Labor Day Weekend Recap

So I was so excited to have no travel plans for the long weekend. Jay and I were thinking about walking down to check out First Saturday in The Heights and maybe sneaking into Hotel Zaza for some relaxing time by the pool and trying out some new restaurants. Sounds magical doesn't it?

So, what did we ACTUALLY do? After a lovely dinner at Lola's (a neighborhood favorite) I started to feel a bit under the weather. Then, like never. ever. ever. before. been. so. sick. ever. For the next three days I pretty much hung out in the bathroom chugging gatorade trying to decide if I was dying and if so should I go to the Emergency Room. In the end my cheap ways won out as I didn't want to have to pay for ER service just to be told I would live and to be sure and stay hydrated! After emerging from the haze I think I had food poisoning. I don't want to go blaming anybody but lets just say I won't be visiting Potbellies for a while which is a shame because I use to love it.

On Monday after noon Jay was golfing (against my wishes) and I started to feel better and decided I deserved a mani pedi to aid in the healing process. After making the trip I found that they were closed for Labor Day. AWESOME (for them). At this time I texted Jay declaring this the WORST WEEKEND EVER. Little did I know he was busy talking to a woman about this:

You know, for how much time J spends playing golf you would thing he would be better than this. Taking a step into the mind of an addict, his response was, "Well if you would have let me buy that $400 driver I have been asking for, my shot would have been much better and we wouldn't have to deal with this." I wish I was joking, or that he was joking. Sadly, that is not the case.

Considering the woman's Lexus has some sort of fancy shmancy sensor technology  in her windshield bringin the grand total to $460 it will be a long time until he get that new driver, much less steps foot on a golf course.

Can't WAIT to see what this weekend holds!

XOXO,

Kylee

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

You know when your Birthday is coming up and there isn't one thing you can think of that you want? And then you know there are no gift-exchange related life events on the horizon but you have all these things you really want that just can't wait until Halloween Christmas? Well I do. Here is my list:

 1. Long skirt=COMFORT

Express

 2. skinny belts=1 in every color please

J.Crew

3. Chambray shirt = by the expert

 Ralph Lauren

4. Brown Bag=perfect shade

MichaelKors

5. Large Clutch=able to fit more than just lipstick

Wait... Monday is Labor Day. That's totally a gift-exchange related holiday, right? Can't wait to see what I get...

 Ya'll have a good long weekend!

Kylee

Peanut Butter Dip and a Cheese Ball (awesome tasting enough it should count)

Dip and I have a love hate relationship. I know hate and dip what? I just don't love anything too chunky or little green things in my food. Time and again I get to a party, have a big old dollop of dip on my plate and quietly work around the things in said dip I am unsure of. Then I get the comments and side eye from "friends". To them I say back off and try side dishes of the non little green things variety for once because I'm exhausted.


 
PEANUT BUTTER DIP
Blend 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 1 8 oz package of cream cheese together. You can add milk until desired creaminess.
Dipping with granny smith apples allows you to place this in the health food category for sure. 
 
This recipe is simple and got me through many a week while working at Pinecove Christian Camps in good ole Tyler, Texas.  Weekly bible study and my leaders peanut butter dip was my sanity. Not that being in charge of 8-10 8th grade girls non stop for 6 weeks straight would do that to a person . Or teaching sand volleyball from 1-4 in the afternoon. In the SUMMER. In EAST TEXAS.(Side note: if the children can still walk under the net, they will not be able to get the ball over the net.EVER). However, all of this helped me get to my lowest weight EVER. See, peanut butter dip=diet food.
 
CHEESE BALL (counts as dip because its awesome)
2pkg cream cheese
1pkg ranch seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 cup chopped pecans

*Let cream cheese soften then mix all ingredients together except pecans.
*Use wax paper to form into ball. Cover ball in pecans.
*Serve with chips, melba toast or whatever your heart desires!

Another simple recipe found via a bible study. Hallelujah, Amen.

In closing, it is imperative that you serve all items a side of guns....





Guns up for those Red Raiders that is!
 
 
Thanks and Wreck em',
 
The Daniels

Vacation Recap: We Survived Stingray City

First I would like to clarify that I know the difference between steel and steal despite what my last post might have you thinking. I may suck at spelling but gosh darn it i no my homonyms....
Moving on.

Two weeks has already passed since our last vacation. I thought I would share a few pictures from our adventures. We went to Grand Cayman with J's dad and step-mom. Now I had already experienced swimming with the Sting Rays during a cruise stop in college pre Steve Irwin tragedy. I wanted to do it again this trip but did find it a bit more frightening. Jay on the other hand found it TERRIFYING. Jay is many things but a risk taker, not so much. Exhibit A

Our honeymoon:

Seriously, the little girl didn't even speak English. She spent the rest of the trip sticking twigs in Jay's ears cracking up every time because he. would. freak. out. like it was a snake slithering into his ear canal to suck his brains out.

Me, no prob.

Back to Grand Cayman. Jay decided he would pay the $50 to ride on the boat and watch the rest of us with the stingrays. Once everyone on the boat (including 8 children ranging from ages three to seven) held the sting ray I look over and see Jay sticking his toe in the water to check it out! And then...... 

Doesn't he look like he is having a blast! Ah, memories.

Clearly I have been in a blogging slump. I don't know if it is so much of a slump because that would suggest there was a high point. And after reviewing my posts littered with run on sentences (like this one), incorrect punctuation and lame jokes, that is debatable.

Let's just call this blog a pathetic attempt at chronicling my life for others to see when I knew from the beginning I didn't have a way to upload pictures. Who reads a blog without pictures? NOT ME. This is when I began googling and finding random crap to post in lieu of pictures. It all went down hill from there. (Wait a sec, see there, high point)

Anyways, I am fully aware that pictures are not the only thing holding me back from blogging greatness but here I am to give it another try anyways. I am hoping I can blog on the ipad because our laptops are dead but last time I checked it couldn't be done on the ipad (serious side eye to my husband who claimed the ipad can do it all and more! psh please.)

I think one problem is I was trying to hard. Its like every post had to be re edited and re worked a thousand times. Obviously not for correct spelling. Anyways, I have like 5 posts half written and saved and I just got tired of writing so what made me think people wouldn't get tired of reading I'm not quite sure. After noticing most blogs just talk the basics, I am going to give that a try. So let me start with a breakdown of our weekend...

We went to San Antonio with our neighbors Joe and Lisa to stay and my in-laws. Lisa and I braved the outlet malls ON THE SATURDAY OF TAX FREE WEEKEND. Seriously people. I am so glad that Lisa had never experienced a Texas tax free weekend cause I don't think we would have gone because of the scars that can leave on a woman. However, we had great success and it wasn't even that busy until 1:00 when we were leaving. We bought way too many wonderful things but the purchase that made it all worthwhile?

(still trying to convince Jay $99.99 and no tax is a steel for these things. I mean it is right ladies?! thats over 1/2 off of something that just doesn't really go on sale! We were shocked!)

We then wound down with lounging at the pool and having drinks with the boys when they returned from golfing. As always Jay's mom cooked amazing food and then we played a hilarious and very informative game of trivial pursuit (which the Daniel's won-holla). My favorite new tidbit: Clowder=a group of cats. Who knew? Not even the crazy cat couple.

Last night J and I got wild and crazy by having a weeknight date! Ah the days of Thursday being the same thing as Friday and champagne Sat twice a week (*wink to ash black).  I just finished the book The Help and LOVED it...maybe even more than I LOVE Emma Stone herself. So J is took me to dinner and a movie. Awe so sweet of him, he loooves me sooo much. WHATEVER, I had to let him buy a $200 golf club first. My expert review? Book is way better. I thought too many key things were changed or left out. But it was still a good movie. I have decided I don't really like reading books then seeing the movie because the whole time I am comparing.

Well there you go, my first post back! Hopefully it won't be 10 months until I post again....

A few light hearted things and a few things on my heart...

1. We went and ate at a new place called Jus' Mac a week ago. It only serves mac n cheese and was so good. Yesterday for lunch I had some leftovers. I like to think I have an iron stomach and I hate when things go to waste (have I mentioned before I am cheap) so I figured almost a week old is no big deal....well....I found out this morning....all morning....it is. And my office could not be further from the bathroom and I was late for an early morning meeting cause as I was walking out the door to the apartment and thought, hu, my stomach kinda hurts.....20 min later I left the apartment. But how exactly do I explain to my boss I was late cause jus' mac and I ran 4 miles this morning and bad things happened and oh excuse me for a second, I will be right back....do you mind if I work in the cubical at the end of the hall next to the bathroom today? So for lunch today I will be going home and throwing the rest of it away. Probably along with the chicken fettuccine from Sunday and the Fajita meat from Saturday.... clearly we have an over ordering problem and the side effects are brutal. Sorry, TMI I know. Please keep reading, it gets much better, and not gross.



2. Tonight we are having a Thanksgiving Dinner Party. Jay made 4 pumpkin pies last night while I did the Turkey and Dressing. and by 'did' I mean ordered from Honey Baked Ham.



3. I get to see my whole family this weekend! My cousin, is getting married and I am super excited to have another girl in the family as most all my cousins are boys. It just so happens she is also one of the sweetest and cutest girls ever. Perfect for my cousin!



4. I got a new dress ($60 from White House Black Market on major sale cause I'm awesome) and Jay got a new suit (definitely not $60) for the occasion and he looks so nice and skinny too !! He continues to lift paper clips weekly and cut back on food intake and looses 10lbs/week. I continue to run 4 miles a day, eat salad only and loose 1 lb/quarter. JK, kinda.



5. Thanksgiving is in a week!!! I am sooooooooooo excited to go to the Ranch as it has been over a year since we have been (very unusual) but when you move to Houston and the ranch is 2 hrs NORTH of Amarillo, and you must use car, plane, another car horse and buggy to get there (or drive 13 hrs AND STILL BE IN TX) it makes it hard. I just hope that this time someone takes the gun away from the crazy uncle that's had a few too many after dinner. But if not I might end up on dateline special. The Day After Thanksgiving: A Texas Mystery. So that would be cool.



5. Christmas shopping, seeing the Nutcracker, Sunday School Christmas Party, Office Christmas Party, Christmas Light Driving with Hot Chocolate, Apartment present wrapping party, cutting down a Christmas Tree, and of course CHRISTMAS MUSIC is all around the corner. (although my mom has been playing Christmas music since I last visited her...for the Tech Baylor Game....)



6. The bible study I go to just finished our book on Ruth last night. I LOVED IT! A few take aways: It has me thinking often about giving 100% when I don't feel like it and that it's ok to pray for 'willingness to be willing' if you are not at that place. It might sound crazy but it really does work! Also, I want the legacy I leave behind to be based on making the choices God wants and not what I think is best, or most economical or what the world would tell me is best.



7. Prayers needed for my sweet friend and old mission trip buddy, Laura McDonald and her beautiful 6 month old baby girl. Laura's husband Johnathan was killed this week while working as a police officer around Post. My heart so hurts for her and I literally have been thinking about her constantly. I just can't imagine what she is going through but I am so thankful that we know where Johnathan is and that God knows what she is going through and will carry her.

5 Things I Learned in Ohio

1. It only takes a few glasses of Bourbon and a roomful of people my husband does not know and will never see again for him to become a crazy dancing machine....ok FOOL. However, you actually will see a bunch of those people the next morning at the free breakfast and they will all think you are their new bff and also look at your husband in pity cause they are sure he has hangover to rival Hiroshima. Little do they know he was not even buzzed the night before nor will you divulge that information because you are not sure what is more embarrassing.

2. If you elect to take the shuttle to and fro a wedding reception and carry a very small clutch, do not let your husband bring your rent car keys. You will have a good time. BUT You will not remember to pick up your keys along with your clutch as you leave. And then next morning you will have to take a taxi back to the reception spot, break in because it is closed and shift through their trash in the dark because their light switches are crazy electronic ones. The chances of you finding them will be slim to none.

3. The cost for a taxi to wait for you to sift through trash is $35. The cost to replace the key to a 2009 Nissan versa is $375. plus towing. And a ‘lost key’ fee. Oh and then you have to take a taxi to the airport. For a grand total of a billion dollars.

4. Jay and I will now be making each others Christmas presents.

I was asking for some new Christmas decor and maybe a nice bracelet.

Nothing says style and holiday spirit like some Marshmallow Snowmen

Or a beautiful Comb Bracelet to dress up any outfit
Jay wants a new set of golf clubs. I'm he will see a real difference in his swing with these.

5. As difficult as it is to find a key in the next days trash of an beautiful wedding reception for hundreds, we are sure would be much more difficult come across two people as wonderful, welcoming of us and as perfect for each other as the bride and groom. OHIO WEDDING TRIP 2010 WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Congrats to Joe and Lisa!!!