French

I am learning to enjoy my life. I have been concentrating on enjoying the moment for a while now, and on enjoying the love that Andy and I share.
There is a quote from the new MuteMath album, Armistice that stopped me cold in my tracks. It was something to the effect of, "love disregarded..." The message being, that every display of love needs to be nurtured and appreciated, for it is just one unaccepted display of affection that can send a couple down a very long fall.

Andy and I went to Barnes and Nobles yesterday, after a delicious dinner at Moe's. I got the personal trainer salad, which was good, although I wish they would have had something other than iceberg lettuce. At B&N I started reading French Women For All Seasons. It taught me to really appreciate where I am in life and to learn to find pleasure in the everyday things. Things like taking a shower, for instance. This afternoon I had the most enjoyable shower I have had in a long time.

Take 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar (I used apple cider) and apply to the scalp after cleansing but before moisturizing (conditioning). I lit a pomegranate candle and, oh! It was so nice! :)


I'm going to try some of these recipes. Andy and I talked about it and he's going to go through some of the recipes on the website and compile a menu he would like to try, and then I'm going to make them! :) It will be so much fun.
I have been feeling so badly lately, Andy and I have been sick all week with a really, really bad cold. We're still getting over it. Plus, we kind of ran out of food. :( Andy will get paid at midnight Monday morning so we're at the end of it, but all of this cruddiness was really making me feel down!

Thank God for the French.

Or not French... but those who take the time to taste. Those with a discernment for the finer things in life. It is these things that give us pause, that make us sigh. It is these things that make life worth living.

Yard Sales

The past couple of weekends Andy and I have been yard sale shopping. The first weekend, we snagged a beautiful baby bassinet for $20. It's open faced, solid wood and painted white. I can't wait to get the right bedding for it!
Speaking of which, I finally got around to registering at Target... It took forever and Charleston got the biggest thunderstorm while I was in there! It was very tiring but I did it... Hopefully Andy and I will get to register at Babies R Us tomorrow like we planned.

On that first weekend we also got a beautiful cherry wood desk on which I am blogging now. It came with a matching wood and leather swivel desk chair - $30 for both pieces!

This past weekend we found a surround system for $20. Now, I'm not usually the type of person to purchase electronics at garage sales... but Andy was intent on getting it, and who was I to say no for $20? So we tried it, and it worked! The boys were playing Halo on it and Emma started kicking it was so loud. It's very nice and now we have surround sound!

I also dragged him to a flea market. I literally had to drag him... I've been wanting to do this for a couple of weekends now. Boy, was he glad we did! The fairgrounds hosts a flea market every weekend, and let me tell you... This place never ended...
We were in dire need of art for the house, so we snagged 2 framed paintings for $25 each. One is a beautiful picture of a pair of magnolia flowers in a gold frame. The other is a lighthouse painting. I also decorated the bathroom for $18... Two framed boutiquey rose paintings and the lady through in a cute pot of fake, bunched roses.
Oh yeah, and the first weekend we got wall art for $20... One framed accent vertical piece that says 'Bistro' on it, and three small oil paintings of grapes for the kitchen. Que Magnifique!

Next things we need are bookshelves and dressers... It's hard to find nice, good quality ones of each. Craigslist is a good place to look. You just have to be very selective and have something in mind before you go shopping. Good luck!!!!

Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole

I just made this tonight and it was so good that I thought I'd pass it along!

1 (6 oz.) package long-grain and wild rice
1/4 cup margarine
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 dash pepper
1 cup half and half
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups cubed, COOKED chicken
1/3 cup chopped parsley

Keep in mind that the chicken and rice have to be PREPARED before making this dish... The polite makers didn't let me in on that little tidbit.
Also, preheat the oven to 425. They seemed to leave that out as well. :)

Prepare contents of rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt margarine in large saucepan; add onion and cook over low heat until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in half-and-half and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in chicken, parsley and cooked rice. Place in 2 quart casserole dish and BAKE, uncovered, in 425 degree oven for 30 minutes.


Enjoy! :)

Sula Paint 'n' Peel

I just found a great non-toxic nail polish from Sula. They come in a variety of eye-chatching shades and are water based, so they don't are free from the "Big 3" - Formaldehyde, Toluene and Phthalates. That means it doesn't smell! With a baby on the way I have been looking for just this type of product. Even when I was getting my nails done for the wedding I felt guilty, smelling in all those icky toxins. Who knows what that is doing to me and my baby? And there is a reason those nail technicians wear face masks, let me tell you... Find out more at sulabeauty.com

And while we're on the topic of great beauty products, [well, while I'm still reading the website :)] I learned more about Sula. Turns out, they started as a fragrance line. Check out their delicious list of fragrances! Oooh, I think I would like "Sun-kissed Citrus) best, although there really is no way to tell over the internet, is there? They should have come out with those scratch-n-sniff screen already, my god.

More pictures...

Ok, so these are the actual, raw pictures from the wedding. There's a lot more than was shown in the album preview, so take a look at it and tell me what you think. :)

You can also order prints if you know my maiden name! muawhahaha

Wedding Pictures

The wedding pictures are up!

Sorry to all of you who could not make it. Considering the circumstances, we were very happy with the 30 some-odd people who were able to make the great treck to South Carolina for our little wedding. We wish you all could have been there, though, and, who knows? When this Navy business is over maybe we'll round everyone up and go to Las Vegas and renew our vows...

Click the link to go to the Richard Bell Photography blog. :)

Disneyworld!

Going to the Farmer's Market today in Mt. Pleasant. It's just one of two in the area, but it only happens once a week. I'd like to go by myself today to kind of scope it out, and, who knows, maybe bring someone along next week. Although I think that I'd be much happier just going alone, so that I can savor the sights and colors and make my own conclusions.

So, we're back in South Carolina... We went to Disneyworld this weekend for the 4th of July. This has been the second weekend in a row that we (Andy, I, Nick, Tim, Mom, Shawn and Tim) have driven down to FL. It's hard, but a lot easier when you're sleeping. Sleeping road trips are always the best. What's not fun is getting woken up at 1 AM to leave for the damned thing and to then have the driver blaring Black Eyed Peas while you try to reclaim anything of a normal night's rest. I understand the need for the driver to be awake etc. etc. but why couldn't we just have left a little earlier?

Epcot Center was probably my favorite. We went there the first day. They had manitees, dolphins, and a shark (!) at the Finding Nemo ride. The last day (Sunday) we did the Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios. That was fun because you got to shoot virtual projectiles onto the screen for points! Andy and I were neck and neck until the little toss over the aliens, and I plummeted... Anyway, seeing that I had never been on the Buzz Lightyear ride (Which I did, too!!) at Disneyland, this definitely compensated.

Speaking of family trips to amusement parks... do you know how much the average family can save just by taking food into the park? It might not be the most convenient, but I'll show you how you can save lots of money just with a little pre-planning.

Family of 4. At $20 a piece (which is a modest amount for a typical meal at Disneyworld, drinks included), that is $80 per meal. Let's say your hotel gave a continental breakfast (ours didn't, because it was a resort. Watch out for that). So you're set for one meal, but come lunchtime the youngsters are whining about hamburgers and those delicious breadsticks you smell coming from Animal Kingdom. You shell out the cash, everybody's happy. Let's say the same thing happens for dinner. Now, along the way your little munchkins will probably get hungry, thirsty, or hot sometime between there. Let's say you buy everyone a frozen lemonade. At $6.50 each you're up to $166 + tax simply for food which you will never see again this side of the latrine.

Now, let's take that same family and buy them sandwiches. I'm not saying you have to, but Subway is healthy, convenient, and pleases just about everyone in the group. Without buying drinks (you filled your water bottles before entering the park, didn't you?), the bill will be roughly $40 plus tax for a family of four. I usually eat half of my footlong sandwich, then save the rest for later, thus eliminating the need for a midday snack. This leaves dinner. Let's say after all the fireworks and festivities your little troop is still hungry. Claim Jumper anyone?

The point is to spend money where you really need it. I was horrified as we rang up over $40 for a three person meal, for lunch no less, at Animal Kingdom. The portions turned out to be quite large, but were probably not the healthiest option. Another thing to forego-soda. It's might be refreshing, but you are doing your body no good except filling it with sugar or, if it's the diet kind, chemicals. The caffeine even negates any type of "hydration" you are expecting. And at $6 a pop, I'll have water, thank you.