Fourth of July Funness

3 more days until 4th of July excitement!! I'm going fishing for the very first time ever!! Even better, I'm going fishing in the Gulf with high hopes of catching some King Mackerel for a fish fry! My friend Ryan and I are road tripping up to his house in North Florida for the long weekend. His family has a fishing boat so we're getting up at the crack of dawn (I'd say literally, but actually it's probably earlier than the crack of dawn) to head out on the water for some fishing. Rumor has it that the fish have been biting lately so I'm super pumped. And if we catch all the fish we want, then we may even get to go looking for some dolphin to swim with. However, I'm also on a mission to catch a shark! How cool would that be? :) The only downer of the trip is that it takes 6 hours to get there!! At least we get to take a pit stop in Gainesville for some Burrito Brothers (seriously good food!). And yes, my iPod will be loaded with music and I will sing at the top of my longs and dance ridiculously until it drives Ryan crazy. It's okay, he's used to it. I'm like his second favorite sister (after his real one, of course).

Even better, this weekend kicks off my summer of fun! Next week Austina and her new husband David arrive in Orlando for a little vacation (much deserved for them!!!). Then, my family arrives next weekend. My parents are coming down for a long visit with my 2 favorite little girls in the whole wide world! They're staying for a whole week at my house and I'm so excited. Britony has informed me that she's sleeping in my bed while they're here and we can tell each other secrets all night if we want. I love slumber parties with my nieces!

Then, just a few short weeks later, I'll be headed to Ohio for 10 days to celebrate Meghan and Stephen's wedding. I'm looking forward to some more family time and also spending some time with my grandma.

And, then I'm back in Florida for a short stint before heading back to Ohio for Labor Day Weekend to kick off football season. GO BUCKEYES! I'll be in the Horseshoe for the season opener sporting my best Scarlet and Gray!

Ahhhh So. Stinkin. Excited.

I can tell the rest of this year is going to fly by. The Lord is so so very good and I can hardly wait to see what He has in store for me. Praise Jesus! :)

Delicious! -- Balsamic Tomatoes, Beans, and Rice

My friend Melanie loves cooking and baking so I know if she posts a recipe on her blog, it must be good! I was looking for something to make for dinner so I was checking out her recipe blog when I came across the recipe below. Melanie pulled it from Kraft foods. It was seriously so easy and so delicious!! I used the suggestion for balsamic vinegar and EVOO in place of the Red Wine Vinaigrette because I already had the ingredients on hand. I left out the parmesan cheese as the mozzerella was plenty. I also used Kashi Original microwaveable rice packet instead of Brown rice. I'm a huge fan of Kashi and it was delicious.

This is the perfect meal when you need something quick and it's pretty nutricious too! Enjoy! :)

Balsamic Tomatoes, Beans, and Rice

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

1 can (19 oz.) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (Melanie substituted black beans, but I used Cannellini. I'm sure any sort of bean like this would work fine.)

1/4 cup KRAFT Light Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing

OR combine balsamic vinegar with extra virgin olive oil (approx 2:1 ratio)

2 tsp. each dried thyme leaves (I used ground thyme instead) and minced garlic

1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

3 cups cooked brown rice

COOK tomatoes, beans, dressing, thyme and garlic on medium heat 5 min. or until heated through. (Allowing the mixture to marinate on low for 10-15 minutes more enhances the flavors.)

SPOON over rice. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Music Recommendation: The Welcome Wagon

My best friend has an excellent taste in music. I'm often getting music recommendations from her (and yes, I give her a few in return). She recently sent me 3 CDs of music to try out. Yep, we still do it old school here--CDs. But I like it because I can put the mixed CDs in my car and try them out on my drives to work, grocery, church, etc. when I don't feel like pulling my iPod out to plug in for a few minutes or when NPR is playing baroque (which I have nothing against...I just can only handle so much of it until I feel the need to put on something that I can sing a long to). Anyway, I think I have a new favorite band--The Welcome Wagon. The Welcome Wagon is "a folk-gospel duet borne out of the living-room sing-a-long tradition." (quoted from their Myspace). I love their songs because they have a choral backup and full band (including trumpets!). I guess there's just something comforting about music like this. A hymn in any form always catches my attention. Check them out, I promise you won't be disappointed. "But For You Who Fear My Name" is my current favorite.

Other recommendations sent by my friend:

• Sarah Harmer (Around This Corner, Basement Apt.)
  
• She & Him (Sweet Darlin', Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Sentimental Heart)
• Amos Lee (Southern Girl, Sweet Pea)
• Gillian Welch (Look At Miss Ohio)
• Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins (The Big Guns, Happy)

Twitter

Had a great day today (friends, beach, frisbee, tennis, bike riding, Pei Wei, "Away We Go"). Anyway, while on the way to the beach today, Rachel and Dustin started talking about Twitter which led to a conversation about a funny video on College Humor. I was laughing as they described it so of course, I had to look it up. And it's hilarious. So watch below. And laugh. Or not. Meh. :-)

My Saturday Line Up

This is what is in store for me for Saturday and let's just say I'm SUPER PUMPED!!!
Photos courtesy of some Google Image Searching.

A little morning run:


Some beach time with friends:


Maybe some tennis time:




And going to see this movie (SO EXCITED!!):


http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/away_we_go/


I'm just gonna go ahead and say that it's bound to be a good day!

On the Radio

Love this music video and the song. Regina Spektor is pretty awesome. The stop motion in this video is sweet. Enjoy.

How Refreshing

I talked to my cousin and dear friend Meghan tonight after a record setting game of phone tag. It's so incredibly refreshing to talk to someone so close to my heart and catch up on life with her. She's getting married in August and I have the privilege of being in her wedding. I'm so so SO excited for her! I feel incredibly blessed to not only be her cousin but also her friend. It's been amazing to see her grow into a woman that truly loves Christ with all of her heart and desires to serve Him and live for Him in all that she does. She's been a testimony to me and I love hearing her input and advice on things. Tonight, she gave me her perspective on things that I've been working through in my own life and it was so refreshing to hear her advice. I'm anxious for August and spending time with family and celebrating. Life is sweet.