Minnesota Part 1: An Old Trip

In August 2009, we ventured to Minnesota for Ken to take a class for work...and for me to met the family! It was my first time to Minnesota...and I've been dreaming of going there ever since I was in Jr High, when I found out the Walsh Twins were from Minneapolis. :) Man, when they moved to Beverly Hills, they made Minneapolis sound like it was a "small, po-dunk town"....Hmmmm....not so much. Now, Minnesota was filled with WAY more corn fields than I EVER expected, so the L.A. area was probably a big change for those Walshes! I have also always wanted to go b/c their mall has a ROLLER COASTER inside!!!!! It can't get any better, right??? Shopping and roller coasters????

The trip was held more new experiences than I was planning. I wasn't expecting Minnesota to be mostly farm-land. I had NO idea that the state had the amazing houses and barns that I see on TV and in magazines. I loved that! I also had no idea that there were going to be so many corn fields. And, I very much expected it to be cooler than Oklahoma. It was SOOOO humid! I couldn't stop sweating. I quit caring what I looked like b/c it the days were pretty miserable. A few of the nights I was there, I had to borrow a sweatshirt though.

Welcome to Minnesota!!!!!! My favorite (and still is) are all the little towns that look like they jumped off a movie set. The churches are BEAUTIFUL!!! We finally arrived at Ken's parents house. A super cute log cabin that Terry built himself! Very impressive!!!! And, we got to see Mr. Tyler again. :) It had almost been a year since we'd seen him. Now, he's such a little boy!!!! We was crawling the last time...so to see him walk and be such a big-boy was so fun. Sandie and Terry surprised us with a big party/shower for the wedding! It was AWESOME! I was so happy to meet all the family and their friends. It was a great way for me to get to know everyone. Ken's class didn't start until Tuesday so we had all day Monday to sight-see. We went to St. Paul. It was so neat. This church is beautiful!!!! I took tons of pictures (big surprise!) and we toured it for awhile. I believe they still hold mass there and I know they do weddings. It was just incredible! I wish we had more time while we were in St. Paul b/c there were a lot of historic homes that had been turned into museums. It was really neat. Our next stop on the tour? University of Minnesota! I love Universities! And this was no exception!!! The campus actually extends inot St. Paul and Minneapolis. Its huge! And the town on the St. Paul side is SOOO cute! Its another place I'd like to go back and spend some time. We also did some shopping and I got to see a lot places where he grew up (his home, high school, etc.). Then we took Sandie to my all-time FAVORITE place to eat!!!!!! Fogo de Chao!!!!! SOOOO GOOD!!!!!!! It was in downtown Minneapolis, which was HUGE! So much to see and do there too! When we finally made it back to the house, Terry had a wedding present sitting in the drive for us! I was SO excited!!!! They have these chairs on their porch and I couldn't believe he had made two for us! I love them so much! They are still my favorite place to sit and read or have my bible study in the morning or just enjoy an evening with some wine. LOVE THEM!Ken was taking some classes for work, so while he did that Sandie entertained me. :) I was so grateful that she had taken off work b/c we were able to do some fun things together. Like...going to the Mall of America!!!!! YAY!!!! The one place I was dying to see! We actually went twice! Ha! Its HUGE and just too much to get through in a day. We also did some shopping closer to where they live and got pedicures too. :) At the Mall of America, Bubba Gump resides. I took these pictures for my dad b/c he LOVES Forrest Gump! Maybe one day, I'll get him to MN and take him on a date to Bubba Gump's. Lego Land!!! :) Didn't get a good picture of my roller coaster, but I saw it! I bet Sandie would have gone on it with me...but I didn't really want to stand in line or pay for it. Oh well...maybe another time. She did, however, introduce me to Cinnabon!!!! Oh my gosh!!!! YUM!!!!!!Ken and I had planned this trip for about a year. As soon as I found out we were going, I emailed a college friend who lived in MN and told her we HAD to see them!!! I couldn't wait! Lance and I have been friends since our freshman year in college! We had mutual friends and share quite a few college memories. I met his incredible wife, Judith, when they were dating...I think it was my senior year in college. She didn't live in OK at the time, so I didn't get the privilege of REALLY getting to know her until our "adult" lives. :) They have lived in Houston, Chicago, Minnesota, and now they are in Connecticut. I don't think they will ever know how much of a blessing it was, for me, that they were in MN. These are their precious girls, Bella and Lyla. We had dinner with them and then back to their house to visit. They made me super excited to come back in the future! On our final FULL day of being in Minnesota, we took a road trip with Ken's friends, Ron and Arlene! One of the best days of my entire life! I will never forget it! I'm so thankful that Arlene and I had so much in common. I just loved her. Our love for traveling kept us busy all day....and she didn't think I was NUTS when I pulled out my camera for the day! I took hundreds of pictures....really, hundreds! Our first stop was this creamery in Wisconsin! I bought some Wisconsin Cheese for us and to take home to my parents! It was soooo good!!!!! We even snacked on some of the cheese curds during the trip. We also stopped at a Nut House and bought some pecans and other treats for really cheap! We drove all through the country... Stopping at a Winery and this little place. It was a gem! Ken LOVES ice cream and coffee! Two things he truly can't live without. This place put them together. It was our first to have an espresso sundae! Yep, chocolate ice cream with a shot of espresso on top! It was GOOD! This is a place I'd actually like to spend some time. We drove by it at the end of our road trip. Its the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN.
From Wabasha, we drove into Lake City and were greeted by some INCREDIBLE houses!!!! The houses sit on one side of the road and their little gazebos sit on the other, right in front of the late. It was awesome!!!! Just beautiful!
Once we returned to Ron and Arlene's house, they graciously let us use their restrooms to freshen up. We had a big evening ahead!

Ken's High School Reunion! We started the night out at Matt and Karen's house. I had met them earlier in the week at our shower. They made a fantastic dinner!!! Matt can grill a steak, let me tell you....it was fantastic!!!! From there, we all headed to the reunion! We had such a great time! I loved getting to meet Ken's friends!

The next day, we had lunch with Ken's mom, sister and Tyler at Kings! Its this great little burger place. They have a burger for every person. I can't remember how many different ways they put a burger together, but if you can think of it, they have it....including a burger with peanut butter! From there, we all went to a county fair! LOVE THE FAIR! It was fun! Very different from what I'm used to in Tulsa, but it was really fun and they had all the amazing food that only the fair can have. :)

Spending a week in Minnesota gave me insight to a new place. I know there will be more trips there in my future...and I welcome it! There are so many places to go and things to do that we didn't cover my first visit. I can't wait to explore all that Minnesota has to offer. :)

SSMT

I decided in January that I was going to participate in Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Team (SSMT). I will memorize 24 verses by the end of 2011. I pick a new verse on the 1st and 15th of each month. I can pick anything I want and she encourages us to pick verses that deal with issues we are going through...basically, verses we can cling to this year. Its been SO amazing for me! I didn't know if I was going to be able to commit to learning that many verses, but I told myself I can do anything through Christ! So, I signed up! Its been such a blessing. I'm on my 5th verse. I haven't memorized scripture since elementary school, so this is very good for me!

My first verse from January 1-14, 2011:

1 Corinthian 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; But, God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can able, but with every temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

For me, it really helps to break the verse down into segments to really grasp what its saying. This is how I broke it down:

No temptation has overtaken you
except such
as is common to man
BUT
God is faithful
who will not allow
you
to be tempted
beyond what you are able
but
with the temptation
will also make the way of escape
that you may be able to bear it
1 Corinthians 10:13

I hope this is encouraging or helpful to those who think about doing this. Anyone else have tips for memorization?

Chicken Biscuits 'n' Gravy Casserole

***OH MY WORD!!!!!! This is one of our most favorites!!!!! Super easy and delish! :) ENJOY!

by Racheal RayIngredients:
•One medium to large rotisserie chicken (I used 3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded them)
•7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the dish
•8 ounces white mushrooms, thinly sliced
•1 medium onion, finely chopped
•2 celery ribs, finely chopped
•2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•1 cup chicken broth
•1 cup milk
•1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
•Salt and freshly ground pepper
•3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
•2 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
•1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Butter a large casserole dish. Pull the meat off the chicken, shredding it with your fingers or a fork into the baking dish. (I actually used regular chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper. I boiled it and shredded it).

2. In a large skillet (I used a large dutch oven), melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over high heat. Add the mushrooms, onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, about 6 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, sprinkle the flour into the skillet and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup of the milk and simmer for 1 minute more. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the lemon juice, and add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the gravy over the chicken in the baking dish. (I mixed the chicken in with the vegetables in a large dutch oven instead of using another dish).

3. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter with the garlic. (I used spray butter and garlic salt for this part).

4. Stir together the baking mix, the remaining 2/3 cup of milk and the cheese. Drop tablespoonfuls of the biscuit mixture on top of the casserole and brush with half of the garlic butter (this is where I sprayed the biscuits with spray butter and sprinkled them with garlic salt). Bake until the biscuits are golden brown, about 25 minutes, brushing them once or twice with the remaining garlic butter (I sprayed them again once they came out of the oven).

Salmon Croquettes

by Cooking Light1/4 cup organic canola mayonnaise (such as Spectrum), divided
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 (6-ounce) packages skinless, boneless pink salmon (I used a 14.5oz can of salmon)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped capers
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Combine 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard, and next 7 ingredients (through egg), stirring well. Add panko; toss. Shape mixture into 8 (3-inch) patties.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned.

3. Combine remaining mayonnaise, juice, and mustard with parsley, capers, garlic, and salt, stirring well.


CALORIES 305 ; FAT 19.3g (sat 2.6g,mono 6g,poly 9.7g); CHOLESTEROL 88mg; CALCIUM 16mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.6g; SODIUM 801mg; PROTEIN 18.8g; FIBER 1g; IRON 1mg

One or Two?

One piece? Or two?

Over the last 10 years, I've worn a two-piece....not a bikini, but a tankini. Sadly, my little boy shorts have lost their place in the swimsuit world. The past few years, they have become harder and harder to find. I still love wearing the tankini top and I found a great little ruffle skirt to go with any of the tankinis that I have.

I haven't so much as looked at a one-piece for 10 years.

Until now.

Anthropologie knows how to do a one-piece! FABULOUS!!!!!And, I'll take this amazing cover-up!!!!