We hung some of our Christmas lights on the patio to get a feel of what it’d look like. What we realized was we wanted something else, like some of the images below. We just have to wait for the end of the season to nab them on clearance. 
Now all we need to do is refinish our patio furniture and we’re ready to use the space.
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It almost a year that we had our pergola and pavilion built in our backyard. It was just step one of making our backyard more usable. After much back and forth with ideas, either a deck or concrete slab, we decided to go with concrete slab because it takes less maintenance to maintain. We got an incredible deal and the slab has been poured. I’ll post after cleaning photos on Wednesday.
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What a whirlwind of a weekend. Every year, we gather a team of runners and supporters and make our way to Gonzales, TX to start a relay race that ends at the San Jacinto Monument. 203 miles of non-stop running.
But the planning begins way in advance. I start recruiting members in November and it just goes from there. Each year I learn something and improve for next year. I believe this year has been the best organized of the four years. Every one had a good time and no worries surfaced.
Here’s a pool of pictures on flickr. A good time to be had by all on Team 1.
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It was a success. I think the only reason was because I stayed in my office the whole night. The meal tasted amazing, chicken tenders with brussels sprouts and mushrooms. He did a fantastic job prepping and cleaning up and he was smiling from ear to ear. I was so proud of him. Now, our next challenge is for me to be able to be in the kitchen with him, preparing the food together.
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She makes me smile and laugh all the time. She loves snuggling in our laps when she’s ready for a nap. There’s never a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for her in our lives. That’s my baby Sadie!
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It’s been almost a year since our last vacation and let’s just say I was long overdue for a break. I’ve been mentally and physically spent. We decided to go where we’ve never been, which is Winter Park, CO. We have never seen such white, powdery snow before, it was beautiful! We rode the train from Denver into Winter Park and it was a great way to see the mountains and start our vacation. Our first day in Winter Park, we got the lay of the land and how the shuttle buses worked. We decided to take the bus to Fraser, CO to go tubing. We trekked our way up to the Historical Fraser Tubing Hill to find out that they do NOT accept credit cards. Who in tarnation does not accept credit cards in 2011? We did notice another tubing company below the hill, so before continuing our trek, I decided to give them a call to see if they accept credit cards and luckily they did. As we were walking down the hill, we decided to stop on the side of the road and make snow angels. Once we were checked-in for tubing and fitted for our helmets, we grabbed a tube and headed to the conveyor belt to send us up. There were a total of 4 hills we could choose from, easy to most difficult. We started with the easy hill just to see what we’d gotten ourselves in and boy was it fun. What we forgot were our goggles because we had snow kick-up all over our faces. We were tubing for an hour and my legs were beat. We were fortunate enough to get a lift into town to grab a bite to eat and head to the local Safeway for groceries for the week.
The next day we had plans to head to Winter Park Resort to try our hands on snow biking. It’s supposed to be best for first timers on the slopes. The hardest thing I couldn’t get over is the slipping and sliding part. My mind kept saying stop but I knew that it’s supposed to work that way. After a couple runs on the bunny slopes, the teacher decided to take us one lift higher to test our skills. Before heading up, we were getting ready to take the lift up. But something was stuck, my bike got stuck on the lift, which dragged me down and dropped the bike onto my legs. The next thing I remember was looking up and seeing the other bikes overhead and hoping that they didn’t drop them on me. Luckily, I was alright but I was told that what happened to me happens very infrequently. It was an amazing view from up top. We were ready to go. But after a few runs down, I suddenly became fatigued. Each ride down, I just continued to fall down. I fell into the powder. I slipped into the tree lines. I just ate it a lot! When I finally got back down to the bunny slope, I was thankful and glad to be close to the bottom. Even though we did not receive our licenses to ride by ourselves, we still had a great time. Now it was time to get back home and rest our legs. Thankfully my hubby did all the cooking while I iced my knees and took it easy. Once I was ready to shower, I noticed the large bruise on my thigh from the bike. Bumps and bruises, I’m still glad I went up the hill and tried it.
For the next day, Phi tried his hand at snowboarding while I took a day for pampering. It was much needed to since my legs were beat! As I said my goodbyes to my hubby, I was off for my spa treatment, The Mary Jane. It was the best 2 1/2 hours of pampering and so much deserved. The hubby made sure he put on his wedding ring so “snow bunnies wouldn’t hit on him.” His words, not mine.
For our last day in Winter Park, we went to Fossil Ridge Guide for our private sleigh ride. Luckily they were able to accommodate us and it was gorgeous. The horses were beautiful and the views were spectacular. We stopped at a campfire for some hot cocoa. It was so peaceful and serene, we didn’t want to leave.
This trip was what we needed. The hubby’s been stressed at work and I’ve been suffering from a creative block. Hopefully, this is what we needed to unwind us. Here are some pictures on flickr, enjoy!
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Tomato Salad. In a medium-size bowl,
combine tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and basil. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Potatoes and Steak. Heat oven to 450°. Coat a 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place potatoes in the baking pan and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, stirring once, or until fork-tender.
Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of steaks with
Montreal steak seasoning. Sauté meat in batches, for 2 minutes, then turn and sauté for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until medium-rare.
Serve steaks immediately with roasted potatoes and tomato salad.
So I usually don’t cook beef, I’m not a big meat eater and this was my first steak dinner with the hubby. It was quite delicious, if I do say so myself and my hubby agrees. The tomato salad was quite tasty, though I may do less on the garlic next time. Total meal cost $6.72* for about 2 servings. (*Note: Most of the ingredients I have already, so the price may be higher if you’re buying things from scratch.)
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Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large stainless steel skillet. Add shrimp and cook 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. Remove to a plate and reserve.
Add remaining tablespoon oil, and peppers and onions, to the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Add garlic after 4 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup water and seasoning mix. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return shrimp to skillet and heat through.
Serve with warm tortillas. If desired, accompany with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, rice and salad.
Delicious, delicious, delicious and super duper easy. I decided to do homemade guacamole since the avocados were on sale and I had the rest of the ingredients from the other meals I’m going to make. The hubby kept telling me, the addition of rice would be delicious, just like Chipotle. The only con is that the whole house smells like sautéed onions now.
Total meal cost $15.18* for about 8 servings. The price was a bit high for this meal because of the shrimp, but it did feed us and enough for our neighbor as well. (*Note: Most of the ingredients I have already, so the price may be higher if you’re buying things from scratch.)
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Over the past few months, I’ve taken up the art of quilling. I was so inspired by this lobster I had seen while browsing the net. A friend of mine told me the technical name of the art form and I was hooked. I started off small, just learning the technique, how to curl the paper and and different ways to shape it. After more investigation, I came across an artist named Yulia Brodskaya and her work is amazing! Below is a tasting of some of my quilled art pieces, and I’ve posted the rest on flickr. Enjoy!
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I always love a good hearty Corn Chowder. About a month ago I made Crab and Corn chowder, so this time I decided to do just plain ol’ corn chowder. It was tasty, but I’d have to say, I give the Crab and Corn chowder a notch higher on the chowder board.
Ingredients
Total meal cost $3.75* for about 8 servings. (*Note: Most of the ingredients I have already, so the price may be higher if you’re buying things from
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