BEERFEST!

April 24th, the ladies of Chapel Hill drove to Raleigh for the yearly BEERFEST! Over 250 beers were available to taste. Everyone raves over Beerfest....here are a few pictures from that night! Katherine drove from Williamsburg, VA for the weekend and we met many new friends!!!

Girlfriends!!!

During my past 25 years, I've come across many people who have had a positive impact on my life....the two girls above Liz and Katherine are two of the many!!!

I met Katherine at UNCG, we lived on the same hall freshman and sophomore year. Katherine and I are quite different but still have so much in common. Katherine taught me to live on the edge a little! We have remained friends through this crazy ride called life. I moved to ECU...she moved to Los Angeles, Ca...I moved to Chapel Hill...and soon she'll be a NC resident again! She's always available to talk about boy problems, jobs, offer advice, etc!

Liz I met at ECU after getting into nursing school. We became friends instantly, not realizing we were both at UNCG prior. Liz and I sat together through classes...cried during the bad times...played during the good times!! We rode together to clinicals as much as possible, basically spent every hour of nursing school together. After graduating nursing school, we both moved to Chapel Hill....her home town and took jobs at UNC Hospital. We later decided to become roommates! We've been there for each other during thick and thin!

Liz and Katherine met each other when Liz and I traveled to LA in May 2009.

Without these girls...I don't know where I'd be! Love ya girls!!!

Mozarella Pasta Salad

Yummy Mozzarella Pasta Salad


Fresh spinach, red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes


Hopefully this is a crowd pleaser!!!


Whole foods makes this Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad in their deli..and it is so delicious, but quite pricey! Tonight Liz and Juan are having friends over for a cookout prior to going to BeerFest in Raleigh! I wanted to take something...and I thought pasta salad..then thought Whole Foods pasta salad....yum! I googled for the recipe...and I think my version turned out better!!!

RECIPE:
THE PARMESAN DRESSING
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 and 1/2 tsp.)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
THE SALAD
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 cups packed baby spinach, washed and stemmed
2 small jarred roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 pound smoked mozzarella cheese, diced

Directions
TO PREPARE THE PARMESAN DRESSING
Combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper with a hand mixer or in the bowl of food processor or in a blender until the dressing is smooth.
TO PREPARE THE SALAD
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta into a colander, run cold water over it or submerge it in ice water until chilled through, and drain well. IN a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, spinach, roasted red peppers, and smoked mozzarella.

I used my new food processor...and added fresh red pepper and jarred sun dried tomatoes! Hope the crowd enjoys!!!

The Last Song

Nicholas Sparks book...Miley Cyrus Movie...tear-jerker!!! I can't say I read the book...I tried but couldn't finish it...

I went to see the movie tonight and it touched me on so many levels. If you don't want to have it spoiled stop reading here....

The movie I thought would be a lovey dovey typical Nicholas Sparks type...yes it was lovey dovey, but also showed family struggles. In the movie the family went through divorce, teenage rebelion, and finally death. If you decide to see the movie, make sure you have tissues! It was ironic for me...since my father's anniversary of his death is next Wednesday, April 28th.

My father, James "Jim" Lee Webb passed away April 28th, 2001 after a scuba diving accident in Key Largo, FL. The movie brought back so many memories I had with my dad. While Ronnie and her father shared music and the piano, that was baseball for me and my dad. Dad and I sat through 70+ baseball games per season at Kannapolis Bollweevils, later to be called the Kannapolis Intimidators. We rarely missed a game. Our last game we had to leave the game a little early so dad could meet up with his scuba group to get ready for their trip. I remember telling dad to get some cool pictures and not to get bitten by a shark! Little did I know he would not come back from that trip. The group brought back his camera and many of stories which provided some comfort. The let us know how he talked about his family and how he splurged on dinner the night before with some awesome "Peel and Eat" Shrimp.

This event in my life has taught me many lessons....1. Live each day like it's your last. 2. Always tell your loved ones how you feel about them. 3. Never take life for granted. 4. Life may not always seem fair and sometimes you just don't understand.


Love ya Dad!

Christmas- 12 years ago

That is Smokey....or Smokey Joe! Smokey was my Christmas kitty 12 years ago. He's been a great companion these past 12 years. He grew to close to 17 lbs...the vet called him a mountain lion once instead of a cat due to his size. He went to ECU with me for a few months...then got cabin fever...so we call him a college drop out!

Last Tuesday I took him to the vet and found out he's in bad renal failure. I was a mess Tuesday....spend lots of money on a 12 year old cat, or put him to sleep. The vet gave us some antibiotics, some good food and said watch him. Today, my mom said he looked pitiful. I can't let him suffer. So...this is goodbye, which is so hard.

Spring!!!!

I went to Home Depot...looked around for flowers....the the Gerber Daisies were the prettiest ones I saw!!! So I picked up the pink and yellow ones! I also picked up some gardening gloves (can't mess up the recent manicure!) and some pruning shears (because I'm weak!) and I went to town! Pulling out the weeds....getting rid of the dead mums....broken garden stones....I should have gotten a before pic to compare to!!!

and.... TA DAAA.....


Poor frog...It use to say "Bless this Garden"...but the winter took a toll on it....still cute!
Pretty "Welcome" flag I bought last week in Charlotte...flag stake broke but it still standing!


Notice to the left of the daisies are my Stargazer Lillies sprouting up...they will bloom in a few weeks!!!


A colorful entry to our house!


Plus...a new bird feeder I bought a few weeks ago...suppose to prevent squirrels from getting in....well I think it does that and more! I haven't seen ONE bird eating from the feeder...WTF?!?

5K for Lillie!!!

I got to know Lillie when a college friend told me about this amazing little girl. When I started reading the CaringBridge site, Lillie had just been diagnosed with Neuroblastoma....a rare childhood cancer. I followed their CaringBridge blog and really felt like I knew Lillie, even though I had never actually met her. She was an amazing and brave young girl. Check out her caringbridge site below....

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lillieboyte/mystory

And a YouTube video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBs1IuztZ1E

This past weekend, a 5K run/walk and family fun event was hosted in memory of Lillie. This race helped to raise money for Neuroblastoma research. Over 450 people entered the 5K! WOW! It was the 2nd event the family has done for Lillie! After the 5K...there was inflatables for children to jump in, booths with ballons, a concert, and a easter egg hunt! We didn't stay for all of it...just did the 5K.

Josh, my brother ran the majority of the way. My sister in law and I had planned on training for it and running...but it didn't happen! We ran a bit in the beginning, in the middle, and across the finish line! I will NOT post my time, because it was horrible! But, what really matters is that we did it and it was for Lillie and ALL children battling neuroblastoma!!!

Below are some pics from the 5K....


Me, Melissa and Josh before the race!


My brother and his wife at Lillie's poster!


Me with Lillie!

Us...."running"....


FINISH!!!!