H-town

Derek was gone last week and so we decided to take a trip to Houston to see my parents over the weekend.  We had a fun time hanging out together.

Here is a picture of my parents house.  its also the house I grew up in.  They have lived there for 33 years.

Here is a picture of my elementary school

 Teddy and B went to Hobby Lobby and got some model airplanes to make. Teddy loves making airplanes.  They also had boys lunch at sonic.  They spent sometime making the airplane.  b learned all about the parts on a plane.  They had a good time together.

While the boys were having their time, the girls went to MudPie Pottery and after much deliberation,  Brooklyn  settled on a puppy dog to paint.  She had a fun time. After painting, we went to lunch at La Madeline. 

  We had a fun time in Houston and are looking forward to going again.

Picking favorites

In our working with the youth, we often play games where you share about yourself or answer questions about yourself.  I am not good at these.  I don't really have just one favorite and I am not quick with responses.  So, I thought I'd make myself  limit my response to one thing.  Here goes...

song(currently): You Are The Best Thing, Ray Lamontagne
food: pizza
movie: 50 First Dates
candy: Skittles
book: Gone With the Wind
place to visit in US: California wine country
restaurant: Home Slice
jeans: Joe's
store: Marshall's
snack: pretzels
drink: water
color:pink
flower:peonies

Pallet Party

We finally cleared out all of our extra boxes in the guest room that have been there since we moved in and made it into a play room of sorts.  The kids have been enjoying playing in there.  They spent both nights of the weekend having a pallet party watching movies and laughing till all hours. Fun memories for them.

Some kitchen faves

I recently shared my favorite running shoes-(Asics 2100 series) and thought I'd share a few of my other favorites.  Here they are:

Cast iron skillet:

Until recently I hardly every used my cast iron skillet.  I have been using it all the time for main dishes, sides, and even a dessert.  I love it and wonder why it took me so long to use it so often.

Dutch oven

Last year I got 2 dutch ovens.  I tend to prefer the enamel coated one over the cast iron, but use them both frequently. I really like using them for cooking, especially this time of year when I make lots of soups and stews.

Rubber Spatulas

I use my rubber spatulas almost everytime I cook.  They are great for getting as much as you can out of a bowl or can.

Pyrex Measuring Bowls

I got these as a wedding present and use them often.  I use them from whisking a variety of things, like eggs.  And I use them to measure any liquid ingredients.  they also work well for heating up my coffee.

Mixing Bowls

I got these bowls at the Crate & Barrel Outlet.  I love them.  They are so handy, easy to clean and not breakable since they are melamine.  Since I have many sizes, I use one of them almost everyday!

Dish Towels

My favorite dishtowels are from Crate & Barrel.  They are great for drying my hand, drying the dishes, cleaning the kitchen after I have made a mess.  Very handy- and cheap! 

Aprons

I have a variety of aprons.  They come in very handy as I'm quite the messy cook.  I prefer the ones that tie around my neck because they keep me cleaner, but use my waist ones as well.

I'd love to hear what some of your kitchen faves are!

recipes from the Pioneer Woman

Like most people I know and many more out there in Blogland, I LOVE the Pioneer Woman. My sis in law gave me her cookbook a few years ago and it quickly became one of my favorites.  I also enjoy looking on her site and finding recipes to try too. I like to have pictures of what the food is supposed to look like, and she has pics of every step. I thought I'd share some of my faves(and my family's too).

Breakfast:
Cinnamon rolls-the icing makes these the best!
French Puffs-dessert for breakfast
Breakfast Bowls- mix eggs and 1/2 and 1/2 and then add any additions you'd like.  Put them in ramekins and bake-easy and customized

Appetizers:
Jalapeño Poppers- a fave for everyone

Lunch/Dinner:
Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich- Derek keeps going on and on about this one
Simple, Perfect Enchiladas- I love these- just the right combo
Penne Alla Betsy-easy weeknight supper

Dessert:
Mocha Brownies- the coffee makes these a little extra

What are your faves from The Pioneer Woman?

It is Well With My Soul!

1. This is one of my favorite hymns.  And it is on my mind today as the life of Lee Walker is celebrated and remembered. Jesus truly is the prince of peace and healer of all of our hurts.
2. 
   
3. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll;
   Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.
   • It is well, with my soul,
     It is well, it is well, with my soul.
4. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
   My sin, not in part but the whole,
   Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
5. It is well, with my soul,
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.
6. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
7. It is well, with my soul,
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.
8. And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
   The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
   The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
   Even so, it is well with my soul.
9. It is well, with my soul,
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Thinking of and praying for our sweet friends, David and Julie Walker, and their family at the loss of David's dad, Lee. What a comfort to know he is free of pain in in heaven with our Savior. We love you guys!!

Family pics

Our friend, Kara, took some pictures of us in December.  We used a few of them for our Christmas card, but I loved so many of them it was hard to choose.  She did a great job and made picture taking a good experience, rather than painful.  Thank, Kara!  Here are some, well alot, of my faves!

s!

s.

My favorite shoes...

Running shoes that is.

I'd say I have a favorite running shoe.  I currently have 4 versions of the same shoe in my closet-Asics 2100 series,2130,2140,2150, 2160.  I only use one to run in, but don't like to get rid of my old ones. And,let me tell you- these shoes feel great when I run!

New Orleans New Years

We all headed to Houston to celebrate Christmas with the Reaves.  It was fun to all hang out and be together for a bit. Then Derek and I left the kids with his parents and headed to New Orleans.  It was a fun road trip.  We enjoyed talking and laughing during the 5+ hour trip.  It reminded me of our college roadtrips together.

Soon after we crossed over into Louisiana we stopped for some cajun food.  Yummy!  Lots of our time this trip revolved around food. New Orleans is a unique place and we enjoyed exploring the French Quarter, Uptown and the Garden District.

Driving into New Orleans- superdome in the background

Our hotel, The Columns
Quaint hotel, with a very happening bar in the evenings

At the bar before dinner.  

Dinner.  I had some J sparking wine, my fave!

Dinner at Galatoire's- fabulous.  The fried oysters were great!

D out on Bourbon Street after dinner

Listening to some tunes

A kiss for my honey at the carousel Bar- it spins around, pretty cool

On New Years eve, we slept in and then ate breakfast at our hotel.  We went to Lafayette Cemetery and saw  lots of crypts.  The tombstones dated back all the way to the mid 1800's.  It was a little eerie, but neat to see so many family members all buried together. Its one way to make sure your grave gets visited.

 We wandered around the French Quarter. It it is a very unique place. We walked along Bourbon Street and Royal Street.  A little different in the day, but not too much.

We saw several street performers.  They were pretty good!

We walked along the banks of the Mississippi River

D on the banks for the Mississippi

The Mississippi

Boat on the Mississippi- looks a little spooky with the fog

We ate poboys for lunch at Johnny's.  We had to wait in line a while, but they were so good.  I got shrimp and D got roast beef.

Jackson Square.  Behind is the the church the Pope visited and is the oldest continuously active Catholic church in the US.

We ate yummy beignets and  had coffee/cafe au laits at Cafe Dumonde. Very good!  I spilt my drink all over me trying to take a pic of D.  It was very hot!  But, at least I got another drink out of it!!

We had a drink on the porch of our hotel before heading out to Dinner on New Years Eve.

Dinner at Jacques-Imos.  All I can say is awesome!!!

We ran into a work buddy of Derek's on Bourbon Street and he hung out  with us for a bit and took us his to fave bars.

We had fun ringing in the new year in NOLA.  It is a fun, crazy place.

We slept in on New Year's Day and then got ready and went to breakfast.  We ate at Slim Goodie's and it was delish!  Worth the wait.  We left town around 1 and headed back to Htown to get the kids.  We were excited to see them. We had a great little getaway.