Volleyball, Parties, Trifles and Friends

This weekend was one of those go-go-go weekends. I don't mind it so much, but then come Monday morning I'm ready to just stay in my pajamas all day and rest on the couch! Friday I left work a little bit early to get a quick run in before heading to the Rodeo. I honestly can't tell you if I'm going to be a runner yet. I have gone through running phases before and honestly...out of every activity possible, it's the one I like the least. But, my brother really wants me to run a 1/2 marathon with him next year, so I thought I'd get a head start and try to find the adrenaline rush. So far, I haven't found it...all I've found are shin splints. I think I'm just due for a new pair of tennis shoes...so I need to take care of that soon. I'll keep you posted on how it goes - if there's anything to tell you other than how much I don't enjoy it :).

The rodeo was fantastic!!! It was an arena full of horses, sheep, bulls, cowboys, rednecks and true southerners...which really just means fun, fun, fun! :) If there was ever a lull in the rodeo action, you could find just as much enjoyment watching an interesting variety of people (and seeing how many mullets you could count :)). Probably the funniest part of the evening was watching the little tikes ride the sheep! The crowd went crazy as one little boy held on for dear life and at one point was hanging off the side of the sheep with just his little cowboy boot dangling over the other side. Pretty sure a few of the kids stood in line waiting for their turn...and completely freaked out and started crying. I can't blame them - the first kid came out of the bull pen riding the sheep and it tossed him off in 2 seconds. First person to his side? The girl passing out the trophies. All injuries seem insignificant when a shiny trophy sparkles in your face! :) It was an incredibly fun night and I can't wait until I can go again.

Saturday I went shopping with a friend - it's that time of year to shop for a new bathing suit. It always floors me how much swimsuits cost. How is it possible to charge that much money for that little clothing? I found a few that I liked, but I'm still looking. Afterwards I made a quick pit-stop at the grocery store for a few ingredients before heading home to whip up a dessert for my favorite little puerto rican's going away party later that evening (recipe & photos to follow). I didn't try the dessert, so I can't tell you my thoughts on it, but based on the fact that it was completely devoured within 10 minutes of my arrival...I think it was a success.

Sunday afternoon was spent playing hours and hours of sand volleyball (glorious!) before heading home to shower and stop by for yet another going away party (there's a lot of people moving away!). I met Merari there (my favorite little puerto rican :)) and we took off for one last "girls night" together before she leaves for Africa. :-( I had a dozen places I wanted to go that were more "rural" and "quaint", but unfortunately they were all closed on Sunday nights! So, we headed to PM instead and enjoyed some "Nashville sushi" (bacon, ham, cream cheese & asparagus wrapped just like normal sushi and dipped in soy, ginger & wasabi...now that's my kind of sushi! :)). After dinner we headed over to Fido's and just sat and talked for a few more hours. I sure am gonna miss that girl. Thankfully 3 months goes by pretty fast and she'll be back before you know it.


So, now I'm back to Monday and it is beyond gorgeous outside...which feels like it's taunting me from the windows of my office. So, of course I had to escape to the outdoors over my lunch break. I discovered this new restaurant/market while searching for local places yesterday and had to try it out. It's called the Henpeck Market and it might just be my new favorite place to take friends & out of town guests. Not only is it quaint & country, it has amazing food and is tucked away in a beautiful location. We even got stuck behind a tractor on the way back to the office - which made me incredibly excited! :) Felt like Iowa for a second.

Here's the recipe for the trifle. Hope you enjoyed your weekend and have a great week ahead!

Trifles are one of my favorite quick & easy desserts because they are simple to put together and visually appealing at the same time. For the party I made a pretty standard brownie trifle, but tweaked it just a bit to make it a little more exciting. For those of you that don't like cooking with alcohol, you could easily substitute the kahlua for some brewed coffee.

Kahlua Brownie Toffee Trifle
1 pkg (13x9 size) fudge brownie mix, prepared according to box directions
1/2 c. kahlua
1 pkg chocolate fudge pudding mix
1 16oz. container half-n-half
1 tub whipped topping, thawed
1 pkg miniature heath bars, cut into chunks (use as many as you like)

While brownies are baking, mix together pudding and half-n-half in a medium sized bowl using a wire whisk until thick. Refrigerate. When brownies are fresh from the oven, pour kahlua evenly over the top. Allow to cool completely (I put the whole pan in the freezer). Once cooled, cut into 1"x 1" squares. Layer ingredients starting with half the brownie squares, followed by half the pudding mixture, half the whipped topping and topped with 2 or 3 handfuls of heath chunks. Repeat layers once more with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!