New Goal

Well, I made it 31 days in a row with my "year of posts" challenge. It has been fun to come up with things to put on here; some thoughts I want recorded for future use, and other things "just because". I've realized just how much I love to write! If I have the right audience and/or the right topic, there's just no stopping me. However, I have realized just how much time I spend blogging these days. Granted, I'm recording things that I do want to remember later, so it's not really a bad thing, but I'm going to shift my focus just a bit. I've decided to edit my goal (because, well, it is my goal) and commit to blogging at least once a week. Of course, if I have something to say, I'll post more frequently.
And before I go...can we all take a moment to watch January slip away...where did it go?!?! I'm shocked that we're already heading into February.

Cinnamon Rolls

On Sunday I got the baking bug...I just had a need to bake bread so I made a batch of cinnamon rolls. The pan wasn't big enough to fit all of them in, so I used the left over cinnamon roll log and made a loaf.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

We had a dip night on Thursday with our ward. I searched high and low for a really great recipe...you know the kind that is really easy, tastes incredible, and leaves the bowl completely empty. Well, I found it! Enjoy!

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce or Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce (I used the buffalo wind sauce)

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cans (12.5 oz each) Swanson White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in water, drained

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

Mix in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and cheese. Sitr in chicken.

Bake 20 minutes or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

*Notes*

1. Mix the cream cheese, salad dressing and hot sauce in a bowl, then add remaining ingredients and the pour entire mixture into baking dish. One extra bowl equals a LOT less mess...trust me on this one!

2. You will maintain the title of "Dip Hero" as long as you bring this dip! You may not want to let it slip just how easy it is. Wait a minute...what did I just do???

Popcorn

The other day I decided to treat myself to a bag of popcorn as an afternoon snack at work. I put my bag in the microwave and when I opened the door, this is what I found. 

Thankfully the popcorn that stayed in the bag tasted pretty good!

Making Decisions

Another quote find on Pinterest! This is amazing advice and I think this is going to become my personal mantra. There are times when I have big decisions to make that I know what I want to do and become, and like clockwork, once the decision is made, there is always at least one person that has to come out and say "no, you don't want to do that", or they want to question you as to why you came to that decision. There have been times where I've listened to that other person instead of to what I wanted. However, there have also been times where I heard the reasoning behind what the person was saying, and then was able to evaluate my decision and it further solidified in my mind the reasons I came to that decision. Regardless of the situation, I can look back over my life and I have no regrets as to how things have turned out. Granted, things haven't turned out at all like I had planned, but they have turned out like they should have. I know that amid all of my thoughts and decisions, Heavenly Father, through the promptings of the Holy Ghost, has guided and directed me as needed, though I have felt at times that He has let me go on my own, knowing that I was on the right path. That gives me confidence to continue making decisions; small decisions and BIG decisions.
Also, we went and saw the movie "We Bought a Zoo" the other night and it contains my new favorite quote: "You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it." So, here's to courage. The courage to make decisions. The courage to follow your heart. The courage to move forward!

Road trip

I talk to my parents almost every single day. I talk to my dad on the way to work and I talk to my mom on the way home. It gives us a chance to fill each other in on the happenings of our lives and keeps us close, even though we are across the country. Randomly as we're talking I'll think of a memory and this is one that I had last week.
I was talking with my dad and I remembered the first time Lori was leaving for college. We were living in PA and had to make the hour long drive to the airport to drop her and mom off. On the way back home, dad and I were talking and he said that he wished we could go and see Uncle Tom in West Virginia. I said that it sounded like fun and didn't think much of it. That was the beginning. He was completely serious about his suggestion and so we called a friend to watch the dog for the weekend, we went home and packed on overnight bag, and we were on the road within the hour. We had such a fun trip. I think it was a 7 hour drive each way, but it was such a great trip. As an adult, I value that time I had with him and realize now what a treasured experience it really was.

Bucket List - Part II

I have this amazing mother who supports me and all of my ideas, however, she is also my voice of reason when I've gone too far. One of the items on my bucket list was to ride horseback on a beach. I was talking with her yesterday and she said she liked everything on my list except for that one and then followed with the voice of reason. She reminded me that after my back surgery, the doctor told me to NEVER do two things: 1 - gymnastics and 2 - horseback riding. So, for medical reasons (and if I'm being completely honest, fear - but mostly medical reasons) I have removed this from my list and have replaced it with the following: Make all recipes from Josi Kilpack's Culinary Mystery series. That should keep me busy for quite a while!

Also, I have added my bucket list to my side bar so I can easily track my progress (or guilt myself, whichever comes first).