Mom's Famous Cornbread

Yes, here is the BEST recipe if you love soft and sweet, superbly moist, and simply scrumptious cornbread! Caution: extremely tasty and may cause overeating...bake at own risk :)



Sweet and Moist Cornbread

4 cups Bisquick
2 cups Cornmeal
1 1/2 - 2 cups Cottage Cheese
2 Eggs
1 cup Sugar



**Mix above ingredients. Add milk to make consistency of a batter similar to thick cake mix**



Put batter in a greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Or you can half the recipe and bake in an 8 x 8 glass dish.


Bake @ 350* 30-40 min.

6 month updates

Wowzers. Our little peanut is not so little anymore!

Over the weekend, Kensie flipped to the 6 month chapter in her little life. In celebration of this momentous occasion, I found this adorable swimsuit from Target which I of course couldn't resist from buying (only $7 ok?). Annnnnd it was time for my own swimsuit upgrade--> Mom Hides Stretch Marks 6.0. Ok, not your grandmothers suit that I know you are ALL picturing. Just a tankini that's more my age. I had way too many bikinis that I wouldn't wear now even if they DID fit. I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20. Let's dress like it please.

Ok, moving on -->

My sweet sister and her husband came to stay for the weekend! It's been getting harder lately to get together, and we SO appreciated having them for a few days. Dave and Greg worked on finishing our mudroom and other various house projects while Lauren and I took walks with Kensie, sat by the fireplace, laughed at funny stories, and had time just to catch-up on life.

Saturday afternoon we made the boys take a work break, and ventured to the nearest Aquatic Center. For only living 6 blocks from an indoor pool, it's taken us over a year to finally try it out. In short, it was a huge hit. I'm not sure if Kensie or the boys liked it more. But, I have never seen such grown men act like little 12 year olds splashing around, racing each other on obstacle courses, and eagerly waiting in line to go down the slide...or wait, have I?

It was a nice taste of summer for sure. And I have a feeling you will find us at the pool on a regular basis between now and REAL summer.


**Oh, and Kensie has also graduated to baby food! I have the cutest video, but couldn't upload it. Stupid slow internet....we brought it upon ourselves I know. Anyway, she loves her green bean and carrots for now and babbles the whole time (especially when she REALLY likes what she's eating).

Well, Ta-Ta for now!

Volleyball Part II

To read Part I go here

Commitments can be intimidating. It requires showing up consistently, giving 100% effort, and investing emotionally. Or in better terms, I found the following definition from Urban Dictionary. I think you will agree it sums up commitment well:

Commitment is what
Transforms the promise into reality.
It is the words that speak
Boldly of your intentions.
And the actions which speak
Louder than the words.
It is making the time
When there is none.
Coming through time
After time after time,
Year after year after year.
Commitment is the stuff
Character is made of;
The power to change
The face of things.
It is the daily triumph
Of integrity over skepticism.

If I commit to something, I give everything I have. As a result, I am hesitant to commit to a lot of things at once. I have a tendency to see things as black and white, all or nothing, hot or cold.

I'm fairly certain you see where this is headed. This relationship with volleyball I had was a commitment. The kind perfectly described above. One that I devoted my life to. One that I never stopped pursuing. And, one that treated me very well up until 3 years ago.

It all started with the idea of playing overseas upon graduation ('05). To get things going, I contacted an organization that focuses on placing VB players into a professional career after completing their collegiate careers. I then went on a 10 day trip (through the same organization) to Spain in the Spring ('06). It was a "taste" of what playing professional VB would be like. We traveled, tried different foods, engaged in the culture, practiced in a variety of gyms, and played matches against teams all over the country. Some players were even recruited right then and there to play on a team the next season. By the end of the trip I was set on the idea of making this adventure happen....and hopefully in Spain, I thought....I can picture myself here. After all, I DID take two years of Spanish in high school.

So, I worked extremely hard all summer to get into top physical shape. I ran hills (lots of them). I did some serious sweating in the weight room (and if you know me, you know I sweat a lot). I found empty gyms wherever I could to do some ball handling. I even practiced a few times with my Alma mater. And then I waited. Waited for a phone call.

During all of this I was also coaching the most amazing club team I have ever been a part of. There were 9 girls on this 17's team, and wow, were they somethin'. I think we won almost every match we played that season, made it to Nationals in Atlanta and placed 5th overall. It definitely was a boost of confidence as a coach. I'll be honest though I didn't have to do much. These girls were good enough on their own. I think a 5th grader could have coached them and they STILL would have killed everyone who crossed their path. Anyway, it was literally the day after I returned from Nationals (July 5th, '06), with plaque in hand, I temporarily forgot about my dream to play in Spain. Then, my phone rang...

"Hello?"

"Really?!"

"Wait...where?"

"Maribor, SLOVENIA?? Where is that?!?"

"No, sounds great...uh huh...ok...sure...we'll see you then!"

A few weeks later I was set to fly out in August to meet up with several other players from the states hoping to fulfill the same dream I had....to hang on to every last bit of their VB career that they could.

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I should also mention how extremely supportive Greg was in ALL of this. He was hesitant in the beginning, but wanted me to fully embrace this opportunity. As young newlyweds (only married for 1 year at this point in the story), I was (and still am) so grateful for a husband who insists that I pursue my dreams. And on top of it, he was able to be with me for {most of} the 9 months that we lived overseas. We also owe a lot to Greg's family business for "letting" him go, and offering him a job upon returning. What a supportive family we have; we are eternally grateful.

Remember this?

I hemmed this roman shade over 6 months ago..

I wanted to use the leftover two panels for another project, but it took a while to think of something. Thanks to my lovely mother-in-law we collaborated and came up with the idea of making an organizer to go above the changing table. I had wanted to do something with Kensie's name as well, so I spelled her name out on the top panel, and sewed a strip of fabric to make pockets for the bottom panel. All I needed to make this project were the two leftover panels, one extra curtain that already matched her room, and a few decorative buttons to accent the pockets. I think these would make adorable gifts! What do you think?

I will say I did not particularly enjoy cutting all the letters out...a bit tedious. And next time, I would pick a background color to trim around the letters so you could read it a little easier. But, if you want to try it yourself here's what I did:

Found a font on the computer I liked. Printed it off in the largest size I could (like 800 or something). Cut each letter out. Pinned each letter to the fabric. Proceeded to cut them out with fabric scissors. Like I said. Tedious. Then I simply ironed each letter on with stitch witchery (found at any fabric store). I left the edges of the fabric raw, but it still looks pretty clean I think.

If you have a better way, go for it!

Here's a view so you can see the pockets. I can't say I use them as much as I thought, but I DO like having a place to put her bows. Color coordinated of course. :)

Volleyball Part I

So, I have this relationship with volleyball. It started when I was...uh...can't remember. My Dad has always been a volleyball coach, and it's difficult to recall the first time I ever touched a ball.
I DO (however) have memories of setting the ball back and forth while sitting cross-legged on the living room floor...playing pepper in the backyard...and tagging along to every practice and game my Dad ever took me to.

Dad pretty much taught me everything he knows, and I owe most of my accomplishments to him. Even though he coached me all the way through high school and 3 years in college...we were able to make the father/daughter and coach/player relationship work. We left volleyball on the court and home life at home. He was extra hard on me in practices, but for valid reasons. He knew the other players would think I was being favored if he wasn't careful. I understood, and so I worked my tail off running extra sprints, taking the heat in time-outs, and being made an "example of" in drills.

Once I hit the 6th grade I was playing on my first organized club volleyball team. After that the years went by pretty fast and all the tournaments, sweaty practices, tough sprints, wins, losses, and gyms blur together into what people refer to as a "volleyball career". .

Every Fall season for about 13 years I was a part of a team set out to accomplish whatever goal it was for that particular year. Beat our school rival. Win Districts. Win Conference. Get to the State tournament. Make it to Nationals. And I set out to make personal accomplishments as well. Be the best hitter. Get better stats. Make fewer mistakes. Be first in every sprint. Hustle more. Be a team captain. Some years the goals were met. Other years they weren't. Teams changed, coaches changed (in club), schools changed, and I battled to improve every area of my game. And for many years volleyball remained my close companion. We were like peas in a pod.

Even as I sit here I get goosebumps reliving some of those memories. There were so many great highlights....I wish I could list them all!

So, me and VB went through high school, college and then took our relationship to the "next level"...overseas. And THAT, my friends, is when our relationship got a little out of whack. I had just graduated from college, got married that summer (simultaneously my parents were splitting up), and I had just finished coaching my first high school varsity girls VB team. I was looking for an escape. I couldn't deal with the fact that my VB career was officially over (coaching was torture...I just wanted to get back on the court), or the fact that my family was divided and going in separate directions. So this looked like the answer. I could keep playing the sport I so desperately loved, take my new found husband with me, travel all over Europe, and run from every problem I could think of...or so I thought.

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I'm hoping to make this a 3 part series...maybe more. There are lots of details in the next Part so bear with me. Hopefully this gives you a better understanding of how this area of my life was affected by so many things, and how so many things affected IT. My struggle with perfectionism. My perspective of self-worth. My need for approval. And even more how it eventually brought me closer to the Lord...

Disappointment

The last couple of days it has been bright and sunny, with fresh white snow, glistening icicles dripping from rooftops and well....just simply beautiful. I absolutely love winter on these splendid days! The sun has been pouring through the whole house. I hardly need to turn any lights on until nightfall!

However, life has not been so bright in my life this week. I've been dealing with lots of disappointments lately. It seems like every day, someone or something falls short of my expectation. I think I can count at least 5 major situations where I was left thinking, "Man (!) that person is so selfish...or Man (!) am I just completely outnumbered?....or Man (!) that did NOT go as I had planned!

In each situation I am left feeling so angry and annoyed. Yet, I know the "right" thing to do is remember that God feels the same way when I disappoint Him....blah blah blah. I just want to be MAD ok? I wish I could flip a switch and do the "right" thing. But it's so hard. I just want to get even sometimes....arrggg!

I know God is trying to teach me patience, and unselfishness. In fact, this week lines up perfectly with last weeks bible study. A significant portion of the study was about what we do when others disappoint us. I wrote down all the answers I just knew I would do when the time came. Well, now's your chance Shannon....walk the talk!

The red dress

I had this big, elaborate plan of surprising Greg when he came home last night

wearing the dress above /\

making a delicious homemade dinner (complimented with sparkling cider)

and setting the mood below \/ of rose petals and candlelight....

with Frank Sinatra faintly playing in the background.

Dreamy right?

Well, as life has been lately...Greg worked ALL day Saturday (beginning at 5am) and had no promise of coming home at a descent hour. And as I have learned in the past, there is little point in "guessing" when he will arrive home (due to the nature of the business). So, instead of trying to keep a meal warm, sucking my stomach in while wearing that dress, and watching the clock to no avail.....I decided to scrap it, and wait until I heard from him with a definite arrival time.

To my surprise, he called at 4:30 saying he was on the way home. Hooray! Except, I had no meal prepared, and as far as my appearance....well I showered at least (!) and was wearing my [nicer-looking] sweats. And on top of it, there was no babysitter lined up for the evening.

But, I have learned that Greg would rather have a happy, home(y) wife, instead of a stressed out, fancy wife.

So, Greg took a quick shower. We threw Kensie in the car seat. I brushed my hair and spruced up my makeup. And we headed out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Just the 3 of us.

Kensie fussed the last half of the meal, so we scarfed down the rest of our food, headed home and put her to bed by 7:30.

It was not what I had pictured for a special Valentines night, but at least we had some movie-watching, cuddle-couch time after Kensie went to bed :). Comfy sweats and all.