Good Things in 2012 - March

March 1 - Milkshake date with my hubby!  After ED2, we had to do a taste test on the chili for tomorrow's cook-off.  It was fun to enjoy a bowl of chili while we watched TV at 10:30 pm!
March 2 - I left work sick and came home about 2 hours early.  That wasn't good, but my three-hour nap when I got home was great!  It didn't keep me from going to sleep at bed time.  Also, guess who won first place a the office chili cook-off today?  I'll give you one hint, it wasn't me...

March 3 - Lorax breakfast at IHOP!

March 4 - I got to read in the hammock this afternoon and enjoy the beautiful weather!
March 5 - Tonight, I got home in time to take a nice walk with Michael before it got dark.  It is so nice to leave work before it's dark!
March 6 - I finally got to talk to Julia after trading...oh about 15 voicemails and texts/emails to set up a phone date.  She got engaged Friday night, and I couldn't be happier for her.  I love you girl!
March 7 - On the way home from Foundation Group, Michael and I quoted to each other all the passages we have memorized so far in Equipped Disciple.  It is 14 separate passages (18 verses in total).  Michael also quoted some of his "bonus" memory verses to me and did great (another 5 or 6 verses).  It is such a blessing to have a spouse to memorize Scripture with!  I love seeing the passion that Michael has to read his Bible and memorize Scripture, and it definitely encourages me to do that same!
March 8 - Lots of rain today!
March 9 - Tim taught us how to play Hand and Foot Canasta tonight.  So fun!
March 10 - Lazy, lazy rainy day!
March 11 - Today marks the completion of one month of reading my Bible and journaling every single day!
March 12 - Dinner with Jenni at one of my favorite restaurants (Cheddar's!).  I miss getting to see her every day, but really enjoy getting to catch up with her.  Love you Jenni!
March 13 - Volleyball playoff tournament.  We had the first seed in the tournament bracket, but we lost the semi-final game.  This has been a really fun season!
March 14 - Dinner with good friends at Casa Cha Cha.  How is it that I can't even remember the last time I ate Tex Mex before tonight?  It was delicious!
March 15 - Date at the Mavs' game!
March 16 - Tonight, we had dinner at Landon and Jill's house.  It was great to catch up with old friends, and dinner was delicious!  Lucy is so smart, and she will make a great big sister next month when her little sister makes her debut.
March 17 - Great day...we had fun with Mom and Dad in Salado, it was great to celebrate with Jen and Rashaun, and I got to see other family that I haven't seen in a long time!
March 18 - Schoepf's BBQ for lunch, and Canasta with friends at home tonight!
March 19 - Michael accepted a new job today!  He has loved working with the people at UTSW, but he is excited about the challenges that the new job will bring.
March 20 - We had spaghetti for dinner tonight, and we made a salad to go with it, using lettuce picked from our garden.  Nice!  As Stephanie would say, we are "livin' off the land!"
March 21 - Burger King date with Michael to discuss plans for a bigger garden.  :o)
March 22 - I got a big project at work completed today, which means I will be able to take tomorrow off!  I'll have some work to do at home, but it will still be nice not to have to get up early and go to work.
March 23 - We had fun playing with Avery and Allie today!
March 24 - Michael started building a raised bed garden yesterday, and he was able to finish it today so that we could get everything planted.
March 25 - This afternoon, I planted a barrel of strawberries and planted some herbs around the edge of Michael's garden.  It was a gorgeous day to be outside!
March 26 - Michael had the day off, and it was nice to come home after he'd had such a productive day out in the yard and getting odd jobs done around the house.  Thanks for working so hard today, Babe!  We also picked our first two strawberries tonight!!!  They were a little sour, but tasty at the same time.
March 27 - After having more A/C problems, we finally had a cool house tonight.  You don't realize how much you take the A/C for granted until it isn't working!
March 28 - Freebird's!  Delicious every time!
March 29 - When we got home from Bible study tonight, we were excited to see that we have bean sprouts!  They came up much sooner than we expected.  Woo Hoo!!!

March 30 - Today was Michael's last day of work at UTSW medical center.  It was a great job, but he is looking forward to the challenges that he will get at Brandt Engineering.
March 31 - Today was a slow-paced but productive day at home.  I love Saturdays like this!

Raised Bed Garden

Ever since planting a small garden a few weeks ago, Michael has been wanting to build a raised bed garden in the back yard.  On Friday, he got started on the work of clearing a spot and laying the perimeter.

Yesterday morning, Michael got the rest of the needed supplies and worked to finish building it.  Tim came over and helped him mix the dirt and fill it up.  I'm glad Tim was able to come help.  That made it easier on me!

I did help some.  :o)   I also spotted this pretty little friend on the back patio.

It was finally time to plant!

Michael was really excited about planting the pumpkin!

We were able to get just about everything planted yesterday afternoon - Pumpkin, Squash, Zucchini, Okra, Beans, Bell Peppers, and Tomatoes.

This afternoon, I planted a barrel of strawberries and planted some herbs and carrots around the perimeter of the garden.

A little water to get it started...

Finished project!  Let's hope everything grows!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving – March (Salsa)

During dinner tonight, the doorbell rang, and Michael received his 10th shipment from the birthday gift that keeps on giving.  This was the first time we've been home when the shipment arrived...exciting!  Avery and Allie are at our house tonight.  They didn't seem very interested in the doorbell ringing or wanting to know what was in the box.  However, Michael and I were excited to see what kind of salsa was in there!

As soon as the girls were in bed (which was a much quicker and simpler process than what we had anticipated), we broke out the chips and salsa.  The salsa is delicious!  Michael likes the Garlic and Key Lime Salsa better, and I love the Chipotle Salsa.  I can't believe there are only two shipments left!

Ten down, two to go!

June – Hot Sauce ü
July – Ice Cream ü
August – Beer ü
September – Sirloin ü
October – Pizza ü
November – Peanut Butter & Jelly ü
December – Coffee ü
January – Jerky ü
February – Tea ü
March – Salsa ü
April – Lobster
May – BBQ Sauce

Avery and Allie

Avery and Allie came over this afternoon to hang out and spend the night with us while Mommy and Daddy had fun with their friends.  We had fun playing in the back yard this afternoon!

Avery brought over her tee-ball set that we got her for Christmas.  I think she had more fun chasing the ball than hitting it, but we were okay with letting her run around and wear herself out!  :o)

She did hit a few balls and did great!

Amazingly, I think this may have been her best hit!

Allie hit a few balls but was mostly excited to set the ball on the tee and have it stay put.  She was very excited the first time she realized her success!

After dinner, we went for a walk around the block.  We "borrowed" the Avances' dogs so that the girls could walk them.  They enjoyed that.

After we dropped the dogs back off at home, Avery and I found lots of "helicopter" leaves on the way home.  She had fun playing with those and packed up a bag of them to take home.  Hopefully they aren't a bunch of crunched up leaves by the time she unpacks them!

Jen and Rashaun's Wedding

The reason for our trip to Salado was that my cousin Jennifer was getting married at The Inn at Salado.  Last night, we jumped in the car for the 2-minute drive to the inn.

The ceremony was outside under a gorgeous tree.  It was a little windy, but an otherwise perfect evening.

The reception was great.  All the decorations were so pretty, and the food was wonderful!

Entrance and First Dance

Bride's Father Daughter Dance and Mother Son Dance

Groom's Dance

"Bouquet" and Garter Toss (Look at those shoes and bling in the second picture!)

Jen and Rashaun seemed to have a lot of fun, and all the guests enjoyed it as well.

In addition to the green decor, there were a few less subtle hints that they got married on St. Patrick's Day!

It was great to be there to celebrate with the happy couple, and it was wonderful to see family that we haven't seen in a long time.  I'm so glad we were able to be there.  We had a lot of fun at the wedding, and everything was beautiful!



Somehow, I didn't get any pictures of my my aunt and uncle (other than when he danced with my cousin) or of my other cousins that were there.  It had been a long time since we'd seen them.  It was so good to see them all and meet some of their children for the first time.  I'm glad we were able to be there!

Salado

Yesterday morning, Michael and I headed down to Salado with Mom and Dad for my cousin's wedding.  We stayed at the Stagecoach Inn, which was built in 1860.  It was a really neat hotel.  I loved all the historic aspects of a hotel that old that was originally built along the Chisholm Trail.  Very neat!

We had several people tell us that the food at the Stagecoach Inn was really good, so we ate lunch in their yummy dining room.  We were not disappointed!  The food was fantastic, and there was lots of it!

After lunch, we walked down Main Street.  We wished that it would have worked out for us to see a show at the Silver Spur Theater.  This theater built at an old feed store was so cute!

We enjoyed window shopping and walking through some of the novelty and antique shops.  We also enjoyed some delicious homemade fudge!