Roses Galore

Everywhere I seemed to go this past weekend, there were roses. Unfortunately, the 2 rose bushes in our front yard are not blooming like everyone else's. I guess I need to put some rose food on them.

Friday night Mike came home a bit early, which I was thrilled about! He desperately needed to go to the driving range since he was playing in a tournament Saturday and hadn't picked up his clubs in almost a year! I went with him and sat on a bench reading my Kindle while he hit. I guess the breeze coming through there was strong because I got extremely cold and had to go sit in the car until he finished. From there, we went to Russo's New York Pizzeria for dinner and crashed early when we got home.

Saturday morning came early! Mike got ready to go to his golf tournament and I got ready to head over to my parent's. Since Mike was gone on Saturday and my mom had a bridal shower to attend, my dad and I decided to go out to Lake Conroe to visit my grandparents. We picked up some BBQ on the way and had a great visit with them! They're back yard was full of beautiful roses.  My grandfather went through and picked some for me to bring home…unfortunately, the ride home wasn't friendly to them! Especially since the ride home was longer than usual. We were about half way home when the weather turned terrible and started hailing! We got under a gas station awning quickly and waited for it to let up. Once it did we left…only it started hailing again! We rushed under the drive through portion of a bank and waited there a bit longer. Once we got back to my parent's house, I helped my mom make an appetizer to take to a neighborhood party, and then I came home to relax until Mike got home. By the way…..Mike hadn't played in almost a year and got an EAGLE on a par 5! That's incredible!

Sunday Mike did some yard work while I cleaned the inside of the house. We went to Brio for lunch…where there was a long, full, lush row of more gorgeous roses. We watched some DVR when we got home and then got ready for mass. We had a guest priest, who was the Director of Vocations for the Arch-Diocese of Galveston-Houston. He was great! His homily may have been long, but he had us laughing so hard tears welled up in our eyes! If more priests were like him, people wouldn't leave the Catholic church. He came to the US from Vietnam at 12 years old because as a first grader, he received his calling to enter the priesthood. He introduced himself as Father Who DAT….Dat being his last name, and then said he doesn't go to Rocket's games when our pastor invites him because he doesn't want people to confuse him with Yao Ming……Father Dat was short!  It was just a great mass! After church, my parents took us to Flemings to celebrate Mike's birthday. We sat on the patio, which we had to ourselves, and enjoyed a great meal!

I'm looking forward to this week because it's my love's birthday tomorrow!!!!!!!! I can't wait to celebrate!

Have a great week and be on the look out for one of my FAVORITE pasta recipes this week!

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

So this week has been a little busy and to be honest, I haven't cooked much. Mike's been working a little later and by the time he gets home, we're tired and ready for bed…..so who wants to cook late, NOT ME! Anyways, I only cooked Monday and Wednesday and while Monday was boring chicken and veggies, I added garlic cheddar biscuits…..which I could have eaten as a meal by themselves! They're pretty much just like the Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster, which I have not eaten at since I was in middle school. While I have the recipe for those exact Red Lobster biscuits, it called for cubed butter, crumbling it with a pastry cutter, and then mixing with your hands, which I was not in the mood for. So instead, I grabbed my handy Paula Dean recipe for Garlic Cheddar Biscuits, because it doesn't get easier than that recipe! 

GARLIC CHEDDAR BISCUITS

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups biscuit mix 

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar

1/2 cup water

Garlic Butter

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the biscuit mix and cheese in a small bowl. Add water and stir until just combined. The dough will be slightly moist. 

Drop the dough onto a baking sheet by the tablespoons. I used an ice cream scoop to get biscuits of the same size.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the biscuits are firm and beginning to brown.

While the biscuits are baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the garlic powder, salt, and parsley flakes. Stir to combine and take off heat.

As soon as you take the biscuits out of the oven, brush them with the garlic butter using a pastry brush.

Have a wonderful weekend!

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

Impromptu Concert

Yesterday after spending the morning cleaning out a linen closet and the cabinets in our entertainment center, I got a call from my husband. He started by saying "Do you feel like venturing out this afternoon?" I thought he needed me to run errands for him when he put it that way. I was wrong! His boss got 4 tickets to Carrie Underwood and invited us to go with him and his wife. I said of course I'd like to go! I've never seen her in concert and knowing we were in a suite was even better. Because Mike's boss lives close to us, his wife called me and we decided to take the park & ride from our neck of the woods into town, so we could just ride home with our husbands. We left pretty early because only one bus goes back into town and it left at 4:55. It was just the two of us on the bus and we got dropped off downtown and then had to stand on the corner waiting for our husbands to pick us up……..it might have been nice had they been on time! Anyways, it was a fun evening and a good concert. Carrie is a great vocalist, but I have to say, several of her songs sound exactly the same. Also, iPhones don't take good photos during concerts!

 A piece of her stage came out and moved across the floor crowd....not sure how I would have felt with that above my head!

 Carrie and Hunter Hayes singing together

Last song of the night...Blown Away....there was a huge fake smoke tornado behind her...it was pretty cool!

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

A busy Monday

I missed my weekend update because yesterday was pretty busy! It was a gorgeous morning, so I went for a walk. It was a cool morning and so peaceful in our part of the woods.  I then came home and started cleaning our very messy house. No matter what, at the end of each weekend, the bar/island in our kitchen is covered in crap and our entire house looks messy. I also did 5 loads of laundry, and waited around for the air conditioning repair man to come. I was stuck at the house waiting for him, so my wonderful mom brought me lunch…….I hadn't made it to the grocery store yet and was beginning to starve!

Anyways, we had a good weekend! Friday night my parents hosted a celebratory dinner for my sister and her fiancé. My dad grilled steaks, which is always better than getting any steak at a nice steakhouse. Then while we were still sitting at their dining room table, my dad disappeared, called my mom to wherever he was and then they both reappeared with champagne to toast the newly engaged couple. It was a good night…..especially after watching coverage of the awesome law enforcement in Boston finding the second bomber.

Saturday morning we drove to Mike's parent's to celebrate birthdays…only we had the day wrong. Oh well……we were already in the part of town, so we ate lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Pappasito's and got me new running shoes. We relaxed the rest of the day and took a walk with the dogs that evening. I cooked a frozen pizza for dinner, but this wasn't a normal frozen pizza. If you live close to an HEB, you MUST go buy a Leonardo's of Naperville deep dish pizza. Leonardo's used to be a restaurant in downtown Naperville, Illinois. We lived there for 4 years when I was a little kid and loved it! We ate at Leonardo's quite a bit. They were known for their Chicago style deep dish and stuffed mushrooms. I'd say my parents were pretty lucky, their young children ate mushrooms! Back to the point…….the restaurant is no longer there, but they still ship and sell their wonderful pizzas to grocery stores across the country. If you buy this pizza, which I strongly suggest, you must follow the 9 directions on the side of the box. Yes, that's a lot of directions for a frozen pizza, but it's totally worth it!

Sunday we went back to Mike's parent's house to celebrate 3 birthdays. My father-in-law's birthday was this past Thursday and Mike & his twin sister's birthdays are a week from today. It was a fun day visiting with the family, celebrating birthdays, and my sis & bro-in-law moving back to Houston from Louisiana! When we got home, we relaxed until Pasha got horribly sick. Usually we know when she's getting sick because her body starts moving back and forth and she makes these deep throat sounds….only that wasn't the case. She got sick 3 times within 10 minutes, two of which were on our rug. Of course an hour later, she was fine!

Have a good Tuesday! I'm off to do some much needed spring cleaning! Time to get rid of some stuff!

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

Prayers for Boston

With every tragedy that hits our country, our hearts break. This world is a scary place and although I don't live in fear, I do find myself more cautious of my surroundings. When school shootings happen and innocent children and teachers were killed, it hit hard…especially as an educator. As a classroom teacher, I always ran scenarios through my head of horrible events and what I would do if I was ever found in one. I always had a plan because of what happened at Columbine, Virginia Tech, Newtown, and the many others. After the movie theater massacre, I found myself identifying all the exits in a theater…not because I'm scared, but because I'm cautious and this world has crazy people. 

Yesterday hit me pretty hard. In the past year, I have stood near 7 finish lines cheering on my husband and the other runners who work so hard to accomplish their goals. I've stood at those finish lines with other family members, around hundreds of spectators of all ages……children holding signs for their parents, babies in strollers, elderly, and even the family dog. Innocent people who just are there to support their family and friends. I think back to this past January in Disney World, when Mike ran his first 26.2 miles. I have a picture of the finish line and the grand stands the lined the last leg before the end, and it was just packed with people. I never once felt unsafe or thought about something bad happening. I can guarantee none of those spectators yesterday thought that either…yet, for so many, their lives are forever changed. As horrible as yesterday's event became, like so many other attacks on Americans are, I am thankful of one thing….that there are people in this world who run in to help those in need. That was clearly evident yesterday. First responders, volunteers, runners, spectators, all rushed in to help those in need…without hesitation. Thank God for people like that. It's those people that help us to restore hope in humanity when these terrible things happen in our world.

Prayers to all those in Boston.

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

The dogs finally got a haircut

The weekend started off a little busy, but fun, and then turned into relaxation…..which was really nice! Friday night my parents hosted their first dinner party in their new house. It's amazing how much their house has come together. I spent the morning helping my mom pick out a few last minute decorations, and then went over to their house that afternoon to help my mom start cooking. All my mom's sisters and their husbands came over, along with my grandparents. It was a great night visiting with everyone and celebrating my Aunt Cindy's birthday! 

Saturday morning came earlier than we would have liked. Pasha decided to get up at 7am, which lately is earlier than usual. I was pretty excited about Saturday because the dogs were finally going to the groomer, which they have needed to do for about 3 weeks now! We dropped them off around noon and then went to BJ's for lunch. It's always weird coming home from somewhere when the dogs aren't there. No one's excited to see you! We started watching the Master's and then Mike's boss came by on his new motorcycle. We visited with him and his daughter for a bit and then went to pick up our precious pups. They were so cute and had matching yellow bows in their hair. 

Sunday was totally a lazy day! I did make muffins for breakfast though! We caught up on DVR, Mike did some work, and then we got ready for church. After a great mass, we went to our favorite little local Italian restaurant for dinner and sat on the patio. It was a gorgeous evening.

I hope you have a blessed week!

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

A good weekend

Friday afternoon was approaching quickly and I of course hadn't made it to the store yet for ingredients for Friday pizza night. I guess my mom sensed it and called and invited us over for pizza at their house. Little did I know she also invited us for another reason. A few hours after she invited us over for the evening, my sister's boyfriend called me. When I answered I could tell both Tammy and Keith were on the phone. They were calling to tell me the exciting news that they had just gotten engaged! Mike and I are so excited for them! My sister has been through more than most 20 somethings should go through and for her to find happiness again just means the world to our family! Keith is a great addition to our family and he is so good to my sister. We're excited for their future and their wedding in the spring of 2014! When we were over at my parent's for dinner, we were able to FaceTime with the newly engaged couple and see Tammy's BEAUTIFUL ring! 

Saturday morning came early! The couple we're sponsoring from church came over for another meeting at 10 and I had prepared brunch for all of us. It was another great meeting and we're looking forward to another later this week. When they left, Mike went running, I cleaned up the kitchen, and then we took a drive on some back roads into the next town over. We were going to see our friends Traci and Matt's new house! I've known Traci since freshman year of high school, but have been great friends since senior year. She and Matt got married last January and just bought their first house together only about 30 minutes from us. Their house is beautiful and we're so excited for them! We left their house, grabbed some Mexican food, and then drove by our old house. It of course looked terrible! The yard hasn't been kept up, weeds are coming up through the driveway, and the bushes are all growing on top of each other. We didn't really feel sad about it,  especially after driving through the neighborhood... we just know even more definitively that we're so glad we moved when we did!

Sunday morning Mike did yard work and washed my car, while I cleaned the house and did laundry. By noon, we were tired! We relaxed the rest of the day and watched The Avengers, and then the ACM's. I got a major migraine in the late afternoon, so I planted myself in the recliner for the entire evening.

This week my goal is to do some major spring cleaning! We'll see if that happens! :)

Hope you have a blessed week!

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

The easiest cake ever!

So I mentioned yesterday that we were having a couple from our church coming over last night. It was a great night! They were so sweet and brought Pei Wei for dinner. After we ate, we went through the first few chapters of the marriage preparation program and had a great discussion. Mike and I always feel renewed after one of these meetings. We're reminded in so many ways why we're together, love each other even more, and enjoy helping these couples go through preparing for Christian marriage! 

I had baked a cake yesterday to have during our meeting last night. This cake is so easy to make, but the best part is….it's the most moist cake you'll ever eat! Why….because there's a can of frosting in the batter! Yep, this cake is NOT healthy, but what cake is????

My good friend Amy gave me the recipe during my first year of teaching. She brought this cake to school and I couldn't believe how good it was…..I really couldn't believe how easy it was! Here's the recipe, hope you enjoy!

German Chocolate Bundt Cake

INGREDIENTS:

1 box German Chocolate cake mix (make sure you have the 3 eggs and oil for the mix)

1 can coconut pecan frosting

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven according to box directions.

Mix the cake mix ingredients as the box instructs. Once the batter is made, pour the entire can of frosting into the batter and mix until well combined.

Grease the inside of a bunt pan and pour batter in.

Cook cake according to the box directions. (Mine said for a bundt cake, cook 40-45 minutes)

Leave cake in pan for 10 minutes to so to allow for cooling. Then flip the cake onto a plate. It may not look like the prettiest cake, but don't worry about that....it will taste great!

Once the cake has completely cooled, or before serving, dust with powdered sugar.

ENJOY!

pups & kisses,

  Tiffany

A Blessed Weekend

This past weekend was wonderful….mostly! Friday night my parent's had us all over to watch the KU game on their big screen. Mom ordered a fabulous variety of Italian food from Brio and we started watching the game. It was going great, we had the lead, and then the last 3 minutes came and we LOST our lead. When the clock ran out, we thank goodness were tied! 5 minutes to go and we couldn't get the lead back…we LOST the game. It's always SAD when the season comes to an end, but we all had a good night of family fun anyways! (Special shout out to my sister who successfully closed on her house and moved on Saturday!!!)

Saturday morning we went to the plant nursery and got flowers for the front yard. We got Chick-Fil-A for breakfast on our way home and then Mike planted our new flowers. I told him I was going to make a YARD OF THE MONTH SIGN and put it in our yard because it looks so good! Our grass is green, new mulch looks great, and colorful flowers are beautiful! I know one day he will hire someone to do the yard, and it probably won't ever look as good as when he does it, but he'll enjoy the time to do other things! The rest of the day we caught up on DVR, ordered delivery pizza for dinner, and were completely lazy all evening! (We ate super healthy all weekend…NOT)

Sunday was a Happy Easter! We went to mass at 11 so we could hear the best music with the Life Teen Band. We absolutely LOVE our church and feel so blessed to be a part of our parish. From church, we ran home, let the dogs out, and then left to head over to Mike's parent's house. We had a great time over there….especially watching our nephew go on an Easter egg hunt!

Tonight is our first meeting with our new sponsor couple from church. Mike and I volunteer to meet with couples getting married in our church. We're a non-biased, non-judgmental view, and give advice/suggestions on how to have a marriage based on Catholic values. We love going through the program with the couples because we know we're helping them and it only helps our marriage grow even stronger. We wanted to join this organization with our church, because when we went through marriage prep at a different church, we had a TERRIBLE  sponsor couple. It wasn't just feeling disgusting because their house was the dirtiest house I'd ever been in, but they also told us if we got hungry we should steal from our neighbor, and it was okay to write hot checks. It was NOT a good experience and they were NOT invited to our wedding! Anyways, we've already met this new couple and they are super sweet and wise beyond their years! We're looking forward to helping them through their marriage preparation. 

I hope you have a wonderfully, blessed week!

pups & kisses,

   Tiffany