Exploring

How much are you loving this amazing weather?  Do you remember when you were a kid and when you got home from school in the springtime and the first thing you did was to run inside and change into your play clothes?  There is nothing better than coming home from a long day at work, putting on my "play clothes" and going for a walk with my husband.  We have been taking full advantage of the parks and walking areas in the downtown area that we live in.  We are just wondering why it took us so long to discover them in the first place!

Last week, we went for a several mile walk almost afternoon.  The time change has been wonderful, because I still have several hours of daylight when I finally get home.  A friend told me about some walking trails down from our house a while back and so we set out to see what it was all about!

Most of the trail is paved and it goes by this awesome little dog park.  Daniel and I like to stop and watch the pups play.  We also contemplate the fact that we are possibly the only people in our town that do not have a dog!  We saw this couple with two Great Danes and they were possible the largest dogs I have ever seen!  They were up to my chest!  

Not sure I could handle that big of a canine.

Skipping rocks!

 Daniel taught me the art of rock skipping.  Its a science I swear!  

I tried it once with success, failed the second time around and decided to leave it there.  

At least I was batting .500 at that point.

Hershey Kiss anyone?

 We had so much fun on our walks.  It's what I look forward too each day that I come home and Daniel does not have to work.  Looking forward to summertime now!  

Have a GREAT WEEK!  26 days left of my internship!  15 days until my unit is due!

I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN

Can I Have S'mores?

I've never had a s'more.  Yes its sad, but true.  Well, true until around 9 o'clock last night when Mr. Pennington hooked me up an awesome toaster oven version of the delicious campfire treat.  

It was amazing.  

How did I live 24 years without this delicious treat in my life?

It's Monday... which means back to work again.  I hope you all have a fantastic week and I personally am looking forward to the phenomenal weather forecast this week... can we say high of 75??  Mr. P and I are heading out for a little walk/exploring time this afternoon, so I'll be sure to snap some fun shots for tomorrow.  Exploring your new hometown is so much fun! 

Lady Antebellum CD= $0.25

I was checking out The Krazy Coupon Lady today and saw this rockin' deal.

Lady Antebellum's "Own The Night" CD for $0.25!

Twenty-five cents!!! Can you believe that deal???

I'm not sure how long this deal is on for, so click here to get your copy.

Happy Friday!

Cheesy Beef and Noodle Casserole

I'm not overly set on the name of this recipe, but its a pretty accurate description of the meal.  A few weeks ago when I made Farmhouse Muffins I had a large batch of spaghetti sauce leftover intentionally so I could make spaghetti casserole the next night.  Well the next night rolled around and for some reason I was not feeling spaghetti noodles or we didn't have any one so I threw in a little rotini and changed up the casserole.  It turned out amazing!  You truly cannot beat homemade spaghetti sauce, noodles of any kind, and CHEESE!!  Yummy!

I can't take credit for my spaghetti sauce, but I sure will give it to my mom.  She makes making spaghetti sauce look like and art and you will not be disappointed if you try this.  I use this sauce for pretty much everything: spaghetti, chili, sloppy joe's, farmhouse muffins, etc.  The only thing that changes from recipe to recipe is the amount of liquid... no one wants runny sloppy joe's :(


Mom's Famous Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb. ground beef (add salt and pepper to taste)
1 can tomato soup
1 can water
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tsp. garlic powder
Peppers and Onions (optional, but delicious)

Brown hamburger and drain off excess grease.  Add the remaining ingredients, stir, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Easy Peasey Lemon Squeezy

Now for my casserole...


Cheesy Beef and Noodle Casserole
While spaghetti sauce is simmering, boil pasta and combine with sauce when al dente.  Pour in casserole dish and top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Eat.

You better bet I made more than one trip to the casserole dish

T-minus 33 days and counting until I complete my internship... In the famous words of the Little Engine that Could.... "I think I can, I think I can"

ABC easy as 123

I have really been wanting to blog more, but also you noticed the number of post since January are well... limited.  I must say life is not too exciting these days, because I am knee deep in my internship, but I am so happy that its going really well and it will all be over soon.  Getting paid to teach will be so much better I think!

I saw this cool idea over on Ruthie Hart's blog today and I thought I would give it a try!  Its called ABC.  Feel free to respond with you ABC's, especially if we share any of the them!

Age and/or Anniversary: 24, August 6, 2011

Bed size: full... it is the world's tiniest bed for two :(

Chocolate: yes please, what lady doesn't like it... milk chocolate

Dessert: Frozen yogurt, anything strawberry, and hershey bar cake

Ethnic background: White... My ancestors are from Sweden, Switzerland & England

Fear: Heights... it gets worse the older I get 

Graduation: Highschool: 2005, College: 2009, Grad School: 2012!

Home cooked meal: My mom makes the best chicken pastry, green beans, and baked cornbread

Instruments: Completely  incompetent at music

Job title: No job currently, I work at my internship site full time (student teacher)

Kids: Not right now, eventually though :)

Laughs: Daniel's family guy impersonations get me every time!

Middle name: Lauren

Natural hair color: Dark blonde

Overnight hospital stays: None thankfully

Pastime: In a previous life... tennis, scrapbooking, the beach, shopping, movies

Quote: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt

Right or left handed: Right 

Siblings: Handsome little (18 years! yikes where does time go?) brother

T.V. Show: House Hunters, The Office, Downton Abbey

Unique gift: My engagement ring... its very vintage and absolutely gorgeous

Vacation spot I love: Disney World!! Is there any place more magical?

Weather right now: 41 and cloudy :( the weather is such a tease here

X-Rays: Only of my left hand

Yummy meal I make: I make a mean Chicken & Biscuits

Zoo Animal: Love, love, love the sea otters.  I love to see them frolic and play!

In other news, today is our 7 month wedding anniversary!  Time is flying by and it makes me so sad... I feel like the years will be gone before we know it.  On the other hand though, I am the happiest and luckiest girl in the world.  Next week will mark 7 years that we have been together and I am so glad I asked his name all those years ago!  I'll leave you with a few of my favorite shots from the wedding.

Happy Tuesday!

Finding A Church

Hello to you all...  Yes, I am in fact still alive.  Graduate school may be slowly sucking the life out of me, but only 37 days of school stand between me and graduation!  I can do it!

Now to you poor readers who I have completely neglected... I am sorry.  I will try to do better, but one should not make promises they cannot keep, so lets leave it at try.  I wanted to take a little time to talk about something that Mr. Pennington and I have been up to lately... finding a new church.

When we met (way back in 2005) we were attending at church that was truly the perfect environment for nurturing our young souls.  Once we graduate high school and started college, we visited a few other churches and often times I went with my mom to my home church.  Well when we got married and moved to a new city it was a whole new challenge to find a church.

Back when we were little bits

Luckily, we didn't move too far away from our hometowns, so people were able to suggest a few places.  We tried out a place here and there, but nothing seemed to click.  Have you guys experienced trying to find a new church?  Its a tough decision, because we want to be committed to a church that can foster our growth in Christ and as a newly married couple.  Meeting people at church has proved to be difficult too.  Smaller churches are a little easy, because new people stick out.  At large churches though, no one knows if your new or not and it can be a challenge.

With all this being said, I think we have found a church we like and this Sunday they had an amazing guest worship leader named Casey Darnell visit.  Casey is a worship pastor at on of the campuses of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia which also happend to be the church of one amazing pastor named Andy Stanley.  Casey truly blessed the worship at church this morning and I think Mr. Pennington and I are really starting to enjoy it there.  If you get a chance check out some of Casey's music here.

So guys, have you found finding a new church to be a challenge?  Do you have any advice about searching for a new church?  Happy Sunday and I hope you have an amazing week (especially if your my husband who is on spring break and likes to rub it in my face!).