Everyone needs a little Champaign...........

The city that is...... It's amazing to get away from Southern Illinois and surround yourself in a city that has fun restaurants, shops, resources. You know, finer amenities. I ran into Ten Thousand Villages before I left for home this afternoon. This shop is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by artisans from more than 130 artisan groups in 38 countries. The proceeds go back to their villages and communites. I wanted this hand woven basket and carried it around for a while. Then I saw this bag and I put the basket back. It is a hand woven bag from Bangladesh by a group of women who started weaving these bags for their community. It's huge! I can't wait to use it at the grocery store. It's better than having 7 or 8 of the fabric bags. I swear all of our groceries will fit in this one bag. I then went to Cakes on Walnut. It's a cupcake bar with very unique cupcake flavors. I got a Khalua one and a lavendar honey one. They were fantastic! So I'm finally home. It was so nice to get away even by myself! I made a lot of great contacts and did several in-services. I'm excited to see the results that might come through this trip!

A night with an old friend......

Here are the pictures of the other night when Renee and I went out for dinner. We went to the most amazing restaurant in uptown Normal. It was called Medici. The servers have "Obama eats here" on the back on their shirts. I asked what that was about and she told me that he eats at the Chicago location! We ate a delicious dinner and reminisced about the college days. We went back to her home where her 2 sons were quietly sitting eating their evening snack. They were the most well behaved little boys I have ever met. I'm not surprised though. Renee and Tim are such great parents. Tim watched the baby Mollie, Bennie, & Sammie while we ate. He is an amazing dad who was very happy to let his wife take a night off! Thanks Ren for our dinner date! Give the kids a hug from me!!!

Seriously, could we smile any harder??

Renee, Tim, and Mollie

The Kresel Boys, Bennie & Sammie

The t-shirts

This is the inside of the restaurant. This tree was beautiful!

Home Away From Home..............

This morning I traveled to Champaign for business. This evening I drove to Bloomington to have dinner with my old college roomate Renee. Some of you might not know that I went to school in Bloomington back in 2001. It was so amazing to think this was home for me for a couple of years. It felt great to be back. Even more wonderful was my time spent with Renee. She and I see each other about twice a year but we always pick up where we left off. Three weeks ago she and her husband Tim had Miss Molly Elizabeth, a beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her two older brothers! I took several pictures this evening but forgot my cord to upload. I will upload when I get home later in the week. Tonight we went to the most wonderful place for dinner. Thanks Renee for taking me out on the town. It was amazing to see your beautiful family again!!! Signing off from my favorite hotel in Champaign, the I Hotel!! Good night friends.

Mia Marie Meyer....

Miss Mia had her first photo shoot. Bella Pics is what they have at Mich's hospital. Seriously, why doesn't Carbondale have this?? Here are some pictures of this new family!

Baby Meyer is a................

GIRL!!!!! Everyone said that she was a boy the whole time. I knew she was in there. Miss Mia Meyer weighed in at 8lbs 5oz and 21 inches. Congratulations to the new Meyer Family!!!!!! I can't wait to see more pictures!!

Look what showed up in my inbox!

Andy was so kind to send me this picture of them last night at the hospital! Right now Michele is at 4cm and she is loving the epidural!

You asked for it, don't say I didn't warn you!

Pink Lemondae Cupcakes adapted from Confessions of a Foodie Bride

Next, I am trying out the Margarita Cupcake. I'll let you know how it works out! By the way these cupcakes were baked on Tuesday and they are all gone!

Here are my tips for this recipe. I only used 7 oz of the concentrate and 2 oz of water. The concentrate is pretty strong! But if you like that go for the full 9 oz! I also added 2 tbs of crisco to the frosting along with a little more salt to taste.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

1 1/8 cup (9 oz) frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate, thawed*

White cake mix (yes, the boxed stuff)

3 egg whites

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Non-stick spray1 recipe

* For a less tart cupcake (and these babies do pack a punch), try reducing the amount of pink lemonade. 3/8 cup water and 3/4 cup pink lemonade will cut the tartness.

In a stand mixer, add the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, and the pink lemonade concentrate. Mix on low for about 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed for 90 seconds (the batter will still be a bit lumpy; take care not to overmix so you don’t end up with dry cupcakes).Spray each cupcake liner with the non-stick spray and spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (fill the cups between 2/3 and 3/4 full). Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Watch because they dry out fast! Remove the cupcakes and cool completely on a baking rack. Once the cupcakes have cooled, make the icing and ice the cupcakes.
Lemon Buttercream Icing

3 cups + 3 Tbsp confectioners sugar

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1/8 tsp salt

2 Tbsp lemon

Add the butter, confectioners sugar, salt, lemon juice, and food coloring (if using) to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the icing is fluffy. Add the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a 2D tip and ice the cupcakes.

Why I keep visiting my fridge this evening...........

I made lemon bars on Monday. Ryan doesn't care for lemon so they are patiently sitting in my fridge begging to be eaten! Ahhh... I can't stop eating these things! They are so fantastic. Oh and by the way, my weight loss has come to a dramatic hault! Hmm... I wonder why? Damn gooey sugar, gets me every time!

Baby Meyer, what will you be?

Tonight my one of my best friend's from college is going into the hospital to be induced. Andy and Michele have waited 9 months to find out whether Baby Meyer is a boy or girl. My guess is a GIRL! She lives 5 hours away so it will be a while until I get to see the new family. I am anxiously waiting for the phone call to tell me who this new baby is!!!! I'll keep you posted! I went to the hospital today to visit someone and the lullaby ring came over the speakers twice alerting us to 2 new babies born today. I got a little teary eyed. Wish I could be there with you Mich. I'm sending warm and cozy thoughts to the both of you.

Craft of the week..

This evening I visited a fantastic antique store on my way home from work. I have been wanting to do this chalkboard craft for a long time and today I found some wonderful trays to try it out! All of the loot I got below was found in 2 booths that were marked 1/2 off! I bought 6 pieces of silver and two Ball Jars for $37.00! It was a steal!

I collect blue Ball Jars. I bought a 1/2 gallon one and an hinged lid oneSo this is what I did with one of my serving trays....

I painted it with chalkboard paint and

made some magnets out of seashells! I can't wait to

use this for different holidays and birthdays! Super Cute!!

My inspiration of the day........

Pink Lemonade..... the perfect drink for hot summer days.

I turned this fabulous drink into CUPCAKES!! Let me tell you, they are fantastic!! Pink Lemonade cupcakes with lemon zest buttercream frosting! Seriously, how am I suppose to lose weight when all I do is bake?

A 5k in St. Louis

My friend Lindsey and I ran the first ever St. Louis MLB AllStar 5k today! It benefited 3 cancer foundations. The woman who founded the Susan G. Komen foundation was there to speak prior to the race. She told us that when her sister died of breast cancer she promised her that she would fight to end cancer. Look what an amazing and huge foundation it has become! It was pretty moving. ( I cried at least 3 times prior to the race and once during it! I'm pretty sure I was freaking Lindsey out!) There were lots of families running in memory of loved ones lost to cancer. One was running for their little boy. That's when I lost it. The most amazing part is that over 8,000 people ran!!!! How crazy is that??? I shaved off 1 minute from my last race, 34 mins. Lindsey as always, finished way before me at 27 mins. She's awesome. The guys came up to cheer us on and to of course snap photos. It was an awesome weekend. My next goal is to run the 10k they have in STL at Halloween. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Doing some pre-race drinking. Pretty sure this is what most athletes do.

Lindsey talked me into joining her night before a race

ritual. Drinking some Metamucil. I can't say that it worked as well as I hoped! I had to snap this photo. Our hotel was amazing

and huge! I love the size comparison of Lindsey to our windows!This was at the start of the race. People were lined up farther than I could see behind us!Ugh.... Flattering picture of me crossing the finishline. Yikes.Us after the race with our fancy participant medals. Our after race eating at Cracker Barrel Eli and Lindsey

What's for dinner?

We made homemade pizzas for dinner. I did a pesto, feta, pine nut, green onion, & tomato pizza. Ry made a hamburger, mushroom, green pepper, & red onion one. Mine was FANTASTIC! I keep sneaking to the fridge for another little bite. Hope your dinner was yummy too!

"Just Fix It"

Today my director, business manager, and I attended the Human Service rally in downtown Carbondale. Hundreds of people came to listen to directors of social service agencies speak about the fate of their organizations if the state proceeds with huge funding cuts. My company is a non for profit that depends on state funding to operate. Our company will see massive layoffs, salaries slashed, and programs cut if the budget is passed. Citizens who are developmentally disabled will be out of work, housing, and assistance. Women and children who seek shelter at the Women's Center will have to go elsewhere when physical and sexual abuse effects them. People who are suffering from substance and alcohol abuse will have to go out of state for treatment because our centers will be shutdown. Unemployment will rise to an all time high and create an even bigger deficit. It makes my blood boil to know that so many people will be affected if something doesn't happen. It was an emotional day. If you live in Illinois contact your State Representative and let them know that thousands of people will be devistated if something isn't done.

View of behind me

The most heart wrenching sign of the day.

Yard Sale

On Saturday Angie and I had a FANTASTIC yard sale. We only had one shoplifter! She stole this Mr. Hankey (South Park Character) doll.

Seriously of all the things to steal! I made a whopping $477.oo!! It was a super hot day but the people came in droves!! Thank you Angie for letting us set up at your house. It was a successful day!!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Poppy. He came into my life when I was four. He loved me like I was his own the rest of my life. He would do anything for me and I am so proud that he is my dad. When Ry and I have kids, he will be the first in line to spoil the pants off the child. He already is in love with the "pickle cutter" a little brown haired girl we call Maddy. A cute side note about my parents and how they met, she walked into the room at a local Herrin "watering hole" (which my mom said was her first and last time there) and my dad said to the man next to him, "I'm going to marry that woman". He stills says she is the most beautiful woman he has ever met. Isn't that great?

Happy Father's Day Poppy. Happy Father's day to Ryan's dad and my awesome father in law. There is nothing that Dave doesn't know how to do. He is a pharmacist, a mechanic, a builder (of everything including his house), King of Ebay, a comedian, and a wonderful father. He has always been by Ryan's side whenever we have needed help, even when he was really sick. Over the past five years that I have been in the family he has always been there to help me before I could even ask. He and Angie are best friends and it's awesome to see their 28 years of marriage. We love you!

Happy Birthday Jackson!

The Parrish's threw a big celebration yesterday for Jack's 1st birthday. His birthday is actually on Wednesday but weekend celebrations are so much easier. The house was decorated to the hilt in Barney, Jack's favorite. Apparently, Jack is the only one in the U.S. that likes Barney anymore. Katie had to go to great lengths to get Mylar balloons and even a cake with the purple dinosaur adorned on it! The food was amazing! Especially the pea salsa that Katie made and a veggie burger that she got for my picky eating, very thoughtful! Jack was in a great mood and seems to LOVE cake. Scroll below.........

Edible Arrangement that was beautiful!

This is Barney on a tricycleJack's very own baby cake Jack spotted Barney on his cake and went for it!
And now for the cake loving shot! He really liked the icing!

A little time with Jack........

On Friday afternoon I stopped by Katies House to drop off something. While I was there I persuaded her to let me take Jack off her hands while she ran around preparing for Jacks first birthday on Saturday. Jack and I played hard at my house and then it was off to my parents house (Where my mom showed him how to play catch and my dad played a horrible game of "Go ahead and hit me with the remote because it's funny"). I am fully convinced that children don't care about toys at this age. With all the toys he had in his bag he was fully entranced by the big yellow bowl with the two mixing spoons. What is it with all my friends children having ridiculously good behavior? He did nothing but laugh and smile the whole time I had him! I'm going to chuck it up to the excellent parenting. Let's hope that their skills someday rub off on me!

We were mixing sippy cup and a cellphone making a delicious concoction.

He chased Little Kitty around the house. Finally he came

around wanting to play. Displaying his good manners, Jack offered some apple

juice to the furry thing. (Katie don't worry, LK did not

actually touch the cup. He just smelled it!)

Seriously, how boring are we?

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks! It's not because I don't want to. It's just because life is just chugging along with nothing to post! Sorry life has become a little boring around the Farley household lately!

Feed a Cold Starve a Fever?

Everyone around me has been sick with the Southern Illinois allergy bug. I was secretly gloating to myself last week about how I never get sick and that allgeries is something I've never had to struggle with. My husband struggles enough for the both of us! Yesterday morning I woke up to a hoarse voice and a constant dry cough. Nothing cures it except for EATING! I swear! Cough medicine, 2 packages of cough drops, hot tea, honey, hot shower and nothing will stop this cough but stuffing my face with food. Right now I am working on angel food cake and melted chocolate chips! I don't eat this way! This cold has got me down for the count. I curse you allergies!!! I need to get out in this 90 degree weather and go for my daily run but the thought of that makes me cringe! I'd rather eat a bag of chips instead!

A day with the Deadmonds...........

EARLY Saturday morning we drove to Evansville, IN to our friends Jason and Jenna's. Ryan and Jason golfed all day while Jenna and I enjoyed a day at the spa, thanks to my husband! That evening we went to this great resturant by the water and enjoyed dinner. Alex kept us entertained as he flirted with all the women at each table.

With Jenna's wristlet in hand, Alex

greeted all the ladies at the surrounding tables.

A Family Shot
Mr. Alex