Date Night

The past two weeks we've swapped our date nights from Wednesdays to Thursdays. Last night we used a "gift card" I purchased from Half Off Depot to Cinco. We both love Mexican so I went ahead and purchased the card without knowing much about the place. I drive by it occasionally when at the office and when I've looked in the windows I've thought, "hmm, seems like a glorified Moe's." So, Tay put on his crocs and we casually made our way to Cinco for a laid back date night. When we arrived, we quickly discovered my eyes had been deceiving me. It is not a glorified Moe's - it's not like Moe's at all. It's a sit down place with menus and waiters and actually kind of nice . . . oops :)

It was really great! His crocs were hidden under the table. GREAT guac, GREAT fajitas and great little (actually kind of big) atmosphere. It was a pleasant surprise! We sure do love date nights! We even (get ready) sat on the same side of the booth. In all honesty, the table was really far from both sides of the benches, so I pulled it closer to me, but then it was really far from Taylor so he just scooted on next to his little pregnant bride and we dined together, just the two of us, right there on the same side. I don't know that we've ever done that without being with a group of people where you're forced to sit on the same side. But, we kind of liked it :)

Went to the Dr. today for week 30 appointment! Yikes! It's coming so fast! Everything looked/sounded great!

Official Countdown:

69 Days!

I have some REALLY fun things to show you after receiving one of the most exciting packages EVER in the mail this week. Still working on gathering it together and will post soon . . . but get excited! hint: it was from Aubs!

January Cookbook Challenge

The recipes from the January edition of the Cookbook Challenge are posted on Cassie's blog, be sure to check them out! This is where I submitted my lasagna during the snow week :). Other recipes look DELECTABLE! Check them out :)

Date Night

Tay and I had our Date Night on Thursday this week. We had received a gift card to the restaurant 4th and Swift. We had both never heard of it, it's near Inman Park and the Old 4th Ward. It was DELICIOUS! It was on the nicer side for something we would typically do for our weekly Date Night, but with the gift card, we were really able to enjoy it. The food reminded us slightly of a JCT Kitchen feel (which is one of our favorites) and the atmosphere was exposed brick walls (which we love) and an urban side of town feel. We had a delicatessen meal splitting 2 appetizers and 1 entree. We ordered their Greens (how can something so simple be savory each bite?), Lamb Tenderloin (and let me tell you it was tender) and the Vegetable Root Cannelloni (pasta made fresh in kitchen).

We had a goal to stay within the limit of the gift card which was quite unfortunate because I'm sure the dessert was to die for . . . next time :)

I sure do love Date Night with Bukes! We know we'll have to modify our weekly routine when Baby Bukes arrives, and our dates may not be every week, but I hope we are able to maintain at least a 1/month Date Night come April. Babysitter anyone?

Official Countdown:

74 Days!

Trust your Eyes . . . Who gives you your sight?

Last night at Small Group the "desire for God to illuminate the right answer to decisions in life" was unanimously shared. As I've continued to think on our discussion, I realize it is not just our Small Group. For some, this is a request pertaining to Whether or Not to attend Grad School, for others it is Which School To Attend, for others it is Do I Take This Job, Is He the Right One, Am I called Here or Abroad, How do We best Love our Children, etc?

Our friend, John Neal, is the nephew of the President of the Virginia Pilot's Association. This means he is head of the organization that drives/guides massive container ships, Navy ships, and Cruise Liners into the port of Norfolk. He had a response to our desire for a "beam" of light to show us the "right" answer....

As a ship pilot we train our apprentices to trust their eyesight…..in the middle of the night they want to turn the search light on and if they point it the right direction, they do see things but they miss a lot in the process….what happens is the bright beam of light reflects off the ship and the windows, blinding your eyes….then all of a sudden, your pupils narrow and when the light is turned off, you don’t see anything…...you’re in darkness and really can’t make out where you are. When the apprentices trust the master pilot, they hear from the pilot to trust your eyes….allowing their eyes to adjust to the dark and you will be amazed at what you can see. All of a sudden silhouettes show up on the horizon and different forms are contrasted to the shapes of buoys and boats and then other vessels become evident and in time quite clear…..whatever little light is in the sky somehow illuminates everything around you so you can see with clarity….it really is amazing.

Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you everyday and you will be amazed at what you will see.

those words are so powerful, that I hesistate to do the following, but I must keep up the tradition:

Official Countdown:

78 Days

Month 7!

Hard to believe! Went to the Dr. today and all looks/sounds good. Did the glucose test (and had blood drawn for a few others), will not be notified as long as results come back good :).

You can see the boxes in the background - during cabin-fever-snow-week I cleaned out the closet that will be Baby Bukes' and moved some things around for her nook. I also got permission from Joyce (our landlord that we live below) to paint the walls! Not sure what color yet, Aubs is sending me some high priority documents this week to help navigate next steps! Also, ordered the crib and it should be here this weekend! So excited!

Thought it might be fun to take a look back month by month :)

month 3:

month 4:

month 5:

month 6:

month 7:

Official Countdown:

83 Days!

The Little Guy

So, for the past two years when I refer to "the little guy" I mean it lovingly towards my nephew, Beau.

(featured here with "Eesie" and "Bots")

However, I just received this email from Mama (aka "Eesie") with another "Little Guy". You must watch it, and give it more than 3o seconds - the talent that is actually there may amaze you . . . and make your nose itch too :)

"Beethoven's fifth, by a conductor who could give us all lessons in enthusiasm."

Click Here

Official Countdown:

85 Days!

Kristian's New CD! Recipe Challenge

Everyone go to iTunes and buy Kristian Stanfill's new CD, Mountains Move! It's amazing and you'll be worshipping before you know it!

I've joined with some gal pals to do a Recipe Challenge for the year of 2011. One new recipe per month from an already owned cookbook that's been waiting to be opened since the mayhem of the internet.

With all this snow and ice, we've not ventured out on the streets so supper is making use of what we have here! Last night consisted of leftover venison tenderloin (that Tay made on Friday) with black eyed peas and baked potatoes - turned out to be a lovely meal!

Tonight I really got excited when I discovered I had all the ingredients necessary for lasagna! Who would have thought?

With Tay killing a dear this fall, we're stocked for anything that calls for ground beef since we have an ample supply of ground venison to last us for months! And, I've grown to like it more than ground beef - especially after watching FOOD INC (you need to rent it)!

There is not a leaner meat! I think it's delicious!

So, it also just so happened that I was able to make a recipe from a cookbook using these ingredients I had on hand. The one adjustment was using onion from a spice jar rather than a fresh onion.

It is from a cookbook that I actually do love and use quite often! Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

12 oz bulk italian or pork sausage or ground beef (or in my case, ground venison)

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14& 1/2-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

1 T dried Italian seasoning, crushed

1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed (optional) (I did not do this)

1/4 tsp black pepper

6 dried lasagna noodles

1 beaten egg

1 15-oz container ricotta cheese or 2 cups cream-style cottage cheese, drained (I did and prefer ricotta)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. For sauce, in a large saucepan cook meat, onion, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain.

3. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds (if desired), and pepper into meat mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Meanwhile, cook noodles for 10-12 minutes or until tender but still firm. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water. Drain well; set aside.

5. For filling, combine egg, ricotta, and the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

6. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Layer half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish, trimming or overlapping as necessary to fit.

7. Spread with half of the filling. Top with half of the remaining sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese.

8. Repeat layers.

9. If desired, sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over top.

10. Place baking dish on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Finished Product

Bukes bought me flowers for our date night on Friday when he cooked :)

(if you can't tell, I'm enjoying using my camera since I have it now - and also, maybe it's a snow day so I've got nothing better to do than to take lots of pictures of lasagna!)

Rating

8

I have to admit that we are lasagna lovers (like we love pizza) and our favorite lasagna recipe we've found thus far is simply from the Publix brand lasagna noodle box!

But this one turned out pretty well for a what-you've-got-in-your-pantry/fridge-snow-day type of recipe :)

Now go buy Kristian's CD MOUNTAINS MOVE!

Official Countdown until Baby Bukes arrives:

86 Days!

Snow Snow!

"Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow!

It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow!

Snow!

I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow!"

(sung like Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney from White Christmas)

And look at this BEAUTIFUL painting my parents gave me for Christmas!!! It's of my Wedding Dress. and I LOVE it! It will go in Sweet Baby Bukes' nursery nook!

And, I found some bedding (bumper pad and bed skirt) this weekend at the outlets! Here is what it looks like on the crib (this is not my crib, this is the website for the bedding) soft soft pink with a sweet ruffle! Love it! Ordered the crib yesterday! Should be here in 7 days!! I'm getting REALLY excited in case you can't tell!

And I was looking up how to make the ceiling puffs - actually doesn't seem too terribly hard!

Click here if you want to know how.

or here

or here

:)

enjoy the snow!

Third Trimester

Today marks the start of my third trimester! Holy Cow!

She is the size of a cauliflower (or so they say :) and is opening her eyes as well as gaining some fat on her little body.

It's all such a miracle. It's already been one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced . . . and she's not even here yet.

Only the month of January, the month of February and the month of March left. We don't really get the month of April, because she'll be here (hopefully) right at the start!

We've taken a break on the discussion of names - just breathing for a while as we stop trying to decide. Wondering if we may even wait to officially decide until she's born and we see her.

We've not made any more movements forward with the nursery (although, sweet Aubs is working behind the scenes to help guide when decision time arises) except this dresser/changing table purchase at an antique store up near my parents. My cousin, Brooke, and Aunt Peggy are great shoppers in antique and thrift stores. They are the ones that spotted it. Not sure if I'll leave it this color (distressed soft soft green) or paint it a distressed white.

Still planning on the ceiling puffs! Thinking we'll do all white rather than the mixed colors. Having to be strategic on my colors since her nursery nook is basically in my den. Maybe we'll have a ceiling puff party to make them. Want to come?

And, I'm going to use this rocker from my classroom when I taught school. It has a bit of pink in the distressed painting, we may leave that or, again, touch it up to be mostly distressed white. I don't have a picture of just the rocker so, here is Hannah who was in my 1st grade class, and Sam's grandfather on Mystery Reader Day.

Official Countdown:

90 Days!

Life is full

It's been a while - so much has taken place over the last few weeks. I am thankful. A while back when emailing with my friend, Laurin, and talking about the "business" of life she spoke powerful words to me that she had learned. We are so quick to talk about how busy life is, rushing from here, meeting with them, traveling there, shopping for her, cooking for him, studying for that, etc. The lesson was really about perspective - it's all in how you look at it - so rather than complaining (or sometimes boasting) about the "business" of life, why not explain it in a way that describes the actual truth: my life is full! It is full of the blessing of being able to go here, meet with them, travel there, shop for her, cook for him, study for that. Look at all of those things we get to do and have apart of our daily life!

So, after meditating on this new perspective and living in the joy it can help bring, I can say with confidence and a grateful heart, my life has been FULL since my last post. Thank you Jesus!

Here's a recap of the fullness!

Christmas 2010

Great time in Atlanta mostly spent with Tay's family and a White Christmas! Sadly, the White Christmas kept us from traveling to SC to be with my family on Christmas day and the 26th, so, needless to say, there was quite a bit of sadness and Christmas Blues in my heart surrounding that change of plans.

Here is a picture of Norah, my niece, on Christmas day in her precious little self and a skirt that Aunt Tindy sewed for her!

4 Year Anniversary/Babymoon

Bukes and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on New Year's Eve! We decided to take an anniversary trip and combine it with a Babymoon as our last trip just the two of us before she arrives. Although, it was also the first trip just the two of us for longer than a weekend since we've been married! We went to Hilton Head, SC and had a fabulous time! Great weather, great walks on the beach, great food, great books, great relaxing and rejuvenating and reconnecting. I love my husband! I truly was sad on the last day when I woke up - did not want it to end!

We celebrated the New Year in serious party mode: Yes, this is us in our room at 10:30pm (Tay already in his pj's, me waiting with anticipation - not for the new year, but for this picture to be completed so I can get in my pj's too). He did have to wake me up at midnight to tell me it had officially become 2011. Yet another year where he rings in the new year alone as I sleep :)

Countdown

I thought several different times over the break how I needed to do a 100 day post, but, didn't get to it :) So, today's special tribute, January 5th, marks

92 days

until Baby Bukes arrives! wow oh wow oh wow!!! She's just a movin! Having Mary and Deklan stay with us for the past few days was a special treat to see the reality of what its going to be like having a little one in our little place every day :)

"It'll be cozy, it'll be tight, but oh what a joy to have her here every night!"