Four Years

Beau and I celebrated our anniversary on Thursday; four years!! We had a great dinner out to celebrate and I meant to take a picture but, as always, I forgot. 

I am very blessed to be married to a man who is just plain good.  I love and respect him more and more as our time together continues.  We've learned a lot these past four years and I wouldn't change a thing. 

Romantics: Skip this Post

The actual conversation that took place at our dinner table last night:

Me: Hey! Our anniversary is this week.

Beau: Four years.

Me: Yep.

Beau: (ornery grin) Well it's been wooonderful!

Me: Shut. Up.

Better Late than Never (Family Vacation of 2011)

It dawned on me today that I never blogged about our 2011 Florida vacation - made extra special by the fact that we took the camper.  That's right, folks we camped right off of the beach.  Before the trip I touted it as, "Either the best or worst vacation we will ever take."  Turns out, we had a great time. My in-laws also went and took their camper.  Because we took the camper, guess who also got to go on vacation....

The cutest passenger you will ever see, that's who!  I snapped this picture while we were still in Arkansas but it had been long enough for her to realize that this was more than a trip to Sonic.  Mamie is an excellent traveler, by the way.  She slept most of the time.

Good ole' Arkansas.....

Notice how it was not-so-sunny upon our arrival to the Sunshine State.  It cleared up for rest of the trip the next day.  Thank goodness!

 The water was gorgeous!!

We stayed on Santa Rosa Beach - not too far from Panama City and right past Destin.

 I swear I wore bathing suits and swam but this was after supper one evening and we were just walking the beach.



We got in the water a good deal even though there were sharks.  That's right, I said sharks.  Not small ones either - there was one that was a good five feet long (this is not an exaggerated figure on my part but an agreed length by all of us who saw it.)  The sharks (yeah, that "s" is an intentional plural maker) hung around especially in the late afternoon.  Did that deter us from getting in the water?  Nope.  Was I even remotely concerned about a shark attack?  Nope.  But what, upon the simple mention of a spotting, had me running and screaming out of the water as if my life was immediate danger?  Jellyfish. 

In case you were wondering if the little traveler had a good time, let this picture be your answer.

 I look like such a goober in this picture but the scenery is so pretty.

 Aaaaaand speaking of goober.... This is my father-in-law.



 This is right before we left the campsite to head home.  Typical me, I made friends with the couple next door from Louisiana  (we bonded over our common love for dogs - they're more extreme with a total of 5 rescue dogs.)  Before we left they took a family photo.



Coming back we stayed at a Mississippi state park.  This was early in the morning before we left.



This was a few miles from home when Mamie had climbed up to the front seat in excitement because I'm assuming she could smell home.

Another great family vaca in the books.  We've decided we may skip the beach in 2012 since we've been there for the last two vacations.  Chicago is in the running.  We shall see!



Would you Mind Turning that Light Off?

Every morning when my alarm goes off there is a dramatic sigh in our bedroom and it doesn't come from Beau or me.  Instead, it comes from the 45 lb dog who has normally worked her way up from her blanket (her intended spot on the bed) to my pillow. And heaven forbid I hit snooze causing the alarm to disturb her again 10 minutes later.

I caught this picture the other morning when she hid under the blanket to get away from the glaring light.  Give me a break.

In the Kitchen with Kendall and Mamie

Sounds like a PBS cooking show doesn't it?  

I made "No Bananas Pudding" for the Cotton Bowl (A.K.A. WWE Smackdown) the other night and had a very big helper in the kitchen with me.  No, she didn't actually help but she sure did try.  I tried to get a picture of her and me...

 I'm not sure if this picture is bad because my I-phone is so old or she has moves of a cheetah.

This is the delicious "No Bananas Pudding" I made.  It's sans bananas for two reasons

1.) Beau and I don't love bananas in pudding and

2.) I was on the phone in the grocery store....

Here is the recipe:

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1.5 cups ice cold water
• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)
• 2.5 cups heavy cream
• 1.5 boxes of Nilla Wafers
• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas (optional)

In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for for 15 minutes in the fridge and then 15 minutes in the freezer, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours - before serving. I suggest definitely more than 4 hrs to get the wafers soft enough, cake like.

 

It was definitely a hit!