Power bars & other goodies

Okay, I have been a really BAD blogger. National Boards part 2 are coming up in 2 days (please say a prayer for me that I pass, it's okay I can wait... Go ahead...), so that is consuming most of my time and I guess I have put blogging on the back burner. I am enjoying a nice, somewhat relaxing time at home for Thanksgiving break. I am still studying but I don't have to juggle clinic with it so I can blog once again.

A few weeks ago I blogged about a road trip with Erin & Megan, well Julianne & Derrick were going in that direction too, so I put together a big goodie bag for all of us to take on the journey. I made rice crispy treats with dark chocolate M&Ms and some with peanut butter M&Ms, spicy pretzels and power bars (this is a new recipe from a cookbook I got for my birthday).

Power Bars from Famous Name Brand Baking

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling, I used tart cherries without any sugar syrup but just water.
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• Beat butter and brown sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Combine flour, oats and baking soda. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; mix on low speed until crumbly.
• Spread two-thirds of oat mixture into bottom of ungreased 13×9×2-inch baking pan. Press down to form crust. Process cherry filling in food processor or blender until smooth. Pour into medium saucepan. Combine granulated sugar and cornstarch; stir into cherry filling. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in almond extract. Pour cherry mixture over oat layer; spread evenly. Top with remaining oat mixture. I used 2 cans of 14.5-oz cherry filing so I did 2 layers.
• Bake in preheated 325°F oven 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before cutting. Yummy little power bars in muffin cups to make it easier to eat
  

Happy Birthday Laura!

I want to wish a very happy birthday to one of my best(est) friends, Laura. She is a fellow blogger and she also has an up and coming custom stationary business. I hope she has a wonderful birthday with her family. It is so nice of them to all get together and make a huge dinner for her on her birthday :)

Happy birthday Laura. Welcome to your last year of your twenties... We are going to make it the best year of our twenties yet! Love you!

Happy Birthday Lydia Grace!

It was 1 year ago today that Lydia Grace blessed us with her presence in the world. I am blessed to have so many nieces and a nephew, not by blood, but by heart. It has been a joy to see her grow up and start to play with all the other little ones around. I wish I could be there for her party today but yet again I am stuck in Memphis. I can't wait to see pictures of her diving into her cake! I love you Lydia!

1 day old - of course she had a K-State hate on in the hospital!

Holding Lydia for the first time

I just love these pictures of her in a field of sunflowers. Her expressions are too cute!

This is a video of Lydia just a day old. You can here her "coo" if you listen real close.

Road Trip!

Over the weekend, thanks to some good ol' EtOH, I was able to persuade (or make appealing) the idea of driving almost 5 hours to see O.A.R. live in Fayetteville, AR and then to drive back that very night. Megan has seen them a couple times and loved them and for my dear friend Erin she had never gotten to see them in Memphis or anywhere else, so this was a chance she did not want to pass up. I still can't believe it happened as easy as it did. Erin, Megan & I left Memphis at about 2:30 and arrived in F-ville about 7:30. After some bumps in the road we made it.

This is me an Erin waiting for Megan Megan rolling up to pick us up
Action shot!
Kids, don't try this at home, putting on eyeliner while in a moving vehicle
Who knows how many cups of coffee this is for Megan
It was a long drive but all worth it once Marc and the boys came out

Enjoying the tantalizing sounds of O.A.R.
I only wish everyone could experience O.A.R., they are very entertaining not to mention amazing
The best part was I got to surprise Julianne & Megan in the ladies bathroom. They didn't have a clue I was coming. The looks on their faces was priceless!Erin, Megan & MeIn the parking lot at University of Arkansas getting ready to make the 5 hour trek back home. It was a great spontaneous trip girls. Thank you so much for going and being completely sleep deprived today... Seriously 2 hours is just not enough.The last song before the encore was Joe Cocker's song "With a little help from my friend" sang with the opening band Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights. Check it out!