Friendships, Sadness and Strength

Do you ever really sit down and think about friendships and realize that some of your friendships are so strong that you just can’t imagine what life would be like without them? I find myself tonight reflecting upon a friendship and illness. I found out today that one of my lifelong friends has cancer. It is in the beginning stage and right now, we don’t have a lot of information. She will find out more later in the month as to the procedures and treatment that she will need to fight this awful disease. It sounds like since it was caught early, she shouldn’t die. But what if she does? I’ve been great friends with her almost my entire life. We’ve had so many conversations about raising families together, seeing our children grow up together, etc. I am deeply saddened that such a sweet person has to go through that battle and what she must be thinking in her head. I don’t want to be selfish but it makes me want to spend as much time as possible with her in case the worst happens. I’m trying to think positive and think that if someone is going to beat it, she will. She is one of the strongest women that I know. She’s always been there for me when I needed her and I’m going to be there for her. I don’t care what it takes. No one should go through that battle alone. I can’t even imagine what she must be going through, what she is thinking and what her fears are. I’m sure she’s scared and wondering why this has to happen to her? The cause of this kind of cancer is not known and apparently, the number of women with this cancer has grown drastically in the last 10 years.
I’ve never really had a close friend die. It’s always been an older family member, etc. So when I think about what it would be like if she wasn’t here, how it would feel to bury a friend and how I wouldn’t be able to see her anymore, it makes me want to ball my eyes out. So I’m sitting here with a million questions and wondering what the future is going to bring… I just pray that I can be a strong enough friend to help her get through this battle and when she beats it, we can sit back and feel peace with it. She’ll be in my prayers constantly…

Flashback Friday (By popular demand!)

So I know it's not Friday but its technically my Friday at work so I'm going to post this anyways. I have received multiple emails asking what happened to the Flashback Friday episode so I promise that I will be better at posting in the future... So here it is:

This photo is of my two best friends who live in Traverse City, MI: Sarah Lennon and Amanda Adams. These two girls were my very first friends when I moved there. We worked together at Tom's Food Markets. They are sisters and I always felt like I was a third sister. I miss you all so much and can't wait until I can come see you.

Recipes passed on from a friend...

Kimberly’s Banana Pudding
5 Bananas, sliced1 14 oz Can Eagle Brand (Sweetened Condensed Milk)1 Large Cool Whip1 Large Instant Vanilla Pudding3 Cups Whole Milk1 Box of Vanilla Wafers1 tsp. Vanilla ExtractTrifle Bowl or a REALLY deep dish (much prettier in a trifle bowl)Directions:-Put entire box of Vanilla Wafers on the bottom of a deep dish.-Take can of Eagle Brand, 1 tsp. of Vanilla Extract & ½ of the large carton of Cool Whip and blend it all together.-In a second bowl, mix instant vanilla pudding & 3 cups of Milk.-Fold the two mixes together by hand (the pudding mix & Eagle Brand mix)-Pour HALF of this mixture on the layer of wafers -Put all of the sliced bananas on top of the layer of pudding mixture-Put the other half of the pudding mixture on top of the sliced bananas-Finish with the other half of the Cool Whip on top.- Chill and Serve!
Notes:I have found that this recipe makes a bit too much pudding mixture, so when I get to the step after layering the sliced bananas, I do not use the entire other half of the pudding mixture. Since I don’t like for it to be too sweet, I use a little over ¼ of it. Just make sure you taste it, and modify it according to your desires.

Mini Cucumber Sandwiches Recipe
Ingredients:1 8-oz package Cream Cheese, Softened¼ cup of Sour Cream¼ teaspoon Salt1 teaspoon fresh chopped Dill¼ cup finely diced sweet Onion20 thinly sliced white sandwich bread slices1 Large English Cucumber (seedless cucumbers) or 2 Cucumbers, thinly sliced20 thinly sliced wheat sandwich bread slicesDirections:-In a medium mixing bowl stir the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add the salt, dill, and diced onion. -Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the white bread slices. Top the cream cheese mixture with one slice of cucumber, then top with the wheat bread slices.-Slice the sandwiches in half diagonally or cut with your favorite cookie or biscuit cutter.-Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 3 hours before serving. -Makes 20 Servings.
Notes:I buy Pepperidge Farm “Very Thin Sliced” bread in the bread section of the grocery store. This brand has both white and wheat varieties and they fit perfectly together for this recipe (buy one loaf of wheat and one loaf of white) Sometimes I add one really thin slice of turkey if I am serving them around lunch-time. Using a really sharp cookie-cutter or a biscuit cutter makes them look the prettiest!

My current book

A friend told me about this book and said that she thought I might find it interesting. Well, I'm still in the first chapter but so far, not understanding why she though I would like it. We'll have to see what happens in the next few but I sure hope it gets better...

The Cheesecake Factory experience...

Yes, that's right. We finally had the opportunity to have the Cheesecake Factory experience! As any of you who have been there know, it is some of the most delicious amazing cheesecake I've ever set my eyes on. Roger had the shepherds pie and I had the beer-battered fish and chips which were delicious as well... Then he had the White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle cheesecake and I had the Banana Creme Cheesecake. Both were very good but very very sweet. We ended up taking home quite a bit of the food. I do recommend it to those who haven't been but be forewarned: it's quite spendy!

It's been a crazy week...

Well I bet that some of you are wondering what on earth has happened to me since I haven't posted very much this week. It's been a crazy week. I spent time getting some of those chores done around the house that I've been wanting to do for some time. I also was trying to catch up on sleep but it has been very difficult. The weather is usually around 100 degrees and requires the window A/C upstairs to be running during the day while I am sleeping. Rylan seems to be getting into the "terrible two" stage and has been battling me on some issues like wanting to take a nap, eating ,etc... He doesn't seem to want to eat very much meat but is really craving fruits. I've also been making sure that he has been drinking some ice water since there are alot of stories in the news where children are becoming dehydrated with these high temperatures.

This week was also a learning experience for me as I tried to take Rylan swimming in the kiddie pool that we have. He was not enjoying that. I don't know if the water was too cold or what but I'll be trying it again this week sometime and will try to get photos.

This week is going to be a crazy week as well because my work schedule is off. I have to work on Tuesday night so that I can have Friday night off for the reunion weekend. I'm really not excited to work on Tuesday but what can I do. This coming weekend is the weekend of my 10 year high school reunion. I'm very excited to see everyone and just have a good time visiting and reminiscing the good old days. On Friday, I am going to be going to the Two Rivers Spa and have my nails done and get a pedicure. I haven't had nails and a pedicure in many years. I have this gift certificate from my OBGYN, Dr. Darin Weyhrich (who may I say is a GREAT doctor) and I've never used them. I will also be going back there on Saturday to get my hair and make up done for the reunion banquet. I'm so excited to be pampered.

This Saturday I will be going to the family picnic at 11am and then the banquet dinner at 7pm. I know there will be several people there that I haven't seen since our graduation party or the summer following graduation so I'm so stoked to see them. Roger and I went shopping today at Penney's because they had some great sales and we found him several different shirts that he can wear to the reunion. I'll be preparing my dress, jewelry, etc this week...

Well, other than that... nothing new here. I'll post more when I can. Have a good week!

Cute photos of Rylan

Rylan loves to play with the gaint exercise ball.

Rylan and Mommy

He also loves to put on Daddy's sandals and try to walk around the house... those are very heavy sandals so he doesn't get far but man, he's so cute trying.... Don't ya just love that smile?

I have my very first Watermelon!!!

I have my very first watermelon!!! I'm so excited. I can't wait to see how big it gets. I also have my first strawberries and my flowers are in bloom. I love summertime!!!

Can you believe that it's July already?!?!?!!

I can't believe that it is July 1st!! It's going to be Christmas before we know it and I'm not ready for that. Rylan is 20 months old on the 7th and he's growing up so fast. I'll be posting some photos later on today. Hope that everyone has a fabulous week! Happy 4th of July!

Blog search

So I need help and hoping that someone out there knows the answer. I was thinking that there has to be a way to search for a blog by the authors name. Does anyone know how???