High Five for Friday!

I could not be more excited that today is Friday!!On Friday's my alarm goes off at 4am and I'm like "Good Morning World! It's Friday!!"and then it starts... I get that Rebecca Black song stuck in my head and it stays there allllllll day long!! So anyway, here's my 5 for Friday!

My Grandparents during WWII

1. I recently started putzing around on ancestry.com, and came across this picture of my grandparents.  They are the couple on the left.  My grandpa was a ball turret gunner in the Navy during WWII, and he's the reason when I decided to join the military, I joined the Navy.  I'm not sure if you can see it, but the writing on the bottom says "To my Darling Sammy, Love Joe"... For my nearest and dearest you know that my name is Sammie Joe, but in case you didn't know.. I'm named after those two amazing people.

Oh BooBoo...

2. Pshh... Like I could have a H54F without a picture of my booboo kitty, who was QUITE the bed hog last night! I've never had a cat who was so willing to spoon, and to be the big spoon to boot.  Yes. I am a crazy cat lady.

My Fabulous Friends

 3. These four Ladies are my rocks.  In all seriousness, They have been there for my marriage, my rocky relationship and my divorce.  Good Times and Bad.  I love them immensely. Starting at the top, Kenz (She's blogger too! check her out here). Jerrica (Another blogging friend! here's a link to her blog!).  Cate.. If I could have picked a sister, I would have picked her. Last, but not least, Whitney.. Whitney is one of the best people I've ever met, she's happy and perky and I just adore her.  I adore all of these ladies, I probably wouldn't be where I am today without them.

Carmel Apple Spice Cider from Starbucks...= Fall

4. The return of Fall drinks at Starbucks. I know these came back a few weeks ago, but can we just talk for a minute about how delicious they are?! Seriously!? Pumpkin Spice Latte, Carmel Apple Spice, Peppermint & Salted Carmel Hot Chocolates, Salted Carmel Mocha.  Take me to Starbucks, or Lose me forever!

5. Along with some seasonal drinks, we can't forget seasonal beer!! Sam Adams Harvest Collection? Don't mind if I do!  I'll be cozying up to this bad boy on Saturday during the game.. and for the rest of fall. Seriously.. Octoberfest and Harvest Pumpkin are incredible!!

I'm linking up with Lauren @ FromMyGreyDesk so go check out her blog and all the links to some other pretty fabulous bloggers!!

Happy Friday Y'all!!

It's GeeGeeBaby GiveAway!!

Ashley, of It'sGeeGeeBaby, has a brand new blog and a fantastic Giveaway!! 

GeeGee Gifts has a variety of gifts, jewelry, stationary and more, all of which can be personalized!! Who doesn't love a pretty girly scripty monogram?!

I have a Defender series otterbox for my iphone, and it's gorgeous! But I also am a girl, so I change my mind with some frequency so I wouldn't turn down another case! Otterbox cases are a must if you have an iPhone in my humble opinion.  I don't consider myself particularly "rough" with my phone but I can't tell you how many times I've dropped my phone and my heart absolutely stopped.  I no longer worry now that I have my Otterbox..

My beautiful iPhone cover

A closer view <3

So go and check out her blog. You can get as many as 50 entries in a day. I was tempted to keep this to myself to better my chances at winning, but Ashley and her shop are just too fantastic to keep a secret!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Hi Friends!

I made these Muffins on Saturday (The First Day of Fall Y'all!!), and they are SOOOOOO tasty! Seriously, I got one picture of them and when I went back to take some more pictures, they were gone. Poof! Gone! 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Goodness

About the Recipe: the original recipe can be found here, but I like to make recipes healthier so I've modified it replacing the vegetable oil with applesauce and I cut the white flour and added in the whole wheat. 

If this is your first time working with whole wheat flour, be warned that whole wheat anything doesn't tend to rise very much.  There's a scientific reason for this, but I won't bore you with that.. Just know that muffins (or bread or cookies or cupcakes or cake..) made with WW flour will never rise up the way white flour does.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Makes: About 45 mini muffins (12 regular)

For the filling:

• 8 oz. Fat Free cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:

• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•  3/4 c + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tbsp
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup applesauce

For the topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp. flour
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, egg, flour and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Set aside.
2. To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. DON'T OVER MIX! The whole wheat flour is already dense, and over mixing makes it even more so.
3. To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Add a dollop of filling on top. I used an ice cream scoop for batter, and a tbsp sized "cookie" scoop for the cheesecake filling. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Cool on wire rack (or don't!) and Enjoy!! 

A Political Rant... And some things you could do instead.

Okay.. I feel like this needs to be said, and I'm sure someone has said it.  I'm sure numerous people have said it.. but I haven't so here. we. go.


First of all, CAN WE PLEASE KEEP IT CLASSY?! For the love of all things chocolate, I am so sick of seeing posts on Facebook, seeing commercials, hearing radio ads, trashing the candidates.  I don't care about your political views, I just don't.  Be you a bleeding heart liberal, a super conservative, or an independent, is there really any need to call either candidate a "moron", "idiot", or "scum"? Really? Can you think of any reason at all? Didn't think so.  I know I'm not alone is being ready for the election to be over with, but my main reason for wanting it to be over is because I'm tired of the ceaseless negativity and hatred towards two men who want to help our country.  I truly believe that if you were to wade through all the crap floating around you would see that both candidates are trying to help.

I'm pretty sure that Obama is not "the Anti-Christ" and Romney obviously doesn't "Hate Women".  Are people just so miserable and unhappy in their own lives that they have nothing better to do than perpetuate the hate and unrest that so many thousands of people already feel?

So instead of whining and moaning on Facebook/Twitter/Blogs/Whatever Social Media form you choose, go out and volunteer with your party.  I work 40 hours a week and take 5 classes, but somehow I still find the time to support my candidate. If you're not particularly fond of either candidate, go spend some time with your board of elections.. Being registered to vote, in my opinion, is as important as actually voting.  You can't do one without the other

STOP THE NAME CALLING... YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!

Moon&Lola Necklace

It's here!! Yay!! I'm so excited!! It's lovely!! Ignore my less than lovely appearance at the moment.. I was just so stoked!!

What are YOU up to this fantastic Friday Evening?

High Five for Friday!!

Well I don't know about y'all.. but I start my Friday's around 4am.  I'm at work by 5am, and up to shenanigans by 5:05am.  This Friday I'm particularly excited about:

1. Being one week closer to finishing College.  Y'all.. I'm so tired of school.  I just want to be a teacher already!!!

2. Being HOME ALONE!!!!

I love that kid.. He's creepy now.. but he was adorable as a kid!

I'm so excited that I'll be getting off work in a few hours, I just don't even know what to do with myself!!!  Should I make a big fancy dinner for myself or order in? Should I have dessert for dinner?! Should there be wine?! (Duh. That's a given.. I love wine)  I'm just so stinkin excited about the possibilities!! The reality will probably be me with some take out, wine and Netflix in my comfy/MC Hammer/Genie pants.

MC Hammer/Genie pants... Plus my "Sammie is not impressed" face.

3. The Fabulous Fall-ish Weather!!
Seriously it's been gorgeous here lately!!  It makes me want to bake something with pumpkin in it.. and I might just do that tonight!

So it's a little warm today, but I'll take mid 50's in the morning and at night any day.

4. Football Season.
Hello. My name is Sammie and I am a DIE HARD Crimson Tide Fan. It's real. It's deep. And it is serious! It helps that Alabama is BEAST when it comes to football.  52-0, and 35-0?! 'Nuff said.

5. My Moon & Lola necklace!!

 I just checked the tracking info.. It will be here today!! Moon&Lola.com It was such a good deal which makes me even happier, I got it for 50% off thanks to Lucky Magazine.  I lust after pretty much everything from them.  Like:

A "small" monogram in sterling silver will run you about $128.00.

And:

How adorable are you?!

I would never take this off!

Really.. is there anything better than monograms? Maybe Nutella.. Nutella & Monograms and I'm a happy girl.

Happy Friday Y'all!!

xoxo,

A Favorite Recipe

Because I work in fitness and as a lady, we're always working to keep up our "girly figures", I absolutely love it when I can find a recipe that's delicious, and healthy. I came across this gem one of my numerous (seriously.. I have dozens..if not hundreds!) cookbooks. I've modified it a bit for my own personal tastes.


Herb Salted Steak and "Mashed potatoes"

For the rosemary salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

For the cauliflower mashed potatoes
1/2 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2–3/4 cup low-fat milk
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 scallions, chopped

For the steak
1 pound lean steak, preferably flank, about 1 1/4 inches thick
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
8 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1. For the rosemary salt, combine chopped rosemary and salt on a cutting board and chop together. Stir in the pepper; transfer to a small bowl, and set aside.

2. For the cauliflower mashed potatoes, place the cauliflower in a steamer basket, set over boiling water, cover, and steam 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add the buttermilk and 1/4 cup of the milk, and puree until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a saucepan and add cold salted water to cover by about 2 inches; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, return to the saucepan and heat over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes to dry. Mash with a potato masher. Add the cauliflower puree, 1/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir to blend, and heat over medium-low heat, adding more milk as needed for a creamy consistency. Stir in the butter and the scallions. Cover, and set aside to keep warm. 3. Heat a grill or grill pan. Sprinkle the steak on both sides generously with the rosemary salt, pressing it into the meat. (Reserve the remainder for another use.) Grill the steak 4 minutes on one side. Turn, and grill to rare, 3 to 4 more minutes. Remove to a plate and let stand 5 minutes. Thinly slice the beef against the grain. Add the vinegar to the pan and stir to incorporate any pan juices.

4. To serve, make a bed of lettuce on each of four plates. Arrange one-quarter of the steak slices on top of the lettuce. Spoon on some of the cauliflower mashed potatoes. Scatter tomatoes over all, drizzle with the balsamic-meat juices, and garnish with the chopped mint. 

About Moi! Parte Uno

I'm not really bilingual.. but I wish I were!! I can speak a bit of French and a bit more Spanish. I frequently toss random words from other languages into conversation (I think it makes it spicy!)

I am the youngest daughter of my parents, Momma & Dr. B (well.. He's working on his Doctorate in "Collegiate Education".. but he's a smarty pants so I call him Dr. B).  I have a sister.  She's a mess.  There is 16 years between us..we speak frequently.. we rarely hug, but that could have more to do with the fact that she lives in Alabama and we're in NC. She has two kiddos, Nanna & Bubba (no, those are not their names.. people are creeps) Here's some family photos:

Momma, Nan & the Dr.

the Dr, Momma & Cinderella (my mom's satanic cat from hell)

the Seeessstteeerr, Bubba & Momma

We are a lively bunch, that's for sure.

I am the manager of a Curves (yess the Women's fitness facility, no it's not just for old ladies). I work about 40 hours a week, plus I get LOTS of phone calls "Sam, we need this.." or "Sam, the computer wont come back on".  I love my job, my staff and my members, but sheeesh.. I need a vacay!!  I go to school full time at Pfeiffer University. I want to be a teacher, specifically Elementary, but I'm hoping for 3rd, 4th, or 5th. I don't think I have the patience for Kindergarteners.  I really LOVE my education classes though, they are fantastic!

Why am I 24 years old and just now in college? well.. because while most people were goofing off, getting drunk, and joining sororities, I was in the Navy.  Granted, I did my fair share of drinking as well. It was fun, but I'm much happier as a civilian. I got to see some amazing places, meet some awesome people, and made a few mistakes as well, but at the end of the day, I learned a lot, and I'm thankful for that.

Okay, I've been boring enough for today... I'll post more about moi some other time!

Enjoy your humpday!!

Are you registered to vote?

Voting is a big deal. If you are 18 and not registered.. Shame on you! Go out and get yourself registered!! Immediately!! Voting is a unique privilege. It's our duty and right as American citizens to vote. So I will ask you again... Are you registered to vote? Why not? It takes two minutes!! TWO MINUTES!!!

 

Get out there and Vote!!!

Hi Y'all!

Welcome to my blog!!

I am SassySammie, and it's a pleasure to meet you!

Yours Truly

This is my "son".. Affectionately known as BooBooKitty.. Actually named Theo

Theodore aka BooBooKitty

I wear many hats...

Bama Hat

My "Belle" hat

Those are two of my favorite hats...but really.. I'm a daughter, sister, friend, student, manager, veteran, baker, chef, volunteer and I am almost always busy, and always Sassy.

This will be my place to live, laugh and love, rant and rave, cry and carry on, but mostly, this will be my place to share.. Share my favorite finds, recipes, good days, bad days, and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll share lots of pictures of my cat.

Boo with his medal, He really enjoyed the Summer Olympics.

I'm looking forward to sharing my life with YOU! I hope you're excited!! It's a crazy life, this one I lead, but thankfully.. It's all mine!

For now though...