A break from Summer?

Here’s the rundown:

1 – sick boyfriend. Tired, achy, pissed off stomach, sunburned, yuck.

1- sick boy. Warm, tired, achy, sore throat, sunburned, yuck.

1 – empty refrigerator + 1 messy apartment = 4 to 5 hours of ‘chores’ to do

1 – amazing weekend that makes it all worth it

It started off with a night of bowling with the boys at 300 here in Dunwoody. We wanted to get warmed up before HBK’s birthday party at the bowling alley next weekend. Saturday morning we got an early start. Chase went golfing with his uncle then had plans to spend the rest of the day at the pool with his grandmom, and SB and I headed to float the hooch with friends for Bob’s birthday! We had about 6 or 7 floats tied together and despite the freezing water and a mid day storm, we had a really, really good time! We will post pics soon. I definitely want to get back out there on a canoe and take the HBK with us! He would love it. After rafting we cleaned up and went back to K-Bob’s for dinner and fun and promptly falling asleep on the couch (me). Sunday was another HOT day in Georgia. We had plans to go to the ArtBQue in Decatur, but I knew if we were going to be outside it would have to be in some water. After a breakfast at our favorite place we went down to get the HBK from my moms. The pool was too inviting so we spend yet another day in the sun and in the water. After, I pull together what little energy I had left to drive home, shower, and get right in bed watch the Kardashians.

So my job today is to get this place in order and get these boys feeling better! I have to much to do this week to have soldier down. Chase’s birthday is in a week and we’re attempting going to make his wrestling ring cake, plus I gotta find him a desk for one of his presents. My bestie is turning 30 this week and we are catering her party in two weeks. We also have a road trip that I am getting SO excited for at the end of this month. Throw in there house hunting since the job search didn’t go as planned.  Summer vacation is starting off pretty busy, but after the road trip we are going to RELAX! …who am I kidding? I slept until 11:00 am today. 🙂 Here’s to summer!

Oh! And True Blood is back! Are you watching?? It’s off to a great start already!

SniperEdit:
Here are the pics from the rafting trip. They don’t quite capture all the fun, but some come VERY close.

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Mi mejor amigo La boda de

The day of the wedding arrived and by now, SJ and I were totally ready for the journey. We had made contact with the outside world, got a general idea of where to meet up with Neal, go the times, and were out the door in record time. The wedding was at 11am, so we knew we should be out the door by 8. This would give us time to get to the hotel where Neal was, change, then head over to the location of the wedding. What we didn’t account for were road closings and the inability for Google Maps to give an accurate location of the hotel.

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Where we're going, we NEED roads.

Jess was the driver and I was the navigator. I had my maps, my phone, and my eyes on the road. She was driving and not missing a beat. We soon realized that to get around this place you had to drive like the locals. The locals drive like they just don’t give a damn. So I had her going left and right and here and there and all over the place. We finally turned down what we Google thought was the road where the hotel was. As it turns out, it was simply a dead end on a cliff. We sat there for a few moments, took a few deep breaths, and started driving again. I can’t say how amazed I am at Jess’ calmness during all this. We were driving around people and busses and bikes and all manner of things that were jockeying for spot on the road. She zipped around here and there it was amazing.

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Where the streets are paved with people and busses and cars

I finally got in touch with Neal and he informed us that the hotel was in the south west part of town. We were currently driving through the north west. So we hauled ass down that way, and finally in a bold move on Jess’ part, asked a local for directions. This lady didn’t understand a bit of English, and we sure as hell didn’t understand her. What we were able to communicate was “Holiday Inn Santa Anna”. She understood, gave us some very detailed directions in Spanish using land marks like “banco” and “St. Nicholas” and making some sort of hand gesture like we’d be driving around a circle. We jetted away and sure enough we passed a bank, a big sign that was for some St. Nicholas thing and went  through a round-a-bout! Next thing we knew we were at the hotel. I’ve never been more excited in my life. Jess shared in this joy. We felt so accomplished and proud of ourselves. We had overcome a LOT on this 3 hour journey and made it. There was no obstacle we couldn’t overcome at this point.

So we met up with Neal, quickly changed clothes then hopped back in Pedro for our trip to the location for the wedding. Luckily, we were following someone. After a mile or so, we soon realized this was going to be an interesting ride. The roads kept getting steeper and steeper. We were climbing further and further into the clouds. Once we finally got to our destination we had a beautiful view of the city. We had to be like 3 miles in the air (probably not that high, but it felt like it). The location was beautiful and the wedding got started as soon as we got there.

Contrary to most weddings I’ve been to, or been part of, this one was almost a “figure it out as you go” kinda thing. There wasn’t a ton of organization, but that was part of the fun. I was told to walk in with Neal, then wait, but now go, but you were supposed to stand over there, ok, now you all go sit down and BOOM, I now pronounce you husband and wife! It was a short and sweet ceremony, where unbeknownst to Neal and Jude they had to say their own vows. They totally winged it and it was perfect.

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True happiness!

After the ceremony, we did the usual every possible picture combination possible thing. The food was traditional El Salvadorian and fantastic. We danced, talked, laughed, and just enjoyed ourselves. The Bishops had a beautiful wedding. Everything turned out as it should. There was no “backstage drama”, all the guests were happy, and it was a wonderful time. I love seeing my friends happy, and to be there on this day of ultimate happiness for both of them was an honor. To share it with the woman I love most in this world, made it unforgettable. This was quite possibly the best wedding I’ve ever been to….so far. 😉

As the day went on, the clouds rolled in. At first, we thought something was on fire, but as it turns out, it was just the clouds rolling UP the mountain we were on. Knowing our luck with driving and visibility down to about 10ft, SJ and I decided to roll out before the weather got any worse. We hopped in the car and took off down the mountain. Jess was now a pro El Salvadorian driver and handled the roads like a champ. We were soon below the clouds and well on our way back to the resort. We made it in record time and quickly got into our bathing suits so we could enjoy the evening by the pool. After all it was our final night in this place and we wanted to make the best of if.

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Oh fog!

Our final day in El Salvador had come to a close. We had witnessed our friends getting married and survived another journey in a foreign land. The next day was our final adventure and what an adventure it was going to be.

That’s right…s’mores cupcakes!

S'mores cupcakes
S'mores cupcakes

A few weeks ago, Jess and I were tasked with preparing some food for our friend Kit’s birthday. She’s getting pretty old and was probably thinking something like ovaltine, tapioca, and melba toast, but we had something a bit cooler in mind. I mean, after all, us whipper snappers like our food with a bit more flair!

Since we pretty much rock the block when it comes to cupcakes we thought that we’d do it up right this time. What better way to kick start spring than with s’mores. I mean, nothing says spring and fun and awesome and money like graham crackers, dark chocolate, marshmallows, and fire. We scoured around for just the right recipes and set off to make the perfect cupcake.

At the base was a traditional graham cracker crust (crushed crackers, sugar, butter baked to a golden brown). We topped that off with a light yet rich dark chocolate cupcake. Then to really sell these as s’mores, we made our own marshmallow fluff. Now it is possible to buy this stuff, but why do that when you can make it, I mean… home made is always better any way. So we made our own fluff, then piped it on top of the cupcakes. One thing was missing…fire. The thing that makes a s’more a s’more is the melty chocolate and burned marshmallow dripping all over your hands and pants as you try to cram the whole thing in your mouth. So we got us a dandy kitchen torch and toasted them suckers right up.

The result was a perfect chocolaty, creamy, crunchy cupcake that captured the essence of all things s’mores. They looked as good as they tasted and they were a hit. In conjunction with the cupcakes we made some pinwheels (3 varieties: Greek, American, Italian), some candied sweet and spicy mixed nuts, ultimate guacamole, cheesy sausage dip, and a buffalo chicken dip. Everything turned out exactly as we anticipated.

The icing on the cake, if you will, was that during the process of all the cooking, Jess and I (mainly Jess), got the hankering to start up our very own catering business. We’ve not ironed out the details yet, but we have the idea and drive to really get it started. For now it’s just a notion that’s floating around in our heads. We’ve got a ton of prep to do and will need to get some research done before we really get started. In the mean time, we’ll do small events, parties for friends, etc.

So that’s that. A great weekend filled with s’mores cupcakes, friends, and amazing ideas of a catering business that I know will be a success.

S’mores cupcakes on Flickr

Recipe will be posted once we get a better handle on the catering thing.

Thanksgiving break – 2009: Sniper Style pt. 2 (Thanksgiving Day)

Rosevelt the turkey
Roosevelt, meet Turner

In true Turner style the morning got started with a big plate of food and a lot of scrambling around. After breakfast Jess and I started in on the turkey, gravy base, and more chopping of vegetables. You’d think that after like three days of preparing food, we’d have all this mess done. That wasn’t really the case. There always seemed to be more carrots, onions, celery, taters… oh wait. No potatoes to cut up those had already been taken care of and were in the fridge setting up. Oh, the taters! Let me describe the ways I love thee. Ok, I’m done.
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Thanksgiving break – 2009: Sniper Style pt. 1

New Moon Queen
Maybe YOU should relax

It all started with a trip to Burger King for some New Moon paraphernalia. I got Jess’ place and we got ready and headed off for some sushi, time with friends, and a gaggle of tweens and/or begrudgingly happy boyfriends and husbands. The movie was ish at best. It was better than Twilight, but then again, Twilight was a pretty terrible movie. There were some decent fight scenes, a fast car or two, some sparkly “vampires”, enough emo looks to make a rainbow cry, and and then some credits. That pretty much sums up the movie, or at least what I recall of it. The night wasn’t a total wash however. On the way to Milner, Jess got word that one of her friends was looking to unload some UGA tix. We jumped at the chance, I stopped by the ATM, got some cash and in exchange, we got tickets to what would be our very first GA game!
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Our first weekend cabin trip

So I have to say that this past weekend was exactly as it should be. Well, there are a few things I would have changed, but for the most part it was every thing that I could have imagined that a 30th birthday weekend cabin trip could’ve been.
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Road Trip to Camp Lejune, NC

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So I’m posting about the NC trip a few weeks after we actually took it, but luckily this is a trip that will be impossible to forget! SniperBen got off work Friday and I was at the apt. waiting for him (and creating the most epic travel playlist you’ve ever heard.) We grabbed some delicioso Mexican food, stopped to fill up with gas and get some snackage, and we hit the road around 8:30 pm. We had a long drive ahead of us…but somehow time seemed to stop as we drove. The songs, the stories, the secrets, the feelings, the laughter, the tears, the singing, the honesty…they all helped take a regular ol’ road trip and  create an experience and a memory that is impossible to describe.
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