Cooking adventures

Am I the only person on Earth who despises grocery shopping? Although I hate how it all costs money, my biggest gripe is that I can't ever find anything! I just have to wander through the aisles hoping to find everything on my list. This usually causes major impulse buying. Because I have no self control and apparently an endless bank account.

For example: does it make sense that the syrup is on the same aisle as PART of the candy and not with the pancake mix? Not to me. Also, why are there two candy aisles? And why is there a rotisserie chicken stand in the checkout line instead of where they sell cut meat? NO SENSE

Someone needs to invent something that you could enter your grocery list into and it would tell you what aisle it's on. Of course that would cut out a lot of impulse buying for people like me. And we all know that Wal-Mart would never put convenience over making money. 

ANYWAYS, the whole point of this post was so I could brag about my newly discovered love for cooking. Before, I always got a little lightheaded when I even thought of breaking out a pan or being near the kitchen. I've had some disasters in my day. 

Fortunately, Taylor and his roommate have agreed to let me experiment with my cooking. So far no one has gotten sick or had to throw anything away so I guess I would consider it a success. 

So far I've made:

*Bacon wrapped sliders with BBQ sauce --These were ah-mazing. And we had enough for leftovers for a couple of days!

*Bruschetta pasta - I got a double thumbs up from Taylor with this. He took all the leftovers and wouldn't share.

*Red Velvet cake - This was Taylor's Mamaw's recipe. I was NERVOUS to make this because of how hard I heard it was, but I suceeded and Taylor said it tasted just like he remembered. I have to give all the credit to his cousin, Kristi though and my friend Callen. Kristi provided some really helpful hints and Callen helped me with the cooked icing!

*Something else that I can't remember (Last week was a long time ago, y'all)

*Airplane shaped sugar cookies -- I am not sure I will ever make these again. Between the icing and the cookies, I worked for 4 hours. FOUR hours. It took a lot of strength to stay focused on this project. Cooking is not something you can get bored with and come back to later. They turned out really cute, but I did not feel fireworks when I ate them so I'm not sure I would do it again.

If you have any recipes that are your favorites...please share them with me!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Thanks for everything you do and loving me every day.

I love you!

Lessons in Moving

1. When shopping in Wal-Mart, you must master the ability to grab something off the shelf as you are walking by. Do not think for one second you will be able to stop and browse. Del Rioans will run you over and keep on going.

2. Mom is not here to buy the "things only Mom knows you need". I have been to the store probably every day this week getting things that just happened to appear at my parents house.

3. Driving in Del Rio is a lot like navigating the aisles of Wal-Mart in Del Rio. People are either going reallyreally slow and driving in the middle of both lanes, or they are trying to run you over.

4. Do not make eye contact with the lady at the Sushi Bar in H-E-B. She will force you to buy a $12 box of sushi.

5. Meeting new friends is fun, but eating out for lunch every day can get quite expensive.


These are just a few lessons in life that I have come across in my first week in my new home. I absolutely love it here. Especially the part where I get to see Taylor every day!

When I lived at home with my parents, I used to wish for the day that a grocery store or any store was closer than 20 miles and now that I have a Wal-Mart less than five minutes away...I spend way more money. It's just so CONVENIENT!

I MADE IT!

I am now an official Smell Rio resident. I almost can't believe I just wrote that last sentence because none of it feels real yet! Talking about making the move and actually making the move are two very different things.

Before, I was all..."OH EM GEE, I can't wait to be moved down here and get to see Taylor whenever I want and live 10 minutes away instead of 6 hours!" 

And now I'm all..."WHAT DID I JUST DO?"

I know everything is going to be fine, but there have been a few minor panic attacks in the past couple of days.

I never ever EVER do anything this gigantic without first having a concrete plan. I kind of approached this whole thing though with the "it'll all work out" attitude. It's really hard, but I do have complete faith that God will provide me with exactly what I need. So if you happen to think about it, I'm going to need big, big prayers in the near future.

My mom had a few things to do this weekend so she stayed behind while Dad and Jesse came with me to help move my things. The fact that I said goodbye to Mom didn't really didn't sink in until about an hour into my trip and then about halfway to Del Rio, I almost hyperventilated once I started thinking about the reality of the situation. I am now 6 hours away from my parents, I don't have a job, and I'm in a new town. I had obviously thought of these things before I moved, but it still hit me pretty hard once the move was final and real.

I kept neurotically thinking that something was going to go horribly wrong and I would have to turn around and go back home. Fortunately, everything went smoothly...except that the drive down here took almost two hours longer than it normally does because my dad and brother travel like a couple of girls. We stopped FIVE times. Mainly so they could use the bathroom. 

Once we FINALLY made it, we got all my stuff moved in and then relaxed for the night at my new home. Dad and Jesse left on Sunday after lunch and I was really glad that Dad held it together. I thought it was odd that he just said, "Ok, love you, bye!" and then left because normally he drags these things out and pretend pouts. I talked to him later and he said that if he hung around much longer, he might have lost it. He doesn't read my blog, but don't tell him I just outed him for crying on the internet. :)

*Being here is so incredibly surreal. I still feel like a visitor!

*Taylor and I are going to have to learn how to date like real couples. I hope he still likes me now that I'm here for good!

*I hope I find a yob soon. (That's job with a spanish flair. I think I heard it in a movie once. I don't know which one, but I liked it so I use it all the time.)

I already miss my family, but I know that I am going to have lots of fun on this great big new adventure. 

Surprise...more randoms

*Last week on my way to Del Rio, I got behind a dump truck carrying onions. Would you put a cover over a load of onions? I definitely would. Especially when the onions are precariously piled higher than the sides of the truck. The driver hit a bump and wouldn't you know it, a bunch of the onions started flying out towards me. I really wish I had taken a picture of this. I still can't believe it happened.

*I'm moving to Del Rio on Saturday. Which is TWO days from now. I don't have anything packed. I know where it all is, but it's not in suitcases or boxes yet. I may have to pull an all nighter tonight.

*Mom and I started refinishing a chest of drawers and another chest last night. Then we made Sangria and things got really fun. I was spray-priming the drawers from the chest and drinking at the same time and I somehow turned the spray can around and sprayed my entire hand.

*Remember when I talked about all the cavities I had to get filled? They're all doing fine, but I woke up on Tuesday morning and couldn't drink a glass of water without feeling like someone was drilling a hole in my tooth. So, I made an appointment to get it all checked out. I got there and the dentist said it wasn't a big deal and sometimes teeth just get sensitive. Really? Out of nowhere? I think that maybe we should take all my teeth out and start over.

*Along with my tooth debacle, I also woke up on Tuesday morning with a swollen eye. I have no idea what happened to it or why it started to swell, but it hurts. ALSO, my deadly-flesh-eating skin fungus went away. And then came back. I'm slowly falling apart. I guess the good news is that I haven't been beaten up by the copier at work lately.

*One day last week while Taylor was at work, I decided to eat a hotdog for lunch. I cooked it and then put my usual ketchup and mustard on top, but as I took a couple of bites I kept thinking that something about it tasted...off. I must have forgotten whose house I was eating lunch at because after I saw the ketchup bottle, it totally made sense why it tasted different.

*My dad got my mom a doggie door for their anniversary last month. How romantic, right? Last year he bought her a car and he knew he wouldn't be able to top it so he's back to buying things he thinks Mom needs. Anywho, he had someone come over to install it while I was out of town and then called me to say that the dogs weren't the least bit interested. Lily, our lazy dog, only wants to come in the door on to our back porch. Sam, our stupid dog, finally figured out that the door wasn't going to eat him alive and now he runs FULL SPEED in and out of it. I'm waiting for him to miss one day. My thought is that if Lily really needs in or out of the house, she'll figure it out.

I can't think of anymore random tidbits. I'll let you know how my packing goes tonight and tomorrow. At least this time, I can take WHATEVER I want and not have to worry about the what if questions. I think I'm going to leave most of my winter clothes at my parents house since it probably won't get below 105 until November in Del Rio.

My last "visit"

Oh haaaay, I'm back. Again.

I would apologize for my week plus absence from blogging but I've been hanging out with Taylor all this time and I had to use my time and brain power for other things like being more awesome than him. I can only be awesome at blogging or more awesome than Taylor. Not both at the same time. Too much pressure.

But moving on...

I'm trying to prolong my stay in Del Rio by creating this post. I've got to go back home so I can pack the rest of my things and then I shall make the official move. When I say pack, I think you should know that I'll just be stuffing my clothes into a couple of suitcases and taking my bed apart. I might actually leave my folded clothes in my dresser and just throw that in the back of the truck. I think it's a good idea, except if the dresser flew out of the truck on the way back down here. Then I would be without dresser as well as half my clothes. DECISIONS.

This past week has been so much fun! It's like I'm finally getting to enjoy all those summers that I never had in college. I may not be able to handle going back to work once I find a job. I'm sure my Dad won't mind me being a mooch for an entire year...right? And since it's Del Rio, it will be like summer all year long. I like this plan.

When I arrived in the Rio last week, Taylor was still working so I got to hang out with Marie and Angela some. I watched Marie paint for a while and then she had to go teach a class so Ryan and I decided to make dinner for Taylor. Ryan actually did all of the work. I just watched and tried to act like I knew what he was talking about.

That weekend, Taylor and I went to the pool with Craig and Angela. The lifeguards got all power hungry on everyone though and wouldn't let people be in the deep end unless they were diving and then immediately swimming to the side and getting out. Instead of being able to jump into the pool to cool off, we had to wade around in the shallow end with all the kids. Um, rude. The good news though is that I did not get sunburned. I didn't get any sun at all actually. I guess this is what happens when you REAPPLY the sunscreen. I only got the memo 22 years late. No big.

This trip also included seeing THREE movies in theater. We saw Kung Fu Panda 2 (which I kept calling Panda Express 2), The Hangover Part 2, and X-Men. They were all really good. I haven't seen an X-Men movie since the 8th grade and I fell asleep in that one so I wasn't expecting a lot, but I enjoyed the new one. The Hangover 2 was the exact same as the first movie, but in a different location. Still hilarious. Kung Fu Panda was good. Taylor laughed the hardest out of anyone in the theater so that's a good sign.

We also went bowling over the long weekend. Remember how much I've talked about not liking bowling in the past? I haven't changed my mind at all. The only balls I can manage to throw down the lane are the 6 pound ones, so the finger holes are made for infants. I gave myself a blood blister on my thumb and I'm pretty sure my wrist broke. It healed the next day so no worries, but it was definitely broken for a while.

Craig and Angela...much happier to be bowling than I was.

Once Memorial weekend was over, Taylor had to go back to work. So I did a lot of absolutely nothing during the day most of the time. I actually did a lot of running. Please, stop laughing. Want to know what a bad idea sounds like? Running at 5 pm when it's 109 outside. The rest of the time I spent hanging out with some of the other ladies on base.

Thursday night, Marie had another paint class that I FINALLY got to go to. I was really scared that my painting was going to be horrible and that I would have to throw it away before the class was over, but Marie was a wonderful teacher and it came out pretty decent. Taylor and his roommate Conor even stopped by to entertain the class for a while after he got done flying.

Thanks Marie!

Don't laugh too hard.

I was pretty bummed that I missed Taylor's first solo. Luckily though he had another one this week and I got to attend. After I watched him fly though, I was going to Marie's art gallery so I happened to wear a dress out to the flight line. As soon as I arrived, the wind started blowing 900 miles an hour. I tried really hard not to, but I still ended up flashing everyone. Taylor's friends were really awesome to hang out with me while he was flying and take me out to the plane. 

I was so proud watching Taylor fly. I held myself together because I didn't want to be THAT GIRL, but inside I was squealing. 

This was right after the flashing when Taylor was laughing at me. I kept trying to tell everyone that it was a bad idea for me to climb onto the wing in a dress, but they didn't listen!

This past weekend, we floated the Bean Dip and for the second weekend in a row...NO SUNBURN. It was a magical feeling. We also made two trips out to the Veranda during my stay. I heart sangria! 

This morning, I woke up extra early so I could make cinnamon rolls for Taylor and Conor. I found a recipe online that looked pretty easy and included using biscuits for the dough. They didn't turn out too great, though. The directions said to put them in the oven for 20 minutes and even though I only put them in for 13, they still came out almost burned. Also the glaze had the wrong powdered sugar to cream ratio. It just tasted like liquid powdered sugar on a biscuit. The guys said they liked them, but I think they were just being nice. I wasn't too big of a fan myself. 

So that's pretty much my trip in a nutshell. I'm going to miss being here this week, but I'll be back soon for good! I can't wait! For now though, I need to pack and get on the road.

Here's one more of Taylor and me. I think we're cute but next time I'll put some shorts on before I ask someone to take my picture.