A Weekend with Friends

This past weekend Drew and I headed out to Houston to see some friends. We had a great time, but after a 10 day driving trip 2 weeks ago and Houston this last weekend, we have decided we will be staying home this weekend.

First we caught up with the Lamberts, it was so good to see them!

Buttercup and Cupcake became instant friends, and spent the entire time playing and wearing each other out!

As you can see this is a self-shot, and I think we did a pretty good jog getting all four of us in the shot!

Russ and Drew

Me, Claire, and little Bradley

We ventured out next to see the Muellers and enjoy a yummy summer thanksgiving. It is a tradition the Mueller's came up with a couple years ago...Thanksgiving is so good, we should have it twice a year!

Meal Planning Monday

Monday: Angel hair with shrimp and asparagus
Tuesday: Evening out with Megan
Wednesday: Lifegroup...hot dog night
Thursday: Drew will be attending a going away party for his best friend
Friday: Bruschetta grilled chicken



Lunches:
Summertime orzo salad

Happy Birthday Megan

On Wednesday my best friend Megan turned 25. It was so good to go out and catch up to celebrate her birth. We headed out to Ra to enjoy some tasty sushi...yum! We had a great time, it's always good to see old friends!

Instagram...my new favorite!

Recently on facebook I have been seeing everyone post these great pictures and I'm thinking man they must really be into photography, they're great! We'll they are using instagram and anyone can be a photographer and make your photos look cool. Here are some pictures I took on my phone awhile ago.

Extreme china hutch makeover

During the first week of summer, I decided to take on a project and repaint our china hutch. We bought it off of Craig's list and it looked fine, but I wanted to make it great and mine. So here we are...

BEFORE...







AFTER...

Trip to Virginia

This past week Drew and I headed out to Virginia for a much needed break. We relaxed, met up with friends, and toured the town! Check out our great week!

Part one...Kerr Lake

Part two...Washington D.C.

Part three... Williamsburg Virginia

Virginia...Williamsburg (part three)

We finished our trip on the east coast by heading out to Williamsburg Virginia. We had so much fun seeing all the old homes and learning about colonial times and the revolutionary war.

This is the court house in Williamsburg...the most common crime committed in Colonial Williamsburg was not going to church, you would be fined 5 shillings.

While in the court house Drew and I committed perjury and we were sent to the stocks for punishment.

Drew with William outside of William and Mary College (the oldest college in the US)

The day finished up with a reenactment of the revolutionary war...it started with the band coming down the street.

and finished with the firing of the cannon.

We ended our trip visiting the Governors Palace, which was very beautiful and our tour guide was amazing and stayed in character throughout the entire tour.
This is the foyer, a little intimidating with all the swords and muskets...they covered the walls of the entry way and halls.
The kings crest, remember we were colonists at the time loyal to the king.
On our way back to Dallas, the sunset in the smokey mountains.

Virginia...D.C. (part two)

From lake Kerr, Drew and I headed north to spend a few days in D.C. We hit the things that we did not see when we were last in D.C. We also met up with one of Drew's co-workers and his wife (who live in D.C.), and Drew's college roommate and his wife (who also live in D.C.)...unfortunately I did not get any pictures of us with our friends when we visited them.

A view of D.C. from the FDR memorial

The Jefferson Memorial...we never made it over there in October

The FDR memorial, it was pretty with all these fountains and waterfalls

Me and Eleanor

We finished up the trip in China Town!

There were still things that we missed, and our feet hurt so bad from walking all over the city. We plan to go again someday so we can hopefully see the rest!

Virginia...chillin at the lake (part one)

This last week Drew and I were blessed with some much needed time off. After a semester of learning paperwork and teaching 3 year olds with special needs I needed a break before jumping into the summer job. We started our trip with a couple days at Kerr lake on the North Carolina/Virginia border. We enjoyed time relaxing with my family and some good family friends.

Best buds: Mom and Kathy relaxing on the boat

James and Morgan goofing around like usual!

The Gates family; Morgan, Kathy, and Tom

Best buds: Dad and Tom

James and his friend Alex

Kathy, me, and James (creepy in the background)

Drew floating in the water

An intense game of Mexican Train Dominos

Meal Planning Monday

Monday: Chicken Satay with broccoli
Tuesday: Spinach and Feta Pasta
Wednesday: Drew fends for himself while I go out and celebrate my friend Megan's birthday!
Thursday: Grilled Chicken Bruschetta with asparagus
Friday: Overstuffed grilled vegetable-feta sandwiches

A new do!

Today I got a much needed hair cut as you will see. My friend Lauren cuts my hair and she did a great job, I am very pleased.

Before...



After...

Man, I feel like a wife...AGAIN!

Today was our last day of school and it feels so good to be done! My after school job ended Monday, so when I got home I was able to relax a little before jumping into my wifely duties. It is so nice to not be exhausted by the time I get home. When I got home today at 4:30 I was able to sit and relax, get a load of laudry in, and get dinner ready. To be honest I can't remember the last time I actually made dinner. I love being a wife and all that it entails, I love cooking and cleaning, taking care of my hubby, and taking care of the home. I love summers because I feel like I get to be a wife again.


Tonight I made Grilled Chile-Lime shrimp with couscous.

1 tsp. Finely grated lime peel
i/1 Tbs. lime juice
1 jalapeno seeded and finely minced
2 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce
3 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. cilantro
1 1/2 lb. medium shrimp (6 per person)

Mix all ingredients except shrimp in a bowl. Peel shrimp except for tail and devein. Place shrimp in bag and dump marinade on top. Marinade for 20 minutes. Place shrimp on cutting board and place them in groups of 6. Using 2 skewers for each group, skewer the shrimp together. Grill shrimp on an oiled grill rack for 2 minutes per side. I paired it with couscous mixed with parsley...delicious!

Enjoy a lower calorie meal.

Meal Planning Monday

Monday: Grilled Chile-Lime Shrimp with grilled veggies
Tuesday: Overstuffed Grilled Vegetable-Feta sandwiches
Wednesday: Southwest Chicken Salad
Thursday: Lemony Shrimp and Rice Salad
Friday: Dinner with Family

My mom's 50!

Last weekend on Memorial Day, my mom turned 50! We started off the weekend right Saturday afternoon all us girls went and got pedicures (unfortunately I was really bad about getting pictures until Monday). That night I hosted a surprise party for my mom (it ended up being a huge success and she really was surprised, she about jumped through the roof). Someone got a video and I will have to get a copy of that later, so I can post it. I was really pleased with the way it turned out, with help all the food was home made and I was told that people thought it was catered...woo-hoo!

I put together a chocolate fountain for dessert

We had a martini mashed potato bar, unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures before people started digging in. I also made marinated Greek olives, sweet Thai chicken wings, stuffed mushrooms, and spinach and artichoke dip.

As I said, I was really bad about getting pictures, this is at the end of the night

Our good friends the Mueller's came in to spend the weekend with us...they were a huge help for the party. Thanks guys!

On Monday we celebrated mom's actual birthday/Memorial day...Drew enjoyed the day outside napping!

We all enjoyed the warm weather out by the pool, Kathy and my mom

Buttercup spent the day soaking wet yipping at all the people in the pool...she really liked biting at the water when people were splashing her. The low of the day for her was when she fell in the pool. She talks a big game, but she really doesn't like water.

My sister Elizabeth and her boyfriend Justin
My little cousin Geoffrey...he's a fish!
Since receiving my mixer at Christmas, baking has become a new favorite hobby of mine. I am still working on perfecting the skill of icing a cake...but I've got the baking part down. For my mom's birthday I made her a Lemon raspberry cake...it was AWESOME!
Don't worry, I only made her blow out 20 candles.