Cheescake Cookie Squares

For each coworkers birthday we started making different desserts instead of getting the old, boring bakery cake. Most usually come from Pinterest. Well, since Jennifer was out of town for Candice's birthday I was in charge of making the dessert. I searched for different desserts to make but ended up making a dessert that Eric's mom made for me and the sister-in-law. It turned out great and was super easy.

Ingredients:
2 rolls chocolate chip cookie dough
1 package of cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Press 1 1/2 rolls of dough in greased 9x13 pan. Beat cream cheese and sugar - Add egg and mix well. Pour over dough. Drop remaining dough on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Super easy, right? And it is delish. I suppose you could use different cookie dough but I have only had it with the chocolate chip dough.

Foto Bella

When I first got my dslr camera I didn't really expect to use for anything other than personal use. I am hoping a brother or sister-in-law will have a baby soon so I can put it to good use! A friend/coworker and I have started a little photography gig. We named it Foto Bella (beautiful picture in Italian). Right now, we are just taking pictures of friends and coworkers' children. Who knows what will happen once we get better and better...

Here are the links to our websites:
fotobellanashville.shutterfly.com
fotobellanashville.blogspot.com

Here are a few pictures I took of a coworker's sweet little boy. Not sure what to do with the editing so these are unedited.

What a cutie! We had a good time, and I think we got a lot of good shots for it being our first "session"!

Mother's Day

Alas, it's that time of the year again that pulls at my heartstrings...Mother's Day. 2007 was the first year that I wasn't able to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom. I still thought about her and honored her life and I still do every year since then.

I pray that the woman I am today is a reflection of the woman my mom was. She was kind, tender-hearted, motherly, gentle, stubborn, determined and Godly. Even if I live today with one or two of those traits, I am happy. She taught me how to love and live life to the fullest even when life throws you curveballs. She certainly did not ask for malignant brain tumors, but she never complained or asked, "Why me?" She was a fighter.

I wish she was still here today - to give me advice, to have seen me get married, to see her future grandchildren, to share life's joys and struggles.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! You are never forgotten.

Scout

Scout is our new puppy. He is a little over 5 months old now and he sure is a handful. Eric brought him home when a coworker's dog had puppies and said he'd take all the unclaimed dogs to the pound. Well, my husband being the marshmallow he is brought home the dog.

Scout is believed to be a chihuahua/min pin mix although Eric's coworker swears he is 100% chihuahua. He is small and only weighs about 10 pounds but he has the markings of a miniature pinscher.

He is really cute and that's probably his only saving grace. He is into everything and will chew On anything found on the floor. He really is a pretty good dog and hadn't chewed on anything of importance except for two harnesses. ::knock on wood:: He is a silly dog and chases his tail and legs. I really don't think he knows they belong to him. He'll catch his tail wagging in the corner of his eye and he's off. He'll turning circles for a long time. It makes me dizzy just watching him.

He and Watson get along ok. Watson isn't much for playing and thats all Scout wants to do. Watson gets annoyed but puts up with him well. He knows he's just a silly puppy.

I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell about little Scout.

New camera

Well for my 25th birthday I decided to go big. I've never bought anything real expensive for myself except for my big tv. This birthday I decided to ask all family for only money and put it towards a dslr camera. So I bought a Canon Rebel T3. I've still yet to get it in the mail but I'm really excited to start using it. I don't know how to use it but have read beginner guides online about various things. I am taking a photography class with a friend at the end of the month and am excited to learn more.

Hopefully I'll start updating more and posting awesome pics to go with it! Just have to patiently wait for it to arrive. That's the hard part.

reflecting

In college, I was in a service club, Pi Kappa Sigma. At one of our meetings we got into groups and talked about how we saw God that day or week. It seems like you could come up with a list of things to talk about, but what I like most about the "exercise" is it really makes you stop and think about your day and all the ways you are blessed no matter what kind of day or week you've had. You can have a completely rotten day and still find one way (big or small) that God has worked in your life. He is always working.

What a simple, beautiful question, "How did you see God today?"

Mine for today (and everyday really) is my dog, Watson. He is precious. After a long, tiring day at work I always come home to my precious pup who is always excited to see me. I could be gone for one minute or hours at a time and he's always at the door to greet me. This may be corny, but I think dogs are gifts from God. Some dogs are really useful for daily life (seeing-eye dogs, sheep dogs, etc) but my dog is merely for looking cute. He keeps me company when Eric isn't here and is always available to give me puppy kisses. :)




So, how did YOU see God today? Just think about it. 

Happy Birthday to my favorite brother!

Ok, so I'll admit. I only have one brother, but who's not to say he's not my favorite?!

He turned 26 today! Gosh, he's getting old!

Wish I could have been there to celebrate with him. Happy Birthday to him!!!!!!!!

Harry Potter!

Yes, I am a Harry Potter fan. I have read all the books, more than once and have seen all the movies. The last Harry Potter will come out at midnight, Friday (or Thursday depending on how you look at it) and Eric and I have tickets! We were supposed to go with Allison and Rachel, but when Rachel tried to get tickets they were already sold out! Bummmer!!!!

Thankfully, I don't work Friday and can stay out late without regretting it! I am very excited!

Sips n Strokes

So, there is this painting place called Sips n Strokes. You go, take your favorite beverage, grab a canvas and paint at location, then they show you step by step how to paint a picture (you pick the date you go based upon the picture they are doing that day). Depending on the picture, they will outline it for you - beware if it's not outlined it makes it harder. They tell you how much "scoops" of which colors to mix, which brush to use and which brush stroke to do. It's really great. It is definitely more of a social outing than an art class. But at the end of the night, you take your beautiful or not so beautiful painting home and decide whether or not you should actually hang it on the wall or place it in the corner of a closet.

Here are pictures of my "artwork".

I guess they're not that shabby, but thank God there was someone telling me what to do step by step!

Watson Got A Haircut...Finally!

Those of you with dogs that require grooming know that it can get a little pricey. I finally bit the bullet and took Watson to the groomer today. The last time he has been groomed was August 2010 before the wedding. He was extremely shaggy and could hardly see because his bangs covered his eyes. They were so long I almost considered pinning them back with a bobby pin or clip, but decided he was too manly for that nonsense. So I took my $10 coupon (thanks to Jennifer) and kept reminding myself that he'd appreciate it with the hot weather that is to come.

Here are the before and after pictures.

 Before...

We gave him a little fluff! Big hair is in, right?

Another pic of him and his scraggly self

 And after...

 

Oh, how handsome he is! He was so glad to be home after a stressful couple of hours. Glad I don't have to put him through that very often!

Welcome, Maggie and Lisa!

We added two members to the Hayden family. They are Russian dwarf hamsters. They are sisters, so Eric named them Maggie and Lisa from the Simpsons.

They are cute little things. Watson is a very big fan of them. He watches them carefully from below wishing he could get a closer look/taste making sure they are comfortable in their new home.

I honestly don't know which one is Lisa and which one is Maggie based upon these pictures. They do have different personalities. The "nice" one is Lisa. Maggie on the other hand is a little bit more hostile. She doesn't like to be held or touched...

Maggie or Lisa? 

I don't know. 

You can choose.

Again, Maggie or Lisa?
Your choice again.
They could be pictures of the same one!
Maybe one of these days I'll be able to tell them apart by just looking at them...

Photo Memo Boards

Allison and I used our crafty hands to make a photo memo board. My mom had made me one when I was younger that I loved, but unfortunately I don't know where it is or if we still even have it. This time I took an old bulletin board and made another one. Allison and I spent an hour or more in JoAnn's (since Hobby Lobby was closed) and picked out fabric, ribbon and buttons.

Here they are together. Mine is the brown one and Allison's is the blue.

And close up pictures of both...

I think they turned out great! I'm going to have to have pictures printed to put on mine!

Welcome 2011!

What an exciting year 2010 was.

2010 was a year of weddings amongst my family and friends.First and foremost, my wedding. The day finally came where I married my best friend. We shared the last few months of 2010 together as a married couple and are anxiously awaiting what 2011 has in store for us. We have a new member added to the Slate family. Dad was married to Jan in April. It was a very bittersweet time. Bitter-knowing another woman besides my mom would be the main lady in my dad's life, yet sweet since my dad was happy and had found someone who he could share the rest of his life with. I am happy for both of them. There are many other weddings that took place-friends from Memphis, friends from school and two other family members, Eric's brother and my cousin. May all of these new marriages be blessed by God.

2010 was a year of adventure. Eric and I went on our first cruise for our honeymoon. I've only traveled once without my dad and that was when I went to Italy in high school. So every part of the trip was exciting from step one of deciding and planning everything to packing, driving to New Orleans to exploring Mexico by ourselves as a newly married couple. What fun!


2010 was a year of learning. After our marriage, Eric moved into my small one-bedroom apartment. We have had to learn the lesson of patience. It is hard for two adults and two dogs to live in a one-bedroom apartment. We have learned to wait patiently for the bathroom and to have patience with each other when we annoy one another since there isn't anywhere else to go to "escape".

As exciting as 2010 was, I am welcoming 2011 with open arms. I know God has great plans for Eric and me. I pray that this new year brings happiness, a ministry job for Eric, friendship and a greater, more fulfilling relationship with God.

Early Turkey Dinner

I've had a turkey from last year that Kroger gave to their employees (don't worry, the sell by date was in 2011) that we finally decided to make. Eric and I both didn't have to work and had the entire day to figure out how to make a turkey and make all the other dishes to go with it.

I'm not going to lie...I think the turkey turned out pretty well for it being our first time to make a turkey.

It was slightly dry and I don't know why really, but I am going to blame the ancient oven in our apartment! Ha!

To go with the turkey I made my mom's sweet potato casserole, baked corn and dressing. Allison made the mashed potatoes and gingerbread cake. Delicious!

Here's my handsome hubs with the turkey.

And the two of us.

4 years later...

Next Friday, the 19th, will be 4 years after my precious mom passed. Sometimes it doesn't even seem possible that it's been four years, but other times it seems like eternity since I've talked to her or hugged her. What hurts me most is all of the things she has missed or will miss. She and Dad always stressed the importance of college; she wasn't here to see me walk across that stage. I watched she and Dad have the most loving marriage, and she wasn't able to "give me away" with my dad. I've always seen weddings as a special time between the bride and her mother. Unfortunately I wasn't able to share all of those special moments with Mom. I wish she were able to see her grandkids - to love them and spoil them rotten.

I'm not bitter. At times I still am not able to give one good reason why things turned out the way they did, but I do not blame anyone - not her, myself or God. All I know and can live by is her life and example. She was a special mother, wife, sister and friend. I pray that I can make her proud and love others the way she did.

Nashville Ghost Tour

The Kroger Pharmacy crew had a night out on the town. We began at Los Cebollas in Madison for some yummy Mexican food. Then, we all headed to downtown Nashville for our Ghost Tour. We started off at the Hermitage Hotel to hear about the ghost haunting the top floor.

We were then taken to the State Capitol and told to look in the tower to look for Andrew Jackson's wife. I took lots of pictures and watched the tower the whole time but I did not see Mrs. Jackson.

We were taken to the tomb of James K. Polk next to the Capitol. Lots of orbs there!

Our next stop was a Catholic church (St. Mary's, I believe) where they had hidden a soldier's body from being ransacked during the Civil War. They say the body is still there in the church.

This is the church's door. The bottom bright spot is from the flash on my camera, but the top one is "unexplainable".

Our second to last stop was in Printer's Alley. It was the Rainbow Room. Skull Schulman, the owner, was murdered one night in that club to later be found by a cigarette salesman that routinely came to Printer's Alley. The Rainbow Room is now closed and serves as a storage place for the nearby bars which employees have had creepy experiences when going to fetch some supplies.

The final stop was the Ryman Auditorium. It was formally a church giving a reason for the pews. Tom Ryman is said to still haunt the Auditorium to make certain the shows are moral. There have been many other ghosts and incidents reported in the Ryman.

Busy Weekends

We've been on the go for the past few weekends. First weekend we went to Paducah for Eric's birthday. His mom says everyone's birthday falls on Sundays since it's the best day to get the whole family together. The next weekend, I had to work. Then, we traveled to Indiana for my cousin's wedding. It was so nice to see the family.

Last weekend, we were in Memphis to see Wicked at the Orpheum.

But we were also able to catch the Lee's (Mr. Lee is our elder who married us) hayride. We had a great time. There was hot apple cider, marshmellows, chili, hot dogs, and of course the hayride and good company. 

This coming weekend we're doing the Nashville Ghost Tour with my Kroger Pharmacy crew. Pictures to follow!

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Wednesday, Sept. 29, was Eric's 24th birthday. He's really old. I like the fact that he's older than me even if it's only 7 months older. :)

We celebrated by going shopping to spend our Bed Bath & Beyond gift card. We were going to get another set of our flatware. We only have one 5-piece setting. I use the little fork and little spoon and Eric uses the big fork and big spoon. We share the knife. Ha. (We do have other forks, spoons and knives in case you were worried). We ended up buying a lovely chocolate brown quilt set for the bedroom. I'm really excited. It should be here by Tuesday.

Then, we went to Genghis Grill. We always go there for birthdays. It was where he took me for our first date. It's always so yummy!

We came back and his best friend and best man, Mark, came over to celebrate with some cake and ice cream and Chocolate Eclair Cake (Eric's favorite dessert that I make). With 24 candles, I thought the fire alarm was going to go off.

Mr. and Mrs.

After 4 years of dating, Eric and I tied the knot. The wedding day was perfect and was everything I had wished for.

We had all of our wonderful friends as our wedding party with only one unfortunate event...Hurricane Earl. My best friend since middle school, Renee, got stuck in NJ because of expected high winds, etc. and they canceled most flights out of Newark. I missed her terribly and was looking forward to seeing her (it had been 5 years), but Mother Nature had other plans.

Our photographers were fantastic and captured all the right moments. The pictures are everything and more than I could ask for. Check them out: http://twogirlsandacameraphotography.blogspot.com/

The cakes...I chose Miss Muff'n in Germantown to do the cakes. They were semi affordable and had perfected the art of smooth buttercream icing. It looked like fondant. It was a four tiered cake and every tier had a different cake and filling...perfect. I had bought an "H" for a cake topper, but the day of the wedding I couldn't find it. I found it two days ago in a box. With extra flowers, the caterers and church ladies made a make-shift cake topper. The cake was simply designed, delicious and beautiful.

The flowers... Holliday Flowers was my final choice. They were professional and the flowers were stunning.

Everything was perfect. I'm excited to be married to my best friend and to start our journey together.