Spring Break: The Curse

I know everyone has been dying in anticipation to see the pie that Grandma helped me make at the beach....but first you have to hear the story.

As you know my grandma is considered to be an expert in pie making, so she wanted to make sure to embark her knowledge and skills on me since apparently the pie making skill skips a generation (i.e. I have never seen my own mother make a pie). So, during our Spring Break trip to OIB we made it a mission to make the perfect chocolate pie. But as every good pie maker knows, to make a delicious pie you must have a nice pie plate...

Turns out the beach house does not have one of those, so our new mission before our mission was to find a pie plate. We could have taken the easy way out and just gone over to Wal-mart, but we decided to thrift. We searched and searched...and still no pie plates to be found; however, along the way my mom and grandma found a lot of other things. Mom came back with a whole set of dishes (going against my advice that she has no room for it), some "R" glasses (I approved), a $1 amber colored bowl (complete with dusty grapes), and I'm sure there was something else I just cannot remember. Grandma came back with a pot and a painting of a boat. I came back empty handed and remorseful that our townhouse cannot fit anything else in in it.

Anyway, during our last and final stop, Grandma found a Pyrex pie plate, just like her mom's:

We felt good and ready to get started. We took out all the necessary items we needed and I began taking notes. Turns out Grandma did not follow the recipe from her book, so I had to add some extra notes. For example, you are supposed to poke a fork on the bottom of your crust to help it from getting too fluffy (I think?) and you need to add a little bit more of ____ than what it says, etc...

Grandma inspecting my work....

and giving me a lot of directions...

mom needed to learn a thing or 2 as well

Everything was smooth sailing and ready to go. We put the pie in the oven and then set inside the fridge for a couple of hours.

After that, it was time for the meringue, the moment we had all been waiting for. We made sure our egg whites were room temp and beat them, with some sugar and vanilla, on high. I finally made meringue with peaks!

once again Grandma is inspecting in the background...

Praise the Lord! Look at that pie...

After all our hard work, we had to take a picture!

Meanwhile, dad and grandpa were getting our feast prepared! We had steaks, salad and potatoes. It was delicious.

After dinner it was time for the big reveal and to cut the pie. We had been waiting in anticipation all day and the odds seemed to be in our favor. This pie, that I had been trying to make for 2 years, would finally be one worth eating. I could finally tell my husband that I was the type of wife that could make him proud. I could finally be the family member to bring a pie to holiday dinners and not have to lie to them about whether I made it or not. We got out the plates and were ready to go...

and quickly realized we needed bowls. and according to my grandpa, maybe even some straws...


yep, the pie making curse even affected my own grandmother's ability to teach me how to make a pie. She said that in all her years she has never had something like this happen before. Maybe it was the pressure? Not being used to a different oven? Or maybe it is my curse...

So I may not be the best baker, but I am motivated. I will try until I get this right...

My goal is to practice a few more times and then be able to serve an amazing piece of pie to my grandparents when they come visit in May. wish me luck!

March Madness

I have so much to blog about...but I have not had anytime because March Madness has taken over! Luke and I spent the best $4 of our lives and bought the NCAA tourney package so we can watch every game on our computer (we do not have cable). What that means is, we have to use one of our computers to hook up to our TV in order to watch the game...which means I can't blog, do homework, etc. when the games are on...darn!

This year is especially exciting the because the one and only NC STATE is going to the SWEET SIXTEEN. If you know my family, this is a HUGE deal. My dad has been faithful to NC State ever since he was young boy. He graduated from there and spent sometime working in the basketball stadium. He has stuck with them in the WORST of their seasons and was with them during the 2 NCAA championships. I could not be more excited for him..and the team of course!

And I am sure you have seen this video, but the NC State could not be more excited either. Check out this video of when they found out they were going to the tourney (last team called):

click here

I don't care who you cheer for, that has got to bring some tears to your eyes.

Lastly, if you know my dad you know that his favorite line to share after a hard game is, "next year is the year." Even my friends know that about him...well Dad, this year is the year! And, apparently next year is going to be even better :)

Let's GO PACK!!

Spring Break: Megan and Chris get hitched!

At one point in college, Meg and I were talking about our future weddings and the one thing Chris knew that he wanted was...a turkey leg. Well, instead he got a beautiful wedding at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro. Everything was gorgeous, and of course the bride was the most stunning of all! Here are some snapshots of our fun evening:

the cool trees surrounding the ceremony

loved this idea of using an old window for the seating chart

honestly, the best wedding cake I've ever had

yep, this is the best shot of the 3 of us I got all night

dancing to Dave Barnes

Shan and Josh

old roomie...so excited for her and Josh to come visit this weekend!

my sweet little was so nervous to give her toast, and she did so great!

Allison's MOH toast was the funniest I have heard in all the 200 weddings I have been to! After the promised Sex and the City toast, she had us laughing with pictures and finally the start of an interpretive dance! She is just so funny, I love her.

Josh and Matt trying to hide watching the UNC game!

Love this SK sister of mine!

Keeping the dance floor rockin...

Allison and me

my little is next!

Megan and Chris, I was so blessed to be able to celebrate with you guys! Much love to you as you start this new journey!

@least Mine was Edible...

A few days after Valentine's Day, Luke decided to try to show me up by making a banana cream pie. Not only was it more soupy than mine, but also it tasted like melted bananas that had been sitting in a car for a few days...

Luke, great effort, but no dice.




Don't worry, grandma is headed to the beach today and pie making 101 begins in T minus 4 hours. Hopefully one Logan can get this right!

Spring Break Plans 2012...

Well, another Spring Break has approached us. I was not sure I was going to make it with the craziness that this semester has been so far and 2 group presentations this week. But, Spring Break has officially begun! Sadly, this will probably be my last real spring break (I know those of you that have been in corporate jobs the past 4 years are laughing in my face). Next year during Spring Break I will be working on my portfolio (CSPA version of a master's thesis), so I need to take advantage of the week off! Turns out student affairs professionals DO have to work during breaks...lame.

Thinking about Spring Break has led me to reflect on some past Spring Breaks...

Like when Lindsay, Stacey, Emily and I mooched our way to Florida and Back. Our week was spent eating from a food bag, traveling, discovering we booked a hotel for the wrong the weekend so we had to call Stacey's brother's x-girlfriend and stay with her...wow it was insane. By the way, we still need to write a book on how to travel on a dime.

Looking really young and petite in Charleston in 2002...can you believe that was 10 years ago?! Feeling old...

Or, the time that we rented a house in Florida with 15 people. We drove through the night and I started seeing UFOs, then we had theme dinners and Ren, Chad and I secretly told everyone we had made our own Chinese meal (with duck) when really we got in from a China Buffet. And they believed us...

driving through the night...

why they rented a house to these people...I have no idea?

And then a few years ago I fell in love with Luke in the DR during SB. I am pretty sure my parents paid for that trip just because they wanted Luke as a future son-in-law. We were "VIPS" and did "whatever you like...yeah" :



And last year I was in St. Kitts with my entire family for Brian and LuAnn's wedding:

Wow, am I blessed. This year will not be as exotic and no one will be falling in love for the first time, but I will get to hang out with my mom & dad, and my grandparents for the week in Ocean Isle Beach. Our itinerary is as follows:

I will begin my SB at Megan's wedding at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro and I am so excited to see them get hitched (finally!). Megan is one of my sorority sisters and her and Chris have been dating forever...I love them both and can't wait to celebrate:

Then I will drive to the beach with my mom and it will just be us for a few days. We will probably drink wine, go on walks and watch movies.

I am going to craft a fun present for a bride to be that will remain nameless.

Then my grandma will try to teach me the art of meringue. I promise I will come back with better looking pie pictures :)

And I am sure we will eat fried food, go to our favorite thrift stores, and maybe hit up Myrtle Beach for some shopping.

PURE BLISS. All while Luke is at home working...sorry babe! But thats OK because I come home on Thursday and then Friday we will do this...

the B&B

We have a hot date at Poplar Springs Inn (here's to groupon!) which will be our first vacation (1 night stay) alone since our honeymoon. We were planning to use it for our 1 year anniversary, but then I had to work! So we will stay there and do some wine tasting....

Fun updates to come!

The Great Debacle

We just got home from visiting our families in Greensboro. Our weekend was so fun and full! We had the chance to babysit Lila and Amelia on Friday night while Matt and Evan were out. Lila and I got to lay in bed and "girl talk" before she fell asleep. By the way, I totally miss girl sleepovers and talking ourselves to sleep, Luke just does not know how to do it. Lila fell asleep as we finished talking about princesses, favorite colors, nail polish, her light-up turtle, dancing, etc. What a sweet time it was. And then there is Amelia who is the snuggliest, sweetest, baby I have ever met. Her cheeks make my heart melt...

Saturday morning we got up and had a fabulous breakfast with Connie and then I headed over to Evan and Matt's to play with the girls again. Lila and I spent time "flying" and having a fake birthday party all while catching up and spending some QT time with Matt and Evan...

Later that day, Luke went to Squatty Pant's wedding in Durham while Evan, Connie and I celebrated Connie's birthday at the spa (her bday was in November but this was the first weekend we could make it down). We had an AMAZING winter salad and french onion soup at the Greensboro Country Club and then headed to Chakras for facials. It was so much fun...relaxing and spending time with family is one of my favorite things to do.

After the spa, Connie had a painting party to host, so Evan and Matt got a babysitter and we headed to dinner at Lucky 32. The food and conversation was wonderful, and afterward Connie met up with Luke and I for a drink at the new 1618 bar.

And then this morning my parents hosted a brunch for everyone and we got to spend the morning eating and catching up. It was fun to have everyone over at my parents...I love how marriage can bring families together. After playing and chatting it was time to head home and for the first time in a long time I felt genuinely sad about coming back to VA. This weekend reminded me of how much I love being close to my family and friends in NC.

I have been in Harrisonburg for 3.5 years now and having been driving back and forth to NC ever since. The 3.5 hour drive is beautiful, but it is also annoying and exhausting. This has left Luke and I in a debacle:

We have wonderful new friends and an amazing church here in Harrisonburg. We feel at home here and love the people we have created new relationships with. But, we still find ourselves constantly driving home to continue relationships with friends and family that we deeply care about. We value these people and the thing they all have in common is this: they are at least 3.5 hours away and all live in NC. Not only does this cost a lot of money, but also spending weekends away from your home can be tiring. It seems that we pack up every Friday and have to unpack every Sunday...

How can we "be here" but also "be there" at the same time? How can we make sure we are making new friends in Harrisonburg while also making sure we do not miss our nieces growing up? Or important family events? Or weddings and showers of those we have known for over 10 years? I never realized it until this weekend, but I really envy my friends in Harrisonburg who have family close by. They are constantly going there for Sunday dinners or dropping off their kids at their grandparents...but Luke and I just have eachother.

Being in Harrisonburg has been the greatest gift to our new marriage and life together. We have established ourselves as a couple and God has blessed us with people in our lives that only know "The Logans" and not "Taylor Register and Luke Logan." No one here knows me as "Tay Reg" but only as "Tay Lo." Sometimes it is so refreshing, but other times it makes me sad.

So, friends, that is our debacle. Our heart is both in Harrisonburg and NC at the same time and sometimes it feels like life would be easier if it was just in one place...who knows where we will end up after I graduate, but either way we need to balance our present and see where we are right now as a gift.

Also, for those of you in CSPA...lets start thinking about a metaphor for this one :)

Valentine's Day Pie

Valentine's Day has never been a big deal to Luke and I, but we always try to do a little something special for each other. This year I woke up to post-its hidden all around the house with sweet things that Luke likes about me (apparently I have 20 more to find). So far I have discovered them in places like: my shoes, kitchen cabinets, text books, underwear drawer, etc. I also came home to a nice table all set up with our china and a nice bottle of wine! It was wonderful...

nice and greasy after a long day of work and school

So you might be wondering what I did for my valentine? Well, if you know Luke then you know that he loves pies. If you know me, then you know baked fruit creeps me out; therefore, most pies disgust me. And if you have been reading my blog for awhile, then you know that my history with pies is short and sad, click here for my first pie story.

This year for Luke's birthday I gave him a coupon book for different things, and some of them conveniently included expiration dates (haha). Luke forgot to turn his pie one in on time, so I thought I would surprise him with making him a pie anyway for Valentine's Day. I really thought all things were lined up for a great night of pie:

1. Last year I messed up so bad it can only get better from here

2. I had my special pie plate that my mom found me at my grandma's. I think she thought it would help me out in my future endeavors:

3. I also had my grandma's Kitchen Aid...in hopes that her spirit would suddenly make me a good baker....and I must say it made me look like a natural (and that cute apron of course)

4. my mom called with some last minute advice about making sure your egg whites are room temperature.

So, all odds were in my favor and everything seemed to be going pretty well...and then I got the meringue (at least I pronounced it right this year), and instead of getting thick and high...it got about as thick as a piece of paper.

This is what I was hoping for:

and this is what I got:

Oh is that lemon soup?! Or, maybe a melted lemon bar? Maybe some snot? NO! That is the pie that I made. Seriously, I tried so hard. Maybe I need to stick to Costco or calling my grandma to make desserts that I am responsible for (oops Thanksgiving). So this year I got the flavor right, but the consistency and the meringue were mediocre at best. However Luke was just happy to see me try and followed up my sad attempt with a great veggie/ravioli dinner for the 2 of us.

So, Valentine's Day was great...but let's hope next year is the year with the pie!