Brunch with Friends!

So this is what I made for breakfast this morning! Yum!!!!!! As you can see, half of it is missing, and man was it good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (recipe, below) I love Monkey Bread! My mom used to make it for me all of the time, growing up! I have never made it, but decided it was time to try when Ashley Jamison invited us to a brunch at her house. Do you think I got a picture of us at brunch??? No....I forgot! Ashley did take a picture with her camera, but I don't have it, so no picture to post, sorry! I'm soooo bad about taking pictures. Maybe if I actually had an i-phone, i'd take more, but I don't. I'm working on getting a new phone for Valentine's Day...if somebody would TAKE A HINT! We'll see how that goes....

Anyway, about the brunch. We had a great turnout! The guests were...Ashley, Jill Hicks, Valerie Hendrix, Lana Summitt, Amanda Burroughs, Lindsey Holbert, me, and Callie Lillard! It was sooo fun visiting with everyone again. We all live close, yet, we rarely see each other. We reminisced about college days...and we laughed A LOT! Ashley was cracking us up! So glad we got together!

Thanks Ashley for opening your home to us!!!! I loved it! As for everyone else, thanks for coming! I enjoyed seeing everyone! Love you guys! Let's do it again before another year passes...i don't mind opening up my home for the next one!

Loving my friends today,
Carrie

Ps. Did I mention it was absolutely gorgeous outside today...and 70 degrees???



If you would like the Monkey Bread recipe, and aren't on a diet...here it is:

4 cans of refrigerated biscuits (I used Pillsbury, 4 pack)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt cake pan with Pam (i used a lot so it wouldn't stick). Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a gallon size freezer bag. Break apart refrigerated biscuits into quarters with your hands. Put about 8-10 pieces in the sugar/cinnamon mixture and coat. Remove and put in the bundt pan. Repeat until all biscuits pieces have been coated. Then melt the butter and brown sugar and stir together until smooth. Pour over the biscuits. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for about 5 minutes to cool. Dump biscuits onto a serving tray and serve warm! Delicious!

Busy, Busy Week!

So this week was quite busy...I did get Monday off to finish up a few household chores; however, I had to go out of town for work. Yes......ME.....out of town for work. Who Knew????

My Principal asked me, along with 3 other teachers, to attend a Leadership Conference with him. We went to Petit Jean Mountain on Tuesday morning to stay for the conference until Friday. It was great until they made us leave on Wednesday afternoon, due to inclement weather coming our way. We didn't want to get stuck up "On the Mountain" so we decided to head home early. I did enjoy the first 2 days we were there. We got to do lots of group activities, meet knew people, and learn a few things along the way. Since we already had substitutes signed up for our classes, we decided to still meet for our Conference, just in an alternate location, closer to home. So we were able to finish all of our work, just not "on the mountain." I really enjoyed learning how to be a leader in my school. We have a lot of great ideas and activities we are going to try on our Faculty, the remainder of the school year. Then, in July, we will go back to Petit Jean Mountain for a couple of days to share the things we were able to accompolish, etc.... Hopefully, that won't get cancelled because of inclement weather! If it does in July, we have major problems! So, even though I wasn't at school teaching all week, I was still very busy working and discussing ways to improve my school! Let's just hope my room isn't a disaster after being gone all week. Who knows how they acted with a substitute, especially for 4 days!!! I've never missed that many days in a row...only Monday will be able to tell...I did tell my kids I would give them something edible if I got a good note...we'll see if that worked!

Enjoying my Saturday, sleeping in, while the husband tries to kill us some ducks. YIPPEE! Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Carrie

Snow Days!

So I updated my blog background, FINALLY!!! I'm not very creative so when I find something that works, I stick with it....FOREVER! But the recent change in weather has inspired me to do so. The picture you now see is like two years old, but I liked it...it's fitting for the season. Hunter and I really want to go snow skiing over my spring break, so maybe this picture will be the motivation he needs to plan the trip.

I have not played in the snow, yet. I've just observed it from my windows and front door. I don't have dogs or kids to play with me, and my hubby is at work, so i'll just enjoy the view. It's really okay with me that I haven't played in it....I grew up in Indiana, so believe me, I've played in tons of snow for many years. In fact, I find it hilarious every year we get snow in Arkansas...you think the end of the world is coming. Hunter and I were at Kroger when the snow JUST started to fall and man, it was packed! People were loading up like they'd die of starvation if they couldn't go to the store for like 2 days. And everything shuts down...I LOVE that everything shuts down, especially my job. I couldn't go to work even if I wanted to...it would be locked. Another perk of being a teacher...

So i'm spending my days watching tv/movies, blogging, cooking, and sleeping in. Not too shabby! I've showered, but decided there is no reason to wear makeup or get dressed for the day...yes!

Hope you guys are safe out there in the snow...I'm pretty sure it will melt a lot, today, and I'm hoping to return to school tomorrow. 2 days is enough...we'll see!

Carrie

Jamaica Trip!

Our family Christmas trip to Jamaica was AMAZING! I had sooooo much fun and hated to leave. I would totally reccommend the resort we stayed at. It was called Secrets St. James and Wild Orchid. They are sister resorts so you can stay at either one and then use all of the pools and restaurants. We stayed on the St. James side, which is a little bit more quiet. This is a picture of our hotel from the beach!














And here is a picture of the view from our balcony...beautiful!














Our room was really nice, too! It felt like my honeymoon all over again. Hunter and I had our own room with a fully stocked mini-bar. They came in our room every evening to turn down the bed and put on these "mood" lights, haha! They left chocolates on our pillows.



























The first day we were there, it was a little chilly and cloudy, but the next two days totally made up for it!! We spent the days laying on the beach, and of course eating plenty (it was all-inclusive, duh!).















We went to a nice restaurant every evening, and the food was really good. I liked everything I ordered! The Jamaican Jerk chicken was incredible too...everyday at lunchtime, a man would push a cart and scream "Jerky, Jerky, Jerky, Jerkaaaaayyyyyy!" And you could go get a plate of the chicken...mmmmm, yummy, and spicy, too! Here is us at the Italian restaurant...














But our favorite was the Japanese restaurant...cooked by a Jamaican! He was hilarious!














After dinner, we went to the entertainment they provided...Here is a show where they sang and danced called Reggae Love! It was really good...and at the end, they taught us several Jamaican dance moves. We all had to stand up and do it with them...and they told us that these dance moves are the reason why Jamaica is so over-populated, ha! It was hilarious...wish I had pictures of that!














We also sang Karaoke...or shall I say, I sang karaoke! Like a Virgin...(oh Madonna)














We also went snorkeling on our trip...it was great! Our guide took us all over and showed us everything. I got to hold a Sea Cucumber, touch various wildlife on the reefs, and keep a few shells in the process. The water and fish were beautiful. Ahh...Jamaica...I love you!


























Needless to say, we had a GREAT VACATION! Loved every minute of it. Good food, good service, wonderful scenery, short flight, all-inclusive...enough said! I'll drink to that...














Christmas in Jamaica was awesome...they say that Jamaica is dangerous so don't venture off of the resort. We only left the resort to travel to and from the airport. I never feld unsafe. They provided transportation, and our hotel was only 15 minutes from the Montego Bay airport. My brother-in-law used the hotel transportation to travel to Margaritaville one evening, and he was fine! It was such a great resort and Jamaica is breathtaking...wanna go???? I'd reccommend it...and we sang the entire time...

Jamaica we have a bobsled team!