Chopped Challenge

Maybe you've heard of the little show on Food Network called Chopped? In a nutshell four chefs compete to win prize money, there are three rounds (appetizer, entree and dessert) and a chef is eliminated in each round until there are only 2 remaining. At the beginning of each round the contestants are given a "Mystery Basket" of 4 very random ingredients and they have to turn those ingredients into a culinary delight. And if that wasn't pressure enough, they are under very strict and almost impossible time constraints.

For Allen's "Date Night Jar" I included a Chopped Challenge stick and he was thrilled to see it, and on Valentine's Day decided that's what he wanted to do. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty excited. Also, I realize this makes us huge dorks and I'm okay with that. Just throwing that out there.

So we set some ground rules and created our own Chopped Challenge.

 In hindsight, one course may be plenty and we didn't get too risky on our food choices since it was on a whim but next time I'll be more prepared. I should also tell you that my husband is never in the kitchen cooking so he was such a good sport for playing along and we both really enjoyed spending the time together and doing something different.

 For Allen I picked black beans, refrigerated biscuit dough, crabmeat and sour cream. I played it safe.

His choices for me were a little more risky, breadsticks, sausage, Béarnaise sauce and macaroni and cheese. 

For the first round he made some stuffed biscuits with crab meat and black beans and oh my goodness was it horrible. He agreed, don't worry. My first thought was to make deep-fried macaroni and cheese balls and use the bread crumbs as coating, but I didn't have enough time. I ended up baking a macaroni and cheese with small pieces of the sausage and topping it with bread crumbs and Béarnaise. My dish slightly edged out the competition. 

During the next round I seared a steak and then put it in the oven (in the pan) to let it finish cooking while I was making my other things. I removed the pan from the oven and a few minutes later went to move the pan and picked it up with my hand! I had completely forgotten that the pan had just come from the oven. Let this be a lesson, safety is key. So that ended our challenge a little earlier but I think we'll have a dessert only round coming soon.

I always think this would be incredibly fun for a couples night if the couples could complete in teams against other couples. The real fun is not knowing what you're going to cook with and then being given a small amount of time to figure it out and execute it all while still making it look and taste good.

let me tell you a little bit about blissdom...

I need to quickly say that I haven't abandoned Toddler Tuesday, they'll be back in full swig next week, so get your posts ready. 

To say that Blissdom was amazing would be an under statement. I went hoping to learn more about the in's and out's of blogging and returned knowing more about myself. My wheels have been turning since about 9:30 on Friday morning when the opening speaker took the stage and they haven't stopped since.

I feel like my head is going in a million different directions and it's full of so many good ideas and share-worthy information that I still need to process. So let's take a little more light-hearted approach to this post.

What I learned at Blissdom:

• I can have a great time with ladies I've never even met before and we don't have to be partaking in conference activities or dressing up fancy and going out. That's right, I hung out in my pj's with my new friends at Blissdom and we certainly don't have a picture to prove it. 

• It's not weird to take pictures of your food when you're sitting at a table of fellow bloggers. I wasn't trying to sneak in a quick shot so as not to look like a complete crazy who has never seen food before. Nope, when the food came, everyone pulled their cameras out. They so get it. 

• Jon Acuff pretty much blew my mind. Pre-Blissdom I had never even heard of him but believe me, now I know exactly who he is and you'll get to know him a little more this week.

• The guys from Rascal Flatts don't just sing well, they're actually really nice in person  too. Oh yeah, THAT happened....

With my roomies plus Heather and Tiffany, oh and some guys from a band ;)

• There are some truly amazing women in the blogosphere and I'm lucky to call them my friends.

 With my roomies AP and Whitney. 

   

 The face behind my always amazing blog designs, Jenn from Munchkinland Designs.

 AP and I with the lovely Erin and Nina, two of the first blogs I started reading and they were even more amazing in person.

Molly and I road tripped it from Birmingham to Nashville and I'm pretty sure we didn't stop talking the whole trip. I loved getting to know her and I'm positive there will be meet-up's in the near future.

• The blogging network is enormous and my blog and the circle of blogs I read is such a teeny-tiny part of that network.

• There will be a pretty amazing contestant on a little show called The Voice this season. Chris Mann performed for us at Blissdom and I knew right then that I would not only be watching The Voice this season but I would also be voting. 

• I have so much to learn about blogging and trying to figure out how to write like everyone wants is slightly overwhelming. For now, we'll keep doing what we do. And by "we," I'm talking about me, of course.

• I sure do miss this girl when I'm gone (and of course, I miss that husband of mine like crazy too).

Overall it was more than just writing sessions and sponsors. It was more than making your blog bigger or connecting with other bloggers. It was more than Rascal Flatts and Joe Jonas. BlissDom was about finding yourself in this enormous world of social media without losing yourself in the process. For me, it was a huge wake-up call to stop and enjoy the things that matter and forget about everything that doesn't.

introducing... Me

I'm writing you from the beautiful Gaylord Opryland hotel and my much anticipated trip has come to an end. I'll be heading back to my sweet home of Alabama, just a little south of here, in a few hours. I want to tell you so much about the trip and show you all of the amazing things that I experienced. More importantly I'm coming back with a renewed passion for blogging and writing.

But before I go any further I wanted to take the time to introduce myself to the wonderful people I met and the new followers that I've seen through Google Friend Connect Recently. Hi!

A recent picture of our family from December. To get to know us even more click
on the About Me button at the top. 

This blog has a little of everything. A collision of family, parenthood, crafting and cooking. Essentially this blog is a snapshot of our life and I tend to write deep posts on those defining moments. I can't help it, writing is my outlet.

I'm married to my very favorite person, Allen and we have an (I can't believe I'm going to say this) almost 2 year-old. I stayed home for the majority of the past 21 months but now I'm teaching kindergarten.

I don't pretend to have it all figured out and I'll be the first to tell you that parenthood is tough and overwhelming at times. But, those times are always overshadowed and quickly forgotten because of the sweet and rewarding moments.

I'm a huge believer in following your heart, not other people, doing what you love and Starbucks iced caramel macchiatos with nonfat milk and an extra shot.

I'm a chronic list-maker and balance seeker. That's right, I'm searching for balance because that's one item that really needs to be checked off my list already.

Now it's your turn, leave me a comment and tell me a little about YOU!

i should be packing, but...

I got a little video happy instead...

I mentioned that BK loves to sing "Moves Like Jagger," she first heard it when someone sent me the link to Little Big Town's banjo picking version. She absolutely loved it and she said over and over "Again, Moves, Mommy." So we played it over and over and she's danced her little self until she just can't dance anymore on many occasions. 

I thought I would post a quick video of her version of the song.

   

And because I never shared it but this used to be her favorite song, can you have Beiber Fever this young? Or is it just a case of catchy lyrics and make a toddler wanna dance music since she's never actually watched the Biebs himself perform this song. 

Here's another not so short video of B at 22 months. I talk about her so much but I wanted you to actually get to see her in action, because sometimes that's more fun :)

A few things to note:

• I asked her about frogs because she is so scared of them. It's a long story but basically my mother is terrified of frogs and Debbie decided to torture her with one at the lake house a few weekends back. Braylen wanted nothing to do with the frog and now if you even mention it she does the funniest thing. Of course, she wouldn't do it while I had the camera out but I'll definitely be trying to get that on video.
•  And spiders because she has the Eric Carle book and she won't look at that spider. She says "Oh, no it get me, I scared."
• I don't know where her fascination with monsters has come from but she's always talking about them. I promise I don't use monsters as a scare tactic. In fact, it would probably scare me even more.
• This is typical Braylen. She plays and talks and sings and dances like no one is around and she throws in a little drama every once in a while. 

And making faces in my phone ranks right up at the top with a few of her favorite things to do these days. 

22 Months

Sweet Braylen Kate,

Here we are, 22 months in and absolutely smitten with your sweet smile. You are such a bright spot in everyones life, they all have sweet stories about something funny you told them or some dramatic face you made over something. You are quite the entertainer and you aren't shy one bit. I see so much of myself in you, you love to talk and you literally talk from the time you wake up until the time your eyes close. Your talking is in full sentences and no one ever wonders what is wrong or what is on your mind. You are at full speed from the time your feet hit the floor in the morning until we tuck you in at night. I see so much of your daddy in you as well, as you patiently put your puzzle together, giving it way more time than  I ever would. That's one of the triats I prayed you would pick up from him before you were even born. I think that's his best quality, his patience. It's something I joke about but something I have to work on every single day, but not him. He's a natural and worry free, you picked that one up to. You're carefree and fun-loving just like an almost 2 year old should be.

As people talk about the "terrible two's" approaching it's funny that you have mellowed out a bit on the heels of your two's. I wonder if that will change? This past few weeks you have been the sweetest, most loving, girl I have ever met. You have turned into such a daddy's girl. But when I ask you who your best friend is you still smile really big and give a very excited, "Mommy!" as your answer. You love the nursery at church and you love to play with your friends there. I hear that you're a little bossy in the nursery, but you play well and you don't mind sharing. If you want to sing a song or play a game, you think everyone else should be playing it with you.

You love to eat out and be on the go. Your daddy and I love to eat out so we definitely feared that day would come where you would be too rowdy to sit still and eat but you aren't. It's funny because you are busy and on the go all day long but you don't mind sitting still and eating. You are quite the little foodie. You went to your first sick baby doctors visit this month and it looked like there might be an ear infection on the horizon, you temperament never really changed and well, it should be long gone now.

I've moved away from worring about you grow up too quickly to just being thankful that we have such a special person in our lives. It will always be my prayer that no matter how fast your grow up that you never outgrow your love for Jesus. What a blessing he has given us in you.

• Clothes Size 24M/2T and 18M jeans
• Diaper Size: 3
• I know you weigh around 25 pounds but I'm not sure how tall you are, probably between 33-35 inches. 
• You wear a size 6 shoe. 
• Your vocabulary is excellent and we've yet to stump you with a word. You repeat everything we say. Your big vocabulary is still impressive and you string words together and make sentences like a pro. You mainly uses sentences as your form of communication. When you want something you say "Mommy, I want an ______" and when you don't want something it's usually "No, I not like that." or "I not want that" 
• You are so very polite and say "Please" and "Thank you" after everything. The other day you even asked Coco, "Please, I have it" when you were trying to get her ball. 
• Your favorite toys are your kitchen, your tent, Melissa and Doug ice cream set and alphabet puzzle and your baby dolls. 
• Your favorite tv show is Bubble Guppies and the only other one you even remotely like is Dora. 
• You love to sing (Twinkle, Twinkle, Moves Like Jagger and Jesus Loves Me are your favorites), play with other babies, play the piano and guitar with daddy, hide and let us come find you, color, play outside, ride in the car, put on your "makeup," dance and "cook" for us from your kitchen. 
• Favorite foods: Greek yogurt, pancakes, oranges, bananas, apples, peanut butter, goldfish, spaghetti, chicken, popcorn, and cheese. You love water and milk too. 

Project 365: Week 7

Here we are at Week 7, I feel like P365 has really turned into a recap of our week. I mean I could just give you a picture but writing a little about it allows me to document our lives a little more and hey, you know I'm all for that.

As usual I'm linking up with Laura and you can too. Just click on the button below.

Sunday, February 12, Day 43. We celebrated my Nanny's birthday after church. For those who don't know my Nanny comes over during the day and keeps BK while I'm teaching. It is absolutely ideal and I am more grateful than I could ever put into words that she keeps her every day. It's nice to know BK is with someone who loves her so much and who she adores as well.

Monday, February 13, Day 44. We spent the evening doing all things Valentine's. Handprints, cards and these yummy treats. I'm still thinking about these and if I had even an ounce of self control I'd be making some more today.

Tuesday, February 14, Day 45. Pink water in the bathtub for Valentine's Day. I owe the blog a V-day recap too. I'll have to get on that for next week. 

Wednesday, February 15, Day 46. Ring Around The Rosie with Kristen at church. She learned how to play last Sunday in the nursery and now she's obsessed. She wants everyone to play with her and she wants you to do it "her" way and don't even try not falling down when she gets to that part, Miss Bossy Pants will let you know if you aren't playing right. 

 Thursday, February 16, Day 47. Did I ever show you the playroom? Well, probably not because it's never in any shape to show anyone. She loves her playroom and thankfully there are no plans for #2 in the future because she would surely be heartbroken if I turned this into a nursery. Hopefully, we'll be in a more accommodating house at that point.

Friday, February 17, Day 48. Seriously? I'm constantly swooning over those gorgeous lashes she sports.

Saturday, February 18, Day 49. 
Allen went fishing with a couple of his friends this weekend so BK and I slept in on Saturday morning. When we woke up she wanted to drive, and then she said, "pleeeeease, mommy. A seatbelt, I wear it." So we sat in the car and listened to the radio in our pj's for a good 30 minutes.

you deserve a hug

I know you've seen these "pinned" all over Pinterest in the past few days (orignial pin here). I'm here to tell you that you should run to the grocery store, get the ingredients and take the 20 minutes it takes to make them. You won't regret it, until your pants get too tight, that is.

They are so simple, really. Just lay out pretzels on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet. Unwrap a bag of Hershey's Hugs and place one on top of each pretzel. Stick the cookie sheet in the oven (preheated to 175 degrees) for 4-6 minutes. Just long enough so that the chocolate is soft but not melted.

When they come out place an M&M into the center of each one. Now, this is important advice from yours truly, use peanut M&M's. Really, trust me here. Unless, of course, you're allergic to peanuts and in that case you should obviously use the regular ones. I'm sure they're divine as well.

And there you have it, the perfect blend of sweet and salty and I bet you can't stop at just one. I checked My Fitness Pal and it looks like they come out to about 75 calories for two, which is really not that bad. If you only eat two, that is.

date night in a jar

Hi, I'm Jennifer and I am the most indecisive person you will ever meet. I'm over think things so choosing between two places to eat on Sunday afternoon when church lets out is something I try to avoid every single week. Why? Well, because I take many things into consideration. Who's going with us? Will they like it? Did they eat this type of food yesterday? Will there be a wait (I have a toddler, you know)? Am I on a diet this week? Those are the first set of questions that go through my head. Did I also tell you I'm completely ADD? It's a horrible combination when each time I over think something my ADD kicks in and it leads me on a different path. Like right now, I'm way off base.

Back to the point of this post, Allen and I opted for new clothes and weekend trips this year for V-Day. He's going fishing this weekend and I'm going to Blissdom next weekend. BUT, I thought, why don't I do something creative and inexpensive for him so that he can have something on Valentine's day. I thought perhaps a date night at home bag, I've seen those "pinned" all over the place recently.  You know, a movie, popcorn, coke, candy, all in a cute little bag and ready for "date night" at home? Well, in the midst of searching for those I came across this cute idea for "Date Night In A Jar."

I tweaked it just a little and created this "Date Night In A Jar" for Allen. Okay, and for me too I'm thinking this will help in a major way when we can't decide what we want to do and neither of us wants to make the decision. Hence the reason I talked about my indecisiveness  up there in the beginning.

I started with just a plain mason jar with a wide mouth. Little known fact, I have about a million mason jars in my laundry room. My grandmother cans veggies and such from the garden each year and her only request is that she gets the jars back for next year. That's right, we aren't mentioning to her that I used one for a craft project ;)

I used big popsicle sticks and spray painted them different colors. Each color represents a different type of date (and each color is explained on the tag) and the white sticks were used as fillers.

 Red sticks have more expensive dates on them that require planning on our part.

• Bed and Breakfast
• Dinner at a fancy restaurant
• Hotel stay for the night
• Auburn home game and away game
• Concert and dinner (his choice)
• Concert and dinner (my choice)
• Weekend away
• Coupes Massage 

Dark pink sticks have "at home" dates:

• Chopped Challenge (like the television show on FoodNetwork)
• Fondue and Almost Famous
• Takeout and board games
• 1,000 piece puzzle and pizza
• Football game and nachos
• Popcorn and a chick-flick
• Crosswords and breakfast for dinner
• Make a dessert together
• Friday Night Lights marathon
• Homemade pizzas and an Italian movie

 Light Pink dates have things we can do away from home but are less expensive than the red and don't require as much planning.

• Dinner and a movie (my choice and his choice)
• Laser tag and go carts
• Mexican night at Cocina Superior 
• Drive-In date
• Dessert only date
• Window shopping for the house
• Bowling
• The Melting Pot
• Coffee Date

And a little key on the back of the tag for the colors. 

I'm so excited about this and it eases my indecisive mind for sure. Plus, it's a cute little craft to sit on the desk in the bedroom :)