Memorial Day Weekend!

On Friday, Ryan & I left our sweet little town of Fate to travel to Austin for a fun filled weekend. My dear sweet Amelia was getting married on Sunday and I was singing at it! The weekend was a blast so here is my photo montage:

Friday night - bachelorette party. Dinner @ Jasper's then lingerie shower @ Amelia's

Saturday: rehersal @ San Michel and rehersal lunch @ Brick oven

Sunday: The BIG day!

So... as you can see, we had a great time! Until we got home that is....

We came back on Monday morning and since about Saturday I had been having pain in my abdomen to where I couldn't lay on my stomach (how I normally sleep). By Monday it was pretty much continuous and we decided we should go to the ER to get it checked out. Turned out that I had appendicitis and needed to have surgery on Tuesday morning.

Everything went well and I'm at home feeling pretty good. I tire easily, but not really having any pain, so that's a plus.

I'm off to run some errands now!

Call me Mrs. Organization

I'm a planner. It's just something that was inately built into my soul. I organize, plan, re-organize, and check details more than most people even think about starting to put something together. It might be crazy, but I think I would go crazy if I didn't plan.

For instance...

- I'm a laundry color seperator. Blacks, Greys and Blues, Browns/Greens/Yellow, Pinks and Reds, Whites, White Towels (with bleach), Jeans, Sheets, Blankets, and so on and so forth.

- The Pantry. I don't think I should even begin to tell you that I could be blind folded and still get exactly what I need out of the pantry because it's that organized.

- Grocery shopping. I write and re-write the list maybe 3 times before I get to the store. I go through and write out what we're eating that week. Then I go through and find out what we need and write that down. THEN, I go through that list and write it down in order of the store.

Yes. I might be a little OCD.

But, just in case you were wondering. Here's this weeks meals....

TONIGHT: Cuban Chicken Pizzas (myrecipes.com - made with multi grain tortillas instead of flour)

TUESDAY: Koren BBQ Beef with brown rice (myrecipes.com - made with splenda instead of real sugar)

WEDNESDAY: Chicken Tortellini Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach (sister-in-law's)

THURSDAY: Churrasco with Chimichurri sauce and Spicy Lime Black Beans (myrecipes.com)

FRIDAY: Chicken and Sausage Fricasse with brown rice (America's Test Kitchen)

SATURDAY: Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin (myrecipes.com) with roasted zucchini and squash

SUNDAY (Easter dinner with family): City Chicken and Pork with Cucumber Salad (grandmother's recipe)

All of these recipes are modified a little from the original to make them a little healthier. Most are low-carb to start off, but I sub in splenda, brown rice, or the whole grain version to help a little more.

Thats all for now!

Dre

Get HOT in March!

I have decided that March is GET HOT month! And by hot, I mean physically fit and what not. I will be the first to say that since getting married I have had a tendency to pack on those pesky few (uh....20 or so) pounds, and I am SO tired of it! Now, I know you other women know I'm talking about right? How you get comfortable and don't really care any more? Well... I CARE!

So, I've started working out and most importantly eating right. I have to say that the iPhone is the greatest invention ever. I have an app on there that keeps track of my food intake and exercise for each day! Honestly, I never thought writing down what you eat was worth it, but I have to admit, seeing what you eat in a day (nutrionally) really does help.

Anyways, I have some before pictures, but I won't be posting them until I have some good after ones..... ; )

Wish me luck!!!

Dinner Tonight!

Two things I love to do for fun.

1. Read (Kelley - The book was Murder By Family by Kent Whitaker - great story of Christ's grace/mercy)

2. Cook

I am sure that there will be many more posts about books, but tonight we'll talk food.

I am always looking for new things to cook. and I am such a planner. I shop for 2 weeks worth of food at a time and have planned out lunches, breakfast (which I hardly ever eat), and dinner. Tonight though, I wasn't too sure what I wanted to cook, so I thought BREAKFAST!

I got out the cook book and saw fried egg sandwiches. Never had one. Sounds good.

Got out the skillet, cooked the bacon, fried the eggs, toasted the bread, added some cheese and VOILA! Delicious! (if I do say so myself...) I recommend it if you haven't tried it!

RIP Dear Old Friend...

(updated 2/22/2009 - pictures)

Last Thursday, we received unfortunate news that our beloved Explorer aka 'Exploder', had indeed, exploded. After years of faithful service, she finally headed to the big ol' junk yard in the sky... That is unless of course, we wanted to spend the money to replace the transmission, front wheel bearings, an front wheels. (totaling somewhere around $3000.00). Well, considering the car is maybe only worth $1000, and SUCKED to drive, we decided to place a DNR (do not resuscitate) order and let her go.

So, we had succumb to the thought of sharing a car for a while, say maybe 30 - 90 days until Ryan's commission started coming in from a deal he just aquired at work.

That lasted a day. It was awful. Apparently we are not good at sharing.

We spent all weekend looking at cars, trucks, and SUV's. It was down to the Acura TL and F-150 Lariat. We have now determined that we are not car people and tonight we purchased our new friend 'The Beast'. I hope this is the beginning of many happy journeys to come....


(pictures to follow)

25 Random Things About Me...

1. I am half Polish! My Dad's parents both came from Poland to America and Canada when they were kids.

2. I had the biggest crush on Ryan when I was a freshman in high school, but he was a junior and was WAY too cool for me.

3. Ryan and I met initially because he played bass guitar and I sang on Wednesday nights for the youth at Lake Pointe. He used to drive me home, but I always had to listen about his "girl troubles".

4. My married name is Wheat, and my grandfather (Mom's dad) was a wheat rancher. You know how last names used to be similar to your profession?? Well, it seems kind of symbolic or something.

5. I want to live somewhere that it snows like crazy at Christmas. Not a full-time move, just a vacation house that we can go to around Winter time.

6. I forgot this number on the original one.... I guess I have something against the number 6.

7. I always say that we're not going to do Christmas gifts, but then I figure out someway to get everyone together and get Ryan a really awesome gift. (i.e. XBox 360, iPhone, bass guitar...)

8. I LOVE to host dinner parties! The more people the better!!!

9. I LOVE to cook! (hence #8) I once cooked dinner for a Christmas Party for 25 people!

10. I am a control freak! I have plans and plans and more plans... however, I am working on this and trying to let it go. This is why flying makes me nervous. But what can I say, I just like to be prepared.

11. I adore animals. Dogs in particular. I have to say that I consider my pet's children at this point. (crazy, i know) Ryan thinks I talk to our 3 dogs and 2 cats more than him... I don't think so.

12. Ryan told me that he heard you should complement your wife more than you pass gas. He said " I complement you a lot!" I said, "more than you pass gas?" and then he farted. case closed.

13. I used to sing the Star Spangled Banner in high school for a bunch of sporting events. At the Texas State Gymnastics meet, I was all ready to go and then I got to the part before "and the rockets red glare!" but couldn't remember it. I had to turn around, hand the microphone to whoever was behind me, walk out of the gym, and go absolutely hysterical. Most embarrasing moment by far.

14. Since that day, I have sang a hundred times over. However, the first few years after that, I'd be soooooooooo crazy nervous about forgetting the words. At church I would talk to the people running the prompters just to be sure they didn't forget I was relying on them. Sad, I know.

15. I tried out for American Idol the 2nd year it was on. I was told that 'I was not the look they were looking for'. My judge was Nigel, the producer.

16. I am allergic to alcohol. It happened after I turned 21. My face turns the brightest shade of red, and then feels like someone poured acid on it. It happens with all types of alcohol, even with the smallest amount.

17. I am VERY competitive. The first time I played guitar hero, I was HORRIBLE at it. So, I got up the next morning really early before Ryan woke up and played for about 4 hours, and when he finally got up, I was a MASTER! I have had the same problem with Call Of Duty 4, I just haven't reached my full potential there quite yet.

18. I was welcomed to the Marine Corp Family when marrying Ryan by a firm slap on the butt by a sword.

(This was right after he did it... I wasn't expecting such a hard slap!)

19. I love Jesus. I feel I worship him best through music.

20. Dr. Pepper is my favorite soft drink. However, I do not drink soft drinks at the moment. All that sugar is BAD for you.

21. I have always wanted a really big family. But when I think about it, I don't think about the young children running around. I think about everyone getting together, me being a grandparent, and there being TONS of family around!

22. I can make really cool things out of paper. You can check it out at http://www.vintagepaperconcepts.com/

23. When we went to NYC, and first arrived in the air port, we were walking out, looking for a cab, and a man came up and said, "you need a cab?". We said "yeah, of course!" He then walked us to his car. Car. Not a cab. It was a white charger, custom rims, Chris1 decal on the car and the plate. We followed him timidly and off we started to the hotel. I pulled up google maps on my phone and we were TOTALLY off route. I began to freak (privately) at that moment. I was planning exit strategies in my head. Good news- everything turned out great. He was very professional and polite and took good care of us.

24. I hated to read in high school. I don't think I ever read any of the books required all the way through. But I LOVE to read now. I just started a book club. Nerd? Yes.

25. I am very organized. You should see my closet, dresser, refrigerator, pantry.....