{new obsession}

last night, the lovely lauren preece and i met up at a cute little place i've never been to called 6 friends cafe. it's over by woodland park and they have sandwiches, drinks, and gelato.

i like to think i'm an adventurous eater, so when i spied the "sweet basil gelato", i asked for a sample.  HELLO!  it was amazing!  it had the summery taste of basil, but had just enough sugar that it was refreshingly sweet.

i found a recipe that seems easy enough (i should add to not be fooled by the gelato... it was totally a sorbet, but still delish).
1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 3/4 cup of lime juice and 20 basil leaves minced.

you just boil the sugar and water to make a syrup, add the lime and basil to a blender, put that in the freezer, take it out to reblend, and then stick it back in the freezer.  does that not sound like summer???

yep, it's official, my new obsession is all things basil

i will be attempting to make this.  when i do, i'll report back!

as a side note, there are 2 weeks until relay for life!  if you want to come visit at LCA or want to learn more about our team OR want to donate :), you should check out my page

relay for life

{babes}

the past few days i've gotten to hang out with 2 of my favorite children.  caleb and claire are two of the cutest, most fun kids, and babysitting isn't even hard.  it's so fun!  the past few days we've made forts, played with trains and trucks, watched the movers, played outside, played with dolls and princesses, and the two have chased each other for laps and laps around the kitchen.  it's hilarious!  they make me laugh so much... especially that claire... the kid's a riot and she knows it.

today i brought muffin mix for claire and me to make.  she's becoming such a help and so i thought we'd try our hand at baking.

i wish i had pictures of us actually mixing the ingredients and stuff, but trying to help her and keep caleb entertained was a little too much to include pictures.

tutu+baking = all girl

we were excited to eat them!

reaping the benefits of his sisters labor

baking was a success!  so what if it was muffin mix out of a bag... maybe on monday we'll get even crazier!
quote of the day from claire:
me: claire, these muffins are so good!
claire: i know, it's betuse i made them!

love them :)

{realizations}

i don't know why this is hitting me now, but it is, and i want to be better about blogging, more honest, so here it is...

i'm a year out from being in the 'real world'.  in the fall, i'll be an almost real slp and working at the v.a. here in lexington.  while i'm stoked and cannot wait for an opportunity like this, today it's hitting me that real life is coming fast.
today was fabulous.  because of the lovely weather here in ky, i decided all i was going to do today was lay around, drink coffee, and read.  it was lovely, and i've needed it for a while.  i love being busy.  i love doing things, being spontaneous, and enjoying new things.  still, i need to remember to stop, breathe, and enjoy the peace and quiet.
now i'm thinking, will this be able to happen often after this short summer break?  the answer is probably not... rarely on a tuesday will i be able to just sit on my small, but lovely bed and read harry potter all day (judge me).
if i'm going to be honest, i'm kind of nervous.  i'm nervous about not knowing enough and feeling unprepared for the real world.  i'm nervous that i won't know what to do, how to do it, or why i'm doing whatever technique i'm supposed to know.  i'm nervous that all the years of school won't actually pay off.  i am usually pretty confident in myself, but for some reason, today it's hitting me that i won't have my classmates to rely help me out, my teachers won't be the ones i'm used to, but a new supervisor in a new location, and i will be working 9-5 (on free labor!).

i guess today is one of those days that i just need to be still and know that God is my protector and will provide all that i need.  it's one of those days that i realize i need my wonderful friends, boyfriend and family and will continue to need them, and that life will go on, even if i don't know the answer or the technique or the methodology behind things.

for YOU created my inmost being; YOU knit me together in my mother's womb.  i praise YOU because i am fearfully and wonderfully made; YOUR works are wonderful, i know that full well.

even in my moments of realization and worry, i want to trust God, like a child trusts their parents and doesn't worry about what they'll eat or where they'll sleep because mom and dad always have that figured out, that i'll be fine and i have nothing to fear.

in my moments of self-doubt, i want to know i can do nothing, HE can do everything.
in my moments of worry, i want to trust HIM
in my moments of feeling weak, i want to know that HE is strong
in my moments of low self-esteem, i want to know that HE delights in me

{busy weekends!}

it's been a fun weekend!

saturday, ian and i went to a graduation party for one of the boys i give violin lessons to.  they're such a fun family, and it was great to celebrate!  after that, we went to see the new uk hospital!  wow.  it's incredible!  it is state of the art, and super nice.  my favorite part is that it is seeped with everything kentucky.  all the artwork depicts some sort of kentucky, most of the artists are from kentucky, each room has an image of either the gorge or cumberland gap... it's  awesome!

even the chairs are 'kentucky wildflower' inspired

after a fun visit at the hospital, we went to the humane society and played with puppies and doggies (i warned ian prior that no matter how hard i begged, i was not getting a dog... it was rough!)  we hiked around mcconnell spring's park for a bit, which was so nice!  right next to the industrial park, but once we got in the woods, you forgot you were just outside lexington.

sunday morning we met at church, then came back to make homemade pizza!  it was soooo good.  we used my friend, ashley's recipe.  find it here on her blog: ashley's pizza

it all started with homemade dough, and that makes everything better....

i made tomato, basil, garlic and fresh mozzarella, and ian had green peppers, banana peppers, pepperoni and mozzarella on his.  they were beyond good.  

gettin our toppings ready

my pizza

ian's pizza

so good :)

it was such a fun weekend!  oh how i adore summer... please let me have a summer break forever!

{hello 5 am}

no, i promise i'm not involved in any law issues, BUT my blog post is coming very early because of them...  so it's friday night... ian and i made dinner, got some free thorton's tea (heck yes free tea day!) and relaxed a bit... i didn't go to bed til late because... it's friday night.

if you know anything about me, you know that i sleep, and sleep well i do!  i rarely have problems falling or staying asleep.  that is until this morning, 5 am to be exact, and i have a neighbor screaming bloody murder, fighting with a boy, and scaring the daylight out of me.  so guess who got to call the cops at 5 am this morning.  oh yes, that would be me!  guess who also can't get to sleep again.... right again!  me!

i hope the girl's ok... it made me thankful that i don't have people in my life i would fight with like that and that i have a boyfriend who would never yell at me like that.  and part of me just wanted to go ask her why the heck they're both awake at 5 am.  5 am is sleepin time, girl!


way to go lexington po po's for being on the scene in approximately 10 seconds.  while i was talking with the operator, the officer pulled onto my street.  that's speed, people!


well if this isn't an exciting end to friday the 13th and start to my weekend, i don't know what is.

{hot}

phew it's warm!  it's finally feeling like summer here in lex-vegas!

this past weekend was the derby!  i have loved the derby since i was a wee child.  i was the typical girl who absolutely wanted a pony more than anything in the world (this was pretty much the only girly thing about me as a child).  i read books about horses, took riding lessons, pretended anything i could sit on was a horse... you get the idea.  although i've accepted the fact that i am not destined to be a jockey or live on a horse farm and be surrounded by horses 24-7, i make watching the derby a priority each year.

this year, ian and i attempted our first derby pie.

my baker

and she's in!

finished product :)

add to the derby that i won a whopping $4 on animal kingdom :)

on another note, we got home today and noticed our townhouse is for sale!  awesome!  thanks for that notice, landlords (especially since i just resigned the lease today...)  ohhhhh the joys :)

{it's been a while! 'gomer'}

goodness... finals in grad school can be crazy!  i didn't even realize how tired and exhausted i was until after it was all over and all i've done this week is sleep!

so i haven't been able to think about much of what to blog, but today, one of my friends (and fellow bloggers, ashley... see her blog here... http://blurbsfromabeancounter.blogspot.com/ ) sent me a facebook message asking about hedgehogs.

hedgehogs, you ask?  well yes... you see, back in the day, my wonderful roommate, katie fort, drove me to cincinnati because i didn't have a car back then, and got me my little friend, fondly referred to as, gomer.

gomer!

he was such a fun pet!  he lived in a sterilite mansion in my little bedroom, was litter-box trained, loved to snuggle in hoodies, traveled all over to random places with me in a large purse (he even went to 608... he hated it b/c of the loudness, but he went...) and was a frequent visitor at preschool.  he was sometimes grumpy, and would often only let me pick him up (i can't say i was too disappointed... it's kind of nice to be someone's favorite, even if it IS only a hedgehog), and will forever be one of my 'interesting facts' for school (which strangely, i won't have to do much anymore!)

sadly, i had to give him away, and gomer went on to the giant wheel in the sky, but he will always be my most unique pet, and if anyone ever wants to give one away, i may or may not have to take him...