Bountiful Baskets

I don't know how long it's been that our brother & sister in law have tried to get us to sign up for Bountiful Baskets...but after finally giving in and trying it I would say it was too long! I'll admit, I have gotten pretty excited and had a lot of fun trying to find ways to use the goodies from our basket. One of our latest experiences was using the diakon we were given (it's like a white radish, from Japan) ---we ended up putting it in a stir-fry and I took a liking to eating it raw.


Another trial I've faced was finding a way to use the 6-8 sweet potatoes we were given, and the only reason this was tricky is because Brad does not like them--and I wasn't about to down all of those on my own. So against my taste buds better judgment I found a recipe and gave it a try. And that recipe was for muffins. A Sweet Potato-Banana muffin. (Maybe not news to some people, but I didn't know such things existed). And they. are. AWESOME. And the best part is, Brad even likes them! Yahoo, mission accomplished! You can check out the recipe here, (which is from a website dedicated solely to North Carolina Sweet Potatoes) if you're interested in trying them yourself. I substituted cinnamon for the Allspice.

I am excited to see what this week's basket brings. I'm always up for a challenge. Bring it on!

(And thanks to Dave and Jana, and a few others, for insisting we give this all a shot!)

A Quarter of a Century

It's true. It was my 25th birthday last week. And I have lived to tell about it.

I had a great day, with my side of the family coming over the night before to celebrate. For the occasion I made these oh-so-Erica-esque cupcakes to share. (Brad family is doing a combined bday party for Tom and myself this weekend, and I'm excited to get to see all of them then).


The morning of my birthday I woke up to Brad making me a yummy French Toast & bacon breakfast. We followed that up with a trip to the Peppermint Place--which happened to be having a way-to-good sale on their candy and chocolates. I was literally a kid in a candy store!
Afterward, Brad had to go to school for a few hrs so I worked on a graduation announcement and when he returned we headed out for a night on the town--which included going to the theater to see The Lincoln Lawyer (good movie--and I'm not just sayin that cause Matthew Mc-hottie-hey is in it), dinner at Goodwood & then a trip back home to grab Charlie and head to the duck park to hang out for the rest of the evening.

While I'm not expert in life, there a few things I have learned in the quarter of a century of my little-world:

• Never be afraid to follow your dreams--no matter what that means (I know I've said that before).
• The older you get the more you appreciate your parents and everything they have done for you. I could never ask for a better friend than my mom, or a better role model than my dad. It's too bad it takes as long as it does to realize that--and some never do.
• After parting ways--in a sense--after highschool graduation, you will always miss your true friends--even when surrounded by others you love. Sometimes I find myself tearing up as I take strolls down memory lane, missing those two silly sisters who I was once totally and completely inseparable with until the craziness of "adult life" reared it's ugly head--whatever THAT is.
  
• When in an argument with someone you love, sometimes you just have to laugh it off and try to forget who is wrong or right. This usually, and often, happens when Brad realizes that I have said something really stupid in my attempt to make a point when I'm angry. Which of course makes me want to be even more angry, but it's pretty much impossible to take the topic seriously after that.
  
• Family--and those few amazing friends---are absolutely irreplaceable and often taken for granted.
  
• True love is someone who still agrees to sleep in the same bed as you even when you do crazy things in your sleep---and REAL true love is someone who will laugh with you about it at 3AM after waking you up to tell you what you did or said. EVEN ON A WEEKNIGHT.
  
• Money isn't everything. Who woulda thought!? ;)