7-11

Yes, you do get free slurpees at 7-11 on 7-11, but there is a different reason why I love this day so much....it's my wedding day!! I was hoping to get this post up yesterday, on my actual anniversary, but the day was filled with fun with my hubby (and some work too).

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to my very favorite husband, Ben!! I really wish we could do our wedding and all the days leading up to it all over again. The other day, our pastor at church was relating something to a big wedding that you never want to leave where everyone dances all night and it's like a big reunion and that is exactly how I would describe our wedding day. It was the most fun and best day of my life! 

Getting our dance on!

THRILLER!!

To celebrate one fabulous year as husband and wife, Ben and I had an early morning date to OLD WEST. It's a small cafe with good 'ole home cooking. I honestly just love the place for the atmosphere and I'll occasionally get a seasonal pancake. Ben is more into the food, but I did surprise myself and got something other than egg whites. 

Ben's breakfast quesadilla 

My spinach, onion and mushroom egg white omelette

Holy moly-- that omelette was HUGE!!! I thought going the healthy route they wouldn't make the omelette near as large, but it was ginormous! I maybe ate half of it and my cup of fruit and I was FULL until about 1:30 PM. 

We both had to go to work, but the day absolutely flew by. Before I knew it it was time to race home to get ready for our hot date. I even splurged and bought a new dress on my lunch break! 

Isn't he handsome?!

I had no idea where we were going until we were half way there. Ben surprised me by taking me to the place where we went on our very first "date." He considered it a date....I was really in the mindset that we were just "hanging out," but I fell pretty fast. 

See the Happy Anniversary! at the top?!?!

I still remember Ben asking if I wanted to hang out one night and then texting me, "What's your favorite restaurant?" I replied, "McCormick & Schmick's, but there's no way we're going there." He was pretty good at wooing me and took me there! 

Next on the agenda was our VERY VERY VERY favorite place!!!!

:)

How could you not LOVE a place with that many homemade flavors of ice cream??

We had a fabulous day and night and I am so so thankful to be married to Ben. There is no one in this world I have more fun with and I truly married my best friend. 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! ONE YEAR DOWN, 50+ TO GO!! 

So glad we finally starting dating! 

PS- this picture was taken when I still qualified us as "hanging out!"

Light & Summery

Life has been pretty busy lately for Ben and me. Before last week it had been probably a month or so since I was able to cook and we sat down for a meal together at our own place. It's been killing me, (1) because I get real tired of eating out real quick...even if it's at someone else's house...and (2) because I love cooking and trying new things. I made a new rule with Ben that every time I cook something we need to put it on our "keeper" or "eh" list. The keepers I'll write down so it's easier for me to decide what to cook in the future. And so when we have a family, I can put them together in a family cookbook!

Things are finally starting to settle down, so in an effort to get organized and save money, I made myself sit down on Sunday and put together a menu for the week. This made making a grocery list so much easier and helped me stay on track and not make any (ok I made one...ice cream of course) impulse buys. During my lunch break on Monday I was looking over my list and menu and for some reason nothing was jumping out at me to cook. It was such a hot day and I just wanted something light, healthy and summery. So I started googling and this is what I found....

Chicken & Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Not only did this look delicious, it features lots of vegetables! I immediately started re-working my menu to include this recipe. After becoming besties with my cashier at the store, I couldn't get home fast enough to start! 

HUGE SUCCESS!!! Not only was I in love, but Ben love it too! I was a little nervous about him liking it with all the veggies, one being onion which he is not a fan of at all. I guess it didn't matter because he even went back for seconds!! 

Whoops! Took a bite before I remembered the picture!

This is a KEEPER!!!!

Chicken & Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Source: Cooking Light 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp ground cumin 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/4 tsp black pepper 
• 2 tsp canola oil (vegetable oil also works) 
• 12 oz chicken tender breasts 
• 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1) 
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) 
• 1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 oz) 
• 1/2 cup green salsa 
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, divided ( I didn't have this on hand, so I used parsley) 
• 4 fat-free flour tortillas (I used whole wheat) 
• Cooking spray 
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese 

Directions:

Preheat broiler. 

Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mix evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan and saute. Add onion, corn and zucchini to pan and continue to saute until the chicken is done. Stir in the salsa and 2 Tbsp cilantro. Cook until the liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. 

Arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly brown. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with 1/4 of cheese and continue to broil until the cheese melts. (I skipped this) Repeat with remaining tortillas. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 tsp of cilantro and serve. 

YUMMMMMM!!!!! :) 

Splish Splash

....I was taken a bath!! Does this song remind anyone else of "You've Got Mail?" Gosh I love that movie!

Anywho - I hope everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! Quite frankly, I didn't really want to come back after our weekend. We took off for a much needed weekend with college friends and I had a blast!

Ben's roommate, Cale, makin' his move ;)

We (me, Ben, Brenda & Landon) took off after work on Friday to meet 7 of our closest friends at Lake Granbury. Colby, another one of Ben's roommates, has a lake house that we frequently visited while at Baylor and has a special place in my heart. This is where Ben and I really first hung out (not dating) and where we went while we were on our way to dating and then, where we officially started dating. Needless to say, a lot of flirting went down at this lake house!! 

The lake house is somewhere it's pretty hard to get a workout in, but I was determined to stay on track. So after hanging out 'til 2 AM on Friday, I got up around 8 AM and headed out for a run. I didn't really know where I was going and actually got lost at one point, so it wasn't the hardest run I've ever done, but it was a good 30 minute workout and I was shweaty since it was about 101....ok maybe just 85 degrees outside. 

This is what I walked in on when I thought I was going to bed on Friday night. Two hours later my bed was finally ready for me! 

Unfortunately, the lake was super rough and we didn't get to do any tubing (my absolute favorite). We all soaked up plenty of sun and cooked out on Saturday night before the boys got into an intense game of poker. The girls decided to rent a movie, but the sun totally sucked all the energy out of us and we all ended up falling asleep about 1/4 of the way through. 

Ben at the beginning of the game....

Ben in the middle of the game! P-p-p-poker face!

I woke up around 8:30 AM on Saturday for a 45 minute hike filled with lots and lots of hills. I noticed many times while out on the lake how totally ok I am with just laying around. Something I am definitely not ok with at home, so it felt good to get in a good sweat every morning. Here are some fun pics from another day spent soaking up the sun...."I'm gonna soak up the sun. I got my (12) on so I can rock on!"

I love my boo

Ladies - he is single and he's got dance moves!

So she didn't go to Baylor, but I met her while in college and I love her like I love my college friends!

Kappa Sigma true love

And after this, disaster struck....while we were packing up the boat to head back, all the girls piled into the front while the guys got things in order in the back. Because we just love each other so much, we all just stayed in the front for the ride back to the house...bad idea. I was on the edge of the seat and was holding onto the gap in the windshield. Like I said, the water was super rough. We hadn't been driving too long when we hit a bump (aka wave) and with my back to it, the lose flap of the windshield flew shut and found my hand as it landed. OUCH! 

This doesn't really do it justice, but this was the day after. 

I was in a whole lot of pain the rest of the night, but I tried not to let it show because we were heading over to Colby's parents' new house for a wonderful dinner. The homemade ice cream with chocolate sprinkles made it all (for the night) better. 

I took another hike, this time for a little over an hour, on Monday morning before getting back to the lake house to pack up and head home. To add to the exciting weekend, I almost stepped on a snake on my hike. For about the 2 seconds I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking, I missed the fact that a snake was in the road. I literally came inches from it and my body froze before I decided I would just carefully walk about it and hope it didn't follow me. Thank goodness it didn't!

 Although it was a bit of an uncomfortable ride home, my hand kept swelling and falling asleep, it was a FABULOUS weekend! I can't tell you how much I've missed these sweet sweet friends. For some reason there's just nothing like the friends you make in college. I'm not saying that we haven't made wonderful friends after Baylor, we have, but these particular friends just know me like no one else. Definitely a much needed friend love fest for Ben and me!! 

Sic 'em Bears and thank you Baylor for the wonderful friends!!

Easter

I love Easter!! I cannot wait to have kids to teach them the meaning of Easter and do all the fun things like decorate, dye eggs, bake fun things and Easter egg hunt! Since that will be quite a while away, I try to do as much of the fun stuff on my own and with my nieces.

This year, Ben and I went to church on Saturday night and headed to Dallas Sunday morning for Easter with my family. My family has done Easter at my oldest sister's house with her husband's family for the past 4 years now. He has a lot of little kids in his family, so we get to have a great big Easter egg hunt. I decided I would contribute something fun and very "Easter-y" to the big meal and after I saw Cait's cute nests I knew exactly what I would take.

These adorable Easter Nests were a huge hit! I secretly wish I still had leftovers. I ended up covering the Chow Mein noodles in peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. The peanut butter ones were my favorite! The eggs were either peanut M&M's or Reeses Pieces in the fun Easter colors. I will definitely be making these again! 

After having lunch, we had our annual Easter egg hunt. Here are some action shots...

Apparently I really wanted Annie to win! 

Go Andrew Go! 

Charlotte's 1st Easter!! (held by Aunt Christie & Uncle Taylor) 

How cute is her Easter basket?!

Lookin' a little greasy from the humidity...oh well!

After the Easter egg hunt and helping the little ones count their eggs/candy, Ben and I headed back to Flower Mound to freshen up and change before going to Denton for Easter with his family. 

I was asked to make my Nutella brownies and Ben is generally the "grill master," so we got over there a little early to get everything started. I do NOT know why we didn't take any pictures, but dinner was delicious. Everything was good, but the star of the show was the pretzel rolls!! We are OBSESSED with the pretzel rolls at Spago in Bachelor Gulch and are so happy we have finally replicated them! I have a feeling these will show up at a lot of family meals. 

We had a great Easter this year! Ben and I were talking about how much we love Easter and Ben brought up the fact that Easter should be a much more celebrated holiday. I agree!! Think about how celebrated Christmas is. Why is Easter not more celebrated when it is the day that our Savior rose from the grave and the reason we have the hope of eternal life? If you ask me, it is a pretty important day and I cannot even express how thankful I am for such an extraordinary, selfless gift. I'm so glad I got to share the day with so many great people and rejoice in the gift we've been given. Happy late Easter!! 

25 Things You Don't Know

Is this anyone else's favorite part of Us Weekly?? I don't know why, but I absolutely love anything like this. I also love surveys where I can get to know someone better. Maybe it's just my utter nosiness that makes me loves this, but I am so intrigued with facts about people. 

Tina did a similar post a few weeks ago and I thought I would follow suit. Plus, I should probably let you get to know me a little better, so I thought it appropriate to tell you 25 things about me. I was reading Britney Spears's "25 Things You Don't Know About Me" this Saturday while laying out and found it quite boring considering it was Britney Spears. Hopefully mine is a little more entertaining! 

1. I worked at Abercrombie & Fitch my senior year of high school as an in-store model....HATED IT!! 
2. Coconut makes me gag, but I LOVE coconut rum/pina coladas. 
3. A girl in my dorm freshman year at Baylor pierced my cartilage with a needle. 
4. I was bald until I was 2 years old. 
5. I then only grew curly cews around the back of my head! 
6. I am not a fan of talking on the phone. Wish I was to better keep up with people. 
7. My favorite place is Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It just feels like home!!
8. I used to not be able to go to bed without popping my fingers, toes, back & neck. I've toned it down since marrying Ben. 
9. My first concert was Celine Dion! My dad told the whole fam we were going to a MAVS game & surprised us. Totally How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days!! 
10. I played outside hitter in volleyball until my sophomore year in high school. I then moved to libero, my FAVORITE!! 
11. I'm 1 of 4 girls. Katie, Christie & Martie are my sisters. My parents have 2 girls who now live with them, Katie & Sarah. And I now have 2 nieces, Annie & Charlotte. No boys other than the husbands & my dad. 
12. I've never seen a Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie. 
13. My favorite movie when I was little was Steel Magnolias. I would tell my mom "I wanna watch Weeza!" 
14. I quit cheerleading just before I got my full & miss tumbling a TON. 
15. I led worship for my high school youth group & at Young Life Club for my high school. I also sang a solo in church for Graduation Sunday my senior year & used to sing on Christmas Eve with my sisters. 
16. I've had 2 knee surgeries & no longer have cartilage in my right knee. 
17. I've run 2 half marathons. 
18. I did a Gatorade campaign my junior year in high school. 
19. I absolutely love being with my family & always have the best time when we're together. That includes my family & my husband's family. 
20. I'm obsessed with planning. I once had 3 planners in college, 1 for the office I held in my sorority, 1 for school & 1 for my personal life. 
21. I love old fashioned ice cream parlors. Ben & I got engaged in one!!
22. My 2 weaknesses are ice cream/frozen yogurt & chips & salsa. 
23. My husband can make me laugh harder than anyone else!
24. I am notoriously loud. My mom once made me get my hearing checked! 
25. Best day of my life was the day I married Ben. I absolutely loved our wedding day & the days leading up to it! 

Spring Break '10

Wedding Day with my beautiful sisters! 

Half Marathon #2 - Can you tell we're best friends? Totally in sync!! 

Ben proposing at my very favorite ice cream parlor, Beth Marie's!!

Best Day EVER!!!

Sweat & Cheese

Sounds appetizing, no? Don't worry these two things were not together, but I did enjoy both tonight.

First, the sweat....

Oh, yes. My basketball team was the Division Champs...3 years in a row! Oh, the Glory Days! 

I think I got some stares as I walked out of the gym tonight. No, I am not full of myself, I mean stares where they were thinking, "that girl needs a shower!" 

I went to Kickbox Cardio tonight for the first time here. I've been once while I was at Baylor and once when I lived in San Antonio, but this was a first in Highland Village. I could tell the instructor was intense when I walked into the class. I was actually really excited when I noticed this. I don't know about you, but I am more motivated to participate in the class and really push myself when the instructor is in great shape. It's pretty hard for me to get excited about a class or think it's going to work when the instructor isn't in the best shape. Is that bad? 

Back on track....this class was HARD!!!! The only time I've ever thought I might have to quit a class was my first time in a Spin class, but I thought I might have to stop more than once tonight. I was dripping sweat all over the place! I was one of those people that I'm sure everyone was avoiding in the class. I even caught myself spitting sweat when I was breathing hard....SICK! I will definitely be going back. 

Now for the cheese....

See that cheese coming out of the middle? 

I'm determined not to go to the grocery store until April 1st, so I've been improvising the past couple of days. We have tons of leftovers in the fridge, so I put my hatred of leftovers to the side and partook. They were just missing a little something on the side, so I made Whole Wheat Cheddar Crackers. These are DELICIOUS!! 

I found a couple of recipes, but they all required chilling the dough and with the night approaching 8:00, I just did not have time for chilling. Here is the recipe I used:

Whole Wheat Cheddar Crackers 

• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I only had about 1/3 cup so I also used mozzarella) 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the butter into pieces. Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and grind until it forms dough. Then, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out until 1/4 inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut into squares and place in the oven for about 12 minutes or until they are the texture you desire. Let cool for 2 minutes and enjoy. 

These were the perfect addition to my meal and I can't wait to enjoy the rest this week. The rest meaning what you see in the picture....I ate the other half before the picture was taken. What can I say? Kickbox cardio made me work up one heck of an appetite! 

Unfathomable Love

On March 4th, my oldest sister, Katie, had her second little girl, Charlotte. Now I have two nieces and couldn't me a prouder aunt! 

Charlotte  03.04.11 & Annie 01.23.09

Ben was invited to the MAVS game on Thursday, so I decided it was the perfect opportunity for me to visit these sweet little girls! I could not wait for the work day to be over so I could go play. The moment I walked in the door I was blown away by how adorable they are! Agree??

I immediately headed out the back door to blow bubbles, play soccer, "mow the lawn," play hide-and-seek and play on Annie's playground. I cannot tell you the number of times I caught myself throwing my head back and laughing or standing in amazement at some of the things she said. Annie is definitely her mother's daughter. She could seriously talk your ear off and I love it!! 

After eating some yummy homemade chili, I finally got to hold Charlotte. It's hard for me to give up play time with Annie when she is so fun and so excited to play, but she was still finishing up her dinner. Ohmygoodness, how can you love someone so much that has only been on this earth for 3 weeks?!?! It is just absolutely incredible to me! Every little noise she makes just melts your heart.

I didn't get to hold her long, but every second was fabulous! I had to give her up when Annie kept coming over and asking, "Nalie, want to play play doh?" I mean how can you say no?! After playing for a little while, we headed upstairs before bath time to play soccer. I wish I would have videoed us playing. David, Annie's dad, and I mainly played keep away and Annie thought it was hilarious. The best part was when she put her soccer ball in her Easter basket and I said, "Oh my, Annie, that is one big Easter egg!" and afterwards she could not stop running around the room yelling "That's a big egg!" and falling all over the place! She was cracking herself up and I haven't laughed that hard in forever! 

Anyway, after my night spent with the most adorable nieces in the whole world, I left their house thinking, "how can you love someone that much?" It is such an unfathomable love. One that you know you would do absolutely anything for them and protect them in any way you possibly could. I began being amazed by love when Ben and I were dating and even more when we got married. I started to understand God's love and was able to begin accepting it and giving it. Loving my nieces has built on that love. It's something you just can't explain and I am so thankful for it. I will soak up every second that I get with these two cuties!! 

Katie & her sweet girls