Celebration!

David and I spent the past few months debating on how we wanted to spend our 1-year anniversary.  Actually, debating is totally the wrong word because we both 100% agreed on how we really wanted to spend our anniversary... an encore presentation of our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic would have been rather ideal.  However, the words homeless and bankrupt emerged as key terms when deciding if we could dump our life savings into such an extravagant vacay a mere 359-days after we had just returned from our first tour of duty in the Dominican Republic.  And since we both really enjoy having walls surround us and a roof over our heads (even an orange roof), we decided to shelf our Caribbean Sequel until the 5th year, and keep it closer to home.

Which, actually, was perfectly fine with me.  All I requested of David was to just make our anniversary plans and keep them a secret from me. I really love surprises. Good surprises, of course.  For a Control Freak, there is something strangely agonizing, yet very pleasing, to know you are going somewhere or doing something, but having no idea what it is.  However, packing a suitcase with no idea where you are going or what you are doing is very agonizing and not at all pleasing in the slightest.  I packed embarrassingly heavy.  And for those of you who know me, I am a heavy packer. (Picture this:  Me. Crowded Airport Check-In Counter. Slightly pressed for time. Ripping clothes and shoes from my suitcase and stuffing them into my purse and kindly-provided grocery bags to get under the 50 lb. weight limit for my luggage. No shame. Just frustration that the airline wouldn't let an extra 10 lbs. slip through without an extra fee.)  Soooo, for me to admit that this was shameful should let you know that this was pretty heavy packing for a 2-day trip.

The Friday night before our anniversary, we toasted with champagne and year-old wedding cake which was suprisingly delicious, even though one side had the icing falling off.  (I am realizing that this picture portrays us as borderline obsessed with our canine son.  Just to clear the air...We are. It might as well been his birthday party.)

We woke up on Saturday morning, loaded up the car, and headed to Destination Unknown. After driving a little over 2 hours south, I discovered we were going to the charming city of Savannah, Georgia. It was a wonderful surprise!  Neither us had ever stayed in Savannah in the role of a true tourist, so it was something we got to experience together.  David made arrangements for us to stay at a historic home turned bed-and-breakfast, the Dresser-Palmer House, which coincidentally was featured in this month's issue of Southern Living as one of the South's coziest inns.  To say I was ecstatic would be a generous understatement.

They served gourmet breakfast each morning, and we were lucky enough to be there for Peaches & Cream French toast with Thick-Cut Pepper Bacon on Sunday, and Sausage, Pear, & Pecan Quiche with fresh fruit on Monday.  Upon check-in, they even inquired what we preferred to drink at breakfast, so everything would be waiting on us in the morning.  They have an evening cocktail hour in the parlor, which we missed because we were out exploring.  Now I am wishing that we had done it.  But that won't matter because I will just make a point to do it next time because we will be staying here again. It was perfection!

via 

(I stole this picture because I forgot to take a real-live picture of the house while we were there. Oops)

We stayed in the Wisteria room, which was actually the original kitchen that has since been converted into a guest room.  The exposed brick walls were beautiful and we really enjoyed the warmth of our very own fireplace.  The best and most enchanting part about it though was that we had our very own private entrance on the side of the house. (See the little turquoise door down the steps??)

Our days were spent walking around Savannah, taking in the sights. A few of my favorite pictures...

There are some interesting characters in Savannah. This was captured parading downtown in her lacy fuschia unmentionables with her fully-clothed lover(?) around 9:30 am on Sunday morning.  Not that this is relevant considering the circumstances, but it was cold and windy outside, and it may just be me, but it seems a tad selfish that the lover is wearing a hat, coat, pants, and carrying a blanket all to herself. I have no explanation.

What an obedient and handsome guy. Sam needs to take a few pointers.

And more for my own failing-memory than for your knowledge.... We had lunch at both the Distillery and SoHo South Cafe'.  Both were tasty! The salmon BLT and tomato basil bisque at SoHo were divine!

One other thing that I will write here (for fear that if I don't get it written down, it will one day vanish from my memory forever) is that on our first afternoon, we were walking through Madison Square and Saint John's Episcopal Church was chiming the 5 o'clock hour.  The steeple bells were beautifully tinkering away, and all of a sudden, I stopped dead in my tracks because the tune was eerily familiar.  The hymn that was playing was "Be Thou My Vision," which is not only my favorite hymn, but also the hymn I chose for our wedding ceremony.  Serendipitous.

Our evenings were spent bar-hopping and eating sinfully rich dinners.

Sunset cocktails at Rocks on the Roof, atop the Bohemian Hotel.

We had dinner the first night at B. Matthew's Eatery. We also visited Churchill's and the Crystal Beer Parlor for a few libations during our stay. I need to remember to take more pictures... I just get caught up in the fun of the moment and forget all about my camera.

We celebrated our Anniversary with drinks and dinner The Olde Pink House on Sunday night.  Absolutely delicious!

And we rode off into the sunset.

The End.

One Whole Year!

A year ago this Sunday, I married my best friend in the entire world.  Sounds so cliché, doesn’t it? But it’s one of the truest things I have ever spoken.

The past year of marriage has proved to be more challenging than I imagined it would be. Both of us being incredibly independent and stubborn first-borns, we have had to swallow our pride and learn to operate as a single unit; a partnership. We’ve had our first married knit-picky argument (I believe it occurred in the car on the way home from the Charlotte airport after our honeymoon. We didn’t waste much time there. The honeymoon was over, literally :).  We’ve had our first (and second and third...) married blow-out screaming match (complete with my dramatic displays of tears).  We’ve learned to live together under one roof, and I have adjusted to going to sleep with the tv on every night and David is learning to share the covers. We’ve had to compromise on everything from combining checking accounts to what the thermostat should be set at, to whose turn it is to unload the dishwasher.  I’ve had to realize that as much as I don’t understand it, golf is how David prefers to spend his time & money.  And he has come to the realization that nothing can make me giddy like the joy of a new purse.  We’ve both had to come to the realization that is no longer about “me.” It is now about “us,” day-in and day-out. David’s had to deal with my scatter-brainededness (I know this isn’t a word, but I think it should be) and I’ve had to work around his stickler ways.  It’s been a year of growing pains.

This past year of marriage has also been much more rewarding than I could have ever dreamed of.  I know it may sound odd, but we’ve become so much closer over the past 12 months.  I feel as though I now know David in an entirely different way (and lucky for him, I still like him. I am pretty sure he still likes me, too).  We’ve improved on our communication with each other, and are now able to share thoughts and feelings in a much better way.  We have laughed A LOT.  We make sure to take time for each other and enjoy the quiet moments together as much as the boisterous ones. David has taken care of me when I am sick.  I try to make sure he always has clean socks.  We have built each other up when the other has been feeling down.  We listen to one another and cheer one another on. We’ve been fortunate enough to travel this year to the Dominican Republic, New Orleans, Northern Michigan, and Las Vegas and have had great times experiencing new places and things together.  We have grown together in our faith and have put our trust in God to take care of us, make us stronger man & wife, and to guide us to each day live the vows we made to each other.

And now, I cannot imagine sleeping at night without him by my side. 

I simply cannot imagine life without him.

  I am fulfilled. I feel complete.

 So Happy 1st Anniversary to my wonderful husband! I can only wish for 100 more years with you.

The Sun Will Come Out

...TOMORROW.
I hope.
Today was just one of those days.  One of those days where you aren't quite positive that it can get much worse, but you are afraid to utter those words out loud, for fear that the Bad Day God will strike you dead. Then laugh at you as you sizzle on the sidewalk, all alone and with bad hair.

I won't go into all the details of my day because I am sure you don't care, but it involved waking up with a headache, ripping a favorite pair of panties while fumbling to put them on (ahem. don't judge- a) on my aggressive dressing techniques, or b) on the fact that I have had a pair of favorite panties. You know you have favorite panties, too.), a huge crisis at work in which I was yelled at reprimanded and took up the entire morning to fix, which meanwhile, clogged up my entire inbox with about 30,000 emails from hostile, unhappy people, and to top it off, a flat tire. Is that a run-on sentence? I don't care.

Then, I had to go to Publix to pick up a few things for dinner. A word to the wise. Never EVER go to Publix on Wednesdays. Why they combined Senior Citizens' Discount Day with the day that their new sales start, is beyond my realm of comprehension.  The parking lot is jammed with Buicks and Oldsmobiles circling the lot at a speedy 2 MPH, waiting like vultures for that illustrious handicap spot, in which they will swing their mammoth vehicles into, in the most crooked of fashions.  Then you've got the rest of the lot overflowing with mini-vans belonging to soccer-mom-coupon-extraordinaires, who feel it is necessary to wipe the aisles clean of anything and everything that is marked down with no second thought to the fact that someone else might actually NEED an item today that you just bought all 27 of.  Anyway, it rivals the DMV or Ryan's Steakhouse as the Top Spot in my "Living Hell" category, and I'll admit it, I'm a "couponer" (if that's a word), but I like to think of myself as a considerate couponer. I digress. I got stuck with my 2 measley items, standing in line behind a Senior Citizen Couponer (double whammy.), so I started sifting through my emails on my Blackberry (yes, I realize that still having a Blackberry is equivalent to sporting a Zack Morris phone. Once again, I don't care. I love BBM and plus, my fat thumbs have a really hard time with touch screens).  Then when I finally got up to the check-out line, I just tossed my phone back into my purse without locking the keypad.

When I got out to the car, frazzled and ready end my miserable day, I pulled my phone back out of my purse to lock the keypad (my phone loves to call people at every chance she gets), and of course, some keys had been inadvertently punched while I was walking back to the car.  The screen read the following (and I am telling you, I cannot make this stuff up):

Poo

My sentiment exactly.  I had to laugh, loud and hard. 

Yep. Today was Poo.  We all have bad days though. They lurk in dark alleyways, and you just never know when one is going to spring forth from the darkness and grab a hold of your throat. The best thing you can do is just take it all in stride, laugh, and be grateful that your good days outnumber your bad ones.  It sounds so nice in flawless black print on the screen, and if someone had told me to "carpe diem" around 10 am this morning, I may have punched them in the face. Or cried. Or both.  Yet, 'tis true.  Now that I've worked out my frustrations at the gym and my belly is full of Asian Lettuce Wraps and I am finally winding down this wretched excuse for a day, my vision is much clearer.  Life is good.

Slap Yo Mama!

My laptop took a little holiday vacay to the repair shop after she crashed right before Christmas. I haven't been able to post a MOST delicious recipe because the pictures were trapped on my disintegrating Dinosaur of a Dell.  In her defense, she has been a loyal friend for many years now, and I don't treat her as kindly as I should.  Besides tossing her around like she is a stack of junk mail, I have also not been very timely (read: since 2009) in updating her virus protection, which caused her to contract a nasty infection, and then have a massive panic attack, blue screens and alarm bells. She's fixed up quite nicely now though, and the repairman even blew all the dust bunnies out of her insides. How nice. She's now humming away like a champ. I am hoping she has a few more good years in her.

Anyway, my friend Darby emailed me a recipe that she has lovingly christened Slap Yo Mama Asian Lettuce Wraps. And I've never really contemplated slapping my mama before, but if there is a meal that just might make me give her a big congratulatory slap on the back, then this is it.

When the mood strikes, I will order the Chicken Lettuce Wraps appetizer from Miyo's as a meal because they are so delicious. This recipe is seriously more delicious than the Miyo's version, and I made it for a fraction of the cost (when you include tax, tip, and a couple of glasses of pinot).  It is also a perfect stay-at-home date-night meal because it's a bit unusual and is incredibly fun to eat!

 

So, here we go... You will need:

3 TBSP Sesame Oil

Large Onion, finely chopped

1 5 oz. can of water chestnuts, finely chopped

1 lb of ground chicken, turkey, or beef (my trusty old mainstay is Jennie-O 99% fat free ground turkey)

1/2 cup of peanut sauce (+ a little more)

1 TBSP hoisin sauce (+ a little more)

1 TBSP soy sauce (+ a little more)

1 TBSP Asian Chili with Garlic Sauce (+ a little more)

4 stalks green onion, finely chopped

1 head of iceberg lettuce, washed
Extra Soy sauce and/or Ponzu for dipping

Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Dump your onion into the pan and saute until cooked through.

Add chopped water chestnuts and saute for 1 minute.

Add ground meat (I chose turkey, obvi) and saute until cooked through.

I combined my hoisin, peanut, and chili sauces in a measuring cup before pouring them in to the pan. I "measured" very liberally though... just eyeball it if you don't feel like measuring.  Then mix well with the meat in the pan...

Now, this is the fun part where you get to taste your creation.  I definitely added more of the sauces, but it's been a few weeks, and I honestly cannot remember which ones. I would just go with whatever strikes you as tasty.

The last step is to stir in your green onion.

 And, WAHLAAA! You are finished!

Serve in lettuce leaves wrapped up like little burritos. I thought David was going to look at me with a face that said "You expect ME, a grown man, to eat my dinner rolled up in lettuce??".  And even if he was thinking that at the time, he was kind enough to humor me and pretend he was excited.

Darby says this recipe should serve 4 people, but they must be 4 not-very-hungry-people because the small portion remaining on the platter after David and I finished could barely pass as "leftovers".  And who says lettuce wraps aren't manly?

I got David to pick up a few vegetable spring rolls from Miyo's on his way home from work to complete the meal.  And we even got a few fortune cookies.... Success is soon mine. All mine.

Here's to a Fresh Start!

A new year is upon us! Can you believe it? I certainly cannot believe it was an entire year ago that I was making final preparations for our wedding and packing for a honeymoon.  Time truly flies.  Someone (a much-smarter-than-me someone) once told me that the reason time moves faster as you age is that each year you live becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of your life.   This concept is strange to think about, but it makes a lot of sense.  For example, as a small child, time seemed to move by soooo slowly.  And in a way, it really did move slowly.  When you were five years old, a single month was nearly 2% of your entire life.  Now, at the age of 28, a single month is a measly 0.298% of your life.  When you are 60 years old, a single month is only 0.139% of your life… practically nothing at all! This, in geekish mathematical terms, is why time seems to move faster and faster the older we get.  (Yes, it took me an excessive amount of time fumbling around with a calculator to come up with these numbers.  And I am not positive they are correct, but it sounds good, right?)

Anyhow, I digress. I always like to start the year with a major purging all some of the clutter that has magically collected itself over the previous 12 months. At home, starting the year with a clean house is very desirable (this has not yet occurred, but at least I can say that all Christmas decorations are safely tucked away in the drafty attic under the orange roof). And at work, I love to start the year by cleaning out old emails and stacks of paper that I hold onto for no apparent reason, except for the lingering question, "What IF I need this someday, and I've thrown it out or deleted it?".

Also, along with a New Year, comes New Year’s Resolutions, which are undeniably cheesy, but I love setting goals for myself.  There is something so fresh about the idea of wiping the slate clean and starting over.  I have crafted resolutions for myself in the past that I have actually kept long-term, such as balancing my checking account daily (this has become a nearly obsessive habit for me, as David is learning to cope with bringing me all of his receipts) and to stop biting my nails (I fall off the wagon every once in a while when I am feeling rather worrisome).  Then, there are some other resolutions that I make year after year after year that have less of a success rate, such as being less judgmental and more patient with others. 

*As an aside, I find it somewhat interesting that my resolutions relating to my character and the state of my heart are so much harder to keep than the ones that pertain to actually doing something. Alas! Such is the human condition.

Regardless of if your New Year’s resolutions are actually maintained over time or not, I think the main point of setting them is aiming to better yourself.  A new opportunity to finally get it right this time around. The prospect of making this year the best one yet.  An attitude adjustment on January 1. (Mom loved to tell my brother and me that we needed an "attitude adjustment" quite frequently as children.  The day I word-vomit that phrase onto my own children, I will know for certain that I have morphed into my mother.)

There have been a lot of things said about “good intentions” and how “intending” to do something is just not good enough. (Didn't you know that the road to hell was paved with good intentions?) In the case of resolutions, I disagree.  As humans, we fail. We fall short. We are imperfect.  But I believe the acknowledgement of these faults and having the sole intention of making it right or doing it better is, in some ways, good enough.  New Year's resolutions give us the opportunity to reaffirm our belief in ourselves. So, this year, I make my resolutions with every intention of keeping them. And next year and the next, I will do the same. 

“Let your intentions be good— embodied in good thoughts, cheerful words, and unselfish deeds— and the world will be to you a bright and happy place in which to work and play and serve” Grenville Kleiser






* If you, personally, are looking for a New Year's resolution and are completely stumped, I've got an easy and quick one for you, so that you can say you have officially and successfully completed your first resolution of 2012.  If you read my ramblings, please become a Follower. Click "Join this Site" over to the right of the page. Then, just keep reading! Becoming a Follower will take a mere minute to do, and in turn, will inspire me to keep writing.*