chez Chêz

Couscous, Black Bean & Corn Salad

2012-01-16T16:45:00.007-06:00

Couscous, Black Bean and Corn Salad

Adapted from a recipe on vegweb.com

Ingredients

1-cup Israeli couscous, uncooked (sometimes called pearl couscous, it's larger in size than normal couscous, but you can substitute regular couscous if you prefer, just follow package directions for cooking)

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1-15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

3 small or 2 large avocados, diced

4 scallions, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2-3 tablespoons lime juice, (more if you like it tangy)

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp garlic salt

salt and pepper to taste

handful of cilantro, chopped

a pinch or two of chili powder

Directions

Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add couscous, stir and cover. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until couscous is al dente and water is absorbed.

Prepare the dressing in a large bowl by whisking together olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, cumin, coriander & garlic salt. Pour over couscous and toss to coat. (This prevents couscous from getting sticky and clumping together.)

Add the black beans, bell peppers, avocado, corn, and scallions to the dressing and toss all together. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Sprinkle a bit of chili powder and add cilantro at the end. Toss again and refrigerate to let the flavors blend. Serve chilled or at room temperature (my favorite).

This recipe is super adaptable. Change up the amount of spices in there as you see fit. You can bulk it up with another can of beans, or reduce the amount of couscous to lower the carbs. I like to use whole wheat couscous when I can find it. Cody likes to eat this on tortilla chips, but I think it's awesome straight from a bowl. I hope you enjoy it!!

One Year Later... Eliza's Birth Story

2011-12-31T12:48:00.003-06:00

For Christmas this year, Cody wrote up Eliza's birth story for me. I know most women like to write the story themselves, but I was kind of intimidated by that idea - what if I mixed up who and whom?! And since Cody was so involved in the process (attending childbirth classes, going to almost every doctor's appointment, timing contractions, even cleaning up my puke!), I thought it would be fun to have the day documented from his perspective. So if you've been on pins and needles for the past 11.5 months wanting to hear a play-by-play of Eliza's birthday, today's your lucky day. :)

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Once the nursery was ready, and we were getting closer and closer to the birth of our daughter, I had one recurring, nerve-wracking thought: “Please don’t come in the middle of the night.” Every night that we were still awake at 11, I worried that Chêz would look at me nervously and say, “I think it’s starting.” We had already taken a 10-week class on natural childbirth, and Chêz had read a couple books on the subject, so I felt comfortable that we were as prepared as we could be for the labor and delivery. But the timing was completely beyond our control. Little Eliza would come when she was ready.

So that’s what I was most worried about. Not a painful birth; not an unhealthy baby; not the parenting that would come soon afterward. I didn’t want to be sleepy.

Our January 2^nd due date came and went, and although we knew intellectually at that point that we could become parents at any moment, I’m not sure we actually expected it to happen. I have an amazing (dangerous?) ability to live in the moment and not look too far down the road. So I was content to live in our existing state: Chêz being pregnant and not all that uncomfortable, and me going to work, coming home and rubbing her feet. But Eliza was determined to shake things up.

Shortly after midnight on the morning of Jan 8^th, Chêz woke me up to say, “I think my water just broke.” One of the main points I took away from our birthing classes was this: “Labor is a long process. Don’t immediately rush off to the hospital the first time you feel a little twinge in your belly.” Following that thinking, I gave her my best, half lucid advice. “Try going back to sleep,” I said.

So we both tried to sleep – me successfully; her, not so much. She woke me up after about 30 minutes to say that she couldn’t go back to sleep. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, rubbed my eyes, and geared up for the long day ahead. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to eat anything once the labor pains really ramped up, I offered to make her some eggs. She meekly consented, even though I could tell she was disgusted by the thought of food. She was nauseous after only a couple bites, and she threw up soon after, which made me feel sorry for forcing the food on her in the first place.

Based on what we had heard and read, we were expecting labor to start lightly and continue that way for several hours. We had made a list of our favorite Friends episodes that Chêz thought she would want to watch during early labor. Also, she had made some cookie batter (vegan, of course) that she wanted to bake and take to the hospital nursing staff. What seemed like perfectly reasonable ideas the night before now appeared utterly preposterous. Even in her laboring state, she asked me to prepare and bake the cookies, which I gently suggested was a very bad idea.

For the next 3 hours, Chêz labored at home while I packed the car and comforted her when I could. Her level of focus was amazing. She would lie on the couch with her eyes closed until a contraction came, then roll onto the birth ball where she would rock until the contraction passed, and then roll back onto the couch and rest. She was in her own world. I tried to help, but mostly I was just staring at her with a stopwatch in my hand, trying to figure out when the pain started and ended – like I was gathering data for a weird, sadistic research paper. Even though I had “been prepared” for this, I felt totally out of my depth, so I contacted our doula, Julie Hagey, and asked her to come quickly.

While we waited on Julie to arrive, I continued to prepare for our departure to the hospital. Chêz’s contractions were consistently seven minutes apart, so I figured we had hours until things would get really intense. And then one contraction jumped under 5 minutes, followed by another one. Uh oh.

I quickly finished our preparations, told Julie we would meet her at the hospital and helped Chêz to the car. Despite my careful driving, Chêz could feel every bump and crevice on the road, and was very uncomfortable during the short trip.

We arrived at the hospital around 6 am, so we had to go through the ER entrance. We waited until Chêz was between contractions before leaving the car and heading through the automatic sliding doors. We brought the birth ball, which Chêz immediately collapsed onto as we entered the ER waiting room. The first nurse to come to our aid was more than a little freaked out. She asked, “Why did you wait so long to come in?” I was a little put off by her question, but I was focused on Chêz and getting her to Labor & Delivery as quickly as possible.

Soon, we were wheeled up to the L&D wing by a much nicer nurse, where they checked on Eliza, who showed no signs of distress. Chêz continued to labor without too much trouble while we waited for our doula, Julie, show up. I was starting to feel impatient, and I privately muttered, “When Julie gets here, she better earn her money.” Shortly after that uncharitable thought, she came in the room, and I’m happy to say she was an enormous help throughout the rest of the process.

I was applying counter pressure to Chêz’s back, and Julie thankfully took over to give me a break around 6:45. The initial adrenaline rush produced by the trip to the hospital was tapering, and I was feeling the effects of missing a night of sleep, so I went down the hall for some coffee. I came back into the room, coffee in hand, and sat down next to Chêz, ready to help. I hadn’t even taken a sip when her next contraction hit. She took a deep breath, grimaced, and yelled “You smell like coffee! Get away!” I dutifully but sadly poured the whole cup down the drain. Fortunately, Julie came to the rescue with some caffeinated tea that met my need for quick energy and Chêz’s need for odorless beverages.

Chêz was composed and mostly quiet as Julie coached her through each contraction. After an hour of uneventful laboring, a new nurse came into the room to attach the fetal monitor and check on our progress. What had been a calm environment soon turned chaotic as the new nurse inverted the bed so that Chêz’s head was lower than her feet, which was clearly very painful to her. At one point she eked out a tiny “help!” which made me feel utterly feeble as she struggled. The nurse started spewing medical jargon at Chêz as if she had any hope of comprehending it in her current state.

The nurse said that the baby was experiencing some “decels” (heart decelerations), and I heard her mention the possibility of a C-section. I didn’t really understand what was going on, and for the first time, I was scared. I tried to get the nurse to talk to me, but she stubbornly continued trying to communicate with Chêz instead.

Dr. Monteiro, our OB, soon walked in the room and said, “I think everyone needs to chill out.” He checked on the baby, told the nurse that she was overreacting and cleared the room. Thank God. With order restored, only Julie, and our primary nurse, Michelle, remained in the room with us. A wave of relief washed over me as we continued to coach Chêz through her contractions.

We later learned that the panic was completely unjustified. They were having trouble getting a reading from the baby because she had progressed much further than they thought, and shortly after 8 am, Chêz was ready to push.

She wasn’t prepared for how physically taxing the pushing would be and I could tell she was tired and discouraged. “You’re doing so good,” I kept saying, but she doubted her progress. After only a few pushes, I could see the top of our little girl’s head. Suddenly I was struck by the gravity and the beauty of what was about to happen.

I focused intently on Chêz, held her hand, and gently kissed her forehead. Everyone and everything faded away as I showered her with love and praise, both of our eyes welling with tears. I told her I loved her, that I was proud of her and that she was an immense blessing to me; I thanked her for being my wife and for loving me; I told her she was going to be an awesome mother, and that we would be seeing our daughter soon.

When Chêz and I were dating, she told me about the idea of “eternal instants”. Moments that are fleeting, but frozen in time because of their lasting significance. This was an eternal instant. In real time, it was probably no more than a minute, but I still feel the resonance of that moment.

Time began to speed up as the next contraction came along. The doctor entered with a gaggle of nurses and other staff as we all prepared for Eliza’s arrival. Chêz was still exhausted, but she was focused and determined, knowing that her daughter would soon be in her arms.

With one final push, Eliza fully emerged into the arms of our doctor. She was quickly brought up to Chêz’s chest where we embraced for the first time as a family of three. We held our daughter tightly and sobbed, completely overwhelmed by the moment. She was here; she was perfect; she was…purple. Is she supposed to be purple? The doctor wasn’t worried about it, so I figured it must be fine. Sure enough, she began to turn a lovely shade of pink after she was bathed and wrapped up in towels to keep her warm.

Shortly afterward, the room was cleared out, the machines stopped beeping, and the three of us experienced our first minutes alone. The paradigm shift was complete. I was now the father of a tiny little human, whom I loved immensely, and I was at least 50% responsible for keeping her alive. Luckily, the other 50% belongs to my best friend, who is an amazing wife and mother. Again my eyes filled with tears as I smiled and looked upon my two perfect girls, and I thought, “I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

More Favorite Vegan Recipes

2011-11-20T17:07:00.003-06:00

A few more of my favorite recipes. This is a meal that I use for people when I don't want to scare them away from vegan food. Or kale. :) I would eat this soup every day, it's so creamy and flavorful. Cody especially loves the croutons. And the cherry tomato gratin is by far my favorite way to eat tomatoes, which I don't normally care for too much. Add garlic and crispy breadcrumbs to anything and I'm good to go. :)

Also, sorry about the jacked up formatting. Blogger is so annoying about this stuff. Much like Microsoft Word, which has THE most annoying formatting settings ever. This is the kind of thing that totally stresses me out and would normally keep me from publishing the post, but I'm going to let it go. Especially since I think basically no one reads this blog anyway! Haha!

Cherry Tomato Gratin

Adapted from a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Ingredients

2 pints cherry tomatoes, rinsed & dried

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat panko, which are japanese breadcrumbs, but any kind would probably be fine)

3 tbsp nutritional yeast (found in the bulk section of HEB, Whole Foods or Sprouts)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2-3 tsp dried parsley

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. Put tomatoes in 8x8 square dish or 9" pie plate. Cover and microwave for a few minutes to get the tomatoes started. Meanwhile, combine panko, nutritional yeast, garlic, pepper, salt & parsley in a small bowl. Stir in the olive oil and mix well to distribute. Spread evenly over the tomatoes and bake until browned, about 20 minutes.

(You can also use parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast. Then do equal parts breadcrumbs & parm (1/4 cup each) and omit the salt since parmesan is salty already.)

Kale Sunshine Salad

Recipe by the amazing Mama Pea, who blogs at peasandthankyou.com. Check out her website and her cookbook (by the same name) for a wealth of kid-friendly vegan recipes!

Ingredients

1 head kale

1 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste, found my the peanut butter or on the ethnic foods aisle)

2 tbsp water

juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1-2 tsp minced garlic

salt & pepper to taste

pinch of sugar

Directions

Wash kale & pat dry. Remove the thick part of the stem, then gather leaves into bundles and cut across in 1/2" strips. Put in a large salad bowl. Whisk together all the other ingredients. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Pour over the kale and massage with your hands to soften the kale. Refrigerate at least 5 minutes (or several hours) before serving to allow kale to soften more.

White Bean Rosemary Soup with Jumbo Croutons

Recipe by Dreena Burton from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, diced
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dry mustard
3/4 - 1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
6 cups cooked white kidney (cannellini) beans (this is about 4 cans) (cannellini beans are expensive so I usually use great northern beans, which are also white but smaller, and cheaper)
3 cups vegetable stock (or 3 cups water with 1-2 veggie bullion cubes)
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 batch "Jumbo Croutons" (below)
1 -2 tbsp olive oil (for finishing, optional)

Directions

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, garlic, dry mustard, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 4 cups beans, stock, water, and rosemary, and increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. With a hand blender, puree soup until smooth. Or carefully transfer soup to a blender & blend, then transfer back to pot. Stir in remaining 2 cups beans and lemon juice. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve in individual bowls, topped with a handful of Jumbo Croutons and drizzle of olive oil if desired.

Serves 5-6

Jumbo Croutons

Ingredients

6 slices sandwich bread (I used HEB brand whole wheat)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut bread slices into 1" squares. In a large bowl, toss cubes with oil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and transfer bread onto sheet, then sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 12 minutes, tossing once or twice throughout, until lightly browned.

Some Favorite Vegan Recipes

2011-11-09T16:31:00.005-06:00

So once again it's been over a year since I've blogged. Whoopsie. Since then I've quit my job, watched my huddle kids graduate, and had a baby girl. :) I may or may not blog more about some or all of this stuff, but I thought I'd use the blog to post a few vegan recipes that I've been enjoying. I am NOT a vegan who never liked meat or dairy much to begin with - I really loved cheesey pizza and creamy ice cream and even steak back in the day. So when I look for vegan recipes, I don't really like things that try to be like non-vegan food but don't live up to it. I'm not too good for soy yogurt and gardenburgers (just ate one for lunch, actually!), but if I'm going to cook I want it to be something that tastes good on it's own merit, not because it reminds me of chicken. Anyway. Here are a few recipes that I made recently for a dinner party. I hope they inspire you to give them a try!

Cocoa Coconut Chili
Recipe by Dreena Burton from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan (my first and favorite vegan cookbook!) This has a unique taste because of the cocoa, coconut milk, and lime, and the coconut flakes add a fun texture. There are a million vegan chili recipes and you pretty much can't go wrong with beans and tomatoes, but this one is by far my favorite.

Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1/2 cup diced red or yellow peppers
4-6 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sea salt
pepper, to taste
2 tbsp mild chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes (I like the petite diced)
1 can rinsed & drained black beans
1 can rinsed & drained kidney beans
1 can rinsed & drain pinto beans
1 can light coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I can get this in bulk from HEB)
1 cup frozen corn
2-3 fresh limes

Directions
In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, peppers, garlic, salt & pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, and allspice, stir to combine. Cover and cook for 7-9 minutes, stirring occasionally; reduce heat if onions or garlic start to burn.
When onions start to soften, add cocoa and stir for 1-2 minutes, then add tomatoes, beans, coconut milk, and coconut, and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in corn kernels and cook another 5 minutes to heat through. Remove cover and let liquid reduce if desired. Serve with lime wedges and squeeze on generous amounts of juice.

Makes about 9 one-cup servings.

Kinda Corny Muffins

Recipe adapted from Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. I sometimes substitute a frozen mix of corn, black beans, onion, bell pepper and serrano peppers (from Randalls) for the second 1/2 cup of frozen corn.

Ingredients
1 tbsp ground flax seed (flax seed meal)
1 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk
1 cup frozen yellow sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp canola oil 1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp unrefined sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375. Mix flax, milk & 1/2 cup of the corn in a food processor or blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining corn kernels, applesauce, and oil. Sift in dry ingredients & stir until just combined. Spoon into a lightly oiled muffin tin and bake 22-25 minutes, or portion out with cookie scoop into mini-muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes.

Makes 8 regular muffins or squares, or 24 mini muffins.

Great Northern Apple Cake
Recipe by Robin Robertson in Vegan on the Cheap. This cake is pretty dense, not light and fluffy like a birthday cake.

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1 tbsp vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored & cut into 1/2" slices
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup canned Great Norther beans, rinsed & drained
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil a 9" cake pan, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the walnuts, and set aside.
In a medium skillet, melt the margarine over medium heat. Add the apples, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, and the lemon juice and cook, stirring to soften the apples and dissolve the sugar, for 3-4 minutes. Remove the apple slices from the pan and set aside to cool. Reserve the liquid in the pan.
When the apples are cool enough to handle, arrange them concentrically on top of the walnuts in the cake pan. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup walnuts.
In a food processor or blender, grind the oats to a fine powder. Remove the oats and put in a bowl. Add the beans, oil and vanilla to the food processor. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved apple juice (if there's not enough, add water to reach 1/2 cup). Blend until smooth. Add to bowl with the oats. Stir in the flour, remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice and combine thoroughly.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and carefully spread across the top of the apples & walnuts. Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes.
Let the cake cool for about 30 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen. Place a plate on the top of the pan and invert, carefully removing the pan to reveal the apple slices as the top of the cake.

Makes 8 servings.

Miscellaneous Updates

2010-08-02T15:44:00.004-05:00

Okay, we'll see how this goes, but I'm going to try to catch the ol' blog up on what's been going on with us since February. I'm officially the worst/laziest blogger ever, and I'm pretty sure that everyone who has my blog bookmarked already knows the major details of our lives lately, but it just feels too crazy to skip ahead without recapping the highlights. So to borrow from Wendi, here are a few miscellaneous paragraphs of updates, in no particular order:

So Cody decided not to be a State Farm agent after all. :) This was a pretty big, hairy decision for us, but one that we feel really at peace about. He was about halfway through training (top of his class and knocking everyone's socks off, of course!), but with each passing day, he felt more apprehensive and nervous. A certain level of that is to be expected, but there comes a point when you have to wonder if maybe you should trust your gut. Once he made the decision to drop out of the program, we felt SO much more at peace. Of course, it helped that he had a job to go right back to with Brent Allen SF, but really, it was more than that. It's scary to walk away from a plan that you've had for years, but it's was really great to see the joy come back to Cody's face after months of anxiety and self-doubt. So no State Farm agency for us, at least not now. But if you need insurance in the state of Texas, Cody can still hook you up!

I guess the other big news is that I'm pregnant! I'm about 18 weeks along now, and we'll find out the gender a week from Friday! We're really excited, and I feel so blessed to be having such a mild, pleasant pregnancy! No morning sickness (just a few weeks of light nausea), no weird cravings, and even no falling asleep driving to work - even after cutting out my morning cup of coffee!! I was pretty tired for a while there, and between working and commuting to work, I was pretty useless domestically, but now that I've got my energy back, I really have no excuse to not be cooking, cleaning, and exercising. So... I guess that means I need to drive to HEB tonight instead of watching TV? Bummer. :)

One super fun thing about this pregnancy is that my sister-in-law Charis is also pregnant (with her third child, and first girl!) and due about 10 weeks before me. Her pregnancy announcement was actually what kicked us into baby-making gear - our kid needs a cousin his or her age!! - so we're super grateful that we were able to get the job done so quickly and our kids will be in the same grade growing up.

I'm sure there's more to say about baby stuff, but I'm going to wrap this up for now and find a snack - for the little baby, of course. :) But other things I need to blog about are: my transition to veganism, how much I love our huddle, and of course, our sweet puppies. Oh, and I need to take a belly picture for my mom, so I can probably post that as well. :) If I ever get around to it! Maybe I'll just wait until it really looks like a baby and not just like one too many cookies...

A Recipe I Love!

2010-02-12T13:52:00.005-06:00

I don't usually have much to blog about, but I figured I should get something new on here for 2010. :) So in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd post a recipe that I love! I've been making this for years as a nice healthy snack/dessert - it's filling, chocolately, and full of protein! What more can you ask for?

So here it is:

Chocolate Cottage Pudding

Ingredients
2 cups (16 oz container) fat free cottage cheese
2 cups skim milk
1 (six-serving) package chocolate instant pudding mix, fat free, sugar free

Directions
Mix cottage cheese, milk, and pudding mix in blender until smooth. It takes some work to get all the chunks out, but if you just keep stirring & blending, it will get there. Refrigerate until it's set (which doesn't take long). Makes 8 half-cup servings.

This is slightly thicker and tangier than regular instant pudding, almost like a cheesecake flavor. In fact, this would probably make a good pie filling or trifle layer! Half a cup makes a great snack or dessert - a full cup serving will really fill you up!

And since I like this because it's healthy, here are the nutrition stats for a half-cup serving:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 61
Total Fat: 0.3 g
Cholesterol: 4 mg
Sodium: 40 mg
Carbs: 6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 8 g

Hope you enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-15T13:25:00.002-06:00

Just made this make-shift Christmas card to send along with a gift to my grandpa, so I thought I'd post it for everyone else (re: my mom) to see!

The Creepiest Thing I've Ever Seen

2009-12-08T22:37:00.003-06:00

A cremation urn, custom sculpted to look like your face. A steal at only $2,600.

http://www.cremationsolutions.com/Personal-Urns-c109.html

Cody Dishman, State Farm Agent!

2009-09-29T15:30:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Cody was officially selected yesterday to be the next State Farm Agent in Cedar Park! We're really excited about the opportunity, and are so glad that the effort he's put in for the past two and a half years is being rewarded! There's a LOT of hard work and financial hurdles still ahead of us, but we definitely feel like we're walking down the path that God has led us to, and we're totally pumped! He starts training on Monday, and will probably open his doors next June!

And a New Dog - Queso!

2009-08-21T13:43:00.010-05:00

Our little Taco has been pretty lonely lately. We've always known he loves other dogs - he had a blast in our apartment complex with his buddies, especially his BFF Cooper the Schnoodle. He also loves seeing his brothers, Reggie & Berlioz. Here's a pic of the three of them together. It was quite a feat to get them to hold still for this picture. Taco is on the left, then "Bear" the shaggy dog, then Reggie.
On top of that, we've been causing some serious upheaval in Taco's life recently. First was the "fixing" procedure, followed by this miserable cone. Look at his right leg - they shaved him for his IV line before surgery. Hilarious! We called him Peg Leg for a while.

Then, just as life gets back to normal, we move into our new house! Taco pretty much loves the house, but without dogs to play with, he's been getting into some trouble. Here he is in our backyard hiding out. He's got that "busted" look on his face - we've been seeing it a lot lately!

We (foolishly?) figured that the solution to this problem was to get him a playmate. We searched around on Craigslist and found this schnauzer/terrier mix in Dallas who was rescued by a sweet vet technician before his mean owner surrendered him to the pound. His name was Roofus, but we renamed him Queso so we can have a full-on Mexican feast of pets. Look at that face!!

Luckily for Taco, Queso LOVES to play and wrestle. He's a bit taller than Taco, so Queso pretty much dominates him all the time. But Taco is in puppy heaven! Unfortunatley, all the wrestling and barking and jumping on furniture is driving Cody and I totally insane. I mean, they're cute but SHHHHH!!!! Here's a pic of the two of them together. It took bribing with treats to get them to stop playing long enough to take this pic!
(Please excuse their ridiculous haircuts - we just took them to be groomed and they basically shaved them bald! I think Taco especially looks silly, but hopefully it will grow back soon!)

Here's our failed attempt at a family portrait. We tried about 5 of these but the dogs kept trying to attack eachother before we could snap the photo. Oh well, here's the best we can do. (Cody's tired expression is pretty much how we've both been feeling all week. A piece of advice: consider waiting more that one week after moving before getting a new pet!)

Despite the chaos (and complete lack of unpacking), we're enjoying our new addition to the family. Queso is great at going potty in a timely manner (hopefully he's teaching Taco about this), and he's getting better about eating. He's a little more cuddly than Taco is, which is kind of sweet, and hopefully he will learn our rules pretty soon.
Welcome home, little Queso!

Home Sweet Home!

2009-08-13T15:18:00.002-05:00

No time to post, but I wanted to put a picture of our new house up here! We (FINALLY!) closed today, so we're officially homeowners! We actually moved in last weekend, so all of our stuff is in, but it's still a mess of boxes and misplaced furniture inside, so we haven't taken interior photos yet. Hope this one holds everyone over until then!!

Pic of Our Living Room in New House

2009-07-01T13:46:00.000-05:00

Note: this is not our stuff, I took this pic when the renters were still living here!!

More Taco

2009-03-19T17:10:00.004-05:00

I finally uploaded pictures and thought I'd share a few of little Taco.

He loves to play with his toys, and I think there's potential for him to be good at fetch, but he always gets distracted by other toys along the way. Here he is trying his hardest to fetch two balls at once. Hilarious!

One of my favorite parts of the day is when I let Taco out of his kennel. He always comes out and stretches out on my legs, like he's giving me a puppy hug. Sometimes that's followed by a few licks (kisses), but usually he then tries to eat my pants/feet/face, so it's a short lived moment, but sweet none the less.

Just thought I'd share!

Pink & Perfect!

2009-03-19T16:56:00.005-05:00

My sweet mother-in-law sent me flowers to my office yesterday! We had just gone to lunch together, along with Charis and her two kiddos, and a couple of hours later I got this gorgeous bouquet of pink flowers! Roses, carnations, lilies, daisies, and those cool tall things - snapdragons maybe? Anyway, it was so exciting and really made my day!

I'm so lucky to have Patty for a mother-in-law - she's smart (hello, math major!), talented (photography whiz!), thoughtful (pink flowers!), a genetic gold mine (have you met Cody?!) and loves Jesus (the best part of all!) I couldn't have asked for better in-laws! So thanks Patty! Love you more!!

Introducing - TACO!!

2009-02-15T22:18:00.009-06:00

We got Taco yesterday, and we love him to pieces already! He's an 8 week old miniature schnauzer and weighs about 6 pounds right now. He's super cuddly but has a lot of spunk too, which should make him an excellent addition to our little family!

Taco has two brothers who recently joined our extended family - Reggie was adopted my my parents last week, and my sister has Berlioz with her at her apartment in College Station. Once Cody and I met those two, it took us less than a day to decide that we must adopt the final member of their litter! My parents kept Taco for us for a few days last week, and my mom brought him to me yesterday!

Cody is loving Taco too! We've known that we would get a dog eventually, but we've been hesitant to get one since our apartmments have been kind of small. But we decided not to wait any more, so we sold our treadmill to make room for his play pen and crate! So far, he's not a huge fan of being left alone - he cried the ENTIRE three hours we were at church this morning. I called my sister Cyndi for advice, and we researched puppy separation anxiety for a while, eventually deciding that they are just typical puppies and are *hopefully* going to get over it eventually. It's heart breaking to hear his whimperey cries when we leave the room though! He's just too cute to be in that kind of misery!!

Here we are - a happy, dog-owning family! Taco loves other dogs (even though he's kind of scared of the big ones) and can't wait to make more friends, so if you want to set up a doggy play date, let us know!!

Cruising with State Farm

2009-02-15T21:48:00.012-06:00

We went on a cruise a couple of weeks ago with Cody's coworkers and their significant others. A huge thank you to Brent & Amberly, who sponsored our way to this super-fun vacation! We had a great time and loved getting away from work & responsibility for a week!

Here we are at the life boat safety drill. I tried hard not to think of Titanic. :)

We went horseback riding in Cozumel, which was really fun. We rode around, saw some Mayan ruins, and then spent the last 15 minutes of our ride GALLOPING! That was really fun and something I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to do, so I'm glad we didn't wuss out. :)

Here we are in Roatan, Honduras. Don't be deceived by my smile - I HATED this hike, which I have dubbed our Honduran Hike from Hell. But I survived, and I guess in retrospect I'm proud that I made it. But next time we're in Honduras, we're just going to go to the beach or something.

In Costa Maya, we spent some time hanging out with Brent & Amberly. They're so much fun, and we're so blessed that Cody works for such a great insurance mentor. :) We go to church together too, so Cody sees a lot of Brent, but they have a lot of fun together and don't seem to mind hanging out six days a week!

The highlight of the cruise for me was the magic show - my first experience with magic was at Lauren's bachelorette shower, and I've been a sucker for live magic tricks ever since. This duo was amazing and pretty funny too. I had my mouth gaping open like that for most of the show!

Okay, the real highlight of the show was watching Cody show his wild side in the Karaoke Superstar competition. Both he and Brent made it to the finals, and they were both wonderful - the two best performers of the night! Cody's coworker Pat took some video of it, but I'm not really sure how to upload it, so suffice to say his performance involved a lot of hair gel, crawling around on the stage, running through the crowd, and ripping open his pearl-snap shirt. It was awesome and I was never prouder to be his wife. :)

T'was the Day Before Christmas (Eve)

2008-12-23T08:43:00.004-06:00

I realize that it's lame that the only times I post are when people tag me, but I also feel guilty if I don't do this stuff after I've been tagged. So merry Christmas to Wendi, Elizabeth & Kim, your gift is my post. :)

8 things I did today:
1. Snoozed about 10 times total (but only for about 15 minutes - we use a LOT of alarms!)
2. Folded laundry
3. Did my couch to 5K run
4. Pumped some iron
5. Listened to Christmas music
6. Researched mountain biking trails near Farmersville for Cody
7. Hugged my husband
8. Work... well, not so much yet, but it's coming...

8 favorite restaurants:
1. Moonshine
2. Firebowl
3. Nordstrom Bistro
4. Phil's Ice House
5. Chez Zee
6. Great Harvest Bakery
7. Central Market Cafe-on-the-Run
8. Whole Foods salad bar

8 shows I watch:
1. Gossip Girl
2. 30 Rock
3. The Biggest Loser
4. How I Met Your Mother
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Private Practice
7. Samantha Who?
8. Scrubs

8 favorite stores (I'll add this too, Wendi!)
1. Nordstrom
2. DSW Shoe Warehouse
3. Banana Republic
4. Target
5. Whole Foods
6. Central Market
7. Barnes & Noble
8. the MAC store

8 things I wish for:
1. to be able to run a 5K without walking!
2. to rock at yoga
3. for my hair to stay naturally blonde... too late!
4. for Cody to get a great State Farm agency location
5. the Toss & Chop! (http://www.silvermk.com/product_detail.cfm?id=1)
6. to get to stay home
7. a house with lots of kitchen counter space!!
8. a couple of cute kids (in a few years!)

8 things I look forward to:
1. Christmas at Poogie Ranch!
2. dinner tonight with Austin friends, plus Weldon
3. Cody opening his presents!
4. baby Jake Lawson!
5. meeting Dishman baby #2 (Colt Jr!) in March
6. the cinnamon roll Christmas tree
7. Lindsey's wedding and all the fun it brings!
8. Cody's duathalon! he's going to kick some butt!!

I politely declined to sit on his knee...

2008-12-09T13:17:00.002-06:00

Santa took time out of his busy December schedule to come to State Farm's family Christmas party at Gattiland last Saturday.

This guy is actually a personal Santa-for-hire - you can get him to come to your house on Christmas Eve or day and freak out your kids. I can't imagine how much something like that might cost, but it sounds awesome!!

Tagged by Myra

2008-10-07T22:54:00.003-05:00

Here's the rules:

Grab the nearest book.
Open the book to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions.
Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
Tag five other people to do the same.

Here's my quote from "Beginning in Jesus: 6 Small Group Session on the Life of Christ" by Doug Fields & Brett Eastman:

"The next time you meet, the group will discuss Jesus as a servant, and there's a potential activity that will require some extra work before you meet again."

We did not do this activity, FYI. Footwashing on 15-year-old boys would be kind of awkward... plus we didn't have time. :) Yay, huddles!

I don't think many people read this blog, but I'll tag Briana and Kellie (maybe this will motivate her to post again!!)

Recent Visitors

2008-09-18T12:44:00.014-05:00

We've had an unusually high number of visitors to Austin recently!

First, Cyndi came to visit us before she heads to England for the year!

Here's me, Cyndi and Cody making funky faces at Mighty Fine. Check out Cyndi's brand new lipstick from the Mac Store!

And here's Cyndi and I looking more normal.

Then my mom came in to help host Catherine's wedding shower! Not sure how my mom and I didn't get a picture together, though we did spend a lot of time in the kitchen, not looking our cutest.

Here's the shower hostesses with the guest of honor:

And the college friends who came to the shower!
Note: in an unusual oversight, I'm not making the Wildcat symbol. What a shame.

And finally, two of the best roommates ever came to town for the weekend! Susan, Lauren and I had a great time eating, talking, and watching Troop Beverly Hills! It was "fabulous, just fabulous!"
Coming soon: Melanie Jan Knox Larson!

Mmm Mmm Good

2008-09-18T12:44:00.004-05:00

This is the most tasty snack I've found in ages.

Purchased at Central Market Westgate, Tom Sturgis Cinnamon Stiks Pretzels:

4 More Years!

2008-08-12T16:13:00.009-05:00

Cody and I are celebrating our 4th anniversary this Thursday. Since I'll be at Hyatt Lost Pines sleeping, eating, swimming, and the like, I thought I'd post a few pictures in advance of the big day.

Here we are chillin' out at our wedding:

Getting jiggy with it on the honeymoon:
Our first anniversary, at Driskill Grill:

On our second anniversary, about to row, row, row a boat:

On our third anniversary, at Alamo Drafthouse for The Simpsons Movie:

I've had more fun in the past 4 years being married to Cody than I ever could have imagined! He is: hilarious, sweet, random, smart, tall, smiley, hungry, romantic, helpful, exciting, silly, complimentary, thoughtful, and... in the words of Van Montgomery (from Reba, our brainless syndicated sitcom of choice for 2008): well-emBROWed. I'm so glad his crazy eyebrows won me over back in 2001. What would this millenium be without my favorite person in the world?!!

When Geeky Meets Awesome

2008-07-22T15:50:00.002-05:00

I love this so much.

Friday Nights Are For Laughing

2008-07-02T09:27:00.005-05:00

So last Friday, Cody and I headed out to Blockbuster to pick up a movie or two. Lately, I've been disappointed with the selection in the new release section. I guess it makes sense that there are good and bad periods of DVD releases, just like there are in theaters, but it's still annoying to me when we can't seem to find anything that gets us excited in the entire new release section. This is how we ended up renting No Country for Old Men, which I'm sorry, I just didn't get. If I wanted to be bored and slightly depressed, we would just stay home and watch 20/20 for free.

I digress. I was pleasantly surprised upon this trip to Blockbuster to see a fresh batch of new releases. We ended up renting Charlie Bartlett, which I had seen some funny trailers for, but never heard much more about it. I loved it. A lot. So much that I made Cody's dad and brother watch it with me less than 24 hours later. And it was still just as funny. Two thumbs up from me and Cody!

Top 5 things about Charlie Bartlett (more easily understood if you've seen the movie):
5. Anton Yelchin is the cutest! Like, I want him to marry my sister.
4. Red lipstick on teenage girl - so fun!
3. Robert Downey Jr. (I've loved him since Ally McBeal)
2. "Hell Comes With Your Own Locker" = greatest name of a play ever!
1. Yankee Doodle!

Spreading the Word

2008-06-26T10:08:00.003-05:00

I'm not actually a huge fan of Old Navy flip flops - I prefer to stick with my old Reefs - but I know many, many people are. And I must say, I have respect for people that have flip flops in every color. So I thought I'd spread the word on this sale:

My Favorite Things

2008-06-01T00:11:00.005-05:00

So I haven't blogged in a while, and I really don't have any stories or deep thoughts that I feel compelled to spread to all the masses. But I do have a few things I love. Besides the obvious ones like Jesus, Cody and coffee, I thought I'd ease into blogging by sharing my thoughts on a few things that are dear to me.

The Magic Bullet

Okay, I've owned the original (pictured here) as well as a knock-off. I love them all. A skeptic might think, "I'll never use it" or "why not just use the blender I already have?" I'm here to tell you, this Bullet will change your life. Or at least make you a little happier. It's space-efficient. It blends really well. It grinds coffee. It makes hummus. It cleans up in about 5 seconds. And it has a clever name. What more could you want?

What I use my Bullet for is primarily fruit smoothies. I'm not big on eating fresh fruit, even though I know I should. But the FDA says I need 3-4 servings a day, so what can you do? Fruit smoothie! Throw some frozen fruit and some juice in a blender, and you've got your 3 servings of fruit in one delicious beverage. The Bullet is awesome because you stick your ingredients in the cup, screw on the blender attachment/lid, and stick the cup into the blender base. 15 seconds later, you've got a fruit smoothie you drink straight from the cup, and all you have to clean is the lid, which I must confess we usually just rinse off and use the next day. I love these smoothies and if you're around me much, you've probably seen me toting one around.

What's my favorite recipe, you ask? I'll tell you. It's the strawberry-peach smoothie. Fill the cup halfway with frozen strawberries, and the other half with frozen peaches. Add about half a cup of OJ and half a cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze (mmm, a post for another day). You can use milk instead of Breeze but it kinda foams up during blending, which I'm not a fan of. Blend it up and there you go - a tasty, nutritious and portable snack for about 150 calories.

I could go on and on, but I'm sure no one cares about this nearly as much as I do. So I'll end with my top 5 Magic Bullet recommendations:

1. Use frozen fruit in your smoothies.
You can use fresh fruit and just add ice, but I think frozen fruit does double duty and keeps the smoothie from being watered down. Plus, it's so darn convenient.
2. Make hummus.
The Bullet is the perfect size for a recipe of hummus. It's really fun to make, plus you feel kind of hip that you're the kind of person who makes your own hummus. Plus, hummus has healthy olive oil and good fiber and protein. So it's healthy and cool!
3. Grind coffee in your Bullet.
No need to have a separate coffee grinder, what a waste of valuable kitchen cabinet space! The Bullet has you covered.
4. Make your own baby food!
My sis-in-law is making all of my nephew's baby food because she's the best mom ever. I think it's cheaper, plus you know exactly what goes into the food. Which in her case involves millet, because, again, she's awesome.
5. Buy the generic brand.
No need to go hoity-toity to buy the original from the infomercial or Bed Bath and Beyond. Macy's and JC Penny both make excellent generic versions, and they both have a 1-year warranty, so if you wear out the motor (as we did on our original Bullet), you can return it easy peasey.

So I'll leave you with some links to buying your very own Magic Bullet!
The Official Magic Bullet Website
Amazon - the original Bullet, but cheaper
The JC Penny knock-off (my bullet of choice)
The Macy's knock-off

100 Things

2007-08-05T16:31:00.005-05:00

Wendi and Kathrine did this for me with my permission. They think that they are so funny.

1. I have blonde hair
2. Cody is my best friend (and I’m married to him too)
3. I LOVE to go camping..NOT
4. I hate to be hot
5. I have two earring holes, a tattoo and used to have a bellybutton ring
6. I have had braces
7. I have long eyelashes
8. I prefer to wear heels
9. I wear a size 10 and I am terrified they will get bigger when I have babies
10. I don’t like to work out, but I make myself… some
11. I am obsessed with fiber
12. I like one pair of jeans more than the other
13. I have an Apple computer
14. I have to commute an hour to work each day
15. Wendi and Kathrine think my hair and make-up always look good
16. I kind of have back problems
17. I recently graduated from physical therapy. Woo hoo!
18. I used to be in love with Robert Horry… but I’m so over it
19. Cody and I have broken up twice
20. When we were sophomores in college, Cody was in a car wreck and I thought he died… he didn’t… I was REALLY glad
21. I like to affirm Cody with both actions and words
22. I dislike cruises
23. I like t-shirts
24. My mom is my 2nd best friend
25. My whole kitchen is teal and lime green
26. Cody does the dishes
27. I am obsessed with Friends (TV show)
28. And Boy Meets World
29. I really like olive oil
30. I like Target
31. I like to shop at Target on my lunch break
32. I love sending out e-vites… NOT
32. I do not own a planner
33. Cody and I had Root Beer floats as the groom’s cake at our wedding
34. I do work well under pressure
35. I have a velvet couch and chair in our living room
36. I like to throw things when I am mad
37. I hope I do not throw my child when I get mad at it
38. I call kids “it”
39. I hate puke/puking and my biggest fear about parenting is the throwup
40. I do not tan very easily
41. I want to wait ~3 more years until we have kids
42. I can’t shoot a gun, but my mom has one
43. I love to read
44. My parents are about to get goats
45. I used to live in the Woodlands
46. I would stay up late every night when I was little because I was scared of fire
47. I am not a pyromaniac
48. I do not like to wear a bathing suit
49. I love musicals
50. My computer monitor is small in our apartment
51. Maybe it’s just because I have a huge one at work
52. I like to dance, but I am not very good at it
53. I am 5’ 9”
54. I went to Prague after my junior year for a Maymester class… I followed Cody there
55. I sucked my thumb when I was little
56. Sometimes I bite my nails when I am stressed out or über (German word) bored
57. I know one German word (über)
58. I love pigs.. but I don’t like to eat them (they are too cute to eat)
59. I sing on the praise team at WOHCOC
60. I wear glasses occasionally (when I have puffy eyes, when I need to look smart, or when I am driving)
61. I played with Barbies when I was little
62. My favorite Barbie was a Hawiian Barbie named Miko
63. My middle name is Marie
64. I use "Alt 136" on the numeric key pad to write my name correctly
65. You can also use "option i e" on a Mac (Chêz)
66. I was raised Baptist by I now go to a Church of Christ
67. I brought flexibility, low fat Cream of Mushroom soup, and blonde hair to the Dishman family gene pool
68. My little sister goes to Texas A&M, so I now "whoop" on occasion
69. I like to crochet
70. I like dogs
71. I want a Yorkie but not until I can stay home to keep him company
72. Our first dog will be named Taco, and all subsequent pets will be named after mexican food
73. I love guacamole, as a food and a pet name
74. I have difficult-to-manicure nails, and therefore I think that I deserve a weekly mani/pedi (however, the budget does not agree)
75. I am a new aunt
76. I was on drill team in high school (NOT a flag girl)
77. I enjoy movies
78. My favorite movie is You’ve Got Mail
79. I can’t stand Kirsten Dunst - I want to kick her in the face whenever I see her
80. I love Zoe Goup… I can’t help it
81. I really like Garth Brooks
82. I was I choir for 13 years, and show choir was one of the most fun things EVER
83. I would walk on my treadmill a lot more if I had a TV in front of it
84. I only clean my house if people come over or if Cody is stressing out
85. I hate cleaning the mirrors… I recently purchased a microfiber cloth and highly recommend it
85. I am good at decoupage (as of this week)
86. I like magazines
87. I read 4 a month (Fitness, Eating Well, Cooking Light, and Shape)
88. I hate Oprah…she’s scary and dangerous
89. I like Martha Stewart and think she deserves all her money….she’s right where she needs to be…making wedding magazines
90. I like to copyedit - especially when it's just for fun like the Westover handout on Sundays
91. I am not really a phone talker
92. I check my e-mail often
93. When I was little I wanted to be asian… I used to put my mom’s knee highs on my arms and pretend
94. I was in the top 10% of my high school class
95. I like Pilates
96. I do not want to pay the same amount for short pants as long pants, therefore, I do not really wear capris
97. I like to vent… especially to my mom, Wendi, and Kathrine
98. I like telling people what I think
99. I always run late to everything…
100. Wendi and Kathrine are the coolest people I know... they typed this

Tagged by Wendi

2007-07-06T15:54:00.002-05:00

In an effort to encourage my blogging, Wendi tagged me in this survey, reminiscent of a 1999 e-mail forward, or a 2005 MySpace post. I'm a little rusty on survey responding, so don't judge me...

First memory -
Playing with my little cousin Kristy when we were about a year and a half old. I have a pretty bad memory, actually, so I think I might have fabricated this sometime during elementary school in response to a similar writing prompt. I do remember I called Kristy "Ti-Ti" (like what kids say "peeing" and she called me "Yay." Now she teaches art in Seattle and we pronounce each other's names normally. Sad.

First real kiss -
Paul Sims, summer before junior year. Pathetic story actually - we were sitting in his car after he drove me home from a youth group event, and since he hadn't even held my hand yet I wasn't expecting a kiss. So he leans over to kiss me, I mistake it for a hug, lean, and he totally misses and kind of smushes his lips across my cheek. It was SO awkward and he actually called the next day and apologized. :) Needless to say that relationship didn't last long. And he went to Texas Tech, so - sorry Kim - I've always had a bit of judgment for Red Raiders. :)

First love -
CODY, duh! Okay, also Layton Rascow, from first grade. What a hunk. :) But I think the first boy I really ever thought I had a chance at dating was Justin LeBlanc in 9th grade. I moved to Allen from The Woodlands over Christmas, and he actually sent me a letter one time - complete with a drawing of us skiing and the sign-off "Love, Justin." Wow. I was so excited that I put it in my high school time capsule. :)

First concert -
Point of Grace, at the Woodlands Pavillion

First thing you think in the morning -
"Snooze," or "Cody, hit the snooze button"

First pet -
Gretchen and Rolfie, both very adorable mutts

First book you remember loving -
Kid book: the "Color Kittens" Little Golden Book;
Book series: The Babysitters Club (Claudia was, like, my best friend);
Bible book: Esther

First question you'll ask in heaven -
Probably won't be doing a lot of questioning, just singing!!

First thing you think of when you hear the word vacation -
Um... Hawaii? I don't know... I don't really take many vacations. Maybe I think about how I really should be using my vacation time when I leave work early for a doctor's apointment...

First best friend -
Adrea Chow, my BFF from 3rd grade on. I think I learned a lot about relationships and even marriage from my friendship with Adrea. Also, I learned that some people actually eat fish eyeballs. I'm still scarred from that one, Mrs. Chow!

Last time you dressed up - Well, I wore heels to work on a Friday, so I'll go ahead and say today!

Last CD you bought -
um... Zoe CD at First Colony C of C... I love that Brandon Scott Thomas!

Last time you cried -
Last night with Cody.

Last time you told someone you loved them -
Cody this morning about a million times - he is never leaving me for 6 days ever again!! Also, I told Catherine I loved her by e-mail today, if that counts.

Last really funny thing you did -
I'll steal Wendi's - I went to Olive Garden with Wendi last Friday and Wendi asked for a few extra mints because she's obsessed (Andes mints, who isn't?!). So our waiter, who had painstakingly quiet up to this point, brings out a to-go box with our bills... I open it as Wendi's signing her credit card slip and totally cracked up - he had filled that entire to-go box with mints! No person would ever need that many mints! Turns out he makes a habit of helping himself to the mints - he told us he keeps tons of them stashed at home... like that would impress us, maybe? Woo-hoo! A guy that steals from his employer! I think he thought Wendi was hot and was trying to woo her with the promise of continually minty-fresh breath. :)

Last thing you watched on TV -
Sports Night on DVD. I had to fill the time somehow while Cody was away!! Also, watched a bit of Friends yesterday, as I do pretty much every weekday from 6 to 7. I love those crazy kids!

Not really sure how this works, or if anyone even reads this blog... but I tag Myra, Tanya and Catherine!

My Year in Pics

2007-04-23T20:47:00.002-05:00

So I've never really posted much on here, but Wendi put a link on her blog, and I can't disappoint all of my potential fans. But the problem with me and blogging is that I don't really have much to say. So instead I'll post some pictures. I know that if anything, my mom will enjoy them. :)

So here's an assortment of thing that have happened in the past year:

For our second anniversary, Cody and I went canoing on Town Lake. I love this pic where it looks like Cody's eating a goose. :)

For my birthday this year, Cody gave me presents wrapped in foil (one of his best wrapping jobs ever!) and my bff Melanie sent me a wonderful DVD of Pride & Prejudice, which my baby sis and I spent days watching.

Melanie had her bridal shower in Corsicana, and Lindsey and I drove in from Austin, bringing Katrina, who flew in from DC to surprise Mel. I had so so much fun eating Birthday Cake ice cream circa 2001 and catching up with some of my favorite Wildcats.

My parents both got new toys this year - my dad got his much anticipated John Deere tractor, and my mom got a gun - both to complement their new rural life in Farmersville. Cody was a natural with both the tractor and the gun... me, not so much.

My mom is adorable with the gun, though not a very good shot. Which it turns out is okay, because she doesn't ever plan to shoot anything, she just wants to stand on the front porch and cock the gun to scare away bad guys.

I'm going to be an aunt! That's right, Ty and Charis are having a baby boy in July! We're so excited, and since they recently moved to Tampa, we now have even more reason to vacation to Florida! We miss them a ton, but they can't keep us away from that baby!!

You may think that my love for funny faces in pictures came from my husband, who is a master at goofing up pictures that would otherwise be normal and sweet (or as he would say, lame). But as you can tell by these Christmas pictures of my family, goofy faces are in my genes. Christmas was unbelievably fun - I love my family so much!!

And my best friend got married!! Melanie married the dashing Air Force Captain Matt Larson in January. They're so adorable together, and her wedding was gorgeous, especially the chapel. And how cool is this - we got our makeup air brushed on for the wedding!! If you know me, you know this is just about the coolest thing I could ever imagine. We felt totally ready for the wedding after that - even though we were still in hoodies and snow boots! I love you Mel!!

Cody and I took his parents to see Wicked for their birthdays. It was SUPER fun. And don't tell him I told you, but Steve teared up at the end. :) I love musicals!!!

The Westover Hills Young Married's class went camping a couple weekends ago - well, most of them camped. Cody and I just went for the day because we "needed to be at church Sunday morning," but also experience tells us that I'm a beast when I camp. Like, the meanest, dirtiest, most over-emotional person you've ever met. So we didn't spend the night, which was fine with us since it was FREEZING.

Last weekend Cody and I went to the Austin HBA awards, where we dressed in semi-formal attire, ate a nice dinner and waited 3 looooong hours until our big win was announced - best local builder TV spot. Go Main Street! We had fun playing with the award afterward. :) And I got an excuse to carry my grandma's super-cool vintage purse!

Well, that's the highlights of my year, or at least the highlights of what I have pictures of. Hope you enjoyed my return to blogging!

2006-12-19T16:31:00.001-06:00

Christmas on Main Street
Week before Christmas
With nothing to do at work
This week should be long

Lifelong Dream
If I was able,
I'd invent fat-free chocolate.
I'd be rich and thin.

Jakey-Poo
My baby brother
turns twenty-one today, which
makes me feel so old!

2005-07-01T00:01:00.002-05:00

Girl Stuff
Can't find anything.
They're remodeling Target.
Where are the tampons?

Finished Project
Two months of hard work
(Not all that hard, but still...)
Cisco reports: done.

Home Alone
Cody's in Houston.
No one hugged me after work,
so I'm kind of sad.

White Stag
Mom claims that Wal-Mart
is a great place to buy clothes.
I just don't agree.

2005-06-28T22:44:00.006-05:00

Weldon's Birthday
Twenty-three today.
Known you one-fifth of your life,
You still crack me up.

More Cisco Mistakes
The data is wrong.
It's Ariana's fault.
No sweat off my back.