A Simple Win

After perusing Pinterest recently, something I hadn't done in a long time, I decided to try a new recipe someone posted for Crockpot Lasagna Soup. This is what it looked like right before serving it: 

As toppings, I added a dollop of cottage cheese and some shredded mozzarella cheese. Matt just went for the mozzarella. 

It was very good. I made a couple of simple adjustments to the recipe, so I've added those to my copy for next time.

One of the best parts was how easy it was to make!

Christmas Treasures, Part 4

In my haste to get caught up after a long absence from the blog, I overlooked that I hadn't told you about another of my newest Christmas treasures.

Our first Christmas after being married, was the first year in a long while that I missed spending a day with my friend Beth and her family at Christmastime. Even though we both lived "in Memphis" the years prior, she actually lives in North MS and I lived in the next county outside of Memphis towards the Northeast. The drive is about an hour without traffic delays, so with the nature of our lives we'd see one another a few times a year. Christmas was always one of them. 

Since we went to Louisiana to be with family for Christmas that first year of marriage, we didn't make it into Memphis. I learned later that we both had Christmas gifts for one another, as usual, but had no reasonable way to make the exchange.

Beth saved my gift and gave it to me this year, in 2012. It was so good to be in town again at Christmas so I could visit with them once again.

This was my gift: 

Beth saw an ornament on Pinterest that was filled with the strips of a wedding invitation. Then she made me one using our invitation. I LOVE it!

How thoughtful, creative and unique.

When I showed it to Matt, he looked at it for a second and then began shaking it. I looked at him petulantly wondering what he was doing. His comment? All I want to know is: where is my name?! Haha! The way the invitation was shredded my name was visible, but not his. He was shaking that baby like a crazy 8 ball, as if he was hoping to see his good fortune!

No worries, it survived. And now I have one more Christmas treasure to enjoy.

Good Sport

On our cruise, it seemed they had a new photo op ready every time we turned around. It was nice to have options and we enjoyed purchasing a few photos, but some things seemed a bit over the top for posing with adults for pictures.

This smile o' mine was hard to come by at dinner one evening...see the clinched teeth.

I must admit, Matt is a much better sport about some things than I am. 

Yes, I admit it. I do love this picture of Matt. It reveals his personality and that makes this a winner in my book.

So, thank you, Matey. Argh!

Date Night

For a couple of practical reasons, Matt and I didn't celebrate Valentine's Day until the weekend after. We'd talked about keeping it simple and going out for a nice meal. I reminded him we hadn't been to the hibachi restaurant near our house where he took me to celebrate my first married birthday. That was almost a year and a half ago.

My birthday in 2011.

He was all for it.

We ventured out only to discover the restaurant had moved. Fortunately, it hadn't moved far. They simply ran out of room and moved to a larger place a little farther down the road, but still near our home.

When we got there, the place was hopping. People were everywhere, but still, the wait was only about 20-30 minutes. That's nearly a miracle for a restaurant in these parts on a weekend night. We played a little while we waited.

Matt zapping me with the tazer. 

I recovered quickly.

The new place was really nice. The service wonderful. The food phenomenal. Matt and I both had steak, shrimp and scallops. YUM! 

I have to admit, I studied what the chef did hoping I might one day replicate it. It was good!

When we go out to eat, that's the kind of special place I'd like to go once in a while. A place where the food is so good it may not be reproducible. 

It was a fun Valentine's date night!

The Initiation

Over all of the years, in all of the times I've changed little boys' diapers, this was my first time to be squirted. According to his mom, who I spoke with later about the event, it wasn't even a normal time to be at risk for this. Hmm.

I was changing his diaper, probably moving a little too slowly as I cleaned his backside, and the next thing I knew something was spraying upward. Ha! Even though I was unfamiliar with this phenomena personally, I reacted quickly knowing instantly what was happening. :) I managed to block, but the moment passed quickly. For a second, I wondered what all of the hype was about...just a little spritz. I proceeded to finish wiping and he fired up again!

Apparently he was trying not to go on me, but I tested his limits and he couldn't hold back any longer. In my attempt to react, I lowered his legs and redirected the stream unaware. As I looked down, I saw I was in the cross hairs and dodged just in time to avoid a direct hit to the face. Down my left side, on the floor and though I can't remember how, off to my right too. A quick move of a wipe deflected the rest to soak the changing pad. What range and force. The kind of thing that would impress any man :)

In the end, I came out relatively unscathed. The next day, however, I learned from his mom that in the few hours after the incident he managed to hit both his mom and his dad by surprise attack. 

Apparently he has a new pass time. 

I fear the initiation has only begun.