Summertime...

The past week or so has really felt like summer. I know we're well into summer now, but all the craziness of moving, unpacking, and adjusting hasn't really felt like a break. I'm not the type of person who can just lay around all day, but I'm very grateful for a profession that gives me this time off. Brandon keeps reminding me that I haven't really had a "summer" in several years, so I'm trying to soak it up now before school starts and the craziness starts all over. It takes me back to my elementary school summer days where my brother and I would sit around watching "Press Your Luck" (no whammies!) and re-runs of "MacGyver". Now as an adult, it's a fine line between laziness and relishing in the break that I longed for all school year.

I still can't completely relax though because I still don't have a job. My interview on Tuesday went really well. The principal was nice, and the school seems great. She told me she was interviewing other people and to pray about it and let her know. So I did just that and talked it over with Brandon and others and emailed her back telling her I wanted the job. Now I'm waiting again to hear from her to see what the next step might be.

We really enjoyed my mom coming to visit this past weekend. It always feels good to have familiar people in an unfamiliar place, especially when it's your momma! :) We had fun trying out new restaurants like Jim 'N Nick's BBQ and Mafiaoza's Pizzeria, exploring the Nashville Farmer's Market, and walking around downtown. Being in a new city really is fun! :)

**Sidenote**: Jim 'N Nick's serves these amazing cheese biscuits/muffins, so we decided to try making our own. Mom found this recipe online (which is a great feat all in itself!), and I thought I'd share it. It's super easy and calls for ingredients that most kitchens already have (my favorite kind of recipes!), and they're pretty much exactly like the ones in the restaurant. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar (I'll use less next time)

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 c. 2% milk

1 egg, beaten well

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a greased muffin pan and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

**End sidenote**

We opted out of the downtown 4th of July celebration and went to Crockett Park in Brentwood. We celebrated the 4th as every American should: a picnic dinner on a baseball field with an awesome fireworks show. We had a great time and might just make it a tradition!

One of the first things I found when doing my Nashville research was this thing called "Movies in the Park". It's pretty much exactly how it sounds, and yesterday was the last one for the summer. So we packed a picnic dinner again and headed out to Centennial Park. While waiting on the movie ("Where the Wild Things Are") to start, we played Phase 10 and had our first gourmet cupcakes...delish! We ended up not staying for the whole movie because people around us were talking, but we had a great time and might Netflix the movie to finish it. I had one of those "wanna stop time" moments as we were watching the movie with the crickets chirping in the background and fireflies randomly light up around us.

This. is. summer. and I'm lovin it!

Until next time,

kate :)