My Best Friend's Wedding

This post is about a week late, but MY BEST FRIEND GOT MARRIED!

And, it was so beautiful and perfect.





I have really talented, crafty, beautiful, crazy friends who throw GREAT weddings.

Congrats Lori and Matt!

I'm hooked.

Pinterest.
Need I say more?
Why did it take so long for a site like this to be made?
It. is. everything.
I have been pinning like a MANIAC! If I would have found this before my wedding, I just honestly don't know what I would have done.
Lately I've been really into looking at teaching/classroom ideas and recipes.
If only 90% of the recipes on pinterest weren't delicious, decadent desserts that I am desperately trying to avoid.
BUT...I did manage to find some decently "healthy" dishes to try and here is my experience:

First Recipe: Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups
These were AMAZING and super easy.
Ingredients: 1lb. lasagna noodles, 150z. ricotta cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzerella, 1 egg, 10oz. spinach, 1 jar of marinara, salt and pepper.
First, cook the lasagna noodles according to box and drain.
While the noodles are cooking, make your filling. Mix spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, egg, and some salt and pepper together in a bowl. Mix until well combined.

When the noodles and filling are ready preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray pan with non-stick spray.
Next, lay out a few noodles and spread some filling from end to end of each noodle. Don't spread it too thick because you do have to roll them up and you don't want any filling to squeeze out.

Roll the noodles up and place in baking dish. Continue until filling is gone or pan is full. You will have noodles left over, but you can use them for back-up if some rip.

Once the pan is filled, pour the marinara over the noodles making sure everything is covered. Then, cover with foil and place in the oven to bake for 30 min. Then take it out and ENJOY!


Second Recipe: Red Lobster's Cheddar Biscuits

This recipe tastes just like the real thing and who doesn't love Red Lobster's Cheddar Biscuits?!
Ingredients: 2 cups of Bisquick, 2/3 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup of butter (melted), 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon parsley.
First, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and mix the Bisquick, milk, and cheese until a soft dough forms.

Then, drop spoonfuls of the mix onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 min.
Mix the melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley and brush generously over the biscuits once removed from the oven.
Serve warm and bask in the buttery goodness!

Where do I begin?

How do you even begin to pack for four months in a foreign country?

How do you pack for four months period?

What will I need, what will I want, what will the weather be like, should I pack only normal clothes or should I bring some dresses, what if I feel like getting spiffed up (who am I kidding?), should I wait and just buy it when I get there, what if I need that one thing that I forgot.

I hate packing...so this is a nightmare.

I am also a list person, so I tried to start a list of things I'll need...then I realized I don't know anything that I will need.

So I started with the weather. The average temp. during the four months we will be there is in the 70's and 80's. YES!
But wait...it's also Typhoon season...
WHAT EVEN IS A TYPHOON?!

Also, you can only bring two suitcases weighing 75lbs each.
That sounded like a lot until I realized that's pretty much what I packed for our honeymoon.

I think I'll just throw every t-shirt and pair of shorts I own, a rain jacket, and my chacos into a suitcase and go with it.

Oh, and maybe a toothbrush.

Support.

Hello friends and family and blogger world!

For those of you that don't know...David and I are moving to the Philippines for four months on Sept. 14th to work with Give-a-Goat and we need help raising funding for our time there!

David is currently working as the Vice President for Give-a-Goat and our plan is to move to the island of Cebu to help expand the program by setting up a new office, hiring new workers, and building up the churches there.

Give-a-Goat is a non-profit organization founded by Oklahoma Christian Alum and native Filipino, Salvador Cariaga. The purpose of the organization is to eliminate poverty in the Philippines by providing goats to families in need. One goat can provide sustainable income for impoverished families by supplying them with milk to sell, manure to cultivate their gardens, livestock to auction off, and more.

To learn more about the organization go to giveagoatnow.com

So, we are needing funding to pay for travel, housing, food/living expenses, and benevolence work.

We have already managed to raise enough money for our plane tickets (thank you jesus), but we are still needing money to pay for all of our living expenses once we are there.

If you are willing and able, we would love to have your support!

To donate:
-Go to giveagoatnow.com
-Click the DONATE button in the upper right corner
-Click the CHOOSE YOUR GOAT button in the center of the page
-Choose the OTHER DONATION option
-Enter the amount you would like to give and then click the scroll menu and choose the "David and Meagan's Trip" option
-Then click OK to add it to your basket
-Click GIVE YOUR GOAT to complete your transaction

or

-Mail us a check made out to Give a Goat with a note that says "David and Meagan's Trip"
-Send to:
2501 E. Memorial Rd.
Edmond, OK 73136

We could also use LOTS of prayers and love!

Thank you for your love and support!

We have a house...

IN THE PHILIPPINES!!

No more worrying about where the heck we will be staying for four months because Bryan and Kyle found us a place to stay while they were there visiting this past month.

It is a lovely little rent house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom with a shower (that is a hard find in the Philippines), and best of all....AIR CONDITIONING. So after some nice sweaty days on the goat farms we will be able to come home and take showers and relax in the some cool air. Holla.

This house will also be serving as an office for Give a Goat so we will have a house full of loving/giving Filipino people all the time. How blessed.

AND, it's right next to a few of the Give a Goat farms and villages! This is a huge relief, because we thought we were going to have to stay in Cebu and commute 30 min. to an hour ever day, but now we will get to live so close to the people we are helping!

So without further ado....here is our house!

Yep, it's bright orange and green. Love it.

The living room. I hope we get to keep the Barney doll.


Our precious kitchen that will be filled with delicious Filipino food!


Who ever thought that the first house David and I would live in together would be in the Philippines?

Only three more months!

Cruise Review

Welp, we are back from our cruise and I managed to last a full week in the sun without looking like a shriveled up tomato! Goal achieved!

Needless to say...the cruise was wonderful.

We ate lots of food, saw some questionable shows, saw some good shows, swam with dolphins, cooled off in the ocean, got mouthfuls of salt water, sang karaoke, ate some more food, used an entire bottle of sunscreen, got in some great people watching, slept in, lounged around the deck, and enjoyed getting away together for a little while.

I would say our first cruise was a success.

Although I had a great time, I don't think we will be planning another one any time soon unless it involves other people going with us.

A cruise is definitely a lazy vacation. And that is not us.

Let's be real, we went to DisneyWorld on our honeymoon.

I mean, my favorite parts of the trip were getting off of the boat and exploring Mexico.

So, even though we had a great time and it was totally worth it...our next vacation will involve lots more touristy things and less laying around in the sun.

Here are some of the highlights...

The Best is Yet to Come

When I look at my calendar for the rest of this year I just get overwhelmed with excitement!

I'll give you a sneak peek of what I have to look forward to...

May
-My best friend's personal shower
-One year wedding anniversary cruise

June
-Our actual wedding anniversary
-Being an Honorary in Meagan and Brock's Wedding
-David performing at an event with Charlie Hall!
-Keith and Amy/Cara and Tim's Wedding
-Possibly getting to go with David on a poetry trip to Canada

July
-My best friend's wedding!
-David's second poetry tour (that I will get to go on!)

August
-My Birthday!
-Laura and Brett's wedding
-Taking our free vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Texas

September
-Traveling to Orlando with David for a poetry gig and going to Harry Potter World!! (Finally!)
-Moving to the Philippines!!!


November, December, January
-Get to serve my God by living in the Philippines with David and loving on everyone in sight!

This year is almost too much to take in. I am INCREDIBLY blessed. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this year has in store for me, David, and everyone else in our lives.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.