Hobbies & Games

My brother and I always got along really well.  We played games together non-stop.

 

We invented our own board games, operated restaurants with extensive menus, managed grocery stores, designed apartment complex layouts, rehearsed roles as teacher and student, performed radio broadcasts of live basketball games and races, karaoked and recorded songs we wrote together, produced our own newspaper, as well as some other more typical childhood activities.

As I grew up, I found it difficult to escape into the fictional life of playing games.  There are so many real and serious things to focus your time on.  School, work, housework, wedding planning, etc.

Speaking of weddings - this brings me to my fiance.  He enjoys having a hobby to relax him in the evenings.  For the past three years of our relationship, he has played computer games and been involved in the on-line gaming community.  To be completely honest, I've resented his involvement in these activities because it took up so much of his time and energy.  But I wanted him to be happy, so I didn't truly wanted him to quit - I just wanted him to balance his time.  Plus, I never realistically thought he would quit - since he'd tried to quit numerous times before.

 

Then suddenly, he quit again.  This time for real.  At least, that was his intention, right?  Alas, he's a guy who needs to focus his attention on something.  It's how he deals with life's emotions - happiness, sadness, stress, or anger.

But you know what's awesome?  Instead of launching a new computer game, he researched an old hobby he thought I could participate in also.  Then he asked me to play with him!

Granted, it involves fantasy-land, which I obviously am not a huge fan of.  It can also be relatively expensive if you allow it to be.  And finally, it is a game - which cannot be classified in my mind as "productive".

That's okay though.  Not everything I do has to be 100% productive.  I only need to accomplish a certain number of tasks in a day, and then after that - I'm free to chill.  And what better use of my time than to show my fiance that I love him enough to go out of my comfort-zone and paint some action figure models with him?

The reason my brother and I had such a great friendship growing up is because we were willing to do something even though it wasn't our #1 favorite activity - because it was fun to do together.

So here's to our new hobby:  Warhammer.  But secretly - I'm just spending quality time with my guy ;)

What are your hobbies?  Does your significant other participate with you?

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.

Eggplant Casserole

We recently spent a weekend at my parents' house. I surprised my mom with flowers!

Austin and I cooked my parents a special dinner which consisted of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and brown gravy.  I also made eggplant casserole.

For those of you that asked for the recipe, here it is!  This is my version, which is only slightly modified from my grandma's recipe.

Eggplant Casserole

2 large eggplants, peeled & diced
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 egg yolks, beaten
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt

1 cup dry breadcrumbs

Cook vegetables in boiling water, covered, for 20 minutes. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and pour into greased casserole. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until browned.  Bake uncovered.

I got a little teary-eyed when I saw my parents' dachshund.  He had to have surgery because he had a bone spur in his back.  He is healing quite well, though, and can walk around now!

Saturday night was movie night.  We watched a 1996 movie starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan, Courage Under Fire.  I love all of Denzel's movies, including this one!  It's definitely worth watching.

On Sunday we went to lunch at the Salt Lick BBQ.  Check out the pit!

The Salt Lick is delicious!  Everyone enjoyed their food.

My mom & dad split a plate of beef ribs.  Austin ordered brisket - it was moist and flavorful.  I ordered green bean casserole and nibbled on bits of everyone else's BBQ!

It was a fun weekend with my family - I'm looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow!  It will be especially fun since we'll be celebrating my birthday :)

Share one of your favorite family recipes, if you have one!

It's so special to me to have a recipe from my grandma, since I never really got to know her.

The Ring

I've been holding out on a surprise for a few weeks now.

I finally have pictures to post of my engagement ring, so I can make this announcement: Austin & I are getting married!

Austin proposed to me on June 21st, a Monday night.  I had just gotten home from the gym and started making dinner when he called to see where I was.  He was at the gym trying to find me, so I told him I was at home.  A few minutes later, he walked in the door while I was eating dinner.  He asked me to come here for a second, so I got up and gave him a hug.  He asked me how my day went.  Standing there in the dining room, his eyes got a mysterious glint in them and I had no idea what was about to happen.  Suddenly, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!  :)

Here's my ring, a family heirloom that my grandmother proudly wore.

Wedding planning has begun, and let me tell you - it's not easy!

Busy & Broken

The past couple of weeks have been so hectic and eventful, I've been too busy to write about it!  Also, my camera is broken.  I have spent a lot of time sulking in the corner, missing my camera.  Hopefully the Camera Doctor will have it fixed this week!

Meanwhile, I still have some photos to share!  To celebrate Father's Day, Austin's dad came over and we cooked a wonderful meal.

Austin grilled t-bone steaks and barbequed chicken.  Stubb's BBQ is the best!

I made Eggplant Casserole.  My aunt gave me the recipe because her mom (my grandma) used to make it.  I loved it, especially since it was a family recipe!

I also sauteed mushrooms.

Austin prepared Caesar Salad in my new mixing bowls from Zak! Designs.

After dinner, Austin and his dad relaxed and drank wine while I cleaned up the kitchen.

Last weekend, Austin and I packed up our bikes and went to Galveston for the day.

We took a leisurely bike ride along the seawall.  We rode for about 45 minutes.

Then we had dinner at Float Pool & Patio Grill.

I ordered the burrito - it was huge and delicious!

We also shared chips and queso.

Austin had fish tacos.

At this point, my camera started malfunctioning because I had dropped it in the sand earlier in the day.  We squeezed in a couple more artistic photos before sending my camera off for repairs.

How do you survive without your camera?

I always seem to need my camera the most when I don't have mine with me.  I usually ask to borrow someone else's camera!

***Don't forget to enter my Birthday Giveaway!***