Weekend in Photos

 Friday's lunch: quesadilla with leftover roasted chicken, black beans, and cheese

 

Brody's point of view

 My stocking used to be the biggest, but I've been demoted so Brody's is now supreme.

Tyson working on his PhD record of study (he has a draft due this week)/watching ESPN.

Happy Birthday Tyson!!

Love.

Weekend Update

Well, the Hanns had a pretty great weekend. Tyson's sister got married! It was so beautiful, and everyone had a great time. I can't wait to see the photographer's pictures! For once I didn't take any photos all weekend.

Random thought I had today: I want to write a book. Maybe memoirs of my experiences in subbing. I think there's potential. Tyson asked me who would buy it, and I didn't really have an answer. Oh well. I still think I will read some memoirs to see what makes one quality. Any suggestions?

Next Sunday, Tyson is running in the Dallas half marathon. He did a long run today (10 miles + the two 1.55 mile runs he takes Brody on every day), and has requested to bulk up on pasta this week. So we are having tortellini, spaghetti, and then Tyson's holiday work party at an Italian restaurant on Thursday. I don't know if we'll actually eat all that pasta, but that's what is planned for now. With lots of vegetables. :)

Well Brody and Tyson are both sleeping soundly in the living room. I think Brody fell asleep from exhaustion; his ear infection flared up again and he goes nuts when we give him ear drops. It's actually pretty comical.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Hanns! (Tyson did not want to take this picture; he was still agitated about the basketball game.)

This year we are thankful for:

Hailey :: good health 

Brody :: a full house to get lots of attention this weekend

Tyson :: Sheldor

My dad wanted to add that he is thankful for HEB and homemade truffles.

Christmas decor!

 This afternoon I took a few pictures of our Christmas decorations. We usually hang our wreath to the front door like normal people, but because we live in an apartment complex, Tyson wants to tie it to the hangar. We don't have anything for that yet, so we're enjoying it on our guest room door. I really like the festiveness it brings so far :o)

 Due to our lack of fireplace, I hung our stockings from the shelf above our TV. It's pretty much the hub of our apartment, so it works. My 'H' fell off in transit this year, so I need to figure out how to reattach that. And find a stocking for Brody!

 This was a wedding present, and I absolutely love it. It's a wind up carousel-type thing, and plays "O Holy Night" and lights up.

A Christmas present from my aunt and uncle a few years ago. Another favorite to bring out and enjoy for the season.

A must have to put me in the holiday mood!

 Not Christmas-y, but this has been on our bar this fall and I love it! My friend Val gave me the owl pitcher for my birthday this year. :)

Well, it's 9:30 on a Monday evening, and my husband and puppy are both sound asleep and snoring. The past two weeks have zoomed by, and it's hard to believe it's only a few days away from being Thanksgiving. I set up most of our Christmas decorations this afternoon (we don't have that many), minus the tree. I even hung up our stockings...had to improvise since we don't have a fireplace. They are hanging from a shelf above our television. I'll have to take a picture soon. :o)

This past weekend was one of my favorites we've had in quite some time. Started out with the always tasty Banger Burgers at Harvey Washbangers, followed by a thoroughly amazing football game at Kyle Field (excuse the cell phone picture). To top of the awesomeness, we saw HP7 at Studio Movie Grill on Sunday afternoon. I can't wait for the last movie now!!

Time for my bedtime too...must rest up to deal with the frenzy of the last day of school before a break tomorrow!

Lazy.

I have been so blog lazy lately! Most of my free time lately seems to go into hitting "refresh" on the substitute website to look for a job while lounging with Brody in front of the tv. Or cleaning up around the apartment. Or battling the many sicknesses I've had the past two weeks. Or napping. But mainly looking for new sub jobs. Sad, but true. I need to spend more time crafting--I'm making part of Tyson's birthday present this year!

I made taco soup last week, and I had forgotten how much I love making soups to eat throughout the week. I need to find some new recipes, but Tyson stipulates that there must be a meaty protein in it. Maybe a good chicken noodle or tortilla soup? Side note: I'm also looking for a risotto recipe. Anyone have one? I had an awesome risotto in Hawaii and am feeling nostalgic. Anyways, here's how I make my taco soup (and it's sooo good and easy!), which I adapted from my old roommate Lauren. She doesn't read my blog so I'm not going to thank her. ;o)

Taco Soup
about 1 lb. ground beef (or however much I happen to have from other recipes)
2 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
salt, to taste
(in place of the above spices you could add a packet of taco seasoning, but trust me--this is way yummier)
packet of ranch dressing
can whole kernel corn, drained (or frozen if you have it)
can black beans, drained and rinsed
can pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans rotel or diced tomatoes with chiles (or whatever flavorings you prefer--there's a few to choose from), blended a little for Tyson (I prefer to not blend, but he doesn't like the chunkier texture)
1 30 oz. can crushed tomatoes
one of those small cans of tomato paste (I don't always add this. Just depends on my mood.)
chicken stock, beef stock, or water, to taste

In a large pot or french/dutch oven, brown meat on medium high and drain drippings. Add seasonings and mix well to let cook another 30 seconds to one minute. Add everything else, including chicken or beef stock or water until desired consistency is reached, and turn down heat to medium-ish to simmer about 15 minutes, or until heated through. We like it pretty thick and hearty. Top with tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa...whatever you like!

Quick Update

Happy Monday! It is happy for me, because tomorrow is my last day (for awhile at least) at a school I've been at for a little over a week straight. I'm actually attending another district's sub training later this week, as long as my A&M transcript gets here before Wednesday. I'm also excited because I'm finally starting to feel better after about two weeks of being sick. Which means I can go get my flu shot! I tried to get it last week, but I had forgotten that you can't be sick.

I ordered a batch of photos recently from Persnickety Prints (some wedding photos to frame plus a few layouts to check out the quality) and they were quite excellent. If you are looking for a new photo printing place, I highly recommend Persnickety. They have awesome customer service--somehow my order got marked for pickup (they're located in Utah), and they noticed my billing address and emailed me to make sure it was right. I had already emailed them the night before though and it was taken care of super fast (and easily)! Plus the quality is really great--my mom was initially skeptical of digital scrapbooking, but was surprised how clear the layouts turned out.

Menu Planning Monday
monday :: baked potato night
tuesday :: red beans + rice
wednesday :: chinese leftovers
thursday :: undecided, probably taco soup or possibly chicken parmesan bundles or BLRs
friday :: out of town for OU game!

We can't help how cute we are.

click to enlarge :: Photos © Christine Tremoulet

Started with some engagement photos! I used a template freebie from Designer Digitals (I don't think it's available anymore) and it came right together. Super simple. Time for a cupcake. :)

The Details

Photos © Christine Tremoulet and Elaine Mesker-Garcia

This layout is of a few details of our wedding. The pictures have a lot of pink in them, so I tried to keep everything else pretty neutral. Hopefully it's not too boring. :)

I have another layout to share! When I went to post this one, I realized that I used different shades of brown card stock and had to go in and fix that. Thank you very much, OCD.

Photos © Christine Tremoulet and Elaine Mesker-Garcia

Another simple one...shots of us getting ready on the bottom and then during the ceremony on top. I used Ali Edwards' love you freebie that I edited a little to what I needed it for. Not much else to this one. I feel like I should add something, but I don't know what. Any suggestions??

Mister and Missus

I was feeling a little under the weather this weekend, so I did a little scrapbooking while Tyson watched sports (Rangers on Friday night, assorted college football on Saturday). It felt so good just being lazy after a hectic few days. I'm subbing five days in an eighth grade science class that started last week and ends on Wednesday, and then starting on Thursday I'll be in an eighth grade English/Language Arts class for four days. Let's just say I am really looking forward to switching to Language Arts.

Anyways, I made a few pages using our professional wedding photos that I received on a disc from our photographer, Christine Tremoulet. I don't think I will create enough to make a separate wedding album (which really is a shame because I was so excited to see these new pink albums that match our color scheme), so they will most likely go in a 2010 album once I get that rolling.

Photo © Christine Tremoulet and Elaine Mesker-Garcia

Just a simple page with a photo I love (debated printing it 8.5x11 by itself to slide into a sheet protector, but decided against it) with the scripture reading from the ceremony. Love that paisley paper. It's from the Natura paper pack at Designer Digitals that I recolored pink for my pop of color. I'm not really in love with the "mr. & mrs.," so that might be tweaked sometime soon. Have I mentioned I love digital scrapbooking? Mostly because there is nothing to clean up when I'm done. :o)

David Crowder - Shine

 

I love stop motion videos and this song.

[a sweet letter from a 2nd grader today]

Sometimes subbing is really, really sweet. Not so much the constant need to be on the internet to hit refresh a thousand times to get a job, or constantly being lost driving to work, or never knowing when/where I'll be working, or being unfamiliar with different schools' schedules and rules. But getting to hang out with kids? The best (Dictating my days off isn't so bad, either.).

Lazy Sundays in the Country

Another week has blown by...seriously, last week went by insanely fast! We spent the weekend in College Station and the ranch. Tyson and I had date night [mexican food and Easy A--very funny] on Friday night, and then endured the football game on Saturday. Did not make for a happy Hann household that evening. We made it up to the ranch and are still here. Right now, Tyson and his dad are building a ginormous tool storage thing in the barn. There's lots of welding and hammering steel and loud noises going on. I walked over this morning to check it out, and somehow got roped into helping measure and check the squareness of the design. I'm pretty impressed that they know how to be so handy. Sidenote: I wish I had a camera to capture how dirty and disgusting Brody is right now. It is ridiculous!

Subbing is going pretty well--just learning a lot I think. I've done 7th grade at the same school in various classes the past few weeks and am getting to know some of the kids, which is infinitely better than just being a new person every day. I've had some challenging assignments and a few that I've really enjoyed. This experience has been really good for me, I think. I've never been too sure of my classroom management and teaching philosophies (usually when we had to write them for assignments in college I would google other teachers' for ideas...I know. Lame.), and I've quickly learned how I want my classroom to run.

Menu Planning Monday (maybe...don't know our plans for next weekend yet!)
monday :: baked potato night
tuesday :: leftovers
wednesday :: pizza at small group this week
thursday :: spaghetti with meat sauce, salad + homemade french bread
friday :: crock pot barbacoa for tacos with fixings
saturday :: spicy orange beef with rice

Obsessed with BrainQuest

Brody sticking his tongue out at me.

Greetings! This weekend has been most needed after last week. Tyson, Brody, and I came to Cypress to visit my parents. My mom and I went to Good Shepherd's annual Gift Market (formerly craft show), followed by lunch at Panera (of course), and taking dresses to our favorite alterations guy back in Bear Creek. We also ate some of my mom's yummy chili, and Dad grilled steaks Saturday night. Very nice and relaxing. Unfortunately, I've spent the past few days thinking that it was a three day weekend, but apparently Cy-Fair and Katy are the only districts with a student holiday tomorrow. I guess that's what I get for bragging about my long weekend to Tyson.

I also spent a good bit of yesterday afternoon with Mom looking for my old Brain Quest cards. If you don't know what that is, Brain Quest is a deck of cards with interesting facts/educational questions that I randomly remembered from my childhood on Saturday afternoon. I decided they would be perfect for a substitute and needed to find them stat. Unfortunately, we've moved since the last time I've seen them and after searching the attic and lots of boxes in the garage, I came up empty. I did find some great items for my future classroom, just not what I was originally looking for. The company relaunched the series, so I may just buy a deck or two on Amazon (they're only $9 each). The good news is that we were able to get rid of junk in the process and a LOT of stuff is being thrown out or given away. I should have taken a picture of the pile!

Menu Planning Monday
monday :: baked potato night
tuesday :: chicken tortilla soup
wednesday :: steak + sauteed zucchini with salad
thursday :: mexican chicken casserole
friday :: something quick on the way to college station!

A conundrum of zero importance...

I have birthday money burning a hole in my pocket. And I'm being very indecisive about what I should buy. When I was a single gal, I bought things as I pleased--not so as a married lady. So I must be wise in my spending.

Should I buy these boots from Ruche?

 Or maybe an Instax camera?

Or perhaps Glee on DVD?

Or something crafty? I've been eying some cute alphabet stamps and cricut software! Knowing me, I will probably wait forever or flip a coin or something. All I know is that I am pretty relieved I spend my free time thinking about this instead of obsessing over projects and papers. When Tyson says he misses being in college, I remind him about all the homework we did nonstop. This season of life isn't too bad.

All I ever write about is food and Brody.

Brody lounging in Tyson's pile of laundry. That's how he rolls.

This weekend was pretty awesome. Awesomely low-key. We just hung around, watched a movie, I ran a few errands, Tyson watched a few football games, and I made a killer dinner Saturday night: meatloaf, mashed potato casserole, salad, and bread. So amazing. And for both of us it was only about $5.75, and we have leftovers for this week. Also, I love meatloaf. Thankfully my husband does too.

Not too exciting dinner-wise this week. Just the usual baked potato Monday, BLRs on Tuesday, leftovers on Wednesday (small group so we eat fast), and tortellini with meat sauce on Thursday.

Have a great week!

Happy National Coffee Day!

This has been a slow week in the substitute teaching world. As in, my phone has maybe rung twice for jobs this week...and one of those was for a job in November. But yesterday was the first day in a week I've actually felt better, so maybe it worked out for the best.

I put together this page yesterday using a few pictures from my birthday weekend. I had way more cute photos of Brody playing in the grass than of people, so I will definitely keep that in mind next time I have my camera out.

I've heard that there are four "crafting styles" that people tend to be in: fun and cute, clean and graphic, classy and elegant, or shabby and vintage. I think I'm most likely in the clean and graphic category...or maybe fun and cute? I don't know. I just feel like I tend to stick to simple ideas, with mainly photos + words on my pages.

On an unrelated note, I made these baked apples for a snack yesterday. I must say, for 150 calories...DELICIOUS!! I didn't need any whipped cream or ice cream with it, and I even had all the ingredients on hand. :)

I actually finished this page last year...one of my first digital pages from an assignment for class where I taught myself Photoshop. But I figured I would share it anyways. Just a few photos from when Tyson and I got engaged. Dad was operating the camera so you can't see us in some of them, but the scenery is breathtaking!

Random Ramblings

I didn't book a sub job yesterday...Mondays seem to be very slow! But I wasn't feeling that great anyways, so I had an awesome time hanging out with Brody, cleaning up around the apartment, getting the laundry done, and grocery shopping. Low key but so needed. The weekend was pretty packed (or so it seemed as I forgot my Mucinex and I felt pretty terrible the whole time): we headed down to College Station Friday evening, and then Tyson and Brody went on to the ranch while I attended a lovely shower at The Lemon Wedge for my sister-in-law. Then it was up to the ranch for me too...Tyson had some welding to do on Sunday and I watched him and frolicked in the grass, enjoying the weather.

I ordered a Wacom tablet which came bundled with Photoshop Elements, so I've spent a little time playing. Yesterday I sent this to Tyson at work. I'm definitely a beginner with my digital handwriting. But I had fun. :o) Hopefully I'll have some digital scrapbook pages to share soon!

No menu planning to share this week...my mom made chicken spaghetti and sent it to stick in the oven for a few meals. I also got a coupon from HEB to get an orange plate special from their cafe, so I got pecan crusted chicken, almond green beans, and roasted potatoes for free! I think we'll share that with a salad one night perhaps. Anyways. Looking forward to finding more new recipes. Any good ones out there?

Baby Brody

I can't believe he ever used to be this little! [January 2009]

I find this very impressive that it was shot in one take!

100!

Happy 100th post!! I'm not getting my free Photoshop Elements software until next week so this awesome labor of love in Paint will have to suffice. :)

I love rain! Especially a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon. However, when we get extended amounts of rain, something with our AC unit outside blows a fuse and our breaker flips. Constantly. So we pretty much don't have air conditioning. Tyson is pretty handy, but it's wet outside (and dark) and he doesn't want to get electrocuted. Not that I blame him.

We have been out of town the past few weekends, so it was really nice just staying here and hanging out. Granted, football was on pretty much the whole time...(and we listened to the Aggie game online!) but I got to watch Medium tonight so I'm okay now. We had date night Friday night--trying to live reasonably (read: cheaply) so we were going to take advantage of a coupon to Chili's we had but the wait was long and our tummies were growling. So we went to Potato Shack instead. I love having one here in Katy, but it's just not the same as eating it in College Station! I mean, it tastes exactly the same...but it's still different. I should quit complaining and just be grateful though, right?

I baked an especially tasty loaf of bread this afternoon. It kind of looks like a brain in the picture, but it was pretty much amazing. Mozzarella Basil Bread. Wonderful. I am especially looking forward to baking the first pumpkin loaf of the season! 

Updates

This week has gone by quickly for me! It was a pretty good one though. Here are a few of the highlights:

:: The guest bedroom is finally coming together! It's been our dumping ground for anything we didn't really need, so it was pretty depressing. The bed is put together now, and only needs a few decorative pillows (which isn't in the budget, so who knows when that will happen!). All of the empty boxes are gone, and I just need to go through a few more boxes and reorganize our bookshelf. Hooray!

:: I won a contest on twitter! I've never won anything, so I was pretty excited. Bravo was having a sweepstakes for the Top Chef season 7 finale and Top Chef Just Desserts premiere and I will soon be getting all three of the Top Chef cookbooks!! YAY!!!! Tyson gave me the newest book on my birthday and I absolutely love looking through it. Mom liked it a lot too, so she is getting my duplicate. She's excited too!

:: We had our first week of small group on Wednesday and really like it so far! Everyone seems really nice, and it's great to meet other recently married couples.

:: I'm finally approved to sub in Fort Bend ISD! I had an interesting time figuring out the system Thursday night so I didn't get a job for Friday, but I'm definitely thinking next week will be busier. I also have my Katy sub training next Friday, and I'm really excited to start subbing around here. :o)

I think that's about it...we're at home listening to the A&M football game online and it's torture! I am looking forward to televised games. Happy weekend!

Dear Cable Television,

[image via TV by the numbers]

This summer I have been enjoying reruns of CSI: Miami and Medium (on A&E and Lifetime, respectively). I record them and watch them at my convenience. It's hard to believe in 2007 I was still using a VCR to tape shows! Gasp. Anyways, I have loved catching up on these awesome shows. However, both channels frequently skip random episodes, leaving me befuddled with the plot twists and what I've missed. Why does Tripp take a random patrol rotation in season 6? What in the world happened to Allison that caused her stroke? And most importantly, why did Lifetime skip an entire season of Medium?!

Suggested course of action? Play all of the episodes in order! Please and thank you.

Your faithful patron,
Hailey

[image via replace television]

Weekend Update

Today was such a beautiful day! Humidity was lower than usual (maybe 90%? you have to love Texas to tolerate the heat) and the sun was out all day. The crazy thing was that about 20 minutes after the sun set, it started pouring! So nice though. I'm dog sitting this weekend and Tyson is in College Station--at the game right now. Side note: I'm following the game on twitter (@therealjonlee) because it isn't on tv. I heart technology.

Micah investigating the perimeter. Love his curly q tail :)

Cutie Lazzy has a sinus infection and has been extra cuddly and attention-seeking. He still got in the pool with me though!

Callie now loves swimming! She kept jumping into my arms while I was in the pool to float. It was pretty funny.

Definitely time for some popcorn and a movie.

Random Photo Wednesday

Harry through the years...I didn't realize the Year Two disc was backwards and the Harry head is at the bottom.

Love the red in my kitchen...even if they clash right now.

7:04 in the evening and Tyson's still at the gym...(thus this post!) Brody is looking out the window for him.

 What I'm currently reading.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day! I was actually born on Labor Day, once upon a time! We are at the ranch right now and heading over to my parents' for a cookout later this afternoon. And to bathe Brody. Oh my goodness, he is a hot mess. I think he played in the trash at some point.

I have my laptop back! Sort of...all of my files were wiped clean. But i had the good stuff on my external hard drive. Tyson said he saw me backing up my computer a few weekends ago and thought to himself that it seemed pretty silly...but now he wants me to back up his computer too! :) Apparently a virus corrupted a system file, so it just needed to be added again. What is the point of antivirus software? I have no idea. I'm just happy to have my computer back. Even if he does have amnesia.

I semi-planned our meals for the week... I anticipate coming back with leftovers from parents, so I'm planning on being flexible.

Monday: Ribs! Yay for not having to cook!
Tuesday: Baked Potato night :)
Wednesday: Firecracker Stir-Fry Chicken (I never made it last week because I forgot we were going out to eat for my birthday!)
Thursday: Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce, green beans + homemade bread
Friday: Creamy Tomato-Basil Pasta with Shrimp with salad
Saturday: Taco Soup

Random Photo Wednesday

Happy Birthday to me indeed! :)

I opened my presents on the patio last Friday and afterwords I realized it was The Golden Hour so I grabbed my camera and took some pictures of Brody enjoying a backyard. This is his Zoolander face.

Ron Weasley Syndrome

 [image via omgharrypotter]

I would like to share a term I have coined called Ron Weasley Syndrome.

What is it? Ron Weasley Syndrome is a treatable condition in which a person is in a considerably grumpy or grouchy state of being due to a lack of food. Sometimes referred to as low blood sugar.

How to treat: Get some food to the person immediately.

Why RWS? All awesome people will remember the epic Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where the beloved Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are on a quest to find Voldemort's horcruxes. Never staying in the same place for long, the three are forced to hunt for food to provide for themselves. Ron became extremely irritable or moody when food was scarce, leading to the term Ron Weasley Syndrome.

September is (almost) here!

I can feel the fall in the air! Especially last Friday...did you go outside? The humidity must have dropped to 50% or something; it was amazing! Oh Houston weather.

So this weekend Tyson, Brody, and I were in Cypress to celebrate my birthday. I think Tyson was a little surprised how big we celebrate birthdays, because in my family, you have a birthday week. Friday night we went to Carino's (might or might not have been craving that delicious roasted garlic stuff with bread) and came home to eat Sprinkles cupcakes (!) and open presents. I received two cardigans from J.Crew, a few gift cards, a Vera Bradley tote bag, and a dutch oven! My family was very sweet to me. :) Saturday consisted of eye doctor appointments and a trip to Barnes and Noble to spend my gift card. I didn't find the book I wanted, but Tyson got this book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and has been driving me crazy telling me what are and are not considered assets. He is really liking it so far though. And I guess I am benefiting by getting the cliff notes.

I feel like dinner this week is going to be pretty lame (pretty much chicken and pasta it seems!), but Tyson is excited so I guess that's what matters. All I care about is how easy it's going to be...which it is this week!

Monday: Baked Potato Night! Tyson will get leftover delicious Central Market steak as his protein (he is obsessed with his protein intake for marathon training)
Tuesday: Crispy Deviled Chicken + pasta with marinara sauce (Again. Tyson loved it last week and I forgot to use the fresh thyme I bought for the recipe so he requested it again this week. Oh well. It was pretty tasty!)
Wednesday: Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage (but I might use penne because I already have that.)
Thursday: Firecracker Chicken Stir-Fry
Friday: out of town

Have a great week!

Random Photo Wednesday

Tyson grilled me a heart-shaped burger on Sunday :)

I was mean again this week. I'm (still) unpacking my craft closet and found this bow that was the perfect size to put around his neck.

Here's to a lack of a Manic Monday...

Another Monday, another week! Next week I will be able to sign up to be a sub and (hopefully) things pick up a bit for me. :) My laptop crashed this weekend (so annoying), so for now I am using Tyson's. The only thing we could potentially lose (besides about 20% of my music, but it's on my iPod which can be extracted--I think?) is our honeymoon pictures...which makes me super sad. But we posted most of them on facebook, so at least we can look at them--even if they are too small to print.

We finally took Brody to the dog park! It was a really nice one, and we all had a good time despite the heat. Next time I will bring my camera to share how cute he is. He loved playing in the lakes and meeting two other goldens!

Other than that, the weekend was a super lazy one--we stayed here and watched movies (HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, some of Air Force One, exactly 26 minutes of Minority Report--Tyson hated it, and a James Bond), cooked, and went to church. We are thinking we are going to start visiting Grace Fellowship exclusively (as opposed to dating around, which we had been doing) and join a "recently married/engaged" small group.

And for dinner...
Monday: Baked Potato Night
Tuesday: BLRs + french fries (we never had them last week because I went with Tyson to Austin for work and stopped by my parents for dinner on the way back)
Wednesday: Crispy Deviled Chicken, rice, steamed broccoli
Thursday: Sautéed Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos with mango and pineapple salsa + spicy black beans
Friday: Cypress to visit friends & family for my birthday! :)

Bad Mommy.

Yesterday, while watching Flipping Out, Brody was intrigued by a few barking dogs. Naturally, I replayed it 5 times on the DVR. I love technology!

Monday is for Menu Planning!

Some of the blogs I like to read share their menu plans for the week on Mondays. Menu planning has helped me stay in budget so far, so I'm going to try my best to share my plans/recipes on my blog at the beginning of the week. :)

I had a really hard time deciding what to make this week, probably because Tyson said I had my best week of cooking last week, and I wanted to continue my streak! Oh well. Here's what I ended up going with:

Monday: baked potatoes, black beans, leftover taco meat to top Tyson's
Tuesday: chicken spaghetti, salad
Wednesday: BLR's, sautéed zucchini
Thursday: parmesan garlic chicken, steamed broccoli
Friday: moo-shu style pork wraps + rice

This weekend was so relaxing! We spent time with both of our families and enjoyed some delicious cooking all weekend long. :) Brody and I drove to Cypress on Friday afternoon and Tyson came over after work. We had some yummy tortilla soup and watched a movie. Then on Saturday we drove over to the ranch after a quick stop in College Station for a haircut at Tyson's favorite barber shop and lunch on Northgate--Freebird's for me and Antonio's Pizza for Tyson. We pretty much just relaxed all day at the ranch...Brody was the only one who tolerated the heat to play. But he was also in the lake. :)

We got to see Heather and John's new place in College Station (which is super cute!) before heading back to Cypress--we have to stop at my parents' after we visit the ranch so Brody can get a bath because we can't at our apartment. Tyson watched the end of the golf tournament while I finished a book I've been reading, The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth. It was really good...I haven't read a historical novel just for fun before, and I really liked it. It's about Elizabeth of York, the first Tudor queen and mother of Henry VIII. Afterwords I wanted to research my genealogy to see if I had any crazy relatives, but apparently it takes a lot of effort and can't be done in an afternoon. I was kind of sad I didn't have any English in my background. I found Tyson's family's crest (on his paternal grandmother's side) and motto though, which was pretty neat.

That's enough rambling for now. Time to get caught up on cleaning and errands!

I love pretty much everything by Alex Goot. He even has free downloads on his site!

Bring on the Fall!

I am really looking forward for some cooler weather. Cardigans, cute boots, scarves...I'm getting more excited just thinking about it. Now that I'm cooking more, I'm also really looking forward to the cold weather-type meals. Soup and chili just aren't as good in summer months. And who wants to eat a meatloaf when it's hot outside? I'm making red beans and rice tonight though--Tyson suggested it because he knew I've been craving it. I think we might have to crank the AC down though to enjoy it. Not really. But I would like to.

How do you mix it up with leftovers? Last week we had quite a few--chicken, steak, and pork chops--that I needed to dress up so it didn't feel like a warmed up piece of meat with random sides. I ended up shredding the chicken and made a homemade barbecue sauce for sandwiches, this fun pasta and summer veggies with the pork and a little sauce, and then we made steak paninis. We actually had so much steak that we had a "panini-off" and Tyson made a cheese steak version on Tuesday and then I found a recipe that we tried Saturday night. I won. :) I used this recipe and made it with shredded mozzarella cheese, and then Sunday after church Tyson wanted it again so we split one with a slice of provolone. We definitely love our panini press!

Random side note: I love it when dogs bark on tv and Brody freaks out. It happens at least once a day. He really loses it when cows moo. That doesn't happen a lot, though.

July Recap

I've kind of slacked off on blogging the last part of this month. Mostly because not that much has been going on! I've been staying home with Bro Bro, and Tyson's been working a lot. Here are a few highlights:

• We celebrated the 4th of July at the ranch with the Hanns and Heather's future in-laws. It was really hot!
• Brody is getting acclimated to Katy and has liked his doggie dates so far. We're planning to go to the dog park soon, which I know he will love.
• I have had several interviews, but the right position has not presented itself yet. I have an interview with a school district next Monday, so prayers for that would be greatly appreciated! I started Beth Moore's Stepping Up study through the Psalms of Ascent, which has been perfect for this season of my life. 
• My current obsession? Sarah's House on HGTV. It is in it's third season in Canada, and they've picked it here and show seasons 2 & 3. So much inspiration! I love it! I have all of the episodes on my DVR, so you should come over and catch up.
• Tyson started his training for the Dallas White Rock marathon in December. It will be his first full marathon! I do not think I will run the corresponding 5k though, because it's held the day before. Boo.
• Lots of friends moving! One of my best friends moved back to Houston, and Lesley informed me she is moving back in December!! Wahoo! Val moved away to Abilene though, which was bittersweet.
• I also had some bridal pictures taken by Valerie Millard Studios! You can see a few here!

Sadly, I cannot type very much longer because I lifted weights for the first time since before the wedding this morning and am already super sore. Seriously, why are my biceps hurting from typing??

What's for dinner?

Hello! Tyson, Brody, and I spent a fab weekend with his family. We drove up to College Station Friday afternoon to spend the evening with Heather and John (Tyson's sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law). They cooked us an amazing meal, which I am much more appreciative of now that I'm cooking more. On Saturday, all of Heather's bridesmaids drove back to Houston to get some dresses for her big day. Then we drove up to the ranch and picked wild mustang grapes for jelly. So many grapes. You have no idea.

In job search news, I've actually made the realization that I want to teach! Crazy, I know. It stemmed from an interview where the interviewer asked me which of my work experiences was my favorite. I realized student teaching was my favorite. So I've been applying to school districts in the area...and thinking I might have to end up subbing, but we'll see. So far, all I know is that I'm heading back into the teaching field...and I'm excited!

In other news, I was planning to take pictures of the apartment this week, but it's been so rainy and overcast so far! I checked the 10 day forecast and it's not looking any better. So we'll see if we get good light for pictures anytime soon.

 And here's what we have planned to eat this week (it's an easy week again)...

Monday: Baked potatoes and grilled zucchini
Tuesday: BLR's (Instead of a BLT, it's a bacon, lettuce, and ranch dressing sandwich. I made it up in college. Don't forget to just toast the bread. It's awesome and quick.), french fries, caesar salad
Wednesday: Chicken with raspberry sauce, glazed carrots, rice, salad
Thursday: Spaghetti (bow tie!), green beans, toaster bread (where you butter the bread before you toast it)
Friday: Burgers with bacon-wrapped asparagus & smashed potatoes

☻

Amazing.

Brody & Chessey.

 Brody made a new friend this week, Chester! But we call him Chessey because it's cute like him. My friend Val is dog sitting for some friends of hers and we set the boys up on dog dates--which they loved.

I was a bad mommy...I told Brody the photo shoot was not about him that day. He didn't care though, he just wanted to play!

Fun times! ☻