I NEED MORE ZUCCHINI!!!!!

Oh my goodness!!! I just made the BEST thing EVER!!! After I tried them I called Mama cause I had to tell somebody about the best food I'd ever had!!! I took some to my neighbor, Marie and I told her to try them...she put the in the fridge...I didn't wanna seem psycho and scream "NO NOW!" After the first few bites I started scrambling through my fridge making sure I didn't have zucchini hidden somewhere...no such luck.

OK...here's the recipe:

You will need:

several zucchini's (I made the mistake of only using 2)
vegetable oil (big container of it)
sea salt and/or regular salt
pepper
and the Mandolin slicer (11.99 at bed, bath, and beyond)

First lets talk about this mandolin slicer...

I was a bit confused when I first pulled it all out. Its this thing (pictured above) and like 4 triagles, and a round handle looking thing. The 4 triagles are the different sized blades. I wasn't sure which one to use but I wanted the zucchini to be sliced very skinny so I used the smallest one. It pops into the empty triangle like so...

Then you just move the zucchini towards the blade and it cuts it for you.

I would quit when I got down to a small piece. Sure I wasted some of the veggie but I didn't wanna lose a finger. I had a huge pile of zucchini when I got done. I heated up oil in a pan. I let it go until it was boiling. And there were some weird sounds going on during this time. Sounded like bubbles popping (different than just boiling water).

Anyway, when it got REALLY hot I put the zucchini strips in. They cooked for probably about 10 min. They're almost ready!

When they got a little brown I took them out with a spatula and put them on a paper towel to drain. I sprinkled them with sea salt, regular salt, and pepper. YUM!!!! I had the first batch eaten by the time the second batch was done.

They reminded me of those shoestring potatoes you use to be able to get in a can. They were crunchy and salty and heavenly. And remember to get more than 2 zucchini...I'll probably get like 5 next time!

I made lasagna last night...and it was good!!!

This week I have no trips nothing else to do so I'm cooking a lot of stuff that I've been wanting to try. Last night it was lasagna...homemade. I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman...her link is under my sites. I didn't think about taking pics of my results until today but it was super easy and turned out sooo good!

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs hamburger meat
1 lb hot sausage
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cans of tomatoes
2 cans of tomato paste
3 cups cottage cheese
4 T parsley
2 T basil
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
lasagna noodles (its easier to get the ones that don't require pre-cooking)
1 lb of sliced mozzerela cheese
1 cup parmesian cheese

Start by browning the hamburger meat and sausage with the garlic in a skillet. After browning (and draining) add tomatoes and tomato paste, 2 T parsley, 2 T basil, and 1 tsp salt. Let this simmer for about 30 min, uncovered. Meanwhile mix the cottage cheese with the eggs (already beaten). Add in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and 2 T parsley and 1 tsp salt. In a lasagna pan (I had to buy one of these) start your layering. Place pasta noodles on bottom (if yours need cooking cook them first). Then half of the cottage cheese mixture. Then use 1/2 pound of the mozzerela cheese (I just had slices and I actually didn't have enough mozzerela cheese I also used muenster cheese and american cheese). Then half the meat mixture. Then start over with the noodles, the remaining cottage cheese mixture, the mozzerela cheese slices, then the rest of the meat. Cover in parmesan cheese and I mean cover. Bake on 350 for 20-30 min...mine took 30 min.

It turned out just as good as any restaurants. I spent like $24 at the grocery store and it fed me, Erik, my neighbor, and will cont to feed me probably 10 more times. I just got done eating it for lunch and it was just as good! Stay tuned for more of me trying out new recipes this week! I'm now off to bed, bath, and beyond to get a mandolin(?) its something to slice veggies into little bitty strips...

Cathedral Caverns

Saturday I wanted to "do something" so our original plan was to go to Desota Caverns but then Mama called and said they were having a fish fry that night so we decided to go to Cathedral Caverns which is in Guntersville and then go to the fish fry. Even though its only like 15 min from Mama and Daddy's house I had never been...it was pretty cool!

When we got there a tour had just started and we didn't want to wait an hour for the next one so we walked down to join the tour. It had already started. The guide was talking and there were probably 100 people in the group...all quiet. As soon as we get in the first big cave room Erik lets out the biggest burp ever! I was so embarrassed...it echoed!!! He said if I was a good girlfriend I would've slapped him on the butt and given him a high five...I told him keep dreaming...

I had made the mistake of wearing flip flops in a cave...they flopped mud all up my legs and butt.

Way Too Much Fun with an Old Fur Coat...

After me and Erik went to Cathedral Caverns we went to Mama and Daddy's house for a fish fry. It was my little cousin's bday. We ate so much fried crappie, hush puppies, coleslaw, and potatos. This is our (my fam's) favorite thing to do! Toward the end Megan's boyfriend, Greg, found this old coat of Mama's and we started playing with it...
Greg pretended to be ghetto...

Erik pretended to be a bear...

and I pretended to be a character from Dallas

More Cake Pics

My cousin has more cake pics to look at...if you need a cake for anything, let me know!!! They're just getting cuter and cuter!

Last Day at the Beach

We stayed out at the beach all day...it was the prettiest day yet. The water was crystal clear and no waves. But we had all gotten pretty burnt the day before so we stayed under the tent a good bit. That night we had our annual seafood feast. We go and get crab legs, shrimp, salmon and cook all that ourselves with salad, potatoes, and bread. It is always the best meal we have! HEre is a picture of our feast...the best part...you don't have to get ready and you have a great view!

AFter dinner we played Guesstures again...I gotta buy this game...its hilarious!


Eventually me, Carrie, and Megan were the only ones left up. Me and Carrie hadn't showered yet so I went to get in the shower, our shower door had been off the track but we had just been dealing with it. I got finished and was sitting in the den playing on the computer and Carrie was in the shower...I heard a loud bang. I knew exactly what it was and I just knew the glass was gonna be all in pieces with Carrie all cut up. I ran in there and Carrie was holding the doors in the shower, naked. Of course everybody else was right behind me running in. I was like "Wait! Carrie's naked!" Finally I got Carrie a towel and she went into our room and Daddy fixed the door. Carrie's only injury was a cut on her foot...

Gulf Shores Day 3

Another day that was gorgeous and we spent the entire day on the beach. My face got cooked! That night we went to the hangout, which we've been to before and it was so fun...This time they told us our wait was 1hr 15 min...2 hours rolled by and our buzzer still hadn't gone off. We asked and they said 15 more min. 30 min went by we asked again and they said they were cleaning out table. Johnny was mad already and the Willis's decided to leave. We finally get a table, order and our food came out pretty fast but we had to chase it down. The guy tried to give our appetizer and our meals to another table and never could figure out where they belonged...Megan had to wave at him and tell him they were ours. Then we had to find our own silverware and ketchup...we will NOT be going back here again. Very unorganized! I don't mind waiting but tell us the right time...you know? After dinner we immediately left (I mean we had been there 3 hours) and our original plan was to go play skeeball but we were too tired so we went back to the condo and played guesstures (the funnest game ever)!

Gulf Shores Day 2

We stayed out at the beach the whole day on Mon. Usually we hang more at the pool but we had a big tent this year so we stayed at the ocean. It came a big storm that afternoon and it was eerie...there was no one on the beach!!! Usually there is some stupid person but nobody! Finally we saw one lonely guy walking. That night Johnny grilled out steaks and we had corn, salad, and potatoes. It was fabulous and we had a great view!


deserted beach

Gulf Shores Day 1

We got there later on Sun afternoon but went on out and spent a few hours at the beach. Later that night we went to eat at the Original Oyster House, we had never been there before but it was very good!

Daddy & Johnny headin to the beach...HAHA!


waitin to eat

Headin to the beach...

Sunday we took off to Gulf Shores...of course the Willis's had their glasses on. We are having a great time but internet is slow so I'll probably not update anymore till I get home

Allison's Wedding

Saturday a girl I went to highschool with got married. Mama and Daddy came down and we all went to her wedding and then to the reception...very fun!!!

What Not to Say When You Go To The ER...any ER

1. when asked what's the emergency...you say this is (John Smith) our doctor called.
don't care...most of the time your doctor did not call. Sometimes the nurse will call and tell the ER you're coming and thats only cause they didn't want to deal with you

2. when asked whats the emergency...do not say I'm/he's/she's sick
Duh! Everybody that comes through is sick...you gotta be a little bit more specific

3. when asked "do you/he/she have any allergies?" Do not reply with yeah I've/he's/she's got asthma or just a yes
You were not asked about medical problems, asthma is a medical problem not an allergy and again you were asked what you/he/she is allergic too...oh and pollen does not count they are asking about drugs

4. you never have an appointment in the ER
this is an ER for emergencies you can't have an appointment for an emergency

5. when asked who your primary doctor is do not say one of the ER doctors doctors this means you come too much if you know the doctors by name

6. never make a comment like oh we were in this room last time or ask for a specific room again this means you come too often

7. never stop by mcdonalds or captain D's before an ER visit
I mean if its an emergency do you really have time to stop for food?

8. sticking with the food thing...do not run in and immediately go to the snack machine
again emergency...but have time for food?

9. When you get to the room do not immediately ask for water, gatorade, etc
anybody will gladly get you all of this and more but it is not the top priority...lets take care of the patient first

10. If you're getting an IV don't threaten the nurse with "one stick" or say how hard of a stick they are or say "I hope you're good"
now you've just insulted the nurse...let me just say ER nurses are the best with IVs cause they do it all the time and if they really need an IV they'll take as many sticks as they need too (not just one)

11. when asked what the emergency is...keep it short and sweet
the more problems you have the less emergent you look and don't start with "well a few months ago" that was a few months ago you are in an ER today so whats the emergency?

12. when asked about medical problems you say none but then have a ton of meds
if you are taking medicines then you probably have a medical problem

13. do not say they have a fever and then say you didn't check it
you can't tell someone has a fever by "feeling" of them

14. continuing on with fevers...do not say you didn't give meds cause you wanted them to see the fever or you knew the nurse would give some
the nurse will believe you that you/he/she had a fever don't make yourself/child/parent suffer cause you want them to "see" the fever (and you can't "see" a fever)

15. never say oh Dr. Mouse is waiting on us or expecting us
I can guarantee you that a doctor will never be waiting on you

16. when asked the medical history never say "its in the chart"
the chart is not in front of whoever is asking and you just look stupid for not knowing the medical history of yourself/child

17. know your own/child/niece/nepher/dad/mom's name before you ask if they are in the department
again this just makes you look stupid for not knowing your family member's name and don't try to describe them...do you know how many people come through the ER?

18. do not ask for a wheelchair unless you have some kind of injury or medical problem where you can't walk
people who pass out can still walk, people with broke arms can still walk, people who are fat can still walk

19. do not ask for a school/work excuse first thing
this is just obvious that you are not sick/hurt and you only came for an excuse...at least pretend that you didn't come for that and ask for it at the end

20. do not ever say "oh its so quiet in here"
you've just jinxed the ER and now a trauma or really sick patient is going to come and again it makes it look like you're a frequent flyer

Happy 4th of July!!!

me and Erik watching fireworks

Mandy & Zach

DJ and Erik


me and Mandy picking out our tube for the Cahaba

Floating the Cahaba

To celebrate the 4th of July we went to float the Cahaba again (we did the same thing last year just a different group). I had a waterproof camera this year but gotta wait to get it developed so pics to come! And just like last year it was a great time with great stories!

The group this year was me, Erik, DJ, Mandy T, and Zach. We met downtown and all rode in Zach's truck. Me and Zach had both done it before and kinda knew where it was at but not sure. We assumed to follow Hwy 25 in Montevallo and then turn on Bulldog Bend Rd and we knew there was a sign after that. We did so good...followed 25, found Bulldog Bend and then....the road ended. There was a car in front of us that appeared lost to and they were waving us to go around them. We pulled up beside them and they were VERY redneck and go "Do ya'll know where Birmingham is?" We all kinda started laughing and pointed them back in the right direction and then we asked them if they knew where to float the cahaba and of course thats where they had been. So we told them to go back and we'd follow and they could point out the turn. The woman goes..."But we just came from there we don't wanna do it again." Zach was like no you gotta go back that way so we followed after them.

The guy we were following stopped at EVERY single road and driveway like he couldn't remember where he had just come from but we finally saw the canoe up on the poles and knew thats where we were suppose to be. We paid, loaded in the trusty blue pickup and headed down the cow pasture.

Me and Mandy rode in the front with the litte driver. He started the conversation with "I'm so glad I got the truck with the radio today...we always fight over who gets the truck with the radio." Me and Mandy couldn't even look at each other or we would've died laughing. He continues on with his rambling..."Gah, I gotta a headache...but I always have a headache on saturday mornings...I always have a hangover." And the kid's like 15.

We get to the end and all pile out. And we realize we didn't get enough tubes. We all were suppose to have one plus one for the cooler. Oh well we figure we'd find one somewhere until then we'd share. Its a little trail down through some woods to the river and we had carried one of those styrofoam coolers with the beer in it. Erik's carrying it and all of a sudden the cooler handle breaks and beer goes everywhere most of it spewing out. We savage what we can but is only about half of what we had before. We still use the cooler without the handle and found an extra tube right at the entrance so we were set.

We floated on with no more tragic events until the end where the last set of rapids caused my camera to fall out of my lap and Erik goes off chasing it and loses his oakley glasses...yeah I feel bad about that cause I was panicking about my $4 camera THAT FLOATS and then Erik lost his $200 sunglasses...ooops! The same rapids caused the cooler to spill out again loosing the rest of the beer.

Zach also caught a turtle with his bear hands! He took his diving goggles and boots (funny pics of that coming). In one section there were tons of turtles and he swam under water and snuck up on it! It was hilarious!

After tubing we stopped and got some pizzas and went to Children's to watch the fireworks...which were fabulous as always. But what happened to the song God Bless the USA by Tony Greenwood??? I mean thats what suppose to play during fireworks!

Lets Play Catch Up...

not much has been going on. I worked like a gazillion days in a row (or it felt like that) so that I could be off this 4th of July weekend. I've started a new hobby...clipping coupons! Erik thinks its the funniest thing ever!!! But I saved $27 last night at Publix! Its awesome!

Monday I went home cause my cuz Lisa came up from Florida to see the family. The Spurlin girls minus Megan went to eat at the nicest restaurant in Albertville. I had never been before but it was VERY good. Its called Sebastian's. It was quiet funny cause there's this big write up in the menu about where all he's worked and studied and then its like you're in Albertville...but the foods spectacular and extremely cheap compared to Bham prices! Our waitress was also a little redneck and actually told us that the tip was not included...come on you don't do that! I got salmon with a citrus glaze (very good), Mama got appetizers as her meal (fried green tomatoes, grouper, and sweet potato fries), Lisa got portobello mushrooms (she's a vegetarian) and everybody else got chicken salad (that was awesome!)


I came back to Bham last night, went to Public and I'm chillin until the weekend. We have big plans this weekend. Remember my 4th of July last year floatin the cahaba well we're doing it again! I'm gonna take my waterproof camera so I should have pics this time : )