Everything But The Sink...

AAAAAHHH!! OMFG!! HOLY FREAKIN' MOLY!!

2010-04-21T14:09:00.003-04:00

Last week, I received a very suspicious package in the mail from the charity that I applied to run for. All it contained was a t-shirt, training guide, blank thank-you notes and a few goodies. THAT'S IT. No letter, nothing, nada. So, I spent a week wondering what the heck that meant...did I get in? Am I running the NYC marathon in November? Do I need to get off my ass and start running more than a couple of miles a few times a week (might be a good idea in general)? Then last night, I decide to look at the training schedule...you know, just in case. I start putting the weekend long runs in my calendar in my phone, then decided to delete them all, because who freaking knows at this point. I swear, not 2 seconds later, my phone dings and I check my email.

This is what I read:

Dear Veronica Deats,

Girls on the Run is glad to provide you with a guaranteed entry into the ING New York City Marathon 2010..

I almost peed my pants. I'm in, I'm in, I'm in....I'm flipping the heck out!!

So, I run (trip) to my computer, register and get this seconds later:

Congratulations! You have received guaranteed entry to the ING New York City Marathon 2010.

Your entry number is...

It's officially official.

I am committed to a fundraising goal of $2,500, so don't be surprised if you receive mass emails and phone calls from me...just remember how much you love me ;) And, if you see me on the side of the road with a couple of cute kids selling lemonade or cookies, you better stop and buy some!

NYC Marathon Update

2010-04-12T12:34:00.004-04:00

Well, the lotto was a bust. Out of six people I know that entered, one got in...which happened to be Andrea! We didn't really think any of the 3 of us that were trying for the 1st time would get in, but sure enough! As of now I've applied to run with a charity, and I'm just waiting to hear if I've been accepted. I had no clue this would be such a process. Lots of work for something I decided to do on a whim. So, for now I'm just in limbo and we'll see.

A bunch of updates all squished into one!

2010-03-29T15:46:00.003-04:00

We've had a busy few months around here, and I feel like I haven't really had a second to stop and take it all in! We've had birthdays, birthdays and more birthdays!! We've been remodeling bathrooms, taking some short trips and, trying to remember to breathe every once in a while. Life's good!
Liam turned one at the end of January (cue minor heart attack!) and is just becoming the funniest little guy :) He laughs at everything, including himself. He's starting to really try to talk and says the normal "Mama, Dada, uh-oh, hello, bu-bye" etc. He just started saying "aya" for Ava and putting a few words together like "bu-bye dada". He's still the most laid back kid that I've ever been around, but has such a fun personality. Everyday I see more and more of Jon in him. He really is Jon's little mini-me! Big news too...he FINALLY started walking!! He took his first step a little over a week ago while we were in Houston and now he's taking more and more everyday. He's trying to push himself up to stand from the floor and go from there too, and has managed to do it a few times. So, go Buggy!! 'Bout time little dude.
Ava turned 4 at the beginning of February and while I was hoping she would magically wake up and be done with the terrible 3's (because whoever came up with the terrible 2's clearly never met my daughter), but 4 had been just as challenging so far. She does have some redeeming qualities though, so I'll work with what we've got for now. According to her sweet, wonderful teachers at school, she is polite, helpful and always on her very best behavior. I am convinced that I'm sending a different child to school than the one that I bring home. At least she saves the drama for me...and I'm so thankful that she knows to leave it at home. Right now that kid's social calendar is harder to plan around than any of ours. She's playing soccer, taking ballet and swim lessons and is already pretty much booked up for the summer. I mean, seriously. But, she's happy and active and that's a good thing. She's been asking for a while to go out running with me, so I talked to her Pediatrician about it and he said go for it. So, we bought her 1st pair of running shoes and we've been running around the neighborhood together. I'm running a 5k in a couple of weeks and they have a kids fun run that she's going to do! She's so excited and it makes me so proud that this is something she seems to really like right now. I hope she enjoys the whole race experience so I can continue to encourage her :)
Jon and I both turned the big 3-0 and had a joint "60th" Birthday party last month to celebrate. It was so much fun and so many of our friends and family came. I have to say that I was pretty excited to finally be in my thirties. I was so over being 20-something and feel like and official grown-up now for some reason. Of course I still do completely immature things like buy $10 sunglasses because I can't take care of nice ones, and buy music by girls with $ymbol$ in their names because I like to listen to it when I run....you know, to make me feel young and all ;)
Speaking of running, I ran my SECOND half marathon a couple of weeks ago! I was having some problems with my hip, which looks like it might be IT band issues, and really followed a pretty pathetic training schedule...but even with all of that I managed to take a full 12 minutes off of my time from the 1st one in just 3 months! With the exception of my hip, I also recovered so much faster. I took a couple of weeks off and I'm going to try a short run tomorrow and see how I feel. I am surprised at how much I've missed running lately. Never thought i'd say that ;) It will be nice to run just because I want to for a little while, and not because I'm training for anything. After the half I did something ridiculous (blame it on Andrea again!) and entered the lotto to run the New York Marathon in November. Not sure what I was thinking. I've had it in the back of my head that I'd like to run ONE full marathon, and if I'm going to do it, I need to do it this year. We find out in a little over a week if we got in...so we'll see! I'd say wish me luck...but I'm not sure how much I want ;)
So, that's our story for now!

Phil can SUCK IT....

2010-02-02T14:16:00.004-05:00

Because I don't think I can handle six more weeks of winter. I do not live in Texas and endure summers that feel like I've been summoned to the fiery depths of Hell to have to put of with the winter that we've had. Ice, snow...more ice and snow...below freezing temperatures. Um, no freaking thank you. I live here and deal with many, many days of hundred degree plus weather so that I can enjoy nice, mild 60 degree days December through February, and maybe break out the heavy coat once or twice. I am SO OVER THIS. I need sunshine STAT.

Key West Trip

2010-01-22T11:41:00.001-05:00

We had been planning this trip for months, so by the time it actually got here, we were SO ready for a vacation! We really needed it, and it was such a fun, relaxing trip. We flew out at the ass crack of dawn Thursday morning (on the 6 am flight, which meant we were up at 3...that was painful). The plus was that we got almost a full day there. When we got there, I thought we were staying at the Doubletree by the airport. I told Jon to find us a cheap hotel because I didn't want to waste money on the hotel, we probably wouldn't be there that much anyway, blah, blah, blah. He surprised me by changing our reservations to the Reach, which was so sweet. I would have been more than fine staying in the Doubletree...but I won't lie, this was so much nicer!! I loved it :) It gets better though. My sweet, wonderful friend Angie had left me a gift certificate to the hotel spa for my birthday and she and her husband had champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, etc. sent to our room. On top of that, we got upgraded to a Suite and they sent us up the biggest piece of chocolate cake you can imagine for our Anniversary. We were a little spoiled!
The weather was a little cool the first day, but warmed up some by Friday. We decided to get some beach time in. I decided that I was going to be brave and rock a bikini since Jon was the only person I knew there and he's already seen everything that there is too see anyway. I figured everyone else could just suck it. Plus, I was pretty sure that I would be no where close to winning the "What the Hell is she thinking putting that on in public" award. Good news is I was correct in my assessment that I would not be the palest, or flabbiest chica in a bikini. Bad news is that having gotten no UV action in almost 5 years, my belly decided to retaliate by turning the brightest shade of lobster red that you can imagine...even though it got the same amount of sun, and was given the exact same amount of sunscreen protection. Maybe that's a sign.
We did a couple of touristy things that we didn't get to do when we were there for the wedding. We went to the Butterfly Exhibit and the Hemingway House. I really enjoyed both of them. I have to say...I'm not sure what they feed those butterflies, but they were on crack. I could barely get pictures of them. We got to see some being released that were only a few hours old. Apparently they only live to be 10-14 days old. Sad little fact. The Hemingway House was just gorgeous...so much history. All of the little 6-toed cats were killing me. They were everywhere!
We pretty much just spent a lot of time walking around, ducking into a few little shops and bars. We hit Mallory Square one night for Sunset....which is a must. Lucky for us it was the only night with a great sunset! The rest of our time was spent eating more food that anyone has any business eating. I plan on fully describing each meal, so get ready!
Our first stop for lunch on Thursday was at the Banana Cafe on Duval. It's a little French cafe and was not too far from our Hotel. Reason #1 why we chose it!! We were starving and it was the first thing that looked good. They had an amazing selection of crepes, salads and sandwiches. Jon had a turkey sandwich and I had the mozzarella sandwich. It was delicious. Fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil with olive oil on whole grain bread. Their twist was that instead of balsamic vinegar, they did a lime vinaigrette. Very refreshing and healthy. I managed to resist the banana and nutella crepes. Good thing, since over the course of the four days that we were there, I became a member of the clean plate club more times that I am willing to admit.
For dinner that night, we stumbled (literally....after a fantastic happy hour at Conch Republic Seafood Co..which is where we had our Rehearsal Dinner!) into Caroline's, also on Duval. I had a skirt steak with black beans and rice, and Jon had blackened mahi-mahi (which they made for him upon request!). They food was excellent, and not very pricey! I'm assuming that we were not overly enthused because of the number of drinks that we had consumed, and that it was, in fact, as tasty as I recall. That make a pretty good mojito too :)
Lunch Friday was at Camille's on Simonton. I loved this place. The food was great. They are famous for their breakfast, which they serve all day. Jon got their chicken salad sandwich with sweet potato fries and I had a breakfast burrito with jalapeno sausage and skillet potatoes. We ate half of each others because they were both delicious. I loved the decor in this place too. Think Granny Floridian Kitch with a kinky sense of humor. Everywhere you look you see something new; like vintage Barbies in bondage hanging from the windows, fuzzy leopard handcuffs at the bar, and wooden pigs getting it on in the front window. All of that is juxtaposed with tropical pastel outdoor furniture that you would find in a snow bird retirement community! Pretty funny stuff...great food!
Dinner that night was at Prime 951 on Caroline St. We had made reservations online, and were surprised with a little private room! Very nice :) I had read that this place had amazing steaks, and was not disappointed. For appetizers, Jon got a wedge salad and I had a tomato and mozzarella stack. Delicious. Their steaks come out on wooden cutting boards and they were cooked perfectly. So good, that I ate every.single.bite! I also ordered the mashed potatoes as a side....and if you know me at all...you know that I adore potatoes. I ate a bite, maybe two. They were fabulous, but that steak was unbelievable! Jon got the mac 'n cheese, and said it was good...but it had truffle oil and he had a severe issue with people putting truffle oil in everything just because it's "fancy and trendy". I have to say that I agree 100%. That was the only complaint...damn truffles. I will also say that the service here was impeccable. There was someone in that room checking on us constantly, but not in an annoying way. They were very on top of things.
For dessert, we headed to this little place called Better than Sex on Petronia. Luckily it was a bit of a walk because we had no room by the time we left the steakhouse. They only serve desserts, with crazy names, and have definitely put and effort into giving the place an "atmosphere". I ordered the Kinky Key Lime Pie, which was pretty good, but more of a mousse than a pie. Jon got the Hot and Bothered which I loved. It was a spicy chocolate ice cream topped with white chocolate...YUM! Our waiter was hilarious and there is definitely no such thing as censorship there! I wouldn't say the desserts are better than sex, but it's a fun place to go.
For lunch Saturday we took the boat out to Sunset Key, where our wedding was, and ate at Latitudes. I was so excited to get to go back out to the island, and it definitely brought back so many wonderful memories! The first thing we noticed though, was how much the shoreline had changed. The waiter told us that with the storms and cold weather they'd had over the past few weeks, the tide had come up about 10-15 feet. It was still so pretty, and I loved being out there, even it it was only for a couple of hours. We each ate a sandwich...I don't even remember what, but they were tasty. I had a total frou-frou drink too. A key lime colada...so unlike me as I do not do sweet, pastel, frothy drinks of any sort, but I was on vacation so what the hell! After lunch we walked around for a bit and looked at all of the cottages. I couldn't remember for the life of me which one we stayed in, just that it had green shutters. We decided that in five years we were coming back again and may just have to stay out there!
Dinner that night was at Nine One Five on Duval. It's a cute little restaurant, and one of Key West's more trendy spots. I don't know how long they've been open, but I don't remember seeing it last time we were there. Luckily they have a tapas style menu, and you can get some smaller portions of really great food. By the time we ate here, we were so stuffed from eating 2 huge meals a day that I didn't know how much more I could handle. I sucked it up though, and we got fried polenta to start with (oh, how I love polenta!!). I had chipotle orange pork tacos and Jon got their signature tuna dome. The food was really great, but the service was so, so we thought. We did end up getting dessert, fresh pear and blueberry cobbler...so glad I did because it was delicious. I think we were in a food coma after we left because we tried to hit a few bars, and ended up taking a petty cab back to the hotel after about an hour. Way to live it up on our last night, huh!?!
For our final meal on Sunday (that sounds morbid), we ate at Ricky's Blue Heaven. It had been raining all morning and hadn't really let up much by the time we got there for brunch. We ended up having to sit inside, which was a bummer because I was looking forward to sitting outside with all of the roosters running around! I had a luncheon there the morning of our wedding and loved it, so I was really looking forward to eating there. They do breakfast, lunch and dinner...but only serve breakfast/brunch until 2 on Sundays. I had been talking about how amazing their banana pancakes are, and Jon ordered those. I forgot how huge they are though. You get three pancakes the size of my rear, and it is impossible to eat all of them. I got the rooster special with eggs, bacon, potatoes and banana bread. I ate some of Jon's pancakes too! We miserably walked around for a while after that, and I actually felt like I was going to die. Although everything was so very good, I am glad to be home and away from all of the temptation of yummy new food that I need to try!!
Now we're back to the real world, but this will hopefully be a regular trip every half decade...it's definitely a special place for us and we get a little more attached with each visit!

Key West

That Pesky Zaquito...

2010-01-21T21:27:00.005-05:00

...rhymes with taquito.

Ava and I had an interesting little convo on the car ride home from school today.
She noticed me scratching my arm, and it went a little something like this:

Monkey: Mom, do you have an itchy bite?
Me: Yes baby, something bit me.
Monkey: Was it a zaquito?
Me: a WHAT?
Monkey: a zaquito
Me: (holding back tears of laughter) I'm sorry, but I'm going to need you to say that again.
Monkey: (in a most dramatic voice, with hand gestures) MOM, did a zaquito bite your arm?
Me: Are you asking if I have a MOSQUITO bite?
Monkey: (laughing her little booty off) Oh yeah, that's what I was trying to say...where did I get zaquito from?
Me: If only I knew...
Monkey: Well, whatever it was, you should put some spray on it.
Me: Thanks Captain Obvious.
Monkey: HUH?

Unfortunately, I don't think it was a moquito, or even a mysterious little zaquito...I'm pretty sure I have a little spidey bite. GAG.

Catching Up...

2010-01-21T11:22:00.008-05:00

I feel like we've had a whirlwind couple of weeks here! Starting with our good friends Travis and Andrea's Wedding, which was an absolute blast. Andrea looked amazing, and it is always so wonderful to see two people you care about starting their lives together. The reception was so much fun that I got home and realized I never even ate any of their gorgeous wedding cake. WHAT?!?!?! I love wedding cake...it's my favorite food group! I guess I was having a REALLY good time! The very next day we had the birthday party of all birthday parties for the kiddos. It was for all of the cousins, and they loved it! There was a bounce house, petting zoo, pony rides...too much fun. Ava, Liam, Hannah, Hunter and Aidan all have birthdays within a couple of months of each other, so we just threw it into one big party! A few days after that we packed up and headed to Houston, dropped the kiddos off with my Dad and Pam, then Jon and I left for our Anniversary trip to Key West. The day after we got back, he left for Charlotte, and threw me back into the real world. WHEW!!! Now here I am trying to catch up on everything from laundry to photos to finally getting all of my Christmas stuff packed away (totally mortified that I'm admitting to it still being up in the middle if Jan....but we've been kind of busy!). It was a fun couple of weeks though :)

Here are a few pics from the kiddos party!

Absolutely adorable cakes that my super talented friend Jennifer made for each of the kids!

Ava coming out of the bounce house for the zillionth time.

Liam on the pony! Ava wouldn't ride it until she saw her brother on it ;)

Kiddos about to dig in to their cakes!

...and a cheesy family pic.

5 Years Ago Today...

2010-01-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

I was standing on a tiny little beach in Key West, with 50 of my favorite people, marrying the best man I've ever known. Half a decade, a house and a couple of kids later...life is pretty damn good! Happy Anniversary Babe! Love you and can't wait to be back :)

Wishlist: aka: Things I really, really want, but won't ever buy because I'm too rational and talk myself out of them

2010-01-04T17:55:00.007-05:00

Currently, it's these shoes to go with a dress I just bought for a friend's wedding this weekend. They are fun and girly...and more importantly, they are on SALE. But, they go with one, and only one thing in my closet...that dress. Doesn't exactly make them the most sensible purchase, now does it. Damn logic.

Christmas

2010-01-03T20:12:00.007-05:00

I have to say we had a really great Christmas :) We were in Dallas Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which is good because I love getting to see the kids open up their gifts at home. Plus, it was our 1st White Christmas! We got several inches of snow Christmas Eve...it was crazy. Then we got to spend a few days in Houston with Dad, Pam, Tiff and Brad. I even got to see my cousin for a few hours and meet his wife and little girl for the first time! This year, we told Ava that she could ask Santa for 3 gifts, because Baby Jesus got 3 gifts, and it was His Birthday, he was sharing it, etc. So, one day, she comes home from school and tells me that I am wrong, Baby Jesus got 4 gifts. When I asked her what she was talking about, she told me that he got the gift of music from the Little Drummer Boy. I tried to argue, and Jon told me that technically, she was right! I totally got schooled by a 3 year old! After laughing my ass off, I explained that Christmas Carols were our gift of music to each other, and that she absolutely did not get to ask for another present. You have to give her credit though ;) I still haven't taken down my tree...that's my least favorite part. I feel like I just put that sucker up. I love decorating, but really, really don't enjoy de-Christmasing my house. Don't get me wrong, I'm over all of the festiveness, I just wish I could bypass the clean-up!

The kids got a special visit from Santa on Christmas Eve!

First candy cane...not too thrilled when I took it away.

Obligatory family photo.

That's alot of snow for Dallas!

She had to go play in what was left the next morning. PJ's and rainboots are perfectly good snow attire...no?

With their sweet cousins at Nana and Papaw's on Christmas Day.

Roasting marshmallows with Grandpa in Houston.

Testing out the new trampoline...thanks Grandpa and Grandma!!

Half Marathon: I Did It!!

2009-12-16T10:56:00.007-05:00

Well, it's all over! I survived, and actually really loved it! I woke up Sunday morning feeling so nervous and super jittery. I was seriously shaking trying to get my breakfast down. I have no clue what was going on...I was just freaking out a little (as in on the verge of tears, not knowing if I was going to be able to do it freaking out). Once I got to Travis and Andrea's and we drove downtown, I was feeling better. There was definitely some anticipation waiting to get up to that start line. So many emotions all mixed in together. I was anxious, excited, doubtful, but also just proud of myself for even being there in the first place. To top it all off, this was a HUGE race. There were 20,000 people this year...and I only knew 2 other people on that course. I was kind of in awe of these people! Let me just say here that I had two real goals that I had set for myself for this half marathon: I wanted to finish the entire thing running, and I wanted to do it in 2 1/2 hours. So...my official time was 2:30:32 and I ran every single step of every freaking mile!!!!
My only big issue physically for the day was that my feet were already hurting even before I started running. Never good. My shoes were pretty much shot, but by the time I really realized this a couple of weeks ago, breaking in a new pair wasn't really an option. So, I chose to run in worn out shoes, knowing my feet were going to kill me. They did, but all in all, everything else felt really good. All of the aches and pains that I'd been icing and nursing all week seemed to just go away when I started running that morning.
I made a decision when I started that I was just going to keep it slow and stay between a 10 to 11 minute pace. I knew that I could run faster than that in the beginning and make up for some time, but of my two goals, the most important for me was to run the whole thing. I didn't want to start out too fast, and end up completely spent at the end. I had only run 10 miles before, and had no clue how I would feel past that point. I felt great the first half. Jon was with my family around mile 6 and I stopped to give Ava a quick hug and kiss...that definitely kept me going :) I was still doing fine up until mile 8 or 9, then had to make a quick pit stop on the curb to yank out one of the insoles that I had bought a few days before to try to remedy the shoe problem. It was all bunched up and driving me insane. I've never gotten a shoe off and on so fast in my life! I stayed under an 11 min mile until I hit mile 10. I was still feeling okay, I just really slowed down after that. I think I ran the last 3 miles in 36 minutes. Had I been a complete wuss, mile 11 is where I would have wanted to stop. I was so tired then, and everything from my waist down was just screaming at me. I kept looking at all these people at this point though who were walking, and I was thinking to myself, "really, you've gone this far, and you only have 2 freaking miles left...and you're going to walk NOW?" There was no way. Those last 2 miles felt like they took a lifetime to finish. When I finally saw the finish line, I almost cried. I managed to find enough energy to finish the last bit at what I at least consider a sprint! When I finished, all I wanted to do was take my damn shoes off! Had I thought about it, I would have stuck flip flops in my bag ;)
So, I am officially a half marathoner. I have the medal and T-shirt to prove it ;) I have to say that it was an absolutely amazing experience. I don't care how it sounds...I am damn proud of myself! It was hard and I never once thought about not following through. There were times when we were training that I questioned whether or not I would be able to finish the whole thing when the day came, but I knew that I was going to try. I don't know where this part of me has been hiding out, because I never would have thought in the past that this was something that I was capable of: physically or mentally.
The reality is that I probably would not have been able to do it without all of the support that I got from my friends and family. I have an awesome husband who constantly told me that I could do it, and made sure that I always had time to get all of my runs in. Plus, all of this would have never happened if I had not drunkenly agreed when Andrea asked me to do it in the first place...so thank you A! I also have an awesome sis who drives up to support me, even when she has other places to be! So...a big fat thank you to everyone who said I could do this, even when I wasn't so sure!!
You know what's crazy...I'm already talking about which one I want to do next ;)

Here are some pics that my sis took...I look like an absolute cheeseball, but whatever!

While we all know I'm not actually "too fast" my sis made me this sweet sign...totally a joke between us! Loved it!

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This is when I saw Ava and ran over to see her...which explains that doofus smile on my face.

Quick hug and kiss from the Monkey...she says they give me super powers to run fast :)

Waiting for me to finally finish!

All done, whew...still standing though :)

Half Marathon Training: Week 12

2009-12-12T17:19:00.003-05:00

My last week of training is over!! All I really did was a couple of super short runs and alot of resting! I cannot believe that I am running this half-marathon tomorrow. I feel like it's pretty much all I've thought about for the last few months, and in the morning, it will all here and over before I know it. I'm a little nervous, b/c I've had some aches and pains that don't seem to want to go away, but mostly just excited. I never in a million years thought I'd be doing something like this, or that I had it in me....but here I am. I have no clue how I'm going to sleep tonight. It's like kid at Christmas anticipation, but waiting for miles instead of presents :) Wish me luck!

Meet Ellie...

2009-12-07T15:00:00.004-05:00

Ellie the Elf came to live with us last week. Santa sent her to make sure Ava was being a good girl (as in I went to the store, bought the infamous "Elf on the Shelf", and have been using it to bribe the Monkey ever since!) Money well spent so far. So Ellie goes home to the North Pole each night and tells Santa how Ava was that day. Then she comes back and is in a different spot the next morning. Being the totally stellar parents that we are, Jon and I forgot to move her on the 2nd night, nice huh? We had to come up with a good story. I have to say that it's been fun coming up with places to put her, and Ava gets so excited when she finds her. She needed a little help on this one!

Half Marathon Training: Weeks 10 and 11

2009-12-05T20:34:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty excited to type this, because it means that all of the hard part of training is officially over! The last two weeks have gone really well. I ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, which was so much fun. That will definitely have to become a yearly tradition! All of my weekly runs were 5 miles, and I had my final long run today...10 miles. It was not to bad, the weather was just killer. It was cold and so windy. I felt like I was running so hard, but going absolutely nowhere! Even with that, it was actually easier than my 9 mile run a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't feel like I was going to die afterward. I was just freezing and wanted the hottest shower ever! So I have a pretty easy week ahead of me, then 13.1 miles and that's it!! I'm definitely a little nervous, but so excited now too :)

Weekend in Asheville (aka: Angie and Nick got Hitched!)

2009-11-23T10:33:00.004-05:00

Oh, where to start?!? Last weekend, we spent an amazing few days in a gorgeous town with some of my favorite people ever. Oh, and my best friend got MARRIED!!!! We got into Asheville late Thursday afternoon, and headed out for pizza and beer (more of each than you can imagine!). Then the girls and guys headed off in separate directions. We kicked off our night with key lime pie martinis, complete with graham cracker rimmed glasses! From there we made friends with a pirate mannequin, got creative with an impromptu toilet paper veil and witnessed Angie get an "E for Effort" lap dance from some locals. It was such a fun night, and much thanks to Angie's sweet mom Debbie for making sure we all got home safe and sound!
Friday Jon and I wandered around Downtown for a bit and found a little Latin cafe called Chorizo. So, so good...and not too shabby when you are needing a good hangover cure! Then I met Angie and her sister, Lauren at the salon for a manicure, which was nice. My nails haven't seen that much attention in a while. After our mani/pedi's we headed to the rehearsal, which is when I saw the wedding site for the first time. I have to say that it took my breath away a little. It was so gorgeous, and you would never even know it was there. Let me just take this time to also say that this was the first time I became aware that I was going to have to walk what seemed like half a mile down a steep gravel hill with people watching while wearing heels. Thoughts of tripping, falling and rolling immediately entered my head! After a smooth rehearsal, we left for the rehearsal dinner. It was at this adorable little restaurant and the food was amazing. It was just such a sweet and funny evening complete with a sentimental slide show, heartfelt toasts and a little performance of Chuck Berry's "My Ding-a-Ling" by the Groom himself.
I'm going to try to describe Saturday without being too cheesy or sentimental, but that's going to be hard! The day started off with a brunch honoring Angie and was full of delicious food and treats. Angie, Lauren and I then went over to the salon to get our hair and make-up done. That in itself was so much fun, I want someone to come do it for me everyday! When we were all beautiful, we left to get dressed. When we walked into the bridal suite, Angie's dress was hanging up, and I started to get all choked up. There are no words to describe that dress. I remember when she first tried it on, it literally took everyone's breath away, and Angie said "I don't want to take it off". That was sooooo the dress!! It's funny to hear her talk about it because it's the complete opposite of what she pictured. She thought she'd end up with something simple and this dress is the most elaborate, "fancy" dress that you can picture. In the words of my 3 year old, "She looks like a Princess in it". Once we were all dressed we went out for a few pictures and headed down to the grove to wait for the wedding to start. Oh, I should mention that the weather was amazing...too good to be true!! Before we knew it we were making that long walk down the gravel path and all managed to make it down like pros :) We waited anxiously for Angie to walk down with her Dad, Donnie. At one point I looked over at Nick and his knees were moving back and forth a million miles a minute. He looked so anxious, but in the absolute best way possible. The second I saw Donnie's face, I had to hold back tears...which I apparently didn't do so well. I don't think I cried at my own wedding, but everything about that day got to me. Not only do I love Angie, but I adore her family and absolutely do not think that she could have married a better guy. She and Nick are the sweetest, funniest, most down to earth couple you will ever meet...and it made me so, so happy to be standing there, watching their wedding. Enough with the cheesiness...onto the party!! And what a party it was! I cannot remember having more fun at a wedding reception. There was great food, amazing cake (red velvet, carrot and pumpkin chocolate chip to be exact) and good music. All of this, along with wonderful friends and one huge dance party made for a seriously fun night that I will not soon forget.
Sunday morning Jon and I reluctantly got out of bed, packed our bags and checked out of our hotel. We made a not so quick stop at the Tupelo Honey Cafe for lunch which was so, so good. There is usually a pretty long wait, but it is so worth it! We didn't get to do most of the big tourist-y things (no Biltmore on this trip), but that just means that we have to go back soon!
Thank you Ang and Nick for including us in your amazing wedding weekend. We feel blessed to have been able to share it with you! Love you :)

Click on the top picture to take you to the album...enjoy!

Asheville-Nick and Angie's Wedding

Half Marathon Training: Weeks 8 and 9

2009-11-22T19:03:00.004-05:00

Whew...so these last two weeks have been a little crazy. I spent about 6 of the last 14 days out of town or on the road (Angie's amazing wedding in Asheville, then a turn around trip for the Aggie Bonfire Memorial), had part of my toenail cut out (stupid, nasty ingrown was killing me and it took what seemed like forever for it to feel good enough to run on), and I feel like I've just been playing catch-up. Needless to say, training has not been my #1 priority like it should have been, and a few runs were definitely missed. I did what I could though, and I will admit that I felt like I totally paid for these last 2 weeks today. I went out for my 1st run all the way around White Rock Lake (9 miles) and it was HARD. Most definitely the hardest run that I've had. My legs were killing me, I was tired, and just felt the effects of slacking off a bit. I felt that little bit of doubt creeping back up. I did it though, even though it took me what seemed like a lifetime. I think I have a few weeks of serious gym time ahead of me! The good thing is that I'm running the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving (8 miles) so that will give me an extra long run....feeling like I'm going to need that! Just 3 more weeks now, and I'm determined to make them count!

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting

2009-11-09T10:26:00.005-05:00

I have not baked anything in what feels like forever, and had a few bananas sitting on the counter getting all mushy and brown. Normally, I would have made my Grandma's Banana Bread, but I was in the mood to try something a little different! I thought cupcakes sounded so good, since I have a tiny bit of an obsession with them. I found several recipes for banana cupcakes, and honestly I chose these because I had all of the ingredients on-hand. They came out so good! Very dense, but definitely cupcake-y and not too muffin-like.

Banana Cupcakes
From: marthastewart.com

Ingredients:

Makes 12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar*, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix)**. Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

*I never have plain white sugar unless I'm buying ingredients to bake, so I used a combination of Sugar in the Raw (1/2 c) and Splenda (1/4 c) and it came out great. I've never baked with the raw sugar before, but I think I will again!

**The key to keeping them light is to stop mixing the second the dry ingredients become wet. Maybe about 30 seconds mixing with a spoon. Do not bust out your fancy-schmancy stand mixer for this recipe...do it all by hand!!

These cupcakes were paired with Honey-Cinnamon frosting, which sounds delicious, but was so not what I wanted at the time. I was trying to think of what would go good with banana, and peanut butter and chocolate came to mind. I found a few recipes, all a little different. Some used real peanut butter, some peanut butter chips. Some used chocolate chips and some melted bakers chocolate. One was true chocolate buttercream with peanut butter chips folded in. So, this is what I came up with, because I had all of this stuff in the house :) It tasted like I melted a Reeces Peanut Butter cup, whipped it back up and piped it on top of the cupcakes. I was pretty happy with myself!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

6 oz. semi-sweet Bakers Chocolate (6 squares)
1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
up to 1 c powdered sugar

Directions:

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter (heat on 30 second intervals then stir until melted. Do not over heat). While still hot, stir in peanut butter and vanilla until peanut butter is melted. Cool in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.

Once cool, add powdered sugar in 1/3 c increments and beat on med-high until you reach desired consistency and thickness.

Frost cupcakes and Enjoy!!

Half Marathon Training : Week Seven

2009-11-08T19:32:00.003-05:00

This week I had a weird realization. I always go into my shorter weekday runs thinking that they are going to be easy simply because it's a distance that I've run many times by this point. I go into my long weekend runs with less confidence wondering whether or not I will make it, how slow I will be, how hard it will be, etc. You know what happens? Those shorter runs are always the ones that KILL me and I love my long runs. HUH??? I think it's because I go into them with a completely different mindset, and prepare myself in different ways. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I do my weekday runs alone, in my neighborhood, and it gets boring. Plus, I have to fit them in to a crazy schedule (not just mine, but Jon's). On Saturdays I get up, drive to Travis and Andrea's and we head out to the lake. It's time each week that's set aside for that specific purpose...no fitting it in or rushing. Anyway...this week was a couple of 4.5 mile runs (one of which turned into 5 b/c I didn't check my schedule...whatever) and a 7 mile run on Saturday. The 7 mile took me 1 hour 16 minutes. Still a turtle, but a turtle who's feeling like that 13.1 that I'll be running in 5 weeks is not so scary after all :)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-04T14:58:00.000-05:00

All of the Halloween-y Goodness

2009-11-02T17:13:00.004-05:00

This year was so much fun! I always say that, but the older Ava gets, the better it is! She was such a pro at trick-or treating this year. She didn't ask me to go to the door with her once. We went with Aidan again, and they would walk up, ring the bell and wait for their candy. We had to remind them to only ring once a few times, and make sure everyone said thank you...but the were great! Wednesday we took the kids up to the school/Church for trunk-or-treating and Ava got to see some of her friends. Thursday was trick-or-treating through the classrooms and a party at school, and then Boo Bash Friday night. Aidan came to that too and they danced their little tushies off all night. It was so cute. Then we hung out at the park for a neighborhood Halloween party with Jon's family before heading out to get waaay to much candy on Saturday night. Needless to say, I got my money's worth out of their costumes :) Ava has already asked how many days until it's Halloween again, and has her costumes picked out for the next 15 years. Seriously...she informed me that she wanted to be a cowgirl when she was 18 after rattling off a huge list of other costumes. Spider Girl, a bunny, a princess and some sort of fruit were in there too. At least she plans ahead, right?

Half Marathon Training: Weeks 5 and 6

2009-11-01T21:15:00.003-05:00

Well, this means I'm halfway there. Six weeks down, six more to go! Week five was great, probably the best so far. I was better about my strength training (as in I had a few days where I could barely move...but it was good!), and had a 6 mile run that weekend. I was turtle slow, as usual (I think it took me right at an hour and 5 minutes), but it was one of those really good runs that makes up for crappy ones! My Ipod died about 2 miles in, but even that didn't really mess with me as much as I had anticipated when I turned it on and saw that dreaded low battery signal. Week six was pretty easy, just a couple of 4.5 mile runs during the week (one of which got cut short when I got caught up in a serious rainstorm....I'm talking soaked and whacked in the head with acorns), and 5k over the weekend. The best part was that I managed to fit in several yoga classes over the past two weeks, which was a big goal...I was really missing that. I think my muscles were too. So, mark your calendars people...because six weeks from today I'm going to need all the good luck vibes I can get :)

Hello Sleep!

2009-10-30T16:39:00.003-05:00

I'm sure I'm posting this waaaaay to far in advance, thus completely jinxing myself...but I think Liam may have FINALLY become a good sleeper. Granted, my definition of good sleeper is probably so much different than most other people's. We were so spoiled with Ava, who slept through the night at 6 weeks, and was sleeping 12 hour stretches by 3 months. Liam, not so much. It took him a while to find a pattern, and he went through phases of sleeping great, then being up several times a night every couple of months or so. For the past few months he's only woken up once, but still wanted (not needed) a bottle. He'd take it in his crib and put himself back to sleep, so it's not like we were up for hours at a time at night. Had he been my first kid, I would have labeled him as a pretty darn good sleeper, but his sister had to go and ruin it for him. Still, I've been ready for an uninterrupted night of sleep for quite some time (a little selfish, yes....but much needed). We decided no more bottle at 3 am, and after 2 nights of a little fussing and overall "what the hell guys", he's over it and has slept from 8pm to anywhere between 6 and 8 am. This I can deal with. If he wakes up in the middle of the night tonight...I'm deleting this post!

Sticky Thought Thursday

2009-10-29T13:21:00.002-05:00

Half Marathon Training: Week 4

2009-10-18T17:54:00.004-04:00

This week started off with a run in the Hill Country. We were at the lake for the long weekend, and I decided to get up early before we left on Monday and run so that I could have a little change of scenery. Oh.My.Goodness. Up, Up, Up...flat for a second...Up some more...maybe downhill for just a bit...then repeat. It was definitely a change. I thought the hills in my 'hood were bad. It was good for me though! I did another treadmill run because of a crazy week, and have to admit that while I have been good about getting all of my runs in (as long as I've been healthy), I've really slacked off on strength training the last few weeks. I think I just got out of the habit while I was sick off and on, and was out of the gym. No more though, I am going to make myself really focus on it next week. Saturday my sister and I ran the Race for the Cure and had such a good time. I have to say that I was pretty proud of myself because I took a good 3 minutes off of my normal 5K time! It was definitely the atmosphere, and I ran it at about 28:45. Tiff did so great and finished in around 36 minutes. She never stopped and doesn't really run. She had gotten up to running 2 miles over the last few weeks, and I was so proud of her! It was for such a great cause, and I loved being a part of it. I raised a little over $200...so a big, huge THANK YOU to all of my friends and family that donated money. It is much appreciated!! Oh, and we saw Crazy Tracy from The Biggest Loser in the bathroom at Northpark before the race. She had definitely lost a ton of weight, but was yelling at her friends to "go, go, go". She was all decked out in her purple Biggest Loser gear. I wanted to ask her where her pink was ;)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

A couple of people I know do what they call "Wordless Wednesday" on their blogs. They basically post a fun picture, minus any captions or story, just for pure entertainment and admiration! I think it's such a cute idea, and asked if I could borrow the idea (because stealing is wrong, people!). It's a perfect opportunity for me to pop in a cute picture every once in a while without having to come up with any witty dialogue to go along with it. You can just use your imagination and make up your own if you're feeling creative! Hope you enjoy the first installment.

Half Marathon Training: Weeks 2 and 3

2009-10-12T18:50:00.003-04:00

Quick, condensed update because I'm a little late doing this! Week 2 was just a repeat of week one. My 4 mile run that weekend was pretty pathetic because my foot was bothering me (turns out I have a pulled tendon...lots of icing and stretching, but no biggie) and I was about 8 hours away from puking my brains out. Week 3 was a bust because it took me so long to get over that stupid stomach bug. I didn't run again until Thursday and didn't even finish my 3.5 miles for that day. It was so hot and humid, and I just still wasn't feeling 100%. My 5 mile run this past Saturday was actually pretty nice though. The weather was great, I was finally feeling like myself and my foot didn't really bother me. I was so worried about finishing those 5 miles going into it because the 2 weeks leading up to it were just so bad...but I did it, and it felt really good!! 3 weeks down, 9 more to go :)

My Inner Child is All Kinds of Giddy!

2009-10-09T16:30:00.002-04:00

Can I just say that I am a little too excited about "Where The Wild Thing Are"! Tiff and I are taking Ava to see it next weekend, and I'm looking forward way more than my 3 year old. Pathetic, maybe...but I do not care! The previews make me all goose-bumpy and bring out the kid in me :) On top of that, I've been listening to the soundtrack, which is seriously wonderful. It makes me want to sing and jump around in some fuzzy monster pajamas...do those even come in my size?

Sticky Thought Thursday

2009-10-08T12:36:00.003-04:00

Finally back to normal...mostly.

2009-10-07T12:03:00.004-04:00

After feeling like I was knocking on death's door (which looks a lot like my toilet bowl, if you are wondering), Pukefest 2009 has officially come to an end in our household. Saturday, Liam came down with whatever nasty stomach bug has been going around. We were hoping it was something else when we talked to the nurse, because it seemed to come and go within a few hours. Turned out that was not the case. By that night, Ava and I both had it and Jon had a house full of sickies to take care of. Then he got sick Sunday night, and while the kiddos were a little better...I was still feeling like death. Jon and Ava seemed to get over it pretty quickly, and it took Liam about 48 hours. Me, three freaking days! I swear these things try to kill me. Poor Ava basically had to fend for herself on Monday. She was a serious trooper. I guess it was inevitable that we were going to pick this up somewhere, since everyone we know has had it. Plus, we passed it along, which completely sucks. Now I plan to spend the next few days disinfecting and de-germing everything in my house. I should buy stock in Lysol and Clorox wipes.

Noodle Nose

2009-10-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

...and cheeks, hands, eyes, hair. You get the picture! Liam is so over his bottle, and it's a pretty big struggle to get him to take enough formula each day. He wants his big boy food, and he wants it now! Last night I made Chicken Parmesan and thought I'd see how he did with some chopped up spaghetti. He was in heaven. He made a huge mess, of course, and I'm still finding noodles in places that I thought I'd cleaned...but he loved it! He shoveled handful after handful into his little mouth, and about half made it in. I think he was thankful for a little variety :)

That's one dirty, happy baby!

Race For the Cure

2009-10-02T17:17:00.004-04:00

My sister and I are running the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure 5K on October 17th! I'm so excited because this will be my first road race and it's for a wonderful cause. Plus, I get to do it with Tiff :) If you are interested in donating, sponsoring or participating, please visit their web page at: www.komen-dallas.org

Sticky Thought Thursday

2009-10-01T10:48:00.005-04:00

I don't remember where I came across this, but you can go to wigflip.com/superstickies and make your own sticky notes. I thought it was perfect since I always have a few random thoughts floating through my head that don't really warrant their own post. So, if I can remember each week, Thursdays will be my "Sticky Thought" days. Feel free to post your own random thought, vent or rant!

Half Marathon Training Week One: CHECK

2009-09-27T09:00:00.003-04:00

So, I've officially started training for the half-marathon I'm running on December 13th. No more "training to train" or skipping workouts when I'm really not feeling all that into it. Although, I've been pretty good about to sticking to all of my scheduled runs the past few weeks to get myself into the habit. This week was not really anything new...a couple of 3 mile runs and a 4 mile run over the weekend. It took me almost 43 minutes to run those 4 miles. Not horrible, but I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm just slow. The only real change was that Jon was out of town all week, which meant treadmill runs during the week (blah). Oh, and I came down with some nasty, funky head/chest cold or sinus infection thing. I was cracked out on all kinds of over the counter stuff all week because that's all I could really do. I'm just glad that I didn't wuss out and skip any runs or workouts, even though I felt like total crap. It's funny to think back to right after I had Liam and I would run (if you could even call it that) on the treadmill, thinking how awesome I was doing, but the thought of running outside scared the bejeebus out of me. Now I despise that stupid treadmill. It's boring, and makes 3 miles seem like they take all freakin' morning. Crazy how that's changed in a matter of months! So, even diseased and left to fend for myself (clearly, I survived!), my first week was a success. Now to start all over tomorrow :) One week down, eleven more to go.

Just Slap a Bumper Sticker on Me

2009-09-26T21:22:00.006-04:00

Because I have officially entered "Soccer Mom" territory. Lord help us all! If you're waiting for me to cave and bust out with a minivan to go with that sticker, don't hold your breath ;) After 2 rain outs, and a couple of interesting practices (3 year old girls who pretty much all know each other running around for an hour, use your imagination), Ava had her first real game this morning. Her team is called the Rockettes, and her friend Marcy's dad is coaching. Alot of the girls on the team are from school or ballet, but she has met a few new friends too. There are only 2 teams of 3 year olds, so they are playing four, and even some five year olds this season. The team they played this morning was older, faster and most definitely more coordinated. What they did not have going for them were rockin' pink and white tie-dyed shin guards...thank you very much! Needless to say, the Rockettes got their cute little booties handed to them. Luckily, they have absolutely no clue! They had fun, and sweet Lily even scored a goal. I have to say that Ava does seem to get the basic concept of the game, but she is way too nice. We have to work on that! She seems to really enjoy it though, and it holds her attention for more than five minutes. That's always a plus :)

I'm sorry, WHAT?

2009-09-25T21:19:00.004-04:00

That was my response when my daughter, who is obsessed with all things pink and princess...twirly and girly, informed me a while back that her new name was...are you ready for it: SPACESHIP ROCKS! Huh? I kind of blew it off at first, because she does have a slightly over-active imagination. She has not one, but at least two full time imaginary friends that we are aware of. Then, of course, those friends have friends, siblings, and so forth. You get the picture. While I was surprised at the name itself (I mean "Princess Fancy Pants" I wouldn't even bat an eye at), I was even more surprised at how adamant she is that I use it. I'll ask her to do some simple little thing and her response will be "But Mommy, my name is not Ava." I have found that there is no sense in arguing, because as soon as I ask "Spaceship Rocks, can you pick up your room"...voila, you can see her floor! Who knows how long it will last. I'm sure it's just another passing phase, and at least it's an amusing one. I think Jon and I are the only people that are required to call her this, and it's at random intervals. This officially confirms my theory that all kids have multiple personalities from birth, well into their teens :)

Kind of like Shampoo, but without the "P"

2009-09-24T17:05:00.008-04:00

We went to Sea World with the madre this past weekend and when Ava asked for the millionth time what the whale's name was, that's what I came up with to help her remember. Maybe not the most creative thing in the world, but it seemed to do the trick. Ava absolutely loved it, and Liam was even more intrigued than I thought he'd be. It was fun to watch them. Ava even went on her first roller coaster, and put one hand up in the air...the little dare devil ;) I think it was worth the arm and leg you have to pay to get in!

The sea lions were so precious...loved them!

Obligatory "we were here" family pics. All hot and sweaty and my camera was about to die...nice one!

Because we are total suckers, we agreed to a $15 face paint job. Justifiable because she was on her very best behavior that day, and because I'm pretty sure we're the only business the poor kid who did it had all day!

We also got to hang out with Angie and her sweet family. She's getting married in November and we got to celebrate a couple of wedding showers with her. That wedding is definitely at the top of the list of things I'm looking forward to. Can't wait to see you guys in Asheville :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away....No, Seriously!

2009-09-22T12:09:00.005-04:00

I am SO OVER all of the rain, drizzle, gray clouds, and overall gloominess. I love a good storm and we needed some rain, but enough is enough already. I have a stir crazy kid, I think we're all getting cabin fever. Ava has decided that if it keeps raining, we are going to have to build an ark. Even my dogs have gotten the memo and haven't left the back patio in a while...fine by me because I'm not exactly a huge fan of cleaning up their muddy paw prints. The silver lining here is that I *think* all of this nasty weather may finally cool things off a bit. I'm officially ready for summer to be over. I'm ready for a break from the heat, plus I love fall!! I'm looking forward to running in the cooler weather. Speaking of, running in the rain and mud and puddles has been a bit of a mess. I used to think those people who were out running when it was pouring down rain were C.R.A.Z.Y. Then, all of a sudden that was me. I have to say that except for one slightly disastrous run last weekend with Andrea, where we had to turn back because of all the mud, running in the rain was actually kind of enjoyable. Did I just say that? My shoes, however would not agree. They have suffered from all of it, and this is what they look like after a week or so of sloshing through puddles.

I'm scared to wash them, because I love them and don't want to ruin them. At this point, it would be like throwing my wedding dress in the washer. They will just have to stay dirty, I suppose.

Dig in....the Dancing Queen!

2009-09-16T15:40:00.008-04:00

Ava started her first REAL dance class last week, and while there are always things that she does that make me proud, excited and all goose-bumpy, this is currently topping the list. If you know me at all, you can practically feel all of that oozing off of your screen this very minute at the thought of my daughter in ballet shoes! She is absolutely loving it as much as I am. She has always been a big fan of our little dance parties and getting her groove on in the back seat, so it will be interesting to see how she does in a more structured environment. No tu-tu's or pink leotards (can you imagine how that conversation went?). She has to wear a black leotard and pink tights, just like the big girls! One reason I just adore her teacher, Ms. Janie, is because she is all about teaching them how to be proper little ballerinas. That means being on your very best behavior and remembering your manners at all times, in the studio as well as at home. She is the sweetest, tiniest woman, but commands all of their respect and attention because they are simply in awe of her. She is, after all, a REAL ballerina! THANK YOU MS. JANIE!! I'll take all the help I can get in the manners department. Of course, when it's combined with arabesques, grand jetés, and pliés...well then it's all good in the eyes of most 3 year olds! Ava does all of those at least a thousand times a day; the grand jetés over a pillow for the full effect! It's adorable and hilarious, because they are so eager to learn but completely uncoordinated still at this age. Who knows how long she'll want to do it, but you know I'll encourage it as long as she wants to go :)

Walking up to class...shoes in hand!!

Just before she went in. What a cheeseball.

Circle time before class. Then Ms. Janie closed the door and they got down to business.

Baja Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream

2009-09-10T16:56:00.015-04:00

aka: Crack in a Tortilla! When I lived in College Station, there was this restaurant called La Bodega that had the BEST chicken tacos. I was beyond obsessed with them. Not only did they have the best tacos, but the most amazing sauce. I'm 100% sure that it was laced with some sort of illegal substance because I would drown my taco in that stuff, have it dripping onto my hands, and actually lick it off my fingers so that I didn't miss out on any. Yep...I did this in public, with absolutely no shame. As I moved away and my visits back became few and far between (insert sad face) I realized that I was going to have to figure out how to get my crack taco fix without driving 3 hours to get the real thing. So, here's my version at re-creating my all time favorite taco. It's by no means the original, but pretty damn good!

Recipe disclaimer: I am not a "measurer", so most measurements are purely guesstimates. But, this isn't baking, or rocket science...so you'll be fine!

Marinade for Chicken:

Zest and juice of 1 lime (then throw the lime in for good measure!)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec (If you don't have triple sec, use a little orange juice, orange zest, orange extract, whatever you've got on hand. You're just going for a hint of orange. I just choose to get mine in the form of liquor...yes, I know it all cooks off, not the point!)
2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
If you have any type of Mexican seasoning, throw a little of that in. I have a good Mexi-Cali blend...or just plain old Cumin is great in this.

Dump it all in a bag w/ 3-4 chicken breasts and marinate for at least 30 min. If you have frozen chicken breasts, just let them thaw in the marinade.

Cilantro Lime Sour Cream (aka, crack sauce):

8 oz sour cream (I use light, but fat free is completely worthless...blah)
zest and juice of one lime
1-2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

If you love cilantro, add more. I am not a cilantro person (apparently this is a genetically inherited trait, or so I've been told at least a dozen times!). I'm always picking it off of things, and never understood why someone would ruin a perfectly good BBQ pizza, or salad by putting it on there. However, the combo of cilantro and lime is so good, and refreshing.

Mix this all together, then let it get it's groove on in the fridge for a while. The longer it hangs out, the better it's going to be. Try to resist eating it by the spoonful. I usually cannot.

Pico de Gallo:

4-6 Roma tomatoes - finely chopped
1/4 onion - finely chopped (If you feel like branching out a bit, try a red onion. I always get a big thumbs up on that one!)
1 small jalapeno - chopped so small I can barely see it! I take the seeds and ribs out b/c I'm a wuss
zest and juice of one lime
2-4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (again, depending on how much you love it)
salt and pepper to taste

Same w/ the sour cream, the longer it sits, the better it tastes!

When you are all set, grill and slice the chicken. Serve in grilled white corn tortillas and top with:

Shredded red cabbage (even if you are not a cabbage fan, just trust me and try it. If you hate it, you can curse me while you pick it all off!)
Monterrey Jack Cheese
Pico and Sour Cream

Serve with black beans and rice! Oh, and you'll want to have a bag of tortilla chips on hand for the leftover pico!

Makes me happy every time I eat it...hope I can pass a little of that along :)

Bug Catchin'...

2009-09-09T12:50:00.008-04:00

...That's what I seem to be doing a lot of these days. "Brother Bug" as Ava calls Liam, is on the move! He hasn't completely mastered crawling, since he likes to go backwards rather than forwards, but he is officially mobile. His favorite thing is to work his way under my bed when I'm not looking...something new to explore, I suppose. Too bad I can't teach him to dust while he's under there. He couldn't care less about sitting up most days. He can do it, but I think he has figured out that it gets him absolutely nowhere. Oh, and we are now the proud owners of two very sharp teeth! Real food, here we come :) Here are a few recent pics:

I think these were all taken maybe within a week or so, and it just amazes me still how different they can look on any given day!

"YOUR HARD WORK IS ABOUT TO PAY OFF"

2009-09-07T09:25:00.001-04:00

Or at least it is according to my Panda Express fortune cookie from last night! Reading that completely made me smile 1) because I needed some new motivation and 2) because I always get the WORST fortune cookies. I've never gotten one worth holding onto in my entire life. They are usually beyond cheesy. I'm not only keeping this one, but putting it somewhere that I'll see it every day!
There are some days when telling myself that in just 3 short months I'm actually going to be able to run 13.1 miles doesn't really cut it. Most days the "I think I can, I think I can" mentality gets me through, but others, even the best of pep talks doesn't do the trick.
So far, my biggest accomplishment was my 4 mile run on Friday. It was officially the farthest I've run since I was in College. It was HARD, but at the end I didn't have that feeling of dread like I've had in the past...like there's absolutely no freaking way that I can ever go any farther than that. This time I thought, "Well, just triple that, add another mile, and I'm good". Then I flipped out a little.
The thought of not being able to do it is just flat out stupid. I would not have said that I would do it if I did not KNOW that somewhere inside myself I am capable of doing this. I just need a little extra kick in the rear every once in a while, and now I'll have it right on front of me...in all caps!

Has anyone seen the Remote?

2009-09-05T09:00:00.005-04:00

I was going back over and looking at old posts yesterday (noting the long span between many of them!) and remembered that I started this thing when Ava was just turning ONE!! She was still a BABY! Then realized that in less than 5 months, that will be LIAM. Cue me freaking out, and holding back a few tears. How do I slow this the heck down?
Ava was just a little munchkin, and before I know it, my little dude really will be a little DUDE. The baby phase goes by so fast, and I love it so much. I love all of it really, but if you've ever heard the term "Baby Rabies", well that's me in a nutshell. I love everything about them. Except for the being knocked up part, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. Don't get me wrong, I love the IDEA of it, and there are a few months in there that are okay, enjoyable even. The rest, not so much. If someone would just give me one every few years, I'd be good! Even now, when I have no intention of having another for a little while (No, I'm NOT DONE!!) the thought of not having a baby in the house makes me want to cry.
Although, I absolutely love the stage he'll be heading into pretty soon as well. That early toddler stage where they're into anything and everything, but everything is so new and fresh...and it's all a big adventure. It's like they KNOW you can't keep up with them! But watching them figure it all out it so worth it, and so much fun. I remember Ava being there, and it was never a dull moment! I treasured every single second of it. It's times like this when I'm even more thankful that I have a husband who works his ass off so that I don't have to miss any of it. I have all of these memories of her, and get to have them of Liam too...I didn't miss a single thing and even on days when they drive me batty it is SO WORTH IT.
I'm even managing to see the good in the terrible 3's. Just FYI, whoever coined the term "terrible 2's" was an idiot. There are days where I want to put her on the curb w/ a sign that says "3 going on 30. Free to a good Home". But watching the little person she's become over the last 3 years has me truly amazed most days. She is SO smart...and not in that "smart because she's my kid" kind of way. I think she's going to know more than I do before she's in High School...then what? Plus I SEE so much of myself in her (good and bad!). It's different when they are babies because they are just developing their little personalities, and it's mostly about who they look more like on any given day. Now I look at her and literally see myself. It's so crazy, and amazing, and scary...all at once. If my grandmother were to read this, she would simply say to me "Retribution Veronica, retribution". Oh, but I love that child , both of them, more than I can describe in any amount of words. There simply are no words. I think that Jon is going to have the same reaction to Liam in a few years. I just have this feeling that he is going to be an exact little replica of his daddy! He's going to look at him one day and just go "Holy crap".

There's no real point to all of this, other than the fact that I'm still amazed at how fast it all flies by. Even with all the warnings everyone gave me about how "fast it was going to fly by"!

...And I'm still looking for my DAMN Pause Button.

Watch Out Colicchio

2009-09-04T13:00:00.011-04:00

Because Ava might be coming after your job in a few years! Maybe that's a little ambitious, but I definitely thing she has inherited my love for cooking! She's always asking to help out in the kitchen, but last night she said that she wanted to cook dinner! She has a great little Sesame Street cookbook that her Aunt April gave her a couple of years ago, and I told her she could pick any recipe out of it and make it. She picked "Abby Cadabby" Bowtie Pasta, and after we made some alterations to the recipe, she embarked upon her first (semi) solo cooking experience. I chopped the veggies, measured out the olive oil and seasoning, and boiled the pasta...but the rest she pretty much did on her own. I was so proud of her, not just because she actually did it, but because it was GOOD!

Here's our version of what will forever be known as Abby Cadabby Pasta in our house: (the original is carrots, sliced ham and parsley...not all that appealing, and I'm thankful she let me take a few liberties!)

7 oz Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 small zucchini thinly sliced
1 carrot thinly sliced or 10-12 baby carrots
Large handful of cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter (we used smart balance)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese...or that's about what it looked like while I was watching her shake it in :)
salt and pepper to taste

While pasta is boiling:

Add olive oil to large skillet (on med heat) then add carrots and saute for 3-4 min. Add zucchini and seasoning, saute for 2-3 more min. Add tomatoes and turn skillet to low. I like my veggies al dente, but if you're a soggy veggie fan, up the cooking time and/or temp a bit.
Drain pasta and add to skillet (reserve just a little pasta water and add to skillet as well). Add butter, Parmesan, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Quick, healthy, and easy enough that a 3 year old can do it!!

The finished product!! Don't think we'd win Top Chef with it or anything, but not too shabby if you ask me.

Baby update!

2009-01-20T17:11:00.003-05:00

I'm getting induced this Friday, so we get to meet out little dude soon!! Hopefully everything will go smoothly, wish me luck :)

Sweet Cousins

2008-12-22T16:01:00.003-05:00

This has to be one of my favorite pictures ever!! We were all at the lake, and took the munchkins to see the Christmas lights. Do they look just ridiculously sweet here, or what :)

Good Witch, or Bad Witch?

2008-12-04T13:53:00.003-05:00

Ava was a witch for Halloween (yes...I know that was almost 2 months ago!), and every time someone asked her whether she was good or bad, she said "I'm a cute witch". Yea, but that still doesn't answer the question little monkey. She had her usual week or so of Halloween festivities at school/church, the club, the Arboretum...then she went trick-or-treating with Aidan. They were so cute :) She got to wear her costume to Dance class that week, which was a big deal...if you ask her! Here's a few pics.

Fair Fun!

2008-10-07T17:26:00.007-04:00

Last weekend we were supposed to go to Galveston (Crystal beach) with Dad and Pam for a little family vacation. That obviously didn't happen :( So, Dad and Pam came up to see us, and we went to the Fair and Arboretum. Both were so fun, and we got some much needed family time!! Ava loved the fair....between the rides, animals and food, she was in heaven!

We came home with a 3 foot tall Care Bear, who took over the stroller. They were everywhere, and of course Monkey had to have one. 10 games, and about $40 later, we had one. Everyone tried, and guess who won it....that would be me, Supermom!!

Sunday we had a picnic at the Arboretum, and let Ava run around...she loves that place. It is especially awesome in the Fall w/ all of the pumpkins!

Playing Catch-up!

2008-09-24T12:22:00.004-04:00

I know I haven't updated this thing in forever, but promise I will try harder so everyone can stay caught up with the baby news. We had an ultrasound last week, and here's the 1st picture of Liam!

He's not even a pound yet, and has started kicking me like crazy lately. The whole time the tech was looking at him, he just hung out with his legs crossed and his hand in his mouth. She had to jiggle him around to get the money shot, but he is definitely a HE!!

We're thinking his full name is going to be William Ridge Deats. William is for both of our grandpa's, and Ridge was my grandma's maiden name. But we'll call him Liam for short! He's supposed to make his appearance Early Feb, but we all know that that doesn't mean anything!

That's about it in baby news :)

Little Miss Monkey has been busy with school, soccer and dance. She's going to preschool 2 days a week, and loves it. She's also playing soccer with her BFF/boyfriend, Grayson. They are too funny together. We're also doing a Mommy and Me dance class, which she hated the 1st week, but loves now. She can't take the real classes until she's 3, but has been telling me she's ready to go to the big girl ballet class. We'll see if she's still into it by then!

If I forgot to send this link out to anyone, her teachers post weekly updates from school. If you want see what she's been up to here's the website:

http://ccdcps2tth.shutterfly.com/

The password is CCDC (all caps).

That's it for now....hope everyone is doing well!

Bye Cody Bear

2007-11-15T10:02:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we had to put our big, sweet bear of a dog, Cody, to sleep. We found out a few months ago that he had cancer, but he had been having pretty intensive treatment to keep it from spreading. I took him in for another round of shots on Monday and his vet was very optimistic and suprised at how well he was doing. We took him home and he was doing great, but then got very sick Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning he couldn't walk and I had to carry him inside :(

We knew that it would happen eventually, and said we'd only keep him around if he was healthy and happy and comfortable. The vet knew pretty much immediately that it had spread, and there was nothing we could do. It was so hard to say goodbye to him, but he was an amazing dog and deserved not to suffer. Tiff and I went up to tell him bye, and just layed by him and pet him. He was absolutely the best dog that anyone could have. If I could have cloned him, I would. Don't gt me wrong, I loved my Yoda Monster, but was well aware of the fact that I loved her more than anyone else did, and vice versa :) Everyone loved Cody Bear, and he had just as much love in him to give back. I will miss him so much. Bye sweet boy.

It's the Great Pumkpin, Ava Deats!

2007-10-29T14:37:00.000-05:00

These are some pictures Tiff took from our trip to the Arboretum Saturday. We went out to let Ava run around and be a kid in the gorgeous fall weather we've had the last few days (fingers crossed that it sticks around for a while!). She had a blast and carried around pumpkins that weighed as much as she does. It was the 1st time we'd been, and it was a perfect spot to just let her run and play...and be her crazy little self! She was mesmerized by the huge 715 lb pumpkin. I'm sure she would have tried to carry it off if we had let her!

Such a Tease!

2007-10-03T15:42:00.000-04:00

One of Ava's favorite things is to give the dogs treats. She will act like she's going to let them have one, then psych them out and take it away. As you can tell, the Stella Monster is not all that amused by this little game. Ava, however, thinks it's hilarious!

What Makes You Happy?

2007-09-26T11:50:00.000-04:00

This question was posted the other day in a forum. While it seems like one of the easiest questions to answer, I always hate "Why" questions when they apply to me personally b/c they are hard for me to answer. I think I realized today that it's because I usually have more than one answer, and can't give a single concrete reason. Like Jon asking me a bazillion times "Why do you love me?" My answer for the last 7 years has been...."I just do." And that's it...I just do, but for a ton of little reasons, not just one big one. I'm digressing....so I attempted to answer this and surprised myself when I came up w/ a bunch of little things in just a minute or two. I looked at my list and thought....well those things would make most people happy....and I'm lucky! I've always been a big "It's the little things that count" kind of person, and now I know why: There's a lot more room in your life for a bunch of good little things, than a few big ones!! W/ that said...here's my list of what makes me happy:

My daughter and husband

My dogs

Naps

Reading

Cooking

Travelling

Italian food and red wine, or mexican food and a margarita

The beach

Fall and Spring

Talking to my long distance friends, who I miss like crazy (Tiff and Ang....love you)

Having friends over for dinner (2 or 20!)

Music...especially live.

Doing new things (especially ones that I didn't know if I'd be brave enough to do)

Driving anywhere that's got a good view.

Visiting College Station...especially in the Fall.

Holidays w/ family and food.

Decorating for said holidays!

All the kiddos in our family, especially when they are all together.

My house, b/c no matter how messy it is, or how many things need to be fixed....it's HOME!!

My Sister

I know I could come up w/ so many more things, but the list would be a mile long.

Having too many good things to count is a good thing itself :)

What a Slacker ;)

2007-09-18T11:24:00.000-04:00

Yep, I've been horrible about updating this this the last few months...but I have an excuse, I promise!! My camera crapped out and I couldn't download anything. Tiff to the rescue....she put all of my pics on CD's for me to download! I heart you Tiff!!

Anywho, our lastest news is that we got a new puppy, Piper. She is super sweet, but is definitely in that hyper-crazy puppy phase! She's almost 3 months old, and is some sort of mix (The shelter's guess was Beagle/Chihuahua, and the vet couldn't come up w/ anything better).

I'm sure you all know that we lost Yoda a few months ago and it really just sucked not having a little dog in the house. I had a cuddle buddy for the last 13 years, and couldn't really get used to not having one. I stole the puppy neice, Stella, about once a week to fill the void until I was ready for a new one. I think Piper came along at just the right time!

Here are a few pics:

More fun news:
Ava started Mother's Day Out last week! She's just going one day a week for now, but maybe 2 in the Spring. So far, she's liking it. I'm thinking this will be good for both of us, since she's been seriously attached at the hip lately. Her teachers said she did great, except for naptime. Not only did she not want anything to do w/ naptime, she felt the need to wake all the other kids up as well. Apparently she would go over to their mats and tell them "UP, UP!!!" Sounds about right, huh!

On her 1st day:

Our trip to South Carolina

2007-06-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

Ava and I took our annual trip to SC in the beginning of May to visit Angie. Maybe it's not really an annual trip yet, since we've only been twice and she's only lived there a little over a year.....but still, as long as she's there we'll go!! It was so much fun with Ava this year. She was still so little last time I went. She had a blast playing with Angie's dog, Molly. I think they bonded :) She's such a little water baby that she played in the pool even when we were wusses and thought it was too cold! Next time we will have to hit the beach!! Thanks for letting us come play Ang....can't wait to come back :)

What's for Dinner?

2007-04-24T13:34:00.000-04:00

Ava's newest hobby is playing in the pots and pans...pretty usual for a 1 year old right? But is it normal for them to want to be the main course? I look over as I'm cooking dinner the other day, and this is what I see.............

Coldest Easter Ever!!

2007-04-16T13:07:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what was up with the whack-a-doo weather, but Ava had to forego her cute Easter attire, and bundle up in her winter coat to go egg hunting. I had just finished packing up all of her cold weather clothes, thinking I was safe. Still, she had a blast......even if it was colder than Christmas. If it wasn't her 1st real Easter Egg Hunt, I might have said "Um babe, I think it was too cold for the Easter Bunny to come this year.....he's still hibernating!"

Friday she went with Hannah and Hunter to the Gillis' Easter Egg Hunt in and had so much fun. She pretty much took over an entire end of the "field" and had the whole "pick egg up and put it in basket" thing down in record time. They were all so cute....who needs candy with those little sacks of sugar running around? Saturday it snowed on us as we were driving to Paris. I'm guessing there were alot of fingers stuck in ears and some "bllaaaa bllaaaa, I can't hear you" going around from all of the global warming peeps when they heard reports of snow in Texas in April......I'm just saying ;)

Sunday we had Easter at our house and the kids were hilarious running around the front yard. Ava and Hunter are young enough that just eggs are cool.....Hannah will promptly discard any empty eggs. They are of no use to her if there are no goodies inside.....She definitely has that one figured out!! I loved that they were all old enough to run around together this year, and watching them try to steal what was in each other's baskets was priceless. They are without a doubt the 3 cutest kids I've ever seen in my life......not that I'm at all biased or anything ;)

Ava's "Big Girl" Bathroom

2007-04-05T22:00:00.001-04:00

I finally decided, after a year of living in our house, that it was time to get to work on Ava's bathroom. I needed to reclaim mine.....I was tired of stepping on rubber ducks and accidentally using baby shampoo (as good as it smells, it doesn't do much for the fro!). I started this weekend, and ripped down the hideous wallpaper....then re-textured and painted. There were a few other steps in there, but I'll spare you the details. I will, however, give a shout-out to the genius who thought it was a good idea to caulk the wallpaper to the ceiling. It might have peeled off from every other edge in the room, but it most certainly was not going to fall from the ceiling....kudos to you, my friend! I thorougly enjoyed scraping that off with my trusty exacto knife ;) We had to do a few minor repairs....the drain and faucet in the tub was corroded, and Jon tackled that one...plus he took the super ugly sliding glass shower doors off a few weeks ago. I would love to replace the lovely pink toilet and tub, and gold countertop, but those will have to wait. There are a few other cosmetic things that need to be done....those dorm room towel racks have got to go, and there is one stubborn knob that has to come off...it's not ready to part with the room just yet, apparently. Other than that, I'm pretty proud of my handy work....not bad for 5 days, most of which was done during Ava's daily 2 hour nap!! I didn't take any before pics, but if you've been in my house, you know how ugly it was. If not, then trust me....your eyes thank me :)

My Little Fashion Icon

2007-03-25T22:59:00.000-04:00

As well as her usual "must have" accessories, like her pink blanket, purple straw sippy cup, and baby doll, Ava has picked up a few more that she just can't seem to live without. More often than not, she's seen with a cell phone lately....we try to make sure that it's her play phone....but you know how that goes. The crazy thing is she knows exactly what it's for. She opens it, pushes buttons and puts it to her ear....then it's either "Hi Dada" or "Hi Tissssssy" (i.e. Aunt Tiffy).

She's loving purses right now too. Such a girly girl...where did that come from?? (I think Jon has some explaining to do.) It really all started with Tiff's purse...and that is still the favorite, but at this point any purse will do. She grabs a purse, brings me her shoes, and it's time to go!! Oh....but we can't forget those shades. Little Miss Thing cannot be bothered by the bright sunlight ;) At least she doesn't try to steal mine anymore! I have no clue where her crazy little personality came from (snicker away people)....but in addition to saving for college, I'm thinking maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to start a "Hollywood, Here She Comes" fund as well.

Welcome to My World!!

2007-03-05T15:17:00.001-05:00

So I'm only a year late, but I had planned on doing this when Ava was born to keep everyone up to speed on what was going on in her little world. Oh well, better late that never, right. Since I'm horrible at sending out pictures (It's not like I've been busy chasing her crazy butt around, or anything), I'll try to put a few on here a week so that everyone can see the Monkey in action. Check back whenever you feel like you might need a little dose of Ava :)

Here's a few of Little Miss Cranky Pants at her 1st Birthday Party:
(Note to Self: Do not wake a sleeping munchkin up from a nap in hopes that she will take another one later so that she can stay up and party like a Rockstar on her Birthday.......it doesn't work!)

I didn't actually take a single picture that day, what with all the craziness that was going on, so thanks Tiff and Steph for these little gems!!

I take that back, I may have taken this last one....one of the few times during the day when she wasn't screaming. Give a baby some balloons and all is right with the world ;)

My Baby is One!

2007-02-06T16:35:00.001-05:00

Today is Ava's first birthday, which I guess means that she is technically no longer a baby. How the hell did that happen? I JUST had her.....literally. I think I remember the day I had her better than most of the days in between. Everyone warns you about how quickly it will go by and you think "Sure, I know it will". But this last year has gone by faster than anything I have experienced.....granted a few other major things have happened....but I just can't believe how fast she's turned into a little person. One minute she is relying on me for everything and the next she is walking around like she owns the place.

I don't think that anything in the world could have prepared me for being a mom. It doesn't matter how ready you think you are, or how much "experience" you think you have.....it's so much different when it's your own. It's better. It's harder, but it's so much better. Last week Ava learned how to give hugs, and I'm telling you, I could die right now and be happy. She started giving them to the dogs and when I asked her for one, she wrapped her arms around me and laid her head in my lap.....pure bliss. Then she laughed and ran away....typical!

Having her has changed me in so many ways, as it should. I've gone from being the biggest arachniphobe to killing spiders with my bare hands without thinking twice if they come near her. It's amazing what you will do for a helpless little munchkin! Mostly, I look at her and realize that she has made me capable of doing things that I had no clue I could ever do, or even want to do. She has made me want to be a better person, for her, for myself, for my husband.....I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it! I know that I will be thankful to her for these things for the rest of my life......because having her is shaping me into the person that I am supposed to be. She is absolutely the best gift that I have ever been given and I am truly thankful for her every single day......even when she is a crazy little monkey!!

So all of you mommies, go hug and kiss your kiddos because you wouldn't be who you are without them!