Sausage Cream Cheese Rolls

I am leaving tomorrow...actually in just a couple of hours for Washington DC. I wanted to cook something as a thank you for my friends who are taking care of Cody while I 'm gone. I definitely went with Buffalo Chicken Dip right away. Then I also thought it might be nice to include a breakfast treat so I decided to make Sausage Cream Cheese Rolls. These are so easy and so yummy...I had to sneak one for a taste test!

1 pound sausage

8 oz. package cream cheese

2 cans crescent rolls.

Brown sausage, drain and pour into a mixing bowl

Add soften cream cheese and mix with sausage

Roll out crescent rolls on ungreased cookie sheet

Top each crescent with a spoonful of sausage/cream cheese mixture

Roll up crescents from the bottom and return to ungreased cookie sheet

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until crescents begin to get golden brown

Delicious!!

No time in the kitchen would be complete without the help of my kitche helper, Cody

Still Living the Good Life

I am going to Washington D.C. in a couple of days. Of course, the only part I'm not looking forward to is having to leave Cody. Fortunately, my great friend Jason is going to take care of Cody while I'm gone. Jason has a boxer named Brooklyn so I'm sure she and Cody will be great friends by the time I get back. Cody is going to stay in a crate while Jason is not home so I'm trying to get him used to it. Now, this crate was designed for a much bigger dog, giving him plenty of room to move around and he has a blanket, pillows, toys, food and water in there with him. So don't worry, Cody is still living the good life, even if that Eeyore face says otherwise. I'm so blessed to have such great friends who will even take care of Cody. I won't worry about him one minute while I'm gone!

Can We Do It Again, Please?

There are some days that I think I could relive over and over and wouldn’t want to change a thing about them. This past Saturday was definitely one of those days. Friday night I went with a group of friends to Smith Lake. Friday night just enjoyed spending time together. We spent the whole day Saturday on the lake riding boats and Seadoos, tubing, swimming, and just enjoying being together. I am so blessed to have such great friends and I loved spending the day with them.

Sidenote: I did not go tubing. Several years ago (I was probably 10 years old or so), I was riding in a tube behind a Seadoo. This particular tube didn’t have a bottom so I was trying to figure out a more comfortable way to ride. I thought it would be a good idea to get in the tube straight up and down (think about a little kid who is floating around a pool in an innertube). My chest down was underneath the water. As soon as the Seadoo driver took off the innertube (with me stuck in it by my life jacket) and the rope was instantly sucked underwater. I have no idea what Law of Physics this falls under but apparently if the majority of your body weight is underwater when a Seadoo takes off, the rest of you quickly will be to. I have not ridden a tube in a lake since then. I’m thinking next time we go it will be time to conquer that fear. I went bungee jumping, surely I can ride a tube!

I left the lake early Saturday afternoon to come home for Laura’s wedding. Laura and I have taught together the last two year and I L-O-V-E that girl! Her wedding was in the beautiful Cathedral of Saint Paul in downtown Birmingham. As I have said before, I don’t just love my job because of my sweet students, but I also have the best coworkers in the world who have become close friends.

Laura won the award for Most Animated Teacher this year:

Are you surprised?!?! Like I said, I L-O-V-E this girl!

And only at Laura Madonia's wedding do the guests have:

Glow Bracelets!!!

One final parting shot:

We wanted a picture of Laura with all of our Special Ed. staff who was there. This is what we got. A nice couple sitting at the table next to us said that they would take our picture. Wasn't that sweet of them? Well, when they looked at it, they kinda looked at each other, shrugged, and handed the camera back to me. When I looked back at the picture this was what we had. Next time I will ask the photographer if they've ever used a camera before....

Happy Father's Day!

Ten (not necessarily “top ten”, but still 10) Things You Should Know About My Dad:

10. He eats nothing with cheese…NOTHING…no pizza, lasagna, Mexican cheese dip, NOTHING!

9. He loves all things University of Alabama…this isn’t one of my favorite things about him, but you know we all have to overlook some flaws in people

8. He is the best roach killer ever….my dad would come running every time I screamed about a roach. Of course, it was a blood curdling scream so I’m sure he thought Freddy Kruger himself was breaking in the window, but still every time he killed the roach and flushed the remains

7. Patience…the man has incredible patience….he taught me how to drive…and endured the insurance affects of my driving skills in high school

6. The Yankees are his favorite baseball team…again, another flaw that I have learned to overlook (Go Cubs!)

5. My dad sees people he knows everywhere…airports, football stadiums, Broadway plays, whatever….

4. Not only does he see people he knows everywhere, he also sees people I know everywhere….and when I say sees people I know, he randomly starts a conversation with someone in a random place and through the course of conversation makes a connection either through high school, college, etc. and then says, “Do you know my kids?”

3. My dad’s final home improvement project was installing crown molding the night before I graduated from college…Why? Well, my mom was having a gradation lunch and it had to be done, but I am thankful that everyone survived that night. We are also very thankful now for handy men!

2. My dad’s favorite restaurant is Pete’s Famous Hot Dogs, not Sneaky Pete’s, Pete’s Famous…restaurant is probably a generous description….it is a small hallway with a screen door and no seating. Basically, you stand against a wall and just tell Pete how many hot dogs you want and how you want them. I will agree though, no question, the best hot dogs in Birmingham!

1. My dad fully believes in “making a joyful noise unto the Lord”….I wouldn’t even sit by him in church when I was little.

Really, I am fortunate to have such a great dad! I never have to question my dad’s love for me, Dawn, Kevin or my mom. Her serves God and his family daily and we love him very much!

Happy Father’s Day, Dad! Love you!

Seek, Search, Find!

Every Baptist church (well not just Baptist, I guess) has Vacation Bible School. I grew up going to Vacation Bible School every summer. I still remember the songs I learned – most of them complete with motions! But I have to say we have the best VBS ever now!

Vacation Bible School at Shades Mountain Baptist is a church wide event. Everyone gets involved and there’s a place for everyone to take part.

I have been so proud to serve with our Hand in Hand Special Needs Ministry the last several years. Hand in Hand grows every year. It is so much fun to see these special children learn more about how much God loves them and how special they truly are!

It is such a blessing to serve with people who share the same desire for children to know that they were created special and that they are loved so much!

Bible Verse Baseball -- hit the ball say a part of our verse

Seek, Search, Find God!

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

Happy Summer to You!

I love my job! I know I have mentioned this before, but I really love my job! There are definitely some challenging days but I have no doubt that I am doing exactly what God has intended for me to do. Of course I feel blessed to work with the kids I work with everyday. It’s not just the kids who make my job great. I could not choose better people to work with.
We love getting together to celebrate outside of school and what a better time for teacher to celebrate, than the beginning of summer?!?! We gathered at Kristie’s house to eat, hang out, laugh, tell stories AND….tie dye!!! Yep! We tie dyed t-shirts. Actually I tie dyed a pillow case because I forgot to buy a t-shirt.

I had no idea how easy tie dying was. There’s even a DVD that comes with the kit.

Kristie and Jessie are our lead teachers. I love being able to say, “I have no clue. Ask Krisite and Jessie!” Really, they are great…super organized…and good at making the tough decisions. They gave each of us cute little cross necklaces as an end of the year gift. Very thoughtful!

We got to choose our favorite cross necklaces.

We were each supposed to bring an appetizer to share. My “go to appetizer” is Buffalo Chicken Dip. I love all things buffalo style with ranch dressing!

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
½ cup blue cheese salad dressing or ranch salad dressing
½ cup buffalo sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (9.75 ounces) chicken

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir the cream cheese in 9 inch deep dish pie plate with fork or whisk until smooth. Stir in dressing, pepper sauce, and cheese. Stir in chicken. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir before serving.
I don’t have any pictures of the finished product, but trust me, it looks delish!

Tonight I had a little Buffalo Chicken Dip drama though. I rode with Erica and as we were driving and talking I noticed something on my leg. The chicken dip was pouring out of the pie dish. Being the resourceful girls that we are EP and I quickly started screaming, “What do we do? What do we do?” We ended up stopping at a gas station for paper towels and went to work getting Buffalo Chicken Dip off the seat, my leg, shorts, shirt, purse and the side of the dish.

All smiles after the Buffalo Chicken Dip Incident...