JMU has lost one of its finest...

I know it's rare that I post twice within a few days, much less on the same night, but sadly I learned of some unexpected and heartbreaking news earlier this evening and felt compelled to write at least a short post. Tonight, the JMU Nation is mourning the loss of an incredible friend, student, cheerleader, JMU sports fanatic, and all around great guy. I met Nick through mutual friends in the Student Duke Club...we would all sit together at basketball games and other SDC/athletic events. Then, once our group broke off and hosted our own tailgates separate from the SDC, he usually dropped by to hang out with us for a bit before heading to the stadium to cheer. His enthusiasm and school spirit were contagious...at every football game before he became a cheerleader, you would always find him decked out with his whole face painted purple and gold, and wearing his infamous purple vest that was decorated with various JMU gameday buttons. Nick was one of those people who was a friend to everyone...he had an incredible personality and always seemed to be in a great mood. He will truly be missed by the entire JMU community, but we will keep his legacy alive at every gameday...

Nick at one of our tailgates - Sept. 2009

Please keep Nick's family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.

This sudden loss definitely puts things into perspective and makes you realize that tomorrow isn't guaranteed for any of us, no matter how young. He was only 23...I'm also 23.  Here's hoping that Nick's life will inspire us not to waste a single day, but instead to live each day to the fullest, pursue our dreams, and always, always tell those close to us how much we love and care about them. 2011 keeps finding ways to remind me of how very important all of those things are...especially the last one. Even though it's been almost 10 months since Dad died, I'll always regret not being home near the end, and I wish more than anything that I would have been there to tell him one last "I love you," but now I have to wait until we are reunited in Heaven, which will be amazing beyond our wildest dreams, but that doesn't make living life on earth without him any easier in the meantime.  Situations like this just bring those feelings rushing back to the forefront, and while we can't change our past actions, we can adjust our priorities for the future. So, I guess what I'm trying to suggest, in my roundabout way, is to make sure that you invest more time, energy, and love into your relationships and make them a priority over every other aspect of your life...and believe me when I say that I need to take that advice more than anyone else I can think of.

On that note, I suppose I should attempt to get some sleep. Signing off tonight with a heavy heart, and keeping Nick's family in my thoughts and prayers...RIP JMU Jester, we'll miss you, but will see you again someday...

Yay for laid back Saturdays!!! :)

For the first time in quite a while, as this weekend approached, I realized that I didn't really have any plans for Friday or Saturday. Since that's not typical for me, I almost panicked...I mean, weekends have so much potential for fun or productive things, who wants to waste a perfectly great weekend without any plans?!  So, being the spontaneous person that I am, I tried to plan an impromptu trip to D.C./Georgetown...after all, Georgetown Cupcake is now offering their seasonal flavors: pumpkin spice and caramel apple! That fact by itself is enough cause for a trip to D.C.! Not to mention the fact that Georgetown is one of my favorite places to visit and it has been far too long since the last time I was there last February. But alas, none of my Richmond friends were up for the impromptu trip, and since it obviously wouldn't be much fun alone, my spontaneous plan failed. So I was back to the drawing board..

As Friday afternoon rolled around, I decided that I needed to go to the gym after work, no excuses accepted. While I love having a busy social life and wouldn't have it any other way, it often cuts into my gym time. This week was no exception, as my evenings consisted of Halloween festivities, baking pumpkin cupcakes for an office party, small group Bible study/potluck, a movie at the Byrd Theatre, and Sweet Frog, among other things. So, thank goodness for not having any plans on Friday, since it definitely needed to be gym night! And boy did it feel good when my workout was finished!

Today was one of those wonderful, lazy Saturdays where I woke up around 7:15, thought for a split second that I had overslept and was going to be late for work, only to realize that it was Saturday and I didn't have anything going on that would force me to get up out of my cozy bed at that early hour. I finally got up around 9:00ish, did some laundry (so it wasn't a totally lazy day, haha), pulled out my scrapbooking stuff (which now looks like it exploded all over my living room) and finished a few pages. It was a beautiful day outside and I was excited to meet my wonderful friend Christine for brunch (okay, so I did end up making some plans on Friday evening after all, lol). So, I took a nice stroll through the neighborhood and met up with her at one of my fave local spots, DeLux, where we spent an hour and a half enjoying some tasty food and catching up on each other's lives since we last got together.

After that, I made my third trip to the grocery store this week (I should really try to do a better job of planning everything I'm going to need for the week, but just like the rest of my life, I tend to spontaneously decide to make things on the spur of the moment, so it's hard to plan for those moments until they happen. Hehe). My friend Mary's birthday was Friday, but we are celebrating tomorrow so I made her an eclair cake this afternoon, which should be a nice surprise, assuming she doesn't happen to read this post before then, but I think I'm safe. Haha. Then, after more scrapbooking, I tried out a new recipe that was shared with me on Tuesday after I tasted the most amazing macaroni & cheese at our office Halloween potluck, and I decided that I needed to learn to make it for myself. It turns out, the recipe came from a Ukrop's cookbook (which obviously explains why it was so delicious), so I will refrain from posting the recipe here, but I will share a few pics.

My favorite ingredient! Did I mention this mac & cheese has a bit of a kick to it? :)

Ready to go in the oven!

Voila! Piping hot from the oven

After eating 2 helpings for dinner, I can confidently say that this is by far the best baked mac & cheese that I have ever made, and I will definitely be using the Ukrop's recipe from now on! Yay for finding stellar recipes that you know you will rely on again and again!  What's even better is that, in my usual fashion, I swapped out the full fat ingredients and replaced them with fat free or reduced fat versions, yet it still came out super creamy, cheesy, and full of flavor. Delicious and healthified...it's a win-win! :)

Juliana's Crockpot Vegetarian Chili is on the menu for Monday night...I can't remember if I posted my recipe on here last winter after I entered it in the office chili cookoff or not, so I will go browse through my archives and if I don't see it, I will post it at some point during the week.

Hope you are all having an awesome weekend! :)