BLT Pasta

The husband and I have been trying to come up with easy new recipes to cook in out attempt at
not eating out so much in the upcoming year. The following is one that has made it to the list:
BLT Pasta
3 cups of penne pasta (We just used the entire box.)
4 oz. cream cheese, cut up
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup grated parm cheese (more if you want)
4 slices bacon crisply cooked, drained and crumbled(again, more bacon would not be a bad thing)
2 cups of baby spinach leaves
1 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes( I personally do not like hot tomatoes, so I will cut them up first next time)
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Cook pasta in a lg sauce pan according to package directions.
Cook cream cheese, milk and Parm cheese in large skillet on med high for 3 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and mix is well blended, stirring frequently.
Add remaining ingredients, cook, and stir 5 minutes or until heated through.
Add pasta; toss to coat.

Tubas and the Wild Rumpus

I have been told by my husband that I must update my blog. I find this very true, considering he has now started a blog:Taming the Beast. It is a blog about his journey back into playing the tuba. I am very proud of him. He is playing with the JSU tuba/euphonium ensemble. I am excited about Monday night's performance. They are joining forces with the JSU show chior in the Tubaween concert. It will be the last performance of Octubafest. I am told that this will be a very entertaining concert.

Things have been very busy with work, but I did find time last Saturday morning to take my sweet cousin Cora to see the much anticipated Where the Wild Things Are. The GPL had a wonderful setup at the movie theatre. There were crafts, games, and a reading of the original book by none other that the fabulous Ms. Heather. I did not realize that Cora had never been to a movie theatre. She would ask me after each preview if the movie were over. She did quite well for a three year old. She even led a wild rumpus! We had a great time!

To My Dear and Loving Husband

To the man that man that goes with me to Hobby Lobby

To the man that helps me set up my classroom

To the man who goes to Wal-Mart in the middle of the night to save me from the virus of death

To the man who lets me watch Extreme Makeover:Home Edition even though he knows he will have to stop me from crying

To the man who drives on all family vacations because his wife is a chicken and will not drive on the interstate now that she has a ring on her finger

To the man who will go with me to the prom, Friday night football games and graduations for the next 20 years

To the man who holds my hand

To the man who lets me have a scrapbook room and never complains about not having a "man room"

To the man who is adored by all the members of my family

To the man who is just as much of a nerd as I am

Happy Anniversary!

I love you very much. Thank you for all that you do for our tiny little family.

All photos by our awesome wedding photographer, Jerrod Brown.

New Books for New Babies

I love to scrapbook. I also love when I can scrapbook gifts. I was actually working on Ian's first book when I got the call that his mother had gone into labor. I hope that he will one day look back on this book and cherish it.

A Baby Byrd

Being an only child, I never thought in a million years that I would be an aunt. Luckily I married a wonderful man that happened to have a fantastic sister. She and her lovely husband gave birth to Ian William around 11:32 p.m. I think he is just perfect. This new first is very exciting and I can't wait to spend more time with him. Welcome to the world, Baby Byrd!!!

Home Again, Home Again

Sherri, Ben, Donnie and I had a great time in DC. I , like my husband, need lots of time to process all of the things that we saw. We planned on seeing and doing as much as possible. Ben set up a ton of awsome tours and Sherri made all of our awesome arrangements-and got us through the airport!

I think my favorite thing about the trip was watching Donnie see everything for the first time. My husband is a huge history buff and had been excited about this trip forever. I had signed up for the National Museum of American History blog to keep up with upcoming events. While sitting in our awesome apartment in the Eastern Market district, I saw on the blog that Alice Waters was going to be signing her new book, Edible Schoolyard,in the victory garden at the NMAH while we were there. Not only is Alice Waters famous for buying and using local organic and sustainable food, but one of Donnie's heroes. We went over to the NMAH early to make sure to get a copy of the book and to see some of the exhibits before we got into line. We ended up being second in line. She was very nice and graceful. That night I read the book and fell in love with what she had to say. Edible Schoolyard is about a school in Berkley, California that had fallen into such disrepair that the state was unable to update the cafeteria, so the children did not have one. It all started with Alice Waters giving an interview in the newspaper. She said that the concrete disaster area that was the school was a poor use of land. The new(fourth in two years)principal saw the article and challenged her to come to the school and help. What happened was that she came up with a program that not only helped the school and the students, but also the land. The students now have a curriculum that is centered around their garden. It is a wonderful program and I recommend the book to everyone.

Together In Our Nation's Capitol

I am happy to report that we made it to Washington DC. Donnie had never flown, but I thought he did quite well. We are staying in an apartment in Eastern Market and we love it. We are hoping that the weather is nice tomorrow because we have planned a day outdoors.
More tomorrow!

Time Flies

This week has really reminded me of how time flies. As the sponsor of the yearbook, one of my responsibilities is to set up senior portraits at the school and then supervise to make sure everything goes smoothly. My students are always great and the photographers are fun to work with. Sometimes mothers and/or fathers come to the shoots. It never fails that tears come to their eyes as they see their child's formal portrait pop up on the computer screen. I have seen these kids dressed up in all kind of wacky outfits for spirit days, see them in uniforms on the field, dressed up for prom, or just in their normal everyday outfits, but seeing them in tuxes and drapes for the first time always takes my breath away. The girls are always beautiful and the guys are so handsome. It is like they are growing up before my eyes. They have changed so much since they were in my 10th grade class. Although these are not my children, I feel like I have helped raise them in some small way. I am so proud of them and hope that they have a wonderful senior year.

Summer Summer Summertime

As this is my first blog, I am unsure of what will come out of this. I do know that I want to use this as a way of documenting my life. So with that in mind...
On the first day of summer vacation, I:
Had lunch at Mill Street Deli with my best friend
Had a nice visit with my sweet MawMaw
Went to the grocery store with NO list and came out with a week's worth of groceries for under $50
Cooked a new dish that was a winner with the husband-McCormick's One Dish Homestyle Chicken and Mushroom Casserole. The recipe is on the back of the seasoning mix package.
Several friends are leaving today on a mission trip to Romania. My thoughts and prayers are with them as they travel.
Until next time...