Cooking for Two!! 1st-Edition

Homemade with Love Lasagna.

Grilled Chicken and Asparagus, Steamed Broccoli, side Salad and a little glass of Vino. 

Gilled Asparagus and Bison (Buffalo), baked Sweet Potato bites and a side Salad. 

Mexican Enchilada Quinoa Bake and a side Salad. 

Breakfast for Dinner Egg Scramble, Turkey Bacon and a little Biscuit Gravy Combo. 

Sautéed Turkey Sausage with Pepper. 

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes. 

Walking Down Memory Lane

Up early again for a bike ride around Veterans Park before heading across town to visit with my step dad for a bit. I enjoy that even though him and my mom are not together any more that we have still kept in touch and make that we make a point to visit him when we are in town. 

After our visit we headed to downtown Dallas for breakfast at Hypnotic Donuts. I'd never eaten there before and some how came across their shop online a couple weeks back before our trip. Their donuts looked pretty amazing and let me tell you they did not disappoint. I only managed to get a picture of one or the two I got. Probably because they where so good I gobbled them up quickly.

 After breakfast we headed to the Dallas World Aquarium where we got married almost 8 years ago. (November 9th, 2007) Every time the hubbs and I go back to Texas together we always make a point to go revisit the Aquarium. Very little has changed which makes it that much more enjoyable. I think I'd be really disappointed if it ever went under a drastic change. I remember the day like it was yesterday. From the moment we arrived on the day of our wedding, getting ready, walking through the reception area and the wedding as a whole. Walking through talking about all the fun we had, reminiscing over our special day and looking at the different animals. We've been to several different aquariums (every where we go, we always try to visit the local one if they have one) and nothing ever seems to compare to the DWA. No, I'm not just saying that because we where married there yes I might be a little biased but it really is a neat open aquarium. I highly recommend it if your ever in the area. 

We took a picture in the exact spot where we said our "I Do's", even though its a little dark I love beginning able to compare the two. 

I can't wait till the day when and if we possibly have a little one that we can take her (because we all know it WILL be a girl lol) back to the DWA and show them where we got married. I always wanted to get married some where different, not in a church and this most definitely did it. The DWA will always hold a special place in my heart. 

After we where done we headed back into Arlington for lunch, and to pick up a few things we needed for our flight out that evening before going back to relax for a bit. I've completely given up fast food and really I don't miss it at all. However I did allow myself to splurge on our trip and enjoy a few of my favorites places. I introduced the hubbs to Chicken Express for the first time, I don't know if he enjoyed it as much as I do but that's ok. I got my fix and that's all that matters right.

 After a bit of relaxing the hubbs suggested we ride our bikes up to Braums for a little Ice Cream treat. Umm YES PLEASE. Don't mind if I do. My NeNe lives literally about half a mile from there so it was a perfect little outing. Brahms is my absolute favorite when it comes to Ice Cream. Probably simple because it's what I grew up on. My two favorite go to flavors are Peppermint Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Not even gonna lie each time we went while home on vacay, I got a double scoop waffle cone. One scoop of each flavor and it was fantastic. :) Hey its ok I still managed to work out in some form or fashion every day. When on Vacay right?!?!?!?! 

That evening the NeNe, the Hubbs and Myself met up with two other couples for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants On The Border, you can't go wrong with Mexican Food, like EVER. Ken and Linda and Eric and Stephanie have been such great role models for me growing up and even more so since I've been married. They are all my parents age but sometimes you'd never know that by the way they act. In a good way that is. They definitely know how to enjoy life and live it up. I look up to each and everyone of them as a parental figure in one way or another and I'm so grateful to have them in our life. I love even more that even though I've moved away and am only able to make it home every so often, that each time we get together its as if no time has passed. They love and care for the both of us just as we where their own children. Eric is the one who married us and has always been such a great supporter. I babysat his two boys for several years when I lived at home and now they are both in college. Crazy how time flies. 

I wish I would have gotten a picture of the six of us together but between the tasty Swirl Frozen Margarita, the Chips and Salsa and the not so great service we where just having to much fun. It was a much needed get together and catch up time with them. I'm so glad we where able to make it work out while we where home. 

Just another Day

Early Tuesday morning we got up and took our bikes to Veteran's park which is just up the road from where my NeNe lives. The park is great for just about any outdoor activity running, biking, football, frisbee golf, feeding the ducks or just taking a stroll around along the beautiful trail's. I love this park because not only does it have so much history but it is family friendly and huge. The full trail around the park is about a mile and a half. The first time around the 5am sprinklers where on and we got sprayed. That wasn't very welcoming so early in the morning. We continued on and went around about 3-4 times at a good pace before heading home. NeNe had a eye doctor's appointment that morning so we decided we would take her and spend some more time with her as well. It was a good thing because they ended up dilating both eye's when they where only suppose to do one. I felt awful for her, but we where so grateful that we had drove. I was also able to visit and catch up with NeNe's good friend Memory. I honestly don't remember her to much but I she is just the sweetest lady ever. 

Lola finally warmed up to the hubbs and wouldn't leave his side.

Later that morning NeNe fixed a fully breakfast casserole for brunch while the hubbs and I went and gathered a few things for dinner. Dad and my brother where coming over and we where cooking a tasty meal for everyone. After brunch we went and did a little random window shopping at a few stores before heading over to visit with my friend Angela. I always love coming home and really getting to catch up with good friends. Sure there's Facebook, Instagram, Texting and Calling but there's just something about being about to really spent time with someone you care about and love so much. Each and every time Ang and I get together its as if no time has ever passed. We pick right up where we left off. Not a second has been missed and that's what I love so much about her. It's so easy. We can go weeks or months at a time with out talking and you'd never know. Although one afternoon was not nearly enough time. I wish we had so much more time in Texas but there's just always so much to do and so many people to see. It makes it hard to get around and please everyone. 

We had a great dinner and visit with my dad and brother at the house. We made Croissant Sammies with a Cucumber / Tomato Salad and Baked Sweet Potato Bites. Everyone really seemed to enjoy dinner. I absolutely love that I've been about to spend so much time with my dad this trip. Normal I don't get to see him all that much so this time around has really been a treat.
Speaking of treats, after dinner we went up to the mall to take a stroll around and see if we could find any good cycling books at Barnes and Nobles. No such luck there but I did score a couple of new Fiestaware pieces. A few weeks back I dropped one of my plates and it shattered. I had been looking for a replacement with out buying the whole set and hadn't had much luck. That was till we went to Macy's.
We'd talked about going to The Cheese Cake Factory for dessert afterwards but decided to make a little bit of a better choice. Frozen Yogurt. I think we chose just right.


I'd never been to Pinkberry before and let me tell you it was sooooo good. Different from the normal Frozen Yogurt places we had been to. They only had a couple different yogurt flavors to pick from, a small but tasty selection of toppings. The girls working made up your bowl for you. You told them which size cup, which yogurt flavor and which toppings up to 3 that you wanted. It was one set price and didn't go by weight like most other places I'd been to. Now if you wanted additional toppings you could have those added on as well. I went with Chocolate Yogurt, Strawberries, Granola and Cookie Dough bites. It was so good. Just thinking about it now makes me wish we had one back in Clarksville. I remember living in Hawaii and not being a huge fan of FroYo. My love for it started when we moved to Cola. Seriously the best afternoon or late night dessert. Really its good anytime of the day if you ask me.

Block Leave- River Weekend Edition 1.

Bright and early Saturday morning around 3am we started our road trip journey home to the great state of Texas. Our plan was to drive straight through and stop about half way for breakfast / brunch. We where headed straight to the River House to spend the weekend with my Brother and his Girl friend Becca. He didn't know we where coming but Becca did. I couldn't wait to surprise him, spend the next few days together. We where making really good time so Becca asked if we wanted to meet them at the boat ramp and go out on the boat for a late afternoon ride. Ummm, Yes Please!!!! We got to the boat ramp right at 4pm, right when we told her we would be there. They however where at the Island which was a good boat ride away from where we where. It took a good bit of convincing from Becca to get Justin to drive all the way back to the boat ramp. Typically once he gets there he's not coming all the way back till he's ready to leave. Thankfully he gave in and came back, not really knowing why she was so determined to go. Waiting on the shore line near the ramp, as I saw the boat pull up I started getting tears in my eyes. My brother and I are so close and it had been almost two years since we'd seen each other. As he was pulling up he just kept saying "I knew it, I knew it". He knew someone was coming to visit him but didn't know who, he claims to have known it was us coming but I really don't think he knew. Getting on the boat he gave me the biggest, longest hug ever. I didn't think he was ever going to let go. I was so excited to be back on the water with him. It was also the first time that the Hubbs had been out on our boat. Finally after almost 9 years of being together he was getting to experience something that I love so much.

 We took a cruise up to the island and said hello to a few people before heading back. I took over driving and didn't wanna go in, but we where all so hungry, tired and had, had a long day.

We spent the evening relaxing on the patio over dinner and drinks catching up with a couple friends. It wasn't to long after that we called it a night and headed to bed.

Up early the next morning to work out and get a run in around the hill before breakfast and heading out on the water. Bubby's girlfriend B works at City Grill in downtown Ft. Worth and let me tell you this girl can cook up a mighty fine meal. She made a fabulous breakfast for us all before we left. I love cooking and baking its one of the things I really enjoy doing but its also nice to have someone else take over everyone in a while.

Our dad came up to the River House and went out on the boat with us, which was a nice surprise. I loved getting to spend the day with him on the boat. Between Justin, Dad and Myself we took turns skiing up to the Island where we hung out for the day. Since it was Sunday there wasn't to many boats out which made it nice. Dad and Justin Barefooted and I Slalom skied several times. The hubbs has only seen pictures of me skiing but never in person. I was so excited for him to finally see me Slalom. I also decided to Barefoot on the boom, I've never done short line or behind the boat when it comes to bare footing. I have absolutely no desire to but the fact that I can do it hanging on the boom is pretty awesome. I planted my feet the first run and road for a good long ways. I was so stoked, it had been almost two years since I'd skied.

We did a little recreation attempt at the island. 

That evening we relaxed, hung out at the house, had a fabulous dinner and cuddled on the couch watching a movie. It was a long day and we where all completely exhausted. Monday morning up early again to workout, then I decided to take Rebecca's bike around the hill instead of going on a run to see how I liked it. (we've been talking about getting bikes for a couple months now) Half way around I ran (road) into the hubbs who was on the moped with one of the three dogs they have following along side him. He said he was coming to find me to see how I was doing. Really I think he just wanted a excuse to ride it again.

Rebecca made us another yummy breakfast before we packed up the car to head into town to have lunch with our mom, followed by a evening at the Rangers game. It was a great two days at the River, I was so glad that we changed our plans up a little and went there first instead of into town. It was a much needed break from the craziness of life and a great way to kick off our vacation. 

Weekly Running Wrap Up and More

* I haven't typically run much through our little neighborhood because well its pretty small. To get any good distance in with out venturing out on the main road I'd have to do a couple loops around our circle. That gets old real quick. Last week I did finally make my way into the neighborhood that's right across from ours. Just thinking it was a short dead in street I figured I'd at least check it out. Low and behold I ran across this street sign. Made me miss my love so so much!!! I was able to get a good 4 miles combine with my normal route all together. So not to shabby. 

* April 10th made a year that we signed on our house here in TN, I still can't believe sometimes that we own a home. It's been a great year and we've learned a lot about being home owners. Thankfully we haven't had any problems at all. Knock on Wood. We've made a few changes / adjustments around the house but for the most part its been working well just as is for us. I'm looking forward to many many more years of memories made in our first home.  

* Last Sunday I met up with one of our sweet friends from our time at Jackson. Drill SGT Cutter was here at Campbell going through a school for a couple weeks. Her and the Hubbs were Drill SGT's in the same Platoon together and became good friends. I know G was bummed he didn't get to see her but it was great to catch up and have a yummy lunch together. 

* That afternoon I decided I'd better run off that yummy fried chicken I had at lunch and counter balance it with a healthy protein filled dinner. A 4 mile run and a Avocado Boiled Egg Sandwich was the perfect ending to a great weekend!!! 

DS Cutter, the Hubbs, DS Brady 

* The week before last I was pretty stoked with my run and pace. 4 miles in under 40 minutes and my pace was in the high 9's. Not to shabby at all for just getting back into the running season. Little did I know that was only the beginning. 

* This past Wednesday rolled around and I headed out for my run on my lunch break. I never really have a plan going into it during my lunch runs, I just go for it and figure it out along the way. 3.10 miles later - I was over the moon with my pace and time. It may not be much for some but for me it was awesome. 

* April's my Birthday month, I'll be 29 so I set a goal to run (at least) 29 miles during the month. I accomplished and passed that goal on Friday with my 5 mile run during my break. I went down further than I normally do on my route which meant I had some killer hills to come up on my way back. Figuring that would set my pace back a little, I was mentally prepared for it. Nope I crushed it yet again. 

--I've got the distance down, now it's just working on the pace. I'm not trying to get to a certain pace or time. Simply working on pushing myself, maintaining and getting stronger and if my pace continues to gets better that's just a added bonus.--

* A friend of mine from Texas makes these cute adorable signs, pretty much anything you want it to say she can to. I set her this quote I'd see a while back that I though would be fitting for our back patio and she had it whipped up in no time. I'm just getting around to hanging it up but I think it fits perfect on our patio. 

Still Adjusting to our New Home State

While I've been living in the Upper South (we'll call it that), for 2 and a 1/2 months now….I'm still trying to adjust to life here in Tennessee. We are enjoying the area, finding new things to see and do every so often. Trying out new restaurants, local shops on the weekends and checking out the new homes being built in our neighborhood when we go on our evening walks. It's almost about done (give or take to the end of the year) and it will be complete, which means no more construction traffic. Thankfully it really hasn't been to bad. I'm sure I'll change my thoughts on that once they start building directly in front of our house. It's officially been 1 week since the hubbs left for training. Although it seems like he's been gone for much longer but at the same time this past week has gone by pretty quickly. So that's a good thing right?!?!? I've still be on the outs with making friends and meeting new people. Its a daily struggle that I've been going through, life I suppose. I have met a couple girls at work that I've become pretty well comfortable with chatting and getting to know. However nothings gone past work yet. I did have dinner plans this evening with one of them but that fell through last minute. Should have seen that coming I suppose. I'm really trying not to let it get to me and remind myself that it just takes time. I was in such a funk when we moved from Hawaii to The South that I didn't give myself a chance to enjoy the first 4-6 months I was there. I am determined not to let that happen here. I'm really trying to focus on me and making a better life for myself and my husband. We like the city we are stationed in and hope to make it home for a good few years. Since buying a house here I really want us to be able to enjoy it and make a ton of wonderful memories here.
This past weekend I went down to the Cumberland river which has a beautiful running / walking path over looking the river. A large marina, filled with all different boats that make me giddy, a boat ramp, several parks, a pond with a mile paved / wooded path around it and a large dog park. It really is a beautiful place to go for a run. I for see many more miles being ran there in my future. Unfortunately I am suffering a minor injury right now that I am having to wait for it to heal before I can hit the pavement. Nothing serious at all, thank goodness because I'm not sure what I'd do if it was. Running is a huge part of my life and a great therapy session for clearing my head. Hoping to be back on the streets next week adding those miles.

Sunday morning I woke up and made myself a fabulous plate of Banana Pancakes. They are seriously my favorite go to meal that I love to indulge into. I enjoyed them out on my back patio deck with the pups. It was a beautiful morning, listening to the birds chirp and the wind blow. Add in there some Peach Tea and Pandora the only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been if the hubbs was here. Soon enough though, I'm trying to make the most out of my days and by doing so I've been catching up on past TV series lol. Of course nightly walks with the pups and dinner on the patio. Its my new favorite place to spend my evenings unwinding from work. I'm wanting to add curtains to one side of the deck, to have a bit of privacy from our neighbors on that side. Its just figuring out how I want to do it. Well that and breaking down and actually following through with it. 

We did know one family here before getting stationed here, we were all stationed together in Hawaii. In fact they were a big reason on why we decided to come here for our next duty station. Any how there two sweet kiddos went to the same preschool were I am working at now. That's actually how I found out about it. Any how little O started back to school on Tuesday. B starts school in a couple weeks and she has two classes were she has to go to campus for them so O will come to school Tues. & Thurs. He's not in my class sadly, he's a few years to young but I am so excited that I now get to see him a couple times a week at work as well. He really is such a wild fun child and makes you laugh!!! Today was his second day at school and he did much better today. I snapped this pic of us today on the playground. 

While having dinner out on the deck this evening there must of been a number of people walking by in the front. The pups kept pacing back and forth from the gate and a little gap under the fence. Bailey eventually laid down and stuck her head under the fence. It was to funny, she just laid there and watched them. Some times in moments like these they really do melt my little heart. :) 

Tomorrow's Friday, and even through I don't really have any plans for the weekend I'm looking forward to it. I might make a trip to the Farmers Market, depending on the weather. Its looking like its suppose to rain. Fingers crossed it doesn't. Hope you and yours are doing well and having a great week!