Having Fun

My Grandpa mailed me a bracelet last week that says "Have Fun".  It's to serve as a reminder during the whole wedding planning process that the main goal is for us to be happy.  I've been focusing on that a lot this week.

*Wedding update:  we've decided on the location for our ceremony and reception; so now we're ready to set our wedding date. We are moving it back three weeks to accomodate one of the groomsmen because he is having a baby in March and is flying in from Oregon. The extra few weeks will also benefit my bridesmaid who is having a baby in February. So - it looks like our wedding will be in April 2011!*

In the spirit of having fun, Austin and I fed some ducks last night.

These babies hatched a few weeks ago and have been living in the retention pond behind our apartment.

The momma duck sat back and let the babies eat the bread crumbs.

All the ducks lined up in a row!

We also went on a fun date on Friday night.  We browsed the selection of tuxedo rentals at Men's Warehouse, then we ate at Le Petite Paris, my new favorite restaurant.  I had the Boeuf Bourguignon, and Austin had Chicken Provencal.

For dessert, we had a PB&G - Peanut Butter & Ganache.  The waiter was so cute - he cut the dessert exactly in half - including the pecan!

We ate a fun breakfast this morning!  My fiance made us stewed bananas and waffles!  They were phenomenal, and reminded us of all the fun we had on our cruise!

"Follow your dreams. Just make sure to have fun too."

- Chris Brown

What's your favorite quote about having fun?

Birthday Bonanza

Here's a recap of my birthday weekend.

My wonderful fiance made me stewed bananas and pancakes for breakfast!  This special treat was a re-creation of the amazing stewed bananas I tried during our cruise.

Then he took me to eat sushi for my birthday lunch!

After work, I walked in the door to see flowers & presents galore!

Wow, Austin showered me with goodies.  He got me a new hair dryer, Reba DVDs, awesome books, work-out gloves, lythium batteries for my camera, and a Spa Day gift card for my mom, aunt & I to all  get pedicures & massages!

And did you see those beautiful flowers?  I am so incredibly blessed!

My friend Meredith came to visit me on Friday night!  For dinner, Austin made us grilled kabobs and corn on the cob.

Meredith and I baked a cake for dessert!

Unfortunately, the carrot cake crumbled when we tried to transfer it from the baking dish.  It looked pathetic, but it still tasted great!

Meredith and I have been friends since high school - and throughout the years, we have always taken silly pictures.  Dozer even participated in the fun!

On Saturday, we drove to my parents' house and arrived just in time for lunch.  My mom made turkey klebasa, macaroni and cheese, cabbage, and homemade baked beans!

For dessert, we had hot fudge sundae cake with vanilla ice cream!

Then we went to see a movie!  We saw Winter Bones.  This was a very unique movie that certainly does not have a typical fairytale ending.  It is about a teenage girl whose father is a druggie and mother is mentally absent from the family.  This seventeen year old girl is doing her best to raise her little brother and sister, meanwhile she finds out that her dad put their house and property up as his bail collateral.  His court date comes and goes, and he doesn't show up.  The movie has several dark moments and is a sad story, but it really makes you think and appreciate how simple and glamorous our lives are in comparison.

After the movie, we went to the lake and grilled burgers!

The time flew by as we kicked back with a drink in our hands, chatted about wedding plans and enjoyed the amazing weather.

After dinner, we walked down to the water and swam in the lake.  My family used to always come to this lake during the summers of my childhood!  It was fun to reminisce.

On Sunday, my mom made stuffed french toast with turkey sausage for breakfast.

We ate lunch at Mama Fu's.

In the afternoon, Austin and I met with a potential wedding photographer.  We walked around town and took a few sample engagement photos.  Hopefully they'll turn out nicely so we can check that item off the list!

For those of you who were concerned about my parents' dachshund, I appreciate the kind words!  For a quick update - he's doing much, much better after his back surgery. He can walk around on his own now.

Has your pet ever had to undergo surgery?

Dozer hasn't had any encounters with the animal hospital (thankfully).  On the other hand, Walker has had two major surgeries.  The first time was an incident where he ate a pair of panty-hose and it got stuck in his stomach.

A Day in the Life of the Redhead

My typical day starts with a hearty breakfast.

In this particular case, my first meal of the day was migas and hashbrowns with OJ.

After a long day of work which includes a packed lunch, I head home and walk in the door to be greeted by my pup.

He is a ball of energy.  He also believes that the reason we buy him toys is so that he can destroy them.  He takes this job very seriously and can go thru an "indestructible" toy in less than 3 minutes.

I usually take Dozie on a walk to get the mail, then Austin & I head to the gym for a nice evening workout.

Then it's time for dinner.

Austin loves to grill, so on nights like these - dinner is particularly easy for me!  I just kick back and relax while he takes the reigns.

Beer Can Turkey. It was out-of-this-world delicious: moist and flavorful!  I recommend you make this pronto.

All you need is a turkey and a can of beer. 

This recipe would work on the grill or in the oven, whichever you prefer.

After dinner is cleaned up and lunches prepared for the next day, I like to relax and read a good book.  This week, I've been reading Marley & Me.  I've already seen the movie, but I definitely recommend the book as well!

Do you have a daily routine, or are you more of a spontaneous person?

I enjoy a bit of spontaneity every now and then to spruce up my otherwise typical routine.

Endangered Chocolate

Prepare yourself for lots of pictures - we ate a ton of delicious food this weekend, and I couldn't help but include it all in the photographs!

Let's start with breakfast.

Fresh-squeezed OJ, eggs, turkey bacon and toast with jelly.

My secret to sweet fresh-squeezed OJ is a packet of NuStevia.  It adds more sweetness than sugar!

Continuing on with other breakfasts:  Austin whipped up a couple of breakfast burritos with egg, cheese and turkey bacon in a whole wheat torilla.

I also made a new breakfast creation that came to me in my dreams on Saturday night: Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes.

I ate mine with raspberries and powdered sugar.

And this morning I had them again, with blackberries, syrup and flaxseed.

Moving on to other eats - for lunch on Saturday, I made fried eggplant with a homemade marinara sauce.

For the sauce, I chopped up three tomatoes and let them simmer in a sacepan with garlic and olive oil.  I spiced it up with fresh basil from our garden.

I peeled and sliced the eggplant and dipped it in bread crumbs.

Dozie was being a good kitchen helper, so he received an eggplant peel-hat on his head.

I fried the eggplant in a thin layer of olive oil for a couple minutes on each side.

It turned out perfectly golden brown and delicious.

Austin executed his mastered grilling skills with the chicken.

And I threw together a couple of salads for some green veggies on the side.

All together, this was a fantastic meal.

On Saturday night, we headed downtown for another Astros game.  Since we had a bad experience with raw chicken tenders at the last game we went to, we made sure to eat a snack before the game this time!

I made a Chocolate Cherry Smoothie that consisted of Amazing Grass Chocolate drink powder, a banana, frozen cherries, spinach, milk and ice cubes.

We had fun watching the Astros, even though they're having a rough season.

It was a beautiful evening at Minute Maid Park.

On Sunday, we went to the movies while our lunch marinated in the fridge.  In the mix: steak, onions, himalayan peppers, mushrooms, red potatoes, and a Garlic & Molasses marinade.

The movie of choice was Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe.  Is it just me or is he seriously Gerald Butler's twin?  It was fun to learn the story behind the legend.  I also enjoyed the scenery of the movie.  Overall, I give this action flick a thumbs-up!  However, at 140 minutes of screen-time, I did feel like it dragged a bit at times.

Ok, you want the truth? I was in a hurry to get home to these kabobs!

Austin grilled some shrimp and scallop kabobs for himself.  I wasn't too jealous, though, because the beef was amazing!

I even had enough leftover for a salad at lunch today.  Bonus!

I'll leave you with a piece of dessert: dark chocolate and raisins.  I've been eating this Endangered Species Chocolate as if the chocolate itself is going extinct!

What do you like to pair with chocolate?

Duh...my mouth!  Haha :) I like to pair chocolate with raisins, nuts, peanut butter, or ice cream!