My Very Favorite Kid In The World

My sweet 2 1/2 year old nephew, Rett, is growing up so fast. I love this age, he's in that stage where he wants to copy everything you do, talk to you on the phone, he still loves to snuggle and I say "I you" (his way of saying I love you).

He is all boy that's for sure. He loves hunting, tractors, boats, animals, throwing a softball, lawnmowers, the color blue, Mickey Mouse and peanut butter m&m's. When he was at my parents recently, he was playing on a big pile of dirt my dad had hauled in for our barn. Rett climbed up on top of the pile of dirt and said, "I'm king of the mountain. I'm a BOY!"

What really warms my heart is how sweet he is. He always tells me "I you Ninny" before we get off the phone. He shares with others, has pretty good manners for a two year old and definitely knows to say thank you and yes ma'am.

He loves coming to stay at our house, partly because he has his own room and partly because he gets to stay up late and eat whatever he wants. I can't wait for his next visit! I think I'm going to have him help me plant some flowers in the yard...wait, that might not be "boy" enough...better
just let him mow the yard with Jason!

Hometown Rodeo

Recently we attended my hometown livestock show and rodeo in Humble. I grew up showing animals and preparing jellies, cakes and pies for this very same event each year. My sisters and I traveled across the state showing lambs, pigs and steers at every opportunity. This was really a family affair. You get to know each other really well when you travel from Humble, TX to Muleshoe, TX in search of next year's lambs and pigs to show - that's about a 12 hour ride in the truck!

This year the 2010 Humble Livestock Show and Rodeo was dedicated to my parents. It was such an honor in our small town (or what used to be small). My parents have continued to sponsor FFA and 4-H students with their livestock projects, my Dad buys multiple animals each year at the auction, and my Mom puts together Special Kids Day each year the show (a program for handicapped students in the area to come out and learn more about the 4-H livestock projects, reaching over 1,000 students).

It was truly a special honor because 7 years ago the same show and rodeo was dedicated to my grandparents, who were also big supporters. I was very proud of my Mom and Dad! They have taught me so much about being an active, responsible and caring citizen in your community. Plus, they were the youngest recipients of this honor! They have inspired me to become more involved in my community.

Here's a photo (not a very good one unfortunately) of our family at the Livestock Auction where my parents, sisters and I were asked to speak about the honor and the 4-H/FFA programs. Of course we're laughing, it's hard to be serious with a 2 year old nephew who wants to grab the microphone!!

Happy Valentines! (A day late)

We don't make too much of a fuss about Valentines in our house. Flowers, a card and a nice dinner somewhere is about all. This year we were out of town for Valentines so we will be "pretending" that today is actually Valentines. I think most importantly it's a day to say, "I love you" and "I appreciate you". On October 6, 2007 I married Jason Roller. Thank God for bringing him into my life! Here are a few photos of our perfect day :)

One of my favorite things about Jason is his ability to make me laugh everyday. He did not fail on our wedding day - take a look at this one!

Funny, right? And just so it doesn't seem like I'm not being fair...here's a funny one of me too!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines, and to my Valentine - I love you and I appreciate you!

Hamilton, VA

With Northern Virginia in the news so much lately because of all this snow, it's had me reminiscing about our days there. Jason and I both lived in Northern Virginia for about 4 years. When we decided to get married we started searching for a place to live and by chance one of the 4-H families I worked with (the Murray's) had just bought about 55 acres in Loudoun County with a house. They were planning on renting the house and offered for us to take and look and see if we would be interested. We did and immediately began to think --how can we make this work? It would be a long commute for Jason but a very short commute for me, and since I worked lots of nights and weekends we decided it was worth it. We would be able to live in a house not an apartment, and the house sat on 50 plus acres! It was a beautiful and peaceful place to start our lives together. The town of Hamilton is pretty small - just west a few miles of Leesburg (where I worked) and about 45 minutes west of D.C.

Hamilton definitely had a small town feel...one post office, one gas station, a general store and two restaurants. One of our favorite places to go was Lowry's Crab Shack, especially in the summer. We would sit outside and eat fresh seafood and have some drinks. The Lowry family was so nice to us whenever we came in. They were big supporters of the 4-H program.

They also owned the Hamilton General Store where they sold things like old fashioned sodas, locally grown vegetables, homemade soaps and much more.

We loved the small town feel of Hamilton, but what was most enjoyable was our friendship with Murray family. They had all of their livestock out at the barn and pastures next to our house. Everyday their kids, Adam and Emily, would come to take care of their projects. Their parents were always out there with them, working alongside their kids. It reminded me of my 4-H and FFA days. What responsibility and dedication it teaches! As well as serving as an avenue for family bonding. I truly enjoyed getting to know the Murray's and they continue to be friends of ours. I hope all friends up north are staying safe and warm!!

Super Bowl Fun

To be honest I'm not a fan of professional football, I prefer to watch college football but when the super bowl rolls around I'm all about it for two reasons - the commercials and the snacks! This year we are attending a superbowl party with some friends and have been asked to bring a dish. My usual football food - queso, spinach artichoke dip, jalapenos wrapped in bacon have already been assigned to others who are coming. Any suggestions on what to bring?

Jason is a bit disappointed I won't be fixing spinach artichoke dip (he loves it) and it's something I've worked on over the years so that it tastes just like the dip we used to have at a bar called Jake's next to Purdue's campus. On a side note, we loved hanging out at Jake's for great drink specials, free peanuts and free hot dogs (umm...ok, Jason liked the hot dogs, I'm not a fan). Ahh...Purdue memories, such fun times!

I could never find Jake's recipe for spinach artichoke dip or get anyone who worked there to share it but over the years I think I've gotten pretty close! Here's my recipe for Spinach Artichoke dip, if you have any football friendly recipes to share I would love to know!


1 package frozen chopped spinach
2 cans artichoke hearts
1 cup sour cream
1 cup real mayonaisse
1 package cream cheese
1 cup parmesean/romano shredded blend (this is made by Kraft and comes in a plastic container usually found in the refrigerated cheese section)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic salt
Olive oil
chips/crackers for serving

Coat your baking dish with olive oil. Defrost spinach in the microwave and drain several times to get all the water out. Chop artichoke hearts. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour into baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Serve warm.

Comfort Food

A few weeks ago we had some really cold weather in San Antonio. Unusually cold for this far South. When I was preparing my grocery list with those chilly temperatures (which I do by category - produce, frozen, canned good, etc.) I found that I was wanting to make things like chicken and dumplings, chili and of course lasagna! Jason's favorite thing I cook is lasagna. This isn't any ordinary lasagna - it has a twist. My recipe includes a cream cheese and green onion layer. It might sound strange at first but it is amazing!

This recipe was given to me by my Grandmother in a cookbook she prepared for me when I went off to college. She had been given this recipe from a friend. This recipe had been passed down for years in her friend's family. I have made some changes to the recipe over the years to suit Jason.

This is definitely comfort food in our house!

The first thing I usually start with is getting the cream cheese out of the refrigerator so it can get to room temperature, then I start on the sauce.

I put cream cheese, sour cream and green onions in my mixer with a little milk to help it mix really well.

I didn't include photos of all the steps to make this but here's the final product before Jason got a hold of it!

Below is the recipe, let me know if you try it and how well it goes over in your house!

Lasagna
1 1/2 lb. hamburger 1 box lasagna noodles
1 box mushrooms 1/2 stick butter
1 onion (chopped) 1 small can tomato paste
1tsp.basil 1 tsp. oregano
1 bunch green onions (chopped) 4 chopped garlic cloves
1 pkg. cream cheese Garlic salt
1 large carton sour cream 2 pkgs. mozarella cheese 1 jar Ragu

In skillet saute onion, garlic, mushrooms in butter. In pot, combine Ragu, paste, oregano and basil. Brown hamburger with seasoning of garlic salt. Combine cooked and drained hamburger in pot with sauce and onion/garlic/mushrooms. Bring sauce to low boil and then turn to simmer and cover. Boil lasagna noodles 10-12 minutes. Drain, rinse and cool. Chop green onions and mix with mixer to sour cream and cream cheese. Place noodles and sauce in layers. In the middle smooth cream cheese mixture. Top with mozarella cheese. Place in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and melted. ENJOY!!

A Science Experiment

This summer I inherited my Great-Grandmother's silver tea service. Unfortunately, it was badly tarnished. I tried everything to make it look presentable - TarnX, silver cream, and about 3 other silver cleaners. Nothing seemed to do the trick and my hands were too tired to keep trying! I contemplated having a professional try to clean the pieces or possibly getting it replated. Before I sought professional help I did some goggling. Don't you love Goggle? And I can across this link. You need aluminum foil, salt, baking soda, hot water, clean towel and some silver polishing cream. The combination of the salt, aluminum foil and water creates a chemical reaction known as ion exchange. The ion exchange causes the tarnish on the silver to be transferred to the foil!

Here's a before picture of one of the silver pieces:

Basically I followed these steps.

1. Layered my sink with aluminum foil and filled it with hot water.

2. Added two tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of baking soda.

3. Placed one silver piece at a time in the water.

4. The instructions called for 5 minutes per piece - it took mine at least 1-2 hours per piece.

5. Removed silver from the water and wiped down with a clean towel and then used silver cream polish.

6. Tarnish GONE!!!

* I did have to repeat this entire process for each piece, I think the foil starts to collect too much tarnish so you have to start over.

* for the silver trays I used a bathtub!

Here's the after photo:

Not completely perfect but such an improvement! I'm so happy to have this wonderful set from my Great-Grandmother. I am displaying it in our dining room on an antique tea cart I bought in Canton for $40.

YEA for ion exchange! Haha :) If you know of any other tips let me know, I'm currently working on cleaning up a pair of brass buffet lamps with crystals and I'm having a hard time getting the brass clean. I'll post pictures when I get them all cleaned up!

A Great Holiday

We spent the holidays traveling around visiting family. We had a great time in Humble with my family celebrating from December 23-26. My extended family on my Dad's side gets together on December 23rd every year to celebrate Christmas at my Aunt Janet's house. Jason and I drove in after work and made it there just in time to enjoy some homemade chili, tamales, dips, and of course my Aunt's amazing pecan pie. We also have a great time enjoying some adult beverages and a bit of gambling! Just a dice game we play every year. This year I won the cash! Here's a picture of all the cousins playing 4 to the Left, 5 to the Right....that's what I think it's called anyway.

We had a great time on Christmas day with my family. It was so wonderful to see Rett open all his gifts. He got a train set and the large table it sits on. Unfortunately that was his first gift so he wasn't too interested after that but we had a great time watching him play with Thomas the Train!


On December 26th Jason and I flew to Virginia to be with his family until January 3rd. With so many days in town we were able to see Kelly and Brendan's new home, visit old friends in Loudoun County, visit friends in Staunton and of course see all of the Rollers and extended family. We celebrated with his extended family on the 27th and spent a wonderful New Year's Eve at Matt & Elizabeth's house. We really enjoyed seeing everyone and we still had a White Christmas. Here's some of the fun from New Year's Eve...Matt had his Ipod going so there's a good chance the guys are singing to REK.