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.