I sure hope this is the only great spill of 2014! Because it sure was a mess to clean up. We are just a little more than half way thru the year so chances are good for another spill. Please no!
So there I was early this morning getting ready to feed the boys and girl. I would like to say I was a bit foggy from sleeping. But I was actually quite awake. I would like to say I was dazed and confused! But no that was not the case either. I was in complete control. I have no clue how this happened though. The boys food is in a well sealed plastic container. Piper's food is in a plastic bag...we still need to invest in a container for her food. See we buy pet food in the biggest bags we can get then we pour a sizeable amount from the huge bag into a smaller container that is more manageable for easy storage in our kitchen area. Like I said no clue how it happened but some how both flaps on the sides of the container were suddenly unhinged and food was spilling out everywhere. Food was in our nearby shoes, food was under the cabinet, food was in the cabinet. Oh my! Oh my!
Now when I'm getting ready to feed the pets in the morning Simon and Piper are nearby. Simon is breathing on my heels and Piper is usually a few steps behind Simon. Cody? Oh Cody is doing his Cody thing and he is across the room tearing up his bed. He comes to get his breakfast as soon as he hears that it's been poured into his bowl. He arrives none to early to get fed. Now back to the spill, as food is spilling all over the place I'm instantly assuming Simon is going to turn into a vulture. There's going to be no stopping him right? Wrong! I couldn't believe it...his patience.
His patience over the last year is incredible. He has amazing patience with his siblings especially his little sister and now this demonstration of his patience. Way to go Simmie! Look who is getting more patient as he ages! He stood there and watched me clean up the mess. Oh, I'm sure he wanted to consume the spilled food and at times he started to make a slight move but then thought better of it. Perhaps he just wasn't willing to start off the day in BIG trouble. As I cleaned up the huge spill I looked around at one point as I heard crunching. Who was it sampling the dog food? Piper! There she stood with a few kibbles in front of her as she munched. Silly kitty.
Now don't get me wrong Simon still has his impatient moments where he throws caution to the wind and doesn't mind if he gets in trouble for doing something he shouldn't. However, I must say in the last 10 to 12 months I have seen a significant improvement at times as he has become more patient with certain things. Key phrase is "certain things" as well as "certain times". His level of patience that has increased is something both Brad and myself have noticed. Way to go Simon! You're like fine wine, improving with time! :)
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Three Peas in a Pod!
This post is all about pics with two videos. I'm going to do my best to try to showcase a few videos of the pets and us now on the blog. The boys are getting up there in age, it's a must to get some videos of C, S, and little P together! Plus we're a bit sad we didn't get videos and more pics of Storm before she passed. To see the full video you may have to click on it in the middle of the pic where the sideways triangle is. Depends on how your computer is set up whether or not it's necessary to click on it to view. Then again it might only show highlights of the video over and over instead of the full video with audio, the video was taken with my camera not our actual video camera. I need to still experiment with posting videos, bare with me folks. I'll work out the kinks in the coming weeks! :)
First let me start out by explaining my surprise when I noticed a rather familiar sight now occurring times 3! There I was sitting on the couch just a few minutes before Brad came home for the evening, I quickly glanced over at our sleeping trio as I got up to walk towards the kitchen to begin making dinner. I glanced at the trio then quickly did a double take! I couldn't believe my eyes! I tip-toed to get the camera so I could capture the moment. Study the pic below closely to see what it is that caught my eye!
Look closely at all three of them! Do you see it? Can you notice what I'm talking about? All three of them have their tongues out!!!! My little sweet peas!
Here are the close-ups of this camera session:
I think we have us a mini-Cody in training! Although she runs to get her meals like Simon! In most other regards she's favoring Cody.
Video of Simon and Piper playing.
Two peas in a pod!
Cody and his daddy playing tug-o-war! Cody won! Or perhaps Brad let him win! I love how he quickly walks away after he gets the toy from Brad's grasp. See ya!
Hey Pipe....who is your fave pug in the house? Pipe says, "this one!".jpg)
Tongue out again!
So you be the judge? A learned behavior or simply a coincidence! When we saw her stick her tongue out the first or second time we were undecided as to whether or not she knew she was sticking her tongue out. However, it is quite the coincidence that we would have...not one, not two, but now three pets that stick their tongues out. Unlike Cody it's not all the time for two of them, thank goodness! In the past few days I've noticed it's not just when Piper is asleep. Same for Simon, most of the time he has his tongue out when he's asleep or visibly tired but it does peek out at other times as well. So based on the fact that it's not just when our pets are asleep I'm severely leaning towards believing this is a learned thing. However, even if it was happening only when they were asleep I think I'd still lean towards believing it's been learned because it's quite the coincidence in my opinion. Especially when you now consider Piper is in her first year of life and is a different species! I certainly believe Simon learned it from Cody as he didn't start sticking his tongue out until he was about 5 or 6 years old. As he's aged it's become a more frequent thing. Code-man passing on his wisdom by way of sticking his tongue out at the world!! LOL! Cracks me up that we have three pets that stick their tongues out! Mommie's little sweet pea weirdos!
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Three In A Row!
It's no secret I love to cook and bake. Spend 5 minutes with me and you should be able to pick up on that factor! Okay maybe 10 minutes, because I'll spend at least 8 minutes talking your ear off about Brad, the puggies, and little Pipie! Along with all my cooking/baking comes experimenting. So what's been cooking in my little red kitchen bistro? Funny, you should ask.
I have spent the last three nights featuring three experimental meals. That's a first for me. I usually do an experimental meal 2 maybe 3 times a month. At times I've gotten into a groove of nearly once a week but that's not constant. Anyway, 3 days and 3 experiments.
On Thursday night I had this idea for orange flavor infused beef. You know like orange chicken at a Asian food restaurant. I have heard of orange beef before but naturally I thought it was a bit out there. I mulled the decision over for a good portion of the day as to whether or not I really wanted to attempt a orange flavor infused beef dish. When Brad arrived home for the evening, he was quick to inquire what he was smelling cook. I told him, "orange beef". He instantly said, "So we might be going to Chick-fil-a, like I was hoping for?" I smiled as a stated, "Yes. It's a possibility." I am happy to report the orange beef experiment was edible. No Chick-fil-a. It was "unique" as Brad described it. He also said it was good but admitted that in his opinion the dish would work better with chicken. I agree. Orange chicken it is, next time. It was good but definitely needs to be tweaked some to be better. Then again, not sure I care enough about the dish to work on it further. We'll see! Substituting chicken though sounds more tasty and perhaps easier.
As for Friday night, it was a familiar dish but made with new ingredients. I completely changed the flavor palette of a commonly served dish in this household. My chicken pie is a fave for us. It's not a chicken pot pie. As chicken pot pie has a creamy/gravy sauce with mixed veggies and a thick pie like crust on the top. Nope that's not my chicken pie at all. My chicken pie has ingredients layered in a pie plate. Hence, the pie reference! My plan for this new styled chicken pie was to give it a very Texas twist! I made my own barbecue flavored marinade, which the chicken was in from sun-up, after cooking it I then shredded it. Next I layered my ingredients using okra as one of the keys to the pie. I don't believe I ever had okra til I moved here, not a common AZ veggie, am I right? My husband was a happy man! I served ranch-style beans as the side dish. There is only one thing I will change up next time in an effort to improve the dish, otherwise it is a keeper as is! We now have two different chicken pies to choose from. However, I've got quite a few other variations of the chicken pie I will experiment with in due time. :)
Last night was a two person fiesta! A bit of a Tex-Mex style fiesta. I made Tex-Mex sweet and spicy chicken in the crockpot. I love a good crockpot meal! Who doesn't? They're typically rather easy-breezy. This one had few ingredients for the sauce and excellent results. Flavors I wouldn't commonly mix yet they worked great together. After the chicken was done I shredded it and returned it to the crockpot while I prepared the toppings. The chicken was cooked with plenty of tomatoes so I was a little unsure what toppings to serve with it. Lettuce? More tomatoes? Sour Cream and Guacamole? I ended up wanting to keep it simple, less is more, was my thinking for the meal. As I was completely set on wanting to truly taste the chicken not mask the flavor under too many toppings. I decided to serve the chicken with tortillas, shredded cheese, and sour cream. I did well in resisting my temptation to add more topping choices. ;) I also made queso dip to go with chips. We were both super satisfied with the results of the meal. It's a definite keeper in all ways! The chicken is so versatile. You could serve it like I did in a Tex-Mex way with tortillas, a version of chicken soft tacos. Or you could make burritos, quesadillas, perhaps even go a completely opposite route by serving it on top of a homemade pizza. As we ate we commented that it would also be good as a sandwich, serve with some hearty buns/rolls/sliders. It would all work! The best part was it's the type of meat that is cooked so flavorfully it screams, keep toppings minimal! So serving it in a simple tortilla or on a bun are great options. This Tex-Mex sweet and spicy chicken will be the star of some upcoming get-together we host. Not sure when it will be served to guests but it's made the list of possible meals for entertaining. It may even make it in the rotation of possible items to take to a potluck! I mentioned that idea to Brad as we ate last evening. Based on the fact it doesn't need a lot of toppings to go with it, it could work for a potluck. We have a "cook and carry" style crockpot, take it along with yummy buns/rolls or tortillas that you can easily microwave for 30-some seconds once you arrive and you're set. The buns would be slightly easier for a potluck setting I believe. I don't think I will ever make the chicken with the full intent to serve it on top of a homemade pizza however, I would use the leftover meat that way. I might do that with what we currently have leftover. It was too good served the Tex-Mex way to pass that up completely. But I love re-inventing leftovers. Big fun for me! My only complaint about it is we don't have enough leftover! Other tiny-tiny complaint is I may increase the spiciness just slightly next time around. As I ate it last night I tossed the idea of more heat around in my head. It's flavor-packed as is, it's firmly hovering in the Tex-Mex food category. I don't want to make it too Mexican, if you know what I mean. The longer I live in TX the more I clue into the differences in their Mexican styled food(Tex-Mex) and AZ Mexican food...I don't want to mess it up by altering the heat too much!
Of the 3 experimental meals I have made in the past 3 days. I would say last night's meal was my fave! The Texas-BBQ chicken pie was good and is firmly in second place. Oh the fun I have experimenting with meals. Brad was joking with Simon last night how envious Simmie must be that Brad is the guinea pig and not him. We all know Simon would hands down love to be a guinea pig, a professional taste tester! Problem is he doesn't taste things he just gobbles nor does he provide feedback!
I've actually cooked every night this past week so possibly today I will take a break from the kitchen. My husband might be forced to take me out! LOL! Just kidding there won't be too much forcing going on. After all we do have leftover options. I think most of the leftovers from the 3 experiments will likely be used as Brad's lunches during the week and one easy meal for me while he's at team tennis practice.
I have spent the last three nights featuring three experimental meals. That's a first for me. I usually do an experimental meal 2 maybe 3 times a month. At times I've gotten into a groove of nearly once a week but that's not constant. Anyway, 3 days and 3 experiments.
On Thursday night I had this idea for orange flavor infused beef. You know like orange chicken at a Asian food restaurant. I have heard of orange beef before but naturally I thought it was a bit out there. I mulled the decision over for a good portion of the day as to whether or not I really wanted to attempt a orange flavor infused beef dish. When Brad arrived home for the evening, he was quick to inquire what he was smelling cook. I told him, "orange beef". He instantly said, "So we might be going to Chick-fil-a, like I was hoping for?" I smiled as a stated, "Yes. It's a possibility." I am happy to report the orange beef experiment was edible. No Chick-fil-a. It was "unique" as Brad described it. He also said it was good but admitted that in his opinion the dish would work better with chicken. I agree. Orange chicken it is, next time. It was good but definitely needs to be tweaked some to be better. Then again, not sure I care enough about the dish to work on it further. We'll see! Substituting chicken though sounds more tasty and perhaps easier.
As for Friday night, it was a familiar dish but made with new ingredients. I completely changed the flavor palette of a commonly served dish in this household. My chicken pie is a fave for us. It's not a chicken pot pie. As chicken pot pie has a creamy/gravy sauce with mixed veggies and a thick pie like crust on the top. Nope that's not my chicken pie at all. My chicken pie has ingredients layered in a pie plate. Hence, the pie reference! My plan for this new styled chicken pie was to give it a very Texas twist! I made my own barbecue flavored marinade, which the chicken was in from sun-up, after cooking it I then shredded it. Next I layered my ingredients using okra as one of the keys to the pie. I don't believe I ever had okra til I moved here, not a common AZ veggie, am I right? My husband was a happy man! I served ranch-style beans as the side dish. There is only one thing I will change up next time in an effort to improve the dish, otherwise it is a keeper as is! We now have two different chicken pies to choose from. However, I've got quite a few other variations of the chicken pie I will experiment with in due time. :)
Last night was a two person fiesta! A bit of a Tex-Mex style fiesta. I made Tex-Mex sweet and spicy chicken in the crockpot. I love a good crockpot meal! Who doesn't? They're typically rather easy-breezy. This one had few ingredients for the sauce and excellent results. Flavors I wouldn't commonly mix yet they worked great together. After the chicken was done I shredded it and returned it to the crockpot while I prepared the toppings. The chicken was cooked with plenty of tomatoes so I was a little unsure what toppings to serve with it. Lettuce? More tomatoes? Sour Cream and Guacamole? I ended up wanting to keep it simple, less is more, was my thinking for the meal. As I was completely set on wanting to truly taste the chicken not mask the flavor under too many toppings. I decided to serve the chicken with tortillas, shredded cheese, and sour cream. I did well in resisting my temptation to add more topping choices. ;) I also made queso dip to go with chips. We were both super satisfied with the results of the meal. It's a definite keeper in all ways! The chicken is so versatile. You could serve it like I did in a Tex-Mex way with tortillas, a version of chicken soft tacos. Or you could make burritos, quesadillas, perhaps even go a completely opposite route by serving it on top of a homemade pizza. As we ate we commented that it would also be good as a sandwich, serve with some hearty buns/rolls/sliders. It would all work! The best part was it's the type of meat that is cooked so flavorfully it screams, keep toppings minimal! So serving it in a simple tortilla or on a bun are great options. This Tex-Mex sweet and spicy chicken will be the star of some upcoming get-together we host. Not sure when it will be served to guests but it's made the list of possible meals for entertaining. It may even make it in the rotation of possible items to take to a potluck! I mentioned that idea to Brad as we ate last evening. Based on the fact it doesn't need a lot of toppings to go with it, it could work for a potluck. We have a "cook and carry" style crockpot, take it along with yummy buns/rolls or tortillas that you can easily microwave for 30-some seconds once you arrive and you're set. The buns would be slightly easier for a potluck setting I believe. I don't think I will ever make the chicken with the full intent to serve it on top of a homemade pizza however, I would use the leftover meat that way. I might do that with what we currently have leftover. It was too good served the Tex-Mex way to pass that up completely. But I love re-inventing leftovers. Big fun for me! My only complaint about it is we don't have enough leftover! Other tiny-tiny complaint is I may increase the spiciness just slightly next time around. As I ate it last night I tossed the idea of more heat around in my head. It's flavor-packed as is, it's firmly hovering in the Tex-Mex food category. I don't want to make it too Mexican, if you know what I mean. The longer I live in TX the more I clue into the differences in their Mexican styled food(Tex-Mex) and AZ Mexican food...I don't want to mess it up by altering the heat too much!
Of the 3 experimental meals I have made in the past 3 days. I would say last night's meal was my fave! The Texas-BBQ chicken pie was good and is firmly in second place. Oh the fun I have experimenting with meals. Brad was joking with Simon last night how envious Simmie must be that Brad is the guinea pig and not him. We all know Simon would hands down love to be a guinea pig, a professional taste tester! Problem is he doesn't taste things he just gobbles nor does he provide feedback!
I've actually cooked every night this past week so possibly today I will take a break from the kitchen. My husband might be forced to take me out! LOL! Just kidding there won't be too much forcing going on. After all we do have leftover options. I think most of the leftovers from the 3 experiments will likely be used as Brad's lunches during the week and one easy meal for me while he's at team tennis practice.
A Conversation with Cody!
Me: So Cody-man what's shaken?
Cody: What's shaken? Interesting choice of words mommie.
Me: It was kind of a joke...you're a dog and you shake a lot. So what's shaken? What can I say? I'm not a comedian.
Cody: Are we having a conversation that will later appear on your blog?
Me: Most likely! I'm crazy. But remember, like your daddy says, I am the good kind of crazy! I talk to all of you but with you Cody-man I likely talk the most. Perhaps it's because you follow me everywhere I go. There's more opportunity to chat with you. By the way I have a slight issue with you.
Cody: Who me? A slight issue with me? Simon is the naughty one. He's the one to have issues with. I've got a long list of issues concerning Simon.
Me: Yes, I bet your list grows by the day!
Cody: It most certainly does! I start a new list each day too! One longer than the day before.
Me: Oh dear! Anyway, big man, back to my issue with you. I called out your name the other night not once, not twice, but three times....after I called your name who did you run to each time? Your daddy! The nerve....Code-man....the nerve!
Cody: Yeah, not sure why I did that. He just looked more playful and inviting to me. You likely wanted to wipe my face or my head or try to hold me like a baby. Man, I hate it when you clean me up sometimes. I'm not sure which is worse, you trying to clean my face or you trying to hold me like a baby. You have Piper now to hold like a baby. She likes it. Not me! I like affection when it's on my terms.
Me: Yes, you are the pint-sized control freak in our house. Always on your terms, right?
Cody: Right. As it should be!
Me: Well, I'm not sure I'm accepting of your answer at this point but it's in the past. Next time I call you three times in a row I expect you to come to me not your daddy at least one of those times. Your daddy sure was having a good chuckle about the situation, every time I called your name he got a Cody in his lap. You stinker! Now lets talk about the weather!
Cody: Oh gee, don't tell me...is winter arriving tomorrow? I can't take it if it is.
Me: No my little honey bee. Winter is a ways away!
Cody: Thank goodness! I can nap peacefully today knowing that!
Me: The weather has been quite pleasing to you hasn't it?
Cody: Oh man, it's been AWESOME. My limbs have completely thawed out from last winter that seemed to drag on for a million years. Last week it did rain which doesn't make me delighted as the world knows. But I'm not complaining when the high gets to only 76 degrees. It was perfect weather all last week. It was like Spring! And I was a happy boy!
Me: I figured you wouldn't have any complaints about the weather these past few weeks. It will warm up some this week. It won't be like Spring but I still think you'll be okay with the temps.
Cody: For sure! As long as I'm not freezing my limbs off I'm fairly happy.
Me: It's funny how your daddy asked a few months back as to when happy-go-lucky Cody would return to us. He noticed your bad moods increased as winter extended on. I told him you'd be super fine by mid-summer!
Cody: Yep, I'm back and better than ever. Not that I actually went anywhere. However, I certainly thought of ditching all of you in favor of a tropical climate all the way into April. Just as long as winter stays away I'm good.
Me: Well the best news of all is that summertime will roll on. December is still quite a ways off in the distance. Lets go suntan out on the balcony. Perfect summertime thing to do! If you're lucky I'll give you a chunk of watermelon.
Cody: Let's go. Cody-man out!!!!
Cody: What's shaken? Interesting choice of words mommie.
Me: It was kind of a joke...you're a dog and you shake a lot. So what's shaken? What can I say? I'm not a comedian.
Cody: Are we having a conversation that will later appear on your blog?
Me: Most likely! I'm crazy. But remember, like your daddy says, I am the good kind of crazy! I talk to all of you but with you Cody-man I likely talk the most. Perhaps it's because you follow me everywhere I go. There's more opportunity to chat with you. By the way I have a slight issue with you.
Cody: Who me? A slight issue with me? Simon is the naughty one. He's the one to have issues with. I've got a long list of issues concerning Simon.
Me: Yes, I bet your list grows by the day!
Cody: It most certainly does! I start a new list each day too! One longer than the day before.
Me: Oh dear! Anyway, big man, back to my issue with you. I called out your name the other night not once, not twice, but three times....after I called your name who did you run to each time? Your daddy! The nerve....Code-man....the nerve!
Cody: Yeah, not sure why I did that. He just looked more playful and inviting to me. You likely wanted to wipe my face or my head or try to hold me like a baby. Man, I hate it when you clean me up sometimes. I'm not sure which is worse, you trying to clean my face or you trying to hold me like a baby. You have Piper now to hold like a baby. She likes it. Not me! I like affection when it's on my terms.
Me: Yes, you are the pint-sized control freak in our house. Always on your terms, right?
Cody: Right. As it should be!
Me: Well, I'm not sure I'm accepting of your answer at this point but it's in the past. Next time I call you three times in a row I expect you to come to me not your daddy at least one of those times. Your daddy sure was having a good chuckle about the situation, every time I called your name he got a Cody in his lap. You stinker! Now lets talk about the weather!
Cody: Oh gee, don't tell me...is winter arriving tomorrow? I can't take it if it is.
Me: No my little honey bee. Winter is a ways away!
Cody: Thank goodness! I can nap peacefully today knowing that!
Me: The weather has been quite pleasing to you hasn't it?
Cody: Oh man, it's been AWESOME. My limbs have completely thawed out from last winter that seemed to drag on for a million years. Last week it did rain which doesn't make me delighted as the world knows. But I'm not complaining when the high gets to only 76 degrees. It was perfect weather all last week. It was like Spring! And I was a happy boy!
Me: I figured you wouldn't have any complaints about the weather these past few weeks. It will warm up some this week. It won't be like Spring but I still think you'll be okay with the temps.
Cody: For sure! As long as I'm not freezing my limbs off I'm fairly happy.
Me: It's funny how your daddy asked a few months back as to when happy-go-lucky Cody would return to us. He noticed your bad moods increased as winter extended on. I told him you'd be super fine by mid-summer!
Cody: Yep, I'm back and better than ever. Not that I actually went anywhere. However, I certainly thought of ditching all of you in favor of a tropical climate all the way into April. Just as long as winter stays away I'm good.
Me: Well the best news of all is that summertime will roll on. December is still quite a ways off in the distance. Lets go suntan out on the balcony. Perfect summertime thing to do! If you're lucky I'll give you a chunk of watermelon.
Cody: Let's go. Cody-man out!!!!
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Brio!
Some days ago it was nearing lunchtime in our household. Brad came up with a great idea to get in the car and cruise in an effort to find a new dining experience. We stopped at an outdoor shopping center a little ways away from our section of town. With a decent selection of restaurants sprinkled in among the shops and the movie theatre we quickly set our sights on a restaurant called Brio.
Based on the name we were a little unsure what type of food the restaurant served. We noticed it had an upscale feel without being off-putting. Once we looked over the menu we realized it was a restaurant that served up food primarily coming from Tuscany. Oh yeah, I'm in! Italian food...I'm set! Brunch items were being served until 3:00, therefore brunch briefly called my name. In the end one of us chose a pasta dish and one of us chose a flatbread. Who chose what? I surprisingly got a flatbread. Now I have not been a big fan of the flatbread craze restaurants are currently pushing. However, I'm open-minded and this flatbread sounded amazing....pepperoni, sausage, and ricotta. Ricotta being in the starting line-up of this flatbread is what caught my eye. I've never heard of putting ricotta on a pizza. In a lasagna for sure but on pizza that was unique! Brad got a delish pasta dish. His was yummy! A creamy tomato sauce with chicken and sausage along with risotto playing a starring role. When he ordered his meal we were both sitting there trying to remember exactly what is risotto? I know most of the types of pasta but there are a few that stump me from time to time...which one is which? Well, risotto is a type of pasta with somewhat long tubes, different from penne in the fact that it does not have ridges. Ridges? I guess that's the best way to describe penne. ;)
After we had our "take a cruise lunch". We went to walk around to look at the shops. Yes we were outside walking from shop to shop in the middle of July! At one point I did think to myself how different it is living in Texas versus AZ. In AZ in the summer you go from your home to your car, from your car to whatever well air-conditioned place you are arriving at. You don't linger too long to browse from shop to shop outdoors. LOL! This particular afternoon in the big D area was warm out but not what I would classify hot. It was doable.
A good time was had by both of us. So glad we decided to go for a cruise in an effort to find something new and different! Putting the good meal to the side for a second, I think my favorite thing about Brio was the upscale feel without making patrons feel as though they needed to be super dressed up or fancy to be there. It was outstanding at walking that fine line in my opinion. Brio received an excellent rating in the 3 top categories our humble opinions use to grade restaurants: food, presentation, and ambiance. All three were excellent!
As we sat at Brio's I joked with Brad that I think we may have found the place I want to go to for my bday! Would be nice to try Brio's at dinnertime! It's a keeper! We'll certainly return.
Based on the name we were a little unsure what type of food the restaurant served. We noticed it had an upscale feel without being off-putting. Once we looked over the menu we realized it was a restaurant that served up food primarily coming from Tuscany. Oh yeah, I'm in! Italian food...I'm set! Brunch items were being served until 3:00, therefore brunch briefly called my name. In the end one of us chose a pasta dish and one of us chose a flatbread. Who chose what? I surprisingly got a flatbread. Now I have not been a big fan of the flatbread craze restaurants are currently pushing. However, I'm open-minded and this flatbread sounded amazing....pepperoni, sausage, and ricotta. Ricotta being in the starting line-up of this flatbread is what caught my eye. I've never heard of putting ricotta on a pizza. In a lasagna for sure but on pizza that was unique! Brad got a delish pasta dish. His was yummy! A creamy tomato sauce with chicken and sausage along with risotto playing a starring role. When he ordered his meal we were both sitting there trying to remember exactly what is risotto? I know most of the types of pasta but there are a few that stump me from time to time...which one is which? Well, risotto is a type of pasta with somewhat long tubes, different from penne in the fact that it does not have ridges. Ridges? I guess that's the best way to describe penne. ;)
After we had our "take a cruise lunch". We went to walk around to look at the shops. Yes we were outside walking from shop to shop in the middle of July! At one point I did think to myself how different it is living in Texas versus AZ. In AZ in the summer you go from your home to your car, from your car to whatever well air-conditioned place you are arriving at. You don't linger too long to browse from shop to shop outdoors. LOL! This particular afternoon in the big D area was warm out but not what I would classify hot. It was doable.
A good time was had by both of us. So glad we decided to go for a cruise in an effort to find something new and different! Putting the good meal to the side for a second, I think my favorite thing about Brio was the upscale feel without making patrons feel as though they needed to be super dressed up or fancy to be there. It was outstanding at walking that fine line in my opinion. Brio received an excellent rating in the 3 top categories our humble opinions use to grade restaurants: food, presentation, and ambiance. All three were excellent!
As we sat at Brio's I joked with Brad that I think we may have found the place I want to go to for my bday! Would be nice to try Brio's at dinnertime! It's a keeper! We'll certainly return.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Birthday Pics!
Here are some pics from Brad's birthday last Sunday.
This is what Brad had to wake up to....blueberry pancakes served with a healthy spread of peanut butter, complete with some bday candles!
Here we are in the exact area where we said our "I do's".
Brad standing at the bottom of the stairs I came down as I entered our wedding.
Our meal, my filet mignon and Brad's 16 oz Kansas City strip steak along with two sides for us to share.
A better view of Brad's meal. He's a good sport to let me take pics of his food before cutting into it!
Here's a gift from my mom! Brad loves Wimbledon!
Piper enjoying the wrapping paper her daddy was throwing on the floor.
Simon praying with great intent in his eyes that one of the gifts is handed to him to open. He loves opening up gifts! Sorry Simmie but you have to wait until Christmas for a gift. Oops correction, you'll likely get a little something when your favorite kitty has her first bday this Fall! ;)
Brad showing off his Wimbledon shoes his wife got him. He is so into these limited edition shoes that he's mentioned he may never wear them. They're LIMITED EDITION don't you know! Ha-Ha! I loved it when my husband explained to me the importance of those limited edition shoes! LOL! Still makes me laugh a week later!
Look how cute he is admiring his LIMITED EDITION Wimbledon shoes! LOL!
Ah yes, the all important tennis bag. I can't even begin to explain how much I fretted over this bag. I poured over all bags offered by the brand he likes. I even got the measuring tape out and measured his current bag at least 20 times in all possible ways to ensure I wasn't getting anything too big or too small.
One more pic of him and the bag!
This is what Brad had to wake up to....blueberry pancakes served with a healthy spread of peanut butter, complete with some bday candles! 
Here we are in the exact area where we said our "I do's".
Brad standing at the bottom of the stairs I came down as I entered our wedding. 
Our meal, my filet mignon and Brad's 16 oz Kansas City strip steak along with two sides for us to share. 
A better view of Brad's meal. He's a good sport to let me take pics of his food before cutting into it!
Here's a gift from my mom! Brad loves Wimbledon!
Piper enjoying the wrapping paper her daddy was throwing on the floor.
Simon praying with great intent in his eyes that one of the gifts is handed to him to open. He loves opening up gifts! Sorry Simmie but you have to wait until Christmas for a gift. Oops correction, you'll likely get a little something when your favorite kitty has her first bday this Fall! ;)
Brad showing off his Wimbledon shoes his wife got him. He is so into these limited edition shoes that he's mentioned he may never wear them. They're LIMITED EDITION don't you know! Ha-Ha! I loved it when my husband explained to me the importance of those limited edition shoes! LOL! Still makes me laugh a week later!
Look how cute he is admiring his LIMITED EDITION Wimbledon shoes! LOL!
Ah yes, the all important tennis bag. I can't even begin to explain how much I fretted over this bag. I poured over all bags offered by the brand he likes. I even got the measuring tape out and measured his current bag at least 20 times in all possible ways to ensure I wasn't getting anything too big or too small.
One more pic of him and the bag!Saturday, July 12, 2014
Pet Bed Experiment!
Earlier tonight I arrived in our living room after briefly visiting the closet, in my hand was a measuring tape. As I quickly plopped down next to Simon, whom was snuggled up in his bed, I began measuring away. Brad quickly remarked to Simon and Cody, "She's serious now guys, the tape measure is out. New beds are about to be bought." Yes, indeed new beds are going to be bought.
At some point during this past week I looked over to see evidence of Cody's handy work. Trust me it's not so handy-dandy! He has been focusing on one bed specifically. One bed has felt all of his frustration or excitement when it comes to getting up every morning and getting fed every mealtime. No clue on earth why he feels the need to rough up a bed before each mealtime as well as first thing every morning. It's his thing! We've tried breaking him of the habit. Nothing has worked. Periodically he destroys a bed to the point it needs to be replaced. Covering a bed with a towel or blanket helps prolong it's life in this house with Cody around. The bed he's destroyed this time is at least an older bed. This time around he actually tore a hole completely through it. When you look at the bed you can now see the floor underneath. He does good work! When he tore the Grand Canyon sized hole in the bed he heard his full name come out of my mouth in an angry/stern tone. He looked at me with those pathetic pug eyes! Those eyes don't work on me! But nice try Cody!
So there I was measuring away tonight to get a better idea how much room the new bed will take up. I think we're going to get one big enough for the two pugs to share then get Piper her own. Now in reality what will likely happen is....Simon will be a bed hog/loner therefore he'll snag the single bed which is going to be meant for Piper, leaving the other bed for Cody and Piper to share. As I'm explaining this I'm thinking we perhaps need to stick with 3 beds versus 2 beds. I don't know! I think we'll try it. We'll try making the boys share and Piper having her own. It's all one big experiment!
At some point during this past week I looked over to see evidence of Cody's handy work. Trust me it's not so handy-dandy! He has been focusing on one bed specifically. One bed has felt all of his frustration or excitement when it comes to getting up every morning and getting fed every mealtime. No clue on earth why he feels the need to rough up a bed before each mealtime as well as first thing every morning. It's his thing! We've tried breaking him of the habit. Nothing has worked. Periodically he destroys a bed to the point it needs to be replaced. Covering a bed with a towel or blanket helps prolong it's life in this house with Cody around. The bed he's destroyed this time is at least an older bed. This time around he actually tore a hole completely through it. When you look at the bed you can now see the floor underneath. He does good work! When he tore the Grand Canyon sized hole in the bed he heard his full name come out of my mouth in an angry/stern tone. He looked at me with those pathetic pug eyes! Those eyes don't work on me! But nice try Cody!
So there I was measuring away tonight to get a better idea how much room the new bed will take up. I think we're going to get one big enough for the two pugs to share then get Piper her own. Now in reality what will likely happen is....Simon will be a bed hog/loner therefore he'll snag the single bed which is going to be meant for Piper, leaving the other bed for Cody and Piper to share. As I'm explaining this I'm thinking we perhaps need to stick with 3 beds versus 2 beds. I don't know! I think we'll try it. We'll try making the boys share and Piper having her own. It's all one big experiment!
Friday, July 11, 2014
Brad's Bday Wrap Up!
I am happy to report Brad's birthday was quite the success. Or at least it was from my perspective! I know he enjoyed his party with the added bonus of 4th of July fireworks. Plus, I'm rather certain he liked all his gifts too. As for the festivities on his birthday that I previously eluded to.....we revisited the Gaylord Texan where we got married for his birthday dinner. Woo-hoo!
Early in the morning on the day of his bday I left him a note while I went out with the dogs. The note gave detailed instructions as to the proper attire to where and the time to be ready by. Once evening time rolled around and we were in the car heading out I simply guided him direction by direction, never telling him where we were going until we turned down the street of the Gaylord. We had a great time walking around the area where we said our "I do's". We then went to dinner at the steakhouse inside the resort. It was a great meal. I had the filet mignon and Brad had a 16oz. Kansas City steak. Yum! His steak was huge but hey it was his bday and we were at an awesome place, so live it up!
After arriving home from dinner it was finally time to open gifts. He had to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt with one gift as I had hidden some goodies inside the new tennis bag I got him. LOL! What did the pets get him? A movie and a card that features a pug on the front! Piper was only slightly jealous of the fact that the card has a pug and not a cat on the front. LOL!
Here's a little story to close with. It is my thing to display the birthday cards(or Christmas cards at Christmastime) for a few weeks after a bday. So we currently have Brad's bday cards on display on a high shelf in our living room. Well today the card the pets "gave" their dad flew off the shelf in one swoop. Perhaps it is important to mention the card is a singing card. It starts loudly playing a song the second you open it. Piper sat nearby watching me as the card fell to the floor. It happened to land completely open which means it immediately started singing. Upon hearing this music Piper was gone! Gone like yesterday's news! She was breaking speed limits to get away from the singing card! She totally freaked out! I found her later hiding in the closet. At this point in her life I'm not sure which one is the bigger scaredy-cat....her or Cody! She can at least use her young age as an excuse for being scared of things. That doesn't work for Cody! LOL!
Early in the morning on the day of his bday I left him a note while I went out with the dogs. The note gave detailed instructions as to the proper attire to where and the time to be ready by. Once evening time rolled around and we were in the car heading out I simply guided him direction by direction, never telling him where we were going until we turned down the street of the Gaylord. We had a great time walking around the area where we said our "I do's". We then went to dinner at the steakhouse inside the resort. It was a great meal. I had the filet mignon and Brad had a 16oz. Kansas City steak. Yum! His steak was huge but hey it was his bday and we were at an awesome place, so live it up!
After arriving home from dinner it was finally time to open gifts. He had to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt with one gift as I had hidden some goodies inside the new tennis bag I got him. LOL! What did the pets get him? A movie and a card that features a pug on the front! Piper was only slightly jealous of the fact that the card has a pug and not a cat on the front. LOL!
Here's a little story to close with. It is my thing to display the birthday cards(or Christmas cards at Christmastime) for a few weeks after a bday. So we currently have Brad's bday cards on display on a high shelf in our living room. Well today the card the pets "gave" their dad flew off the shelf in one swoop. Perhaps it is important to mention the card is a singing card. It starts loudly playing a song the second you open it. Piper sat nearby watching me as the card fell to the floor. It happened to land completely open which means it immediately started singing. Upon hearing this music Piper was gone! Gone like yesterday's news! She was breaking speed limits to get away from the singing card! She totally freaked out! I found her later hiding in the closet. At this point in her life I'm not sure which one is the bigger scaredy-cat....her or Cody! She can at least use her young age as an excuse for being scared of things. That doesn't work for Cody! LOL!
Saturday, July 5, 2014
My Excitement!
I'll keep this one brief. I just have to say I'm super excited for my husband's birthday tomorrow. I have something extra special planned! I can hardly wait to reveal my secret!
I've been plotting how I will reveal my big plan for tomorrow for a few days now. I think I have it figured out. I don't want to give too much away in this post just in case Brad reads it in the next few hours. However, I seriously doubt he will read it in the next 12-24 hours but who knows. Right now he's busy watching a night of pay-per-view UFC matches. His dad has come over to our place and they are having "fight night" watching night. Me?...I'm blogging as I sit in our living room while the guys watch the TV. I look up every once in awhile to see some of the action. So it's a pay-per-view fight night with pizza in our household. Cody is getting in on the action as he is busy engaging his grandpa in a riveting tug-o-war match. I think Cody's winning! Go Code-man Go!
Back to my excitement. For me it's definitely better to give then to receive! Just as I can't wait to reveal the special event I have planned for tomorrow night I also am anxious to see Brad's face when he opens the gifts I have for him. Hopefully, it will be a fun and exciting experience for us tomorrow. As well as a memorable bday for my husband!
I've been plotting how I will reveal my big plan for tomorrow for a few days now. I think I have it figured out. I don't want to give too much away in this post just in case Brad reads it in the next few hours. However, I seriously doubt he will read it in the next 12-24 hours but who knows. Right now he's busy watching a night of pay-per-view UFC matches. His dad has come over to our place and they are having "fight night" watching night. Me?...I'm blogging as I sit in our living room while the guys watch the TV. I look up every once in awhile to see some of the action. So it's a pay-per-view fight night with pizza in our household. Cody is getting in on the action as he is busy engaging his grandpa in a riveting tug-o-war match. I think Cody's winning! Go Code-man Go!
Back to my excitement. For me it's definitely better to give then to receive! Just as I can't wait to reveal the special event I have planned for tomorrow night I also am anxious to see Brad's face when he opens the gifts I have for him. Hopefully, it will be a fun and exciting experience for us tomorrow. As well as a memorable bday for my husband!
Gift Hiding!
One thing that is much harder now that I'm married is hiding gifts for Brad. At Christmas and now at his birthday time I have had to be quite creative at times. This time around was a bit challenging based on what I got him.
There were a few days I felt like I was doing the tango with one of his gifts. I knew Brad would be entering a certain area of our home so I would go move the gift, after a few minutes would pass and he had vacated that area I would go move the gift back to where it was. The reason I kept moving it was it's size plus our little Piper. I couldn't fit it just anywhere and I couldn't trust Piper around it, so it needed to be in an area of the house that is primarily closed off to her. Piper loves wrapping paper! She'll tear into any gift. Just like her brothers. The boys though do wait until a gift is given to them before tearing into it but Piper is a little too young. She's still learning her manners! ;)
Another issue I had just earlier today was....not being able to find things I hid. Geez, I was going nuts earlier today looking for something I got Brad. I looked everywhere. It's just a small item, a little extra something so I even went out to the Pathfinder thinking maybe it accidentally fell behind the third row of seats. No clue how long I spent looking but trust me I spent too long. In the future I have promised myself to stick to only one main hiding area instead of a few because that's how I've confused myself this time around.
Oh, and this is interesting while I was looking for the birthday item today I happened to find a small gift I had hidden back at Valentine's day for my wonderful husband. Yes, how embarrassing to admit! During all my searching for the new gift I misplaced I found a gift that's remained hidden for the last 5 months. Let me tell you, I need a new system...a new place to hide things. I can't keep doing this. Although this isn't exactly new for me. There have been times in the past I've bought gifts for the boys in advance of an occasion then numerous months later I come across those toys for them realizing I completely forgot about the hidden gifts and now the occasion has passed.
Here's something about me....I'm the type of person that buys cool things when I see it then I wait for an occasion to come. I've done things like that for a long time. Therefore it might not be easy to fix this little "hidden gift" issue I'm having. Perhaps I will always be "losing" gifts then finding them. Still though I will keep better track of Brad's specific gifts for his bday so I don't waste so much time looking for things. Geesh!
There were a few days I felt like I was doing the tango with one of his gifts. I knew Brad would be entering a certain area of our home so I would go move the gift, after a few minutes would pass and he had vacated that area I would go move the gift back to where it was. The reason I kept moving it was it's size plus our little Piper. I couldn't fit it just anywhere and I couldn't trust Piper around it, so it needed to be in an area of the house that is primarily closed off to her. Piper loves wrapping paper! She'll tear into any gift. Just like her brothers. The boys though do wait until a gift is given to them before tearing into it but Piper is a little too young. She's still learning her manners! ;)
Another issue I had just earlier today was....not being able to find things I hid. Geez, I was going nuts earlier today looking for something I got Brad. I looked everywhere. It's just a small item, a little extra something so I even went out to the Pathfinder thinking maybe it accidentally fell behind the third row of seats. No clue how long I spent looking but trust me I spent too long. In the future I have promised myself to stick to only one main hiding area instead of a few because that's how I've confused myself this time around.
Oh, and this is interesting while I was looking for the birthday item today I happened to find a small gift I had hidden back at Valentine's day for my wonderful husband. Yes, how embarrassing to admit! During all my searching for the new gift I misplaced I found a gift that's remained hidden for the last 5 months. Let me tell you, I need a new system...a new place to hide things. I can't keep doing this. Although this isn't exactly new for me. There have been times in the past I've bought gifts for the boys in advance of an occasion then numerous months later I come across those toys for them realizing I completely forgot about the hidden gifts and now the occasion has passed.
Here's something about me....I'm the type of person that buys cool things when I see it then I wait for an occasion to come. I've done things like that for a long time. Therefore it might not be easy to fix this little "hidden gift" issue I'm having. Perhaps I will always be "losing" gifts then finding them. Still though I will keep better track of Brad's specific gifts for his bday so I don't waste so much time looking for things. Geesh!
Double Party Time: America & Brad's Bday Party!
Whew! Am I coming? Am I going? This past week was a busy one!
I have been busy preparing for Brad's bday! So it's at least been a fun/good kind of busy! I've been preoccupied buying good gifts for Brad, preparing his party, and planning out a few festivities for his actual bday.
We live in one of the best spots for Independence day fireworks. We're right across the street from an awesome fireworks show, plus we can view another show in the not so far off distance. Due to the fireworks and the fact that the 4th is a holiday for all I was completely set on having people come over for Brad's bday on the 4th. An evening of food, fun, and fireworks!
So we had a house full of people celebrating last night. I served up my very first ever "nacho bar". I had all the fixings for anything from basic nachos to ultimate nachos. As for the main course I had Chicago-style shredded beef sandwiches with Hawaiian BBQ wings. For sides I offered pasta salad as well as a corn salad. My first time ever making a corn salad. For the all important birthday cake....what did my husband choose? Well his request was for a chocolate cake. I took it one step further and made him an ice cream cake! Can you believe it? I actually pulled off an ice cream cake! I was so excited to make the ice cream cake for him. Brad LOVES ice cream! Ice cream cake is perfect for him. I finally felt confident enough to attempt one. I'm proud to say it was a success! Many more ice cream cakes will be made in this household! It's like a whole new cake world for me! An entirely new bunch of possibilities of flavors! Woo-hoo! Let the experimenting begin! ;)
I'm glad the amount of people that came could come last night. I had a lot of fun planning Brad's birthday party. I love entertaining! Man, have things changed for me! I remember a time when I wasn't too into entertaining. I had a few seriously minor parties I hosted during college but then after college I had a long spell of not playing hostess. Even avoiding being a hostess a few times. Now though I've completely fallen in love with hosting things. I like to let my imagination go wild as I plan different things. Fun times!
I have been busy preparing for Brad's bday! So it's at least been a fun/good kind of busy! I've been preoccupied buying good gifts for Brad, preparing his party, and planning out a few festivities for his actual bday.
We live in one of the best spots for Independence day fireworks. We're right across the street from an awesome fireworks show, plus we can view another show in the not so far off distance. Due to the fireworks and the fact that the 4th is a holiday for all I was completely set on having people come over for Brad's bday on the 4th. An evening of food, fun, and fireworks!
So we had a house full of people celebrating last night. I served up my very first ever "nacho bar". I had all the fixings for anything from basic nachos to ultimate nachos. As for the main course I had Chicago-style shredded beef sandwiches with Hawaiian BBQ wings. For sides I offered pasta salad as well as a corn salad. My first time ever making a corn salad. For the all important birthday cake....what did my husband choose? Well his request was for a chocolate cake. I took it one step further and made him an ice cream cake! Can you believe it? I actually pulled off an ice cream cake! I was so excited to make the ice cream cake for him. Brad LOVES ice cream! Ice cream cake is perfect for him. I finally felt confident enough to attempt one. I'm proud to say it was a success! Many more ice cream cakes will be made in this household! It's like a whole new cake world for me! An entirely new bunch of possibilities of flavors! Woo-hoo! Let the experimenting begin! ;)
I'm glad the amount of people that came could come last night. I had a lot of fun planning Brad's birthday party. I love entertaining! Man, have things changed for me! I remember a time when I wasn't too into entertaining. I had a few seriously minor parties I hosted during college but then after college I had a long spell of not playing hostess. Even avoiding being a hostess a few times. Now though I've completely fallen in love with hosting things. I like to let my imagination go wild as I plan different things. Fun times!
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