It's funny how things change sometimes

February 15th came and went this year, and I managed to not burst into tears at all for the first time in 8 years.

Feb. 15, 2004. The start of the crappy things that happened in 2004. Long story short: there was a bunch of drama, a huge fight/gunfight broke out. At the end, 1 was dead and 2 were hospitalized. By 8:30am a second man, Mike Jessie, had died. Mike was a good friend of the family. What they had originally thought was a bullet wound to his head turned out to be trauma. He was beaten to death. A 3rd man was so severely brain damaged that he will live out his life in assisted living facilities. I haven't seen him but once since that night.

Usually, I would think about that and cry a bit. This year, I had something good distracting me. My beautiful daughter was 3 months old that day. I wrapped myself up in taking care of her, and I didn't even fully realize the significance of the day until the day was nearly over.

I think Mike would've loved to see my little redhead. Hell, he's even missed out on his own grandchildren.

I think, at this point, it's wrapping my mind around the fact that it's been 8 years since that happened. Which means in June it'll be 8 years since the AEP truck hit my Intrepid, 8 years since I graduated from high school, and 8 years since my parents' nasty car accident. Man, 2004 pretty much sucked.

Slightly more positive: this past week/weekend marked 4 years that Nate & I have been together. Yay!

Super Easy Spinach Dip

So, for quite a while I've made this really awesome spinach dip. It's always a big hit, and until now all I've said about making it is how easy it is to make. I love to cook, but when I can slap something together that is super tasty very easily, it's a double win for me. Lazy & delicious, yes please!

Anyhow, I've been promising to share this one for quite a while, and with the Super Bowl tonight, I figured now was as good a time as any. So, finally, here is how to make my Super Easy Spinach Dip.

 This is it. All you need. 4 ingredients. Told you it was easy.

Thaw & drain the spinach. Make sure you get all the water out, otherwise your dip will get runny.

Put the mayo in a bowl.

Then add the sour cream.

Toss in the onion soup mix.

Give it a good mix. You can stop here and have a good onion dip, but I can't handle that.

Pile in the spinach.

Mix the ever loving daylights out of it. Mix it until every tiny piece of spinach is coated in that pretty beige mixture. Then mix it some more. Cover it, toss it in the fridge.

You can use it right away, but I've found that it's better if you can let it sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. I like to try to do mine overnight, which is a huge feat considering I just want to dive in and eat it right away. Put some wheat thins with it, or make something. I was going to make pita bread but I was far too lazy for that...especially when triscuits were on sale at Meijer. Here's the recipe for a standard batch; I made a double batch in the pictures.

1 box (10oz) frozen spinach
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo

Thaw & drain spinach thoroughly. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Cover & refrigerate before serving.