Having grown up on the Gulf Coast, I'm very aware of hurricanes and hurricane season. We all remember the names of the ones that have affected us - Alicia, Allison, Katrina, Rita, Ike, and others.
The good thing about hurricanes, unlike tornados, is that you have a lot of warning and time to prepare. Yet, still people are caught unaware, and I've seen that it isn't so much the storm but AFTERWARDS that you have to prepare for (little gas to be found, bare and empty grocery stores, no power).
I'm thinking of and praying for the people in Mexico who are about to be hit with Hurricane Alex, the first storm of the season and the first JUNE hurricane since 1995. I'm afraid it will be a very active season, and no one knows what will happen with the oil that is all over the gulf from the BP oil spill. That factor adds another level of concern for the people and the environment.
Be prepared and stay safe!
in more fun news, today is 3 years since Kevin and I tied the knot! Its been a fun and fast 3 years, and I look forward to many more....luv ya babe!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Everyone needs a cheerleader
I am so proud of my sister! She completed a triathlon (her first) this morning. She had to swim 300 meters, bike 10 miles, and then run 3 miles. I went with her to cheer her on, and so I could be her driver if her legs were jello bythe end of it. I was happy to do it, she's been training for it for a couple of months, and it helps to have a friendly face cheering you on.I was tired just watching all of the competitors, not to mention that we got up at 4:30 am. It looked like a tough race, and it was brutally hot even that early in the morning. Lessons for next time: bring a chair to sit in (lots of waiting for her to come by on each leg of her race) and bring water for myself, I'm not running but still sweating. I was glad that I knew her number #639, it helped to judge when she might come by in the biking part, since they did a staggered start by number.
I do not know if I'd do a a triathlon, but I do find myself feeling inspired to train for something, Tour de Pink maybe?? and also to get some goggles so I can practice swimming....
Friday, June 25, 2010
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to my sweet husband Kevin!!
I baked and frosted a cake for him last night. I made it in two batches (we only have one 9" round pan) so that I could have two layers with frosting in between. It doesn't sit very evenly because the center rises higher than the rest. I guess professionals cut their cakes to be even? They do that all the time on Ace of Cakes. It isn't as pretty as I would like, but doesn't look too bad with the frosting added and it is made with lots of love. Tonight we'll see how it tastes :) It is chocolate and chocolate frosting, I think he likes chocolate MORE than I do so there was never any question on what flavor it would be. In all the time we've been together, I think this is the first birthday cake I've made for him, usually his mom makes him one even though she told us the year of our wedding that this was the last one she'd make for him. He's still her little boy, and she makes awesome desserts, so I don't think she can resist.
We'll have dinner out tonight, and go to his parents' to celebrate tomorrow (after watching the USA play in the World Cup), not a bad birthday weekend. We'll have a belated party with the 4th of July....
He's already gotten his gift from me - the outdoor speakers we installed last weekend. Next year's gift, I think he wants 'no assembly required' but I know he's enjoying them. He sat out on the patio for a while last night listening to them.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!
I baked and frosted a cake for him last night. I made it in two batches (we only have one 9" round pan) so that I could have two layers with frosting in between. It doesn't sit very evenly because the center rises higher than the rest. I guess professionals cut their cakes to be even? They do that all the time on Ace of Cakes. It isn't as pretty as I would like, but doesn't look too bad with the frosting added and it is made with lots of love. Tonight we'll see how it tastes :) It is chocolate and chocolate frosting, I think he likes chocolate MORE than I do so there was never any question on what flavor it would be. In all the time we've been together, I think this is the first birthday cake I've made for him, usually his mom makes him one even though she told us the year of our wedding that this was the last one she'd make for him. He's still her little boy, and she makes awesome desserts, so I don't think she can resist.
We'll have dinner out tonight, and go to his parents' to celebrate tomorrow (after watching the USA play in the World Cup), not a bad birthday weekend. We'll have a belated party with the 4th of July....
He's already gotten his gift from me - the outdoor speakers we installed last weekend. Next year's gift, I think he wants 'no assembly required' but I know he's enjoying them. He sat out on the patio for a while last night listening to them.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Success!
We installed a volume control (the piece that was missing to complete the outdoor speaker assembly), and after a lot of troubleshooting by Kevin, it works!
It took only one trip to RadioShack to get the volume control and lots of wire stripping and we now have sound on our patio. We felt very accomplished (and tired) when we finally had it finished. We'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it, and I'm glad we were able to get it completed this week since its a birthday gift to Kevin. It would've been disappointing to give him something that we can't get to work.
I can see why companies like geeksquad charge by the hour, it is time-consuming work to figure it all out, but we did it all on our own - with one call to the installers to understand how it was set up. GO TEAM TUCKER!
It took only one trip to RadioShack to get the volume control and lots of wire stripping and we now have sound on our patio. We felt very accomplished (and tired) when we finally had it finished. We'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it, and I'm glad we were able to get it completed this week since its a birthday gift to Kevin. It would've been disappointing to give him something that we can't get to work.
I can see why companies like geeksquad charge by the hour, it is time-consuming work to figure it all out, but we did it all on our own - with one call to the installers to understand how it was set up. GO TEAM TUCKER!
Monday, June 21, 2010
I was thinking about last summer as compared to this summer and am so glad we are finished with selling and moving out of our last house, and choosing and purchasing this house. Last summer was so busy with keeping the house constantly clean for showings, and grabbing the dog and leaving when someone wanted to see it (often on short notice). It was also busy with decluttering the house and moving items to the storage unit and getting ready to move.
This summer is also busy, but its a FUN busy - spending time with family and friends - which is a much better way to spend the summer. We are both glad we made the move, but don't plan to do it again any time soon.
Our latest house project is almost finished. We had the back patio pre-wired for speakers when it was built, and we finally chose some outdoor speakers and installed them in the ceiling of the patio. We worked on it early Sunday morning to avoid the heat of the day (even in the morning its already hot). We make a great team because each of us can do some of the tasks the other can't. I am hopeless with electric screwdrivers, and so I get the screw started with a regular screwdriver and then Kevin uses the electric one, he's also a whiz with a drill! I can strip the wires for the speakers, which is something he's not as good at.....none of the tasks are easy at the top of a ladder, but we got them done. We were able to get each of the speakers installed and they look great, one is a little crooked (my fault), but other than that they look really good. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any sound to come out of them. The wires at the receiver don't look quite like the wires that we hooked into the speakers (each speaker has a red and black wire, the wire at the receiver has 4 wires (we'd expected 2 sets of red and black wires)), so we had to hold off until I could talk to the installers.
It turns out we were just about right in our thought of what might've happened. They wired it to have a volume switch by the back door, and so we either need to add a volume control or splice the wires to complete the connections. We were so close! We even took that face plate off to see what was there, but thought the wires were for a security system.. We should be able to knock it out tonight, and then our patio will be even more relaxing when we can put on music out there, much better than our tiny boombox...
This summer is also busy, but its a FUN busy - spending time with family and friends - which is a much better way to spend the summer. We are both glad we made the move, but don't plan to do it again any time soon.
Our latest house project is almost finished. We had the back patio pre-wired for speakers when it was built, and we finally chose some outdoor speakers and installed them in the ceiling of the patio. We worked on it early Sunday morning to avoid the heat of the day (even in the morning its already hot). We make a great team because each of us can do some of the tasks the other can't. I am hopeless with electric screwdrivers, and so I get the screw started with a regular screwdriver and then Kevin uses the electric one, he's also a whiz with a drill! I can strip the wires for the speakers, which is something he's not as good at.....none of the tasks are easy at the top of a ladder, but we got them done. We were able to get each of the speakers installed and they look great, one is a little crooked (my fault), but other than that they look really good. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any sound to come out of them. The wires at the receiver don't look quite like the wires that we hooked into the speakers (each speaker has a red and black wire, the wire at the receiver has 4 wires (we'd expected 2 sets of red and black wires)), so we had to hold off until I could talk to the installers.
It turns out we were just about right in our thought of what might've happened. They wired it to have a volume switch by the back door, and so we either need to add a volume control or splice the wires to complete the connections. We were so close! We even took that face plate off to see what was there, but thought the wires were for a security system.. We should be able to knock it out tonight, and then our patio will be even more relaxing when we can put on music out there, much better than our tiny boombox...
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Chimichurri's
We had the BEST meal last night. We decided to try out a restaurant near us called Chimichurri's. If you can't guess from the name, it is South American food. I am so glad we went. We both love to try new places, but often just go to places we know since it is known we'll get something we like and we can easily get in and out.
Great experiences with new places like this one reminds me of why I love trying new places. It is more formal than most places we go, which made for a nice 'date night'. We were seated in what looked like a wine cellar, with shelves on the wall filled with wine bottles, so of course we had to try an Argentinean wine (yum!). When we left I saw that they've been given an award by Wine Spectator magazine for having such an extensive wine list, glad we took advantage of it!
While we browsed the menu we had plantain chips and chimichurri sauce, so good it was tough not to fill up on them. We each found something we wanted from the seafood menu. There were other dishes that looked good, we chose to avoid the chicken since we each chicken so often and wanted to make sure we each got something unique.
The dishes were so good, that we cleaned our plates!
We split a caesar salad, instead of croutons there were small pieces of toasted bread that we could break up into croutons. I'm glad we split one, it would've been too much for one person.
I had jumbo shrimp in a garlic sauce, and it was served with whipped cauliflower. I'd never heard of whipped cauliflower, but liked it so much that I will try to make it soon! I am always on the lookout for vegetables for Kevin to eat, and as a true testament to how good it was, HE even liked it! It looks a lot like mashed potatoes but does have a hint of cauliflower flavor.
Kevin had coffee-crusted snapper. Not flavors I would think we go together, but he loved it.
We will definitely be going back to this restaurant.
Great experiences with new places like this one reminds me of why I love trying new places. It is more formal than most places we go, which made for a nice 'date night'. We were seated in what looked like a wine cellar, with shelves on the wall filled with wine bottles, so of course we had to try an Argentinean wine (yum!). When we left I saw that they've been given an award by Wine Spectator magazine for having such an extensive wine list, glad we took advantage of it!
While we browsed the menu we had plantain chips and chimichurri sauce, so good it was tough not to fill up on them. We each found something we wanted from the seafood menu. There were other dishes that looked good, we chose to avoid the chicken since we each chicken so often and wanted to make sure we each got something unique.
The dishes were so good, that we cleaned our plates!
We split a caesar salad, instead of croutons there were small pieces of toasted bread that we could break up into croutons. I'm glad we split one, it would've been too much for one person.
I had jumbo shrimp in a garlic sauce, and it was served with whipped cauliflower. I'd never heard of whipped cauliflower, but liked it so much that I will try to make it soon! I am always on the lookout for vegetables for Kevin to eat, and as a true testament to how good it was, HE even liked it! It looks a lot like mashed potatoes but does have a hint of cauliflower flavor.
Kevin had coffee-crusted snapper. Not flavors I would think we go together, but he loved it.
We will definitely be going back to this restaurant.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Blueberries
We had a great weekend with my brother and his wife.
We drove out to an authentic Nicaraguan restaurant that they had found online. They had already gone there Friday and liked it so much that we went with them again Saturday. My sis-in-law had a taste of home, and she loved it. We all enjoyed it, lots of fruit juices we've never heard of and good food. They even had an assortment of dessert pastries (she got one of each). It was great to see her getting to talk to people from her own country. It is on the other side of town but I think they'll make it over there whenever they are in town.
Later that evening, we went to pick blueberries - a first for all of us. We followed the farm's advice and waited until the evening to go. I'm glad we did since it
was still hot. We each had a 5lb bucket and at first my goal was just to cover up the bottom of it, but it is relaxing to select and pick them (and eat as many as you want as you go!) and there were SO MANY that it would be easy to fill up a bucket. None of us filled up our buckets, but we picked almost 13lb (not counting how many were in our bellies). It was a fun activity, and such a deal. You pay for what you put in our bucket, and pay only $1.50 per pound, quite a deal compared to this week's grocery ads for $2 (or more) for 6 oz of blueberries. I can see this outing becoming a tradition.
We made blueberry pancakes for breakfast today and will be eating fresh blueberries all week and frozen ones this summer.
We drove out to an authentic Nicaraguan restaurant that they had found online. They had already gone there Friday and liked it so much that we went with them again Saturday. My sis-in-law had a taste of home, and she loved it. We all enjoyed it, lots of fruit juices we've never heard of and good food. They even had an assortment of dessert pastries (she got one of each). It was great to see her getting to talk to people from her own country. It is on the other side of town but I think they'll make it over there whenever they are in town.
Later that evening, we went to pick blueberries - a first for all of us. We followed the farm's advice and waited until the evening to go. I'm glad we did since it
was still hot. We each had a 5lb bucket and at first my goal was just to cover up the bottom of it, but it is relaxing to select and pick them (and eat as many as you want as you go!) and there were SO MANY that it would be easy to fill up a bucket. None of us filled up our buckets, but we picked almost 13lb (not counting how many were in our bellies). It was a fun activity, and such a deal. You pay for what you put in our bucket, and pay only $1.50 per pound, quite a deal compared to this week's grocery ads for $2 (or more) for 6 oz of blueberries. I can see this outing becoming a tradition.We made blueberry pancakes for breakfast today and will be eating fresh blueberries all week and frozen ones this summer.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Relaxing Holiday
The rest of our weekend was much more relaxing. My parents and sister came up on Sunday and spent that night and most of Memorial Day with us. We had a great time visiting and catching up, and were able to celebrate both my mom and sister's May birthdays with a dinner out (and my dad's banana pudding for dessert). We also played dominos and Phase 10 (card game) and had a great homemade lunch on Monday. We never went to the pool, it was just too hot, but saw that plenty of people in our neighborhood did.
For lunch Monday, we made a recipe I'd gotten from HungryGirl last week and we had for dinner on Friday - we love it that much we had it twice in one weekend. On Friday we didn't make the avocado cream sauce, but we did on Monday and I recommend you make it...so good I could eat it with a spoon. Its very refreshing, perfect for summer. Here is the recipe:
Grilled Go Fish!
Ingredients:
For Tacos
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. salt
Two 4-oz. raw tilapia fillets (or other flaky white fish)
Four 6-inch corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cabbage or dry coleslaw mix (we skipped this, just had lettuce instead)
1/4 cup chopped tomato
For Avocado Cream
2 tbsp. mashed avocado
2 tbsp. fat-free sour cream
1/2 tsp. lime juice
Dash garlic powder, or more to taste
Dash chili powder, or more to taste
Dash salt, or more to taste
Optional topping: fruity salsa
Directions:
Combine lime juice and spices for the tacos in a large bowl, and mix well.
Add fillets and evenly cover both sides of each with seasoned lime juice.
Let marinate in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for avocado cream in a small bowl and mix well.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Spray a grill or grill pan with nonstick spray and bring to medium heat.
Grill fish for 5 minutes, and then very carefully flip.
Grill for 3 more minutes, or until cooked through.
Set aside.
Heat tortillas on the grill or grill pan until warm and just slightly toasted, about 1 minute per side. Plate and spread evenly with avocado cream.
Break fish into pieces and evenly divide among tortillas.
Top with cabbage, tomatoes and, if you like, some fruity salsa. Fold and enjoy!
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
For lunch Monday, we made a recipe I'd gotten from HungryGirl last week and we had for dinner on Friday - we love it that much we had it twice in one weekend. On Friday we didn't make the avocado cream sauce, but we did on Monday and I recommend you make it...so good I could eat it with a spoon. Its very refreshing, perfect for summer. Here is the recipe:
Grilled Go Fish!
Ingredients:
For Tacos
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. salt
Two 4-oz. raw tilapia fillets (or other flaky white fish)
Four 6-inch corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cabbage or dry coleslaw mix (we skipped this, just had lettuce instead)
1/4 cup chopped tomato
For Avocado Cream
2 tbsp. mashed avocado
2 tbsp. fat-free sour cream
1/2 tsp. lime juice
Dash garlic powder, or more to taste
Dash chili powder, or more to taste
Dash salt, or more to taste
Optional topping: fruity salsa
Directions:
Combine lime juice and spices for the tacos in a large bowl, and mix well.
Add fillets and evenly cover both sides of each with seasoned lime juice.
Let marinate in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for avocado cream in a small bowl and mix well.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Spray a grill or grill pan with nonstick spray and bring to medium heat.
Grill fish for 5 minutes, and then very carefully flip.
Grill for 3 more minutes, or until cooked through.
Set aside.
Heat tortillas on the grill or grill pan until warm and just slightly toasted, about 1 minute per side. Plate and spread evenly with avocado cream.
Break fish into pieces and evenly divide among tortillas.
Top with cabbage, tomatoes and, if you like, some fruity salsa. Fold and enjoy!
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
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