reason I smile, and the reason I am so excited for our future and our journey.

I Love you Baby to the moon and back, Happy Anniversary, and I can't wait to see what the rest of our chapters bring.

Your mess, your baby, and your man

Kasey <3

Crock pot Beer Chicken

I am so anxious to get this post finished with and published. The recipe I'm about to share with you is by far one of my favorite things I've cooked and I must say, it's finger lickin' good!!

I am a tad bit addicted to Pinterest and finding new things to make, new ways to organize and new recipes to try. Today, I was looking forward to the recipe I found for crock pot beer chicken. At first glance, I had all the ingredients that it called for but when it came time to putting them into the crock pot, I realized I didn't. That's when I had to be creative. I set out to try a recipe I found on Pinterest and instead created my own recipe and my goodness is it delicious! The flavor in the chicken was amazing and it was probably the most tender, fall apart chicken I've ever made.

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 can of your favorite beer
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon pepper rub

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook for 6-7 hours. Yup, that's it!

Easy enough, right? For the specific ingredients I used, the total calories for 1 chicken breast was only 120 calories, not too shabby. I served the chicken over herb and butter rice with a side of carrots and side of french style green beans. I calculated the calories in the rice, carrots and green beans separately. Take a look at some pictures I took on my phone, below..

While the chicken was in the crock pot (excuse the poor lighting).. 

An up-close view of the chicken over rice  

...prior to being gobbled up

Well, now that I've shared my new recipe I hope that your family enjoys it as much as mine did tonight. I look forward to trying more recipes and maybe coming up with some more on my own.

Thanks for reading, have a good evening!

Hollie

On the go!

The title couldn't fit our crazy schedule any better. It always feels like we constantly are 'on the go' but yet, we've learned to adapt to that as being our normal. Between us both having full time jobs, Laekyn being in first grade, homework, cheer leading practice twice a week, game every Saturday, volunteering at the field, birthday parties, Church, school, photo sessions, editing sessions.. not to mention the everyday parenting duties. It just seems like we keep a busy and full schedule. Very rarely do we ever get to sleep in so when we do, we take full advantage of it. Take this morning for example, we laid there and just enjoyed the feeling of not having to jump up to the sound of an alarm. The morning was so relaxing I even posted that it was Saturday. What in the world was I thinking, it was clearly Sunday. My mind had just rested much more than it's used to obviously.

This weekend was no different. Friday night, we had Laekyn's friend Zoe over for a sleepover. We took the girls to the fair and had a ball. Much to our surprise, they weren't so tired when we got back and it was after midnight before they finally stopped talking and giggling and got some shut eye. Saturday morning Laekyn had a game so we went to that and then afterwards, we had a birthday party to attend to. The birthday party was fun, the kids really enjoyed making sand art! There are photos posted on my Facebook if you're interested in seeing them. Saturday evening we drove out to the mountains to visit Kasey's dad and his family. We enjoyed some smoked chicken and typical country sides (green beans, mashed taters, mac 'n cheese and slaw) and after dark we made s'mores by the bonfire. Had a wonderful time!

Today, we slept in so late that by the time we got up and moving it was time to head out. We missed Church and was supposed to be at my dad's by 1. Well, we didn't get there until 1:30 but regardless, we had fun. We ate delicious home cooked chicken wings, celery and carrots and was supposed to watch the Dallas game. The gals ended up in the kitchen just a talkin' while the boys were in the living room watching the game. It's great to catch up! Although I missed watching it, they won and I was still stoked. Once it got dark, we started a bonfire and made some s'mores. For some reason I like making them but I'm not a huge fan of eating them. I guess it's the marshmallows. I've always liked them in my cocoa but that's about it.

All in all, it's been a busy weekend like I stated earlier but it's been spent with some of our family and friends. That's how it's supposed to be. Oh!! I almost forgot. I also got interviewed tonight for a senior project. I was asked to be a mentor to one of my little sister's friends, such an honor! :) Another exciting thing about this weekend is that today is mine and Kasey's 9 month anniversary. Crazy how time flies.

Fall has officially begun and I couldn't be more thrilled with where I'm at in life. I know we don't make much time to blog but we're going to attempt blogging more so stick with us. Thanks for the love so far! Hope your week starts out wonderfully. Good night, y'all!

Lasagna Roll-ups

Yet again, here's another Pinterest inspired post.. lasagna roll-ups. The actual pin called for a slightly different recipe but I used the idea and made it into my own. I am also watching calories so the preparation was a tad different than the original pin. I will post both so you can do what works best for you but I highly recommend this recipe for a yummy dinner or ever pot luck surprise. It is mighty tasty!

The recipe I originally pinned was found here, I won't copy and paste it all here since you can easily click the link and view it from the original site. Below is what I used and did:

Ingredients (per every 2.5 lasagna noodles):
1/4 cup lean ground beef
1/4 cup pasta sauce
1/4 cup ricota cheese
1/4 mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

First, cook your noodles. While your noodles are cooking, brown the ground beef (could also use ground turkey if you'd prefer) and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. While the noodles and ground beef are cooking, mix your cheese together so it's in a spreadable texture. Once the noodles are finished, drain and blot to get any excess water off of them. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet. Once your meat is drained, mix it with the sauce. On the lasagna noodles, spread a layer of your cheese mixture and top with a layer of your meat mixture. Then, roll the noodle up and place in a baking dish. Size would depend on how many lasagna rolls you're making. Once you have all the roll ups in the baking dish, take the remaining cheese mixture and add a layer to the top of each roll up. On top of that, add a layer of the remaining meat mixture. On the top, I also added an extra sprinkling of mozzarella cheese with a couple dashes of parmesan cheese. The amount is based on personal preference. Put dish into the oven for 35 minutes or until cheese on the top has a good baked appearance. Remove and let cool for 2 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Then, serve and enjoy!

It was a hit at my house and I'm sure it will be at yours! As always, thanks for following.

Pinterest Inspired

Over the past couple weeks I have tried a few of the recipes I pinned on Pinterest and I wanted to share our experience with them.

First was the Roasted Summer Squash. This was a hit, we absolutely loved it. We bought our squash and zucchini from our local farmer's market. The recipe is as follows (copied right from the website; http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-roasted-summer-squash/):

Ingredients
4 large zucchini
2 large yellow squash
2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Pepper
Olive oil – In an oil sprayer
1/8 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 1 – Chop your squash into large, chunky slices about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness.

Step 2 – Spray a cookie sheet with a light coat of olive oil.

Step 3 – Line up your squash slices like little soldiers. Don’t worry about leaving any space between them. They’ll cook just fine scrunched together.

Step 5 – Spray a very light coat of olive oil over the top of your squash.

Step 6 – Sprinkle your spices, including the parmesan over your squash.

Step 7 – Bake for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until they have a very light golden hue to them, and you can easily push a fork through them.

Step 8 – Allow to cool slightly and serve!

Another recipe was tried was for Kale Chips. I was so excited to try this recipe because I had heard nothing but good things about kale chips. We bought our fresh kale also from our local farmer's market. If you haven't tasted kale before, I would recommend you do that before going through the motions of preparing this recipe. It has an acquired taste and one that I was NOT fond of. Our kale chips also would've been burnt to a crisp if we left them in the oven as long as the recipe calls for - so I would definitely keep an eye on them throughout the process. I doubt I make these any time soon, again. We used dill seasoning instead of the chipotle seasoning. The recipe, if you'd like to try it is listed below (also straight from the website; http://www.acouplecooks.com/2012/05/chipotle-kale-chips/):

What You NeedTwo bunches kale (the fresher the better!)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Smoky chipotle paprika (We used Victoria Taylor’s, which we found at a local grocery; substitute smoked paprika, paprika, or chipotle powder if not available)

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 300°F.

Step 2 - Rinse and dry the kale. Remove the stems, and tear or cut into large pieces. In a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Step 3 - Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (optional, but it makes for easy cleanup!). Place leaves on the sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with smoky chipotle paprika, or other spice of choice (if you use another spice, you may want to add some kosher salt if it is not already included in your spice mix). Bake for about 20 minutes until crisp. Cool slightly. Enjoy!  Remember that the chips will be a bit fragile, so make sure to be careful when you store them.

The last recipe we tried from Pinterest this week was English Muffin Pizzas which have really struck a homerun in the kitchen and our tummies! We fell in love with this recipe and it's so versitile, we made them for three days straight and changed up the toppings. Super quick, easy and kid-friendly preparation in the kitchen and a delicious meal. The recipe from the website; http://www.ivillage.com/veggie-pizza/3-r-313304 is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 English muffin

2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons fat-free marinara sauce

2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives

4 tablespoons shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon sliced basil leaves

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2 - Place English muffin, cut side up, on a baking sheet.

Step 3 - Spread marinara sauce to edges; sprinkle with cheese, red bell pepper, and olives.

Step 4 - Bake until cheese melts and bread is toasted, 12 to 15 minutes.

Step 5 - Sprinkle with basil.

The awesome thing about the pizzas is that you can make them however you want to! The toppings we chose to use for our first go round were green bell peppers, orange bell peppers and cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella. The second and third time, we used fresh tomato and green olives. We'll be making these yummy pizzas much more often!

We are always looking for new recipes to try - we'll continue to blog about them and give you our opinion/experience with them. My grandmother just gave me an awesome cookbook with recipes from restaurants and I am sure we'll be trying some of those. Nothing better than delicious yummies!

Easy Bake!

Our schedule has become even more crazy lately now that cheerleading has officially began and photo sessions are being scheduled so often but we still take time to enjoy the time together.

Laekyn's 5 going on 6 and that attitude has been in full swing. Guess that's to be expected but man is it hard to handle sometimes. I am just so lucky to have such great people in my corner. Don't know what I'd do without Kasey and Laekyn's dad, Josh. They are incredible and I'm so thankful.

Anyways, to the point of this blog.. our activity last night was baking on Laekyn's Easy Bake Oven. Instead of typing out all that took place, I'm gonna upload a couple photos from the evening. Oh! And yes, Laekyn did the dishes during the process. :)

The finished product (red velvet & strawberry cake) was a hit! Enjoy the photos.

Christmas in July

Tonight, Laekyn and I were in for a surprise and had no idea! Kasey went on his lunch break and picked up a few small gifts, wrapped them and then delivered them in a sack tonight. "Kasey Claus" had the sweet idea of doing Christmas in July for the two of us. On Laekyn's, he printed off a Christmas in July label, she was pretty stoked! I know you're more excited to know what was wrapped up than what was on the wrapping paper so I'll just get to it.. I received the most heartfelt card, a bag of mini Reese cups and some Sour Patch Kids. If you know me, those two are my favorite! :) Simple but so incredibly sweet. Laekyn got a Squinkies Hair Salon and pack of Squinkies (as if she didn't have enough) ha! He doesn't ever cease to amaze me and he really does spoil us (even if I deny that fact all the time)!

Thanks babe for being you and for loving Laekyn and myself!

Behind the Lens: White Lake 2012

Lake Bound..

It's Thursday and we're headed to the lake, White Lake that is. A place that my family has been vacationing at since I was a little girl (that goes for all of my family!). We absolutely love it and I've kept the tradition going with Laekyn ever since she was born as well. We'll be returning back home Sunday but while we're there we plan to take advantage of the vacation fully. We know people who post consistently while on vacation and I think to myself, is that really a vacation? To us, it's not. A vacation is "an extended period of recreation, esp. one spent away from home while traveling" but technically if you do all the things you do while at home just somewhere else, you're on a vacation from your home but not from your mind and usual interactions and actions.. right? We want a true vacation away from the hustle and bustle of life, overloaded mind and daily work/chores to just enjoy the time spent together, so we've decided to not be on Facebook much (if even at all). So.. if you don't see much from us in the next few days - that's why.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Pro-ana

As I type this, I'm watching a segment on Dr. Oz about "Pro-ana" which I hadn't heard of until today's show. Actually, today's show is a re-run so his site has the information from the segment on the website which you can find here. I literally have tears in my eyes watching these women and how they are living their life. If you haven't heard of it either, Pro-ana refers to the promotion of the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. As you know from my prior posts I was on a weight loss journey using Weight Watchers the later part of 2011 and My Fitness Pal this year however, my outlook on weight is entirely different from these women and partially it's not even their fault.

To me, a healthy woman has curves, weight on her and she looks healthy. To these women, they are nothing but skin and bones but still see themselves as being fat. It absolutely breaks my heart!

I am writing this post because I know I have prayer warriors out there and these women need prayer!! There are many sites out there for Pro-ana and where these women go for "thinspiration". I've posted a few links to some of them below that I found by searching Pro ana on Google. It will make you sick on your stomach to think how these women live and see themselves, at least it does me. Please join me in praying for these women and that their eyes will be opened before their life comes to an end.

http://thinspirationproana.com/
http://www.prettythin.com/proana.htm
http://proanalifestyle.blogspot.com/2007/07/70-reasons-not-to-eat.html

I am ALL FOR someone who wants to be healthy and lose weight but there is a right way and a wrong way. Our lives are so precious and often times we overlook that reality because of the media (magazines, television, websites, etc.) and the way we get wrapped up on appearances and how skeletal thin is promoted as what is sexy and most attractive but the truth is we ALL are attractive no matter what size we are. Each of us has something that no one else has, we are individuals and that shoudln't be robbed of us because of a nasty eating disorder. I am a woman and I will be the first to say I have not always been happy with my appearance (a lot of that was affected by media and the comparison of myself to celebrities) but unlike these woman on the pro-ana sites, I overcame that feeling by making a healthy lifestyle change. Enough rambling from me, these women need prayer! -Hollie

Concerts

We're so excited that our concerts of the summer finally kicked off last weekend! We went and saw Lady Antebellum, Thompson Square and Darius Rucker in Charlotte and boy was that an awesome concert! Darius even sang some Hootie, too. Last Sunday we went to hear Taylor and Chad at an outdoor concert put on by a Church in town. I had seen Taylor and Chad for the first time at the beginning of this year and really enjoyed their music. If you haven't heard of them, check their website out by clicking here. In a couple of weeks we're going to see Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Jake Owen and I must say, that is the one I'm looking forward to the most. It's going to be the concert of the summer!

Last weekend, I didn't take my camera (shocking, I know!) because I really just wanted to have a night away from the ordinary and just dance and listen to music. I have to say, it would be nice to have pictures from that night but the memories and relaxation that came from that concert go undescribable. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to do the same for the Brothers of the Sun tour or not. Guess we'll see. When it gets closer to others, I'll post about those as well but that's it for now! :) -Hollie

For the Fourth!

I've been on Pinterest for awhile but haven't ever posted about it. With the holiday coming up I thought I'd share some of the things I've pinned onto my 'For the 4th' board. There are some really cute ideas that I most definitely want to take a stab at. I'll update these as I pin more, too! :)

Aren't all of those cute! Great ideas and some look so yummy. You can see more boards and pins of mine by clicking here and if you aren't already a Pinterest user, I highly suggest you start pinning!

Careful though, it's addiciting.. don't say I didn't warn you. :) -Hollie

The Lucky One

The weekend before last, Laekyn was spending the evening at her dad's and we took full advantage of the time together. We went to dinner and then to a movie. It was quite funny because we had planned on doing the 7 o'clock movie but we just couldn't decide what we wanted for dinner. By the time we decided, we had missed the 7 o'clock movie so we had no other choice but to see the later one.

So we went to Chili's for dinner (which I'm not a huge fan of but it was different since we don't ever go there) and then made a stop by the dollar store for some movie snacks ('cause we all know it's cheaper than buying them at the theater) and then went to see the movie. I am a HUGE Nicholas Sparks fan so it's no surprise that I absolutely love all movies he has made thus far. This one, was no different. If you haven't seen it, we highly recommend it! Such a sweet movie.

You can visit the movie's website here, go check it out! -Hollie

Behind the Lens: 5K on the Runway

3-Day Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day weekend y'all!

This week seemed to drag by but it's definitely been the opposite for the weekend so far! Yesterday we woke up early to go yard-sale'in with some family. Boy did we find some bargains! Check 'em out in the photo..

The houndstooth ottoman we found had a $25 sticker on it and we got it for $15 only to discover the original store tag on it for $49.99! Talk about steal!! The brand new fishing rods we got for $2 a piece. The faux tree was $5 and as you know, they're anywhere from $50-$180.00 usually in stores, another steal! The two cubbies with the zebra print pull out cubes we got for $10 and the movie rack was $3. We had a ball! My favorite though has got to be the bench. It's hard to see in the photo but this bench was a steal, too! It's solid wood, extremely sturdy and is long enough for 3 adults to sit on it comfortably. The color is a dark cherry and we got it for $30.. amazing!!

The rest of the day was spent at our parents house by the pool. Laekyn learned how to swim when she was 4 and is such a waterbug! I used to call her my tadpole, she absolutely loves the water! I have a photoshoot this morning and then the rest of the day we'll be attending two different pool parties! It's going to be a fun sun-filled day with family and friends by the pool! We're off work tomorrow (as most everyone is) and we hope that you have a wonderful Memorial Day while taking time to remember the true meaning of it! Happy Sunday! -Hollie