USC vs Clemson

That would be three in a row, thank you. Yes, the Carolina Gamecocks have once again become the victors over the Clemson Tigers for the third year in a row. And we were there to see it! We had a great time and Beau’s hands hurt from beating the stands out of excitement.

 

We even found our very own Benedict Arnold among the crowd. Beau realized the guy in front of us was wearing Carolina clothing but was rooting for Clemson and Beau called him out on it yelling “Traitor”, “Liar”, “Benedict Arnold”. I had to calm him down. “Get a hold of yourself!”. J

 

Way to go Gamecocks!

 

 

The Lovelys

As I mentioned in the previous post, the chocolate hazelnut cake was a big hit. And as you can see from the photos of Riley, she was eyeing it and then eventually satisfied that wanting. J

 

Thanksgiving oyster roast

Beau had a great idea to throw an oyster roast for my family the day after Thanksgiving. So I bought the oysters, packed up the cooler, the oyster cooker, propane tank, rags and oyster knives and we headed to NC. We also had some family friends join us who had never had oysters (they’re from Colorado). Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and we were so happy to see it! There’s nothing like leftover Thanksgiving food and oysters to tie up the night. J

 

Before dinner

Beau's favorite cereal! Captain crunch! Special for him on this fine Thanksgiving morning!

Irena Sendler 1910-2008 A 98 year-old Polish woman named Irena Sendler recently died. During WWII, Irena worked in the Warsaw Ghetto as a plumbing/sewer specialist. Irena smuggled Jewish children out; infants in the bottom of the tool box she carried and older children in a burlap sack she carried in the back of her truck. She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids’ and infants’ noises. Irena managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children. She eventually was caught, and the Nazis broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar buried under a tree in her backyard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunited some of the families. Most had been killed. She helped those children get placement into foster family homes or adopted. Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. Al Gore won - for a slide show on Global Warming.

 

 

Chris and Hannah

My brother and his girlfriend, Hannah, came into town this weekend to spend time with me and Beau and we had a great time! After church Sunday, we headed into the county park by our house for a picnic and a walk through the park. And then we headed towards Folly Beach for a drink at Blu and some pics on the sand!

 

Chris also treated all of us to some delicious Ribeyes and Beau and I made up the rest. On the menu:

 

Baked brie with fig preserves

Ribeyes grilled with butter

Asparagus grilled on a plank and topped with blue cheese (my favorite!)

Roasted peppers, broccoli and cauliflower

 

 

How to deal with close talkers.

USC vs. Clemson

Hanging out with Aaron and Christy!

Trial run

Beau and I bought a new oyster cooker and needed some guinea pigs to try it out. Sooooo....we called some friends over!  And we had a great time! Yummy oysters!  All in our backyard :)

Dinner

Last night I made grilled pork chops (Beau grilled them) with a Tarragon Cornichon sauce to go over. Beau loved it! I, on the other hand, didn’t care for it. This being my first experience with Tarragon, I soon learned the flavor is not one that I would like to revisit. But here’s the recipe for those of you who do like tarragon. J

 

 

 

PORK CHOPS WITH TARRAGON SAUCE AND CORNICHONS

6 T butter, cut into 6 pieces, divided

4 pork rib chops

5 tsp chopped fresh tarragon, divided

½ c sliced shallots

¼ c thinly sliced cornichons (gherkins)

1 T whole grain mustard

½ c chicken broth

¼ c apple juice

 

Melt 2 T butter in a heavy skillet over medium- high heat. Sprinkle chops with salt, pepper and 2 tsp tarragon. Add chops to skillet; cook until browned and cooked through, adjusting heat to medium if browning too quickly, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and cover to keep warm.

 

Add shallots to same skillet; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp tarragon, cornichons, mustard, chicken broth, apple juice; boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, 1 piece at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer chops to plates. Spoon sauce over pork chops and top with 1 tsp tarragon.

Thankful Thursday - Take 18

351. Lunch date with the hubster

352. Great weekend at the lake with Katie and Tony & Lauren and Danny

353. Game Day! Gamecocks beat Florida!

354. Popcorn

355. Continually meeting new neighbors

 

356. Shopping with friends

357. Ladies night and delicious sushi

358. Laughing hysterically with Rosa at work

359. Romantic dinners on the deck with Beau. He creates the ambience with the candles and the music. So great!

360. Physical therapy is really helping my knee

 

361. Beau lovingly supporting even though I can act crazy

362. My friend, Katie, who was willing to be my fashion consulting on our shopping trip yesterday

363. That I was not one of the cars involved in the 20-car pile-up this morning on the bridge

364. Holiday festivities have begun!

365. Beau swept, vacuumed and mopped the entire house yesterday afternoon while I went shopping! Who has a better husband than me?!

 

366. Thanksgiving Day lunch with my company – man the day went by fast!

367. Creative ideas.

368. Clean water for drinking

369. Donna did our laundry while we were away

370. My engagement ring that Beau put so much thought and effort into

 

371. Laughing and being silly with Beau

372. I was able to run ½ mile with Beau again – working my way back up

373. Beau and I got accepted into The Citadel for graduate school! We start in January!

374. Paid off a loan!

375. Back to talking with my sister almost daily.

 

376. Beau and I praying together

377. A good job

I do this...all the time.

Our love is like...

Beau and I were sitting on the couch Monday night and he looks at me and says, “Kathryn, our love is like a big shoe. It has room to grow.”

 

Memorable… J

No Words

  There are no words…

Thankful Thursday - Take 17

383. Flowers from Beau to commemorate our 8 months being married!

384. All the leftovers goodies Donna gave me!

385. Pretzel M&Ms – did you know that they are the least caloric of the M&Ms?

 

386. My heirloom ring

387. Time with the Popster

388. Reminders that it’s the people you’re with that counts the most

389. To be loved

390. Phone conversation with April last night

 

391. Sweet pictures of my neice

392. All the great deals I’m finding lately (this girl’s on a budget!)

393. Corkscrew noodles (they are the perfect noodle for any dish!)

394. The free pumpkins I received on Sunday – making pumpkin butter and pumpkin waffles and pumpkin muffins, etc. What else can I make?

395. Birchbox samples

 

396. Having plenty to do at work – makes the day go by quickly

397. Books on what not to do. I’m happy to learn from other people’s mistakes

398. My brother – he makes me laugh so much!

399. YOBE J

340. Inspiration

 

341. Experiences that have made me who I am

342. Laughter

343. The wonderful slow cooker recipes Donna sent me

344. Argos – he’s a sweet, sweet dog and that tries so hard to protect me when Beau is gone

345. Beau cleaned out my side of the garage so that I could park in it! So thoughtful. J

 

346. Red, orange and yellow leaves. They’re breathtaking.

347. Keeping the windows open.

348. Good neighbors – we met them Monday night. Great time chatting.

349. Water – can’t ever be too thankful for this. There are plenty who don’t have it.

350. My new passport came in!

 

 

 

 

Vs Florida

Me, Beau, Carl and Helen at the Carolina game today!

Breakfast with pop pop

Breakfast with the popster at his favorite place, sweetwater cafe.

Busy, busy, busy

I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, but I haven’t been writing much on here lately. It’s due to a certain spreadsheet that I’ve been working on since October 28^th. This thing is kicking my behind. I stare at it all day at work, only to come home with eyes strained and a slight headache. I have now resorted to wearing my glasses  hoping that will relieve some of the strain.

 

In addition to this killer spreadsheet, my co-worker friend, Rosa, is out on vacation. L Work life is not as fun for sure.

 

I am currently in the process of trying to simplify my life. I’m starting with the cooking. I’m letting go of the idea that I need to make a gourmet meal every night. I’m embracing the crock pot! If you have any delicious recipes for this crock pot, please share!

 

Our weekend

This weekend was full-on for us! We spent Friday night with Pop-Pop, making him dinner and watching the SciFi channel. And Saturday we ran errands all over the place (a rental house, Lowe’s, Trader Joe’s, Publix, craft fair) and did some things around the house (finally hung up all of our photos, cleaned a bit, laundry, painted chairs) and I baked! Donna and I threw a bridal shower for Beau’s cousins’ fiancé yesterday. So bake I did@! And Saturday night we watched the Gamecocks play Arkansas. Sadly, they lost. But we had a good time and we made a great dip!

 

Cheddar Guinness Dip

8 oz cream cheese

2 ½ c cheddar

1 tsp Dijon

2 T half and half

Sprinkle of salt

¼ c Guinness

2 scallions, chopped

2 T chopped parsley

Dash hot sauce

 

This recipe called for everything to be pureed in a food processor and served cold. But I put it all in a small crock pot and served it with pretzels. It was delicious!

 

The items I made for the bridal shower were: Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes, Almond Joy Balls, Mini Pumpkin Pies with Bourbon-Maple Whipped Cream and my mother’s Apple Cake. All so good! The people at work are currently enjoying the cupcakes and pumpkin pies. I have one of each left. It will be gone by the end of the day for sure!

 

Overall, great weekend with friends and family and my dearest Beau. We got so much done and even found time for a romantic dinner on our deck last night. Beau even threw in a burning candle and some wine! J Love that man!

 

The bell

Mom gave me two bells for shower gifts and Beau was dumbfounded as to what we were going to do with those, but look! We used one today for the shower!

Thankful Thursday - Take 16

355. Gamecocks beat Tennessee!

 

356. Great weekend at home with my family celebrating Dad’s birthday and enjoying Jennifer’s Halloween party

357. Shopping day with mom on Saturday. I miss those!

358. Full body massage given as a gift from my sweet brother!

359. Beau had a great trip to TN with his friend.

360. Traveling mercies.

 

361. Great time with friends: Lauren and Danny’s cookout party with friends, Nick over for dinner, Christy and Aaron Meadows over for dinner. We love deepening those relationships!

362. Nick Jackson is always a treat to have! He’s so positive.

363. Physical therapy-making my knee better

364. My husband’s suggestion to go for YOBE Tuesday night. J

365. Getting more involved in our church. Trying to decide where to serve.

 

366. Donna making our bed for us Sunday night. What a wonderful thing to come home to!

367. Love has found me.

368. Hugs and kisses from my husband

369. Change of perspective

370. Learning that comparison brings nothing good: either pride or envy

 

371. Using our house for just we wanted it to be: hosting people and loving on them

372. Growing relationships with our neighbors

373. Our fence is being built today!

374. Being provided with everything I need in life

375. Rosa, Angel, Lee and Tom-who make my workday completely pleasant

 

376. That regardless of everything “wrong” going on in this country it’s still the best country in the world to live in

377. My job

378. That I can take phone calls throughout the day

379. My education

380. Dancing with my husband

 

381. Surprises!

382. That my husband loves me so much!

 

376.

 

 

Dinner

Last night Beau’s friend, Nick, was in town and he came over for dinner. When Nick comes, it’s a treat. He’s a super positive person and there’s nothing negative brought up in conversation. So we love having him! I whipped up some lasagna rolls with a side of sautéed carrots. Beau wasn’t thrilled we were having carrots, but it was all I had. And I think he surprised himself with how they tasted!

 

Beau loved the lasagna rolls! In his words, “This is tremendous!”

 

Lasagna Rolls

BECHEMEL SAUCE

2 T butter

4 tsp flour

1 ¼ c milk

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Pinch nutmeg

LASAGNA

15 oz ricotta cheese

10 frozen spinach, thawed

1 c + 2 T Parmesan

3 oz Prosciutto

1 egg, beaten

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1-2 T olive oil

12 uncooked lasagna noodles

2 c marinara

1 c mozzarella cheese

 

Melt butter in saucepan and add flour and whisk in milk. Increase heat. Whisk until simmering and thick. Add the next 3 ingredients and whisk. Remove from heat.

 

Heat oven to 450. Boil lasagna noodles in salted and oiled water until al dente. Lay noodles flat. Mix ricotta, spinach, 1 c Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt and pepper. Grease baking pan. Pour in sauce. Spread 3 T ricotta mixture over each noodle. Roll them up. Lay seam side down in dish. Spoon marinara over top. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Occupy Wall Street Movement takes it a step further

“Local” supporters:

Communist Party USA

The American Nazi Party

Revolutionary Communist Party

Black Panthers

Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan

CAIR

Some big names in the political world have also lent support to the cause:

President Barack Obama

Vice President Joe Biden

Nancy Pelosi

International Leaders and Governments:

Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei

Hugo Chavez

Revolutionary Guards of Iran

The Govt of North Korea

Communist Party of China

Hezbollah

Just to further my point…it speaks for itself. Look who is in support of it.

Our weekend

Beau and I went separate ways this weekend. He went to TN with a buddy to see the Carolina/Tennessee game in Knoxville. And oh yes, Carolina won! I’ve included pictures of the stadium.

 

I went to NC to celebrate my dad’s birthday and attend my sister’s Halloween party. We both had such a full-on weekend! Beau more than me. J