Our lake weekend getaway

I prayed for this...

I prayed for a weekend of no baseball and sunshine.

The forecast all week showed that this weekend was going to be nothing but rain clouds and storms... and despite the fact that I was glad that we finally had time to get away to spend time together as a little family of five... I was disappointed with the weather.

So, I prayed.

Because my momma taught me that God listens to even the littlest prayers.

We woke to rain softly falling outside.
I had prepared for this... I had packed card games, just in case.

The rain lessened but it was SO cold and damp...
It didn't stop the kids though.

Richard then took us out on the gator... and was crazy enough to let the kids drive!

We found a beautiful little bird's nest.

Then Todd and Lois started their craziness of cooking...

Course 1
Crab Cakes and Saffron Risotto served with Mango/Pineapple Salsa and Grilled Sausages.

Course 2
A lemon cake with lavender buttercream that I made...  Some chose to eat it with Vanilla bean ice cream.

Then as if it was planned... the clouds went away, it got REALLY warm... so we headed out on the lake. (Thank you dear Lord for hearing small prayers)
The kids had fun!

And then we all just laid in the sun

We headed back to eat more...
Todd out did himself once again...

Course 3
Chicken Roulade stuffed with Prosciutto, Gorgonzola, Asparagus, Sweet Bells and Sage served with Caramelized Cremini Mushrooms and a Marsala Cream with Sun Dried Tomatoes. Garnished with Chive Blossoms and Crisped Sage.

We had a wonderfully relaxing (filling) weekend!!

Beekeeping - 1 week in

So... I have become obsessive about beekeeping.
I read about them consonantly.

I figured if I'm going to do this, I'm going to be good at it.

My bees are going through 1 quart jar of sugar water every 2 days.

They have started to make and fill cells...
From my beekeeping group, they tell me that the cells shown are filled with pollen and honey.

I didn't know to take pictures down by the bottom which is I guess the babies will be... I will do that next time...

But I did find my queen!!!!

Beekeeping - Day 1

I had never planned to be a beekeeper.

Sure, I love it every year in May when I call my beekeeper friend on the phone to invite him to come to summer school and he says, "I've been waiting for your phone call."

I love all of the cool things he has taught me about bees...
But I never planned to be a beekeeper.

Todd back when he was planning on buying his land would bring up different topics:
Pigs.
Fruit trees.
Goats.
Berry bushes.
Chickens.

On all of them, I just smiled and said how much work they would be... or how he didn't know what he was getting himself into (esp. goats).

I know he was just trying to get me as excited about the future he is planning as he was.
I've tried to explain the none of my futures have panned out and I'm done planning for them... what comes, comes.
So, he jumped on the beekeeping bandwagon when he saw how excited it made me.

Really, truly, it made me excited because I had learned so much over the past 5-6 years with my beekeeping friend and I wanted to share my knowledge...
Never did I think it would land me in charge of 10,000 bees.

But here I am...

So, to prepare myself, I painted the hive.

Then, I tried on my bee suit.

So, today I drove to get the bees...
When I stopped to take this picture, the people selling the bees asked if I was second-guessing my decision to get bees...

I didn't have an option... Beekeeping, here I come.

First, I opened the nuc box.

Then, I pulled out the queen's box.  Her servants were surrounding her.

Then, I poured them in... Who knew you could pour bees...

I was happy that things went smoothly.

They quickly started coming in and out of the hive.

I stood in awe.
The buzzing.
Buzzing. Buzzing. Buzzing.
The calmness the buzzing brought.
I could have stood there all night.
Bees coming and going around me.
Not caring that I had just moved them to a new home.
Not caring that I kept peeking inside.

Yes.  I had no plans of becoming a beekeeper...
...but now, now there is no going back from it.

Just what I needed

You know you have one of those moments where, in your head, you are just like, "Wow."

Yeah... I had several moments like that this weekend.

Let's start out with the first...
I am someone who tries not to be judgmental.  I preach it to my students that differences are the best things about us.

However, I was raised in a pretty conservative part of the country... and even though I speak, "Don't be judgmental." Sometimes... I have judged books by their cover.  I'm not proud of it, just stating a reality.

Dating Todd...Well... dating Todd has open my eyes to things that I needed my eyes opened to.
In the past, I probably wouldn't have dated a guy like Todd because he isn't as fit as he should be... but it doesn't change the compassion in his heart or the way he makes me laugh.

Man, we laugh SO hard!

This weekend we went to stay with his buddy, Wes.
When you look at Wes, what you see is someone who is overweight, bald headed, and completely covered in tattoos.
But what you should really be seeing is the fact that Wes is an amazing guy who is compassionate and hospitable and who is one day going to make an INCREDIBLE counselor to lost teens!!

That first "Wow!" moment hit me pretty hard and fast... and honestly made me feel pretty awful.

The second one came at dinner.  Wes said something along the lines of me being "WAY out of Todd's league." I proceeded to tell Wes that I don't believe in leagues... and that I am slowly learning my lesson to date the nice guys.

... it made me learn that the street runs both ways.  I'm being judged just as much for the outside as Wes is...

The next Wow! came when Todd drove around the block 3 times just so I could get the perfect picture of the opera house that I wanted.  I didn't even ask him... He just knew I didn't get a good picture, so he kept driving around.

Sure, I would do that on my own...
But all the guys in the past that I have been with would have done one of two things:
1. Not stopped at all for the picture
2. Circled once and when I missed the shot, basically would have told me to deal with it.

The last Wow! was just the fact that when either Todd or I saw something that interested us, we stopped.
We had no agenda, no schedule, just fun.  This is how I love to travel,,, and it is nice to be with someone who feels the same.

We took a Boulevard brewery tasting tour. (Even though I don't drink beer, I had fun.)

We ate authentic KC BBQ.

We played darts.

We ate in a quaint little cafe.

We stopped for cheddar mushroom brats and beef jerky.

Yep.  This weekend was just what I needed in so many ways...

The Windy City is more than wind

Todd's birthday was this weekend.
He wanted to celebrate big.
I wanted him to celebrate big.

So... when he suggested we go and stay with his best friend, Matt and his wife, Shannon, who was I to say no??

(You should know I have always been a go-er.  Even as a kid if someone was just going into town to wal-mart, I was sure to tag along!!)

Chicago stole my heart a few years ago, so any chance to go back is a chance I'm going to take!!

We left right after my school meeting and ate crazy gas station food on the way.

We arrived well after dark.

We woke up the next morning to the sound of this...  

But nothing could dampen my spirits because it was Todd's birthday!!

I decorated this cake at home 2 nights before and had done everything in my powers to NOT let him know.

When he opened it, he almost dumped it out of the box because he thought it was a plaque to hang on the wall... I guess, I did good. :)

Over the mountain and through the woods

Well... to say things with the new guy are going well would be an understatement.

This weekend we spent some time hiking over the land he is getting ready to buy.

He keeps including me in his "future plans" like with the house that he plans to build on this land he is planning on purchasing... but it's scary to me as well... and I've told him this.

That in the past any "future plans" that were made in any of my relationships have gone awry.

In the midst of it all, I have gotten used to not making future plans to ensure I don't get hurt.

So, today, I'm not thinking about "future plans" I'm just enjoying the hike over the mountain and through the woods...