New Adventure

Check out my new cooking blog!

http://www.thewafflestand.blogspot.com/

August So Far...

I can't believe how fast time flies. It seems like the older I get the faster it goes. I can't believe we are midway through August. The holidays will be here before we know it! This month has been ridiculously busy. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary on August 2nd. We celebrated by going out to eat at our favorite restaurant (which was a real treat since we have not been eating out lately in an effort to save money). Then we came home and enjoyed a taste of our wedding cake (we opted for a fresh one since instead of the traditional frozen one) and watched our wedding video. It was a quiet evening but incredibly special. This has been the most amazing year of my life. We have learned and shared so much this past year and I could not imagine spending my life with anyone else.

I decided to be a Graduate Assistant again this Fall for DC. I really enjoyed the experience last Spring and made the decision to be a lead this time. Classes are in full swing again so my weeknights are consumed with class and a new group of associates to meet and get to know.

Amongst other things this month we are hosting our house warming party, welcoming two new babies into our circle of friends, and we will both be taking some much needed time off to relax and enjoy ourselves.

This month is going to be gone before we know it.

Catching Up

I have been absent from blogging for a few days because things have been crazy busy. This past weekend my very best friend was visiting us and I was trying to soak up every precious moment with her. We have been friends since 2nd grade and neither time nor distance will ever change that. All my friends are precious to me but those life long friends are rare. This girl has been going through an extremely difficult time lately so while she was visiting I wanted to spoil her! Saturday we went and got manicures and pedicures, went to lunch and did some shopping. On Saturday night we met my husband's family at our favorite Italian restaurant for dinner to celebrate recent family birthdays and Father's Day. I made breakfast for us on Sunday morning and then she had to leave to get back home to her daughter. I had a blast just hanging out with her all weekend and catching up. It was what you would call a "genuinely amazing" weekend. Monday we went and looked into getting me a new car. Unfortunately, I am just a tad upside down still on my current car so the payments were going to be double what we are paying now. If we wait just 6 more months I can have a new car and pay less than my current payment. We are looking for something bigger and most likely an SUV. For some reason I just like being higher off the ground. Other than that we are back to work this week and my Premier Party is on Friday!

Shiny Things

I didn't used to be much of a jewelry person. I had a few things that I wore regularly and that was about it. My silver hoop earings, my engagement/wedding rings, and the pearl my mom gave me. Not too long ago a friend of mine at work had a Premier Jewelry party at her house. I went not really knowing what to expect. Boy was I surprised! They have lots of cute stuff and it is priced pretty reasonably. I will confess...there are some things they sell that I would never ever wear. Since going to a few parties I have become quite the "accessorizer" when it comes to these shiny little treasures. I am actually going to host my own party in a few weeks. I am excited about this for a number of reasons. Not only will I get some of the things I want for free but it will be the first time I get to entertain in my new house! You can't beat that. So over the next couple of weeks I will be getting my invites out, trying to figure out what food to prepare, and getting my house in tip top shape for my guests. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Speaking of babies...

It is amazing to me how many of my friends/ co-workers are pregnant right now or have just had a baby. I am blessed to be apart of their lives and watch as they start or expand their precious families. However, along with that comes the baby fever. The overwhelming urge to want us to have a baby as well. It is so much fun to hold their babies and play with them and love on them. Then they spit up or cry or do other things babies do. And then reality hits me. We have only been married a year (almost) so we are still adjusting to life as a married couple, we just bought a new house, we both want to travel and just be married for a little while. When we do have children I want us to hopefully be in a position where I can stay home with them. Obviously, now is not the right time.

It also doesn't help that ever since we got married people are constantly asking when are we going to have a baby. You can ask anyone who is newly married and they will say the same thing happened to them. I am constantly surrounded by these things and it is hard not to catch myself thinking about how exciting it will be to feel that little life growing inside me or what it will be like to watch my children grow up and learn new things every day.

Right now my prayer is that the Lord continue to work in us and mold us to be more like Him. I want to seek Him daily. I want our faith to be abundant no matter what circumstances life brings. I know when the time is right He will prepare us in every way to be parents. He will prepare us to teach our children what it means to love and serve our mighty God. I pray that he will give us patient hearts to wait for His perfect timing. We are both very blessed and I can not wait to see what He will continue to do through us!

Yummo!

So last night I decided to try a new recipe. I found a recipe for baked pork chops on foodnetwork.com so I decided to give it a shot (I don't always have the best luck with their recipes). These pork chops turned out amazing! And they were so easy! My husband can be kind of picky and even he said they were the best ones he had ever eaten. I modified the recipe slightly from what was on the website. My version is below:

- 4 medium size boneless pork chops
- 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Mix breadcrumbs, paprika, onion powder and salt in a shallow dish. Drizzle with oil and mash with a fork until the oil is thoroughly incorporated.

- Lightly beat egg white with a fork in another shallow dish.

- Sprinkle cornstarch over the pork slices and pat to coat evenly on both sides.

- Dip the pork into the egg, then press into the breading mixture until evenly coated on both sides. (Discard leftover mixture.)
- Place the pork on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until just barely pink in the center and an instant-read thermometer registers 150°F, 14 to 16 minutes. (I like mine a little more done so I let mine go for 18 minutes.)

Road Trip

My husband and I decided to make a road trip yesterday with two of our dear friends. We made a journey to the zoo in Tulsa, OK. We had a great time despite the heat and me not feeling all that well. I have pictures to post however, I haven't quite figured out how to get them on here. I might try to figure that out later tonight. Today is Monday which means back to work! Weekends are just too short.