Random Tid Bits

To start my SENIOR year starts tomorrow. Oh I am so excited about this. I'm not really excited as much about school itself but for being my last year in nursing school. I cannot wait until May 15, 2010 which, if you didn't guess, is Graduation Day. This journey has been such a long one and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. With that being said if I go M.I.A. for a bit don't worry it's just because I'm so busy studying, at clinical, working, oh and not to mention taking care of my family. It is definitely going to be a busy couple next semesters!

Speaking of busy....

OK well this weekend wasn't all that busy but it sounded like a good transition. Saturday we went to Jay's parents to swim and spend time with his sister and her family. Here are a few pictures of that:

Here is Jayci going off the slide with NO floaties. She is so brave! BTW there is definitely someone at the end of that slide to catch her.

I love this picture of Jayci and her Papaw. His face just looks like he is so proud of her for trying to swim.

This is Elijah sliding. This is the only good picture I got of him before my camera battery became exhausted.

Here is Kirsten doing a little sideways action down the slide. I think she pretty much stayed on the slide the whole time we were in the pool.

Here is Kirsten being thrown by Dennis A.K.A Papaw.

And Last but definitely not least....

I was awarded my first blog award!!!! This is so exciting to me because that means I have more than my usual 5 (if I'm lucky) readers. I don't really have a lot to say but I like that people read my stuff.

Plus it means that someone else, besides me, thinks my blog is fabulous. I am so grateful for my award. Thank you Heather!!! It really made my day. Now I'm going to try and make a few other peoples day by awarding it to them. Here we go:

Kristi @ Loving 2 Miracles

Anna @ The Williams' Family

Heather @ Step Inside

Okay well I hope everyone has an absolutely fabulous week. I am sure going to try!

Favorite recent photos - MckLinky Blog Hop

Here are a few of my most recent favorite photos. Ironically enough all of them have been taken with my iPhone. Goes to show you that I'm never anywhere without it! Also the editing on these photos was done with an app called Color Splash and I LOVE it (as you can probably tell). Hope you enjoy; I sure enjoyed taking them!!!

This is Jayci making her model face. I think this was taken in May of this year.

These were last Fall and Jay and Jayci were playing ball in our yard.

This is what I woke up to one morning. She said Mommy take a picture of my with my babies. I just couldn't resist. She is so cute!!

This is Jayci last week on her way to Vacation Bible School at her Auntie Kim's church. By the way I love VBS! It gave Jay and I 2 1/2 hours alone time for a week! We went to dinner, shopping, and just really enjoyed some alone time.

Last but not least...These were taken this past weekend at my parents house. This is Spencer (my sister's dog) and Jayci having a tea party. There is actual water in Spencer's cup and a dogie treat in his bowl. It was so cute! It was actually not too long ago that Jayci was actually scared of dogs. I like the fact that she is getting over that fear. I just hope she stays cautious of them!!

Okay well I hope you enjoyed the pics. Thanks again for stopping by!!!

Blog-Lift Again

Ok so again I have changed my page. I think this one is final (for now)! Ha. I will soon post an actual post. I have just started a new job and have been super busy. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to get an actual post up. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Blog-Lift

If you are on my page you probably already noticed that I have a new background! I think that I like it. I just haven't quite made up my mind yet. Now that I have a grasp on how to change things and play with them a little bit more I may be changing it often. You know, until I find something I love.

For now it is staying like so. Let me know what you think about it.

Now I am off to bed. Hope everyone has a great week ahead.

MckLinky Blog Hop - Favorite Recipe

During the summer I love to eat anything with fresh tomatoes! I can seriously eat a tomato like an apple. I just love them soo much!!! So here are 3 of my favorite recipes (all with tomato of course).

First one is Parmesan, Chicken, Broccoli pasta

Ingredients

4 oz. (1/4 of 16-oz. pkg.) whole wheat spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
4 tsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

COOK spaghetti as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, heat dressing and garlic in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and broccoli; cook and stir 5 to 7 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in tomatoes and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese; cook 1 to 2 min or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
DRAIN spaghetti; place on serving plate. Top with chicken mixture, remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

2nd Tomato & Pesto bread (to go with the pasta obviously)

Ingredients
1 loaf of Italian style or French style Bread, cut in half length wise or just in slices
Pesto
Plum tomatoes
Olives (optional)
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Place bread, cut-sides up, on baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 min. or until golden brown.
SPREAD bread halves evenly with pesto; top with remaining ingredients.
BAKE an additional 8 to 10 min. or until cheeses are melted. Cut each bread piece into 12 slices. Serve warm.

Last (but not least) Foil-Pack Chicken w/ pesto, artichoke hearts, & (you guessed it) Tomatoes

Ingredients
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup pesto
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 Can of artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
2 cups of fresh diced tomatoes
3 cups instant white rice, uncooked
3 cups warm water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400*F. Mix rice and water; spoon evenly onto center of each of 6 large sheets of heavy-duty foil. Top each with 1 chicken breast. Cover evenly with the artichokes and tomatoes, then drizzle evenly with the combined dressing and pesto.

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place packets in single later in a banking pan

Bake 30-35 min or until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Remove from oven and Enjoy!!! (After it cools of course.)

Each of these are so good to me. And both my husband (who doesn't really even like tomatoes) and our 3-year-old daughter love all of these recipes.

I do, however, 1/2 the recipes usually since its just the three of us.

Little Fishy...

Here within the last couple of weeks we have been in the water a lot. So much, in fact, that Jayci has become a little fish. She is so fun. She can jump off the side and swim a little ways. She can go down the slide without floaties, pop up, and swim to one of us standing close. She aslo, just as of tonight, can do a front flip and back flip in the water. She also will jump off the side, head first, and do a flip once she hits the water.

At the beginning of the summer I would have never thought she would be doing all of this!

I took some video of it tonight and thought I would share.

Blog Hop

Yesterday Kelly's Korner talked about a new Blog Hop that has started. It is a feature to advertise MckLinky that was started by Brent Riggs and MckMamma. Each week the Blog Hop will feature a diffent theme, and they are giving away $100 to one lucky participant. I am hooked on different blogs so this looks like a lot of fun to be able see even more!

This weaks theme: Favorite Photo. Hope you enjoy!

This is actually a picture taken this past weekend. We were at the park in Collierville, TN and I just happened to snap this picture at the right time. I really did not think that it would be very good but with a little bit of editing I think it has become my new favorite. I just feel it shows so much. My husband's father is retired from the Army National Guard so loving our country and are soldiers just comes so naturally in our household. To me this picture just captures love all around. Love of our country and love of a father and a child. I really don't have a lot to say about the photo. I think it really speaks more for itself.