Monday, April 20, 2009

This Weekend...

I am so excited about this up coming weekend! So I thought I would share... Do you mind?

I am starting my weekend a little early and driving to Owensboro to meet Emmie Kate on Thursday! I blogged about Emmie here when she was first born, but have not had any time to get down there and meet her. Look how beautiful she is! I remember seeing Lynsie at her baby shower a few months ago and crying just looking at her sweet belly, so I can only imagine how many emotions I will have when I hold Emmie. Lynsie is the first really close friend of mine (other than my sister) to have a baby, and it has been such a neat experience. I don't even know if I will be able to sleep on Wednesday night! 
I will get home on Owensboro on Friday and then turn right back around and leave town for Emily's bachelorette party! We are leaving Friday night and coming home Saturday. That is about all the details I can give as of now, because Emily does not know where we are going! I will fill in with the details and pictures when I get home. Speaking of Emily, her wedding is only 45 days away, wow! This picture is obviously not directly related to Emily's party, but it seemed appropriate for the occasion. 

The BLC Celebrates Passover

Jineane, Maria, Ami, Mary and yours truly (looking a little rough 12 days post tonsillectomy)

The ever so lovely Ami hosts a Passover party each year and this year the BLC was there in full force (minus poor little Emily who had mono, we missed her!). It was held at a cute little cafe in downtown Winchester. I ate lamb for the first time and really enjoyed it. I know I say it every time I post about the BLC, but I really do love these ladies. Our April dinner meeting is on Wednesday at Bar Louie in Lexington and I can't wait!

PS- I stole this picture from Marias blog :) I currently don't have a working camera (minus the iphone) so I just steal pictures from my lovely friends :)

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Swoon

Proud Aunt Alert

Pardon me while I show off how cute my nephew is (once again). They are in Watercolor this week and I am insanely jealous! Kristin sent this video today, look how big my man is walking! 

Currently Loving...

This is one of those songs that just makes you want to stop what you are doing and throw your hands up in complete and total worship. They have been playing it non stop on our local Christian radio stations and I love it.  It gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. So I thought I would share it, hope you love it as much as I do.


"And I hear the voice of many angles sing, worthy is the LAMB! And I hear the cry of every longing heart, worthy is the LAMB! You are worthy, you are worthy!"

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Slow Cooker Saturday...Take 1!

Ok, so here we go, it's the first installment of Slow Cooker Saturday! Remember, I blogged about it here.  I made this recipe on Wednesday night for the LOST crew and it was a huge hit! I found it on this blog and thought it sounded so yummy. It was easy to put together and cooked in 4 hours, which is nice if you don't have all day. 

Chicken Gruyere

You will need:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 lb gruyere cheese
1 box of chicken stuffing
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth or water (I used a little over a cup of stock and then water for the rest)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I don't like cream of mushroom, so I subbed in cream of chicken)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Wash your chicken breasts and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. Cover with sliced gruyere cheese.

Mix together stuffing, soup and broth and pour over chicken. Then cover the stuffing mixture with the grated parmesan cheese
Let cook for 3-4 hours on high and ENJOY! I served this with corn pudding, carrot soufflĂ©, broccoli casserole and hoecakes. It would also be yummy over some egg noodles.  I highly recommend that you try it!

For dessert, I made a peach cream tart that was also very yummy. You can find that recipe here,
and you guessed it, the recipe is from Paula Deen! (shocking, I know)

Stay tuned for next week! Let me know if you have a favorite that you think I should try! 

Paula Deen


This picture was taken from my seat, just to give you an idea of how close we were!  Paula Deen was amazing, as usual. We arrived early enough and were able to score seats front row and center. I just about died when we sat down! 
So, remember when I said in this post that if I ever got to meet Paula Deen I would probably just break down and cry? Well folks, dreams do come true. Paula came out into the audience to mingle for a bit and was giving out hugs left and right. I almost had a heart attack when she came down our row. You better believe I was not going to let her pass without giving yours truly a hug, and she did! I got to hug Paula Deen! And keeping things honest here, I did cry (not a ton, but there were tears). I just couldn't believe that it was actually happening, I still am not sure that it has really sunk in. I know this may seem so silly, but for me it was the most exciting thing that could have ever happend. She also hugged Maria, which was equally as exciting! 
Paula talked to the audience for over an hour and took questions, she is so funny (and a little raunchy). I don't think I could ever get tired of seeing her live. Truth be told, I'm just waiting to meet Bobby Deen and for him to fall in love with me...now we're talkin'! 

I'm Big Time Now

See John Calipari's new kitchen...
See Jen standing in John Calipari's new kitchen...

John Calipari, the new head coach at UK, just bought a 2.2 million dollar home on Richmond Road in Lexington. I babysat for the family that owns the home for many years, so it has been a little strange hearing everyone talk about the "mega mansion" that I have spent so much time in. It really is a beautiful home and I am happy that Calipari wants to be in the heart of Lexington.  I remember seeing the plans when they were first drawn up for the property. Pretty cool! 

Click here for the entire story and more pictures of the house. 

Monday, April 13, 2009

Hope You Had A Wonderful Easter!

Love, The Cochran Family

Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
Mark 16:6

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Slow Cooker Saturday

So I am starting a new weekly blog post. We will see how long I stick with it :) I'm trying to be a better blogger, so hopefully having a weekly post will help. 

In an attempt to save time and money, I have decided to break out out the crock pot! I have always loved to put a big pot roast in the crockpot before I leave in the morning and then have a hot dinner when I get home. But that is as far as it has gone, pot roast. I have been researching all the things you can make in a crockpot and I am amazed! So heres the scoop. I am going to make one meal a week in my crockpot and share the results with you on Saturday's. I found a blogger who used hers every day last year and blogged all of her recipes and results. You can check out her blog here. I feel certain some of her recipes will be showing up on my weekly menu as well. My goal is that I will be able to save money by not eating out as much and utilizing the leftovers from my crockpot creations. 

What about you? Do you like to crockpot? Do you have any recipes to share?

Be looking for the first recipe and recap next Saturday! 

Tonsillectomy Update Day 11

Sorry for the lack of updates. I just haven't really been in the mood to blog. After day 3 things took a turn for the worse. I can honestly say that I have never felt such intense pain in my entire life. I woke up Wednesday night with nausea and threw up some blood, not fun. My doctor was able to prescribe me some anti nausea medicine which helped significantly, I was so thankful. Today is day 11 and I am starting to feel back to normal. I am able to go almost 8 hours in between pain medicine, versus every 4! So that is a victory. It still hurts to swallow (feels like a minor case of strep) and if I talk for more than 5 minutes it starts to swell up a little. But other than that, I really feel like I am almost through with it! If you are considering having this surgery and are over the age of 20, reconsider. Ha! Who knows how I will feel in a few months time, but as of now, I would never do it again. Thank you for your prayers! I so felt them. Now it's just a matter of getting back into the swing of life. Oh, and one positive of the surgery, as of this morning, I had lost 6 pounds, what girl wouldn't like that? ;)