4 More Years!

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

I love this so much.

Friday Nights Are For Laughing

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

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

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

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

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!