Thursday, March 31, 2011

the hubby is jumping on the train!

Guess what?!  Preacher Man has jumped on the blogging train!

Since he is going to school and abounding in knowledge, he has decided to start a blog so he won't forget the great things that he is learning in class.

Take a look and check it out!


Hopefully he won't do any posts about his Greek classes.  I'm just not sure if any of us would know how to read it!  :)

P.S.  Tomorrow is April 1.  You know what that means?!?!

Until then,
The Preacher's Wife

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

a few things I'm a lovin'!

Today I feel the need to share with you some things that I'm loving right now!  I've taken a few random pictures here and there and every time I took a picture I would think to myself, "Oh this will be a great blog post!"

Well today is the day I'm going to share a few pics with you!

The things I'm loving...

Have you seen these at the grocery store?


Pizza and cookies all in the same box!  I thought Preacher Man was going to do cartwheels down the grocery store aisle when we saw these!  DiGiorno is probably one of my favorite frozen pizzas so this was a definite win, win buy!  :)  They also make pizza and breadsticks and pizza and wings in the same box!  So fun and perfect for a weeknight meal!  :)  LOVE!

My Mom gave me some fabulous Easter plates!  Love them!!  I went to a Girls Night In Party last night and took some loaded potato skins to share with everyone!  The deviled egg plate was perfect to sit my potatoes in!  :)  LOVE it!


I feel like I've made a bazillion wreaths after seeing the rag wreath post on Facebook from one of my friends.  I absolutely love them and think that I will end up making one for every season.  Below are two that I have made just in the past two weeks...

My Tennessee Vols wreath---I made it a bit fru-fru I guess you could say by adding some sparkly material.  I was just playing around with the ribbon on our coat rack and decided to take a picture so everyone could see.  I love the ribbon on this...soo cute!  I sure like this wreath a lot and and can't wait for football season to roll around so I can put it on my door.  Now I just need a TN doormat to go along with it.


Here is my Easter wreath that is hanging on the door now.  I think it's perfect for spring time colors!  And not to mention I got all of the fabric and ribbon for this one for less than $5!!  Whoo hooo!


I didn't take this picture but this is just someone that I'm loving a lot right now!  Not that I don't love him a lot everyday but here lately his smile is something that helps me get through the day easier.  :)  I gotta say, it's tough living in another state where you hardly know anyone, where you don't have a full-time job (yet, but hopefully soon and thankful for a part-time job), and when some days last a lot longer than others....I have to say that this smile makes it all worth it.  The things that we are going through and learning right now are teaching us a lot about each other and also how to fully rely on each other and the Lord.  I'm glad that I'm here with you, Preacher Man!  I wouldn't have it any other way!  I'm a lovin' this one the most right now!  :)


On a lighter note, (since that was really sappy and sweet), I am love, love, lovin' this nail polish!  It is Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat.  It is the perfect top coat polish to put over any base color.  AND the best part?!  It dries in 30 seconds flat.  Seriously.  You can totally run your freshly painted nail through your hair and it won't smudge one bit!  It's awesome and less than $5!  A total bargain and worth every penny!  :)  LOVE!


Hope you enjoyed the things I'm lovin' right now!  I'm hopeful to write a post later in the week with some super exciting news!  :)  Keep on praying peeps! 

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Love,
The Preacher's Wife

Monday, March 28, 2011

just call me pablo!

I've had cabin fever for a while now.  Just being honest.  We moved here in January and I'm still hoping and praying for a job soon.  I search aimlessly on the computer for hours every day and sometimes I just get bored with it and need a break.

This is how I took my break about a couple of weeks ago.


Let me tell you the story before you start thinking I've lost my mind.  Well you probably already think that.  I know I'm a little crazy and weird sometimes.  And yes, I do believe this was kind of a weird moment I had.  :)

The Story....

So, about a year ago my friend Krista and I were going to do some canvas painting at my apartment before I got married.  She was going to make a masterpiece for me since she is majoring in Art.  I was pumped about our little art party we were going to have and got a double pack of the thick, white canvas at Hobby Lobby (my all time favorite store).  Krista was going to bring the paint and and we were going to make a masterpiece!  :)

  Well we never got together to get our paint on (but hopefully one day we will) and I ended up moving to NC with two, blank canvas boards. 
And well, I got bored one day. 

I only had one paint brush in my craft box.

I only had a few paint colors too.

I didn't know what to paint so I just sat down at the table and tried to take my mind off of the stresses of finding a job, etc.

And you see what I came up with!  WOW!  After looking at it before I wrote "Laundry" on it I didn't know what I was going to do with it.  That's when I decided to make a masterpiece for my Laundry closet.  Ha!  Now this beautiful portrait probably won't be there long, but I had an awful lot of fun painting it.  I really felt like a big time artist.  If only I had an easel.  :)

I'm hoping maybe one day I can take a canvas painting class where I can really make a beautiful piece of art and actually hang it somewhere in my house where it will be seen a lot.  :)

Maybe one day.

Until then I'll just use the wrong kind of paint for my painting on canvas.  I still have one blank canvas left, so you never know when I might get the feeling to paint again!

Here is the beauty hanging in the closet...

I am now taking orders if you would like a masterpiece in your closet too!  :)

I hope this made you smile!  :)

Have a Marvelous Monday!

Love,
The Preacher's Wife

P.S.  I think you''ll be glad to know that I'm starting a part-time job today so maybe I will do better at keeping my sanity in tact and not paint portraits for my closets.  :)




Friday, March 25, 2011

pardon me

Pardon me.  Please excuse me.  I know I haven't posted in a few days.

I have a good reason though.

Promise!

My parents came for a visit!  I hope that you will forgive me for not posting about our happenings and where abouts for the past few days.  We have had such a fun time that I have hardly been on the computer.

A big time we've had, I tell ya! 

Lots of laughing, good food, exploring Wake Forest and Raleigh, and just spending some QT (quality time) together.  We had such a fabulous time and I was sad to see them leave this morning.  :(  But hopefully they will be back soon!  :)

And just to let you know, I'm taking applications for anyone who wants to visit in April.  I don't have anyone scheduled for a visit so if you would like to come please just let me know!  :)  Haha!  I'm kinda kidding but not really (only just about the applications!).

I have lots of pictures to share with you too!

I promised to make my Mom an Italian Cream Cake for her birthday (Feb. 8th) so I fulfilled the promise while she was here!  And let me just say thanks to my Dad....he's a fabulous sou chef in the kitchen!  :)  Here is how the process went.....

First layer:

All three layers...somehow I can never get them to be even?!

The first coating of frosting...

Now this!  THIS is my Dessert Decorator Pro 5000 as I like to call it.  I like to call it 5000 because it just sounds fun!  There is a picture of the box below it.  It was a present from Santa.  I was excited to use it too!  :)

Yup, the Dessert Decorator Pro 5000!  :)  Ha!  I highley recommend this for all of your cake decorating needs.  It was very easy to use!

The finished product....my poor icing was melting.  I kept on having to stick the cake in the freezer to get cold quickly.  It turned out okay I thought for my first time using the DDP 5000.  Ha!  :)  At least it was made with a lot of love.

and the top...the poor top...hahahahahaha!  I think I need a lot more practice!  :)


At least the cake tasted delicious!  :)
We also ate at a yummy Italian Restaurant in downtown Wake Forest.  It's called La Foresta.  It's like a mom and pop restaurant and it was delish and inexpensive!  Just look at the slices of pizza you could order!!!


I got half of a stromboli...and this is only half:
It was mighty tasty!

While they were here we also grilled out....just look at this gloriousness on the grill:

YUM!  It was glorious!

And here is my mother, Debbie Kay as I like to call her sometimes.  She is washing my dishes with those awesome yellow gloves like my Great-Aunt Goobe! 



And here is a funny picture that I took while we were exploring downtown Wake Forest.  I got a little tickled when I saw this.


Maybe we'll give this place a whirl one day!  :)  I can only imagine what the restaurant would look like.
And this....have you seen this cat?!



  I am no lover of cats, (there is a story behind why I'm not) but this cat is hilarious!  This cat is called Talking Tom.  He is a little thing you can download to your phone or computer.  He will talk to you and do other silly things.
We kinda laughed until we cried and then maybe laughed some more.  Ok, we really did.  It was hysterical.  Please go say hello to Tom and download this kitty.  So funny!

The past few days have been great!  Sad to see my visitors go but it sure was fun and I'm looking forward to the next time and our next set of visitors.  I know you've been sitting here reading this thinking that you want to come visit!  :)  I'm thinking these two should be our visitors in April....plus their parents!

Drum roll, please......

 

 
Addie Mae and Ethan!! 
(aren't they precious?!?!)
 And Jennifer and David (their parents and Preacher Man's sister) you should come too since they can't drive!  :)  Think about it!!  :)  We miss you lots!

I'm also going to request that if you're reading this to shout out a little prayer for my job situation.  I'm really hoping and praying something is going to turn out for the best very soon in a job!  It's always amazing to see how God's timing is sooo perfect!  I'd definitely appreciate a prayer or two.

Well I think that's it for now.  It's Friday, so that means it's the weekend! 
Hope you have a very beautiful and relaxed weekend!

Until Monday,
The Preacher's Wife  :)


post coming soon

Update!

There is a post coming soon!

Promise!

Hopefully within a few hours!  :)

Stay tuned!

Monday, March 21, 2011

new things

I thought it would be fun to change around the design of my blog.  So far, I really like it and think that it's the perfect layout for spring!

Speaking of spring, this weekend was GORGEOUS!

We had a wonderful time hanging out with family friends that were in town and NEW friends! 

It was a weekend full of yummy food, good laughter, good movies, and just taking it easy.

We explored a little more of Wake Forest and found a cool place called The Factory.  It is a huge building that has a ton of different athletic fields in it.  There is a basketball court, soccer field, hockey rink, a YMCA, little shops you can look in, plenty of places to eat, jumpy gyms for little ones, and all kinds of fun things to do!  I can't wait to take the next visitors we have in town there!  That'd be you, Mom and Dad!  :) 

This weekend has also tested my patience with jobs!  I'm anxiously waiting to hear back from employers on whether or not I am going to get one of the positions that I have interviewed for.  I feel like I just sit by the phone for hours and hours waiting for them to call.  Hopefully I will hear something soon!  And no worries, I'll definitely let you know when I'm gainfully employed!  :)  Until then, I'm praying for lots of patience and for the right opportunity!

Enjoy this Monday!  It's the first Monday of Spring 2011!!  It's like a holiday I guess you could say!  I guess we should celebrate! 

Lots-o-Love,
The Preacher's Wife

P.S.  Let me know what you think about the new design.  I think I like it!

Friday, March 18, 2011

a story for you

Here's how the story goes:

Preacher Man and I stepped out for some grub at our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town.  We came home feeling happy that our bellys were full of Mexican delicious-ness.  :)  Once we stepped out of the car, we paused for a moment and stared at each other, both of us looking very puzzled at what was going on.  It was then that we heard from a distance "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" softly playing in the background like a children's lullaby.  We stopped, thought for a moment, and concluded that it must be the ice cream truck.

We then proceeded to stop and check the mail while the Christmas carol was still playing.  Then another song started to play.  This song?  "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town!"

The song started to get louder as we went inside the house.

I kinda liked that he was playing Christmas carols in March, but it did seem a little odd. 

We went inside our hosue and we could still hear him.  I peeked outside the blinds to see if he was in eyesight.  I really wanted to get a look at this ice cream truck because all of the trucks that I had ever seen in TN looked a little scary (just being honest!). 

Sure enough here comes the ice cream man! 

And guess what song is playing now?

"Happy Birthday!"

This man had the most ecclectic music I'd ever heard for an ice cream truck.

By this time I could hear the Happy Birthday song right outside our front door. 

Lo and behold I open the blinds again and there he is parked.

Precious children and their parents are running to the truck to get themselves a delicious treat.

And finally, FINALLY the truck starts playing.....

Oh when the Saints,
go marching in,
Oh when the Saints go marching in!!!!

FINALLY!!!  The man is in season with the tunes in his truck!  It's St. Patty's Day and this is the song that should be playing.

This was quite a site to see.  I just so happened to grab my camera and take a picture through our blinds...


I liked the looks of the truck and may just have to get me an ice cream next time! 

Who knows, I may even skip out the front door to go grab my cream...and maybe even sing a Christmas carol while I'm at it!  :)

Hope you had a great St. Patty's Day yesterday!  I know this topped mine off!  :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Love,

The Preacher's Wife

P.S.  I forgot to mention that the temperature today is supposed to be in the 80's!  Whoa baby!  :)  Hopefully this really happens!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

fun photos

I was looking through the pictures on my phone today and they brought back so many good memories so I thought I would share some with you....

Here it goes...

And these are in no particular order....

And don't hate me because the majority of them might be baking creations...

:)

My rainbow cupcakes...so delish and yummy!  These were for little Addie Mae's 1st birthday!


Preacher Man with a big 'ol catfish.  We used to fish in this pond all of the time in TN.  And you wanna know what the best bait was?  Chicken hot dogs.  I know, gross!  But it sure did catch some big ones!


This is a picture of a baby bird freshly hatched on my patio.  I had two hanging baskets full of flowers and a bird decided to make one of them their birthing grounds.  Oh well, at least they were cute like this....but once they got bigger I just wasn't a big fan anymore.  Thank goodness they learned how to fly!  :)  And now worries, I never touched them!  :)


Be still my heart.  This is a picture of me beside Cameron Indoor Stadium!  Go Duke!  :)  Words can't describe my excitment!


This is the smallest box of tissue that I have ever seen.  My sister sent them to me in the mail from Kleenex.  So cute!


This is Preacher Man acting so thrilled to be shopping for tuxedos to match my Bridesmaids' dresses.  He just can't contain his excitment!!


Okay, tilt your head to the right for this one!  (One day I will figure out thsi whole picture thing!)
I thought this was a fun way to ask my Flower Girl's to be in the wedding!
What better way than with a pot of flowers for the "flower" girl!  :)


This is a fruit pizza I made for a cookout.  It was soooo good and such a fun dessert to make!


This is a picture of my kitchen a few days after we moved in.  I just had to show the family that we were getting settled in alright.  :)  It's kinda changed a little but not much.  :)


 This is a picture of the "Just Because" flowers that the hubby sent to me at work a week or two after we got back from our Honeymoon.  So sweet!  :)


And this....this is a masterpiece in my eyes!  I wanted to go all out for an Easter cake last year.  Jelly beans, coconut that I dyed green, Peeps, Easter baskets!  Just take a look....


And this is a picture that I will always keep!  It is a picture of the tree topper that Preacher Man used to propose to me.  If you look in the middle you can see the engagement ring that he tied to it with fishing line.  (That is sooo him if you know him personally!)  :)


Hope you enjoyed a walk down memory lane with me as I shared pictures from mycell phone with you!
I enjoyed the walk!

Have a great Thursday!


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

my favorite pasta salad

As I was walking around the grocery section of Wal-Mart last night grabbing a few things that we were out of, I just kept on thinking to myself that I wanted something really yummy to eat.  The first thing that popped in my head?  Pasta Salad!  It's so yummy!  Cold pasta tossed in Italian dressing, mixed with fresh veggies, and all tied together with some tangy Feta cheese!  YUM! 

I proceeded to grab the following at Wally-World (minus that half cut-up red onion that I already had on hand!  I just don't think they sell those at the grocery store!  ha!):



1-12 oz. box of your favorite pasta.  I prefer the tri-color rotini for color!  (Isn't it all about presentation too?!)
Green Bell Pepper
Cucumber
Red Onion
Tomatoes
Italian Dressing
Feta Cheese

Now let me just say this about pasta salad.  I think pasta salad is just like a green leaf salad.  You have your base of lettuce and then throw on whatever toppings you like for your salad.  I think it's just the same for pasta salad.  You've got your base of pasta and then you add to it whatever your heart desires!  The ingredients I added are just what my heart desires.  I think they all have a great combination of flavor and texture which makes for an excellent pasta salad in my mind.  Again, you could add or take away from this with whatever you fancy in your pasta salad!  :)

Here's how I assemble mine:

First I boil my pasta for right at 9 minutes.  I don't like very al dente, but I also don't like it mushy.  I then drained my pasta and sat it in the fridge to cool quickly.
Once my pasta was cool, I added about 1/4 cup of my dressing to get the pasta wet.


Then I added my chopped veggies and another 1/4 cup of dressing.


Then I tossed all of that together...


and sprinkled some feta cheese in...


...and then I dished out a yummy bowl all for myself!


I think it's a yummy lunch with crackers or fruit, or even dinner if you added chicken.  This would even be good to take to a summer picnic too!  You can store this in the fridge for about 3-4 days.  Typically the flavors get stronger as each day passes.  Hope you enjoy this recipe and try it our for yourself with your favorite veggies!  :)

I can't wait to post some things that I've done lately because of being a little bored around the house....I think you might get a good laugh or two!  Let's just say I'm starting to feel like Pablo Picasso!  Ha!  :)

Enjoy your day!

Love,
The Preacher's Wife

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

things I'm looking forward to...

Top 4 Things I'm Looking Forward to the rest of this month:

1.  Warmer weather.  It's cold one day and hot the next day here....kinda like Tennessee.  I'm really ready to kick things into gear for spring!

2.  March Madness starts on Thursday!  My bracket is ready to go!  I think Duke is going to bring the Championship home again this year!  I'll have my highlighters ready to mark my wins and loses on my bracket..I am ready!!  This is always an exciting time of the year!

3.  I'm ready to grill, grill, grill!  Since we got our new grill I am so excited about grilling anything and everything!  Steaks, burgers, chicken, fish, veggies!  Can't wait to try a bunch of new recipes out with this thing!  I'll let you know if anything turns out good. 

4.  My family is coming to visit soon!  I can't wait for them to get here so I can show them around the area and what life is like for us here...not to mention I'm sure we'll have some yummy food and good times!  :)  Can't wait!

I decided to do 4 things just because I like to be different!  Ha!
Have a wonderful day!

Love,
The Preacher's Wife

Monday, March 14, 2011

we had cake :)

It was a GORGEOUS weekend in North Carolina!

Spring time weather was all around.  No need for a jacket...just beautiful sunshine and a crisp breeze.  Ahhhhh!

And just in case you were wondering...we had cake!  A fun, yummy, cute, ice cream cake for Preacher Man's birthday!  And it was TASTY...even if I did make it! 

My idea for the cake turned out rather swell!  It turned out to have five layers and it looked like a giant, fluffy marshmallow.  Here's the finished product....



 I had everyone in the kitchen helping me put together the cake because I didn't want it to melt.  My sou-chefs (or so I like to call them) were:  Preacher Man, Andrew (P.M.'s BFF), Maw (P.M.'s Grandmother), and Nancy (P.M.'s Mom).  Maw and I stacked the cakes quickly, Andrew helped me frost it, Preacher Man put the sprinkles on it, and Nancy captured every moment on camera.  I was very grateful for their help!  If I would have done it by myself, the cake would have probably turned out to be a big, melted puddle!  Ha! And just in case you were wandering about the sprinkles...Preacher Man put those on the cake.  It was very comical to watch!  He would take handfuls of sprinkles and throw them onto the side of the cake in hopes of them sticking to the side.  His method kinda, sorta worked I guess you could say.  He makes me laugh so much...it's one of the things I love most about him.

Here he is smiling with the cake:


(I love whoever turned the lights off!) :)

and then about to make a wish.....(I think this picture is hilarious even though it's a bit blurry!)


Are you laughing yet?

Here's how the inside turned out with the five layers:


That poor bottom layer...he had a lot of weight to hold up!

And it sorta took up almost the entire freezer!


Other exciting happenings that went on this past weekend were:

1.  Shopping spree with Nancy and Maw in downtown Wake Forest, the mall, and a fun fabric store!  I had so much showing them around the area and I think they had a good time too.  We found all kinds of goodies that we liked and maybe even a few ideas for a new craft project for Maw and myself!  :)  One of the funnest parts of our shopping spree was the Shoe Department in Belk.  Nancy has the perfect size foot for all of the shoe models on the floor so I made her try on some outrageous shoes.  If they were the least bit cute I think I made her try them on.  It was hilarioius!  She'd put on a shoe with a ton of straps and a zipper up the back and I would try to convince her that she needed them!  So much fun!  She didn't buy any of the crazy shoes, but we did get some shoes!  Thanks for my new flip-flops Mom #2!  :)

2.  I finally got to use my plate that we got as a wedding gift (or well I picked it out with a gift card)!  It's my You Are Special Today Plate.  We used it for Preacher Man's birthday dinner.  It comes with a pen so you can write the special occassion on the back of the plate too!  This way we can pass it down in the family and then our future children can pass it down to remember all of the special things in our family!  So fun!   Here it is:


3.  We got a new grill!  Whoooo hoooo!!!  It's the cutest thing too!  It is so perfect for us right now.


We grilled filets on Saturday night and they were delish!  I also made twice baked potatoes, rolls, and salad to go along with it!  YUM, YUM, YUM!  It was sooo good!  I'm pumped about this grill!

4.  The High School that I graduated from won the State Tournament in Girls Basketball!  Go Chargerettes!  :)  So exciting!!  Then Duke won the ACC Tournament!  Whoo hooo!  Go Blue Devils!!  I am sad that Tennessee lost, but still happy about them being in the tournament!  It was a pretty good weekend in basketball!  :)

5.  Brackets came out for March Madness!!  Whoo hoooooo!!!  I LOVE this time of year!  I printed off my bracket and got right down to filling it out....this is what I did:


I like Duke!  Just a little!  :)

I didn't take a picture of my husband's because his is just dreadful.  He has North Carolina (gross!) winning the whole dance.  I just don't think so!!!

It was a fantastic weekend!  So good to have family in town!  March is gonna be a good month because we've got visitors almost every weekend!  Yay!!!

Now we start a new week....back to the real world!

AND I think it's supposed to get in the mid 70's later in the week here!  Sweet!  That'll make for a good week!

Everyone enjoy your Monday!

Love,
The Preacher's Wife






Friday, March 11, 2011

we shall have cake!

I'm in the process of baking a cake right now....for an ice cream cake!  I just kinda made the recipe up in my head.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Help me, Rhonda!  (whoever you may be!)

Here's the stuff I'm workin' with...


Yes, you do see Blue Bunny Ice Cream...it was buy one, get one free this week!  I just couldn't pay $12 to get a gallon of Mayfield's Ice Cream.  If I can't have Mayfield's, Blue Bunny is a good second choice!  :)  And please note that the large bottle of sprinkles were purchased at our trip to the grocery store this weekend.  I told Preacher Man that I needed sprinkles for his birthday cake and that is what he picked out!  I didn't complain, I went with it.  You can't tell in this picture, but the sprinkles are in the shapes of all theses different animals.  Lucky me!  I have a huge bottle of animal sprinkles!  Please let me know if you are having any animal themed birthday cakes like we are!  I'll be sure to let you borrow my sprinkles!  :)  Ha!

I'm hoping and praying this turns out to be a good birthday cake for Preacher Man.  He specifically asked for an ice cream cake and the baker in me insisted on making his cake instead of buying one.  I'll let you know how it goes...but whatever happens, we SHALL and WILL have cake!  :)  I even bought candles.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend!  We're going to spend it hangin' with the fam!

AND gettin' a grill for Preacher Man's birthday!  You know what that means?!  We're grilling steaks, baby!  Whoo hooo!  :)

It's gonna be a good weekend!

Wishing you a weekend full of lolli-pops and gummy bears,
The Preacher's Wife
:)