yum.

[please try to contain your jealousy of our gorgeous yellow countertops].

i'm always looking for new desserts.

i typically try a new dessert recipe and then make it over and over again for every unrelated party/shindig that we go to for like a month.

then we get sick of it.

so i look for a new recipe.

if you are anything like that....look no further!

i found the dessert.

i don't think i'll ever get sick of these.

salted.carmel.toffee.cupcakes.

holy moly.

they are divine.

i mean, like for real.

we'll probably eat these in heaven.

german chocolate cupcakes.

with hot, salted caramel squeezed into the middle of each one when they come out of the oven.

then homemade frosting.

then health bar smashed up and sprinkled on top.

then hot, salted caramel drizzled over that.

they are amazing.

you want the recipe?

no, really do you want it??

well...i guess i'll share my secret.

just because i love you that much.

just go here, to julie's blog.

that's fabulous.

but, be warned.

you will want to eat a million cupcakes.

and you'll fall in love with her blog.

and probably want to steal more project ideas from her blog.

i'm making something else from her blog now.

any guesses about what it is??

2 down.

on monday, worker man and i celebrated our two year anniversary!

it's really hard to belive the we've been married for two years already - seriously, it's crazy!

we went to the melting pot for supper and it was fabulous.

worker man had never been and we had the best time.

i would definitely suggest that restaurant - it was amazing!

happy two years worker man!

i'm blessed beyond belief.

marriage is way better than i could have ever imagined :)

umm...does this mean i'm not a newly-wed anymore?  because i totally still feel like one.

racoon holler.

a few weekends ago we went camping with some friends.
we had a blast!

i have been trying to get worker man to go camping since we started dating and he's always said it's not his thing.

i've also been trying to get him into biking which has again, "not been his thing".

well, then along comes daniel who loves to camp and mountain bike.
and now...worker man is all over it.

he's in love with both things.

i asked daniel if he could start to love to go shagging.
because apparently me thinking it's awesome isn't enough.
but when daniel thinks it's great, suddenly worker man doesn't think it's half bad either.

daniel's wife, ashley, and i decided we might be able to work something out.
if i just let her know what i want worker man to like, she can convince daniel to pretend to like it for a little while so worker man will start too!


not that i'm bitter or anything...

[ahem].

so, on to the camping trip.

because i had forty bazillion pictures, i just decided to make a collage for each day.

we spent our first day in boone.

we went to eat lunch at macado's, shopped at the mast general store, got coffee/icecream, got geared up for biking, and went grocery shopping.

we really had a lot of fun.

somehow day two and three got meshed into one collage.

we played lots of cornhole, went to another mast general store where they had a small bluegrass group [yay!], went to the trading post, ate at the daniel boone inn, played cards, played badmitton, rode bikes and just spent time hanging out.

it was so much fun.

we hopefully will be taking another trip soon.

[if you click on the college, it will open up so the pictures aren't so blurry].

constant entertainment.

One of my coworkers/friends and I always have 'bathroom stories'. 
It can be a little awkward sometimes when you're in a two stall bathroom beside someone you work with.  So...we always share our funny stories.


Well, yesterday afternoon I got this e-mail:

"As I sit in the bathroom writing this, here's my grownup tip for the day. If you want to be discrete, don't wear hot pink shoes to the bathroom."

Sent from my iPhone

She was wearing hot pink flats.


--- 


And then today she showed up with a stolen velcro, preggo belly from the med student's training rooms.
 
 
Constant entertainment.
For realz.

padre.

so yesterday we celebrated two of the most special men in our lives.

my dad.

my family came to our house for church and lunch and spent the afternoon with us.  it was so much fun.  we love to have them in our world :)

i am so thankful for my dad. 

for all that he means to me and for all that he does.

yesterday our preacher talked about fathers and the critical role they play in the family. 

the rock, the provider, the protector, the encourager, the responsible one.

and i must say, my dad hits the nail on the head.

he has always been an incredible father.  encouraging in all the right ways, providing in the ways our family needs, offering advice, providing incredible spiritual leadership, being a role model for us to look up to.  he truly is a man after God's heart.  and a dad that has always strived to show us how to be in relationship with our Creator.  i am so blessed to have him.

and worker man's dad.

we met all of worker man's family last night for supper.  to celebrate ffil.

he too is such a blessing in our lives.  he is so full of grace and acceptance.  he loves us for who we are.  i mean like really loves us for who we are.  like me, being me and worker man being worker man and fmil being fmil [etc.], adds pieces to his life that no one else could.  he soaks up the seconds we're all together.  living in the moment and just enjoying every second of every day.  he is one of the most determined people i've ever met.  just up and decides he's going to do a triathlon and goes for it - all out.  decides he wants to get into riding bikes...and works up to riding 10 and 20 miles in a day.  he's the adventurous one.  even wants to go skydiving with me!  he is always so much fun and i must mention...he's a pretty good cook too!

we are so so so thankful for the dads in our life.

they are both such role models for worker man and i must say, if worker man ends up like ffil and like my dad, someday my kids will have a pretty awesome daddy :)

s&c - edition: engagement.

last night i met up with two of my s&c girls.

and...

kcl is engaged!

we had such a good time.  just talking and catching up.

mst has moved back from kentucky so we get to make this a regular thing!

and, mjd is moving back from washington state in august!

we're so excited!!

wfmw - magic.

have you ever heard of magic erasers?

until i got married, i had never heard of them.

fmil introduced them to me.

and whoa.

seriously, they will clean anything.

they are the best things ever.  

on our bathtub, on the sink, on the wall.

anywhere.

i didn't know about them for so long.

so i just wanted to share the love :)

if you haven't tried them, give them a shot.

and see if they work for you!

[i am linking up over at We Are THAT Family for Works for Me Wednesdays]

*no, mr. clean knows nothing about me.  they are just that good, really*

breakfast.

on saturday morning we had breakfast at my parent's house before sl and her friends left for the beach.  all the parents came and we just spent the morning on their back porch [which is fabulous].

we had panckaes and fruit and coffee and juice.

dad's typical pose anytime a camera comes near him.

one of sl's friends.

so happy for me to be sticking my camera in her face at 8 a.m.

of course the moms insisted on one more group shot.
then we prayed.
and by the end, all of the moms were total basket-cases :)
some of the dads might have been on the verge.



and then they left.

oh but wait, not before a million rules and boundaries were set.

discussions about the best way to get there.
how often they had to call home.
to split up the cost of the parking.
to be careful.
to call home.
to have a good time.
oh, and just for good measure, one more reminder to call home.



and then they were off.

for real this time.

i know they are having a blast!

graduation.

hello!

i'm back from my impromptu "break".

sorry i went m.i.a. for awhile.

not really sure what happened?  got a little busy.

but, alas, i'm back.

get excited.

i'm sure you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting my return.

ha.

so, anywhoo...guess what i did friday night?

umm. yes, i went to my sister's graduation.

 

and, not only did my sister graduate, but two of our cousins.

of course, we had to get a ton of pictures :)

here they are with their families.

j and his family.

a and his family.

and all of the graduates with their mamas :)

oh, and we were all there too :)

sidney lee with mom and dad.

then we moved on to taking pictures with the friends.

we got lots with everyone's family but i'll spare you the 40 bazillion i took.

here are a couple of sl's closest friends.

we're missing a few but it was a little crazy after the ceremony.

 this is the family that i baby-sat[?] for years.

the oldest in the orange is already in college.

and the youngest was like 2 years old when i started keeping them.

she's ten now.

sheesh.

and then there's the family that sl baby-sat for.

worker man showin a little lovin to one of the graduates.
it's funny, i always seem to get a picture right before they start rough-housing.

and there's us three :)

and my beautiful parents.

after graduation, we all came back to my parent's house for a little shindig. 

we had a blast.

sl with my mom's two sisters.

and with mammie.

her with our bon bon.

worker man and the other graduating cousin.

another picture right before chaos insued.

we had a ridiculous amount of wonderful food there.

and papa, surrounded by the graduates, said the blessing.

we had such an awesome time.

and [risking sounding old here], i can't believe my sister graduated.

with my brother, it seemed like it was time.

but with her, it just seems crazy.

i'm stoked because that means she'll be closer to me when she goes to school.

and hopefully i'll get to hang out with her more.

but still.

it's just crazy.

my parent's are going to be empty-nesters.

and my sister is going to be in college.

she's at the beach right now, for a week.

just her and her girlfriends.

as much as it blows my mind, i couldn't be more excited for her.

 i know her next four years will be life-changing.

my years in college were fabulous.  they seriously rocked my world.

and i can't wait to see her world rocked.

congratulations sidney lee.

i love you!