Date night basket

I am sure everyone is tired of all my Pinterest talk, but I really do love it and it gave me the best idea for Daniel's anniversary gift. He has everything he wants and if he doesn't, he buys it. This makes him THE hardest person to shop for ever so I always struggle when I am looking for birthday, anniversary and Christmas gifts. I start a list at the beginning of the year and write down anything I see that he may like or that he tells me he wants. This year the list is slim pickings, so I was looking for a creative idea.

We have talked in the past about having a monthly date night. A lot of people do weekly date nights, but we live in such a small town that this would be all but impossible. The whole date night idea never really took off, so when I was browsing Pinterest I got really excited when I saw a link to a blog where the wife planned a date for every month for a year as a gift to her husband. I had plenty of time to really sit down and try to think of dates and I decided that this would be the perfect gift, plus let's be real, it would give me something to blog about.

So this was my gift to Daniel. I have pre-planned a date for every month and for some months I have already paid for the activities that we will be doing. I am so excited to see how this date nights improve and impact our relationship. Some dates are very creative and some are the usual. I tried to plan some dates around activities we've always wanted to do or what is going on in our area. I can't wait to share these dates with Daniel and all of you!

Anniversary dinner

I thought I would do a blog about what we had for our anniversary dinner because I was so impressed by how ambitious the husband got. We live in a small town and there is really no where to go for a nice dinner, unless you want to drive 80 miles. Now, we love food in our house and I really love lobster. I could eat seafood every day and lobster is my favorite, but we have never ever attempted to make it. I think that it has to be one of the most intimidating foods to prepare. That may have to do with the fact that they are alive and you have to be the execution squad.

Daniel decided that for our anniversary it was time to attempt lobster. You can buy them online and have them overnighted to your house... alive. I tried not to ask too many questions because after I was told that you have to hit them in between the eyes with a knife, I was done. I once quit eating beef for three years because seeing a cattle car upset me, so I did not want to lose lobster.

Daniel cooked everything which was such a nice surprise because I had to work. I think it was one of the best dinners I've ever had! He boiled the lobster, who died a natural death in our kitchen sink, made mashed potatoes, asparagus and biscuits. Very impressive and I think I will keep him.

The spread

Horatio and Ignatius

Our dinner guest

three years

Two days ago Daniel and I celebrated our three year anniversary! It seriously does not seem like it has been that long. I am so thankful for all of our friends and family that travelled to Houston a week after Hurricane Ike. They came even though no one knew if Houston would get power back before our wedding, if stores would re-open or if traffic lights would be working. We will never be able to express how much that meant to us! And let me just say that we have the most fun family and friends. Our reception was so much fun and I think everyone had a good time. In fact, we're still talking about it three years later.



I just wanted to quickly reflect on the last year. We have done SO much! We we celebrated our anniversary by going to Colorado Springs, where I fell in love with the giraffes at the Colorado Spring Zoo. We finished remodeling our kitchen and family room and started the remodel on our front living room. We watched lots of friends get married, which was definitely a highlight. We went on an amazing trip to Paris and a fun family vacation to Miami. Our family added a new nephew and found out that another nephew was on the way (and almost here!). We survived the catholic church remodel and Daniel's business continued to grow. I'm sure I'm leaving out tons of other events, but these were some of the highlights.


Our family - November 2010

The next year is sure to hold even more adventures! We are hopefully going to finish up the last couple rooms in our house. I'm having surgery and getting my bachelors in respiratory. Daniel is taking his master electrician's test. We are planning trips to Santa Fe, Las Vegas, New York and Spain and who knows where else. I'm so glad that I have this blog to keep everyone updated on everything our third year of marriage has in store!

30 before 30 update

So I posted my list at the beginning of the month and boy have I been busy! I haven't completed anything yet, but I have been working on quite a few.

I started a program to get my bachelors in Respiratory Therapy at the beginning of the month and I should be done in June. I am doing all my school online and so far so good! I hope to eventually go to PA school and this will definitely give me a leg up when I apply.

We are making plans to go to New York before Christmas. I am so excited and overwhelmed by all the things I want to do. On our list is: shopping, ice skating at Rockefeller Plaza, seeing the Christmas tree, Mary Poppins and Wicked on Broadway, more shopping, eating and maybe going to the Rockettes or the Nutcracker. Daniel is a great husband because what man really wants to see a Broadway show? I love New York and am ready to go back! I need to start coat shopping and soon.

I have been reading like crazy, but have a feeling that I will be slowing down now that I am back in school. I have read 15 books since April and have been getting my money's worth out of my Nook. If you haven't read the Hunger Game series, do it now. They are the best books I have read in years and you will thank me.

I was supposed to run the Las Vegas Rock n Roll half marathon in December but had a wrench thrown into those plans. I have to have surgery and won't be able to run for four to six weeks. You never know, maybe I will still be able to cross this goal off the list.

Finally, I started making something I found on Pinterest. I found a great Auburn door wreath and thought I would love to have one, but of course in red and black! I have it mostly done and will post pictures when it is complete.

Where we've been

We have been busy. Just when I think things are starting to calm down, tons of new obligations pop up! We have been to Houston, doctor's appointments (more on that later) and spent time with friends. We're going to Lubbock and have been planning trips to NYC, Vegas and Dallas for a Cowboys game. I'm tired just typing about it.

No matter how busy we are, I try to cook at least four or five nights a week. I am type A to the max, so I enjoy making weekly meal plans and finding new recipes to try. When we first got married I noticed that we were eating the same things over and over again so I committed to trying one new recipe a week and I have been pretty good about it.

I've been even better about it lately because I have Pinterest to help! It has given me so many ideas, so I thought I would rate the new recipes we've tried lately and share the links in case anyone wants to try them for themselves!


Crack Potatoes

We both loved these and gave them an A+! They were super easy, but I'm not going to lie, they are not good for you in any way. They are called "crack potatoes" because you can't get enough and that is the truth! Next time I make them I'm going to divide the recipe into 3 pans and freeze 2 of them because I have no self-control.


Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

Can you tell we like potatoes? These were good, but not as good as the crack potatoes, so we gave them an A-. We halved the recipe, which worked out perfectly.


Creamy Cheesy Potatoes

I mean, we really, really like potatoes. My mom and I made these for my sister's birthday at the beginning of the month and I gave them a solid B. You have to make a roux and I usually stop reading a recipe as soon as I see that making one is involved. This one was pretty easy, but I wasn't crazy about the cornflake topping.


Pizza Bites

We usually make these the day after we've had pizza and are another A+. The dough recipe I posted makes enough for two pizzas, so we have pizza one night and the next have these. They are delish! But you have to be careful because you can have 8 and not even realize it.


Crockpot Italian Chicken

This was SO easy! I came home from work at lunch and threw everything in the crockpot and by the time I got home it was ready. I love crockpot cooking! Just add a salad and you have a meal in no time. We gave them a B+.


Hot Spinach Dip

This is a low-fat spinach dip and I would give it a B. Let's be real, low-fat dip will never be as good as the "not so good for you" dip. But, I will continue to search for a recipe that rivals Houston's spinach dip. If you are watching what you eat, this blog as tons of great low-fat recipes.


Best Ever Beef Dip Sandwich

I give these an A+. This is another crockpot recipe and takes a couple minutes to prepare. We both loved these and I am not a big beef eater. This recipe will definitely be in the rotation this fall and winter!

30 before 30

So I am totally stealing this idea from my little sister. She has a fabulous blog and if you are looking for another great blog to read, I would definitely recommend hers. Anyway, she made a list of 25 things she wanted to do before she turned 25 and I thought it was super inspiring and a nice way to set goals and document your achievements. However, I am 25 plus so "25 before 25" wouldn't really work for me, so I decided to do "30 before 30."

I'm not going to lie, it was really hard to think of 30 things that I want to do before I turn 30. Some things came right to me, but others required some soul searching. There are some serious things on my list and some not so serious things. Of course, I had to include lots of travel.

30 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 30

1. Expand our family
2. Go to Greece
3. Get my bachelors' degree in Resipratory Therapy
4. Take golf lessons
5. Learn how to make homemade tortillas
6. Read 30 books
7. Go to New York at Christmas
8. Learn how to knit
9. Drive Highway 1 along California's coast
10. Brush up on my spanish
11. Make a gourmet meal
12. Run a half marathon
13. Take things a little less seriously
14. Learn how to sew well enough to fix loose buttons and broken seams
15. Find a recipe for the perfect pizza crust
16. Go on a picnic
17. Finish remodeling the house
18. Ride in a hot air balloon
19. Go antiquing
20. Learn how to use a DSLR camera
21. Volunteer
22. Go to ACL or some other music festival
23. Go camping for reals, like in a tent
24. Plant a vegetable garden and grow things
25. Take surfing lessons
26. Learn Photoshop
27. Make something that I pinned on Pinterest
28. Learn how to make a couple different cocktails
29. Trace my family's roots
30. Get scuba certified

So there are all my goals and I feel very confident that I will complete all of them in the next 3 years. I'll keep you guys updated on my progress!