Time to clean house

I'm giving this Whole 30 plan a go starting January 2. I'm working on the first week's meal plan now as Norey bounces in her exersaucer to my left. I'm adding links to the meals/dishes that I've found online. Several links go to the online resource for Diane Sanfilippo's book Practical Paleo. I'm using this to help me get started since 1) I already own it and 2) I've tried several recipes and know those that I like.

Breakfast: All week I'm making fruit smoothies in my Magic Bullet. A mix of banana, kale, spinach, chard, frozen berries (blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry) and organic applesauce (just mushed up organic apples).

Lunch: I'm working on this. I'll probably start with lettuce rolled around meat, an egg white or two, and something else. Once I've cooked a few dinners, then the leftovers will likely become a staple of my lunches. There will probably be a lot of leftovers from each meal, and it drives me nuts to have the fridge over-filled.

Dinner: Here's where the magic *should* happen...

Friday (January 2nd): Grilled flank steak with a side of sauteed spinach and roasted sweet potato

Saturday: Chicken wings with roasted garlic aioli

Sunday: Spaghetti Squash pasta with a small side salad (I am not going to be adding the cheese, but other than that this will be very similar to the linked recipe)

Monday: Mustard crusted salmon with asparagus

Tuesday: Tangy taco salad with a side of Mexican "rice"

Wednesday: Beef and Veggie Stir-Fry

Thursday: Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps

So this should get me through week number one. I'm guessing this will be the tough one. But we can do just about anything for 30 days...right? Although the husband has already said I should give myself one night a week to have a drink. I'll think on that one. ;)

I'm continuing to explore websites with meals available. And am part of the Whole30 - January 15 Beginners FB group. Maybe through meal sharing and encouragement we can all push through and clean up our bodies.

Solids

Norey has hit the 5 month marker. And we are trying "solids" (aka mushed up).  About a month ago we started with quinoa cereal mixed with purified water. It took a little while, but she opened up to it last week.

Last week we tried out bananas by Beechnut.  It has some kind of acid mixed in to help with the color, and I think the bitterness of that turned her off. Not a fan.

This week we've been doing quinoa for breakfast, and yesterday I tried out carrots for dinner. A HIT! She gobbled it down...the high chair is slightly stained (but who really cares).

Speaking of high chairs...we searched and searched and chose the IKEA Antilop. So far, so good. Simple and inexpensive. And slightly stained with carrot.

A story in a dream

She died on a Tuesday.

They sat in the kitchen. "I'm your father," he said. "I'm here Now"

Over and over.  Eleven days. Eleven days of the can opener twisting.  Putting water to boil. The glass jars, which you'd think would have been stained grape purple, tomato red, green bean. But now stood clear.  Like the day she'd brought them home, crowded across the table.

I'm your father. I'm here now.

Eleven days.

Now the wind sings through the spaces under doors. Twirling through the house, with nothing in its way except a pile of glass jars in the sink. Unstained.












It's a work in progress.

What Three Months Can Do

Tomorrow Norey turns 3 months old. And time continues to pass quicker than is acceptable.

Norey came into the world June 25th, 7 minutes after midnight. The first three hours of her life were uneventful. Just as so many other mothers experience them. The following 3-4 days were more than any of us anticipated.

We came home Saturday, June 29th. My parents were unpatiently waiting for us to arrive. I do not remember a time before or since that the house has been so clean.

By the end of that following week I began to think "Oh no, we've made a horrible mistake. What was I thinking?!" Then I got a good, long nap. And then "Oh, yes. This is exactly what we wanted."

I've never so deeply appreciated leaving the house to go to the grocery store. Even for 20 minutes.

We went on a family almost-stay-cation to Palestine in mid-August. Stayed two weeks. Relaxing with her there was wonderful. So many things change and develop over such a short period of time.

September brought a breeze through the kitchen door. And testing of patience. And trying out new bottles. And new bedtimes. And...

The 13th Has Come and Gone and Now We Listen to Music

Sunil's dream/wish/greatest-want-since-he-learned-of-an-Old-Fashioned, my going into labor and giving birth to Eleanor on Friday, June 13th (a full moon), has come and gone. Now we are back to just plain old waiting.

As he un-patiently waited the arrival of the 13th and potentially our first born child, I made a Birth Plan and an L&D playlist. Thanks to the firm I won a $50 iTunes gift card in our Easter egg hunt. I thought I'd lost it a while back, so it was still full of all fifty dollars.

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Willome for posting that video with James Blake in the background. I "borrowed" this one and worked from there mixing new music with those soothing favorites I already have. I have five and a half hours of music at this time.

The result...with more to add (I've still got $20 on the card and a potential Labor time of 20+ hours):

Tenuousness	3:51	Andrew Bird
Some Surprise	3:18	Gary Lightbody & Lisa Hannigan
Frog on My Toe	3:39	Tori Amos
Ada Plays	3:18	Various
Dirge	3:16	Perfume Genius
I Wish You Love	3:32	Rachael Yamagata
Aria	3:05	Gabriel Yared/Original Soundtrack
Ribbons Undone	4:30	Tori Amos
Pienso en Ti	2:26	Shakira
Winter Song	4:27	Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
Track 1	6:38	Sigur Rós
All the Wild Horses	3:16	Ray LaMontagne
Track 3	6:33	Sigur Rós
Passing Afternoon	4:03	Iron and Wine
Can I Stay	3:40	Ray LaMontagne
Maria's Death [Rückert Lied No. 5]	3:39	Original Soundtrack
Meet Me by the Water	3:58	Rachael Yamagata
A Gift Of A Thistle	1:38	James Horner: London Symphony Orchestra
Duet	4:01	Rachael Yamagata
Sister Song	2:26	Perfume Genius
Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World	4:53	Original Soundtrack
Elephants Instrumental	1:46	Rachael Yamagata
I. Adagio Sostenuto from Piano Sonata No. 14	4:32	Original Soundtrack
Timshel	2:53	Mumford & Sons
Bagatelle in a Minor for Piano, Woo 59, "Für Elise"	2:56	Original Soundtrack
Have a Little Faith	3:54	Michael Franti & Spearhead
Elysium	2:42	Original Soundtrack
No Woman No Cry	7:09	Bob Marley
What a Wonderful World	2:24	Louis Armstrong
Three Little Birds	3:02	Bob Marley
Great Escape	2:09	Moby
Prospero's Speech	3:23	Loreena McKennitt
Full Circle	5:57	Loreena McKennitt
Love Me Like a Song (featuring Willie Nelson)	3:41	Kimmie Rhodes
Such Great Heights	4:13	Iron and Wine
Naked as We Came	2:35	Iron and Wine
The Secret Wedding	6:33	James Horner: London Symphony Orchestra
I Go to the Barn Because I Like the	3:07	Band of Horses
Can't Help Falling In Love (Live At Daytrotter)	3:14	Ingrid Michaelson
Lay Me Down	3:13	The Frames
The Trapeze Swinger	9:31	Iron & Wine
Let Me Come In!	1:00	Gabriel Yared/Original Soundtrack
Holocene	5:37	Bon Iver
All the Way Down	2:39	Glen Hansard
Honestly	4:11	Carey Brothers
Black Nights	1:54	Gabriel Yared/Original Soundtrack
Michicant	3:46	Bon Iver
Nearer My God To Thee	2:22	Eileen Ivers
I Will Follow You Into The Dark	3:11	Death Cab for Cutie
Clementine	4:07	The Decemberists
Wash.	4:59	Bon Iver
I Can't GIve You Anything But Love	3:26	Billie Holiday
Redemption Song	3:48	Bob Marley
Hidden Place	5:29	Björk
Sun In My Mouth	2:40	Björk
Harm Of Will	4:37	Björk
Cocoon	4:28	Björk
It's Not Up To You	5:09	Björk
Undo	5:38	Björk
Pagan Poetry	5:15	Björk
Frosti	1:41	Björk
Aurora	4:40	Björk
An Echo, A Stain	4:04	Björk
Across the Universe	4:08	Rufus Wainwright
Wild Horses	5:43	The Rolling Stones
Curs In the Weeds	3:31	Horse Feathers
Starving Robins	3:21	Horse Feathers
Cascades	4:13	Horse Feathers
As a Ghost	2:58	Horse Feathers
Falling Through the Roof	2:52	Horse Feathers
Like Lavender	3:27	Horse Feathers
Scare Away the Dark	4:39	Passenger
Heart's On Fire	4:13	Passenger
Redford (For Yia-Yia and Pappou)	2:02	Sufjan Stevens
I Never Learnt to Share	4:52	James Blake
Dlm	2:26	James Blake
Our Love Comes Back	3:39	James Blake
A Case of You	2:57	James Blake
Ocean Floor for Everything	3:13	How to Dress Well
World I Need You, Won't Be Without You (Proem)	2:49	How to Dress Well
Enough Thunder	4:15	James Blake
The Curse	5:04	Josh Ritter
Folk Bloodbath	5:16	Josh Ritter
Waves	5:32	Mono Band
Murder in the City	3:12	The Avett Brothers
Naïve	3:52	Sleeping at Last
The Leaving Song	4:10	Chris Garneau

We've Been Busy

Oh how much has changed in the (almost) two years since last writing here.

Sunil completed his degree and is now a PhD! It felt like forever getting there, but last April (2013) he defended his dissertation and became Dr. Patel. We had a party in late April, and he walked in early May.

The summer of 2013 was insanely busy. Two old and very dear friends were getting married within two months of each other (August and October)...and they are also sisters. There were wedding showers and bachelorette parties to attend, plus another friend's baby shower - all in Austin. My co-workers were beginning to wonder if I was planning a move down there.

Once the last wedding was finished we were able to take a deep breath...but not for long. The entire drive home from Austin that late October Sunday was miserable. I couldn't shake my hangover (it was a fun reception). I couldn't even eat dinner. Then the same thing all day Monday. Waves of "ugh." And again Tuesday. Then, when I started crying over The Elf, Sunil went to the grocery store down the street and came back with champagne and a home pregnancy test.

Positive.

It was October 29th.

I had an appointment that Friday, November 1st, with my OB. I was six weeks and one day pregnant. We told ourselves we would keep it quiet for a little while. Then we got home. And told everyone by the end of the following day.

So we've been on Baby Adventure mode ever since. We had to replace that wall we tore down between two of the rooms. And got a bigger and better closet out of it. We've had four baby showers (!). We've completed the registry. We've got a baby doll we (well, I) tote around sometimes to get the dogs comfortable with the idea. We've got frozen pasta sauce prepared for Sundays. We are ready. As ready as we will ever be.

And now we are waiting.

An Ultrasound

Tortilla Soup and My LOVE of Cooking...New Love

Last week we did something revolutionary. We went to the store on Saturday, bought everything we needed for a whole week, stuck with it, and didn't see the store again until Friday evening.  It was kinda amazing.

I sat down and wrote out our week of dinners on paper, planned the ingredients against what we already had at home, and away we went.

Once we got back I used our big over-the-fireplace chalkboard to write down our menu for the week, with a warning to Sunil that we would be sticking to it. And we did.  The only thing that threw us off was the a/c going out and that just swapped leftovers and something for the oven day (in this instance it was the Hanks' spinach, mozzarella and sausage roll).  It was great. It was easy. It is being repeated!

This week has started out very well. And it is all inspiring me to cook different foods rather than get tired and stick to our usual go-to meals - spaghetti, burgers, leftover spaghetti, leftover burgers, tacos, frozen pizza. This week's menu:

Monday - Honey Mustard and Panko-Crusted Chicken with Creamed Spinach

Tuesday - Stuffed Bell Peppers (with a little Sriracha for spice) and Cornbread

Wednesday - Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday - Tilapia, Salad, Roasted Asparagus

And it's been fun. I'm getting much more comfortable in the kitchen. Trying out spices. Measuring with just my hands (Yikes!). Very adventurous.

So tonight's adventure in cooking is tortilla soup. A truly new food. I can't say I've ever even eaten tortilla soup. I'm definitely stepping out of the comfort zone with this one. But, hey, it has cheese, corn, chicken, Ro-Tel...I don't know how it could go too wrong.

Besides, we've always got a frozen pizza in the garage freezer just in case.

Technology-Free Day

For Summer I I had to take an introduction to computing course. The teacher wanted us to spend 24 hours without technology, then write a 3-4 page (single space : /) paper on it. It is important to note some of the rules.
1.) Driving is acceptable without any radio though;
2.) No oven or stovetop IF they are controlled with computers (as most are);
3.) Only use cash if you purchase something unless the store uses the old-school credit card swiper and you have to physically sign the receipt; and
4.) Basically just nothing that is run by a computer in ANY WAY (it's amazing how many items are on that list).

Here is the result:

My Saturday began with the knowledge that I had about 24 hours to prepare myself for the 24-Hour Project. It was time to ready the supplies:

·         Reading material, because I’m pretty sure a Nook is considered digital, and I refuse to read the only un-read “book” in the house – Fifty Shades of Grey (on loan from an aunt);

·         Cash – to buy a book worth reading;

·         Prep friends and family for the astonishing one-day disappearance;

·         Get a good movie in with the husband; and

·         Figure out what to eat in lieu of our usual “Spaghetti Sunday”.

It got underway that afternoon. I’d say it really started with my reminder to my husband (Sunil) that there would be no TV (he was happy on that one), no movies (a little saddened there), no cell phones (“WHAT?! That’s crazy!”), no cooking in the kitchen (“So, we’re grilling?”), and absolutely no computers (“Well, I guess I’ll spend the day at a coffee shop then.”).  Next up, I made my list. I knew I wanted to use this time as an excuse to browse around the bookstore, something I really miss doing now that I have a Nook. So, Barnes & Noble made the cut, first. Dinner followed in importance. We were going to grill, so there were obvious limitations to this area. Steak, potato, and stuffed mushrooms have always been enjoyable. Done. Now, the hardest part. Explain to Mom why I won’t be calling for our daily 1+ hour chat on Sunday. This was not easy. She was going to be spending Saturday evening gaining crucial small town gossip at a martini party. Oh, the Sunday gossip had such potential. But, it would just have to be postponed until Monday after work. She ended up calling during said party to give me a little scoop to tide us both over until Monday.

Evening came. Movie time. Sunil and I got all caught up on a thriller – Apollo 18 – and ate heated-in-the-digital-oven pizza.  It was tasty.

Unfortunately, I realized the following morning that I had forgotten to do one thing – notify FaceBook. Dang! The urge was strong. But I fought it off with a trip to one of my favorite places – the bookstore.

I got dressed, took a little Patel Petty Cash, and got in the car. The first thing I did was reach for the radio. It was Sunday, and NPR has “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” and “Car Talk” on, but I would just have to podcast those some other day. What to do with no radio? Roll the windows down. Of course! I’m sure the world of Las Colinas just loved my singing.  

I pulled up to Barnes & Noble, re-checked the cash in my back pocket, and strolled on in. Oh! The books. So many new ones. I hadn’t been to a bookstore since December. I was almost overwhelmed. “NEW IN PAPERBACK.” “NEW BESTSELLERS.” Too many to choose from. I dove in at the first table. Paperback. My first selection, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness. About Africa. Reminded me of Poisonwood Bible, a favorite of mine. But no, I refuse to get the first one. This is my day to just do what I want to do. I was going to take my time. I kept finding more and more. Then I realized I couldn’t take pictures of them with my phone to keep track of the ones I wanted for the future. And I sure didn’t have enough money to buy them all – cash flow problem, literally. Thankfully I found a pen and scrap of paper. I wrote down several titles: An Everlasting Meal, Blue Nights, Nightwoods, Please Look After Mom, The Sweet Life in Paris, Wild. Now that I had wandered and meandered and wondered, I had to make a choice – it had been almost two hours. I chose my book – Wild. It was so pertinent to the project too. A woman plucks herself out of her regular world and leaves civilization to hike the 2,663-mile Pacific Coast Trail hoping to find something in herself that was missing.

Next up, groceries. And the best part – I was by Kroger! Not our boring old Tom Thumb. Or maybe it was the worst part. I was on a budget, after all. That did not make this mecca of produce, cheese, bread, and flowers easy to navigate. I had to be careful in my choices and budget accordingly. I ended up scouring the mini gourmet cheeses for a fun appetizer, I couldn’t resist. Add some crusty Italian bread for $1.50, and voila, yumminess.

Now it was time to head home. Back in the car I went, and my hand reached straight for the radio again. I resisted. I rolled the windows back down. I then realized – when I saw hallmark right in front of me – that my sister-in-law’s birthday is Tuesday. I don’t have a card. I also don’t have any more cash. This is frustrating.

My windblown hair and I finally arrived back at the house with groceries, book, and a card-sized empty spot. I put everything away and began marinating the steaks. A little dry rub, some cracked peppercorn, a little garlic, drowned in Worcestershire sauce, back in the fridge. This will be tasty.

Speaking of tasty. It was about time for lunch. Normally I prepare lunch with the news on in the background. Then I typically eat lunch while watching recorded episodes of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report or some horrible guilty-pleasure Housewives of ______. It spares Sunil from having to listen to them when he comes home. But, not today. Today, I made a sandwich. A gourmet sandwich. I mean, I had a lot of time on my hands. Bread, cheddar cheese, turkey, tarragon Russian dressing, caramelized onions (made a few days earlier), and a side of sweet potato chips. Oh, it was good. I devoured it while reading chapter one of my new, hardback book. I washed the dishes. Then, I got on a roll and hand washed all our dishes. Then I actually dried them and put them all away. Trust me, this is a dreaded chore, made all the more so by doing it without even the radio on. My dogs and I had a long one-sided conversation during my various chores on Sunday.

Now, some real me time. I grabbed my book, removed some back cushions, and sprawled out on the couch. Two hours of true quiet time later, Sunil walked in the door. He took a few minutes before it registered why everything was so quiet. “Oh, yeah. This is that 24-hour thing today.”

“Yep. Don’t even talk to me about computers or phones or anything like that.”

“K.”

He didn’t really know what to do with himself. He sat in the chair across from me. He stared at me. He stared out the window. He sighed. “I think the yard needs to be mowed.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ll be outside.”

About fifteen minutes later I joined him. I used our brand new Round-Up Ready-to-Use Extended Control Weed & Grass Killer to commit a little herbicide. Then we started pulling out the weeds that were mixed in with grass we didn’t want to murder. After about an hour it started to rain. I think our neighbor decided we must be nuts because he bailed on being outside. We kept pulling weeds. It was too much fun getting drenched and digging in the mud. So much for that manicure.

After that was done, I went inside and got showered and cleaned up. I folded laundry on the dining table so I could watch Sunil mow outside the back windows. I talked to the dogs. I reached for my phone to take a picture of my dogs when they did something really cute. I sighed.

Now it was getting later. Sunil came in from the yard work. He showered. We started prepping dinner. Sunil went outside to get the grill ready. I worked on scraping the inside of those mushrooms out. I chopped up five Serrano peppers. I got out the cheese (yeah, if you haven’t noticed, I really like cheese). I stuffed the mushrooms with the peppers and cheese and set them on a plate.

About this time, one of our friends came over. I suspect Sunil was going a little stir crazy without excess sound and must have invited him to stop by, but I have no proof of this. I had to explain the rules of the day to our friend. “So, what’s the point?”

“To go without all the ease of technology for a day and see what we can get from that.”

“Whatever.”

The three of us had a nice time. We talked about work. We talked about his current relationship. We planned out a late summer mini vacation. NOLA here we come! Once the steaks were ready our friend headed home. He had more of a craving for In-N-Out burger.

Sunil and I ate dinner and talked. This was novel. Well, actually, it just reminded me of the days when we were dating. I had a tiny apartment back then. But I didn’t have cable. We talked about lots of things, personal things, so, sorry, you don’t get the details. I proposed we do this once a month. Unplugged Sunday. To my amazement, Sunil agreed.

To my further amazement, Sunil then started rearranging the living room furniture! The backstory here is that we’ve had a hand-me-down couch sitting in the middle of the room for over a week now, waiting for the old couch to be moved so it could take its place. We spent the remainder of our evening moving the old couch to a back room and rearranging the rest of the living room furniture.  It was a good day. And night.

I felt relieved all day. I felt frustrated too. I wanted to listen to music but couldn’t. That was my greatest complaint. Really, my only complaint. The relief came from knowing that I had an excuse to ignore my phone all day. I did not have to feel obliged to answer every phone call, every text. I could just ignore them and keep on with my day. I enjoyed the solitude. It reminded me of the days when I had no cable, no Internet, and no smart phone. During that time I read every single book by Hemingway. I re-read East of Eden. I relaxed. I was well rested. I may propose a cancellation of cable soon. I’ll just have to get that one done before the new season of Dexter starts. If not, it’ll be at least another year.

Framing It

Now that we are finally getting a Michael's - first craft store in the area - I am going to get this framed.  We'll put it up on our large wall behind the couch. :)

Easter Week

This week I am remembering back to when I was much younger and celebrated - with some gusto - Easter weekend. It feels like it has been so long since I did this. Every year I continue to give up something for Lent, but I do not know the last time I really acknowledged Easter and Good Friday (reverse those) in a fitting way. This year, however, I have an accomplice and a plan. I'm slowly "teaching" my husband some of the things I know about this holy week. Sadly, my knowledge is limited. Luckily, we have a friend with TONS more knowledge than me...many thanks to his religiously zealous past relationships. Between the two of us we have begun to school my husband on some of the basics. And this weekend we bring out the big guns...10 Commandments! Since we've decided to do this, I'm taking one yummy step further and making a mini holy-day meal. We shall see what comes of this one. I am personally very excited and wish I had a whole big family of people to cook for!

Team Arles

Our very good friend, best friend really, Arles received a kidney just over 16 years ago. Last year we decided to start doing the kidney walk in his honor. I think we "raised" a measly $50-100 - donated all by the two of us actually. I'm so happy to see that this year we are almost at $500!  Feels like this is really coming along. Maybe next year we can do even more. We are looking to make some t-shirts for our team this year as well. I'll post pics if/when that happens. :)

http://donate.kidney.org/site/TR/Walk/NorthTexas?pg=team&fr_id=4310&team_id=108592

Dinner...pics!

We haven't eaten the dinner yet, but here are the pictures of it in the almost-finished phase.  All that is left is to heat up the oven and throw everything in!

Looks tasty so far....

Dinner...a yummy Monday

Tonight's Pinterest-inspired meal...

Jalapeno Chicken
"Extreme" Brussel Sprouts
Twice-Baked Potatoes

Pictures to follow along with a little analysis of how it all went.

"I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman."
Anaïs Nin

 

 

This is hard to swallow some days. It forces me to get out of bed and be stronger than I thought I could be that day.

Meaning in Pain and Suffering

There are just so many things I want to write about The Art of Happiness that I almost didn't know where to start...until I read this section today. The Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler discuss how people can get through emotional suffering. The Dalai Lama (DL for brevity purposes) talks about how we can transform our suffering into something else, something better for us. But first we have to accept that suffering is a part of life and a part of the body we were given. We must be able to reject the feeling that we are victims."...at that moment if you can look at the situation from another angle and realize that this very body...is the very basis of suffering, then this reduces that feeling of rejection - that feeling that somehow you don't deserve to suffer, that you are a victim. ...once you understand and accept this reality, then you experience suffering as something that is quite natural." (141) We must learn to accept that suffering is just a part of our existence, and to exist, we must suffer.

He then goes on and talks about Victor Frankel's idea that "man is ready and willing to shoulder any suffering as soon and as long as he can see a meaning in it." Finding purpose in your suffering will help you get through it.Buddhists and Hindus see suffering as something that will make us want to find spiritual liberation. Others may see it as a test or something that can bring us closer to God.

The Dalai Lama encourages the practice of Tong-Len. It is a practice where a person who is suffering will mentally imagine/visualize that his/her suffering is taking away that amount of pain and suffering from someone else. Then in turn, it is helping that other person gain positive things. It all really boils down to finding meaning in your suffering rather than just sitting around wallowing in it.

As I read this part of the book I recalled times I've been in physical or emotional pain or suffering. I wallowed in it. I want to try and take the idea of Tong-Len and use it to - as DL would recommend - expand my compassion and take control of suffering.

Our Love Story

I'm going to take a note and follow the group on this one - it looks fun at least.  

 

(You can find the original here)

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Our first official date was on November 21, 2009. We "met" on eharmony a few weeks before - November 11. 

 

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Eharmony

 

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

Just over 1 year - November 20, 2010 is our wedding date.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We needed a religious-neutral location, so we did the whole thing at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas, TX. The ceremony was supposed to be in one room but two weeks prior to the wedding it flooded and they had to pretty much remove the ceiling, so the ceremony was moved to a different one...same hotel.   It was an average size - about 135-140 guests. We had a blast!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

Mine: Bolton (my maiden name) or Bets His: Hey Love of My Life...

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

He is extremely hard working, he pushes me to be better (at many things) than I ever thought I could be, and we can talk about everything with each other (keeps our minds going).

 

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

 He convinced me to take the next day - a Friday - off of work. After I'd done that, he secretly set up a video camera, snuck in to the office to get the ring, and came back to the kitchen. He spun me to face him - I was on a barstool at our counter - and got on one knee. At first I thought he was joking and the ring was really from Target or something because he said that's what he'd do one day. I honestly don't remember what he actually said, but I squealed and barely got out a "yes" over the happy tears.

 

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

NOT a flower and teddy bear guy.  Big on the champagne - mostly to get me tipsy :)

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

It really depends on the night. Most weekends we have a couple of friends over and cook dinner/grill one night and spend the other night just hanging out together watching a movie. 

 

10. Tell us one thng you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

Travel through Europe - backpacking style.  And definitely go to India! 

 

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

We didn't really do much because we've never been big on celebrating this one.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Just some champagne.

 

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Don't let things fester - tell each other as soon as you are ready.  And the other person needs to be ready and willing to listen.

 

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Still having fun with each other as we grow older. And growing together - old and otherwise.

What's your love story???

More New Things!

I'm stealing my cousin-in-law's Project 365 idea (well, it's an app really) because I have loved scrolling through her daily pictures and following all she has been working on. Of course, mine may just turn out to be pictures of food and our dog. :)

I also did another Pinterest project.  I've been saving some old pasta sauce and pickle jars, and yesterday I painted them the "accent color of our house" - peacock blue. I'm going to place them in the guest bathroom for small vases and told hold other things (gotta figure out what exactly) the guests may appreciate having.

Other than that, Sunil and I are trying to decide if we should get a second dog. We keep coming back to this question over and over. Will it be good or bad for Ellie and us? We just can't seem to decide.

Pinterest Attempts

Here are the things I've actually tried so far from my Pinterest boards...the potato casserole is still being requested by everyone.

30-Day Challenge plus some

I'm back on track with my 5k training...but still have at least one month to go.  I'm adding this exercise set each day as well

hoping the two will show some difference on me. I'm going to try to increase the numbers on the exercise set each week.  Let's see what happens.

It's been a while...

I figured it's about time I start using this blog again...probably for stuff I'm reading and/or interesting things I learn in classes. Maybe I'll throw a recipe or two and some home projects up too. :)

We shall see what comes...