Colorado or Bust!

**all photos in this post courtesy of Maria Sims (aunt Maria)

Last month my sister and I took Julianne to Colorado for a visit. Andrew stayed home since he has still not accumulated enough time off to join us on any kind of vacation. Stink...we missed him dearly and I realized how much I need that man! Not only is he a huge help with the baby, but he grounds me and helps me see when things are not a big deal. I tend to overreact and this tendency is something I constantly take to the Lord.

For example, during our stay we were parted with our dear friend Wubbs at the wedding we attended there. You may recall that Wubbs is the pacifier thing Julianne loves to bits and helps her get the best sleep, calms fussiness, and keeps her company in the car seat, therefore critical to our operation. We don't have Wubbs, we don't have sleep, and if we don't have sleep everyone is cranky and the world basically ends. At least that was how I felt in my state of panic. It is a long story but basically he was MIA and even after retracing my steps I could not locate that darn giraffe. So there I was in Denver without our beloved Wubbs who took 3 weeks to arrive when we ordered him 2 months ago. It is not like you can get these things at Walmart or something. They are a specialty item. During the crisis I texted Andrew, "there has been a loss in our family....Wubbs is gone!". He called me laughing and suggested we order a new one. This was an unacceptable solution since I knew it would be 3 weeks until a new one arrived. How could he think this was funny? I hung up shortly after he said, "it will be OK babe" because I just knew there was no way that statement could be true.

Well it turned out he was right after all. Someone picked it up and took it to the reception where my mom was asking everyone she encountered if they had seen the missing giraffe. About an hour into the party she finally asked the right person who saw it at the church and had planned to reunite it with its rightful owner at the reception. I can honestly say I have never been so happy to see a stuffed animal in my life! After we got Wubbs back I felt silly for how worked up I got over the whole thing. I mean it was tragic but Andrew was right to laugh about it. How I wish I could be more like that!

the reunion...

All this to say when Andrew is around I am more like that because he rubs off on me somehow in a beautiful married way that God probably intended by making Andrew my husband. Thank you Lord! However, when he is not around my ugliness in this area shines out a lot more and everyone misses him a lot. I plan on working on this and avoid leaving town without him as much as possible.

Overall it was a ver nice time though and wonderful to be in the cooler climate! Here are some highlights:

 J's first plane ride. She was a champ...just a little fussy on the way up and down and slight meltdown when she was ready for her nap. Most people were really nice and patient with us.

traveling through the airport in the Moby. She loves this thing and I do too! Was the perfect way to tote her and we used the stroller to tote all of our gear. Worked great!

We saw lots of family and friends:

 Uncle Matt Dillon 

 Opa

 Aunt Suzanne and cousin Esther

(Aunt) Rene. We aren't technically related but close enough

We also got to wear our hats and long pants. What a treat in June!

Because of this we spent lots of time outside enjoying the weather!

Nathalie

Ft. Worth Cowtown 10K

Running is a hobby I picked up after college. I really enjoy running. Scratch that...I enjoy the benefits of running: eat what you want, runners high, muscle tone, etc... Over the last few years I have ran 2 marathons, countless 1/2 marathons and pretty much every Saturday. Well that was until I got married anyway. Andrew and I actually share a passion for running. Our fist conversation was on the subject of running and during our engagement we completed the San Francisco Marathon together. I had high hopes of us making the 26.2 mile trek annually and being the "married runner couple". However, here we are 1 1/4 years into marriage and our marathon count? ZERO. The challenge lies in sharing a bed with a man who is great at convincing me on cold mornings (okay any morning at this point...I am weak and unmotivated) to stay there in the warm covers and "run later". Not a problem unless "later" never comes which often times is the case. Despite our digression from our former intensity of running, we still make the occasional venture out around the neighborhood on nice days and weekends. And you know what? I am OK with that! Entering local races is truly the only way we are now held accountable for running, and honestly we were a bit under prepared for this race. It was a tough 6.2 miles, but we finished, burned some calories, ate a huge breakfast and felt proud. Check out the pictures: We left the house at 5:40 AM....one downside of organized running...there is no sleeping in!

Here are my shinny shoes...as you can tell they haven't had as much wear as the should...

Someone wishes we were back under those warm covers....notice the bed head he didn't mind wearing out in public. I love that he is confident even with bed head.

This is our friend John Paul...without him we may not have left those warm covers. Thanks for the accountability John Paul!

The boys...a little happier now that they have had some time to wake up...

I really should put on some makeup before these things....oh well..trying to decide if I should wear my sweatshirt.

A local told us about this place...a greasy spoon that has not changed since the fifties...I had eggs, sausage, biscuits, hash browns, and coffee for less than $5! Check out the refrigerator. It is still functional....

Glad we got out of bed for this race. That is the thing about running....you never regret going once you have finished.

Nathalie

4th of July in February...a "Marley and Me" Moment

Apparently Wesson wanted to throw a surprise 4th of July party for us yesterday, as I came home from work to this (please imagine the dog in the crate...in my haste to examine the mess I did not think of taking a picture):

You might be thinking...don't crates have a plastic tray type thing that separates the dog from the floor for situations such as this? The answer is yes, and we have such an item, the problem was he figured out how to move it out of his crate. You also might be thinking what caused these unfortunate results to my carpet? The Answer: 2 gel pens somehow got within reach of him. One was red, the other blue. Red+Blue+White Dog=Patriotic Dog. I think he sort of looks like one of those rocket ship shaped Popsicles that are red, white and blue...thoughts?

As you can see he was still licking his chops hours post ingestion....he threw up moments after this was taken. I think he felt better...but wasn't sorry in the least.

Here is another view of the marble effect he was able to achieve on his fur....

Another shot...and amazingly I was able to remove the stain. That Oxyclean stuff is amazing! I did have to scrub for 30 mins though. You will also be surprise to know, if you know me at all, that I did not freak out about my lost gel pens, carpet stains, or tri-colored pet. Nope...I busted out laughing as soon as I saw him and am still giggling about it. I suppose owning dogs is teaching me something about patience. I called Andrew and told him we had a "Marley and Me" situation and then explained. He laughed too and it was way more fun than getting upset about it. I hope you are equally as entertained.

Nathalie

Things never to say to your husband....

The other night I was in bed watching Andrew change into his PJs by the closet. He was at the point where he was only wearing his boxers and I noticed they were the tight fitting ones. Trying to encourage and love my husband, I said, "wow babe...looking good! I love those tight undies on you". He looked at me...down at the undies he had chosen for the day and said...."Nope..these aren't them". I insisted..."yes they are...I remember folding them recently...those aren't them?" Andrew...defeated..."NO-PEh...feel like a fatty now though...thanks babe" ...now I was back peddling..."Well you look great babe....I love you...it is kinda dark in here" the damage was done. Luckily I married a man with tough skin and who understands my intention was say something nice! Reflecting on it again we both burst out laughing and he threatened to tell everyone about my comment...guess I beat him to it. I will file this one in "Lessons from Early Marriage...things not to say to your husband"....whoops.

Thanksgiving Cooking Life Lessons

So Andrew's long time friend Wil asked us over to his annual Thanksgiving party last night. Wil makes the turkey and asks other people to bring the side dishes. Andrew told him that we would come and bring the cornbread dressing and a pumpkin pie. Wil said that was great since there were going to be over 25 people there. I was excited to make my mom's cornbread dressing recipe. It starts with homemade from scratch cornbread, bacon cooked until crispy then chopped and added to crumbled cornbread, onions, apples, pecans, celery, and cranberries for some color and sweetness. It is something I grew up loving to make with my mom and loving to eat at the holidays. It brings back all kinds of warm memories and I am trying to perfect it so that one day I can make it as good as she does. It also makes a lot in a batch, so perfect for a large party. I made the dressing last year for the Thanksgiving and it was a wild success.

Since the party was on Sunday night, I got up early Saturday morning and chopped everything, baked the cornbread....Andrew cooked the bacon for me and helped by walking June during the cooking process since she was her usual early morning self and was beginning to get underfoot. The batch turned out great and Andrew thought it was better than the batch I made last year. I let it sit overnight and re-warmed before the party. This made it taste even better as the flavors were able to soak into one another. I even put it in t his lovely dish we got for our wedding and was so proud of the presentation.

So we get to the party and what do I see?! This HUGE aluminum pan full of Stovetop cornbread dressing! It was as big as my batch if not bigger. I could totally tell it was from a box, but still knew it would be in competition with my homemade, from scratch, trying to do it as good as my mom's, dressing. I asked Wil if he knew I was bringing cornbread dressing, and he was like....yeah. Well...I don't think he meant to, but he placed my dressing on the opposite side of the kitchen away from the meat, and the Stovetop directly next to the meat! I think you can guess what happened....NO ONE ate my dressing! I mean me and Andrew did, but that was a small dent into the huge batch I made for the assumable hungry for my dressing 25 people that Wil told me to cook for. It hurt...I was offended and also appalled that these people could eat from a box dressing when there was some on the other side of the kitchen with fresh apples and toasted pecans! Andrew called me out and asked if the situation was bringing out pride in my heart....and I agreed that it was pride. But still....come on people!

We left with our beautiful dish full of dressing, and it made me think about my motives in cooking. Is it to be esteemed the best cook in the room...to earn favor from others? Or do I cook because I enjoy it and out of service to my family and others? I think it is a combination for me honestly. I do love it and enjoy the smells and feelings associated with cooking. However, I do need to check my heart at times and repent for the ugliness that comes out when an expectation is not met. I pray that I could be truly serving others in cooking and that my heart could be pure and content in cooking for the joy of cooking (no pun intended).

I asked my mother-in-law if I could bring my dressing to her Thanksgiving table since there is so much left and it freezes very easily. We will see what she has planned...I hope it will not go to waste:)