A General Update and LSU

I haven't had much time lately to blog, so I am going to give everyone a general update.

School... I have one more day at WCES until August!! This is bittersweet. The kids last day was last Friday, so it has been a peaceful week. However, I miss some of them so much! Luckily, Woodville isn't so big, so I have seen almost all of them since last Friday. I will be going to watch my boys play a little basketball tomorrow, so I will get to see a lot of them then!! This week has been a little slow... we get the week to pack up, fill out papers, etc. Since I already had most of that done, I have been using my time to get a jump start on homework... which brings me to .....

Grad School.... I officially started Monday, and I already have the "i am sick of school" attitude. I sure hope that changed soon, because I have 18 more months of school!
I take the GRE on Tuesday, and I am a lot nervous!

Church.... We are all set for Centri- Kid, and I am super excited to get there! I have a lot of work to do next week to nail things down for the summer, so I will be busy, busy, busy!!

American Idol - My pick won!! I have loved LEE since day one, and was super excited that he is this year's idol!!!

LSU......... Well if you follow LSU baseball, you will know that this hasn't been all we wanted it to be... They barely, and I mean BARELY, got into the SEC tourney (thank you Kentucky for losing that game, btw.). When I saw the announcement of who we would be playing first, I will admit, I became a little saddened. I think LSU is ranked last in the SEC tourney and we were going to have to play the #1 ranked team - Florida... Yesterday, I had a good feeling all day about the game. I got home, turned the radio to 98.1, and got myself ready to hear Jim Hawthorn announce the game. LSU was guest, and their first at bat flew by. Then Ranaudo took the mound and sat down the first three. It was then that I knew we would win! Our next at bat set the pace for the game.. We scored 5, and gained the momentum needed to win the game. The game was still going on when idol started, so I was running back and forth to the radio during commercials listening, watching 360 on my computer, and checking twitter on my phone every couple of seconds. It came down to a nail bitter, but LSU pulled it out and put Florida is the losers bracket!! I hope this LSU team is here to stay, and claim the SEC championship for the 3rd time in a row!!!

Jalapeno Cheese Dip

This is my new favorite dip! I think you should try it, too!!

Ingredients

2 fresh jalapenos, diced

1 cup of pickled jalapenos, roughly chopped

2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup of parmesan cheese, shredded

1 package of cream cheese, softened

8 oz. of sour cream

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, powder kind

1/2 panko bread crumbs

In a mixing bowl, combine jalapenos, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream. Spoon into a small baking dish. Mix together powdered parmesan cheese and panko. Sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 15- 20 or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with your favorite crackers or toast.

** will try to post a picture on Sunday

French Toast Casserole

This is a quick and easy (and really really good) breakfast casserole (there is just something about the word casserole that I do not like... not sure what, but I just do not like it).

Ingredients

Casserole
1 loaf of french bread, cut into slices
3 cups of mixed berries, fresh or frozen
1 box of cream cheese
12 eggs, beat
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
Powder Sugar, for decoration

Syrup
1 bag of frozen berries
the juice of one lemon
the zest of one lemon
1/2 cup of sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Stager slices of french bread into the casserole dish at an angle.
Scatter mixed berries on top of the bread, and in between the layers of bread.
Place dollops of cream cheese in between the layers of bread, as well.
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Pour liquid mixture evenly over bread.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the middle of the casserole isn't real jiggly.

*This picture was taken before it went into the oven.
In a medium saucepan, add mixed berries, lemon, and sugar.
Bring to a boil, stirring often.
Lower heat to low (1-2).
Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes or so, until the mixture has formed a syrup.

Serve a piece of french toast with a little syrup on top, dusted with powdered sugar.

***will try to remember to post a picture as soon as I take one of the finished plate.

Little Brenden Man

Brenden got something new... go figure : - )

It's a swing!!!!

He loves it!!

Here is a video, so that you can see how much he loves it!!

Brenden and His Swing

Enjoy!

Panther Basketball part 2

The Panthers went on to win the tournament Saturday. They are so excited and I am super proud.

It's a little scary how attached you can become to a group of kids.

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend! I thought I took equal amounts of pictures of each player, but apparently I didn't. I will try harder at the next game!

Congrats to the Panthers and their coaches!!

Shooting some free-throws! 

An action shot. 

More free throws. 

June and his poster...

Nak and Coo- Coo with Nak's poster. 

All of the boys will have posters for the next  game!! 

What would the Panthers do without their support team?? 

I think this was taken when Shelby was fussing at Mo for not being on beat with her clapping. This group is hilarious!! 

Peace and Geaux Panthers! 

Panther Basketball

I have spent several Saturdays this semester in St. Francisville and Baton Rouge watching a special group of boys play basketball. I'll have to admit, at first I was like ugh, I really do not want to drive to St. Fran.... but then after the first game, I was hooked. These boys are so competitive. They are also hilarious, smart, and so sweet (just do not tell them I used that adjective to describe them). I got to know these fellas in the classroom but became attached to them after watching them play basketball. I have parents asking me at all of the games how I let the boys talk me into coming to see them, and the truth is, it doesn't take much begging.

They have moved on from the st. fran league and are now playing AAU. They haven't won an AAU game until today. I finally was able to make it to one of these games bright and early this morning and had the privilege of seeing them win the first one. They went on to win the rest of their games today and will play for the championship tomorrow. I took a few pictures today and played with them on picnik. Here are my results.

The team and coaches! 

The team right after they won their first game of the day.

Peace and Geaux Panthers.